October 24, 2018

Ted Cruz, Who Joked Yesterday About Locking Up His Opponent, Renews Call for Civility in Politics

“America is better than this.”

Daisuke Tomita /AP

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After another round of reports of explosives being sent to prominent Democratic figures, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz issued a statement condemning the attempted bombings and—as he has done with increasing frequency during his tight reelection campaign—calling for a de-escalation of political rhetoric:

“Political disagreements are fine, even healthy, but we should always be civil and respect each other’s humanity,” he tweeted.

A day earlier, Cruz joked about throwing his Democratic opponent, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, in a prison cell with Hillary Clinton. And on Monday, he appeared at a rally in Houston with President Donald Trump, who ran for office in part on the idea of prosecuting his political rival. In his speech, Trump suggested that a group of Central American asylum seekers were a violent mob (if not in fact terrorists) who were sent to the United States by Democrats. Last week, Trump praised Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte for body-slamming a reporter who was trying to ask a question about health care.

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