Cruz Calls Trump ‘Sniveling Coward’ As Wisconsin Campaign Ramps Up

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz called Donald Trump a “sniveling coward” at a campaign stop in Dane County Thursday, saying Trump crossed a line when he attacked Cruz’s wife.

Speaking to reporters north of Madison in the Village of Dane, Cruz continued an ongoing spat with Trump that has played out on social media. It started when a third-party group ran ads against Trump showing his wife Melania in a seductive photo shoot. It escalated when Trump retweeted a picture of Melania next to an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, with the caption “a picture is worth a thousand words”:

Cruz told reporters he didn’t get angry that often, but Trump had crossed a line.

“You mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that’ll do it every time,” said Cruz. “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, and leave Heidi the hell alone.”

Still, the Texas senator would not give a direct answer when asked whether he would support Trump should he win the GOP nomination, saying only that he would defeat Trump. Cruz said Wisconsin’s primary was critical to that.

“This state has a megaphone and a platform,” Cruz said. “Here in Wisconsin, we are seeing Republicans come together and say this loud, angry, cursing, bullying voice is not the voice of America.”