Ted Cruz Tells Donald Trump to Leave His Wife 'the Hell Alone'

DANE, Wisconsin -- Sen. Ted Cruz lashed out at Donald Trump today after the GOP front-runner’s comments about the Texas senator’s wife in recent days.

When asked by ABC News if he could still respect and support Trump were he to win the Republican presidential nomination after the latest attacks, Cruz raised his voice and told Trump to leave his wife, Heidi, "the hell alone."

“I don't get angry often,” Cruz said while campaigning in Wisconsin. “But you mess with my kids, you mess with my wife, Donald, you’re a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone!”

“Let me be absolutely clear our spouses and our children are off bounds,” Cruz added. “It is not acceptable for a big loud New York bully to attack my wife.”

Cruz said that Trump has a problem with strong women.

"Donald does seem to have an issue with women. Donald doesn’t like strong women. Strong women scared Donald and Donald is scared a lot these days,” Cruz said.

Late Tuesday night, Trump tweeted on Tuesday night that he would “spill the beans” about Cruz’s wife after the anti-Trump super PAC "Make America Awesome" released an attack ad featuring a racy image of the billionaire's wife, Melania, from her former modeling days.

Then Trump re-Tweeted a post on Wednesday showing a side-by-side image of Heidi Cruz and his wife, Melania, with the words: “No need to 'spill the beans.’ The images are worth a thousand words.”

Cruz pondered Trump’s late night tweets.

“It is not acceptable for him to make insults to send nasty tweets late at night,” Cruz said today.

Cruz said that his wife should be free of being taunted by “a big loud New York bully.”

“It’s the action of a small and petty man who is intimidated by strong women. Real men don’t do that and Donald is indicating the fear that keeps him up at night when he lashes out in anger,” Cruz said. "Donald should stick with attacking me because Heidi is way out of Donald Trump’s league."

Heidi Cruz is on leave from a job at Goldman Sachs while she helps in her husband’s White House bid. She is a popular surrogate for Cruz, often campaigning on her own. She has also been a key part of her husband’s campaign fundraising effort. The two met working during the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush.