During a forum at Stanford University on Wednesday night, former House Speaker John Boehner called Senator Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” and a “miserable son of a bitch,” while praising Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
Boehner stepped down from the speakership last fall amid intense pressure from conservatives in his own party who were in open revolt because they weren’t happy with the actions coming out of Congress. Instead they were seeing the reneging of promises and backdoor deals for policies they disagreed with.
Ironically, the same frustration with government that led to Boehner’s demise has also led to the incredible rise of Donald Trump, Boehner’s golfing and texting buddy.
The irony of this wasn’t lost on Cruz, who swung back hard at the meatball Boehner threw at him at Stanford.
Tell me again who will stand up to Washington? Trump, who’s Boehner’s “texting and golfing buddy,” or Carly & me? https://t.co/qvYPSaTEV7
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 28, 2016
Cruz elaborated on his point during a press conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, today: “If you like what John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have done, Donald Trump is your guy,” he said with Carly Fiorina at his side. The Texas senator went on to express surprise that Boehner claimed he was the worst S.O.B he had ever worked with.
“I’ve never worked with John Boehner,” Cruz said matter-of-factly. “Truth of the matter is, I don’t know the man. I’ve met John Boehner two or three times in my life.” Cruz insisted that he has said maybe “50 words to John Boehner” in his entire life and all of them have consisted of pleasantries. He added, “I’ve never had a substantive conversation with John Boehner in any respect.”
Cruz went on to claim something that is not widely known. During the government shutdown, he had reached out to the speaker to have a meeting, and Boehner rebuffed him. “Can we resolve this and actually get something meaningful done to stop the disaster that is ObamaCare?” Cruz said he asked at the time. According to Cruz, Boehner’s response was, “I have no interest in talking to you. What possibly could be accomplished by having a conversation? No I will not meet.”
Cruz reiterated his point: “Boehner says I’m the worst guy he’s ever worked with? He’s never worked with me!”
Then he dropped the hammer.
“When John Boehner calls me Lucifer, he’s not directing that at me — he’s directing that at you,” Cruz charged. He continued:
What Boehner is angry with me for, is standing with the American people, is energizing and encouraging House conservatives to stand with the American people, and actually honor the commitments we’ve made.
What Boehner is angry with is that conservatives said, if we say we’re going to repeal ObamaCare, let’s actually stand up and fight ObamaCare.
What Boehner is angry with is if we promise to stop amnesty, let’s honor our commitments and actually stop amnesty.
What Boehner is angry with is we said if we promised to stop the debt that is bankrupting our kids and grandkids, lets actually do something meaningful to honor those commitments.
We promised to keep the country safe, let’s do something real to stop President Obama’s misguided plan to bring tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees into this country who may well be infiltrated with ISIS terrorists.
What Boehner is angry with is the American people for holding him accountable.
Boehner punctuated his point by noting that Trump has for decades funded the corrupt system that he says is unaccountable to the people.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member