Brian Williams had some harsh criticism for Senator Ted Cruz on the May 21 episode of The 11th Hour on MSNBC. “By all accounts Ted Cruz did not like the nickname Cancún Cruz, though he tried joking about it acting like it didn’t matter,” Williams said, referencing when the senator left Texas to take his family to the tropical destination while his state was in a virtual blackout in February. “He really won’t like being called Kremlin Cruz after his latest and remarkably stupid lapse in judgment,” Williams continued.
Tonight's #LastThingBeforeWeGo? If he didn't like being called Cancun Cruz, he's going to really hate Kremlin Cruz.
Learn more: https://t.co/iwZ678Q18P#11thHour pic.twitter.com/Gmh3fWRuQB
— 11th Hour (@11thHour) May 21, 2021
Williams went on to say that Cruz likely “dreams of being president…of a country someday, perhaps not this country for reasons like this.” The MSNBC anchor then highlighted a tweet sent out by Cruz on May 20, which read, “Holy crap. Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea.” The Texas Senator retweeted a video comparing Russian military propaganda with a recruiting advertisement from the United States’ Army. You can see the full segment in the clip above.
The United States’ Army ad highlighted the story of U.S. Army Corporal Emma Malonelord, who grew up in California and was raised by two moms. After seeing Williams’ segment, Senator Cruz himself took to Twitter to try and issue a respond. But Twitter users were having none of his explanation for his reasons for sharing the video.
After referring to Brian Williams as a “left-wing hack at MSNBC” and arguing that he retweeted the two clips back-to-back because, “our military needs to be able to kick the ass of Russian soldiers. It’s Brian & his lefty comrades that are working relentlessly to diminish the effectiveness of the U.S. military—the finest fighting force on the face of the planet,” people flooded the comment section of his tweet. “And YOU are not in the media, you represent Army families as United States Senator,” one person wrote.
“Those families come from every walk of life and sacrifice themselves for their country. Something you have no experience in.” Another person chimed into the thread, writing, “Saying you think the Russian military is doing better than the US military is usually a bad idea for a US senator, don’t you think?” One Twitter user summarized the whole exchange between Williams and Cruz, writing: “Well, mission accomplished for Brian Williams. He really managed to get under Ted’s think [SIC] skin.”