News / Politics

Trump threatens 'nasty' GOP rival with legal action

Tuesday, 16 February 2016 9:01 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 16 February 2016 9:15 AM ]

Donald Trump on Monday threatened "unstable" Ted Cruz (pictured) with legal action if the Texas senator does not “take down his false ads and retract his lies.”

Leading US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened his "nasty" rival, Ted Cruz, with legal action if he does not “take down his false ads and retract his lies.”

“Ted Cruz is a totally unstable individual,” Trump said in a statement on Monday, according The Hill newspaper.

“He is the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across, in politics or otherwise, and I have seen some of the best of them. His statements are totally untrue and completely outrageous,” he added.

"Cruz has become unhinged and is lying with the hopes that his statements will go unchecked until after the election and he will save his failing campaign," Trump continued.

He said he might bring a lawsuit against Cruz “relative to the fact that he was born in Canada and therefore cannot be President.”

"If he doesn't take down his false ads and retract his lies, I will do so immediately. Additionally, the RNC (the Republican National Committee) should intervene and if they don't they are in default of their pledge to me,” he said.

A war of words between Trump and Cruz intensified after the Texas senator won the Iowa caucuses last month, beating Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio in a tight contest. He received 27.7 percent of the vote compared to 24.3 percent for Trump, while Rubio finished in third place with 23.1 percent.

In an interview later on, Trump said the election was stolen from him by Cruz’s campaign, adding he “probably will” file a legal complaint against the Texas senator. He accused Cruz of “voter fraud” in Iowa.

The billionaire businessman, who won the New Hampshire primary on February 9, on Monday went on to call Cruz a “nasty guy.”

“He’s a very bad guy. He's a very nasty guy. He's got no endorsements from any senators who he works with. He'll never be able to unify anything," he said.

In response, the Cruz campaign accused Trump of “name-calling and falsehoods."

"To be fair to Donald, he doesn't know what he actually believes so he can't really be expected to defend himself with reason and facts," said Rick Tyler, Communications Director for the Cruz campaign.

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