White House: Boehner was just being honest about Cruz

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was just being honest when he called Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh,” President Obama’s top spokesman said Thursday.

“I don’t know that he was trying to be helpful or harmful,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said when asked about Boehner’s remarks. “I think he was just looking to be honest about his own view.”

{mosads}Boehner laid into the Texas senator during a recent appearance at Stanford University. The two men clashed frequently when Boehner led the House, most prominently during the 2013 government shutdown. 

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone,” Boehner said of Cruz. “But I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” 

Earnest has taken particular glee in going after Cruz, a vocal critic of the president. 

He has frequently teased Cruz over his Canadian birthplace and slammed him for organizing “pro-war” rallies against Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran. 

But the spokesman declined to weigh in on whether Obama believes Boehner’s remarks were appropriate.

“I think if you’re looking for somebody to come to the defense of one Republican being attacked by another, you should probably ask someone else,” he said.