A knock from Sen. Ted Cruz against President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama set the Texas lawmaker up for a bonus jab against a “ridiculous” and “self-refuting” fact check from a group of “partisan, left-wing liars.”
Throughout Biden’s administration, the American people have witnessed what a half-century in foreign policy “expertise” is like through the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, the escalation of tension with China, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. In May, Cruz had brought up the president’s blunders and, in particular, noted how the current White House seemed as negligent as the Obama era in opening the door for a nuclear-capable Iran.
Parsing the senator’s words, PolitiFact presented their gotcha “fact check” over his May 17 address at the Washington, D.C. conservative think tank the Hudson Institute, only to have the congressman fire back with a fact check of his own.
“@PolitiFact are partisan, left-wing liars. But, please, read their ridiculous ‘fact check.’ Its self-refuting,” argued Cruz on Twitter, sharing a link to the post featured on the website of The Dallas Morning News. “They say: ‘Cruz credited Obama with saying that Iran has a ‘right’ to nuclear technology, including weapons’….”
“They continue: ‘Obama in 2009 said Iran “should have the RIGHT to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.’ He did NOT say it had the right to nuclear weapons,'” the senator went on, quoting the article with added emphasis. “Of course, I didn’t say Obama said Iran had a ‘right’ to nuclear weapons; I said Obama said Iran had a ‘right’ to ‘nuclear technology.'”
3/x Of course, I didn’t say Obama said Iran had a “right” to nuclear weapons; I said Obama said Iran had a “right” to “nuclear technology.”
He DID say that—as PolitiFact ADMITS—but they laughably rate my statement “mostly false” because Obama didn’t say…what I didn’t say he…
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 14, 2023
“He DID say that–as PolitiFact ADMITS–but they laughably rate my statement ‘mostly false’ because Obama didn’t say…what I didn’t say he said,” Cruz added.
The reference from the senator was to a June 4, 2009 speech at the University of Cairo in Egypt where Obama had said, “I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that’s why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation — including Iran — should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I’m hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.”
As the lawmaker had pointed out in May, “I gotta say, that’s utterly imbecilic. I’m familiar with the right to life, with the right to liberty, or the right to pursuit of happiness. I’m not familiar with the right to nuclear weapons. Only a fool would want the Ayatollah to have nuclear weapons.”
Cruz continued, “And, of course, they ignore my broader point: Iran doesn’t want nuclear technology [because] they need electricity–they have tons of oil–[they] want nukes only to carry out their genocidal, theocratic war cry of ‘Death to America! and Death to Israel!'”
4/x And, of course, they ignore my broader point: Iran doesn’t want nuclear technology bc they need electricity—they have tons of oil—the want nukes only to carry out their genocidal, theocratic war cry of “Death to America! and Death to Israel!”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 14, 2023
To his point, PolitiFact had self-refuted their fact check when they went on to note, “But having a nuclear reactor can give countries access to some critical materials needed to build nuclear weapons, energy experts say.”
Meanwhile, as Biden has shown favor to the Iran Nuclear deal, it was recently reported that the State Sponsor of Terrorism, officially designated since 1984, had been supplying Russia with drones contrary to the United States’ efforts to aid Ukraine.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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