Ted Cruz is still ruffling some feathers after expressing his angst recently over “Sesame Street”‘s Big Bird getting vaccinated, with Jezebel’s editor-in-chief Laura Bassett joking, “We’re talking about a Muppet. Ted Cruz today has picked a fight with a Muppet.”
Bassett joined Ari Melber on his MSNBC show “The Beat,” and the two couldn’t help but find humor in Cruz’s fury with an 8-foot, 2-inch bright yellow talking bird.
On Saturday, the “Sesame Street” veteran tweeted, “I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy,” to which Cruz replied, “Government propaganda…for your 5 year old!”
“It’s sort of perfect in a way because the man is entirely useless as a senator — Texas froze over and he flew south to Cancun to go on vacation with his family as people were literally dying in their homes,” Bassett said.
Bouncing off Melber’s joke that his wings must be “tired,” Bassett added, “He and Big Bird have something in common in that they both fly south for the winter.”
In February, Cruz drew sharp criticism for vacationing in Mexico while his constituents faced a deadly winter storm and massive power outages. The incident sparked a deluge of memes and an “SNL” skit featuring cast member Aidy Bryant in cornrows and vacation attire.
The bird humor continued on “The Beat,” as Bassett pivoted to discussing Cruz’s political stances.
“Ted Cruz obviously does not give a hoot about public health or public safety,” she said. “If he wants to make this a bodily autonomy issue, I would say you obviously don’t care about that when talking about women’s reproductive rights.”
Cruz also got his wings clipped on Monday morning by the women of “The View,” who were in fulling mocking mode.
“He clearly, clearly has never watched ‘Sesame Street’ and didn’t do any homework to find out,” said Whoopi Goldberg. “Because Big Bird has been talking to children about immunizations, and all kinds of things. So why you pickin’ on Big Bird man? He’s trying to keep kids safe, and it’s not like it’s an — well, I’m not gonna say it.”
“Why die on that hill?” asked host Sunny Hostin. “It was just so surprising to me.”
