People Are Stunned That Ted Cruz Made A Joke That Was Legitimately Funny (That In A Way Wasn’t That Funny)

Even a stopped clock is still right twice a day. Ted Cruz is funny far less often than that. Maybe once a year, if that, does Texas’ most notorious senator crack a good one. (Although he’s a goldmine for jokes about him.) And so props, alas, where it’s due, because on Tuesday he actually made a joke that hit.

Tuesday, November 22, was the 59th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy Jr., who was almost certainly killed by deranged veteran Lee Harvey Oswald. (Sorry, Oliver Stone and a large army of conspiracy theorists.) There’s an old, ridiculous claim — unearthed by Donald Trump during the 2016 race — that Cruz’s father, Rafael, was photographed alongside Oswald. So when someone on the anniversary casually asked if anyone has any memories of that fateful day, Cruz decided to have some fun with it.

“Only passed down through the family,” Cruz quipped on his Twitter feed.

It was a good joke! Even Cruz’s many critics thought so.

But was it actually funny? This is Ted Cruz, so of course it’s not so simple. Again, Trump is someone who spread that line, and indeed gave it new legs when he used it during the 2016 race. He kept saying it even after Cruz suspended his campaign. And what did Cruz do? Eventually come around to Trump’s side and become one of his biggest cheerleaders. He even voted to overturn the 2020 election results. This was after he falsely linked his dad with JFK’s killer and called his wife ugly. Once one realizes this, it’s clear this is a joke from the same guy whose yuks usually backfire creatively.

In short, even a Ted Cruz win is a loss. What a poor goof.