Verdict with Ted Cruz - California Crazy-LA's Maddening Mayor Race plus Iran & Israel Fire More Missiles at Each Other

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.460 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.560 Say hello to your new favorite drinks.

00:00:06.980 Introducing new McCafe refreshers.

00:00:09.680 Icy cool, undeniably refreshing, and available in three flavors.

00:00:14.220 Strawberry watermelon, mango pineapple, and blackberry passion fruit.

00:00:18.060 Only at McDonald's.

00:00:19.480 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand?

00:00:22.940 We're not boring.

00:00:23.940 A lot of news is boring.

00:00:24.900 And tedious.

00:00:25.800 And depressing.

00:00:26.380 And makes you angry.

00:00:27.560 You don't want to live your life like that.

00:00:30.000 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty.

00:00:31.740 We're Armstrong and Getty.

00:00:32.860 We try to bring you the truth.

00:00:34.020 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.

00:00:36.400 How about something about a comedic tone?

00:00:40.840 We have a winner.

00:00:42.400 Yes.

00:00:43.420 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app,

00:00:46.520 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:00:49.620 Turn someday into right now with Body by Jake Radio.

00:00:53.160 Non-stop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

00:00:56.220 Hey, head over to iHeart.com.

00:00:57.980 Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now.

00:01:01.720 Awesome health and wellness tips, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

00:01:05.300 Remember, stick to the fight.

00:01:06.420 When your heart is hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit.

00:01:09.820 Don't quit.

00:01:10.540 Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum.

00:01:13.840 Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free.

00:01:16.540 Have a great day.

00:01:17.320 I Heart Radio.

00:01:20.600 As America marks its 250th anniversary,

00:01:23.460 we're looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty

00:01:27.260 through the eyes of the heroes who defended it.

00:01:29.840 The whole thing about this country is freedom.

00:01:33.080 If we're not careful, we could lose that.

00:01:35.540 On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage,

00:01:37.680 we bring you the defining moments of valor

00:01:39.840 that went above and beyond the call of duty.

00:01:43.140 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app,

00:01:46.040 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:01:50.960 Welcome, it is Vertical Senator Ted Cruz,

00:01:53.220 Ben Ferguson with you as well.

00:01:54.720 and Senator, we have got a lot of action happening right now in the Middle East. We're

00:01:58.980 going to cover it the best we can because it's changing so quickly. Well, we are, but we're

00:02:03.540 going to start with a very simple question. What in the hell is wrong with California? 0.87

00:02:08.120 Look, I got to say the Los Angeles mayor race is as bizarre a race as I've ever seen. We're going 0.74

00:02:15.140 to break down the results there. They're going to shock you. They're going to piss you off.

00:02:18.960 We're going to talk about exactly what's going on. We're also going to talk about, as you noted,

00:02:22.600 the Middle East. And in particular, Iran is firing missiles at Israel. Israel is firing

00:02:27.240 missiles at Iran. Things are escalating right now. Things are fast moving. We're going to give you

00:02:31.920 the latest. Yeah. Welcome to the Democratic Party in 2026. All right. If you have a puppy or a dog

00:02:38.600 that you love, then you need to know about Rough Greens. And I want you to try it just like I did 0.99

00:02:44.180 for our new puppy, Bertie, for free. Yeah. All you're going to have to do is pay for shipping.

00:02:48.980 Now, if you don't know about Rough Greens, let me tell you about them.

00:02:51.780 I tell you, moving from the puppy years to old age brings in nostalgia. 0.91

00:02:56.180 Remember the day you brought your puppy home?

00:02:57.960 The tiny paws, the wagging tail, the spark in their eyes, and man, that energy that just

00:03:02.260 wouldn't quit?

00:03:03.100 Well, they've gotten older.

00:03:04.280 You wonder where that spark went.

00:03:06.080 They're slower, pickier at mealtime.

00:03:08.240 Their stomach often seems off, and you find yourself cleaning up those messes, worrying

00:03:12.540 and quietly thinking, is this just what aging looks like?

00:03:15.860 That's not old age, by the way.

00:03:17.680 that's actually malnutrition.

00:03:19.540 They're missing their probiotics, the enzymes, the omega oils,

00:03:23.680 and the live vitamins and minerals that your dog needs to digest and absorb food.

00:03:28.660 When the gut is out of balance, everything's harder for your dog that you love.

00:03:32.500 And that's where Rough Greens really come in.

00:03:34.660 I've seen it firsthand as our dog got older,

00:03:36.960 and we got our dog back that happiness in life.

00:03:39.860 And in fact, Rough Greens is America's number one dog supplement.

00:03:43.660 You just sprinkle it right over their current food,

00:03:45.940 and it's packed with all the live nutrients that they need.

00:03:49.040 It's all natural, made in the U.S. of A. 0.63

00:03:51.100 And thousands of dogs are feeling younger, more energetic, 0.99

00:03:54.320 and healthier than they have in years.

00:03:56.320 Your dog could be one of them.

00:03:57.760 And I want you to get a free Jumpstart trial bag for your dog today.

00:04:02.340 And you'll understand exactly why it's amazing.

00:04:05.080 You just cover the shipping costs.

00:04:06.960 Go to roughgreens.com

00:04:09.100 and all you have to do is use the discount code VERDICT.

00:04:11.800 That's R-U-F-F, greens.com,

00:04:15.060 discount code verdict rough creams they make any dog better all right so i will i have a theory

00:04:21.460 senator if we're let's go back to california and start there i have a theory that when you make

00:04:27.200 so many people miserable as soon as the same can get out they get out as fast as they can

00:04:33.560 if you are a normal person and you're living in a place like la and you watch part of the city

00:04:39.240 burn down and you see that the fire hydrants aren't working well and the reservoirs don't

00:04:43.200 have the water they need and then you're dealing with all the crazies there in government you just

00:04:47.840 leave so my question is this did all the same people basically leave LA therefore the only

00:04:54.360 thing you have left is Karen Bass or a communist or a socialist and that's it because they've

00:04:58.700 destroyed the entire city look there's still a whole lot of people there a lot of people have

00:05:04.540 left they are fleeing like crazy but but there are a lot of people still there let's do the latest

00:05:09.760 news. It's 11, 17 p.m. Sunday night. So as of right now, Karen Bass, the incumbent, is going

00:05:16.020 to the runoff. She has been called. She has received so far 250,871 votes, which comes up to

00:05:24.260 34.7 percent. Now, the election happened a week ago. Let's start with the fact that these imbeciles

00:05:31.960 can't actually count the votes in an election. We're a week into it, and we only have 83 percent 1.00

00:05:37.520 of the votes in. They have another 17% that they haven't counted yet. That is true statewide. We're

00:05:42.360 going to break that down in a minute. But by the way, Texas, somehow we managed to have elections

00:05:47.240 and no election night or late in the morning the next day. The results, because we actually count

00:05:53.680 our damn votes. Apparently in California, vote counting keeps going until I guess they get the 0.99

00:06:00.680 result they want. I mean, it is messed up. For much of the past week, Karen Bass was in first,

00:06:07.460 and then Spencer Pratt was in second, but in a sizable second. He had a sizable lead. Then

00:06:12.720 suddenly, today's vote count dropped. And Nitya Raman, who is the left-wing Marxist, who, by the

00:06:21.580 way, thinks Karen Bass, the communist who palled around with Fidel Castro, is not left-wing enough.

00:06:29.000 she has now surged into second place. So as of right now, Nitya Raman has 196,198 votes,

00:06:36.360 which is 27.1%. And Spencer Pratt has 193,085 votes, which is 26.7%.

00:06:44.520 Now, what does that mean? Well, I'm going to tell you, I looked on Kalshi right now,

00:06:50.700 just to see what the betting odds were on who will be in second place. What do you think the

00:06:56.020 The odds are, according to Kalshi, that Nitya Raman is in second place.

00:06:59.660 I'm going to go like super high.

00:07:02.460 Throw out a number.

00:07:05.400 89%.

00:07:05.840 Higher.

00:07:07.820 Higher.

00:07:08.400 So basically they're saying it's rigged and there's no way a Republican is going to come in second.

00:07:12.860 That's what you're telling me.

00:07:13.900 Keep going.

00:07:15.640 99%.

00:07:16.120 Down one.

00:07:18.320 98%.

00:07:18.760 Okay, so there we go.

00:07:20.200 Yeah.

00:07:20.480 Bingo.

00:07:20.780 It was 99 earlier today.

00:07:22.080 It dropped to 98.

00:07:24.160 Let me ask you.

00:07:25.520 All right.

00:07:26.020 Before we get into the process questions. All right. So Karen Bass, I think, has demonstrated

00:07:34.040 she is the most incompetent mayor you could possibly imagine, being in charge of a podunk 1.00

00:07:40.140 city, much less the second largest city in America. Much of her city burned down. She saw 0.98

00:07:46.760 the most costly natural disaster in American history as the Pacific Palisades rage, mind you.

00:07:54.860 This was after both LA and California had little to no fire mitigation. They allowed the overgrowth

00:08:03.480 of brush. They didn't do anything to clear it out because apparently no one's figured out that

00:08:07.180 there are fires in California. This is a really complicated thing for Democrats to figure out.

00:08:12.540 On top of that, they didn't have water. They let the reservoir be empty. The fire hydrants had no

00:08:21.440 water. And you remember, we played this on the podcast at the time. We did an entire pod

00:08:27.920 on the preventable train wreck that was the LA wildfires. The public policy decisions that made

00:08:36.360 the risks much greater and then made the ability to mitigate it, to stop it, to put it out much,

00:08:41.360 much weaker. LA at the time, their fire chief and the top two deputies. Okay, this is almost

00:08:48.440 something out of saturday night live is saturday night live was allowed to be funny anymore 1.00

00:08:51.960 yeah the top three officials in the la fire department were all lesbians named kristin

00:08:57.540 yeah yeah it was it was dei at its best like if you just want to be really honest

00:09:04.000 it does that doesn't that sound like almost a rejected script for an snl let's have kristin

00:09:09.960 one kristin two and kristin three they're all lesbians and and and we played an interview i 0.97

00:09:14.720 think it was kristin too although to be honest i can't keep track um who was an african-american 1.00

00:09:19.840 woman who was explaining that that that you know they they had as a high priority hiring hiring 0.52

00:09:25.460 lots of women and women are great but but but she said you know some of you might be saying well 0.99

00:09:30.620 what what if that little woman can't carry my husband out of a fire yeah and she says you know 0.81

00:09:36.600 what when you when you see a firefighter you want someone who looks like you that's what you care 1.00

00:09:41.640 most about. And if your husband's in a fire, that's his fault. He shouldn't have gotten himself

00:09:46.260 in that position in the first place. Yep. Like it truly was unbelievable. Let me be very clear

00:09:51.560 for the record. If I'm in a fire, I don't care what the firefighter who shows up looks like.

00:09:57.980 Doesn't matter to me at all. I just want to carry me out. Someone big as hell who can throw my ass

00:10:03.740 over his shoulder and get me out of there. That, that is, and by the way, you know, my mom, my mom 0.99

00:10:10.800 is 91 years old. Yep. My, my mother, uh, lives in, in, in, in a high rise, uh, in, in Houston

00:10:18.540 and she lives up in the 26th floor and a couple of years ago, uh, the, the, the, the power went

00:10:25.420 out in the building and ended up having it had malfunctions. They shut the building down for

00:10:29.400 a couple of months, but my mom is up on the 26th floor. The power is out there evacuating the

00:10:34.540 building and the elevators aren't working. And my mom uses a walker. So, so there is no universe in

00:10:40.540 which my mother is making it down 26 flights of stairs. That is just not something she is capable 0.98

00:10:45.720 of doing at age 91. And so Houston firefighters, two Houston firefighters carried her down 26

00:10:52.920 flights of stairs. Incredible. I promise you, my mother didn't say, okay, wait, I'm sorry. You guys

00:10:59.080 are both big strapping dudes. No, I don't need that. I need, could you send two 90 year old

00:11:04.920 ladies to carry me down. That's what I'd like. This is asinine. And at some point, and never 1.00

00:11:14.200 mind the out-of-control crime, never mind the homelessness, never mind Venice Beach,

00:11:18.780 the homeless camp there assaulting people, never mind the drug needles in parks,

00:11:22.800 never mind the kids stepping on fentanyl needles, like watching what has happened to LA.

00:11:28.120 it's tragic look i i spend a lot of time out out in california because because heidi's a native

00:11:34.820 californian her whole family are californians it's a spectacularly beautiful state i have a

00:11:41.180 lot of dear friends who live there when i look around they've got perfect weather they've got

00:11:44.900 the pacific oceans they've got mountains i mean it's breathtaking it is absolutely beautiful

00:11:49.880 and i look around i'm like how did they screw this up like like it's not and and and i want

00:11:57.000 It takes effort to screw it up. It's easy to be successful if that's what you're given

00:12:02.600 as your surroundings. You look at it and you go, I'd love to live here. Like you go to California

00:12:07.460 and you look at California. I don't care what part of the coast you're up or down. You see it

00:12:12.740 and you're like, this is amazing. The only way you could make people not want to go there is if you

00:12:17.780 have terrible services, which you're describing insanely high taxes, which you're describing

00:12:22.380 and anti-business policies which which they also have there and then it forces people to make a

00:12:28.340 tough decision which is i love the the the land i love what i see but i got to get out of here i

00:12:33.540 can't afford it and i want to be clear look i like to talk smack on the whole texas versus california

00:12:39.420 thing and that that that's a fun thing to do yeah but but but let me be clear california destroying

00:12:46.520 itself is tragic for the country. Look, California is our largest state. California historically has

00:12:53.460 been this economic engine that has created enormous numbers of jobs. It's been really

00:12:59.460 valuable for the American economy. And to watch people like Karen Bass, people like Gavin Newsom

00:13:05.720 just destroy it and destroy it. Newsom, with this idiot wealth tax, has driven trillions of dollars 1.00

00:13:12.280 out of the state. I mean, they're just fleeing like crazy. And listen, I don't know, Spencer 1.00

00:13:17.120 Pratt never met the guy. I have no idea what his policies were. I will say the videos, the viral

00:13:21.960 videos that his campaign put out, I watched every one of them. I love them. At one point I tweeted,

00:13:27.380 how could you not vote for this guy? Yeah. Because he's just saying, and he was not running a right

00:13:33.420 wing campaign. He was not running a conservative campaign. He was like, how about a mayor that will

00:13:39.040 stop your house from burning down stop criminals from murdering you stop homeless people from

00:13:44.140 harassing and assaulting your children and and pick up the needles in the park like is the

00:13:49.760 Democrat that's not conservative or liberal that's just like can we get the basics right again

00:13:54.960 so that we don't watch the city like continue to go up in flames and and the bizarre thing

00:14:00.760 is the voters said, okay, so 34.7% said, hey, this is awesome. We want more of this. Give us

00:14:10.640 an incompetent commie who doesn't know how to run a city. And then the second biggest group of 0.98

00:14:15.880 people, 190,000, 198 said, you know what? She's not bat crap crazy enough. We've got someone 0.99

00:14:23.040 that is full-on, it turns out incompetent Marxists is not far enough. And so they want

00:14:31.260 full Mondami, I guess. You know, it is. We want everything for free. We don't want to have to

00:14:36.960 work and we want to be able to have our drugs as well. All right, I want to take a moment to talk

00:14:41.580 to you about the incredible people over at Patriot Mobile. This year marks a critical moment for our

00:14:46.440 country. As the opposition grows more aggressive and unapologetic, the fight now reaches into the

00:14:52.680 everyday decisions that we make now patriot mobile has been standing on the front lines

00:14:57.600 fighting for freedom now for more than 12 years they don't just deliver top-tier wireless service

00:15:03.360 they're activists like me who truly care and want to protect our country patriot mobile offers

00:15:10.780 prioritize premium access on all three major u.s networks giving you the same or better coverage

00:15:18.000 than the main carriers offer you right now.

00:15:20.580 That means fast speeds and dependable nationwide coverage

00:15:24.880 backed by the 100% U.S.-based customer support.

00:15:29.320 They also offer unlimited data plans,

00:15:32.280 mobile hotspots, international roaming, and much more.

00:15:36.240 With simple, seamless activation now,

00:15:39.240 you can switch literally in just minutes.

00:15:41.660 Plus, you keep your number and keep your phone

00:15:43.960 or you can upgrade to a new one.

00:15:45.760 Now, here's where the difference comes in.

00:15:48.000 When you switch to Patriot Mobile, you'll be part of a powerful stream of giving that

00:15:53.400 directly funds the Christian conservative movement without costing you an extra dime.

00:15:58.180 So take a stand today and switch now.

00:16:02.900 PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.

00:16:06.700 PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson.

00:16:09.140 Or call them 972-PATRIOT.

00:16:12.240 Use the promo code FERGUSON for a free month of service.

00:16:16.340 Don't wait.

00:16:17.160 That's PatriotMobile.com slash Ferguson or 972 Patriot.

00:16:24.620 I also have to ask you this question, though, and I go back because I was watching this explode on X.

00:16:30.320 You mentioned earlier how long it's taken to get the vote in in a local election.

00:16:35.700 Yeah, there is this goes back to 2016.

00:16:39.060 This goes back to 2020.

00:16:40.720 This goes back to a lot of election issues that a lot of, I think, sane conservatives, non-conspiracy theorists.

00:16:49.640 I'm one of them now, Mike.

00:16:51.600 When you watch him go from second place and drop down to third all of a sudden, and it took a week to count,

00:16:58.280 why would anybody have any faith in that system, Senator?

00:17:02.920 And look, I think a lot of us post-COVID and all the lies that we were told about COVID,

00:17:09.240 And, hey, six feet, stop the spread. The list goes on and on the vaccine and the list goes on and on.

00:17:14.520 But there's people like me that look at this show like I'm going to I'm going to throw up a red flag here and say, if it takes you a week to count the votes, something just doesn't seem right with that.

00:17:25.580 And this is where people genuinely start to have distrust in the election.

00:17:29.700 And then that also means a lot of people then go, well, why don't I even vote? It's rigged. Right.

00:17:33.860 That's that's what I don't want to happen. But that's what people think is maybe I shouldn't even vote.

00:17:37.880 It's a waste of my time. It's it takes them a week. I don't believe my vote matters or even as counted correctly.

00:17:44.040 Well, and listen, in California, it is illegal for officials to check a photo I.D. 0.99

00:17:49.040 Yeah, we know that illegal aliens are voting. We know that illegal votes are counted.

00:17:53.180 They also they vote overwhelmingly by mail.

00:17:57.120 And it's worth reminding everyone that the last major bipartisan study of election integrity that was chaired by former Democrat President Jimmy Carter,

00:18:06.300 chaired by former Republican Secretary of State James Baker, the Carter Baker Commission,

00:18:11.200 concluded that voting by mail increases the chances of election fraud. And they also concluded

00:18:18.920 that ballot harvesting, the ability of paid operatives to collect ballots and then send

00:18:27.840 them in by mail, is the single most dangerous policy because what happens is a correct operative

00:18:33.740 can say, go into a nursing home with the ballots of every person there and fill them out. And you

00:18:38.200 can have people who are completely senile who are in a coma. They can fill out the ballot and vote

00:18:41.500 for them. They can also see who the person votes for. And let's say someone has a moment of sanity

00:18:47.080 and they vote for someone they don't like. A corrupt operative can just throw that ballot

00:18:50.780 in the trash. So ballot harvesting makes voter fraud much more likely. What does California do?

00:18:56.940 allows ballot harvesting. Now, let me say at the gubernatorial election, we don't know who's going

00:19:03.820 to be in the runoff. It's a week into it. So far, they've concluded that Javier Becerra,

00:19:10.160 who is the California attorney general, who is in the midst of a corruption scandal,

00:19:14.300 who is incompetent, who is a far left radical, he's in first place. And then as of Sunday morning,

00:19:21.420 conservative commentator Steve Hilton holds the lead for second place over billionaire Democrat

00:19:27.700 Tom Steyer yeah Hilton was the top choice for 26.1 percent of voters and Steyer's for 21.3 percent

00:19:35.240 of voters but you know what given the drop of ballots who knows maybe that could flip and

00:19:41.340 and in fairly short order you'll see two Democrats but let me read a story from the San Francisco

00:19:46.660 paper because it asks, how many votes are left to be counted? And it says, according to the

00:19:53.360 California Secretary of State's office, there are approximately 3 million unprocessed votes

00:19:57.700 as of Saturday evening. Over 6.3 million ballots have been counted. Updated vote totals normally

00:20:06.600 drop in the evenings. Why does California take so long to count votes? The Secretary of State's

00:20:13.700 Office explains on its site that there are a few reasons why Californians often wait days or weeks

00:20:18.680 for the full results. Mail-in ballots that are received within a week of election day need

00:20:23.180 processing, which means some of the ballots still in the mail system may need counting.

00:20:27.160 Once a ballot is received, the Secretary of State says, quote, election officials must confirm each

00:20:31.420 voter's registration status, verify each voter's signature on the vote-by-mail envelope, and ensure

00:20:36.740 that each person did not vote elsewhere in the same election before the ballot can be counted.

00:20:41.480 That's no small feat for a state as large as California,

00:20:44.660 which has about as many residents as the entire population of Canada.

00:20:48.780 Nonetheless, both Republicans and Democrats agree the process should be speedier.

00:20:53.600 On Friday, a spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom told the San Francisco paper

00:20:57.400 that Newsom, quote, wishes the vote count moved faster too. 0.99

00:21:02.020 well doofus there is a way to fix it which is don't let people mail their damn ballot in on 0.97

00:21:12.500 election day and mail-in ballots require the ballots be received by election day look we 0.97

00:21:19.240 actually have in texas we have early voting we have two weeks of early voting yeah and and much

00:21:25.540 of that most of that is in person and it's really quite easy to vote i i usually vote early and you

00:21:31.100 go into the polling place and you can do it. If you vote early, there are almost never any lines.

00:21:36.240 You wait in line, maybe five minutes, you go vote and it's quick and easy. You do a paper ballot,

00:21:39.700 they put it in, they count it. And so the early votes right now in Texas, about two thirds of the

00:21:44.420 votes are cast early and they're cast early in person. We have limited mail-in ballots for people

00:21:50.200 who are seniors, people with disabilities, for military, those serving the military that

00:21:55.660 overseas. So it's a limited number of exceptions. But we managed to get, and then the remainder of

00:22:01.080 the ballots are in person on election day. And we don't have people mailing in ballots on election

00:22:07.060 day. You've got to get your ballots in. And Texas, let's be clear, California has the highest

00:22:13.380 population of the country, but what's number two? Texas. We managed to get our votes counted

00:22:17.240 typically by election day or occasionally if it's a really close election, it may drag on a day or

00:22:23.060 two. If it's down to like, if it's neck and neck, it could drag on a day or two. But that is the

00:22:29.000 exception rather than the rule. By the way, Florida, same thing. They have the third highest

00:22:33.580 population. Somehow Florida manages to count their damn ballots. And so listen, I don't know in LA 1.00

00:22:40.580 if the loony communists surging ahead of Spencer Pratt is a result of voter fraud or a result of

00:22:49.320 a bunch of voters who just say, you know what, it's so bad, I want it worse. But like nobody,

00:22:56.640 and let's be clear, this is not just lefty Californians that are like, oh, I love abortion.

00:23:03.500 Okay, fine. Look, the question of choice in life, I have no idea what Spencer Pratt's view is,

00:23:08.380 but I can't believe he's anything but pro-choice. I have no reason to think anything else.

00:23:12.340 It's not about gay rights. I'm not aware of any view Spencer Pratt has about gay rights.

00:23:16.780 I assume that we're two years away from them making it mandatory for every child in the California public schools to be transgender.

00:23:24.100 So, like, that's the path they're on is, Ben, congratulations, your three boys. 1.00

00:23:29.040 We're now going to surgically sterilize them whether they want it or not.

00:23:33.240 They're not quite there yet, but they ain't far.

00:23:36.440 Yeah.

00:23:37.300 But they're not.

00:23:38.600 Those were not the issues in this race.

00:23:42.380 This was not socially we're liberal, blah, blah, blah. 0.86

00:23:46.120 I don't agree with that, but that's not what this was over.

00:23:50.380 This is people saying, no, I don't want a mayor who can hire a fire department who can 0.99

00:23:56.820 put out a damn fire. 0.98

00:23:58.300 No, I don't want a mayor who can actually hire police officers who could arrest murderers. 1.00

00:24:03.920 No, I don't want a city that stops crackheads from leaving drugs on the streets, from people

00:24:13.120 defecating on the streets, from putting needles on the streets, from threatening our kids.

00:24:19.440 Apparently the people of LA are like, nope, nope, basic services, not interested in those.

00:24:24.760 I just want, you know, it is somewhere between, you know,

00:24:30.980 Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto, and that's what they care about.

00:24:43.120 and available in three flavors.

00:24:45.240 Strawberry watermelon, mango pineapple,

00:24:47.440 and blackberry passion fruit.

00:24:49.100 Only at McDonald's.

00:24:50.520 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?

00:24:53.980 We're not boring.

00:24:54.980 A lot of news is boring.

00:24:55.940 And tedious.

00:24:56.840 And depressing.

00:24:57.420 And makes you angry.

00:24:58.800 You don't want to live your life like that.

00:25:01.060 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.

00:25:02.140 He's Joe Getty.

00:25:02.780 We're Armstrong and Getty.

00:25:03.880 We try to bring you the truth

00:25:04.940 and help you figure out this crazy modern world.

00:25:07.300 How about something about a comedic tone?

00:25:11.840 We have a winner.

00:25:13.120 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app,

00:25:17.540 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:25:20.660 Turn someday into right now with Body by Jake Radio.

00:25:24.480 Nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

00:25:27.260 Hey, head over to iHeart.com, search Body by Jake Radio,

00:25:30.580 and stream it for free right now.

00:25:32.760 Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

00:25:36.320 Remember, stick to the fight.

00:25:37.440 When your heart is hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit.

00:25:40.860 Don't quit.

00:25:41.320 Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum.

00:25:44.860 Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free.

00:25:47.580 Have a great day.

00:25:48.380 I heart radio.

00:25:52.320 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of America.

00:25:56.640 The soul of this country is found in the stories of those who defended it.

00:26:01.340 I'm J.R. Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran.

00:26:04.240 I know that true valor isn't just a word.

00:26:06.760 It's a choice made in a split second.

00:26:10.020 That's why I'm honored to bring you a brand new season of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage

00:26:15.000 from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast.

00:26:18.260 You'll fly into the heart of a rescue mission with Air Force pilot James Fleming in Vietnam. 0.97

00:26:24.060 I'm going to put you out in the middle of hell. 0.93

00:26:26.660 If you have to come home, I'll bring you home. 1.00

00:26:29.020 That's my duty.

00:26:29.820 It's my honor.

00:26:30.800 We'll also travel back to 1926 to witness Richard Byrd's historic flight over the North Pole.

00:26:37.740 These are more than just stories of combat.

00:26:40.600 They are testaments to leadership, community, and the human spirit.

00:26:45.080 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:26:52.360 Final question on this. 0.98

00:26:53.900 If you do end up having even, let's say, Basslues, and you go to even more extreme Canada, it turns Mondani. 0.86

00:27:00.660 What does that say about this country that are two of their biggest cities in the nation? 0.92

00:27:06.360 have gone this far to the extreme it's not even the democratic party anymore we're talking about

00:27:11.240 communism and socialism in our biggest cities on the west and east coast and by the way to be clear

00:27:17.760 karen bass is already pretty much where madami is yeah like like there's not a whole lot of daylight

00:27:25.120 so so so this loony leftist who thinks bass is too conservative i i shudder to think what the

00:27:32.140 hell that means. Like it's getting to the point, it's not healthy for our country. And I have to 0.76

00:27:39.960 assume that there are a lot of voters in LA who are not paying attention. Look, there are a lot

00:27:45.480 of Republicans in California who are demoralized, who don't think it matters anymore, who stay home.

00:27:52.220 That is a big factor. I'll tell you, as I said, I'm out in California quite a bit. And when I'm

00:27:58.460 out there, I will have people in LA come up to me and then they'll sort of look to the ground

00:28:03.320 and they'll furtively look around and they'll say, Ted, I'm the only conservative in California.

00:28:10.820 And I'll tell them, no, no, you're not. No, you're not. And in fact, do you know what state has the

00:28:16.280 most Republicans in it? California. Yes. There are more Republicans in California than there

00:28:22.180 are in Texas. Now there are even more Democrats. They are outnumbered, but, but it's almost like

00:28:28.180 when they come up to me, it's like the Christians in the ancient Colosseum, where with the foot, 0.99

00:28:32.560 they make the shape of a fish in the sand. They are beaten down. And I will say an awful lot of 0.99

00:28:39.780 Republicans don't show up because they believe it is hopeless. And unfortunately, that belief

00:28:46.300 too often can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I want to take a quick moment and talk to you

00:28:51.280 about an incredible organization, and it is called Compassion International and how you can get

00:28:57.260 involved love generosity and compassion we say those words all the time and they sound good they

00:29:03.700 feel good but here's the truth those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action and

00:29:10.660 right now not later today not tomorrow there's a child in the world who doesn't know if they'll eat

00:29:17.660 if they'll have a chance to learn or if there's any hope at all and while we're all busy life

00:29:25.060 keeps moving forward, but that child is waiting. This is where you come in. With Compassion

00:29:31.500 International, you have the chance to change a child's future, not just with words, not with

00:29:37.060 promises, but with real help that provides food, education, and hope through local churches and

00:29:44.780 people already in their community. Put your words into action and join me. Introduce a child to a

00:29:51.900 loving Heavenly Father today at Compassion.com. That's Compassion.com.

00:29:59.460 All right, let's timestamp this. It is 1237 a.m. Eastern time as we are recording right now,

00:30:06.200 Senator. And so let's talk about what's happening right now in the Middle East.

00:30:10.320 We have had a flare-up. I think it's a fair way to put it. Israel involved, Iran involved

00:30:15.360 hitting terrorist targets as well in Lebanon. This has turned into a bigger deal. The president

00:30:20.440 trying to still get this deal done with Iran, making phone calls apparently to Bibi Netanyahu

00:30:26.880 saying, hey, let's not go too heavy here. Let us see if we can keep this framework together,

00:30:31.780 trying to keep that ceasefire together as well. There's an awful lot happening right now.

00:30:37.200 Well, let's talk about the latest news. And as you noted, it is Sunday night, so things could

00:30:43.160 break by Monday. By the time this podcast is out, we could have more news breaking.

00:30:47.400 But as of right now, the latest news, Axios reported just a few minutes ago,

00:30:52.880 quote, the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on military targets in central and western Iran on

00:30:57.920 Monday morning local time, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The strikes in

00:31:02.320 retaliation for an Iranian missile attack against Israel mark a new phase in a growing escalation

00:31:08.820 that started on Sunday morning. This is the first time Israel has struck Iran since the April 8

00:31:16.180 ceasefire. Further exchanges of fire could unravel the negotiations between the United States and

00:31:22.520 Iran and lead to the resumption of the war. President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister

00:31:27.140 Benjamin Netanyahu hours before the strikes not to retaliate after Tehran conducted a

00:31:32.320 retaliatory attack on Israel. A U.S. defense official said the U.S. military was not involved

00:31:38.280 in the Israeli strikes on Iran. The official said the Israeli strikes were relatively limited

00:31:44.420 in their scope. So we have returned to firing missiles, active hostility between Iran and

00:31:54.400 Israel. Both have fired missiles at each other in the past 24 hours. That certainly has the

00:31:59.960 potential to escalate. And also Sunday morning, President Trump was on Meet the Press. He was

00:32:06.780 asked about Iran. Here's what President Trump had to say.

00:32:10.480 Their leaders are gone.

00:32:12.480 Do you know where all of Iran's nuclear material is?

00:32:15.700 Yes.

00:32:16.360 Yes.

00:32:17.540 Would you unfreeze any Iranian assets or lift any sanctions up front as a part of any deal?

00:32:24.700 So that would come after.

00:32:25.940 Comes after, yeah.

00:32:26.760 If they behaved, if they do a good job, we start talking.

00:32:29.480 Yeah.

00:32:30.180 Material.

00:32:31.000 Unlike Obama.

00:32:32.920 Obama flew a Boeing 757, a plane I know very well.

00:32:37.040 they took the seats out and they loaded it up with 1.7 billion dollars in cash from the banks

00:32:44.300 in maryland and virginia and dc they emptied out the banks and they gave them 1.7 in green

00:32:51.340 and they gave them tens of billions of dollars just kept giving them money and it didn't work

00:32:57.040 would any again that never works but again mr president you promised that you were going to

00:33:03.000 negotiate a better deal do you you listen to the president there and i do think it's really

00:33:08.860 interesting to see how quick uh on meet the press they wanted to get back in his face to go but

00:33:13.880 this is a disaster like he's like it's three months like what i'm doing right now is really

00:33:19.540 tough others said they were in favor of what i'm doing they didn't do it the way i'm doing it i'm

00:33:24.220 holding them accountable this goes back to just perspective here i i think is the biggest thing

00:33:29.180 the president's saying? Well, what the president said that is very clear is he's drawn a red line

00:33:33.980 and he's insisting that Iran comply with his red line. His red lines, which we've talked about at

00:33:38.500 length, are number one, no nukes, no nuclear materials. They have no nuclear enrichment and

00:33:43.480 they have to hand over the enriched uranium they have. Number two, they have to stop funding

00:33:47.400 terrorism. Number three, they have to open the Strait of Hormuz. And you will not see, he has

00:33:53.940 said, sanctions relief. You will not see money going to them until they comply with those

00:33:58.640 conditions. That's the right way to negotiate. Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden just flooded

00:34:03.360 billions into Iran. As the president said, Obama literally flew a plane filled with almost $2

00:34:09.240 billion in cash, pallets of cash, into Iran in the dead of night. There was another exchange

00:34:14.880 President Trump had with Meet the Press. Give a listen to this one.

00:34:18.640 And they would have had a nuclear weapon five years ago.

00:34:21.000 But Mr. President, I'm curious, because when you were campaigning, you said you would rip

00:34:25.320 the iran nuclear deal but negotiate a better deal why didn't you negotiate a better deal

00:34:30.760 at the time because after it was ripped up there weren't guardrails and they escalated

00:34:35.160 their production of enriched uranium excuse me it takes years to do these things these people

00:34:40.520 have been fighting for 47 years they've been killing americans they've been taking off their

00:34:46.040 legs and their arm and their faces have been hurt so badly and so horribly uh i'm moving very fast

00:34:52.440 I'm into three months, Vietnam lasted 19 years, I'm into my third month.

00:34:58.400 And all I do is say, whoa, when are you gonna win?

00:35:01.200 If I were a Democrat, nobody would be talking that way.

00:35:03.580 But it doesn't matter to me, I've gotten so used to it. 0.52

00:35:06.000 Look, we have totally destroyed their military.

00:35:10.480 They have some missiles left, they have some drones left.

00:35:12.760 Do you know how many missiles?

00:35:13.760 Yes, exactly.

00:35:14.760 How many?

00:35:15.760 I don't wanna tell you.

00:35:16.760 Can you give me a ballpark?

00:35:17.760 They have some left, no, but I know almost to the number.

00:35:22.180 And we know where they are, too.

00:35:23.920 And we know where their drones are, and we know where their drone factories are.

00:35:27.040 Most of the drone factories have been knocked out.

00:35:29.040 Most of the launching pads have been knocked out, and most of the missile manufacturing

00:35:34.020 areas have been knocked out.

00:35:35.920 But they still have capacity.

00:35:38.080 They have some missiles, they have some drones.

00:35:40.820 I would say, percentage-wise, maybe 21, 22% of their missiles.

00:35:46.300 It's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked.

00:35:50.360 So you're saying they have 21, 22 percent of their missiles left?

00:35:53.720 Correct, yes.

00:35:54.740 I just, I got to say, I laugh at how they want him to tell them,

00:36:00.120 and he's like, I'm not going to tell you that publicly.

00:36:02.300 Well, why won't you?

00:36:03.760 Because I'm not going to tell the enemy what I know on everything.

00:36:07.280 This seems pretty normal, yet the entire interview had that level of hostility in it.

00:36:12.720 Yeah, look, I mean, NBC, unfortunately, it is approaching this,

00:36:17.180 and it has approached this like the rest of the corporate media.

00:36:20.360 with effectively rooting for the United States to lose. As the president laid out,

00:36:26.440 the United States has had extraordinary military results in this conflict. 80% of the missiles,

00:36:32.560 80% of the drones destroyed, virtually all of the drone manufacturing and missile capacity 0.85

00:36:37.380 destroyed, the air force in rubble, the Navy sunken at the bottom of the ocean, the Ayatollah

00:36:43.700 dead, many of the mullahs dead, many of the leaders of the IRGC dead. And her question,

00:36:49.600 And she says, well, why didn't you negotiate a better deal?

00:36:51.960 You know, I'm listening to that wondering, you know, it's like someone saying to the

00:36:57.720 police, why didn't you negotiate a better deal with Charles Manson?

00:37:00.720 Why didn't you negotiate a better deal with Jeffrey Dahmer?

00:37:03.080 Why didn't you negotiate a better deal with Ted Bundy?

00:37:06.540 It is not possible to negotiate a deal with someone whose only objective is to murder

00:37:13.080 you.

00:37:14.940 And the media refuses to acknowledge that.

00:37:17.900 they're like, you know, the right solution is send them billions of dollars. That's what Democrats

00:37:22.420 want. It is complete appeasement. It is denial of the reality that when the Ayatollah says death

00:37:29.760 to America, he means it. And the reason President Trump is waging this war is because if the Ayatollah 0.71

00:37:37.120 got nuclear weapons, we could see hundreds of thousands of Americans murdered in a flash of

00:37:43.980 an eye. And the president is not going to let that happen. And it is, I got to say, by the way,

00:37:52.360 I'm quite confident the folks at NBC News are cheering the results of the L.A. mayor's race

00:37:58.020 because the last thing they want is a mayor that can actually put out fires or arrest criminals.

00:38:04.220 Yeah, that's a great point. We're going to keep you updated on both of these stories. Don't forget,

00:38:08.360 we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So hit that subscribe or auto download button.

00:38:11.960 And you can watch on YouTube.

00:38:14.280 A lot of you heading over to YouTube, which is really fun.

00:38:16.480 We see the numbers grow every week.

00:38:17.980 So make sure that if you want to watch the show on YouTube, you can do that as well.

00:38:21.420 And on Facebook and the center.

00:38:23.000 And I will see you back here on Wednesday morning.

00:38:25.460 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?

00:38:28.800 We're not boring.

00:38:29.820 A lot of news is boring.

00:38:30.820 And tedious.

00:38:31.700 And depressing.

00:38:32.280 And makes you angry.

00:38:33.660 You don't want to live your life like that.

00:38:35.940 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.

00:38:37.000 He's Joe Getty.

00:38:37.640 We're Armstrong and Getty.

00:38:38.760 We try to bring you the truth.

00:38:39.820 and help you figure out this crazy modern world.

00:38:42.300 How about something about a comedic tone?

00:38:46.720 We have a winner.

00:38:48.300 Yes.

00:38:49.320 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app,

00:38:52.420 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:38:55.520 Turn someday into right now with Body by Jake Radio.

00:38:59.060 Non-stop workout music and expert tips 24-7.

00:39:02.100 Hey, head over to iHeart.com, search Body by Jake Radio,

00:39:05.460 and stream it for free right now.

00:39:07.560 Awesome health and wellness tips, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

00:39:11.200 Remember, stick to the fight.

00:39:12.320 When your heart is hit, it's when things seem worse that you must not quit.

00:39:15.720 Don't quit.

00:39:16.460 Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum.

00:39:19.720 Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free.

00:39:22.440 Have a great day.

00:39:23.220 I heart radio.

00:39:26.560 As America marks its 250th anniversary,

00:39:29.380 we're looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty

00:39:33.160 through the eyes of the heroes who defended it.

00:39:35.460 The whole thing about this country is freedom.

00:39:38.960 If we're not careful, we could lose that.

00:39:40.980 On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage,

00:39:43.620 we bring you the defining moments of valor

00:39:45.740 that went above and beyond the call of duty.

00:39:49.040 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app,

00:39:51.940 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 08, 2026

California Crazy-LA's Maddening Mayor Race plus Iran & Israel Fire More Missiles at Each Other

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript