Ted Cruz says ‘Let’s must stop attacking pedophiles’ in embarrassing gaffe during rant about crime

Ted Cruz made an embarrassing gaffe at a Senate hearing on Tuesday when he told his fellow lawmakers to “stop attacking pedophiles.”

The senator did not correct himself after the error and instead moved on to discuss Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C.

Cruz was making an impassioned speech about reaching a “bipartisan agreement” on crime before he made the blunder.

“How about we all come together and say, ‘let’s stop murders?’

“How about we all come together and say ‘let’s stop rape?’

“How about we all come together and say ‘let’s stop attacking pedophiles,’” he said.

The 2016 presidential candidate went on to claim that the deployment of the National Guard had led to a drop in crime, with robberies falling by 57 percent and homicides falling by 58 percent.

Cruz also claimed that sex abuse crimes fell by 48 percent.

Some social media users have noted the irony in Cruz’s gaffe, as the politician voted against an amendment that would have forced the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.

“No! How about you all stop protecting them. Release the Epstein files, NOW!,” one X user wrote.

Cruz previously told Piers Morgan that he wants the government to “release everything” related to the Epstein case.

He added that “every adult who was culpable and responsible” should be named and “criminally prosecuted.”

Cruz recently went viral after he said that ABC’s decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air was akin to something “right out of Goodfellas.”

As he spoke, the senator adopted a New York mobster accent.

He also said that the suspension was “dangerous as hell” and that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was acting like a “mafioso.”

Kimmel was taken off the air for saying that Republicans were trying to score “political points” with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The late-night host also said that Trump’s mourning of Kirk was similar to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

When Kimmel returned to the air last week, his show achieved some of its highest ratings ever, with 6.2 million people tuning in to the live broadcast.

In his opening monologue, he said that it was not his “intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

Kimmel received a wave of support from fellow celebrities and comedians, with Stephen Colbert, as well as Seth and Josh Meyers, appearing on last night’s show.

The Independent has contacted Ted Cruz and the White House for comment.