- Ted Cruz’s infamous mullet was edited out of a photo on the cover of his new book by the publisher.
- Cruz began sporting the mullet in early 2021 during Trump’s second impeachment trial.
- He later fundraised off of the look, dubbing it “McConnell in the front, MAGA in the back.”
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is writing a new book, and his publisher apparently thought he could use a haircut.
The Texas Republican announced last week that he’s writing his third book, titled “Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.” Set to publish in November, the book will offer “a long overdue argument against the woke takeover of education, big business, the media, and Hollywood.”
—Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 10, 2023
But as Bulwark senior editor Jim Swift first noted, the photo of Cruz displayed on the front cover of the book has been doctored to remove a mullet that Cruz infamously sported in early 2021.
A person familiar with the matter told Insider that the decision to edit Cruz’s mullet out of the picture was made by his publisher, the conservative outfit Regnery Publishing, and not the senator himself.
“We updated the image to match the Senator’s current appearance,” Lauren Snyder, a spokeswoman for Regnery, told Insider. “Is the routine touching up of a photo for a book cover considered newsworthy?”
The conservative publisher’s other big-name clients include names like commentator Ann Coulter and fellow Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, whose forthcoming book “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs” is set to be published in May.
The original photo was taken in late January of 2021 during a confirmation hearing for US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Cruz later began sporting a mullet fade as the Senate began debating impeachment charges against former President Donald Trump for incitement of an insurrection, prompting the Houston Chronicle to ask “What the hell is going on with Ted Cruz’s hair?”
But the Texas Republican came to embrace the look, later selling tank tops through his campaign with a photo of the senator’s haircut that read “McConnell in the front, MAGA in the back.”
