As the presidential race heads to South Carolina, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is doubling down on his criticism of his leading opponent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Shortly after Cruz suggested that his two leading challengers in the GOP field — Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — did not stand as firm as he did in their opposition to same-sex marriage, Trump fired back on Friday. The brash, unfiltered billionaire questioned Cruz’s evangelical faith and accused the Texas senator of being “very dishonest.”
Lying Cruz put out a statement, “Trump & Rubio are w/Obama on gay marriage.” Cruz is the worst liar, crazy or very dishonest. Perhaps all 3?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2016
Then Friday morning, he questioned Cruz’s commitment to his faith.
How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2016
Trump has been slamming Cruz ever since staffers for the first-term senator’s campaign were caught telling voters in Iowa they should switch their support from retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to Cruz due to false rumors that Carson had exited the race. The New York billionaire went so far as to claim Cruz “stole” his victory in the first-in-the-nation voting state and demand that a “new election take place or Cruz’s results be nullified.”
Trump and Cruz lead the polls in South Carolina, which will hold its primary on Feb. 20, with 36 percent and 19.7 percent support, respectively. Now that Trump has a victory under his belt from his landslide win in the New Hampshire primary, he and Cruz will likely continue to battle it out in the Palmetto State over the next week and in the GOP debate in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday.
Trump is currently first in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings. Cruz is second.
