Ted Cruz gets mad and vulgar after Morning Joe calls him out on his Trump hypocrisy
With the Senate back in session despite the COVID-19 pandemic — primarily because of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s lust for confirming right-wing judges to federal court before the levers of power are snatched from his hands in the November elections — one would think that Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) would have better things to do than engage in social media feuds with cable news presenters.
This is, however, the Trump era where brownie points can be earned by attacking any media labeled as “Fake News” by the president because they insist on reporting facts rather than accepting Trump’s lies unquestioningly.
Thus, there was Senator Cruz on Twitter attacking MSNBC‘s “Morning Joe” Scarborough for sharing a tweet originally sent by ABC’s late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that depicted Vice President Mike Pence delivering what appeared to be empty boxes of personal protective equipment (PPE) to a hospital.
When Scarborough found out that the clip was edited in a way that made it misleading, he promptly deleted his forwarded tweet and posted exactly why he was removing it from his feed.
I guess Twitter is a full time job. I apologize to Mike Pence for retweeting a tweet that had been disproved. I’m deleting now.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 8, 2020
Before Scarborough’s retraction and apology, the Texas Senator still found the spare time in his busy schedule to tweet a link to the MSNBC host’s now-deleted post and attack the morning news commentator as a “dishonest and corrupt” journalist, launching a Twitter feud for the ages.
Hmm. When you’re on the defensive for being dishonest & corrupt, perhaps best not to forward fraudulent stories from Jimmy Kimmel (that he’s admitted were false)? You are claiming to be a journalist, after all…. https://t.co/tYsgKJGxpR
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020
Scarborough clapped back at Cruz hitting him in his emotional solar plexus with a reminder of how little pride he must have to be so sycophantic towards a president who repeatedly belittled and lied about him when they were both running for the Republican nomination in 2016.
Ted, when I make a mistake I admit it. You remain mired in shame because you kowtow to a man who called your wife ugly and said your daddy assassinated JFK. Me messing up a tweet or two will never erase the shame you carry every day of your life. https://t.co/eJa4qWzqA2
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 8, 2020
Apparently, them’s fighting words in Texas, and the now-incensed Senator wasn’t going to let Scarborough’s ego-piercing reminder go unanswered.
Joe, you chased after Trump for 2 years like a teenage girl throwing her panties at the latest boy band; now you pretend to be this indignant paragon of virtue outraged at everything he says & does. All to get invited to DC cocktail parties & thrill the 13 people watching MSNBC. https://t.co/XG9P0Bwrbp
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020
Oooh! Pretty sick burn from a man known more for his calculated lizardy unctuousness than any particular semblance of wit.
MSNBC‘s Morning Joe got the last words in for this epic insult fest, however, with a two-part post that demolished Senator Cruz with an assault on the evangelical favorite’s brokered soul and his facade of being the representative of the Texas good ol’ boys.
PS. I don’t do cocktail parties. I went to University of Alabama and University of Florida. You’re a Harvard and Princeton boy who spends your life around lobbyists and billionaires. You can cut out the man-of-the-people BS. Nobody believes anything you say.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 8, 2020
It looks like there’s more contagion than just COVID-19 running around Washington DC these days, as symptoms of lack of credibility seem easily transmissible from Donald Trump to every Republican who has jumped on his collapsing bandwagon.
Congrats to Joe Scarborough both for admitting when he makes a mistake and for calling out those who double down on their own biggest lapses in judgment.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by Brooke Seipel at The Hill.
We want to hear what YOU have to say. Scroll down and let us know in our NEW comment section!
