Verdict with Ted Cruz - Cruzing on Air Force One

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.560 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.220 Not a lot of people traveling these days, especially by air.

00:00:07.740 And when you do travel by air, it's not particularly comfortable.

00:00:11.360 That is unless you are on a private 747 with the president of the United States.

00:00:16.800 That's an experience that my co-host just had.

00:00:19.700 We will get into what the senator spoke about with the president.

00:00:23.680 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:31.000 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:33.000 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:00:34.360 Senator, you know I often express envy and hurt that I'm not invited to your Senate Republican lunches.

00:00:41.280 And I got to tell you, the ride aboard Air Force One sounds like, well, I don't know, someday.

00:00:47.660 I assume my invitation was lost in the mail.

00:00:49.920 Please, it sounds like you had a crazy day yesterday.

00:00:52.760 Take us through it.

00:00:54.000 Well, we did.

00:00:54.900 You and I were supposed to film Verdict yesterday together in D.C.

00:00:59.500 And I'm embarrassed to admit that I canceled on you.

00:01:03.420 I stood you up because it so happened.

00:01:06.940 Well, the president was coming to Texas.

00:01:08.560 And so he asked if I wanted to come along as he was heading to Midland and was highlighting

00:01:13.040 energy production and America's energy independence.

00:01:16.260 And that's an issue I care deeply about.

00:01:18.440 And I'll pretty much always come along if someone's going to Texas.

00:01:21.560 And so it was an interesting day, though.

00:01:24.900 So the way it started, I had to be at the White House about 7 a.m. yesterday.

00:01:31.180 And for anyone that comes in contact with the president, they do a COVID test.

00:01:35.360 So that's obligatory.

00:01:36.640 Before you can get on, you go get tested.

00:01:39.160 So I went into the White House, got tested yesterday morning.

00:01:41.860 The folks here in the studio will be glad to know.

00:01:43.460 As of yesterday morning, I confirmed negative, went and got in the van to head to Andrews

00:01:50.880 Air Force Base.

00:01:52.380 And there were a couple of Texas members of Congress that were flying with us.

00:01:56.520 And suddenly we're sitting there and we hear, well, Louie Gomer's not coming.

00:02:00.680 What do you mean Louie Gomer's not coming?

00:02:02.300 He was going to join us.

00:02:03.340 He was going to be on the flight.

00:02:04.680 Louie is hysterical, by the way.

00:02:06.020 Like anytime you spend time with Louie, you will be holding your ribs laughing.

00:02:09.980 So, so we're all like, well, why isn't Louie coming?

00:02:12.800 Well, he was at the White House and he tested positive.

00:02:16.340 So that's how the morning started with Louie had to turn around and leave and was not allowed

00:02:21.300 on the plane because he just tested positive.

00:02:24.180 So we take the van, we go jump on Air Force One, the president joins us, we take off.

00:02:31.260 While we're in the air, so we're headed to Midland, Texas, a whole bunch of Republican

00:02:37.020 candidates for Congress who are running in various seats.

00:02:40.640 They're not incumbents.

00:02:41.440 They're running against Democrats or in open seats.

00:02:44.340 They were all meeting us in Midland.

00:02:46.040 And the plan was that those Republican candidates, they were going to invite on the plane and

00:02:50.380 meet the president and do a photo op and they're all excited.

00:02:54.380 Well, we find out midair that one of those Republican candidates, a guy named Wesley Hunt,

00:02:59.920 who's running here in Houston in my home district, great guy.

00:03:03.980 He tested positive for COVID.

00:03:06.740 So he was literally heading to meet Air Force One and he tests positive for COVID.

00:03:12.700 And as a result, they said, well, okay, all of you candidates, none of you can go in and

00:03:18.240 see the president now because of that.

00:03:19.980 So it was a fairly surreal beginning to the day.

00:03:25.660 And listen, it's an underscoring that this remains a dangerous disease and we need to continue

00:03:30.680 to take serious steps to limit its spread.

00:03:34.560 Right.

00:03:34.980 If, if for no other reason, then you might miss your chance to go on Air Force One.

00:03:38.900 So you got to make sure you behave responsibly and don't catch it.

00:03:43.280 Well, it's one of the biggest reasons actually that you join the president on a trip.

00:03:49.800 And I've done at this point, a number of trips on Air Force One with the president is that

00:03:54.160 you spend a lot of time with him.

00:03:57.440 And so if there are issues going on, it is some of the most concentrated, intense time.

00:04:02.840 And it's a stark difference.

00:04:04.260 So first four years I was in the Senate, Barack Obama was president.

00:04:07.600 That entire time I went on Air Force One once.

00:04:10.860 If you remember when, when five Dallas police officers were murdered and there was a funeral

00:04:15.140 for those police officers, Obama came down to speak at it.

00:04:19.020 And, and, and he invited me to, to, to come along.

00:04:21.960 Actually, I sat next to Nancy Pelosi on Air Force One.

00:04:26.140 We had, it may have been the first time I had, I had met Nancy.

00:04:31.720 We had a very pleasant conversation, mostly about her grandkids, not about anything remotely

00:04:36.460 related to politics.

00:04:38.140 And the interesting thing about Obama is he wouldn't hang out with us.

00:04:42.560 He briefly came back and talked with, there were several folks that were coming down and

00:04:46.920 and that had been invited a guest and he came back briefly and kind of said, hi, how you

00:04:51.000 doing?

00:04:51.380 Okay, great.

00:04:51.960 And then went off, went off to his office and we didn't see him the rest of the flight.

00:04:56.700 Trump is totally different.

00:04:57.900 Like Trump hangs out.

00:05:00.620 He wants to like the office on Air Force One.

00:05:03.600 It's, it's exactly like the movie.

00:05:05.280 It's a cool desk with the seal.

00:05:07.640 And it's a, so there were the, the Texas house members and, and look, I, or they're Texas

00:05:14.020 members of the U S house who were there, who were pretty excited.

00:05:17.320 And so I was taking pictures of all of them.

00:05:19.540 All right, go stand by the president.

00:05:20.520 Give me your phone.

00:05:20.980 I'll take a picture.

00:05:21.620 So I was the designated photographer, the photographer, but it's, it's actually really

00:05:26.900 valuable because you're sitting down with the president for significant time talking.

00:05:33.440 And right now there is a lot to talk about.

00:05:35.800 So we had probably seven hours of, of, of he and I discussing in particular, uh, the

00:05:43.500 economic challenges in the country and the legislation moving through, moving through

00:05:47.440 the Senate right now.

00:05:48.340 And so it was, it was a propitious time to, to, to, to be there with him.

00:05:52.580 Well, without, you know, asking you to violate any confidences or tell any tales at a school,

00:05:57.200 I would like to know something about perhaps what you spoke about or what you're thinking

00:06:01.860 about this economic relief bill that seems to be coming down the pike in the midst of,

00:06:07.240 of all this kind of bad economic news.

00:06:09.320 Well, let's take it in a couple of pieces.

00:06:11.240 And I'll tell you what, what I think I'm not going to share what the president said.

00:06:14.800 And that's usually the, the line I try to follow is what I said.

00:06:18.600 I'm happy to, to relay.

00:06:20.400 I'll leave it to others to share what they said.

00:06:23.160 Um, right.

00:06:24.380 But, but let me just give you my views.

00:06:26.080 The Nancy Pelosi, $3 trillion bill that they passed a couple of months ago is an absolute

00:06:34.300 monstrosity. 0.91

00:06:36.260 Um, it, it is $3 trillion, even in government speak is a crap ton of money and, and it's

00:06:45.340 a bill, look, Pelosi wasn't intending to pass that in the law.

00:06:48.720 It's, it's a bill that is just a, a democratic wishlist.

00:06:52.820 And she didn't talk to any Republican.

00:06:54.520 She didn't talk to the Senate.

00:06:56.060 It was a campaign document.

00:06:57.820 They passed it so the Democrats could campaign on it in November.

00:07:01.280 That's all it's about.

00:07:03.980 Then we get to the Senate.

00:07:06.480 Unfortunately in the Senate this week, uh, the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell rolled

00:07:11.140 out his own plan.

00:07:12.000 Uh, and, and the so-called Republican leadership plan is it's cheaper than the Democrats plans.

00:07:19.120 Instead of 3 trillion, it's, it's only 1 trillion.

00:07:21.420 Uh, but, but it's, it's fundamentally flawed.

00:07:25.580 And, and so I have been very outspoken against it.

00:07:29.640 Uh, very outspoken at our lunches that we do every day in the Republican conference that

00:07:36.140 we, you and I have talked about before, but I've been very outspoken publicly.

00:07:39.300 Um, and I was very clear with the president, what I thought yesterday when we were together.

00:07:47.820 Um, I seem to recall if, if some people haven't been following your, your takes on this, you

00:07:52.660 said that as the legislation currently stands, you're not just a no, you're a hell no.

00:07:57.040 Yep.

00:07:57.600 That, that, that is exactly right.

00:07:59.560 On a couple of levels.

00:08:01.100 First of all, let's talk the amount like the 1 trillion, which is a ton of money, um, is

00:08:07.580 clearly just an opening bid and, and nobody's hiding the fact, okay, we'll start at a trillion,

00:08:12.920 but the plan is to get a negotiate up to one and a half or two or two and a half.

00:08:19.140 And we don't have it.

00:08:20.220 There's no magic money tree in Washington.

00:08:22.100 It's not like, like there's some secret vault hidden in the Capitol.

00:08:25.760 Nobody knows about this is all money that we're either printing or borrowing from China.

00:08:31.100 But yeah, it doesn't exist.

00:08:33.560 We've already spent over $3 trillion.

00:08:36.340 And so the amount is a problem, but actually my concern, Michael is much bigger than the

00:08:40.980 amount.

00:08:41.300 And this is that, this was the center of, of what I was arguing to the president yesterday.

00:08:47.620 The focus of the bill, the objective of the bill is wrong.

00:08:54.380 Hmm.

00:08:55.020 The objective of the bill is just shoveling cash.

00:08:58.160 It's just spending trillions of dollars, shoveling it into the economy, but none of it creates

00:09:06.360 jobs.

00:09:07.020 And so what I've been arguing to the other Republicans, what I've been arguing to the

00:09:10.500 president, our focus on this bill should be one thing in particular.

00:09:14.480 It should be creating jobs. 1.00

00:09:16.560 We've got now 51 million Americans who've lost their jobs because of this catastrophe that's

00:09:23.160 hit this country.

00:09:24.600 We've got to get them back to work.

00:09:26.320 That is overwhelmingly the priorities, get people back to work.

00:09:31.260 And, you know, you look at these first bills, the bills that we passed several months ago in

00:09:35.620 the, in the height of the crisis.

00:09:37.220 Those were overwhelmingly bipartisan, uh, the big one, the cares act 96 to nothing, every

00:09:45.420 Democrat, every Republican voted.

00:09:46.960 Yes.

00:09:47.220 I voted.

00:09:47.680 Yes.

00:09:48.340 Bernie Sanders voted.

00:09:49.280 Yes.

00:09:49.740 That was not a stimulus bill.

00:09:52.280 It wasn't designed to stimulate the economy.

00:09:54.880 The press calls it a stimulus bill, but that's not what it was.

00:09:57.380 It was a relief bill.

00:09:58.740 It was designed to give emergency loans, short term loans to people at the very height of

00:10:05.100 the crisis.

00:10:06.520 Now our focus has got to be different.

00:10:08.540 It's got to be getting people back to work.

00:10:11.720 We need a recovery bill.

00:10:13.980 Now, what does a recovery bill do?

00:10:16.220 Our entire focus, I think should be cutting taxes and reducing regulations that are killing

00:10:23.240 jobs, making it easier for small businesses to open.

00:10:27.040 That's the issue.

00:10:28.920 And by the way, the entire election in November turns on it.

00:10:32.120 So the Democrats, what does Nancy Pelosi want? 1.00

00:10:34.800 She wants all 51 million people who've lost their jobs to stay unemployed, to stay at home,

00:10:41.340 to not be working, to not have their kids in school because she is gambling on that 51 0.85

00:10:48.520 million people who are broken, unemployed and out of a job and pissed off are going to go

00:10:53.300 in and vote to throw the bums out. 0.98

00:10:54.940 And she's most interested in defeating Donald Trump. 1.00

00:10:58.260 Well, the case I made to the president and to the other Republicans is we shouldn't be

00:11:02.700 complicit in that objective.

00:11:04.760 If the president wants to win in November, we need people going back to work.

00:11:10.140 We need people earning a paycheck. 0.74

00:11:12.220 We need people providing for their families again.

00:11:14.520 And simply spending trillions for Nancy Pelosi's buddies ain't going to get the job done.

00:11:21.280 You know, I remember early on when when there were those debates over the initial relief bill,

00:11:27.000 you in particular pointed out that this this language that the Democrats added in on the

00:11:32.880 question of unemployment insurance was going to disincentivize people going back to work.

00:11:38.580 And it now seems that your prediction turned out to be true.

00:11:41.800 There's a Cato Institute survey of this.

00:11:43.720 It showed that two thirds of people who went on unemployment for the covid lockdowns are making

00:11:49.860 more money than they would have made had they remained at their jobs.

00:11:53.420 And one third of people actually made two times or, you know, two to two X their salary,

00:11:58.840 which, you know, wonderful for them.

00:12:01.300 I don't think we begrudge anybody money.

00:12:02.740 But that is a recipe to keep people out of work that would seem to have a political objective

00:12:08.880 in an election year.

00:12:11.120 Well, in incentives matter and and and the dumbest part of of what Congress did already

00:12:17.520 in this crisis was creating massive disincentives to work.

00:12:22.380 And in particular, what Congress did is added six hundred dollars a week to the already existing

00:12:27.180 unemployment compensation.

00:12:28.120 So, look, we had an unemployment system.

00:12:29.700 If you lost your job, you could file fire for file for unemployment.

00:12:33.540 That's designed to be to help you meet basic necessities.

00:12:36.800 But it's designed to be substantially less than your job was because you want people

00:12:41.440 who've lost their job to have strong incentives to go back to work.

00:12:44.940 The best thing if someone's out of work is help them get back to work.

00:12:49.080 Adding six hundred dollars to unemployment.

00:12:51.100 Let me give you some math.

00:12:52.620 And I apologize to everyone that podcast.

00:12:54.880 There was supposed to be no math.

00:12:56.340 They told me there'd be no math.

00:12:57.600 I didn't sign up for this.

00:12:59.100 Let me give you just a little bit.

00:13:00.680 So it used to be the maximum weekly unemployment check in Texas was five hundred and twenty

00:13:07.940 one dollars a week.

00:13:08.880 When Congress added six hundred dollars to that, that took it to eleven hundred and twenty

00:13:15.800 one dollars a week, more than doubled it.

00:13:18.420 That works out.

00:13:21.300 To about fifty eight thousand dollars a year or about twenty eight dollars an hour.

00:13:28.380 Now, think about it for a second.

00:13:30.120 If you're if you're working waiting tables, if you're working at an hourly job, you ain't

00:13:36.960 making twenty eight bucks an hour.

00:13:39.040 And if suddenly the government pays you more to stay home than to go back to work, well,

00:13:45.540 naturally, you're not going to go back to work.

00:13:47.160 I mean, if you're paid more to do something else, you're going to follow the incentives.

00:13:50.980 But that's terrible for you.

00:13:52.480 And it's terrible for the economy.

00:13:54.880 And it's why Nancy Pelosi wants to keep doing it.

00:13:57.400 And and the Republicans are falling in this trap that.

00:14:03.880 Sixty eight percent of people nationally right now, because of what Congress did, are receiving

00:14:08.960 more on unemployment than their previous salary.

00:14:13.540 Twenty percent are receiving double.

00:14:15.520 Their previous salary.

00:14:17.620 If you're getting paid twice as much not to work as to work, what are you going to do?

00:14:23.340 I mean, that ain't complicated.

00:14:24.980 And it's why Nancy Pelosi is all in on wanting to keep that going right until November 3rd, 0.99

00:14:31.260 right until the election.

00:14:33.320 But Republicans shouldn't be complicit in that.

00:14:36.980 And I I talk to small business owners every single day that they're trying to reopen their

00:14:42.860 businesses and they can't rehire their employees.

00:14:45.840 They're calling their employees, saying, come back.

00:14:47.440 And they're saying, understandably, why would we come back?

00:14:51.120 We're getting paid more not to.

00:14:52.600 That is disastrous for getting the economy moving again and getting people back on their

00:14:57.260 feet.

00:14:57.820 Right.

00:14:58.340 It's it's a pretty deceitful tactic, it would seem.

00:15:01.080 I understand the political objectives the Democrats have.

00:15:04.020 But, you know, you're not you're not getting what they seem to be proposing.

00:15:09.220 You know, this has this underhanded aspect.

00:15:11.300 And I think that ties in pretty well with another underhanded display we saw from Democrats

00:15:16.620 on Capitol Hill this week, which was the the Bill Barr testimony.

00:15:20.480 Yeah.

00:15:20.620 And let me actually stop you there and go back to the prior topic for a second, which is

00:15:26.860 let me tell you right now what is pretty good in the in the Republican bill.

00:15:31.640 OK, and what could be good in the Republican bill.

00:15:35.340 So there are two elements that are mildly good in the Republican bill.

00:15:39.360 Number one, it includes actually legislation that I've introduced that is for school choice

00:15:47.180 that creates federal tax credits for contributions to scholarship granting organizations for K through

00:15:54.300 12 education.

00:15:55.080 That's really good and it's really important and it's really substantive and it's transformational.

00:16:00.760 And as you know, I'm passionate about school choice.

00:16:04.300 Now, the problem is the Democrats are passionately opposed because the teachers unions oppose choice.

00:16:13.360 And my concern is the Republican negotiators will give that up at the table, that it's in

00:16:18.020 there, but it's not going to stay in there, that it's in there to be a bargaining chip to

00:16:23.220 be given up.

00:16:23.900 Now, the second good element right now is some liability protection.

00:16:28.980 And there's no doubt it's a real problem right now for any small business, for any school,

00:16:34.140 for any university that opens.

00:16:36.120 They're going to be sued.

00:16:37.280 All of them are going to be sued.

00:16:38.720 Trial lawyers are going to descend upon them.

00:16:40.800 Yeah.

00:16:41.180 Because if any customer gets sick, if any employee gets sick, immediately they're getting sued.

00:16:46.500 So I very much agree with the objective of providing some reasonable liability protection

00:16:52.820 so that people could open.

00:16:54.680 It's not their fault.

00:16:55.960 It's not like the small businesses, it's not like the movie theater created this coronavirus

00:17:01.940 from Wuhan, China.

00:17:03.960 And it doesn't make sense for billions of dollars of damage judgments to make a bunch of plaintiff's

00:17:10.400 lawyers rich, suing everybody.

00:17:12.000 But the problem is those same plaintiff's lawyers are, along with the teachers' unions, the biggest

00:17:19.260 donors to the Democrats.

00:17:20.700 So they're going to fight to water that provision down.

00:17:23.420 So those two provisions are right now pretty good.

00:17:27.400 But my concern is they will be gutted.

00:17:32.120 Here's what we ought to be doing instead.

00:17:34.980 We ought to be engaged in pro-growth policy.

00:17:37.720 So, for example, instead of just shoveling cash out the door, one thing we could do is

00:17:43.340 between now and the end of the year, suspend the payroll tax.

00:17:48.160 That results in, for you and for everyone, basically an immediate pay raise in your job.

00:17:55.080 Because the payroll tax, you pay out of your pocket.

00:17:58.460 Suddenly, your take-home pay is higher.

00:18:00.540 But that's an incentive for work.

00:18:02.400 Suddenly, your employer, a portion of your payroll tax your employer pays, suddenly the cost of

00:18:08.820 employees, of bringing back an employee, has gone down for your employer.

00:18:12.920 That is a pro-growth incentive.

00:18:14.700 That is a pro-jobs incentive.

00:18:16.800 That is all about helping encourage people to go back to work and work more.

00:18:22.540 That's a very worthwhile thing to do.

00:18:24.980 Another example of a very good thing to do, I've got legislation on health savings accounts.

00:18:30.720 So, health savings accounts are accounts where you can save in a tax-advantaged way for health

00:18:39.060 care needs.

00:18:40.180 The problem is current law prohibits most people from having a health savings account.

00:18:45.100 The only instance in which you're allowed to have a health savings account is if you have

00:18:50.020 a high-deductible health insurance plan, which most people don't have.

00:18:53.620 I have legislation that says everyone can have a health savings plan, that just lets everyone

00:18:59.840 have one.

00:19:01.220 That is really important health care reform right now in terms of changing the system,

00:19:07.560 driving down the cost of health care, making health care more affordable.

00:19:10.780 And we're in the middle of a pandemic.

00:19:11.960 People are understandably concerned with health care costs.

00:19:18.300 Because this would be really meaningful reform.

00:19:20.980 So, I, this is something I urged the president.

00:19:24.360 And I said, by the way, for the Republicans that want to shovel cash, look, we've got the

00:19:29.940 checks of $1,200 sent out to everyone.

00:19:32.160 My parents both received $1,200 checks.

00:19:34.580 They don't need a $1,200 check.

00:19:36.200 But Congress sent them one.

00:19:39.600 The proposal is to do it again.

00:19:41.240 I said, listen, if you are really intent on, on throwing money out of a helicopter, how

00:19:48.740 about taking the $1,200 and populating it in a health savings account for everyone so

00:19:54.620 that everyone can suddenly have a health savings account to meet health care costs?

00:19:59.720 If you must spend the money, actually spend it in a way that does some positive good.

00:20:05.700 Right.

00:20:06.180 Next week, I'm going to introduce a bill that I'm calling the Recovery Act that is going

00:20:11.560 to be a whole series of pro-jobs, pro-growth steps that if we're going to take, our focus

00:20:18.560 should be getting people back to work.

00:20:20.640 And right now, the current so-called Republican bill that is going to lose a lot of Republican

00:20:25.660 votes if and when we vote on it is not focused on jobs.

00:20:29.880 Pelosi wants jobs to go away.

00:20:31.680 And right now, basically, the Republican bill took the Nancy Pelosi bill, divided all the 0.92

00:20:38.800 numbers by three and proposed the same damn thing.

00:20:41.760 We should have different ideas, ideas that work. 0.76

00:20:46.300 And a final political point.

00:20:49.140 There are some Republicans who are really scared.

00:20:51.440 We got to do this.

00:20:52.560 We just got to do it.

00:20:53.360 It's an election.

00:20:54.100 You got to spend money.

00:20:55.060 Look, in the battle to be Santa Claus, Republicans will always lose.

00:21:02.600 If suddenly we pony up $3 trillion, they'll go to four.

00:21:06.920 Like, there's no limit.

00:21:09.340 And frankly, show me the voter out there that's really looking for a bunch of cash that's actually

00:21:17.800 going to vote for the president because of it.

00:21:19.820 If you want someone to bankrupt the country and bankrupt your kids and grandkids in order

00:21:25.200 to get more cash right now, you're going to vote Democrat.

00:21:29.760 Yeah.

00:21:30.360 I think it's a null set.

00:21:33.100 We should be the party of jobs and growth and prosperity and higher wages.

00:21:38.840 Look, another proposal I told the president, all right, fine, you want to spend money?

00:21:43.980 Waive the federal income tax for the next six months up to a certain amount.

00:21:47.780 That, again, puts real money in people's pockets now.

00:21:53.240 And unlike what's being proposed, it doesn't kill jobs.

00:21:57.460 We should be creating jobs, not killing jobs.

00:22:02.300 Well, I love this point you're making.

00:22:04.400 You know, you're never going to out Democrat the Democrats.

00:22:06.900 You're never going to out liberal the liberals.

00:22:08.960 There's a famous conservative book from many decades ago called A Choice, Not an Echo.

00:22:13.780 You want to actually have a choice in your politicians when you go to the ballot box.

00:22:18.380 And I got to tell you, as somebody who has an HSA, who uses an HSA, I love HSAs.

00:22:23.380 I think it's brilliant.

00:22:25.080 It's shocking to me that they have not been more popular.

00:22:28.140 They haven't been more encouraged over time.

00:22:30.180 And I think a lot of that is because-

00:22:31.380 Well, federal law prohibits it.

00:22:32.840 The reason they're not more popular is Congress.

00:22:35.620 Unless you have a high-deductible health insurance plan, it is illegal for you to have an HSA.

00:22:43.040 The point I'm trying to make to the other Republicans, like, is there anything we want to accomplish that actually would be good and fix the problem?

00:22:52.340 We shouldn't rush out like Chicken Little and say, we must do something to do something.

00:22:58.400 Let's do something that would work and help people get back to work.

00:23:03.400 That's right.

00:23:04.620 There are a lot of perverse incentives, I notice, going on on the left side of the aisle on Capitol Hill.

00:23:09.700 And I think nowhere was this clearer than when our former verdict guest, the Attorney General, William Barr, was invited to testify on Capitol Hill.

00:23:19.820 He was actually, he accepted the invitation on the very day that you and I sat down with him at the Department of Justice.

00:23:25.200 And so he finally goes to sit down for this hearing.

00:23:28.340 And then it turned out that the Democrats in the House of Representatives didn't really want to hear a single word he had to say.

00:23:35.020 It really was stunning.

00:23:38.120 When you and I were interviewing Bill Barr, you recall, we nicknamed him Honey Badger, which wasn't planned.

00:23:45.580 That was off the cuff.

00:23:46.740 But if anyone didn't believe that nickname, you just had to watch the, you know, the Lilliputians trying to tie him down.

00:23:59.840 I mean, it was small and petty Democrats relentlessly attacking him.

00:24:05.580 And I love that Barr is completely not concerned.

00:24:12.720 I don't know that I've ever seen anyone drink coffee in a more dismissive way. 1.00

00:24:16.620 There's something about the coffee cup that just said, you are an utter buffoon. 0.99

00:24:22.420 And the part that was really ridiculous is you'd have a Democrat go give a histrionic speech. 1.00

00:24:29.800 And then they declare, I reclaim my time. 0.69

00:24:33.500 I reclaim my time. 0.99

00:24:35.580 Which basically means shut up. 0.98

00:24:38.040 I'm scared of your answer. 0.97

00:24:40.160 I don't want you to answer me. 0.98

00:24:42.260 And I'll look really dumb if you do. 0.97

00:24:44.480 And they did it over and over again, reclaiming their time, reclaiming their time. 0.98

00:24:48.480 And it ultimately was an expression of fear.

00:24:51.740 And I'll tell you, Michael, I actually had a conversation about House Democrats reclaiming their time.

00:24:59.600 A couple of days before Bill Barr testified.

00:25:02.620 And let me tell you why.

00:25:03.800 So next week, I'm chairing a hearing in the Senate on riots, on violence, on Antifa, on the organized terrorists who are burning and attacking our cities.

00:25:16.260 And first witness we're going to have is Ken Cuccinelli.

00:25:21.720 Ken is the deputy secretary of Homeland Security.

00:25:26.060 Ken is the former attorney general of Virginia.

00:25:28.580 He is a rock-ribbed conservative.

00:25:30.360 Ken is a good friend.

00:25:31.220 And right now, Ken is leading the efforts to secure the border.

00:25:36.680 But he's also fighting for the federal law enforcement officers who the Democrats are.

00:25:43.120 You know, Nancy Pelosi is calling them Nazi stormtroopers, which is grotesque.

00:25:47.300 So when Ken and I are talking on the phone and I'm telling him, hey, Ken, I really want you to come to this hearing we're chairing.

00:25:55.020 He said, listen, one thing that he said I really don't like when I testify at the House is they'll attack you.

00:26:04.860 And then the Democrats will say, I reclaim my time.

00:26:07.300 So they attack you and they don't give you a chance to respond.

00:26:10.000 And this is before the bar hearing, by the way.

00:26:13.740 And I laughed and I said, I said, well, Ken, let me tell you this.

00:26:17.960 In any hearing I chair, the Democrats are going to attack you.

00:26:23.680 That's that's for sure.

00:26:24.800 They're going to come after you hard because they've decided to demagogue every police officer in America.

00:26:30.520 But I can promise you, if I'm chairing the hearing, you're damn well going to get a full chance to respond to each and every attack.

00:26:39.080 Headed your way.

00:26:40.660 We have that conversation, Ken, is coming to the hearing.

00:26:43.720 And then like a day or two later, Bill Barr goes through this this ridiculous charade where they are terrified of his answers and, quote, reclaim their time.

00:26:52.680 If the words I reclaim my time ever come out of my mouth other than quoting them, throw something at me, Michael.

00:27:01.160 They simply will.

00:27:03.600 I ain't going to say that.

00:27:05.980 Senator, you've been spending too much time with the Democrats.

00:27:08.680 Democrats, you must come back to yourself.

00:27:10.760 You know, I don't think I had read anywhere that Ken Cuccinelli is going to be testifying.

00:27:16.180 Is that this is that is that is breaking news where we were going to announce that next week.

00:27:21.280 But I just announced it with you.

00:27:23.720 Terrific.

00:27:24.060 I very much look forward to to hearing that, because obviously I think this this issue of the mobs, the organized violence, Antifa has been at the top of a lot of people's minds.

00:27:33.280 So I look forward to seeing that.

00:27:34.940 And I I look forward also to not having just echoes of reclaim my time take up all the time that we could actually be hearing from someone who has so much to say on this.

00:27:44.200 One last question before we let you go, Senator.

00:27:47.000 This is from Kira.

00:27:48.380 I think a lot of people are wondering this these days if they're living in urban centers in America.

00:27:52.460 Is there any hope for sane people in New York City or should we flee?

00:27:57.560 What about New York in general?

00:28:00.220 What what is what is the future?

00:28:01.960 Not just maybe of New York, but of all the cities.

00:28:04.400 Do we all have to flee down to Texas?

00:28:06.860 All right.

00:28:07.020 So let me take New York, actually.

00:28:09.320 OK, listen, I'm an optimist by nature.

00:28:11.580 I believe in America.

00:28:17.340 I believe in freedom.

00:28:18.860 I even believe in New York.

00:28:23.920 And I'll point I often point to history as foreshadowing of the future.

00:28:30.040 I'll confess.

00:28:31.080 I think things are going to get worse in New York in the short term.

00:28:33.680 I think the malignant politics there, I think radicals like de Blasio, when they're proposing

00:28:41.100 cutting a billion dollars from the NYPD and AOC saying not enough, basically burn it to the ground.

00:28:49.020 That's not quite what she said, but she said defund it and abolish it, which is the same thing.

00:28:54.860 In the short term, New York is going to head to some dark, dark days.

00:28:59.440 But New York went through this in the 60s and 70s, and we saw rampant crime in New York.

00:29:08.220 New York was facing bankruptcy.

00:29:11.320 I mean, the policies of the far left, they don't work.

00:29:15.540 And every time they're implemented, particularly in the extreme, they are a disaster.

00:29:20.620 So what's the good news?

00:29:22.600 Is that when people see the disaster, they often open up their eyes and say, hey,

00:29:27.540 this doesn't make any sense.

00:29:28.800 Let's change it.

00:29:30.560 And New York had a renaissance.

00:29:32.320 Why do they have a renaissance? 0.76

00:29:34.760 Remember Rudy Giuliani?

00:29:37.020 When he was elected and not Rudy, Rudy today is a very different person than Mayor Rudy was

00:29:43.980 when he was first elected.

00:29:45.280 But New Yorkers were sick and tired.

00:29:47.520 They were sick and tired of the crime.

00:29:48.980 They were sick and tired of the violence.

00:29:50.620 They were sick and tired of the shambles the city had gone through.

00:29:54.680 And Rudy got elected on, remember the broken windows theory, which is let's, when you go

00:30:00.980 into a neighborhood and you see shattered windows, you see graffiti and you see rot, that makes

00:30:06.200 all of the rest of violent crime more likely.

00:30:08.880 And so go repair the windows.

00:30:10.200 Go clean up the graffiti.

00:30:11.660 Go stop the squeegee guys who used to just dump crap on your car in the streets.

00:30:16.260 And it actually stops the rest of violent crime too.

00:30:20.740 So de Blasio and the radicals have forgotten those lessons.

00:30:23.480 I think they will go through a dark period and many of our cities may go through a dark period.

00:30:31.700 But when the failures of radical left policies become evident, I think people will turn back

00:30:36.660 to them and say, hey, we want a New York City where you can walk in Central Park again and be safe.

00:30:41.560 We want a New York City where you can open a business and survive.

00:30:45.440 There are many things about New York that are extraordinary, that are wonderful,

00:30:49.360 that it has been a, the Statue of Liberty invites the whole world.

00:30:53.700 We've seen immigrants from across the globe come to New York to make it.

00:30:59.100 But the policies of the socialists can destroy all of that, but we'll come out of it.

00:31:06.180 That's why I think a lot of the moving trucks are heading down to your state, Senator.

00:31:09.760 And, you know, I'm a New Yorker and I live in Los Angeles.

00:31:12.040 Both my cities have me wanting to fly straight down to where you are.

00:31:15.800 Probably not aboard Air Force One.

00:31:17.220 I haven't gotten that invitation yet, but maybe I'll fly commercial and see you there.

00:31:21.500 Hey, Southwest One, you can sit in any seat.

00:31:24.700 That's true.

00:31:25.540 I got some drink tickets, too.

00:31:27.320 We will have to pause it there until next time.

00:31:30.040 Thank you, Senator.

00:31:30.740 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:31:31.740 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:31:33.400 This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs Freedom and Security

00:31:47.740 Pack, a political action committee dedicated to supporting conservative causes, organizations,

00:31:53.180 and candidates across the country.

00:31:54.920 In 2022, Jobs Freedom and Security Pack plans to donate to conservative candidates running

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - August 04, 2020

Cruzing on Air Force One

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