Ted Cruz and Kaitlan Collins Brawl Over ‘Ridiculous Question’ About Whether He’ll Accept the Election Results

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins waged a war of attrition against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over whether the senator will accept the 2024 election results if President Joe Biden wins.

Cruz famously objected to certifying the 2020 election results in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Later that day, a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a deadly attempt to overturn the election results. Those in the mob believe the election was stolen from Trump because for two months he had been falsely claiming the election was rigged against him. Many of his allies in Congress – such as Cruz – acted accordingly and refused to certify.

More than refusing to concede, Trump tried to pressure officials in states he lost to subvert the results.

On Wednesday’s edition of The Source on CNN, Collins asked Cruz whether he will accept the results of November’s election – no matter what.

“You were the first senator to object to the votes,” she noted. “In 2024 will you certify the election results? Do you plan to object or will you accept the results regardless of who wins the election?”

“So, Kaitlan, I gotta say, I think that’s actually a ridiculous question,” Cruz replied.

“It’s a yes or no question,” the host observed.

“No, it’s not,” the senator said. “Let me explain why it’s a ridiculous question. It’s not a question– you ever ask a Democrat that?

“Of course,” she said.

“What Democrat?” Cruz asked.

“I know, I know, I’ve been down this road many times,” Collins said. “You cannot compare the two situations. We have talked about that. We have seen the audio [sic] of that when they protested on the Senate floor, but have you ever had a sitting president who refused to facilitate the peaceful transition of power?”

Incredibly, Cruz ignored the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and insisted, “We did have a peaceful transfer of power. I was there on January 20. I was there on the swearing-in.”

“Barely,” she shot back.

Cruz then pointed to the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections, where a handful of congressional Democrats objected to the certifications of George W. Bush and Trump as president. In those cases, however, the Democrats who lost those elections had long-conceded the contests and did not insist it had been rigged. In the case of Al Gore , he presided over the certification of his own loss. Trump, meanwhile, urged his vice president to void the results. When Mike Pence declined, the mob of Trump supporters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” as a gallows stood outside.

Collins also noted that Biden presided over the certification of Trump’s victory in January 2017.

Cruz said it would be “absurd” to commit to accepting the results because there might be voter fraud.

After some additional back-and-forth, Collins tried again.

“So, my question for you again – free and fair election – will you accept the results regardless of who wins?”]

“Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not gonna ignore fraud,” Cruz said.

“But was there fraud in 2020?” Collins asked.

“Of course there was fraud in 2020,” Cruz stated.

“No, there wasn’t, and you still objected,” the host said.

Cruz and Collins then quibbled about whether there was “zero fraud” – all but a statistical impossibility in an election where more than 150 million ballots were cast.

Collins qualified her remark by saying that whatever fraud did occur, it would not “have changed the outcome of the election.”

“I don’t remember there being a president who’s refusing to turn over the transition of power and facilitate it,” she said.

“And Trump didn’t either,” Cruz insisted. “Joe Biden became president.”

“My question was about 2024,” she said. “You did not answer it. Thank you for coming on the show.”

As Cruz spoke, Collins informed him, “Senator Ted Cruz, we’re out of time. Thank you very much, Senator Ted Cruz.”

Collins turned to the audience and said, “Senator Ted Cruz – no answer to that question. Thank you very much.”

“That’s not true,” Cruz protested, off-screen.

Cruz did answer the question, i.e., “Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not gonna ignore fraud.” However, if Trump loses, the former president and some of his supporters in Congress will simply say the election was stolen – again.

Watch above via CNN.