Al Franken, who told USA Today that he hates Ted Cruz in an interview promoting the book, has deemed Cruz "singularly dishonest and smarmy." | AP Photo Cruz: Franken is ‘obnoxious’ for joking about me in new book

Ted Cruz called Al Franken "obnoxious and insulting" for devoting an entire chapter to the Texas GOP senator in Franken's new book titled "Giant of the Senate."

Franken, who told USA Today that he hates Cruz in an interview promoting the book, has deemed Cruz "singularly dishonest and smarmy." Cruz, for his part, said that the Minnesota Democratic senator is just trying to goose his sales with the Cruz-centric chapter called "Sophistry."

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"Al is trying to sell books and apparently he's decided that being obnoxious and insulting me is good for causing liberals to buy his books," Cruz said in an interview. "I wish him all the best."

An excerpt of the book circulating online on Wednesday contained a passage in which Franken intervened in a joke Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was writing about Cruz, with Franken cracking that Cruz is "full of sh--" like a Carnival cruise.

Franken explained to USA Today that he described such private interactions because Cruz had already broke Senate protocol by saying Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told a "lie" on the Senate floor.

Asked about that logic, Cruz laughed and said: "Said what I'm going to say"