WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Republican presidential aspirant Ted Cruz fired his chief campaign spokesman Rick Tyler after he shared a story on social media that falsely suggested rival Marco Rubio was dismissive of the Bible.
At a press conference Monday, while campaigning in Nevada ahead of the Republican caucuses, Cruz explained his decision, saying he asked for the resignation of Tyler for a grave error of judgment. Rival campaigns have piled on the Texas senator for his alleged lies and dirty tricks.
Tyler had shared on Twitter a story from The Daily Pennsylvanian, which reported that Rubio told a Cruz staffer reading the Bible that the holy book did not have many answers in it. The story was accompanied by a video, though the audio was unclear.
The Rubio campaign responded with a video showing Rubio actually praising the Bible for providing answers, instead of the opposite.
Tyler later deleted the post and apologized to Rubio on his Facebook page.
The issue strikes to the heart of Cruz's support among evangelical Christians.
Rubio accepted the Cruz campaign's apology, but called for more accountability. It's every single day something comes out of the Cruz campaign that's deceptive and untrue, Rubio said, calling the Bible video perhaps the most offensive Cruz tactic to date because it questioned his faith.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX