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Did Ted Cruz swallow a fly? Senator dubbed 'Toad Cruz' after old video goes viral

Another day, another nickname for Ted Cruz as social media ripped apart the Senator for swallowing a fly on Fox News

Move over Lying Ted, Ted Snooze, and Cancun Cruz, you've been replaced. Senator Ted Cruz was given a new nickname by social media after a rather unfortunate incident on Fox News. Cruz was speaking to Sean Hannity when the incident with a fly occurred and social media wasted no time in pushing out a flurry of memes.

This is the second time a fly has stolen the show from a Republican politician. During a vice presidential debate in October 2020, users spotted a fly sitting on Mike Pence's head, which the then-VP seemed to completely ignore. That incident went on to create quite a buzz, spurring memes and even several parody accounts. 

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According to a video widely being circulated, Cruz can be seen speaking to Hannity when a fly entered his mouth. The Senator coughed and then drank a sip of water before resuming his conversation with Hannity. The entire clip is about six seconds long but quickly began trending on Twitter late on May 26. But before you get ready to create your own meme, you should know the video isn't new.

According to one Twitter user, the video being shared was originally posted "years ago", and was just being reshared when it went viral. User Roshan Rinaldi claimed, "No no. Ted Cruz did swallow a fly. But years ago. My pal Methy Anne had it posted,... But some time ago she got suspended. So the video has been gone for ages. She just got out of Twitmo after months, and I had her repost the vid. Now it's everywhere like it just happened."

It's unclear when exactly the incident is from, but it was reposted by a user called Methy Anne, after a request from Rinaldi. Anne tweeted, "Eat it up Ted !!!" and tagged Cruz in the original tweet. 

Shortly after that tweet, several of Anne and Rinaldi's followers began retweeting the video, and it snowballed from there. The video gained instant fame after being shared by advocate and journalist John Aravosis. As of the time of reporting, #ToadCruz is currently trending on Twitter with over 2,000 tweets and counting. 

'RIP fly, you deserved better' jokes Twitter

"That fly died with honor!" joked one user. Another said, "RIP fly, you deserved better !"

 Another tweeted, "#ToadCruz is trending because Ted Cruz swallowed a fly, live on Fox News?? Why do we write fiction, reality is so good."  Another joked, 'Ted Cruz ate Mike Pence’s only friend..... the fly."

One enterprising user even started an account for the fly, called Fidel. That account was created back in April, but rejoined the conversation by tweeting, "Fidel was unexpectedly eaten today. We appreciate privacy for our family and friends as we mourn the loss of an inedible fly."

Please be aware that the video isn't new, and is just being reshared. The Texas Senator has become a popular punching bag for the internet in recent months, as he continues to claim former president Donald Trump won the presidential election. Consequently, Internet users have taken to slamming Cruz at every available opportunity, from his Rio Grande trip to any of his tweets and comments.