OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Sen. Ted Cruz took on CNN host Kaitlin Collins during a segment of her show on Wednesday, declaring her question about whether he’ll accept the 2024 presidential election results to be “ridiculous.”
During the segment, Collins asked the same question that all left-wing news hosts are asking Republicans suddenly this week — whether they will accept the results “no matter what,” a gotcha question that can’t be honestly answered ahead of the actual election.
“You were the first senator to object to the votes,” she noted. “In 2024, will you certify the election results? Do you plan to object, or will you accept the results regardless of who wins the election?”
“So, Kaitlan, I gotta say, I think that’s actually a ridiculous question,” Cruz replied.
“It’s a yes or no question,” the host observed.
“No, it’s not,” the Texas Republican said. “Let me explain why it’s a ridiculous question. It’s not a question–you ever ask a Democrat that?
“Of course,” she said.
“What Democrat?” Cruz asked.
“I know, I know, I’ve been down this road many times,” Collins said. “You cannot compare the two situations. We have talked about that. We have seen the audio [sic] of that when they protested on the Senate floor, but have you ever had a sitting president who refused to facilitate the peaceful transition of power?”
Trump did not “refuse to facilitate the peaceful transition of power” but rather left office without incident following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and Cruz pointed that out.
“We did have a peaceful transfer of power. I was there on January 20. I was there on the swearing-in,” he said. “Barely,” Collins falsely asserted.
Cruz said it would be “absurd” to commit to accepting the results because there might be voter fraud.
That led Collins to ask again: “So, my question for you again – free and fair election – will you accept the results regardless of who wins?”
“Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not gonna ignore fraud,” Cruz said.
“But was there fraud in 2020?” Collins asked.
“Of course there was fraud in 2020,” Cruz stated.
“No, there wasn’t, and you still objected,” the host said.
In fact, there were documented instances of fraud, though the debate over whether it was enough to overturn the results is ongoing.
“I don’t remember there being a president who’s refusing to turn over the transition of power and facilitate it,” she said.
“And Trump didn’t either,” Cruz insisted. “Joe Biden became president.”
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio earned praise from Fox News host Sean Hannity this week for the way he handled himself during an interview with a liberal news anchor.
The senator appeared on “Meet The Press” on Sunday when host Kristen Welker suggested that challenging election results was something done by Republicans. Rubio pushed back and said no, that Democrats have historically claimed that election results are not legitimate and have done so constantly since 2000, every time a GOP candidate wins the Oval Office.
He also said he would not just automatically accept the results of the 2024 election “no matter what,” suggesting that it would depend on whether there were provable instances of fraud or other election-related problems.
“Republicans don’t go in prepared. And it is a hostile environment. People don’t even watch those Sunday shows anymore. The days of Brinkley and [Tim] Russert, they’re long gone. And people aren’t even watching those Sunday shows like they used to. And I just love the fact, when you go on, you don’t take their crap,” the Fox News host said.
“Well, I mean, the premise is something that needs to be challenged because the truth is most people have forgotten they did all of that. It is not widely reported. There certainly wasn’t a string of repeated interviews in which every Democrat is asked this question,” the senator said.
“But I think we need to understand what is happening this very moment. There are Democrats running right now that are toying with the idea that there was a piece in the Atlantic, there were people that didn’t comment on it. Some are toying with this whole notion that if Trump wins, they will refuse to certify, because they are going to argue that he is an insurrectionist and therefore ineligible to hold office and that will be grounds to throw out the electors of these states and so forth. They are already talking about that,” he said.
“So I think it is important to point out, they should be the ones that are asked.
