Former House Speaker John Boehner is back in the spotlight after leaked clips from his “wine-soaked” audiobook recordings turned heads. The establishment Republican has major issues with the new GOP and hurled some aggressive insults toward Sen. Ted Cruz in off-script comments, saying in one clip he can “go f*** himself,” as Matt reported earlier this month.
But Cruz is unfazed by Boehner's continued attacks. Responding to clips of an interview Boehner did with CBS, the Texas Republican said he's wearing the insults as a badge of honor.
“The Swamp is unhappy. I wear with pride his drunken, bloviated scorn. Please don’t cry,” he tweeted last week.
The Swamp is unhappy.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 9, 2021
I wear with pride his drunken, bloviated scorn.
Please don’t cry. https://t.co/c90Ve2EOGq
If you don’t speak Swamp-creature, here’s the translation: “stirring up some of the crazies of my own caucus to cause all kinds of problems” means
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 12, 2021
“encouraging elected Members of Congress to actually honor the promises they made to the voters & DO WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO.” https://t.co/CIBpfxHUZQ
In the CBS interview, Boehner says he doesn’t like to "beat anyone up" but he’d make an exception for Cruz.
"Perfect symbol, you know, of getting elected, making a lot of noise, draw a lot of attention to yourself, raise a lot of money, which means you’re gonna go make more noise, raise more money," Boehner told CBS of how he views Cruz’s political career.
Boehner, an Ohio Republican who served as House speaker from 2011-2015, has been making the interview rounds promoting his book, "On The House: A Washington Memoir," which comes out next week. Boehner represented Ohio's 8th Congressional District from 1991-2015. (Fox News)
Cruz also addressed Boehner's jabs at CPAC in February.
“You know yesterday, John Boehner made some news. He suggested that I do something that was anatomically impossible,” Cruz said in his speech. “To which my response was, 'Who’s John Boehner?'”
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan similarly dismissed Boehner's attacks, which included labeling him and Cruz "political terrorists," saying he "never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart and never building anything, never putting anything together.”