WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Tuesday that a staffer was responsible for “inadvertently” liking a tweet containing a pornographic video from his official account, embroiling the lawmaker in a social media firestorm.
“There are a number of people on the team that have access to the account and it appears that someone inadvertently hit the ‘like’ button,” he told NBC News Tuesday.
“It was a staffing issue, and it was inadvertent,” Cruz said. “It was a mistake. It was not a deliberate action.”
The lawmaker said his staff was dealing with the matter “internally,” and that it was “still being discussed” whether the person responsible for the “like” would retain access to the Twitter account.
On Monday night, Cruz’s verified Twitter account, @TedCruz, “liked” a pornographic video that had been tweeted by the account @SexuallPosts.
Cruz’s account promptly “un-liked” it, but not before other Twitter users noticed and took screenshots.
Hours later, shortly after 2:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, a spokeswoman for Cruz said that the “like” had been removed.
“The offensive tweet posted on @tedcruz account earlier has been removed by staff and reported to Twitter,” Catherine Frazier, a senior communications adviser to Cruz, tweeted.
Comedians and other Twitter users, including former Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat, teased Cruz for the gaffe.
“Perhaps we should posted something like this during the Indiana primary,” Cruz joked Tuesday, alluding to his argument that, during his failed 2016 presidential bid, he did not receive enough media attention.
Frank Thorp V reported from Washington, with Adam Edelman reporting from New York.