Better cancel that pitch meeting with Judd Apatow . . . For Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, the bromance is over. “Nobody likes him.” “[H]e’s a nasty guy,” “[H]e tells lies.” Those sound like fighting words, Donald. No more buddy-buddy. The good times are done.

Bromance Is Dead

Then… 

Donald Trump on Ted Cruz: “I always liked him.” “Trump told POLITICO that such overtures go a long way with him. He appreciates that Cruz refrains from ‘sniping’ at him, the way other candidates do, he said — and the way other Republicans sniped at Cruz in 2013. ‘He has been very supportive, he has not been a sniper like so many of the others have,’ Trump said. ‘And he has been very supportive of the positions I’ve taken, agreed with the wall [on the border] on illegal immigration, he didn’t try to make points by sniping…I always liked him. There’s a very strong mutual respect.’” [Politico, 9/4/15]

Now…

Donald Trump on Ted Cruz: “Nobody likes him.” “‘I don’t think Ted Cruz has a great chance, to be honest with you,’ Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview on ‘This Week’ Sunday. ‘Look, the truth is, he’s a nasty guy. He was so nice to me. I mean, I knew it. I was watching. I kept saying, ‘Come on Ted. Let’s go, okay.’ But he’s a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He’s a very –- he’s got an edge that’s not good. You can’t make deals with people like that and it’s not a good thing. It’s not a good thing for the country. Very nasty guy.’” [ABC News, 1/17/16]

Then…

Donald Trump: Ted Cruz is “a good man.” “‘Well it’s a good relationship,’ Trump said of Cruz. ‘He’s a good man. He’s a conservative guy. He’s doing pretty well. He’s doing pretty well. Fortunately, he’s not doing as well as I am, but these are minor details. He’s doing pretty well and he’s said wonderful things about me and he actually backs anything I do, because we have similar views.’ ‘He’s not doing this out of a weakness, he’s doing this out of a strength. He backs virtually everything that I said — wouldn’t you say,’ continued Trump. ‘I mean, virtually everything that I’ve said he’s backed.’” [Buzzfeed, 11/30/15]

Now…

Donald Trump: Ted Cruz is a “nasty guy.” “Republican front-runner Donald Trump ramped up his criticism against Ted Cruz, his chief rival for a win in next week’s Iowa caucus, in an interview with CNN on Monday, calling the Texas senator a ‘nasty guy who can’t get along with anybody.’ In the interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Mr. Trump said he sees the party’s establishment forces rallying behind him because they want to prevent Mr. Cruz from winning the nomination.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/25/16]

Then…

Donald Trump on his relationship with Ted Cruz: “It is a bit of a romance.” “Rather than feuding the same base of support, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are embracing a different strategy: share the stage. The pair did so literally on Wednesday as they rallied opposition to the Iran nuclear deal that just a day earlier secured enough Senate support to kill Republican efforts to derail the deal. ‘It is a bit of a romance,’ Trump told CNN at the rally. ‘I like him, he likes me. He’s backed me 100% about illegal immigration. He was the one person that really — and there were a couple of others — but Ted Cruz was out there and he backed me very strongly.’” [CNN, 9/9/15]

Now…

Donald Trump: “Ted cannot get along with anybody.” “‘Ted cannot get along with anybody,’ Mr. Trump said, pointing to criticism from some of Mr. Cruz’s fellow senators. (The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, famously called Mr. Cruz and his allies ‘wacko birds’ in 2013.) ‘At a certain point, you’ve got to make deals,’ Mr. Trump added.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/25/16]

Then…

Donald Trump: Ted Cruz “backs anything I do, because we have similar views.” “‘Well it’s a good relationship,’ Trump said of Cruz. ‘He’s a good man. He’s a conservative guy. He’s doing pretty well. He’s doing pretty well. Fortunately, he’s not doing as well as I am, but these are minor details. He’s doing pretty well and he’s said wonderful things about me and he actually backs anything I do, because we have similar views.’ ‘He’s not doing this out of a weakness, he’s doing this out of a strength. He backs virtually everything that I said — wouldn’t you say,’ continued Trump. ‘I mean, virtually everything that I’ve said he’s backed.’” [Buzzfeed, 11/30/15]

Now…

Donald Trump: Ted Cruz “tells lies.” “Mr. Trump also responded to a recent ad by the Cruz campaign that highlights the real-estate billionaire’s support for eminent domain and accuses him of planning to bulldoze a widow`’s house to build a ‘limousine parking lot at his casino.’ ‘He tells lies,’ Mr. Trump said. He said he supports eminent domain, but that he never bulldozed the widow’s home. PolitiFact has rated that statement half true, noting that the widow’s home was never destroyed, but that Mr. Trump had been engaged in a multi-year legal battle to take over the property until a state court ruled against him.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/25/16]