- Senator Ted Cruz scoffed at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for his response to the Capitol insurrection.
- Cruz said: “Especially now, on the left, they are strident. They are angry.”
- Speaking at CPAC, Cruz also targeted Senator Bernie Sanders for wearing gloves.
- Visit the Business section of the Insider for more stories.
Senator Ted Cruz on Friday mocked New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who raised millions for her Texas voters for her response to the January 6 Capitol riots.
“We are meeting in dark times,” Cruz told the crowd at the CPAC in Orlando on Friday.
Cruz’s address at CPAC was announced as a discussion of the “Declaration of Rights, Freedom and Cancel Culture”. On stage, Cruz also targeted Senator Bernie Sanders for wearing gloves held by President Joe Biden.
He said: “We are meeting at a time when the extreme left, where the socialists control the levers of the government, where they control the White House, where they control all executive powers, where they control the two houses of Congress. Bernie is wearing gloves, and AOC is telling us that she was murdered. “
Cruz seemed to be referring to the comments Ocasio-Cortez made following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Speaking to Instagram Live, the congresswoman said: “I thought I was going to die.”
Ocasio-Cortez called for censorship or dismissal of colleagues who, she said, encouraged the insurrection, including Cruz and Senator Josh Hawley.
To Cruz, she said, “You almost killed me three weeks ago.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Sylvia Garcia carry boxes at their workstation at the Houston Food Bank on Saturday.
Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle / Pool via Reuters
The political rivalry between Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez was heightened this month, when a winter storm left millions of people in Texas.
During the storm, Cruz flew to Cancún with his family. He returned a day later amid mounting criticism.
Ocasio-Cortez raised millions for Texans who suffer after storms. She flew to Houston to volunteer at Houston Food Bank with Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia.
Speaking in Orlando on Friday, Cruz asked Americans to “have fun”.
“Just relax,” he said. “Especially now, on the left, they are shrill, they are angry. How many leftists does it take to screw in a light bulb? That’s not funny. God bless, who would like to be around these people?”