The political feud between President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas during the 2016 election was one of the dirtiest in recent memory.
Trump and Cruz, who dropped out of the GOP primary in May 2016, attacked each other’s wives, citizenship, and integrity. They even threatened to sue, accusing each other of lying and cheating for various reasons.
After Trump won the party’s nomination, Cruz refused to endorse him at the Republican National Convention.
Cruz finally came around to make that endorsement in September 2016, and the two have worked together on Republican legislation since Trump took office.
By October 22, 2018, Trump even decided that Cruz was no longer "lyin' Ted" - his notorious nickname for the senator during the campaign - and was now "beautiful Ted." The president made the announcement ahead of a campaign rally he hosted in Texas to support Cruz's tough reelection bid.
Here are 40 of the most memorable attacks the two threw at each other during the 2016 presidential campaign:
Trump: "I don't think he's qualified to be president. Look at the way he's dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there — like, you know, frankly, like a little bit of a maniac. You're never going to get things done that way."
Source: Business Insider, December 2015
Cruz: "Listen, anytime someone is attacking your faith, that starts to suggest they're getting really nervous about what's happening in the race. I would be happy to invite Donald to come with me to church anytime he would like."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Trump: "Rafael! Straight out of the hills of Canada!"
If @TedCruz doesn’t clean up his act, stop cheating, & doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2016
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Cruz: "Unlike Donald, I didn't inherit millions of dollars. Instead, my dad came as an immigrant from Cuba with nothing, with $100 in his underwear. ... It is more than a little rich for Mr. Trump to make that accusation. You want to assess who stands with Wall Street? Then look at the actual records of the candidates."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Trump: "Ted Cruz is a total hypocrite and, until recently, a Canadian citizen who may not even have a legal right to run for president."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Cruz: "I think in terms of a commander in chief, we ought to have someone who isn't springing out of bed to tweet in a frantic response to the latest polls. I think the American people is looking for a commander in chief who is stable and steady and a calm hand to keep this country safe."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Cruz: "Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values." "Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal, are pro-abortion, are pro-gay-marriage, focused around money and the media."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Cruz: "Back in September, my friend Donald said he had his lawyer look at this from every which way and there was no issue there. There was nothing to this 'birther' issue. Since September, the Constitution hasn't changed. But the poll numbers have."
The next day, Trump declared: "I guess the bromance is over."
Source: Business Insider, January 2016
Trump: "He'll say whatever he wants to say. I actually think he's a very unstable person. I really believe that. I think he's a very unstable person. But I've never had somebody take something that you believe in and just say the exact opposite."
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
Cruz: "Maybe it is the case that Donald, there have been multiple media reports about Donald's business dealings with the mob, with the mafia. Maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported"
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
Trump: "The State of Iowa should disqualify Ted Cruz from the most recent election on the basis that he cheated- a total fraud!"
Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
Cruz: "We need a commander in chief, not a Twitterer-in-chief. ... I don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button. I mean, we're liable to wake up one morning, and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark."
source: Business Insider, February 2016
Trump: "This guy Ted Cruz is the single biggest liar I have ever dealt with in my life. I mean it. ... He will lie about anything. I've met much tougher people than Ted Cruz. He's like a baby. ... He's like a little baby. Soft, weak, little baby by comparison. But for lying, he's the best I've ever seen. ... A guy like Ted Cruz, he has no clue. He never employed anybody. He's a nasty, nasty guy."
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
Cruz: "Donald can't defend his own record. Whenever you point out what he's actually said, he just screams, 'liar.' He insults you. He attacks you. He makes it personal, and he gets very rattled. He doesn't like anyone pointing to his actual, substantive record. And I think that's a sign of weakness."
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
Trump: "The evangelicals didn't vote for him. And you know why? Because they don't like liars. They're really smart people. They don't want to vote for a liar. ... This guy Cruz lies more than any human being I've ever dealt with. He holds up the Bible and he lies."
Source: Business Insider, February 2016 and a similar attack on Twitter also in February
Trump: "Ted Cruz, he's seriously — he's got a mental problem. Ted Cruz is a liar. He's got a problem, that he's a liar. I've never seen anybody [lie] to that extent."
Source: Business Insider, February 2016
An anti-Trump super PAC not affiliated with Cruz ran a TV ad that showed Trump's wife, Melania Trump, posing nude in a GQ magazine photo shoot in the lead-up to the Utah caucuses in March.
Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz fired back in the Wives Duel.
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
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2016
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Trump then retweeted an unflattering photo of Cruz's wife, Heidi, next to a picture of his wife, Melania. The caption read: "No need to 'spill the beans.' The images are worth a thousand words."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz responded civilly that night on Twitter but erupted to reporters the next day: "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. Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Trump: "Unlike Lyin' Ted Cruz I do not surround myself with political hacks and henchman and then pretend total innocence. 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."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz: "If I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I'm not confident which pedal I'd push."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz: "I'm not going to play that game. I'm not going to engage in insults, I'm not going to throw the mud. I don't really have any views on the size of any parts of Donald Trump's anatomy, and I'm not interested in talking about that."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz during a Republican debate: "Donald, please, I know it's hard not to interrupt, but try. Breathe, breathe, breathe. You can do it. You can breathe. I know it's hard."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Cruz after the National Enquirer released a story that strongly implied Cruz engaged in extramarital affairs with five women: "Well let me be clear: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him."
Source: Business Insider, March 2016
Trump: "Lyin' Ted Cruz, one of the great liars of all time. ... [He] hates New York. ... No New Yorker can vote for Ted Cruz."
Lyin’ Ted Cruz even voted against Superstorm Sandy aid and September 11th help. So many New Yorkers devastated. Cruz hates New York!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2016
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Cruz on being Trump's running mate: "I have zero interest whatsoever in doing it. And there are a lot of reasons, but perhaps the simplest is if Donald is the nominee, Hillary wins."
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Cruz: "Donald Trump is no different from politically correct leftist elites. Today, he joined them in calling for grown men to be allowed to use little girls’ public restrooms. As the dad of young daughters, I dread what this will mean for our daughters — and for our sisters and our wives."
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Trump: "Ted Cruz attacked New Yorkers and New York values- we don't forget!"
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Cruz after he teamed up with fellow candidate Gov. John Kasich: "Donald Trump is in real trouble. Why? Because he cannot earn the support of a majority of delegates elected by the people. I understand that Donald will whine — that's what he will do. He is a sore loser."
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Trump: "He got nothing passed, and now, all he is a guy who will go down and stand a filibuster for a day or two. And all the other senators will look: 'When's he getting off the floor, Jim? The guy's a pain in the ass.'"
Source: Business Insider, April 2016
Trump: "Lyin' Ted Cruz consistently said that he will, and must, win Indiana. If he doesn't he should drop out of the race-stop wasting time & money."
Wow, Lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today. Made all sorts of crazy charges. Can't function under pressure - not very presidential. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2016
Source: Business Insider, May 2016
Trump: "I have watched Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections -- in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them. Today’s ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States."
Source: Business Insider, May 2016
Cruz: Trump is a "narcissist" and "serial philanderer" and "morality doesn't exist" for him.
Source: Business Insider, May 2016
Trump: "I think he's crazy — honestly, I think he's crazy. ... Ted does not have the temperament to be doing this. He's choking like a dog because he's losing so badly. We've got to put him away tomorrow, folks."
Source: Business Insider, May 2016
Cruz: "This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies — practically every word that comes out of his mouth."
Source: Business Insider, May 2016
Trump: "I like Ted. He's fine. Again, I don't want his endorsement. If he gives it, I will not accept it."
Source: Business Insider, July 2016
Cruz refusing to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention: "To those listening, please, don't stay home in November. Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution."
Source: Business Insider, July 2016
Trump: "Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn't honor the pledge! I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal!"
Source: Business Insider, July 2016
Cruz: "I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. ... that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I'm going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say, 'thank you very much for maligning my wife and my father.'"
Source: Business Insider, July 2016
Trump and Cruz: a bitter rivalry turned bromance.
To see everything Trump has ever tweeted about Cruz, click here.
To see everything Cruz has ever tweeted about Trump, click here.
