Apparent Trump backer heckles Cruz: ‘Go back to Canada’
A protester holding a Donald Trump sign interrupted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during a rally Monday in Peoria, Ill.
The apparent Trump backer yelled at Cruz, “Go back to Canada!” as the crowd booed. Cruz was born in Canada and Trump has questioned whether that disqualifies him for the ballot. Cruz’s mother was an American citizen at the time of his birth.
Cruz thanked the man, despite the taunt, saying that he appreciates free speech.
Cruz says, “One difference between this and a Donald Trump rally is I’m not asking anyone to punch you in the face.”
The man held the Trump sign up as a police officer led him out of the Peoria Civic Center.
An earlier Cruz rally in suburban Chicago was interrupted by an animal rights protester.
A woman holding a sign that said “Animal Liberation Now” disrupted Cruz’s speech Monday in Glen Ellyn, Ill., before being led away by security. The crowd chanted “We want Ted!” to drown out the woman’s message.
Cruz acknowledged her right to speak, but tried to make a joke out of the disruption, saying he also cares “about human beings.”
Protesters are not as common at Cruz campaign stops as they are for Donald Trump, where fear of violence led to cancellation of a Trump event on Friday night in Chicago.
Cruz also blamed the media for paying too much attention to Donald Trump.
Cruz told reporters Monday before a campaign stop outside of Chicago that coverage of the presidential race has been like a telethon for Trump. Cruz says he keeps “waiting for Jerry Lewis to come out and make and ask for money to help poor Donald Trump.”
Cruz said “the mainstream media loves talking about Donald Trump” because he said those in control of media outlets are partisan Democrats want Democrat Hillary Clinton to win and they think Trump is the only Republican who will lose to her.
Cruz said the media has lost focus on issues that matter to voters. He said the election “is not about the latest soap opera about Donald Trump terrorizing some poor, hapless reporter.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Apparent Trump backer heckles Cruz: ‘Go back to Canada’."