Watch:
Cruz seems to be on the ropes here, but then the reporter mentions “American exceptionalism.” Ah! There it is! Cruz pounces. You can almost see the light bulb (or perhaps the trigger) go off in his head. He now has a talking point that will win him points with the base. He can now comfortably leave the interview with his normal sense of self-righteousness.
Of course politicians like this could care less about facts or the truth. They live in a world of spin and misdirection. The goal is to gain a rhetorical victory. These British reporters know that America is indeed “exceptional” for the amount of mass shootings in the country. Cruz does too, he just won’t address it.