Cruz, Rubio and Carson take questions at town hall

Donald Trump said he is “very seriously considering” suing his rival, Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

Rubio is seeking to take second or third place in South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday and potentially emerge as the main Republican establishment alternative to front-runner Donald Trump, who has a big lead in the state.

Cruz called Trump out for retweeting a fabricated quote from former Senator Tom Coburn, in which Coburn supposedly called Cruz “one of the most dishonest people” in Washington.

“But if Donald Trump files the lawsuit that he threatens, that lawsuit will be frivolous”, Cruz said. “If he wants to file a frivolous lawsuit, he can file a frivolous lawsuit”.

The ad, called “Supreme Trust”, about trusting the choice for a Supreme Court vacancy, uses clips from a 1999 interview Trump did with the late Tim Russert in which the developer, then considering a White House run, declared himself to be “pro-choice”.

But Trump also suggested Tuesday that he would temper his comments on social media should he become president.

The race has entered an increasingly nasty phase in SC, with numerous negative ads airing on local television following an unusually caustic debate this past weekend in which Trump confronted Jeb Bush about his brother’s record as president. “You can read the constitution all you want; it never says it’s the government’s job”, said Carson. Marco Rubio over alleged dirty tricks leading up to Saturday’s South Carolina GOP primary.

“If he doesn’t take down his false ads and retract his lies, I will do so immediately”, Trump said.

“No, I am pro choice in every respect”, says Trump.

Shortly after, Trump’s campaign issued a statement calling Cruz “desperate”.

George W. Bush’s rare emergence from political hibernation came at a time when Trump took several swipes at his two poisonous legacy of an unpopular war in Iraq and the economic recession that began at the end of his presidency.

Trump and Rubio are “repeatedly putting forth fabrications with no evidence, no basis whatsoever, just trying to throw mud and attack”, Cruz said.

Ted Cruz is condemning the deadly shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic, but is refusing to blame the attack on the anti-abortion rhetoric that has consumed stretches of the Republican primary campaign.

“His campaign has not gotten the traction he wanted”, said Cruz.

“Any first year law student can tell you truth is the absolute defense”, the freshman senator said, before launching into long explanations of four “data points” that would be a part of the lawsuit. “America can’t afford more politicians like Ted Cruz who will easily sacrifice principle for political gain”, said Joe Pounder, Rubio spokesman.