George Takei slams Ted Cruz’s “praying” response to Texas mall shooting

Another horrific mass shooting took place in Texas on Saturday. The incident happened at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas. Eight people were killed and seven others were injured, some critically.

Predictably, many rushed to offer up their “thoughts and prayers” without any mention of tighter gun controls.

Among these was Texas Senator Ted Cruz. He tweeted that he and his wife, Heidi, were “praying for the families of the victims of the horrific mall shooting in Allen, Texas. We pray also for the broader Collin County community that’s in shock from this tragedy.”

Cruz’s tweet prompted 25,000 replies. Most were scathing. Leading the charge was actor George Takei, who summed up his feelings about Cruz succinctly. In a tweet that had over 11k likes, Takei said, “You’re worse than useless.”

You’re worse than useless.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 7, 2023

Many others also criticized Cruz for not doing anything beyond offering up the clichéd “thoughts and prayers.”

pic.twitter.com/IbpRWzm6Rw

— Kathy 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈🌊😷🌻🍁 (@scarletkate) May 7, 2023

Yes this will definitely help them and their families and the many little kids whose futures were cut short

— kenny (@TasteYourShake) May 7, 2023

You just have a boilerplate statement at this point, don’t you? Just change the location, but everything else is the same.

Nothing ever changes because of people like you.

— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) May 7, 2023

No one cares what you think, and anything that you do now is too late. Don’t bother, you haven’t thus far.

— Independent Suzanne Votes Blue (@SuzanneCEvans) May 7, 2023

Just like you did in Uvalde? I live in Collin County. You offer thoughts & prayers, but vote against mental health funding & stricter gun laws. I own multiple firearms & I am calling for stricter gun laws. Texas is not the wild west anymore. Your thoughts & prayers mean nothing.

— Oh hey, stalker! (@tacticalrn70) May 7, 2023

have you tried turning the prayer machine off and back on again

— ⚠️ (@somewheresy) May 7, 2023

If Republicans think thoughts and prayers are the answer to stopping mass shootings, not laws, why do they think laws, not thoughts and prayers, are the answer to stopping abortions?

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 8, 2023

The Texas shooter, who carried an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun, has been named as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. He was shot and killed by police. Authorities are investigating Garcia’s affiliations with extremist groups after it emerged he was wearing far-right badges on his clothing.

Ted Cruz v. Colin Allred

Cruz won his 2020 election by a narrow margin over Beto O’Rourke. He faces a similarly tough challenge in 2024 over new Democratic contender Colin Allred.

Cruz’s “praying” tweet wasn’t the only reason he went viral over the weekend. On Saturday his campaign team sent out a text message to supporters asking them to donate to ensure Cruz beats Allred. However, instead of a photo of Allred, it included a photo of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Both Allred and Bragg are Black men.

Alredd was among those to point out the mistake.

Hi ?????, that’s not me. https://t.co/h6vPKG7aKT

— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) May 6, 2023

A spokesperson with the Cruz campaign told Dallas Voice the image “was mistakenly sent by a vendor, and was not approved by Senator Cruz or his campaign.”

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