Verdict with Ted Cruz - August 18, 2026


BONUS POD： Iran Threatens Escalation plus China’s Education Infiltration


Episode Stats


Length

18 minutes

Words per minute

153.0

Word count

2,861

Sentence count

166

Harmful content

Toxicity

3

sentences flagged

Hate speech

37

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
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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00:00:34.460 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?
00:00:37.900 We're not boring.
00:00:38.900 A lot of news is boring.
00:00:39.880 And tedious.
00:00:40.760 And depressing.
00:00:41.360 And makes you angry.
00:00:42.740 You don't want to live your life like that.
00:00:45.000 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:00:46.060 He's Joe Getty.
00:00:46.720 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:00:47.820 We try to bring you the truth.
00:00:48.980 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:00:51.380 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:00:55.840 We have a winner.
00:00:57.360 Yes.
00:00:57.980 Listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0.71
00:01:04.940 Well, because they've shown that they are willing to take the pain, it's the people of Iran who are suffering.
00:01:11.120 And these old guards, they're just like, fine, bring it on.
00:01:13.800 And then they said, we're going to go on offense.
00:01:15.720 It's like, well, with what?
00:01:16.600 I think right now it wouldn't hurt them to declare communications vacancy.
00:01:21.020 Bring in the pool.
00:01:21.840 That's like a representative of several different types of reporters that are assembled every day.
00:01:26.340 So it's a random selection.
00:01:27.500 sit them down with the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor,
00:01:32.320 maybe even John Ratcliffe at the CIA, if they're willing, and say, here's where we are and answer
00:01:37.240 every question until they're done and start fresh, because I think that they do need a
00:01:41.540 communications reset. You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:01:46.620 Good Tuesday morning. So nice to have you with us in the 47 Morning Update. And we've got two
00:01:51.100 big stories for you. First up, Iran is now threatening all out war on US interests in 0.95
00:01:56.760 the Middle East. Why? Because they believe the politics of this played their advantage 0.51
00:02:01.040 before the midterm elections. So what is President Trump doing in response? We have that for
00:02:06.200 you. Also, a shocking new exchange program. The Chinese Communist Party is working with
00:02:12.780 dozens and dozens of schools and universities across more than 30 states to work with Chinese
00:02:20.880 communist propaganda we expose it all it's the 47 morning update and it starts right now story
00:02:28.120 number one it's time i give you a quick update on what's going on in iran and it seems that things
00:02:34.100 are changing it looks like we're now moving into a much more dangerous phase of the war with iran
00:02:39.160 not because the u.s because of iran and as we are 77 days away from the midterms the timing of this 0.64
00:02:48.560 matters because well now Iran knows they can probably keep this going long enough they believe
00:02:54.800 to hurt President Donald Trump. Iran for the first time is publicly saying consistently now
00:03:01.320 that they are threatening for escalation. Reuters reported today that Tehran is warning that it
00:03:08.780 could move to a fully offensive military posture as diplomacy with the United States has stalled
00:03:15.440 out. The Iranian officials are threatening escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and potentially
00:03:20.080 beyond it as well. Now, that is an extraordinary threat because this isn't happening in a vacuum.
00:03:27.720 The United States and Iran have already been locked in this conflict for months. The Strait
00:03:32.620 of Hormuz remains the center of the confrontation. And Iran has previously warned that another major
00:03:38.720 American attack could trigger retaliation, they say, against U.S. assets and critical energy
00:03:44.980 infrastructure throughout the Gulf region. In other words, they're saying we're going to hold
00:03:49.720 you hostage. And then comes the political escalation. Retired General Jack Keane is now
00:03:56.880 warning that with America's midterm elections approaching, the Iranians have an incentive
00:04:02.920 to increase the volatility and violence because they understand that a prolonged conflict can
00:04:08.860 create political pressure inside the United States of America ahead of election day.
00:04:14.440 Now, if you think about that strategy, Iran doesn't necessarily have to defeat the United States militarily. 0.74
00:04:19.740 All they got to do is try to make the political and economic price of the war painful. 0.58
00:04:23.900 Now, this could also mean more missile attacks, more drone attacks, more attacks on American forces or American allies.
00:04:31.380 And ultimately, that means more instability around the Strait of Hormuz.
00:04:34.760 And that means putting pressure on the global energy markets.
00:04:39.900 Now, I want you to hear what General Jack Keene, former Army Vice Chief of Staff, said about all this on Fox.
00:04:46.940 I have been saying, and I think the Wall Street Journal has picked up on it from their sources,
00:04:53.040 that the Iranians likely, given the midterm elections are coming, 0.89
00:04:58.340 will increase the volatility and violence in the area to demonstrate to the American people 0.71
00:05:04.040 that the management of the war is not going good. 0.98
00:05:06.940 because where are the Iranians coming from here?
00:05:09.700 They pay huge attention to what happens in the United States and our political will,
00:05:14.180 and they want to affect those elections.
00:05:16.800 They don't want President Trump and the Republicans to maintain the control politically that they have.
00:05:22.460 They would like to see the Democrats get some level of control over it. 0.81
00:05:25.960 I hate to get involved in politics, but I'm talking about where the Iranians are coming from, 0.97
00:05:31.260 not where I'm coming from. 1.00
00:05:32.880 And that's what's on their mind here.
00:05:34.900 So, yes, when you hear phrases like this, we're going on offense, one, that's a threat, and a lot of their threats are hollow.
00:05:42.980 But I do think there is some substance to it for the reasons I just stated.
00:05:47.660 So it's likely we may see something here going forward. 1.00
00:05:51.640 Now, the Iranians, they miscalculate time and time again in not understanding who our president is. 1.00
00:05:57.460 Remember, first in 47 years to ever confront them militarily. 1.00
00:06:01.380 And two, if they push in that direction, I suspect the president will come down very, very strong on them once and for all.
00:06:11.120 So we'll see where we are here.
00:06:14.260 We're in an economic phase.
00:06:15.620 That's the decision we've made.
00:06:17.520 But the president has lots of options that he can go to in terms of military action when and if needed.
00:06:25.100 That's the reality of it. 0.90
00:06:26.940 And in a sense, the ball is a little bit in Iran's court to see what they're going to do here.
00:06:30.720 Now, the Iranian regime clearly understands something very basic about American politics.
00:06:36.560 Wars become political issues when Americans start feeling their consequences at home.
00:06:41.760 And Iran itself, by the way, is under enormous pressure.
00:06:45.440 Reuters reports that the Iranian economy has been battered by this war,
00:06:49.440 disrupted oil exports and imports and inflation, unemployment and rising prices.
00:06:54.400 And the people on the ground are getting extremely anxious.
00:06:57.620 Iran's leaders are reportedly worried that additional American economic pressure
00:07:01.360 could reduce another wave, they say, of domestic unrest,
00:07:06.420 where they killed countless innocent Iranians recently.
00:07:11.060 Now, Tehran may believe escalation gives it leverage,
00:07:14.440 but that strategy also carries an enormous risk because you're dealing with Donald Trump.
00:07:20.200 And what Donald Trump has made clear is he's not going to be afraid to attack if he needs to.
00:07:24.860 He also has made it clear that countries like Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Israel, and
00:07:29.480 American military installations across the region, well, they're ready to go on offense
00:07:35.400 if they need to.
00:07:36.560 You heard that from General Jack Keene.
00:07:38.940 So the bottom line this morning is this. 0.57
00:07:41.440 Iran appears to understand that the American political calendar is approaching a critical
00:07:45.760 moment.
00:07:46.880 And they believe that increasing violence can increase economic anxiety and political
00:07:52.400 pressure on Trump before November.
00:07:54.260 Now, they may decide escalation is worth that gamble, but it could also be a catastrophic miscalculation, because if you try to manipulate American politics through attacks on American troops or allies, that could produce exactly the opposite response and turn an already dangerous war into a far larger regional confrontation.
00:08:18.160 And by the way, if Americans get attacked, the data overwhelmingly shows that Americans want our military to fight back.
00:08:27.660 Next, story number two.
00:08:28.920 I want to talk about a big and important issue in a new report that has come out, a sweeping report,
00:08:35.700 that has uncovered the scope of the Chinese Communist Party and their Chinese-backed exchange program
00:08:44.040 that is inside of America and our schools right now.
00:08:48.160 We have now learned through this report that at least 83 universities and 26 K-12 schools across 30 states are actively participating in Beijing's Young Envoy's Scholarship.
00:09:05.360 Now, dozens of these American schools, high schools, middle schools, and actually elementary schools are taking part in the program that was launched by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
00:09:16.580 it is also run by an agency dedicated to promoting marxism and leninism and this new report published
00:09:26.340 should have been out there years ago and it should have happened by the government saying no and the
00:09:33.240 school district saying no and the school administrators saying no we're not going to
00:09:37.700 work with the chinese communist party no matter how much money they want to they want to give us
00:09:43.960 with a Marxist-Leninist propaganda machine.
00:09:50.620 Now, we don't know how many other schools are out there yet that are not on the list.
00:09:54.940 What we do know is we found at least 83 universities
00:09:58.140 and 26 of these K-12 schools and 30 states that are involved in this.
00:10:04.700 Now, they sell this as a simple exchange program.
00:10:09.380 The problem is the exchange program is literally with the Chinese Communist Party.
00:10:13.960 And they say it's designed to improve relations with the United States, according to the report.
00:10:19.680 Critics are now saying, no, no, no, no, no.
00:10:23.020 That is not what this is at all.
00:10:25.780 This Chinese exchange program serves, they say, as a political function.
00:10:30.200 And that allows the CCP to curate manicured experiences to unduly sway American perceptions of China.
00:10:38.600 In other words, it's a Chinese Communist Party propaganda machine.
00:10:42.960 Now, the program's reach also underscores how Beijing uses the disguise of this educational opportunity slash exchange to build influence, not only with American students, but even U.S. officials.
00:11:00.080 And they count among this program's basically connections, even, yeah, you guessed it, former presidents of the United States of America, one of them, Joe Biden. 0.91
00:11:11.920 you look at the ccp's efforts to shape not only the public opinion of them but to also gain 0.94
00:11:19.840 footholds in our institutions so they can then indoctrinate american kids to not only hate 1.00
00:11:24.900 america but also to think that china is not bad at all and that china is great and that china
00:11:30.780 should be well respected and the human rights and every other concerns out there really don't matter
00:11:37.220 and you're overblowing them if you're an American
00:11:41.260 because we're telling you the CCP is just a normal great country.
00:11:45.960 They do nothing wrong.
00:11:46.880 They don't have child labor camps.
00:11:48.680 They don't have indentured servants, slaves by the millions in China.
00:11:54.960 By the way, that's a fact.
00:11:56.540 And they want you to just believe that everything's awesome.
00:11:59.380 Now, the new Defending Education Report,
00:12:03.040 and that's where this data is coming from,
00:12:04.500 is raising massive questions about what students are shown in china and because we're sending
00:12:10.860 american minds over there and then also shapes those experiences and whether schools and families
00:12:16.000 fully understand the political manipulation and implication of this participation quote the
00:12:23.660 chinese communist party engages in cognitive warfare to distort american perceptions of the 0.78
00:12:29.160 ccp's endless human rights abuses and global aggression that is what michael lucy the ceo 0.89
00:12:36.840 of the national security non-profit state armor said to fox they are reaching deep into our
00:12:42.440 education system he said to influence american students as one of their influence operations
00:12:48.300 to try to change the way that america thinks altogether period now z established the program
00:12:55.000 in 2023 his aim of inviting 50 000 young americans to the country over five years why would you have
00:13:03.200 such a lofty goal because you're hoping to get 50 000 chinese communist spies in essence to 0.92
00:13:10.080 america to then use our education system to their advantage with propaganda now the chinese court 0.77
00:13:17.620 education administration for international exchange they run the program who are they
00:13:22.580 I go back to what I mentioned earlier the people that are in charge running the exchange program that they use Marxism and Leninism and many other radical theories to help indoctrinate Chinese young people they go through socialism and the Chinese characteristics for it and their guided ideology and action.
00:13:50.300 Now, again, this is not me saying this is in there, according to a translation of their actual Chinese language website.
00:13:58.240 Now, these aren't just cultural trips.
00:14:00.660 They're an integral part of a China broader soft power strategy aimed at infiltrating America's classroom is what Reagan Dugan, the director of defending education's higher education initiative, said as well in an interview saying, quote, disclosure requirements need to catch up.
00:14:17.820 American students and families deserve to know if their school is participating
00:14:21.920 and partnering with the Chinese Communist Party operation.
00:14:25.900 The Chinese government maintains that their exchange program,
00:14:28.280 but of course they lie about it,
00:14:29.460 so they are not intended to serve a political purpose.
00:14:32.800 However, quote,
00:14:34.300 China is committed to promoting mutual understanding and friendship
00:14:37.080 between the Chinese and American people
00:14:38.900 and advancing exchanges and cooperation between the two countries
00:14:42.640 in areas including, they say, trade, education, and culture.
00:14:46.140 Now, why would the Chinese embassy say that in D.C.?
00:14:48.800 Because they're lying to you.
00:14:50.320 China opposes politicization and politicizing normal people to people, educational and economic exchanges.
00:14:58.000 Such unfounded accusations serve no constructive purpose and do not contribute to the healthy development of, quote, China-U.S. relations.
00:15:06.560 So let me be clear. 0.81
00:15:07.860 They know from their spies how to speak American.
00:15:11.080 They know how to speak to the West.
00:15:13.280 They know how to just not take the bait here.
00:15:15.240 We know that they have set the largest spying operation in the history of the world in the United States of America. 0.70
00:15:20.820 Yes, that's China. 0.68
00:15:21.980 We know that they are beating our tails in the race to AI so they can control AI, influence AI, 0.88
00:15:27.720 and then indoctrinate people that use AI to think that places like America are not a place to be proud of,
00:15:33.840 but they're always in scandal.
00:15:35.100 They're always weak.
00:15:36.140 You understand my point.
00:15:37.620 Quote, we hope the U.S. side will view China and bilateral relations in an objective and rational manner.
00:15:43.480 provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment
00:15:47.160 for exchanges and cooperation
00:15:49.020 and work together to promote the sound and stable development
00:15:52.260 of China-U.S. relations, the communists added.
00:15:55.860 I'm going to make this very clear. 0.98
00:15:58.560 This is all, like, exactly what you should expect
00:16:03.540 from the Chinese Communist Party. 0.98
00:16:05.200 They are playing us in this country perfectly.
00:16:09.300 They're telling you, hey, we're just students. 0.68
00:16:11.880 No, they're Chinese communists, sympathizers at best, probably full-blown spies if you're dealing with reality. 0.50
00:16:19.560 And America is just so far behind the eight ball in spying and the techniques at this granular level.
00:16:26.680 And China is not. 1.00
00:16:29.140 What China has decided to do here is they're going to say, hey, we believe Americans are stupid. 1.00
00:16:34.900 We believe that Americans' learning leaders are incompetent. 1.00
00:16:38.980 and so we're going to have an exchange program to indoctrinate americans while
00:16:43.220 having spies in america and this is a win-win for us when you've got 83 universities on the 0.56
00:16:50.680 take on this 26k through 12 schools on the take in 30 states that are participating in beijing's 0.81
00:16:55.880 propaganda you know that we're losing the battle we're losing the war and people should be really
00:17:05.580 really angry about this and they should demand you should demand answers and you should ask
00:17:13.660 questions of the university that your kids your grandkids go to to see if they are actually in
00:17:20.360 this program because if they are you know your kids in a bad program and this is how they gain 0.94
00:17:26.340 control of america you want to know how we got all these marxist socialist communist candidates
00:17:30.800 This is how it happens.
00:17:34.120 You convince Americans that somehow America is a terrible place.
00:17:40.520 You convince Americans that America is a place you should be angry about, ashamed of, and you should want to destroy it from within with socialism and communism and Marxism. 0.90
00:17:51.300 And that is why the Chinese Communist Party is doing exactly that. 0.89
00:17:55.240 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:17:59.040 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:18:04.820 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:18:29.040 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:18:33.540 We have a winner.
00:18:35.160 Yes.
00:18:36.180 Listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand on the iHeartRadio app,
00:18:39.260 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.