DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has finally unleashed a verbal assault on the one rival he has so far spared.
Trump went after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at a town hall event in Iowa Friday evening after word leaked that Cruz had criticized Trump at a closed-door event.
Trump said Cruz largely agrees with him, but he criticized Cruz’s opposition to ethanol subsidies, which are deeply popular in Iowa.
He accused Cruz of being beholden to big oil.
Trump also took a veiled shot at Cruz’s family background. He said not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba, where Cruz’s father was born.
Trump and Cruz have declined to criticize each other in the race so far, even as they battle for support in Iowa.