Ted Cruz’s job as a U.S. Senator might be to vote on bills and introduce legislation that helps American families and communities, but if you ever see his name trending on social media, it’s likely not for his proficiency as a lawmaker.
Take Wednesday (September 21), for example, when the Republican senator from Texas found himself getting dragged across Twitter for crediting himself on the funding of a highway project that he voted against this past March. “Senator Cruz voted against this,” the White House tweeted in response to an interview Cruz had given touting the bill.
While Cruz helped introduce an amendment to an omnibus bill that was passed earlier this year, he ultimately voted no on the actual bill that funded the highway project. Cruz said he made the decision because the project was “rolled into a giant bill that has a whole bunch of good things and bad things.”
Critics saw Cruz’s flaunting of the bill as a hypocritical move. How can someone credit themselves for bringing jobs to their state when they voted against the bill that funded the project that brought the jobs to their state?
But this isn’t Cruz’s first blatant fumble which led to him being dragged online. The senator has experienced his fair share of social media roasts since taking his seat in 2013; some even including the loveable Elmo and the cast of The Princess Bride.
Here are just a few examples of Ted Cruz and his greatest social media fumbles that made it easy to drag him on social media.
1
He Picks on Muppets
This past summer, Cruz picked a fight with Sesame Street’s beloved monster Elmo. Cruz was angry because he said the cute, red Muppet was “aggressively” promoting the COVID-19 vaccine for young kids after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that children from six months to five years old were eligible to receive the vaccination. Last year, he went after Big Bird for tweeting that he received the vaccine. “Government propaganda…for your 5 year old!” Cruz responded. We wish we were making this up.
2
He Asks the Most Ridiculous Questions
During Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings earlier this year, Cruz spent a lot of his time asking the Harvard-educated judge whether she believed babies were racist. He was referring to a children’s book called “Antiracist Baby” and was attempting to tie his questions back to his opposition of Critical Race Theory. He also asked Jackson if she believed that he, as a Latino, could identify as an Asian man, and asked her how she would define “woman.” Every single sigh Jackson let out during her time speaking with Cruz was justified.
3
He Abandons His Constituents & Heads to Cancún
Former President Donald Trump liked calling Cruz “Lyin’ Ted,” but since February 2021, Texans have adopted a nickname that fits even better – “Cancún Cruz.” The senator earned the moniker after he hopped on an airplane to Cancún, Mexico, right in the middle of the worst winter freeze Texas had seen in decades. He came crawling back to Texas when he realized that voters don’t like when their elected officials go on vacation and leave their constituents stranded without electricity or water.
4
He Has Opinions on Issues He Knows Nothing About aka Climate Change
In early 2021, Cruz made everyone’s brain hurt when he tweeted about President Joe Biden rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. “President Biden indicates he’s more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh,” Cruz wrote. What the “citizens of Paris” had to do with the Paris Climate Agreement was beyond anyone’s understanding, but the gaffe was easy enough to mock, as displayed perfectly by New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
5
He Pretends to Hate Hollywood, but Actually Loves Hollywood
Cruz likes to pick fights with individuals he considers part of the “Hollywood elite.” Some of the names he’s tweeted at include Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Rogen, Daisy Ridley, and Ron Perlman. But Cruz is a self-described “movie buff,” so interacting with any of these stars online is probably the highlight of his year. What else does he have to look forward to – going to the sauna with Rand Paul? The problem with Cruz pretending to be a pop culture enthusiast online is that everyone he enjoys watching on screen, thinks he’s a terrible human being. When your favorite movie is The Princess Bride and the star of that movie calls you a “miserable ROUS,” there’s no coming back from that.