Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from the United States, praised the "remarkable courage" of protesters against the "Ayatollahs and rulers of the Islamic Republic" in a message to the people of Iran and announced that the United States supports the struggles of the Iranian people for freedom. He emphasized that America and Donald Trump are "behind the people of Iran" and that the protesters should know they are not alone. Cruz also expressed hope that "these tyrannical rulers" will fall as a result of the perseverance of the Iranian people.