Ted Cruz Called 'Lucifer' By Ex-House Speaker

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has hit back after former US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner called him "Lucifer in the flesh".

The Texas senator said his fellow Republican had allowed "his inner Trump to come out".

Campaigning in Indiana, Mr Cruz said to voters: "When John Boehner calls me Lucifer, he's not directing that at me. He's directing that at you."

Mr Boehner launched the public attack while speaking to students at Stanford University in California this week.

"I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a b**** in my life," the Ohio Republican said, according to the Stanford Daily.

Mr Boehner also said he and Republican front-runner Donald Trump are "texting buddies" and he would vote for Mr Trump, but not Mr Cruz.

Mr Cruz said he had never actually worked with Mr Boehner and he would be surprised if the two had ever exchanged more than 50 words.

But some commentators pointed out that in the late 1990s a then-27-year-old Mr Cruz acted as Mr Boehner's lawyer.

Mr Boehner resigned last September under pressure from backbench conservatives allied with Mr Cruz.

His disliking for Mr Cruz is partly due to the Texan's role in riling up the rank-and-file to force a partial government shutdown in 2013.

The fiscal standoff turned Mr Boehner's job into a nightmare and led to him labelling Mr Cruz a "false prophet" and a "jackass".

Mr Cruz is hitting the trail with his vice-presidential pick, Carly Fiorina, who dropped out of the White House race earlier this year.

He unveiled her on Wednesday even though he is trailing in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The announcement was unusual because candidates typically announce a running mate after securing the nomination, not while in an open race.

The last time it happened was in 1976 when Ronald Reagan named his vice-presidential choice while trailing incumbent President Gerald Ford in primary season.

His gambit failed and Ford beat him to the Republican nomination at the party convention that year.