Trump retweeted an unflattering picture of Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi (left), comparing her to his wife Melania (right), sparking an almighty Twitter row
Predictably the ugly face of the GOP primaries rises to the fore as Donald Trump retweeted an unflattering image of Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, both sides rushing headlong into #PoliticalRascality
Cruz hit back on Twitter immediately saying: 'real men don't attack women'
Came after Cruz-backing super PAC tweeted image of nude Melania Trump
Trump retaliated quickly, threatening to 'spill the beans' on Heidi
Heidi defended herself, saying Trump's words 'have no basis in reality'
Story after the cut ....
New poll says Cruz and Kasich would beat Clinton, but Trump would not
Predictably the ugly face of the GOP primaries rises to the fore as Donald Trump retweeted an unflattering image of Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, both sides rushing headlong into #PoliticalRascality
Cruz hit back on Twitter immediately saying: 'real men don't attack women'
Came after Cruz-backing super PAC tweeted image of nude Melania Trump
Trump retaliated quickly, threatening to 'spill the beans' on Heidi
Heidi defended herself, saying Trump's words 'have no basis in reality'
Story after the cut ....
New poll says Cruz and Kasich would beat Clinton, but Trump would not
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz were engaged in a full-blown Twitter row last night as the two Republican presidential candidates sparred over their wives.
Trump retweeted an unflattering picture of his rival's wife, Heidi, just a day after threatening to 'spill the beans' on her after a super PAC backing Cruz released an advert showing his wife Melania naked.
Cruz immediately hit back, tweeting: 'Donald, real men don't attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.'
Cruz immediately hit back, tweeting: 'Donald, real men don't attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life'
The super PAC Make America Awesome, which describes itself as an independent group focused on 'unconventional and cost-effective tactics' created this ad attacking Donald Trump through his wife Melania (pictured, in a GQ photo shoot in 2000)
Wednesday night's heated Twitter exchange came after another online row between the pair.
The Make America Awesome super PAC tweeted a picture of Melania in a nude GQ photo shoot that took place in 2000.
It was captioned: 'Meet Melania Trump, your next First Lady. Or you could vote for Ted Cruz on Tuesday.'
The GOP front runner responded in characteristic bombastic fashion on Twitter, misidentifying Cruz's campaign as the ad's source.
He wrote: 'Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!'
Trump did not indicate what he intended to divulge about Heidi Cruz, who is on leave from an executive job at Goldman Sachs while campaigning, but her husband quickly came to her defense on Twitter.
Cruz wrote: 'Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you're more of a coward than I thought. #classless.'
Photo: Getty ImagesHeidi Cruz (pictured) came out to attack Donald Trump after he threatened to 'spill the beans' on her after a conservative super PAC backing Ted Cruz used an advert that slut-shamed his wife Melania
Photo: EPA
On the campaign trail: Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, greets people as she campaigns for her husband at a Culver's restaurant in Stutervant, Wisconsin
On the campaign trail: Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, greets people as she campaigns for her husband at a Culver's restaurant in Stutervant, Wisconsin
The row continued today after Heidi Cruz waded in to defend herself, saying 'most of the things that Donald Trump says have no basis in reality'.
She added: 'So we are not worried in the least. I have one job in this campaign and that is to help Ted win this race. I think it is the easiest job in the world.
'All I have to do is speak the truth about what I know about my husband and our family.'
Her husband backed her up, saying she was 'not scared one iota' of Trump.
Speaking at a rally at Women's National Republican Club in New York on Wednesday, Cruz further defended his wife, saying Trump's threat was 'gutter politics' and that he had 'reached a new low.'
The Texas senator said Trump tries to 'attack and bully people' but should know that spouses and children are off-limits.
Furious: Trump hit out at Ted Cruz for the advert, saying he would 'spill the beans' on his wife Heidi Cruz. It was unclear exactly what he meant although she has a history of depression
Careful Donald: Cruz quickly responded, saying if he tried to attack Heidi, he would be 'more of a coward than I thought'. He also called it 'classless'
He also said that Trump launches personal attacks when he wants to change the subject, suggesting the billionaire wanted to divert attention from Utah, where he lost to Cruz on Tuesday night.
Cruz also addressed the conflict in television interviews, using a misquoted line from 1995 film The American President starring Michael Douglas.
'If Donald wants to get in a character fight, he's better off sticking with me 'cause Heidi is way out of his league,' Cruz told CNN.
Cruz's comeback is strikingly similar to a line uttered by Douglas in the film. 'You want a character debate, Bob?' he says. 'You better stick with me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league.'
Meanwhile, it was unclear what exactly Trump was threatening to reveal regarding Cruz's wife.
However, it is well documented that she suffered from depression a decade ago, culminating in a 2005 incident when police found her with her heads in her hands beside a Texas expressway.
A police report said she was a 'danger to herself'.
The spat came as a new poll from Fox News found that Cruz and John Kasich are ahead of Hillary Clinton in one-on-one match-ups, but Trump trails the Democratic front runner by 11 points.
Photo: Getty ImagesHeidi Cruz (C), the wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), greets guests during a campaign stop at a Culver's restaurant on March 23, 2016 in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Voters in Wisconsin will vote in the state's primary election on April 5
Photo: ReutersCruz said Trump's threat was 'gutter politics' and that he had 'reached a new low' at a rally (pictured) in New York on Wednesday
Photo: AP
The Texas senator said Trump tries to 'attack and bully people' but should know that spouses and children are off-limits during a speech at the Women's National Republican Club (pictured) in New York
The Texas senator said Trump tries to 'attack and bully people' but should know that spouses and children are off-limits during a speech at the Women's National Republican Club (pictured) in New York
The poll said Ohio governor Kasich was the Republican's best shot of beating Clinton, with the third-placed man beating her 50 to 41.
Cruz edged Clinton 47 to 44, but Trump lost by 11 points, 38 to 49.
Cruz has clung to the hope of catching up with Trump after winning the Utah caucuses and receiving further backing from the party establishment which is desperate to stop the outspoken billionaire.
Often shunned by party moderates because of his hawkish stance on fiscal issues, Cruz picked up an endorsement from former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, an establishment Republican who was a candidate for the party's nomination until he dropped out last month.
Cruz won all of the 40 Republican delegates from Tuesday's Utah contest, although Trump won the 58 delegates up for grabs in Arizona, partly due to his tough message on illegal immigration.
Republican strategist Liz Mair, who founded the super PAC Make America Awesome, told Buzzfeed that their ads have been targeting Mormons, who have been shown in previous election results to dislike The Donald.
The Make America Awesome campaign also includes an ad highlighting Romney, a devout Mormon, and his public condemnation of Trump.
A third ad quotes the Donald on his previous pro-choice stance, although the candidate has now flip-flopped in the abortion debate and declared himself pro-life.
Mair told Buzzfeed the online campaign, which is the group's first endorsement of a specific candidate, is expected to reach 10,000 Mormons a day.
Ted Cruz lifted a line uttered by Michael Douglas (right) in The American President to defend his wife
She also said the Melania ad will be promoted on Instagram specifically targeting LDS women. Election results in Wyoming and Idaho, where there are significant Mormon populations, show the religious group favor Cruz and Kasich over Trump.
History professor Matt Bowman told ThinkProgress.com that Mormons, who have historically experienced religious persecution, dislike the Republican frontrunner for his Islamophobic comments.
He added: 'Mormons place a high premium on being nice, and Trump is not nice.'
Make America Awesome is described on its website as 'a SuperPAC dedicated to blocking and reversing Donald Trump's political ascent'.
It adds: 'We are an independent group, and are not authorized by any presidential candidate or candidate committee. Our focus is on using unconventional and cost-effective tactics, as opposed to stereotypical high-cost, limited-yield methods with the objective of providing maximum donor value.'
In reference to an anti-Trump ad they ran in January criticizing his business methods, the super PAC tweeted: 'If Trump's opponents are serious about defeating him, they need to start running attacks that work with his voters now...'
But the photo 'slut-shaming' Melania has attracted criticism from across the political spectrum.
In an article on Mic.com, Anna Swartz wrote there were plenty of other reasons to attack Trump, from his 'racist tirades' to his 'extreme anti-immigration rhetoric'.
Others defended Melania and pointed out the fact that she is fluent in five languages and studied architecture and design before working as a model and running her own businesses.
Conservative news websites called the ad 'despicable' while others have pointed out the PAC's strategies could backfire.
The Make America Awesome campaign also includes an ad highlighting Romney, a devout Mormon, and his public condemnation of Trump
A third ad quotes the Donald on his previous pro-choice stance, although the candidate has now flip-flopped in the abortion debate and declared himself pro-life
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