Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz responded on 28 April to a report that retired House Speaker John Boehner had called him "Lucifer." Boehner, a Republican, weighed in on the presidential race during a talk at Stanford University on Wednesday, according to the student newspaper, saying he could vote for his golfing and "texting buddy" Donald Trump but harshly criticising Cruz.

"Lucifer in the flesh," Boehner said of Cruz, who is a staunch fiscal conservative and who angered many of his colleagues in Congress by leading a government shutdown in 2013. "I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a b***h in my life," he added.

Cruz, a US Senator from Texas, said Boehner was allowing "his inner Trump" to come out. "When John Boehner calls me Lucifer, he's not directing that at me. He's directing that at you. What Boehner is angry with me for is not anything I've ever said to him. I haven't said much of anything to him. What Boehner is angry with me for is is standing with the American people, is energizing and encouraging House conservatives to stand with the American people and actually honour the commitments we've made," Cruz told reporters before a rally in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

On 27 April, Cruz named former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his running mate should he win the party's nomination, a move that could help him draw women's support.

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