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.
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.
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.
-
Microsoft pursues digital intelligence ‘aligned to human values’ in shift from OpenAIUNDER THE RADAR The iconic tech giant is jumping into the AI game with a bold new initiative designed to place people first in the search for digital intelligence
-
Codeword: November 7, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Crossword: November 7, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
