Ted Cruz says 'the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats'

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 1 December 2015

In a Monday interview with conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt, Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz doubled down on his claims that Planned Parenthood shooting suspect Robert Dear is not part of the anti-abortion movement. "Now, listen, here's the simple and undeniable fact: the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats. The media doesn't report that," Cruz said, after agreeing with Hewitt that he had never met a "single pro-life activist who is in favor of violence of any sort."

"And I would note that this whole episode has really displayed the ugly underbelly of the media," Cruz continued. "You know, every time you have some sort of violent crime or mass killing, you can almost see the media salivating hoping, hoping desperately that the murderer happens to be a Republican so they can use it to try to paint their political enemies." At a Sunday campaign stop, Cruz said Dear might be "a transgendered leftist activist."