Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is once again taking aim at Nike as the athletic giants market value craters and its stock price sinks to levels not seen in more than a decade.
According to Fox News, Cruz weighed in after conservative commentator Douglass Mackey posted a list on social media outlining why Nikes stock has been spiraling downward, joining a chorus of critics who argue the companys embrace of progressive politics has alienated its core customers. The Texas senator used the moment to revive his own high-profile break with the brand, tying Nikes financial slide to its decision to abandon a patriotic product line that many Americans saw as a simple celebration of the nations heritage.
"Sad & predictable," Cruz wrote on X, recalling how Nikes move to scrap its Betsy Ross-themed shoe was the moment the company "lost me." He added that "For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear," but that "Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts."
Cruz went on to stress that his reaction was hardly unique, suggesting millions of patriotic consumers felt similarly slighted by the companys posture toward American symbols. "Turns out I wasnt the only one," he continued. "#GoWokeGoBroke."
Nikes stock has now plunged to a 12-year low, shedding nearly 80% of its value since peaking in 2021, a collapse that has wiped out close to $200 billion in market capitalization. Just five years ago, the companys shares traded at an all-time high of $177.51, a stark contrast to todays battered valuation.
This is not Cruzs first clash with the Swoosh, which has become a cultural lightning rod as much as a sportswear brand. In 2019, he joined other conservatives in a boycott after Nike abruptly canceled its planned Betsy Ross flag sneaker ahead of Independence Day.
That decision reportedly came after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who infuriated many on the right by sitting and kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality, urged Nike to pull the shoe. Kaepernick argued that the Revolutionary-era flag, with its 13 white stars in a circle, had been appropriated by White nationalist groups and evoked an era when Black people were enslaved.
Nike, for its part, said at the time that it scrapped the shoe because of "concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation's patriotic holiday." Cruz responded by publicly dumping his Nike gear and sharpening his criticism of the companys apparent disdain for traditional American symbols. "It's a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag.... @NFL #HappyFourth," he said on X.
He was joined by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who also rebuked Nikes decision and signaled he would gladly support any competitor willing to embrace the Betsy Ross design. "If were in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think weve got a problem," McConnell said, underscoring a broader conservative concern that corporate Americas rush to appease the left is not only corrosive to national unity, but increasingly costly on the balance sheet in President Trumps second term.
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