Verdict with Ted Cruz - September 14, 2026


A Game for the Ages： Texas STUNS Ohio State, plus CNN Pretends to be Bewildered by Islamism


Episode Stats


Length

38 minutes

Words per minute

177.2

Word count

6,816

Sentence count

457

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

14

sentences flagged

Hate speech

30

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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00:00:34.500 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand?
00:00:37.900 We're not boring.
00:00:38.940 A lot of news is boring.
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00:00:45.060 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:00:46.120 He's Joe Getty.
00:00:46.760 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:00:47.880 We try to bring you the truth.
00:00:49.020 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:00:51.420 How about something about a comedic tone?
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00:00:57.420 Yes.
00:00:57.820 Listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:04.660 I believe that whoever was in that room and did that was a murderer.
00:01:09.160 A new podcast series, Faultline Haditha, tells the story of a shocking crime and a cover-up at the highest levels of the United States Marine Corps.
00:01:17.620 If you've got five players and you offer immunity to four, you better be right about the fifth.
00:01:22.460 Because if you're not, then you've just given immunity to your killer.
00:01:25.060 Listen to Faultline Haditha on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:34.820 Welcome in his verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as well.
00:01:39.120 Senator, it was one heck of a week, convention to maybe one of the greatest football games in Texas history.
00:01:46.580 You were there. It was fun, to say the least, the big victory.
00:01:50.740 and I do love your little tweets afterwards curse what curse we'll get into that as well but it was
00:01:56.740 a really exciting week all right so this weekend was simply a spectacular weekend this I don't know
00:02:03.580 that it is possible to have more fun than I had this weekend I was up in Austin for the game
00:02:09.200 between UT and Ohio State Ohio State came in number one in the nation UT was number four in the nation
00:02:15.800 We had lost the last two times we played Ohio State, and it was incredible.
00:02:23.060 The comeback was unbelievable.
00:02:25.520 I'm going to walk you guys through it because just being on the ground, the energy in the
00:02:30.760 stadium, Daryl K. Royal was on fire.
00:02:36.740 And it was, look, the first half was heartbreaking.
00:02:40.680 The Longhorns played about as bad a football as they could play.
00:02:44.440 It was maddening.
00:02:46.260 We went into halftime down 23-3.
00:02:51.140 The opening play is a fumble.
00:02:54.740 The next drive, we have an interception that was a bizarre interception
00:02:59.240 that bounces off the receiver and just kind of wobbles in the air
00:03:02.480 and right into the hands of Ohio State's player.
00:03:06.960 Look, that whole first half, our receivers were having a really hard time catching.
00:03:12.300 We had a wide-open touchdown.
00:03:14.440 in the end zone that we dropped and and arch manning who is one hell of a quarterback but
00:03:20.200 he was tight he was throwing high like it was as rough a half as as you could have in football
00:03:26.840 yeah and then the second half was as good a half as you could have in football and the second half
00:03:32.300 was a little better than the first half was bad and like that you know twice they went for it on
00:03:38.180 on fourth and long once fourth and nine once fourth and six made it both times i mean those
00:03:44.180 are are gutsy calls gutsy plays manning played like a man possessed in the second half he did
00:03:52.280 and it was beautiful to watch and and that final drive look the feel in the stadium
00:03:58.700 you could just feel we're going down the field we're going down the field you could
00:04:04.200 feel the seconds ticking off the clock and the nervousness ohio state kept calling time out
00:04:10.280 because they recognized what was going on.
00:04:12.600 Oh, yeah.
00:04:13.540 And we're sitting there, and I think it was the one-yard line,
00:04:17.200 and we got four downs to punch it in.
00:04:20.240 And it was, and every time you're just ticking seconds off the clock,
00:04:25.040 it was spectacular and awesome and a perfect weekend.
00:04:31.100 Yeah, we're going to get more into that.
00:04:33.100 And plus, you got to rush the field, something I've gotten to do once in my life.
00:04:36.400 It is absolutely a blast.
00:04:37.660 We're going to talk about that as well.
00:04:39.200 Plus, some other big issues.
00:04:41.060 But before we get to that, I want to take a moment.
00:04:42.860 I want to talk to you about something that just happened in Massachusetts.
00:04:46.500 And most of the country has no idea.
00:04:48.720 The state just passed a law allowing abortion through the 8th and 9th months of pregnancy right up until birth.
00:04:56.300 Based on any reason, an abortion doctor gives no exceptions, no limits.
00:05:02.640 And this could include babies capable of surviving outside the womb.
00:05:05.860 And under this law, that fact would not stop it.
00:05:09.860 The law also strips away formally mandatory safety requirements for abortion providers
00:05:14.600 and removes specific accountability when women are harmed.
00:05:18.840 Less oversight, less protection, and no consequences.
00:05:23.080 Gallup's polling also shows that most Americans, including most who call themselves pro-choice,
00:05:28.540 don't support abortion this late in the pregnancy.
00:05:31.620 Now, this isn't a fringe position.
00:05:33.000 This is common ground, and Massachusetts just ignored all of it.
00:05:36.800 And that's why I want you to know about what Americans United for Life, AUL, is doing.
00:05:41.700 For more than 50 years, they've been the legal backbone of the pro-life movement,
00:05:45.800 fighting in legislatures and courtrooms across the country.
00:05:49.380 They know how to fight these laws.
00:05:51.580 They have done it before, and they're already building the response to what Massachusetts just did.
00:05:56.280 But they can't do it without resources, and that's where you and I come in.
00:05:59.760 A gift of just $50 today will help AUL's legal work, their legislative strategy, and the
00:06:06.680 advocate standing between these babies and a law that says their lives don't matter.
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00:06:23.220 aul.org forward slash verdict.
00:06:26.280 All right, so let's get back to the game real quick, Senator.
00:06:28.560 And I got to tell you, it was funny.
00:06:30.000 I was on the golf course caddying for my Sunday tournament,
00:06:33.020 and my phone blew up earlier in the morning, way before the game started.
00:06:37.820 And I looked down, I've got like 30-something text messages from people.
00:06:40.580 They're like, dude, they're booing Ted at game day.
00:06:42.500 And I'm like, what are you talking about?
00:06:43.760 And then I get the video sent, and I see you're on there talking about a bill
00:06:47.340 we've talked about on this show a lot.
00:06:49.240 So set the stage for – and by the way, I didn't even know you were doing game day.
00:06:53.500 We were together at the convention.
00:06:54.780 I felt – I was like, wait, what's happening?
00:06:56.780 What's going on here?
00:06:57.780 so talk about when that was even asked for you to come on there talk about this safe sports act
00:07:03.140 and everything behind it well look i mentioned this this weekend was as cool a weekend as as
00:07:08.200 as i probably ever had um it it started the game day thing happened very very late so it was friday
00:07:14.640 night like seven eight o'clock at night uh wow espn extended the invitation and said hey can you
00:07:20.660 come on on game day tomorrow to talk about the protect college sports act which which the senate
00:07:25.320 is going to take up either next week or the week after, but it's teed up to be the second vote when
00:07:30.300 we get back. Uh, and, and it obviously it impacts college sports profoundly. And so they wanted me
00:07:35.760 to come talk about it, but it was Friday night late that they extend the invite and, and, and
00:07:41.280 the interview was going to be early Saturday morning. So I had to get up Saturday morning
00:07:45.580 at four of the morning, uh, and, and drive. I left Houston at 5.00 AM to drive up to get to
00:07:51.940 Austin to do the interview. Yeah. And so I went up there and I got to say, look, I mean, to show up
00:07:58.280 on college game day, if I were to list a thousand things I thought I would do, that would not be
00:08:04.820 one of them. Yeah. That'd not be on it. Exactly. I mean, let's be clear. I can't throw a 60 foot
00:08:10.000 touchdown. I can't even probably throw a 60 yard touchdown. I would say we'll go with yard there.
00:08:14.980 Yeah. Yeah. Maybe 60 foot. Maybe you're not lying on that one. I actually feel pretty confident I
00:08:20.520 I couldn't, I don't know, maybe I could throw a, you know, 60 foot would be 20 yards.
00:08:25.620 I might be able to do that.
00:08:27.120 But I ain't going to be on college game day for my athletic prowess.
00:08:31.080 I feel quite confident.
00:08:32.940 Your tennis game is more likely to get you on there than my sports ability.
00:08:37.500 Although I can still take you at hoops, so I'll take some credit for that.
00:08:42.660 But I'm a mediocre high school hoops player, so I ain't getting on game day for that either.
00:08:48.420 So it was very cool to be on college game events.
00:08:53.020 And by the way, you know one of the hosts on game day, Nick Saban, as well.
00:08:56.240 I know Nick well.
00:08:57.660 He has been really integral in getting the Protect College Sports Act through.
00:09:02.720 Coach Saban came by.
00:09:04.380 It was great to see him.
00:09:05.520 In fact, he came by and just gave me a high five right before we started the interview,
00:09:09.340 which was cool to see him and to get that encouragement.
00:09:13.180 And the substantive interview, I thought, was great.
00:09:15.760 It was all about what does this bill do?
00:09:17.420 Why is it important? Talking about the crisis in college sports, the need to protect it,
00:09:22.640 the need to protect athletes, the need to protect the roster slots and scholarship slots for women's
00:09:28.980 sports and Olympic sports. So it was all on the substance. It was a great interview.
00:09:33.460 And you had a bunch of students that were there. And almost immediately when I start,
00:09:40.060 there's heckling from the crowd and there's heckling from the crowd. And they're what I
00:09:44.340 guess we're students who are yelling uh and they start chanting uh and and chanting insults and i
00:09:50.700 will say it's kind of interesting trying to do an interview and it's about a 10-minute interview
00:09:54.860 talking about the substance of legislation while you've got kind of over on the side some people
00:10:00.380 screaming i didn't i i didn't see who it was because i'm paying attention to the interview
00:10:05.440 uh but that then proceeded with everyone on on twitter going crazy with it and retweeting it
00:10:11.640 And unsurprisingly, you know, every lefty on earth who doesn't like me is just going crazy and being really thrilled with that footage.
00:10:21.240 Now, let me also say this, Senator.
00:10:22.700 Look, you and I have traveled together a lot.
00:10:25.360 We've seen the great.
00:10:26.640 We've seen the bad.
00:10:27.680 We've seen the ugly.
00:10:28.940 We've been to sporting events together.
00:10:31.180 But let me just set a little bit of a background stage for the SEC.
00:10:34.460 I've done a lot of game days just as a sports fan, Ole Miss.
00:10:38.200 and i can tell you like the politics of game day doesn't really exist if you go back in history
00:10:45.240 and look it is either the other team sucks and we're amazing it is college kids in the south
00:10:50.700 by the way majority of the time they're like hardcore conservative they're wearing the i
00:10:54.720 remember the bush stickers and cheney and oh four it's just a fun time and then after i got the
00:11:00.800 golf course and i'm looking at it i'm laughing because some people may not know the past here
00:11:06.100 You and I, I mean, one of my still this day most viral tweets was you and I going to an Astros game.
00:11:11.720 And there's this mantra by Democrats.
00:11:14.500 And they've been using it for years that any game you owe to the team you're there to support loses.
00:11:20.160 Now, they forget all the World Series games that you were at when the Astros, for example, win.
00:11:24.760 And all the games like last night that are massive against the number one team in the nation that you win.
00:11:30.220 But they've used this as a way to attack.
00:11:32.500 In fact, there was even a campaign ad, if I remember correctly.
00:11:35.700 Was it last Allred or was it Beto that did it?
00:11:38.660 It was like the Cruz curse.
00:11:40.700 Allred, yeah, it was Allred.
00:11:41.600 And so it was preplanned.
00:11:43.400 So when I went back and looked at the videos, I'm like, okay, my gut is this is all preplanned.
00:11:50.740 And the reason why I say that is because there were texts going around because Tallarica was also the game.
00:11:56.420 And they were almost rooting against Texas where he's running for Senate.
00:11:59.660 But just so you can say it's a cruise curse with like pre-prepared memes and all of this other like propaganda against you and Republicans like, oh, look, if somehow Tallarica would be if he was a senator, this would never happen.
00:12:12.780 And I don't think a lot of people knew that whole background.
00:12:16.020 Yeah, look, I have no idea.
00:12:17.700 I can tell you that I spent the entire evening at the stadium and virtually every other interaction I had with with students was high fives and hugging them and celebrating.
00:12:28.500 And so, look, I don't know, but I can tell you it was so much fun.
00:12:37.080 It was so incredible.
00:12:38.480 That comeback, and you mentioned storming the field.
00:12:41.980 So a little bit of history.
00:12:43.380 And by the way, you had a legit posse that you stormed the field with.
00:12:47.600 So make sure you tell that as well.
00:12:49.420 So look, let's step back.
00:12:51.400 You mentioned this online nonsense about the cruise curse.
00:12:55.320 So it's something that Twitter has decided that if I attend a game, that the team loses.
00:13:00.760 Now, understand, I attend a ton of sporting events, basketball, football, baseball.
00:13:09.180 I love cheering on college teams, pro teams.
00:13:12.380 So I go to a lot of games.
00:13:13.320 So my record is, by and large, for the last decade, the state of Texas' record.
00:13:17.860 So when we win, I'm almost always there.
00:13:19.960 When we lose, I'm almost always there.
00:13:21.700 Like, if it's a big game, I'm usually there.
00:13:24.780 And so, as you noted, the Astros, you know, for the past eight years, Catherine, my youngest
00:13:30.900 daughter, and I have gone to almost every single home playoff game.
00:13:34.040 So we went all the way through seven consecutive ALCSs, four World Series, and two World Series
00:13:40.680 wins.
00:13:41.060 And I was there for the wins.
00:13:42.320 I was there for the losses.
00:13:43.660 But that ain't a bad run.
00:13:45.440 That's one of the most historically successful runs ever.
00:13:48.660 So then Twitter decided, oh, OK, it's only a football curse.
00:13:52.080 Well, I've also been in a lot of really good football games.
00:13:55.440 In fact, look, this game for me, I was thinking about it.
00:13:59.740 It is either number two or number three in the best football games I've ever been to.
00:14:03.920 Number one, hands down, was 2005.
00:14:07.280 Heidi and I went to the UT-USC National Championship in the Rose Bowl.
00:14:12.520 That's when Vince Young rose up like a man among boys, won that.
00:14:16.980 That was our last national championship, and we were right there.
00:14:20.420 That was incredible. That remains my number one football game of all time. Prior to Saturday
00:14:28.160 night, my number two was five years ago. I was there when A&M beat Alabama. Alabama at the time
00:14:35.760 was the number one team in the country. And A&M had just suffered two hard losses. I mean, A&M,
00:14:42.400 their expectations were not high going into that game. I kind of felt like, I thought A&M was a
00:14:48.900 better team than the media were giving them credit for. And they had a chip on their shoulder
00:14:53.640 because they just had two losses. It struck me as the kind of game I could see Alabama being
00:14:58.640 overconfident, saying we're going to sweep in. They were playing in Kyle Field. That game was
00:15:03.560 unbelievable. And you've heard me admit before that I am actually embarrassed. Five years ago
00:15:10.880 when the Aggies beat Alabama, I did not rush the field.
00:15:16.020 And when I'm with Aggies.
00:15:18.340 It's a bucket list thing, by the way.
00:15:19.820 It's a bucket list thing to rush the field.
00:15:22.040 Well, and I just confess to like rooms full of Aggies. 0.94
00:15:25.820 I say, listen, this is just a character failing. 1.00
00:15:27.880 I have no defense.
00:15:29.420 I can say nothing other than I'm sorry and I should have, and it was wrong.
00:15:35.220 Yep.
00:15:35.400 So, so I got to say on Saturday, when we did this comeback, like I was not going to repeat
00:15:42.820 that mistake a second time.
00:15:44.340 And so I looked at my security detail and I said, we're headed to the field right now.
00:15:48.640 And, and I got to say, like, like rushing the field after that comeback victory, it's
00:15:54.460 an, oh, so fun.
00:15:55.720 It was beyond awesome.
00:15:57.540 And, and you're like high-fiving students and hugging them and everyone is thrilled.
00:16:02.140 And there were like little kids and students laying on the turf, doing like snow angels on the turf.
00:16:09.940 They were dancing.
00:16:11.000 They were crying.
00:16:11.980 I mean, it was spectacular.
00:16:16.160 And so, look, if some knuckleheads wanted to yell during college game day, it doesn't matter.
00:16:21.380 There ain't nothing.
00:16:22.740 Yeah, that beats the end of that night.
00:16:24.760 These little lefties can do that can take even one iota off what was truly a magical day.
00:16:32.600 By the way, you've got to tell who you rushed the field with because that was half the fun part of this.
00:16:36.280 Like, the group around you is amazing.
00:16:38.420 Well, in particular, my best friend, my college roommate, law school roommate,
00:16:42.880 a guy named David Panton, who's this big 6'3 Jamaican who was the best man at my wedding.
00:16:48.060 He was down there.
00:16:49.240 It was really fun to go to the game with David.
00:16:52.440 And it was like the enthusiasm was palpable.
00:17:01.560 And look, it was just, it was a perfect day.
00:17:04.840 I love it. I love it.
00:17:05.720 It was fun.
00:17:06.620 Congratulations on the big win.
00:17:07.880 I hope you're this enthusiastic next week for me when Ole Miss plays LSU.
00:17:12.840 Okay, so just remember this enthusiasm.
00:17:15.200 And I need you to bottle it for next week for me.
00:17:17.680 Got it?
00:17:18.040 So, look, I got to say, is there a person more despised in the state of Mississippi than Lane Kiffin?
00:17:27.680 No, no, there's not.
00:17:28.740 In fact, I mean, I'm telling you, I'm shocked you haven't invited yourself to the game next week because it's going to be that lit.
00:17:36.880 It's going to be out of control.
00:17:39.940 I cannot wait to be there.
00:17:40.860 And one of my good friends, Mike Wallace, is getting inducted in the Ole Miss Hall of Fame.
00:17:47.500 So I'm going to get to be on the field when he gets inducted,
00:17:50.480 which is even more fun.
00:17:51.620 So I can't wait to be there for that.
00:17:52.880 It's going to be.
00:17:53.280 And by the way, for the folks listening that are not sports fans,
00:17:56.460 and we've got got listeners of a verdict that are in or not Lane Keffen was,
00:18:01.000 was the head football coach at Ole Miss.
00:18:02.740 And last year he left abandoned.
00:18:05.760 The word we use is abandon the team.
00:18:08.020 That's and that's fair going into the playoffs.
00:18:10.700 Like, like, yes, while his team is still playing and headed to the playoffs,
00:18:14.820 he left and went to LSU.
00:18:17.120 And it was it's so bad, actually, that there's a provision in the Protect College Sports Act that I wrote that's called the Lane Kiffin rule that says a school cannot recruit a coach while the season of the playoffs are still going on.
00:18:33.300 What we did is we adopted the NFL rule.
00:18:35.920 So in the NFL, you can't recruit a coach during the season or the playoffs.
00:18:39.940 In the offseason, you can go recruit a coach.
00:18:42.480 and I just think what Kiffin did to the kids at Ole Miss is really unfair to your players to leave
00:18:47.660 them while they're still in the middle of competing. And I will say that on top of that,
00:18:52.180 we had a provision of this bill called the Lane Kiffin rule. And then in the last two weeks where
00:18:57.240 he goes and recruits two players who had been in the NFL to come back and play at LSU, I've actually
00:19:05.780 joked, I think Lane Kiffin is the lead lobbyist trying to get the Protect College Sports Act
00:19:11.460 pass because look LSU was about four seconds away from being thrown out of the SEC and it was
00:19:19.080 the anger to LSU was palpable I think that moment has passed but but because Kiffin backed away
00:19:27.000 and I'll say between Kiffin recruiting two NFL players and then earlier Brendan Soresby trying
00:19:34.780 to play quarterback at at Texas Tech after having been caught repeatedly betting on his own games
00:19:41.320 That combination, look, the Protect College Sports Act makes clear that pros cannot play
00:19:46.480 in college sports. It also makes clear that you can and should block eligibility of players for
00:19:53.260 gambling. Those two events, I think, only built the momentum behind the bill.
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00:20:28.560 a shocking crime and a cover-up at the highest levels of the united states marine corps
00:20:35.320 someone opened the door and was the primary shooter is it possible you could do that and
00:20:40.160 then suppress the memory. A new podcast series, Faultline Haditha, tells the story the United
00:20:45.900 States government wants to keep buried. How can you not know there were women and children in
00:20:50.900 there? Are you going to tell us here that you don't know what happened that day? Based on
00:20:54.540 thousands of pages of previously classified documents and over a hundred hours of secretly
00:21:00.320 filmed video, the truth about one of the most infamous crimes in Marine Corps history can
00:21:06.040 finally be told if you've got five players and one of them is guilty of murder at least
00:21:11.300 and you offer immunity to the other four you better be right about the fifth because if you're
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00:21:25.580 you said this week and let's get in the politics of this for a moment you said you believe that
00:21:34.020 you actually will get to the votes needed for this. And this is going to come up in the next
00:21:38.300 week or two, you believe. What has changed and why do you think that's the case? Is it partly
00:21:41.880 because of this news headlines and what we've been seeing with these NFL players, etc.?
00:21:46.240 Look, yes. And at this point, the coalition behind the bill is massive. So we have 24 conferences
00:21:55.040 behind it. We have over 370 colleges and universities behind it. The NBA has endorsed
00:22:01.880 it the nfl major league baseball the national hockey league the nba players association uh the
00:22:07.380 nfl's players association have both endorsed it the national olympic committee has endorsed it
00:22:14.400 um we have over a hundred coaches who have endorsed it including nick saban including
00:22:20.380 john calipari um it is an incredibly broad coalition that is supporting this
00:22:28.040 And when we moved the bill out of committee, the Commerce Committee, which I chair,
00:22:32.760 the vote was 19 to 9.
00:22:34.300 So we got over 70% of the senators on board supporting it.
00:22:39.340 We're going to be voting.
00:22:41.060 So we are locked in that this is the second vote up for the Senate.
00:22:45.620 So when we get back, the first vote up is what's called the Clarity Act,
00:22:49.900 which is a big crypto act designed to provide some structure for crypto transactions.
00:22:55.560 As we sit here today, it is not clear whether the Democrats will filibuster the Clarity Act or not.
00:23:04.040 Yeah, because there's rumor they are going to.
00:23:06.480 Yeah, to get on to the Clarity Act, we need 60 votes.
00:23:09.240 There are only 53 Republicans.
00:23:10.680 So if the Democrats all vote no, they can block the crypto bill.
00:23:14.780 So we'll find out.
00:23:15.840 That'll be teed up first.
00:23:16.960 One of two things will happen.
00:23:18.640 Either they filibuster it or they don't.
00:23:21.120 If they filibuster it, we'll vote on Clarity.
00:23:24.380 they'll deny us 60 votes and it'll be done. If that happens, college sports pops immediately
00:23:30.140 next. We'll be voting on it either Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. If the Democrats
00:23:36.100 surprise us, if they decide, okay, we're going to give you 60 votes, we're not going to filibuster
00:23:40.040 it, then processing the Clarity Act will take about a week. It'll probably take the rest of
00:23:45.440 the week to finish Clarity, which means we will likely move to college sports either the end of
00:23:50.940 this week or the beginning of next week. So either way, it will be up for a vote either this week or
00:23:57.300 next week. And I believe we're going to get the votes. My objective from day one was not to eke
00:24:03.900 by with just 60 votes, but to get a big bipartisan vote. I'm not certain we will get there. When we
00:24:10.460 were in committee, both the SEC and Big Ten were opposing us. That's changed now. They're supporting
00:24:16.120 it as well. That's helped broaden the coalition. My hope is we get a really big vote, send it over
00:24:21.380 to the House, have the House pass it. And actually, the plan that I pitched to the president,
00:24:25.840 the president's agreed, is to have him sign it on college game day. And by the way, my advice would
00:24:31.340 be make sure they don't let the Democrats plant people in the crowd to boo the president.
00:24:36.740 But we can learn from your day. Yeah, exactly. That's so good. I love it. We're going to keep
00:24:42.900 you update on this bill that i can promise you because it could happen this week or next but
00:24:46.340 we'll have it covered for you here on verdict i can promise you that all right now before we get
00:24:50.280 on to this other topic i want to talk about that cnn losing their minds over your speech that you
00:24:55.860 gave at the republican midterm convention i do want to take a moment and talk to you about
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00:25:50.620 a child today at Compassion.com. That's Compassion.com. All right, Senator, so let's go back to
00:25:59.540 the midterm convention and your speech. We played that speech here. If you missed it, it was one
00:26:04.700 heck of a speech i'd encourage people to go to go watch it on x um or download the podcast as well
00:26:10.480 and you can hear it there but one of the interesting things that came out of your speech
00:26:14.900 was the reaction to you being honest and blunt about radical islamists and and this idea that
00:26:22.560 there's no such thing there's shockingly a debate about this now in even in the 25th anniversary of
00:26:29.880 9-11 happening this week and CNN was frustrated with you for the way that you were being so blunt
00:26:35.740 now you didn't say Islam you didn't you didn't say the whole religion you made it clear Islamists
00:26:41.240 radical extremists and yet they are acting like you're talking about anyone that is Muslim well
00:26:46.680 as as you noted on on Thursday I I spoke to the Republican midterm convention and and the the
00:26:53.120 central theme of my speech was that that that we are at a time for choosing we're at a fundamental
00:26:58.360 fork in the road. And on the left, we're witnessing a red-green alliance, a combination of communists,
00:27:06.380 of Marxists, and Islamists coming together and trying to take over the Democrat Party and having 0.75
00:27:12.400 real success. And I was laying out the twin dangers of communism and Islamism. And the two 1.00
00:27:19.800 are united because they share the same enemies. They hate Christians. They hate Jews. They hate 0.95
00:27:24.560 capitalists. They hate the Constitution. They hate America. And I laid that out. And I got to say,
00:27:29.860 CNN lost its minds over that. They really did not want me calling out what was happening in
00:27:35.860 the Democrat Party. And in particular, on the 25th anniversary of 9-11, it was too much
00:27:41.000 for them to handle. Listen to your friend, Abby Phillip, and the remainder of the panel
00:27:47.820 just have a really hard time with my speech to the convention.
00:27:51.920 So there's commentary, obviously, about socialism and communism.
00:27:55.080 We've been talking about that. 0.96
00:27:56.380 But the real theme there was Islam as the enemy. 0.91
00:28:01.180 Why? Why? 0.79
00:28:02.680 Why is an entire religion an enemy?
00:28:05.020 Because his eyes are open. 0.96
00:28:06.560 He's been paying attention.
00:28:08.060 This is sharp-elbowed politics.
00:28:09.660 It's tough rhetoric.
00:28:10.780 I get it why anybody's offended by it.
00:28:12.440 But he's giving as good as he got.
00:28:14.400 He's talking about Mamdani, as well as El-Sayed, but mostly Mamdani. 0.53
00:28:17.800 And he's talking about Mamdani because Mamdani does things like campaign with Hassan Piker, like campaign with an unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, like an al-Qaeda lawyer.
00:28:27.680 When he said on the 20th anniversary of 9-11, I'm answering it.
00:28:32.360 You didn't answer my question, which is why is the religion in and of itself being described as the enemy of the United States?
00:28:38.980 You're putting words in his mouth there.
00:28:40.540 What he's describing is the Islamism that Mondani and El Saeed are both very comfortable with. 0.94
00:28:48.400 And then when these deliberate provocations are provocative and people notice them, 0.70
00:28:52.760 their fans turn around and say, well, how dare you?
00:28:55.520 How have you the gall to notice this thing that we all noticed as well?
00:28:58.720 How do you figure the overwhelming success that Mondani had,
00:29:03.840 like defying all of the pundits, all of the inside crowd, 0.99
00:29:09.220 And here's this guy, a Muslim guy, 40 years old or whatever, not even 40.
00:29:15.220 And he stomped Andrew Cuomo. 1.00
00:29:17.680 He stomped him.
00:29:18.740 He barely won 50% in the first round.
00:29:21.680 He's not a stomping.
00:29:23.100 New York City really did revolt against this guy.
00:29:25.240 He just underperformed it.
00:29:26.820 No, it's not true.
00:29:27.900 He underperformed it in a Democratic manner.
00:29:29.840 I answered your question.
00:29:31.560 Here's your question for you.
00:29:32.340 Do we think that he's the most popular politician in New York right now?
00:29:34.840 That is true.
00:29:35.340 He's very popular among Democrats.
00:29:36.580 Do we think that NYPD Commissioner Tish was a delusional bigot when she said, we all have to stop muddling the waters here.
00:29:44.160 We all have to be clear about who the terrorists were and shame on those who are saying that the terrorists and the heroes are one in the same.
00:29:50.460 Which Mamdani said in 2020 when he said we mourn the 3,000 dead and the killing hasn't stopped.
00:29:53.980 I think you're the one muddying the waters, Noah.
00:29:56.400 You're the one muddying the waters. 0.99
00:29:58.400 Terrorists are terrorists. 0.58
00:29:59.600 I'm asking why Ted Cruz and you seem to want to make an entire religion anti-American.
00:30:07.400 Again, you are putting words in my mouth, and I can't say it enough.
00:30:10.740 The people who support radical Islamist violence are the people he's talking about.
00:30:14.560 He didn't say radical Islamist violence.
00:30:17.620 He said Islamism.
00:30:19.120 That's what he said.
00:30:20.000 He didn't say Islam.
00:30:21.020 What does that mean?
00:30:21.560 He didn't say Islam.
00:30:23.100 You know the definitions.
00:30:24.280 Excuse me.
00:30:24.980 So you're saying radical Islamic terrorism and Islamism are the same thing?
00:30:30.940 Islam is not the same, just like Palestinianism and being pro-Palestine are not the same thing. 0.99
00:30:34.620 That is a ridiculous argument now. 0.71
00:30:36.260 I'm surprised you've never encountered it. 1.00
00:30:37.420 That is a ridiculous argument. 0.98
00:30:38.900 It is so common. 0.99
00:30:40.040 It's like a social studies argument.
00:30:42.420 Because I study the subject.
00:30:43.580 What's what we do here?
00:30:45.680 By the way, as somebody who I'm sure would object to the idea of people considering Zionism and Judaism the same thing,
00:30:54.800 I'm surprised that you would make that connection about an entire religion that millions and millions of people in this world are a part of.
00:31:03.440 And the vast majority of them are not terrorists.
00:31:06.040 They're distinct things and they have distinctions between them, which is that there is a distinction between Islamism and Islam and being a Muslim.
00:31:12.860 There are distinct concepts. Of course, I would object to the distinctions being blurred because they shouldn't be blurred.
00:31:17.480 Senator, I got to be honest with you. You are way more careful in your clarification of Islam as religion and Islamists, which is radical terrorists and that ideology than I have even been in my career.
00:31:31.800 You make it a very clear distinction when talking about it. And I do love that if they actually listen to your speech, if they read your speech, if they listen to your words, you are not calling out Islam as a religion.
00:31:45.280 You are calling out the Islamists, which is a radical within that religion who is in favor 0.92
00:31:51.320 of terrorism and preaches it and wants there to be more of it. 1.00
00:31:54.880 Well, I have to say, I made a comment before playing that clip.
00:31:58.300 I referred to Abby Phillip as your friend.
00:32:00.540 There's a reason you've done her show a bunch of times.
00:32:02.460 I don't know her.
00:32:03.160 I've never met her.
00:32:04.460 But watching that clip, there are two and only two possibilities. 0.98
00:32:09.420 she is either stunningly ignorant about Islamism and what it is, or she is deliberately dishonest. 0.53
00:32:19.860 Those are the only two possibilities, because she repeatedly equates Islam and Islamism, 0.94
00:32:25.640 and they're totally different. And so I actually decided, I just pulled out my phone and said,
00:32:30.340 let's type in. So I typed in the word Islamism. And here's what Google Gemini just pulls up
00:32:36.140 straight on my phone. Islamism is a political ideology that asserts that the religion of Islam
00:32:42.980 should guide public life, legal codes, and political systems. So what is the difference?
00:32:48.120 So let's continue on AI. Islam versus Islamism. Islam is a global religion focused on faith, 1.00
00:32:56.040 personal devotion, doctrine, and spiritual patience. What is Islamism? A political and
00:33:02.520 social movement that seeks to use Islamic laws and tradition to reorganize government and society.
00:33:09.560 What are the core beliefs of Islamism? Number one, Sharia law. The primary goal is implementing
00:33:14.820 Sharia law as the foundation of the state and legal system, forcing Sharia law on people, 0.74
00:33:21.600 including people who are not Muslims, who do not believe in Sharia law. What are the other 0.93
00:33:26.320 elements of it. Rejection of secularism. Adherents argue that religion and politics cannot be
00:33:33.680 separated. They reject secular governance, where religion is separate from the state. And finally,
00:33:40.720 alternative systems. Proponents claim that an Islamic political system is superior
00:33:45.980 to capitalism, communism, and Western liberal democracy. Now, my guess, as I said, I don't
00:33:52.960 know Abby Phillip, my guess is she probably knows that. If she knows that, she's being
00:33:58.280 deliberately dishonest and is being a propagandist. In the alternative, she may just be so staggeringly
00:34:04.700 ignorant that she has no idea what it is. And by the way, if she wants to do a little research, 0.99
00:34:10.220 there's a book that I would recommend to Abby, and I would actually recommend to anybody who's
00:34:14.880 interested in this topic. And we just had the 25th anniversary of 9-11, so it's a good time for that.
00:34:19.260 The book is entitled The Looming Tower, and it is by a guy named Lawrence Wright. Lawrence Wright 1.00
00:34:26.880 is a left-wing journalist based in Texas. He is not someone, in fact, he wrote a whole book some
00:34:32.980 years later blasting me and blasting other Republicans in Texas. But The Looming Tower
00:34:38.320 is a history of Islamism, and he traces the rise of it that has its origins in Egypt in the 1930s
00:34:46.180 and then 40s and 50s. And by the way, Islamism has killed more Muslims than it has Christians
00:34:53.160 and Jews. Islamism is behind Al Qaeda and 9-11. Islamism is behind ISIS. Islamism is behind the 0.99
00:35:01.960 Islamic revolution in Iran. But Islamism and Islamism is also the heart of the Muslim 1.00
00:35:08.660 Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood. Do you know who designates the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist 0.98
00:35:13.120 organization? Who is that? Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain. These are Arab countries that
00:35:23.020 have dealt with Islamism and they're aware that these are theocratic radicals that want to 0.97
00:35:27.560 forcibly subjugate and force everyone to comply with their mandates. And my point was not that 0.92
00:35:35.320 Muslims are taking over the Democrat party, but the Islamists are. Listen, Mondami is an Islamist. 0.91
00:35:42.640 he wants to enforce. He's also a communist. He has said that he wants to, quote, seize the means 0.54
00:35:48.640 of production, which is a verbatim quote from Karl Marx in the heart of communism. But he literally,
00:35:53.800 and Noah Rothman, who was on that panel, did a good job. Listen, at the 9-11 ceremony, he hands
00:36:00.160 the signing pen to a lawyer for al-Qaeda, literally a lawyer who was representing the terrorist who
00:36:08.260 murdered 3,000, nearly 3,000 Americans. Abdul al-Sayed is an Islamist. He is, he said,
00:36:17.060 quote, he has an obligation to follow Sharia law. And Sharia law, to be clear, is used to strip away 0.84
00:36:24.020 millions of people's liberties, to force women to wear hijabs against their wishes. 0.92
00:36:29.820 Listen, if a woman chooses to wear hijab, that's a choice she can make. But we are not in the 0.98
00:36:36.180 United States going to allow Sharia law to be forced on people against their wishes. And for 0.98
00:36:42.720 CNN to pretend they don't know the difference. Actually, let me ask you, which do you think it
00:36:48.500 is? Does she not know the difference or does she know? She knows the difference. She knows the
00:36:53.780 difference. Well, then that, to be honest, ignorance would, would be the, the, the more
00:37:00.260 benign explanation. Yeah. No, I'm going to go with, she knows exactly what she's doing only
00:37:04.560 because I do that show a lot, so I've
00:37:06.440 experienced this several times
00:37:08.760 on several issues.
00:37:10.740 It's truly incredible. Don't forget
00:37:12.700 we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that
00:37:14.620 subscribe or auto-download button. You can also
00:37:16.560 watch this episode on YouTube as
00:37:18.660 well if you want to do that, and you can always just say
00:37:20.520 in the morning while you're getting your coffee,
00:37:22.360 hey Siri, hey Alexa, play Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:37:24.820 It will do it for you automatically. 0.73
00:37:27.180 The Senate and I will see you back here
00:37:28.680 on Wednesday morning.
00:37:30.540 Why should you listen to Armstrong and
00:37:32.680 getty on demand we're not boring a lot of news is boring and tedious and depressing and makes you
00:37:38.040 angry you don't want to live your life like that hey i'm jack armstrong he's joe getty we're
00:37:42.980 armstrong and getty we try to bring you the truth and help you figure out this crazy modern world
00:37:47.360 about something about a comedic tone
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00:37:57.800 podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I believe that whoever was in that room and did
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