Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told supporters on Monday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is running her presidential campaign as the "condom police" and is trying to "scare a bunch of folks into thinking someone's going to steal their birth control."
During a campaign stop in Bettendorf, Iowa, Cruz was asked by an attendee about "making contraception available to women who want to control their own bodies," according to a CNN report.
Cruz went on to attack Clinton as supporting "abortion on demand in all circumstances up until the moment of birth." He went on to say that as a lifelong conservative, he had never met another conservative that wanted to ban contraceptives.
A video of the exchange recorded by an NBC News reporter was widely shared on Twitter.
Ted Cruz. Rubber. College. Jiminy Crickets. pic.twitter.com/7BQr3iHL26— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 30, 2015
"As I noted, Heidi and I, we have two little girls. I'm very glad we don't have 17," Cruz said. "And it's a great example when the war on women came up, Republicans would curl up in a ball, they'd say, 'Don't hurt me.' Jiminy Cricket!"
He then added that "last I checked we don't have a rubber shortage in America."
"When I was in college we had a machine in the bathroom, you put .50 cents in and voila," Cruz, who attended Princeton University, said. "So yes, anyone who wants contraceptives can access them, but it's an utterly made-up nonsense issue."
Reaction to Cruz's comments was swift online.
1) "rubbers" 2) many anti-choicers think hormonal BC is abortion that's why they're always bringing up condoms pic.twitter.com/OnbCNZS5ow— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) December 1, 2015
Ted Cruz says both "rubber" and "Jiminy Crickets" in arguing that GOP positions on contraception aren't outdated. https://t.co/kKyzOOR6N5— Brian Adam Jones (@bjones) December 1, 2015
You can't even understand contraception or a women's body but suddenly you're an expert on what a woman should do. Ok Ted Cruz.— Ashley (@ashcech) December 1, 2015
.@tedcruz #CondomPolice? pic.twitter.com/EbKxfNEsxO— John Adler (@johnadler83) December 1, 2015
Cruz equates birth control for women to the college bathroom condom machine? ---> https://t.co/66GzdmKj4G— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) November 30, 2015
I wish your parents hadnt ran out of rubbers @tedcruz https://t.co/0MB3HUtAMT— Philip Parlier (@TheeParlier) December 1, 2015