'Vote this motherf---er out': Photo of Ted Cruz's meeting with Uvalde parents sparks wave of scorn, anger

On Wednesday the parents of Robb Elementary shooting victim Alexandria "Lexi" Rubio met with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in his Washington, D.C. office to plead for his support for a federal ban on assault weapons. Joined by members of Newtown Action Alliance, Felix and Kimberly Rubio hoped to appeal to the conscience of the junior senator, who has resisted calls for new gun control laws in the months since the May 24 mass shooting that took their daughter and the lives of 18 of her classmates as well as two teachers in a shared classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

During their meeting with Cruz, Felix produced his phone and offered it to the senator. According to Kimberly, displayed on the device an image the parents say was the last photo they had taken of Lexi—an image showing the 10-year-old at rest in her child-sized casket. After the meeting Kimberly tweeted a photo she says was taken during this exchange, claiming Cruz took a look at the photo of their daughter and then declined the couple's requests to support new gun reform measures, saying he instead supports increasing law enforcement presence on school campuses.

The tweeted image quickly began garnering retweets, many users reacting angrily to what they saw as a non-plussed reaction by the senator in the face of tragedy. Among those upbraiding Cruz was Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

"So sorry you had to have this experience with him. Unfortunately, I have had my experience with Ted as well. He is a fraud and I look forward to working with you to fire him."

Another who responded to the tweet was Brett Cross, whose 10-year-old son Uziyah Garcia was killed in the Uvalde shooting. "It’s time to vote this motherf--ker out as well. Heartless piece of sh-t! His solution? More cops? 376 waiting 77 minutes wasn’t enough? F--k you!"

One commenter wrote: "Look at that body language. That man couldn’t care less and I’m so sorry for you all all the other families. We all need to vote him (and Abbott) out."

Cruz's support of increased law enforcement on school campuses in lieu of gun control is not new, though his stance on the matter is somewhat dappled by criticisms he's levied against officers for their response to the shooting in Uvalde. In July, the Republican senator called videos that surfaced of officers waiting to breach the classroom where the gunman went on his rampage "deeply concerning."

"We need hard answers to understand just what the hell went wrong," Cruz said. "We must have accountability and transparency to understand how these failures could have happened, and to ensure they never happen again. The families of those we lost, and the community of Uvalde deserve answers and they deserve accountability."

A Cruz spokesperson gave an emailed statement confirming the senator's meeting with the Rubios but did not mention the phone or image the family claims he was presented with.

"[Senator Cruz] saw firsthand the pain and the grief that the unspeakable violence at Robb Elementary School caused," the statement read. It then reiterated Cruz's support of legislation in Congress that would allocate billions of dollars for the purpose of beefing up security and providing mental health resources for students. Billed as the Securing Our Schools Act of 2022, Cruz's proposed bill would allocate $15 billion to double the number of school resource officers, $10 billion to hire 15,000 school-based mental health professionals and provide physical security improvements on school campuses through grants.

"Unfortunately, Senate Democrats blocked it with no explanation of why they don’t support doubling the number of police officers in schools, hiring 15,000 school-based mental health professionals, and increasing the physical security for children in schools," Cruz's spokesperson wrote.

Parents to five children, Felix and Kimberly Rubio have been pushing for gun reform in the months following the tragedy. During Congress' House Oversight and Reform Committee about gun violence in June, the two said they are advocating for a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, raising the age to purchase such weapons from 18 to 21 years of age, and the passage of red flag laws, among other measures they believe will help prevent future shootings like the one that took their daughter.

In early August, Kimberly and Felix met with Gov. Greg Abbott, who told them he was not going to address raising the age to purchase firearms because it was unlikely to pass, adding he said he preferred to instead focus on mental health, according to the Associated Press.

A journalist for the Uvalde Leader-News, Kimberly opened up about the suffering and the guilt she feels following Lexi's tragic death in a Sept. 11 column titled "Physical pain never erases emotional ache." In the piece she wrote that on the morning of the shooting, Kimberly and Felix attended an award ceremony at Robb Elementary where Lexi was recognized for achieving all As.

"I'm angry with myself," Kimberly wrote. "Thirty-nine minutes. I was with her 39 minutes before the shooting, snapping a photo of her and Mr. Reyes at exactly 10:54 a.m. Why didn't I take her home after her award ceremony? Certainly, she earned an early release after receiving the All-A honor roll and Good Citizen award. Instead, I promised her an after-school frozen treat from Dairy Queen, before telling her I loved her and would pick her up after school."

On Wednesday evening Kimberly struck a determined tone with a tweet reiterating her belief in the urgent need for gun reform as a black-and-white matter of public safety. "Regarding a federal ban on assault weapons: you either support saving lives or you care more about aiding the individuals who commit mass shootings," she wrote. "It’s a black and white issue. Too many Americans have died to consider any gray areas."