September 2, 2018

David Hogg Raises Thousands to Put Donald Trump’s Old Ted Cruz Tweet on Texas Billboard

“…to remind Texans of the truth.”

Facing an unexpectedly strong challenge from Democrat Beto O’Rourke, Ted Cruz solicited the help this week of Donald Trump. The president will be coming to Texas next month to bolster his one-time rival’s reelection bid.

“Ha ha ha,” the world responded to the news that Cruz had sought help from a man he once called “a sniveling coward,” a man who repeatedly slandered his wife, a man who alleged his father conspiring to kill JFK. “Ha ha ha.”

Now it seems that chorus of laughter has grown so loud it will soon extend beyond its humble origns on the internet. 

A GoFundMe page by USA Latinx seeking to put one of Donald Trump’s anti-Cruz tweets from 2016 on a billboard raised nearly $10,000 in one day, nearly doubling its fundraising goal.

“President Donald Trump will be campaigning to help Sen. Ted Cruz win his re-election. A rally is being planned, according to Trump “at the biggest stadium in Texas,” the page organizers write. “We are planning to display the presidents own words about Cruz from 2016 on a mobile billboard, to remind Texans of the truth.”

The tweet in question dates back to February 2016 when Trump and Cruz were campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination ahead of the Texas primary.

It was one of many tweets activists could have chosen:

One of the campaigns organizers is March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, the Stoneman Douglas High School student who along with his classmates was thrust into the national spotlight after February’s tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Last month, Mother Jones had a chance to talk with Hogg and some of his fellow classmates about their surprising and inspiring journey to remake American politics. You can listen to the podcast here.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

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