Cruz, Trump up in Iowa, but talk of ‘takedown’ effort fades

Cruz dismissed Trump’s line of thinking out of hand.

A loss in Iowa, however, would make him vulnerable in New Hampshire, where he leads in the polls, and could jeopardize his candidacy, which is all about stressing the importance of victories.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he does not “intend” to deploy law enforcement officials who go door to door across the country to round up undocumented immigrants if he is elected president. He renounced his dual Canadian citizenship in 2014, and on Friday, Cruz’s campaign shared with the conservative website Breitbart a copy of his mother’s birth certificate showing her born in the United States.

“As a legal matter, the Constitution and federal law are clear that the child of USA citizens born overseas is a natural-born citizen”, he told CNN’s “State of the Union“.

“You know, the past couple of elections we saw the Democrats thrilled that they got the nominee they wanted to run against in the general election”, he said. Marilyn Beske wears ear warmers with a campaign sticker for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on them at the Bridge View Center, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Ottumwa, Iowa, where Trump is scheduled to speak. There was never any question about his mother’s American citizenship. Trump edges Cruz by 28 percent to 26 percent in Iowa, according to a poll released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling. “I believe the only way to compete and win in the state of Iowa is to come and spend the time asking the voters for their support”. First asked in 2013, Trump said if Cruz was born in Canada, perhaps he does not qualify for the Oval Office. “You know, as they say in the tech world, this has been beta-tested”.

That is the “real question mark”, Trump said. He also leads in New Hampshire by double digits over a splintered field of establishment candidates.

As for what Ted Cruz has to say about this, he preferred a more diplomatic approach, refusing to engage with Donald Trumps and his attacks.

The results is a six-point increase for Trump from last month’s poll and insignificant increases for both Rubio and Cruz. I’m reminded of something Machiavelli didn’t say but should have: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

“I think the Democrats will challenge it at the very least and I think it will have to be decided by the Supreme Court”, he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation“.

Donald Trump, left, responds forcefully to Jeb Bush (not seen) as Ted Cruz looks on during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. You can’t have a nominee who’s going to be subject to be thrown out as the nominee.

“If Ted is the nominee, he will be sued by the Democrats”, Trump said in an interview aired Sunday on “Meet the Press“.