--- title: Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward' description: Ted Cruz insulted Donald Trump after Trump retweeted a photo of Cruz's wife. canonical: https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-24T20:41:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:18.468Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward' og:description: In response to a photo Trump retweeted of Cruz's wife og:url: https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aaf07c7c1692799/69888c7ce20a876bb2a90210/ted-cruz-calls-donald-trump-coward.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Holds Ohio Campaign Rally og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward' twitter:description: In response to a photo Trump retweeted of Cruz's wife twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aaf07c7c1692799/69888c7ce20a876bb2a90210/ted-cruz-calls-donald-trump-coward.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward' > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e3825f1a-08e7-4e43-afba-e80c89607056&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. 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. by [Andrew Rafferty / NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## Andrew Rafferty / NBC News Mar 24, 2016 8:41 PM UTC  Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a campaign rally at the Northland Performing Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, March 13, 2016. Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a campaign rally at the Northland Performing Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, March 13, 2016. Ty Wright—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Andrew Rafferty / NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## Andrew Rafferty / NBC News Mar 24, 2016 8:41 PM UTC Ted Cruz called Donald Trump a “sniveling coward” and told him to leave his wife “the hell alone” on Thursday after Trump retweeted an unflattering photo of his spouse, Heidi Cruz. “It’s not easy to tick me off. I don’t get angry often,” Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin. “But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that’ll do it every time. Donald you are a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone.” “Our spouses and our children are off bounds,” Cruz warned. “It is not acceptable for a big loud New York bully to… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ted-cruz-trump-sniveling-coward-n545026?cid=par-time-article%5F20141002) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward'","datePublished":"2016-03-24T20:41:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:18.468Z","description":"In response to a photo Trump retweeted of Cruz's wife","url":"https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election","ted cruz"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aaf07c7c1692799/69888c7ce20a876bb2a90210/ted-cruz-calls-donald-trump-coward.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Rafferty / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aaf07c7c1692799/69888c7ce20a876bb2a90210/ted-cruz-calls-donald-trump-coward.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz Holds Ohio Campaign Rally","caption":"Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a campaign rally at the Northland Performing Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, March 13, 2016.","creditText":"Ty Wright—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4271392/ted-cruz-donald-trump-sniveling-coward/","name":"Ted Cruz Calls Donald Trump a 'Sniveling Coward'"}}]}] ```