It seems American politicians just can’t resist taking a crack at Australia over our COVID response.
Following in the footsteps of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a couple of weeks ago, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (pictured, image by Gage Skidmore used under CC BY-SA 2.0) had a go at the NT over its vaccine mandate, decrying the loss of “individual liberty”.
“I love the Aussies. Their history of rugged independence is legendary; I’ve always said Australia is the Texas of the Pacific. The Covid tyranny of their current government is disgraceful & sad,” he tweeted.
However, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner was having none of that, and wasted no time putting Senator Cruz on blast – pointing out that Texas has had 70,000 COVID deaths to the Territory’s zero; the NT has been in lockdown for just eight days in 18 months; and vaccination is helping protect vulnerable communities and the world’s oldest continuous living culture.
“We don’t need your lectures, thanks mate. You know nothing about us. And if you stand against a life-saving vaccine, then you sure as hell don’t stand with Australia.
“I love Texas (go Longhorns), but when it comes to COVID, I’m glad we are nothing like you,” he said.
Perhaps another trip to Cancun would help the Senator recover from that burn.
