Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. It seems like the Republican midterm convention got a little heated, with shouts of “he should be shot” ringing out as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized prominent Democratic politicians by name. I mean, I’ve seen some passionate speeches in my time, but this is just ridiculous. Cruz mentioned three Democrats – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico – and after each name, there were shouts audible on the broadcast of “He should be shot!”
Now, I’m not sure if Cruz heard the shouts, but his representatives and the Republican National Committee didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. But let me tell you, it’s not like they didn’t know what was going on. The shouts came on the same day that many Republicans denounced political violence on the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Vice President JD Vance even reflected on Kirk’s killing in a headlining speech.
El-Sayed responded to the whole ordeal during an interview on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.” He said, “I’m a dad with two daughters and I hope those daughters get to grow up and live with their dad. This is what has become norm in our politics. I mean, literally calls to violence.” He also added that “everybody who heard” the shouts should condemn them. I’ve got to say, I agree with him on that one.
It’s worth noting that Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on a Utah college campus a year ago. He was just 31 years old. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said, “Charlie was killed one year ago today. He believed in America and freedom and young people’s courage to stand up and fight for the country they love.” Many of Thursday’s speeches were otherwise devoted to attacking Democrats as ideologically radical.
Cruz’s criticism of El-Sayed stems from a 2009 interview with The New York Times where El-Sayed said he felt an “obligation” to follow Sharia law in buying his first home. Muslims are discouraged from paying interest on loans, which can make seeking out a mortgage more complicated. And Cruz was calling out Talarico over a recent CNN report that he said in 2020 that capitalism needed to be “dismantl(ed)” along with White supremacy and climate change. Talarico’s campaign said the Democrat was a “proud capitalist” in response to the CNN story.
Cruz brought up Kirk’s killing during his speech while denouncing what he described as a rising tide of extremism in politics, one day before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He said, “The hate that killed Charlie Kirk, that knocked down the Twin Towers, that led to two assassination attempts on President Trump, it just gets keeping getting worse and worse.” El-Sayed agreed in the CNN interview that politics was becoming too consumed by hate.
El-Sayed said, “When you hear that kind of call to violence, it should be shuddering to all of us. I hope that everybody who heard that is going to call it out for what it is: a call for violence that ought to be condemned across the board.” Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, condemned the shouts in an X post, saying “every single Republican” should as well. And Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, also weighed in, calling them “clear hate.”
In conclusion, it’s been a wild ride in the world of politics lately, and this story is just another example of how heated things are getting. I mean, who shouts “he should be shot” at a convention? It’s just not right. As El-Sayed said, we should all be condemning this kind of behavior, regardless of our political affiliations. And on that note, I’m going to go refill my coffee cup, because this is going to be a long election season 🙄.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
