Ted Cruz Roasted After Making Awkward 'Verbal Slip' About 'Pedophiles'—And Oops!

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was widely mocked after he championed bipartisan agreement during a Senate hearing—only to make an unfortunate gaffe that made him look as if he was defending "pedophiles" in the process.

Cruz was responding to a remark New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker made about the need for bipartisan agreement when he said... well, this:

“I think that’s a great idea—we should have bipartisan agreement. How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop murders.’ How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop rape.’"

"How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop attacking pedophiles.’”

You can hear what Cruz said in the video below.

A spokesperson for Cruz said that Cruz made “a verbal slip” while “rattling off a series of crimes we should unite in opposing, started a sentence about opposing pedophilia, and added a stray word while talking it out.”

But the damage was done.

Quick as a flash, California Governor Gavin Newsom—who has been trolling the Trump administration in a Trumpian manner for weeks, responded:

"WHY IS TED CRUZ PROTECTING CRIMINALS INSTEAD OF FUNDING HEALTH CARE. SICK!"

You can see his post below.

Others quickly piled on.

Cruz's gaffe came as House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to face heavy criticism for keeping the House of Representatives out of session to delay a vote to release the Epstein files, which are said to contain detailed lists of some of the late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's most high-profile clients and enablers.

President Donald Trump is widely believed to be in the files and has rejected calls by his followers to release them. In turn, he has admonished critics of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who herself concluded no such list exists despite fanning conspiracy theories and claiming the exact opposite just months ago.