Sen. Ted Cruz mocked for comparing real CIA officer to fictional character Jason Bourne

Texas senator and movie buff Ted Cruz — who has amplified false claims of election fraud — is having his grasp on reality questioned once again after comparing a CIA officer to a fictional spy played by Matt Damon in the “Bourne Identity” franchise.

The controversy started when the conservative leader joined the online mockery of a CIA promo meant to stress the importance of diversity among its recruits. In that ad, a Latina officer, mother and daughter of immigrant says that she joined the agency rejecting “misguided patriarchal ideas of what a woman should be.”

That intelligence worker also described herself as “a woman of color” and a “cisgender millennial” who has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Cruz, and other critics, jumped on those descriptives in attacking the campaign.

“If you’re a Chinese communist, or an Iranian Mullah, or Kim Jong Un...would this scare you?” Cruz asked on Twitter. “We’ve come a long way from Jason Bourne.”

Just as quickly, Twitter snapped back at Cruz.

“Jason Bourne is fictional: like election fraud,” wrote author John Pavlovitz.

Fellow writer Naveed Jamali, who literally wrote the book on being a spy, also accused Cruz of being out of touch.

“Jason Bourne may not be real, but Naveed Jamali is — and this brown, first generation, and non-traditional former spy bested the best Russia could throw at us,” the “How to Catch a Russian Spy” author tweeted. “So I’d say people like me can be plenty dangerous to our adversaries, Ted.”

Several critics noted that intelligence workers aren’t necessarily meant to scare their adversaries and suggested that not fitting a mold might be an advantage when it comes to espionage jobs. Others questioned Cruz’s recollection of the Jason Bourne character.

The Lincoln Project director and Army veteran Fred Wellman tweeted: “Jason Bourne is a fictional character who illegally assassinated people after being programmed to do so through torture.”

While Cruz may have his misgivings about the nation’s intelligence apparatus, he’s known to be a big fan of Hollywood films.

At the CPAC convention in February, Cruz did his impersonation of Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” by screaming “Freedom!” in front of a roomful of spirited right-wingers. He has also quoted “The Princess Bride,” “Hoosiers” and“Jerry Maguire” on the campaign trail.

Conservative author Donald Trump Jr. also mocked the CIA ad, claiming U.S. adversaries were surely enjoying the campaign. Former CIA chief of staff Larry Pfeiffer tweeted that guys like Cruz and Trump were not what the agency had in mind in its search for new operatives.

Former CIA director and secretary of state Mike Pompeo weighed in, adding “The collection of incredibly talented patriots serving America at the CIA is what makes it the best spy agency in the world — and we must continue to recruit the best and brightest. We can’t afford to risk our national security to appease some liberal, woke agenda.”

Cruz addressed his critics late Tuesday afternoon by claiming he knows Bourne is a fictional character.

“My point is that CIA agents should be bad-asses—not woke, fragile flowers needing safe spaces,” Cruz tweeted.

That comment also drew criticism, including mockery of Cruz’s infamous retreat to Cancun, where his state was hit with a snowstorm and many of his constituents lost power in February.