--- title: Donald Trump: Ted Cruz Is 'Worse Than Hillary' Clinton description: In Iowa, Trump went on an extended riff against Cruz, hitting him on being born in Canada and failing to disclose a Goldman Sachs loan. canonical: https://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-20T16:02:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:41.497Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump: Cruz Is 'Worse Than Hillary' og:description: "That's worse than Hillary when you think about it." og:url: https://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3991d9920583da10/698879c5a988ca6e686b630a/trump4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Norwalk, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump: Cruz Is 'Worse Than Hillary' twitter:description: "That's worse than Hillary when you think about it." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3991d9920583da10/698879c5a988ca6e686b630a/trump4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump: Cruz Is 'Worse Than Hillary' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1bf06a2c-c46b-456d-82e0-d73eda93b9a7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 20, 2016 4:02 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Norwalk, Iowa, on Jan. 20, 2016. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Norwalk, Iowa, on Jan. 20, 2016. Evan Vucci—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 20, 2016 4:02 PM UTC Yesterday was a [very bad day for Ted Cruz](http://time.com/4186310/ted-cruz-terry-branstad-sarah-palin/), and today Donald Trump continued to pile the misery on the Texas Senator. Speaking at a rally in Norwalk, Iowa Wednesday morning, Trump went on an extended riff against Cruz, hitting him on being [born in Canada](http://time.com/3754408/ted-cruz-history-natural-born/) and [failing to disclose a Goldman Sachs loan](http://time.com/4180061/ted-cruz-goldman-sachs-citibank-loan/) during his first Senate campaign. “What’s he going to do, be rough on Goldman Sachs when he’s got a personal guarantee for like whatever the number was, a million dollars?” Trump said of Cruz’s undisclosed loan. “So I think you gotta think about that. .. And he said with the being a Canadian citizen he said, ‘Oh I didn’t know that.’ How did he not know that? Then he said with the loans, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that.’ Trump then leveled a harsh criticism at Cruz before a Republican audience: He compared him unfavorably to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton: “Smart guy, he doesn’t know that? Yeah, that’s worse than Hillary when you think about it.” On Tuesday, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad [said he doesn’t want Cruz to win](http://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/?xid=homepage), and former Cruz supporter Sarah Palin [endorsed Trump](http://time.com/4185689/donald-trump-sarah-palin-endorse-2016-election/?xid=homepage) for president. Earlier in the primary season, Cruz and Trump had been nice to each other, but the “bromance” ended when the two became closer in the polls. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/"},"headline":"Trump: Cruz Is 'Worse Than Hillary'","datePublished":"2016-01-20T16:02:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:41.497Z","description":"In Iowa, Trump went on an extended riff against Cruz, hitting him on being born in Canada and failing to disclose a Goldman Sachs loan.","url":"https://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election","Iowa","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3991d9920583da10/698879c5a988ca6e686b630a/trump4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3991d9920583da10/698879c5a988ca6e686b630a/trump4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Norwalk, Iowa. 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