Finding Your Roots has at least one fan in the U.S. Senate. Texas Senator Ted Cruz made a sly reference to the PBS television show Finding Your Roots during a CNN debate, by suggesting that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders “curb [his] enthusiasm” about a particular point in the Republican tax plan.
The mild dig was a reference to a recently discovered branch in the Sanders family tree, which was unearthed by the researchers at Finding Your Roots— Seinfeld creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David. When David appeared on the show, the ancestry experts were able to trace his lineage to that of Sanders. The results are particularly funny because David portrayed Sanders on Saturday Night Live throughout the 2016 election cycle and many people noted David’s uncanny ability to impersonate Sanders, including Sanders himself. “People say to me, you know they talk about Larry David, and I say he does a better Bernie Sanders than I do,” the senator said of his new “cousin.”
Perhaps Cruz and Sanders will remember this moment the next time PBS funding comes up for a vote.
Watch the moment between the opponents above.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- The Revolution of Yulia Navalnaya
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Stop Looking for Your Forever Home
- If You're Dating Right Now , You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com