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“Of course it’s not appropriate,” said Ted Cruz of Corey Lewandowski's alleged actions against Breitbart reporter, Michelle Fields. | AP Photo Cruz: Trump manager's grab of reporter a 'fireable offense'

DECATUR, Ill.—Ted Cruz on Monday said that a campaign staffer physically grabbing a reporter would be a “fireable offense,” several days after a journalist accused Donald Trump’s campaign manager of doing just that.

Several months ago, Cruz said, “we were all amazed and joking about the fact that the Clinton campaign used ropes to hold back reporters, to keep them away from Hillary Clinton, and that seemed like the height of disdain from a candidate for reporters and the media,” the Texas senator and GOP presidential candidate said. “We never envisioned that it would now reach the levels of allegations of significant physical assault. Physically assaulting a reporter is a fireable offense, and at the end of the day, responsibility for any campaign rests with the candidate.”

Michelle Fields, a former reporter for the conservative outlet Breitbart News, accused Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of forcefully grabbing her arm in an effort to move her away from Trump last week and leaving bruises. The account was corroborated by a Washington Post reporter. Fields has since resigned over her company’s handling of the incident. The Trump campaign denies wrongdoing, though the GOP frontrunner has come under mounting criticism for hosting volatile events that have on several occasions turned violent.w

“Of course it’s not appropriate,” said Cruz, one of Trump’s rivals who is seeking to emerge as the GOP’s alternative to Trump. “What a bizarre world we’re in where reporters are forced to ask the question, ‘Should political campaign staffers physically assault reporters?’”