Ted Cruz on Snoozing in Joe Biden Speech: 'I'm Amazed That I Didn't Sleep More'

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has explained his lack of enthusiasm for President Joe Biden's joint speech to Congress after appearing to nod off in a clip that went viral.

During the address on Wednesday, Biden described his administration's legislative agenda—outlining policies such as higher capital gains tax, expanded voting, climate change and justice reform.

As Cruz watched on, he looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open when the camera cut to him at about the 60-minute mark.

After the clip was widely shared and viewed on social media, Cruz said on The Verdict podcast that he had struggled with the length and content of Biden's address.

"The whole thing was 63 minutes, I'm amazed that I didn't sleep more during the speech," said sparking laughter from his co-host Michael Knowles.

He said the podcast hosts had previously coined his description of the Biden presidency as "boring but radical" and in his view, Biden's speech demonstrated that description.

Speeches to Congress he said had in the past displayed "a game," in which the most prominent applause would come from the lawmakers from the party of the president.

But in Cruz's view, Biden did not "throw a tiny fig leaf" to appeal to the GOP lawmakers.

"This was bizarre. This is now the ninth State of the Union, or that kind of speech I have been to, there was virtually nothing for any Republican to clap at," he said.

"It was strange, there were whole swathes...where we're just sitting there and every word out of Biden's mouth is directed only to Democrats and it's only Democrats clapping.

"That's part of why I nodded off, and helped the internet go crazy."

He said that Biden was using a "boring" approach that was "designed to hide just how extreme the policies are that are being implemented."

Referencing the speech, Cruz went on to take aim at the policies of the "hard partisan" Biden administration, criticizing its taxation plans and how it was unable to garner GOP support for its COVID relief bill, or its $2.6 trillion infrastructure bill.

However, following the address, a poll by CBS News poll suggested that Biden's message had gone down well.

Some 85 percent of Americans approved of the speech, while only 15 percent disapproved. It also found that viewers described the president as "caring," "inspiring" and "bold."

Before he started his speech, Biden acknowledged its historic significance when Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the first two women to sit behind a president during an address to Congress.

Newsweek has contacted Cruz and the White House for comment.