Getty Ted Cruz
If you’re seeing stories on social media about Ted Cruz tweeting about his cell phone during the impeachment trial, it’s not fake news. Ted Cruz’s Twitter account really did tweet “Come and Take It” about his cell phone during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial today. Cruz hasn’t personally commented on whether it was just a joke, a tweet by someone on his staff, or if he really did have his phone with him. It all started when someone else on Twitter questioned his tweets during the trial, and others jumped in, saying the tweets were likely made by one of Cruz’s staff members. Here’s a look at what happened.
Cruz Tweeted ‘Come and Take It’ After Complaints About Tweeting During the Impeachment Trial
Joe Lockhart, a CNN political analyst, took to Twitter to complain that Ted Cruz’s Twitter account was tweeting during the impeachment trial.
Lockhart wrote: “Senators on the floor are sworn to silence and have no electronic devices. So how is this Senator tweeting? Did he sneak a phone in. Is he willing to go to prison? Or is the tweet from someone other than Cruz. @jack you should investigate.”
He ended his tweet with a request for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to investigate.
Ted Cruz’s Twitter account replied with a meme that reads “Come and Take It” and includes a drawing of a cell phone.
One of the rules in the impeachment trial is that electronic devices such as cell phones won’t be permitted in the Senate chamber, CNN reported. Although some Senators were unhappy about the rules, they’re complying.
Ted Cruz’s account has tweeted some during the impeachment trial. What’s not clear is whether it’s Cruz tweeting during the trial, during a recess, or just a staff member tweeting from his account. It’s not unusual for staff members to tweet from a Senator or another politician’s account during events when the politician can’t be on Twitter themselves. For example, many Presidential candidates’ accounts are known to tweet messages during the debates. The candidates aren’t tweeting themselves, but their staff is tweeting for them.
Some people are taking Cruz’s tweet seriously and they think it means he has his phone, going against the rules. Others think his account is just sarcastically replying to someone who assumed it was Cruz himself tweeting and not someone on his staff.
He’s not the only Senator tweeting during the trial. Amy Klobuchar’s account also tweeted today, for example.
Her tweet was in response to Pat Cipollone saying that Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren were upset about missing a chance to campaign in Iowa. Klobuchar wrote: “No. This is my constitutional duty. And I can do two things at once.”
Cruz’s tweet, meanwhile, sparked some amusing responses.
Meanwhile, Lockhart has been tweeting throughout the impeachment trial, but it took him a while to respond to people’s replies. He made one tweet, essentially acknowledging that it was likely a Cruz staffer tweeting.
Someone told Lockhart that what he wrote was “embarrassing.” They wrote: “You cover politics and aren’t smart enough to realize aides have access to their bosses twitter accts? Embarrassing.”
Lockhart responded: “wow…you think that’s embarrassing and not what’s going on the Senate floor. Maybe you’re not smart enough.”