AUSTIN, Texas — During a heated interview with CNN on Wednesday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reiterated his stance that there was “significant voter fraud” during the 2020 election and said he would not “ignore fraud” in this year’s election. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cruz was asked by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins whether he will accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of who wins

  • Cruz called the question "ridiculous" and said it's not a yes or no question

  • “So you’re asking, ‘Will you promise, no matter what, to agree an election is legitimate regardless of what happens?,’ and that would be an absurd thing to claim,” Cruz said

  • The two went back and forth debating whether there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election before Collins ended the interview when she couldn't get Cruz to answer yes or no 

The 2024 presidential election will almost certainly be a rematch of 2020 between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, which is prompting questions about whether it will end in another incident like what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Cruz, who objected to certifying Arizona’s election results, was asked by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins during an interview on her show “The Source” whether he will accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of who wins. 

“So Kaitlan, I got to say, I actually think that is a ridiculous question,” Cruz said. 

Collins then interjected, “It’s a yes or no question.”

“No, it’s not,” Cruz replied. 

After a quick back-and-forth between the two, Cruz went on to criticize the question itself, saying it is “absurd” to ask.

“So you’re asking, ‘Will you promise, no matter what, to agree an election is legitimate regardless of what happens?,’ and that would be an absurd thing to claim,” Cruz said.

Cruz then went on to criticize CNN and the media in general, saying they are falsely reporting that “no voter fraud has ever existed.”

“This isn’t a game. There was no widespread voter fraud,” Collins said, speaking about the 2020 election. 

Collins then restated the question to Cruz: “Free and fair election, will you accept the results regardless of who wins?”

“Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result. But I’m not going to ignore fraud,” Cruz said. 

Collins then immediately followed up with the question of whether there was fraud in the 2020 election. 

“Of course there was fraud in 2020,” Cruz said. (There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, a statement backed up by members of both parties, including Trump's own attorney general, William Barr. Lawsuits brought by Trump and his allies alleging widespread fraud were rejected from courts nationwide, including the U.S. Supreme Court.)

“No, there wasn’t, and you still objected,” Collins responded. 

Cruz then got into a heated debate with the anchor where they went back and forth, debating the basis of her question.

“But you’re saying zero voter fraud occurred. That’s what you just said,” said Cruz.

“Nothing that would have changed the outcome,” Collins answered. 

“OK, but that’s a different statement,” Cruz replied. 

Cruz then recounted his decision to object to the certification on Jan. 6, 2021, which happened right before protesters breached the Capitol and forced lawmakers and staffers to flee the floor.

“When I stood on the Senate floor and objected, what I called for, I’ll tell you I wrestled with what to do in that circumstance. The reason I wrestled with it is because I think there was significant voter fraud in 2020,” Cruz said. 

The interview then got even more tense as Collins and Cruz went back and forth asking questions of each other, with Collins asking why Cruz can’t answer yes or no to whether he will accept the results of the 2024 election. 

“I’m answering every question. I think the country would have been a lot better off with a determination of what evidence of voter fraud there was that occurred. And instead, the media didn’t want to hear it and insists voter fraud never occurs,” Cruz said. 

Shortly after, Collins ended the live interview when she couldn’t get a yes or no answer out of the Texas senator.