MSNBC's Jen Psaki Torches Sen. Ted Cruz's 'Barbie' Problem

MSNBC ’s Jen Psaki on Sunday ripped Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for appearing to be more riled up over a moment in the new “Barbie” movie than he is over Sen. Tommy Tuberville ’s (R-Ala.) ongoing blocking of military promotions.

Tuberville is preventing promotions from advancing in the Senate — meaning the Marine Corps is currently without a confirmed leader — in protest of the Pentagon offering compensation for travel expenses to service members who receive an abortion in another state.

But Tuberville’s colleague Cruz, and other Republicans , appear more focused on the “really important question” of whether Barbie is communist after a fake map in the film appeared to endorse China’s claims to parts of the South China Sea, said Psaki, a former White House press secretary under President Joe Biden .

“No military leader out there is going to tell you they’re more worried about a cartoon map in a movie about a doll than about having qualified members of the military in a position to lead their troops,” she argued.

In a statement to Variety , a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Film Group said the map was “not intended to make any type of statement.”

“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” they explained. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’”

Watch the video here: