Cruz Urges GOP to ‘Grow a Backbone,’ ‘Stand Up’ to ‘Woke’ Corporate America

Saturday on FNC’s “Watters’ World,” Sen. Ted Cruz warned about the dangers of so-called “wokeness,” which he said was buoyed by support from corporate America.

“[I] think wokeness is trying to destroy America, and we’re seeing whether it’s the corporate media or big business, we are seeing woke corporations that are engaged as the political enforcers of the radical left, and are trying to silence or trying to cancel. They’re trying to punish American citizens, and I think it is profoundly dangerous,” he said.

Host Jesse Watters asked the Texas Republican what the proper course of action should be to combat that trend. Cruz urged the GOP to “grow a backbone” and refuse money from those corporate entities.

“Look, we’ve got to grow a backbone,” Cruz replied. “We’ve got to stand up to big business, and we’ve got to take on Big Tech. We’ve got to use the antitrust laws to break up Big Tech to go after them for abusing their monopoly power. This week, I wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on big companies and woke corporations, and I made a commitment this week that I am no longer accepting even one penny from any corporate PAC. Over nine years in the Senate, corporate PACs have given me about $2.6 million. But I said enough is enough. These guys are corrupt. They’re lying to the American people. They’re fighting the American people. They’ve declared the American people are their enemy.

“And so I don’t want their money,” he continued. “I won’t take a penny. And when they come to Washington with their hands out for corporate welfare, for subsidies, for mandates, and they do that over and over again. Look, I’ve been standing against the cronyism and corporate welfare a long time, but I’m urging my colleagues in the Republican Party to stand against the cronyism and corporate welfare as well. We’ve launched a new website. That is nowokemoney.com, nowokemoney.com because if we’re not going to take the money from the corporate PACs, we’ve got to rely instead to communicate our message on individual Americans all across the country who are supporting us to the tune of $10.00 or $25.00 or $50.00. And I think the Republican Party needs to grow a backbone and stand up to woke corporate America.

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