Carl Weiser

The Cincinnati Enquirer

Former House speaker John Boehner has been careful to not publicly comment on the GOP presidential race or really much of anything since leaving office.

But boy, did he open up in a talk at Stanford University, according to a story in the student-run Stanford Daily.

Among the highlights from his Wednesday evening chat at the Palo Alto, Calif., university:

• Boehner's description of Ted Cruz, who Boehner worked with in Congress? “Lucifer in the flesh,” Boehner said, according to the Daily. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

• Ohio Gov. John Kasich is high-maintenance. “[Kasich] requires more effort on my behalf than all my other friends … but he’s still my friend, and I love him,” Boehner said, according to the report. Boehner voted for Kasich in the Ohio Republican presidential primary last month.

• As for front-runner Donald Trump? The two are "texting buddies," Boehner said, adding that he considered Trump the presumptive nominee and would vote for him this fall.

Cruz responded during a campaign stop in Indiana, saying Boehner allowed his "inner Trump to come out."

"The truth is, I don’t know the man. If I have said 50 words to John Boehner I’d be surprised,” Cruz told reporters. He said during the government shutdown, “I reached out to John Boehner and offered for me and Mike Lee to come over” and meet with Boehner and see if they could resolve the standoff. “John Boehner’s response was, ‘I have no interest in talking to you. What possibly could be accomplished? .. No.”

The Texas senator also responded on Twitter Thursday morning: