Verdict with Ted Cruz - Democrat Party HATES Law-Enforcement, Newsom gets behind Dyslexia & a Tale of Tucker Turbulence Week In Review

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.260 Welcome, it is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:06.240 Week in Review, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.220 And here are some of the stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week.

00:00:11.300 First up, the Democratic Party as a whole, they've made it clear they are now the anti-law enforcement party.

00:00:18.500 And their leader, Barack Obama, well, he says it's totally fine to go against ICE agents with new disparaging remarks.

00:00:25.720 We have that for you in a second.

00:00:27.000 Also, Gavin Newsom got his feelings hurt and decided to hit back at Senator Cruz.

00:00:32.900 Now claiming a disability.

00:00:34.980 Dyslexia is his excuse.

00:00:36.720 Yes, this isn't a joke and we'll play it for you.

00:00:39.600 And finally, Tucker Carlson's in Israel.

00:00:42.620 And it didn't go very well, especially one of his big lies.

00:00:47.400 It's the Week in Review and it starts right now.

00:00:50.220 This is interesting.

00:00:51.620 And this is where I've been saying this a lot over and over again, especially in TV.

00:00:57.000 The Democratic Party as a whole is anti-law enforcement.

00:01:00.920 It's not just the AOCs of the party.

00:01:04.120 A perfect example of this being part of their platform center is Barack Obama doing a podcast this week.

00:01:10.780 And he is, I would argue, blessing the Democratic movement, right?

00:01:15.660 The Marxist, socialists and communists.

00:01:17.580 You've got my blessing.

00:01:18.840 I'm probably one of the biggest names in the Democratic Party, if not the biggest name of the elder statesman now that people listen to.

00:01:25.800 I'm giving my blessing that you can attack ICE agents now.

00:01:29.020 And this is a platform of the DNC.

00:01:30.900 Yeah, absolutely.

00:01:32.560 Here, let's give a listen to what he had to say.

00:01:34.660 The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous.

00:01:45.960 The sort of behavior that, you know, in the past we've seen in authoritarian countries and we've seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America.

00:01:56.520 I mean, you're calling ICE agents who are just enforcing the law rogue agents.

00:02:02.840 That is from a former eight-year president and the leader of the Democratic Party still.

00:02:07.100 Yeah, no, that is exactly right.

00:02:08.960 By the way, that same message was conveyed by Gavin Newsom in Munich.

00:02:14.060 Give a listen to Gavin Newsom.

00:02:15.140 We'll talk about these two together.

00:02:16.580 But I want to remember all those images of masked men, the secret police, something familiar in Germany.

00:02:22.260 Those first images came out of my state, the second largest city in the United States of America.

00:02:29.240 We saw 4,000 National Guard federalized.

00:02:32.040 First time.

00:02:32.780 We're never sitting there like this.

00:02:34.100 And 700 active duty Marines sent not overseas, but to the second largest city in the United States of America, militarizing the streets of my city.

00:02:42.600 Masked men, masked men showing up, unaccountable.

00:02:45.640 Let's be very clear, Senator.

00:02:47.440 That is Gavin Newsom comparing American law enforcement to Nazis.

00:02:51.020 Yep, yep, which, by the way, is what Obama was doing, too.

00:02:56.460 By the way, just like AOC and Whitmer, Newsom is apparently thoroughly historically illiterate.

00:03:02.280 He said we've never seen National Guards federalized in the states.

00:03:06.380 I guess his history book does not discuss the civil rights movement.

00:03:09.860 He's never heard of a president named Dwight D. Eisenhower.

00:03:12.200 He's never heard of sending the National Guard into southern states when Democrats who refused to desegregate schools resisted.

00:03:21.640 Eisenhower sent the National Guard in.

00:03:23.760 The pattern is the same.

00:03:25.300 In this instance, you have Democrats who are saying we refuse to comply with federal immigration law.

00:03:30.660 Then you had in the 50s and 60s, you had Democrats saying we refuse to comply with civil rights law.

00:03:37.000 In both instances, it is lawless Democrats attacking law enforcement.

00:03:43.820 You know, Gavin Newsom is proudly following the tradition of Bull Connor, another Democrat politician.

00:03:49.360 The demonizing of law enforcement is is central to who they are, central to who the party is.

00:03:55.700 And now I want you to listen to Barack Obama in this podcast because he does a judo move that that is classic Barack Obama.

00:04:07.800 Give a listen.

00:04:08.220 The other side does the mean, angry, demagoguery, you know, exclusive, us, them, you know, divisive politics.

00:04:22.500 That's their that's that's their home court.

00:04:27.100 Yeah.

00:04:27.980 Our court is coming together.

00:04:32.380 Our court is, look, you know, a great example wasn't political.

00:04:36.760 Bad Bunny's halftime show.

00:04:39.400 I knew you were going to say that.

00:04:40.280 Well, it was it resonated.

00:04:43.980 It was smart because it wasn't preaching.

00:04:49.640 It was showing it was demonstrating and displaying.

00:04:53.080 This is what a community is.

00:04:55.260 By the way, I love that he's just admitting there.

00:04:56.740 Yes, this is a smart political move to have a political statement at the Super Bowl during halftime.

00:05:02.400 He's admitting what we were saying, that it was a political decision.

00:05:06.040 And he's like, it's a brilliant political operative move for the NFL to do this.

00:05:11.000 Well, look, I mentioned that what Obama was doing there is judo and judo is is is flipping and using your opponent's weight against you against them.

00:05:20.520 But but but it but it is also it is classic Orwellian.

00:05:24.900 It is accusing the other side of doing what what you are doing.

00:05:28.240 Barack Obama, I think, in any fair history, he will not go down in history as this because most historians are leftists.

00:05:34.300 So they will they will carve him into Mount Rushmore.

00:05:37.080 But but but if you were fairly assessing his legacy, he is one of the most bitterly partisan leaders our country has ever had.

00:05:45.060 And I think much of the the rage, the anger we have of the two sides screaming at each other finds its origins in the Obama presidency.

00:05:56.080 And I got to say, I my principal reaction to that is is is one of of regret of the lost opportunity.

00:06:03.460 Listen, Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American president ever for a country that that that that that for us for for a century plus had slavery. 0.98

00:06:14.600 To elect a black president was a big damn deal. 0.88

00:06:19.640 And Obama was given by history the opportunity to to be what he claimed to be, to be coming together, to be a healing president. 0.99

00:06:28.360 And he chose just the opposite.

00:06:30.460 He chose he chose to just rub salt in the racial wounds to divide.

00:06:36.240 If you remember early on the beer summit he had where he demonized law enforcement right at the beginning of his presidency.

00:06:42.060 You remember he described people in small towns in America as, quote, bitter and angry and clinging to their God and their guns.

00:06:50.620 You remember Michelle Obama saying that when Barack Obama was elected president, it was the first time she'd ever been to be an American country.

00:06:59.340 Yeah, like it is.

00:07:01.780 And if you look at the fruit, listen, I believe that Barack Obama fundamentally is a Marxist.

00:07:09.000 He was just a few years ahead of me at Harvard Law School.

00:07:11.120 We did not overlap.

00:07:12.060 But I think he is steeped in cultural Marxism.

00:07:17.540 Now, when he was president, he was not vocal about all of that because the country at the time was not ready for it.

00:07:24.080 But but I think AOC is the spiritual grandchild of Barack Obama.

00:07:30.500 I think Mondami is the spiritual grandchild of Barack Obama.

00:07:34.820 And as you and I have talked about on the pod before during the Biden presidency, maybe the most frequent question I got asked is who is running things?

00:07:44.340 And the really terrifying answer, I don't, in fact, know.

00:07:50.240 I know it wasn't Joe Biden.

00:07:52.060 He did not have the capacity to make decisions.

00:07:54.320 Everyone knew that.

00:07:55.140 The Democrats all knew that.

00:07:56.420 Everyone knew that.

00:07:57.240 The press knew that.

00:07:58.020 They just didn't report on it.

00:07:59.540 I don't know.

00:08:01.100 But my theory is the person who was running things is the guy who we just played.

00:08:06.460 I think Barack Obama was the grand puppet master.

00:08:09.720 He had a bunch of young apparatchiks who are little little Marxists that were his former staffers in the White House.

00:08:16.040 And the open borders we saw, that was Barack Obama's intention.

00:08:21.480 The radical DEI, the demonization of law enforcement, all of that is the fruits of Obama.

00:08:29.300 By the way, the disastrous foreign policy, the embrace of Iran. 1.00

00:08:34.160 Iran sending cash on pallets, literally.

00:08:37.100 And listen, Obama sent one point seven billion dollars of cash on pallets in planes in the middle of the night.

00:08:43.800 Joe Biden said, hold my beer.

00:08:46.040 And flowed a hundred billion dollars to Iran.

00:08:49.060 Now, when I say Joe Biden said it, really, the person who said, hold my beer, was Barack Obama.

00:08:53.680 He said, now I'm just really going to do it using the puppet Biden.

00:08:58.100 But for him to accuse Republicans, the bitterness Obama has shown over and over and over again as he's using rhetoric.

00:09:09.680 You know, he's just demonized ICE and called them, called federal law enforcement agents, totalitarian agents.

00:09:16.820 And then he says, gosh, it's the other side that's mean, not like us.

00:09:20.880 And actually, the word that I love that he says in that little clip is exclusionary.

00:09:27.400 The right is exclusionary.

00:09:28.980 And that's such a total lie.

00:09:30.680 It is the left that is vicious.

00:09:33.580 You must believe in exactly their orthodoxy or you are excommunicated.

00:09:40.940 Look at look at J.K. Rowling, J.K. Rowling, who by any measure is politically on the left.

00:09:47.160 But she has this crazy view that that women exist. 1.00

00:09:53.060 And that to the intolerant leftist is unacceptable. 0.80

00:09:57.780 And she must be canceled.

00:09:59.560 And you look at all of these Hollywood ninnies who were in the Harry Potter movies who won't associate with her. 0.98

00:10:07.320 She literally made all of their careers. 1.00

00:10:09.180 And she made them.

00:10:09.860 Yeah, she literally made them. 0.94

00:10:10.860 Made them millions of dollars from when they were children.

00:10:12.840 And they are too – their virtue is too great to be seen in the same room.

00:10:18.880 And by the way, Barack Obama, in addition to being a hardcore leftist – and I think much of his worldview is actually anti-colonialist.

00:10:29.800 If you look at – it's why he hates Israel because he views Israel as a colonial power.

00:10:36.680 And it's why fundamentally he doesn't believe American power is legitimate.

00:10:42.120 You know, he was asked as president, do you believe in American exceptionalism?

00:10:46.040 And he says, sure, I do, just like the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism and the British believe in British exceptionalism.

00:10:52.540 Which is to say, no, he does not.

00:10:55.200 Because American exceptionalism is recognizing there's something unique and extraordinary in the United States of America.

00:11:02.020 There's never been a nation in the history of mankind that has been a greater force for good on planet Earth than the United States of America.

00:11:09.360 And lightning would strike Barack Obama before he could utter that sentence.

00:11:13.280 Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week.

00:11:20.520 Canadian women are looking for more. 1.00

00:11:22.740 More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them.

00:11:26.860 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:11:30.600 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:11:31.780 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:11:33.000 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:11:36.780 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers.

00:11:40.320 All at different stages of their journey.

00:11:42.180 So, if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:11:45.720 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:11:51.560 Now on to story number two.

00:11:53.840 Let's get to the politics now.

00:11:56.160 And we'll start with, yeah, you couldn't get any further from Duvall with Gavin Newsom.

00:12:01.020 Gavin Newsom trashes America.

00:12:02.500 No, no, no.

00:12:03.220 Hold on a second.

00:12:04.680 Gavin Newsom is the young punk in the bar.

00:12:08.060 That's true.

00:12:08.880 And by the way, you and I get to be, I think, in this story, Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.

00:12:15.240 Yes, yes.

00:12:15.860 Although there is one thing that's stretching that, which is Tommy Lee Jones is silent in that scene.

00:12:20.000 And, Ben, you've never been silent in any scene.

00:12:22.160 No, no.

00:12:23.060 That's also very true.

00:12:24.520 That's why they pay me the big bucks, right?

00:12:26.620 That's why they pay me the big bucks.

00:12:28.880 You know, like the old-time lawyers, they pay you by the word.

00:12:31.660 Yeah, right.

00:12:32.100 All right, so let's set the stage for this story.

00:12:35.080 You and I do a show.

00:12:36.380 We talk about it.

00:12:37.440 We're going to play part of that in a second.

00:12:39.260 But I want to know, when did you and how fast did you find out after he tweeted at us getting all cranky?

00:12:45.900 He got his underwear in a wad is the way I described it.

00:12:49.500 My phone, actually, I started getting random texts from people.

00:12:52.140 And I'm like, what are you talking about?

00:12:53.620 I was in a meeting.

00:12:54.340 I'm like, what?

00:12:55.180 They're like, dude, Newsom's like throwing shade.

00:12:57.140 And he's really upset with you guys.

00:12:58.680 And I was like, well, that's what I would expect from a California liberal, to be honest with you.

00:13:02.700 When did you find out?

00:13:04.600 So our last podcast, we lit up AOC and Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom, all of whom went to Munich, to the Munich Security Conference. 0.96

00:13:14.960 And they all made fools of themselves.

00:13:16.460 They were all trying to run for president. 0.99

00:13:17.920 They were all trying to be impressive.

00:13:19.380 And they all just, like, totally beclowned themselves.

00:13:22.340 And AOC and Whitmer showed they know nothing about foreign policy or national security.

00:13:27.100 Gavin Newsom did something different.

00:13:28.680 He just decided to demonize law enforcement.

00:13:31.560 And he made a statement in particular.

00:13:33.040 He said no president has ever before federalized the National Guard.

00:13:37.720 And that's just laughably false.

00:13:39.740 So I want to play the clip from what we said in the very last podcast.

00:13:43.860 And this is the clip that so triggered young Gavin.

00:13:46.860 Listen.

00:13:48.420 Let's be very clear, Senator.

00:13:50.480 That is Gavin Newsom comparing American law enforcement to Nazis.

00:13:54.600 Yep.

00:13:54.800 Yep.

00:13:55.280 Which, by the way, is what Obama was doing, too.

00:13:59.480 By the way, just like AOC and Whitmer, Newsom is apparently thoroughly historically illiterate.

00:14:05.300 He said we've never seen National Guards federalized in the states.

00:14:08.940 I guess his history book does not discuss the civil rights movement.

00:14:12.900 He's never heard of a president named Dwight D. Eisenhower.

00:14:15.460 He's never heard of sending the National Guard into southern states when Democrats who refused to desegregate schools resisted.

00:14:24.260 And Eisenhower sent the National Guard in.

00:14:26.820 The pattern is the same.

00:14:28.360 In this instance, you have Democrats who are saying we refuse to comply with federal immigration law.

00:14:33.860 Then you had in the 50s and 60s, you had Democrats saying we refuse to comply with civil rights law.

00:14:40.060 In both instances, it is lawless Democrats attacking law enforcement.

00:14:46.860 You know, Gavin Newsom is proudly following the tradition of Bull Connor, another Democrat politician.

00:14:52.400 That's all that you really said.

00:14:55.640 And then his response was a total freakout.

00:14:59.300 Yeah.

00:14:59.620 So Gavin on Twitter, he sent out a tweet. 0.97

00:15:02.600 And like all good Democrats, when caught being full of crap, he responds by attacking and screaming, you cannot criticize me. 0.99

00:15:12.340 And in particular, what he said is, Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him. 0.99

00:15:21.380 Now, let's start out.

00:15:23.420 First of all, who the hell knew Gavin Newsom was dyslexic?

00:15:26.280 I didn't know that.

00:15:27.000 Did you know that, Ben?

00:15:28.160 No, I did not.

00:15:28.880 And you know, it's funny. 0.99

00:15:29.540 I'm dyslexic, but that doesn't mean you're stupid, by the way. 0.99

00:15:32.540 By the way, I didn't know you were dyslexic either. 0.98

00:15:35.280 Yeah, because I don't use it as a crutch.

00:15:37.280 But like since Gavin's bringing it up, like it's some like you went off the rails on him.

00:15:42.080 Like, how dare you do that?

00:15:43.060 Like, I'm dyslexic. 0.99

00:15:44.020 It doesn't mean you're dumb. 1.00

00:15:44.820 It doesn't mean you mean stupid statements because you're dyslexic. 1.00

00:15:47.260 Like, you can still be intelligent and be dyslexic, buddy. 0.99

00:15:49.820 So Gavin's defense is, you're not allowed to criticize me because I have a disability. 0.99

00:15:57.200 That is, if there's anything to embody the idiocy of today's Democrat Party, that does it pretty well. 0.99

00:16:03.540 So it's interesting. 0.99

00:16:04.700 I sent two responses. 0.97

00:16:06.080 The first response I sent was, I didn't say you couldn't read, you clown, with the emoji of the clown. 0.96

00:16:14.220 I said you were, quote, historically illiterate because you apparently have no idea that Eisenhower federalized the National Guard to stop Democrat governors from defying federal law. 0.95

00:16:27.980 Specifically, on September 23rd, 1957, President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730, federalizing the Arkansas National Guard and ordering U.S. Army troops, the 101st Airborne Division, to Little Rock, Arkansas.

00:16:44.320 This action broke the blockade by Democrat Governor Orville Faubus, allowing the Little Rock Nine to desegregate Central High School. 0.96

00:16:51.740 Now, Gavin had no response to that.

00:16:55.900 Now, I got to tell you, let me bring you a little bit inside the scenes.

00:16:59.520 So my team had a different response that they suggested, and I have a whole social media communications team.

00:17:05.260 They had a different response.

00:17:07.200 Their different response was to send out a tweet with a GIF, and a GIF of Zoolander.

00:17:17.440 There's a mini video, just so everybody doesn't know what that is.

00:17:20.140 Like, some people may not realize what that is.

00:17:21.540 It's like the mini little video kind of thing you send out.

00:17:24.400 So it's Ben Stiller as Zoolander, and he's looking down at a sign that says,

00:17:29.300 The Gavin Newsom Center for what kids who don't know what historically illiterate means,

00:17:34.780 and who want to learn to do other stuff good, too.

00:17:38.600 So, my team put that together.

00:17:40.920 I did not put that together.

00:17:41.820 I saw that, and I sent mine instead.

00:17:46.760 And then my team got all upset, and they're like,

00:17:49.480 Wait, you didn't like ours.

00:17:50.720 And I said, You know what?

00:17:52.340 Let's have a competition.

00:17:54.360 Send that one, too.

00:17:56.120 Let's put them both out. 0.83

00:17:57.440 And see which one wins.

00:17:58.920 Both out on the internet, and see which one wins.

00:18:02.640 So, as of, we're now 1221 a.m., the Ben Stiller gif, which was clever, has gotten 397,000 views.

00:18:15.400 Okay.

00:18:16.140 The one I wrote has gotten a million views.

00:18:19.380 So, how long are you going to haze them on this data that you have that's undisputed?

00:18:24.860 Okay.

00:18:25.280 So, not to brag too much, but I did beat the team by 250%.

00:18:31.640 Just for everyone, I want to take them behind the scenes.

00:18:35.460 Senator, when you are correct and your team has these moments, I enjoy not being on that team.

00:18:41.680 I enjoy being a spectator.

00:18:43.780 But I do know the parties, all of them involved.

00:18:44.920 But hold on.

00:18:45.500 I'm going to be gracious for a minute.

00:18:47.040 I'm going to be gracious for a minute.

00:18:49.140 Although I got two and a half times as much coverage as they did in terms of people watching it.

00:18:53.700 And I will say, the comments on their gif, the folks that saw it, loved it.

00:18:59.580 So, I'm just going to go through a few.

00:19:02.360 Joe Lonsdale, a good friend of ours, big tech entrepreneur, he's been on the podcast.

00:19:06.440 He did the crying emoji.

00:19:08.540 Another guy said, whoever came up with this meme needs a raise.

00:19:13.340 Another guy said, sir, this is a 10 for 10 post.

00:19:16.320 It's too bad Newsom won't be able to read it.

00:19:18.880 Another person had a gif from the Simpsons.

00:19:22.280 It's, hello 9-1-1, I'd like to report a murder.

00:19:25.640 Yeah.

00:19:27.420 It, the volume of comments, the ex-trolling continues.

00:19:32.580 Good, good, picture of Trump toasting.

00:19:36.200 Crying Trump emojis.

00:19:37.840 Cruz clearly won this round.

00:19:40.580 Bwahaha.

00:19:41.940 It's like, this put you in my top five favorite politicians.

00:19:46.000 I'm really depressed, two of the other four.

00:19:47.840 Yeah, right.

00:19:48.240 Um, uh, well done, good sir, well done, spitting out.

00:19:52.680 He went to school at the Leering School.

00:19:54.180 So, so, so, so the team is going to get accolades for quality over quantity.

00:19:59.320 That's what, that's the idea.

00:20:00.060 So, and I gave them that.

00:20:00.620 Actually, their comments, the people who saw it loved it.

00:20:04.160 They're like, this is a frigging great comment.

00:20:07.020 And, and so, you know what?

00:20:08.080 I said, I'm glad we sent them both.

00:20:09.980 Yeah.

00:20:10.460 Uh, we reached more people.

00:20:12.140 Mine had kind of substance.

00:20:13.520 I'm going to tell you another admission.

00:20:16.060 You know how I wrote my, my tweet?

00:20:19.080 Yeah.

00:20:19.540 How?

00:20:20.940 You do?

00:20:21.440 How?

00:20:22.360 No, no, no.

00:20:22.740 I'm saying how.

00:20:23.340 Tell me how.

00:20:23.820 I know you said, yeah.

00:20:25.440 Oh yeah.

00:20:25.940 No, I like, I know you wrote it, but I can, I can all, what people don't understand about

00:20:29.860 you is when you, when you can check out of any conversation, if you have something clever

00:20:35.000 that you want to get out in the, into the world of, of the internet, as you described

00:20:38.940 earlier, I would call it X social media.

00:20:41.660 I'm just, I'm just going to hit you on age there, like putting it out into the internet.

00:20:45.300 Yes.

00:20:45.600 Okay.

00:20:45.900 Al Gore, he created it back in the day, but, but when you, when there's nothing scarier

00:20:51.080 than watching TC at dinner, just quietly over there and disengaging from the conversation

00:20:59.160 for about five minutes and you know, what's coming, it's going to be something really

00:21:03.640 entertaining on the internet.

00:21:04.540 I can promise you that.

00:21:06.000 So my team had sent me this gift Monday night.

00:21:08.320 I was playing hoops and, and as you know, I play hoops twice a week.

00:21:11.500 And so it was about three hours of hoops.

00:21:13.260 And I had, after a couple of games, we lost one game.

00:21:16.060 And so I, I didn't hit my free throw.

00:21:17.940 So I was sitting waiting for the next game.

00:21:19.820 And so I typed this responding and it's actually a very cool thing about AI.

00:21:24.980 So the first part of it that I sent, which is because you apparently have no idea

00:21:28.780 that Eisenhower federalized the national guard, stopped them governors from defying

00:21:31.760 federal law.

00:21:32.220 I wrote that.

00:21:33.300 Yeah.

00:21:33.520 But then I went to Google and I typed in Eisenhower federalizing national guard.

00:21:38.620 Cause like, you know, I wanted a little more research and Google AI.

00:21:42.700 So the second paragraph of my tweet was written by Google AI.

00:21:46.360 And so the paragraph specifically on September 23rd, 1957.

00:21:50.240 So I didn't know the date until I went into Google AI.

00:21:53.300 President Eisenhower issued executive order 10, 730.

00:21:56.740 I didn't know the number of the 10, 730, like the whole details of the second paragraph.

00:22:01.720 The beauty of Google AI, it took me 30 seconds to pull those details.

00:22:08.660 It took you missing your free throws, then giving you the opportunity.

00:22:13.500 Then giving you the opportunity. 1.00

00:22:15.060 If I hit my damn free throws. 1.00

00:22:16.480 All right, punk. 1.00

00:22:17.320 None of this would have ever happened. 0.99

00:22:18.840 None of this would have ever happened if it wasn't for you sucking at free throw shooting 0.99

00:22:21.980 that night. 0.97

00:22:22.720 I just want to be clear about what brought this opportunity together.

00:22:25.860 Let me just say for the record, what happened the last time you played Hoos with me?

00:22:29.720 You or someone else decided to break my finger.

00:22:33.160 It's still crooked.

00:22:33.960 If you can't see it right there, America, there it is.

00:22:36.100 It has a crooked finger right there.

00:22:38.380 I'm just saying you were a college division one varsity athlete.

00:22:42.900 To be clear, Lonsdale would back me up on this.

00:22:45.780 I taped it up and played like a man.

00:22:48.240 You did.

00:22:48.960 I agree.

00:22:49.600 You did not crawl up at a ball and whimper, but I'm just saying, you broke bones when

00:22:56.700 you decided to hoop.

00:22:57.640 And I still hit my shots.

00:22:59.240 You guys don't play fair.

00:23:00.400 You get older, you start grabbing for stuff.

00:23:02.080 You can't see straight if it's a hand or a ball.

00:23:03.740 That's how old guys play. 1.00

00:23:05.380 That's how old guys play. 1.00

00:23:06.800 Exactly.

00:23:07.460 Exactly.

00:23:07.820 So you miss your free throws.

00:23:09.400 AI came and saved the day.

00:23:10.940 You put out the tweet.

00:23:12.280 Gavin shoots back.

00:23:13.520 And that's how we got to where we are right now.

00:23:15.400 But think about it, even like a year ago, to put together the details of that tweet,

00:23:21.060 I would have a year ago, probably, if I wanted to have a little substance in the tweet, I

00:23:25.000 might have sent a text to my team, said, hey, research, give me the exact details.

00:23:29.980 I know Eisenhower federalized the National Guard.

00:23:32.000 Give me the specifics.

00:23:32.820 Yeah, tell me when, who, what, when, where, and why, right?

00:23:34.180 And someone would have researched it.

00:23:35.740 They would have sent it to me, and then I would have included it.

00:23:37.740 And instead, I just did it in between games.

00:23:40.480 The whole thing took me maybe three minutes to type.

00:23:43.380 So when did you see the Newsom response?

00:23:47.200 Was it after missing more free throws, or was it later on?

00:23:50.200 It was before the game.

00:23:51.660 And to be honest, I only sat one game.

00:23:53.800 I missed free throws and won most of the rest of the time.

00:23:56.760 And the couple times I lost, I hit my free throws. 0.99

00:23:58.800 But I did once miss my damn free throws. 0.98

00:24:02.600 But the beauty of it is, it literally, so I had seen it before I started playing. 0.98

00:24:08.780 And I'm like, no, and I'm sort of, you know, I don't know about you, but like, when I'm

00:24:13.200 thinking about something, I often will sort of put it out of my mind and let the back of

00:24:17.020 my brain process it.

00:24:17.680 Yeah, you ponder for a little bit, you go back, and then you come back to it, yeah.

00:24:19.800 And it was sort of like, literally, as I'm playing hoops, I'm chewing on what kind of

00:24:23.720 response I want to have.

00:24:25.240 And so then when I had a break, I'm like, all right, let me type it out.

00:24:28.100 All right, I got to ask you, is Gavin Newsom on your top five liberals that you would love

00:24:32.400 one-on-one debate with?

00:24:35.060 Oh, look, I don't know.

00:24:36.580 We talked about in the last podcast how I think Newsom and AOC are probably the top two

00:24:41.480 Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination.

00:24:45.480 We'll see.

00:24:46.360 Neither of them know what the hell they're talking about.

00:24:48.180 So I feel confident we will see them called to account.

00:24:53.500 As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go

00:24:57.720 back and download the podcast from early this week to hear the entire thing.

00:25:02.400 Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their 1.00

00:25:06.540 elected leaders, and the world around them.

00:25:08.600 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:25:12.280 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:25:13.500 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:25:14.740 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:25:18.500 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their

00:25:23.620 journey.

00:25:24.240 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:25:27.460 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:25:32.400 I want to get back to the big story, number three of the week you may have missed.

00:25:37.700 All right, Senator.

00:25:38.520 So it was a very interesting week.

00:25:40.840 There was a big back and forth.

00:25:42.840 I don't think it's an interview.

00:25:44.260 I think it's a debate.

00:25:45.880 It had a lot of fanfare.

00:25:47.780 It was Tucker Carlson going to Israel to have a sit down with the U.S. ambassador, dear friend

00:25:53.580 of both of ours, Mike Huckabee.

00:25:55.260 I was rooting for Mike because you knew what Tucker was going to do.

00:26:00.080 But before we even got any of the interview out, and maybe it's because it didn't go well

00:26:04.900 for Tucker.

00:26:05.540 We'll see.

00:26:06.740 But what he did do is had a great distraction claiming he was detained in Israel at the airport.

00:26:12.940 And thank goodness he got safe out of the country. 0.99

00:26:15.820 Turns out it was all crap and a lie. 0.99

00:26:17.760 Yeah, look, I got to say, Tucker Carlson's descent into madness has been tragic and horrific to 1.00

00:26:25.840 watch.

00:26:26.140 You and I have both known Tucker a long, long time.

00:26:28.220 I've known him probably 25 years.

00:26:30.960 And, you know, there was a time when he would vocally defend Israel when he was—look, when

00:26:36.460 he had his Fox TV show during COVID and the lockdowns, his monologue every night was the

00:26:41.860 single best thing on television, and it was destination TV.

00:26:44.800 Well, he got fired from Fox, and he's gone into the kind of the dark hinterlands of the

00:26:49.540 internet, and he's turned really twisted.

00:26:52.080 He is, number one, obsessed with Israel. 0.93

00:26:55.060 It seems like if you are a Jew-hating bigot, you too can be a guest on Tucker's show. 0.96

00:27:00.620 He will find every person that says the Jews are responsible for terrible things. 0.97

00:27:05.340 By the way, if you're a Nazi apologist, if you think Adolf Hitler was very, very cool, 0.70

00:27:10.340 you too can be on Tucker's show.

00:27:11.880 By the way, if you're an Islamist, if you think Hamas is not a terrorist organization, 0.60

00:27:17.120 as Tucker has said, you too can be on Tucker's show.

00:27:20.580 If you hate Donald Trump because his show now is attacking almost every foreign policy

00:27:26.320 decision Donald Trump makes, you too can be on Tucker's show.

00:27:30.760 And he has said the people he hates most in the world.

00:27:34.560 Are they the jihadists who murder Americans?

00:27:36.600 No, no, no, those are the people he actually preases.

00:27:39.120 Not ISIS, not Al-Qaeda, not Hamas, not Hezbollah.

00:27:42.980 Who are they?

00:27:43.840 They are Christian Zionists. 0.99

00:27:45.300 He said there's no one on planet Earth.

00:27:46.880 By the way, if you are A, a Christian, and B, you believe Israel should exist, that's what

00:27:52.700 it means to be a Zionist.

00:27:53.960 You know, a lot of the Jew-haters, they're scared of actually admitting they're Jew-haters,

00:27:58.340 so instead of saying the word Jew, they say Zionist, because they think that feels, that

00:28:02.660 sounds so much more, like, Zionist means should Israel exist?

00:28:08.940 Yeah.

00:28:09.640 I gotta say, I am proudly a Zionist, and I am proudly a Christian, and if you're a Christian

00:28:15.360 and you believe the nation of Israel should exist, there are 57 Muslim countries in the

00:28:20.200 world, if you think the Jewish people should have one country, just one. 0.84

00:28:23.920 Um, mind you, the modern state of Israel was formed after the Holocaust, after the Nazis

00:28:29.340 murdered over six million Jews in committing a genocide, and the phrase never again meant

00:28:36.040 something, that there would be a homeland that at least there would be one place for Jews

00:28:40.060 to flee to. 0.97

00:28:40.640 If you think Jews ought to exist, well, then Tucker hates you more than anybody else on 0.99

00:28:46.460 planet Earth, and he's identified two people in particular that he hates the most, and that 0.98

00:28:50.760 is Mike Huckabee and me.

00:28:51.740 And so he went to interview Mike Huckabee, I'm sure there are fireworks, we'll see what

00:28:55.960 happened in it, and, and he touched down, it was the most bizarre thing, he landed in

00:29:01.980 Israel, he didn't leave the airport, so I guess the interview was at the airport.

00:29:07.280 And it sounded like that's because he was afraid of his safety or something, like he was trying

00:29:10.820 to say, I don't feel safe in this country, and I need to be able to leave at a moment's

00:29:13.800 notice, so I'll only do the interview at the airport.

00:29:15.800 That's, that is what the team seemed to be wanting to get out there.

00:29:18.680 They didn't feel safe, they didn't think that Israel would be a place they would be

00:29:22.220 able to be, you know, free or welcome or whatever, so we're just going to stay in the airport.

00:29:26.360 But meanwhile, the same guy that will go to Russia, that detains Americans on a regular 0.82

00:29:30.440 basis, and will happily put out grocery store propaganda on their behalf, and travel anywhere

00:29:35.320 in Russia that they would let him go.

00:29:37.040 And by the way, interview Putin, interview the president of Iran, the president of Iran

00:29:41.860 is actively trying to murder President Trump right now, and Tucker did an interview where

00:29:47.340 he was practically rubbing his leg and gazing adoringly like, like, like a lovesick 16-year-old 0.74

00:29:54.000 sucking soda straws with, with her crush at the soda fountain.

00:29:57.680 And don't forget, he buys houses in Qatar, right? 0.98

00:30:00.280 Let's not forget that one.

00:30:01.340 He has literally purchased a home in Qatar, and by the way, I get asked routinely, is

00:30:08.220 Tucker being paid millions of dollars from Qatar?

00:30:12.160 I don't know, I have no evidence of that.

00:30:14.500 I will tell you it would explain an awful lot, because if you play what Tucker said on TV

00:30:18.480 for years, and he's done an about-face on everything, money would certainly explain an awful lot.

00:30:24.300 I don't know why, I just know that he is attacking Israel and Jews every day, he is praising 1.00

00:30:30.160 Islamists, and he is attacking capitalism. 1.00

00:30:32.700 He's praised Mandami repeatedly, he's praised Maduro.

00:30:36.800 I mean, I mean, it is, it's a crazy dissent.

00:30:40.460 When he went to Israel, there were some Christians in Israel who said, come visit us, we'll show

00:30:44.700 you that Christians are protected and prospering in Israel, that the people who are persecuting

00:30:49.280 Christians are the Islamists who are persecuting Christians. 1.00

00:30:54.640 He's focused on, well, Bethlehem, the Christian population, is under assault. 0.81

00:30:59.280 Well, that's true, because the Palestinian Authority is in charge of Bethlehem, not

00:31:03.800 Israel.

00:31:04.900 Yeah.

00:31:05.480 He refused to meet with Christians there.

00:31:06.780 By the way, I just got back from Israel.

00:31:08.620 The number of people that are there on a pilgrimage as Christians is massive.

00:31:15.660 Of course.

00:31:16.360 And by the way, I want to be, I forgot to tell you this, I too, Senator, and I probably should

00:31:20.980 have put this out, seeing the video of Tucker Carlson Airport, I was detained as well when

00:31:25.160 I left.

00:31:25.860 I just can't believe you didn't come save me.

00:31:27.520 I'm a little disappointed.

00:31:28.880 I thought you had my back here, but I was detained in Israel because they checked my

00:31:32.740 passport and they held me for a second to the side.

00:31:35.380 So I just want to be clear, if Tucker Carlson was detained, I was detained as well.

00:31:40.540 Like, well, and here's the statement Tucker put out, quote, men who identified themselves

00:31:46.040 as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and

00:31:51.380 then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about.

00:31:54.660 Now, I got to say, this ridiculous claim that he put out was promptly refuted, A, by the

00:32:01.420 video of his interaction.

00:32:02.900 He's in the airport.

00:32:03.680 He's laughing.

00:32:04.280 He's taking pictures and selfies with people.

00:32:07.000 B, by a statement from the government of Israel saying this is totally false.

00:32:10.880 And C, by the U.S.

00:32:12.940 This embassy, but actually the best refutation to this is there is a fellow online, I don't

00:32:19.840 know him, but he's a comedian and he's a comedian named Ami Kozak who does this great

00:32:25.820 Tucker impression.

00:32:27.220 And it's hysterical.

00:32:28.520 If you're watching it on video, you really should watch it on video because he's actually,

00:32:31.700 his hair looks like Tucker and he does it.

00:32:33.080 If not, give a listen because this is, this is satire.

00:32:36.340 It's not real, but this is a comedian portraying Tucker being, quote, detained by Israeli airport.

00:32:44.320 Shalom.

00:32:44.920 Hi.

00:32:46.500 Okay.

00:32:47.020 You pack your own bags or somebody pack for you?

00:32:49.300 I don't even know what that means, actually.

00:32:51.900 I mean, I certainly, I packed some things.

00:32:53.620 I certainly packed a lot of things, like a lot.

00:32:55.720 And I probably overpacked.

00:32:57.580 I always tend to overpack.

00:32:59.160 I bring everything.

00:33:00.480 And I'm sure other people pack for me, too.

00:33:03.000 Well, we have to ask to make sure, you know, no one put their weapon or something you don't

00:33:06.300 know.

00:33:06.840 Well, I'm proud of owning guns.

00:33:09.180 I own lots of guns.

00:33:10.300 I'm not going to apologize for that, like at all.

00:33:12.060 I own guns.

00:33:13.060 You have one here?

00:33:13.780 And so I'm not going to apologize for that.

00:33:15.460 Okay, but did you pack it?

00:33:16.440 I'm not going to do it.

00:33:17.400 Okay, okay.

00:33:18.160 What do you do for work?

00:33:19.540 Oh, I'm a journalist.

00:33:20.680 I'm a journalist and a commentator.

00:33:22.200 I talk to people.

00:33:23.160 I have conversations with people.

00:33:25.140 Journalist.

00:33:25.500 Okay, do you ever lie?

00:33:26.520 Oh, all the time.

00:33:27.660 I lie every day.

00:33:28.400 I lie every day.

00:33:29.640 And I'll continue to do it.

00:33:31.200 I'm sure I'll continue to do that.

00:33:33.740 And I hate it.

00:33:35.300 I hate that I do that.

00:33:36.120 But I'm certain that I do do it.

00:33:37.620 You're lying right now about your intentions?

00:33:39.720 Oh, yeah.

00:33:42.020 And I'm very honest about that.

00:33:43.440 I'm very honest about that.

00:33:44.400 You're honest that you're lying.

00:33:45.740 Okay.

00:33:46.020 You with a major network?

00:33:47.160 No, we're independent.

00:33:48.580 Okay.

00:33:49.160 And who is funding you?

00:33:52.740 I'd rather not say.

00:33:54.600 That's not your business.

00:33:55.920 It's not your business at all.

00:33:56.840 It's a secret?

00:33:57.360 Actually, I don't have to disclose that.

00:33:58.960 Okay.

00:33:59.600 You traveled to the Middle East at all in the last six months?

00:34:02.060 I have.

00:34:02.680 Okay.

00:34:03.140 Yes.

00:34:03.580 Where do you go?

00:34:04.960 Which places do you travel?

00:34:06.840 Well...

00:34:07.440 And why do you go there?

00:34:10.160 No, let's go.

00:34:10.880 I went to places that were nice.

00:34:13.220 I just wanted to talk to people and see people and have conversations with people.

00:34:19.600 Okay.

00:34:20.040 Any of the people you talked to have any connections to radical terrorist organizations?

00:34:24.620 I mean...

00:34:25.780 Really?

00:34:27.500 I mean, last I checked, they were all political organizations.

00:34:30.120 They're what?

00:34:30.660 Any of those regimes were political organizations, last I checked.

00:34:35.440 Okay.

00:34:38.240 This funny to you?

00:34:39.660 Are you Jewish?

00:34:40.440 No, I'm not Jewish.

00:34:41.880 I certainly...

00:34:42.460 There's nothing wrong with being Jewish.

00:34:44.220 Some of my favorite people are Jewish.

00:34:45.480 Like, really, like, some of my very absolutely favorite people are Jewish.

00:34:49.320 Some of my least favorite people are Christian Zionists. 1.00

00:34:51.440 I hate them. 0.99

00:34:52.060 I'm appalled by them, actually. 0.98

00:34:53.380 Like, really, like, really appalled.

00:34:54.900 But I'm not going to apologize for who I am.

00:34:56.340 I'm a white person.

00:34:57.200 I'm a Christian.

00:34:57.840 I'm a man.

00:34:58.660 And I'm not going to apologize for that.

00:35:00.620 Period.

00:35:01.360 Okay, okay.

00:35:02.240 A couple more questions.

00:35:03.660 Where are you from?

00:35:04.460 Oh, I came from Maine.

00:35:05.440 What is Maine?

00:35:06.060 Yeah, I live across from my parents' graves.

00:35:07.580 Wow.

00:35:08.140 Okay, from Maine, what's the population?

00:35:11.720 I see what you did.

00:35:13.580 Why not?

00:35:15.680 And so...

00:35:16.560 So what brings you to Israel?

00:35:17.600 Well, I'm here to interview Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

00:35:19.800 You know Ambassador Mike Huckabee?

00:35:21.680 Very well, actually.

00:35:22.680 I know him a lot.

00:35:23.280 From where you know him?

00:35:24.140 And I also have no idea who he is, like, at all.

00:35:26.320 Like, I barely even know who that is.

00:35:27.960 I don't even know who he is.

00:35:29.140 And so I'm here to interview him.

00:35:30.420 So wait, you don't know him or you don't know him?

00:35:32.460 An Ilom Evin? 0.96

00:35:33.220 Okay, anyone give you a gift or something to take to Israel with you?

00:35:36.000 I mean, I got a house from Qatar.

00:35:38.220 Why you get that?

00:35:39.040 They're an ally.

00:35:39.720 Last I checked, they're an ally.

00:35:41.600 They're, like, one of our closest allies, actually.

00:35:43.520 Okay, we're going to need your passport, please.

00:35:45.340 Why do you need to see my passport?

00:35:46.700 Is it because I'm a Christian?

00:35:48.040 What's you saying?

00:35:49.060 Did you just spit at me?

00:35:50.520 Ma?

00:35:50.860 Did you just spit at me?

00:35:51.720 We need your passport.

00:35:53.600 Your passport, please.

00:35:54.820 Well, I'm certainly not going to give you my passport.

00:35:56.500 I would never do that.

00:35:57.420 Like, at all.

00:35:57.900 This is standard.

00:35:58.620 I'll take you to a supervisor.

00:36:01.480 They're detaining me.

00:36:02.420 We just need a passport.

00:36:03.380 Get off me. 0.85

00:36:03.860 This is just like the demon.

00:36:04.860 Ma?

00:36:05.140 This is just like the demon.

00:36:06.600 Oh, oh, oh, oh.

00:36:07.860 All right, why?

00:36:08.920 Hey, then, Mr. Zah.

00:36:10.040 Look, I'm not sure that's satire.

00:36:14.000 That might actually be real.

00:36:15.540 As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:36:20.620 Don't forget to download my podcast, and you can listen to my podcast every other day you're not listening to Verdict,

00:36:25.240 or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards.

00:36:27.660 I'd love to have you as a listener to, again, the Ben Ferguson podcast.

00:36:31.380 And we will see you back here on Monday morning.

00:36:33.780 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:36:37.300 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 21, 2026

Democrat Party HATES Law-Enforcement, Newsom gets behind Dyslexia & a Tale of Tucker Turbulence Week In Review

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript