Speaking to press at a campaign stop in Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon, Ted Cruz reportedly called GOP primary opponent Donald Trump “a sniveling coward,” telling him to “leave Heidi (Cruz) the hell alone.”
More Cruz: "Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, leave Heidi the hell alone."
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) March 24, 2016
Trump and Cruz have been sparring on Twitter over the use of each other’s wives in attack ads. The feud originated after Trump mistakenly thought an independent attack ad featuring a tastefully nude photo of his wife, Melania, was a low-blow:
Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
Cruz subsequently clarified the error:
Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you're more of a coward than I thought. #classless https://t.co/0QpKSnjgnE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2016
But Trump isn’t one to backtrack from controversial statements, this time manually retweeting a decidedly malicious side-by-side meme of Heidi (an unflattering snapshot) and Melania:
"@Don_Vito_08: "A picture is worth a thousand words" @realDonaldTrump #LyingTed #NeverCruz @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/5bvVEwMVF8"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016
To which Cruz responded uncharacteristically rationally:
Donald, real men don't attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life. https://t.co/pprXhIMzUT
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 24, 2016
