This is what Cruz said, reacting to the violent protests at the Trump rally in Chicago:
“”America is better than this. We don’t have to tear each other apart,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said. “When you have a campaign that disrespects the voters, when you have a campaign that affirmatively encourages violence, when you have campaign that is facing allegations of physical violence against members of the press, you create an environment that only encourages this sort of nasty discourse.”
The FIRST thing he said was that 'the responsibility for the actions of the protesters belongs with the protesters'.
If you are siding with someone, you are there, with them, promoting them.
Cruz did not do that, and he put the responsibility for their actions squarely on them where it belonged.
His comments on the atmosphere of the Trump campaign (which did not explicitly mention Trump, but that shoe fit like a glove) were not support for the rioters but a call for civility.
I have never seen such a slanderous sh*tstorm erupt from distorted half quotes in my life, and Trump supporters and the media have been the standard bearers of that distortion.
All of a sudden NPR is a holy source? Really?