Sen. Ted Cruz dismisses Obama comparison, calls him a 'backbencher' in the Senate

Sen. Ted Cruz dismisses Obama comparison, calls him a 'backbencher' in the Senate
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) just announced he's running for president in 2016, but he isn't taking kindly to people comparing him to the current president.

Cruz announced his candidacy after one term in the Senate, just as Obama did in 2008. But there, Cruz says, is where the similarities end. Obama was "a backbencher" in the Senate who didn't "engage in a whole lot of issues of consequence," Cruz said on Glenn Beck's radio show.

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Teresa Mull