Ted Cruz is a distinctive-looking guy. You could easily pick him out of a crowd, or at least so we all thought until yesterday.
Now, a photo snapped by the Republican senator featuring himself alongside the owner of the Chicago Cubs, Tom Ricketts, has us questioning everything. In the snapshot, taken in front of the team’s first World Series trophy in 108 years, the two are twinning — and we don’t mean they coordinated their outfits beforehand. (Although maybe they did that, too. All sartorial signs point to yes, yes they did.)
The two men look shockingly similar — like brothers at the very least — from the cheeks and the chin right down to the haircut and the tie selection.
Great to host Tom Ricketts. Congrats on the World Series. (Should have been the @Astros!) pic.twitter.com/M5FTY59MeJ
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 28, 2017
We had to resort to looking for inherited traits just to make ourselves feel better about the sibling-level similarity in the photo. Cruz’s earlobes appear to be free, while Ricketts’ are attached — while the belief that this trait being controlled by one gene is apparently a myth, it brought some brief comfort.
Half of Twitter had a field day with the humor responses, while the other half fell down a hole of depression over the apparent duplication of Sen. Ted Cruz:
Whoa, the guy on the left has an evil twin@SenTedCruz https://t.co/TeSB4ee25L
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) June 29, 2017
Suspicions that @SenTedCruz wants a “Clone Army” clause in the health care bill continue to grow. #sendintheclones
— Terry McDermott (@TerryMacMusic) June 28, 2017
— Eric (@ericmichel) June 28, 2017
— Mohamed Salinas (@MoSalinas_) June 28, 2017
But wait. It gets worse. Several Twitter users pointed out that there’s a new generation of the Cruz clones, one of which is posing as basketball player for Duke University named Grayson Allen.
Somewhere out there right now Grayson Allen is wondering which one is his real father pic.twitter.com/aguEjP7uSK
— Jason Day (@JasonDDay) June 28, 2017
Cruz appears to have a sense of humor about the whole thing, adding a self-deprecating response to his own tweet after the tornado of Twitter freakouts occurred:
For some reason, ppl keep insulting Tom by saying he looks like me. Poor guy.
For @SInow, here’s photo evidence! https://t.co/FvLMA2uQnb pic.twitter.com/kF1wgt8Im7
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 28, 2017
Meanwhile, a true sports fan cut to the heart of the matter, pointing out that perhaps insulting the Cubs while wearing their World Series ring wasn’t the savviest move the senator could have made:
Tom Ricketts, wtf!? U let lying Ted wear our ring & he insults us by saying it should have been the Astros?
This is why everyone hates him.
— Tom A. Hawk (@Blame_Jameis) June 28, 2017