Shouts of “He should be shot” echoed through the American Airlines Center as Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 10, 2026, and the senator did not respond, according to multiple outlets reporting on the incident and the related outbursts.
Video and broadcast audio captured attendees repeatedly yelling the phrase after Cruz named New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El‑Sayed and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, CNN reported. The shouts were audible on the live feed while Cruz criticized those Democrats by name.
It was unclear whether Cruz heard the calls, and a spokeswoman for the senator declined to say if he had, The Washington Post wrote. CNN likewise said representatives for Cruz and the Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the outbursts.
Democratic officials and candidates condemned the vocal calls for violence. Abdul El‑Sayed told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he was a father and hoped his daughters would grow up with their dad, calling such chants “calls to violence” that should be condemned. The Washington Post and CNN both reported lawmakers posting public condemnations after the convention audio circulated online.
Scenes from the convention showed the crowd reacting as Cruz delivered remarks about what he called rising extremism and the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed a year earlier, CNN noted. Cruz referenced Kirk’s killing while denouncing what he described as a growing tide of hate in politics.
Coverage of the night put the incident in the larger context of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where other speakers including Vice President J.D. Vance gave headlining remarks and party officials sought to draw a contrast with Democrats ahead of the midterms. For more on other speakers at the event, see JD Vance speaks and for recent Cruz appearances see Ted Cruz defends Trump.
Broadcasters and social posts circulated clips of the outbursts, prompting calls from Democrats for Republicans to explicitly denounce the chants on the record. Outlets reported that some Republican officials did publicly condemn political violence the same day, while others did not immediately address the specific audio captured during Cruz’s remarks.
Sources
- CNN — reported that shouts of “He should be shot” were audible multiple times as Cruz named Mamdani, El‑Sayed and Talarico, and carried El‑Sayed’s response.
- The Washington Post — reported that Cruz did not react in the moment and that a spokeswoman declined to say whether he had heard the outburst; covered Democratic condemnations.
- Washington Examiner — documented calls from Democrats pressing Cruz to condemn the outburst.
