Boehner: Ted Cruz a ‘miserable son of a bitch’

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) panned Ted Cruz as “Lucifer in the flesh” during comments at an event Wednesday night at Stanford University. 

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone,” Boehner said, according to The Stanford Daily. 

{mosads}“But I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” 

Cruz was a thorn in Boehner’s side during several standoffs with the Obama administration, and some of his actions likely cost Boehner support from his own conference.

Cruz, a 2016 presidential hopeful, met with House members of the conservative Freedom Caucus — an unusual move for a freshman senator — in 2013 and pushed them to fight to defund ObamaCare. The effort eventually led to a government shutdown that hurt the GOP politically. 

Boehner reportedly called Cruz a “jackass” over the issue.

At Stanford, a Boehner unburdened by the shackles of the office, reportedly drew laughter and smiles from the attendees as he struck a more informal tone than he had in past previous appearances. 

He recounted how he used to play golf with Donald Trump, the current GOP presidential front-runner, and said they were “texting buddies.” As for the final GOP presidential hopeful, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Boehner reportedly was more measured. 

“[Kasich] requires more effort on my behalf than all my other friends,” he said. “But he’s still my friend, and I love him.”

Boehner told the crowd he’d support Trump in the general election, but not Cruz. 

He also predicted that Hillary Clinton would hold off Bernie Sanders to be the Democratic presidential nominee in the fall. But he added that legal issues involving her use of a private email server could lead to an unexpected outcome. 

“Don’t be shocked … if two weeks before the convention, here comes Joe Biden parachuting in and Barack Obama fanning the flames to make it all happen,” he said.

Updated at 9:14 a.m.