Can Canadian born, Ted Cruz, become president of the United States?

When Ted Cruz first  announced on Twitter that he will be running for the Republican nomination for president my thought was, "don't you have to be born American to run for president of the United States?"  The 44 year old is Canadian born but has renounced his Canadian citizenship. 

The whole fiasco reminds me of a scene from "The King of Queens" The scene was shot in 2003 when Doug on a visit to his parents learned that he was lied to by his protective parents. One of the lies revealed was that he was born in Canada, to which Doug responded "Oh my god I am Canadian? what if I were to run for president what would I do? I guess this is a question that never crossed Ted's mind.

The Tea Party is a strong supporter of the far right candidate who has taken a strong stance against the Obama health care policy and constantly spews hateful rhetoric toward Obama.  But he is anything but a shoe in for the Republican nomination since he is up against some other, more popular conservative candidates. After a period of silence on Ted Cruz birthright, his birth country has come back to haunt him in the election.

Ted Cruz only renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2014 - a strategic move? If we recall, conservatives went to all lengths to try to prove that Obama was born outside of the USA. They failed of course but there is no doubt about where Ted Cruz was born. Will this help or hurt him and do you have to be born in the USA to become president? Apparently not.