Elmo (A Fuzzy Red Muppet) Got The COVID-19 Vaccine And Ted Cruz (A Human Senator) Freaked Out About It

Ted Cruz is freaking about Sesame Street again. The Texas senator went after Elmo, arguably once of the most beloved children’s TV characters of all time, for getting the COVID vaccine now that it’s available for children under 5 years old. Going all the way back to the ’70s, Sesame Street has long been a proponent for vaccinations, and more importantly, helping kids not be scared about the procedure, so Elmo getting the jab is part of a long storied tradition for the landmark children’s programming.

“Elmo got the COVID vaccine today, just like Elmo’s mommy and daddy!” the official Elmo account tweeted. “Elmo’s daddy had a lot of questions, but Elmo’s doctor said the vaccine would help keep Elmo healthy, and all of Elmo’s friends and family too! #CaringForEachOther”

It doesn’t get more wholesome than that. But for Cruz, it was a bridge too far as he proceeded to lash out at a puppet on Twitter.

“Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions! You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5. But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this,” Cruz tweeted.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Cruz has taken a swing at Sesame Street. The Texas senator went viral back in November 2021 when he went after Big Bird. Again, per the show’s long tradition, the lovable giant bird encouraged children to get the COVID vaccine now that it was available for ages 5 to 11. Unfortunately, America’s right-wing has been adamantly opposed to the vaccine, so to cater to the Republican base, Cruz mocked the Sesame Street campaign. However, all it did was spark calls for Cruz to be replaced in the senate by Big Bird, which obviously, would be a vast improvement for the people of Texas.

(Via Ted Cruz on Twitter)