Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz mocked the 2020 Democratic primary field on Friday for the candidates’ increasingly progressive policy proposals that would undermine fundamental rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

“If there is one principle that has been true from the dawn of our nation, it is that when our liberty is under assault, Americans rise to defend it. Right now today we see liberty under assault,” Cruz said during the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting. “We see our fundamental rights — we see our First Amendment, we see our Second Amendment, all of our fundamental rights — as Americans under assault and it’s a concerted assault.”

“We see the 2020 Democratic primary field — you do have to wonder if it’s a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit,” he continued. “It’s a clown car and they keep getting crazier clowns one after the other.”

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The Texas senator warned the crowd of being too complacent, citing the anti-Second Amendment policy prescriptions of various Democratic presidential hopefuls.

“You’ve got Bernie Sanders, the socialist, who [Democrats] think is their centrist on Second Amendment issues,” Cruz said. “That’s the starting point!” (RELATED: Ted Cruz Explains Why Interventionists And Isolationists Are Both Wrong)

The Vermont senator, who is an outspoken opponent of the NRA, has called for strict gun control in America despite representing a rural state where gun ownership is high and hunting is popular. Sanders has frequently called for banning “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, as well as requiring universal background checks.

“You’ve got my old opponent [former Democratic Texas Rep.] Beto O’Rourke, who first made national news doing a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives opposing the Second Amendment and who’s happily called for banning semi-automatic weapons,” Cruz continued.

O’Rourke’s anti-gun stances were highlighted during his Senate race against the the Texas senator. During a September 2018 debate, Cruz forced O’Rourke to repeatedly claim he was pro-Second Amendment while also promoting strict gun control policies such as banning AR-15s, one of America’s most popular firearms.

“The funny thing is, you see, [Democrats] call for [banning semi-automatic weapons] but they don’t even know what a semi-automatic weapon is,” he added. “It’s sort of like their made-up title of ‘assault weapon,’ which when you read the legislation they draft, it really means ‘scary looking guns.'”

Cruz also took aim at former Vice President Joe Biden, who announced only a day earlier that he was officially seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

“After this convention Joe will be here offering free back rubs for anyone who would like them. You do have to sign a liability waiver first,” he joked, referring to allegations that Biden invaded women’s space.

“You know, Uncle Joe had some advice on protecting your home: He said if anyone is attacking your house, just step outside and with a double-barrel shotgun and fire both barrels in the air,” Cruz continued. “Now, that is great advice if it so happens you’re being attacked by a flock of geese.”

“Then you’ve got [California Democratic Sen.] Kamala Harris who has pledged to come after each and every one of us,” he added. “To come after our gun rights, to use illegal and unconstitutional executive orders to do so and whose intention, plain and simple, is to destroy the NRA.”

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