Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is getting mocked online yet again, this time for comments he made exactly one year ago.
Back in July of 2020, the Republican party was following the lead of former President Donald Trump in downplaying the virus that's gone on to kill more than 600 thousand Americans. They railed against basic pandemic safety guidelines and insisted the virus was little more than a terrible flu.
Cruz—being one of Trump's most loyal sycophants despite their bitter rivalry in the 2016 Republican primaries—was one of those conservatives, insisting Democrats were overblowing the virus for political purposes.
Watch below.
One year ago today: Ted Cruz gave his guarantee.pic.twitter.com/g9pRpr2Xlg— Bad COVID-19 Takes (@Bad COVID-19 Takes) 1626955201
On July 22, 2020, Cruz said of the pandemic:
"If it ends up that Biden wins in November -- I hope he doesn't, I don't think he will -- but if he does, I guarantee you the week after the election, suddenly all those Democratic governors, all those Democratic mayors, will say, 'Everything's magically better. Go back to work. Go back to school. Suddenly all the problems are solved.'
You won't to have to wait for Biden to be sworn in. All they'll need is Election Day and suddenly their willingness to just destroy people's lives and livelihoods, they will have accomplished their task. That's wrong. It's cynical. And we shouldn't be a part of it."
Cruz was, of course, wildly wrong.
Biden did, in fact, win in November—despite baseless disputes from Senators like Cruz—but the pandemic was far from over. Cruz insisted that Democrats would lift restrictions before Biden was even sworn in.
In fact, the Biden administration implemented additional pandemic precautions on federal property on his first day in office. All the while, Cruz continued to lament and downplay the precautions.
On his MSNBC broadcast, host Chris Hayes pointed out just how wrong Cruz was, prompting a response from Cruz himself.
Hey Chris, you\u2019re right that red states (rightly!) opened up MUCH earlier, but\u2014after Biden was sworn in\u2014are blue states open now?\n\nDo CA & NY allow small businesses to be open now?\n\nChurches?\n\nSchools?\n\nAnd were the shutdowns\u2014as @AOC admitted\u2014only critical BEFORE Election Day?https://twitter.com/allinwithchris/status/1418363456177283072\u00a0\u2026— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1626999835
Cruz asked if small businesses in New York and California are largely open now, even though many have been open (with safety protocols in place) since before Election Day. He then alluded to a viral fabricated tweet from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claiming businesses needed to be closed until the election. Ocasio-Cortez never tweeted this.
One year later, on Thursday, people reminded Cruz of his incorrect prediction.
@tedcruz and his party are directly responsible for destroying over 600,000 American lives with their lies and idiocy.https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/one-year-later-ted-cruz-haunted-ridiculous-covid-prediction-n1274721\u00a0\u2026— Nic (@Nic) 1626994421
Great prediction dude! @tedcruzhttps://twitter.com/badcovid19takes/status/1418179020412362755\u00a0\u2026— Emilio (@Emilio) 1626979936
Hey, @tedcruz... @SenTedCruz?\n\nRemember this?\n\nThe Internet does.https://twitter.com/BadCOVID19Takes/status/1418179020412362755\u00a0\u2026— Joseph Nobles (@Joseph Nobles) 1626992247
How's that, @tedcruz?https://twitter.com/BadCOVID19Takes/status/1418179020412362755\u00a0\u2026— Casey (@Casey) 1626961018
This is what @tedcruz guarantees are worth\u2026https://twitter.com/badcovid19takes/status/1418179020412362755\u00a0\u2026— Nathan E H Williams (@Nathan E H Williams) 1627001515
Nostradumbass. @tedcruzhttps://twitter.com/badcovid19takes/status/1418179020412362755\u00a0\u2026— Bacon Fingered Bap Tosser \ud83d\udd1e (@Bacon Fingered Bap Tosser \ud83d\udd1e) 1626972517
People weren't buying his attempts at justifying himself.
does this make sense to anyone— raandy (@raandy) 1626999980
What an absolutely moronic tweet. Has anyone done more than @tedcruz to diminish respect for an Ivy League degree?https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1418366230105366531\u00a0\u2026— Far_Nor_Cal (@Far_Nor_Cal) 1627020619
You got exposed, Ted. There are receipts, Ted. You should probably keep quiet in this one, Ted.— TellerofTruths (@TellerofTruths) 1627001944
Hahaha you buffoon.— doni \u2615\ufe0f (@doni \u2615\ufe0f) 1627003361
Probably best to take further predictions from Cruz with a grain—or shaker—of salt.