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Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was confronted by a heckler on a flight who criticized him for his response to the mass shooting earlier this year at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
19 children and two teachers died during the shooting. An increased police presence at the school failed to deter the shooter.
But that didn't stop Cruz from continuing to espouse conservative talking points about how militarizing more officers could prevent further shootings. Cruz also suggested fewer doors in schools would also reduce mass shootings.
A Twitter user who uses the handle @Nathan_VBB uploaded a video of himself confronting Cruz on a plane.
When asked to name a single victim of the shooting, Cruz could not despite the fact it occurred in his state and dominated news headlines for several weeks amid renewed calls for the United States to enact comprehensive gun control legislation.
You can see what happened in the video below.
\u201cSenator Cruz was on my flight, and I asked him to name any of the Uvalde victims. \n\nHe couldn\u2019t. Texas deserves better than spineless hacks like this. Right the wrongs of 2018, and make @betoorourke our next Governor. #betoforgovernor #cancuncrus #uvaldestrong\u201d— Fix Your Tie (@Fix Your Tie) 1663268290
The encounter began once the man sarcastically thanks Cruz "for everything you've done since Uvalde" before cracking that all of the episodes Cruz has made since the shooting for his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz "must have raised a lot of money."
Cruz responded "just yesterday I tried to pass the most significant school safety bill," referring to the Securing Our Schools Act of 2022, which would have provided $15 billion to double the number of school resource officers, $10 billion to hire 15,000 mental health professionals for middle and high schools and $2.56 billion for physical security improvements on school campuses.
The man in the video proceeded to ask Cruz to explain how he was able to make time to craft legislation when he was "busy recording podcast episodes."
Then he asked Cruz to name any of the victims of the Uvalde shooting, to which Cruz responded:
"I do. And ask why Chris Murphy objected and stopped the biggest school safety bill that's ever passed yesterday."
The man ignored Cruz's comment and asked him once more if he can name a single victim of the shooting but Cruz deflected, saying:
"But you don't know. You don't care about the facts. You're a partisan, that's okay."
For many, the video only confirmed Cruz not only doesn't know, but doesn't care.
They have also praised @Nathan_VBB for calling Cruz out in public.
\u201cMore of this, please! \n\nPeople like Ted Cruz should not get a moment\u2019s rest and be called out, and held accountable for the damage they are causing the American people, as long as it is done without breaking the law.\n\n#VoteBlue\u201d— \ud83d\udc99Rhonda\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83d\udc99Rhonda\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\udf0a) 1663453128
\u201cMore of this.\n\nWithin the limits of the law, these people should never get a moment's rest without being made accountable for the damage they are willfully doing to millions of people.\u201d— John Pavlovitz (@John Pavlovitz) 1663452720
\u201cGood for you for asking that disgraceful idiot the Question! of course we all knew he would not know.\u201d— Brandy Hutchison (@Brandy Hutchison) 1663359305
\u201cMore \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb of \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb this \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb Thank you for speaking out. He needs to be held accountable.\u201d— Alley \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Alley \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1663470341
\u201cOmg this is the best video of @tedcruz I've seen in a long time. He's such a coward.\u201d— Mrs. Friendly (@Mrs. Friendly) 1663349454
\u201cWhat a loser Ted is. Zero concern for those beautiful innocent children that died.\u201d— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf0aAmanda\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (( \u2764\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\u2764 )) (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf0aAmanda\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (( \u2764\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\u2764 ))) 1663351009
\u201cNot so tough when he doesn\u2019t have his talking points handy\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Your friendly neighborhood liberal (@Your friendly neighborhood liberal) 1663579209
\u201cWELL DONE, @Nathan_VBB \ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd Bravo!! Wish more people on board would've joined in and piled on #BetoforGovernor2022 #BetoForABetterTexas #TedCruzIsAPOS #CancunCruz\u201d— Priyanka (@Priyanka) 1663442600
\u201cWhat a complete and utter pool of dumpster runoff you are @tedcruz. You deserve all of the world\u2019s sadness and despair. May you never know a moment\u2019s joy again.\u201d— Alice Radley (@Alice Radley) 1663445061
Cruz was severely criticized in the days after the shooting when he suggested schools would be safer if there were fewer exits and if more armed officers were stationed in school buildings.
Cruz, who told Fox News it would be best to have just "one door into and out of the school and have ... armed police officers at that door" did not appear to comprehend the fact cutting down the number of exits in a school building would pose an even greater safety risk, as well as a significant fire hazard.
He went on to accuse Democrats of "empty political posturing," dismissing calls for comprehensive gun control measures.
Cruz had earlier gone on television to espouse the value in "having additional police officers there on the campus able to protect your daughter, your son, able to stop someone who would commit a horrific crime of violence before they get into the school."
The bill failed to clear a hurdle in the Senate because Cruz asked for unanimous consent, which meant the bill was doomed to fail from the moment a single Senator voted against it. Democrats, particularly Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a staunch gun control advocate, criticized the bill as little more than political theater.