Watch: Ted Cruz Refuses to Let Kaitlan Collins Off the Hook After She Tries to Muddy the Waters on Kirk Assassination

There’s nothing funny about political assassinations. But when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tried to downplay the motives behind the killing of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, Sen. Ted Cruz turned the exchange into an embarrassing moment for the network.

During a fiery appearance Tuesday night on CNN’s The Source, Collins claimed with a straight face that authorities don’t yet have a “motive” for last week’s assassination of Kirk.

Cruz, almost in disbelief, chuckled at the absurdity.

“Come on, we don’t have a motive yet? Really?” Cruz pressed. “That’s CNN’s position? What you are saying is objectively false. And CNN should not be engaging in misinformation.”

That kind of misinformation has been CNN’s trademark for years — whether it was peddling the “Russia collusion” hoax during President Donald Trump’s first term or painting violent leftist riots as “mostly peaceful.” But denying the obvious political motivations behind the Kirk killing represents a new level of narrative twisting.

Just hours before the Cruz-Collins clash, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray stated at a press conference that suspect Tyler Robinson — now facing a possible death penalty — was a committed leftist who shared a home with a man “transitioning” to female. The evidence could not be clearer: Kirk was targeted for his politics, his faith, and his leadership in the conservative movement.

No honest observer doubts the motivation here. But “honest” is a word that doesn’t often apply to CNN.

When Collins pivoted to ask whether “right-wing violence” deserved the same level of scrutiny, Cruz didn’t miss a beat:

“Anyone engaged in acts of violence should be prosecuted and go to jail,” he replied. “But I will say there has been an enormous amount — and CNN has been guilty of this — of both-sides-ism. Of saying, ‘Gosh, both sides are violent.’ … It is the left that overwhelmingly celebrates this. It is leftists that have been celebrating.”

The exchange quickly made the rounds on social media, where Collins came off as both evasive and out of touch. For a network struggling with historically low ratings, it was another self-inflicted wound.

What CNN attempted on Tuesday wasn’t journalism. It was narrative management — gaslighting the American people about the very real threat of political violence from the left. Ted Cruz refused to let it slide.