Watch: Twitter Slams Ted Cruz for Mickey Mouse 'Going at It' in Disney Cartoons Comment

Sen. Ted Cruz is an internet laughingstock again, this time for claims that Disney characters will be "going at it" in cartoons following the company speaking out against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.

Cruz's imagination came up with the lurid image of Mickey Mouse and his pet dog, Pluto, having sex on programming intended for children, Vanity Fair reported. The suggestion is grotesque, to be sure, but it's in line with rhetoric that conservatives have adopted during the controversy around the Florida law. Conservatives have been smearing anyone opposed to such laws as "grooming" children for sexual abuse.

Vanity Fair said that "the Texas lawmaker opined at a live recording of his podcast, 'Verdict With Ted Cruz': 'I think there are people who are misguided, trying to drive, you know, Disney stepping in, saying, you know, in every episode now they're gonna have, you know, Mickey and Pluto going at it. Like, really?'"

Cruz went on to say, "It's just like, come on guys, these are kids, and you know, you could always shift to Cinemax if you want that."

Added Cruz: "You used to be able to put your kids on the Disney Channel and be like, alright, something innocuous will happen."

Watch the clip, embedded in the tweet below:

Vanity Fair recalled that Cruz "once blamed a congressional staffer for his Twitter account 'liking' a short pornographic video," before pointing out the obvious:

"Clearly, Disney is not going to depict 'Mickey and Pluto going at it,' but it's this kind of bullshit that results in right-wing conspiracy theorists protesting Disney for supposedly corrupting children."

"It's also the kind of thing that opens the door to blatant homophobia, and the idea, pushed lately by Republicans, that talking about the mere existence of LGBTQ+ individuals is synonymous with 'grooming' and being 'pro-pedophile.'"

Twitter took note. Newsweek reported that "A clip of the recording released on Tuesday garnered criticism on social media, with some Twitter users mocking Cruz for bringing up the idea of intercourse between the well-known cartoon characters."

Anti-Trump conservative group the Lincoln Project posted the clip on Twitter with the caption "Ted Cruz has some ...odd thoughts," while historian Kevin M. Kruse sent out a tweet reading, "Look, all we parents want is to have a safe space on Twitter without having to hear Ted Cruz's creepy fantasies about Disney characters committing bestiality, but he keeps cramming it down our throats."

MSNBC's Joy-Ann Reid reposted the clip, warning her followers to "brace yourselves."

Commentators piled on, drawing parallels between Cruz's sexualizing cartoon characters and the time he abandoned Texas for the warmer climes of Cancun during a deadly blizzard, along with referencing Tucker Carlson's equally strange and disturbing trailer for an upcoming documentary in which a seemingly naked man appears to be shocking his own genitals with an electric car charger.