Watching Ted Cruz Coach His Family In Ad Campaign Outtakes Is The Most AWKWARD Thing You’ll See EVER

Some would say I have it out for GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz; however, I’d rather think of it as him needing to stop giving me pure gold.

One thing that interests me about any political candidate is their family life. You can tell a lot about a person by the life they live with their family on a daily basis. I especially want to see it from those candidates who scream the loudest from their podiums about family values. Are you a truly fluid, close family, or do you have to have a coach telling you how to interact during an ad campaign shoot?

I really can’t make the final judgment of whether Cruz is the head of a warm family; however, videos discovered by Buzzfeed and CNN of an ad campaign shoot do show his family needs a coach and quite a bit of editing. I keep imagining a video editor sweating over the clips telling a campaign manager, “I’m not a miracle worker here.” I hope they paid the guy well.

What I find the best part of all the footage is the video of Cruz and his mother, Eleanor Darragh. Now, as a mother, I know she loves her son unconditionally (I hope). And as a daughter, I hope Cruz is proud of his mom and realizes the strength it takes for a woman to be a mother.

But, the awkwardness between the two in the footage is too much. She looks at him throughout what sounds completely rehearsed with wide eyes as if she’s restless and ready to be done with the entire thing. Nothing beats the face she makes when Cruz says she lifts him up in prayer for “hours at a time.” It’s like she’s thinking, “That’s a bit of an exaggeration. I mean I can’t pray and watch The Walking Dead at the same time you know?”

After a hug, they were coached through “one more hug” by someone off screen.

Then there was the argument they got into over not wanting to share personal details. And right before that, Cruz’s wife stumbles through a recitation of Green Eggs and Ham Apparently, she would like it in a goat.

There went my soda all over my monitor.

You can watch the Gawker’s best worst bits they picked out of the hours of footage below. They include three takes of saying grace, awkward dad and daughters moment before bedtime, and awkward hugs abound.

h/t: Gawker.

Featured image screenshot from Youtube video above.