Ted Cruz Says Americans Outside of Washington Aren't 'Concerned' About Mueller's Investigation

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claimed on Sunday that Americans outside of Washington D.C. aren't "concerned" about special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into potential Trump collusion with Russia.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Cruz argued that there was a "divide" between Washington and other parts of the U.S when it came to the investigation.

"There is an incredible divide between Washington and the rest of the country when it comes to Bob Mueller and the Russia investigation," Cruz said. "The mainstream media, Washington, is obsessed with it. And when you get outside of Beltway, I don't find anybody concerned with this at all."

Cruz went on to defend President Donald Trump's stance on Russia as being "tougher" than his predecessor Barack Obama. The senator also suggested that his Texas constituency cares more about border security and economic policies than Mueller's investigation into Russia campaign meddling and possible collusion between the then-presidential candidate's campaign team and Moscow officials.

"If you compare objectively President Trump's policies to Russia compared to President Obama's policies to Russia, by any measure, President Obama was much easier, much more gentle on Russia," Cruz said.

The senator's remarks come just days after the New York Times revealed in a report that the FBI opened a secret inquiry into whether Trump was working for the Kremlin after he fired the agency's former director James Comey in 2017.

"The inquiry carried explosive implications. Counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether the president's own actions constituted a possible threat to national security," the Times wrote. "Agents also sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow's influence."

After the report was released on Friday, Trump responded by lashing out on Twitter at the "failing New York Times" and the FBI for executing the probe "for no reason & with no proof."

"Wow, just learned in the Failing New York Times that the corrupt former leaders of the FBI, almost all fired or forced to leave the agency for some very bad reasons, opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof, after I fired Lyin' James Comey, a total sleaze!" the president tweeted.

"Funny thing about James Comey. Everybody wanted him fired, Republican and Democrat alike," Trump continued. "My firing of James Comey was a great day for America."