Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz responded to being called “Lucifer in the flesh” by former House Speaker John A. Boehner by saying the insult was actually directed at the American people.
“When he calls me ’Lucifer’ he’s not directed that at me, he’s directing that at you,” Mr. Cruz said into the TV news cameras at an impromptu press conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
He said Mr. Boehner wasn’t angry with him but with conservative lawmakers like himself who stood with the American people and stood up to the Washington establishment.
Mr. Boehner left amid an insurrection by tea party lawmakers in the House who wanted more aggressive action against President Obama’s policies.
Mr. Boehner said in a speech Wednesday at Stanford University that he would vote for the front-running Donald Trump but never for Mr. Cruz. He not only called the Texas senator “Lucifer” but also that he had “never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”
Mr. Cruz also quipped that the Ohio Republican had “allowed his inner Trump to come out.”
SEE ALSO: Ted Cruz is ‘Lucifer in the flesh’ and a ‘miserable son of a bitch’: Boehner
The Texas senator said that Mr. Boehner was part of the corrupt Washington system that he was running against and the Mr. Boehner had never actually worked with him.
“The truth is I don’t know the man. If I’ve said 50 words to John Boehner in my life, I’d be surprised,” said Mr. Cruz, who is struggling to remain relevant in a race where businessman Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee.
Jabbing Mr. Boehner for saying he was Mr. Trump’s “texting and golfing buddy,” Mr. Cruz said that was all voters needed to know about the former speaker.
“What Boehner is angry with is the American people holding him accountable. That’s what Boehner is angry with,” he said. “What made John Boehner mad was that I led a movement by the people to hold Washington accountable.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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