Republican front-runner Donald Trump returned to attacks on Ted Cruz's birthplace on Friday, suggesting that he's not a U.S. citizen and calling him a Canadian "anchor baby" at a campaign event in New Hampshire just three days before the Iowa caucuses.
"Now, Ted Cruz may not be a U.S. citizen. Right? But he's an anchor baby in Canada. No, he's an anchor baby. Ted Cruz is an anchor baby in Canada," Trump said today at his event in Nashua, N.H., according to the Dallas Morning News. The pejorative term implies the child helps the non-citizen parents obtain legal status.
Trump also mentioned Cruz's debate performance Thursday night, saying the Texas senator got "pummeled last night," adding, "They didn't even mentioned he was born in Canada," according to ABC News.
Donald Trump boycotted Thursday night's debate in Iowa over an ongoing feud with FOX News. "In theory, I would've rather done the debate because you're leading. You don't want to change the wheels...," Trump said today at his event in Nashua, New Hampshire. "I took a chance...Whatever the result I did the right thing. I did the right thing because I did something great for veterans."
The Trump campaign said Thursday night that the billionaire businessman raised more than $6 million for veterans groups at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, that he held instead of participating in that night's GOP debate. Trump said that he pulled in the majority of funds from big donors - including a $1 million contribution of his own - and another $500,000 via his website, according to CNN.
For his part, Cruz has long dismissed claims of ineligibility for his White House bid by virtue of his Canadian birthplace, arguing that because his mother is American, he is a natural-born citizen.
