Donald Trump ratcheted up his attacks on Texas Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] over his citizenship status on Friday, calling his fellow GOP presidential candidate an “anchor baby in Canada.”
Trump was riffing on the topic of immigration during an event in New Hampshire on Friday morning — three days before the Iowa caucuses — when he once again brought up Cruz’s Canadian birth.
“Now, Ted Cruz may not be a U.S. citizen, right?” Trump said, adding “but, he’s an anchor baby, no, he’s an anchor baby — Ted Cruz is an anchor baby in Canada.”
“But Canada doesn’t accept anchor babies. They just waited a long time,” he said.
“Anchor baby” is a term generally used to describe a situation in which a parent obtains de facto citizenship in a country by giving birth there. Trump is fond of the term, though liberals have criticized him heavily for using it.
Trump began assailing the Calgary-born Cruz over questions about his citizenship status earlier this month. Cruz in fact is a U.S. citizen because his mother was born in the U.S. Cruz, whose father was born in Cuba, held dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada until 2014.
During his speech on Friday, Trump lamented that Cruz was not questioned during about his birthplace during Thursday’s Fox News debate.
“They didn’t even mention he was born in Canada,” he complained, while asserting that Cruz “got pummeled” during the contest. Trump boycotted the event over Fox’s use of Megyn Kelly as a moderator. He held a rally and fundraiser for veterans that aired at the same time as the debate.
Donald Trump calls Ted Cruz "an anchor baby in Canada" while riffing on immigration at an event in New Hampshire. https://t.co/qZvtvL1qew
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) January 29, 2016