Longtime political operative and Donald Trump supporter Roger Stone drew a sharp rebuke this week from a Politico reporter after he made a remark combining Sen. Ted Cruz's, R-Texas, rumored sex scandals with the term "ratf—-ing."

The moment occurred Monday as Politico's Glenn Thrush and Stone discussed the time when the senator seemingly accused Stone of engaging in dirty tricks.



"Let me give you an opportunity to respond right now. Roger, are you, in fact, a ratf—-er?" the reporter asked Monday during a podcast interview.

Stone responded to Thrush's question by taking a shot at Cruz, and by dredging up a National Enquirer report alleging that the senator had engaged in several extramarital affairs.

"Actually, I've seen some of the women that Ted Cruz is accused of hanging with. I think he's the one f—-ing rats," the infamous political operative said.

The National Enquirer published an unverified report in March claiming that Cruz had cheated on his wife with up to five women. The senator called the story " garbage," and suggested the report originated in the billionaire businessman's camp.

"Donald Trump may be a rat but I have no desire to copulate with him," he told reporters.

The senator's allusion to the term "ratf—-king," which is a slang term for political sabotage, was taken by many as a direct shot at Stone, who for some reason was given the cute title " dirty trickster" in 2008 by the New Yorker.

Thrush did not appear pleased Monday with his guest's remarks.

"All right. We cannot — that is gone," he said. "[C]an I ask you that question again and don't f—-ing say that?"

"Okay," Stone responded.

From there, the two went on to discuss the history of "dirty tricks" in American politics and the genesis of the term "ratf—-ing."

Though audio of the moment was cut from Thrush's podcast, Stone's reference to the National Enquirer story appeared Monday in Politico's official online transcript.

"In general, it wasn't a topic I wanted to spend too much time on — I wanted to talk [about Donald Trump]," Thrush told the Washington Examiner's media desk.

Stone, who until August of 2015 served officially as an adviser to the casino tycoon, is well-known for his often inflammatory remarks. His off-the-cuff rhetoric led to across-the-board bans this year on MSNBC and CNN.

He did not respond to the Examiner's request for comment.