Social Media Mocks John McCain's Attempt to Go "Birther" on Ted Cruz

Arizona Senator John McCain appears to have taken a break from blasting President Barack Obama's recent executive order on gun control to go down everyone's favorite conspiracy theory rabbit hole: The birther debate. Shortly after Republican frontrunner Donald Trump openly questioned Ted Cruz's citizenship and suggested the Texas Senator — Trump's...

By Miriam Wasser

January 7, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain appears to have taken a break from blasting President Obama's recent executive order on gun control to go down everyone's favorite conspiracy theory rabbit hole: The birther debate.

Shortly after Republican frontrunner Donald Trump openly questioned Ted Cruz's citizenship and suggested the Texas senator — Trump's rival du jour — is ineligible for the oval office because he was born in Canada, McCain chimed in.

As a guest on a Phoenix radio station, KFYI-550, McCain was asked by host Chris Merrill about Ted Cruz's citizenship:

"Ted Cruz says [Donald Trump] jumped the shark when he brought up the whole born in Canada thing…I genuinely want to know, how does he run for president if he was born in Canada? The answer, according to lawyers, is that his mother was an American citizen so he’s a naturalized citizen.”

“I don’t know the answer to that," McCain responded. "I am not a Constitutional scholar on that, but I think it’s worth looking into. I don’t think it’s illegitimate to look into it.”

Given that similar issues about McCain's ability to run came up during the 2008 presidential campaign because he was born in Panama, everyone from political pundits to bloggers to social media users exploded over the comment. (An outraged Senate even passed a non-binding resolution in 2008 declaring McCain was eligible.)

But McCain, who did not respond to New Times' request for comment, dug in.

He attempted to defend his stance by saying: "I know it came up in my race because I was born in Panama, but I was born in the Canal Zone, which is a territory," adding that he was born on "a U.S. military base, [which is] different from being born on foreign soil. So I think there is a question."

According to the New York Times political fact-checking team, legal scholars agree that Cruz is eligible — Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship years ago.

Social media users appeared un-surprised by Trump's birther language — the GOP candidate famously still does not believe Obama is a citizen.

But from McCain? — Here are some of our favorite reactions:

This Ted Cruz Canadian "birther" issue could potentially pave the way for future United States president Justin Bieber.
— Arsenio Hall (@ArsenioHall) January 7, 2016

@davidaxelrod @barackobama @realdonaldtrump @tedcruz funny part is McCain wasn't born in US either
— Matt Savino (@Savino36) January 7, 2016

In honor of the Trump-Cruz birther fight, can you tell who is a natural-born citizen? https://t.co/HmfsAHsJIl pic.twitter.com/zjhae8PPit
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) January 6, 2016

@TPM Says the guy born in Panama.
— lohphat (@lohphat) January 7, 2016

Maybe he needs to start reading the law instead of talking out of his ass. @TPM
— The Auditor (@MericaMcFreedom) January 7, 2016

@TPM John McCain is a miserable bastard
— w j bowers (@wjesse777) January 7, 2016

Even Donald Trump weighed in:

It was a very wise move that Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship 18 months ago. Senator John McCain is certainly no friend of Ted!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2016

And then offered his frenemy, Cruz, some advice:

.@SenTedCruz Ted--free legal advice on how to pre-empt the Dems on citizen issue. Go to court now & seek Declaratory Judgment--you will win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2016

How will this end? Who knows. But it sure is fun to watch.

via GIPHY

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.