Sen. Ted Cruz tore into fellow Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio at a South Carolina press conference Wednesday while simultaneously patting his own campaign on the back for taking "the high road."
"Falsehoods have no place in American politics," the Texas senator said, calling out both Rubio and Trump for being "liars" after Trump called him a "liar" the day before.
To emphasize his point about the presidential race's lack of ethics, Cruz then brandished the cease-and-desist note that Trump's lawyers allegedly sent his campaign after it used politically damning archival footage of Trump in an attack ad. "I have to say, Mr. Trump, you have been threatening frivolous lawsuits for your entire adult life," Cruz said. "If you want to file a lawsuit... file a lawsuit." Cruz contends that there is no way that "repeating someone's own words" could be defined as defamation.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even though Rubio isn't the one sending Cruz threats of a lawsuit, Cruz had some words for him, too: "Marco Rubio," Cruz said, "is behaving like Donald Trump with a smile."
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocratFeature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
