Ted Cruz, WaPo Reporter Fight Over #FF Hashtag’s Constitutionality
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, or at least the intern running his Twitter account, traded snark with a Washington Post political reporter on Wednesday. The heated topic? Whether or not the U.S. Constitution allowed for the use of the #FF hashtag — which stands for “Follow Friday” — on days other than Friday.
It all started when Cruz’s Twitter account welcomed the Texas Republican senator’s wife, Heidi Cruz, to the social medial platform. Included in the short shout-out was the offending hashtag.
Welcome to Twitter, @heidiscruz! #FFonWednesday
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 4, 2015
Dave Weigel, who covers national politics for the Washington Post, took issue with the tweet’s use of #FF on a Wednesday and made a public note of it. “Where in the constitution does it say you can do a #FF on Wednesday?” Weigel asked the senator, who frequently uses the constitution in political arguments.
Where in the Constitution does it say you can do a #FF on Wednesday?? https://t.co/lSKNM7xZ4Y — daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 4, 2015
Usually, snarky tweets like these are ignored by politicians’ official accounts, especially during a major election cycle. (Unless your Donald Trump, of course.) Yet Cruz and his team just couldn’t resist Weigel’s jab, which is why they screenshot the 10th Amendment’s text in a response to the reporter.
Where does it say I can’t? https://t.co/PEHgI7O9IZ pic.twitter.com/09oEMxZ7w2
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 4, 2015
Touché, Sen. cruz. Touché.
@tedcruz My mistake — it’s in the Federalist Papers. — daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 4, 2015
Then again, we’re talking about Twitter and social media decorum here — not the U.S. Constitution. And while the latter grants certain powers to corporations and individuals alike, it doesn’t allow one to simply change the days of the week and think the act perfectly legal.
It’s #FF, not #FW, Sen. Cruz. You’d be an idiot to argue otherwise, constitutionality notwithstanding.
[Image via screengrab]
