Ted Cruz Loses His Cool With Disruptive Climate Protestors During Speech

During a speaking event, Sen. Ted Cruz lashed out at a group of climate protestors who stormed the stage in the middle of his address.

Cruz vs Climate Protestors

Republican Senator Ted Cruz was faced down by a group of raucous climate protestors at a conservative speaking event in Washington D.C. on Thursday. And the Texas representative pulled no punches.

Protestors Take the Stage

While Cruz was speaking, several protesters took seats on the stage beside the politician, ostensibly in an act of protest against Cruz’s past positions on climate change and energy issues.

An Interruption

The group began chanting slogans to interrupt the speech and draw attention to their cause. Rather than ignore them, Cruz confronted the protestors on the stage.

Turning It Back on Them

Instead of continuing his speech, he turned the microphone on them, asking questions about climate change data that the group answered incorrectly.

“You’re Utterly Ignorant”

“Hold on, hold on, which country is the biggest climate polluter on planet Earth?” Cruz asked. “You have no idea. You’re a protester and you’re utterly ignorant about what you’re protesting about. What’s the answer?”

One Answer

While most of the responses were inaudible due to the noise, Cruz persisted in asking the question until one protesters’ response could be heard over the commotion. Her answer? “The US.”

“Literally No Idea”

“OK, so this young lady has no clue,” Cruz shot back, turning to the crowd. “She said ‘the United States of America. She is protesting, and she has literally no idea. By the way, the answer is Communist China.” 

The Biggest Polluter

Cruz wasn’t wrong. According to data from the Climate Action Tracker, a scientific project that “tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris Agreement,” the answer is China.

China in First Place

China is by far the largest greenhouse gas polluter on the planet, with the United States and India coming in second and third place. China’s policies and actions to reduce emissions have also been marked as “highly insufficient” by the Climate Action Tracker.

Slow to Respond

Despite the worsening effects and increasing awareness of climate change around the world in recent years, Beijing was still approving an average of two coal plants per week as of 2022, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Stagnating Emissions

What’s more, the country’s greenhouse gas emission levels are still expected to peak in 2025 and stagnate through 2030, whereas US emissions are expected to drop. 

Reduction of Carbon Emissions

Cruz noted these projections in his spat with the climate protestors, asking “Which country leads the world in reduction of carbon emissions? Are you gonna know the answer to that? I’ll give you a hint, it was the wrong answer you gave before: it’s the United States of America.”

Greenhouse Gas Reduction by 2030

In 2021 President Biden announced a 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target, which aimed to reduce net greenhouse gas pollution by 50-52% from its 2005 levels by 2030.

EPA Data Speaks

Since then, data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 17.5% between 2005 and 2022.

Twitter Responds

Commentators on X, formerly known as Twitter, took to the social media platform to support Cruz’ response to the protestors. “These radicals are not not pro-environment they’re just anti-American,” one poster wrote.

Cruz “Will Not be Intimidated”

Following the event, a spokesperson for Cruz released a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, saying that the senator “will not be intimidated by climate protesters who ignore basic realities.”

Not the First Time

This recent spat is far from the first time Cruz has been confronted with furious protestors who have taken issue with his personal and political stances. 

Anti-Israel Protests

Earlier this year nearly two-dozen protestors outside the Cruz family home in Houston, to protest Cruz’s firmly pro-Israel stance following the Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 

23 Visits

According to Cruz, anti-Israel protestors had shown up outside of his home 23 times between Feb 23 and June 16 to “scream, disturb the peace & wake the neighbors.”

A Rallying Ground for Protestors

At this point, the Cruz family home has become somewhat of a rallying ground for left-wing protestors. Back in 2021, around 60 to 70 climate protestors gathered at his home to protest his stance on climate change.

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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / lev radin.