Beto O'Rourke has a post-presidential run beard, and Ted Cruz loves it

It's a well-documented fact that modern presidents cannot have beards.

So after dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, former Texas congressmember Beto O'Rourke has grown a beard as a presumed symbol of his electoral freedom. And Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Republican who beat O'Rourke in a battle for Cruz's Senate seat last year, thinks it's pretty cool.

O'Rourke has been hinting at the beginnings of a beard throughout a few Instagram posts, but it really got attention in a Tuesday snap. Cruz soon noticed it on Twitter, and responded with a surprisingly kind comment that was probably actually sarcastic.

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Of course, there's a reason for Cruz's sass — beyond the obvious "you ran against me last year and almost won" fact. After that narrow victory last year, Cruz re-emerged in the Senate with a beard of his own, and it had even his loudest opponents suddenly turning into fans.