Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday ridiculed Donald Trump's "kooky" allegation that Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans in 1963 before Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy, calling the GOP front-runner a "pathological liar," an "utterly amoral bully" and a "narcissist" who essentially makes President Obama look like an amateur by comparison.
In a telephone interview Tuesday morning with Fox News, Trump reacted to Rafael Cruz using his pulpit to encourage evangelicals to support the Texas senator, floating a story published last month in the National Enquirer. The tabloid alleged the man to Oswald's left in the iconic photograph of Oswald handing out "Fair Play for Cuba" pamphlets at the International Trade Mart in New Orleans on Aug. 16, 1963, is the senator's evangelist father.
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“His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being – you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump told Fox News.
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“What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up? They don’t even talk about that," Trump continued. "That was reported, and nobody talks about it. I mean, what was he doing – what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.”
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Cruz told reporters Tuesday morning at a campaign stop in Evansville, Indiana, with his wife Heidi and running mate Carly Fiorina by his side, that Trump "went on national television and attacked my father."
"Let's be clear, this is nuts. This is not a reasonable position. This is just kooky," he said.
"And while I'm at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit, 'Yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard.'"
Cruz noted Trump's source was the National Enquirer.
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"The National Enquirer is tabloid trash, and it's run by his good friend, David Pecker, the CEO who has endorsed Donald Trump," Cruz said.
Last month, the National Enquirer published a story speculating that Cruz had extramarital affairs with five women. Cruz called the claims "complete garbage," insisting he has always been faithful to his wife.
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"The National Enquirer has become his hit piece that he uses to smear everybody and anybody. It was also the National Enquirer that went after my wife Heidi that just spread lies, blatant lies."
Cruz defended his father, recalling the story of how came to America with just $100, and slammed the National Enquirer as “tabloid trash” that published an “idiotic story.”
Cruz said his father "has been my hero my whole life."
"My dad was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba. He's exactly the kind of person Donald Trump looks down on," the Texas senator continued.
"I'm going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies; he lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth," Cruz said.
"He accuses everybody else of lying.
"The man cannot tell the truth, but he combines it with being a narcissist. A narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen. Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and says, 'Dude what's your problem?'
"The man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him. It's why he went after Heidi directly and attacked her. Apparently she's not pretty enough for Donald Trump.
"Donald is a bully. Bullies come from a deep yearning cavern of insecurity," Cruz said.
Trump reacted immediately to Cruz's criticism Tuesday with a statement, calling his rival "a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign" who doesn't have the "temperament" to be president.
"It is no surprise he has resorted to his usual tactics of over-the-top rhetoric that nobody believes," Trump said. "Over the last week, I have watched Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections – in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them.
"Today’s ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States," Trump said.
Cruz also criticized Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch and CEO Roger Ailes, accusing them of biased, pro-Trump coverage.
“Network executives have made a decision to get behind Donald Trump,” Cruz said. “Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes at Fox News have turned Fox News into the Donald Trump Network, 24-7.”
Cruz also said America is "looking, potentially, at the Biff Tannen presidency," referencing a character in the "Back to the Future" films. He described the character as "a braggadocious, arrogant buffoon who builds giant casinos with giant pictures of him everywhere he looks."
The film's screenwriter Bob Gale told the Daily Beast last year that the character is based on Trump.
