Ted Cruz begs for Tucker Carlson's forgiveness amid backlash after describing Jan. 6 as a 'terrorist attack'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) resorted to begging for Tucker Carlson's forgiveness during a heated debate on-air debate about his recent remarks condemning the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

On Thursday, January 6, Cruz appeared on Fox News where he and the conservative talk show host discussed his remarks during the Senate hearing. Reflecting on the deadly insurrection that took place on Jan. 6, 2021.

“We are approaching a solemn anniversary this week,” the Texas senator said during the hearing on Wednesday. “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.”

Needless to say, Republicans were not pleased with Cruz and Carlson wasted no time expressing his own disapproval over the remarks. In fact, he wasted no time picking the lawmaker's comments apart.

“There are a lot of dumb people in Congress. You are not one of them. Smarter than I am. And you never use words carelessly,” Carlson kicked off the interview. “And yet you call this a terror attack when by no definition was it a terror attack. That was a lie. You told that lie on purpose and I’m wondering why you did.”

In response to Carlson's remarks, Cruz resorted to groveling.

“I agree, it was a mistake to use the word yesterday because the Democrats the corporate media have so politicized it,” he said. “They’re trying to paint everyone as a terrorist and it’s a lie, and by the way, I’ve spoken out vocally against— They want to paint us as Nazis. Look, I’m the one leading the fight in the Senate against this garbage!”

After insisting he'd contacted Carlson the previous day to come on the show and offer clarity about his remarks, Cruz described his own words as "sloppy and frankly dumb." However, that wasn't enough for Carlson.

“I don’t buy that,” the Fox News host interjected. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I’ve known you a long time since before you went to the Senate. You were a Supreme Court contender. You take words as seriously as any man who’s served in the Senate. And every word—you repeated that phrase, I do not believe that you used that accidentally. I just don’t!”

“Tucker, 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 to say,” Cruz implored. “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 is who I was talking about.”

Carlson still refused to let Cruz off the hook.

“Hold on, what you just said doesn’t even make sense,” the primetime host replied. “If someone assaults a cop, he should go to jail, I couldn’t agree more. We’ve said that for years. But that person is still not a terrorist. How many people of been charged with terrorism on January 6? Like, why did you use that word? You’re playing into the other side’s characterization!”

Continuing to beg for forgiveness, Cruz once again insisted that he agreed with Carlson.

“That being said, Tucker, I agree with you, it was a mistake to say that yesterday and the reason is what you just said,” the former presidential candidate said. “We have now had a year of Democrats and the media twisting words and trying to say that all of us are terrorists. Trying to say you are a terrorist, I am a terrorist.”

Cruz concluded with yet another apology to Carlson for describing right-wing rioters as "terrorists." “But the reason I’ve used that word is I’ve used that word for people who violently assault cops," Cruz said. "I used that word in 2020 for the Antifa and BLM terrorists who assaulted cops and firebombed police cars, but I agree it was a mistake to use the word yesterday,”