Last week, Ted Cruz — perhaps the most dunkable person in the Republican party — stepped in it again. Oddly, it started with him doing the right thing. The Texas senator made the honest mistake of referring to those who stormed the Capitol building as “domestic terrorists.” Tucker Carlson got mad. Cruz tried to make amends by pulling a 180, groveling on Carlson’s show, claiming he misspoke. Carlson didn’t buy it. And neither, on Sunday, did Jake Tapper.
The CNN host dedicated a segment of his latest State of the Union to debunking Cruz’s mea culpa while torching him for even trying to make it.
“The thing is, it wasn’t sloppy phrasing,” Tapper said, pointing out that the lawmaker had called the attack “terrorism” at least 17 times, in both written and spoken remarks. Tapper then cited the FBI’s definition of domestic terrorism: “violent criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences such as those of a political, religious, social, racial or environmental nature.”
“That, of course, is what the attack was, violent and criminal to further a domestic ideological and political goal, specifically to stop the counting of Electoral votes to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president,” Tapper pointed out.
He then pointed out that Cruz was one of the Republican politicians who gave the insurrectionists reason to violently storm the Capitol:
“Now, what’s odd is that Cruz is voicing opposition to the activity of January 6th, because they were in part inspired by his actions, by his role, and that of Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, objecting to the electoral votes for Joe Biden which was part of the twisted kabuki theater and incited the very people who attacked the Capitol, ransacking desks in the Senate chamber including Cruz’s desk.”
You can watch Tapper’s segment in the video above.
(Via Raw Story)