Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) admonished CNN's Chris Cuomo on Twitter after the anchor accused him of being afraid to appear on CNN in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.
The controversy arose when Cuomo on Thursday ripped Gov. Rick Scott (R., Fla.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), and Cruz on his CNN morning show, "New Day." Cuomo accused the three Republicans of being "afraid" to appear on CNN in the wake of the shooting, alleging they were "unwilling" to answer questions about gun violence. Cuomo also intimated that all three elected officials chose to appear on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" because it provided them with a friendlier format.
"They're all on Fox, the mothership, because they don't want to be asked about this. What are they afraid of?" Cuomo asked. "Tell me."
Later that same day, Cuomo tweeted a story by The Hill reporting his claims about Scott, Rubio, and Cruz, while also taking a not so subtle shot at the senator from Texas. Cuomo tweeted that Cruz failed to offer any real solutions in the wake of the shooting and only "thinks gun control ... is not the answer." Cuomo challenged Cruz to work with his colleagues in Congress to "find an answer."
If Cruz thinks gun control improvement is not the answer, what is? Ask the question, Senator: what are we going to do to stop school shootings? Don’t just say what won’t work, work to find an answer! https://t.co/NAmAQOTudu
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) February 15, 2018
On Friday, Cruz responded to Cuomo's allegations by announcing that on Thursday he had conducted a 15-minute interview with CNN. Cruz said the interview included a discussion of legislation he previously introduced with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) to provide $300 million for school safety, gun-crime prosecutions, and mental health. The bill failed to make it through the Senate after Democrats used their filibuster power to kill it.
That's funny, I spoke to CNN for 15 mins yesterday about proactive solutions to prevent gun violence (like passing the Grassley-Cruz bill—which Dems filibustered—that would add $300 million for school safety) yet CNN has aired NONE of it. Why not air the (entire) interview? https://t.co/c4GZcqTbs7
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2018
Cruz even shared a photo from the interview, which has yet to air on CNN.
Here's a pic of the @CNN interview -- a 15-min exclusive given yesterday -- that y'all still haven't aired... (While falsely claiming I'm "afraid" to talk to CNN.) https://t.co/Bo8AzsuGFX pic.twitter.com/sEtt4bTeUT
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2018