Verdict with Ted Cruz - Charlie Kirk a Profession of Faith, Kimmel Off Kimmel On & the Rhetoric that Fires the Left to Violence Week In Review

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.600 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.340 Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, The Weekend Review.

00:00:07.360 Ben Ferguson with you, and here are the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about.

00:00:11.420 First up, Senator Cruz and I went to the memorial for Charlie Kirk.

00:00:15.220 We're going to talk about that memorial and just how incredible it was to watch that level of worship

00:00:22.020 and honoring of God and the future legacy of Charlie Kirk.

00:00:25.820 We're also going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel being fired, but not really.

00:00:30.440 It was a four-day vacation.

00:00:32.080 And ABC bringing him right back on the air.

00:00:35.420 And finally, it is the third time we've seen a shooting alone in Texas.

00:00:39.180 The second time in Dallas area with ICE agents being targeted.

00:00:44.780 So what's behind it? We'll have that as well.

00:00:47.620 It's The Weekend Review, and it starts right now.

00:00:50.420 One of the things I think that is so cool that came out of this

00:00:53.860 that is just something that no one could have planned

00:00:59.600 is how many people are now sharing their own faith and sharing the gospel.

00:01:06.460 You and I have talked more about our faith on this podcast in the last two weeks

00:01:11.840 than we have ever before, and it's not that we're afraid to talk about our faith,

00:01:15.260 but we talk a lot about what's happening in the world and politics.

00:01:19.560 J.D. Vance said that he has shared—

00:01:21.140 Well, that was something really profound, J.D. said,

00:01:23.280 is he said that he often felt uncomfortable talking about faith,

00:01:27.120 and he made the same comment, that he's talked more about faith in the last two weeks

00:01:31.580 than he has probably in his entire life.

00:01:34.280 I mean, even this morning, I had two times—I was on Fox this morning before it started,

00:01:42.020 and the entire conversation was not about politics.

00:01:44.400 The entire conversation was about faith.

00:01:46.600 Yeah.

00:01:47.080 That just—his life being taken has given the opportunity for all of us to share our faith,

00:01:53.500 and I think in a more bold way, in a more proud way, in a more I'm not afraid to share my faith.

00:01:58.280 I think sometimes I think I'm in the world of politics,

00:02:00.240 and that's maybe not my place to be doing that as much.

00:02:03.560 I'm going to change my mentality on that, I think, forever moving forward.

00:02:07.400 And I can think of very few sentiments that would make Charlie happier than that.

00:02:11.120 Yeah, and it was the whole time, it was about faith.

00:02:14.320 If you look at today, I also think one of the most incredible things was

00:02:17.760 you and I were sitting there with the most powerful people in the world,

00:02:21.240 certainly in the conservative movement, where we're all in the political world,

00:02:26.080 and the entire thing was about God.

00:02:29.560 I've never seen that before.

00:02:31.120 I've never been a part of that before.

00:02:34.080 No, and at the very end, President Trump spoke,

00:02:38.700 and he gave, I think, very good remarks,

00:02:41.980 but I want you to listen to what he said in particular about Erica and her testimony.

00:02:46.280 Here, give a listen.

00:02:48.480 To Charlie's incredible and beautiful widow, Erica,

00:02:54.160 we know the weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable,

00:02:58.820 but even in the midst of heartache and pain too great to even fathom,

00:03:04.880 you have somehow found the strength and deep faith

00:03:08.860 to be a comfort to millions and millions of people.

00:03:13.700 And thank you very much, Erica.

00:03:15.740 Thank you very much.

00:03:17.960 You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot of speeches.

00:03:21.220 This was one of the most, I think, somber,

00:03:24.880 sincere, and one of the most incredible speeches,

00:03:28.900 I think, by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do with him.

00:03:31.840 Well, and President Trump knew Charlie well.

00:03:34.840 Charlie had spent a lot of time with him.

00:03:35.720 I think he's rattled by it.

00:03:37.860 Charlie, in the 2016 campaign, was Don Jr.'s body man.

00:03:46.880 He traveled with Don Jr. all over the country,

00:03:49.260 and Charlie helped mobilize young people for the 2016 election.

00:03:54.340 He helped mobilize young people for the 2020 election.

00:03:57.240 He played a really integral part in the victory in 2024.

00:04:01.060 And President Trump has spent a lot of time with Charlie Kirk.

00:04:06.720 Just about everyone in the White House has.

00:04:08.500 I mean, it was one of the things, the entire White House is shaken.

00:04:11.220 This is not some distant person they don't know.

00:04:15.400 This touched almost everyone who works in the Trump administration,

00:04:22.040 had connections to Charlie, had personal connections,

00:04:25.040 and they were shaken by it.

00:04:26.440 And, you know, one of the bits of news that broke this week that I thought,

00:04:30.760 it was a small snippet, but it encapsulated who Charlie was well.

00:04:37.060 And Van Jones, who you and I both know well,

00:04:40.360 he's very much a man of the left, maybe even far left.

00:04:44.940 He's not someone who you would typically envision saying nice things about Charlie Kirk.

00:04:49.780 But I want you to listen to what he said in the last few days about his last interaction with Charlie Kirk.

00:04:55.660 Charlie Kirk and I were not friends at all.

00:05:01.780 In fact, the last week of his life, we were beefing hard, beefing online, beefing on air.

00:05:08.160 But the day before he died, he did something that shocked me.

00:05:11.740 He sent me a personal message calling for personal dialogue,

00:05:15.620 wanted me to come on the show.

00:05:16.820 He said we could be gentlemen together.

00:05:18.140 He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably.

00:05:24.820 And in the past week and a half,

00:05:26.840 just watching people talk about civil wars and censorship

00:05:29.360 and all this stuff coming out of his death,

00:05:32.160 I just thought it was important to let people know,

00:05:35.580 don't put that on Charlie Kirk.

00:05:38.180 Because the last day of his life,

00:05:39.960 he was reaching out to have not more censorship,

00:05:42.640 more conversation, more dialogue

00:05:44.900 with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries, me.

00:05:49.980 And I just want to share that with the world.

00:05:53.140 And I hope that maybe it might help somebody on both sides

00:05:59.440 deal with issues more like he did.

00:06:03.120 Van, putting that out there immediately brought me to today.

00:06:07.500 You and I were sitting there and we looked over to the right of us

00:06:11.760 and you leaned over and you said,

00:06:13.660 there's Elon.

00:06:14.900 And several weeks or months ago,

00:06:17.400 Charlie had said that he wanted Donald Trump

00:06:20.020 and Elon to make up.

00:06:22.320 We then, a few minutes later,

00:06:24.220 see Elon in the box with President Trump.

00:06:26.760 They hugged.

00:06:28.100 The president patted him on the chest

00:06:30.220 and he tweeted out a picture,

00:06:32.480 Elon did, of them talking.

00:06:34.840 And all it said was,

00:06:36.720 for Charlie.

00:06:39.120 I mean,

00:06:40.220 you want to talk about bringing people back together.

00:06:43.160 That's incredible.

00:06:43.900 That's important.

00:06:45.680 It's valuable.

00:06:47.300 It is very much a testament to Charlie,

00:06:50.020 the legacy of Charlie.

00:06:51.320 It is very much a testament to Charlie.

00:06:52.520 I will say,

00:06:53.680 I respect Van Jones for putting that out.

00:06:55.840 You know Van better than I do.

00:06:58.100 But he didn't have to put that out.

00:06:59.560 He didn't have to say that.

00:07:01.000 And I do think it reflects who Charlie was.

00:07:03.960 Yeah.

00:07:04.180 And I think the entire memorial today reflected,

00:07:12.780 it was a celebration of his life

00:07:15.760 and it was a proclamation of the gospel.

00:07:19.080 And that,

00:07:20.840 I'm really grateful to have been friends with Charlie.

00:07:24.080 I'm really grateful

00:07:24.880 to have a chance to be there for this celebration

00:07:28.840 because I think it is going to have

00:07:31.140 really profound impacts on our country.

00:07:34.860 I think we're going to end up finding out down the road

00:07:36.860 that today was one of the biggest days,

00:07:38.900 not in politics,

00:07:40.620 with the biggest people in politics in a room,

00:07:42.620 but one of the biggest days

00:07:44.200 for young men and women accepting Christ.

00:07:47.360 Amen.

00:07:47.500 And learning about the Lord

00:07:48.720 from this horrific moment in our history.

00:07:51.260 And I think you look at that,

00:07:54.860 bring all these people together,

00:07:56.660 the way that he was doing it.

00:07:58.520 I think it's going to change the way

00:07:59.600 we have dialogue and conversation.

00:08:01.440 I think my demeanor is probably going to be different.

00:08:04.480 I'm still going to fight the good fight

00:08:05.980 and I'm still going to fight hard,

00:08:07.760 but I want to have better conversations while doing it.

00:08:10.760 I think everybody's temperature

00:08:12.060 is going to change a little bit

00:08:13.360 in how we interact the way that Charlie did it.

00:08:16.260 And I left there today

00:08:19.120 and I don't know,

00:08:19.820 I want to ask you this as we wrap.

00:08:21.840 I left there today

00:08:23.380 more hopeful for the future of this country

00:08:26.820 than I have been in decades

00:08:29.900 and more hopeful for the younger generation

00:08:33.540 in this country

00:08:35.520 that they're going to see the light

00:08:37.840 because I've been very worried for quite some time.

00:08:40.840 It's part of the reason why I do this

00:08:41.920 is that we have lost an entire generation

00:08:45.140 to the radical left.

00:08:46.980 I think we are seeing a very quick

00:08:49.700 pendulum shift

00:08:50.660 that only God could create

00:08:53.520 and put people in a place to do it.

00:08:56.700 Absolutely.

00:08:57.820 You know, I'm reminded

00:08:59.080 of the scripture,

00:09:00.780 2 Chronicles 7.14.

00:09:02.700 If my people who are called by my name

00:09:06.600 will humble themselves and pray

00:09:09.200 and seek my face

00:09:10.980 and turn from their wicked ways,

00:09:13.080 then I will hear from heaven

00:09:14.720 and I will forgive their sins

00:09:17.160 and I will heal their land.

00:09:19.080 That has been my prayer for a long time

00:09:24.240 and I think today

00:09:27.540 was in a very real sense

00:09:30.680 a great many people in America

00:09:34.400 calling out for God to hear our prayer

00:09:36.340 and to heal our land

00:09:39.720 and I pray that that is the outcome,

00:09:43.700 the path we are on,

00:09:45.600 that we see revival.

00:09:47.360 Our country needs it.

00:09:49.180 Now, if you want to hear

00:09:50.380 the rest of this conversation,

00:09:51.900 you can go back

00:09:52.900 and listen to the full podcast

00:09:54.480 from earlier this week.

00:09:56.400 Canadian women are looking for more. 1.00

00:09:58.500 More out of themselves,

00:09:59.580 their businesses,

00:10:00.520 their elected leaders,

00:10:01.480 and the world around them.

00:10:02.680 And that's why we're thrilled

00:10:03.660 to introduce

00:10:04.300 the Honest Talk podcast.

00:10:06.440 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:10:07.620 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:10:08.840 And in this podcast,

00:10:09.980 we interview Canada's

00:10:10.960 most inspiring women.

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00:10:18.340 So,

00:10:18.680 if you're looking to connect,

00:10:20.140 then we hope you'll join us.

00:10:21.560 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast

00:10:22.920 on iHeartRadio

00:10:23.960 or wherever you listen

00:10:24.920 to your podcasts.

00:10:27.500 Now,

00:10:28.060 on to story number two.

00:10:30.140 All right,

00:10:30.420 I want to pivot real quick

00:10:31.880 to something that just

00:10:33.000 truly is hysterical,

00:10:34.660 and that is ABC News.

00:10:37.080 We thought they, like,

00:10:38.060 had actually done the right thing

00:10:39.920 and were willing to say that it,

00:10:41.860 yeah,

00:10:42.260 no,

00:10:43.140 Jimmy Kimmel,

00:10:43.740 you're not going to go out there

00:10:44.980 and lie about who assassinated

00:10:47.940 and what they believed in

00:10:49.300 of Charlie Kirk.

00:10:50.760 We now know that the sin

00:10:52.600 for doing that,

00:10:53.460 for that crime,

00:10:55.040 is a sentence of

00:10:56.100 going on a vacation

00:10:57.920 for about six days,

00:10:59.740 so less than a week,

00:11:01.340 and ABC News is like,

00:11:02.740 all right,

00:11:03.040 we started back up

00:11:04.080 on Tuesday night.

00:11:05.060 Now,

00:11:05.280 here's the other interesting thing.

00:11:07.220 Not everybody's going along

00:11:08.820 with this.

00:11:09.500 Next Star and Sinclair

00:11:10.900 are saying,

00:11:11.900 no,

00:11:12.660 they're not going to be airing it.

00:11:14.020 They want

00:11:14.800 a real apology for him

00:11:16.740 before they think about

00:11:17.640 putting him back on the air.

00:11:18.800 Your reaction to that?

00:11:20.940 Well,

00:11:21.480 you and I are recording

00:11:22.400 this show

00:11:23.180 Tuesday night,

00:11:24.320 and as we're recording it,

00:11:25.780 Kimmel has not yet gone on air.

00:11:27.920 So,

00:11:28.300 I don't know

00:11:28.760 what he's going to say.

00:11:31.140 He might do

00:11:32.060 all sorts of things.

00:11:33.960 He might stand up

00:11:35.460 and give a heartfelt apology.

00:11:38.580 He might admit

00:11:39.880 that in his last show,

00:11:42.580 he told a lie.

00:11:44.280 He engaged

00:11:44.840 in active disinformation.

00:11:47.460 His sort of joke,

00:11:49.420 which wasn't remotely funny,

00:11:51.400 was that

00:11:53.400 the murderer

00:11:54.240 of Charlie Kirk

00:11:55.260 was a right-wing

00:11:56.800 MAGA guy.

00:11:58.740 Now,

00:11:59.240 that's a lie,

00:12:00.260 and it's a lie

00:12:01.280 with consequence.

00:12:02.260 I mean,

00:12:02.460 we've seen the polling

00:12:03.380 that shows a majority

00:12:04.400 of Democrats

00:12:05.100 believe Charlie Kirk's killer

00:12:06.600 was a right-winger.

00:12:08.660 Now,

00:12:08.880 that is a brazen lie.

00:12:10.480 Charlie Kirk's killer

00:12:11.940 was radicalized.

00:12:13.640 He was a leftist.

00:12:14.520 Law enforcement

00:12:15.060 has said this

00:12:15.620 over and over again.

00:12:17.400 He was living

00:12:18.480 with his boyfriend,

00:12:19.520 who was a transgender, 0.77

00:12:21.040 who was a furry,

00:12:22.400 who was a man

00:12:23.300 transitioning to be a woman,

00:12:24.900 the killer engraved 0.99

00:12:26.800 Antifa and transgender

00:12:28.260 slogans

00:12:29.800 on the casings

00:12:31.080 that he used

00:12:31.960 for the assassination.

00:12:33.040 So there is no ambiguity.

00:12:35.080 This is a man

00:12:35.960 of the left.

00:12:37.500 And so maybe,

00:12:38.800 maybe,

00:12:39.300 just maybe,

00:12:39.920 and I may be

00:12:40.580 holding out hope,

00:12:42.180 Kimmel stands up

00:12:43.060 and gives a heartfelt apology,

00:12:44.560 says,

00:12:44.840 I'm sorry,

00:12:46.180 and what happened

00:12:48.000 to Charlie Kirk

00:12:48.700 was horrific.

00:12:49.500 It was a political

00:12:50.100 assassination.

00:12:51.200 It is wrong.

00:12:52.080 And it's clear

00:12:53.760 this was not

00:12:55.360 some right-winger

00:12:56.260 who did this.

00:12:56.860 This was a leftist.

00:12:57.820 This is my side

00:12:58.760 of the aisle.

00:12:59.320 This is Jimmy Kimmel

00:13:00.020 speaking.

00:13:00.940 And I'm sorry.

00:13:02.160 If that happens,

00:13:03.180 I think the odds

00:13:04.100 are very, very high.

00:13:04.940 You and I,

00:13:05.520 almost regardless

00:13:06.240 of what happens,

00:13:07.540 are going to be talking

00:13:08.240 about this

00:13:08.880 on Friday's pod.

00:13:10.880 So on Friday,

00:13:11.780 we'll know what he said.

00:13:13.040 We don't know

00:13:13.720 what he said right now.

00:13:16.040 I think that's unlikely.

00:13:17.540 Maybe I'll be proven wrong.

00:13:18.700 But I think it's unlikely

00:13:19.860 that Kimmel,

00:13:20.940 he may give a half-hearted apology.

00:13:22.780 He may say,

00:13:23.320 I'm sorry,

00:13:24.220 some people were offended.

00:13:25.460 Maybe.

00:13:26.600 I actually think

00:13:27.480 he's more likely

00:13:28.120 to be defiant 0.98

00:13:28.920 and say to hell with you 0.99

00:13:30.140 everyone who was offended 1.00

00:13:31.920 by the lies that I told.

00:13:34.120 But we'll see.

00:13:35.800 What I will say,

00:13:37.580 look,

00:13:37.900 my view on Kimmel,

00:13:39.720 I think he is profoundly unfunny.

00:13:42.160 He hasn't been funny

00:13:43.000 in years.

00:13:43.720 There was a long time ago

00:13:44.740 when he could be a comedian

00:13:46.820 a thousand years ago.

00:13:47.980 But then partisanship

00:13:50.220 and hate

00:13:51.260 overcame him

00:13:53.720 and his show

00:13:55.120 consists of just

00:13:56.360 relentlessly screaming, 0.97

00:13:57.960 I hate Donald Trump, 1.00

00:13:58.840 I hate Donald Trump, 1.00

00:13:59.720 I hate conservatives, 1.00

00:14:00.900 I hate Republicans. 0.99

00:14:02.580 By the way, 0.99

00:14:03.540 frequently,

00:14:04.300 I hate Ted Cruz

00:14:05.140 ever since I beat him 0.86

00:14:06.240 at basketball.

00:14:07.580 I've lived rent-free

00:14:09.280 in his head.

00:14:09.960 And the problem is,

00:14:12.740 listen,

00:14:13.360 I'm,

00:14:14.040 as a Republican,

00:14:15.100 I'm actually fine

00:14:16.360 with comedy

00:14:18.800 that is roasting

00:14:20.000 Republicans and Democrats.

00:14:22.120 I think good comedy

00:14:22.840 makes fun of everyone.

00:14:23.880 Actually,

00:14:24.240 today,

00:14:25.060 I retweeted,

00:14:26.300 so Jon Stewart

00:14:27.900 did a whole riff

00:14:28.660 on The Daily Show

00:14:29.500 blasting me.

00:14:31.940 And it was funny as hell.

00:14:33.720 He actually played a clip

00:14:34.820 from our last verdict

00:14:36.060 where I talked about Kimmel

00:14:42.100 and I did an impression

00:14:44.540 of a godfather.

00:14:47.740 Actually,

00:14:48.180 I'll tell you what,

00:14:49.420 let's play Jon Stewart

00:14:51.060 because this is actually comedy.

00:14:52.860 Listen,

00:14:53.080 I don't agree with

00:14:53.600 Jon Stewart's politics,

00:14:55.640 but Stewart is actually funny.

00:14:57.520 I mean,

00:14:57.700 he makes me laugh.

00:14:59.800 And so let's play the clip.

00:15:01.940 I'm going to play a clip.

00:15:02.760 This is making fun of me,

00:15:03.900 but to all our verdict listeners,

00:15:06.060 this is me playing Jon Stewart,

00:15:08.480 just mocking me.

00:15:09.420 And he does a very good job.

00:15:10.520 He's a talented comedian.

00:15:12.180 I'm perfectly fine

00:15:13.440 with comedians who mock me

00:15:15.100 as long as that's not all they do,

00:15:16.940 as long as they don't just scream, 0.90

00:15:18.680 I hate you, 1.00

00:15:19.280 I hate you, 1.00

00:15:19.660 I hate you, 0.98

00:15:20.180 but they're actually funny.

00:15:22.000 So here was Jon Stewart

00:15:23.900 on The Daily Show

00:15:25.580 talking about,

00:15:26.480 he's going to quote verdict

00:15:27.340 and then he's just going to

00:15:28.280 mercilessly mock me.

00:15:29.580 Give a listen.

00:15:30.900 Now,

00:15:31.480 Cruz has supported this president

00:15:33.160 through insults

00:15:34.360 to his own wife's looks.

00:15:36.060 And to his own father's loyalties.

00:15:39.060 And yet Cruz still manages

00:15:41.220 to maintain a modicum

00:15:42.440 of self-respect

00:15:43.360 when it comes to this president

00:15:44.840 trampling all over

00:15:45.780 a constitution.

00:15:47.180 Sir,

00:15:47.780 it brings me no pleasure

00:15:49.120 to have to play this.

00:15:52.560 Look,

00:15:52.880 I like Brendan Carr.

00:15:54.000 He's a good guy.

00:15:54.800 He's the chairman of the FCC.

00:15:56.000 I work closely with him.

00:15:57.400 But what he said there

00:15:59.180 is dangerous as hell.

00:16:02.520 Fantastic.

00:16:03.000 Fantastic.

00:16:05.280 Fantastic.

00:16:10.000 Senator Ted Cruz

00:16:11.280 boldly stating

00:16:12.420 that the FCC chairman

00:16:13.460 threatening the licenses

00:16:14.520 of networks

00:16:15.080 is dangerous.

00:16:16.300 And Senator Cruz,

00:16:17.300 I would just say,

00:16:18.360 maybe you should stop there.

00:16:20.100 I would stop there.

00:16:21.440 I would not continue

00:16:22.780 with the thought.

00:16:23.880 Perfect.

00:16:24.740 No notes.

00:16:27.500 All right,

00:16:28.360 go on.

00:16:28.780 And I got to say,

00:16:30.260 he threatens it.

00:16:32.260 He says,

00:16:33.020 we can do this

00:16:34.760 the easy way,

00:16:35.840 but we could do this

00:16:36.780 the hard way. 0.99

00:16:42.440 The f***? 0.99

00:16:47.120 What sort of impression? 0.99

00:16:48.320 The hard way?

00:16:51.380 Oh,

00:16:51.900 what kind of mobster

00:16:52.920 have you ever heard?

00:16:55.060 We could do this

00:16:56.200 the hard way.

00:16:58.820 We could do it

00:16:59.940 the easy way,

00:17:00.740 the hard way.

00:17:02.420 Easy or hard.

00:17:04.860 That's not the godfather.

00:17:06.360 That's Lenny

00:17:07.120 from Mice and Men.

00:17:10.360 All right,

00:17:11.240 I get money.

00:17:12.560 The money can do it

00:17:13.900 the easy,

00:17:14.440 the hard way.

00:17:19.200 You got,

00:17:19.860 you got more,

00:17:20.620 Senator,

00:17:20.940 don't you?

00:17:21.840 And I got to say,

00:17:22.540 that's right out

00:17:22.980 of Goodfellas.

00:17:24.520 That's right out

00:17:25.380 of a mafioso

00:17:26.180 coming into a bar

00:17:27.260 going,

00:17:28.060 nice bar you have here.

00:17:29.740 It'd be a shame

00:17:30.540 if something happened

00:17:31.360 to him.

00:17:35.200 That's not

00:17:35.900 a Goodfellas quote.

00:17:39.160 I know this

00:17:40.120 because all of

00:17:41.000 my decorative pillows

00:17:42.060 have Goodfellas quotes

00:17:43.360 on them.

00:17:45.040 I mean,

00:17:45.580 I would go home,

00:17:46.960 I would say,

00:17:47.740 that's me at home.

00:17:48.540 Look at me.

00:17:49.000 Now,

00:17:52.800 Senator,

00:17:53.340 a lesser man

00:17:55.120 might tell you

00:17:55.580 to go home

00:17:55.960 and get your 0.99

00:17:56.280 f***ing shine box, 0.99

00:17:57.240 but I don't 0.98

00:17:57.960 because you wouldn't

00:17:59.020 even know what that means.

00:18:01.420 Ted Cruz,

00:18:01.980 I mean,

00:18:02.380 to do that

00:18:02.900 with Goodfellas,

00:18:04.220 with that accent,

00:18:05.100 is there anything

00:18:06.300 in pop culture

00:18:07.040 that I love

00:18:07.720 that you can't ruin?

00:18:09.520 Dad,

00:18:10.280 I'm a vegetarian.

00:18:11.520 I don't eat animals.

00:18:13.900 But Lisa,

00:18:15.280 animals are so delicious.

00:18:17.560 There's the animal

00:18:18.360 we get bacon from,

00:18:20.020 the animal we get ham from,

00:18:21.960 the animal we get sausage from.

00:18:24.400 Dad,

00:18:25.420 that's all the same animal.

00:18:27.800 Smithers,

00:18:29.180 release the hounds.

00:18:31.680 Excellent.

00:18:39.360 They're not booing,

00:18:40.580 they're saying boo urns.

00:18:47.020 Imagine having to endure

00:18:50.680 a Texas power outage

00:18:52.100 with this guy.

00:18:53.980 Who wants to hear

00:18:54.920 my appoo?

00:18:55.780 Anyone?

00:18:58.300 Well,

00:18:58.720 he ruined my love

00:18:59.380 of the symptoms.

00:19:00.040 At least I've still got

00:19:00.780 my favorite franchise,

00:19:01.800 Star Wars,

00:19:02.280 all to myself,

00:19:02.880 so I don't have to.

00:19:03.400 The force is strong

00:19:04.740 with this one.

00:19:05.840 Hmm.

00:19:06.580 There is no try.

00:19:08.940 Do or do not.

00:19:10.860 Do or do not.

00:19:11.560 Do or do not.

00:19:12.860 Do or do not.

00:19:14.860 Do or do not.

00:19:15.860 Do or do not.

00:19:16.860 At best,

00:19:22.300 he sounds like Yoda

00:19:23.480 with a sinus infection 0.99

00:19:25.340 trying not to cum. 0.96

00:19:32.600 Do or do not. 0.97

00:19:39.520 Yeah.

00:19:40.340 You may enjoy Star Wars,

00:19:41.540 but there's one thing

00:19:42.660 we'll never have in common,

00:19:43.800 and that's my comfort movie,

00:19:44.720 The Princess Bride,

00:19:45.540 a fantastical tale of adventure.

00:19:47.100 And true love

00:19:47.660 with an outstanding cast.

00:19:49.540 Oh, you know what's coming.

00:19:52.140 You know what's coming.

00:19:54.500 With an outstanding cast,

00:19:55.780 including the inimitable. 0.99

00:19:57.780 Oh, f*** it. 0.99

00:19:58.520 Just roll it. 0.99

00:19:59.680 So, what is it you have

00:20:00.940 that's so worth living for?

00:20:03.140 Presses on his chest,

00:20:04.180 and Wesley goes,

00:20:06.100 true love. 1.00

00:20:08.460 Liar! 1.00

00:20:09.340 Shut up, witch. 1.00

00:20:10.060 I'm not a witch. 1.00

00:20:10.620 I'm your wife.

00:20:11.080 But after what you just said,

00:20:11.920 I wish I wasn't.

00:20:12.560 Don't say that name.

00:20:13.280 What?

00:20:13.540 Humperdinck?

00:20:13.900 Humperdinck, humperdinck, humperdinck.

00:20:14.800 I can't hear you!

00:20:16.920 So.

00:20:18.240 Wow.

00:20:19.480 That was a great...

00:20:20.800 I'm like,

00:20:21.820 oh, the one-man show.

00:20:27.600 Do you know how hard it is

00:20:29.760 to make Mario Lopez

00:20:31.680 uncomfortable?

00:20:32.600 Truly, Mario Lopez,

00:20:40.420 the man who, need I remind you,

00:20:44.300 did this dance in a tank tee

00:20:46.020 in front of everyone at the max.

00:20:52.460 All right, I gotta say

00:20:53.920 I'm laughing a little bit

00:20:55.020 because it is pretty good roast,

00:20:56.620 I'm not gonna lie.

00:20:58.340 Look, Ben, that's hysterical.

00:21:00.440 Yeah.

00:21:00.720 I do like to do impressions.

00:21:02.600 I'm not particularly great at them,

00:21:04.320 but I have fun

00:21:04.980 and I like pop culture.

00:21:06.480 But, like, that's actual comedy.

00:21:08.480 Like, I'm gonna make

00:21:09.600 a prediction right now.

00:21:11.280 What Jon Stewart just did there

00:21:13.220 is 100,000 times funnier

00:21:15.640 than whatever Jimmy Kimmel

00:21:17.080 will do tonight.

00:21:18.780 So we'll see what he does.

00:21:21.040 But, look, the point that I made

00:21:23.680 in this podcast

00:21:25.800 is the federal government,

00:21:27.820 the FCC,

00:21:29.020 should not be threatening

00:21:30.600 the licenses of ABC.

00:21:32.240 in order to force them

00:21:34.840 to take someone off the air,

00:21:36.060 even someone incredibly unfunny

00:21:37.700 with terrible ratings

00:21:39.160 who gets 1.1 million views,

00:21:41.320 which means

00:21:41.880 he gets fewer views

00:21:44.400 and listens than verdict does.

00:21:45.920 We beat Jimmy Kimmel regularly

00:21:48.060 and someone who was actively lying

00:21:53.400 about a political assassination.

00:21:54.500 I think all of those are reasons

00:21:56.400 for ABC to fire him.

00:21:58.440 But I don't think

00:21:59.500 the federal government

00:22:00.320 should be forcing ABC

00:22:01.780 to fire him.

00:22:02.660 Why?

00:22:03.580 Because, look,

00:22:04.840 when Biden was president,

00:22:06.100 the Biden FCC

00:22:07.120 tried to yank Fox News' license.

00:22:10.680 And I led the fight against it.

00:22:13.060 We beat them.

00:22:13.720 We stopped them from doing it.

00:22:15.680 You know what?

00:22:16.320 If we embrace the FCC

00:22:17.900 stripping licenses

00:22:19.000 from anyone who says

00:22:20.020 something you disagree with,

00:22:21.400 the next Democrat president

00:22:23.260 who gets in the White House

00:22:24.420 will do this

00:22:25.260 and will come after

00:22:26.240 everyone right of center.

00:22:29.140 And so that is

00:22:30.180 a slippery slope

00:22:32.460 to oblivion.

00:22:34.080 But at the same time,

00:22:35.260 understand,

00:22:36.160 just because I'm saying

00:22:37.120 the federal government

00:22:37.800 shouldn't force Kimmel

00:22:38.780 off the air,

00:22:40.260 I think market forces

00:22:41.740 should,

00:22:43.040 and it's interesting

00:22:43.980 that 66 ABC stations

00:22:47.780 did not carry

00:22:49.280 the Kimmel program tonight.

00:22:51.640 And if there are enough

00:22:52.500 market forces,

00:22:54.380 ABC ultimately

00:22:55.860 will respond to them.

00:22:57.000 I think market forces

00:22:57.980 are a great check

00:22:59.320 for horrific,

00:23:01.380 unfunny,

00:23:02.140 partisan,

00:23:02.520 dishonest speech.

00:23:03.560 And by the way,

00:23:04.320 if you're dishonest enough,

00:23:06.040 there could also be

00:23:06.860 legal liability

00:23:07.760 and litigation

00:23:08.360 and all sorts of consequences

00:23:09.860 that come when you lie on air.

00:23:11.500 I just don't think

00:23:12.440 it should be

00:23:12.880 government regulators

00:23:13.820 saying,

00:23:14.520 we don't agree

00:23:15.740 with the politics

00:23:16.420 of your speech,

00:23:17.120 so we're taking your license.

00:23:18.840 But that being said,

00:23:21.240 the world is better off

00:23:22.660 without an unfunny, 0.98

00:23:25.180 dishonest, 0.99

00:23:26.020 left-wing partisan 1.00

00:23:26.980 who lies to the American people.

00:23:29.840 And sadly,

00:23:30.640 there was a time

00:23:32.140 when Jimmy Kimmel

00:23:32.800 could be funny,

00:23:33.600 but that's what

00:23:34.420 he has become.

00:23:35.600 Yeah, great point.

00:23:36.880 As before,

00:23:37.820 if you want to hear

00:23:38.500 the rest of this conversation

00:23:39.740 on this topic,

00:23:40.860 you can go back

00:23:41.720 and download the podcast

00:23:43.040 from early this week

00:23:43.900 to hear the entire thing.

00:23:46.100 I want to get back

00:23:47.200 to the big story

00:23:48.380 number three of the week

00:23:49.320 you may have missed.

00:23:50.480 Senator,

00:23:51.000 you were in Dallas

00:23:51.940 when this shooting happened.

00:23:53.520 It was eight hours.

00:23:55.020 Canadian women

00:23:56.320 are looking for more.

00:23:57.720 More out of themselves,

00:23:58.720 their businesses,

00:23:59.660 their elected leaders,

00:24:00.620 and the world around them.

00:24:01.840 And that's why

00:24:02.280 we're thrilled to introduce

00:24:03.440 the Honest Talk podcast.

00:24:05.480 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:24:06.740 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:24:07.980 And in this podcast,

00:24:09.120 we interview

00:24:09.580 Canada's most inspiring women.

00:24:11.740 Entrepreneurs,

00:24:12.420 artists,

00:24:13.100 athletes,

00:24:13.700 politicians,

00:24:14.400 and newsmakers,

00:24:15.280 all at different stages

00:24:16.320 of their journey.

00:24:17.460 So if you're looking

00:24:18.480 to connect,

00:24:19.280 then we hope you'll join us.

00:24:20.680 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast

00:24:22.080 on iHeart Radio

00:24:23.020 or wherever you listen

00:24:24.060 to your podcasts.

00:24:24.760 After we watched

00:24:27.440 Gavin Newsom

00:24:28.300 go on late night TV

00:24:31.260 demonizing ICE agents,

00:24:33.560 saying that they're authoritarian,

00:24:35.380 and then the liberals

00:24:36.240 are like,

00:24:36.880 wait, wait,

00:24:37.220 we're not attacking ICE agents.

00:24:39.700 Yes, they are.

00:24:40.580 They've undermined them.

00:24:41.660 They've demonized them.

00:24:42.640 And we are watching

00:24:43.400 attack after attack

00:24:44.400 happen against ICE agents.

00:24:46.100 It's horrific.

00:24:47.840 Yeah, I was in Dallas

00:24:49.260 this week

00:24:51.160 for a series

00:24:52.060 of unrelated meetings

00:24:53.220 and the news broke.

00:24:54.760 That this deranged gunman

00:24:56.080 had opened fire

00:24:57.520 on an ICE facility

00:24:58.520 in Dallas.

00:24:59.100 That he had gone

00:24:59.940 onto a rooftop

00:25:00.920 emulating Charlie Kirk's

00:25:03.040 assassin

00:25:03.500 and with a bolt-action rifle

00:25:05.600 fired multiple rounds,

00:25:08.040 ended up killing two people,

00:25:09.960 severely injuring a third,

00:25:11.440 and then he took the gun

00:25:12.480 to himself

00:25:13.040 and took his own life.

00:25:14.280 And it was horrific

00:25:15.940 when the news broke.

00:25:17.180 I canceled my morning meeting

00:25:18.760 and just drove over

00:25:19.620 to the ICE facility

00:25:20.540 that morning.

00:25:21.920 It was there shortly

00:25:24.080 after the shooting

00:25:24.960 had occurred.

00:25:26.300 And this has happened

00:25:27.360 far too often.

00:25:29.200 Here's what I had to say

00:25:30.700 at the press conference

00:25:32.500 that was ongoing

00:25:33.260 when I arrived at the facility.

00:25:34.480 This needs to stop.

00:25:39.100 Violence is wrong.

00:25:41.360 Politically motivated violence

00:25:43.040 is wrong.

00:25:45.240 It was two weeks ago today

00:25:46.640 that we saw

00:25:47.400 a political assassination

00:25:48.540 in Utah

00:25:49.340 that tore the heart

00:25:52.440 out of much

00:25:52.920 of this country.

00:25:53.500 This is the third

00:25:56.060 shooting in Texas

00:25:57.540 directed at ICE

00:25:58.800 or CBP.

00:26:01.560 This must stop.

00:26:04.840 To every politician

00:26:06.680 who is using rhetoric

00:26:09.260 demonizing ICE 0.58

00:26:10.780 and demonizing CBP,

00:26:13.360 stop.

00:26:14.540 To every politician

00:26:16.360 demanding that ICE agents

00:26:18.080 be doxed

00:26:19.120 and calling for people

00:26:20.620 to go after their families,

00:26:22.500 stop.

00:26:24.120 This has very real consequences.

00:26:27.040 Look, in America

00:26:27.780 we disagree.

00:26:28.760 That's fine.

00:26:29.380 That's the democratic process.

00:26:31.080 But your political opponents

00:26:33.320 are not Nazis.

00:26:36.080 We need to learn

00:26:37.300 to work together

00:26:38.260 without demonizing each other,

00:26:40.340 without attacking each other.

00:26:42.040 And I want to say thank you.

00:26:43.580 I want to say thank you

00:26:44.840 to the brave men

00:26:46.020 and women of law enforcement.

00:26:47.360 I want to say thank you

00:26:48.460 to the brave men

00:26:49.440 and women of ICE 0.94

00:26:50.380 and CBP

00:26:51.660 and everyone who puts

00:26:52.900 their lives on the line

00:26:54.480 to keep us safe.

00:26:58.760 The divisive rhetoric

00:27:00.220 tragically has real consequences.

00:27:02.220 I hope that every one of us

00:27:05.660 will, I hope that every one of us

00:27:07.720 will pray.

00:27:09.800 Number one,

00:27:10.700 for the safety

00:27:11.360 of law enforcement

00:27:13.200 that are risking their lives

00:27:14.440 to keep us safe.

00:27:15.680 Number two,

00:27:17.480 for the health of those

00:27:19.160 who were shot

00:27:19.840 and injured today.

00:27:21.100 We still don't know

00:27:21.900 the full details

00:27:22.920 of who was injured,

00:27:24.600 but for the families also

00:27:25.840 of the victims

00:27:26.520 of this shooting.

00:27:27.340 violence has no place.

00:27:29.720 It is wrong.

00:27:32.000 And we should come together

00:27:33.780 if we want to have a debate

00:27:35.020 about immigration policies,

00:27:36.520 we can do so

00:27:37.420 in the halls of Congress

00:27:39.080 without demonizing each other

00:27:40.860 and especially

00:27:41.920 without demonizing

00:27:43.400 the men and women

00:27:44.540 who every day

00:27:45.640 put on a badge

00:27:46.920 and go risk their lives

00:27:48.280 to keep us safe.

00:27:49.240 And we should not be

00:27:51.300 putting language

00:27:53.120 out there

00:27:53.920 that inspires madmen

00:27:56.380 to commit

00:27:57.720 evil crimes.

00:27:59.760 Our prayers are with

00:28:00.880 the men and women

00:28:01.400 of law enforcement

00:28:02.340 and we ought to come together

00:28:03.960 and have some decency

00:28:05.400 across the political aisle

00:28:07.000 to say

00:28:08.480 this violence is wrong

00:28:10.400 and it needs to stop.

00:28:12.120 We know, Senator,

00:28:13.600 a lot about this gunman.

00:28:15.760 We know that he was

00:28:17.280 Googling the shooting

00:28:19.480 of our friend

00:28:20.840 whose funeral

00:28:21.520 we just went to,

00:28:22.860 Charlie Kirk.

00:28:23.660 We know that he was

00:28:24.620 looking at the app

00:28:26.560 that they put out there

00:28:28.300 and these websites

00:28:29.280 where you can track

00:28:30.740 ICE agents

00:28:31.840 which is a good test.

00:28:32.800 Doxing where they are. 0.73

00:28:34.560 That is an app

00:28:35.900 designed to encourage

00:28:37.280 violence against ICE agents

00:28:39.100 and law enforcement

00:28:40.060 and whether it's

00:28:41.160 Gavin Newsom

00:28:41.920 or Akeem Jeffries

00:28:43.000 or any other Democrat

00:28:45.120 who is encouraging

00:28:46.640 this targeting

00:28:47.700 of ICE agents

00:28:49.520 it is fundamentally wrong

00:28:51.200 and that they need

00:28:51.840 to stand up

00:28:52.500 and stop it.

00:28:53.660 You know,

00:28:54.000 I will say this shooter

00:28:55.120 it's the news

00:28:57.340 has since come out

00:28:58.240 this shooter

00:28:58.760 his mother

00:28:59.420 was a hard leftist

00:29:00.980 who actually had been

00:29:01.700 vocally critical of me

00:29:02.960 and other Texas Republicans

00:29:05.220 for not embracing

00:29:06.340 gun control

00:29:07.120 and in fact

00:29:07.700 in May of 2022

00:29:08.760 she posted the following.

00:29:11.300 Governor Abbott,

00:29:12.140 Senator Cornyn

00:29:12.780 and Senator Cruz

00:29:13.640 how does it feel

00:29:14.600 that your action

00:29:15.920 to open up gun laws

00:29:17.360 is responsible

00:29:18.040 for the killing

00:29:18.680 of 21 more people?

00:29:20.300 Do you secretly

00:29:21.020 sit in front of a TV

00:29:22.120 and smile

00:29:22.820 with a demented smile?

00:29:24.380 You must be proud

00:29:25.500 of all the money

00:29:26.120 that sits in your bank accounts

00:29:27.400 from the gun lobby support.

00:29:29.160 Was it worth it

00:29:30.100 Governor Abbott?

00:29:30.940 How about you senators?

00:29:32.660 When you prioritize

00:29:33.700 money over people

00:29:34.920 this is what you get

00:29:36.120 and I will say

00:29:37.840 the irony is rich

00:29:39.260 that this leftist mom

00:29:40.840 who was championing

00:29:42.620 gun control

00:29:43.380 now her son

00:29:44.400 has committed

00:29:44.960 a mass murder

00:29:46.040 as a sniper

00:29:47.820 it is tragic

00:29:48.740 and it is a consequence

00:29:50.160 of extreme rhetoric

00:29:53.020 extreme ideology

00:29:54.260 that is poisoning

00:29:55.540 the minds

00:29:56.620 of those

00:29:58.680 who are driven

00:29:59.720 to violence

00:30:00.220 and I will say 0.94

00:30:01.240 this assassin

00:30:02.640 wrote

00:30:04.320 on his shell casings

00:30:06.380 anti-ice

00:30:07.460 very much emulating

00:30:08.880 what Charlie Kirk's

00:30:10.240 murderer did

00:30:10.920 writing pro-antifa

00:30:12.720 and pro-transgender

00:30:14.720 propaganda

00:30:15.280 on his shell casings

00:30:16.820 and we need

00:30:18.700 to stop this violence

00:30:20.100 regardless of

00:30:21.040 where your politics are

00:30:22.380 but we need to stop

00:30:23.200 the rhetoric

00:30:23.820 that is fueling

00:30:24.740 this violence

00:30:25.380 and there's a lot

00:30:26.820 of democrat politicians

00:30:28.020 engaging in this rhetoric

00:30:29.640 no matter how many

00:30:30.680 lives are lost

00:30:31.580 and I want to be clear

00:30:32.800 I am not calling

00:30:34.380 them Nazis 0.91

00:30:35.160 I am absolutely

00:30:37.320 opposing any

00:30:38.340 violence

00:30:39.040 or calls to violence

00:30:40.160 I am calling

00:30:41.300 on them

00:30:41.920 to tone down

00:30:42.980 their rhetoric

00:30:43.600 and stop demonizing

00:30:44.920 their opponent

00:30:45.520 stop demonizing

00:30:47.180 ICE

00:30:47.480 stop demonizing

00:30:48.600 law enforcement

00:30:49.480 because it's dangerous

00:30:50.820 and tragically

00:30:52.180 lunatics are acting

00:30:53.360 on the rhetoric

00:30:54.080 they are hearing

00:30:54.840 from these politicians

00:30:56.000 as always

00:30:57.620 thank you for listening

00:30:59.120 to verdict

00:30:59.880 with senator

00:31:00.320 ted cruz

00:31:01.060 ben ferguson

00:31:01.800 with you

00:31:02.020 don't forget

00:31:02.500 to download

00:31:02.940 my podcast

00:31:03.760 and you can

00:31:04.280 listen to my podcast

00:31:05.140 every other day

00:31:05.680 you're not listening

00:31:06.240 to verdict

00:31:06.580 or each day

00:31:07.420 when you listen

00:31:07.820 to verdict

00:31:08.120 afterwards

00:31:08.700 I'd love to have

00:31:09.900 you as a listener

00:31:10.540 to again

00:31:11.420 the ben ferguson

00:31:12.220 podcast

00:31:12.620 and we will see

00:31:13.360 you back here

00:31:14.140 on monday morning

00:31:15.300 this is an

00:31:17.180 iHeart podcast

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - September 27, 2025

Charlie Kirk a Profession of Faith, Kimmel Off Kimmel On & the Rhetoric that Fires the Left to Violence Week In Review

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