The National Enquirer claimed Wednesday that it received confirmation of presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s affairs with five different women, including a prostitute, a teacher and coworkers.
When the accusations were released, they spurred an immediate reaction from Cruz, including a claim that the story was planted by “Donald Trump and his henchmen,” according to The Daily Beast. Coincidentally, the National Enquirer notably endorsed Trump earlier this month.
It is unclear whether or not the story, which has not yet been confirmed by any reputable news source and has actually been denied by the women involved, was planted by Trump or by another opponent of Cruz’s. However, The Daily Beast reported that some anti-Cruz workers have been trying to plant some kind of story about a Cruz affair for months, and other news organizations found the accusations too unsubstantiated to print.
Around the same time as when the National Enquirer story was published, Trump sent out a number of tweets about Cruz’s wife, Heidi, threatening on March 22 that he would “spill the beans” about Heidi.
The next day, Trump retweeted a picture of his own wife, former supermodel Melania Trump, next to an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz, with text that read, “No need to ‘spill the beans,’ the images are worth a thousand words.”
In presidential elections, the role of a candidate’s wife has not changed much over time. Some take more public action, some remain more private, but until a nominee is chosen, their main purpose is to remain a symbol of support and stability in a candidate’s life.
Once a candidate becomes a party nominee, the spouse may take a more public role, becoming an actual part of the campaign team.
So far, Heidi Cruz has remained a private figure in her husband’s campaign. She has given a few interviews to various news sources, but for the most part, she has remained relatively behind the scenes.
However, Trump’s tweets about Heidi Cruz as well as the accusations against Cruz’s fidelity created a series of events that pushed Heidi directly into the spotlight in the midst of a brutal fight between her husband and Trump for the Republican nomination.
In this case, the veracity of the allegations against Cruz is not too significant. The most important aspect of the whole situation is how this wild report about Cruz’s affairs was paired with Trump demeaning Heidi Cruz’s appearance compared to that of his own wife.
The resulting assumption that can be made from Trump’s tweets, in retrospect, is that Cruz obviously had affairs because his wife was not physically attractive, and Trump would never need to cheat on his wife because of her obvious beauty.
Cruz responded to the tweets on his own Twitter account by writing, “Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.” Later, Cruz called Trump a “sniveling coward” on CNN and demanded that Trump leave Heidi alone.
I am not a supporter of Ted Cruz’s ideas or policy, and I probably do not agree with many of Heidi’s opinions either, but dragging an opponent’s spouse into some kind of vitriolic “my wife is prettier than your wife” attack is simply gross. There’s no other word that I can use to describe it.
This election cycle has been a complete spectacle, and we’ve seen Trump use his Twitter account so many times at this point for the sole purpose of riling people up that we have become completely numb to it. It has become normal and expected, and this needs to change.
We seem to forget that the people Trump is attacking are actual people, and that Heidi Cruz, besides being a political symbol, is a wife and a mother who may have to explain to her daughters one day why her physical attraction became a subject of national news during her husband’s run for the White House.
I still do not understand why Trump’s supporters are not demanding more from him besides these attacks that do nothing but create enemies and show how Trump is not a victim to this so-called “politically correct” culture.
Trump’s chain of misogyny has been adding victims since he announced his campaign, and it has included insulting comments about Carly Fiorina, Megyn Kelly and now, Heidi Cruz. That’s not even including his infamous comments about women before he was even a presidential candidate.
While the accusations of Ted Cruz cheating on his wife will mostly fade away, their impact affects his wife and all American women, especially those who may have been victims of infidelity. Trump’s comments are therefore not edgy, but simply insensitive.
Heidi Cruz and all American women deserve more from their candidates than attacks like these. Though Trump is unconventional, he deserves the same treatment that everyone else running for this office receives, and the media can no longer allow Trump to make these comments and get away with them.
not offended
Cruz started it by having HIS supporting super pact put out photos of Trump’s wife naked. That was the first attack and what came after it was retaliation by Trump. Cruz should be smart enough to know for every action there is a reaction and if you don’t want to play with fire then don’t play with matches. After seeing the response to the latest allegations I question the truthfulness of Cruz. I remember him first denying any involvement whatsoever in the information about Ben Carson quitting the campaign for president in Iowa too. I think Mr. Cruz is “really” not a man of integrity that he claims to be. Just my opinion for what it’s worth. pdc
I’m not offended either. The National Enquirer story is not about Heidi Cruz, but about Ted Cruz having had 5 affairs, with the word “hypocrite” right on the front page of the magazine to target Cruz as an evangelist who often say Godly words but did not make his life as a living example . I don’t see why the author, the media and Ted Cruz tried to link this story with Cruz’s wife or Donald’s wife.
The Daily Mail just wrote that the Rubio campaign approached them about the story. Presumably, that confirms the Daily Beast’s reporting?
Sarah Burstein = agenda
What a bunch of nonsense. This entire thing was started by a Ted Cruz PAC. I, for one, am getting sick and tired of people blaming Trump for reacting to what someone else started. If someone attacked my wife I would come to her rescue, as well. If people want to place blame for this entire incident, lay it at the feet of Cruz; that is where it belongs.
This article is ridiculous. Instead of the media looking into multiple affairs, from a candidate who preaches on being a devout Christian, they are focused on blaming Trump for it. It has been on Twitter for weeks circulating as #thething and The Daily Beast has come out and said multiple reporters etc have named allies to the Rubio camp (I love how his name ISN’T EVEN MENTIONED IN THIS) for shopping the story. The National Enquirer has also been spot on about John Edwards (won a Pulitzer for it by the way) and Tiger Woods, so maybe it should be taken seriously. Trump did not send out that tweet, he re-tweeted it, which doesn’t make it right, but neither does Cruz’s camp helping get the GQ pic out, to the anti Trump PAC. I love how people are SO offended by a New Yorker’s rhetoric, but when Bill Clinton engages in sexual affairs in the White House, it’s no biggie, and not at all un-presidential. And, apparently no one is offended that Hillary, and her team, is being INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI…. how corrupt can you get??
All of these Donald Trump drones show just how ignorant his base is… Here’s an idea, take a step back and look at this series of events from a non-biased view. NON-CRUZ AFFILIATED PAC publishes a public picture of Trump’s hot wife semi nude then Trump himself posts a picture of his wife contrasting a horrible picture of Cruz’s wife. THEN a close friend of Trump has his phony publication create some fabricated smear piece on Cruz cheating on his wife. I know most Trump supporters are, in Donald Trumps own words, “poorly educated” but I didnt think they were this dumb. Donald Trump is a shrewd, arrogant, sleazy business man with no real moral code or set of values… hell he’ not even a conservative.
“All of these Donald Trump drones show just how ignorant his base is… Here’s an idea, take a step back and look at this series of events from a non-biased view. NON-CRUZ AFFILIATED PAC publishes a public picture of Trump’s hot wife semi nude…”
John don’t lecture us Trump drones as we are lectured enough by Preacher Ted or is it Lyin’ Cheatin’ Ted?
Your explanation is all wet. We aren’t buying the fact that Cruz didn’t know about the PAC’s actions, just like we don’t believe he didn’t know about the Carsen scam in IOWA.
Hard to believe Cruz has only 1 colleague in the Senate willing to endorse him. And with all those conservative tea party senators. It’s because he’s so slimy.
Fact: The PAC that re-published a public photo of Trump’s wife (where she was paid to posednearly nude for GQ magazine) was unaffiliated with Cruz. Fact: Trump seized the opportunity (an excuse) to attack Heidi Cruz, tweeting two shots, an unflattering photo of Heidi (and a private photo for which she was not paid and was never meant to be public) and a flattering photo of his wife. Trump: See, my wife is prettier than your wife. Trump has a real sickness and that is why his poll numbers with women are dismal and getting worse the more we get to know him.