Unit One Current Event Article

Alec Pratt
February 9, 2016
Unit One Current Event

Ted Cruz Is Not a 'Natural Born' Citizen
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-01-27/ted-cruz-is-not-a-natural-born-citizen-according-to-the-constitution 

As the campaigning trail for the United States of America's Republican Nominee is coming to a close, all candidates are trying their best to persuade voters to vote for themselves. Feuds between Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump have been constant through the whole trail. Recently, Donald Trump made the claim that Ted Cruz is not a "Natural Born" citizen. According to the constitution and founding fathers, all presidents must be a natural born citizen of the United States of America. This claim has opened up a large conversation between many groups of people to determine how and if Ted Cruz can become president, and what the founding fathers really meant by a "Natural Born" citizen.

This article has provided a lot of insight to me about this topic. Personally, I believe that the president must be born in the United States. Through this article, there are many good arguments made for both sides of the spectrum. According to the article and the constitution, "Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution states: 'No Person except a natural born Citizen ... shall be eligible to the Office of President.'" The constitution clearly states that only natural born citizens may hold the office of president. I believe this to be true as well, and i think that this should overrule any other interpretations of the constitution. On the other side of the argument, many believe that the naturalization and citizenship process leads to the possibility to be president. Some also argue the Fourteenth Amendment protects Ted Cruz's right to be president, or run for the office. The Fourteenth Amendment was meant to grant equal rights and privileges to all citizens. However, i do not believe that this applies to the case of the presidency because no where in the constitution other than Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, does the constitution talk about other possibilities to be president. Personally, I believe Ted Cruz should not be allowed to be  president of the United States of America due to the constitution and my personal interpretation of the document.