TED CRUZ: 'Donald, you're a sniveling coward ...'
Fox News/screenshot
Sen. Ted Cruz unleashed a furious attack on Donald Trump on Thursday after the Republican presidential frontrunner promoted an unflattering photo of Cruz's wife.
Cruz called Trump a "sniveling coward" to a gaggle of reporters.
"It's not easy to tick me off. I don't get angry often, but if you mess with my wife, if you mess with my kids, that will do it every time," he said.
"Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone," Cruz added.
A reporter immediately asked Cruz if he would still support Trump as the nominee, as Cruz has repeatedly vowed to do.
"I'm going to beat him for the nomination," Cruz insisted. "Donald Trump will not be the nominee."
Cruz went on to say that Trump has problems with "strong women."
"Strong women scared Donald and Donald is scared a lot these days," he said.
He also said that he has no idea what Trump, whom he labeled "a big, loud New York bully," is doing late at night when he's firing off such tweets.
"It's the action of a small and petty man who is intimidated by strong women," he said. "Real men don't do that and Donald is indicating the fear that keeps him up at night when he lashes out in anger. Donald should stick with attacking me because Heidi is way out of Donald Trump's league."
Late Wednesday night, Trump tweeted out someone else's photo that depicted Heidi Cruz with an unflattering scowl. Next to that image was a more flattering photo of Melania Trump.
The post's text, which Donald Trump blasted out to his 7 million followers, said: "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Here's Trump's tweet:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/712850174838771712
"@Don_Vito_08: "A picture is worth a thousand words" @realDonaldTrump #LyingTed #NeverCruz @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/5bvVEwMVF8"
Trump adviser Stephen Miller defended the post during a CNN interview Thursday by saying that "the retweet speaks for itself."
The latest feud between the two leading GOP candidates started when Trump tweeted Tuesday night that he would "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife after a super PAC unaffiliated with Cruz published an ad featuring Melania Trump posing nude for GQ magazine.
Cruz replied back within minutes, insisting the ad did not come from his camp and that Trump was a "coward" for attacking his wife.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/712464268621385728
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
Wednesday morning, Cruz told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," that his wife "is way out of his league. If he wants to get in a character fight, he should stick with me."
That line was nearly identical to one used in the 1995 film "The American President," which social media soon buzzed over.
Trump then shot back at Cruz again.
"Lyin' Ted Cruz denied that he had anything to do with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania," he tweeted. "That's why we call him Lyin' Ted!"
The shots are among the fiercest yet between the two GOP rivals. Cruz spent much of last year painstakingly refusing to criticize Trump, but that détente melted in the weeks leading up to the February 1 Iowa caucuses. With only three candidates left in the race, Cruz is now backed by much of the anti-Trump Republican establishment.
Watch Cruz's remarks below:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/8cPgdMGf2Pk
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NOW WATCH: ‘The images are worth a thousand words’: Trump shares a meme attacking Ted Cruz’s wife