Ted Cruz’s Ex-NFL Linebacker Rival Lands Multiple Debate Zingers

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred dished out plenty of one-liners Tuesday while debating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, calling his podcast “angertainment” and labeling Cruz’s anti-trans messaging a “hail Mary” to distract from his unpopular opinions on abortion.

In one particularly memorable exchange, Allred told voters that his rival would rather focus on transgender athletes because he “wants you thinking about kids in bathrooms so you’re not thinking about women in hospitals.”

Allred, representing Texas’ 32nd congressional district since 2019, went after Cruz for supporting Roe v. Wade being overturned, and highlighted the consequences of that outcome for Texans.

“You should look into the camera and speak to Kate Cox, who’s watching right now, and explain to her why you said that this law that you said is perfectly reasonable—why she was forced to leave her two children behind and flee our state to get care that she needed,” he told Cruz, referencing the Texas woman who had to sue her state to block its abortion laws after the fetus she was carrying developed a fatal condition. Cox ultimately had to seek care elsewhere after the Texas Supreme Court ruled against her.

The Ugly Truth Behind Ted Cruz’s Super PAC Podcast

“Or,” Allred continued, “look into the camera and talk to Amanda Zurawski, who’s watching right now, and explain to her why it’s perfectly reasonable that, because she had a complication in her pregnancy and was denied care so long, that she may never be able to have children of her own. Or to the 26,000 Texas women who’ve been forced to give birth to their rapist’s child under this law that you called ‘perfectly reasonable.’”

Both Cox and Zurawski have said they support Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

Later, the topic shifted to transgender rights, and how Cruz has accused Allred of supporting measures that could lead to boys playing in girls’ sports. Allred, a former NFL linebacker, replied that Cruz’s attack was a “hail Mary.”

“I’m a dad. I’m a Christian. Of course I don’t support these ridiculous things that he’s talking about,” Allred said. “But he wants you thinking about kids in bathrooms so you’re not thinking about women in hospitals. Because it’s indefensible that we have Texas women being turned away from hospitals, bleeding out in cars, in waiting rooms, being found by their husbands.”

Allred: When Cruz starts talking about teen sports, you gotta watch out because the only position he ever played was left out. I’m not trying to be mean but sit this one out pic.twitter.com/EGVQ6ZTlrm

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 16, 2024

Allred said it was “laughable” that Cruz is calling himself “the protector of women and girls” because he “thinks it’s perfectly reasonable that if a girl is raped by a relative of hers, a victim of incest, that she should be forced to carry that child to term and give birth to it.”

In addition to calling out Cruz, who loves to tout his podcast, for peddling “angertainment,” Allred jumped on his competitor’s ambiguous answer to the question of whether he’d support pardons for Jan. 6 rioters. Cruz instead mentioned the unrelated “antifa and Black Lives Matter riots that burned cities across the country.”

Allred, reminding viewers that Cruz objected to certifying the 2020 election, shot back: “You’re a threat to democracy.”