Here’s the Most Memorable Moment of the First Texas Senate Debate

“True to form.”

Beto and Ted

Tom Fox/Dallas Morning News/Associated Press

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If you wanted to summarize Friday’s Texas Senate debate between Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in just one exchange, it would probably be the last one. Just before closing statements, at the end of an often-contentious 50 minutes, the moderators from the Dallas Morning News and NBC’s Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate asked each candidate to say something nice about the other.

O’Rourke said he believed Cruz was working sincerely to make the world better for his young kids. Here’s Cruz’s response:

“True to form.”

The next debate is on September 30th in Houston.

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