Ted Cruz is back at CPAC, and he's got a special guest to talk about why he thinks Bernie Sanders and Fidel Castro are the same person. Ted Cruz is joined by Michael Knowles, the host of Verdict with Ted Cruz and host of the world's most popular podcast, Verdict.
00:01:09.780Twitter, right after the impeachment trial, which I will note, the Senate rightly acquitted the president of these ridiculous articles of impeachment.
00:01:19.940Right after the Senate acquittal, I saw someone on Twitter that said, as revenge, the Senate should immediately confirm a judge.
00:01:27.920I responded and said, nope, we're going to confirm five.
00:01:50.680Well, as a lot of y'all know, a month ago, we launched this podcast.
00:01:55.120Verdict with Ted Cruz launched it on the first day of the impeachment trial.
00:01:58.940The very first night, each night I went, jumped in a truck, headed down to the studio, and we would record at midnight, 1, 2 in the morning.
00:02:06.620Whenever it happened, we'd record that night.
00:02:09.020It went from zero, non-existent, to skyrocketing and becoming the number one ranked podcast in the world.
00:02:20.460We've had now to date over four and a half million downloads.
00:02:26.760And the way we're doing it, we're responding to breaking news.
00:02:31.220So Michael talked about us being roommates.
00:02:33.240The reason for that, this is the third verdict podcast that we have recorded in the last 24 hours.
00:02:38.700This is, I was not supposed to see the senator until today.
00:02:42.260I was flying into Washington, nice leisurely night.
00:02:45.100He calls, he says, no, Michael, I'm really pissed off about something right now.
00:02:49.180We're going to record a podcast tonight.
00:03:28.740And I have to brag for a moment about the senator because not only did he become the number one podcaster in the world, he also became the number one booking producer.
00:03:54.480The most fundamental political shift that has happened in the last decade is that the two parties have switched places.
00:04:01.680Everything you've been told about politics is wrong and is a lie.
00:04:07.100All of us grew up being told Republicans are the party of the rich and Democrats are the party of the working class.
00:04:14.960In the last decade, those two switched.
00:04:17.800Today, the Democrats are the party of the rich.
00:04:21.260Today, the Democrats are the party of Hollywood celebrities and Silicon Valley billionaires and Wall Street titans.
00:04:28.780They sip their lattes and they look down on working class Americans.
00:04:34.400And on the other hand, working men and women, the working men and women here, union members, blue collar union members used to form the heart of the Democratic Party.
00:04:45.000FDR Democrats who became Reagan Democrats.
00:07:42.880Listen, the message of the Democrats, if you're a single mom, if you're dependent on the government for welfare,
00:07:48.900if you're dependent on the government for food, their message is stay dependent.
00:07:53.040They don't want you getting out of that trap of dependency.
00:07:56.800And I'll tell you, look, I'm from Houston.
00:07:58.920Right now today in my hometown of Houston, there is a single mom who three years ago needed the federal government to help feed her family.
00:08:07.660The last three years, she's gotten a job.
00:10:56.620And we saw these forgotten men and women who really felt like Washington had left them behind, that it had become this redistributionist, coastal elite party of the left that forgot the middle of the country.
00:11:17.120What's interesting about Michigan on election night that's often overlooked is Michigan was called for Hillary Clinton by the Detroit Free Press on election night.
00:11:37.660And part of the reason, President Trump is our president.
00:11:40.400So, Ronna, let's talk as a practical matter.
00:11:43.260If you're a steel worker in Ohio, if you're an auto worker in Michigan, if you are one of the men and women who have formed the backbone of the middle class for a century in America, what does a radical Democratic agenda, a Green New Deal of Bernie Sanders, what does that mean for you?
00:12:02.860Well, let's just kill the car industry altogether.
00:12:07.800Let's take away your health care that you negotiated.
00:12:10.100That's what the Democrat Party means to you.
00:12:12.480And, by the way, all that hard work you're doing and all those taxes you're paying, you're going to go pay for a bunch of kids to get medieval history college degrees and be in college for six or seven years instead of putting that in your…
00:12:23.900Well, medieval history is helpful because Bernie Sanders might bring us to the dark.
00:12:58.720Like you said, the people who come off food stamps, that's so personal.
00:13:03.660You know, we talk about numbers a lot as a party.
00:13:05.720Think about what that means for our family, the dignity of a family, to find a working wage, to be able to afford things like groceries, college tuition, gas, to be able to set a new course for your family in that path.
00:13:51.220Now, you want to talk about making a real difference, which, by the way, the power brokers of the Democratic Party think that doesn't matter.
00:13:58.620Well, let me tell you, $6,000 a year in a single mom's pockets, in a working family's pockets, look, that's a car note.
00:14:10.120That's maybe summer camp for your son.
00:14:12.580That is the money to take a family vacation.
00:14:16.640Maybe you haven't taken a family vacation in five years, and that extra money gives you the ability to go to Disney World with your kids.
00:14:22.780That is what this fight is all about, and you look at where the two parties are going.
00:14:33.000We have, and, you know, Ronna mentioned trade.
00:14:36.080Both parties were afraid to take on China, and I will say President Trump has shown enormous courage taking on China, and it is opening up markets.
00:14:46.220I sat down this week with Texas cotton farmers who are so excited about opening up the Chinese market and being able to sell more cotton there.
00:14:54.460That is good for American farmers, ranchers, workers, manufacturers across the country.
00:15:29.220So I want to know, you know, a big aspect of the show, and something we love so much, it's why we love coming here, is speaking to the audience and hearing their questions.
00:15:37.000So in the few moments we have before we go, I want to know how the Democrats are going to take all that away from us.
00:15:53.660The question is, is the popular vote compact, you know, the states are going to just go with the popular vote and give away their electoral votes.
00:16:02.120Is the popular vote compact a violation of Article 1, Section 10?
00:17:08.680Let me just say, I have an intention to be the most litigious chair in history.
00:17:12.720And I think what Democrats have done systematically to take away our rights, to rig the election system, and this, to take away our votes, our electoral college votes, and have California and New York dictate who the next president of the United States is going to be, is something we have to fight for as the Republican Party.
00:17:32.700And do you know why the Democrats are doing this?
00:18:09.820And thank you, Mr. President, for paving the way.
00:18:12.200Well, and Michael, the RNC is one of the few plaintiffs that would clearly have standing to challenge this ridiculous national popular vote.
00:18:19.940So that, we may have made some news here today.
00:19:20.380You know, it's funny that they're against the Electoral College, but they're creating the same system in their nominating process where these superdelegates get to come in and take away the popular vote.
00:19:30.900And that's what they're trying to set up for Bernie.
00:19:33.160I don't know how they can do it without creating a civil war in their party, but, boy, isn't it fun to watch?