Tensions flared on The View after Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz sparred with the hosts of the program, particulaly Republican political commentator Ana Navarro, who called Cruz out for "lying" about and backing former Republican President Donald Trump even after Trump had publicly mocked him.
Navarro referred to a moment during the 2016 presidential campaign when Trump suggested Cruz's father was involved in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, claiming Cruz's father was with Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald "prior to Oswald being, you know, shot."
She also called Cruz out for continuing to downplay the severity of the January 6 insurrection, when a White nationalist led mob of Trump's supporters attacked the United States Capitol resulting in at least five deaths, injuries to over 100 members of law enforcement and millions of dollars in damages.
You can watch what happened on The View in the video below.
\u201cAna Navarro to Ted Cruz: \u201cWere you lying then, or are you lying now?\u201d\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1666629314
Cruz lost the Republican nomination to then-candidate Trump in 2016 then faced significant criticism for his often deferential attitude toward Trump during his presidency.
There is a contentious history between the two. Aside from the moment when Trump baselessly linked Cruz's father to President Kennedy's assination, Trump also openly mocked Cruz's wife, Heidi Cruz, by comparing her looks to those of his wife Melania, a former model.
Given these facts, it's understandable why Navarro called out Cruz by playing a clip of him referring to Trump as a "pathological liar" shortly after the lies about his father. Despite that, Cruz then pledged fealty to Trump, prompting Navarro to observe the nation is seeing a "different" Ted Cruz than the one it saw during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Navarro said:
“It’s a very different Ted Cruz that we’re seeing."
“Were you lying then or are you lying now?”
Cruz responded:
“We had a primary and Donald Trump and I beat the living crap out of each other." ...
"Why did I choose to work with him even though I was pissed off at what he said? Because I had a job to do and I had a responsibility."
The clip quickly went viral, exposing Cruz to more criticism.
\u201cTrick question. @tedcruz is always lying.\u201d— Matt Angle (@Matt Angle) 1666659422
\u201cLiar. No one was laughing.\n\nWe weren\u2019t laughing when you pushed the big lie either @tedcruz\u201d— Karen Won't "Move on" from Insurrection (@Karen Won't "Move on" from Insurrection) 1666636899
\u201cSo instead of standing up for your wife, your morals, and your office you caved. He kissed the ring and now worship at the feet of 45. \n\nThat doesn\u2019t make you strong @tedcruz it makes you a coward.\u201d— DutchessPrim\ud83d\udc99 (@DutchessPrim\ud83d\udc99) 1666637441
\u201c@tedcruz can\u2019t help lying, there\u2019s no way a smart woman like Heidi would laugh at being called ugly in front of the world, I\u2019d bet she\u2019s still mad at Cruz for not defending her. This coward is the only man who would tolerate such a mean insult to his wife by another man\u201d— Ediabali (@Ediabali) 1666641869
\u201cWho would've thought it possible. #CancunCruz not sticking to his guns? \ud83d\ude02 Weasel!\u201d— Peter Vanes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\uddfe\ud83c\uddea \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd (@Peter Vanes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\uddfe\ud83c\uddea \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd) 1666650051
\u201cThose ladies eviscerated that doof!\u201d— \ud83e\udd8b\ud83c\udf0apersisting resisting sister\ud83c\udf0a\ud83e\udd8b (@\ud83e\udd8b\ud83c\udf0apersisting resisting sister\ud83c\udf0a\ud83e\udd8b) 1666664760
\u201cSo in case you missed his answer, Ted Cruz is lying now.\u201d— Vanilla Coachella \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Vanilla Coachella \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1666643313
\u201cCONTINUOUS lying. #TedCruzisADisgrace\u201d— Kay (@Kay) 1666647820
\u201cSpineless coward, you know you are lying and everyone hates you. By the way.@tedcruz\u201d— The brown monkey (@The brown monkey) 1666653680
Cruz's deference to Trump was also the subject of criticism from co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who resigned from Trump's White House staff and has since become a high profile critic.
Griffith recalled rallying support for Cruz over Trump when she worked for conservative members of the House of Representatives in 2016 and questioned Cruz's support for Trump even after the events of January 6.
She said:
“January 6 is something I have a really hard time moving beyond. … How can you be okay with these undemocratic actions and trying to disenfranchise 80 million voters?"
"And do you believe [Democratic President Joe] Biden legitimately won the election?”
Cruz did not provide a definitive answer to these questions, only saying Biden "is the president today" and urging viewers to read his book Justice Corrupted: How the Left Weaponized Our Legal System. in which he reveals he hid in a supply closet on January 6.