Apparently, there's no tweet too innocuous for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to fan into a blazing Trumpster fire of outrage.
Witness the senator's hyperventilating Twitter meltdown this weekend over Big Bird. Yes, that's right, the eight-foot-tall, yellow Sesame Street character.
On Saturday, the Twitter account for the fictional character shared what amounts to a soft-pedaled PSA as parents began vaccinating their kids against COVID-19. “I got the Covid-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy,” the Big Bird account tweeted.
I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy.
— Big Bird (@BigBird) November 6, 2021
Ms. @EricaRHill even said I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!
It's an on-brand message for the long-running PBS program, aims to help kids make sense of what can be a scary adult world. And it's pretty uncontroversial.
Unless, that is, you happen to be part of the foil hat-wearing vaccines-contain-nanobots crowd on whom Cruz has apparently staked his run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
"Government propaganda ... for your 5 year old!" tweeted the senator — who's vaccinated himself — with characteristic feigned indignation.
Government propaganda…for your 5 year old! https://t.co/lKUlomnpq1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 6, 2021
Naturally, the Twittersphere rained down an avalanche of mockery. One account called @MuppetWiki even shared vintage PBS footage showing that Sesame Street and Big Bird have been trying to make the concept of vaccines less daunting for kids since at least 1972. Where was the outrage then? Oh, that's right: Trump.
Big Bird gets vaccinated, 1972 pic.twitter.com/M2mdmmjZ0N
— Muppet Wiki (@MuppetWiki) November 6, 2021
As the verbal beatings piled up in what may be Cruz's next Cancun moment, the senator attempted to claim victory by pointing out that he was trending, which he attributed to progressives being "really triggered by Big Bird."
Which is kind of like the kid who got called "Moco" in school after being caught eating his boogers claiming victory over his tormentors when the nickname made it into the yearbook beside his picture.
Keep dreaming, "Moco." Oops, we mean "Ted."
Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.
