Cruz campaign releases misleading advert claiming Beto O’Rourke thinks burning the flag is ‘inherently American’
The video is edited to imply Mr O'Rourke said burning flags is 'inherently American'. He did not say that
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Your support makes all the difference.Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign has released a misleading advert attacking his Texas opponent, falsely implying that Representative Beto O’Rourke supports burning the American flag.
In a video that has been posted on Mr Cruz’s various social media accounts — and campaign website — a video of a town hall event featuring Mr O’Rourke is taken out of context, and edited to seem as though he said there is “something inherently American” about destroying the Star Spangled Banner.
In truth, Mr O’Rourke did not say he was “grateful” for flag burnings, or that the act is patriotic. Taking his full remarks into account, Mr O’Rourke was actually saying that NFL players who have peacefully protested police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem is an act of patriotism — even if reasonable people can disagree about the purpose of the protests.
The Cruz attack advert begins with a man asking Mr O’Rourke a question during a campaign stop. He indicates that he would not be comfortable with his senator taking a knee on the Senate floor, and asks for the candidate’s thoughts.
But, while the Cruz campaign has posted the full five minute clip of the question and answer, an advertisement focuses on just 43 of 143 words in the question itself, and just 24 of 615 words of the answer Mr O’Rourke gave.
Instead of speaking about burning flags, Mr O’Rourke was responding to the voter with a similar answer to the question as one that went viral online in recent weeks, and brought national attention on the Texas Democrat.
“He never once talked about burning flags,” Chris Evans, a spokesman for Mr O’Rourke, told the Dallas Morning News. “He wasn’t even talking about that”.
Mr Evans continued to say that the distortion is “pretty troubling, especially this early on.....They can read polls. They can see what’s happening in front of them. It’s the old political playbook to unleash negative attack ads and try to stop someone’s momentum”.
The video cuts from the voter’s question to a picture of Mr O’Rourke with text claiming his answer was in response to a question about “burning or desecrating the American flag”. It then cuts to an out-of-context clip of Mr O’Rourke.
The Cruz campaign maintains that the Democrat was actually talking about burning flags.
“Congressman O’Rourke not only called burning the US flag ‘inherently American’, but also said he was ‘grateful’ for those willing to commit such an act,” Catherine Frazier, a spokesman on the Cruz campaign, said. “His position is an appalling display of disregard to those who have put their lives on the line to preserve the very freedoms the American flag represents. Texans certainly do not share such views.”
The candidates themselves have commented on flag burning in the past. Mr Cruz had previously likened kneeling during the anthem to burning the flag, and said he’s not sure how Mr O’Rourke feels about flag burning
Mr O’Rourke responded, last month: “I don’t think anyone should burn an American flag. I also don’t think this is about flags. It’s about people’s lives. It’s about civil rights. It’s about making sure that everyone has an opportunity to succeed and that there is justice and accountability for everyone in this country”.
The video was one of several attack adverts rolled out against the Democrat on Tuesday, according to the newspaper.
Those adverts included one from a pro-Cruz group that calls Mr O’Rourke “reckless” on immigration, and says the candidate is “rolling out the red carpet for illegal immigrants”.
Another advert, from a super PAC linked to Club for Growth, denounces Mr O’Rourke as “Beto the bully”, and claims he used his El Paso City Council seat to help his father-in-law with a real estate project that would have displaced poor residents in the city.
That attention is somewhat remarkable for a Senate race in Texas, a state that is reliably Republican and has not elected a Democrat to the US Senate in more than two decades.
National Republicans may have some reason to worry, as well. A recent poll showed Mr Cruz’s lead to have dwindled to just one point in the state — a virtual dead heat that could show real weakness for Mr Cruz. And, Mr Cruz’s lead in average of polls has dwindled as well, with Real Clear Politics average of polls giving him a 4.4 point lead over the Democrat.
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