Ted Cruz called the Planned Parenthood shooter a 'transgendered leftist activist'


At a Sunday campaign stop in Iowa, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called Friday's shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado "horrific," but also slammed "some vicious rhetoric on the left blaming those who are pro-life," The Texas Tribune reports.
The suspected gunman, Robert Dear, reportedly hinted at a motive after police apprehended him in Colorado Springs on Friday by saying "no more baby parts," according to an anonymous law enforcement official. When a reporter mentioned those reports to Cruz, he pushed back, arguing that we don't know enough about the gunman yet to make a judgment call about his political beliefs.
"It's also been reported that he was registered as an independent and a woman and a transgendered leftist activist," the presidential hopeful said. "If that's what he is, I don't think it's fair to blame on the rhetoric on the left. This is a murderer."
Subscribe to 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.
Cruz was referring to voting records that show that a Robert Dear with the birth year the same as the suspect was registered to vote as a woman in Hartsel, Colorado, as recently as 2014, according to BuzzFeed News. As for Dear's political beliefs, a New York Times profile described him as "generally conservative but not obsessed with politics," based on an interview with his ex-wife, Pamela Ross.
A campaign spokesman told the Times that Cruz was not making definitive claims about Dear's identity, but rather pointing out that people should not draw conclusions based on a story that's still developing.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
Sail in style onboard the brand-new Explora II
The Week Recommends Hit the high seas on a luxury cruise from Barcelona to Rome
-
Is the EU funding Russia more than Ukraine?
The Explainer EU remains largest importer of Russian fossil fuels despite sanctions aimed at crippling Kremlin's war effort
-
Posh crisps: an 'elite' tier of snacking
The Week Recommends Hand-cooked and dusted in 'decadent' flavours, the humble potato chip is being elevated to new levels
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said