Republican senator Ted Cruz sent Twitterati into frenzy when he liked a porn video
Twitter users were stunned when late on Tuesday night the official account of conservative Republican Texas senator Ted Cruz had liked a post from the account Sexuall Posts that showed an obscene minute-long video.
However the tweet was unliked after 40 minutes, giving the Twitterati just enough time to take screenshots and make Ted Cruz a trending topic.
The explicit footage featuring popular porn star Cory Chase momentarily appeared on Cruz’s feed of liked tweets at around midnight local time.
However, whether it was Cruz himself, one of his staff or a hacker who liked the controversial video is still unknown.
Soon after the senator’s late night Twitter activity, his spokeswoman Catherine Frazier tweeted:
The offensive tweet posted on @tedcruz account earlier has been removed by staff and reported to Twitter
— Catherine Frazier (@catblackfrazier) September 12, 2017
However the tweet was only liked by the senator's account, not posted to it.
Here are some hilarious tweets that users posted:
When you see why Ted Cruz is trending... 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/7wb6FtRTp1
— Philip DeFranco (@PhillyD) September 12, 2017
— Voltronicks (@Voltronicks007) September 12, 2017
— Eat the Press (@CNNisCIA) September 12, 2017
That night that @TedCruz was watching his "family values" movies on Twitter.
— Fifi Von Covfefe (@FifiVonCovfefe) September 12, 2017
Q: Why was Twitter invented?
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) September 12, 2017
A: Because one night in the future, Ted Cruz will fave a porn tweet and Twitter will reach perfection
And the page, Sexuall Posts, where the video was originally posted got a little cocky (no pun intended):
Oh, you magnificent bastards! pic.twitter.com/XdmOBqC3ll
— Dane Rauschenberg (@SeeDaneRun) September 12, 2017
I hope you enjoy our videos as much as ted!
— Sexuall Posts 😈 (@SexuallPosts) September 12, 2017
While porn website Pornhub's twitter handle joined in on the fun:
Um @tedcruz do you need a premium membership?? I know a guy pic.twitter.com/kDmHrZtmJk
— Pornhub ARIA (@Pornhub) September 12, 2017
Cruz has always presented himself as a family values politician and has been a long-standing opponent of pornography.
In July of 2016, he was among Republican delegates who unanimously voted to add an amendment to the draft of their platform that called pornography a “public health crisis” and a “public menace” that is destroying lives.
The amendment stated: “Pornography, with his harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions.
"We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children's safety and well-being. We applaud the social networking sites that bar sex offenders from participation. We urge energetic prosecution of child pornography which closely linked to human trafficking."
When Cruz was the solicitor general of the state of Texas in 2007, he helped argue in favor of banning sex toys in an argument that spanned 76-pages.
The minute-long video he liked did not appear feature the use of any sex toys.