Cruz accuses Trump of spreading infidelity rumours
Candidate hints he won’t back front-runner over attacks on his marriage
OSHKOSH, WIS.— Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, blamed “Donald Trump and his henchmen” for planting a National Enquirer story that accused him of extramarital affairs. Vehemently denying the story as “garbage” and “complete and utter lies,” the Republican presidential hopeful took his longest step yet toward refusing to back Trump if he won the party’s nomination.
“I don’t make a habit out of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my family,” Cruz said. “And Donald Trump is not going to be the Republican nominee.”
On Thursday, Cruz did not start talking about Trump until reporters asked him about the Republican front-runner’s tweets that mocked the appearance of his wife, Heidi Cruz, and threatened to “spill the beans” about her.
On Friday, after a crowded rally at a parking cone factory, and after attacking Trump from the stage for his tweets, Cruz himself brought up the Enquirer’s story that accused the senator of having had five mistresses — a subject some of the reporters covering him were loath to even raise. “It became clear as the campaign went on that Donald was a whole lot of sizzle without any substance,” Cruz said. “When he’s scared, when he’s losing, his first and natural resort is to go to sleaze and to go to slime.”
That was how Cruz introduced the subject of the Enquirer story, which alleged that the candidate had carried out affairs with five women — women who bloggers and political activists were starting to “identify” as prominent political pundits. The story had bubbled upon social media, with the hash tag# Ted Cruz Sex-Scandal appearing in tweets that asked reporters to follow the story.
The Washington Post has not been able to confirm any of the allegations made by the Enquirer.
On CNN Friday, a Trump supporter, Boston Herald columnist and radio host Adriana Cohen, accused a former Cruz staffer, Amanda Carpenter, of being one of the five women cited in the Enquirer story. The Enquirer published photos of five women with their faces blurred, but did not give their names.
Carpenter vigorously denied the allegation: “What’s out there is tabloid trash. If someone wants to comment on it they can talk to my lawyer. It is categorically false. You should be ashamed for spreading this kind of smut,” she said. “I will not be intimidated. I will continue to make my thoughts known about Donald Trump and I’m not backing down.”
Katrina Pierson, a Trump spokeswoman who once worked for Cruz, tweeted on Friday that the story is false. “Of course the National Enquirer story is 100% FALSE!!! I only speak to myself, however. Carry on . . .” she wrote on Twitter.
Trump, in a statement, said he had no idea whether the Enquirer story is true or not, but denied having anything to do with it.
“Ted Cruz’s problem with the National Enquirer is his and his alone, and while they were right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin’ Ted Cruz. I look forward to spending the week in Wisconsin, winning the Republican nomination and ultimately the Presidency in order to Make America Great Again,” Trump said.
Cruz blamed the story on Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser to Trump.
“It is a story that quoted one source on the record: Roger Stone, Donald Trump’s chief political adviser,” Cruz said. “It is attacking my family. And what is striking is Donald’s henchman, Roger Stone, had for months been foreshadowing that this attack was coming. It’s not surprising that Donald’s tweet occurs the day before the attack comes out. And I would note that Mr. Stone is a man who has 50 years of dirty tricks behind him. He’s a man for whom a term was coined for copulating with a rodent. Well, let me be clear: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him.”
The copulation reference was to a term coined to describe Stone and other political allies of Richard Nixon who spread rumours and foiled the campaign events of rivals.
Stone, who had promised a bombshell on Cruz, said, “This is why they call him Lyin’ Ted.”
“Dirty Tricks? Let’s ask Ben Carson,” Stone told the Post, referring to a rumour made about the other GOP rival dropping out of the race. “Most of what I know about this matter I learned from reporters at your newspaper.”
Last August, Trump said he cut ties with Stone, saying he wanted to surround himself with “only the best people.”
Trump said. “I really don’t want publicity seekers who want to be on magazines or who are out for themselves. This campaign is not about them. It’s about victory and making America great again,” Trump said.
Cruz also took the leadership of the Enquirer to task, saying they were in league with the Trump campaign.
“The CEO of the National Enquirer is an individual named David Pecker,” Cruz said. “Well, David is good friends with Donald Trump. In fact, the National Enquirer has endorsed Donald Trump, has said he must be president.”
When Cruz opened the floor to questions, each was about the allegations. First, addressing the inevitable “pledge” to back Trump if he won, Cruz said that he didn’t “make a habit” of supporting people who smeared his family.
When Cruz eventually turned and left the news conference, he ignored a shouted question that seemed to say everything about what Trump had done to the campaign’s tone.
“Senator Cruz, have you been faithful to your wife?”