Short version: Make America Awesome created an anti-Trump ad which featured a nude pic from a modeling gig (link here) done by Donald’s Trump current wife* – said pic was used in a Facebook ad targeting Mormons in Utah – and for some reason Donald Trump was inexplicably not pleased that such a vital ingredient of his own self-image was being used against him in such a mocking fashion. And what does Donald Trump do when that happens?  Why, he lashes out.  And he lashed out at Ted Cruz, apparently, with a threat of blackmail:

That’s a screenshot because, as Politico has noted, Trump’s already deleted the tweet once. [UPDATE: Trump reposted the Tweet] Cruz, by the way, is just a little bit contemptous towards Trump on the subject, because, again, Trump knows perfectly well that the ad didn’t come from Cruz.

Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you’re more of a coward than I thought. #classless https://t.co/0QpKSnjgnE

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2016

A couple of things, there. One, yes, if you were hoping – or dreading – that Ted Cruz and Donald Trump might have made a deal; yeah, I think that that’s a lot less likely now, not that it ever really was likely.  You see, I know what Trump was trying to insinuate**, and Ted Cruz knows what Trump was trying to insinuate, and if you wanted to make sure that Ted Cruz sticks with this one all the way to the bitter end, well, tonight’s attack would have been perfect in that regard.  Second: yeah, I know that Trump is probably more pumped about winning Arizona right now – gee, thanks, early voting! – but if he thinks that his stubborn inability to break 50% in these races is convincing the majority of the GOP to give up… well, it’s not.

Moe Lane

*Who, by the way, is probably likely going to be Trump’s last wife at this point.  Both because the man’s pushing 70, and because it would be really be awkward for him to follow Trump’s usual policy of cheating on her with, then trading her in for, a newer model.

**Garden-variety bout of depression from a decade back. Not exactly a revelation, or particularly relevant to the campaign, but Donald Trump is a nasty piece of work and so are the people who work for him. They’ve been flogging this story for a few days now.