Ted Cruz challenges President Obama to a debate: 'Insult me to my face'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is more than a little sore that President Obama called his religious test for refugees "shameful," "un-American," and mocked him for being afraid of "3-year-old orphans."

Cruz's response? Let's take this outside.

Well not quite, but Cruz certainly threw down a challenge to the president on Wednesday morning, demanding Obama "insult me to my face."

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"I think it's really quite rich that he chose to make both of those insults on foreign soil, while he was abroad, attacking me and attacking everyone else in this country who believes we should not be bringing in tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees," Cruz said. (Obama's proposed plan would bring in just 10,000 refugees, which many aid groups have criticized as insufficient.)

But Cruz wasn't done. Glaring into an NBC camera, he addressed Obama directly: "Let's have a debate on Syrian refugees right now. We can do it anywhere you want. I prefer it in the United States and not overseas, where you're making the insults. It's easy to toss a cheap insult when no one can respond."

Unfortunately, there will be no imminent duel: President Obama is currently spending five days overseas in Asia. Watch the gauntlet get thrown below. Jeva Lange