Sen. Ted Cruz thought he was scoring points when he grabbed a paint roller and set out to erase graffiti on a Houston freeway wall but the performance quickly turned into online fodder, with critics mocking his attempt to play cleanup crew.
Cruz announced on X that the graffiti was done by a “deranged b—-rd.”
The clip was shared on Fox News and widely circulated online, accompanied by the caption, “Erasing Evil.” The outlet applauded Cruz for painting over the words, “f–k Charlie Kirk,” and shared Cruz’s statement that “Texans don’t have to look at this hateful garbage anymore.”
But the move has not impressed observers on social media, who have declared it “performative” and a “publicity stunt” aimed at boosting Cruz’s own image.
People also noticed the senator struggling with the paint roller as he attempted to blot out the profanity. After just a few overlapping strokes, he stopped while large drips of white paint slowly trickled down the dark brown wall.
From tips on power washing to “bending your knees” while painting, viewers have chimed in with humorous advice for the Senator to help him get through the paint job.
“Most work he’s done his entire life,” wrote one on Threads, where people can’t stop cracking jokes.
“Out of breath after 10 seconds with a paint roller,” mocked another.
“This is the closest this man has ever been to physical labor, and he is struggling,” exclaimed a commenter.
One user broke it down in two parts, “1.This is performative as f**k. 2. He did a shockingly terrible job at this.”
View on Threads
Even Cruz’s choice of color was put under the microscope.
“Could he have used gray or brown or black? This looks awful,” said one, with another likening the white paint drips to bird droppings.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Cruz’s infamous Cancún getaway is still fresh in the minds of Texans, as commentators couldn’t help but bring it up. When a deadly winter weather ripped through Texas in 2021 and overwhelmed the power grid, Cruz took off on a tropical vacation, earning him the name “Flyin’ Ted,” a variation on Donald Trump’s “Lyin’ Ted” nickname.
“Surprised he didn’t get on a plane and go on vacation…” quipped a few people with long memories on Threads.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10 during one of his signature debate sessions with students. While there’s been an outburst of mourning from his supporters, some of Kirk’s detractors have sparked a backlash by publicly speaking against the far-right influencer, making critical social media posts, and even destroying memorials.
But for now, at least one highway tag has been taken care of by Cruz — and eventually, the Texas Department of Transportation. As Cruz wrote on X: “TXDOT has been notified & I’m sure they will remove it expeditiously.”
