You’ve surely heard about and enjoyed the Jimmy Kimmel vs. Matt Damon faux-feud, but there’s also a much less palatable (and more sincere) version always simmering in the background. That would be the beef between Kimmel and Ted Cruz, who the late-night host has likened to Nickelback, among other choice labels.
The war of words also once extended to Kimmel photoshopping Cruz’s face to look like he rode a hot dog while naked, and the two enemies haven’t had enough yet. On Wednesday night, Kimmel aimed at Cruz after rehashing leaked audio (between Cruz and Fox Business host Maria Baritromo) of the much maligned Texas lawmaker discussing a shady plan to overturn the election. Kimmel, naturally, was disgusted by this and summed up his thoughts by telling Cruz to go to Cancun.
Ted then decided that the best response was to re-post a video (again) of “my kicking his ass at hoops” during a 2018 charity match. Ted’s suggestion is that Kimmel is obsessed with him: “It’s almost as if he can’t get out of his head.”
Last night, Jimmy Kimmel again devoted his (sadly, no longer funny) monologue—once again—to blasting me.
It’s almost as if he can’t get out of his head, my kicking his ass at hoops….
Judge for yourself:pic.twitter.com/ARRVL4BqF7
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 27, 2023
Hmm. Kimmel never claimed to be a basketball stud, and this was a charity match. Also, Kimmel generally mentions current events and controversies during his monologue, so it’s not as though he could ignore Ted being in the news, especially when it comes to the Baritromo audio. As well, Ted also made headlines due to a Senate hearing, in which a Texas resident called out Cruz‘s support of Texas’ draconian abortion law as the reason why she was denied emergency medical care.
Serious stuff, and the silly stuff still exists on top of that. Because despite all of the grave Ted Cruz-associated news out there, he’s somehow claiming to be a basketball champ. This isn’t new either. The New York Times once published a Cruz profile that revealed how his Supreme Court clerking days include him angering colleagues during basketball breaks by shouting “my bad!” while he “elbowed wildly” to beat them. Well, he does love to throw elbows, but the people are not here for basketball-stud Cruz, as these tweets reveal.
Yes Ralph you got the smooth moves. pic.twitter.com/efp30GfNoY
— Penney Driver (@rageinggranny) April 27, 2023
I see two very out of shape men playing basketball.
— Tony ✭ (@TweetsOfTonyG) April 27, 2023
Congratulations Fled, you sound like Trump now, Im sure it’s just a matter of time before you start wearing orange makeup and dye your hair blonde. pic.twitter.com/FJGuXpxdXk
— William Wallace (@bwoll1219) April 27, 2023
Please spare us your arrogance Lyin’ Ted. (Trump gave the fitting nickname)…You’ve been blasted for years by a great number of Americans and have the reputation of being the most hated man in the Senate.https://t.co/ErfNmAf0Hu
Like 9-11, Americans Will Never Forget the… pic.twitter.com/RzlJqYjvf2
— E-Diplomacy✦government | politics (@ShirlAAdams) April 27, 2023
It was absolutely funny. Seems your skin is very thin. Dish it out but can’t take it?
— Patriotic Moose & Lamb # (@geno_kusa) April 27, 2023
Also, yes, it’s wild that senators have so much time to tweet when the debt ceiling issue is hanging over America.
Lol
A sitting U.S. Senator is using his valuable time as a member of Congress to cry about a comedian making fun of him
Thank God there’s no more pressing issues like debt ceilings or anything— William Buecker (@wcbuecker) April 27, 2023