Wil Wheaton slams Ted Cruz after saying his 5-year-old 'gets a spanking' when she lies

Earlier tonight in Iowa, Ted Cruz suggested that voters punish Hillary Clinton over Benghazi the same way he punishes his 5-year-old daughter when she lies — with a spanking!

.@tedcruz: Voters should spank Hillary Clinton like I spank my five-year old daughter. #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/FTdmrP4mTv

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) January 9, 2016

In IA, @tedcruz tells crowd that when his 5 yr old daughter lies "she gets a spanking." Suggests same for @HillaryClinton on Benghazi.

— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) January 8, 2016

Uh. Did Cruz just say Hillary needed a spanking? Verbate: pic.twitter.com/75PDEkis5T

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) January 8, 2016

And actor Wil Wheaton was outraged over it:

Ted Cruz: "I hit my child. Hitting children is GREAT! I'm not a shitfuck at all. Vote for me!"

— Wil 'this account mocks fascists' Wheaton (@wilw) January 9, 2016

Hundreds and hundreds of replies from people who are appalled at the idea of parents hitting their children restores my faith in humanity.

— Wil 'this account mocks fascists' Wheaton (@wilw) January 9, 2016

. @Bass_JL no. It doesn't. It teaches children to be afraid of being hit by their parents. Fear is not respect.

— Wil 'this account mocks fascists' Wheaton (@wilw) January 9, 2016

Oh, come on. It. Was. A. Joke.

The quip, of course, has been turned into a larger commentary on Cruz’s parenting:

Recommended

Google Is Free: X BODIES Obama-Era Diplomat For Asking and (Wrongly) Answering His Own Iran Question

Grateful Calvin

Advertisement

Folks standards of behavior have evolved over the last 5000 years. Many things that were ok before no longer are acceptable.

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) January 9, 2016

Cruz: "I hit my 5 year old daughter, and i am going to make a joke about it." unreal. that isn't a real man.

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) January 9, 2016

All the folks in Twitter defending hitting a 5 year old also probably think Adrian Peterson is a great guy.

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) January 9, 2016

So now Ted Cruz is the same as Adrian Peterson?

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/685629367196725249

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/685630600607305728

Whatever, Vox. Stick to the spanking stories you know best:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/567369561767305216

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/566695812844224514

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/566335443839778816

***