During the 2018 midterm elections, Republican Senator Rafael "Ted" Cruz took a beating about his image resulting in a narrow victory—considering he represents deep red Texas—at the polls. Critics called him a wimp and brought up his acceptance of insults from President Donald Trump about his wife and father, his Canadian birthplace and his lack of coolness.
Since then, Cruz appears to have launched a gritty reboot of himself—adding facial hair and trying for a "cool, tough guy" persona the Texas GOP tried and failed to sell during the election. Included in that effort is tough talk on Twitter and in interviews that—unfortunately for Cruz—gets mostly mocked.
After author and MSNBC host Chris Hayes called out Cruz's leap onto the "White, Christian conservatives are the most persecuted people in the United States" bandwagon...
Hey @jack how come Twitter’s “moment” quotes all the snarky leftists making fun of my comments, but doesn’t include… https://t.co/5cQD0cUWnR— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1557975210.0
This is the saddest tweet I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/YztBJuA478— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1557977721.0
...the Texas Republican posted a bizarre threat in response.
@chrislhayes May Space Pirates devour your liver. 🏴☠️ 🏴☠️— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1557979758.0
Cruz serves on the Senate Armed Services committee which includes the oversight of President Trump's new—and equally mocked—Space Force. His space pirates jab at Hayes came just a day after everyone got a laugh at his expense over comments Cruz made in committee about the Space Force.
Ted Cruz argues that Space Force is necessary because... wait for it... space pirates. Leave it to Cruz to take a d… https://t.co/obqPfGtutZ— Adam Best (@Adam Best) 1557962377.0
"Pirates threaten the open sea, the same is possible in open space. In this same way, I believe we too must now rec… https://t.co/Ii8DBkjA0U— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1557960317.0
Fuck all these anti-choice pieces of shit for making me so angry and upset I can’t even joke about Ted Cruz believi… https://t.co/eKVHJxiCmC— The Volatile Mermaid (@The Volatile Mermaid) 1558013284.0
The response to Cruz's odd choice of response to Hayes' tweet leaned heavily against the Texas Senator.
@OhNoSheTwitnt @tedcruz @chrislhayes Proof #CmonTehhhd https://t.co/aYPTXCxr4m— Tara Dublin Needs A Literary Agent (@Tara Dublin Needs A Literary Agent) 1558057503.0
@tedcruz @chrislhayes "It was the only internship I could get" https://t.co/ddGEFD9kZ4— Phil E. Moose (@Phil E. Moose) 1558023254.0
People thought it might have been posted by a parody account instead of the real Senator Rafael Cruz.
@tedcruz @chrislhayes I had to make this wasn't a parody account— Luqman (@Luqman) 1557981075.0
@mr_luqman_ @tedcruz @chrislhayes I mean Ted Cruz is a parody of a Texas Senator so same thing.— Johnny B. (@Johnny B.) 1558033309.0
Devin Nunes' cow brought up another embarrassing Twitter moment from Cruz's past.
@tedcruz @TrueFactsStated @chrislhayes Is pirate porn a thing?— Devin Nunes’ cow 🐮 (@Devin Nunes’ cow 🐮) 1558057898.0
@DevinCow @tedcruz @TrueFactsStated @chrislhayes Space Cow porn! https://t.co/NzFdoJnt39— ҞALANI #Resist (@ҞALANI #Resist) 1558067858.0
In case you forgot...
@tedcruz @jack hey do u guys remember when ted cruz liked a porn tweet on 9/11— Jules Suzdaltsev (@Jules Suzdaltsev) 1558013523.0
@jules_su @tedcruz @jack #neverforget https://t.co/a6Rho2VKGI— LionKingLee (@LionKingLee) 1558019996.0
People floated theories about Cruz's new image attempt and space pirate comments. Socially awkward or carefully crafted means to an end?
@tedcruz @chrislhayes I think Ted Cruz is just straight up taking the piss now. He secretly wants to retire and tak… https://t.co/LGJn2FYzIW— Zachmo (@Zachmo) 1557996490.0
Or is it just a deficiency inherent in the GOP?
@tedcruz @chrislhayes Studying at the Mike Huckabee School of Comedy again, Ted?— BowserDog (@BowserDog) 1557979957.0
@dcbowser @tedcruz @chrislhayes Why are republicans so bad at humor? 🤷♀️— Stewie Griffin (@Stewie Griffin) 1557981256.0
@SSSupervillain @HissyFitz2 @dcbowser @tedcruz @chrislhayes A sense of humor is a sign of a higher level of intelligence.— WatchYourRepsSC 🆘 (@WatchYourRepsSC 🆘) 1558023369.0
And some went full circle back to Hayes' original observation about sad tweets.
@tedcruz @chrislhayes On second thought... https://t.co/OLP1b2HQXk— allie (@allie) 1557979931.0
Sorry Senator Cruz. Everyone is trying to #BeBest.
But there were fish in the barrel and you handed out guns.