On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz pretended to stoke the flames of controversy by — gasp — awkwardly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in a video now being widely mocked on Twitter.
The Texas Republican shared a clip of himself, alone in his office, hand over his heart, delivering a nasally, robotic recitation of the Pledge. “This didn’t use to be controversial,” he tweeted by away of explanation, throwing in the hashtag #flagday to remind us that June 14 is the day in 1777 when the U.S. officially approved the design of the national flag.
Because, um, patriotism. Or red meat for the base. Or something. In truth, it’s hard to tell what Cruz was after. Let’s just say his performance doesn’t come across as particularly stirring.
And as is so often the case when Texas’ junior senator tries to use Twitter to gin up controversy, he instead unleashed an avalanche of mockery.
Some users picked up on the goofy surreality of Cruz’s display. However, more pointed out that reciting the pledge isn’t particularly controversial. Unless, that is, you happen to be one of the lawmakers who tried to overturn a legitimate presidential election and helped fan the flames of an insurrection that trashed the U.S. Capitol.
With Texas’ shaky electrical grid once again in the news, plenty of folks also used the opportunity to renew their skewering of Cruz for jetting off to sunny Cancun while millions of Texans endured freezing temps without power.
Keep on shitposting, Ted. Apparently, it’s easier than actually expending effort to do anything for the 29 million-plus constituents you claim to represent.
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This article appears in Jun 2-15, 2021.
