With Tweets on Heidi Cruz, Trump Sinks to New Depths

But if that ad went too far, so then, characteristically, did Trump. The ad wasn't Cruz's doing, but Trump lashed out at him anyway. "Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad," Trump tweeted on Tuesday night. "Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!"

Must it really be said that threatening your opponent's spouse is out of bounds? Yes, apparently it must. That the alleged beans may have involved Heidi Cruz's struggle with depression made Trump's move all the more despicable.

And, in the "but wait, there's more" infomercial that is the 2016 campaign, it didn't stop there. When Cruz called Trump a "coward," Trump, naturally, counterpunched, retweeting the unflattering spousal photo spread.

And revealing, once again, his fundamental sexism. In Trump world, women are valued, or not, primarily for their attractiveness. "You know, it doesn't really matter what they write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass," Trump told Esquire in 1991. Women's looks are the focus of his interests, personal and professional (see Trump's investment in beauty pageants), and tend to be the focus of his female put-downs.

If anything, Trump has been -- by Trump standards -- restrained on this front during the 2016 campaign. He may not know better than to remark favorably on a professional woman's appearance -- hello, it's 2016! -- but he has managed, mostly, to refrain from looks-based bashing. Less "face of a dog," more "total fool."

Still, there are moments, when challenged, that he can no longer contain his instinct to demean based on attractiveness. Thus, Trump's reference to Carly Fiorina and "that face. Would anyone vote for that?" And thus, I think, Trump's outsized fury at Kelly: The very fact of her attractiveness heightens Trump's anger at her impudence.

And so it should surprise no one that we have descended to the Melania-Heidi faceoff, courtesy of Trump's retweet. Which does, indeed, speak for itself.

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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.