Ted Cruz Spars With ‘Sesame Street’ On Twitter Over Elmo Vaccine Spot

Ted Cruz decided to pick a Twitter fight with a much-loved nonprofit kids show Sesame Street yesterday in response to the show airing a clip of beloved character Elmo getting a vaccine.

The aim of the Sesame Street spot was to raise awareness of the fact that children under five are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Joe Biden recently said that along with hospitals, doctor’s offices and clinics, the pharmacies CVS, Walgreens and Walmart will also offer vaccines to young patients.

Cruz clearly demonstrated skepticism over this vaccine’s effectiveness for children by thanking the program “for saying parents are allowed to have questions,” and suggesting Elmo was advocating too aggressively for the already-approved procedure.

“I learned that Elmo getting vaccinated is the best way to keep himself, our friends, neighbors, and everyone else healthy and enjoying the things they love,” Elmo’s father Louie said at one point.

Cruz’s attempt to suck the joy out of everything also included the mention that Sesame Street didn’t cite any “scientific evidence,” as all children’s shows are required by law to do. He acted like Sesame Street just embraced an untested vaccine, but in fact, the CDC said in a statement that child vaccines went through “the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history.”

The Texas senator has demonstrated this kind of behavior before as well. He subtweeted Big Bird last year when the character said he got the coronavirus shot and advocated for others to do so.

Jeanette Betancourt, the senior VP of social impact for Sesame Workshop said of the ad, “Many parents understandably have questions about the Covid-19 vaccines for young children, and we want to encourage them to ask questions and seek out information. With help from Elmo and his dad Louie, we want to model real conversations, encourage parents’ questions, and help children know what to expect.”