Texas Republican Senator spent time Thursday, May 12 stumping for Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate David McCormick.
Cruz is backing McCormick—who once served in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush—while former Republican President Donald Trump is backing Mehmet Oz—who once had a TV show.
Speaking to McCormick's supporters, Cruz tried to make the point that unlike his opponents, McCormick's agenda was clear and conservative.
Taking a jab at the other candidates, Cruz said:
"Just once, I’d love to see a Republican candidate stand up in a primary and say, 'I am a moderate, establishment squish. I stand for absolutely nothing'."
"It would be refreshingly honest at least. But nobody says that."
The Texas Republican added:
"And by the way, they all pledge their love for Donald Trump."
Cruz mimicked:
"'I love Donald Trump,’ ‘No, no. I love Donald Trump more.’ ‘No, no, no. I have Donald Trump tattooed on my rear end'."
When an audience member yelled:
"Let’s see it."
Cruz replied:
"I like you, but not that much."
You can see the moment here:
While Cruz seemed to mock Republicans who bow and scrape to Trump, his response to the audience member implied Cruz knows he'd be the one to get the Trump tattoo on his posterior.
Either way, people pointed out Cruz's seeming lack of self-awareness.
@ghostoffredtrump/Twitter
Cruz said of McCormick—a former hedge fund manager—he is the "most conservative candidate who can win."
Cruz added:
“We need to back a candidate who, number one, can win—and Dave McCormick can win and he will win—but number two, we need a candidate whom we know what they’re going to do, not just because they said it on the campaign trail, but because they have a lifetime of walking behind it."
In his turn at the microphone, McCormick told the around 150 attendees:
"We think the country is headed in the wrong direction."
“We think the wokeness and the weakness that we see in our institutions—that we see in our leadership—is going to take us down a path where we’re not going to recognize the great America that we all love.”
McCormick's speech matches many of the White nationalist talking points popularized on Fox News.
That same rhetoric is being cited as influencing the racist attack in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead and three others injured.
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