Sen. Ted Cruz Challenges TMZ DC on Transgender Athlete Debate

Ted Cruz says Caitlin Clark is under no obligation to jump into the transgender athlete debate … but he was more than happy to take his shot — including one aimed at TMZ DC.

Charlie got the Senator from Texas on Capitol Hill Tuesday and asked whether Caitlin should take a stand after Megyn Kelly called the WNBA star a “coward” for not picking sides after her teammate said young girls in sports shouldn’t have to compete against biological men.

Cruz first praised Caitlin as “a hell of a ball player” … then said athletes shouldn’t be required to weigh in on every hot-button topic.

As for his own view, Cruz didn’t hold back … arguing it’s unfair for transgender women to compete against biological women — and challenging Charlie by asking whether it would be fair to let LeBron James play in the WNBA … then asking if he knew the difference between boys and girls.

The back-and-forth shifted to transgender kids … with Charlie asking whether they should be allowed to play sports with their friends.

Cruz said they can socialize and be happy … but accused left-wing adults of pushing their politics onto children and influencing them to transition.

Charlie countered that parents may simply be letting their kids live as their authentic selves … and that’s when Cruz fired off his parting shot.

“If you don’t know what a boy is and you don’t know what a girl is, there’s a reason you work at TMZ,” he said.