For someone who pretends he wants "clarity" on this issue, this sure was a mealy-mouthed response from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz when he was asked by Meet the Press host Chuck Todd whether or not he'd support racist Rep. Steve King in the future following his remarks about white supremacy to The New York Times.
TODD: Finally before I let you go, i want to get you to comment on your colleague Tim Scott's op-ed in The Washington Post" about Steve King, Iowa congressman, who was your national co-chair for president. He said, he writes this: “Some in our party wonder why Republicans are constantly accused of racism. Well, it is because of our silence when things like this are said. King's comments are not conservative views but separate views that should be ridiculed at every turn possible.' He questioned in a New York Times interview why we find phrases like white nationalism to somehow be offensive. Where are you on this, sir?
CRUZ: Well, listen, Tim is a good man and a good friend. He and I have worked together on many, many issues. What Steve King said was stupid. It was stupid, it was hurtful, it was wrong, and he needs to stop it. I think all of us ought to be united, regardless of party, in saying white supremicism, white nationalism is hate hatred, it is bigotry, it is evil, it is wrong and I think we need that clarity, and I'm certainly going to urge everyone to provide that clarity.
TODD: Are you going to support him in the future?
CRUZ: You know, what I'm going to do is urge everyone to stand for principles that matter. You know, this same weekend in Texas, there was a movement from some activists that asked to remove a local official in Ft. Worth who was a Muslim. I spoke out actively because it was my home state. I spoke actively against that. I said, listen, we believe in religious freedom, we believe in free speech, we believe in diversity. And ultimately the voters in the Tarrant County GOP did the right thing. They didn't remove that official. So I'm going to speak out and engage and when it comes to speaking out against bigotry, whether it is the Klan or Nazis or anything else, I have a lifetime of standing up to that bigotry and I'll continue it.
Cruz didn't answer him, but rather than push him on that fact, you guessed it, Todd ended the segment and thanked Cruz for his time. Cruz isn't going to directly attack King because he's too afraid of his party's racist base. They've been feeding that beast for decades. They're not going to stop now.
