--- title: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz's Worst Insults description: Long before Ted Cruz endorsed Donald Trump, they spent months slinging insults back and forth. Here are some of the most memorable canonical: https://time.com/4506350/donald-trump-ted-cruz-insults/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-23T21:26:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:34.701Z article:section: Politics og:title: 14 Times Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Insulted Each Other og:description: A look back at their rivalry now that Cruz has endorsed Trump og:url: https://time.com/4506350/donald-trump-ted-cruz-insults/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54743d238ec9e97a/6988a75b428a9e130ccd45fc/trump-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Donald Trump,Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 14 Times Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Insulted Each Other twitter:description: A look back at their rivalry now that Cruz has endorsed Trump twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54743d238ec9e97a/6988a75b428a9e130ccd45fc/trump-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 14 Times Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Insulted Each Other > 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=4eb63b63-b470-4c19-9193-4ec81bcb0a72&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 [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Sep 23, 2016 9:26 PM UTC  Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas listen as Donald Trump speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston in Houston on Feb. 25, 2016. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas listen as Donald Trump speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston in Houston on Feb. 25, 2016.David J. Phillip—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Sep 23, 2016 9:26 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz [endorsed Donald Trump](http://time.com/4506301/ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement/?xid=homepage) on Friday, just a couple months after he reinforced their bitter rivalry by [declining to back](http://time.com/4416260/republican-convention-ted-cruz-speech/) Trump in a speech at the Republican National Convention. Long before Cruz credited Trump with being “the only thing standing in \[Hillary Clinton’s\] way,” the two spent months slinging insults back and forth. Here are some of the most memorable. **Trump: Cruz is “worse than Hillary”** “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,’ Smart guy. He doesn’t know that? Yeah, that’s worse than Hillary when you think about it,” Trump [said of Cruz](http://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/) on Jan. 20. **Trump: “How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian’** “How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest?” Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/698115252844634112?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) on Feb. 12. **Trump: “You are the single biggest liar'”**“You are the single biggest liar. You probably are worse than Jeb Bush,” Trump [told Cruz at a primary debate](http://time.com/4224275/republican-debate-transcript-south-carolina-ninth/) on Feb. 13\. “Nasty guy. Now I know why he doesn’t have one endorsement from any of his colleagues.” **Trump: “I will spill the beans on your wife!”** “Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!” Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/712457104515317764?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) on March 22. As [_PolitiFact_ has noted](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/31/donald-trump/donald-trump-has-no-evidence-ted-cruz-was-responsi/), Trump had no evidence that Cruz was responsible for the ad that used a scantily clad picture of Melania Trump; the ad actually came from an anti-Trump super PAC. **Cruz: “Real men don’t attack women”** “Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life,” Cruz [tweeted](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/712859187718569985) on March 24, after Trump [shared an unflattering comparison](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/712850174838771712) of Melania Trump and Heidi Cruz. **Cruz: “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward”** “It is not acceptable for a big, loud New York bully to attack my wife. It is not acceptable for him to make insults, to send nasty tweets—and I don’t know what he does late at night, but he tends to do these at about 11:30 at night, I assume when his fear is at the highest point,” Cruz [said on March 24](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/24/cruz-to-trump-donald-youre-a-sniveling-coward-leave-heidi-the-hell-alone/). “I don’t get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that’ll do it every time. Donald, you’re a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone.” **Cruz: “Consistently disgraceful”** “Donald Trump’s consistently disgraceful behavior is beneath the office we are seeking and we are not going to follow,” Cruz [tweeted](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/713420976936132610) on March 25. **Cruz: “Nominating Donald Trump would be a train wreck”** “Nominating Donald Trump would be a train wreck. It would be handing the White House over to Hillary Clinton,” Cruz [tweeted](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/714976221319270400) on March 29. **Cruz: “Big government liberal”** “This race is simple. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both big government liberals,” Cruz [tweeted](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/725114392757542912) on April 26. **Trump: Cruz’s father was somehow involved with JFK’s assassin** “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being—you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,” [Trump said about Cruz’s father](http://time.com/4316401/donald-trump-ted-cruz-father-john-f-kennedy/), Rafael, in an interview on May 3\. “What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.” **Cruz: “This man is a pathological liar”** “This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth, and in a pattern that I think is straight out of a psychology text book, his response is to accuse everybody else of lying,” Cruz [told reporters](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/politics/donald-trump-rafael-cruz-indiana/) on May 3\. “The man cannot tell the truth, but he combines it with being a narcissist—a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen. Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and goes, ‘Dude, what’s your problem?'” “The man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him,” Cruz added. “Donald is a bully. … Bullies come from a deep, yawning cavern of insecurity.” **Cruz: “Vote your conscience”** “And to those listening, please, don’t stay home in November,” Cruz said on July 20 in his [speech at the Republican National Convention](http://time.com/4416396/republican-convention-ted-cruz-donald-trump-endorsement-speech-transcript-video/), declining to endorse Trump. “If you love our country, and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.” **Cruz: “I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father”** “I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father,” Cruz [said on July 21](http://time.com/4416845/ted-cruz-wont-vote-hillary-clinton/?xid=tcoshare), after declining to endorse Trump in his convention speech. “What does it say when you stand up and say, ‘Vote your conscience,’ and rabid supporters of our nominee begin screaming, ‘What a horrible thing to say,'” Cruz said. “If we can’t make the case for the American people that voting for our party’s nominee is consistent with voting your conscience, is consistent with defending freedom and being faithful to the Constitution, then we are not going to win and we don’t deserve to win.” **Trump: “He may have ruined his political career”** “Honestly, he may have ruined his political career. I feel so badly. I feel so badly. And you know, he’ll come and endorse over the next little while. He’ll—because he has no choice. But I don’t want his endorsement. What difference does it make? I don’t want his endorsement. I have such great—I don’t want his endorsement. Ted, stay home, relax, enjoy yourself,” Trump [said at a press conference](http://time.com/4419216/donald-trump-cruz-booed/) on July 22. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4506350/donald-trump-ted-cruz-insults/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4506350/donald-trump-ted-cruz-insults/"},"headline":"14 Times Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Insulted Each Other","datePublished":"2016-09-23T21:26:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:34.701Z","description":"A look back at their rivalry now that Cruz has endorsed Trump","url":"https://time.com/4506350/donald-trump-ted-cruz-insults/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","ted cruz","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54743d238ec9e97a/6988a75b428a9e130ccd45fc/trump-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54743d238ec9e97a/6988a75b428a9e130ccd45fc/trump-cruz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump,Ted Cruz","caption":"FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, Sen. 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