Who started it? The question recalls juvenile disputes between siblings or classmates, but at the moment it's the issue at the center of the increasingly puerile Republican presidential primary. Did Donald Trump or Ted Cruz start the fight over each other's wives? One thing is for sure: Cruz has not gone after or been a part of any attack on Trump's wife Melania. Anyone who claims otherwise is either woefully uninformed or buying into the falsehoods perpetuated by Trump himself or his campaign surrogates.
It's worth going through the timeline on this story. On March 21, the day before the Utah caucuses and Arizona primary, BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins reported on Facebook ads being seen by voters in those states encouraging Republicans to vote against Trump. The ads were paid for by a super PAC called Make America Awesome, a group created by Republican strategist Liz Mair for the sole purpose of fighting Trump. Make America Awesome is almost laughably small — by the end of February, the group had raised just under $19,000 since the beginning of the year.
The offending ad features a provocative seminude photo of Melania Trump (before she had married Trump) from a 2000 photo shoot for GQ magazine. "Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady," the text on the ad reads. "Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday."
On Tuesday evening, just as it became clear Trump was going to be crushed by Cruz (and in fact, come in third behind John Kasich) in Utah, the GOP frontrunner took to Twitter.
The first part of this message is simply untrue. Cruz had not "just used a picture of Melania." Not even one of the several super PACs supporting Cruz "used a picture of Melania." As the ads themselves clearly state, they were paid for by Make American Awesome.
Get the Exclusive
04.16.2024