Assclown Alert: Ignoring death threats against your rivals with Ted Cruz
The column criticizes Cruz’s silence after an audience member called for his political opponents to be shot.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe San Antonio Current is a local news publisher, but the source type and this page’s opinion-column format offer limited evidence about the outlet’s reporting and correction practices. The named author and clear labeling as opinion support transparency, while the underlying reporting is described only generally.
- Source type — A local publisher, though the source type is recorded as other and the page is an opinion column.
- Author attribution — The column is attributed to Sanford Nowlin, identified as the San Antonio Current’s editor-in-chief.
- Editorial standards — The page clearly labels the feature as opinion, analysis and snark; other standards are not established by the text.
- Transparency — The column distinguishes its commentary from reported details, but gives limited detail about the reports it cites.
The column identifies the incident and attributes some details to published reports and Cruz’s office, but it provides few specifics about those reports and no response from Cruz or other perspectives. Its explicitly opinionated format and limited sourcing constrain its value as a reported account.
HOW WE SCORE ↗This is explicitly an opinion column that argues Cruz should have condemned the threat and offers little countervailing perspective. It notes uncertainty about whether he heard the shouts and that his office declined to clarify, but does not include a response from Cruz.
- Opinion vs reporting — The page identifies itself as an opinion, analysis and snark column.
- Counterarguments presented — No defense of Cruz or response from him is included.
- Loaded language — The column uses openly insulting language about Cruz.
- Source diversity — The account references published reports and Cruz’s office but does not identify the reports or present a range of sources.
The column uses openly derisive language about Cruz and frames his silence as a failure, making its treatment of the Republican senator clearly critical. Its general argument against political violence is broader, but does not offset the strongly negative framing of Cruz.
- Language tone — Uses insulting, dismissive language, including calling Cruz an “assclown.”
- Framing — Centers on blaming Cruz for not condemning the shouted threat.
- Headline — The headline directly associates Cruz with ignoring death threats against rivals.
The San Antonio Current’s opinion column criticizes Sen. Ted Cruz for not responding after an audience member called for political opponents to be shot during his speech. It says Cruz’s office did not clarify whether he heard the shouts and that he had not publicly condemned them by press time.
The column reports that an audience member repeatedly shouted “He should be shot!” while Cruz named Democrats Zohran Mamdani, Abdul El-Sayed and James Talarico during a speech at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas. It says published reports were unclear about whether Cruz heard the shouts, and that his office declined to say whether he did. The column says Cruz had not publicly denounced the remarks by press time.
The writer argues that political leaders should condemn violent rhetoric against opponents as well as allies, and criticizes Cruz’s silence. The column also notes that the convention occurred on the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and that multiple speakers condemned political violence.
Community verdict
10 VOTES
People in this story
SWIPE →Senator criticized for not publicly condemning a threat against political opponents shouted during his speech.
Senate candidate named among the political opponents targeted by the shouted threat.
Senate candidate named among the political opponents targeted by the shouted threat.
Part of a bigger story
5 OUTLETSOutlets agree that a shout calling for Democratic candidates to be shot was heard during Ted Cruz’s convention speech, after he criticized them. Left-leaning outlets center the threat and criticize Cruz for continuing without objection, with one also comparing how a protester was treated. Center outlets note uncertainty over whether Cruz heard the shout, though one opinion column criticizes his failure to respond.
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- OUTLETS
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- AVG CRED
- 66
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