GOP Presidential Race Update: Donald Trump Questions Whether Ted Cruz Has Any Other Undisclosed Loans

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m. EST — Ted Cruz fired back at Donald Trump Saturday, saying Trump's record does not match what he has been saying in the campaign and questioning Trump's temperament, the New York Times reported. “It seems Donald has a lot of nervous energy,” Cruz said. “And for whatever reason, Donald doesn’t react well when he’s going down in the polls,” adding, “I think in terms of a commander-in-chief, we ought to have someone who isn’t springing out of bed to tweet in a frantic response to the latest polls.”

UPDATE: 3 p.m. EST — Donald Trump unleashed a series of tweets denouncing Ted Cruz for his comments on New York values. During Thursday night's debate, Cruz explained New Yorkers stood for abortion rights, liberalism, the media and Wall Street.

Trump also called Cruz a hypocrite for accepting donations from Wall Street.

For his part, Cruz treated Trump's tirade with humor.

Original Story:

U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Ted Cruz Saturday, intimating the loans the Texas senator received for his 2012 Senate race may have influenced his stance on bank regulation. Cruz, who polls indicate is actually leading Trump in Iowa ahead of the Feb. 1 caucuses, has been embroiled in controversy over the loans for failing to list them on his Federal Election Commission (FEC) reporting statements.

Trump issued a series of tweets early Saturday criticizing the failure and questioning Cruz’s eligibility for the presidency since he was born in Canada. Cruz has said he is considered a “natural-born citizen” of the United States because his mother was a U.S. citizen. The real estate mogul, however, referred to his rival as a “natural-born Canadian.”

The New York Times reported Friday Cruz not only failed to report a loan from Goldman Sachs for his 2012 campaign, he also failed to report one from Citibank. The two loans totaled as much as $1 million. In a letter to the FEC Thursday, Cruz said the loans were “inadvertently omitted” from required filings.

The Times said the disclosure casts doubt on the Cruz narrative that he fueled his come-from-behind victory in the Texas Republican primary by liquidating his family’s savings. Cruz’s wife works for Goldman Sachs and secured a loan for as much as $500,000, secured by a brokerage account. A similar loan was obtained from Citibank, but it was unclear what was used for collateral, the Times said.

Cruz has tried to downplay his error of omission, saying during Thursday night’s debate it was a paperwork error and the loan had been disclosed in a filing to Congress.

Trump, however, Saturday accused Cruz of purposely withholding information on the loans.

Trump also linked the loans to Congress’ reluctance to enact legislation that would rein in big banks.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls indicates Trump is leading Cruz nationally, 34.5 percent to 19.3 percent. In Iowa, however, the two candidates are in a dead heat, with the Jan. 7-10 Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll giving Cruz a 3-point edge.