Ted Cruz calls Jen Psaki 'Peppermint Patty,' says Nancy Pelosi rides a broom ...

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called White House press secretary Jen Psaki 'Peppermint Patty,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rides a 'broom' and got the Conservative Political Action Conference crowd to boo Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and chant 'Let's Go Brandon.' 

The Texas Republican deployed a number of zingers as he got 'philosophical' at the conference, telling those attending the annual affair that the battle the nation is currently fighting it between 'power and liberty.'  

'The two are in fundamental conflict. We are seeing it everyday: Vaccine mandates versus doctors and nurses, mask mandates versus kids in school, Spotify versus Joe Rogan, GoFundMe versus Canadian truckers,' he said.

'Justin Trudeau,' he said, as the crowd chimed in with loud boos. 'Let's pause for a second and observe that is the first time in recorded history that any Canadian has illicited that much of a response from any crowd on planet earth,' said Cruz, who was born in Canada to an American mother. 

Psaki was holding her Thursday press briefing during Cruz's speech and answered DailyMail.com's question in real time about the Peanuts' character comparison.  

'Don't tell him I like Peppermint Patty - so I'm not going to take it too offensively. Sen. Cruz, I like Peppermint Patty. I'm a little tougher than that, so there you go,' she said. 

Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, didn't address Russia's deadly assault on Ukraine.