Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was harshly criticized after he attacked pro-choice protesters and defended the mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters who attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, saying the insurrectionists were "peaceful" in comparison.
The Capitol riot resulted in five deaths, over 100 injured members of law enforcement and millions of dollars in damage.
Cruz's remarks came as the nation continues to reel from the news that a leaked draft opinion indicated the Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization will move to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that protects a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
Cruz claimed "corporate media and Democrats slandered" those who participated in the attack on the Capitol, which took place after a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the building on the false premise that the 2020 general election had been stolen.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
However, Cruz's statements in defense of the rioters lies in stark contrast to remarks he made in January 2021 in reference to the “terrorists” who committed a “violent assault on the Capitol.”
Cruz has generated a flurry of negative press since his decision to object to the certification of President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election.
Cruz has also continued to defend or downplay the actions of former President Trump. Cruz's actions have angered his critics, who accused him of bowing to Trump while noting the contentious history between them, including the moment during the 2016 campaign when Trump criticized Cruz's wife, Heidi Cruz, by comparing her looks to his wife, Melania, a former model.
Trump also once suggested that Cruz's father may have been involved in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, claiming that Cruz's father was with Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald "prior to Oswald being, you know, shot."
Cruz's obvious lying exposed him to significant criticism online.
Cruz's statements about the Capitol riot are only the latest example of his penchant for historical revisionism.
New outlets reported this week that Joey Reed, the father of Trevor Reed, a Marine who was released from Russian custody, was not "appreciative" of Cruz's lack of action in helping to free his son.
Reed said Cruz "didn't do anything," calling him "an embarrassment to the state of Texas." These statements came after Cruz phoned the family after publicly expressing support for his son's release.
Cruz downplayed reports that Trevor Reed's family had asked for his help two years prior, insisting in a press release that he had spoken "to the US Ambassador to Russia about the urgency of freeing Trevor."
