Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., called a reporter a “propagandist” on Wednesday before storming off from an interview about gun violence following a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left nineteen children and two adults dead.

The interview came after a vigil for the victims of the massacre, where British journalist Mark Stone of Sky News approached Cruz to ask if now was the time for gun reform.

“You know, it’s easy to get into politics,” Cruz replied. “Democratic and media proposals? Inevitably when a violent psychopath murders people…if you want to stop violent crime, the Democrat proposals? None of them would have stopped that.”

RELATED: I’m not jaded or cynical about mass shootings – but it’s getting harder and harder

Stone then asked the Texas senator why mass shootings were an American-only phenomenon.

“Why only in America?” asked Peter. “Why is this American exceptionalism so horrible? »

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“You know, I’m sorry you think American exceptionalism is awful. You have your political agenda. God loves you,” Cruz retorted. “Why do people come from all over the world to America? Because it’s the freest, most prosperous, safest country on earth. Stop being a propagandist.”

But Stone insisted, “Senator, I just want to understand why you don’t think guns are the problem. It’s just an American problem.

“You can’t answer that, can you?” Stone added before Cruz left the interview.

Later during an interview with CNN, Cruz hinted that Democrats were trying to “politicizeThe tragedy. “You see Democrats and a lot of people in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” he said.

Cruz is expected to make an appearance at a National Rifle Association (NRA) conference on Friday in Houston.

In the past, countries like Canada, Norway, Australia and Britain have cracked down on gun ownership shortly after mass shootings. According to the New York Times, such policies have historically diminished Gun violence. The United States, however, has been a notable laggard on this front, largely because the Republican Party has worked hand-in-hand with the gun lobby to prevent meaningful reform. Congress has failed no gun control legislation since the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. But in that year alone, the United States has already seen more than 200 mass shootings.

RELATED: ‘Go in there!’: People pleaded with police to enter Uvalde’s school as the gunman went on a rampage for up to an hour