Audio By Carbonatix
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is a steadfast defender of freedom – also known as liberté to some of our Canadian neighbors. But while the Republican politician has so far remained silent on his home state’s crackdown on school libraries, he’s more than happy to give Canadian truck drivers a political assist.
In case you’ve taken a break from the relentless 24-hour news cycle, truck drivers have been protesting vaccine mandates in cities and towns across Canada. The so-called “Freedom Convoy” was sparked in January in response to a requirement that border-crossing drivers be fully vaxxed or they face testing and quarantine protocols.
Before long, meek beeps began to crescendo to prolonged honks as other Canadian citizens joined the movement to banish pandemic restrictions. But on Friday, GoFundMe removed a fundraising page for the truckers, claiming it breached the site’s terms of service.
Initially, GoFundMe said it would return money to donors who requested a refund but would dole the remaining change to “credible and established charities.” Swift backlash prompted the company to refund donors automatically.
Here’s where our boy Cruz comes in. On Sunday, the senator appeared on FOX to heap praises on these supposed Canadian freedom fighters.
“Let me say, the Canadian truckers are heroes,” Cruz gushed. “They are patriots, and they are marching for your freedom and for my freedom.
“Those truck drivers – God bless them – they’re defending Canada but they’re defending America as well,” he continued. (Hope they’re prepared for a new forever war, then.)
GoFundMe is deceiving consumers.
It is wrong. pic.twitter.com/mB6eIR3A62
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 7, 2022
Next, Cruz explained that the “thieves in Silicon Valley” were effectively discriminating against these road warriors over their politics. Cruz added that he’d sent a letter asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether GoFundMe had committed deceptive trade practices by redirecting donations to other causes.
Cruz has also killed time picking internet fights with foreign leaders. Over the weekend, he slammed Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart on Twitter for saying the city didn’t “want” the truck drivers there. The Texas politician said people “might feel differently with empty shelves.”
“Can someone tell @tedcruz our store shelves are fine thanks to the 90% of Canadian truckers who are fully vaccinated,” Stewart responded. “Too busy high-fiving all the awesome folks in #Vancouver that are helping push back against the #hateconvoy.”
Can someone tell @tedcruz our store shelves are fine thanks to the 90% of Canadian truckers who are fully vaccinated.
Too busy high-fiving all the awesome folks in #Vancouver that are helping push back against the #hateconvoy.#vanpoli #covid19 https://t.co/kA7jInwODF
— Kennedy Stewart (@kennedystewart) February 6, 2022
This comes months after a high-ranking Australian official blasted the Texas senator over his critique of that country’s coronavirus vaccine mandates. (Probably a good thing that Cruz isn’t a diplomat.)
Yet Texas’ junior senator isn’t the only Lone-Star Republican who’s showing solidarity with the truckers’ cause.
In a tweet late last month, comedian Chad Prather, who’s running for governor, said he “identif[ies] as a Canadian trucker.” Then, on Feb. 5, Prather unloaded another creative spin on a COVID-era saying: “We only needed 18 wheels to flatten the curve.”
Dang, that one warrants a good ol’-fashioned trucker salute.
