Ted Cruz is no stranger to controversy, but even by his standards, this one hit a new low—and the blowback came fast and sharp.
During an appearance on Newsmax with Chris Salcedo, the Texas senator went off on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over the Democrat’s criticism of Trump’s plans to deploy the National Guard in major U.S. cities. Cruz’s rant quickly veered from policy into a personal attack.
After Salcedo played a clip of Pritzker’s remarks, Cruz responded with: “Chris, you really know how to p*** me off. What a disgusting, racist bigot JB Pritzker is.”
He added: “Listen, I don’t want to get between JB Pritzker and the Domino’s Pizza line, but I’ll tell you what I am willing to get between is him and his open doors for every human trafficker, every drug trafficker, every MS-13 and Tren De Aragua gang member.”
The fat-shaming jab came across as petty, but it was Pritzker’s comeback that stole the spotlight.
Just hours after the clip started circulating online, the Illinois governor hit back with a one-liner that gutted Cruz in 19 words:
“And I would never want to get between Ted and a trip to Cancun when there’s an emergency in Texas.”
The burn referred to Cruz’s now-infamous February 2021 getaway to Cancun while Texans were freezing in the dark during a brutal winter storm. At the time, millions were left without heat or water, while Cruz was spotted boarding a plane to Mexico, prompting national outrage and a hasty return.
Pritzker’s retort didn’t just land—it body-slammed. Social media lit up with reactions praising the governor for turning Cruz’s insult into a reminder of his most embarrassing political moment.
The original spat stemmed from Pritzker’s refusal to support the idea of National Guard troops being sent into Chicago, a city he said doesn’t want or need militarized federal intervention.
“I’m aware that the President of the United States likes to go on television and beg me to call and ask him for troops. I find this extraordinarily strange as Chicago does not want troops on our streets,” Pritzker said earlier in the week.
He didn’t mince words when discussing ICE either, calling out what he sees as racially motivated targeting:
“They don’t actually care if you’re here and undocumented, they just care if your skin color is a little off of theirs, and if you’re Latino, they’re just going to target you… If they want to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, they ought to be able to do that without being terrorized.”
Cruz, in defense of Trump and ICE, then tried to frame the Democrats as the real threat to Latino communities:
“The Democrats claim that Latinos support illegal immigration. Well, I’ve got news for you, JB, in the state of Texas in 2024, Donald Trump carried the Latino vote and so did I, because our community, like every community, are the victims of the violence of these illegal aliens and gang members that the Democrats trafficked into this country.”
It’s true that Trump performed better with Latino voters in Texas in 2024, winning 55% of the vote, but nationally, he still trailed Vice President Kamala Harris among that demographic—43% to her 55%.
Former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has also weighed in, accusing Trump of trying to use federal deployments to scare immigrant communities and boost ICE numbers.
“This is about two things: it’s about power and it’s about money,” she told CNN.
Cruz clearly thought he was going to land a knockout punch on Pritzker. Instead, the senator walked right into a reminder that no amount of grandstanding on Newsmax will make people forget he fled to a beach while his constituents froze.
Watch Cruz’s rant and Pritzker’s knockout response below.
Ted Cruz: "I don't want to get between JB Pritzker and the Dominos Pizza line, but I'll tell you what I am willing to get between — him and his open doors for every human trafficker … " pic.twitter.com/ydhltQrlDe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 3, 2025
