Verdict with Ted Cruz - Honoring and Remembering My Tia Sonia

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.840 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.660 And today is a really special episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:14.340 And Senator, I want you to take it from there,

00:00:16.120 but we're taking a little pause from politics

00:00:18.240 and talking about someone very near and dear to you.

00:00:21.300 Yeah, on Sunday, January 25th,

00:00:24.840 my aunt, my Tia Sonia, went to be with the Lord.

00:00:29.940 She and I were incredibly close.

00:00:31.920 My Tia Sonia was my father's younger sister.

00:00:36.480 My dad, as you know, fought in the Cuban Revolution.

00:00:39.460 He was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba by Batista's thugs.

00:00:43.940 My Tia Sonia was younger than he is,

00:00:46.460 and so she was there after the revolution succeeded.

00:00:50.100 She fought in the counter-revolution,

00:00:52.920 and she was imprisoned and tortured by Castro's thugs.

00:00:57.000 And she's someone who I grew up very close to.

00:01:00.920 I called her my Tia Loca, my crazy aunt.

00:01:03.800 She is fiery.

00:01:05.600 She loved liberty.

00:01:06.860 She loved America.

00:01:10.160 She has been ill for the last couple of months.

00:01:13.180 It was not a surprise when she finally went.

00:01:16.140 My cousin Bebe, who is my Tia Sonia's only daughter,

00:01:19.420 has been caring for her,

00:01:21.600 and she passed Sunday morning in Bebe's living room

00:01:27.300 with her family around her,

00:01:29.880 surrounded by family that loved her,

00:01:32.940 that was praying for her,

00:01:35.080 and she's gone to be with the Lord.

00:01:37.020 And so our family is grieving

00:01:39.100 because Tia Sonia was a larger-than-life personality.

00:01:41.820 She had an unbelievable heart.

00:01:45.240 She would help anyone.

00:01:48.320 She was extraordinary.

00:01:51.380 And she was someone who, before she fell ill,

00:01:55.620 we had my Tia Sonia as a guest on verdict.

00:01:58.960 I wanted her to come on verdict.

00:02:00.980 And tell her story.

00:02:02.060 Tell her story growing up in Cuba,

00:02:04.600 seeing the communist revolution,

00:02:07.320 seeing Fidel Castro rise to power,

00:02:09.440 and then fighting in the counter-revolution,

00:02:12.660 being in a Cuban jail,

00:02:13.900 being tortured in Cuba,

00:02:15.180 coming to America with nothing.

00:02:17.940 And so in honor of my Tia Loca,

00:02:20.900 whom I loved with all of my heart,

00:02:25.000 I want to give you the interview we did

00:02:27.280 with my Tia Sonia,

00:02:29.260 an extraordinary warrior for liberty.

00:02:32.740 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:02:35.040 We are joined, as ever, by the senator

00:02:36.920 and also by the senator's Tia Sonia.

00:02:40.100 My Spanish is not very good,

00:02:41.420 but I think that was about right.

00:02:43.380 Aunt Sonia.

00:02:43.840 That is correct.

00:02:44.600 Thank you.

00:02:45.460 This is, in a few days,

00:02:47.060 going to be the 58th anniversary

00:02:49.020 of your fleeing the communist regime in Cuba.

00:02:52.740 That is correct, sir.

00:02:53.600 And yet we've got the leader

00:02:55.500 of the Democratic Party nomination process

00:02:57.640 is praising the Fidel Castro regime.

00:03:00.300 I think we have the clip.

00:03:01.380 Very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba.

00:03:04.160 But, you know, it's unfair to simply say

00:03:06.440 everything is bad.

00:03:08.060 You know, when Fidel Castro came into office,

00:03:10.200 you know what he did?

00:03:11.100 He had a massive literacy program.

00:03:13.120 Is that a bad thing?

00:03:14.380 Listen, Bernie has spent his entire life,

00:03:16.640 his entire career,

00:03:18.200 praising communist dictators.

00:03:20.020 But this week,

00:03:21.340 his latest ode to Fidel Castro,

00:03:24.760 frankly, just pissed me off.

00:03:27.160 And this is not a joke.

00:03:29.760 This guy is the front runner

00:03:31.040 for the Democratic nomination to be president.

00:03:34.180 And he sings the praises

00:03:36.800 of Castro and Cuban communism.

00:03:40.620 My dad fled Cuba in 57.

00:03:42.740 My tia Sonia was still there.

00:03:44.360 She was a kid.

00:03:45.800 And so she saw the Cuban revolution firsthand

00:03:48.440 and she ended up fighting against Castro.

00:03:50.500 So tia, if you would,

00:03:52.160 I just want you,

00:03:54.180 first of all,

00:03:54.800 tell me what it was like to be in Cuba

00:03:56.560 when the revolution happened,

00:03:59.360 when Castro took over.

00:04:00.300 Actually, it was,

00:04:01.580 it was,

00:04:03.060 it was,

00:04:04.260 a lot of people were happy

00:04:06.080 because finally somebody was coming in

00:04:08.120 that was praising,

00:04:09.520 we're going to give you

00:04:10.500 a chance to change your hope.

00:04:13.100 We're going to change things around.

00:04:14.660 Everybody was going to have

00:04:15.820 whatever they want to.

00:04:17.400 The poor will never be poor.

00:04:19.020 The rich continue to have money.

00:04:21.340 And everybody will be the same.

00:04:23.460 In reality,

00:04:24.400 yes, everybody went the same,

00:04:26.540 but everybody was poor.

00:04:28.160 Everybody went down.

00:04:31.620 Everybody got paid the same amount of money.

00:04:34.280 There was no difference between the poor and the rich.

00:04:37.280 Everybody lost everything they had.

00:04:38.240 It's not that everyone was rich.

00:04:39.660 Everyone was poor and suffering and miserable.

00:04:42.120 And everybody was miserable.

00:04:43.980 Everybody was miserable.

00:04:45.440 What Bernie is saying is a bunch of garbage.

00:04:48.740 So you're there.

00:04:50.100 You're,

00:04:50.360 you're a teenager.

00:04:51.380 How old were you?

00:04:52.520 Probably 16,

00:04:54.040 15.

00:04:54.980 Okay.

00:04:55.220 So you're seeing this.

00:04:56.440 You're a teenage girl.

00:04:57.620 Right.

00:04:58.080 You see what's happening.

00:04:59.180 You see Castro begin executing people.

00:05:03.580 Yeah.

00:05:04.100 Persecuting people.

00:05:05.180 Nobody could talk.

00:05:06.100 Nobody could say anything.

00:05:07.640 They actually,

00:05:08.600 he trained the people

00:05:10.320 to even be against the family.

00:05:12.680 The sons against the father.

00:05:14.440 The daughters against the family.

00:05:15.760 So how,

00:05:16.320 how did he do that?

00:05:17.400 By indoctrinating these people,

00:05:19.600 by telling,

00:05:20.400 we're going to give you this and that and the other,

00:05:22.900 and it's all going to be free,

00:05:24.460 but you got to tell us what's going on in your house.

00:05:26.800 Who talked against the government?

00:05:28.540 So everything was persecuting one another,

00:05:31.520 especially the older people

00:05:33.040 that actually,

00:05:34.260 we lived a good life before in Cuba.

00:05:36.560 It was beautiful.

00:05:37.740 What do people face

00:05:38.800 in terms of their friends and neighbors and families

00:05:42.000 spying on them in the government?

00:05:43.220 You have people in each block.

00:05:46.080 There is somebody that is responsible

00:05:47.700 to keep an eye on you,

00:05:49.480 in your house.

00:05:51.020 So there's a,

00:05:51.880 there's a tattletale.

00:05:53.480 There's a spy on every block.

00:05:54.520 A spy on every block.

00:05:55.640 And they tell you,

00:05:56.380 you keep an eye on every neighbor of this block.

00:06:00.100 And what sort of things are they watching for?

00:06:01.720 They're watching for everything.

00:06:02.880 If you bring anything,

00:06:04.080 maybe I'm going from United States to Cuba

00:06:08.100 and there's somebody coming in.

00:06:10.880 So we need to watch their house

00:06:12.720 in case they go out

00:06:14.220 and sell in the black market

00:06:15.560 or they do something

00:06:16.500 with what you brought in.

00:06:18.340 So there's somebody

00:06:19.100 who's always keeping an eye on you

00:06:20.680 and try to report you.

00:06:22.980 A good,

00:06:23.280 a good thing that happened to,

00:06:24.680 something that happened to me

00:06:25.840 that is very interesting.

00:06:27.500 One of the trips

00:06:28.360 that I went back to Cuba,

00:06:29.420 I wanted to take the kids,

00:06:31.300 some of the kids from there

00:06:32.460 to go fishing.

00:06:33.440 I love fishing.

00:06:34.200 So I went in

00:06:35.860 and tried to rent a boat

00:06:37.380 and they told me,

00:06:38.700 we can't.

00:06:39.660 We don't rent boats

00:06:40.600 to Cuban people.

00:06:42.200 And I said,

00:06:43.000 you may leave.

00:06:43.860 And I said,

00:06:44.280 look,

00:06:44.940 I have a passport.

00:06:46.020 I have a flight

00:06:46.700 on Friday.

00:06:47.700 I already left.

00:06:49.040 So I'm coming in

00:06:49.980 to take my family

00:06:51.140 on a boat ride.

00:06:52.500 We can't give it to you.

00:06:53.900 We can't rent you a boat.

00:06:56.060 You're Cuban.

00:06:57.980 So.

00:06:58.700 Because they're so afraid

00:06:59.600 they know the people.

00:07:00.180 If you go there,

00:07:00.980 you can rent a boat.

00:07:01.540 You can rent a boat.

00:07:02.540 Right.

00:07:02.900 She can't rent a boat 1.00

00:07:04.140 because she's Cuban. 1.00

00:07:05.240 Even though she's

00:07:05.840 an American citizen now.

00:07:07.060 Yes.

00:07:07.840 You're Cuban.

00:07:09.200 So you can't do it.

00:07:10.600 There was a boat

00:07:11.420 in the river

00:07:12.120 that my niece wanted to go in.

00:07:14.420 And when we get in

00:07:17.700 to ride the boat

00:07:18.620 with the rest of the people,

00:07:19.720 they said,

00:07:19.960 you all cannot get in.

00:07:21.620 You all are Cuban. 0.99

00:07:22.680 And I said,

00:07:23.060 but we're paying

00:07:23.680 with the same money

00:07:24.440 that they're paying.

00:07:25.620 Well, I'm sorry.

00:07:27.000 You can't come in.

00:07:28.080 You're not from another country.

00:07:30.020 You're Cuban.

00:07:31.020 And Cuban people

00:07:31.880 are not allowed.

00:07:32.800 They're not allowed to leave.

00:07:33.800 No.

00:07:34.040 Because they know

00:07:34.620 if they were allowed to leave,

00:07:35.960 they'd all leave.

00:07:37.580 The Ferguson family

00:07:38.660 got bigger over the holidays

00:07:40.000 with a new puppy.

00:07:41.320 And I can tell you

00:07:42.200 having one dog

00:07:43.200 that is over a decade old

00:07:45.160 and a new dog

00:07:46.440 that's just months old,

00:07:47.880 there's one thing

00:07:48.920 they both have in common.

00:07:50.300 I want them to live

00:07:51.520 a great quality life.

00:07:53.400 And that is exactly

00:07:54.560 why I give them

00:07:55.420 Rough Greens.

00:07:56.280 Now, I've been telling you

00:07:57.480 about my older dog

00:07:59.140 and some of the symptoms

00:08:00.600 that he was having.

00:08:01.740 Slowing down

00:08:02.560 and itching

00:08:03.200 and having bad breath,

00:08:04.600 losing interest

00:08:05.540 in playtime.

00:08:06.900 That is just part

00:08:08.300 of the aging process,

00:08:09.300 but it doesn't have to be.

00:08:11.060 And after just a few weeks

00:08:12.260 of Rough Greens,

00:08:13.140 we start to see

00:08:14.180 a real difference.

00:08:15.300 The stuff is truly amazing.

00:08:17.620 And if you have a dog

00:08:18.760 you love,

00:08:19.440 you've got to try

00:08:20.780 Rough Greens

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00:08:23.140 It not only supports

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00:08:28.340 including essential vitamins,

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00:08:34.540 The ingredients work together

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00:08:42.280 And you can witness

00:08:42.980 it happen over weeks.

00:08:44.480 So if you love your dog

00:08:46.740 and you are ready

00:08:48.080 to get your dog back

00:08:49.260 to the way maybe

00:08:50.000 he used to be

00:08:50.820 and was more playful,

00:08:52.160 then check out

00:08:53.480 Rough Greens.

00:08:54.440 It's so easy,

00:08:55.660 you just put it on top

00:08:56.940 of your traditional dog food

00:08:58.260 and that is it

00:08:59.640 and dogs absolutely love it.

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00:09:34.140 Sonia, how quickly after,

00:09:36.300 as you say,

00:09:37.060 you know,

00:09:37.340 people liked Castro

00:09:39.060 initially.

00:09:40.540 He was promising them

00:09:42.080 the world.

00:09:43.160 How quickly did it turn?

00:09:44.820 I mean,

00:09:44.980 how quickly did it turn?

00:09:45.940 It turned right away.

00:09:47.180 It turned right away.

00:09:48.140 He immediately starts saying

00:09:49.700 the policies that he wanted to do.

00:09:52.420 He was going to take things

00:09:53.420 away from the rich.

00:09:54.880 He was going to take things

00:09:56.100 away from the people

00:09:57.080 to give to others.

00:09:58.440 He was to actually

00:09:59.700 take money from you

00:10:02.160 and give it to the poor.

00:10:03.340 So on the other side,

00:10:04.360 I make my money.

00:10:05.720 I work for what I have.

00:10:06.940 My father worked hard

00:10:09.140 to be where he was.

00:10:10.900 My mother was a great

00:10:12.020 school teacher.

00:10:13.740 She was really,

00:10:14.760 was proud of what she was doing.

00:10:17.200 My mother itself was told

00:10:18.780 that she had to teach

00:10:20.600 at the school

00:10:21.240 a different kind of curriculum.

00:10:23.500 She was told she needed to teach

00:10:24.980 about the revolution,

00:10:26.640 Castro, the regime,

00:10:27.960 the things that needed to happen.

00:10:29.680 My mother had to actually 1.00

00:10:31.780 pretend that she was losing

00:10:33.700 her mind and she was

00:10:35.420 missing immediately.

00:10:37.340 So let me underscore this story.

00:10:40.060 I grew up hearing this story

00:10:41.720 as a kid.

00:10:42.340 I mean, I would sit

00:10:43.240 with my cousin, Bebe,

00:10:44.720 who's Sonia's daughter.

00:10:46.380 The two of us would sit

00:10:47.420 literally on the floor

00:10:49.240 in the living room

00:10:49.800 and listen to my dad

00:10:50.920 and my tia Sonia

00:10:51.580 tell us stories

00:10:52.480 about the revolution

00:10:53.320 and my abuelo and abuela,

00:10:54.740 their parents were there also.

00:10:57.140 So my grandmother,

00:10:58.440 my abuela,

00:10:59.380 she's a sixth grade teacher.

00:11:00.700 Castro takes over

00:11:01.700 and she's ordered,

00:11:03.640 you must teach communism

00:11:04.880 to the kids.

00:11:05.580 You must indoctrinate.

00:11:06.820 You must brainwash the kids. 0.98

00:11:08.740 And my grandmother said

00:11:09.840 she wasn't going to do it.

00:11:11.000 And so it's funny.

00:11:13.020 My tia Sonia mentioned

00:11:13.740 something just very mild.

00:11:15.840 But my grandmother

00:11:16.860 pretended she was insane.

00:11:19.000 In the classroom,

00:11:20.180 she began literally

00:11:20.880 foaming at the mouth

00:11:22.040 and pretending she was insane.

00:11:23.600 Why?

00:11:23.960 Because she couldn't quit.

00:11:25.700 In the communist dictatorship,

00:11:27.180 she wasn't allowed to quit. 0.95

00:11:28.380 And she made the decision

00:11:30.040 she would rather have the stigma,

00:11:32.860 have the shame

00:11:33.740 of people thinking

00:11:34.640 she was a crazy person 1.00

00:11:35.840 than be a part

00:11:37.980 of indoctrinating these kids.

00:11:39.440 That is true.

00:11:40.100 And it was very painful

00:11:41.240 because my mother

00:11:42.140 was a great teacher.

00:11:43.480 It was loved by many people.

00:11:45.620 But she had to play crazy

00:11:47.000 in order to get out

00:11:48.680 of that situation.

00:11:49.280 But what I want to know

00:11:50.140 is how in Cuba,

00:11:51.600 the public opinion

00:11:53.140 changes very quickly.

00:11:54.240 People see what a monster Castro is

00:11:56.020 and they start to hate his guts.

00:11:57.400 How is it that in the United States,

00:12:00.500 now so many years on,

00:12:02.540 58 years on now since you left,

00:12:05.500 you have a presidential candidate,

00:12:07.840 you got a U.S. senator

00:12:08.740 who's still singing

00:12:10.200 the praises of this guy.

00:12:11.600 What did he miss?

00:12:13.040 He had not been

00:12:14.340 with the Cuban people.

00:12:16.020 He only,

00:12:16.580 if you go there as a Cuban,

00:12:19.000 you go and see somebody,

00:12:20.400 a relative,

00:12:20.920 you're going to see

00:12:21.540 the misery that they live in.

00:12:23.580 They don't know

00:12:24.160 what to put on the table

00:12:25.300 to serve their kids.

00:12:26.340 They don't know how to get,

00:12:27.460 they're going to get the food

00:12:28.480 that they're going to eat tomorrow.

00:12:30.380 If you're going as somebody

00:12:33.040 from another country

00:12:34.540 or as a tourist,

00:12:35.720 you're taking to,

00:12:36.940 you actually become

00:12:37.980 prisoner of the government.

00:12:39.660 They take you

00:12:40.420 where they want you to go.

00:12:42.380 They showed you

00:12:43.220 the model school.

00:12:44.320 They showed you

00:12:44.860 the best hospitals.

00:12:46.280 They showed you

00:12:47.140 the best restaurants.

00:12:49.020 In 1989,

00:12:49.980 Sanders stated

00:12:50.540 after visiting Cuba,

00:12:51.560 quote,

00:12:52.440 I did not see

00:12:53.540 a hungry child.

00:12:54.480 I did not see

00:12:55.720 any homeless people.

00:12:57.400 Bernie said

00:12:58.040 the Cuban people,

00:12:59.300 quote,

00:12:59.820 had an almost

00:13:00.620 religious affection

00:13:02.080 for Castro.

00:13:03.120 That is not true.

00:13:05.000 He is lying.

00:13:06.200 He's lying to the people

00:13:07.280 of this country.

00:13:08.360 He is playing on the mind

00:13:09.680 of the younger generation here.

00:13:12.220 He was either

00:13:13.180 himself complicit

00:13:15.540 in the lie

00:13:16.200 or he was naive enough

00:13:18.300 or ideological enough

00:13:19.720 to let the Castro regime 0.89

00:13:21.640 lie to him

00:13:22.480 and say,

00:13:22.960 look at this,

00:13:23.620 this paradise.

00:13:25.080 They didn't take

00:13:25.900 into what the Cuban people were.

00:13:27.700 Cuban people

00:13:28.320 are starving to death.

00:13:30.260 Cuban people

00:13:30.820 don't have any money

00:13:31.740 to buy anything.

00:13:32.800 So let me take you

00:13:33.860 back to 59,

00:13:36.040 back to 60.

00:13:37.220 The revolution succeeded.

00:13:39.700 You begin fighting

00:13:41.160 against Castro.

00:13:43.360 What happened to you

00:13:44.360 as a result?

00:13:44.920 What happened

00:13:46.200 when you started fighting?

00:13:47.100 Well, I was constantly

00:13:47.980 persecuted.

00:13:48.780 People was looking

00:13:51.960 for me everywhere.

00:13:53.240 They want to take me

00:13:54.520 to prison.

00:13:55.200 They picked me up

00:13:55.900 several times.

00:13:57.160 So you were pretty clearly

00:13:58.600 fighting against the regime.

00:14:00.280 Totally against Castro.

00:14:01.420 Yes, yes.

00:14:02.480 So this is after Castro

00:14:03.560 has taken over.

00:14:04.240 So he's the dictator.

00:14:05.520 So what,

00:14:06.280 like when they picked you up,

00:14:07.360 what happened?

00:14:08.200 What does that mean?

00:14:09.000 Well, they put you

00:14:10.840 in a room

00:14:12.220 and there was people

00:14:13.240 sitting on the floor

00:14:14.220 and everybody's,

00:14:15.640 you know,

00:14:16.420 that's where you were

00:14:17.460 with a whole bunch

00:14:18.180 of people in the floor

00:14:19.160 and they keep you there

00:14:20.560 for two or three days.

00:14:21.620 My parents did not know

00:14:22.880 where I was.

00:14:24.200 My mother did not know.

00:14:25.640 So she was going crazy

00:14:26.740 trying to find me.

00:14:28.380 My friends,

00:14:29.780 friends that I have,

00:14:31.480 could not even come

00:14:32.420 and find out

00:14:33.320 with my parents

00:14:34.140 where was I

00:14:35.160 or what was wrong with me.

00:14:36.780 They were afraid

00:14:37.620 because everybody

00:14:38.400 was persecuted.

00:14:39.340 So it was very difficult

00:14:42.420 to leave

00:14:43.220 on the Castro regime.

00:14:45.820 When you left Cuba,

00:14:47.200 it was 62 you left?

00:14:48.680 Right.

00:14:49.100 You've been back

00:14:49.660 a bunch of times.

00:14:50.440 Right, yes.

00:14:51.620 What have,

00:14:52.300 so when you come back,

00:14:53.840 you usually bring

00:14:55.140 a duffel bag

00:14:56.460 with medicine.

00:14:57.500 I bring medicine,

00:14:58.240 I bring food,

00:14:59.420 clothes,

00:15:00.420 sheets.

00:15:01.600 Just for relatives,

00:15:02.680 just for friends.

00:15:03.580 Friends,

00:15:04.080 people that need.

00:15:04.900 So they can't get

00:15:05.780 anything there?

00:15:06.900 Nothing, nothing.

00:15:08.260 She leaves a suitcase,

00:15:09.060 she leaves.

00:15:09.640 Every bit of clothes

00:15:10.460 she bought,

00:15:11.360 she leaves her underwear

00:15:12.700 and bra.

00:15:13.460 Everything.

00:15:13.940 Because nobody has

00:15:14.920 underwear there

00:15:15.880 because there's

00:15:16.680 so much poverty.

00:15:18.220 You'll wear like

00:15:18.960 sweatpants,

00:15:19.540 a t-shirt,

00:15:20.060 and flip-flops.

00:15:20.320 That's it.

00:15:20.720 That's what she wears 1.00

00:15:21.720 on the plane coming back.

00:15:23.620 Right, that is correct.

00:15:24.780 A lot of people

00:15:25.300 don't understand

00:15:26.060 what is the difference

00:15:27.300 between socialism

00:15:28.040 and communism.

00:15:28.400 That is correct.

00:15:29.540 Socialism is simply

00:15:30.540 the economic system

00:15:31.840 of communism.

00:15:33.000 Socialism is

00:15:33.980 government ownership

00:15:34.860 of the means

00:15:35.540 of production

00:15:36.120 or distribution.

00:15:37.340 Cuba in the 1950s,

00:15:38.680 was the world's

00:15:39.640 number one producer

00:15:40.400 of sugar.

00:15:41.160 Yeah.

00:15:41.680 It had problems.

00:15:42.640 Look, Batista

00:15:43.140 was a corrupt dictator

00:15:44.320 and he was a bastard. 0.98

00:15:45.420 My father,

00:15:46.280 to this day,

00:15:47.200 doesn't have his front teeth

00:15:48.340 because Batista's police

00:15:50.120 kicked them in.

00:15:51.420 His guards,

00:15:52.140 his army officers

00:15:53.260 kicked them in.

00:15:54.080 But what about

00:15:54.940 the universal health care?

00:15:56.100 I mean,

00:15:56.260 we're told by a lot

00:15:57.280 of people in the United States,

00:15:58.400 a lot of left-wingers,

00:15:59.600 they say,

00:16:00.040 Cuba has some of the best

00:16:01.480 health care in the world

00:16:02.160 and everybody's covered.

00:16:03.180 I can personally tell you

00:16:04.660 that I went to the doctor

00:16:05.720 there because I have

00:16:07.000 mosquito bites

00:16:08.360 that it got into infection

00:16:09.640 and they put a shot

00:16:12.120 on me in front

00:16:13.280 of 60 other people

00:16:14.960 that were there

00:16:15.680 waiting for,

00:16:16.840 for, to being seen

00:16:17.680 by a doctor.

00:16:18.740 There's no transportation,

00:16:20.260 there's no gas,

00:16:21.680 so you can't move.

00:16:23.000 Doctors come to your house

00:16:24.180 in a bicycle

00:16:24.840 and they're hungry.

00:16:27.000 They're hungry.

00:16:27.980 When they get there,

00:16:28.720 they come to the house

00:16:29.540 to see.

00:16:30.400 Matter of fact,

00:16:30.740 I was in a house visiting

00:16:31.980 and they were trying

00:16:33.840 to see the little girl.

00:16:34.840 He came in a bicycle

00:16:35.780 and I bought some things

00:16:37.980 that there was somebody

00:16:39.000 in the street selling

00:16:40.120 and he said,

00:16:41.140 can I have one?

00:16:42.140 Probably the most visible sign

00:16:45.000 that Cuba hasn't changed 1.00

00:16:46.500 or hasn't progressed

00:16:47.420 is they have those old cars,

00:16:48.860 right?

00:16:49.380 Yes.

00:16:49.760 And, you know,

00:16:50.120 people like to think

00:16:50.980 that that's sort of quaint

00:16:52.100 and cute

00:16:52.620 that they have cars

00:16:53.520 from the 1950s.

00:16:54.900 The reason they have cars

00:16:55.900 from the 1950s

00:16:56.740 is they can't get anything else.

00:16:59.040 Canadian women

00:16:59.800 are looking for more,

00:17:01.140 more out of themselves,

00:17:02.180 their businesses,

00:17:03.120 their elected leaders

00:17:03.900 and the world around them.

00:17:05.300 And that's why we're thrilled

00:17:06.260 to introduce

00:17:06.920 the Honest Talk podcast.

00:17:08.960 I'm Jennifer Stewart

00:17:09.960 and I'm Catherine Clark.

00:17:11.460 And in this podcast,

00:17:12.600 we interview Canada's

00:17:13.560 most inspiring women,

00:17:15.060 entrepreneurs,

00:17:15.900 artists,

00:17:16.580 athletes,

00:17:17.180 politicians

00:17:17.600 and newsmakers

00:17:18.500 all at different stages

00:17:19.800 of their journey.

00:17:20.960 So if you're looking

00:17:21.960 to connect,

00:17:22.760 then we hope you'll join us.

00:17:24.180 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast

00:17:25.560 on iHeart Radio

00:17:26.500 or wherever you listen

00:17:27.520 to your podcasts.

00:17:29.800 You know,

00:17:30.700 the scary thing

00:17:31.480 about all of this

00:17:32.280 is you've got

00:17:33.260 the experience of it,

00:17:34.780 58 years of experience

00:17:36.160 since you left Cuba.

00:17:37.980 There are various studies

00:17:39.200 that have come out

00:17:39.820 that show that

00:17:40.540 even the majority

00:17:41.660 of young Americans,

00:17:42.960 millennials and Gen Z

00:17:43.900 now embrace socialism

00:17:46.240 and prefer it to capitalism.

00:17:47.660 Now, the bright side,

00:17:48.480 I will say,

00:17:48.920 the silver lining

00:17:49.520 is that a much smaller percentage

00:17:51.500 can actually define socialism.

00:17:53.260 So there would seem

00:17:54.200 to be a problem there.

00:17:55.140 But beyond just ignorance,

00:17:57.380 beyond just not knowing

00:17:58.260 what it is,

00:17:58.780 is what is drawing

00:18:00.640 young Americans

00:18:01.500 to this evil,

00:18:03.280 evil ideology?

00:18:04.620 It's the work

00:18:05.380 that they have

00:18:06.440 given out,

00:18:07.160 the change.

00:18:08.480 They want to see

00:18:09.480 something different.

00:18:10.600 They want to try

00:18:11.340 something new.

00:18:12.840 It doesn't work, guys.

00:18:14.960 It does not work.

00:18:17.180 All of this ambition

00:18:19.000 and giving it to me,

00:18:21.020 there's nothing given to you.

00:18:22.500 You need to work

00:18:23.480 and try to achieve

00:18:24.800 your dream

00:18:25.400 by hard work

00:18:26.540 and by doing

00:18:28.140 what you want

00:18:28.900 to get ahead.

00:18:30.520 I mean,

00:18:31.080 I've noticed this

00:18:31.960 with your colleague,

00:18:33.540 Senator Sanders.

00:18:34.400 You know,

00:18:34.580 I mean,

00:18:34.740 he's been talking

00:18:35.280 about this for 50 years

00:18:36.700 and no one listened.

00:18:37.860 But now only,

00:18:39.520 you know,

00:18:39.920 now that he's in his mid-70s,

00:18:41.440 it's catching on.

00:18:43.680 And I even think

00:18:45.500 of this absent Bernie Sanders.

00:18:47.720 Forget about him

00:18:48.340 for a second.

00:18:49.960 It took a long time.

00:18:51.340 People knew

00:18:52.160 that communism,

00:18:53.140 socialism were terrible

00:18:54.060 for so long.

00:18:55.020 And now they don't know that.

00:18:57.420 Well,

00:18:57.780 and too often

00:18:59.540 they're not taught

00:19:00.120 in schools what happened.

00:19:01.720 You know,

00:19:02.780 how many Bernie supporters

00:19:04.980 know that the Soviet Union

00:19:07.180 killed 20 million people

00:19:09.560 and China killed 0.97

00:19:10.500 77 million people?

00:19:12.320 They don't know that.

00:19:13.260 No.

00:19:13.640 And so when Bernie defends it,

00:19:15.980 it seems,

00:19:17.420 look,

00:19:17.760 and I have to admit,

00:19:18.580 I remember in college,

00:19:20.380 a guy who lived

00:19:21.260 down the hall from me

00:19:22.100 had a poster on the wall

00:19:23.360 of Che Guevara.

00:19:24.680 Yeah.

00:19:25.440 And I went in,

00:19:26.440 I said,

00:19:26.680 hey,

00:19:26.820 that's really cool.

00:19:27.940 That's all,

00:19:28.220 you know,

00:19:28.360 Che Guevara was a guerrilla

00:19:29.380 fought with Fidel Castro

00:19:30.420 in Cuba.

00:19:30.980 And I said,

00:19:31.480 hey,

00:19:31.580 that's really cool.

00:19:32.420 That's awesome.

00:19:33.500 Have you thought of maybe

00:19:34.440 putting a poster

00:19:35.620 of Hitler next to you?

00:19:36.980 And maybe Stalin

00:19:38.440 and Mao?

00:19:39.040 Like if you're going

00:19:39.620 to celebrate people

00:19:40.640 that torture

00:19:41.380 and murder,

00:19:42.740 actually,

00:19:43.200 Che was amateur.

00:19:44.620 He was weak.

00:19:45.420 He was low

00:19:45.980 on the totem pole.

00:19:46.700 But,

00:19:46.960 you know,

00:19:47.140 he was good looking.

00:19:48.020 He had stubble.

00:19:49.440 And he was,

00:19:49.900 you know,

00:19:50.720 it,

00:19:51.580 these villains

00:19:53.900 have been glamorized.

00:19:55.480 Yeah.

00:19:56.220 And it's,

00:19:57.460 it's dangerous.

00:19:58.240 You know,

00:19:58.480 we've talked a lot

00:19:59.460 about the political

00:20:00.240 and the economic

00:20:00.920 side of things,

00:20:01.800 how the government

00:20:02.340 takes all your stuff

00:20:03.300 and then they take

00:20:03.960 power away from you. 0.72

00:20:05.740 You're both religious.

00:20:07.300 I notice,

00:20:08.120 Sonia,

00:20:08.620 you have a cross

00:20:09.340 that you're wearing.

00:20:10.520 Obviously,

00:20:11.160 Senator Cruz.

00:20:11.780 One of the big

00:20:14.780 aspects of communism

00:20:16.020 as it's always

00:20:16.580 been practiced

00:20:17.140 is the atheism

00:20:18.500 of it all.

00:20:19.140 And I wonder

00:20:19.760 if there's a relation

00:20:20.600 here that as religiosity

00:20:21.900 in America has declined,

00:20:23.240 as young people

00:20:24.180 are raised more or less

00:20:25.020 without a religion, 0.84

00:20:26.080 if maybe that's

00:20:27.020 playing some role

00:20:28.120 in why communism

00:20:29.340 is catching on.

00:20:30.200 You know,

00:20:30.340 one of the great men

00:20:30.940 of the 20th century

00:20:32.040 to defeat communism

00:20:32.900 was the Pope,

00:20:34.600 was Pope John Paul II.

00:20:35.500 Well,

00:20:36.220 and Pope John Paul II

00:20:37.760 played a profound role

00:20:39.200 of going to Poland

00:20:40.720 and promising

00:20:43.240 that Poland 0.95

00:20:43.820 would be free

00:20:44.500 and speaking up.

00:20:45.780 And it was truly,

00:20:46.800 I think,

00:20:47.000 divine providence

00:20:48.340 that you had the Pope.

00:20:48.580 Literature.

00:20:48.900 They said,

00:20:49.220 we want God.

00:20:50.180 And Reagan

00:20:51.220 and Margaret Thatcher

00:20:52.760 all at the same time.

00:20:54.320 And I think

00:20:54.780 those three people,

00:20:56.400 more than any human beings

00:20:57.700 on earth,

00:20:58.280 defeated the Soviet Union

00:20:59.620 and won the Cold War.

00:21:01.200 Mind you,

00:21:02.160 Bernie was rooting

00:21:02.840 for the Soviet Union

00:21:03.700 during all of this.

00:21:04.520 He's not even hiding

00:21:07.600 it that much.

00:21:08.280 Bernie honeymooned

00:21:10.400 in the Soviet Union.

00:21:12.240 No.

00:21:13.380 Michael,

00:21:13.720 where'd you honeymoon?

00:21:15.020 I honeymooned

00:21:15.880 in Hawaii, USA.

00:21:17.220 Okay,

00:21:17.420 that's where,

00:21:17.940 like,

00:21:18.260 normal people,

00:21:19.360 you go to the beach,

00:21:20.400 you go to,

00:21:21.000 Heidi and I

00:21:21.460 would say Thomas,

00:21:22.160 it was beautiful.

00:21:23.080 We were walking

00:21:23.780 along the beach,

00:21:24.380 we had fun.

00:21:25.040 What kind of

00:21:26.620 crazy ideologue

00:21:28.780 says,

00:21:29.940 sweetheart,

00:21:30.380 I love you so much,

00:21:31.600 let's do a honeymoon

00:21:32.580 in the Soviet Union.

00:21:33.920 You know,

00:21:34.100 that clip,

00:21:34.520 he played.

00:21:35.220 He says he's no friend

00:21:36.240 of Putin.

00:21:37.520 There's only one person

00:21:38.540 I know on the national stage

00:21:39.980 that honeymooned

00:21:40.960 in the Soviet Union.

00:21:42.140 You know,

00:21:42.380 the Soviet Union

00:21:43.100 killed over 20 million people.

00:21:47.140 This is not

00:21:47.960 cute little faculty leftists.

00:21:50.400 If Bernie was a professor

00:21:51.660 at some liberal arts college

00:21:53.040 out in the frozen tundra,

00:21:54.900 who cares?

00:21:55.500 He's just corrupting

00:21:56.260 a few young minds.

00:21:57.500 This is someone

00:21:58.240 who wants to be

00:21:58.860 president of the United States

00:22:00.140 and he kisses up to

00:22:01.840 and apologizes

00:22:02.880 for totalitarian dictators.

00:22:05.800 And you know

00:22:06.600 who he doesn't praise?

00:22:08.200 Americans.

00:22:09.100 Right.

00:22:09.960 Like,

00:22:10.520 when have you ever

00:22:11.240 heard him speak

00:22:12.140 as positively

00:22:12.980 about Abraham Lincoln

00:22:14.500 as he does

00:22:15.780 about Castro

00:22:16.580 and Ortega

00:22:17.280 and Mao

00:22:18.200 and Stalin?

00:22:19.060 Listen,

00:22:19.420 communism also

00:22:20.580 hates God.

00:22:22.840 Yeah.

00:22:23.080 If you look at

00:22:23.840 these communist regimes,

00:22:25.220 they persecute faith.

00:22:27.700 They persecute,

00:22:28.720 they prevent people

00:22:29.800 from,

00:22:30.580 the beauty of

00:22:31.640 the First Amendment

00:22:33.360 is it gives everyone

00:22:34.480 the right to choose

00:22:35.480 how to worship

00:22:36.340 what your faith will be.

00:22:38.000 You know,

00:22:38.240 Bernie,

00:22:38.580 when he praised China

00:22:39.600 in the debate this week,

00:22:41.760 somehow,

00:22:42.420 when Bernie talked about

00:22:43.220 its great poverty eradication,

00:22:44.660 you don't have to go back

00:22:45.380 to Mao to find

00:22:46.360 the torture and murder.

00:22:47.920 Right now,

00:22:48.660 today,

00:22:49.040 there are one million Uyghurs.

00:22:51.300 Yeah.

00:22:51.460 A religious and ethnic minority,

00:22:54.240 one million

00:22:55.500 in concentration camps

00:22:57.300 in China today.

00:22:59.640 How,

00:23:00.280 why

00:23:01.180 is Bernie

00:23:03.100 and why are leftists

00:23:04.180 so willing to praise

00:23:05.680 and be proud of

00:23:07.100 regimes

00:23:07.860 that are torturing

00:23:09.000 and murdering people?

00:23:10.220 Do you think

00:23:11.000 this is

00:23:12.460 part of why

00:23:13.520 they make their appeal

00:23:14.920 successfully, though?

00:23:15.780 Because

00:23:15.980 the thing I notice

00:23:17.300 so much

00:23:17.960 about the socialists

00:23:19.520 in America today

00:23:20.280 is they're all

00:23:21.060 making these

00:23:21.500 very moral arguments.

00:23:22.900 It's about human rights.

00:23:23.900 It's about giving people

00:23:24.600 their right to health care

00:23:25.620 and their right

00:23:26.400 to have a lot of money.

00:23:27.360 Here's a story

00:23:28.080 my grandmother told me.

00:23:30.220 In the schools,

00:23:31.960 you would have

00:23:32.920 Cuban soldiers come in,

00:23:35.060 and this is kindergarten,

00:23:36.180 first grade.

00:23:36.840 Yeah.

00:23:37.480 And they'd tell the children,

00:23:39.800 they'd say,

00:23:40.440 close your eyes

00:23:41.520 and pray to Jesus

00:23:43.620 for a piece of candy.

00:23:46.340 And the kids would all do it,

00:23:47.780 and they'd open their eyes,

00:23:48.620 and there'd be no candy.

00:23:50.480 And then the soldiers

00:23:51.540 would say,

00:23:52.300 close your eyes

00:23:53.160 and pray to Fidel Castro

00:23:55.520 for a piece of candy.

00:23:57.080 You're kidding me.

00:23:57.940 And the kids

00:23:58.660 would close their eyes,

00:23:59.840 and the soldiers

00:24:00.280 would put candy

00:24:00.940 on their desks.

00:24:02.060 And they'd open their eyes,

00:24:03.520 and there was candy.

00:24:05.460 This is the literacy program

00:24:07.200 Bernie Sanders

00:24:08.060 is praising.

00:24:09.920 This is the indoctrination

00:24:11.820 that my abuela

00:24:12.920 refused to participate in.

00:24:15.340 And that is true.

00:24:16.700 They are actually

00:24:18.280 indoctrinating the people

00:24:20.280 since they were

00:24:21.860 tiny little kids.

00:24:23.320 Did it work?

00:24:24.300 I mean, did the...

00:24:25.220 Of course it doesn't work.

00:24:26.240 It doesn't work

00:24:26.780 because people see reality.

00:24:27.540 It doesn't work.

00:24:27.940 People,

00:24:28.480 why don't they work?

00:24:29.900 Yeah.

00:24:30.460 They don't work.

00:24:31.140 Nobody want to work in Cuba. 1.00

00:24:32.580 Why do they want to work? 0.53

00:24:34.440 They're going to make

00:24:35.200 the same money

00:24:36.020 that you're making,

00:24:36.920 that he's making.

00:24:38.200 Why do I want to do that?

00:24:39.360 But do they believe the theory?

00:24:40.820 I mean,

00:24:40.980 does the indoctrination

00:24:42.400 end up persuading people?

00:24:43.540 Actually, they thought

00:24:45.260 that it was going to be reality.

00:24:47.300 They really blinded them

00:24:49.460 to believe

00:24:50.140 what they were saying.

00:24:51.900 But they immediately

00:24:52.900 took the blind off

00:24:54.320 and saying,

00:24:55.060 everybody's in the same boat.

00:24:57.240 We're all hungry.

00:24:58.380 They know they're hungry.

00:24:59.440 They know they're poor.

00:25:00.300 They know they're miserable.

00:25:01.380 They know that hasn't happened.

00:25:02.440 That's right.

00:25:03.020 I mean,

00:25:03.400 there's a reason

00:25:04.500 people every day

00:25:06.200 risk their lives

00:25:07.360 to flee Cuba.

00:25:08.300 That's correct.

00:25:09.280 You know,

00:25:09.500 Reagan,

00:25:10.080 in the height of the Cold War,

00:25:11.400 he had a great way

00:25:12.220 of putting it.

00:25:12.780 He said,

00:25:13.640 the thing liberals

00:25:14.420 never seem to notice

00:25:15.420 is on the Berlin Wall,

00:25:17.500 the machine guns

00:25:18.360 all point in one direction.

00:25:19.540 Right.

00:25:20.220 That you didn't get anyone

00:25:21.460 from East Germany saying,

00:25:23.680 or from West Germany

00:25:24.660 saying,

00:25:25.060 I got to go live

00:25:25.880 in that communist paradise.

00:25:27.280 Right.

00:25:27.500 The way I like to put it

00:25:30.400 as a Cuban-American

00:25:31.240 is the thing liberals

00:25:32.540 never notice

00:25:33.200 is in Cuba,

00:25:34.780 the rafts are all going one way

00:25:36.200 just once.

00:25:36.880 That's right.

00:25:37.200 I'd like to see Bernie Sanders

00:25:38.500 go hop on a raft

00:25:39.420 in Key West

00:25:40.060 and head to 90 miles south.

00:25:42.060 That's right.

00:25:42.600 And by the way,

00:25:43.280 he wants socialized medicine.

00:25:45.280 They have it there.

00:25:46.220 Then go over there.

00:25:46.340 It's just you can't get,

00:25:47.560 you can't actually see a doctor,

00:25:49.060 you can't get medicine,

00:25:50.380 you can't get toilet paper.

00:25:52.620 I want you to just pause

00:25:54.580 what you're doing

00:25:55.240 for the next 60 seconds.

00:25:57.020 And I want you to imagine Lucy,

00:25:58.880 a seven-year-old.

00:26:00.160 Her stomach often aches with hunger.

00:26:02.400 Her small hands

00:26:03.260 instead of holding crayons.

00:26:05.400 Know only the struggle

00:26:06.380 of survival on dusty streets.

00:26:09.160 School is a distant dream.

00:26:11.540 Medical care,

00:26:12.540 a forgotten hope.

00:26:13.820 Lucy's potential is overshadowed.

00:26:16.180 Her future is dim.

00:26:17.520 But what if someone stepped in?

00:26:19.320 What if there was a way

00:26:20.220 to ignite hope

00:26:21.300 for children just like Lucy?

00:26:22.620 Well, there is.

00:26:24.080 And that is with

00:26:24.740 Compassion International Partners

00:26:26.980 and the local churches

00:26:28.300 that provide children

00:26:30.180 holistic support.

00:26:31.720 More than just food,

00:26:32.960 they receive critical medical care,

00:26:35.640 life-changing education,

00:26:37.500 vital skills training,

00:26:39.020 and spiritual development,

00:26:40.340 all in Jesus' name.

00:26:42.060 And you can empower a child

00:26:44.000 just like Lucy

00:26:45.280 to break free from poverty.

00:26:47.540 I want you to do what I've done

00:26:48.740 and sponsor a child today.

00:26:50.920 You can visit

00:26:51.660 Compassion.com.

00:26:53.940 That's Compassion.com.

00:26:57.040 Well, actually, you know,

00:26:58.300 tying in all of these points

00:26:59.960 on the economic,

00:27:00.880 on the political,

00:27:01.640 and on the religious,

00:27:02.840 communism has been called

00:27:03.880 the God that failed, right?

00:27:05.940 It was a sort of substitute religion, 0.53

00:27:07.700 a substitute God,

00:27:08.560 and it failed.

00:27:09.940 And you saw it fail personally.

00:27:12.140 What was the biggest shock?

00:27:15.820 I mean,

00:27:16.040 what was the biggest despair,

00:27:18.780 the biggest regret

00:27:19.580 when you saw something

00:27:20.800 that you had believed in fail?

00:27:23.520 Well,

00:27:24.600 the biggest,

00:27:27.160 it was seeing the people suffering

00:27:29.720 for not being able

00:27:31.260 to even get food

00:27:32.780 to put on the plate.

00:27:34.160 It's so basic.

00:27:34.940 The basic things.

00:27:36.760 No,

00:27:37.320 don't be able to work

00:27:38.840 because

00:27:39.780 why do you want to work

00:27:41.340 when you don't have anything

00:27:42.260 to buy with?

00:27:43.920 You know,

00:27:44.340 that money disappears

00:27:45.540 from you immediately.

00:27:47.460 And you all know the numbers,

00:27:49.320 but,

00:27:49.980 you know,

00:27:50.280 an average person

00:27:51.240 makes $30 a month.

00:27:53.540 $30 per month.

00:27:55.040 $30 per month.

00:27:57.100 Wow.

00:27:57.360 So what are you going

00:27:58.240 to do with that?

00:27:59.340 Right.

00:27:59.960 So people are being,

00:28:02.700 drinking water.

00:28:04.720 You see the kids.

00:28:06.540 They drink water with sugar

00:28:08.200 to get their stomach full.

00:28:10.920 It's that basic need.

00:28:12.800 It's so interesting

00:28:13.300 that you say that

00:28:13.920 because it's,

00:28:14.840 communism starts out

00:28:15.840 as this idealistic fantasy,

00:28:18.340 very highfalutin,

00:28:19.340 very high-minded literacy programs,

00:28:21.300 all that,

00:28:21.840 and then the reality

00:28:22.940 of the failure

00:28:23.520 is people can't even

00:28:24.580 fill their stomachs.

00:28:25.400 That is true.

00:28:25.940 Although,

00:28:26.260 you know,

00:28:26.440 there is one exception.

00:28:27.940 Which is the Communist Party rulers.

00:28:30.240 Look,

00:28:30.680 Fidel Castro

00:28:31.480 lived like a billionaire.

00:28:32.900 He filled his stomach.

00:28:33.400 And by the way,

00:28:34.280 Putin lives like a billionaire.

00:28:36.940 Maduro

00:28:37.460 and Hugo Chavez before him,

00:28:39.140 they live like billionaires.

00:28:40.640 Right.

00:28:41.320 Communism,

00:28:42.180 when you have all the power

00:28:43.360 at the top,

00:28:44.520 and,

00:28:44.620 and,

00:28:44.780 and,

00:28:45.040 and what does Bernie suggest

00:28:47.200 it would be any different

00:28:48.160 if the government

00:28:48.760 is in charge of everything?

00:28:50.340 Yeah.

00:28:50.580 Every place that has happened,

00:28:52.400 the rulers

00:28:53.040 live like kings

00:28:55.880 and everyone else

00:28:56.800 is miserable.

00:28:57.920 Right.

00:28:58.260 Well,

00:28:58.740 we,

00:28:58.960 we did actually get

00:28:59.840 one mailbag question

00:29:01.000 that I think is very much

00:29:02.220 on this topic,

00:29:03.620 which is with the

00:29:04.660 Democratic Party

00:29:05.720 veering so far

00:29:07.060 to the left

00:29:07.600 and embracing these

00:29:08.640 absolutely disgusting positions,

00:29:11.260 hopefully will turn off

00:29:12.220 most of the American people.

00:29:14.000 Should conservatives

00:29:14.780 be happy?

00:29:15.720 Should conservatives

00:29:16.260 be happy that the god

00:29:17.240 that failed

00:29:17.680 is about to fail

00:29:18.320 the Democratic Party?

00:29:19.880 Not necessarily.

00:29:20.720 No.

00:29:21.200 You're not,

00:29:21.680 you're not as complacent.

00:29:23.100 I understand people saying,

00:29:24.740 okay,

00:29:25.000 great,

00:29:25.460 Bernie's so extreme,

00:29:26.780 that means Trump

00:29:27.380 will get reelected.

00:29:28.260 I hope Trump gets reelected.

00:29:29.480 I'm working hard

00:29:30.440 to reelect the president.

00:29:33.080 But listen,

00:29:34.000 what is truly terrifying

00:29:35.480 is I think

00:29:36.900 the American people

00:29:37.820 could elect

00:29:38.480 a wild-eyed socialist.

00:29:40.080 Yeah.

00:29:40.520 Yes.

00:29:40.820 The media,

00:29:41.660 we're a divided country.

00:29:43.400 If 100,000 votes

00:29:44.560 had flipped in 2016,

00:29:46.660 Hillary Clinton

00:29:47.200 would be the president

00:29:47.920 right now.

00:29:48.980 And Bernie,

00:29:49.800 the media treats him

00:29:50.780 kind of like

00:29:51.400 your crazy uncle.

00:29:53.180 Oh,

00:29:53.700 he's just the crazy uncle.

00:29:54.920 Isn't that cute?

00:29:55.840 He's praising,

00:29:57.280 murdering,

00:29:57.840 torturing

00:29:58.300 communist dictators.

00:30:00.500 Well,

00:30:00.920 this guy

00:30:01.660 believes this stuff.

00:30:03.160 Right.

00:30:03.760 In his heart

00:30:04.940 and soul,

00:30:06.080 he believes it.

00:30:07.060 His whole life

00:30:07.720 has been dedicated to it.

00:30:09.360 And I got to admit,

00:30:10.960 I am,

00:30:12.000 it's all fine

00:30:12.640 and good to celebrate

00:30:13.460 unless he ends up winning.

00:30:15.280 Unless it happens.

00:30:16.280 Oh, gosh.

00:30:16.580 God help the direction

00:30:17.680 this country goes

00:30:18.440 if that happens.

00:30:18.960 Well,

00:30:19.180 because you already

00:30:20.800 fled one

00:30:21.660 communist hellhole

00:30:22.780 and this was the great hope

00:30:24.840 as America's the great hope.

00:30:25.800 There's no place to go.

00:30:27.000 Where do you go

00:30:27.720 after this?

00:30:28.420 There's no place to go.

00:30:30.220 Senator,

00:30:30.760 what an incredible story

00:30:32.020 and especially

00:30:32.980 so timely

00:30:33.880 with what's happening

00:30:34.720 in Cuba

00:30:35.200 and in Venezuela

00:30:35.860 and in Iran

00:30:37.580 and just,

00:30:38.180 I hope it inspires others.

00:30:39.840 I hope people will share this.

00:30:41.360 Our thoughts

00:30:42.140 and our prayers

00:30:42.720 are with you

00:30:43.320 and your family.

00:30:44.300 But what an amazing legacy

00:30:45.680 that she has left behind.

00:30:47.540 Well,

00:30:48.060 she has left

00:30:48.900 an amazing legacy

00:30:49.880 including her daughter,

00:30:51.400 Bebe,

00:30:51.800 who is extraordinary.

00:30:52.960 She's like a sister to me.

00:30:55.020 Including me.

00:30:55.840 She impacted my life

00:30:57.100 in a very profound way.

00:30:59.140 I will tell you

00:31:00.060 a couple of weeks ago

00:31:01.000 I went up to see her.

00:31:02.300 She lived in Dallas.

00:31:03.200 I went up to see her

00:31:04.020 and brought Heidi

00:31:05.380 and the girls

00:31:05.880 and we saw her

00:31:06.800 in the hospital.

00:31:08.260 And she was

00:31:09.320 not fully conscious.

00:31:10.780 She was going

00:31:11.260 in and out

00:31:11.760 of consciousness.

00:31:13.340 But I told her,

00:31:14.860 I told her

00:31:15.680 that we got Maduro

00:31:17.140 and I told her

00:31:19.140 Cuba is next.

00:31:20.840 The Cuban

00:31:21.480 communist regime

00:31:22.960 is going to fall next.

00:31:25.020 And even kind of

00:31:26.040 coming in

00:31:26.660 and out of consciousness,

00:31:28.040 she smiled

00:31:29.140 the biggest smile.

00:31:31.900 And to have a chance

00:31:33.080 to tell her that

00:31:34.120 and for her to hear that

00:31:35.460 before she goes 0.67

00:31:36.680 to be with the Lord,

00:31:37.740 she is truly

00:31:38.840 a warrior for liberty.

00:31:40.260 Tia Sonia,

00:31:42.180 I love you.

00:31:43.140 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:31:45.680 Guaranteed Human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 28, 2026

Honoring and Remembering My Tia Sonia

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