Parallel Thinking Hits Ted Cruz’s Smirk
Earlier this month, we applauded the weekly Paul F. Tompkins show “No, You Shut Up” for a funny bit about Ted Cruz’s mouth. Today, Gawker put up an incredibly similar nod to Cruz’s oral tic.
If you’re not familiar with “No, You Shut Up!” yet, it’s our pick for the smartest and funniest election themed show on television. Paul F. Tomkins hosts along with human guests and a team of puppet correspondents (read our review of the show here). Armond Mite is a bespectacled kangaroo rat, movie critic and contrarian. On the March 4, 2016 episode (which featured guest host Al Madrigal), Mite pointed out Ted Cruz’s has a bizarre smirk. “Ted Cruz, great speech,” he said. “Every line was punctuated by this adorable little smirk, check it out.” He showed a video of five of those smirks, using a cute little ‘ding’ sound effect every time Cruz smirked. Armond Mite ended the bit joking, “I can hear what he’s saying but I also know what he was thinking. I dealt it, I smelt it, and you love it.”
Gawker.com’s video also shows Ted Cruz’s odd penchant of smirking every time he finishes a point. Gawker compiled clips from Cruz’s March 15th 2016 speech, drawing attention to Cruz’s “tic” or “stifled smirk.” The video counts 31 separate instances where Ted Cruz makes this gesture, with a cute little ‘ding’ sound effect, with writer Ashley Feinberg wondering whether he was trying to stop something living inside his mouth from escaping.
Don’t know if someone at Gawker is a huge fan of “No, You Shut Up!” political correspondent Armond Mite, or if this another case of that parallel thinking running around these days. Given Mite’s contrarian nature, don’t expect him to be flattered. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out of a certain internet publication is Mite’s latest pick for who should ‘shut up’.
