Two points:
1. Trump did say that a respected senator said that Ted Cruz was liar. Now, whether he intended that as a direct quote or as a summary statement is significant. That senator, Tom Coburn, does not have a statement I can find that says, “Ted Cruz is a liar”. So, if that’s what Trump was saying then Trump is wrong.
2. If Trump was summarizing a statement by Coburn, then it’s important that there is video of Tom Coburn saying that Ted Cruz’s methods are “intellectually dishonest.” That statement does exist. Can a person summarize that by saying that a senator said that Ted Cruz is a liar? I can see it. “So and so said that Xzins lied because he told people if they bought his beans they’d grow a beanstalk that would reach into the sky. So and so said that was intellectually dishonest, so that means Xzins lied.”
I can see it as a truthful SUMMARY. I cannot see it as a truthful DIRECT QUOTATION.
Coburn: Trump-circulated quote attacking Cruz 'absolute fabrication'
...."It's an absolute fabrication. I've never said that, period," Coburn told the Examiner. "It's unfortunate he would use my name to say something dishonest. It's a total fabrication."
"To me, it's more of loose play with the truth and loose play with the words," Coburn said.
Trump retweeted his social media director Dan Scavino, in turn quoting Coburn talking about the Texas senator. "He is, without a doubt, one of the most dishonest people in D.C.," read the quote Scavino attributed to Coburn. However, the quote appears to come directly from progressive website ForwardProgressives.com and writer Allen Clifton, who used the exact language to describe Cruz.
"I've made no secret of my total disdain for Sen. Ted Cruz," Clifton wrote. "He epitomizes everything that's wrong with the Republican party. He is, without a doubt, one of the most dishonest people in Washington and, in my opinion, a complete sociopath.".....