What has been an acrimonious Republican presidential race for most of the time has now turned completely nasty with front-runner Donald Trump and his rival Ted Cruz feuding bitterly over their wives.
“Donald, you’re a snivelling coward,” screamed Cruz on Thursday after Trump re-tweeted juxtaposed images of his wife, Melania, with Cruz’s wife, Heidi, apparently mocking the latter’s appearance with the caption, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Trump went on the offence after a Super PAC opposing his candidacy ran a Facebook ad with a nude photo of his wife, under the caption, “Meet Melania Trump, your next First lady. Or you could vote for Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” The picture had originally been featured on the cover of Britain’s GQ magazine back in 2000 when Melania was a supermodel. She married Trump in 2005.
Although Cruz made it clear that his campaign had nothing to do with the PAC or the ad put out by it, Trump trained his guns on Cruz, warning him on Twitter, “Be careful, lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
On Wednesday night, Trump re-tweeted the pictures of Melania and Heidi that had been sent by a supporter, with the caption, “No need to ‘spill the beans’…The images are worth a thousand words.”
“I didn’t start the fight with lyin’Ted Cruz over the GQ cover pic of Melania, he did.
He knew the PAC was putting it out — hence, lyin’ Ted!” Trump maintained in another tweet.
Cruz tweeted back right away, saying, “Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.”
later, as he spoke to reporters in Wisconsin, Cruz was all fire and brimstone. “It’s not easy to tick me off. I don’t get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that will do it every time,” Cruz said, snapping, “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, and leave Heidi the hell alone.”
“let me be absolutely clear: Our spouses and our children are off bounds,” said Cruz, adding “It is not acceptable for a big, loud New York bully to attack my wife.” He went on to say that Trump had an issue with women, remarking, “Donald doesn’t like strong women.”
“Real men don’t try to bully women. That’s not an action of strength. That’s an action of weakness. It’s an action of fear. It’s an action of a small and petty man who is intimidated by strong women,” he said, apparently referring to his face-off with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, whose continuance as a moderator prompted Trump to cancel a debate appearance on the eve of the Iowa caucuses in February.
Enthused by the growing support from some of the leading lights of the Republican establishment, the Texas Senator asserted: “I’m gonna beat him for the nomination….Donald Trump will not be the nominee.”