Donald Trump is playing Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 hit “Born in the U.S.A.” at campaign rallies in an apparent jab at Canadian-born rival Sen. Ted Cruz.
After days of raising questions over Mr. Cruz’s eligibility to be president, Mr. Trump’s campaign played the song before a rally Sunday afternoon in Reno, Nevada.
“Is he a natural-born citizen?” the Republican front-runner asked the crowd in an attack on Mr. Cruz that lasted about seven minutes, The Washington Post reported. “Honestly, we don’t know. Who the hell knows.”
“And here’s the problem: It’s called uncertainty. It’s called you just don’t know,” Mr. Trump said.
“He was a citizen of the United States, I believe, and Canada simultaneously. How do you, how — what’s going on here? So, he’s got to straighten these things out,” he said.
Mr. Cruz, who was born to an American mother and Cuban father in Calgary, has repeatedly said there is no question that he is eligible for the presidency, saying over the weekend that “the Constitution and federal law are clear that the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural-born citizen,” The Post reported.
The Hill notes that although “Born in the U.S.A.” seems patriotic, the song is famously critical of America, depicting a man who fights in the Vietnam War and can’t find a job when he comes home.
“You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much / ’Til you spend half your life just covering up / Born in the U.S.A.,” the song goes.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.