Donald Trump calls Ted Cruz a 'p***y' because he does not support waterboarding

The relationship between the two rivals has become increasingly toxic

Donald Trump called Mr Cruz a "pussy" (AP)

The relationship between tycoon Donald Trump and Ted Cruz has turned decidedly tense in recent months.

There was a time when Mr Trump had nice thing to say about the hard-nosed senator from Texas, and even talked about his respect for him. Yet as Mr Cruz has risen in the polls - indeed, he pushed Mr Trump to second place in Iowa - the relationship has become increasingly toxic.

On Monday, it reached a new low when Mr Trump used the word “p***y” to refer to his conservative rival.


 Mr Cruz defeated Mr Trump in Iowa
 (AP)

The term was first used by a woman attending Mr Trump’s final rally before voting. After first calling on a woman close to the stage to “shout it out” again, Mr Trump repeated the woman's one-word insult: “She said he’s a p****y.”

Many of Mr Trump’s supporters admire the way he refuses to be politically correct and often makes comments that others consider insulting, racist or Islamophobic.

The reference sto Mr Cruz came as Mr Trump discussed the senator objection to the use of water-boarding, which the billionaire has said he supports.

CNN said that Mr Trump stopped mid-sentence, pointing to the woman near him in the crowd at Verizon Centre in Manchester and saying: “She just said a terrible thing”.

“You know what she said? Shout it out because I don't want to say,” said Mr Trump, who is leading the polls for New Hamsphire.

But he then realised most of the crowd could not hear the woman.

“OK you're not allowed to say and I never expect to hear that from you again. She said - I never expect to hear that from you again - she said he's a p***y,” he said, as the crowd cheered.

“What kind of people do I have here?”

Mr Cruz said during the Republican debate on Saturday that he was opposed to to water-boarding, which is considered torture by international law.

Mr Trump said during the debate: “I’d bring back waterboarding. And I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.”

Rick Tyler, Mr Cruz’s communications director, called the incident just the “latest episode in the reality show that Donald has made the 2016 campaign”.

“Let’s not forget who whipped who in Iowa,” he added.