(Image via Screenshot)
During an interview on CNN Monday evening, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called out the liberal media for getting “nervous” when discussing radical Islamic terrorism.
“I recognize that folks in the media get really nervous when you actually call out radical Islamic terrorism,” said Cruz.
He went on to defend putting on his list of foreign policy advisers Frank Gaffney, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Reagan administration, who has repeatedly spoken out against radical Islam.
“Frank Gaffney is someone I respect,” said Cruz. “Frank Gaffney is a serious thinker who has been focused on fighting jihadism -- fighting jihadism across the globe. And he's endured attacks from the left, from the media, because he speaks out against radical Islamic terrorism.”
“Let's be precise,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer interjected. “When he said back in 2009, ‘Barack Hussein Obama would have to be considered America's first Muslim president.’ Do you agree with him on that?”
“Listen, I don't know what he said in 2009,” said Cruz. “I don't have the full context. I'm not interested in playing the media ‘gotcha’ game of here's every quote every person who's supporting you has said at any point [and] do you agree with every statement. That's silliness.”
“Here's my view,” he went on. “We need a Commander in Chief that defends America, and defending America means defeating radical Islamic terrorism and defeating ISIS. What is completely unreasonable is Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's consistent pattern of refusing even to say the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’”
Watch clips from Sen. Cruz's remarks below.