Cruz, Trump not backing down from feud

Neither Donald Trump nor Ted Cruz seem to be backing down from this week’s feud, which turned personal for the GOP presidential candidates.

When Trump and Cruz made appearances on the Sunday political shows, both made it clear tensions were still raw from a nearly nonstop week of personal attacks.

“Attacking spouses and children is off-limits,” Cruz said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It has no place in politics. … It’s frankly disgusting to see a candidate attacking the spouse of another.”

It all started Monday, after Trump became enraged over the release of a super-PAC ad against him that featured an old image of his wife, Melania, posing nude for GQ. While the Cruz campaign has said it has nothing to do with the PAC or its ad, what followed was a series of attacks from Trump, mostly aimed at Cruz’s wife, Heidi. 

Those included Trump threatening to “spill the beans” on her and sharing an image on Twitter comparing the appearances of the two wives.

On Friday, Cruz accused Trump of planting a National Enquirer story alleging the Texas senator has had multiple extramarital affairs.

Trump reiterated Sunday that he wasn’t involved with the story, but remarked that the tabloid has a “very good record of being right.”

“I had nothing to do with it … the campaign had absolutely nothing to do with it,” Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” He also said it’s “disgraceful” Cruz would suggest his involvement.

“They actually have a very good record of being right,” Trump noted. “But I have absolutely no idea. Frankly, I said, I hope it’s not right.”

The feud circled back to the ad that started it all Sunday, when Trump speculated that the Cruz campaign had purchased the rights to GQ photo for the spot that aired in Utah during the state’s caucuses.

“From what I hear, somebody bought the rights to it, and he was the one or his campaign bought the rights, and they gave it to the super-PAC,” Trump said on “This Week.”

Trump also stood by his assertions that Cruz knew about the ad, though the campaign says it wasn’t involved. Super-PACs are barred from directly coordinating with a campaign.

“He knew all about it, 100 percent,” he said. “There’s no way in a million years that super-PAC did that without his absolute knowledge.”

Cruz again denounced the claim Sunday, saying Trump used the ad as an excuse to go after his wife and attack her directly.

“I have never once said any negative word about Melania or any member of his family, and I don’t intend to,” Cruz said. “Melania is a lovely woman. … She seems to be a terrific mother.”