Cruz is a citizen because his mother is but he is not a NBC because his father was not a US citizen at the time of his birth
“Cruz is a citizen because his mother is but he is not a NBC because his father was not a US citizen at the time of his birth”
Because Cruz’s citizenship was conveyed naturally from his mother, he is naturally a born citizen. The founders understood the natural right of children to receive the citizenship of their parents. That is what the natural part of the phrase means.