On the heels of reports that bombs had been sent to the Clintons, President Obama, CNN, and others on Wednesday morning, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took to Twitter to denounce “incivility” in politics.

“Violence is never OK. Reports of bombs being sent to the homes of Obama, Clinton, and Soros are deeply, deeply disturbing,” Cruz wrote. “America is better than this. Political disagreements are fine, even healthy, but we should always be civil and respect each other’s humanity.”

Violence is never OK. Reports of bombs sent to the homes of Obama, Clinton, and Soros are deeply, deeply disturbing. America is better than this. Political disagreements are fine, even healthy, but we should always be civil and respect each other’s humanity. — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 24, 2018

During a campaign rally less than 24 hours earlier, however, Cruz joked about the extrajudicial imprisonment of both Beto O’Rourke — the Democratic candidate running against him for a Texas U.S. Senate seat — and Hillary Clinton.


After one of his supporters yelled “lock him up!” in reference to O’Rourke, Cruz quipped that “Well, you know, there’s a double-occupancy cell with Hillary Clinton,” adding, “y’all are gonna get me in trouble with that.”

As @TedCruz criticizes @BetoORourke in Georgetown, someone yells, "Lock him up!" Cruz: "Well, you know, there's a double-occupancy cell with Hillary Clinton." After big applause, Cruz adds, "Y'all are gonna get me in trouble with that." #txsen — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 23, 2018

The disconnect between what Cruz said on Tuesday and what he tweeted on Wednesday illustrates how Republicans don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to denouncing “incivility” in politics.

On Monday, Cruz rallied with President Trump, who has spent years demonizing Hillary Clinton by encouraging his supporters to chant for her extrajudicial imprisonment, and who less than a week ago directly and publicly encouraged violence against journalists.


Many of the prominent liberals reportedly targeted by bombs in recent days — including Clintons, Obamas, liberal philanthropist George Soros — have been directly been targeted for abuse by Trump as recently as this week.