Cruz donation joke doesn’t get a laugh
As the world continued to mourn the devastation of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was heavily damaged by a fire this week, one person Wednesday took a stab at lightening the mood: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“Wonder ful!” Cruz tweeted, sharing news that Disney had pledged $5 million to help restore the Parisian landmark. “Will we see Disney princesses in the new stained glass?”
With that, the Texas Republican swiftly fell victim to the dreaded Twitter ratio, his tweet getting nearly 10 times as many comments as retweets. Many condemned his joke as “totally inappropriate” and “insensitive” and demanded he delete his account. A spokesman for Cruz did not respond to a request for comment early Thursday.
“[I]magine taking a genuinely good thing and then making the world’s stupidest, most insensitive statement to commend it,” one Twitter user wrote.
Cruz’s tweet is yet another example of the dangers of trying to find humor in emotionally charged situations, especially for politicians who often have to balance wanting to show their personalities on social media with still maintaining the proper decorum expected of their positions.
“Notre-Dame is a beacon of hope and beauty that has defined the heart of Paris and the soul of France for centuries, inspiring awe and reverence for its art and architecture and for its enduring place in human history,” Disney chief executive Bob Iger said in a Wednesday statement.
Then, just hours after the announcement was made, Cruz’s tweet appeared and the reactions poured in.