The media have been up-in-arms attacking Ted Cruz after he spoke out against Islamic terrorism following an attack in Brussels killed over 30 people and injured hundreds. Contrasting Obama’s politically correct message warning against “Islamophobia” Cruz vowed to take action if he was elected President, with vigilant monitoring of Muslim neighborhoods to watch for radicalism in the U.S. For that statement he earned media backlash and outright hostility from the morning news shows. The outrage and personal attacks from the media were never in more full-force than on Twitter, with journalists calling Cruz’s words, “dangerous” and “unconstitutional” while attacking Cruz personally as “insane” and a “bigot.”
Several news outlets hosted the radical Muslim rights group, CAIR’s rebuke for Cruz:
CAIR: Ted Cruz’s plan to target “Muslim neighborhoods” is un-American https://t.co/tixhP88SxB
— TIME.com (@TIME) March 23, 2016
Washington Post’s Dave Weigel:
CAIR spokesman on Cruz "patrol Muslim neighborhoods" line: "Shows you what happens when you appoint policy advisors like Frank Gaffney."
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) March 22, 2016
NBC’s Katy Tur:
Each day you wonder what the next bizarre and unconstitutional policy proposal will come out of the GOP prez race - CAIR re Cruz "patrol"
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) March 22, 2016
ABC News:
CAIR: Ted Cruz's call to monitor Muslim neighborhoods is "unbefitting anyone seeking our nation’s highest office " pic.twitter.com/ZcMl8WcDrc
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 22, 2016
Liberal magazine The Nation started the name-calling by accusing Cruz of being a “anti-Muslim bigot:”
Ted Cruz Is an Anti-Muslim Bigot, Too https://t.co/FcUuPcJrA3
— The Nation (@thenation) March 22, 2016
While Jamil Smith, Senior National Correspondent for MTV News tweeted that Cruz was “eager” to prove he was a bigot:
"Ted Cruz seems eager to prove that he is endorsing anti-Muslim bigotry." https://t.co/wnvq2sgyGD
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) March 23, 2016
And called his plan “insane:”
The NYPD responds to @tedcruz's insane reaction to Brussels: https://t.co/utTTJp0EGK https://t.co/mctM4EdU1Q
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) March 23, 2016
Enrique Acevedo, journalist for Univision and This is Fusion contributor tweeted that Cruz would “torture” suspects:
If Trump or Cruz were President today, the US would start patrolling "Muslim Neighborhoods," torturing suspects and closing its borders.
— Enrique Acevedo (@Enrique_Acevedo) March 22, 2016
Amanda Chatel, writer for feminist website Bustle called Cruz a “religious zealot.”
Ted Cruz wants to "secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." As a religious zealot himself, maybe we should secure him.
— amanda chatel. (@angrychatel) March 22, 2016
While Dean Obeidallah of the Daily Beast said that Cruz was making Trump look reasonable towards Muslims:
Ted Cruz is achieving the impossible. He's making Trump look almost reasonable on Muslims
— Dean Obeidallah (@Deanofcomedy) March 22, 2016
I'll be on @CNN with @CarolCNN at 10:30amish ET talking ted Cruz's dangerous idea to divide Americans by religion. Hope u tune in
— Dean Obeidallah (@Deanofcomedy) March 23, 2016
Michael Cohen, columnist for The Boston Globe echoed that sentiment, calling Cruz’s words “more dangerous than Trump’s Muslim ban:”
Cruz's "patrolling Muslim neighborhoods" proposal is actually more dangerous than Trump's Muslim ban: https://t.co/eGESdo64O7
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) March 22, 2016
Jonathan Chait, writer for New York Magazine also made the Trump comparison:
Well, Trump and Cruz competing at wife-besmirching is better than them competing at Muslim discrimination https://t.co/KJJhZCCTj2
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) March 23, 2016
While Greg Sargent, who blogs for The Washington Post, called Cruz’s proposed actions “unconstitutional:”
ICYMI: Very Serious Constitutionalist Ted Cruz's vow to patrol Muslim neighborhoods may flout Constitution: https://t.co/ohm7Rm7urj
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 23, 2016
Vox also jumped on the sudden-respect-for-the-Constitution bandwagon:
Ted Cruz has called for police to target Muslim communities. Here's why that's "plainly unconstitutional." https://t.co/3rdPC7UJYL
— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 22, 2016
The media’s disdain for Cruz has been well-documented here at Newsbusters, with their comparisons to Nazis and the KKK, and late night comedians making Cruz their special target.
