If you though Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s dancing-themed Marco Rubio attack ad was the worst it was going to get, then prepare to be amazed. That’s because Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign just released one of the best — if not the best — political endorsements of the election season. It’s called “Cruz Commander,” and it stars Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson. You know, the Robertson whose famous 2010 speech calling gay people “ruthless” and “full of murder” earned him a brief nine-day ban from the A&E network.
“My qualifications for President of the United States are rather narrow,” he says, decked out in hunting gear and grease for camouflage. “Is he or she Godly? Does he or she love us? Can he or she do the job? And finally, would they kill a duck and put him in a pot and make him a good duck gumbo?”
Per these rather lax requisites, Robertson concludes that after reviewing all the candidates out there, “Ted Cruz is my man.” Sure, fellow Republican Donald Trump would probably shoot the biggest duck with the best gun and have one of his people make the YUUUUUGEST pot o’ gumbo, but it still wouldn’t be enough for the Duck Dynasty crew.
“Cruz, the reason we’re going to vote for you — all of us — is because you’re one of us, my man. That’s why we’re voting for you,” he tells Cruz at the end of the 56-second ad. “It’s now or never.”
Meanwhile, the candidate himself doesn’t get a single word in throughout the entire video. It’s a political endorsement, of course, which means that targeted potential viewers watching it are more likely to listen to whoever the featured celebrity is than the politician in question. Yet there’s still something really awkward about watching Cruz’s lips form words in response to Robertson, but hearing nothing come out.
See that? When Robertson’s head and lips move, his professionally miked voice is heard without issue. Cruz’s highly visible head nod and lip movement, however, is absent. So the Republican presidential candidate is either:
- Not miked during the video shoot.
- Removed from the final sound mix.
- Or capable of speaking to others with his thoughts.