Donald Trump explains how he came up with Rubio and Cruz's nicknames

Like most of his lines, Donald Trump says his nicknames for former and current GOP rivals Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) just came to him. "Let me start with Little Marco," the Republican presidential frontrunner said in an interview with New York published Monday. "He just looked like Little Marco to me. And it's not Little. It's Liddle. L-I-D-D-L-E."
Cruz's nickname, Trump explains, also has a particular pronunciation. "And it’s not L-Y-I-N-G Ted Cruz," Trump said. "It's L-Y-I-N apostrophe. Ted's a liar, so that was easy."
Nicknames are far from the only material Trump is writing for his own campaign. Unlike other campaigns, New York reports that there aren't any speechwriters or pollsters coming up with the Republican candidate's material. "I'm the writer," Trump said, explaining that he comes up with all his remarks on the fly. "I speak from the brain and from the heart in combination, hopefully in equal combination."
Subscribe to 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.
It's unclear what combination produces his nicknames.
Read the full story over at New York.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'
The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'
-
Bad Friend: Tiffany Watt Smith explores why women abandon friendships
The Week Recommends A 'deeply researched' account of female friendship through history
-
Brazil's reborn dolls craze
Under The Radar The 'hyper-realistic' babies soaring in popularity in South American nation have spawned controversy
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs