Ted Cruz Says San Bernardino Shooting Shows U.S. ‘At a Time of War’

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday’s mass shooting in California raises additional concerns about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, saying it’s additional proof that the nation is at war.

“All of us are deeply concerned that this is yet another manifestation of terrorism—radical Islamic terrorism here at home,” Cruz said Thursday morning of the attack which killed at least 14 and injured more than a dozen more.

The motivation of the shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, remains undetermined. And Cruz himself said “at this point the details of what happened in San Bernardino are still unclear.” But he said implied he believed it to be terrorism-related.

“Yesterday’s horrific murder in the wake of Paris underscores we’re at a time of war whether or not the current Administration realizes it,” Cruz said. “Our enemies are at war with us, and I believe this nation needs a wartime president to defend it,” he added.

Speaking before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Cruz called Obama an “apologist” for terrorism, adding he didn’t use the term lightly. “When the president stands up and says the Islamic State isn’t Islamic, that’s just nutty,” he said.

Cruz also had harsh words for Secretary of State John Kerry, noting he was one of three Senators not to have voted for his confirmation—taking a veiled shot at rival Sen. Marco Rubio, who supported it.

Kicking off a day of candidate speeches before the conservative group, Cruz promised that if elected he would ““rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.”

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