WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz made an audition tape for The Simpsons while running for president. He read Green Eggs and Ham during an overnight filibuster, and he peppers speeches with movie references.
But lately his humor has grown more crude, with jests suggesting that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a penis and that Al Franken, the comic and former senator, is sexually obsessed with him.
Cruz defends his crassness as a good-natured way to lampoon liberal foibles. But while the Texas Republican’s provocations make him a fan favorite on the right, critics see mean-spirited humor that spreads transphobia and homophobia in the guise of championing traditional values.
