Texas Senator Ted Cruz is a Star Trek fan, so when he sat down for a New York Times Magazine interview, the topic turned to science fiction instead of policy. But Cruz sees similarities between Trek and real world politics. He even thinks Captain James T. Kirk was a Republican.
In the interview, Cruz, a Republican, said that he prefers Kirk over Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
“Let me do a little psychoanalysis. If you look at ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation, it basically split James T. Kirk into two people,” Cruz said. “Picard was Kirk’s rational side, and William Riker was his passionate side. I prefer a complete captain. To be effective, you need both heart and mind.”
Cruz said he prefers the “grittier” original Star Trek series. “The original Star Trek pressed for racial equality, which was one of its best characteristics, but it did so without sermonizing,” he noted.
The Texas senator, who is running for the GOP 2016 nomination, said that he thinks Kirk was a Republican and Picard was a Democrat.
As expected, William Shatner, who originally played Kirk, wasn’t too happy with these political labels being assigned to the show, notes EW. “Star Trek wasn’t political. I’m not political; I can’t even vote in the US. So to put a geocentric label on interstellar characters is silly,” Shatner wrote on Twitter.
Star Trek wasn't political. I'm not political; I can't even vote in the US. So to put a geocentric label on interstellar characters is silly
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) July 23, 2015
screenshot from CSPAN YouTube video
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