Ted Cruz calls Trump and Rubio 'liars' while emphasizing the importance of ethics

Sen. Ted Cruz tore into fellow Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio at a South Carolina press conference Wednesday while simultaneously patting his own campaign on the back for taking "the high road."

"Falsehoods have no place in American politics," the Texas senator said, calling out both Rubio and Trump for being "liars" after Trump called him a "liar" the day before.

To emphasize his point about the presidential race's lack of ethics, Cruz then brandished the cease-and-desist note that Trump's lawyers allegedly sent his campaign after it used politically damning archival footage of Trump in an attack ad. "I have to say, Mr. Trump, you have been threatening frivolous lawsuits for your entire adult life," Cruz said. "If you want to file a lawsuit... file a lawsuit." Cruz contends that there is no way that "repeating someone's own words" could be defined as defamation.

Even though Rubio isn't the one sending Cruz threats of a lawsuit, Cruz had some words for him, too: "Marco Rubio," Cruz said, "is behaving like Donald Trump with a smile."