In the midst of the current news cycle’s fascination with Senate confirmation hearings and Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to utilize the “fake news” moniker as an insult for organizations he dislikes, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz appeared in a joint interview on Thursday’s Morning Joe. It proved to be a surreal experience for co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. “If I can hear Lindsey Graham say ‘Make America Great Again’ yesterday with a smile on his face, anything is possible,” Scarborough joked. Equally bemused, Brzezinski added: “The world is upside down.”
The all-too obvious references to the president-elect’s campaign slogan, and the two former candidates’ apparently diminished animosity for their previous election rival, was enough to spur the Morning Joe team and the viewers at home. Yet it was the realization that Graham once joked about Cruz being murdered on the Senate floor during the Washington Press Club Foundation’s 72nd Congressional Dinner last February that prompted the most awkward laughs. Mainly because, after his proclamation that “love is everywhere,” Graham took the opportunity to apologize to Cruz on television.
“I want to apologize to Ted for saying he should be killed on the Senate floor. I’m sorry, Ted,” Graham said with a smile on his face. In response, Cruz quipped “at least we’re not on the Senate floor now.” Whether the latter was a reference to the ongoing confirmation hearings or Cruz’s potentially seeking revenge remains to be seen. Even so, both men seemed jovial enough to be interviewed together.
It happened on #morningjoe: Sens. Graham & Cruz. Together. https://t.co/yLFm8K84Uk pic.twitter.com/4i3CNBUB5L
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) January 12, 2017
Apologies about murder dreams notwithstanding, Cruz and Graham appeared to discuss their support for the recent suggestion that the United States defund the United Nations over its decision to condemn Israel for building settlements in the West Bank. This led to an unsurprising amount of criticism for the outgoing White House administration’s approach to the fraught subject, as both men disagreed with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s handling of the matter.
They also broached the subject of Russia’s alleged election hacking, which led to their condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. While they never really dug into the ol’ “golden showers” controversy currently flooding the news cycle, the context did shed some light on a rather poorly worded joke Cruz made at the beginning of the interview.
“I think we’ve crossed the streams,” he said in a reference to Scarborough’s request he explain the situation in terms of Ghostbusters. “I think the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is coming out anytime soon.”
Sure, Ted. Your “crossed the streams” was totally just a reference to Ghostbusters.
(Via Business Insider)