Ted Cruz's teen daughter shares pros and cons of being the senator's kid in viral video

Children of politicians not sharing their parents' views is nothing new. However, navigating this sensitive minefield of strained family dynamics has become a bit more complicated for lawmakers raising Gen Zers as their kids have access to something that could potentially break their career: social media. The latest American politician to feel the brunt of an outspoken teenage offspring with a TikTok account is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who found himself in a predicament this week after his 13-year-old daughter, Caroline Cruz, posted a now-viral video discussing the pros and cons of being his child.

"I got a lot of new followers because of my father," the teen says in the video, which has since been shared by internet users on Twitter. "I was thinking I could like [do a] pros and cons because some people are asking. So, some of the good things are we get candy and gifts in the mail and we also get to travel sometimes. Some of the bad things are, I literally have to have security following me everywhere. Like, if I want to go on a walk through the neighborhood or like to my friend's house or something, I have to have, like, two security guards behind me the entire time."

"Also, a lot of people judge me based upon him at first glance but I really disagree with most of his views," the teen added with a laugh. Caroline also addressed her appearance in the Cruz family Christmas card after Maddie Jenkins—the daughter of a Dallas County judge—posted a since-deleted video commenting on how miserable she looks in the photo. Caroline explained that the Christmas card photos had been edited to make it look like the shirt she was wearing covered her torso. "This is how it's supposed to look," she said, showing a selfie of her wearing a crop top and noting that "they literally made my shirt longer."

The teen's TikTok account went private soon after her video blew up on the platform, but not before social media users took screengrabs of her bio—in which she listed her pronouns as she/her—and downloaded the video of her talking about being the senator's daughter. Caroline's remarks, especially the part about her disagreeing with most of her father's views, attracted a lot of attention online as many praised her for not following in his footsteps. "Can't stop thinking about Caroline Cruz and how they photoshopped her crop top to align with their conservative values is this normal or am I just also a bisexual who was gay bullied at the same age," tweeted @heather_lindsy.