Ted Cruz crushes CNBC moderators for aggressive 'cage match' questions


CNBC's Carl Quintanilla asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during Wednesday's GOP presidential debate about his opposition to the budget compromise working its way though Congress. "Let me start out by saying something," Cruz said. "The questions that have been asked so far in the debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media." The audience cheered, and Cruz continued: "This is not a cage match." The Democratic debate was a lovefest, Cruz argued, while the CNBC debate moderators have been pitting the Republican candidates against each other with barbed questions instead of focusing on substance — then he showed his admirable memory by reciting the questions that preceded his.
After Cruz's harangue, Quintanilla noted that his question was about substance, but the audience in Boulder was clearly on Cruz's side. And Cruz is right that the news media isn't all that trusted by the American public, according to a recent Gallup poll. But look at where Congress — Cruz's day job — sits:
[Gallup]
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.
Which probably explains, at least in part, why all the senators on stage would prefer to be president, whose office is doing pretty well, respectively.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters