After lobbing insults at Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s masculinity that didn’t land as intended, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, appears to be doubling down on efforts to prove his own machismo.
Cruz fired off a gushing tweet Sunday evening from President Donald Trump’s UFC fight birthday party on the White House lawn, describing the event as “pure Americana.” The senator even included multiple photos of himself awkwardly posing with other Trump backers and pseudo-celebrities as proof he was there to enjoy the beatdown.
“What an incredible evening,” Cruz gushed. “For weeks, the media promised a disaster. Instead, Americans got an unforgettable championship fight on the South Lawn, fireworks over the White House, and a celebration worthy of our 250th birthday.”
Political observers consider Cruz a likely contender for the 2028 Republican presidential bid, which likely explains why he was so eager to score points with the MAGA base.
Still, one has to wonder whether the senator has any read on broader political climate right now.
As billionaires and Trump sycophants clotted under a 90-foot-tall “claw” slapped with Polymarket and Crypto.com logos, just 16% of Americans in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll said they think the event was appropriate for the White House. Roughly half said “hell no” to a pay-per-view cage match attended by billionaires in front of the “People’s House.”
The let-them-eat-roundhouse-kicks vibe also comes as Trump’s poll numbers continue to sink over surging food and gas prices and his war with Iran.
“Even for a president with a lifelong penchant for P.T. Barnum-esque gambits, this one was in a league of its own,” the New York Times reported of the UFC fight, citing its corporatized nature, crassness and “eruptions of casual cruelty.”
While, the Cruz’s tweet may not have been the savviest of moves, how much self-awareness and self-respect can we expect from a guy who’s continued to ass-snorkel a president who once mocked his wife for being ugly?
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