Trump Pushes Tabloid Rumor About Cruz's Father and JFK Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday linked Rafael Cruz, father of GOP rival Sen. Ted Cruz, to Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

During a phone interview with Fox News' "Fox and Friends," Trump mentioned a recent tabloid story that claimed the mystery man in a photo of Oswald and others is Rafael.

"His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being — you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous," Trump said. "What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don't even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it."

"I think it’s absolutely horrible that a man can go and do that," the billionaire continued. "I mean, what was he doing — what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible."

The National Enquirer — famous for embellishing stories — published a set of images last month of what it alleged was Rafael Cruz and Oswald, along with other men, passing out leaflets in New Orleans in 1963, just months before Oswald assassinated Kennedy in Dallas.

Predictably, the Cruz campaign was quick to deny the allegations. Alice Stewart, communication's director for Cruz, told McClatchyDC last month that National Enquirer's story is nothing but tabloid "garbage."

"This is another garbage story in a tabloid full of garbage," Stewart said. "The story is false; that is not Rafael in the picture."

McClatchy noted in their story that National Enquirer's claim has not been corroborated "in any other way."

This is not the first time the tabloid has taken aim at Cruz or his campaign. In March, the publication accused Cruz of having an affair with five different women. But without any real evidence, and with many of the accused women openly saying they did not have an affair with Cruz, the story was quickly put to bed.

Cruz has since responded to Trump's allegations, labeling them "nuts" and "kooky."

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