Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz dismissed controversy over his dual citizenship on Sunday morning, attributing it to "the silly season in politics."

Cruz explained how his dual citizenship came about, saying he "never did anything to affirmatively claim citizenship" in Canada.

“I got a U.S. passport when I was in high school, I never did anything to affirmatively claim citizenship, so I thought that was the end of the matter," Cruz said on CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning.

"Then the Dallas Morning News ran a headline where they went and talked with some immigration lawyers that said technically I still had dual citizenship.”

The rising Republican star also denied he had renounced his Canadian citizenship in a move to prepare for a bid for the presidency.

“There’s a lot of silliness,” Cruz said.

Watch the segment below, courtesy of Mediaite:

(H/T: Mediaite)

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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