Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) said Monday that Donald Trump appears to "have a problem with strong women" after their dust-up involving Trump's attack on Cruz's wife, Heidi.
Cruz was asked about it during footage that aired of a Wisconsin town hall hosted by Fox News host Megyn Kelly, no stranger to Trump's ire.
Trump admitted Sunday he regretted retweeting an image that showed Heidi Cruz juxtaposed in an unflattering light with Trump's wife Melania. Trump has also drawn fire for his frequent attacks on Kelly, at one point implying she was menstruating when she questioned him about previous controversial remarks he'd made about women.
"You are a presidential candidate. You are a U.S. Senator, but you're also a human being," Kelly said to Cruz. "You love your wife. There's been no apology. The question is, should there be? And what of the other threat that he has made against her that you need to watch it or he will, quote, spill the beans on her?"
Cruz laughed.
"Listen ... it makes him feel really tough," he said. "It makes him feel like a very, very big man to threaten people, and in particular, he seems to have a problem with strong women. I don't know why that is, but it seems to really bother him."
Cruz added there were no "beans to spill" about his wife, an investment manager at Goldman Sachs and former member of the George W. Bush administration.
"I love Heidi with all my heart," he said. "She is brilliant. She is beautiful. You know, she's been in the business world for 20 years. She's been working at a number of different places ... Listen, finance is tough. It's rough-and-tumble. She has dealt with bullies. She's dealt with people who think that they can just yell and scream at a strong woman and make her cower.
"Let me tell you. Heidi Cruz is not remotely scared of Donald Trump. So, her attitude, she just laughs this off and says, 'Listen, everyone knows what Donald says has little to no bearing on reality."
The clip of the town hall was aired by MSNBC on Monday morning. Politico reported a campaign aide asked MSNBC to stop filming a short while later. The full town hall will air during The Kelly File at 9 pm. ET.
Note (4:47 p.m.): This article has been updated to show the full town hall will air on the Fox News program The Kelly File at 9 p.m.