Photo credit: Gage Skidmore (CC-By-SA 2.0)
Cruz has denied the allegations and blamed Trump and has surrogates for pushing the story.
“I want to be crystal clear: these attacks are garbage. For Donald Trump to enlist his friends at the National Enquirer and his political henchmen to do his bidding shows you that there is no low Donald won’t go. These smears are completely false, they’re offensive to Heidi and I, they’re offensive to our daughters, and they’re offensive to everyone Donald continues to personally attack. Donald Trump’s consistently disgraceful behavior is beneath the office we are seeking and we are not going to follow,” Cruz said in a released statement.
Two of the women identified in the story – Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson (who worked on Cruz’s Senate campaign) and Amanda Carpenter who was a spokesperson and speechwriter in Cruz’s Senate office, have denied these allegations as well.
Originally the story, according to Betsy Woodruff and Asawin Suebsaeng of The Daily Beast, was first peddled by allies to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) which I find odd considering their candidate had to deal with unfounded and unproven rumors of his own (something I personally saw Trump surrogates attempt to push as well).
No one has been able to substantiate these rumors before the National Enquirer article or after which is why the mainstream media did not write about these rumors even though they were approached prior to Cruz’s public statement addressing the story. I should note that before the Iowa Caucus this cycle and last I have been “shopped” with opposition research which I’ve refused to run. Caffeinated Thoughts does not publish stories like this, especially when much of this just appears to be political smears. There is no reason for a candidate’s opponent to prove allegations like this when the rumor and the doubt it leaves does enough damage.
These allegations directed at Cruz has political sleaze written all over it.
Starting on March 2nd both Trump and Rubio surrogates began tweeting out an impending story dealing with an alleged affair between Cruz and Pierson. The Political Insider on March 12th then published that a “sex scandal was looming.”
Trump insider Roger Stone appeared on Alex Jones’ InfoWars hinted at a scandal. InfoWars identified Stone as a “former senior advisor and close confidante” of Donald Trump’s.
NPR reported that Stone approved of sleazy tactics that could be used against Hillary Clinton.
He is also a cheerful advocate of scorched-earth politics, and that is just what he proposes as a strategy for Trump, if he’s nominated.
“While [Clinton’s] unfavorables are only in the 50s, that’s largely because Bernie Sanders has not attacked her at the point of most vulnerability,” Stone said. The eventual Republican nominee could get much dirtier in his attacks than the Vermont senator had, Stone argued.
Stone said Trump could attack Clinton’s “tenure as secretary of state,” as well as “her husband’s sexual history” and what Stone called her “abuse of women.” The latter phrase is how Stone describes the criticism of women who said they had had sexual relations with former President Clinton.
Stone was also profiled in an article written by New Yorker Magazine entitled “The Dirty Trickster.”
Then right after the Anti-Trump Super PAC ran their Facebook ad of Malania Trump, Trump tweeted:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
Lyin' Ted Cruz denied that he had anything to do with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania. That's why we call him Lyin' Ted!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
The National Enquirer story broke that same day whose only on-the-record source was Trump confidant Roger Stone. The same day Trump followed up with yet another Tweet:
"@Don_Vito_08: "A picture is worth a thousand words" @realDonaldTrump #LyingTed #NeverCruz @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/5bvVEwMVF8"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016
Also consider this… Donald Trump has had a very cozy relationship with the National Enquirer.
New York Magazine reported:
Trump and Enquirer CEO David Pecker have been friends for years. “They’re very close,” said a source close to the Enquirer. In July 2013, Trump even tweeted that Pecker should become CEO of Time magazine, which at the time was being spun off from its corporate parent, Time Warner. “He’d make it exciting and win awards!”…
….At key moments during the GOP primary the Enquirer has helped boost Trump’s campaign by attacking his rivals and fawning over him.
In September, the Enquirer published a three-part series by Trump himself under the headline “The Man Behind the Legend!” Trump’s scandal-filled personal life would be yuge! for the supermarket tabloid, but to the Enquirer, it seems, friendship is forever.
This article also outlined how the Trump campaign was the source of hit pieces the National Enquirer ran on Dr. Ben Carson.
The National Enquirer has endorsed Donald Trump:
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been leading in the polls for months, but he’s just received his first endorsement from a major publication – the infamous tabloid The National Enquirer. “Trump Must Be President,” blasts a headline from within the Enquirer’s pages, which includes a list of reasons why the real the estate mogul should be elected. This appears to be the first time The National Enquirer has ever endorsed a candidate for president.
New York Daily News has also noted that the National Enquirer is treating Trump with kid gloves.
[Trump] has at least one staunch media ally. Industry insiders tell us Trump is “very close” with David Pecker, head of The National Enquirer and CEO and chairman of American Media, which means the outlet is unlikely to dig too deeply into his personal life as he campaigns.
Trump’s relationship with the National Enquirer has been ongoing for decades. In fact the National Enquirer was a wedding photographer for Trump.
The Washington Post noted that the National Enquirer photographed Trump’s 2nd wedding.
“They’re paying big, big money for exclusive interviews,” says Iain Calder, editor in chief of the National Enquirer, which bought exclusive rights to photograph the Donald Trump-Marla Maples wedding.”
Trump in a released statement then not only denied Cruz’s allegations, but he attempted to give veracity to the claims by saying the National Enquirer has been right before.
I have no idea whether or not the cover story about Ted Cruz in this week’s issue of the National Enquirer is true or not, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it, did not know about it, and have not, as yet, read it. Likewise, I have nothing to do with the National Enquirer and unlike Lyin’ Ted Cruz I do not surround myself with political hacks and henchman and then pretend total innocence. Ted Cruz’s problem with the National Enquirer is his and his alone, and while they were right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards, and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin’ Ted Cruz. I look forward to spending the week in Wisconsin, winning the Republican nomination and ultimately the Presidency in order to Make America Great Again.
Coincidence? You’ll have to decide. This is information that should not be ignored when considering the credibility of the National Enquirer and their sources. While Trump’s direct involvement to this story can’t be proven (beyond lending credibility to the National Enquirer), the timing is suspect, and it appears that at least some of his surrogates have had an hand in pushing it.