Ted Cruz Trolls Mr. T Covid-19 Face Mask Tweet, Here’s The Reaction

Well, Mr. T used the word “Fool” in a tweet, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) decided to respond. On Wednesday, Mr. T, the actor and former bodyguard and wrestler, tweeted out, “I just received my 2nd Moderna booster vaccine, and I feel good! I am still going to wear my mask and keep my distance because the virus ain’t over, Fool! Grrr,” as you can see here:

Aside from the word “fool,” Mr. T didn’t specifically mention or call out anyone in any way. Nevertheless, something in that tweet apparently prompted Cruz to answer with the following:

Bizarre, indeed. Why the heck would a U.S. Senator spend the time to counter a tweet from Mr. T, who is best known for playing B.A. Baracus in the 1980’s TV series The A-Team and Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III? Aren’t there more important things to do like trying to control the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic? What’s next? Responding to a tweet from a Sesame Street character? Oh wait, Cruz already did that back in November 2021, when he seemed to have a bird about a Covid-19 vaccine tweet from @BigBird, as I covered for Forbes previously.

One would think that there wasn’t anything really political about what Mr. T had tweeted. Mr. T, who was born with the name Laurence Tureaud, is currently 69 years of age and thus falls within the 50 years and older age range of those authorized to get a second booster by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had also updated its recommendations to cover a second booster for this age group. So his getting the booster was not out of the ordinary.

And Mr. T certainly got the second part of his tweet right to a T. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) certainly ain’t “over,” despite what some with political agendas may be claiming. The virus is still circulating quite widely. The New York Times has reported an average of 29,711 new reported Covid-19 cases, 15,226 Covid-19-related hospitalizations, and 599 Covid-19 related deaths a day as of April 6. These numbers may be lagging what’s actually happening with the virus by about two to four weeks. With the more transmissible BA.2 Omicron subvariant circulating and people being much more lax about Covid-19 precautions right now, the concern is that there may be another upswing in cases, as I’ve covered for Forbes. So maintaining face mask wearing and social distancing right now makes sense.

Now, one thing that may not have made sense was seeing Congress members attend the State of the Union Address sans face masks. Members of both parties left their noses and mouths fairly exposed, despite this March 1, 2022, event being held indoors. Remember, while being fully vaccinated and boosted can offer good protection, it’s more like wearing a pair of underwear rather than a full body concrete condom. It doesn’t offer 100% protection. Just as you wouldn’t go to a Costco wearing just a thong, it is better to maintain more than just one layer of protection as long as the risk of another Covid-19 surge occurring remains relatively high.

Unlike Cruz, a number of people on Twitter offered their support for Mr. T’s tweet such as author and attorney Seth Abramson:

And here’s what Emmett Macfarlane, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo tweeted:

Artist Brandon Bird even thought that Mr. T could offer a service:

Meanwhile, others on the Twittersphere wondered why Cruz would go out of his way to diminish what Mr. T had tweeted. For example, Holly Jones, a Business Process Analyst, offered the following take:

And Dennis, who apparently is awesome, thought that it was shame:

While Cruz seemed to point the finger at Hollywood, @CaylinSoo appeared to point it back at Congress:

Additionally, other tweets expressed amusement that Cruz was taking on Mr. T:

Mr. T’s catchphrase has long been, “I pity the fool.” Well, it’s been a pity that so many people have tried to politicize the Covid-19 pandemic and Covid-19 precautions. Imagine how many deaths and how much suffering could have been prevented had political leaders only supported and followed what real scientists have said to a T.