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"They're like unicorns. They never exist. These moderate rebels end up being jihadists," Ted Cruz said. Cruz: Moderate rebels are like 'purple unicorns'

Explaining his skepticism about the wisdom of overthrowing Bashar Assad, Ted Cruz suggested that moderate rebels in Syria are as rare as "purple unicorns."

"We keep hearing from President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Washington Republicans that they're searching for these mythical, moderate rebels," the Texas Republican said at Tuesday night's GOP presidential debate. "They're like unicorns. They never exist. These moderate rebels end up being jihadists."

That remark came as part of a back-and-forth between Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who clashed over the extent to which Americans should be willing to overthrow secular dictators in the Middle East, from Libya's Muammar Qaddafi to Syria's Assad.

Cruz repeatedly, if obliquely, criticized the more interventionist Rubio, lumping him in with the "Washington Republicans" inclined toward supporting regime change.