Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is a mega-fan of Rob Reiner’s 1987 film “The Princess Bride,” but somehow he completely missed the point of the movie.
The besotted senator was responding to a tweet last week from actor Cary Elwes, who played Westley, the love interest of the Princess Bride herself (Robin Wright). Elwes announced a “virtual cast reunion” on Sept. 13 to raise money for the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Several cast members, including Elwes, Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Billy Crystal, Wallace Shawn, Carol Kane and others will reunite for a live-streamed script reading and a question-and-answer session moderated by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt. Reiner invited fans to “have some fun storming the castle.”
Cruz responded by tweeting a line about suffering from movie hero Inigo Montoya (played by Pantikin):
“Do you hear that Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when the six-fingered man killed my father. Every Princess Bride fan who wants to see that perfect movie preserved from Hollywood politics makes it now.” pic.twitter.com/mbUs4y6Ro0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 5, 2020
The cast is promoting the event under the hashtag “Dump Trumperdinck,” a comparison of President Donald Trump to the film’s villain, the evil and obnoxious King Humperdinck.
#Inconceivable! I’m excited to announce a virtual #PrincessBrideReunion! Chip in any amount at the link & get an invite to this special event on Sun. Sept. 13th with myself, @RealRobinWright, @PatinkinMandy, @robreiner & many more! #DumpTrumperdinck https://t.co/NTXPMpRiLk
— Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) September 4, 2020
And yes, Elw popped off after he spotted Cruz’s grumbling on Twitter. He told the senator that “if only you could leave the fire swamp, you could join us.”
Here’s a taste of the fire swamp, with tongues of flame and rodents of “unusual size”:
Elwes later tweeted to Cruz that it “must be getting hot in there.”
Fans mostly thanked Cruz for raising awareness about the fundraiser and already making it a huge success:
I never thought I’d write this, but I’d like to personally thank Ted Cruz for helping drive the biggest fundraising day of the cycle for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) September 6, 2020
Using a quote from The Princess Bride to chastize the star of The Princess Bride about a Princess Bride reunion is peak Ted Cruz.
— Daniel Summers, MD (@WFKARS) September 6, 2020
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter
