After getting ruthlessly slamming by Jon Stewart (and Stephen Colbert) for taking part in the GOP’s effort to block the Honor Our PACT Act last week, Ted Cruz is back with another brutal self-own. During a senate hearing on the latest FBI guidelines for extremist symbols, the Texas senator took offense to seeing the Gonzalez battle flag on the list. In a particularly dramatic move, Cruz apparently pulled off one of his boots and slammed it on the table to show that, as a proud Texan, he wears the flag every day.
Ted Cruz brandishes his boot during a Senate hearing pic.twitter.com/qBQRijo9Tu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2022
Via Yahoo!:
Also included on this is a text that I was particularly struck is the Gonzales Battle Flag – Come and take it – as indicative of being a violent extremist militia. Well, I will self report right now that every day in the Senate, I wear my boots that have the Gonzales battle flag on the back of them. Director Ray, what are y’all doing? This makes no sense. Do you agree with this FBI guidance? That the Betsy Ross flag, and the Gadsden flag and the Gonzales Battle Flag or signs of militia violent extremism.
Not fazed by Cruz’s theatrics, FBI Director Christopher Wray responded, “I will tell you that when we put out intelligence products, including ones that reference symbols, which we do across a wide variety of contexts, we usually make great pains take great pains to put caveats and warnings in the document that make clear that a symbol alone is not considered evidence of violent extremism.”
However, on social media, folks had a field day with Cruz’s latest “tough guy” moment, which possibly involved him sitting there the whole time with one boot off? You can see some of the reactions dragging Cruz below:
Act of self-serving performative horseshit by jellyfish who voted against a bill for veterans sick or dying because of selfless & genuine acts of service to the nation. Oh, he then lied about why he voted against. Voted for it after publicly shamed. But tell us about your boot. https://t.co/sHO4BoEj9U
— 𝙼𝚊𝚡𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 (@maxapotter) August 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/jtlevy/status/1555235472200404996
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the biggest “fake tough guy” in the history of the United States. https://t.co/fz307vwHLg
— David Liechty (@BackcountryFam) August 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/mattcortezlaw/status/1555233074836901888
So did he bring an extra boot, or was he sitting there with no boot on until his turn to speak? https://t.co/frGeC9KG11
— Connor Ewing (@ConnorMEwing) August 4, 2022
https://t.co/i5UyLjbdLj pic.twitter.com/PenAtPayAD
— Shannon (@shay3322) August 4, 2022
Hahahaha. He’s like a 12 year old boy pretending to be a man. He thinks this makes him look like a tough, rugged individualist.
What a freaking loser https://t.co/1n50GjkWZv
— David, Grand Duke of Tennessee (@abominabledavid) August 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/grant_looper/status/1555234222352334856
https://twitter.com/RagingOzo/status/1555226063281717251
I can think of a much better place for that boot @tedcruz https://t.co/fWJS9WD2iP
— @kleaptrot@bsky.social (@natzbandwagon) August 4, 2022
(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)