Heading into the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump bashed Republican rival Ted Cruz as a "total liar" for saying on the campaign trail that he supported a national healthcare program similar to Obamacare.
"Ted Cruz is a total liar," the front-runner said Sunday on
"This Week" on ABC News. "I am so against Obamacare.
"I've been saying it for two years in my speeches, I'm going to repeal and replace Obamacare," he added. "I don't even know where he gets this."
In recent weeks, Cruz has been steadily attacking Trump on a number of fronts — accusing him of not being a true conservative, taking swipes at the front-runner's "New York values" and charging that Trump supports healthcare programs similar to the Affordable Care Act.
A pro-Cruz super PAC, Keep the Promise, released a radio ad in Iowa last week that links Trump to both President Barack Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton,
NJ.com reports.
"First there was Hillarycare," the spot says. "Then, there was Obamacare. We can't afford Trumpcare."
In September, Trump told
"60 Minutes" on CBS that he would repeal the Affordable Care Act and create a new universal healthcare system.
"I am going to take care of everybody," Trump told anchor Scott Pelley. "I don't care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're taken care of now."
He told "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the government should provide all Americans with healthcare.
"If people have no money, we have to help people," he said in the telephone interview. "But that doesn't mean single-payer.
"It means we have to help people. If somebody has no money and they're lying in the middle of the street and they're dying, I'm going to take care of that person.
"If this means I lose an election, that's fine," Trump continued. "Because, frankly, we have to take care of the people in our country.
"We can't let them die on the sidewalks of New York or the sidewalks of Iowa or anywhere else."
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