Jon Stewart finds a curious dissonance in Ted Cruz's campaign kickoff

Jon Stewart critiques Ted Cruz&#039;s presidential bid speech

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced he is running for president, in a speech at Liberty University in Virginia. On Monday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart celebrated, then got down to business. Item 1: Mocking Cruz for meticulously rehearsing every part of his speech, including waving and kissing his wife (here, Stewart had an assist from Samantha Bee and Jason Jones). Item 2: Noting that Liberty students had to attend the speech, or pay a fine.

Item 3 is Stewart's substantive critique, and it's pretty trenchant. In his speech, Cruz rang the libertarian bell, asking students to imagine a world where the government respected their privacy and didn't snoop on their cellphones. "We get it, you're a fan of John Lennon and small government," Stewart said. But Cruz's very next action threw his rhetoric into doubt. After promising a President Cruz would respect their privacy rights, Stewart said, he "told them if they cared about freedom, text your information to a mysterious address that collects your cell phone number for undisclosed purposes." Hmmmmm. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.