On Tuesday, two Bush School graduate students witnessed a bipartisan exchange between former Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke and Senator Ted Cruz.
The two students, Tiffany Easter and Keri Weinman, were waiting at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport when they encountered Cruz. Weisman said after they spoke with the Senator, O’Rourke approached Cruz, took off his hat and shook the Senator’s hand, congratulating him on winning the election.
“I think if anything they were really surprised to see each other,” Weinman said. “It was the first time they saw each other after the election, and they didn’t expect to see each other in an airport, if anything.”
According to Weisman, Cruz responded to O’Rourke by thanking him and congratulating him on running a great campaign.
Weisman said she was in awe of how genuine and cordial the former competitors were in their exchange.
“It wasn’t something you really see on the news between politicians, especially between those two during their debates and their whole campaign,” Weisman said.
The Aggies took a picture with Cruz and O’Rourke, and Easter later posted it on her Twitter, receiving considerable attention.
“It took alot of humility on Beto’s part and then you know the same grace was exchanged from Ted Cruz,” Easter said.
Easter said she believes this moment was a genuine display of bipartisanship, and moments like this do occur more than people think.
“There are people out there that saw that and thought ‘yeah that was totally fake,’ but I think this happens more often than people give credit towards,” Easter said. “And obviously in the climate that we’re in, this doesn’t happen all of the time.”
Easter said the encounter has been a great opportunity to shed a light on the Bush School, Texas A&M and the school’s namesake, George H.W. Bush.
“In the political climate that we have today, bipartisan moments and cordial interactions are becoming less and less seen,” Easter said. “Something like this, to be able to shine a light on public service and shine a light on the good in the world is a privilege that we’re afforded in this country that some aren’t.”