Ted Cruz likens Democrats to the Terminator, and 6 more notable moments from the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference
Friday's portion of the Faith & Freedom Coalition's conservative conference — "the nation's premier pro-faith, pro-family event" — in Orlando, Florida featured appearances from Republican lawmakers like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and former Vice President Mike Pence. Naturally, things were said.
To start, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) mixed up the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, erroneously claiming "woke, rich football players" are kneeling for the former instead of the latter.
When Cruz arrived on stage, he said he was going to do something "radical" — tell the truth. Such radical truth telling included statements like "George Washington was an American hero," writes The Washington Post's Dave Weigel. Cruz also admitted his prepared remarks originally used the phrase "a call to arms," but a member of his team told him to remove it for fear of media "numbskulls" misrepresenting his words as a call to violent action.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He even asserted that Democrats, much like the Terminator, "are soulless, have no brain, and red eyes."
Next up was Graham, who appeared to dabble in what The Recount dubbed "stand-up comedy."
And, for his part, Rubio doubled-down on a frequent conservative critique of the term "equity," as well as "social justice," during his stint in front of the crowd.
Pence's time in the spotlight was decidedly less grand — hecklers could be heard shouting over the former Vice President as he spoke, calling him a "traitor." Previously, Pence broke with Trump and his base after certifying the results of the 2020 election as legitimate.
All in all, just another day in GOP paradise.
-
Syria’s Kurds: abandoned by their US allyTalking Point Ahmed al-Sharaa’s lightning offensive against Syrian Kurdistan belies his promise to respect the country’s ethnic minorities
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Is Alex Pretti shooting a turning point for Trump?Today’s Big Question Death of nurse at the hands of Ice officers could be ‘crucial’ moment for America
-
Halligan quits US attorney role amid court pressureSpeed Read Halligan’s position had already been considered vacant by at least one judge
