Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 19, 2026


Iran Deal—Don’t Give Billions to Lunatics who want to Kill us plus College Sports bill Gets BIG Bipartisan Vote


Episode Stats


Length

43 minutes

Words per minute

165.76

Word count

7,183

Sentence count

372

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Toxicity

17

sentences flagged

Hate speech

30

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joins host Jack Armstrong (R) and Ben Fergus (D-VA) to discuss Iran and the deal with Iran, and how you can join the fight to protect unborn children.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:30.000 soutenue par Santé Canada.
00:01:00.000 or wherever you did your podcast.
00:01:03.220 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand?
00:01:06.760 We're not boring.
00:01:07.840 A lot of news is boring.
00:01:08.840 And tedious.
00:01:09.720 And depressing.
00:01:10.300 And makes you angry.
00:01:11.680 You don't want to live your life like that.
00:01:13.940 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:01:15.020 He's Joe Getty.
00:01:15.660 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:01:16.780 We try to bring you the truth.
00:01:17.920 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:01:20.320 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:01:24.800 We have a winner.
00:01:26.320 Yes.
00:01:26.720 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:33.520 As America marks its 250th anniversary, we're looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty through the eyes of the heroes who defended it.
00:01:42.180 The whole thing about this country is freedom.
00:01:45.580 If we're not careful, we could lose that.
00:01:47.560 On Medal of Honor Stories of Courage, we bring you the defining moments of valor that went above and beyond the call of duty.
00:01:55.660 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:02:03.640 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as well.
00:02:07.300 And if you're listening on the radio, it's so nice to have you with us around the country, wherever you are.
00:02:11.600 Senator, we've got a lot to talk about on the show.
00:02:13.640 And obviously, we're going to start with that big issue, Iran and the nuclear deal slash agreement slash memo of understanding slash whatever everybody wants it to be at this point.
00:02:23.080 Yeah, our last podcast, we talked about the rumors that were swirling about what might be in the Iran deal.
00:02:29.960 The administration has now released the Memorandum of Understanding that has been signed, and so we know the text of it. 0.51
00:02:36.440 And as we said in the last podcast, it was highly concerning, and it turns out every bit of those rumors were accurate,
00:02:45.720 and what was being circulated was, in fact, what was in it.
00:02:48.820 uh i believe the president is is getting very poor advice on this uh and and and history teaches a
00:02:57.880 very simple proposition which is that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who
00:03:04.300 want to murder us is a very very bad idea uh this deal envisions funneling 300 billion dollars 0.88
00:03:15.160 to the ayatollah and the islamic regime in iran i i think that is uh that that would be a very
00:03:22.340 serious mistake uh i i think if if the ayatollah gets 300 billion dollars that money will be used
00:03:30.280 to fund terrorism and to murder americans and and so it is very much my hope uh that the
00:03:35.400 administration goes down a different path that they they choose not to send money to the ayatollah
00:03:40.880 In my view, we shouldn't send a penny to the Ayatollah, and sending $300 billion would be, I think, enormously dangerous.
00:03:53.040 But before we get to all that, I do want to take a moment and talk to you about how you can get involved and help with an amazing organization, Americans United for Life.
00:04:02.180 And if you are pro-life and you're proud to stand up for the rights of unborn children.
00:04:07.500 Now, they are a nonprofit law firm, an advocacy group.
00:04:10.860 They were founded in 1971.
00:04:13.340 That was two years before Roe established the constitutional right to an abortion before fetal viability.
00:04:19.780 They have been fighting ever since to protect the lives of unborn babies.
00:04:24.880 Now, this pro-life group shapes laws nationwide.
00:04:28.520 That's why I want you to know about them.
00:04:30.080 They are a major player in creating pro-life legislation, and that's how we win.
00:04:35.320 Americans United for Life, they offer states model bills that can adapt and be adopted
00:04:41.780 in full in their state, depending on what their laws are, because every state is different.
00:04:47.260 For over 50 years, Americans United for Life has filed more than 200 legal briefs and helped
00:04:53.060 create at least 400 pro-life bills in over 40 states by writing this model legislation.
00:05:00.080 They also consult with state legislators about what they can do
00:05:03.700 and how to defend their own laws and other pro-life statutes in court.
00:05:08.420 And that is where your help is needed.
00:05:11.080 Right now, because of Roe v. Wade coming down, it's a state's rights issue,
00:05:16.600 meaning every state is different.
00:05:18.320 And every state is having different laws that are needing to be done to protect life.
00:05:23.160 That is where you come in and we're asking for your help.
00:05:26.460 You've got an opportunity to overturn pro-abortion laws
00:05:30.180 And advance pro-life legislation
00:05:32.120 That attack the most vulnerable in our society
00:05:35.280 And together we can shape the future of our nation
00:05:38.740 Through life-affirming legislation in every state
00:05:42.100 So what am I asking you to do?
00:05:43.920 Give a gift of just $25
00:05:45.600 That helps hold abortion providers accountable
00:05:49.200 And also helps protect women and unborn children across the country
00:05:53.360 And now through a match
00:05:55.440 Your $25 gift is doubled.
00:05:58.240 So if you want to help save lives all over the nation, do it now.
00:06:02.340 Donate at aul.org slash verdict.
00:06:06.860 That's aul.org slash verdict.
00:06:11.100 Sponsored by Americans United for Life.
00:06:13.680 All right.
00:06:14.200 I want to make sure, Senator, that we're extremely clear on this show.
00:06:17.560 You're going to say that there's a chance we could send $300 billion that they could get their hands on in Iran.
00:06:23.560 the pushback i've already seen i've had to debate this on tv is we're not writing that check so it's
00:06:30.020 not accurate can you explain how they're getting their hands on that amount of money potentially
00:06:35.640 here in this deal so that people understand because the argument is well obama sent pallet
00:06:40.280 to cash we're not sending any cash for american taxpayers so therefore that that argument's
00:06:45.200 still in void explain this out so people understand why this is a concerning moment
00:06:49.800 Yeah, look, the folks trying to defend the deal, that is the talking point they're using, is they're saying that that cash would not be U.S. taxpayer money.
00:06:59.460 Let me just read to you. I'm going to read verbatim from the agreement.
00:07:03.340 Paragraph six begins as follows.
00:07:05.560 the United States of America, undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive,
00:07:12.540 mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development
00:07:21.400 of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be
00:07:28.660 finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days. All requested licenses, waivers,
00:07:34.060 and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States
00:07:38.320 of America. That is a commitment to ensure that Iran receives $300 billion. You know what? I
00:07:44.600 don't care where it comes from. I don't want a lunatic religious fanatic who chants death to 1.00
00:07:52.080 America to receive $300 billion, whether it comes from us or it comes from some other regional 0.99
00:07:58.820 partners. I don't care where it comes from. Giving people who want to kill you the billions and
00:08:05.920 billions of dollars from any source historically has proven an enormous mistake. And I will say
00:08:13.240 look, to put it in context, the biggest foreign policy mistake that Biden and Kamala Harris did
00:08:22.840 is they flowed over 100 billion dollars to iran iran took that money and they used it
00:08:30.540 to fund terrorism across the globe to attack and kill americans and in a very real sense
00:08:37.320 biden and kamala harris paid for the october 7th terror attacks through the money they flowed into
00:08:44.280 Iran. The number this agreement is talking about is three times as large as what Biden and Harris
00:08:53.560 flowed into Iran. That makes no sense whatsoever. And look, if you look, the single most consequential
00:09:04.900 decision President Trump has made was the decision to initiate military attacks on Iran.
00:09:12.020 and we have completely devastated their military we've taken out their air defenses their ballistic
00:09:17.680 missiles their drones their manufacturing capability for ballistic missiles and drones
00:09:21.540 we've destroyed their air force we've sunk their navy it doesn't make any sense at all for us to
00:09:27.960 now go and build everything back what was the point of blowing it up if we're going to build
00:09:31.780 it back and the idea that we would have effectively a marshal plan uh for iran
00:09:39.060 is not remotely in america's interest uh you know the marshall plan we came in and rebuilt europe
00:09:46.100 after world war ii look if the administration wants to leave we should leave but but sending
00:09:54.320 and the agreement is silent by the way on whether that money is from taxpayer money or not it doesn't
00:09:59.540 say one way or the other it just says the united states will work with regional partners to make
00:10:03.320 sure they get 300 billion but wherever it comes from giving the ayatollah that money i believe it
00:10:11.180 is a hundred percent certainty if they get 300 billion dollars they will spend that trying to
00:10:16.000 kill americans yeah as as one uh person said to me in the foreign policy world they said
00:10:22.060 if you would have gone to iran's leadership and said have a scuffle with america but they'll give 0.99
00:10:27.780 you 300 million afterwards excuse me 300 billion afterwards they will take that deal every single
00:10:32.980 year because cash flow is everything to them in that part of the world and what they use it for
00:10:37.960 as you mentioned terrorism hamas has blah the list goes on and on uh this is an insane amount
00:10:42.780 of cash that they're getting their hands on and understand the way this mou is structured
00:10:47.280 there is an immediate unfreezing of iranian assets so so what appears to be contemplated
00:10:54.880 It is somewhere between $10 billion and $30 billion cash immediately flows to them.
00:10:59.640 Now, mind you, that's before they've made any commitment at all on nuclear weapons.
00:11:04.760 All they've committed to do is talk about nuclear weapons.
00:11:08.880 That's the only commitment.
00:11:10.100 There's no promise on enrichment.
00:11:11.560 There's nothing.
00:11:13.300 Well, they say they're not going to develop nuclear weapons, but there's no meat to that other than we will sit down and discuss that.
00:11:20.800 And the agreement sends somewhere between $10 and $30 billion to them immediately up front. 0.87
00:11:27.780 I think that is a really foolish idea.
00:11:35.180 All right, Senator, let's talk about the Strait of Hormuz. 0.53
00:11:37.880 This is the part for me that I actually think was the most frustrating.
00:11:42.160 This is international.
00:11:43.480 It is not supposed to be governed or owned by certainly a terrorist organization like the IRGC in Iran.
00:11:51.180 But this deal now sets up that Iran and, quote, Oman will be in charge of the strait.
00:11:57.300 There's nothing in this deal from what, and I've read it, unless I just completely misunderstood it,
00:12:02.560 that says that eventually they can't start taking tolls on this and using it and weaponizing the strait
00:12:07.520 the same way they did at the beginning of this conflict.
00:12:10.760 That is something else in this deal that was shocking to me.
00:12:14.060 Break that down for everyone.
00:12:15.400 Yeah, the Memorandum of Understanding contemplates that Iran would have ongoing control of the Strait of Hormuz, and it says that Iran won't charge tolls or fees for the first 60 days.
00:12:29.080 But it clearly contemplates that Iran will be able to charge tolls to go through the Strait of Hormuz in the future.
00:12:38.280 Iran has never been able to do that before.
00:12:40.460 That is a major geostrategic shift.
00:12:44.160 That would be a major revenue source for Iran and for the Ayatollah.
00:12:50.040 And listen, I don't think the Ayatollah should be able to collect one penny for the free navigation of the seas.
00:12:57.580 Iran does not have – this is not Iran's territorial waters. 0.93
00:13:02.240 This is free and open seas, and it is simply they're engaging in terrorism. 0.90
00:13:07.560 You know, it's not even a toll or a fee.
00:13:09.980 It's more like pirates charging a bounty.
00:13:15.120 And, look, I – if there are voices in the administration who, number one,
00:13:23.660 opposed the military conflict with iran it from day one but number two once it started immediately
00:13:30.300 wanted to get out if they wanted to get out they're better off just leaving yeah than just
00:13:34.900 pouring cash uh into the ayatollah and i will say look and by the way let's be clear in iran
00:13:41.520 i want people to understand i was talking to to a a shipping maritime economist earlier today
00:13:47.520 he said the amount of money that they could get from tolls could fund terrorism and almost he said
00:13:55.020 it in the way he described it because there's no cost for them to do this give them revenue at a
00:14:00.400 oil-like stature because he said look with oil you have to actually explore you have to drill you
00:14:05.040 have to get out of the ground you have to put on boats you got to ship it you got to pay for all
00:14:08.540 that he said a toll costs you nothing this is pure profit every time a boat pulls up and says
00:14:13.900 okay, you want to save passage? Or we're going to terrorize you, give us money.
00:14:18.240 That's no different than a checkpoint down in Mexico by a cartel.
00:14:22.340 And let me say, $300 billion flows into Iran. That's what's contemplated under this agreement.
00:14:30.440 Iran has the power to collect tolls in perpetuity. That would be billions more
00:14:35.080 that would flow into Iran. As long as the regime remains the Ayatollah and the Mullahs, 0.63
00:14:42.160 they have not changed. They still chant death to America. They still want to kill us and they will 0.93
00:14:51.380 use that money. So for 47 years, the Islamic regime in Iran has been waging war with America. 0.92
00:14:57.100 They've been the number one funder of terrorism worldwide. The 90% of the funds to Hamas, 90% 0.90
00:15:02.640 of the funds to the Houthis, 90% of the funds to Hezbollah all come from Iran. That money,
00:15:09.580 If we send that money, and by the way, the money is anticipated being deposited in the Bank of Iran, which is controlled by the IRGC.
00:15:16.300 The IRGC is a terrorist group.
00:15:18.440 It is designated as a terrorist group.
00:15:21.120 And now this agreement contemplates billions of dollars flowing into the IRGC's coffers.
00:15:28.980 And I'll say something else also.
00:15:31.660 Can I just say this, too, that if you understand IRGC, they're basically running the country right now. 0.85
00:15:36.400 Look, if the Islamic regime remains in power, that regime, I believe, will continue to threaten President Trump and his family forever. 0.70
00:15:52.240 Yeah, that is that they've twice hired hitmen to try to murder the president. 0.97
00:15:57.180 I believe the Ayatollah with $300 billion, I think the result of that would be more Americans killed in terrorism. 0.89
00:16:09.220 And I also, this regime, they lie. 0.91
00:16:13.860 So, yes, they've promised not to develop nuclear weapons.
00:16:17.180 If they get $300 billion, they will use that money to develop nuclear weapons.
00:16:22.320 And to be clear, the reason I don't want them to have nuclear weapons is I think the odds are
00:16:28.580 unacceptably high they would use those nuclear weapons. The Ayatollah, the risk is that hundreds 0.69
00:16:37.100 of thousands of Americans would be killed in a flash of an eye by detonating a nuclear weapon 0.94
00:16:42.900 in New York City or Los Angeles. And I believe if the Ayatollah were able to do so, he would. 0.97
00:16:50.540 That's the danger. 0.92
00:16:51.800 And President Trump, look, a lot of the reporters have been asking, well, gosh, isn't President Trump just like Obama?
00:16:58.840 And not remotely.
00:17:00.000 Look, President Trump made a heroic decision as commander in chief to take out the military to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. 0.83
00:17:07.640 That made America safer. 0.97
00:17:09.140 That was the right decision. 0.94
00:17:10.440 Obama just flooded cash into Iran, and the Obama nuclear deal inevitably would have led to Iran getting nuclear weapons.
00:17:21.220 But I think now President Trump is receiving bad advice, and I'm hopeful that he will choose to go down a different course and not give billions of dollars, either American money or anybody else's money.
00:17:37.420 I don't want people who want to kill us to have the means to be able to do so.
00:17:41.800 Yeah. One of the other things in this memorandum of understanding deals with Israel and Lebanon.
00:17:48.720 There are a lot of people that are really concerned that this would neuter our ally who is actually going after terrorist organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist fighters.
00:17:57.380 I want to get your reaction to that part of this deal as well.
00:18:00.560 Yeah, look, the deal. Do you want to know Iran's priorities?
00:18:04.240 The very first thing they negotiate in this deal is stop attacking Hezbollah, the terrorists that are murdering civilians.
00:18:11.460 Understand, Hezbollah is not a government organization.
00:18:16.880 It's not a legitimate organization. 0.54
00:18:18.020 It is purely a terrorist organization.
00:18:20.600 They target citizens.
00:18:21.620 They target civilians. 0.92
00:18:23.400 They target women and children.
00:18:24.960 They fire rockets into Israel routinely. 0.96
00:18:27.240 And the very first thing is a protection for Hezbollah in Lebanon. 0.72
00:18:34.240 And understand, Hezbollah, yes, it's a threat to Israel. 0.75
00:18:38.520 Hezbollah is also a threat to America. 0.85
00:18:40.960 Hezbollah has murdered many Americans.
00:18:43.040 And so protecting Hezbollah in this agreement, I think, is also counter to U.S. national security interests.
00:19:04.240 leases, and instant withdrawals. 0.58
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00:19:22.880 This is Newt Ginglish, former Speaker of the House and a proud American citizen.
00:19:28.160 I'm celebrating America's 250th birthday on my podcast, Newt's World,
00:19:32.260 with 15 special episodes.
00:19:35.440 And I've got some great guests.
00:19:37.520 Walter Isaacson, Jonathan Turley, Brett Baer.
00:19:41.400 I will be working because it's a big, big day.
00:19:44.360 I'll be in Washington and have all kinds of coverage
00:19:47.680 through the day of America 250.
00:19:50.340 Rachel Compostoffee.
00:19:51.640 There's nothing like American music.
00:19:53.320 We're the home of rock and roll.
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00:19:56.820 Eric Metaxas.
00:19:58.200 Jared Isaacman.
00:19:59.060 I plan to be flying in an F-5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital.
00:20:07.400 The story of the national anthem and the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.
00:20:12.880 Join me and let's celebrate America's 250.
00:20:16.180 Listen to Newt's World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:20:23.280 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand?
00:20:26.500 We're not boring.
00:20:27.700 A lot of news is boring.
00:20:28.580 and tedious and depressing and makes you angry you don't want to live your life like that
00:20:33.460 hey i'm jack armstrong he's joe getty we're armstrong and getty we try to bring you the
00:20:37.420 truth and help you figure out this crazy modern world about something about a comedic tone
00:20:41.820 we have a winner yes listen to armstrong and getty on demand on the iheart radio app apple
00:20:50.500 podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of america
00:20:57.960 The soul of this country is found in the stories of those who defended it.
00:21:02.600 I'm J.R. Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran.
00:21:05.500 I know that true valor isn't just a word.
00:21:08.100 It's a choice made in a split second.
00:21:11.140 That's why I'm honored to bring you a brand new season of Medal of Honor,
00:21:15.260 Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Podcast.
00:21:19.620 You'll fly into the heart of a rescue mission with Air Force pilot James Fleming in Vietnam.
00:21:25.400 I'm going to put you out in the middle of hell. 0.93
00:21:28.000 If you have to come home, I'll bring you home. 1.00
00:21:30.360 That's my duty. It's my honor.
00:21:32.140 We'll also travel back to 1926 to witness Richard Byrd's historic flight over the North Pole.
00:21:39.100 These are more than just stories of combat.
00:21:41.940 They are testaments to leadership, community, and the human spirit.
00:21:46.120 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:21:51.880 all right so center let's move into this is something you've been really working on this
00:21:58.360 is the most like jock bro i've ever seen you since i've known you and it's really been fun for me
00:22:03.160 because usually you're geeking out over like supreme court stuff i feel like our our friendship
00:22:08.280 has moved to another level because now we've got to talk sports and nil so much and the college
00:22:13.140 sports bill it is now reality let's walk us through how this was done and what it means
00:22:18.760 for sports fans and saving many sports that were getting canceled around the country that were
00:22:22.880 non-money-making sports? So this week was a very, very big week for college sports because the
00:22:30.100 Senate Commerce Committee, which I chair, passed my legislation to protect college sports. And it
00:22:36.620 passed with a big bipartisan vote. The vote was 19 to 9. So we got a bunch of Republicans,
00:22:42.880 bunch of Democrats. We got more than two-thirds of the committee voted for it. That's really
00:22:46.720 important. It has momentum now going to the Senate floor. I think it's going to pass on
00:22:51.120 the Senate with a big bipartisan vote, and it's going to go to the House, and President Trump
00:22:55.280 is eager to sign it. Now, what's going on in college sports? Listen, college sports
00:23:00.720 is in crisis right now. Every week, you see another story about a program being canceled,
00:23:07.540 women's sports being canceled, track and field being canceled, Olympic sports being canceled,
00:23:11.540 non-revenue sports tennis being canceled yeah and what is happening is is you've got total chaos
00:23:18.800 with the transfer portal you've got athletes transferring two three four five times you have
00:23:24.260 essentially no rules on eligibility uh they're all being decided by lawsuits it got so ludicrous
00:23:30.680 you had you had the brendan soresby case where even though he was gambling on his own games
00:23:36.500 You had a hometown judge say, no, he can still play anyway.
00:23:40.500 Now, thankfully, Texas Tech backed away from that decision.
00:23:44.140 I'm glad Tech made that decision to back away.
00:23:46.200 That was an indefensible decision.
00:23:47.760 But it illustrated the chaos we have.
00:23:51.080 You have people that are 26, 27 years old still playing college sports and 28-year-olds playing against 18-year-olds, which is not fair, not right.
00:24:00.280 um and athletic programs they're almost all losing millions of dollars many of them are
00:24:08.500 losing tens of millions of dollars because the cost keeps spiraling out of control
00:24:12.840 and and ben if congress doesn't act i think five years from now there will be 30 to 50
00:24:21.680 competitive college football programs basically a mini nfl yeah that's what it'll be it'll be a
00:24:28.520 franchise if you're an SC school you own a franchise yeah and I think all of the other
00:24:33.020 programs go under and and what that means by the way that's not just college football going under
00:24:38.660 the way athletics works in colleges is football pays for everything else and so if football goes
00:24:44.460 under it means those schools they lose women's sports they lose they lose their entire athletic
00:24:49.440 program it means our Olympic athletes are are just devastated and and the college programs where they
00:24:56.200 develop their skills right now go away uh and i think that would be a terrible outcome and and
00:25:01.720 it would also be a terrible outcome do you know right now there are more than 500 000 college
00:25:07.920 athletes competing at yeah at any given time yep if we allow this chaos to to to continue to play
00:25:15.720 out hundreds of thousands of those slots will disappear those scholarships will disappear
00:25:21.620 And sports has been an avenue for millions of young men and women to go to school.
00:25:27.400 Let's be clear.
00:25:28.180 The 500,000 you just mentioned, and this is the part I want people to understand,
00:25:31.040 the majority of college athletes, like 90, I think I saw a study,
00:25:35.040 and you may know the number, but I want to say it was 98% or 99% of college athletes
00:25:39.600 do not play football or basketball.
00:25:43.360 So if you think about college sports, it is all the other sports,
00:25:48.080 the majority of them are not revenue making sports football barely is on most campuses
00:25:52.800 sometimes and depending on what school you're at if you're at a basketball school then that will be
00:25:57.340 your revenue sport outside that almost all the others lose money yep if you don't fix this
00:26:02.760 everything goes away and then many of those football programs that one percent of the student
00:26:07.880 body or or basketball which is i mean most basketball teams they have i think scholarships
00:26:12.180 i want to say it's nine in d1 maybe it's 11 scholarships i can't remember it always they're
00:26:16.500 always moving it around but for men like that's not many people folks if you don't fix this you
00:26:21.960 have a university that now has doesn't even have an identity in sports yeah look look my philosophy
00:26:26.980 in addressing this was was number one i didn't worry too much about the the powerhouse programs
00:26:32.560 the big big programs listen in texas university of texas and texas a&m i love them both i go to
00:26:38.900 games every year i cheer them on they're incredible institutions to be honest ut and a&m they are
00:26:44.900 going to survive and thrive regardless of what happens uh they would survive the mini nfl and
00:26:51.800 they'd continue to win national championships uh but i worried about all of the other programs
00:26:57.540 to be honest if we don't act i'm not convinced any other program in texas survives and and if
00:27:02.800 you can imagine a texas without smu without tcu without baylor without texas tech without rice
00:27:09.100 without University of Houston, that would be a tragic outcome.
00:27:16.040 And so my focus was on maintaining the entire ecosystem.
00:27:21.040 But secondly, my focus was not on the superstar athletes.
00:27:24.500 If you're Michael Jordan, if you're Arch Manning, you know what?
00:27:27.920 You're going to get millions of dollars.
00:27:29.840 You're going to be on the Wheaties box.
00:27:32.080 You're going to do great.
00:27:32.880 99% of college athletes will never play in the NFL
00:27:38.380 will never play in the NBA
00:27:39.640 but yet athletics is their ticket to college
00:27:43.000 look it was for you
00:27:43.920 playing tennis is how you went to Ole Miss
00:27:45.720 I'll be honest with you
00:27:47.220 I'm not sure I would have gone to college
00:27:49.580 if it wasn't for having the scholarship
00:27:52.840 which came through tennis
00:27:54.380 to pay for college
00:27:55.600 my family did not have a lot of means
00:27:57.500 and my dad was the first to admit
00:27:59.460 and it was like if you want to go to college
00:28:01.520 if you want to go to good school you're going to have to get there and earn it sports was my way
00:28:06.800 in it wasn't going to be the academic road and that's another avenue you can go but but sports
00:28:11.340 was and for many of my friends it was a savior to a better life afterwards a better member of
00:28:17.120 society by the way we pay a lot more taxes when you're successful so it's a great reinvestment
00:28:22.400 in the country from that standpoint as well you want your kids to go to college but for so many
00:28:26.000 i had roommates they would have never gotten into college if it wasn't and gotten their family
00:28:31.380 I had two different roommates.
00:28:33.000 They were the first kid in their families to ever go to college.
00:28:36.200 It completely changed the trajectory of their family tree, and it was because of athletics.
00:28:41.580 Well, and some people have said, well, why is Congress getting involved in college sports?
00:28:45.720 And the reason is it's federal laws that Congress has passed that created this chaos.
00:28:51.760 It's why all of the rules got thrown out because they're being sued under existing federal law,
00:28:56.660 and every rule keeps getting thrown out.
00:28:58.920 And so Congress created the problem, which means only Congress can fix it because only Congress can can can alter that federal law.
00:29:06.640 And if we don't act, we can see the crisis unfolding around us.
00:29:11.780 And for millions of young men and women, many college athletes are coming from economically disadvantaged circumstances.
00:29:19.180 Many of them are African-American or Hispanic.
00:29:21.300 over years and decades we're talking about millions of young men and women who this may
00:29:27.280 be their only path to go to a going to college and getting an education but be learning the
00:29:33.300 disciplines that come from being in organized sports of teamwork and hard work and discipline
00:29:39.160 and sportsmanship and and look i i didn't have the skills to play college sports i would have
00:29:43.360 loved to but i played high school sports and it was you know being on i played basketball and
00:29:46.940 football and soccer and being on a team in high school those are really important skills and it's
00:29:52.460 amazing i actually asked this at our senate republican lunch i said all right how many
00:29:55.900 people around this table played college sports and i would say about 20 percent of the republicans
00:30:02.460 in the senate raised their hand and they were college athletes i mean that's true and that's
00:30:06.380 true you find that with ceos you find that the the discipline and and nobody in the senate played
00:30:12.540 professional sports but the discipline of and the skills you learn set you up for success in life
00:30:20.020 let me ask you one final question on this who was behind this that surprised you the most
00:30:24.640 nick saban was one that i was excited to see that the african-american university of memphis
00:30:29.420 my hometown football coach he got behind this and had some great testimony there in front of you
00:30:34.200 guys i was proud of that as well but who shocked you that was behind this so the support we've
00:30:38.900 seen has been overwhelming. 24 conferences have endorsed this bill. They represent those
00:30:45.400 conferences, represent over 200 different colleges and universities are enthusiastically supporting
00:30:51.480 the bill. The NFL endorsed the bill. The NBA endorsed the bill. Major League Baseball endorsed
00:30:56.420 the bill. The NFL Players Association endorsed the bill. The NBA Players Association endorsed the
00:31:02.980 bill. The College Football Association endorsed the bill. We've had Nick Saban is endorsed at
00:31:08.340 John Calipari led over 100 college coaches who endorsed the bill.
00:31:13.860 The U.S. Olympic Committee endorsed the bill.
00:31:16.320 So we've seen just enormous support.
00:31:20.160 And I will say the primary opposition came from the leadership of the Big Ten and the SEC.
00:31:27.540 And look, the SEC is really important in Texas, obviously, UTA and M.
00:31:31.360 I think they're great.
00:31:32.280 if if congress doesn't act i believe the sec and big 10 want to create a super league where they're
00:31:40.000 the only football that exists and everyone else goes out of business billion dollar franchise
00:31:44.100 organizations that's what they would have and that is a terrible outcome we explicitly prohibit a
00:31:49.500 super league in the bill because i want to keep all the other programs alive yeah that's where
00:31:54.440 the resistance has come from i think we're going to end up having a big big bipartisan vote on the
00:32:00.500 Senate floor. My objective is to do this, get it done, get it passed. The president's eager to sign
00:32:05.600 it and do all of that before school starts this fall. I want you to pause what you're doing for
00:32:11.700 just one minute, and I want you to hear about Alejandra. She lives in a remote community with 0.93
00:32:17.480 very few resources and little to no health care. So when Alejandra gets sick, her parents have no
00:32:24.380 real options no doctors in their community and no money for real medical care by the third day
00:32:32.100 her body was shutting down she woke up and just long enough to tell her mom i can't take the pain
00:32:39.020 anymore i can't keep going her parents drove hours to find a doctor who tried everything
00:32:45.560 but she needed a private hospital and that was impossible for her family to afford and that is
00:32:52.620 when Compassion International stepped in. Now through Compassion Alejandra was treated and
00:32:59.060 against all odds she survived. She lived because someone just like you took action. Right now
00:33:06.660 unfortunately there are children just like Alejandra who won't survive unless someone 0.99
00:33:11.680 like you steps in. Compassion International partners with local churches providing children
00:33:18.360 with the support that they need, critical medical care, plus food, education, and the
00:33:24.680 hope of the gospel, all in Jesus' name.
00:33:28.560 So help a child just like Alejandra today.
00:33:32.080 You can visit Compassion.com.
00:33:34.780 That's Compassion.com.
00:33:37.560 Senator, we've been talking about sports.
00:33:39.280 You had a really amazing experience this last week.
00:33:41.840 You got to go to the USC fight at the White House.
00:33:44.720 That fight was incredible.
00:33:46.180 It's also turned into a national security issue that we found out about after that fight, which is really interesting.
00:33:51.340 And some of the people there getting arrested, they were illegal immigrants. Shocker there. 1.00
00:33:56.240 So, look, I will say Sunday, the UFC fight at the White House was was absolutely surreal.
00:34:01.020 It was an amazing day. I was there for the fight. The president invited me.
00:34:04.200 I appreciated the president inviting me. It was number one.
00:34:09.780 I mean, it was great fights and UFC fight.
00:34:12.340 I've been to one previously, which I went with President Trump and in Miami.
00:34:16.920 And that was it's amazing.
00:34:19.600 It's incredibly violent.
00:34:21.020 But but the athletes are really skilled.
00:34:23.500 The fight, the fighters are like unbelievably skilled.
00:34:26.740 And there were a whole bunch of fights throughout the night.
00:34:29.940 I got to admit, the whole thing was surreal as you're looking around going, wait, we're on the south lawn of the White House.
00:34:35.340 The White House was there right there.
00:34:36.720 We're like looking over and it was fighters are coming out of the White House.
00:34:41.580 That was a part on TV that I think everybody was like, wait, their dressing room is like the White House. 0.85
00:34:45.940 It was, which is pretty awesome. Yeah, no, it was really, really cool.
00:34:50.640 It was also interesting. Like, you know, the people watching there was was very interesting.
00:34:56.580 Like Mark Zuckerberg was sitting not far from me. It was interesting.
00:34:59.480 He knows many of the fighters like like like they would come and yeah, and they bear hug because he's into MMA.
00:35:04.940 MMA, but that was kind of interesting, and I was also sitting near Jim Jordan and near
00:35:10.140 Dave McCormick, and they knew a number of the fighters, because, you know, look, Jim
00:35:14.300 is a Hall of Fame college wrestler, and McCormick was captain of the wrestling team at West
00:35:19.580 Point, so both of them know the wrestling world.
00:35:22.880 That was, I don't know the fighters, but it was interesting to see that those three guys
00:35:26.940 did.
00:35:27.800 The whole thing was an amazing night, and by the way, there's like an 80% chance of rain.
00:35:34.380 Yeah.
00:35:34.580 And miraculously, we did not get rained out.
00:35:37.900 I talked to Dana White, who's a buddy of mine, and put the whole thing on.
00:35:40.940 And by the way, we had Dana White on verdict, so you can go listen to the podcast we did with him.
00:35:45.720 But there was a huge storm that was going, and I called Dana afterwards and congratulated him.
00:35:50.540 And he said, yeah, it was like the hand of God just parted the storm, and it went around the White House.
00:35:56.100 It went around the White House, and it was a gorgeous night.
00:35:58.760 so it was
00:36:01.100 it was a wonderful
00:36:03.280 and to have the fighter jets
00:36:05.120 flying over the White House
00:36:06.440 I mean it was a great celebration
00:36:08.880 of America's 250th birthday
00:36:10.660 it was really cool
00:36:11.680 but then afterwards
00:36:13.000 the day later the news broke
00:36:14.960 that the FBI stopped a terror plot
00:36:18.420 a really elaborate terror plot
00:36:21.220 that had been planning
00:36:22.840 to use drones with explosives
00:36:25.060 to kill people 0.99
00:36:27.540 at the fight 1.00
00:36:28.420 and then to drive people out into a public square where they were going to have snipers with rifles to just shoot the people there. 0.92
00:36:36.320 And, you know, one of the participants said that his objective was to kill capitalists, billionaires, and people who receive donations from AIPAC. 0.98
00:36:46.800 And I will say, one of my colleagues, a Republican who is quite wealthy, I mentioned that to him, and he's like, oh, crap, I'm 0 for 3. 0.96
00:36:54.960 yeah that's funny um but look this could have been a horrific terror attack and and it was 0.76
00:37:05.360 stopped because the mom of one of these would-be criminals called called the fbi and and and saw
00:37:12.540 god bless any parent that turns in their own kid like i i that is such a i i just i mean this as a
00:37:18.480 parent and i i think that we should we should praise any parent we've had parents have stopped
00:37:23.660 their kids from doing school shootings yeah we've had parents and this is a terrorist tech we've
00:37:27.420 other parents have done the same thing um i i mean this so sincerely if you are a parent and
00:37:33.880 you're dealing with a kid whether it's mental health issues or just pure hatred in this way
00:37:38.460 and you do that to your own kid knowing that your child you're sending them to prison for probably
00:37:43.840 a very long time by whistleblowing and warning law enforcement you are a hero in my opinion in
00:37:50.600 that moment yeah look it's a horrible situation for any parent to be in um you know the the the
00:37:56.600 dad of of of the monster who killed our friend charlie kirk uh yeah turned his son in uh well
00:38:03.520 convinced his son to turn himself in so but it look it's a nightmare for any parent but in this
00:38:09.320 instance the mom saw her son buying guns and ammunition and planning a mass killing event and
00:38:15.040 And she acted, and that alerted the FBI to this entire plot.
00:38:20.220 Now, the news is broken.
00:38:21.920 I'm going to read the headline from Fox News.
00:38:24.640 White House UFC terror plot ringleader is Mexican illegal immigrant, DHS confirmed.
00:38:30.780 And here's what Fox reported.
00:38:33.840 Abraham Alvarez, identified in federal documents as the alleged ringleader of a plot to carry out a mass casualty event at the UFC White House event on June 14th,
00:38:43.040 is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who overstayed his visa, according to Homeland Security information.
00:38:50.400 Alvarez came to the United States as a child and was granted by the Obama administration in 2014 deportation relief
00:38:59.680 through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival DACA program after he failed to leave the country when his B-2 visa expired in 2001.
00:39:10.960 Five co-conspirators were arrested so far this month for allegedly planning with others
00:39:15.600 to use drones equipped with explosives to force an evacuation from the White House event on Sunday,
00:39:22.020 and in the ensuing chaos, a team of snipers was allegedly set to open fire on the crowds.
00:39:27.260 Federal investigators claim Alvarez was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the planned attack.
00:39:35.060 Court records ousted Alvarez as a foreign national, considering he consented to a consular notification after his arrest this weekend, though the documents provided no information on the specific immigration status nor his country of origin.
00:39:50.960 ICE lodged a detainer for Alvarez following the FBI's arrest.
00:39:55.780 Alvarez was arrested by the FBI on the day of the fight in Omaha, Nebraska.
00:40:00.020 The White House and the FBI declined to comment. But DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Laura Biss said in a statement, quote, this illegal alien from Mexico should never have been allowed into our country. He was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting USC Freedom 250 at the White House. He will face justice and swiftly be removed from our country.
00:40:23.440 look this is uh when you have open borders and you flow tens of millions of illegal immigrants 0.96
00:40:30.400 into the country you bring in among the hate us criminals murderers rapists and terrorists and 0.94
00:40:37.940 and and this is yet another example of how it makes all of us less safe yeah it also goes back
00:40:44.160 to the issue and i think this is an important point to make people that hate this country and
00:40:48.840 And you let some of the men that hate this country, this is what they do.
00:40:52.740 And we see it time and time again where these stories keep breaking that people there are committing heinous, horrific crimes against Americans.
00:40:59.700 And this would have been trying to kill a president, vice president, cabinet members, members of Congress.
00:41:04.540 The list goes on to billionaires.
00:41:06.540 This was someone that had disdain for the United States of America and everyone in it that has been successful.
00:41:14.180 That is something that I think people need to really, really get their head around.
00:41:17.480 Yeah, and it was indiscriminate.
00:41:19.060 They were going to kill as many people as they possibly could,
00:41:21.300 and thank God for law enforcement stopping it.
00:41:23.880 Amen to that.
00:41:24.580 Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
00:41:26.920 So if you're listening on the radio right now, thanks for joining us.
00:41:29.400 We'll be back on this radio station next week.
00:41:31.180 But also, grab your phone right now.
00:41:33.200 You have a podcast app on your phone.
00:41:35.540 Just do it in your little search bar, podcast.
00:41:37.560 It's purple.
00:41:38.200 If you have an iPhone, click on it.
00:41:39.500 And you can subscribe to Verdict with Ted Cruz and get every single episode for free.
00:41:45.740 So make sure you do that.
00:41:46.320 also on YouTube.
00:41:47.220 And The Center and I will see you back here on this radio station next week
00:41:49.880 and on the podcast all week long.
00:41:51.860 On Newt's World Podcast, we're celebrating America's 250th birthday.
00:41:56.260 And I ask my guests how they're spending their 4th of July.
00:42:00.120 Brett Baer.
00:42:01.060 I will be working.
00:42:02.640 I'll be in Washington because it's a big, big day.
00:42:05.880 Jared Isaacman.
00:42:06.880 I plan to be flying an F-5 fighter jet painted in Freedom 250 colors
00:42:11.080 along with four other fighter jets flying over the nation's capital.
00:42:14.600 Listen to Newt's World on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:42:22.140 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?
00:42:25.620 We're not boring.
00:42:26.600 A lot of news is boring.
00:42:27.600 And tedious.
00:42:28.460 And depressing.
00:42:29.060 And makes you angry.
00:42:30.440 You don't want to live your life like that.
00:42:32.700 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:42:33.760 He's Joe Getty.
00:42:34.420 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:42:35.520 We try to bring you the truth.
00:42:36.680 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:42:38.940 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:42:40.680 we have a winner yes listen to armstrong and getty on demand on the iheart radio app apple
00:42:49.400 podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts as america marks its 250th anniversary we're looking
00:42:55.420 back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty through the eyes of the heroes who
00:43:00.220 defended it the whole thing about this country is freedom if we're not careful we could lose that
00:43:06.360 On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage, we bring you the defining moments of valor that went above and beyond the call of duty.
00:43:14.420 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.