Sen. Ted Cruz says he made a ridiculously clumsy mistake in casting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as a “violent terrorist attack.”
The Texas Republican, who was facing intense criticism from his usual allies for the remark, sought to clear the air Thursday during an appearance on Fox News. Cruz said the phrasing he used, marking the one-year anniversary of the riot, was “sloppy, and it was frankly dumb.”
However, Carlson said he wasn’t buying it, noting that the senator does not have a history of using words carelessly. “I don’t believe you used that accidentally,” Carlson insisted.
Cruz defended himself by saying that’s the sort of phrasing he always uses to talk about the few people who attack police. The senator said people misunderstood him in thinking that he was referring to all supporters of former President Donald Trump.
“What I was referring to are the limited number of people who engaged in violent attacks against police officers,” Cruz said.
Carlson did not accept Cruz’s explanation. “If someone assaults a cop, he should go to jail. I couldn’t agree more,” Carlson said. “But the person is still not a terrorist. How many people have been charged with terrorism on Jan. 6? Why did you use that word? You’re playing into the other side’s characterization.”
“For a decade, I’ve referred to people who violently assault police officers as terrorists. I’ve done so over and over and over again,” Cruz said. “That being said, Tucker, I agree with you. It was a mistake to say that yesterday, and the reason is what you just said, which is we have now had a year of Democrats and the media twisting words and trying to say that all of us are terrorists.”
Cruz has repeatedly called the Jan. 6 riot a terrorist attack in the past year, but his terminology received a wave of criticism after he used it in a Senate hearing on the eve before the first anniversary of the attack.
“We are approaching a solemn anniversary this week. And it is an anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol, where we saw the men and women of law enforcement demonstrate incredible courage, incredible bravery — risk their lives for the Capitol,” Cruz said Wednesday.
That prompted outrage on social media. Carlson featured the clip on his show Wednesday night.
Tucker Carlson Calling Out Sen @tedcruz & The GOP For Repeating The Talking Points Of AG Garland About January 6th & Ignoring The Ray Epps Story
“What the hell is going on here? You’re making us think that maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was.” pic.twitter.com/HYumHcOoRM
— The Columbia Bugle ?? (@ColumbiaBugle) January 6, 2022
“Of all the things Jan. 6 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,” Carlson said. “You’re making us think maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was.”
The criticism only continued Thursday. In a press conference, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said it “was very irresponsible of him to call them terrorists.” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz remarked, “The establishment will never love you, Ted.”
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While Cruz argued to Carlson on Thursday that he only meant the phrasing to refer to assaults on police officers, his “terrorist attack” description in connection with Jan. 6 in the past was not so tailored.
“No one anticipated a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol,” he said on an episode of his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast that premiered Jan. 25, 2021. “We’re all on our phones, we’re seeing what’s going on, and we’re horrified as we see terrorists assaulting police officers. … We see a violent assault on the Capitol, we see terrorists breaking onto the floor of the Senate chamber.”
He also used the phrasing in a local news interview in the days after the riot. “We saw a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol,” Cruz said. “It was despicable. It was an assault on the citadel of democracy.”
In a May 28, 2021, press statement saying he did not support a “politically motivated January 6 Commission,” Cruz said the “January 6 terrorist attack on the Capitol was a dark moment in our nation’s history, and I fully support the ongoing law enforcement investigations into anyone involved.”
