Fiery interview between Ted Cruz and Chris Cuomo turns personal: 'Why don't you talk to the president like you talk to my brother?'

Sen. Ted Cruz appeared on Cuomo Prime Time Wednesday, and the interview quickly turned contentious when the Texas politician chose to focus on host Chris Cuomo’s brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, instead of President Donald Trump.

While discussing the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruz pointed out that New York and New Jersey had the most deaths and they are run by Democrats. Cruz repeatedly mentioned Gov. Cuomo’s response, while Chris Cuomo tried to get him to discuss Trump’s response.

“Why don't you talk to the president like you talk to my brother?” asked Cuomo. “Are you afraid of him, like he’ll smack you down at home like he did in primaries?” Confused, Cruz sarcastically replied, “Oh yeah, I’m scared of the Cuomos.” Cuomo fired back, “I’m talking about the president. My brother's not the president. I’m talking about the president — the one who called you a liar. The one that said your wife is ugly. That guy.”

Cruz initially campaigned against Trump in the 2016 presidential election before ultimately endorsing him. During their brief time as opponents, Trump mocked Cruz’s wife and suggested his father was involved in the assassination of JFK.

Cruz argued that singling out New York is pertinent, saying, “When the death rates are markedly worse in some states than others, we should ask a reasonable question.” To which Cuomo quickly responded, “Yeah, why didn't the president help sooner? That's the question. Why didn’t the president help sooner?”

This was Cruz’s first appearance on Cuomo Prime Time, and judging from the fireworks, quite possibly his last.

Cuomo Prime Time airs weeknights at 9 p.m. on CNN.

Watch as Kamala Harris calls out Trump’s 'stand back and stand by' comment:

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