'Appalling': Ted Cruz's attack on CNN reporter covering Afghanistan sparks a sharp backlash

With 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 K… https://t.co/veHd18Ieqn— Clarissa Ward (@Clarissa Ward) 1629135582.0
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’T cheerlead? (In mandatory burkas, no less.) https://t.co/9O6pe8yROM— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1629127851.0
It didn't take long for Cruz to be inundated with negative reactions on Twitter. CNN's corporate communications tweeted:
@tedcruz @CNN Rather than running off to Cancun in tough times, @clarissaward is risking her life to tell the world… https://t.co/bWVxPr0hzZ— CNN Communications (@CNN Communications) 1629138988.0
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. An… https://t.co/YcIg9xP8zz— andrew kaczynski (@andrew kaczynski) 1629133807.0
She’s risking her life to practice the First Amendment in a place where such a thing does not exist. Go try it some… https://t.co/xdm7fGKKnH— Bill Weir (@Bill Weir) 1629135678.0
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’d love to see you in Kabul, standing unarmed, amongst a bunch of Talibans, risking your life to bring… https://t.co/rkqWruuatq— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@Ana Navarro-Cárdenas) 1629136118.0
Appalling statement about a reporter showing real courage. Of a piece with so many glib takes trying to turn the Af… https://t.co/QSswn6m4ZX— Bari Weiss (@Bari Weiss) 1629136554.0
Clarissa Ward: Literally risks her life to report from the ground of an extremely dangerous and chaotic situation.… https://t.co/FYVUcSqlsR— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1629137159.0
Here are some more reactions:
U, @tedcruz wish u were as brave as @clarissaward🤨 U already demonstrated what an abject COWARD you are in the fac… https://t.co/7HruBe9xjc— Tara Setmayer (@Tara Setmayer) 1629136495.0
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) 1629135396.0
Watch the whole clip if you have a few minutes; it’s good and courageous reporting. https://t.co/4Z5rBB2jsr https://t.co/QYznFvUzA1— southpaw (@southpaw) 1629137137.0
Literally the next part of her quote: "It's utterly bizarre." It's fun to mislead people into thinking this is som… https://t.co/micmXlvlem— Aaron Blake (@Aaron Blake) 1629135072.0
@maggieNYT @clarissaward is both a courageous and a highly competent journalist. Her reporting from India, while Co… https://t.co/9AxEhOFa3z— martin mcmahon (@martin mcmahon) 1629135631.0
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://t.co/96Pwm69S38— Jane Coaston (@Jane Coaston) 1629136974.0
@tedcruz @CNN Ted, you literally packed your shit and left when cold weather hit Texas. How about you sit out criti… https://t.co/oVwYQHzBNQ— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1629134263.0
@bariweiss A real Profile in Courage https://t.co/MNLLAR9odw— Some Guy in PHX (@Some Guy in PHX) 1629136783.0
Hey, look everyone, the guy who ran from cold weather has some criticisms for the woman reporting while surrounded… https://t.co/Ksd7TUfVVX— Josh Moon 🇺🇸 (@Josh Moon 🇺🇸) 1629136531.0
This is a disgraceful attack on an incredibly brave reporter, @clarissaward, who is on the ground in the middle of… https://t.co/0erxHsau7w— Paul Szoldra (@Paul Szoldra) 1629136366.0
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