Video: Trump promotes debunked conspiracy theory that Ted Cruz’s father involved in JFK assassination

While appearing on Fox and Friends Tuesday morning, GOP front-runner Donald Trump promoted a now-debunked tinfoil-hat conspiracy that Rafael Cruz — Ted Cruz’s father — played a minor role in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.

Sadder still, the talking heads at the Trump super PAC known as Fox News didn’t even question Trump’s allegation, even though it had been thoroughly debunked.

Here’s video of the exchange:

The comment sparked a great deal of discussion on Twitter and even launched a trending hashtag.

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The GOP establishment is asking conservatives to rally around a flaky conspiracy theorist. https://t.co/1herX2nmTM

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) May 3, 2016

Here’s a transcript:

https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/727486434081386496

https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/727486434081386496

Here’s the National Enquirer tweet:

Ted Cruz Silent On Dad’s Photo Scandal—Avoids Questions On Blockbuster ENQUIRER Story! #tcot https://t.co/YkP4mdSNZE pic.twitter.com/hPnEzBimwQ

— National Enquirer (@NatEnquirer) April 20, 2016

There’s a good reason for that — it’s a lie, and has been thoroughly debunked.

Here’s what the Enquirer (which, by the way, is run by someone who endorsed Trump) had to say:

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s Cuban-born dad was caught on camera in New Orleans — alongside Lee Harvey Oswald — just three months before the assassin killed President John F. Kennedy!

There’s only one problem.  Cruz wasn’t even in the city at the time:

But Gus Russo, an author and journalist who has written extensively about the JFK assassination and Oswald, is dubious. Russo told McClatchy in an interview that Oswald, who was living in New Orleans in 1963, was not connected to the Cuban community there and would not have had a Cuban supporter helping him. “He was the ultimate loner,” said Russo. Another man seen in the video handing out leaflets had been hired by Oswald to do so at an unemployment office, according to the Warren Commission. Rafael Cruz also lived in New Orleans, but it was later in the 1960s.

As for the photo “evidence,” Russo said, “It’s very subjective. It’s not proof. It’s just an opinion. To charge something this big, you’d better have better proof than that ‘it looks like him.’”

Facts can oftentimes be inconvenient…  Especially if one is trying to smear an opponent…

Here’s more responses:

That eye on the dollar bill? It's actually Ted Cruz watching you through a triangular hole. #TrumpConspiracyTheories pic.twitter.com/Kq3W9MpTAw

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 3, 2016

Ted Cruz's father shot President James Garfield. #TrumpConspiracyTheories

— Demetrius Minor (@dminor85) May 3, 2016

My personal favorites came from Caleb Howe, who, in my humble opinion, won the Internet by observing the following:

https://twitter.com/CalebHowe/status/727515463865892865

https://twitter.com/CalebHowe/status/727514142974734336

Personally, I think the National Enquirer missed the real story, which involves Cruz and the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden…

Related:

• Photos show Ted Cruz tempted Eve in Garden of Eden and other stories the National Enquirer can use
• A Fox News alert you won’t see: Ted Cruz’s father didn’t kill JFK
• Lindsey Graham ‘jokes’ about killing Ted Cruz on Senate floor
• Political ‘expert’ Cher: Ted Cruz is ‘SATAN INCARNATE,’ a ‘Judas’ to America, Hitler and a ‘deviant’
• Conservatives say Fox News lying about Cruz-Super PAC connection to Melania ad

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