In a chaotic interview on Wednesday’s The Source between Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) of Texas and CNN host Kaitlan Collins, what started out as a relatively tame discussion (by CNN’s standards) on in vitro fertilization (IVF), soon turned into a pointed clash on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and potential voter fraud.
The former Daily Caller reporter, who found herself repeatedly flustered as Cruz schooled her, chose to inhibit Cruz from answering about accepting the 2024 results as it was not a simple yes or no.
Regardless of the unprofessional interruptions made by Collins, Cruz answered confidently, pointing out the clear bias of his interviewer. All throughout, it was evident that there was an ulterior motive to her questions. When the answer was not to her liking, she either shifted the dialogue in hopes of forcing Cruz to answer a pointed question or spoke over his response entirely.
Between the clear prejudice in each question and her defense of every leftist view, Collins proved herself to be a perfect depiction of the Leftist Media. As such, she proceeded to corner Cruz into a strictly “yes or no answer” question regarding election fraud: “In 2024, will you certify the election results? Do you plan to object? Or will you accept the results regardless of who wins the election?”
Cruz blasted this as “actually a ridiculous question” and, from there, the races began. Collins would, truthfully, not let Cruz answer the question, even when Cruz repeatedly asked her whether she’s talked to Democrats about their own troubles with accepting elections.
Collins countered by invoking January 6 in order to support allowing leftists to question elections with Cruz reciting the history and lambasting the liberal media’s false choice demanding the public believe voter fraud never exists (as opposed to a nuanced view). Collins didn’t want to discuss any of this, including direct precedent to 1876 (click “expand”):
COLLINS: It’s a yes-or-no question, though.
CRUZ: No, it’s not. Let me explain why it’s a ridiculous question. It’s not a question. You’ve ever asked a Democrat that?
COLLINS: Of course.
CRUZ: What Democrat?
COLLINS: But what Democrats —
CRUZ: — whoa, no, but hold on a second. What Democrats challenge it?
COLLINS: What Democrats —
CRUZ: Hill —
COLLINS: I know. I know. I’ve been down this road many times.
CRUZ: — but — but — but—
COLLINS: No Democrat — you cannot compare the two situations. We have talked about that. We’ve seen the audio of that when they protested on the Senate floor.
CRUZ: Okay, but — but hold on a second.
COLLINS: But have they ever — have you ever had a sitting president, who refused to facilitate the peaceful transition of power —
CRUZ: And by the way —
COLLINS: — refused to acknowledge that his successor won the presidency?
CRUZ: — uhhh — sooo, A, we did have a peaceful transfer of power. I was there on January 20. I was there on the swearing-in.
COLLINS: Barely.
CRUZ: B, if you look at in — in 2000, Democrats went to the Senate — or 2001, Democrats went to the Senate floor and objected to George W. Bush. In 2004 —
COLLINS: And what did the Vice President do?
CRUZ: — they went and objected. In —
COLLINS: And what did the President do?
CRUZ: — in 2016, Democrats went and objected to Donald Trump.
(....)
CRUZ: [Y]ou’re asking, will you promise, no matter what, to agree an election as illegitimate, regardless of what happens? And that would be an absurd thing to claim. Like, we have an entire election law system that people challenge elections, elections get overturned, voter fraud gets proven. That happens all the time and the media engages in this weird game, post-Donald Trump that you insist no voter fraud has ever existed. Why does every state have laws in place to challenge voter fraud, if it occurs —
COLLINS: The media doesn’t —
CRUZ: — why do you have election challenges?
COLLINS: — this isn’t a game. There was no widespread voter fraud.
CRUZ: It is a game. It is — you only ask Republicans that.
COLLINS: There was this —
CRUZ: You ask what —
COLLINS: — because it was Republicans, who tried to block the transition of power. You have to acknowledge that.
CRUZ: So —
COLLINS: We’ve never seen it on a scale of what happened in 2020 and we’ve never seen the President refuse. He wouldn’t even let Joe Biden get classified briefings at the beginning. I recall that.
CRUZ: — so — so, let me be—
COLLINS: So, my question for you, again, free and fair election, will you accept the results regardless of who wins?
CRUZ: Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not going to ignore fraud, regardless of what happens?
COLLINS: But was there fraud in 2020?
CRUZ: Of course, there was fraud in 2020.
COLLINS: No, there wasn’t.
(....)
CRUZ: I tried to look through history and precedent and the best precedent I could find was the election of 1876. Elect — 1876 was between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden and what happened there, there were serious allegations of voter fraud. And — and Congress didn’t throw its hands up and say, you know what? CNN demanded that I accept the results no matter what. So, ignore the fraud. I got to go.
COLLINS: It’s not on — it’s not—
CRUZ: So, but hold on. What did Congress do in 18 —
COLLINS: It’s the President of the United States. How did the President—
CRUZ: — what did Congress do in 1876?
COLLINS: How did the President handle it?
CRUZ: What did Congress do in 1876?
COLLINS: Senator, I have to go.
CRUZ: What — I’m asking a question.
COLLINS: You can’t answer yes or no, to this question.
CRUZ: I’m asking a question. What did Congress do in 1876?
COLLINS: You can’t answer yes or no, to this question.
CRUZ: Can you answer my question?
COLLINS: And Republicans —
CRUZ: Why are you refusing to answer my question?
COLLINS: — well I’m conducting the interview with all due respect, Senator.
(....)
COLLINS: And what’s your answer? Is it yes, or is it no?
CRUZ: So, in 1876, what Congress did is it appointed an election commission that consisted of 15 people, five House members, five senators, five Supreme Court justices. The election commission was charged with studying the evidence, and making a determination of what voter fraud occurred, and that determined the winter and what I called for in 2020 was to do the same thing, appoint an election commission.
At one point, Cruz leveled a brutal takedown of CNN’s double standard: “It was CNN that relentlessly pushed....propaganda....that voter fraud doesn’t exist and anyone who says it does is wearing a tinfoil hat. That is propaganda and by the way, you never ask Hillary Clinton this. You never ask Stacey Abrams this. You never ask Al Gore this. And every one of them said the Republicans who won were illegitimate.”
Collins again scoffed: “I haven’t had any of them on my show. We’ll talk to them. But I don’t remember there being a president, who was refusing to turn over the transition of power, and facilitating it.”
When Cruz tried to say “let me say a final point”, an infuriated Collins endinged the interview: “Senator Ted Cruz, no answer to that question. Thank you very much.”
CNN’s snarky chyron had a different take: “Straight to the Source; Cruz refuses to commit to accept 2024 results.”
The interview began with Cruz’s IVF bill and Collins being concerned about a wholesale ban and prosecution. Cruz ripped this “fear-mongering” attitude she shared with other Democratic politicians, so she shifted to the story of Kate Cox, asking if he agreed with the Court's ruling. Cruz calmly stated the Court was “right in saying that the Texas Medical Board should set the rules,” which makes perfect sense, and makes us wonder why the journalist then defended the idea that lawmakers should clarify such medical standards.
Before a break, Collins invoked the flags kerfuffle over Justice Alito’s homes. Cruz dismissed this as “entire hoopla” as “greatly overstated” and part of “a concerted effort…driven by Democrats in the Senate, to try to delegitimize the court, and to try to demonize” conservative justices. Collins stubbornly stuck to her left talking points: “Do you not worry that it undercuts his credibility, as a justice, when he does something like this?”
