• Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to blast actor Kevin Bacon for sharing Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke’s viral speech on NFL national anthem protests.
  • O’Rourke, who currently represents Texas’s 16th Congressional District, is vying to unseat Cruz this November.
  • A video of O’Rourke explaining his position on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem has taken the internet by storm over the past few days.
  • Initially, the El Paso native was pegged as a long-shot candidate, but a new NBC News/Marist poll showed him just 4 points behind Cruz.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday took to Twitter to rip actor Kevin Bacon for sharing Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke’s viral speech on NFL players’ protests during the national anthem.

“Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it,” Cruz tweeted. “That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!”

O’Rourke, who currently represents Texas’s 16th Congressional District, is vying to unseat Cruz this November.

Initially, the El Paso native was pegged as a long-shot candidate. But a new NBC News/Marist poll put him just 4 points behind Cruz, a former presidential candidate in 2016.

During a recent campaign stop, O'Rourke explained why he supports NFL players who protest during the national anthem when questioned about it by a man in the crowd who said he found it disrespectful.

"Nonviolently, peacefully, while the eyes of this country are watching these games, they take a knee to bring our attention and our focus to this problem to ensure that we fix it. That is why they are doing it," O'Rourke said.

O'Rourke added: "I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee, for your rights, any time, anywhere, in any place."

The Texas congressman's nearly five-minute explanation was captured on video and went viral.

In recent days, O'Rourke's remarks have been shared and praised by from figures including the NBA's LeBron James.

The viral speech has placed O'Rourke in the national spotlight and some have labeled him as a future leader in the Democratic Party.