Cruz-Trump spat over wives takes nastier turn
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| Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and wife Heidi, walk on stage before the candidate spoke at a campaign stop Thursday, March 24, 2016, in Dane, Wis. |
DANE, Wis.
(AP) -- Ted Cruz branded Donald Trump a "sniveling coward" Thursday
as the feud between the Republican presidential contenders over their
wives took a nastier turn.
After an earlier
and vague threat to "spill the beans" about Heidi Cruz, Trump stoked the
spat on Twitter when he retweeted side-by-side images of Cruz's wife,
with an unflattering grimace, and his wife, Melania, in a gauzyruz,
glamorous pose.
"No need to spill the beans," said the caption. "The images are worth a thousand words."
Ted Cruz, campaigning in Wisconsin, was livid.
"Leave Heidi the hell alone," Cruz said, speaking through reporters to Trump.
"Donald does seem to have an issue with women," he said. "Donald doesn't like strong women. Strong women scare Donald."
Trump
was set off this week when a group that opposes him released an ad
before the Utah presidential contest raising questions about the
propriety of Melania Trump becoming first lady. The ad showed a
provocative, decade-old magazine photo of her when she was a model and
before she married Trump.
Trump wrongly
attributed the ad to the Cruz campaign and warned on Twitter: "Be
careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!"
The
lurch into personal territory normally off limits in campaigns came as
an anti-Trump super PAC ran an ad in primary states that features women
reciting derogatory comments made by the billionaire about women.
The ad
was produced by Our Principles, a group founded by a former Mitt Romney
campaign adviser who is trying to help the Republican Party appeal to
more women.
Trump has a substantial lead in
the delegate chase for the GOP nomination. Cruz has a stiff challenge
trying to catch him in remaining races and may only have a shot at the
nomination if the contest spills into the summer convention.
