Well, in an election year where literally nothing is off the table, it shouldn’t be any surprise to see Donald Trump and Ted Cruz exchange barbs about their respective wives. While Republican voters are rolling their eyes about yet another series of attacks that have little to do with the issues and liberals are fretting about Trump’s “woman-problem,” the candidates themselves appear to be enjoying this latest round of off-message excitement.
The trouble started when a super PAC dedicated to stopping Trump issued a tweet that showed Melania Trump in a nearly-nude photo spread from GQ magazine. The tweet asked voters to consider that Melania would be the next first lady…”or,” it said, “you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” The tweet, meant for Utah voters, caused Trump to warn Cruz that he would “spill the beans on Heidi” if his competitor wasn’t careful.
The Cruzes denied having anything to do with the original tweet, and the mini-feud might have ended there. Trump, however, retweeted a follower’s meme comparing Heidi and Melania. “No need to spill the beans,” the picture read. “The images are worth a thousand words.” The picture, which used the most unflattering image possible of Cruz’s wife alongside a perfect one of Melania, was clearly meant to say that Trump had already won this round.
That inspired one of the fiercest versions of Ted Cruz we’ve yet seen. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Cruz looked straight into a camera and said, “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone.”
The press has greeted this feud with their usual exuberance, fueling their narrative that Trump has a misogyny problem. The New York Times spoke to Katie Packer, who runs one of the anti-Trump super PACs. “I have some very real concerns should he become the nominee,” Packer said. “Half of the reason why I’m fighting so hard to stop Donald Trump is because I think he’s a walking, talking stereotype of a sexist misogynistic pig.”
Okay, fine. And how do you think the Democrats are going to talk about Cruz if he becomes the nominee? Do you not think that his hardline stance on abortion is going to bring out the exact same criticisms? Furthermore, while you can take issue with Trump’s public persona, do you really believe that there aren’t millions and millions of American men who talk like this all the time? From the way they talk about Trump, you would think he’s out there saying that women should be deported.
But they’re setting up a stage. In all likelihood, Trump will be going up against Hillary Clinton this fall, and you will hear the words “misogyny” and “sexism” until your ears bleed. If you personally have a problem with some of the things Trump has said about women, that’s your right. But don’t forget where all of this is headed.
As for Cruz…the National Enquirer published a story this week alleging that he has had five extramarital affairs. A columnist for the Washington Times released a tweet confirming personal knowledge of two of them. Online Trump fanatics are running with this story. If anything comes of it, this primary is over.
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