Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused the media and Democrats of using the issues surrounding the violence in Charlottesville, Va., to depict Republicans and conservatives as “crazy, racist nutbags.”
“The media and the Democrats, to the surprise of no one, [are] demagoguing this issue and using it for political advantage,” Cruz said in a radio interview Tuesday with the Mark Davis Show. “In the media’s telling, they want to tar and feather any Republican, any conservative and paint us all as these crazy, racist nutbags.”
White nationalist groups clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville on Saturday, where the former were protesting the removal of a statue of Civil War general Robert E. Lee.
One woman died, and 19 other people were injured after 20-year-old James Alex Fields rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters.
Saturday’s events in Charlottesville earned strong criticism from a number of lawmakers, including Cruz, who issued a sharp rebuke of the rally and called “the Nazis, the KKK, and white supremacists … repulsive and evil.”
The Texas senator also called on the Justice Department to investigate the “acts of domestic terrorism,” referencing the deadly car attack.
On Tuesday, Cruz criticized the racist groups, calling them “idiots” and arguing they are spreading “lies.”
“We shouldn’t be seeing this in America. Nazis and the Klan and white supremacists, these guys are racist and bigoted thugs. They’re idiots; what they are saying is wrong. They’re lies,” Cruz said.
In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Texas A&M University announced Monday it canceled a “White Lives Matter” rally with white nationalist Richard Spencer because of safety risks.
Cruz told the Mark Davis Show he was happy the event was canceled.
“I’m glad that Spencer and the white supremacists are not coming to A&M. I think Texas does need to listen to their garbage, so I’m glad they chose to go elsewhere.”
