For a brief, shining moment, it appeared that Donald Trump (a) had a conscience and (b) decided to listen to it.
On Tuesday night, Trump almost immediately deleted a tweet he sent to Ted Cruz, in which he threatened to reveal unflattering details about his wife, Heidi.
It seemed as though Trump either realized that Cruz wasn't behind the racy ad in question (that honor goes to Liz Mair, a Republican strategist with the anti-Trump super PAC Make America Awesome) or he figured it was wrong to drag another spouse into the mix. But, as Americans grappled with coming to terms with this nicer, gentler Trump, he sent out another tweet, this one even meaner: He still warned Cruz he would "spill the beans" on his wife, but added a few "Lyin' Ted"s for good measure.
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.
Cruz was quick to respond, telling Trump he had nothing to do with the ad, and then defended his wife, tweeting: "Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you're more of a coward than I thought. #Classless." These are your top two Republican presidential candidates.
-
Did Cop30 fulfil its promise to Indigenous Brazilians?Today’s Big Question Brazilian president approves 10 new protected territories, following ‘unprecedented’ Indigenous presence at conference, both as delegates and protesters
-
The best Christmas theatre shows across the UKThe Week Recommends Tip-top festive ballets, plays and comedies to book up now
-
Crossword: November 20, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
