Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that his re-election campaign was “just having a sense of humor” when it released a radio ad teasing Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who won the Democratic primary, for going by Beto rather than his given name, Robert.
“In terms of the jingle, some of it is just having a sense of humor,” Cruz told CNN’s “New Day.” “We had some fun with it.”
Cruz, meanwhile, goes by Ted instead of his given name — Raphael Edward Cruz.
“You’re absolutely right. My name is Raphael Edward Cruz,” Cruz acknowledged. “I am the son of my father Raphael Cruz, an immigrant from Cuba who came to Texas with nothing.”
O’Rourke, however, declined to respond to Cruz’s name-calling.
Appearing on “New Day” after Cruz, O’Rourke said, “I just don’t think that’s what folks in Texas want us to focus on.”
“We can get into name-calling and talk about why the other person is such an awful guy, or we can focus on the big things we want to do for the future of our country, for the generations that will succeed us,” he said, later adding, “We can focus on the small, mean, petty stuff, or we can be big, bold, courageous, and confident.”