Trump floats lawsuit over Cruz’s birthplace

by Ben Kamisar - 01/23/16 1:40 PM ET

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he may file a lawsuit over rival Ted Cruz’s eligibility for the White House.

Trump hammered Cruz to a crowd of supporters in the Iowa town of Sioux Center, just nine days before the Hawkeye State’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

{mosads}“I’ve said Ted has a lot of problems — number one, Canada. He could run for the Prime Minister of Canada and I wouldn’t even complain because he was born in Canada,” Trump joked.

“The Democrats are going to sue if he ever got the nomination within two days. There have already been two lawsuits filed, but they don’t have standing. I have standing to sue. Can you imagine if I did it? Should I do it just for fun?”

Trump added that he believes that he will defeat Cruz without the need of a legal challenge to his candidacy, which is why he probably will not sue.

“It’s probably why I want to save the legal fees,” he said of his confidence in winning the GOP nomination.

“If I thought it was going to matter, maybe I would do it, maybe I wouldn’t.”

Trump also took on Cruz’s criticisms of his use of eminent domain — a line of attack the Texas senator brought up in a campaign ad Friday.

And he bashed “failing” conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who is stumping with Cruz on Saturday, making fun of his predilection for crying.

“I would much rather have Sarah Palin than Glenn Beck,” he said.

“Glenn’s a loser, just so you understand, this guy is a serious loser.”

Trump and Cruz, once cordial on the trail, have launched frequent attacks at each other as they barrel towards a showdown at the polls. The two are battling for the lead in Iowa.

Those frustrations boiled over in a rowdy back-and-forth during the GOP debate earlier this month, where Cruz noted that under some theories, Trump wouldn’t be eligible to run for president because of his mother’s birth in Scotland.

Trump has repeatedly brought up the controversy of whether Cruz is eligible because he was born in Canada to an American mother.

– Updated at 1:53 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Ted Cruz