He started going by "Ted" for the sole reason that he knew Texas wouldn't vote for "Rafael"
As I told you on IRC, this isn't true. He's gone by Ted at least since 1992, as shown by a thesis he wrote back then:
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/480888/cruz-thesis.pdfAlso, he is a citizen because his mother was a citizen, but he was born in a foreign nation on foreign soil (e.g., not a military base). That doesn't meet the "natural born" requirement in the Constitution. Natural born is defined in English common law as "such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England" and while obviously you could say "lol Canada is a dominion of the crown of England!" the concept when applied to the US means you must be born within the dominion of the US. Unless he was born in an Embassy or on a military base, that requirement isn't meet overseas.
"Natural born" isn't defined in the Constitution, while federal law extends birthright citizenship to those born either on American soil or to an American parent. I'll concede that it is possible that a court might rule that you
have to be born on American soil to be eligible to run for president, but the chances of that happening - especially in the next few months - are very remote.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about John Oliver and his audience calling Trump "Drumpf"?
That was pretty immature too, but at the very least, it was intended to just give him a goofy name that nobody could take seriously, rather than a xenophobic hint that he wasn't one of us.
That seems far-fetched. Wojtyła and Bergoglio had/have to deal with it too. It's a bit rude, sure, but I strongly doubt it has anything to do with the sound of "Ratzinger".
Maybe. I just remember a few people here always calling him that, and seemingly finding excuses to repeat the name. Moreso than calling Francis "Bergoglio," certainly, but then again, he hasn't come under nearly as much criticism as Benedict.