Verdict with Ted Cruz - $28,841,673,978,652

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.320 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.720 $28,841,673,978,652.

00:00:14.980 That is the national debt of the United States.

00:00:19.460 Democrats want to add a lot more money

00:00:22.700 even to that colossal number.

00:00:25.100 And the fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling

00:00:28.500 is the epicenter of what's going on in Washington right now.

00:00:33.480 President Joe Biden demanding that Republican senators

00:00:36.580 get out of the way,

00:00:38.240 that they use this opportunity

00:00:40.060 to push through the most radical aspects of their agenda

00:00:44.100 and using the debt ceiling crisis to do it.

00:00:48.440 What happens if the United States defaults on its debt?

00:00:51.980 It's never happened before.

00:00:53.420 We have no idea what will happen now.

00:00:56.000 Washington playing with fire.

00:00:57.460 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:01:05.060 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:01:06.840 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:01:08.960 And I have a whole lot of questions here.

00:01:10.840 Senator, we'll get right into it. 1.00

00:01:13.720 Very simply, I hate to ask a stupid question, 0.99

00:01:17.800 but even I, and I've paid a lot of attention to these things, 0.99

00:01:20.340 even I don't quite understand what this is.

00:01:22.460 What is the debt ceiling?

00:01:23.480 Why does the debt ceiling matter?

00:01:26.620 Why do the debt ceiling fights come up every few years?

00:01:30.260 And what happens if we do not raise the debt ceiling

00:01:33.340 and default on our debt?

00:01:35.140 Well, probably the easiest way to think about it

00:01:37.260 is like it's the limit on your credit card.

00:01:40.040 The debt ceiling is the cap

00:01:42.140 on how much money the federal government can pass.

00:01:44.600 And it's a statutory limit that's passed into law

00:01:47.860 that limits how much the United States government can borrow.

00:01:52.820 Just like if you have a credit card

00:01:54.680 that has a $10,000 limit, you can't borrow $11,000.

00:01:58.100 And if you want to borrow more than $10,000,

00:02:00.100 you have to get on the phone and try to ask them

00:02:02.100 to raise it to $15,000 or raise it to $20,000.

00:02:04.520 That's the same principle as the debt ceiling.

00:02:07.100 It is a tool designed to try to force Congress

00:02:11.320 to confront spending and to rein in out-of-control spending

00:02:15.940 and out-of-control debt.

00:02:17.480 And the debt ceiling expired on July 31st, the end of July.

00:02:24.240 Now, the Department of Treasury has the ability

00:02:27.420 to kind of push the date when the U.S. needs to borrow

00:02:32.260 back a couple of months.

00:02:34.140 It's called using extraordinary measures.

00:02:36.000 And so Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, 0.98

00:02:38.800 is able to delay the date to sometime to mid to late October.

00:02:45.060 But if the debt ceiling is not raised,

00:02:48.320 then the United States government cannot continue

00:02:50.700 to borrow money.

00:02:52.300 And so that puts pressure on Washington.

00:02:57.100 We're right now in the middle of a battle

00:02:59.100 because of two things.

00:03:01.180 Number one, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats

00:03:04.200 have the total and complete ability

00:03:07.020 to raise the debt ceiling on their own.

00:03:09.720 So Democrats control the Senate.

00:03:12.340 Democrats control the House.

00:03:14.220 Democrats control the White House.

00:03:16.240 There's a process called budget reconciliation.

00:03:19.240 We've talked about that quite a bit on this podcast.

00:03:21.980 Budget reconciliation is the process

00:03:24.580 that comes from the Budget Act of 1974.

00:03:26.860 The part that is really relevant

00:03:29.680 and that comes up with some regularity

00:03:31.540 is it is the major exception to the filibuster.

00:03:35.260 So ordinarily, to move to proceed the legislation

00:03:37.840 in the Senate takes 60 votes.

00:03:40.420 Under budget reconciliation, it only takes 50.

00:03:44.360 And so Schumer and Pelosi and Biden,

00:03:47.520 because they have control of all the elected branches

00:03:50.520 of government, have the ability

00:03:52.760 with just Democratic votes to raise the debt ceiling.

00:03:56.160 And they could have done it a week ago.

00:03:57.580 They could have done it a month ago.

00:03:58.740 They could have done it three months ago.

00:04:00.720 So what's happening?

00:04:02.800 Schumer and the Democrats are nervous.

00:04:04.980 And they're nervous because the Democrats

00:04:08.780 are in the middle of a massive spending spree.

00:04:11.880 I mean, it is reckless.

00:04:14.280 It is the biggest spending spree since World War II.

00:04:18.780 It is massive.

00:04:20.920 And in the face of that,

00:04:23.320 Democrats don't want to vote for the debt

00:04:27.580 to pay for their trillions in new spending.

00:04:30.480 So what Schumer is doing instead

00:04:32.440 is he keeps bringing up the debt ceiling

00:04:35.520 in a legislative vehicle that requires 60 votes.

00:04:39.680 So he doesn't want to use reconciliation,

00:04:41.720 which he can, and there's nothing Republicans

00:04:44.340 can do to stop him from using reconciliation.

00:04:46.280 But he wants to bring it up

00:04:48.320 through a vehicle that requires 60 votes.

00:04:51.360 Why?

00:04:52.200 Because he wants 10 Republicans to vote

00:04:54.360 for raising the debt ceiling.

00:04:55.620 He doesn't want it to be just Democrats

00:04:57.640 who own their trillions in debt.

00:05:00.780 What's amazing about that explanation,

00:05:03.260 which I think spells it out pretty well,

00:05:05.060 is it's the opposite of what we're being told

00:05:07.680 in the media.

00:05:08.140 What we're being told in the media

00:05:09.780 is that Republicans who are fanatical about spending

00:05:13.760 and they're neurotic about not raising the debt ceiling

00:05:16.780 or they're opportunistic or they're cynical,

00:05:20.840 they are holding America's good credit hostage

00:05:23.860 because they don't want to vote for this thing.

00:05:26.300 But what you're saying is,

00:05:27.800 actually, Chuck Schumer could pass this tomorrow.

00:05:29.920 So it's really Chuck Schumer and the Democrats

00:05:32.280 who are holding this hostage

00:05:34.260 and who are drawing this out

00:05:35.720 and making a big spectacle of it.

00:05:37.060 What happens just at a practical level?

00:05:40.160 I guess we're kind of dealing with a crystal ball here

00:05:42.580 because it's never happened before.

00:05:43.980 But what would happen if we just defaulted on our debt?

00:05:47.520 It would be a catastrophic impact in the market.

00:05:50.460 It would cause the stock market to tumble.

00:05:52.780 It would cause bonds to tumble.

00:05:54.900 It would cause the credit rating of the United States

00:05:56.960 to be downgraded.

00:05:58.160 The cascading effects could be enormous.

00:06:01.080 It would be wildly irresponsible.

00:06:03.960 No rational person wants to see the United States

00:06:06.920 default on its debt.

00:06:08.580 America pays our debt.

00:06:10.400 And I gotta, you know, I gotta say,

00:06:12.380 it's worth stopping and reflecting

00:06:15.420 at what a wildly different position we are in today

00:06:19.040 versus 2014.

00:06:21.120 And if I can take us back to the way back machine to 2014.

00:06:26.640 So 2014 was my second year in the Senate.

00:06:29.820 So I was still a freshman and a newbie.

00:06:32.980 And the single biggest fight I have had

00:06:36.500 in nine years in the Senate

00:06:38.140 occurred on the debt ceiling,

00:06:40.560 occurred on this issue.

00:06:41.800 And it's, as you know, I've written two books.

00:06:45.520 Last year, I wrote One Vote Away

00:06:46.900 about the Supreme Court.

00:06:48.000 Great book, go buy it.

00:06:49.080 But the first book I wrote

00:06:51.440 was called A Time for Truth.

00:06:53.620 And A Time for Truth was my life story.

00:06:56.620 I wrote it in 2015.

00:06:57.680 The opening chapter of my first book,

00:06:59.920 A Time for Truth, is entitled Mendacity.

00:07:03.500 And it is the inside story of the debt ceiling fight.

00:07:07.980 So let's go back to 2014.

00:07:10.360 2014, Democrats controlled the Senate.

00:07:12.700 It was Harry Reid instead of Chuck Schumer,

00:07:14.340 who was the majority leader.

00:07:16.360 Republicans controlled the House.

00:07:17.820 Barack Obama was president.

00:07:20.340 And there was another debt ceiling coming up.

00:07:22.840 We were going to our Senate Republican lunch.

00:07:26.180 And every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

00:07:28.420 all the Senate Republicans, we have lunch together.

00:07:30.940 And at one of the lunches,

00:07:32.820 Mitch McConnell, who was the minority leader at the time,

00:07:35.760 he stood up and he said,

00:07:36.620 I've got a great plan.

00:07:37.520 I want all of us to consent to unanimously consent

00:07:43.040 to lower the threshold for Harry Reid

00:07:46.400 to raise the debt ceiling from 60 votes to 50 votes.

00:07:50.420 Now in the Senate, you can do pretty much anything

00:07:51.860 by unanimous consent.

00:07:52.920 But unanimous consent, as the name suggests,

00:07:55.500 takes all 100 senators agreeing.

00:07:58.680 So Mitch said, I want all of us to unanimously consent

00:08:02.040 to lower the threshold for Harry Reid

00:08:04.440 from 60 vote to 50 votes.

00:08:06.720 And the beauty of it is,

00:08:08.120 once we do that,

00:08:09.240 we can all vote no.

00:08:11.400 The Democrats can all vote yes.

00:08:13.220 And we can all tell our constituents at home,

00:08:15.620 we voted no

00:08:16.500 on the thing we just consented to allow happen.

00:08:21.220 And I was sitting there,

00:08:22.640 I was frankly expecting leadership

00:08:24.580 to come up with some sort of

00:08:26.280 kind of lame and tepid strategy.

00:08:29.680 It had not occurred to me

00:08:31.540 that their strategy was absolute

00:08:33.660 and total capitulation from the outset.

00:08:36.340 And so I sat there in the room

00:08:37.980 and I just raised my hand and I said,

00:08:39.920 Mitch, you need to understand,

00:08:43.100 there is no universe

00:08:44.640 in which I will consent

00:08:46.980 to lowering the threshold

00:08:49.180 for Harry Reid and Barack Obama

00:08:51.080 to raise our debt

00:08:52.300 from 60 votes to 50 votes.

00:08:54.360 I was elected by the people of Texas

00:08:56.240 promising to do everything humanly possible

00:08:59.360 to stop the out-of-control spending

00:09:01.040 and debt that is bankrupting

00:09:02.760 our kids and grandkids.

00:09:04.300 And I'm not willing to do it.

00:09:07.000 Michael, there is nothing I've done

00:09:08.760 in my entire time in the Senate

00:09:10.060 that has generated more rage,

00:09:13.020 more fury,

00:09:14.180 more red-faced senators

00:09:16.200 yelling and cursing at me

00:09:18.880 than that simple act of objecting.

00:09:22.320 It was much worse, by the way,

00:09:24.000 than the Obamacare,

00:09:24.860 it was much worse

00:09:25.720 than the Obamacare filibuster.

00:09:27.240 So leadership was mad

00:09:28.860 that I had spent 21 hours

00:09:30.720 filibustering Obamacare

00:09:32.020 the previous years.

00:09:32.840 They were mad about that.

00:09:34.320 But when I objected to their scheme

00:09:36.700 to raise the debt ceiling,

00:09:39.000 the fury it caused

00:09:41.840 was massive.

00:09:44.340 It's fascinating how much things

00:09:46.100 have changed from 2014 to now.

00:09:47.980 In 2014,

00:09:53.220 Republican leadership

00:09:54.440 carpent-bombed me,

00:09:55.680 attacked me,

00:09:56.640 planted editorials criticizing me.

00:10:00.620 So, for example,

00:10:01.260 the Wall Street Journal,

00:10:02.580 which, by the way,

00:10:03.380 when Republican leadership

00:10:04.200 is mad at you, 0.93

00:10:05.840 the editorial page

00:10:06.960 of the Wall Street Journal

00:10:07.980 is their preferred

00:10:09.400 whipping post.

00:10:12.320 And it's where they take you out

00:10:14.000 and it comes straight

00:10:14.780 from Republican leadership.

00:10:15.800 They go to the journal.

00:10:17.420 The journal wrote an editorial

00:10:19.340 entitled

00:10:20.180 Minority Maker 0.97

00:10:22.260 and it said,

00:10:23.900 Cruz is going to ensure

00:10:25.760 that Republicans

00:10:26.600 remain in the minority

00:10:28.040 in the Senate forever

00:10:29.140 and that Harry Reid

00:10:31.020 remains majority leader

00:10:32.720 because he is fighting

00:10:34.060 and objecting

00:10:34.720 on the debt ceiling.

00:10:35.860 Now,

00:10:36.280 I point out,

00:10:37.220 they wrote that

00:10:37.920 in 2014

00:10:39.440 and just a few months

00:10:41.480 later,

00:10:41.760 we had the elections

00:10:42.600 in 2014.

00:10:44.380 And, you know,

00:10:44.920 Michael,

00:10:45.400 in the Old Testament,

00:10:46.900 if someone came forward

00:10:48.560 and said they were a prophet,

00:10:49.980 the Old Testament

00:10:50.660 actually discussed

00:10:51.700 what you should do.

00:10:52.760 You should ask them

00:10:53.440 to make short-term prophecies,

00:10:55.780 short-term predictions,

00:10:56.800 and see if they come true.

00:10:59.220 Well,

00:10:59.540 the journal's prediction

00:11:00.540 that I was going

00:11:01.320 to make Republicans

00:11:02.600 a permanent majority,

00:11:03.580 it turned out

00:11:04.220 not just a little bit wrong,

00:11:06.280 but categorically wrong.

00:11:07.940 And in November of 2014,

00:11:09.800 we won nine Senate seats,

00:11:12.300 we retired Harry Reid

00:11:13.880 as majority leader,

00:11:15.060 and we won

00:11:16.320 the biggest majority

00:11:17.340 in the House of Representatives

00:11:18.400 since 1928.

00:11:20.260 And so,

00:11:21.180 miraculously,

00:11:22.120 standing and fighting

00:11:23.540 also wins elections.

00:11:25.580 The voters like it

00:11:26.760 when Republicans

00:11:27.940 don't roll over

00:11:28.960 and surrender

00:11:29.880 to the Democrats.

00:11:31.460 Well,

00:11:31.720 this, I think,

00:11:32.980 is what really relates

00:11:34.660 to what's going on

00:11:35.540 right now today

00:11:36.460 because I,

00:11:37.780 politically,

00:11:38.280 I came of age

00:11:39.080 during that era

00:11:40.180 from 2010 to 2014,

00:11:42.200 the Tea Party movement.

00:11:43.660 Your election actually was-

00:11:44.620 Michael,

00:11:44.720 you've politically

00:11:45.240 come of age?

00:11:47.020 I'm still coming of age,

00:11:48.620 actually.

00:11:49.120 You know,

00:11:49.320 I can't wait to get

00:11:50.120 a little hair on my face.

00:11:51.220 I thought this was

00:11:52.040 like a teen drama.

00:11:53.540 I remember,

00:11:56.240 even when I was

00:11:57.100 fresher and facer

00:11:58.060 at the time,

00:11:58.820 I remember

00:11:59.520 every Republican,

00:12:01.520 every conservative

00:12:02.500 who was worth his salt

00:12:03.860 was focused on the debt,

00:12:06.580 on deficit spending,

00:12:07.860 on this idea

00:12:08.520 that the inheritance

00:12:09.720 we're leaving to our kids

00:12:10.960 is debt.

00:12:11.780 I mean,

00:12:11.940 what kind of a country

00:12:12.660 does that?

00:12:13.420 What kind of a generation 0.99

00:12:14.200 does that?

00:12:14.820 That we're actually

00:12:15.180 going to be responsible.

00:12:16.200 We're going to get

00:12:16.540 our own house in order.

00:12:17.720 We're going to enact

00:12:19.940 these principles

00:12:20.580 that we all like to talk about.

00:12:21.840 And then,

00:12:22.480 your story here,

00:12:23.880 I think,

00:12:24.140 is very important.

00:12:25.140 What happened is

00:12:25.840 the Republican leadership

00:12:27.260 in those back rooms

00:12:28.360 just said,

00:12:28.880 yeah,

00:12:28.960 that was all bunk.

00:12:29.760 We're not going to

00:12:30.200 follow any of that.

00:12:31.240 We're just going to

00:12:31.700 make it easier.

00:12:32.420 That was just a way

00:12:32.960 to win elections.

00:12:34.120 And now,

00:12:34.880 when we're focusing

00:12:35.700 on this debt fight,

00:12:37.460 it seems to me

00:12:38.540 that many Republicans

00:12:40.100 and conservatives

00:12:40.860 don't really care anymore.

00:12:43.460 I mean,

00:12:43.640 that focus from,

00:12:44.940 you know,

00:12:45.180 10 years ago,

00:12:46.120 it seems to have moved

00:12:47.280 on to other issues.

00:12:48.280 And I wonder

00:12:49.040 if it's because

00:12:49.680 we just got burned

00:12:51.240 during the Tea Party

00:12:52.120 and nothing really changed.

00:12:54.160 Well, look,

00:12:54.520 I'd say a couple of things.

00:12:56.320 You know,

00:12:56.920 number one,

00:12:58.480 if you go back

00:12:58.900 to the 2014 fight,

00:13:00.680 it's important to note

00:13:01.900 what I was fighting

00:13:02.700 for at the time.

00:13:03.960 And I was not fighting

00:13:05.660 for never raising

00:13:07.800 the debt ceiling.

00:13:08.600 I've never been

00:13:09.260 someone who promises

00:13:10.240 I will never raise

00:13:11.120 the debt ceiling.

00:13:11.900 We've got,

00:13:12.900 you know,

00:13:13.180 typically the figure

00:13:13.920 is about 40%

00:13:14.920 of what the government

00:13:15.560 spends is borrowed money.

00:13:16.840 So unless you're prepared

00:13:17.920 to instantaneously

00:13:18.960 cut government spending

00:13:20.020 by 40%,

00:13:20.940 that's not a reasonable

00:13:23.080 position to say

00:13:24.160 we will never raise

00:13:25.020 the debt ceiling.

00:13:26.060 My position in 2014,

00:13:28.000 my position today,

00:13:29.360 is that I'm not willing

00:13:30.820 to support raising

00:13:31.840 the debt ceiling

00:13:32.800 unless it is accompanied

00:13:34.840 by meaningful structural reforms

00:13:37.660 that address spending 0.63

00:13:38.880 and rein in

00:13:40.000 the out-of-control spending.

00:13:41.620 In 2014,

00:13:42.560 the case I made

00:13:43.160 at the conference

00:13:43.740 is I said,

00:13:44.300 look,

00:13:44.440 if you look historically

00:13:45.920 the debt ceiling

00:13:47.720 has been the lever point

00:13:49.960 where we actually

00:13:51.120 get spending constraints.

00:13:52.540 So at the time,

00:13:53.480 these figures

00:13:54.120 are a little bit

00:13:54.620 out of date

00:13:55.000 because they're 2014 figures,

00:13:56.380 but at the time

00:13:57.160 of the last 52 times

00:14:00.100 Congress had raised

00:14:01.040 the debt ceiling,

00:14:01.720 so this comes up a lot,

00:14:03.600 27 of those times

00:14:05.700 Congress had attached

00:14:07.620 meaningful spending reforms

00:14:09.660 to the debt ceiling.

00:14:11.020 So for example,

00:14:12.340 the Budget Control Act

00:14:13.640 in 2010,

00:14:14.840 which made major progress

00:14:17.000 reining in

00:14:17.880 out-of-control spending,

00:14:18.980 that came through

00:14:20.480 a debt ceiling fight.

00:14:22.140 Graham Rudman,

00:14:23.100 probably the most

00:14:23.820 significant spending

00:14:26.100 restraint legislation

00:14:27.480 enacted in the law

00:14:28.400 in modern times,

00:14:29.440 came through

00:14:30.400 a debt ceiling fight.

00:14:31.500 So it is possible

00:14:32.480 to make progress

00:14:34.080 on spending

00:14:34.920 by using

00:14:35.660 the debt ceiling

00:14:36.580 as leverage.

00:14:37.060 And so what I argued

00:14:37.800 in 2014

00:14:39.600 is let's not let

00:14:41.560 this lever point go.

00:14:42.740 Let's use it

00:14:43.700 to actually honor

00:14:45.060 our promises

00:14:45.620 to the voters.

00:14:46.920 Some of the differences,

00:14:48.140 number one,

00:14:48.900 I think Republican leadership

00:14:50.340 has learned,

00:14:51.420 unlike in 2014,

00:14:54.020 2014 they thought

00:14:55.260 I was bluffing.

00:14:56.480 At this point,

00:14:57.020 they don't think

00:14:57.460 I'm bluffing anymore,

00:14:58.320 so nobody asked

00:14:59.420 this time,

00:15:00.980 Ted, will you consent

00:15:02.020 to lower the thresholds?

00:15:03.220 Reporters asked.

00:15:04.020 They ran up and said,

00:15:05.280 hey Cruz,

00:15:05.800 are you going to object

00:15:06.500 to lowering the threshold?

00:15:07.520 I was like, yeah, of course.

00:15:08.220 But what was interesting

00:15:10.440 is when people learn

00:15:12.600 you don't bluff,

00:15:14.580 nobody in the conference

00:15:16.180 thought I would

00:15:16.840 possibly not object.

00:15:18.020 They're just like,

00:15:18.580 yeah, okay,

00:15:19.040 Ted will object to that,

00:15:20.080 so that option

00:15:21.680 ain't going to work.

00:15:23.240 So leadership

00:15:23.800 didn't even try it.

00:15:25.980 A second difference,

00:15:27.300 and this is

00:15:27.720 an important difference,

00:15:29.560 is unlike in 2014

00:15:31.080 when we had

00:15:31.900 a Republican House,

00:15:33.940 now they've got

00:15:35.340 a Democratic House,

00:15:36.260 so now they can raise

00:15:37.600 the debt ceiling

00:15:38.200 on their own

00:15:38.880 without us.

00:15:39.800 We can't stop them.

00:15:40.740 I wish we could,

00:15:42.560 but we can't stop them.

00:15:44.360 There does seem

00:15:44.900 to be a lot of turmoil

00:15:45.820 within the Democratic conference.

00:15:48.040 I mean,

00:15:48.360 I guess this is

00:15:49.540 a slightly related matter,

00:15:50.880 but in a very different context.

00:15:53.160 Kyrsten Sinema,

00:15:54.060 one of two

00:15:54.820 semi-moderate Democrats

00:15:56.380 in the Senate,

00:15:58.160 is being accosted

00:15:59.400 everywhere she goes.

00:16:00.280 She's being accosted

00:16:01.340 on airplanes.

00:16:02.220 She was accosted

00:16:02.920 in the bathroom

00:16:03.560 by an illegal alien

00:16:04.840 screaming at her

00:16:06.020 to push for

00:16:07.420 a mass amnesty.

00:16:09.300 This is a,

00:16:11.140 we always lament

00:16:12.280 civility breaking down,

00:16:14.060 and sometimes

00:16:14.840 it's exaggerated,

00:16:15.960 and sometimes it's real,

00:16:17.040 but this seems

00:16:17.740 to be crossing a line

00:16:18.880 when you follow

00:16:19.560 female senators 1.00

00:16:20.440 into the bathroom

00:16:21.700 and start screaming

00:16:22.580 at them.

00:16:23.420 By the way,

00:16:23.880 as a foreign national

00:16:25.080 demanding that you

00:16:26.720 give legal status

00:16:28.180 to millions of people.

00:16:29.880 No, look,

00:16:30.300 that is exactly right,

00:16:31.580 and the degree

00:16:32.400 to which Kyrsten Sinema

00:16:34.000 and Joe Manchin

00:16:34.760 are being harassed.

00:16:37.220 You look at Sinema

00:16:38.740 and these left-wing activists,

00:16:42.820 she teaches a university

00:16:44.420 class in Arizona

00:16:45.420 and they followed her

00:16:46.400 into her class.

00:16:47.360 They harassed her class 0.83

00:16:48.540 and then they followed her

00:16:50.020 from her class

00:16:51.060 into the restroom. 1.00

00:16:52.940 She went into the stall

00:16:54.140 to use the restroom

00:16:55.160 and they sat there

00:16:56.000 filming it

00:16:56.900 and berating her.

00:16:59.500 And by the way,

00:17:00.300 they were so proud

00:17:00.980 of what they were doing,

00:17:01.700 they were filming doing it.

00:17:03.220 As you noted,

00:17:04.000 they also harassed her

00:17:05.080 on the airplane,

00:17:05.800 they harassed her 0.79

00:17:06.400 in the airport.

00:17:08.080 And I got to say,

00:17:09.320 yesterday there was

00:17:10.200 really something shameful

00:17:11.460 because Joe Biden

00:17:13.540 was asked about it

00:17:14.560 and he just said,

00:17:16.140 you know,

00:17:16.860 it's part of the process. 1.00

00:17:19.340 What utter crap. 0.99

00:17:21.820 I mean, 1.00

00:17:22.080 that was an opportunity

00:17:23.000 for Biden

00:17:23.620 to show some leadership

00:17:24.660 and say,

00:17:25.260 you know,

00:17:25.880 no,

00:17:26.240 you don't harass someone

00:17:27.600 and chase them

00:17:28.460 into the ladies' room.

00:17:30.340 That is not the way

00:17:31.780 people behave

00:17:32.680 in a civilized democracy.

00:17:35.480 But the left

00:17:36.760 is so angry

00:17:37.560 that they believe

00:17:38.460 intimidation

00:17:39.520 and threats

00:17:41.840 are an appropriate way

00:17:43.560 of behaving.

00:17:44.720 And right now,

00:17:45.900 they are trying

00:17:46.700 to rain

00:17:47.240 the nastiest pressure

00:17:48.940 imaginable down

00:17:50.040 on Sinema and Manchin

00:17:51.220 to pressure them

00:17:52.280 to flip their votes.

00:17:53.240 At least so far,

00:17:54.260 they haven't.

00:17:54.920 This is on the big

00:17:56.460 Bernie Sanders

00:17:57.420 $3.5 trillion

00:17:59.480 socialist budget.

00:18:01.920 Right now,

00:18:03.420 Manchin and Sinema

00:18:04.240 are saying

00:18:04.920 they're not going

00:18:05.480 to support it,

00:18:06.100 that it's too big

00:18:06.800 and it's too irresponsible.

00:18:08.180 And the left is furious.

00:18:10.900 Well, Senator,

00:18:11.420 I do have to ask you,

00:18:12.640 though,

00:18:12.740 I can't believe

00:18:13.340 that I'm giving Joe Biden

00:18:15.020 the benefit of the doubt.

00:18:15.980 It feels very unnatural to me.

00:18:17.480 But I do want to ask

00:18:19.060 if he's got a point.

00:18:20.160 Biden says,

00:18:20.900 if you're in public life,

00:18:21.960 you're going to get accosted.

00:18:23.180 People are going to yell at you.

00:18:24.160 And it does happen

00:18:25.720 to a lot of people.

00:18:26.740 So to what degree

00:18:28.440 is this historic incivility

00:18:31.580 that we're seeing,

00:18:32.420 not just with Sinema,

00:18:33.240 but in recent years,

00:18:34.940 even on, say,

00:18:36.120 both sides of the aisle?

00:18:37.280 And to what degree

00:18:38.480 is this just business as usual?

00:18:40.860 Look, it actually

00:18:41.920 is markedly different.

00:18:43.440 In the last couple of years,

00:18:46.180 when Donald Trump got elected,

00:18:48.920 the left lost their mind.

00:18:51.060 He broke them. 1.00

00:18:52.480 Their brains are broken.

00:18:54.160 And I can tell you 0.87

00:18:56.340 it is very,

00:18:57.500 very different

00:18:58.040 serving in public office.

00:18:59.280 Look, I've been

00:18:59.720 in some contentious battles,

00:19:01.160 but it's only been

00:19:02.600 the last couple of years.

00:19:03.660 Remember, a couple of years ago,

00:19:04.800 Heidi and I were

00:19:05.400 at a restaurant in D.C.

00:19:06.580 and a group of screaming, 1.00

00:19:08.400 angry anarchists

00:19:10.420 came in, harassed us.

00:19:12.560 We had to leave the restaurant

00:19:13.820 because we didn't want

00:19:14.380 to disturb the other people

00:19:15.480 who were having dinner.

00:19:16.520 And they chased us

00:19:18.300 down the street

00:19:19.160 and into a dark alley.

00:19:20.340 I mean, it had the potential

00:19:21.800 of being a very dangerous gathering.

00:19:24.440 It was a dozen angry leftists

00:19:26.480 with Heidi and me,

00:19:27.460 and it was threatening and serious.

00:19:30.000 Rand Paul and his wife,

00:19:31.180 Kelly Paul,

00:19:31.860 the Black Lives Matter protesters,

00:19:33.900 when Trump gave his speech

00:19:35.600 at the White House

00:19:36.320 during the RNC convention,

00:19:38.240 they were scared for their lives.

00:19:39.860 They had police officers

00:19:41.080 that were fighting back

00:19:42.520 what was close to a riot.

00:19:44.800 And Rand and Kelly both

00:19:47.180 were frightened

00:19:48.180 that they were going to be

00:19:49.640 seriously injured,

00:19:50.920 if not worse.

00:19:52.040 This has all gotten nastier

00:19:54.300 than it used to be.

00:19:55.620 I can tell you in nine years,

00:19:58.400 I've been in the Senate.

00:20:00.780 For eight of them,

00:20:03.980 I never had a protest at my house.

00:20:06.540 In the last year or so,

00:20:09.400 I've had probably 25 or 30.

00:20:13.400 Wow.

00:20:13.960 We now have 24-hour security

00:20:16.040 at the House,

00:20:16.780 which we have to do

00:20:18.080 because the protesters

00:20:19.200 have gotten so nasty.

00:20:21.300 They have showed up

00:20:22.360 at five in the morning,

00:20:24.280 banging pots,

00:20:25.820 shining flashlights

00:20:26.960 in the windows of our neighbors,

00:20:28.980 including neighbors

00:20:29.680 who have little children,

00:20:31.240 screaming profanities, 0.97

00:20:32.800 dropping the F-bomb 0.75

00:20:34.080 at five in the morning,

00:20:35.320 designed to wake people up

00:20:36.640 and harass them.

00:20:37.880 And so what is happening to Sinema,

00:20:39.940 by the way,

00:20:40.440 Manchin,

00:20:40.900 Manchin, when he's in D.C.,

00:20:42.040 he lives on a houseboat,

00:20:43.020 and he had protesters

00:20:44.660 row their kayaks up to his houseboat

00:20:46.900 and engage with him

00:20:48.180 at his houseboat.

00:20:50.520 This is a far nastier form of engagement

00:20:54.900 than used to be typical.

00:20:57.760 And I think it is,

00:20:58.980 as a result of Trump's presidency,

00:21:02.240 the left just,

00:21:04.080 they convince themselves

00:21:05.720 he's Adolf Hitler.

00:21:06.640 And so all rage and fury

00:21:08.960 is justified 0.95

00:21:09.920 in opposition to someone

00:21:12.120 who they hate so much.

00:21:13.700 You know,

00:21:14.140 it's an interesting case study.

00:21:15.960 I mean,

00:21:16.080 I'm sorry that you're going through it,

00:21:17.260 but you are kind of

00:21:18.120 an interesting case study here

00:21:19.200 because you were outspoken.

00:21:21.480 You were something of a firebrand

00:21:22.780 the minute you got to the Senate.

00:21:24.300 So it's not as though

00:21:25.160 they ignored you

00:21:26.180 just because you were a wallflower,

00:21:27.580 and then later on

00:21:28.360 they started going after you.

00:21:29.720 I mean,

00:21:29.900 going back to 2013,

00:21:31.460 2014.

00:21:32.460 Yet this never happened.

00:21:33.480 In 2013,

00:21:34.180 2014,

00:21:34.600 this never happened.

00:21:36.200 Yeah.

00:21:36.680 So this,

00:21:37.520 something clearly has changed.

00:21:38.960 And, you know,

00:21:39.780 I mentioned to try to sound

00:21:41.380 nice and open-minded,

00:21:42.380 I said that

00:21:42.900 there is incivility

00:21:43.940 on both sides of the aisle,

00:21:45.220 but we really should not

00:21:46.360 make a comparison here.

00:21:47.680 When you have Maxine Waters

00:21:48.860 saying,

00:21:49.780 go get up in their face, 0.99

00:21:50.700 go shout at them in public, 0.99

00:21:52.200 meaning Republicans.

00:21:52.940 When you have Hillary Clinton

00:21:53.860 saying you can't be civil

00:21:54.760 with your opponents.

00:21:55.540 When you've got

00:21:56.020 the sitting vice president now,

00:21:57.760 Kamala Harris,

00:21:58.800 bailing out rioters and looters,

00:22:00.440 that is a very different thing

00:22:01.860 than what the Republicans are doing.

00:22:03.340 But the Republicans are being

00:22:04.560 uncivil as well,

00:22:06.080 though much less violent.

00:22:07.920 And this is,

00:22:08.860 the way they're being uncivil

00:22:09.780 is they're chanting,

00:22:10.860 according to the news report,

00:22:12.980 let's go Brandon.

00:22:16.060 Senator,

00:22:16.720 can you explain that to me?

00:22:18.500 Well,

00:22:18.800 it's an amazing phenomenon

00:22:20.200 that seems to be occurring

00:22:21.440 at college football games

00:22:22.980 across the country.

00:22:24.040 And it appears to be spontaneous,

00:22:26.680 but very large groups of people

00:22:28.360 are chanting

00:22:29.600 expletives

00:22:31.780 at Joe Biden.

00:22:33.560 And in particular,

00:22:34.220 they're chanting

00:22:35.060 F Joe Biden,

00:22:36.780 but they're not abbreviating it.

00:22:38.900 And,

00:22:39.120 and it's a fairly remarkable thing

00:22:41.860 that seems to be springing up.

00:22:43.500 And,

00:22:43.640 and the,

00:22:44.740 the story you're telling

00:22:46.120 is there was a,

00:22:46.960 a NASCAR race

00:22:48.020 a couple of days ago.

00:22:49.520 And,

00:22:50.140 and the winner of the race

00:22:51.340 was,

00:22:51.820 whose name was Brandon,

00:22:52.700 was being interviewed.

00:22:54.080 And,

00:22:54.620 and the crowd behind him

00:22:56.300 is,

00:22:56.720 is yelling

00:22:57.520 and yelling loudly

00:22:59.060 F Joe Biden

00:23:00.900 in,

00:23:02.800 in clear

00:23:03.600 and very distinct words.

00:23:06.160 And,

00:23:06.860 and the NBC interviewer

00:23:08.400 who is interviewing him

00:23:09.640 says,

00:23:10.100 oh,

00:23:10.320 the crowd's so excited.

00:23:11.600 You can hear them chanting.

00:23:13.200 Let's go,

00:23:14.160 Brandon.

00:23:15.000 And,

00:23:15.680 if you just watch the clip,

00:23:17.940 it,

00:23:18.280 that,

00:23:18.540 that is not what they're chanting.

00:23:20.620 Um,

00:23:21.500 in her defense,

00:23:23.140 NASCAR races are loud.

00:23:24.600 Maybe she had headphones on.

00:23:25.940 Maybe she couldn't hear.

00:23:27.680 Uh,

00:23:28.200 or maybe it was one of the,

00:23:30.220 the,

00:23:30.400 the more remarkable examples

00:23:32.000 of,

00:23:32.360 of fake news.

00:23:33.200 I,

00:23:33.500 you know,

00:23:33.660 I did,

00:23:34.320 did tweet and asked,

00:23:35.440 is NBC news going to issue

00:23:36.660 a correction?

00:23:37.980 Uh,

00:23:38.400 because I'm,

00:23:39.240 I'm quite confident

00:23:40.200 they were not chanting

00:23:41.160 let's go,

00:23:41.680 Brandon.

00:23:42.040 And it's now become a thing.

00:23:43.880 In fact,

00:23:44.540 uh,

00:23:44.780 the daily wire I saw

00:23:46.140 is selling let's go,

00:23:47.180 Brandon shirts.

00:23:48.140 I got to admit,

00:23:49.280 I,

00:23:49.460 I was awfully tempted

00:23:50.860 to have verdict,

00:23:51.700 just steal the idea

00:23:53.080 and do the same thing.

00:23:54.380 We may put a let's go,

00:23:55.820 Brandon shirt on,

00:23:57.020 on our cactus friend.

00:23:58.440 Uh,

00:23:58.600 you know,

00:23:59.020 I,

00:23:59.180 I,

00:23:59.420 I find it,

00:24:01.880 it,

00:24:02.700 uh,

00:24:03.620 in the world of fake news,

00:24:05.240 it was a pretty remarkable moment.

00:24:07.240 It was,

00:24:07.620 this was,

00:24:08.020 what was,

00:24:08.560 what was so shocking

00:24:09.660 about the whole thing

00:24:10.500 is there are a great many people

00:24:12.240 in this country

00:24:13.080 who believe that

00:24:13.880 Brandon should go,

00:24:15.180 go himself.

00:24:15.800 Let's put it that way.

00:24:16.940 And so it,

00:24:18.180 obviously there is something

00:24:19.420 of a popular uprising here,

00:24:21.340 especially when people

00:24:21.940 are rowdy at games

00:24:22.780 and things like that.

00:24:23.660 And it's the gaslighting,

00:24:25.180 I think that got people

00:24:26.060 that,

00:24:26.400 that the media

00:24:27.140 would,

00:24:27.440 would tell you,

00:24:28.200 no, 1.00

00:24:28.380 don't believe your lying eyes. 1.00

00:24:29.660 Don't believe your lying ears. 1.00

00:24:31.500 And, 0.99

00:24:31.980 and even,

00:24:33.100 you know,

00:24:33.560 this ties into something

00:24:34.700 probably a little more urgent

00:24:36.280 and serious to,

00:24:37.440 to people.

00:24:37.980 By the way,

00:24:38.200 a quick story,

00:24:38.700 I'll tell you on that.

00:24:39.820 So when I first ran for Senate

00:24:41.900 in 2012,

00:24:42.480 uh,

00:24:43.740 my opponent was David Dewhurst

00:24:45.220 and,

00:24:45.500 and he was the Lieutenant Governor

00:24:46.920 of Texas.

00:24:47.440 He was worth about $200 million.

00:24:49.200 He was viewed as unstoppable

00:24:51.000 and unbeatable.

00:24:52.300 He had universal name ID.

00:24:53.860 I was at 2%.

00:24:55.380 Nobody had ever heard of me.

00:24:56.900 I didn't have any money.

00:24:57.660 I didn't have a prayer.

00:24:58.900 And there was a moment really

00:25:00.440 when,

00:25:01.000 when everything flipped.

00:25:03.280 So the primary,

00:25:05.920 uh,

00:25:06.620 neither of us got 50%.

00:25:08.140 And on primary night,

00:25:09.660 he got 44%.

00:25:10.680 I got 34%,

00:25:11.800 which shocked people.

00:25:13.480 Uh,

00:25:13.920 because no one got 50,

00:25:15.140 we went to a runoff.

00:25:16.440 And in between the primary

00:25:17.460 and the runoff

00:25:18.140 was the Texas State Convention.

00:25:20.380 About 15,000 activists

00:25:23.300 from all across Texas.

00:25:24.840 It's the largest Republican convention

00:25:26.520 in the country

00:25:27.780 other than the National

00:25:28.780 Republican Convention.

00:25:30.660 And Rick Perry,

00:25:32.360 who was a friend,

00:25:33.100 but in that race,

00:25:33.900 Rick Perry had endorsed

00:25:34.980 David Dewhurst.

00:25:35.740 And he was there speaking.

00:25:37.940 And,

00:25:38.480 and he said in his speech,

00:25:40.600 and he was speaking the day

00:25:41.380 before I was going to speak,

00:25:42.820 he,

00:25:43.100 he said,

00:25:43.700 everyone should vote

00:25:44.600 for David Dewhurst for Senate.

00:25:45.960 And the entire convention

00:25:48.680 erupted in boos,

00:25:51.740 loud,

00:25:52.640 angry boos.

00:25:53.280 And it was sort of a,

00:25:54.440 it was a wild moment

00:25:56.120 because at that point,

00:25:57.440 all of our supporters

00:25:58.420 felt they were alone.

00:25:59.500 Like this Cruz character

00:26:00.880 has no prayer.

00:26:02.160 Nobody else is voting for him.

00:26:03.500 You can't win.

00:26:04.360 And like each of the activists

00:26:05.800 looked and holy cow, 0.98

00:26:06.900 everyone else was booing.

00:26:08.200 Well,

00:26:08.480 afterwards,

00:26:09.760 uh,

00:26:10.120 Rick Perry did a,

00:26:11.160 a press conference

00:26:12.020 where reporters asked,

00:26:13.220 wow,

00:26:13.620 the whole convention

00:26:14.700 booed you. 0.84

00:26:15.520 When you said David Dewhurst name

00:26:17.400 and,

00:26:17.580 and Perry to his credit,

00:26:18.980 he said,

00:26:19.240 no,

00:26:19.400 no,

00:26:19.480 no,

00:26:19.640 no,

00:26:19.720 no.

00:26:20.140 They were not saying boo.

00:26:22.780 They were saying do,

00:26:25.660 do,

00:26:27.100 as in Dewhurst.

00:26:28.940 And that was pretty damn funny.

00:26:30.780 I mean,

00:26:30.960 I was like,

00:26:31.660 okay,

00:26:31.940 it's not true,

00:26:33.500 but,

00:26:33.800 but that's,

00:26:35.640 that's a pretty clever.

00:26:36.500 That's thinking on your feet though.

00:26:38.580 That is thinking,

00:26:39.480 yes,

00:26:39.760 do Hurst,

00:26:41.640 do Hurst.

00:26:42.240 Yes.

00:26:42.580 Well,

00:26:42.980 you,

00:26:43.380 you actually,

00:26:44.240 you do,

00:26:44.680 you do see this phenomenon

00:26:45.840 and sometimes it's to express

00:26:47.960 their anger at Brandon

00:26:49.460 or Joe Biden,

00:26:50.520 depending on your interpretation.

00:26:51.800 Sometimes it's at a political convention

00:26:53.800 and sometimes it's bubbling up

00:26:56.500 from the way that the government

00:26:58.180 is actually working.

00:26:59.100 And this is something you've been seeing

00:27:00.180 for months and months now,

00:27:01.660 specifically with regard to

00:27:03.100 critical race theory

00:27:04.180 and gender theory in schools.

00:27:06.180 Parents are showing up

00:27:06.940 to their school boards

00:27:07.680 and they're pushing back

00:27:08.940 on these policies

00:27:09.880 and they're saying,

00:27:10.420 no,

00:27:10.980 get this nonsense

00:27:12.360 out of the classroom.

00:27:13.660 This is harming my child's education.

00:27:15.600 We don't want any part of it.

00:27:17.340 So there have been

00:27:19.180 many protest movements

00:27:20.260 in the history of the United States

00:27:21.340 going back a very,

00:27:22.120 very long time.

00:27:23.240 Very recently,

00:27:23.940 we had a protest movement last year,

00:27:25.920 the BLM and Antifa riots,

00:27:27.760 which often turned violent

00:27:29.780 and resulted in

00:27:30.720 lots of people dying

00:27:32.200 and lots of businesses

00:27:33.500 being torn down

00:27:34.460 and places being set on fire.

00:27:36.860 And we were told

00:27:37.300 those were mostly peaceful protests.

00:27:39.120 Well, now we are hearing

00:27:40.140 from the Attorney General

00:27:40.980 of the United States,

00:27:42.220 Merrick Garland,

00:27:43.040 that the parents

00:27:44.400 who were showing up

00:27:45.200 to protest radical gender theory

00:27:47.440 in kindergarten classrooms

00:27:48.760 are very possibly

00:27:50.640 domestic terrorists.

00:27:52.260 A memorandum just went out,

00:27:54.020 the Attorney General

00:27:55.320 instructing the DOJ

00:27:56.940 to watch the disturbing spike

00:27:59.480 in harassment,

00:28:00.360 intimidation,

00:28:00.940 and threats

00:28:01.740 against school administrators,

00:28:03.280 board members,

00:28:03.960 teachers and staff

00:28:04.780 who participate

00:28:05.900 in the vital work

00:28:06.720 of running our nation's

00:28:07.480 public schools.

00:28:08.360 The department

00:28:08.700 takes these incidents seriously

00:28:09.880 and is committed

00:28:10.720 to using its authority

00:28:11.920 and resources

00:28:13.180 to counter them.

00:28:16.380 Are we now

00:28:17.600 at the point

00:28:18.220 where we believe

00:28:18.860 that people throwing

00:28:19.580 Molotov cocktails

00:28:20.540 at federal buildings

00:28:21.680 last year in 2020,

00:28:23.340 they're mostly peaceful protesters,

00:28:24.860 but parents protesting

00:28:26.280 radicalism in their kids' schools,

00:28:28.240 they're the domestic terrorists?

00:28:29.540 I wish you were exaggerating,

00:28:31.880 but the statement

00:28:32.980 you just made

00:28:33.760 on its face 0.99

00:28:34.440 is so utterly ludicrous, 0.97

00:28:36.140 and it's also true. 0.98

00:28:40.000 You know,

00:28:40.240 Merrick Garland,

00:28:41.160 who's the Attorney General,

00:28:44.120 he was a court of appeals judge

00:28:46.900 for 20-some-odd years.

00:28:49.320 As you'll recall,

00:28:50.240 he was who Barack Obama

00:28:51.560 had nominated

00:28:53.120 to the Supreme Court

00:28:54.200 to replace Scalia,

00:28:55.780 but he didn't get that vacancy

00:28:57.040 because we didn't take it up

00:28:58.020 because it was the presidential election year

00:29:00.000 and Republicans controlled the Senate

00:29:01.980 and we said the voters

00:29:02.680 are going to decide

00:29:03.480 who fills this seat.

00:29:05.300 Merrick Garland

00:29:05.940 is now Attorney General

00:29:06.940 at his confirmation hearing.

00:29:09.600 I asked Garland,

00:29:11.520 he actually had a reputation

00:29:12.780 as a court of appeals judge

00:29:14.340 for being relatively fair

00:29:17.640 and impartial.

00:29:18.680 He was not viewed

00:29:19.620 as a hard partisan

00:29:21.120 when he was a judge.

00:29:22.080 And I cross-examined Garland

00:29:23.920 at his confirmation hearing

00:29:24.980 and I said,

00:29:25.480 look,

00:29:26.240 under Barack Obama,

00:29:27.400 the Department of Justice

00:29:28.380 was politicized

00:29:29.740 and it was weaponized.

00:29:31.740 It was turned into a weapon

00:29:33.320 to target people

00:29:35.020 that were perceived

00:29:36.140 to be the political enemies

00:29:38.040 of the White House.

00:29:39.980 And that includes the IRS

00:29:41.680 that went after Tea Party groups,

00:29:43.540 went after pro-life groups,

00:29:44.740 went after pro-Israel groups.

00:29:46.660 That includes

00:29:47.700 the intelligence community

00:29:49.120 and the FBI

00:29:49.820 that went so far

00:29:50.920 as wiretapping

00:29:52.020 the Donald Trump campaign

00:29:53.660 and sending in people

00:29:54.680 wearing wires

00:29:55.460 to record them.

00:29:57.540 And I asked Merrick Garland,

00:30:01.240 will you commit,

00:30:02.000 if you're confirmed,

00:30:03.440 not to use

00:30:05.240 the Department of Justice

00:30:06.340 as a partisan weapon

00:30:08.100 to attack the other side?

00:30:09.500 And he made that commitment.

00:30:10.900 He said he would not.

00:30:11.920 That memo you're holding

00:30:13.360 is really disturbing

00:30:15.140 because I think

00:30:16.780 he has been breaking

00:30:17.560 that promise

00:30:18.280 almost from the moment

00:30:19.240 he got there.

00:30:20.560 But that memo

00:30:21.800 is the clearest example of it.

00:30:23.540 So, look,

00:30:24.800 we're seeing a phenomenal

00:30:26.220 example of democracy in action

00:30:28.560 in that parents

00:30:29.960 are rising up

00:30:30.980 at school board meetings

00:30:31.960 and expressing dismay

00:30:34.160 over critical race theory

00:30:35.640 that's being taught in schools

00:30:36.900 that our kids

00:30:38.020 are being taught lies.

00:30:40.500 They're being taught

00:30:41.180 that America

00:30:41.700 is fundamentally racist.

00:30:43.000 They're being taught 0.98

00:30:43.780 that all whites are racist. 0.97

00:30:45.520 They're being taught 0.95

00:30:46.260 that the entire history

00:30:47.660 of America

00:30:48.800 is a history

00:30:49.480 of oppression

00:30:50.820 and these lies

00:30:53.060 are dividing kids

00:30:54.380 based on racial lines.

00:30:56.120 And parents are upset

00:30:57.200 about that.

00:30:57.680 They don't like it.

00:30:58.380 And so they're going

00:30:59.020 to their school boards

00:30:59.820 and saying, 1.00

00:31:00.600 don't teach this garbage 1.00

00:31:01.640 to our kids. 1.00

00:31:03.560 That's actually

00:31:04.360 how our democratic process

00:31:05.480 is supposed to work.

00:31:06.780 That elected officials

00:31:08.860 are supposed to be

00:31:09.680 accountable to the voters.

00:31:11.380 The left doesn't

00:31:12.380 like accountability.

00:31:13.340 They like to be insulated.

00:31:14.700 They're perfectly happy

00:31:16.000 to harass people

00:31:18.080 they don't like,

00:31:18.900 but they themselves

00:31:20.460 don't like to be

00:31:21.300 held accountable.

00:31:22.180 But now the Department

00:31:23.180 of Justice,

00:31:24.200 Merrick Garland,

00:31:24.840 is saying they're going

00:31:26.300 to treat a parent

00:31:27.080 going to a school board

00:31:28.060 meeting as a terrorist

00:31:29.180 and a threat

00:31:29.960 and they're going

00:31:30.400 to go after them

00:31:31.220 and they're going

00:31:31.780 to persecute them.

00:31:33.660 And this is absurd. 0.99

00:31:35.640 It is a ridiculous 0.92

00:31:37.180 abuse of power. 0.97

00:31:39.080 And listen,

00:31:39.680 you pointed out last year

00:31:41.000 the BLM

00:31:41.980 and Antifa riots.

00:31:43.120 they burned

00:31:44.800 storefront

00:31:46.060 after storefront.

00:31:47.100 They robbed,

00:31:47.740 they looted,

00:31:48.320 they murdered

00:31:48.900 police officers.

00:31:50.780 And yet the Department

00:31:51.660 of Justice

00:31:52.300 treated it

00:31:53.200 as isolated issues.

00:31:55.340 Look,

00:31:55.700 they were firebombing

00:31:56.880 a federal courthouse

00:31:57.720 night after night

00:31:58.720 after night.

00:32:00.200 And yet the Department

00:32:00.980 of Justice,

00:32:01.880 you know,

00:32:02.400 this DOJ

00:32:03.300 under Merrick Garland

00:32:04.260 treats it as just,

00:32:05.760 oh, isn't that nice

00:32:06.860 that they're literally

00:32:08.080 throwing Molotov cocktails.

00:32:09.620 This is sad

00:32:13.160 that the Democrats,

00:32:15.000 look,

00:32:15.400 COVID has really

00:32:16.160 revealed this as well.

00:32:19.480 Democrats are,

00:32:20.960 they are authoritarians.

00:32:23.160 You want to know

00:32:23.900 the basic difference

00:32:25.020 between liberals

00:32:25.600 and conservatives.

00:32:26.620 Liberals

00:32:27.120 are comfortable

00:32:28.480 using the coercive

00:32:30.000 power of government

00:32:31.160 to force you

00:32:32.800 to comply,

00:32:33.560 to force you

00:32:34.320 to obey.

00:32:35.800 Whereas conservatives

00:32:37.000 believe in liberty,

00:32:38.000 believe in individual choice.

00:32:39.120 you can say

00:32:39.980 what you want.

00:32:40.640 Even if it is 0.98

00:32:41.280 dumbass stuff, 0.99

00:32:42.920 you can say it. 1.00

00:32:44.120 On religion,

00:32:45.040 you can believe

00:32:45.640 what you want.

00:32:46.240 Even if it's 0.98

00:32:46.640 dumbass stuff, 0.99

00:32:47.640 you can go worship 1.00

00:32:48.580 a golden calf

00:32:49.980 in your backyard

00:32:50.740 if you want to.

00:32:52.600 We believe

00:32:53.480 in individual choice.

00:32:54.580 On vaccines,

00:32:55.540 look,

00:32:55.780 you and I have

00:32:56.160 talked about vaccines.

00:32:57.540 I believe in vaccines.

00:32:58.680 I've taken the vaccine.

00:33:00.300 My family's

00:33:00.960 taken the vaccine.

00:33:02.280 But individual choice

00:33:03.600 means it's up to you

00:33:04.540 whether you get

00:33:05.280 a medical procedure,

00:33:06.200 whether you take a vaccine.

00:33:08.120 Gavin Newsom

00:33:08.900 is ordering

00:33:09.380 every school child

00:33:10.700 in California

00:33:11.640 to get the vaccine.

00:33:13.600 That is horrific.

00:33:14.780 It is a violation

00:33:16.020 of medical privacy

00:33:17.940 and autonomy

00:33:18.640 to do that.

00:33:19.580 And the left

00:33:20.180 doesn't care.

00:33:21.000 And so,

00:33:21.760 when it comes

00:33:22.420 to parents

00:33:23.180 protesting

00:33:24.600 the radical

00:33:25.760 Marxist theories

00:33:26.740 being taught

00:33:27.300 to their kids,

00:33:28.840 the Department of Justice

00:33:29.940 will come in

00:33:30.640 and threaten,

00:33:31.780 mom,

00:33:32.160 at the PTA meeting,

00:33:33.480 we're going to put you

00:33:34.140 in handcuffs. 1.00

00:33:35.320 Holy crap, 0.99

00:33:37.020 that is offensive. 0.99

00:33:38.260 This is the irony

00:33:39.540 is that the left

00:33:41.460 is all for liberation

00:33:42.720 and expression

00:33:43.840 and dissent

00:33:44.660 is patriotic

00:33:45.480 and protesting

00:33:46.280 when it suits

00:33:47.660 their interests.

00:33:48.360 But then,

00:33:48.620 of course,

00:33:48.980 the moment

00:33:49.680 that a concerned

00:33:51.260 parent says,

00:33:52.080 actually,

00:33:52.680 I don't think

00:33:53.400 little Johnny

00:33:54.220 should be told 0.82

00:33:54.800 that white people 1.00

00:33:55.440 are evil 1.00

00:33:56.000 and that America 1.00

00:33:56.920 is a rotten place 0.99

00:33:58.000 and that boys 0.97

00:33:58.800 can become little girls

00:33:59.820 and, you know,

00:34:00.740 maybe we should

00:34:01.260 just stick to the,

00:34:02.520 you know,

00:34:03.540 reading,

00:34:04.280 writing,

00:34:04.460 and arithmetic.

00:34:05.080 Maybe we should

00:34:05.520 stick to the basic

00:34:06.720 building blocks

00:34:07.220 of education.

00:34:08.160 They are labeled

00:34:08.680 as domestic terrorists

00:34:09.600 and what is so dismaying

00:34:11.520 to me is,

00:34:12.800 as you said

00:34:13.580 and as you made clear

00:34:14.340 during his confirmation

00:34:15.920 hearings,

00:34:17.740 Merrick Garland

00:34:18.340 was the moderate one.

00:34:19.600 He's supposed to be

00:34:20.380 one of the most moderate

00:34:21.200 people in the entire

00:34:22.220 administration.

00:34:23.460 So that is a great fear

00:34:24.840 and actually,

00:34:25.340 something else

00:34:25.900 that you touched on here

00:34:27.780 is democracy in action.

00:34:29.420 Who sets these kinds

00:34:30.240 of standards?

00:34:30.980 Who decides these things?

00:34:32.060 What is our public square?

00:34:33.580 What does it look like?

00:34:34.680 We only have a very...

00:34:35.740 And let me make a brief

00:34:36.840 point on that,

00:34:37.820 Michael.

00:34:38.360 Let me make actually

00:34:39.540 two points on that.

00:34:41.240 Number one,

00:34:42.460 some of the sort of

00:34:43.620 Twitter lefties

00:34:45.020 have said,

00:34:45.500 oh,

00:34:46.020 well,

00:34:46.520 this is threats.

00:34:48.160 This is...

00:34:48.680 Let me be clear.

00:34:50.220 Nobody has a right

00:34:51.320 to threaten anyone.

00:34:53.540 Nobody has a right

00:34:54.440 to carry out violence.

00:34:55.840 And if you have someone

00:34:57.360 who makes a threat

00:34:58.760 of violence

00:34:59.340 or carries out violence

00:35:00.520 against a school member,

00:35:01.920 school board member,

00:35:02.700 even if they're 0.93

00:35:03.400 some nutty lefty, 0.96

00:35:05.360 if you have violence 0.85

00:35:06.520 against someone,

00:35:07.360 they should be prosecuted

00:35:08.440 and sent to jail.

00:35:09.320 That violence

00:35:09.820 is not acceptable.

00:35:11.940 Secondly,

00:35:13.180 look,

00:35:13.660 I...

00:35:14.620 Going back to the point

00:35:15.860 about, you know,

00:35:16.600 harassing Kirsten Sinema

00:35:18.700 in the ladies' room,

00:35:20.360 the parents are doing this

00:35:21.640 at school board meetings

00:35:22.840 that are designed

00:35:23.520 to be a forum

00:35:24.260 for parents to be able

00:35:25.160 to express their views.

00:35:26.540 They're not going

00:35:27.580 to the homes

00:35:28.180 of the school board meetings.

00:35:29.240 They're not going

00:35:29.960 into the bathroom with them.

00:35:31.420 They're going

00:35:31.860 to a public forum.

00:35:33.140 And I am all for...

00:35:35.080 Listen, I mean,

00:35:35.560 I've done hundreds

00:35:36.900 of town halls.

00:35:38.620 I've had people come

00:35:39.700 and disagree with me

00:35:40.580 and I'm perfectly fine

00:35:41.560 to get in

00:35:42.220 in a robust discussion

00:35:44.480 in a forum

00:35:45.520 that is appropriate

00:35:47.300 for that.

00:35:48.520 I'll tell you one time

00:35:49.580 it's kind of fun.

00:35:51.000 I don't know,

00:35:51.520 2014, 2015,

00:35:53.820 I was actually part

00:35:55.240 of a protest

00:35:55.740 at the White House

00:35:56.820 against the Obama-Iran

00:35:59.780 nuclear deal

00:36:00.540 and there were protesters

00:36:03.560 from Code Pink

00:36:04.520 that showed up.

00:36:06.180 Code Pink,

00:36:06.840 the sort of lefty group,

00:36:08.460 they were there screaming

00:36:09.580 and yelling 0.83

00:36:10.200 and they were angry

00:36:11.240 and I actually stopped

00:36:13.780 and I said,

00:36:14.240 all right, look,

00:36:15.020 the First Amendment

00:36:15.700 gives you a right to speak.

00:36:16.880 It gives me a right to speak,

00:36:18.020 but it doesn't give

00:36:18.760 either one of us

00:36:19.480 a right to shout

00:36:20.300 the other down

00:36:21.180 and prevent people

00:36:22.800 from hearing

00:36:23.480 what we have to say.

00:36:24.440 So I said,

00:36:24.880 I'll tell you what,

00:36:26.460 pick someone

00:36:27.540 from your group.

00:36:28.480 You tell me who,

00:36:29.580 pick whoever it is,

00:36:31.280 come on up here

00:36:32.020 and I'm going to hand you

00:36:32.900 this microphone

00:36:33.580 and I'm going to let you

00:36:35.140 tell this crowd

00:36:36.260 why you think

00:36:37.900 the Iran deal

00:36:39.280 is a good deal.

00:36:40.260 Now, I'm going to give you

00:36:41.020 a response

00:36:41.540 and you may not like

00:36:42.320 my response

00:36:42.980 and so they selected

00:36:44.660 Medea Benjamin

00:36:45.440 who's one of the founders

00:36:46.340 of Code Pink.

00:36:47.120 She came up there

00:36:47.760 and I said,

00:36:48.200 now look,

00:36:49.000 if I give her this microphone,

00:36:51.120 you guys don't get

00:36:51.880 to be disruptive

00:36:52.600 and scream and yell 0.99

00:36:53.420 and shout everyone down

00:36:54.620 and we proceeded

00:36:56.080 to have,

00:36:56.600 I think it was

00:36:56.900 a 15 or 20 minute debate

00:36:58.300 on the merits

00:36:59.160 of the Iran deal.

00:37:00.440 It was all televised.

00:37:01.980 If you go online,

00:37:02.860 you can Google it

00:37:03.500 and watch me debating

00:37:04.680 the head of Code Pink

00:37:05.840 on the Iran deal.

00:37:07.960 That is,

00:37:09.380 that's democracy

00:37:10.320 in action too.

00:37:11.220 So I'm not saying

00:37:12.220 that,

00:37:12.960 you know,

00:37:13.340 but there's a difference

00:37:14.220 between that

00:37:15.100 and following someone

00:37:16.320 into the bathroom

00:37:17.280 while they're trying

00:37:18.020 to use the facilities.

00:37:20.460 Right.

00:37:20.560 And this actually ties

00:37:22.120 in pretty directly

00:37:23.140 as we think of the way

00:37:24.040 our public square

00:37:24.880 has changed.

00:37:26.080 Now,

00:37:26.420 so many of these debates

00:37:27.300 happen on social media

00:37:28.980 and as big tech companies

00:37:30.340 get more and more

00:37:31.080 and more power,

00:37:31.840 they seem to be controlling

00:37:33.260 speech in the republic

00:37:34.480 and if you control

00:37:35.100 speech in a republic,

00:37:36.560 you basically control

00:37:37.440 the whole thing.

00:37:38.080 The way we govern

00:37:38.580 each other is,

00:37:39.420 is that we persuade

00:37:40.420 one another

00:37:40.840 and deliberate

00:37:41.320 and debate.

00:37:42.560 There,

00:37:43.120 there is a story here

00:37:44.120 and I know as always

00:37:45.080 I'm running late

00:37:45.680 and we've only got

00:37:46.220 a little bit of time left

00:37:47.080 but,

00:37:47.520 but I really want

00:37:48.260 to touch on it

00:37:48.900 because you were there,

00:37:49.580 or you actually saw

00:37:50.160 it firsthand.

00:37:51.540 There was a Facebook

00:37:52.800 quote unquote whistleblower.

00:37:54.680 This is a woman

00:37:55.280 who is calling out

00:37:56.800 what she seems to think

00:37:58.180 are the most nefarious

00:37:59.360 activities and operations

00:38:01.260 at Facebook.

00:38:02.300 But what's strange here

00:38:03.860 and what has me feeling

00:38:05.300 a little weird

00:38:05.880 about the story is

00:38:06.940 typically whistleblowers

00:38:09.140 against entrenched powers

00:38:10.680 are,

00:38:12.060 are sort of quieted

00:38:14.060 by those powers.

00:38:15.020 They're not promoted,

00:38:15.920 they're suppressed,

00:38:16.780 they're pushed to the side

00:38:17.700 and yet this whistleblower

00:38:19.220 is being lauded

00:38:20.820 on in the media

00:38:22.020 by established Democrats,

00:38:23.820 by other people

00:38:25.260 in what you might call

00:38:26.340 the ruling class.

00:38:27.280 So what is going on here?

00:38:29.320 A lot of conservatives

00:38:30.040 don't like what Facebook

00:38:31.120 is doing

00:38:31.620 when they suppress

00:38:32.580 our speech.

00:38:33.500 But what is the angle

00:38:35.940 coming out here

00:38:36.580 from this whistleblower?

00:38:37.760 So there are two things

00:38:38.760 that are going on,

00:38:39.500 two major concerns

00:38:40.700 about Facebook

00:38:41.480 and this so-called

00:38:43.320 whistleblower

00:38:44.440 is at the intersection

00:38:45.300 of them both.

00:38:45.940 The first thing

00:38:47.900 that is going on

00:38:48.860 is that Facebook

00:38:49.740 has a practice

00:38:51.740 of targeting

00:38:53.260 children

00:38:55.600 and in particular

00:38:56.680 teenage girls.

00:38:58.580 And Instagram,

00:39:00.040 which Facebook owns,

00:39:01.780 the algorithm

00:39:02.760 is designed

00:39:03.800 to appeal

00:39:05.800 to teenage girls

00:39:06.840 but also

00:39:07.480 to reinforce

00:39:08.260 very negative

00:39:09.960 trends

00:39:11.060 with teenage girls.

00:39:12.060 So,

00:39:13.260 for example,

00:39:15.000 body image problems

00:39:16.000 and eating disorders

00:39:17.100 and suicidal tendencies,

00:39:20.000 the algorithm

00:39:21.020 feeds all of that.

00:39:22.940 And I don't,

00:39:24.340 you don't have to

00:39:24.840 take my word for it,

00:39:25.780 you can actually take

00:39:26.560 Facebook's word for it.

00:39:28.120 So the Wall Street Journal

00:39:29.100 a couple of weeks ago

00:39:30.020 broke a bombshell story

00:39:31.860 that Facebook

00:39:33.460 conducted

00:39:34.100 its own research

00:39:35.420 on what is the effect

00:39:37.160 of our product

00:39:38.080 on kids

00:39:39.300 and their marketing

00:39:40.040 to kids.

00:39:40.520 And they concluded

00:39:41.960 that

00:39:43.280 teenage girls

00:39:45.920 in particular,

00:39:46.860 Instagram was

00:39:47.640 really toxic.

00:39:49.760 And British girls,

00:39:52.660 13%

00:39:55.020 said they had

00:39:56.940 gotten their

00:39:57.760 suicidal ideas

00:39:59.060 from Instagram.

00:40:00.940 American girls,

00:40:02.380 6% of them

00:40:03.600 said they had

00:40:04.240 gotten their

00:40:04.860 suicidal ideas

00:40:06.060 from Instagram.

00:40:07.420 And so Facebook

00:40:08.140 had this research.

00:40:09.420 which was handed

00:40:11.520 over to the

00:40:11.980 Wall Street Journal

00:40:12.640 and the Wall Street

00:40:13.260 Journal reported

00:40:13.940 on it.

00:40:14.580 We've had now

00:40:15.520 three hearings

00:40:16.300 in the last couple

00:40:17.000 of weeks in the Senate.

00:40:17.820 I participated in

00:40:18.600 all of them

00:40:19.060 with Facebook

00:40:19.580 witnesses.

00:40:20.940 The Facebook

00:40:21.820 witnesses

00:40:22.440 have been terrible.

00:40:25.600 They're essentially

00:40:26.400 giving the

00:40:27.040 Sergeant Schultz

00:40:27.840 defense.

00:40:28.880 I hear nothing,

00:40:29.760 I see nothing

00:40:30.360 from Hogan Heroes,

00:40:31.220 a show before

00:40:32.020 you were born,

00:40:32.660 Michael,

00:40:33.080 but a great show.

00:40:34.700 Before I was a

00:40:35.300 glint in my father's eye.

00:40:36.520 But I used to

00:40:37.580 watch it as a

00:40:38.140 little kid with

00:40:38.660 my dad.

00:40:39.080 Hogan Sears

00:40:39.440 was awesome.

00:40:41.460 So their defense,

00:40:42.580 so I've asked,

00:40:43.380 I've asked,

00:40:43.880 there were two

00:40:44.200 witnesses from

00:40:44.780 Facebook the last

00:40:45.520 two weeks.

00:40:45.920 I've asked them,

00:40:47.260 number one,

00:40:48.020 is this research

00:40:48.860 true?

00:40:50.020 They say,

00:40:50.760 well,

00:40:51.240 no,

00:40:51.740 it's out of

00:40:52.220 context.

00:40:52.640 I said,

00:40:53.060 great,

00:40:53.280 what's the

00:40:53.620 context?

00:40:54.080 Oh,

00:40:54.200 no,

00:40:54.280 no,

00:40:54.380 we won't

00:40:54.720 release the

00:40:55.180 research.

00:40:55.600 We're not

00:40:55.880 going to tell

00:40:56.340 you what the

00:40:56.900 research says,

00:40:57.960 but we don't

00:40:58.940 like what the

00:40:59.440 journal reported.

00:41:00.180 And I said,

00:41:00.500 okay,

00:41:00.720 the journal reported

00:41:01.600 Mark Zuckerberg

00:41:02.500 personally reviewed

00:41:04.380 this research.

00:41:05.140 Is that true?

00:41:06.620 Two senior

00:41:07.220 Facebook witnesses,

00:41:08.240 I don't know.

00:41:08.680 I don't know.

00:41:09.120 I don't know what

00:41:09.560 Zuckerberg knows.

00:41:10.320 Who knows?

00:41:10.860 Who knows?

00:41:11.280 No,

00:41:11.440 no,

00:41:11.520 no,

00:41:11.620 we're not

00:41:11.980 going to say

00:41:12.280 anything about

00:41:12.660 what Zuckerberg

00:41:13.200 knew.

00:41:13.980 I asked another

00:41:15.080 follow-up,

00:41:15.860 which is,

00:41:17.160 has Facebook

00:41:17.800 quantified how

00:41:19.880 many teenage

00:41:20.560 girls have taken 1.00

00:41:21.400 their lives

00:41:22.120 because of your

00:41:22.860 product?

00:41:25.140 Facebook witnesses

00:41:26.120 refused to answer

00:41:27.020 that question.

00:41:28.820 And I asked the

00:41:29.860 natural follow-up,

00:41:30.980 okay,

00:41:31.380 you got research

00:41:32.460 telling you

00:41:34.380 that your

00:41:34.900 product is

00:41:36.780 hurting children.

00:41:39.120 What'd you do

00:41:39.800 to fix it?

00:41:40.860 What changes

00:41:42.020 did you implement

00:41:43.100 to fix this

00:41:45.460 problem?

00:41:46.120 And the short

00:41:46.920 answer is the

00:41:47.680 Facebook witnesses

00:41:48.400 said,

00:41:48.900 nothing,

00:41:50.040 nothing,

00:41:50.660 nothing.

00:41:51.040 We didn't do

00:41:51.720 a damn thing. 0.53

00:41:53.100 So this week, 0.99

00:41:54.460 the so-called

00:41:54.980 whistleblower who

00:41:55.820 had been an

00:41:56.380 employee at

00:41:56.880 Facebook was

00:41:57.460 testifying.

00:41:58.400 I asked her

00:41:59.220 the same

00:41:59.560 questions.

00:42:00.340 She was actually

00:42:01.020 much more

00:42:01.500 cooperative in the

00:42:02.160 questions.

00:42:02.520 She said,

00:42:02.880 yes,

00:42:03.100 that's what the

00:42:03.540 research said.

00:42:04.860 She said,

00:42:05.600 yes,

00:42:05.900 Zuckerberg was

00:42:06.500 aware of it.

00:42:08.920 She didn't

00:42:09.600 know if they'd

00:42:10.140 quantify how

00:42:11.360 many teenage

00:42:11.900 girls had taken 0.99

00:42:12.620 their lives

00:42:13.120 because of

00:42:13.520 Facebook's

00:42:14.020 product.

00:42:14.680 But in

00:42:15.220 terms of what

00:42:15.860 they did to

00:42:16.380 change it,

00:42:16.900 she said, 0.94

00:42:17.280 not a damn 0.89

00:42:17.680 thing. 0.95

00:42:18.480 In fact,

00:42:18.900 she watched

00:42:19.460 the testimony

00:42:20.040 of the previous

00:42:21.260 two Facebook

00:42:21.980 witnesses.

00:42:22.620 She said,

00:42:22.920 it was amazing

00:42:23.500 when you asked

00:42:24.100 them that

00:42:24.380 question,

00:42:25.340 she assumed

00:42:26.140 they'd come

00:42:26.640 out with a

00:42:27.200 five-point plan.

00:42:28.240 We did the

00:42:28.700 following five

00:42:29.460 things in

00:42:29.940 response to it,

00:42:30.540 which sort of

00:42:31.400 anyone you

00:42:32.340 would think,

00:42:32.840 if you got

00:42:33.440 a report

00:42:34.100 that you

00:42:35.100 were marketing

00:42:35.700 a product

00:42:36.200 that was

00:42:36.620 killing

00:42:37.020 children, 1.00

00:42:38.320 you would

00:42:39.100 think you

00:42:39.480 would say,

00:42:39.860 all right,

00:42:40.160 how can we

00:42:40.620 change this

00:42:41.160 so that

00:42:41.480 doesn't happen?

00:42:43.060 She confirmed

00:42:43.900 Facebook didn't

00:42:44.540 do anything.

00:42:45.120 So on that,

00:42:46.320 the hearing we

00:42:47.600 had today,

00:42:48.280 there was

00:42:48.560 actually bipartisan

00:42:49.380 concern about

00:42:50.160 that.

00:42:50.460 Both Republicans

00:42:51.260 and Democrats,

00:42:52.580 nobody's defending

00:42:53.580 Facebook in what

00:42:56.040 it's doing to

00:42:56.680 teenage girls.

00:42:57.400 And the

00:42:57.940 analogy that

00:42:58.680 most frequently

00:42:59.260 gets invoked

00:43:00.020 is the

00:43:00.400 tobacco

00:43:00.740 companies.

00:43:01.300 When the

00:43:01.500 tobacco

00:43:01.840 companies,

00:43:02.880 you know,

00:43:03.160 Joe Camel,

00:43:03.920 when they

00:43:04.200 marketed to

00:43:04.940 kids to

00:43:05.480 try to

00:43:05.820 get them

00:43:06.180 addicted to

00:43:07.120 cigarettes

00:43:07.580 as young

00:43:08.300 teenagers so

00:43:09.140 they would

00:43:09.380 be lifelong

00:43:09.860 customers,

00:43:11.260 Facebook is

00:43:11.880 kind of

00:43:12.200 falling into

00:43:12.760 the same

00:43:13.440 category of

00:43:14.820 deliberately

00:43:15.540 engaging in

00:43:17.040 business

00:43:17.340 practices that

00:43:18.100 hurt kids.

00:43:19.660 That's

00:43:20.220 category one.

00:43:22.340 Category two

00:43:23.320 is political

00:43:23.860 censorship,

00:43:24.320 and we've

00:43:24.880 talked a ton

00:43:25.740 on this

00:43:26.160 podcast about

00:43:26.960 political

00:43:27.300 censorship.

00:43:30.640 In

00:43:31.400 category two,

00:43:33.320 there is a

00:43:34.180 yawning

00:43:34.740 divide between

00:43:36.780 Democrats and

00:43:37.700 Republicans in

00:43:38.560 Congress.

00:43:39.920 Most, if not

00:43:41.060 all,

00:43:41.340 Republicans in

00:43:42.020 Congress are

00:43:42.540 very worried

00:43:43.300 about political

00:43:43.920 censorship,

00:43:44.760 about Silicon

00:43:45.860 Valley billionaires

00:43:46.920 silencing

00:43:47.620 conservative views

00:43:48.640 they disagree

00:43:49.160 with.

00:43:50.340 Most

00:43:51.060 congressional

00:43:51.660 Democrats,

00:43:52.600 not only are

00:43:53.260 they not

00:43:53.740 worried about

00:43:54.500 it, not

00:43:56.240 only do

00:43:56.780 many of

00:43:57.280 them deny

00:43:58.000 that it

00:43:58.380 exists or

00:43:59.260 that it

00:43:59.640 happens,

00:44:00.920 their position

00:44:02.500 is we

00:44:03.900 want more

00:44:04.940 of it.

00:44:05.560 We want

00:44:06.060 more censorship.

00:44:07.500 Silence,

00:44:08.900 every quote

00:44:09.900 extremist voice,

00:44:11.620 and that's

00:44:11.940 their code

00:44:12.440 word.

00:44:13.480 When you

00:44:14.000 hear liberals

00:44:15.220 using the

00:44:15.860 word extremist,

00:44:17.460 what they

00:44:18.080 mean is you.

00:44:18.800 That's us.

00:44:19.400 What they

00:44:19.780 mean is any

00:44:20.480 conservative,

00:44:21.120 what they

00:44:21.340 mean is any

00:44:21.800 libertarian,

00:44:22.500 what they

00:44:22.720 mean is Donald

00:44:23.240 Trump,

00:44:23.920 what they

00:44:24.260 mean is anyone

00:44:24.740 who voted

00:44:25.100 for Donald

00:44:25.600 Trump,

00:44:26.020 what they

00:44:26.240 mean is anyone

00:44:26.740 who's pro-life,

00:44:27.940 what they

00:44:28.260 mean is anyone

00:44:28.900 who believes

00:44:29.640 that there

00:44:30.280 are two

00:44:30.660 genders.

00:44:31.960 All of

00:44:32.620 that they

00:44:33.080 believe is

00:44:33.640 extremist,

00:44:34.520 and they

00:44:35.060 want social

00:44:35.680 media to

00:44:36.180 silence it

00:44:36.720 all.

00:44:37.040 And so

00:44:37.320 the hearing

00:44:38.300 today,

00:44:39.980 and listen,

00:44:40.640 my sense

00:44:41.320 of this

00:44:41.860 whistleblower

00:44:42.900 is that she's

00:44:43.620 very much

00:44:44.200 politically on

00:44:44.900 the left,

00:44:45.340 so she

00:44:45.880 wants Facebook

00:44:47.500 to censor

00:44:48.460 even more.

00:44:50.200 So on

00:44:50.760 that component,

00:44:51.620 yes,

00:44:52.600 the media,

00:44:53.540 and yes,

00:44:54.240 Democrats,

00:44:55.140 are jumping

00:44:56.260 on this

00:44:56.760 whistleblower

00:44:57.500 because they're

00:44:59.260 trying to use

00:45:00.060 her testimony

00:45:00.820 to further

00:45:01.480 their preferred

00:45:02.140 political outcome,

00:45:03.440 which is for

00:45:04.180 Facebook to

00:45:04.920 censor every

00:45:06.060 conservative view

00:45:07.140 so that the

00:45:08.000 only view

00:45:08.780 anyone is

00:45:09.300 allowed to

00:45:09.820 express is

00:45:11.140 the left-wing

00:45:11.680 view.

00:45:12.400 Another bait

00:45:13.440 and switch, 0.78

00:45:14.260 another if you

00:45:14.800 focus on the

00:45:15.560 legitimate problems

00:45:16.380 at Facebook,

00:45:16.960 which we would

00:45:17.420 all acknowledge,

00:45:18.640 and use that

00:45:20.580 as a way to

00:45:21.320 push through

00:45:21.980 even more

00:45:22.820 censorship of

00:45:23.580 conservatives.

00:45:24.140 You're seeing

00:45:24.420 this happen

00:45:24.900 a lot around

00:45:26.200 the country

00:45:27.360 right now,

00:45:27.840 and a lot

00:45:28.220 around Washington.

00:45:29.140 There is one

00:45:29.680 place where you

00:45:30.520 will not be

00:45:30.920 censored.

00:45:31.380 That is on

00:45:32.260 the Verdict

00:45:33.260 live fall

00:45:35.020 tour.

00:45:35.900 We are coming

00:45:36.480 to schools,

00:45:37.180 hopefully near you.

00:45:38.200 We're going to

00:45:39.200 University of

00:45:39.780 Wisconsin-Madison

00:45:40.640 on the 13th

00:45:42.040 of this month,

00:45:42.620 so just next

00:45:43.540 week.

00:45:44.080 We are going

00:45:44.660 to Texas.

00:45:46.400 We're going

00:45:47.000 to Texas A&M

00:45:48.200 on the 14th.

00:45:49.540 It's going

00:45:50.320 to be a

00:45:50.860 great deal

00:45:51.200 of fun.

00:45:51.980 I can't

00:45:52.640 wait to see

00:45:53.000 everybody there.

00:45:53.640 We've got

00:45:53.860 more schools

00:45:54.400 that are going

00:45:54.740 to be announced,

00:45:56.100 but get ready.

00:45:57.260 So, Michael,

00:45:57.800 where can they

00:45:58.420 get their

00:45:58.740 tickets?

00:45:59.180 How can they

00:45:59.760 go if they

00:46:00.320 want to come

00:46:01.220 see either

00:46:02.540 University of

00:46:03.120 Wisconsin-Madison

00:46:04.100 or Texas A&M?

00:46:06.000 How can they

00:46:06.540 come see

00:46:07.060 Verdict live?

00:46:08.560 You've got

00:46:09.080 to go to

00:46:09.940 yaf.org.

00:46:11.580 That is the

00:46:11.880 Young America's

00:46:12.340 Foundation partnering

00:46:13.200 up with us

00:46:13.820 for this fall

00:46:14.800 tour.

00:46:15.420 Head on over

00:46:15.940 there, click

00:46:16.760 on the tour,

00:46:17.320 click on your

00:46:17.960 school.

00:46:18.480 You can go

00:46:19.220 get all of

00:46:19.920 the information

00:46:20.580 there.

00:46:21.180 It's going

00:46:21.620 to be me.

00:46:22.360 It's going

00:46:22.800 to be Senator

00:46:23.640 Cruz.

00:46:24.040 It is going

00:46:24.440 to be our

00:46:25.580 trusty cactus

00:46:26.300 friend.

00:46:27.000 We didn't

00:46:27.340 get time

00:46:27.940 for the

00:46:28.460 mailbag.

00:46:28.980 Don't worry,

00:46:29.460 we're going

00:46:29.640 to have a

00:46:29.840 whole lot

00:46:30.140 of time

00:46:30.400 for the

00:46:30.640 mailbag

00:46:30.960 in person

00:46:31.780 with all

00:46:32.140 of you.

00:46:32.700 You can

00:46:32.840 also stream

00:46:33.760 the events

00:46:34.940 live.

00:46:35.560 You can

00:46:35.720 do that

00:46:36.020 on the

00:46:36.500 Young

00:46:36.800 America's

00:46:37.140 Foundation

00:46:37.540 YAF

00:46:38.360 or Verdict

00:46:39.560 YouTube

00:46:40.100 channels.

00:46:40.920 We can't

00:46:41.320 wait to see

00:46:41.700 everybody in

00:46:42.260 person.

00:46:42.640 But for

00:46:42.860 now,

00:46:43.400 Senator,

00:46:44.160 we have

00:46:44.480 to say

00:46:44.720 goodbye.

00:46:44.940 I'm

00:46:45.360 Michael

00:46:45.600 Knowles.

00:46:46.320 This is

00:46:46.600 Verdict

00:46:46.860 with Ted

00:46:47.200 Cruz.

00:46:56.440 This

00:46:57.080 episode of

00:46:57.820 Verdict

00:46:58.220 with Ted

00:46:58.740 Cruz is

00:46:59.400 being brought

00:46:59.880 to you by

00:47:00.320 Jobs Freedom

00:47:01.140 and Security

00:47:01.900 PAC, a

00:47:02.640 political action

00:47:03.500 committee dedicated

00:47:04.280 to supporting

00:47:05.060 conservative

00:47:05.640 causes,

00:47:06.500 organizations,

00:47:07.360 and candidates

00:47:08.020 across the

00:47:08.740 country.

00:47:09.380 In 2022,

00:47:10.600 Jobs Freedom

00:47:11.240 and Security

00:47:11.840 PAC plans to

00:47:12.840 donate to

00:47:13.360 conservative

00:47:13.840 candidates running

00:47:14.740 for Congress

00:47:15.460 and help

00:47:16.040 the Republican

00:47:16.620 Party across 0.98

00:47:17.700 the nation.

00:47:19.180 This is an

00:47:19.540 iHeart Podcast.

00:47:21.440 Guaranteed

00:47:22.160 Human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 08, 2021

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