Remember that time Trump was considering running attack ads about the Cubs?


Ah, March 2016. The month now feels like a distant memory — a time when Ted Cruz and John Kasich were still in the Republican race, a time before Kyle Schwarber tore his ACL and LCL and got knocked from the Cubs' lineup for an entire season. A time, also, when Donald Trump was considering running attack ads against Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and his hard-luck team.
The feud began when Trump tweeted that "I hear the Rickets [sic] family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!" Ricketts' parents had in fact donated $3 million to an anti-Trump super PAC, Our Principles. None of that was secret, though, or had anything directly to do with Tom Ricketts.
"It's a little surreal when Donald Trump threatens your mom," Ricketts said after the tweet went out. He added, "If we had something to hide, you people would have found it by now. I have no idea [what Trump was talking about]."
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.
Nevertheless, Trump doubled down on his comments the next month, threatening to run attack ads "about their baseball team":
Trump would go on to win the primary. The Ricketts family would go on to pledge $1 million to him.
And the Cubs? Well, the rest of that story is history.
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
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia