Ted Cruz Tells Tucker Carlson It Was 'Frankly Dumb' to Call 6 January a 'Violent Terrorist Attack'
04:31 GMT 07.01.2022 (Updated: 05:13 GMT 07.01.2022)
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Since the events of 6 January 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to stop congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential elections, it has mostly been Democrats who referred to the rioters as "insurgents" and sometimes terrorists.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a clumsy attempt to smooth over his earlier remarks regarding the 6 January Capitol siege on Thursday.
The lawmaker earlier spoke about "an anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol, where we saw the men and women of law enforcement demonstrate incredible courage".
Later in the evening, speaking on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Cruz walked back his comments a bit, calling them "sloppy" and "frankly dumb".
"You repeated that phrase. I do not believe that you used that accidentally", Carlson noted.
In just 39 seconds, Tucker Carlson calls Ted Cruz a liar more than CNN or MSNBC typically do in 24 hours... which is saying a lot. pic.twitter.com/U6p1FrpbGS
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) January 7, 2022
Before Cruz appeared on air, Carlson outlined his issues with the senator's sudden change in attitude, explaining that as a lawyer, Cruz understood perfectly well what he was saying.
"What the h*ll is going on here? You're making us think that maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was", he said.
Cruz then tried to explain himself on his Twitter, repeating the "dumb" word choice mantra again and noting that the words were being taken out of context. And although Cruz assured voters and followers that he did not apply the words "terrorists" to all protesters that day, he spoke out in defence of "peaceful protesters supporting President Trump".
I was NOT calling the thousands of peaceful protestors on Jan 6 terrorists. I would never do so; I have repeatedly, explicitly said the OPPOSITE—denouncing the Democrats’ shameful efforts to do so & to try to paint every Trump voter in America as “terrorists” & “insurrectionists”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 7, 2022
Carson did not give up, saying that "of all the things 6 January was, it was definitely not a violent terrorist attack. It wasn't an insurrection. Was it a riot? Sure. It was not a violent terrorist attack. Sorry".
As for Cruz, he's since received criticism from many fellow party members, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. Gaetz said of the Texas senator that he could "bend over" and "bend a knee" to the Republican establishment, but they would "never love you".
On 6 January 2021, when US Congress was convened in a joint session to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election, thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the mayhem. The former president has repeatedly claimed the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him.
