​Ted Cruz contending for American clown nomination: Analyst

Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s comments on foreign policy make him sound like a contender for the United States’ “greatest clown nomination,” an American political commentator says.

Eric Draitser, the founder of StopImperialism.com, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Thursday while commenting on Cruz’s statement about the Obama administration’s decision to reopen the US embassy in Cuba.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced that the US and Cuba have reached an agreement to reopen embassies in each other's capitals and re-establish diplomatic ties.

Cruz called Obama's announcement "unacceptable and a slap in the face of a close ally that the United States will have an embassy in Havana before one in Jerusalem (al-Quds)."

Sens. Cruz and Marco Rubio have sponsored a congressional bill that would annul a national security waiver which allows the administration to bypass a 1995 law to move the embassy to al-Quds.

“We have public statements from ridiculous clowns, like Ted Cruz, who really is not a serious contender for the Republican nomination, somebody who is really out there to represent the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party,” Draitser said.

“The Republican Party pandering to the Israel lobby is no surprise to anybody. This happens in every election. Both Democrats and the Republican Party both pander to the Israel lobby, which is a very powerful lobby in Washington,” he stated.

“But what I think is quite interesting is that it’s almost done in a clownish sort of way by somebody like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, talking about this whole issue of an embassy in Jerusalem, which is really just a propaganda talking point for the Israel lobby to be able to continue to justify Israel’s inhumane and criminal policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians,” he added.

Draitser went on to say that “it really has almost nothing to do with Cuba; it has everything to do with Israeli policies towards Palestine and the occupied territories.”

“I think that justifying Israel’s policies is really what translates into real significant financial contributions for the perspective presidential candidates,” he pointed out.

“Ted Cruz really has dollars signs in his eyes when he makes such a statement; Marco Rubio has dollars signs in his eyes when he makes such a statement. But none of this is to be taken seriously,” the analyst noted.

“These are contenders for the presidency of the United States, but they are really significant contenders,” he underlined.

“One can make an argument that Marco Rubio might be, but I think an equally valid argument to be made is that Rubio is contending for the vice presidential nomination, while Ted Cruz is contending for America’s greatest clown nomination,” he emphasized.

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