The spat between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz over their wives proves that "we're in the race for the bottom," presidential historian Craig Shirley told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"But who knows where we're going to be?" the Ronald Reagan biographer asked "The Hard Line" host Ed Berliner. "This is only March.
"Where are we going to be by November?"
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He added that wives generally were "off-limits, but that's probably passed into history for good.
"Actually, Mary Todd Lincoln was heavily criticized by Congress for her lavish spending in the White House. Eleanor Roosevelt was a huge issue, especially in the 1940 campaign when FDR was running for a third term and there were buttons produced that said 'no third term and we don't want Eleanor, either.'
"Betty Ford became a campaign figure of mirth, so did Rosalynn Carter for sitting in on cabinet meetings.
"As we've progressed, we've probably gone downhill."