Tucker Carlson tells Cruz he’s “not buying it”
After encountering a huge backlash from conservatives for describing the events of January 6th 2021 as a “violent terrorist attack,” Senator Ted Cruz apologised and admitted that his language was “dumb” and “sloppy”.
Cruz appeared on Tucker Carlson’s evening show Thursday, apparently at his own request, and attempted to back track on what he said, claiming that he’d been referring to attacks on police.
Carlson said to Cruz “There are a lot of dumb people in the Congress. You are not one of them. I think you’re smarter than I am. And you never use words carelessly. And yet you called this a terror attack when by no definition was it a terror attack. That’s a lie. You told that lie on purpose, and I’m wondering why you did.”
Cruz responded “When you aired your episode last night, I sent you a text shortly thereafter and said listen, I would like to go on because the way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy, and it was frankly dumb.”
Carlson interjected, urging “Look, I’ve known you a long time. Since before you went to the Senate, you’re a Supreme court contender. You take words as seriously as any man who’s ever served in the Senate. And every word you repeated that phrase. I do not believe that you use that accidentally. I just don’t.”
Cruz again described his language as “a poor choice of words,” claiming that “as a result of my sloppy phrasing, it’s caused a lot of people to misunderstand what I meant.”
“Let me tell you what I meant,” The Senator continued, explaining “What I was referring to are the limited number of people who engaged in violent attacks against 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. And the reason the phrasing was sloppy is I have talked dozens if not hundreds of times, I’ve drawn a distinction. I wasn’t saying that the thousands of peaceful protestors supporting Donald Trump are somehow terrorists. I wasn’t saying the millions of patriots across the country, supporting president Trump are terrorists,” Cruz declared, adding “And that’s what a lot of people have misunderstood that.”
Carlson continued to say he doesn’t believe Cruz. “Hold on a second,” the host shot back, noting “What you just said doesn’t make sense. So if somebody assaults a cop, he should be charged and go to jail. I couldn’t agree more. We have said that for years, but that person’s still not a terrorist. How many people have been charged with terrorism on January 6?”
Carlson continued, “Like why’d you use that word? You’re playing into the other side’s characterization, that… allows them to define an entire population as foreiegn combatants. And you know that so why’d you do it?”
Cruz responded, “The reason I’ve used that word for a decade, I have referred to people who violently assault police officers as terrorists. I’ve done so over and over and over again. If you look at all the assaults we’ve seen across the country, I’ve called that terrorism over and over again.”
The Senator continued, “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’ve now had a year of Democrats in the media, twisting words, and trying to say that all of us are terrorists trying to say you’re a terrorist, I’m a terrorist.”
“And so look, I don’t like people who assault cops and, and, and I stand up and defend cops,” Cruz carried on, adding “The reason I use that word is that’s the word I’ve always used for people that violently attack cops. But in this context, I get why people were angry because we’ve had a year of the corrupt corporate media and Democrats claiming anyone who objected to the election fraud.”
“I guess I just don’t believe you,” Carlson said. “And I mean that with respect because I have such respect for your acuity and your precision.”
Cruz also tweeted the interview out, saying his words were dumb:
8 comments:
Nope.
Not buying it.
Guess who just had his ticket punched? Ted Cruz. What did they promise you Teddy, that seat on the bench when they blow it out to 15 judges? See, we nominated a republican, so its not partisan?
Hack, to the gallows with the traitor!
Most all of the sitting jackalopes have disgusted me greatly. Yesterday I sent the following to the state's two fed senators and one rep from our district in DC:
"It bothers me greatly that you refuse to stand against the unconstitutional incarceration of the Jan 6 political prisoners. The instigators who broke windows, tore down barriers, waved peaceful Americans through and caused the actual mayhem were allowed to quietly slip away, e.g., Ray Epps. And now people have been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year with the republicrats remaining silent. I truly expected more from the three people elected to represent us (two senators and one rep). I'll remember this come primary season. I served nearly 22 years in the US Marine Corps and 20 years supporting the military. I did not do it for what we see leading our country today."
Not sloppy. Simple. His mask slipped off for a moment.
Ted thinks he's positioning himself for a 2024 White House run. Obviously, he just torpedoed himself. It's not the first time, and won't be the last. He has terrible political instincts.
Not the brightest move to position yourself out in No-Man's Land so you take fire from both sides. It doesn't make you a moderate, it doesn't make you acceptable to one or the other sides. It makes you look like an unprincipled feckless quisling.
You're father did business with Hyman Roth, but you're father never trusted Hyman Roth.
Cruz has shown himself for what he is: a RINO. I am not buying his attempt to walk back his comments.
Stick a fork in Ted. He’s done. All we need now is a viable primary challenger. I say that as someone that made sure to vote for him in his first senate primary. No more.
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