Ted Cruz
Role at the time: United States senator from Texas
Condemned
Statement summary
In a September 22 X post, Sen. Ted Cruz rejected what he called the “Bernie Sanders game of giving away free stuff.” The Hill reported the post and related remarks in coverage that identified President Trump’s proposed $5,000 adult dividend.
“The way to be a populist is not to get into the Bernie Sanders game of giving away free stuff.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Ted Cruz X post rejecting 'giving away free stuff' · Ted CruzFull post, published September 22, 2026 at 9:57 PM UTC
A public post from Sen. Ted Cruz’s verified X account. Cruz described universal cash giveaways as a form of “socialism lite” while discussing populism; the post itself does not name President Trump or the $5,000 dividend proposal.
Why we used this label
Cruz explicitly rejects the cash-giveaway approach described in contemporaneous reporting as part of the debate over Trump’s proposed dividend.