Trump to debate Cruz — when he proves presidential eligibility

Donald Trump’s campaign manager on Thursday said the GOP primary front-runner would agree to debate Ted Cruz after the Texas senator confirms that he is eligible to run for president.

{mosads}“Once you’ve gotten that ruling from the federal judge and you’re the last man standing in this presidential contest next to Donald Trump, we’ll be happy to have a debate with you one on one, anywhere you want, because that’s the way the system works,” Corey Lewandowski told Boston radio host Jeff Kuhner, as first reported by BuzzFeed News.

“But, as it stands right now, we don’t even know if Ted Cruz is legally eligible to run for president of the United States,” he added.

After Trump decided to skip Thursday evening’s GOP primary debate on Fox News due to his feud with co-moderator Megyn Kelly, Cruz challenged the billionaire businessman to a “mano a mano” debate in Iowa on Saturday.

Cruz even reserved a location for the potential debate, and PACs backing him pledged to donate $1.5 million to charities for veterans if Trump accepted the challenge.

Lewandowski called the move a “publicity stunt.”

“What this is, is a publicity stunt by Senator Cruz, who is continuing to fall in the polls in the state of Iowa,” he said.

“And the bottom line is, you know what we’ve said to Ted Cruz, go into court, seek a declaratory judgment to find out if you’re even legally eligible to run for president of the United States,” he added.

Trump and his campaign have repeatedly called into question Cruz’s eligibilty to run for president because of his Canadian birthplace.