Sen. Rand Paul stirred the embers of a smoldering birther controversy involving rival GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz, mocking the Texas senator by noting he could always be Canada's prime minister if he doesn't win the White House.
In an interview on Fox News Radio's
"Kilmeade & Friends," the Kentucky lawmaker waded into an issue that front-runner
Donald Trump called a "very precarious" issue.
"I think without question he is qualified to make the cut to be prime minister of Canada," Paul answered to a question about the question of Cruz's birth in Canada being an issue for his race for the White House.
"Without question he is qualified and meets the qualifications. There hasn't been the same outrage for someone who actually is born in another country," he added, noting the same controversy that once swirled around
President Barack Obama.
Later in the interview, Paul speculated on whether the issue of Cruz's birthplace would ever wind up in court.
"Is it a concern that people will sue over him not being born in the country? " he remarked. "You know, it hadn't been a big discussion yet and I think this will begin the discussion of it. I am not enough of a legal scholar to say the court will decide one way or another."
When asked if it's a risk for the GOP to even nominate Cruz, Paul attacked Cruz's policy positions instead.
"The risk of nominating Ted Cruz is knowing exactly what he stands for," Paul said. "Take the [National Security Agency] for example. [Rival GOP presidential candidate Marco] Rubio is accusing him of being weak on intelligence and voting for the NSA reforms ending bulk collection.
"But Cruz's response is interesting in the debate. He says, 'oh I was for that, but also the bill that allow for the collection of more cell phone data.' So my question to Ted Cruz is, are you for collecting data or against it? Which is it, are you for more privacy or less privacy?"
"I think a little bit of Ted's problem is that he wants it a little bit of both ways with a lot of different crowds," Paul added.
Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father, and had dual citizenship until he renounced his Canadian citizenship when he started his career in the Senate in 2012.
Cruz had already dismissed Trump's round-about attack on his birthplace issue, calling it a "silly circus sideshow" during a radio interview Wednesday,
The Hill reports.
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