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In his “soapbox” remarks at the Iowa State Fair on Friday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized Jimmy Carter’s presidency – a day after Carter’s moving public admission about his cancer.

“I think where we are today is very, very much like the late 1970’s. I think the parallels between this administration and the Carter administration are uncanny, same failed domestic policy, same misery, stagnation and malaise, same feckless and naive foreign policy. In fact, the exact same countries, Russia and Iran, openly laughing at and mocking the president of the United States.”

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When asked about the timing of his remarks, Cruz said, according to Bloomberg News: "We can always have a discussion about public policy."

Cruz added, "The public policy of the late 1970s didn't work. And the point that I made here that was so important is that in response to the failures of public policy in the late 1970s there was a grassroots movement of millions of men and women that rose up and became the Reagan revolution. And the same thing is happening today."

Yesterday he tweeted "our thoughts and prayers are with President Jimmy Carter."

But it is worth noting that Cruz, in June, also joked about Joe Biden after the death of Biden’s son, Beau. Cruz later apologized.

“Joe Biden … You know what the nice thing is? You don’t even need a punch line. I promise you it works. At the next party you’re at, just walk up to someone and say, ‘Vice President Joe Biden,’ and just close your mouth. They will crack up laughing,” Cruz said back then.

-- NBC’s Emily Gold and Alex Stambaugh contribute to this report.