Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had yet another awkward moment with technology on Wednesday when reporters spotted what he was checking on his phone during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
It was his own social media mentions.
Cruz went beyond his allotted time with his attacks on Jackson, drawing a gavel from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), which led to a testy exchange between the two.
Once Cruz was done grandstanding for the cameras, he whipped out his cellphone. Los Angeles Times reporter Nolan D. McCaskill caught what he was doing:
Ted Cruz looks like he’s checking his mentions after his back and forths with KBJ and Durbin. He’s had his head down during all of Coons’ testimony, even as Sasse and Tillis are clearly listening to their Democratic colleague and the nominee before them pic.twitter.com/Rrlud9FHov
— Nolan D. McCaskill (@NolanDMcCaskill) March 23, 2022
McCaskill’s LA Times colleague, photojournalist Kent Nishimura, was in perfect position to confirm:
Can confirm this. He was searching twitter for his name, this was right after his exchange with Chairman Durbin. https://t.co/pd7W6SHVPV pic.twitter.com/AKXoe4CYKK
— Kent Nishimura (西村賢一) (@kentnish) March 23, 2022
Cruz’s critics on Twitter let him have it:
I knew it. I knew Ted Cruz was a self searcher https://t.co/0TUEBSntcr
— Brooke Binkowski (@brooklynmarie) March 24, 2022
We have designed systems of power in which many of the people who rule over us don’t care at all about improving lives or solving problems, but only care about fame, power, social media stardom, and performative narcissism. It’s an utterly broken system. https://t.co/ZkGdufcNl5
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) March 23, 2022
Proof that all of this is for the cameras & to cut campaign ads. They want to be seen denigrating an eminently qualified Black woman Supreme Court Justice nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackon, not based on her career or qualifications, but to get retweets & likes. It's disgusting. https://t.co/0luO1mRQgh
— KD (@Fly_Sistah) March 24, 2022
I pray to the Twitter algorithm gods that @tedcruz saw my tweet calling him a miserable, shameless, pandering demagogue locked in an endless, emasculating pursuit of a presidency he will never have 🙏 https://t.co/lYKBck9sGp
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) March 23, 2022
the thirstiest boy that ever thirsted https://t.co/5wRR22t0tl
— kilgore trout, death to putiner (@KT_So_It_Goes) March 23, 2022
Do you think when Cruz was searching Twitter for his name he came across tweets about him searching Twitter for his name? https://t.co/rU2hsngeUT
— Schooley (@Rschooley) March 24, 2022
Ted Cruz's descent into the pool of patheticness continues. Looking for your name on Twitter is what school shooters and serial killers do Ted, seriously. https://t.co/gkcVuqiUms
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) March 23, 2022
This single tweet does a better job of explaining why Cruz is the way he is than all the long articles about him ever written https://t.co/alWGvx21uc
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) March 23, 2022
The child porn smears and fake outrage are all for this: getting a viral moment on social media which might get picked up by Fox https://t.co/9hUQJiP8wj
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) March 23, 2022
If you needed proof the Cruz line of questioning was all political grandstanding, here you go. https://t.co/UyPbtpaZZm
— Rachel Barkow (@RachelBarkow) March 23, 2022
More evidence that everything Ted Cruz does is for Ted Cruz. After engaging in a disingenuous argument with Chairman Durbin, Ted Cruz searched for his own name on Twitter, instead of listening to the nominee.
— Blue Grass Roots (@BGR_US) March 24, 2022
What a pathetic excuse for a Senator. https://t.co/BNyJQi544I
This is the whole game, y'all. Ted Cruz name searching himself on Twitter *during a Senate hearing* after he got done his disingenuous attacks.
— Isaac Saul (readtangle.com) (@Ike_Saul) March 23, 2022
That is literally it.
All you need to know about him and this process. https://t.co/tCWAnIhxwJ
While you're name searching yourself, @tedcruz, here's one making sure everyone knows what a performative, self-obsessed narcissist you are. https://t.co/rdpnumQn4j
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) March 23, 2022
Ted Cruz name searching himself on Twitter is peak Ted Cruz https://t.co/pbF72JQyZq
— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) March 23, 2022
.@tedcruz was caught searching Twitter for his name during the hearings today after he humiliated himself.
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) March 23, 2022
Since we know he likes to read his mentions, why don't you tag him and let him know how you feel? https://t.co/0SYqiCEIzI
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