Ted Cruz Takes Shot at First Lady Michelle Obama

One of the more poorly-kept secrets in Republican politics is the rabble-rousing effectiveness of trashing First Lady Michelle Obama, who is beloved by most Americans, but hated like the plague among conservative base voters. That secret is not lost on Ted Cruz, who decided to turn a sickly-sweet homage to his Goldman Sachs executive spouse Heidi Cruz into a slam on our nutrition-minded FLOTUS.

At a Caucus Eve rally in Davenport, Iowa Sunday night, Cruz waxed romantical about his wife, drawing “awwws” from the crowd, but like a little kid who just can’t help burping at the end of his piano recital, he took it gross:

“To any school-age kids, if Heidi’s first lady, french fries are coming back to the lunchroom. You know, call me crazy, but I though cardboard was supposed to be in the tray, and not in the food.”

Not to get all fact-y on you, Ted, but there’s no actual rule against french fries in school lunches, just a mandate to reduce the sodium content in the lunches, a mandate that Congress has already moved to gut. But that’s not really the point, is it? Trolling Michelle “Obama’s Baby Mama” Obama speaks to a much deeper hatred and insecurity among base voters, one which makes it worthwhile to violate the “spouses are off-limits” rule, and to run on a platform of “Hypertension! You know, for kids!”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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