Abstract
This article examines the image repair discourse of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as it relates to an incident that occurred on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show following the events of January 6th, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. After referring to the January 6th rioters as “terrorists”, which angered his Republican base, Cruz was compelled to appear on Carlson’s highly watched Fox News program in an attempt to bolster his reputation. The authors argue that Cruz’s strategic approach is best classified as mortification, but also note and investigate the nonverbal, tonal, and extra-message influence of groveling as it played out in this scenario. The authors also employ this example to more clearly elucidate the generic characteristics of groveling as an image repair tactic within the broader strategy of mortification.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Gerber, Matthew and Rhidenour, Kayla
(2025)
"Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, and the 'Terrorists' of January 6th: Mortification, Groveling, and Political Image Repair Discourse,"
Speaker & Gavel: Vol. 61:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/speaker-gavel/vol61/iss1/5
Included in
Public Relations and Advertising Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons