Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz attacked Donald Trump in an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” for accepting an endorsement from “convicted rapist” Mike Tyson. (Watch it above at the 7:19 mark.)
The former boxing champion endorsed Trump last October, and the GOP frontrunner bragged about it this week during an appearance in Indiana, which holds a primary Tuesday.
“You know, all the tough guys endorse me,” Trump said. “I like that.”
Sen. Ted Cruz and one of his campaign PACs — the Trusted Leadership PAC — released an online video showing Trump saying that Tyson was “railroaded” in his 1991 rape conviction.
“Contrast the people who are standing with me — Carly Fiorina, Indiana’s governor, Mike Pence,” Cruz said in the “Face the Nation” interview. “On the other side, Donald Trump was proudly trumpeting the support of Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist who served three years in prison here in Indiana for rape.”
“Donald Trump says, ‘Well, Tyson is a tough guy,’” Cruz told “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson. “You know what, John? I don’t think rapists are tough guys. I think rapists are weak, they’re bullies and they’re cowards. And Donald may be really proud of his support from a convicted rapist. I’m proud of the support of Carly Fiorina and Gov. Mike Pence.”
On Friday, Cruz told reporters in Indiana: “I’ve got news for Donald Trump: Rapists are not tough guys.”
Cruz also took issue in the interview with a recent comment by former House Speaker John Boehner calling Texas Sen. Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh.” Cruz said it was an indication that Trump is “the essence of the Washington insider.”
“And, you know, John, one of the things that illustrated that powerfully this week was when John Boehner went out of his way to attack me, to call me the devil,” Cruz said. “And then he praised two people. John Boehner praised Hillary Clinton and he praised Donald Trump. He said Donald was his friend, was his golfing and texting buddy. If you think John Boehner is the kind of leader you want in the Republican party, then Donald Trump is your candidate.”