WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz accused Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner, of being behind a tabloid news article that alleges he has been unfaithful to his wife.
“Let me be clear. This National Enquirer story is garbage. It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear and it has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen,” the visibly angry Texas senator said Friday after a campaign event in Wisconsin, referring to the article published in the American supermarket tabloid National Enquirer.
The tabloid story said Cruz had five secret lovers, citing a former Trump adviser who remains close to the real-estate mogul, Roger Stone.
“These stories have been swirling around Ted for some time. I believe where there is smoke there is fire. I have to believe this will hurt him with his evangelical Christian supporters,” Stone is quoted as saying.
The alleged mistresses are not named, but blurred images of them appear with black bars across the eyes. Two of the women identified based on the photos have denied the report, according to U.S. media.
Cruz said the Stone quote was proof that Trump and his team had orchestrated the report, saying the ex-adviser to the business magnate had engaged in “50 years of dirty tricks.”
Trump, for his part, issued a statement saying he had not read the Enquirer story and had “absolutely nothing to do with” it.
“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.”
The latest controversy marks an escalation in personal attacks between the two candidates.
Trump accused Cruz earlier this week of being behind a Facebook advertisement that shows the business magnate’s wife posing nude for a magazine shoot, tweeting “be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
Cruz hit back, saying his campaign was not behind the ad and that Trump was “more of a coward than I thought” if he tried to attack his wife, Heidi.
Cruz also was angry at Trump for retweeting an unflattering image of his wife alongside a glamour photo of Melania Trump, telling reporters in Wisconsin on Thursday that his opponent was a “sniveling coward” and warning him to “leave Heidi the hell alone.”
Trump leads the GOP race with 739 delegates to Cruz’s 465, but he still faces a tough battle ahead to win the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination.
The Republican establishment has started to close ranks around Cruz in hopes he can prevent the controversial Trump from capturing the delegates required to win the nomination outright and avoid a brokered Republican National Convention in July.