Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) never runs away from a culture war fight, no matter how trivial or contrived, but panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" would like to see a little more effort.
The Texas Republican appeared earlier this week on the right-wing Newsmax network to rage against health guidelines recommending that two beers a week was plenty, which Cruz suggested was a mandate, and moderator Willie Geist mocked his performative outrage.
"Oh, my God," Geist said, "and I have said many times, it's just the acting is so bad. That's where the director calls cut and steps in and says, 'Okay, that was a great first take -- what we're trying to do is simulate human behavior, let's try that again, the way people actually behave.' But Ted Cruz never misses a chance for a little bad acting and a little theater."
Politico editor Sam Stein joined in and pointed out a group of pot-bellied men wearing cowboy hats standing in the shadows behind Cruz as he capped off his complaint with a dainty swig of beer.
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"That was Emmy-worthy stuff -- seems really natural to me," Stein said. "This is what I do when I go out and drink with my buds. I have them line up behind me, I grab the beer, then when I drink, they subsequently drink in synchronization. That's how it is done."
"Ted Cruz, as we know already, just finds the issue of the moment, the outrage on Twitter, the outrage on wherever he is getting his information, and just pushes on that button," Geist said.
"Yeah, whether there actually is a button or not, he pushes on it, right?" added Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. "This is not a thing that he is complaining about."
"Not a thing," agreed Geist.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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