Sen. Ted Cruz apparently cracked a joke after being surprised by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ dart to catch the elevator he was on.
On Tuesday, Andrew Desiderio, a congressional reporter for Politico, tweeted about watching the scene unfold.
“Just watched Bernie Sanders literally sprint through the Senate subway to catch an elevator, put his fingers between the doors as they were about to shut, and walk inside — where an astonished Ted Cruz was cracking up,” he said.
Just watched Bernie Sanders literally sprint through the Senate subway to catch an elevator, put his fingers between the doors as they were about to shut, and walk inside — where an astonished Ted Cruz was cracking up.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) August 3, 2021
You can only imagine what was going through Desiderio’s head as he watched this unfold, seeing Cruz’s shock and amusement as the nearly 80-year-old democratic socialist from Vermont raced toward him and squeezed into the elevator.
The Texas Republican later confirmed the account on his own Twitter account, where he said he joked with Sanders about the incident.
“When he stuck his foot in the closing door, I told him, ‘I’ve said your bill is gonna cost an arm & a leg, but I didn’t mean it literally….,'” Cruz said.
True. When he stuck his foot in the closing door, I told him, “I’ve said your bill is gonna cost an arm & a leg, but I didn’t mean it literally….” https://t.co/gGXRHNwlyj
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 3, 2021
Cruz was referring to the $3.5 trillion spending package that Sanders and the Democrats are seeking to pass through reconciliation. That is, after they hope to vote on the $1 trillion, 2,702-page, bipartisan Senate infrastructure bill later this week.
For those questioning why Cruz didn’t hold the door for Sanders, Desiderio tweeted a response to that as well.
Cruz didn’t see Sanders coming; Sanders was running from the side wall so he was out of Cruz’s view until the moment he put his hand between the doors.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) August 3, 2021
To me, knowing this makes the situation that much funnier. Picture: Cruz, in the elevator, patiently waiting to begin his vertical journey. Just as the doors seemingly close, out of nowhere, a hand and a foot pop into the door, stopping the doors in their tracks. As they open, the Texas Republican sees a sweaty, disheveled Sanders enter the elevator with him. How could he resist laughing?
Some might ask why this is newsworthy. The short answer is, well, it is not.
But with our world being as politically divided as it is nowadays, it is worthwhile to share instances that cast a different light on those in power than what we normally see. There is nothing wrong with sharing a humanizing tale of politicians when so often they are demonized, one way or another. Despite what some might say, not everything is or has to be political.
With that being said, while Cruz has shown in the past that he has some comedic wit to him, he also makes a great point here.
We all know that any bill that Sanders writes or supports is going to rely on the presumption that the government can just print money to pay for it. The Vermont senator’s philosophy has often consisted of: print money, tax the rich, give everybody “free” things, rinse and repeat.
Meanwhile, Cruz has shown time and again that he is more than willing to support good legislation while voting against bad, fiscally irresponsible bills. As an example, he told CNS News on Tuesday that he did not need to read the entire infrastructure bill to know why he would be voting no on it.
Cruz told the outlet that “$1.2 trillion dollars is way too much money.”
“It would be one thing if this bill were offered in exchange for not taking up the Democrats’ massive tax and spending $3.5 trillion-dollar bill immediately thereafter, but that’s not how this bill is being put forward,” the senator said. “This bill is being put forward on top of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion-dollar tax and spend bill.”
He also has a way of presenting his arguments in a lighthearted way. His joke in the moment of the elevator situation is just another sample of that.
Moreover, while Cruz and Sanders could not be more diametrically opposed ideologically, this moment was surely one they both must have found a level of humor in.
These two men will surely continue their vigorous disagreements once they are back at work in the Senate. But, for at least an elevator ride, they probably enjoyed a good laugh together.
Stories like this remind us of a less-divisive time when people could be respectful to one another despite their differing political views. While I wish we as a society could somehow get back to that place again, I know we are far from it.
On the plus side, we have the imagery of Sanders sprinting to catch Cruz’s elevator to hold us over until then.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
