Sen. Ted Cruz.Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty
In the past year, Texas Sen.Ted Cruzhas repeatedly referred to the deadly rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as an “act of terrorism” or a “terrorist attack” inofficial statements,tweetsandinterviews.
“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 to defend the men and women who serve in this Capitol,” Cruz, 51, said during a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday.
That did not sit well with some of his fellow conservatives.
“It was not a violent terrorist attack, sorry! So why are you telling us that it was, Ted Cruz?” Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his Wednesday broadcast. “What the hell is going on here? You’re making us think maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was.”
Former Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka also expressed his anger in a tweet, writing, “I’m so done with Ted Cruz.”
Tucker Carlson.Richard Drew/AP/Shutterstock
So what was Cruz’s reason for sayingwhat he’s said all alongand which fits the description?
“The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and it was frankly dumb,” Cruz told Carlson.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t buy that,” Carlson interrupted. “You take words as seriously as any man who’s ever served in the senate … I do not believe that you used that accidentally.”
“As a result of my sloppy phrasing, it’s caused a lot of people to misunderstand what I meant,” Cruz said. “What I was referring to are the limited number of people who engaged in violent attacks police officers. I think you and I both agree that if you assault a police officer, you should go to jail. That’s who I was talking about.”
Cruz postedsimilar reasoning on Twitterfollowing the broadcast.
“I wasn’t saying that the thousands of peaceful protestors supportingDonald Trumpare somehow terrorists,” Cruz added in his interview with Carlson. “I wasn’t saying that the millions of patriots across the country supporting President Trump are terrorists.”
Tucker pushed back again, asking him why an assault on a police officer would count as an act of terrorism. “Why did you use that word?” he said. “You’re playing into the other side.”
Cruz then said he has used that categorization “over and over again” for such attacks stretching back “for a decade” but said it was a “mistake to say that yesterday.”
He also blamed Democrats and the media for “twisting words and trying to say that all of us are terrorists.”
“I guess I just don’t believe you,” Carlson said at one point, “and I mean that with respect.”
The paid did find some common ground when Cruz said, “What I normally say is ‘violence is wrong, peaceful protest is right.’ If you engage in violence, you should be prosecuted. If you’re speaking, you have a right to speak.”
Carlson replied, “I agree.”
source: people.com
