(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took climate activists to task on Thursday after they disrupted his speech in Washington, D.C.
Cruz was attending a dinner with the Fund for American Studies at the Four Seasons Hotel in the nation’s capital when a group of protesters took seats at the front of the stage and began chanting, “No fossil fuels! No fossil fuels!”
Cruz, unfazed by the heckling, countered with his chant, “More fossil fuels! More fossil fuels!” Shortly thereafter, Cruz began questioning the protestors on their pollution knowledge.
“Climate” protestors try and fail to shut down TX Sen @tedcruz at @TFASorg in DC pic.twitter.com/Vi2PmXfkEQ
— Tiana Lowe Doescher (@TianaTheFirst) July 12, 2024
“Young man, which country is the biggest climate polluter on planet Earth? You have no idea,” Cruz asked. “You’re a protester and you’re utterly ignorant about what you’re protesting about. What’s the answer?”
Cruz then turned to the crowd to further mock the protesters, saying, “He’s literally protesting about climate, and he can’t tell you who the biggest polluter on planet Earth is.”
One protester incorrectly answered that the United States was the largest polluter.
“By the way, the answer is Communist China,” Cruz corrected while directly addressing the activists.
A fired-up Cruz continued, “Which country leads the world in reduction of carbon emissions? Do you know the answer to that? I’d give you a hint, it was the wrong answer you gave me before. It’s the United States of America!”
Earlier in his remarks, Cruz mocked the hecklers, asking, “Did none of you have the bravery to glue your hand to a bus or something? Like throw a can of soup on the Mona Lisa? No… you just gotta sit here in D.C.”
Cruz’s confrontation with the seemingly uninformed activists follows Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., scolding a climate activist who attempted to corner her with a “big oil” question for a viral video.
“I was wondering how much money it would take to buy you back from Big Oil?” the protestor asked, after falsely posing as a Britt fan and asking for a photo.
In response, Britt quickly placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder, and said, “Oh you! Look at how dishonest that was. You asked if you could take a selfie and now you’re asking questions.”
As Britt boarded a nearby elevator, she wittingly concluded, “Listen, we’ve got to be not only energy independent but energy dominant. We do it better than anybody.”
Subsequently, the video has since gone viral—but not for the reasons the “big oil” activist wanted.
Bless her heart. The U.S. must not just be energy independent, but energy dominant. Thanks to @sunrisemvmt for helping get my elevator pitch out.
— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) July 10, 2024