- Cruz came to the defense of Youngkin after the new governor was heckled at a Virginia grocery store.
- A shopper asked Youngkin why he was inside the Alexandria Safeway store without a face covering.
- The Texas senator blamed the incident on "Dem Karens" who will "scream at you if you don't obey."
Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday came to the defense of GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia after video surfaced showing a woman needling the governor after he made a maskless appearance while visiting a Safeway store to promote his economic agenda.
The Texas Republican, who backed Youngkin in the 2021 gubernatorial election, tweeted a response to the incident, blasting individuals whom he referred to as "angry screaming Leftists."
"Dem Karens want to tell you how to live your life," Cruz wrote. "And they'll fire you, cancel you, or scream at you if you don't obey."
The conservative lawmaker was using the name "Karen" as a perjorative term — which in recent years has been applied to women who are perceived as overly demanding or entitled — while attempting to associate the moniker with the Democratic Party.
Last year, Cruz actively promoted Youngkin as the first-time political candidate was running to become the first Republican governor elected in the Commonwealth in 12 years.
After defeating former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe last November, Youngkin was inaugurated last month and held a roundtable on Thursday to discuss his plan to eliminate the Commonwealth's grocery tax.
—Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 4, 2022
While Youngkin was inside the store in Democrat-heavy Alexandria — just minutes from the White House – a masked woman berated him for his lack of a face covering.
"Governor, where's your mask?" the woman asked the governor in a video tweeted by WUSA9 reporter Matthew Torres.
Youngkin responded to the woman: "We're all making choices today."
"Yeah, look around you, Governor. You're in Alexandria," the woman said. "Read the room, buddy!"
Youngkin on his first day in office lifted statewide school mask mandates, drawing both the support and ire of many parents across the Commonwealth.
While many school districts have complied with the governor's order, several boards — which includes Alexandria — are keeping their mask mandates in place pending ongoing litigation.
In last year's gubernatorial election, McAuliffe easily defeated Youngkin in Alexandria, winning by a 75%-24% margin.