Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized Democratic lawmakers Tuesday over their response to the recent U.S. military strikes on Iran, accusing them of attacking President Donald Trump’s actions rather than acknowledging what he described as major national security successes.
Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Cruz reacted to comments made by Democrats after attending classified intelligence briefings on the operation. According to the Texas senator, Democrats emerged from those briefings criticizing the mission despite hearing extensive details about its success.
Host Jesse Watters asked Cruz why Democrats appeared to be giving sharply different assessments of the situation after attending the same briefings.
Cruz said he attended a two-hour classified session earlier in the day that included senior national security officials such as the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, the CIA director, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
According to Cruz, those officials described significant early successes from the joint U.S.-Israeli operations targeting Iranian military infrastructure and leadership.
“I was in that same briefing,” Cruz said, explaining that lawmakers spent much of the session asking questions after the initial presentation.
Cruz claimed that Democratic senators used their time to criticize the operation rather than discuss its strategic outcomes.
“Every single Democrat, their questions were just attacking the operation,” Cruz said.
He argued that partisan politics were shaping Democratic reactions to the military action. Cruz suggested that the party’s opposition was driven primarily by the fact that the operation was ordered by President Trump.
“There used to be a time when politics ended at the water’s edge,” Cruz said, referring to the idea that U.S. leaders traditionally set aside political differences when confronting foreign adversaries.
Cruz also pointed to Democratic support for former President Barack Obama’s military decisions, arguing that the reaction would have been different if a Democrat were in the White House.
The Texas senator said Trump’s decision to authorize the strikes represented one of the most consequential actions of his presidency.
Cruz pointed to the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the destruction of missile capabilities and other military assets as evidence that the operation had significantly weakened the Iranian regime.
According to Cruz, the strikes were ordered because Iran posed a growing threat to the United States and its allies.
He also emphasized Iran’s long history of supporting militant groups across the Middle East, noting that Tehran has been widely described as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Cruz said Iran has funded organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, groups that have been involved in attacks throughout the region.
“The President acted decisively to take out this threat to America,” Cruz said, adding that the operation ultimately makes the United States safer.
He concluded by accusing Democrats of prioritizing political criticism of the president over national security concerns.
