'Appalling': Ted Cruz's attack on CNN reporter covering Afghanistan sparks a sharp backlash
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Gage Skidmore
August 16, 2021 | 03:31PM ETWorldWith Afghanistan having fallen to the Taliban following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, CNN's Clarissa Ward has been on the ground in Kabul fearlessly covering that tense and dangerous situation. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, on Monday, used the tragedy to take a cheap, baseless shot at Ward, and he is being slammed for it on Twitter.
Ward, reporting on Afghanistan's transition from a fragile democracy to a far-right Islamist dictatorship under the Taliban, was wearing a head covering and concealing her hair:
This meme is inaccurate. The top photo is inside a private compound. The bottom is on the streets of Taliban held Kabul. I always wore a head scarf on the street in Kabul previously, though not w/ hair fully covered and abbaya. So there is a difference but not quite this stark.pic.twitter.com/BmIRFFSdSE— Clarissa Ward (@Clarissa Ward) 1629135582
CNN: \u201cThey\u2019re chanting Death to America but they seem friendly at the same time\u201dpic.twitter.com/64aNZIce6V— Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jack Posobiec \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1629126781
Cruz took Ward's attire out of context, implying that it was an endorsement of the Taliban. The far-right Texas senator posted:
Is there an enemy of America for whom @CNN WON\u2019T cheerlead?\n\n(In mandatory burkas, no less.)https://twitter.com/jackposobiec/status/1427287286425735169\u00a0\u2026— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1629127851
It didn't take long for Cruz to be inundated with negative reactions on Twitter. CNN's corporate communications tweeted:
Rather than running off to Cancun in tough times, @clarissaward is risking her life to tell the world what's happening. That\u2019s called bravery. Instead of RTing a conspiracy theorist\u2019s misleading soundbite, perhaps your time would be better spent helping Americans in harm\u2019s way.— CNN Communications (@CNN Communications) 1629138988
The "Cancun" remark was referring to Cruz's response to the cold snap and power failure that, in February, left millions of Texans facing freezing temperatures without heat or electricity. Cruz responded to the tragedy by leaving his state for warmer weather in Cancun, Mexico.
Andrew Kaczynski and Bill Weir of CNN and the New York Times' Maggie Haberman were quick to speak out about Cruz's attack on Ward:
Low class tweet about a colleague who has put her life on the line throughout the conflict to bring people news. And takes her out of context to boot and maliciously accuses her of cheerleading for the Taliban.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— andrew kaczynski (@andrew kaczynski) 1629133807
She\u2019s risking her life to practice the First Amendment in a place where such a thing does not exist. Go try it sometime, Senator. It\u2019s not Cancun.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Bill Weir (@Bill Weir) 1629135678
Former New York Times reporter Bari Weiss, CNN's Ana Navarro (a Never Trump conservative) and the Daily Beast's Justin Barragona spoke out as well:
.@tedcruz, I\u2019d love to see you in Kabul, standing unarmed, amongst a bunch of Talibans, risking your life to bring the news to the world, so some asshat can talk crap about you from a couch in his Washington, DC office\u2026.or are you on a chaise-lounge in Cancun?https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Ana Navarro-C\u00e1rdenas (@Ana Navarro-C\u00e1rdenas) 1629136118
Appalling statement about a reporter showing real courage. Of a piece with so many glib takes trying to turn the Afghanistan catastrophe into parochial culture war issue. This is about the decline of American power, influence and will. Not press bias.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Bari Weiss (@Bari Weiss) 1629136554
Clarissa Ward: Literally risks her life to report from the ground of an extremely dangerous and chaotic situation.\n\nTed Cruz: Hightails it to Cancun after his house loses power for a couple days.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1629137159
Here are some more reactions:
U, @tedcruz wish u were as brave as @clarissaward\n\nU already demonstrated what an abject COWARD you are in the face of a political rival buffoon who insulted your family. Instead of standing up, u kissed his ass & exposed urself as a sniveling coward. \n\nhttps://twitter.com/newday/status/1427231696878018564?s=21\u00a0\u2026https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Tara Setmayer (@Tara Setmayer) 1629136495
Love to see all the trash conservative accounts sharing an eight-second clip of a CNN reporter on the ground in Kabul to smear her.— CJ Ciaramella (@CJ Ciaramella) 1629135396
Watch the whole clip if you have a few minutes; it\u2019s good and courageous reporting. https://twitter.com/newday/status/1427231696878018564?s=21\u00a0\u2026https://twitter.com/cjciaramella/status/1427323422514819072\u00a0\u2026— southpaw (@southpaw) 1629137137
Literally the next part of her quote: "It's utterly bizarre."\n\nIt's fun to mislead people into thinking this is somehow an endorsement of anti-American sentiment. She is risking her life to cover this stuff.https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1427285566438117380\u00a0\u2026— Aaron Blake (@Aaron Blake) 1629135072
@clarissaward is both a courageous and a highly competent journalist. Her reporting from India, while Covid was at its peak, deserves to be nominated for Awards.— martin mcmahon (@martin mcmahon) 1629135631
As if that's the most important thing here: being mad at CNN. Some folks need to locate a grip and then get it.https://twitter.com/cjciaramella/status/1427323422514819072\u00a0\u2026— Jane Coaston (@Jane Coaston) 1629136974
When you base your career on kissing the ring of the man who humiliated your wife like @tedcruz, courage isn't a concept with which you are generally familiar.— max (@max) 1629136784
Ted, you literally packed your shit and left when cold weather hit Texas. How about you sit out criticizing a reporter bringing you the news surrounded by members of the Taliban?— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1629134263
A real Profile in Couragepic.twitter.com/MNLLAR9odw— Some Guy in PHX (@Some Guy in PHX) 1629136783
Hey, look everyone, the guy who ran from cold weather has some criticisms for the woman reporting while surrounded by Taliban.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Josh Moon \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Josh Moon \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1629136531
This is a disgraceful attack on an incredibly brave reporter, @clarissaward, who is on the ground in the middle of chaos and Taliban fighters to help all of us understand what is happening. She\u2019s risking her life and being attacked for political points.https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1427291774855393281\u00a0\u2026— Paul Szoldra (@Paul Szoldra) 1629136366
