'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:

Cruz took Ward's attire out of context, implying that it was an endorsement of the Taliban. The far-right Texas senator posted:

It didn't take long for Cruz to be inundated with negative reactions on Twitter. CNN's corporate communications tweeted:

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:

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:

Here are some more reactions: