Ted Cruz told reporters Friday that a supermarket tabloid story alleging the Texas senator was involved in multiple extramarital affairs was part of a Donald Trump-orchestrated smear campaign against him.
The story appeared in the National Enquirer. Cruz emphatically denied it, according to multiple reports, and blamed the Republican front-runner’s allies for its existence.
“It is garbage, complete and utter lies,” Cruz told reporters at a press event in Wisconsin. “It is a tabloid smear and it has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.”
NBC News reported that Cruz specifically pointed the finger at Roger Stone, a longtime Republican consultant who is supportive of Trump but no longer formally involved in his campaign.
Cruz also said Trump was “terrified to engage in a debate right now,” and instead of holding public campaign events was “hiding out in Trump Tower” lobbing insults on Twitter.
Once relatively friendly and civil, relations between Trump and Cruz have deteriorated ever since the Texan emerged as a threat in Iowa, where Cruz ultimately won.
A super PAC circulated a nude photo of Melania Trump, the billionaire’s wife, telling Utah caucus-goers to vote for Cruz if they did not want to see her become first lady. The group was unaffiliated with Cruz and was urging support for the Texas senator as a strategic anti-Trump vote, as Cruz was best positioned to deny Trump any delegates from the state.
Cruz disavowed the ad and said Trump’s wife was “lovely.”
Trump then personally took to Twitter to threaten to “spill the beans” about Cruz’s wife Heidi. He later retweeted someone juxtaposing an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz with an airbrushed photo of Melania Trump, a former model.
“It’s not easy to tick me off,” Cruz told reporters Thursday. “I don’t get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that’ll do it every time.”
“Donald,” he angrily added, “you’re a sniveling coward, leave Heidi the hell alone.”
These angry exchanges have dominated news coverage of the campaign as Cruz has been on the trail in Wisconsin ahead of an April 5 primary that gives him a chance to halt Trump’s momentum.
Trump has stayed off the campaign trail for the longest period since 2016 voting kicked off, but has remained a factor through a series of controversial and often heated tweets.
The National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid, published an unsourced story alleging a Cruz sex scandal Thursday night.
