Trump Loses Face To Cruz In The GOP Debate

In a fierce back and forth between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump at the GOP debate Thursday night, Trump took a big blow when Cruz publicly offered him the VP slot when he hypothetically wins the Republican nomination. Trump, who stumbled early in the debate, suffered the rare loss as Cruz won over the audience with some quick witted humor about defeating Trump in the primary.

The exchange began with a question about Cruz's disputed citizenship, which has garnered a lot of attention in recent days. Some have contended that Cruz is ineligible to be president because he was born in Canada, and much like the birther movement attacking President Obama, the topic has refused to die. However, under Article II of the Constitution and legal precedent set in the past (which Cruz evidenced in his response), Cruz's mother's citizenship makes him a natural-born citizen, which makes him eligible for the presidency.

Cruz most likely anticipated the topic because of the recent wave of media interest, and his response was especially succinct and well-rehearsed. When Trump attempted to hijack Cruz's speaking time, he was booed by the audience, possibly for referencing NBC or The Wall Street Journal. Trump seemed thrown by the negative reaction from the audience, and Cruz took back the response, using the momentum from Donald's stumble to paint him as his #2 man.

Trump and Cruz are currently one and two respectively in national polls, but Cruz has been steadily climbing for the past several weeks. Trump has notoriously created a pattern throughout the election of attacking his closest opponent, and his attempted attack on Cruz's citizenship seemed to fit into this pattern. But Cruz was able to turn the attack around and use it against Trump, saying Trump wouldn't be a U.S. citizen according to his own standards, creating a really strong moment early in the debate.

Cruz's win over Trump during the exchange was definitely impressive, but there's no question that a Cruz/Trump ticket is a scary concept for anyone of the liberal persuasion. Cruz has a sketchy foreign policy record, not to mention the "carpet bomb" fiasco from the last debate. And Trump, well, is Trump. Even in the VP slot, he could do some serious damage to the American international image, as evidenced by the British parliament's upcoming debate about banning Trump from the United Kingdom.

Cruz vs. Trump is a strong match-up, and although Cruz offered Trump the right-hand spot on his team, it looks like they will stay opponents rather than allies. Trump stated he will "go back to building buildings" if he does not become president, so if Cruz gets the nomination, there won't be a Vice President Trump.