Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz on Jan. 7 dismissed front-runner Donald Trump's suggestion that the Texan's Canadian birth could affect his constitutional eligibility to serve as president of the United States.

The senator insisted that there was no legal uncertainty about the definition of a "natural-born citizen," one of the requirements Article II of the U.S. Constitution spells out to hold the nation's highest office, CBS News noted.

"This issue is a non-issue," Cruz told the network. "The law is quite clear. The child of a U.S. citizen born abroad is a natural-born citizen."

Trump had suggested that if Cruz were elected to succeed President Barack Obama, he could be "tied up in court for two years" because he was born outside the United States and that such a delay would be a "big problem," according to The Washington Post.

The real estate tycoon also seemed to believe that Cruz -- who was born in Calgary, Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father -- continued to hold a Canadian passport, even though the senator already renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2013, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation noted.

On Jan. 6 the GOP front-runner doubled down on his remarks, recommending that Cruz seek a declaratory judgment from a federal court to ensure that he is eligible to run for president.

"You go in seeking the decision of the court without a court case," Trump said on CNN. "You go right in. You go before a judge, you do it quickly. Declaratory judgment. It's very good. So when there's a doubt -- because there's a doubt -- you want the court to rule."

Trump has insisted that he is stirring the debate about Cruz's birth out of concern for the senator, insisting that a court should look into the issue "for the good of Ted." But Cruz himself did not seem to buy that argument.

"The funny thing about politics, it's fairly unusual for your opponents who are running for the same position to be actually trying to help you," the senator said.