Ted Cruz Camp Unmoved by Donald Trump Lawsuit Threat: 'Trumped Up Means Phony'
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign is not concerned by the lawsuit threat leveled by Donald Trump following the Cruz campaign running an ad attacking Trump as being pro-choice.
Earlier this week Cruz released an attack ad against Trump titled "Supreme Trust," which centered on the question of which president can be trusted to appoint a pro-life justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Life. Marriage. Religious liberty. The Second Amendment. We're just one Supreme Court justice away from losing them all," stated the narrator for the ad.
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The ad then switches to an interview Trump had with the late Tim Russert back in 1999 when he described himself as "very pro-choice" and "pro-choice in every respect."
Trump threatened Cruz with a lawsuit over that and other ads, stating in a Facebook post that Cruz's claims "are totally untrue and completely outrageous."
"Cruz says I am pro-choice, when in fact I am staunchly pro-life and have been for a long time. Like Ronald Reagan, on many issues, I have evolved," wrote Trump.
"His statements are totally untrue and completely outrageous. It is hard to believe a person who proclaims to be a Christian could be so dishonest and lie so much."
The Cruz campaign does not appear to be taking the lawsuit threat seriously. Spokesperson Rick Tyler told Business Insider in an email, "There is reason 'Trumped up' means phony."
Since announcing his campaign to become the Republican nominee for president, Trump has been criticized by many as not being truly conservative on social issues.
Despite past statements in support of abortion, Trump has also in recent years said that he has changed his position due to a personal story.
"One of the primary reasons I changed [was] a friend of mine's wife was pregnant, and he didn't really want the baby. He was crying as he was telling me the story. He ends up having the baby and the baby is the apple of his eye," said Trump in April of 2011.
"It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. And you know here's a baby that wasn't going to be let into life. And I heard this, and some other stories, and I am pro-life."
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who has strong support among conservatives, recently endorsed Trump and told a crowd in Ames, Iowa last month that The Donald will "unify [the GOP] around the right issues - the issues important to me, or I wouldn't be endorsing him: pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, strict constitutionality."
Cruz's ad came not long after the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who had been on the bench since 1986.
As a result of Scalia's death, much political debate has abounded over whether or not a new justice should be confirmed before the November election.
Cruz told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the question of who will replace Scalia "should be a decision for the people."
"Let the election decide. If the Democrats want to replace [Scalia], they need to win the election. But I don't think the American people want a court that will strip our religious liberties," asserted Cruz.
"I don't think the American people want a court that will mandate unlimited abortions on demand, partial-birth abortion with taxpayer funding and no parental notification, and I don't think the American people want a court that will write the Second Amendment out of the Constitution."
