Ted Cruz's Space Pirates

Submission 11,734

Part of a series on United States Space Force. [View Related Entries]

About

Ted Cruz's Space Pirates refers to a series of jokes that mock and criticize United States Senator Ted Cruz, who in an effort to promote President Donald Trump's Space Force program, discussed the threats from theoretical "space pirates."

Origin

On May 15th, 2019, speaking to the subcommittee on aviation and space, the committee's chairman Senator Ted Cruz said that the United States must prepare for threats that come from outer space (video below).^[1]

Since the ancient Greeks first put to sea, nations have recognized the necessity of naval forces and maintaining a superior capability to protect waterborne travel and commerce from bad actors. Pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space. In this same way, I believe we too must now recognize the necessity of a Space Force to defend the nation and to protect space commerce and civil space exploration.

Spread

Following the comments, many online mocked Cruz for the concern over "space pirates." Astrophysicist Katie Mack tweeted,^[2] "Senator Ted Cruz thinks those of us concerned about climate change are alarmist, but he’s adamant that the nation invests in protection against space pirates." Within two days, the tweet received more than 2,600 retweets and 7,600 likes (shown below, left).

Podcaster Adam Best tweeted,^[3] "Ted Cruz argues that Space Force is necessary because… wait for it… space pirates. Leave it to Cruz to take a dumb Trump idea and make it sound even dumber." Within two days, the tweet received more than 3,300 retweets and 12,000 likes (shown below, center).

On May 16th, Twitter^[4] user @OhNoSheTwitnt tweeted, "Fuck all these anti-choice pieces of shit for making me so angry and upset I can’t even joke about Ted Cruz believing in space pirates but not climate change." The post received more than 700 retweets and 6,600 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That day, Twitter^[5] published a Moments page about the tweets. Cruz responded,^[6] "Hey @jack how come Twitter’s 'moment' quotes all the snarky leftists making fun of my comments, but doesn’t include my tweets in response explaining the real point that NATIONS like China have already developed & tested weapons to destroy satellites?" Within 24 hours, his response received more than 9,300 retweets and 27,000 likes (shown below).

Cruz's response elicited more jokes about the comments. Twitter^[7] user @HandonthePlow tweeted, "Hello, is this the internet? I need to speak with a manager." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 200 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, left). @RogueNASA tweeted,^[8] "BECAUSE YOU TALKED ABOUT GODDAMN SPACE PIRATES." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 200 retweets and 2,100 likes (shown below, center).

MSNBC's Chris Hayes tweeted^[9], "This is the saddest tweet I’ve ever seen." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 4,200 retweets and 36,000 likes (shown below, right).

Cruz responded to Hayes, "May Space Pirates devour your liver." The tweet^[10] received more than 400 retweets and 1,100 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

Several media outlets covered the comments, including Yahoo,^[11] Uproxx,^[12] BBC,^[13] Rolling Stone,^[14] USA Today^[15] and more.