Ted Cruz used that same 'sloppy' phrasing to describe Jan. 6 at least 17 previous times

Ted Cruz's foot, meet Ted Cruz's mouth.

After a Thursday appearance on Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight in which Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, apologized for his "frankly dumb" mistake of calling the Jan. 6 riot a "violent terrorist attack," CNN's Daniel Dale is out with a fact check of that excuse.

Though Cruz said his "sloppy" Wednesday comments were meant only for the "limited number of people who committed violent assaults on police officers" on Jan. 6 (and not for the riot's "thousands of peaceful protesters"), he has actually "described the Capitol riot as a terrorist attack or broadly described rioters as terrorists over and over for months," Dale reports.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

In fact, the senator has used the phrase "terrorist attack" at least 17 previous times in official written statements, in tweets, during Senate hearings, and in interviews, Dale writes.

Good luck explaining this one on Fox News, Cruz.