Verdict with Ted Cruz - April 07, 2026


BONUS POD： Trump Orders Full Investigation as Leak Forced Iran‑Wide Manhunt for U.S. Pilot

Hosted by
Ted Cruz
Mentioned
Donald Trump Ben Ferguson Pete Hedseth Soleimani Khomeini Maduro
Easter Miracle—Heroic Rescue in Iran plus Trump Threatens Massive Retaliation if Strait of Hormuz isn't Opened Bonus： Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Apr 7 2026

Episode Stats


Length

14 minutes

Words per minute

158.24

Word count

2,263

Sentence count

111

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Trump says we will find out who leaked the information about the missing downed U.S. pilot in Iran, and calls the person responsible a "sick person" and a "national security leaker." Meanwhile, the White House says the information has been leaked, and the leaker will be brought to justice.

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 .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.800 They basically said that we have one and there's somebody missing.
00:00:08.140 Well, they didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.
00:00:11.740 So whoever it was, we think we'll be able to find it out because we're going to go to the media company that released it.
00:00:17.820 And we're going to say national security, give it up or go to jail.
00:00:21.940 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:25.580 Good Tuesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:28.600 and we've got two very big stories for you this morning.
00:00:31.220 First up, President Trump had a White House press conference
00:00:34.720 talking about Iran and multiple other issues,
00:00:37.540 including hearing from the Secretary of War.
00:00:39.880 We're going to break that down for you as well.
00:00:42.440 And then there's a second story, which is getting a lot of attention.
00:00:45.820 The president saying,
00:00:47.420 we're going to find out who leaked the story
00:00:50.120 about the second down U.S. pilot in Iran.
00:00:53.980 The president was very upset about it 0.93
00:00:56.140 and referred to the person that leaked it as a, quote, sick person.
00:01:00.260 We'll have that for you as well.
00:01:02.300 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:01:05.660 Story number one.
00:01:06.840 At the White House, President Trump delivered one of the most intense
00:01:10.220 and consequential briefings of the ongoing conflict with Iran,
00:01:14.900 making it clear that the next 24 to 48 hours could define everything.
00:01:19.520 The president opened by highlighting what he called a historic
00:01:23.580 and highly complex military success.
00:01:27.000 The daring rescue of two downed American airmen deep inside Iranian territory.
00:01:33.660 Thursday night, an American F-15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran
00:01:40.980 while participating in Operation Epic Fury, where we're doing unbelievably well,
00:01:47.100 well at a level that nobody's ever seen before.
00:01:50.360 The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.
00:01:55.680 Both members of the crew ejected from the aircraft and landed alive on Iranian soil.
00:02:01.360 I immediately was asked to make a decision.
00:02:06.900 I ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home.
00:02:12.640 A risky decision because we could have ended up with 100 dead as opposed to one or two.
00:02:18.440 Boom. It's a hard decision to make. But in the United States military, we leave no American behind. We don't do it. Within hours, our armed forces deployed 21 military aircraft into hostile airspace, many flying at very low altitude, being shot by bullets. You bring rifles into play when you go in that low. But there are also certain advantages.
00:02:42.320 and in broad daylight over iran for seven hours at times facing very very heavy enemy fire we
00:02:50.420 have a helicopter that's got a lot of bullets in it it's amazing we just realized how good those
00:02:55.480 those weapons are those are machines are nobody has nobody has the equipment that we have and
00:03:02.220 nobody has the military that we have not even close the most powerful military anywhere in
00:03:07.240 the world by far. The flight crews and warfighters aboard those aircraft took extraordinary risks to
00:03:13.280 rescue their fellow service members. This first wave of search and rescue forces successfully
00:03:19.400 located the pilot of the F-15 and he was extracted from enemy territory by an HH-60 Jolly Green 2
00:03:29.140 helicopter. Fabulous machine as our warriors faced gunfire at very close range. It's amazing
00:03:36.800 that when you look at the machinery what happened that nobody was even injured meanwhile the second
00:03:43.200 crew member a weapons system officer highly respected colonel had landed a significant
00:03:49.020 distance away from the pilot when you're going at those speeds even if you go out two or three
00:03:53.980 seconds later it's miles it's miles and miles away because you're going fast he was injured
00:04:01.300 quite badly and stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the islamic revolutionary guard
00:04:07.720 corps rough group as well as besieged military militia and local authorities many uh on top of
00:04:16.720 everything else they told the communities actually with inside of iran the people of iran they were
00:04:24.300 given a tremendous incentive to find this pilot the president praising the u.s forces for executing
00:04:31.740 a mission that involved elite special forces operation units dozens of aircraft and intelligence
00:04:38.580 deception tactics by the cia all while engaging enemy forces and bringing both american pilots
00:04:45.760 home safely the president made it clear america will always bring its people home no matter the
00:04:52.920 risk. The president also wanted to make it very clear that he was saying thank you to our U.S.
00:04:58.620 armed forces that were involved and also saying thank you to God for protecting them while they
00:05:04.200 were doing this mission. I want to thank every member of the U.S. armed forces involved in these
00:05:09.440 historic operations. They really were historic. It's just not something that's done.
00:05:14.140 And you'd understand it, not that they don't want to do it. But when you're going into areas,
00:05:19.200 when you look at these helicopters, when you look at the amount of bullets and everything
00:05:22.580 else that they took when you go into these areas you don't come out like we came out god was
00:05:28.260 watching us tell you well it was the easter we were in the easter territory i guess but god was
00:05:36.300 watching us amazing now the president quickly turned to the warning with iran president trump
00:05:42.880 issuing now a direct and unmistakable warning to the country saying the regime is now facing a
00:05:48.860 very short deadline to comply with U.S. demands, including halting its nuclear ambitions and
00:05:55.400 reopening the critical global shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz. Trump warned that if Iran
00:06:01.440 refuses, the United States is prepared to launch massive, overwhelming strikes, hit key infrastructure,
00:06:08.380 including energy and transportation systems, could be targeted as well. And in his words,
00:06:13.500 iran could be taken out in one night if necessary at the same time trump emphasized he does not want
00:06:20.380 war but make clear that america is fully prepared if iran forces the issue the president also
00:06:27.100 claimed intelligence suggests growing internal pressure inside of iran arguing that many
00:06:33.080 civilians want change and are watching closely what happens next which brings us to the secretary
00:06:39.000 of war. Pete Hedseth at the White House saying this about what Iran has to side very quickly.
00:06:46.220 President Trump understands that peace through strength is not a slogan. It is a doctrine that
00:06:52.420 saves American lives. His unwavering commitment to rebuilding our military and restoring the
00:06:58.000 warrior spirit has paid dividends in missions just like this one. Under his command, America
00:07:05.100 projects power with confidence and brings our people home with victory. And that continues
00:07:11.140 today, by the way. Per the president's direction, today will be the largest volume of strikes since
00:07:16.000 day one of this operation. Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice. 0.81
00:07:23.520 Choose wisely, because this president does not play around. You can ask Soleimani,
00:07:29.840 you can ask Maduro
00:07:31.720 you can ask Khomeini
00:07:34.000 to those heroes who planned and executed these rescues
00:07:38.060 your nation stands in awe
00:07:39.640 I stand in awe
00:07:41.120 the chairman stands in awe
00:07:42.520 we all stand in awe of your professionalism and bravery
00:07:45.280 we serve for you
00:07:46.760 you embody the very best of America
00:07:49.980 to the rescued airmen and their families
00:07:51.680 welcome home
00:07:52.580 your courage and endurance
00:07:54.880 the quiet declaration of faith
00:07:57.160 amid the storm
00:07:58.560 inspires us all god is good every day the president also ended by saying that yes iran
00:08:07.760 is an active participant in ceasefire negotiations last week uh last week you suggested that europe
00:08:16.960 should take the lead on reopening the strait of harmuz uh has circumstances changed now that
00:08:21.260 you're issuing a direct 40 out eight hour i mean 48 hour ultimatum and secondly would a new new
00:08:28.280 ceasefire include Israel or would it just be between Iran? I can't talk about ceasefire,
00:08:32.440 but I can tell you that we have a active, willing participant on the other side.
00:08:39.380 They would like to be able to make a deal. I can't say any more than that.
00:08:43.500 One thing is for sure. The president has set a deadline and he's not flinching. And now the big
00:08:48.820 question is, what will Iran do next? We'll have it all for you. That I can promise you. 1.00
00:08:54.060 Now, story number two.
00:08:55.660 There was a part of the White House press conference with Donald Trump that should stop every American in your tracks.
00:09:02.060 And frankly, it should really make you angry.
00:09:05.620 President Donald Trump shocked the world when revealing that while the world was watching the rescue of one down American pilot inside Iran,
00:09:14.200 there was actually a second pilot still on the ground, alive, hiding and waiting to be brought home.
00:09:21.160 And here's the key.
00:09:22.140 The United States had kept that information secret on purpose.
00:09:27.680 Why? Because every second mattered.
00:09:30.440 Because the pilot's survival depended on Iran not knowing that he was even there.
00:09:35.960 But then someone leaked it.
00:09:38.680 According to President Trump, a media report exposed the existence of that second pilot
00:09:44.560 while the rescue mission was still unfolding.
00:09:47.220 And just like that, the entire situation changed.
00:09:52.140 Suddenly, Iran knew. 0.71
00:09:54.480 Suddenly, people on the ground in Iran knew.
00:09:57.000 And according to Trump, there were even reports of rewards being offered to find and capture that American pilot.
00:10:04.500 Now think about that.
00:10:05.560 An American, literally behind enemy lines, trying to survive.
00:10:10.480 And a leak back home in America may have just told the enemy exactly what to look for.
00:10:16.920 The president did not hold back.
00:10:19.300 He called the person responsible for the leak sick, and he made it clear this wasn't just irresponsible.
00:10:26.460 He also believes that it was dangerous and says that there should be consequences.
00:10:32.020 Here's the president in his own words.
00:10:34.700 But these two extraordinary rescues, because it was two, and as you probably know, we didn't talk about the first one for an hour.
00:10:42.760 Then somebody leaked something, which will hopefully find that leaker.
00:10:46.240 We're looking very hard to find that leaker and talked about there's somebody missing.
00:10:53.180 They basically said that we have one and there's somebody missing.
00:10:57.200 Well, they didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.
00:11:00.920 So whoever it was, we think we'll be able to find it out because we're going to go to the media company that released it.
00:11:08.980 And we're going to say national security, give it up or go to jail.
00:11:13.180 and we know who and you know who we're talking about because some things you can't do because
00:11:20.280 when they did that all of a sudden the entire country of iran knew that there was a pilot that
00:11:27.740 was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life and it also made it much more difficult
00:11:34.900 for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him all of a sudden uh they know that
00:11:42.800 there's somebody out there they see all these planes coming in it became a much more difficult
00:11:47.120 operation because a leaker leaked that we have one we've rescued one but there's another one
00:11:55.900 out there that we're trying to get so actually the country iran put out a major notice you all
00:12:04.720 saw it offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot so in addition to a hostile
00:12:12.180 very talented very good very evil military we had millions of people trying to get an award so 0.93
00:12:21.960 when you add that to it but we have to find that leaker because that's a sick person 1.00
00:12:26.620 probably didn't realize the extent of how bad it was i can't imagine that the person did but
00:12:32.800 we're going to find out it's national security and the person that did the story
00:12:38.200 will go to jail if he doesn't say and that doesn't last long and i think everybody would
00:12:43.780 understand that they put this mission at great risk they put that man at great risk and they
00:12:48.200 put the hundreds of people that went in looking for him because everyone now knows that we're
00:12:54.000 going in the president saying exactly what needed to be said there will be consequences the
00:13:00.140 administration launching this full investigation to find out exactly who leaked that information
00:13:04.900 and he went even further warning the media outlet involved could be forced to reveal its source
00:13:09.840 or face legal consequences now if you just step back and look at a bigger picture this wasn't
00:13:15.720 politics this wasn't spin this was a real-time military operation with american lives on the
00:13:22.960 line those that were trying to rescue the individual and the individual on the ground
00:13:27.540 behind enemy lines according to the president the ad operation was made more dangerous because
00:13:33.200 someone decided to leak classified information in the middle of it.
00:13:37.360 And in the end, both pilots were brought home safely.
00:13:40.180 And that's the part we should all be grateful for.
00:13:42.720 But the question now is simple.
00:13:44.740 Who leaked it?
00:13:45.740 And why would anyone take that kind of risk with an American life?
00:13:49.940 Because as we learned today, the battlefield isn't just overseas.
00:13:54.020 Sometimes the danger comes from inside our own country.
00:13:57.420 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:14:01.420 please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now
00:14:06.780 and for more in-depth news also subscribe to the ben ferguson podcast and we will see you
00:14:12.560 back here tomorrow this is an iheart podcast guaranteed human