Doubling Down, Donald Trump Tweets a My-Wife's-Prettier-Than Yours Meme Featuring Heidi Cruz – and Ted Fires Back

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump‘s battle over their wives raged on overnight, with the billionaire businessman firing shots in the form of an unflattering meme.

Trump re-Tweeted late Wednesday a split-screen meme that juxtaposed a photo of Mrs. Cruz, a former economic policy adviser and Goldman Sachs investment manager, beside a glamor shot of his own wife Melania, a former model. And, for good measure, Trump added a quote from Twitter user @Don_Vito_08: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

The meme included the text, “No need to ‘spill the beans’ the images are worth a thousand words.”

The photo referenced Trump’s earlier threats to “spill the beans” on Heidi after an anti-Trump super PAC reportedly shared a nude meme of Melania.

Following the GOP front-runner’s initial comments, Cruz called Trump a “coward,” and told CNN – quoting The American President – “If Donald wants to get in a character fight, he’s better off sticking with me because Heidi is way out of his league.”

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After midnight Thursday, Cruz responded to Trump’s latest jab, taking to his own Twitter account to write, “Donald, real men don’t attack women.”

“Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life,” the junior senator from Texas wrote.

Even Trump’s Fox News nemesis Megyn Kelly weighed in on the back-and-forth, Thursday, posting Trump’s Tweet with only the comment, “Seriously?”

The political rivals’ personal war escalated as their battle for delegates carried on, with Cruz winning Utah’s Tuesday primary in a landslide (69 percent to Trump’s 14 percent) and also prevailing in Idaho. Trump won Tuesday night’s third GOP contest, picking up 58 delegates in Arizona’s primary.