While speaking at a midterm convention for Republicans on Thursday night, Sen. Ted Cruz blamed left-wing rhetoric for fomenting violence. But the Texas senator did not react when an attendee in the crowd shouted loudly that three different Democratic politicians “should be shot.”

During the speech in Dallas, which took place on the one-year anniversary of the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and a day before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Cruz said that “the hate that killed Charlie Kirk, that knocked down the Twin Towers, that led to two assassination attempts on President [Donald] Trump… just keeps getting worse and worse,” and claimed that it had overtaken the Democratic Party.

Cruz said the party was being swept over by “a new and dangerous red-green alliance: communists and Islamists,” and singled out specific figures.

Joining persistent attacks from fellow Republicans against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Muslim faith, Cruz lamented, “On 9/11, could anyone have imagined that Comrade Mamdani would be the mayor of New York?”

Cruz then referenced a comment Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, made during a 2021 meeting of the organization’s youth wing in which he said workers “seizing the means of production” was an “end goal.” Though Mamdani has not used similar rhetoric since beginning his campaign for mayor, Cruz seized upon the old comments nonetheless.

“When Mamdani says he wants to ‘seize the means of production,’ he means it,” Cruz said.

It was then that a shout rang out from the crowd: “He should be shot!”

Cruz did not react, moving on to discuss Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic US Senate nominee for Michigan, who is a former public health official for Detroit.

“When Abdul El-Sayed says he has an obligation to Sharia law, he means it,” Cruz continued, twisting a comment El-Sayed made to The New York Times in 2009, when he was a 24-year-old medical student, referring to his personal decision to use a Sharia-compliant mortgage because Islam prohibits interest.

On the 2026 campaign trail, El-Sayed has clarified he has no desire "to push Sharia law on anyone else… because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion.”

Again, the audience member shouted, “He should be shot!”

Cruz then turned to Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D-50), the Democratic nominee for US Senate, whom he said also “means it,” when he “says he wants to dismantle capitalism.”

He was referring to comments that Talarico made at a Sierra Club candidate forum in 2020 when he spoke of “climate change, white supremacy, and capitalism” as “oppressive systems” that “work together.” Talarico has since said the comments “missed the mark.”

Once again, the rallygoer shouted, “He should be shot!” Cruz did not react.

A spokesperson for Cruz declined to say whether the senator heard the violent shouts when asked about it by The Washington Post. The Post noted that while it was unclear if Cruz heard the remarks, several other speakers during the convention responded when hecklers interrupted them, and Trump reacted to shouts from the crowd repeatedly.

Cruz’s social media account has posted a clip of the speech in which the shouts of “he should be shot” are audible, which remains online.

El-Sayed told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Thursday night that the call for violence frightened him.

“Look, I’m a dad with two daughters, and I hope those daughters get to grow up and live with their dad,” the 41-year-old candidate said. “This is what has become the norm in our politics. I mean, literally calls to violence and the inability for anybody to actually call it out.”

“Democracy is supposed to be the process by which we solve our problems peacefully,” he continued. “We can learn to disagree agreeably, and when you hear that kind of call to violence, it should be shuddering to all of us. We have a responsibility to lower the temperature, to realize that this is not a bloodsport, where you’re just trying to bash the other guy.”

Mamdani and Talarico have not publicly responded to the calls for violence at the time of publication. However, other Democrats have called them out and criticized Cruz’s silence.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) wrote in a social media post that Cruz “had the opportunity to end the calls for violence, instead he riled people up.”

She added that Cruz “owes Mamdani, El-Sayed, Talarico, and the communities they are fighting to represent an apology.”

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) wrote that “every single Republican should denounce this dangerous rhetoric immediately—starting with Ted Cruz.”

At the time of publication, Cruz has not made a public statement on the incident. Multiple outlets reported that his office has not responded to requests for comment.

Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) described Cruz’s lack of a response to the violent shouts as “a shameful profile in cowardice.”

“Political violence is a big problem,” she added. "Rather than egging on, real leaders call it out. It needs to stop, regardless of party.”

Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Common Dreams on Friday about whether he condemned the call for violence and whether he believed that he bore similar responsibility for individuals’ reactions to his political rhetoric that he ascribes to Democratic politicians.

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