In his quest to become America’s longest running punchline, Ted Cruz decided to end his CPAC speech by screaming one of Mel Gibson’s iconic lines from the movie Braveheart. After opening things up by awkwardly joking about his Cancun trip, Cruz definitely didn’t stick the landing by attempting to pull off the epic battle cry. Before exiting the stage, Cruz decided to quote “the immortal words of William Wallace” by screaming “Freedom!” into the mic in an attempt to rally conservatives who have grown weary of following COVID-19 restrictions. (Plus the usual Republican concerns of living under a Democratic administration.)
But instead of leading a throng of courageous warriors into battle against a tyrannical government, Cruz mostly just got dunked on as people couldn’t help but notice that he clearly missed the point of Braveheart. Folks also pointed out how unfair it is that Howard Dean‘s presidential ambitions ended in 2004 for a yelp that was nowhere near Cruz’s odd Mel Gibson impersonation.
Did William Wallace run off to the tropics to keep his wife and kiddies cozy warm? pic.twitter.com/QTOfBkV5oU
— Mick Limerick (@Mick_Limerick) February 26, 2021
This type of yell got Howard Dean cancelled. https://t.co/2I1aaLKDEM
— Jennifer Hayden (@Scout_Finch) February 26, 2021
Mike Dukakis just pulled up to CPAC in a tank & said "Bitch, you're trying too hard." https://t.co/InrGjYZ0o6
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) February 26, 2021
I feel like Ted Cruz maybe didn't watch the end of Braveheart
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) February 26, 2021
Ted Cruz is just like William Wallace except for all the courage, honor, patriotism, bravery, strength, integrity, morality, virtue, toughness, wisdom, fearlessness, goodness, scruples, & righteousness.
He’s less like Braveheart and more like Naivefart.
— The USA Singers (@TheUSASingers) February 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1365333936101015556
Of course, the Braveheart scream is just one of a growing list of embarrassing moments coming out of CPAC. While Cruz is clearly the winner with his awkward yell and Cancun joke, the conservative event was already off to a bad start when a golden statue of Donald Trump was spotted being wheeled around the premises. The situation didn’t improve when the CPAC organizers found themselves being booed for asking people to wear a mask. Turns out conservatives aren’t that concerned with the rule of law after all, and it probably doesn’t help things when a United States senator starts screaming “Freedom!” into a mic.
(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)