The "mainstream media...are partisans" who protect Barack Obama and "are ready for Hillary," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an interview with Glenn Beck Thursday where he criticized Republicans for wanting reporters "to like them."

For conservatives, there is no such thing as a "nice" reporter, argued Cruz.

"You see Republicans, when they are interviewed by left-wing reporters, and they get afraid, they want them to like them," Cruz said. "They are not going to like us, they hate us!"

One day a young staffer described a reporter to Cruz as "really, really nice."

"You know what? No, she's not," said Cruz passionately. "She wants to destroy you. Nothing would make her happier than to take your life and filet you on the front pages. And don't think for a minute that because she smiles and is friendly to you that it's anything else."

"Isn't that pretty cynical?" asked Beck, who added he agrees with Cruz on this point "100 percent."

"When the sheep are walking among the coyotes, it pays to be cynical," replied Cruz. "The job of the mainstream media as they see it, they are partisans. They are protecting Barack Obama and they are ready for Hillary."

Related: Poll: 70 percent of Americans believe news media is intentionally biased

When dealing with the media, conservatives should "speak the truth, but do it with a smile," recommended Cruz.

"Margaret Thatcher said, 'First you win the argument, then you win the vote,'" said Cruz. "The last several elections, we haven't won the argument — we haven't even made the argument."