"She remembers when Trump called their mom ugly" — Internet reacts to Ted Cruz's daughter cringing as her father mentions Donald Trump
Senator Ted Cruz recently made headlines after an awkward exchange with his daughter caught the attention of social media.
On November 6, 2024, after securing a victory in Texas, Senator Ted Cruz delivered his victory speech, during which he mentioned former President Donald Trump. Standing beside him, Cruz's daughters were visibly expressive, with subtle reactions that quickly captured the internet's attention.
Subsequently, observers on X speculated that their reactions may have stemmed from the memory of Trump's disparaging remarks about their mother, Heidi Cruz, during the 2016 presidential primaries, when he notoriously labeled her as not pretty.
"Probably because she remembers when Trump called their mom ugly," a user said on X.
"Probably because she remembers when Trump called their mom 'a solid 7'... and she was like, 'Excuse me?!'" a second wrote.
Many users on X praised the authenticity of Cruz's daughters, with some humorously suggesting that they appeared less enthusiastic about the event, perhaps even eyeing the nearest exit.
"They're so real," one commented.
"Looks like the kids aren't here for him, they're too busy looking for the nearest exit," another noted.
"She's just like me fr," one more commented.
"'Don't clap for that,'" another user on X.
However, some users on X opposed Ted Cruz, suggesting that Texans should be prepared to vote him out when his Senate seat is up for re-election in two years.
Additionally, several users noted that some of Cruz's remarks during his victory speech may have been uncomfortable for his daughters, adding to the online discourse surrounding the event.
"Y'all Texas hive better vote him out in 2 years if it wasn't this election we voted on it," one commented.
"Kinda sad when u think about that most of the things ted puts forwards are things that would hurt his daughter," another user on X.
"To be fair, he was talking cash sh*t about their mom during the his first campaign," one more commented.
.
The moment was quickly clipped and circulated, with the internet rallying behind the apparent discomfort and the family's complex history with the former President. For now, neither Ted Cruz nor Donald Trump have reflected on the comments online.
Donald Trump's 2016 remarks on Heidi Cruz resurface following Ted Cruz's Texas win
On Wednesday, November 6, following Donald Trump's announcement as the 47th President of the United States, his supporters, including senators and other elected officials who secured positions in their respective regions, gathered to celebrate the victory.
Meanwhile, during his speech, Senator Ted Cruz referenced Trump, and his daughters were seen making expressions that reignited discussions surrounding Trump's previous comments about Heidi Cruz.
The issue in question began in 2016 during the first GOP debate when Fox News' Megyn Kelly questioned Donald Trump about his past use of derogatory terms such as "fat pig" and "dog" to describe women. This question sparked an ongoing feud between Trump and the network.
Later that day, an anti-Trump super PAC released an ad featuring a photo of Trump's wife, Melania, taken during a past GQ photo shoot when she was a model. In response, Trump wrongly accused Ted Cruz of being behind the ad, warning him in a tweet and writing,
"Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!"
The situation escalated further when Trump re-tweeted side-by-side images; one showing Cruz's wife with a candid expression and the other of Melania in a posed shot. The image in the since-deleted tweet was captioned:
"No need to 'spill the beans,' the images are worth a thousand words."
However, in July 2022, The Guardian reported that Trump had apologized to Ted Cruz for the remarks he made about Cruz's wife, as per Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.
"On his own initiative, Trump did apologise for saying some of the things he said about Cruz, which was unusual for Trump," Manafort said.
In his victory speech on November 6, 2024, after securing his re-election as U.S. Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz focused on celebrating the Republican Party's successes and reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump.
According to the Associated Press, Ted Cruz secured 53.1% of the votes in the 2024 U.S. Senate race, amounting to 5,973,394 votes.