Donald Trump is blasting GOP presidential rival Sen. Ted Cruz's "conflicting stances" on birthright citizenship – a constitutional provision Cruz now opposes, but had in 2011 declared a constitution provision for which opposing arguments "are not very good."
In a barbed tweet Monday, the real estate billionaire also chided the Texas lawmaker for giving Trump credit for the flip-flop.
The video of Cruz's differing opinions was posted on YouTube by
Real Americans For Real Presidents, whose Twitter account posted a similar anti-Cruz video in December.
But the Cruz interview in 2011 was first uploaded on the video sharing site Oct. 5, 2011.
Story continues below video.
In that 2011 sit-down with Duke Machado, Cruz called efforts to change birthright citizenship misguided because they stood on shoddy legal footing.
"I've looked at the legal arguments against it, and I will tell you as a Supreme Court litigator, those arguments are not very good," he said.
"As much as someone may dislike the policy of birthright citizenship, it's in the U.S. Constitution. And I don't like it when federal judges set aside the Constitution because their policy preferences are different."
Instead, he said conservatives should be concentrating on "securing the border."
Cruz's newer position last August appears different, outlining his opposition to birthright citizenship in the wake of Trump's immigration policy paper that called for changing the 14th Amendment to end the guaranteed citizenship to those born inside the United States,
The Hill reported at the time.
"Absolutely. We should end granting automatic birthright citizenship to the children of those who are here illegally," Cruz said in an interview with the Michael Medved Show, The Hill reports, saying that had been his position "from the very first day of my running for the Senate."
Cruz's change in stance on birthright citizenship also has been criticized by fellow GOP presidential contender and Senate colleague Marco Rubio.
"Ted Cruz, you used to say you supported doubling the number of green cards, now you say that you're against it. You used to support a 500 percent increase in the number of guest workers. Now you say that you're against it," Rubio said in the GOP's debate
earlier this month.
"You used to support legalizing people that are here illegally. Now you say you're against it. You used to say you were in favor of birthright citizenship. Now you say that you are against it."
Trump has been amping up criticism of Cruz in recent days – even as
some conservative commentators call the attacks a dangerous strategy.
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