Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) punctured a large, gaping hole in claims made by CNN hosts Brian Stelter and Chris Cuomo, who accused the former Republican presidential candidate of being too afraid to be interviewed after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
Stelter kicked off the ordeal by tweeting a graphic that included Cruz as one of three lawmakers who the network claimed were too afraid to be interviewed.
"What are they afraid of?" CNN calling out @FLGovScott, @TedCruz, @MarcoRubio for avoiding interviews pic.twitter.com/cizvTyU5XP
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 15, 2018
Cruz shot back with, “Gosh, I seem to recall doing not 1, not 2, but THREE town hall debates w/ @BernieSanders on @CNN Each 90 min long. You can accuse me of many things, but being afraid of CNN is not one of them….”
Gosh, I seem to recall doing not 1, not 2, but THREE town hall debates w/ @BernieSanders on @CNN Each 90 min long. You can accuse me of many things, but being afraid of CNN is not one of them…. https://t.co/we6HBY0oQ9
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 15, 2018
Chris Cuomo then accused Cruz of failing to address gun violence.
“If Cruz thinks gun control improvement is not the answer, what is? Ask the question, Senator: what are we going to do to stop school shootings? Don’t just say what won’t work, work to find an answer!” tweeted Cuomo.
If Cruz thinks gun control improvement is not the answer, what is? Ask the question, Senator: what are we going to do to stop school shootings? Don’t just say what won’t work, work to find an answer! https://t.co/NAmAQOTudu
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) February 15, 2018
Here’s where the CNN host gets caught spreading fake news. Cruz did in fact offer up his solution to gun violence — to none other than CNN!
“That’s funny, I spoke to CNN for 15 mins yesterday about proactive solutions to prevent gun violence (like passing the Grassley-Cruz bill—which Dems filibustered—that would add $300 million for school safety) yet CNN has aired NONE of it. Why not air the (entire) interview?”
That's funny, I spoke to CNN for 15 mins yesterday about proactive solutions to prevent gun violence (like passing the Grassley-Cruz bill—which Dems filibustered—that would add $300 million for school safety) yet CNN has aired NONE of it. Why not air the (entire) interview? https://t.co/c4GZcqTbs7
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2018
“Here’s a pic of the @CNN interview — a 15-min exclusive given yesterday — that y’all still haven’t aired… (While falsely claiming I’m “afraid” to talk to CNN.)”
Here's a pic of the @CNN interview — a 15-min exclusive given yesterday — that y'all still haven't aired… (While falsely claiming I'm "afraid" to talk to CNN.) https://t.co/Bo8AzsuGFX pic.twitter.com/sEtt4bTeUT
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2018
Stelter, nor Cuomo have explained why Cruz’s interview has yet to air.
