Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 27, 2026


Biden DOJ Spied on Susie Wiles & Kash Patel plus a Tale of Two Olympians and Dems No Longer Proud of America


Episode Stats


Length

37 minutes

Words per minute

172.0701

Word count

6,422

Sentence count

589

Harmful content

Misogyny

19

sentences flagged

Toxicity

19

sentences flagged

Hate speech

4

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ben Fergusons (D-Montana) join me to discuss the latest breaking news that the FBI spied on Donald Trump, including on his campaign manager and Director of the FBI, when he was a private citizen.

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 .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.300 Welcome.
00:00:05.960 It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as well.
00:00:09.280 And it's so nice to have you with us.
00:00:10.620 If you're listening on the radio around the country, we've got a lot to talk about in
00:00:15.040 today's show.
00:00:15.840 And Senator, I tell you what, it's a very interesting moment with this new breaking
00:00:21.060 news that apparently there was a lot of spying going on on people in and around Donald Trump,
00:00:26.180 including the FBI Director Cash Patel.
00:00:30.200 Well, just when you think the abuse of power from the Joe Biden Department of Justice and
00:00:34.440 FBI could not get worse, it gets worse.
00:00:37.460 We now have evidence that the Biden-FBI spied upon, number one, Susie Wiles, who was then
00:00:46.320 President Trump's campaign manager, and number two, Cash Patel, who is obviously now the director
00:00:50.680 of the FBI.
00:00:51.880 They spied on him when he was a private citizen.
00:00:54.400 We're going to break that down.
00:00:55.480 It is part of a broader pattern of the Democrats being willing to abuse power to do anything
00:01:02.540 humanly possible to stop Donald Trump from being reelected.
00:01:05.620 The good news is they failed.
00:01:07.760 Secondly, we're going to talk about a tale of two Olympians.
00:01:11.820 We're going to talk about the comparison between Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu.
00:01:16.560 And the two are about as far apart as they could possibly be.
00:01:22.280 They both competed in the Olympics.
00:01:24.300 They competed for different countries.
00:01:26.560 And the media reacted fundamentally differently.
00:01:29.240 One is a powerful, inspirational story.
00:01:32.440 The other, less so.
00:01:33.880 We're going to break that down.
00:01:34.840 And then finally, we're going to talk about what is really concerning data, that Democrats
00:01:41.620 are not proud to be American.
00:01:45.080 We saw that on display at the State of the Union.
00:01:49.140 But we're also seeing that in polling numbers in a way that is really concerning, and it points
00:01:54.900 to a broader problem in our society.
00:01:56.920 We're going to lay out the data and talk about what it means.
00:01:59.480 I want to also take a moment and talk to you about an amazing organization that I want you
00:02:03.320 to know about.
00:02:03.920 It's called Compassion International.
00:02:06.280 And I need your attention for just 60 seconds.
00:02:08.680 Love, generosity, and compassion.
00:02:11.000 We say those words all the time, and they sound good.
00:02:14.180 They feel good.
00:02:15.160 But here's the truth.
00:02:16.740 Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action.
00:02:20.700 And right now, not later today, not tomorrow, there's a child in the world who doesn't know
00:02:27.120 if they'll eat, if they'll have a chance to learn, or if there's any hope at all.
00:02:33.320 And while we're all busy, life keeps moving forward.
00:02:37.420 But that child is waiting.
00:02:39.180 This is where you come in.
00:02:41.280 With Compassion International, you have the chance to change a child's future.
00:02:45.440 Not just with words, not with promises, but with real help that provides food, education,
00:02:51.720 and hope through local churches and people already in their community.
00:02:57.240 Put your words into action and join me.
00:03:01.080 Introduce a child to a loving Heavenly Father today at Compassion.com.
00:03:06.980 That's Compassion.com.
00:03:09.740 Hey, it's Ben Ferguson.
00:03:11.340 And I need your attention for just 60 seconds.
00:03:13.620 Love, generosity, and compassion.
00:03:16.040 We say those words all the time.
00:03:17.900 And they sound good.
00:03:19.220 They feel good.
00:03:20.200 But here's the truth.
00:03:21.460 Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action.
00:03:26.260 And right now, not later today, not tomorrow, there's a child in the world who doesn't know
00:03:32.160 if they'll eat, if they'll have a chance to learn, or if there's any hope at all.
00:03:38.380 And while we're all busy, life keeps moving forward.
00:03:42.460 But that child is waiting.
00:03:44.220 This is where you come in.
00:03:46.140 With Compassion International, you have the chance to change a child's future.
00:03:50.940 Not just with words, not with promises, but with real help that provides food, education,
00:03:57.320 and hope through local churches and people already in their community.
00:04:02.760 Put your words into action and join me.
00:04:06.180 Introduce a child to a loving Heavenly Father today at Compassion.com.
00:04:12.000 That's Compassion.com.
00:04:14.380 All right, Senator, so let's get into this first topic.
00:04:17.500 It is a wild one.
00:04:18.480 Every time you think that the deep state can't get any worse, then something like this happens.
00:04:22.920 Allegedly now, the FBI under Biden was secretly obtaining, and I'm quoting now,
00:04:29.660 Susie Wilds, that's the Chief of Staff of the President of the United States of America's 1.00
00:04:33.160 phone records, including from when she was Trump's campaign manager.
00:04:38.220 And they even recorded apparently a phone call she had with her lawyer
00:04:42.000 while her lawyer knew the phone call was being recorded, allegedly, but she did not know it.
00:04:47.900 So you want to talk about attorney-client privilege?
00:04:50.140 That is shocking as well.
00:04:51.520 Oh, and then, by the way, the FBI director now, Cash Patel, yeah, they were also spying
00:04:55.140 on him also at the same time.
00:04:56.820 So, like, why not, right?
00:04:57.980 It's Joe Biden's FBI.
00:04:59.820 It's the corruption there.
00:05:01.140 They were spying on everybody, including the campaign.
00:05:03.120 So we now know that the Biden, FBI, and DOJ under Jack Smith, it was engaged in a massive
00:05:11.900 dragnet.
00:05:12.560 And it was a dragnet targeted at clearly the nexus of all evil, the villains that they
00:05:17.220 were most concerned about.
00:05:18.280 And by that, I mean Republicans, especially Republicans who supported Donald J. Trump.
00:05:23.020 They subpoenaed the phone records of 20 percent of the Republicans in the United States Senate,
00:05:28.260 including yours truly.
00:05:29.260 They subpoenaed my phone records.
00:05:30.560 By the way, not just my personal phone records, they literally subpoenaed my office phone
00:05:35.660 records.
00:05:36.540 Now, these guys were actually not very competent with respect to me.
00:05:39.360 They subpoenaed the general number in my office that has every person who calls in to complain
00:05:44.400 about a pothole, to complain about whatever they're angry about.
00:05:47.740 That's what they subpoenaed for me.
00:05:49.600 So these guys are, let me just say, the Nobel Prize for physics, they're not in the running
00:05:55.600 for.
00:05:56.020 Not in the running.
00:05:56.720 I love that.
00:05:57.340 What is now released is that they also, in addition to 400 different Republicans, Turning
00:06:04.280 Point USA, different conservative groups, they went after Susie Wiles and Kash Patel.
00:06:08.920 Here's what CBS reported.
00:06:10.780 Quote,
00:06:11.020 At least 10 FBI employees who worked for former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation
00:06:16.760 into President Trump's retention of classified records after he left the White House in 2021
00:06:21.240 were fired on Wednesday, multiple sources told CBS News.
00:06:26.400 The firings came after Reuters reported that the FBI had subpoenaed records of phone calls
00:06:31.140 made by FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, when they were both
00:06:37.600 still private citizens as part of Smith's probe into Trump.
00:06:41.760 The Reuters article quoted Patel, who alleged that the FBI had secretly subpoenaed his phone
00:06:47.020 records, quote, using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire proceeds in prohibited case
00:06:53.500 files designed to evade all oversight.
00:06:57.100 The Reuters article added that it had not independently verified any of Patel's claims.
00:07:01.600 Patel did not provide any evidence of wrongdoing by the staff who were terminated.
00:07:06.780 And you go on to say, CBS News confirmed with a source familiar with the matter that Wiles'
00:07:13.040 record were reviewed as part of the documents case, but was unable to verify whether Patel's
00:07:18.520 were.
00:07:19.280 In the case involving the 2020 election, known as Arctic Frost, by the way, that is named after
00:07:25.080 a disease that strikes oranges in the state of Florida, like the fruit oranges.
00:07:30.680 Like, let's get clear on this.
00:07:32.920 The name of the FBI investigation was essentially a pun on Orange Man Bad.
00:07:38.680 This is a disease that kills oranges in Florida.
00:07:42.480 We, the FBI, Democrats using our power, are a disease killing oranges in Florida.
00:07:47.920 I mean, they're not subtle.
00:07:50.020 If you look at this, what is interesting, as you mentioned, number one, the reporting
00:07:58.440 is that Susie Wiles was on a phone call with her lawyer.
00:08:03.340 Yeah.
00:08:04.040 And the FBI intercepted the call.
00:08:06.380 And then the claim is that her lawyer knew that the FBI was intercepting the call.
00:08:12.140 Now, I've Googled this this evening.
00:08:13.880 Her lawyer at the time, a guy named Hank Cox, claims, I didn't know, I don't know what
00:08:19.080 they're talking about.
00:08:19.760 I've never, I've never known of any client of mine being intercepted and taped while I
00:08:25.020 was talking to them.
00:08:26.100 I got to say, my reaction, and, you know, you read a minute ago that story, it may not
00:08:32.000 have horrified you at the same level it did me.
00:08:35.120 As a lawyer, the idea, if I'm your lawyer, and by the way, if I'm your lawyer, I mean,
00:08:39.840 good God, there's a lot of criminal conduct I could be representing you for.
00:08:42.980 So a host of, of, listen, what you-
00:08:48.180 I let you borrow a dollar one time, that's a retainer, is how I look at it.
00:08:51.120 But the idea for any lawyer that you would know law enforcement was taping your conversation
00:08:56.880 with your client, you would be disbarred.
00:08:59.040 You would lose your license to practice law.
00:09:01.800 Like, you would lose your license if you did that, correct?
00:09:04.280 If you're a part of that.
00:09:05.000 Yeah.
00:09:05.360 So before we, before we started recording this, I literally jumped on my phone.
00:09:09.200 I'm like, wait a second, as a lawyer, you can't do that.
00:09:11.740 That means you don't get to be a lawyer ever again.
00:09:15.360 I was gratified in a sense, I don't know this particular fellow, Hank Cox, but he at least
00:09:19.380 is saying, this is a lie.
00:09:21.020 I didn't sign off on it.
00:09:22.260 I don't know what the facts are, but I hope we drill down and find the facts.
00:09:27.040 Regardless, Jack Smith and the Biden DOJ, there were no bounds of propriety other than
00:09:33.440 get Trump, orange man, bad, at any cost.
00:09:36.580 I want to go to the politics of this for a second.
00:09:40.020 What I find very interesting, Senator, about this story is the timeline of when they were
00:09:46.160 doing this.
00:09:47.300 If you are spying and listening in on Susie Wilds, for example, she was in many ways the
00:09:53.820 de facto campaign manager for Donald Trump early on.
00:09:57.140 She was going to be involved in the campaign in every decision.
00:09:59.720 There was a lot of people wondering if Trump was going to run or not.
00:10:02.060 But this covers that time.
00:10:04.020 And if you're listening to those phone calls, you're listening in, I would assume, to everything
00:10:08.580 that deals with the campaign or campaign strategy.
00:10:10.520 You can see who she's talking to, who they may be calling, prospective donors, people they
00:10:15.020 may want to get on their staff on the campaign.
00:10:17.500 That is interference in election, in my opinion, because you're spying on your political opponent.
00:10:22.860 By the way, they've done it before.
00:10:23.860 We know that.
00:10:24.500 They were spying on Trump's campaign in 2016 as well.
00:10:27.600 So I guess it's like, why not do it?
00:10:28.860 And then you're spying on Kash Patel as well.
00:10:31.580 Why would you do that?
00:10:33.000 He was also going to be involved in the campaign and heavily involved.
00:10:36.440 So those two things right there, the timeline, that's the part I think is so egregious here.
00:10:40.800 It's like, hey, all right, who we're going to be up against?
00:10:43.320 Well, let's just listen in and see what their campaign strategy is.
00:10:47.420 Well, Ben, as you know, the third book I wrote was called Justice Corrupted, How the
00:10:52.520 Left Has Weaponized the Legal System.
00:10:55.000 And it traced the history of it.
00:10:56.640 It started with Richard Nixon.
00:10:58.040 I'm not a fan of Richard Nixon. 1.00
00:10:59.400 And I think the man was a total and complete crook. 0.96
00:11:03.000 Now, I also think the deep state conspired against him. 0.95
00:11:06.500 And yet, even as bad as it was, there was a limit to how much they went after him.
00:11:11.940 And in fact, a number of people in the deep state resisted Nixon's efforts to weaponize
00:11:18.180 government against his political opponents.
00:11:19.980 What Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama succeeded in doing.
00:11:26.760 And much of this cancer in the government started with Barack Obama, who turned the machinery
00:11:33.300 of the federal government to a weapon to attack his political opponents.
00:11:37.180 He spent eight years doing that.
00:11:39.140 The IRS was weaponized.
00:11:40.500 The FBI was weaponized.
00:11:41.780 The DOJ was weaponized.
00:11:43.580 The alphabet soup, every federal agency, was weaponized to go after Obama's political opponents.
00:11:48.720 Then, to the shock of all of them, Donald Trump gets elected in 2016.
00:11:55.000 Now, we know that the Obama DOJ was spying on Donald Trump the first time he ran.
00:12:00.980 And when he came into office... 0.94
00:12:02.120 When he said that, everybody said he was crazy and lying. 0.72
00:12:04.420 Remember the media? 0.93
00:12:05.200 Everybody laughed at him.
00:12:06.920 It was totally right. 0.91
00:12:08.100 Yeah, he's deranged.
00:12:09.200 That didn't happen.
00:12:10.420 He wasn't spied on.
00:12:11.380 He has no information to back this up.
00:12:13.140 And then, sure enough, it became fact.
00:12:14.420 None of them corrected their stories, of course.
00:12:16.000 And when he came into office, a significant mistake President Trump made in the first term
00:12:22.840 is he kept James Comey on as the head of the FBI.
00:12:25.660 That was a catastrophic mistake, and one that he certainly grew to regret as time went on.
00:12:32.520 I think the first Trump White House believed they could get Comey on the reservation, get
00:12:37.660 him actually focused on doing his job as head of the FBI, rather than just being a partisan
00:12:42.600 Democrat attacking them.
00:12:44.400 That was mistaken.
00:12:46.980 And from the earliest days of the Trump administration...
00:12:51.440 Look, Michael Flynn, when he was named the incoming national security advisor, James
00:12:55.920 Comey and the FBI were already going after him, trying to destroy him.
00:12:59.380 They tried to destroy, for four years, the deep state tried to destroy Donald Trump.
00:13:04.920 They almost did.
00:13:05.880 And look, Russia, Russia, Russia, the entire...
00:13:09.680 Maybe that was a lie.
00:13:10.480 And it was a lie.
00:13:11.660 It was literally concocted by Hillary Clinton's research opposition.
00:13:17.020 And to be clear, it would have worked.
00:13:20.880 It reminds me of, like, the old Scooby-Doo when the villain has the mask pulled off his face
00:13:26.020 and said, you know, I would have succeeded if not for you meddling kids.
00:13:30.620 Ha ha ha!
00:13:31.580 But, like, that is the Obama and Biden DOJ.
00:13:37.940 And to be clear, to put this in context, the Steele dossier, the FBI said we'll give you
00:13:43.880 a million bucks...
00:13:44.700 By the way, that's some good French.
00:13:46.560 Can you say that word, dossier, again?
00:13:48.440 Dossier.
00:13:49.020 You like dossier?
00:13:49.760 I like that you fling your hand in the air.
00:13:52.120 Yeah, the dossier.
00:13:52.760 Dossier.
00:13:53.740 Okay, point your pinky when you say dossier.
00:13:57.800 I want some Perrier with my dossier.
00:14:00.460 It's still dossier.
00:14:01.520 Yeah, exactly.
00:14:02.280 It's still dossier.
00:14:03.560 They described it.
00:14:04.880 They said, look, if you can do this, it's a million.
00:14:05.800 You're an honorary Mississippi boy.
00:14:07.400 That's dossier.
00:14:08.500 Yeah, yeah.
00:14:09.040 The dossier right there.
00:14:10.520 Not them there, dossier.
00:14:12.260 Dossier.
00:14:13.340 Dossier.
00:14:14.240 So they went to Michael Steele and they said, if you can corroborate any of this, we'll give
00:14:17.440 you a million bucks.
00:14:18.720 He couldn't do it.
00:14:19.640 The guy who authored it.
00:14:21.140 They then classified it at the FBI as user-generated, meaning it's fictitious.
00:14:27.300 This is not real.
00:14:28.620 They brought this to us.
00:14:29.800 It's user-generated, meaning they created it out of thin air and they still went forward
00:14:35.020 with using it as the basis to go after Donald Trump.
00:14:38.160 The FBI knew it was a lie.
00:14:40.320 They even said and categorized it as a lie.
00:14:43.280 Look, 25 years ago, I was in the Department of Justice right at the beginning of the George
00:14:48.100 W. Bush administration.
00:14:49.640 I was an associate deputy attorney general.
00:14:52.540 By the way, government is weird.
00:14:53.680 Yes, I had that many modifiers in my title.
00:14:56.300 Associate deputy attorney general.
00:14:58.220 Kind of a big deal.
00:14:58.920 That's what he should have said under your nameplate.
00:15:00.560 No.
00:15:01.240 Kind of a big deal.
00:15:02.280 Actually, the more accurate thing is kind of a medium-sized deal.
00:15:06.000 There you go.
00:15:06.440 There you go.
00:15:06.740 That would –
00:15:07.660 I'm giving you Ron Burgundy lines here.
00:15:10.000 Not nothing.
00:15:10.200 Not nothing.
00:15:10.920 I mean, I was not like a summer intern at the time, but not particularly a big deal.
00:15:15.680 Keep going.
00:15:16.140 I'm ready.
00:15:16.460 But when I was at DOJ, the idea that the department would spy on the political opponents of the
00:15:24.980 administration.
00:15:25.440 Like, if someone had come in and said, okay, Bush, DOJ, let's spy on Bill Clinton.
00:15:32.240 Let's spy on Hillary Clinton. 1.00
00:15:33.940 Hillary Clinton.
00:15:34.640 Let's spy on this guy, Barack Obama.
00:15:37.120 Let's spy on Joe Biden.
00:15:38.540 Let's spy on Chuck Schumer.
00:15:40.020 Look, there are a lot of Democrats.
00:15:42.040 It would have, first of all, been laughed out of the room.
00:15:45.840 You'd been like, no, okay, that's not what we do.
00:15:47.940 And at a minimum, let's suppose you had really serious evidence.
00:15:52.940 You had evidence of, say, some Democrat, I don't know, cutting a deal and sending $1.7
00:15:59.720 billion in cash and unmarked pallets to Iran in exchange for a political deal.
00:16:04.860 By the way, that actually happened.
00:16:05.980 Barack Obama did that.
00:16:07.980 Even then, you wouldn't spy on Obama.
00:16:10.060 But if you had horrible evidence, the checks and balances in the Department of Justice to
00:16:16.300 doing that would have been enormous.
00:16:17.760 The entire system would have said, okay, we want a higher threshold.
00:16:21.940 We want to be certain that this is not abuse of power.
00:16:24.580 And what is amazing is during the Biden DOJ, there were no checks.
00:16:29.680 Spy on 20% of the Republicans in the Senate.
00:16:32.300 Goodbye, me.
00:16:33.540 Spy on Trump's campaign manager.
00:16:35.100 Goodbye, me.
00:16:35.820 Spy on Kash Patel.
00:16:36.960 Goodbye, me.
00:16:37.980 They were drunk with power and the rule of law was utterly and completely forgotten.
00:16:43.600 Israel is a very hot topic right now.
00:16:46.360 And with so many opinions and emotions surrounding it, it can feel hard to know where to start.
00:16:51.620 The Bible tells us, I will bless those who bless you.
00:16:55.600 That isn't just a comforting promise.
00:16:57.900 It's a clear calling from God.
00:16:59.560 And today, with anti-Semitism rising around the world, that calling is more urgent than ever.
00:17:05.300 At a time when Jewish communities are experiencing more hostility, more threats, and more violence than ever,
00:17:11.760 Christians have a powerful opportunity to respond with God's love to say,
00:17:15.820 you are not alone.
00:17:17.760 When Christians choose to bless Israel, we're not entering a political issue.
00:17:22.280 We're honoring the root of our faith and standing against hatred.
00:17:26.500 Supporting Israel is more than a belief.
00:17:28.940 It's a biblical mandate.
00:17:30.440 And by partnering with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
00:17:34.360 you can push back against darkness and be a light to God's people.
00:17:39.020 Learn how you can bless Israel and be blessed in return.
00:17:42.260 Visit ifcj.org today.
00:17:45.680 That's ifcj.org today.
00:17:47.980 Be a blessing.
00:17:49.020 Live in the world.
00:17:50.000 Answer the call.
00:17:51.300 All right, Senator, let's talk about the Olympics.
00:17:53.640 There were so many cool stories out of the Olympics.
00:17:56.840 Obviously, celebrating hockey, that kind of took everything over when that happened.
00:18:01.380 But there were some other really incredible and important stories in these Olympics.
00:18:06.740 And one of them that just is something we've got to talk about is involved not only China,
00:18:13.100 but also America's gold medalists who won in figure skating.
00:18:18.000 It's an amazing story.
00:18:20.340 Well, look, we obviously have the incredible victory of winning the gold in both men's hockey
00:18:25.780 and women's hockey.
00:18:27.320 And I've got to say, that moment was extraordinary at the State of the Union.
00:18:30.640 It was wonderful to see the men's gold-winning Olympic hockey team there.
00:18:37.120 The pride they had for America was fabulous.
00:18:39.520 But there's also a story that got some coverage, but I think it's worth going back and focusing
00:18:43.640 because it was a powerful contrast.
00:18:45.560 And it was a contrast between two Olympians.
00:18:47.580 It was a contrast between Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu. 0.91
00:18:51.780 Now, both are women of Chinese heritage.
00:18:55.100 One, Alyssa, competed for the United States.
00:18:59.720 The other, Eileen, competed for China.
00:19:03.000 Let's start with Alyssa, because Alyssa's story is extraordinary.
00:19:06.300 And I want to read from a tweet from a fellow named Afshine Amrani.
00:19:11.440 I don't know who this person is, but I thought the way he wrote it was very effective.
00:19:15.500 Here's what he said.
00:19:16.100 The ultimate American revenge story.
00:19:19.540 The script couldn't have written it better.
00:19:22.600 In 1989, Arthur Liu fled China as a political refugee after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
00:19:31.060 He came to America with nothing but a dream for a free life.
00:19:36.060 Decades later, his daughter Alyssa Liu became the face of Team USA.
00:19:40.300 But the CCP didn't forget.
00:19:43.100 Before the 2020 Beijing Olympics, the FBI uncovered a brazen spying operation.
00:19:48.640 The target, Alyssa and her father.
00:19:52.600 The Chinese government tried to stalk them on U.S. soil.
00:19:57.460 Intimidate her into silence.
00:19:59.960 Pressure her to turn her back on the country that gave her family refuge.
00:20:04.180 The FBI had to give them 24-7 security just so she could compete. 1.00
00:20:11.600 Isn't that amazing?
00:20:12.680 She faced intimidation.
00:20:14.980 She refused to be a pawn.
00:20:16.800 She walked away from the sport for two years to find her soul again.
00:20:22.660 And then she came back with a vengeance. 0.96
00:20:26.140 Today, the story is complete.
00:20:29.560 In a flawless performance to Donna Summer's MacArthur Park, Alyssa Liu just did the impossible. 0.77
00:20:36.060 Olympic gold.
00:20:38.920 The first American woman to win individual gold in 24 years.
00:20:45.540 She didn't just skate for a medal.
00:20:48.760 She skated for the freedom her father risked everything for.
00:20:53.760 She didn't just win for herself.
00:20:55.920 She won for the flag that protected her family when the world felt small.
00:21:02.980 That's what a patriot looks like.
00:21:04.740 Now, I've got to say, I want to give listeners some background into this show.
00:21:10.240 The way you and I record this pod is we sit down right before recording it, and we go through all the stories that are in the news.
00:21:17.000 We say, all right, what do we want to talk about?
00:21:18.320 And by the way, the pod is not scripted.
00:21:20.100 Like, you and I don't know what we're going to say.
00:21:21.440 We just sort of talk about topics.
00:21:23.140 We pick a couple of topics and riff on it.
00:21:26.000 And I want everyone to know Ben is like, no, no, no.
00:21:29.860 I don't want to cover this story. 0.73
00:21:31.620 Ben said, I hate Americans. 0.98
00:21:33.020 I hate Olympians. 0.99
00:21:34.220 I can't skate. 0.96
00:21:36.840 That's not true.
00:21:37.760 I'm a very good skater.
00:21:39.180 And I'm secretly a communist.
00:21:41.080 Okay, there we are.
00:21:41.840 Okay, got it.
00:21:42.780 Okay, I see where we're going here now.
00:21:44.220 Are you a good skater? 0.99
00:21:45.140 I suck at skating. 0.96
00:21:46.480 I am. 0.98
00:21:46.960 I'm a horrible skater.
00:21:48.060 So my dad's, you know, from up north, and that was like one thing.
00:21:51.140 They would take us skating as kids, and then we would skate on the ponds.
00:21:55.000 We went to North Dakota.
00:21:56.000 So, yeah, I've been skating a long time.
00:21:57.740 I'm an unbelievably bad skater.
00:21:59.940 I basically wobble around the skate rink and hold onto the walls the whole time.
00:22:03.940 It's terrible.
00:22:04.840 Like, four-year-olds come skating past me and are like, get out of the way, like you terrible thing.
00:22:11.420 I can picture this, and I believe you completely that you're not overselling that point at all. 1.00
00:22:16.340 I'm not, but let's just say for the record, I can kick your ass at basketball. 0.99
00:22:21.140 And to be clear, I've broken your finger playing basketball. 0.99
00:22:24.500 That is true.
00:22:25.840 The kicking the A part, at some point we might need a one-on-one game just so the audience knows the score here.
00:22:30.400 I'm just saying.
00:22:31.060 Give me six feet to train.
00:22:32.460 Look, you've got mass and strength, but I'm just saying you can't shoot to save your life.
00:22:38.940 All right.
00:22:40.140 Why did I want to cover this story?
00:22:41.980 Look, some of it is as the child of a refugee from Cuba.
00:22:45.740 I find Alyssa Liu's story inspirational.
00:22:50.060 I find it incredible.
00:22:50.720 Yeah, you identify with it.
00:22:51.420 It's incredible.
00:22:52.280 And listen, there's a contrast with her and Eileen Gu.
00:22:56.400 Now, I want to say something.
00:22:58.080 So Eileen Gu is also of Chinese heritage.
00:23:00.740 She's a student at Stanford.
00:23:02.840 Alyssa's a figure skater.
00:23:04.220 She won the gold.
00:23:05.040 Eileen Gu is a downhill skier. 0.99
00:23:07.280 She won two silvers.
00:23:08.520 Both were offered the opportunity from China.
00:23:13.320 The Chinese Communist government said, we will give you millions of dollars to compete for China.
00:23:19.840 Literally millions.
00:23:20.820 You're not joking.
00:23:21.540 Like some reports have been upwards of six million plus.
00:23:24.240 Yeah, like massive amounts of money.
00:23:27.260 And Eileen said yes, and Alyssa said no.
00:23:30.280 Now, I've got to say, in the conservative media, there's been a world of hate pounded and dumped on Eileen. 1.00
00:23:38.020 I'm not in that camp.
00:23:39.320 Look, she's a, like, 20-year-old college kid. 0.97
00:23:42.680 I don't have any hate or animosity to her.
00:23:45.640 I understand.
00:23:46.720 I mean, look, if I were in college, no one – there have been reports she received, like, $14 million.
00:23:52.580 No one ever offered me $14 million in college.
00:23:55.280 I understand that.
00:23:56.300 And there is something of a tradition in the Olympics.
00:24:00.640 You think about the NBA, where you have all these stars.
00:24:04.640 You know, Victor Wembenyamu in the NBA competes for France.
00:24:09.880 Alperin Schengen competes for Turkey.
00:24:13.240 They have lots of people who are from other countries.
00:24:15.320 They compete for other countries.
00:24:16.600 And no one is horrified. 0.91
00:24:18.040 They're not like you're a horrible human being.
00:24:19.840 But let me say, here's the difference.
00:24:23.420 It's different.
00:24:24.020 It is different, but go ahead.
00:24:25.140 The reason why this one is different is when you grow up in America and you do everything in America and you're a part of this country and this country supports you, and then because someone throws money at you, you defect to communist China.
00:24:40.680 That's the difference between if you come into the league from another country and you play in the NBA and then you go back to – like, when I played tennis, a lot of the guys from smaller countries would go back and play Davis Cup or the Olympics for their team.
00:24:53.140 It was awesome.
00:24:53.780 Like, there was teammates of mine that made their Olympic team.
00:24:55.820 They were from, you know, Kazakhstan or smaller nations, and they were the best in their country.
00:25:00.060 That's not defecting from America, right?
00:25:02.440 But when you're in America and you're an American citizen, then you're like, all right, I'm literally defecting and going to go do this for China, and it's solely for a big payday.
00:25:11.880 It was – from an athlete's standpoint, I get the money, but it is different than if you're in the NBA and you're from France like Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol, and they go and play against the USA in that game.
00:25:21.540 Like, I have no qualms about that.
00:25:23.260 That's where you were raised.
00:25:24.420 To be clear, the Gasols are from Spain, not France.
00:25:27.180 Spain, wherever it is, but you get my point.
00:25:29.760 Look, we Latins don't like when you call us French, like that is getting it wrong.
00:25:34.600 I apologize to Pau and Marc.
00:25:36.680 There you go.
00:25:37.420 Okay.
00:25:37.720 You are right that it's different.
00:25:39.300 You know, Victor Wemanyama is French.
00:25:40.780 He grew up in France.
00:25:41.840 Like, his whole background is that.
00:25:43.520 So it is different when you go and play for the country you were born and grew up in.
00:25:47.900 And both Alyssa and Eileen were born in and grew up in America, so that is different.
00:25:56.140 That being said, there was some real vitriol directed at Eileen. 1.00
00:26:01.020 And listen, she's a 20-year-old Olympic athlete. 0.94
00:26:04.020 I don't have anger towards her.
00:26:06.820 But my view is simple.
00:26:08.060 If you decide, I want to compete for China, I want to win the gold medal for China, you
00:26:16.300 can do that.
00:26:17.160 But you know what you're saying?
00:26:19.260 I want 1.3 billion people in China to root for me.
00:26:22.820 And I want to beat the United States of America.
00:26:26.240 Well, you know what?
00:26:27.120 I'm not going to root for you.
00:26:29.060 I'm going to root for the athletes that say I'm competing for America.
00:26:33.640 I'm not – I thought people were a little bit overwrought in condemning Eileen Gu.
00:26:39.600 I don't know her at all.
00:26:40.580 And she's a talented athlete.
00:26:41.960 And she's, you know, a 20-year-old kid.
00:26:45.660 But she made the decision she wants the Chinese to root for. 0.75
00:26:49.220 And she does not want America to root for. 0.58
00:26:50.940 And to be clear, when she made that decision, she's saying, I want the United States of America
00:26:55.640 to lose.
00:26:56.860 Yeah.
00:26:57.260 That's a decision I disagree with.
00:26:59.340 And the contrast with Alyssa Liu, she was offered millions of dollars.
00:27:05.940 Senator, I also think just a really cool part of the story is Alyssa Liu's father.
00:27:10.300 We mentioned that earlier.
00:27:11.600 Yeah.
00:27:11.720 But, like, this is a guy that sacrificed everything, had to flee the country, comes to America.
00:27:20.100 He is literally being attacked and still being hunted by the Chinese government to the
00:27:25.260 point where the FBI is coming after him.
00:27:27.240 And on top of that, stays focused to make his daughter an Olympic gold medalist while
00:27:33.420 having to look over his shoulder to the point where the FBI had to give them protection.
00:27:36.800 That's the best part of the story as well.
00:27:38.500 Like, they love this country.
00:27:39.600 They didn't take the money.
00:27:40.540 Right.
00:27:40.660 By the way, if they took the money, I'm assuming they wouldn't need protection anymore, right?
00:27:44.920 Look, he was incredibly driven.
00:27:46.740 He raised his daughter.
00:27:47.740 She was extraordinary.
00:27:49.160 And I will say one aspect of this story that I really like.
00:27:52.620 According to the Internet, according to Twitter, apparently Alyssa Liu is politically liberal. 1.00
00:27:58.220 And so leftists are like, you conservatives can't cheer her on because she is allegedly woke.
00:28:03.660 I don't know if she's politically liberal or not, but you know what? 1.00
00:28:05.980 I don't care.
00:28:07.340 She competed for America when she was standing there. 1.00
00:28:10.000 She had the American flag around her shoulder.
00:28:12.000 She's tearing up as the Star Spangled Banner.
00:28:15.080 She's cheering for America, and I'm cheering for her.
00:28:17.720 And I don't give a damn if she votes for Barack Obama or Joe Biden.
00:28:22.040 She's an American, and I'm proud to cheer her on.
00:28:24.400 Canadian women are looking for more. 1.00
00:28:27.520 More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them.
00:28:31.680 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
00:28:35.380 I'm Jennifer Stewart.
00:28:36.560 And I'm Catherine Clark.
00:28:37.820 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.
00:28:41.600 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers.
00:28:44.880 All at different stages of their journey.
00:28:47.360 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
00:28:50.580 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcast.
00:28:54.400 Senator, I want to go back to the dad, Alyssa Liu's father.
00:29:00.620 He did an interview recently, and it was just a little bit about the story of the political
00:29:04.800 pressure that he was under from China, that they were under from China.
00:29:08.540 And just to be able to get through this much pressure and still pursue the dreams of your
00:29:14.100 daughter is amazing. 0.86
00:29:15.360 Take a listen.
00:29:16.300 Ahead of the 2022 winter in Beijing, the Justice Department and FBI said that China actually
00:29:22.520 sent individuals to track and target you and your family, including her, ahead of the Olympics.
00:29:29.260 Talk to us about what that, what was Beijing's motivation?
00:29:32.200 Were you afraid for her?
00:29:35.340 Well, because of my background, because I was wanted by the Chinese government back in 1989.
00:29:42.800 And after I came to America, I also continued to organize protests in front of the Chinese 1.00
00:29:51.220 consulate in San Francisco, some protests and hunger strikes in front of the Chinese embassy
00:29:59.800 in Washington, D.C.
00:30:01.500 The Chinese government never let me go and continue to spy on me.
00:30:10.180 And before the Winter Olympic Games in 2022, I was, you know, I got a phone call from somebody
00:30:19.900 who claimed to be from the U.S. Olympic Committee and wanted copies of my passport
00:30:26.640 and Alisa's passport.
00:30:29.140 And then the FBI informed me that the Chinese government is spying on me.
00:30:37.060 And of course, I was concerned about Alisa going to China to compete. 0.63
00:30:44.000 You listen to him talking about the concerns.
00:30:46.240 Yeah, I'd have a lot of concerns as a father as well.
00:30:49.000 Of course.
00:30:49.720 And listen, this man loves his daughter.
00:30:52.560 And I got to say, Alisa's Olympic gold performance, it was beautiful.
00:30:56.520 I'm not particularly into figure skating.
00:30:58.960 I got to say, she did a gorgeous performance.
00:31:04.160 It was, there was a sense of joy and abandon in watching it that was really fabulous.
00:31:12.060 And it made you really happy for her.
00:31:15.320 It made you cheer her on.
00:31:17.740 There's a great image I love, a photo taken from above as she's like spinning and looking up.
00:31:23.020 And there's a level of just reckless abandon.
00:31:25.860 And it's not reckless abandon.
00:31:27.000 It's actually incredibly controlled, joyful skill.
00:31:32.940 But look, it made you proud of America.
00:31:35.800 And I got to say, you would think everyone would be proud of America watching that.
00:31:39.060 But what is amazing, so there was recent polling numbers that came out from Gallup that are highly concerning, that showed that not everyone is proud of America anymore.
00:31:50.020 And if you look at just the generic question, U.S. adults pride in being American, 2001 to 2025.
00:31:59.720 So in 2001, 87% said they were extremely very proud.
00:32:07.460 By 2025, that had dropped to 58%, 87% to 58%.
00:32:12.740 That's a massive decrease.
00:32:14.100 And you might say, well, I don't know what's driving that.
00:32:17.040 But actually, the second chart is even more concerning.
00:32:21.180 Because it's not just everyone's losing faith in America.
00:32:23.920 It's not just that everyone is no longer proud of being American.
00:32:26.420 It's very particular and ideological.
00:32:29.540 It is Democrats.
00:32:31.120 It is liberals.
00:32:31.860 And I want to focus on this chart that Gallup put out.
00:32:35.700 So in 2001, 90% of Republicans were very proud of being American.
00:32:45.740 87% of Democrats were very proud of being American.
00:32:49.820 So there's not really a partisan divide.
00:32:51.420 And by the way, 84% of independents were very proud.
00:32:54.320 And that was which year again?
00:32:55.820 Which year was this?
00:32:56.280 2001.
00:32:57.540 Okay.
00:32:57.900 So, yeah.
00:32:58.580 Get ready, folks.
00:32:59.940 You're about to – yeah, okay.
00:33:01.260 25 years ago, it was 90%, 87%, 84%.
00:33:04.700 So they were all clustered.
00:33:05.780 They were all within a few points of each other.
00:33:07.920 Basically everyone, whether you were a Democrat or Republican, everyone, 87%, 90% said, I'm very proud of being American.
00:33:15.280 So let's fast forward to 2005.
00:33:18.020 So 2005, 2001, 90% of Republicans were very proud of America, to be American.
00:33:24.380 In 2005, 92% of Republicans are very proud to be an American.
00:33:29.080 So it actually has gone up a little bit for Republicans.
00:33:31.980 What has happened for independents?
00:33:33.620 So independents were at 84%.
00:33:35.420 And in 25 years, it's dropped from 84% to 53%.
00:33:42.120 So almost a 50-50 split that you're prideful in this country and you don't have pride in this country.
00:33:47.360 That's among independents.
00:33:48.520 That's scary to me.
00:33:49.280 And I want to say the next stat is even more horrifying.
00:33:52.380 So Democrats in 2001, 87% of Democrats.
00:33:57.920 I'm very proud to be an American.
00:34:00.760 What do you think the number is in 2005?
00:34:03.640 I think the majority of Democrats hate this country.
00:34:05.560 So I'm going to say 28%.
00:34:07.260 So it's not quite that bad.
00:34:10.820 But it's 36%.
00:34:12.660 I mean, it'll get to 28 in a few more years.
00:34:14.940 I guarantee you that.
00:34:16.180 So it went from 87% to 36%.
00:34:21.040 So the differential, if you're Republican, 92% of you are proud to be an American.
00:34:25.720 If you're Democrat, only 36% are very proud to be an American.
00:34:30.680 I've got to say that is—
00:34:32.000 I wonder, by the way, how much of that, Senator, do you think is our public school system and our universities,
00:34:36.260 like training up an entire generation to be ashamed of America?
00:34:39.860 It's indoctrinating leftists.
00:34:41.620 And part of leftism is that America is evil. 0.50
00:34:45.340 We are a colonialist, oppressive nation.
00:34:48.760 They're taught that capitalism is evil.
00:34:51.700 And frankly, look, going back to the story we just covered, again, I don't know Eileen Gu, but she's at Stanford.
00:34:58.160 I assume she's been raised by leftists all her life.
00:35:01.700 You know, she was asked, what do you think about the Communist Party committing a genocide against Uyghurs,
00:35:07.980 having over a million Uyghurs in concentration camps?
00:35:10.200 And she said, hey, that's not my problem.
00:35:11.540 I'm not worried about it.
00:35:13.820 I don't mean to pass judgment on her, but I'm just saying that is the fruit of leftists controlling our education system, 0.83
00:35:23.320 that's saying you cannot have a view, is mass murder good or bad?
00:35:28.880 I'm sorry, leftists say, no, America's always bad.
00:35:31.160 You cannot have a view on over a million people in concentration camps, on human slavery, on torture, on murder.
00:35:36.340 No, no, no.
00:35:37.320 America's always bad.
00:35:39.420 And look, we saw this at the State of the Union.
00:35:42.600 The moment that I thought defined the whole State of the Union address is when President Trump turned to the Democrats
00:35:50.460 and he said, okay, I'm going to give you a chance to decide right now.
00:35:53.220 Stand up if you believe our first priority should be to fight for American citizens and not illegal aliens. 1.00
00:36:02.340 And every single Democrat, all of them, 100 percent, stayed sitting.
00:36:09.480 By the way, that image is going to be played on a million campaign ads.
00:36:14.040 I was talking to a very senior official in the Trump White House today,
00:36:17.860 and I was congratulating him on an incredibly successful State of the Union, and I brought that up.
00:36:23.400 I said that was the moment.
00:36:24.300 He kind of laughed, and he said, yeah, I argued against that.
00:36:26.920 He said, I didn't think it would work.
00:36:29.400 I didn't think they would fall for that.
00:36:31.360 I thought they'd all stand up.
00:36:33.300 And he said, I thought it was at best 50-50.
00:36:35.440 And it's amazing, not a single.
00:36:37.240 Look, I'm not very good at putting myself in the shoes of being a Democrat, but I would think.
00:36:42.760 That's a good thing, by the way.
00:36:43.940 That's a good thing.
00:36:44.440 If I was a Democrat and heard that, I would have stood up and said, yeah, we stand for American citizens and not illegals. 0.99
00:36:50.140 Of course.
00:36:50.900 Like 12 seconds ago, that would have been what they did.
00:36:53.200 They're all so indoctrinated that every single one said, nope, we're with illegals and not American citizens.
00:37:02.440 That's tragic.
00:37:03.640 Yeah, it is.
00:37:04.120 Don't forget, we do this show as a podcast three days a week, so download Verdict with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcasts.
00:37:10.120 And this Saturday night, we'll see you back here on this radio station next week and on the podcast all week long.
00:37:14.540 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:37:18.240 Guaranteed human.