Apparently, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (right) is learning that muppets can clap back. Credit: Facebook / Sesame Street (left); Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

Few things satisfy like seeing blowhard, out-of-touch politicians savaged by satire. And when that satire is in the form of singalong-ready tune performed by muppets? Well, all the better.

During Thursday night’s show opening, late-night host Stephen Colbert trolled the fuck out of Sen. Ted Cruz over the Texas Republican’s recent Twitter tantrum about Sesame Street muppet Elmo receiving the big, bad COVID-19 vaccine.

As you may recall the far-right Cruz — who’s vaccinated but likes to play an anti-vaxxer when it’s politically beneficial — had a similar meltdown last fall when Elmo’s pal Big Bird got jabbed, calling it “government propaganda … for your 5-year-old!”

In Thursday’s Colbert clip, show staffers dubbed a Sesame Street segment to make Elmo, Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus join in singing “Ted Cruz Song,” a piano-driven romp that includes choice couplets about Texas’ junior senator, such as “Feckless buffoon/Flees to Cancun” and “Tea Party boob/Chin full of pubes.”

Naturally, at the end, we learn the segment was brought to us by the letters F and U.

Check it out below: 

Youtube video

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This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 12, 2022.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...