Colbert Corners Cruz: How Can You Be Like Reagan When You Oppose ‘Amnesty’?
How can Ted Cruz and other Republican presidential candidates say they would be like Ronald Reagan when they ardently oppose raising taxes and extending amnesty to undocumented workers currently in the United States? That was the question put forth by Stephen Colbert during Monday evening’s interview with the Texan senator.
“Does today’s modern Republican Party reflect some of the things that Reagan did?” Colbert asked Cruz. “Reagan raised taxes, okay; Reagan actually had an amnesty programming for illegal immigrants. Neither of those things would allow Reagan to be nominated today.”
The audience bursted with cheers and applause.
“So to what level can you say you would emulate Ronald Reagan,” Colbert continued, “when there was a period of time when he was willing to work with Tip O’Neill to get things done.”
Cruz responded that he hasn’t gotten the sense that Republican voters want him and his colleagues to “give in more to Barack Obama,” which prompted Colbert to press once again: “But are those aspects [amnesty and raised taxes] of Reagan something you could agree with?”
“No, of course not,” the senator replied. “But Ronald Reagan also signed the largest tax cut in history. He reduced government regulations from Washington and economic growth exploded…. he unchained small businesses, and economic growth boomed. Millions of people were lifted out of poverty and prosperity in the middle class.”
“But when conditions changed in the country, he reversed his world’s largest tax cut and raised taxes when revenues did not match the expectations,” Colbert shot back. “So it is a matter of compromising.”
Later on in the segment, when Cruz refused to outright state his opposition to same-sex marriage, the crowd booed the presidential candidate. Colbert turned to his audience and scolded them for booing “my guest” — a demonstration of how the former Comedy Central persona is serious about fostering a standard late-night network talk show, different from the raucous show he used to front.
Watch below, via CBS:
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