Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz accidentally told on himself while trying to insult New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a Fox News interview on Monday for going from working as a bartender to being a federal government employee—what he called a "parasite."
Cruz appeared on the network after Ocasio-Cortez argued during a speaking event last week that the American Revolution was fought “against the billionaires of their time” and defended her previous claim that billionaires cannot truly “earn” that level of wealth without others suffering in the process.
Ocasio-Cortez spent several years working as a bartender in the Bronx to help her single mother avoid foreclosure on their home following the 2008 financial crisis. By contrast, Cruz attended Princeton University and Harvard University and has spent nearly all of his professional career in public office.
Cruz said, "AOC had this bizarre take on the history of America," and said it, "was American free enterprise capitalists who invested in seeking freedom," adding the following to network host Sean Hannity:
"By the way, AOC also said it is impossible for anybody to earn a billion dollars. Which look, I recognize for her given that she was a bartender, that is probably true, and there is no disrespect to bartenders. Bartenders are an honorable profession. But she went from that to being a government employee and a parasite sucking on the taxpayer."
"Think of Henry Ford, who invented the Model T, who invented the assembly line, and basically created the American middle class, you don’t think that produced billions of dollars?"
"Look at Elon Musk, making electric cars, making self-driving cars, sending rocket ships to the moon, he’s going to be sending rocket ships to Mars, and yet these left-wing zealots say if you are successful and you are producing and creative, you are bad, we want to take everything from you, and we want to put a bunch of Washington politicians in charge of your life."
"I’ve got to say, Sean, if you’re a 25-year-old guy starting your career, or a 25-year-old woman starting your career, that is a horrible, dystopic future, and if they take over the Congress, God help this country."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Cruz was swiftly mocked for his remarks.
When approached for a response to Cruz's remarks, Ocasio-Cortez had this to say:
"It’s not a secret the disdain that Ted Cruz has for people who work working-class jobs. It’s not a secret what he thinks of the waitresses, the line cooks—he thinks we’re less than him. He thinks that because he has a Harvard degree and has never scrubbed a table that it makes him better than someone who has actually had to work for a living."
"I think it’s funny that he’s been taking a government paycheck for 23 years but has the audacity to criticize someone who has come from a family that had to work their way up and earn their place here."
"If that's how he feels, that's how he feels. I don't take it personally. I'm okay with it."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
People loved her response—and criticized Cruz even more.
You might want to take several seats, Ted.
