Ted Cruz campaign baffles Texas by calling Beto O'Rourke a 'Triple Meat Whataburger liberal'

Ted Cruz.
(Image credit: Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) supremely Texan insult is sure to destroy his Senate competitor Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) — if anyone can figure out what it means.

O'Rourke, the increasingly popular Democrat vying for Cruz's Senate seat, has a campaign logo that looks suspiciously like a package of spicy ketchup from Texas fast food chain Whataburger. When asked for a response to the similarities, Cruz's spokesperson gave the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this intriguing answer:

Unlike the spicy ketchup, when Texans unwrap the O'Rourke packaging, they are definitely not going to like what they see underneath. He's like a Triple Meat Whataburger liberal who is out of touch with Texas values. [Cruz spokeswoman Emily Miller, via the Star-Telegram]

And unlike your average play-on-words political insult, this winding metaphor gives Texans a lot to swallow. It begins as a saucy slam on O'Rourke, but unwisely savages the chain's massive signature item as "out of touch" and suggests Cruz dislikes the beloved business as a whole.

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Then again, Texas Monthly suggests "Triple Meat Whataburger liberal" means O'Rourke is too elite, like Cruz's tweet blasting Stephen King as a "limousine liberal." That option, however geographically relevant, still disparages the Texas staple.

Or perhaps the super stack is just a substitute for "big," and O'Rourke is just a big 'ol liberal. But that would imply O'Rourke is just a normal guy, seeing as everything is bigger in Texas.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.