Beto O’Rourke just humiliated Ted Cruz by posting a brilliant photo he cannot ignore

Yesterday, Ted Cruz made headlines with a petty – and hypocritical – attack on his Democratic challenger, three-term Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke, who is now running for Cruz’s Senate seat. In a new campaign radio ad, Cruz referred to his challenger as “Robert O’Rourke,” instead of Beto, mocking him for allegedly using a Latin-sounding nickname to appeal to progressive voters.

Today, in a tweet that needed no caption, O’Rourke shared an image of himself as a child. He is wearing a shirt with his nickname – Beto – clearly written across the front. In other words, unless this toddler was already “pandering” to Hispanic voters, Cruz’s juvenile argument is moot.

Add your name to millions demanding Congress take action on the President’s crimes. IMPEACH TRUMP & PENCE!

CNN’s Chris Cuomo confronted Cruz on the blatant dog whistling and called him out live on his show New Day this morning.

“You go after Beto for his name. Beto is obviously a nickname — why?” Cuomo asked. “You didn’t like that dirty pool when you were running for president and the president called you ‘Lyin’ Ted,’ you didn’t like that kind of tactic…”

“And you know what, your name is Rafael, you go by Ted but your middle name is Edward, that’s a more Anglicized version of it,” Cuomo added. “He went the other way and has a more ethnic version of his name — why go after him? You’re both doing the same thing.”

O’Rourke scored a stunning, though expected, primary victory last night to secure his place in November’s U.S. Senate race. He is mounting a strong and well-organized challenge and has raised a ton of money and attention as he works to unseat the controversial Republican. Cruz, for his part, has been in full panic mode for weeks.

It’s wholly telling that while Cruz tried to employ a petty campaign smear, he is now the one in trouble for it. What a classless way to go down.

Brian Tyler Cohen

Managing editor

Brian Tyler Cohen is a political writer, actor, and comedy sketch director. He graduated from Lehigh University with a dual degree in English and Business. He currently lives in Los Angeles.