Citizen, not "natural born citizen."
Regardless of parents’ status. He is a citizen and making a counterargument is absurd.
Yes, he's a "citizen." A naturalized citizen. That's it. That's all.
Why is this confusing?
Because people have worked hard to make it confusing. People deliberately conflate "citizen" with "natural born citizen" in an attempt to erase the distinction between the two.
The most significant person of whom I am aware who worked to create confusion on the issue of citizenship was William Rawle. He Deliberately lied about citizenship in the United States in his book "A View of the Constitution" which in the early 1800s became a widespread and widely read legal book dealing with constitutional issues.
This poison has polluted many legal minds that were influenced by it, and as a consequence, affected subsequent laws and court interpretations on the issue.
So yeah, it's confusing because some people worked to make it confusing. And now you are helping to sow more confusion.
Here is the argument I used on this exact issue in constitutional law having fun with my professor one day. I am not looking to debate you. This reply is so others are not confused by your 'flawed logic'
The U.S. Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, stipulates that only a "natural born Citizen" is eligible for the presidency. The 14th Amendment further clarifies that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." To be a citizen of any type those are the only two options.
If a presidential candidate has never undergone the naturalization process, this eliminates the possibility of them being a naturalized citizen. This leaves two only potential categories for the candidate:
1) a natural-born citizen or
2) an illegal alien
Given the scrutiny of a presidential campaign, it's highly improbable that an illegal alien could advance without significant legal challenges and threat of deportation, thus, the only conclusion is that the candidate is a natural-born citizen.
I will ignore the nuances in U.S. immigration law, which present additional considerations such as being born abroad to American parents or being born in a U.S. territory since those are not being argued as with John McCain.
Carry on.