Cruz Staffer Apologizes to Rubio for Sharing College Paper Story

Ted Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler on Monday issued a Facebook apology to Marco Rubio for sharing an article from a college newspaper that claimed the Florida senator had said there were "not many answers" in a Bible a Cruz staffer was reading.

"The story showed a video of the Senator walking past a Ted Cruz staffer seated in the lobby of a hotel reading his Bible," Tyler said on his Facebook page. "The story misquoted a remark the Senator made to the staffer. I assumed wrongly that the story was correct."

In the story, picked up from the University of Pennsylvania's student paper The Daily Pennsylvanian, accompanied by a video of a hotel interaction between the staffer, Cruz's father Rafael, and Rubio, the student publication claimed Rubio made the "not many answers" comment, but other sources said he appears to say "all the answers" are in the Bible.

"According to the Cruz staffer, the Senator made a friendly and appropriate remark," Tyler continued. "Since the audio was unclear, I should not have assumed the story was correct. I've deleted the post because I would not knowingly post a false story. But the fact remains that I did post it when I should have checked its accuracy first. I regret the mistake."

In a note placed atop the story, the student paper's editor said that the publication has been receiving many questions about the video, as some have disagreed with its transcript. However, the editor said, "we stand by our original transcript, but the video is here for you to see for yourself and make your own judgement."

Tyler's apology, though, marks the second one the Cruz campaign has made during the heated primary race. After the Iowa caucus, the Texas senator apologized himself to rival candidate Ben Carson after his campaign staffers had spread rumors that the retired neurosurgeon was dropping out of the race.

Rubio staffer Alex Conant on Sunday tweeted a denial that the exchange happened as the newspaper posted it, as he was there: 

This video has correct transcript; any other is another dirty trick by Cruz camp. How do I know? I'm in the video!! https://t.co/llZGimU5Jp

— Alex Conant (@AlexConant) February 21, 2016

Related Stories:

• Cruz, Carson Held Private Meeting in South Carolina
• Carson: I Accept Cruz's Apology, But Guilty Party Should Pay