Today In History: Trump Tweets About Heidi Cruz; Truman Aids Palestinian Refugees

March 24, 2017, is the 83rd day of the year, with 282 days remaining. The moon is in a waning gibbous phase, with illumination at 15 percent.

Truman Signs Off on Aid to Palestine

The year 1949 saw Harry S. Truman’s signing of a U.S. resolution authorizing $16 million in aid to Palestinian refugees displaced and facing starvation as a result of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

The president’s resolution contributed funds to a $32 million United Nations aid package, with Truman stating during the signing that he hoped, before the relief money was exhausted, this means would be devised for the permanent solution of the aforementioned refugee issue.

That following year in 1950, Truman asked Congress to grant an additional $27 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the latter of whom continues to work on behalf of Palestinian refugees.

Donald Trump Compares Wife to Heidi Cruz: “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words”

Hard on the heels of a tweet made the previous night on March 23 comparing Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi, to Melania Trump, Donald Trump received a straightforward, but otherwise even-tempered, response from the Texas senator.

“Donald,” said Cruz, “real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.”

But that wasn’t all the senator had to say to Trump, remarking later on live television that the now-45th president was a “sniveling coward,” urging Trump to “leave Heidi the hell alone.”

“This is a sad state of affairs when we have someone who is running for president who makes derogatory and insulting comments, repeatedly, against women,” said Cruz spokeswoman Alice Stewart on CNN.

“We’ve had Carly Fiorina; we’ve had Megyn Kelly; and now, Heidi Cruz. This is not just a whim. This is a pattern.”

Kelly issued a one-word reaction to Trump’s tweet: “Seriously?”

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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr