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Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) debated his Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke Tuesday night and ended up stumbling over what should have been a very easy question to answer.
One of the debate moderators asked Cruz to tell voters "something you've done in the last year that has nothing to do with politics" so that Texans can form a better "insight to who you are as a person."
Cruz's response, apart from looking like he was just asked to find the solution to quantum gravity, was six seconds of dead silence and a heavy sigh.
The incumbent Republican then said the hardest part about being a Senator "is being a dad," followed by remarks about how tough it is managing a family while working in Washington.
Watch the clip below:
We dare you not to cringe as a simple debate question stumped Texas Senator Ted Cruz into six seconds of painful si… https://t.co/v3ff830z1O— HuffPost (@HuffPost) 1539782455.0
Needless to say, this didn't help Cruz's likeability factor on Twitter. People were pretty amazed that Cruz, himself a sitting Senator and former federal prosecutor, wasn't able to answer a question about his personal life.
@sidneyCanuck @HuffPost Yeah, he got a softball lobbed in the air and couldn't hit it 😂sounds like he went low on h… https://t.co/LUA0djuu7k— PaDe. (@PaDe.) 1539784937.0
@DoggyRescueDiva @HuffPost It was so telling— Kelsey Drake (@Kelsey Drake) 1539787107.0
@HuffPost It will be a fine day when Cruz loses! 👍🏻😛— Peter Brook (@Peter Brook) 1539795434.0
@HuffPost not that deep— big ounce (@big ounce) 1539791338.0
@HuffPost Watched it live last night with a few others. A lot of us started laughing and gasping at the same time.— Truthandonlythetruth (@Truthandonlythetruth) 1539784434.0
@HuffPost HAHAHA! Oh, this is perfect. (BTW It would probably help if he had a shred of humanity)— soupcity (@soupcity) 1539783105.0
@HuffPost Seems the hardest part about Ted Cruz's job is keep his mind on the issues that face Texas. If being a da… https://t.co/SBGOcvf7YZ— Maggie A (@Maggie A) 1539784943.0
Cruz has answered other questions with silence in the past - tough questions at that.
In June, Weekly Standard reporter Haley Byrd asked Cruz if he thinks the president (in this case Donald Trump), has the constitutional authority to pardon himself .
I ask Ted Cruz if he agrees with Trump that the president can pardon himself. Cruz is silent for eighteen (18!) sec… https://t.co/SSXBD7SEIR— Haley Byrd (@Haley Byrd) 1528148280.0
Cruz's response was 18 seconds of silence, followed by saying in a near non-answer that he hadn't studied that part of the Constitution.
Alright, folks. Here's the audio https://t.co/3UhsX3f8Jh— Haley Byrd (@Haley Byrd) 1528149824.0
@HuffPost https://t.co/IBJMRDwhzn— Mykey Deeh (@Mykey Deeh) 1539783334.0
The Texas Senate race is one of the most closely-watched and hotly contested this election cycle. Both candidates have raised tens of millions of dollars. The winner of the Texas seat will help determine which party ends up controlling the upper chamber in November.