Ted Cruz sparks outrage as he claims the phrase ‘Christ is King’ is antisemitic
Texas Senator Ted Cruz sparked backlash after claiming that the phrase ‘Christ is King’ has taken on an antisemitic meaning.
The Republican lawmaker said he had become ‘really troubled’ by how the phrase was supposedly being used to call Jews ‘horrible.’
‘I agree with the statement Christ is King,’ Cruz told CBN News. ‘Although it is being used online in a way that is meant to say, “screw you, Jew.”‘
He added that the phrase was sometimes used ‘very directly to say, “I hate Jews”‘ and noted that it is being used in right-wing nationalist circles.
‘They’re attacking Jews and they end with “Christ is King” to make it sound like somehow there’s a biblical basis for attacking Jews,’ he said.
Cruz, who is a Southern Baptist Christian, added that he wasn’t aware of the phrase being used growing up in his religious community and suggested alternatives such as ‘Jesus loves you’.
His remarks sparked outrage on social media, as commenters insisted the phrase was faith–based and vowed to keep using it.
Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to Donald Trump during his last election campaign, was among those to slam the Texas Senator.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said that the phrase ‘Christ is King’ was being used to insult and attack Jews
‘It’s not “antisemitic” to say that Christ IS King,’ Bruesewitz wrote on X. ‘It’s the truth.’
Cruz explained he had asked his pastor from Houston’s First Baptist Church about the phrase because he was concerned about possible connotations.
‘That’s almost an online code word,’ Cruz said. ‘Christ is King is, “I hate the Jew”.’
But that claim was rejected by social media commenters, who flatly dismissed the Texas Republican’s interpretation.
‘We say Christ Is King because he is,’ one user said. ‘If that’s offensive, that’s the hearer’s problem, not the speaker.’
One user wrote that Cruz was ‘now showing how bigoted he is against Christians by denying that Jesus Christ is our one and only King!’
‘Soon he will declare Christianity antisemitic,’ another added.
‘If “Christ is King” makes you feel attacked in any context, it’s because you have a problem with Christ being King,’ one person wrote.
‘Man, this guy [is] the biggest phony Christian of all time,’ another user added.
In recent years, the phrase ‘Christ is King’ has at times appeared at political rallies, social media posts and speeches by right-wing figures. Pictured: A supporter at the RNC in 2024
Cruz said he never heard the phrase at church while growing up, proposing other alternatives.
‘We would say things like “Jesus loves you, Jesus saves”,’ Cruz said.
The GOP lawmaker added that ‘Christ is King’ appeared to have originated from the internet.
‘Christ is King is a phrase that seems to have originated online,’ Cruz said. ‘It summoned kind of the groyper folks. It almost sort of invokes images of the crusade that in the name of Jesus, we will conquer everyone else in a way that I don’t think is right or biblical. ‘
In recent years, the phrase ‘Christ is King’ has at times appeared at political rallies, social media posts and speeches by right-wing figures.
Some conservative influencers, including Candace Owens, have also popularized the phrase and sold branded merchandise.
Owens, a right-wing political commentator, has previously shared antisemitic conspiracies.
Cruz said the phrase appeared to have originated online and that it ‘summoned’ fans of far right provocateur Nick Fuentes, known as groypers
Cruz was being asked about podcasters who ‘say one thing out of their mouths that’s very, not just anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic’ when he shared his views about the phrase.
A 2025 report by the Rutgers University-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute said that ‘Christ is King’ was being ‘weaponized’ towards Jews and being used to spread antisemitic narratives.
At a February 9 hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission – a federal advisory body formed by US President Donald Trump – witness Seth Dillon testified that people often followed the phrase with contemptuous slurs towards Jews.
Like Cruz, Dillon claimed the phrase had been co-opted by groypers. He said it was ‘using the Lord’s name in an abusive manner.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Cruz’s office for comment.
