Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 26, 2026


Mayhem in Minneapolis： Why it's Happening, How to Stop it & Why Dems Will Shut the Government Down to Encourage More 


Episode Stats

Length

37 minutes

Words per Minute

178.09651

Word Count

6,701

Sentence Count

518

Misogynist Sentences

11

Hate Speech Sentences

7


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.380 Welcome to the special snow baguette and version of Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:00:09.840 Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:11.220 And there's a lot of you that are listening that I know are dealing with the insanity of the freezing rain and the snow.
00:00:16.860 I hope you're enjoying it with your kids making some memories, but it's a lot going on, Senator.
00:00:21.860 So for everybody out there that is listening, God bless you.
00:00:24.300 Stay warm.
00:00:25.520 Well, stay warm and stay safe.
00:00:27.180 There are power outages across the country.
00:00:29.300 There is snow and ice across about half of the country.
00:00:33.380 The state of Texas is largely engulfed in the winter storm.
00:00:37.100 There's snow and ice up north.
00:00:39.180 You and I, Ben, are both in Houston right now.
00:00:41.340 Houston's still in the 30s, so we haven't had snow or ice.
00:00:44.340 It's supposed to drop to the 20s tonight.
00:00:47.280 And, look, my counsel to everyone is stay safe.
00:00:50.320 If you don't need to be on icy roads, don't go out on icy roads.
00:00:53.820 Take some time and be home with the kids.
00:00:56.280 Keep your family safe.
00:00:57.640 It's a good excuse to do something with your kids.
00:01:00.260 Do something with your wife or your husband.
00:01:03.540 And just don't take any unnecessary travel right now.
00:01:07.560 Stay safe.
00:01:09.020 And make sure you keep your family safe.
00:01:12.180 By the way, Senator, have you played this game called Mahjong yet?
00:01:15.760 Do I look like a 90-year-old woman?
00:01:17.920 Okay.
00:01:18.220 This is what happened.
00:01:20.320 See, you come up with this idea.
00:01:21.960 Spend time with your family.
00:01:23.260 Play games.
00:01:24.380 And I got suckered into my first ever game of Mahjong.
00:01:27.160 I literally wanted to beat my head against it.
00:01:29.620 So if it's offered to you, run is what I'm trying to tell you.
00:01:32.840 I barely made it through a game.
00:01:34.480 It was like watching paint dry, but more painful.
00:01:39.160 So, Ben, I'm actually male.
00:01:42.100 So, no, I have not played that game.
00:01:45.200 I told you.
00:01:45.840 I got suckered into it.
00:01:46.960 This is what happens.
00:01:48.000 It's like, oh, let's play games.
00:01:50.140 I did this week play a game called poker.
00:01:52.680 You may have heard of it.
00:01:53.540 It's something that men do when they gather.
00:01:56.020 I also got in trouble.
00:01:57.480 This is what happens.
00:01:58.400 Okay?
00:01:58.720 I'm glad you brought that up.
00:01:59.740 I got in trouble for teaching my twins who were six and my nine-year-old how to play Texas Hold'em with chips.
00:02:05.060 I was like, we're not playing for money.
00:02:06.240 We're just playing for chips.
00:02:07.380 I got in trouble.
00:02:08.380 Therefore, I got punished with Mahjong.
00:02:09.880 So it's full circle.
00:02:11.200 I'm glad that you figured that out there.
00:02:13.120 You know, you're failing as a father.
00:02:15.360 I literally have a poker chip right here.
00:02:17.400 Do you see this?
00:02:18.040 There it is.
00:02:18.560 Yeah.
00:02:19.420 If you don't teach your boys to play poker, you are failing as a father.
00:02:24.020 Thank you.
00:02:24.660 Okay.
00:02:24.920 I'm going to quote you on that as my rebuttal later on.
00:02:27.900 I'm not sure that will get you out of any trouble at all.
00:02:32.360 All I know is whoever made Mahjong, I want to get in a bar fight with him.
00:02:35.740 I just want to be on the record for that.
00:02:37.140 It may be the dumbest game I've ever played.
00:02:38.780 Come at me on the comments.
00:02:40.280 I think it's like a 2,000-year-old Chinese woman.
00:02:44.260 Yeah.
00:02:45.140 And if I found her, it may be the first I'd ever even think about hitting a woman.
00:02:49.020 That's how much I hate this game.
00:02:51.140 I'll be on the record.
00:02:52.240 I'm fine with that.
00:02:52.900 You can come at me in the comments section.
00:02:55.160 I'm just saying if the 2,000-year-old Chinese woman happens to be alive, I'm not sure you
00:02:59.220 want to fight her because there's some weird zombie action going on.
00:03:02.360 That's true.
00:03:02.740 I'll be throwing poker chips at her.
00:03:04.140 I like it.
00:03:05.000 All right.
00:03:05.320 We've got a lot to talk about on today's show.
00:03:07.560 And you've been warned, men, out there about Mahjong.
00:03:09.960 Don't take the bait.
00:03:10.880 I don't care how cold it is or how long the power is off or how close the Mahjong table
00:03:14.740 is to the fireplace.
00:03:16.000 Don't take the bait.
00:03:17.060 I want to take a quick moment and talk to you about an incredible organization, and
00:03:21.340 it is called Compassion International and how you can get involved.
00:03:25.960 I want you to just pause what you're doing for the next 60 seconds.
00:03:29.700 And I want you to imagine Lucy, a seven-year-old.
00:03:32.920 Her stomach often aches with hunger.
00:03:35.140 Her small hands, instead of holding crayons.
00:03:38.160 Know only the struggle of survival on dusty streets.
00:03:41.900 School is a distant dream.
00:03:44.300 Medical care, a forgotten hope.
00:03:46.220 Lucy's potential is overshadowed.
00:03:48.960 Her future is dim.
00:03:50.320 But what if someone stepped in?
00:03:52.120 What if there was a way to ignite hope for children just like Lucy?
00:03:55.820 Well, there is.
00:03:56.780 And that is with Compassion International Partners and the local churches that provide children
00:04:02.940 holistic support.
00:04:04.420 More than just food, they receive critical medical care, life-changing education, vital
00:04:10.560 skills training, and spiritual development, all in Jesus' name.
00:04:14.620 And you can empower a child just like Lucy to break free from poverty.
00:04:20.400 I want you to do what I've done and sponsor a child today.
00:04:23.880 You can visit Compassion.com.
00:04:26.700 That's Compassion.com.
00:04:29.960 We've got a lot.
00:04:31.140 Minneapolis, we've got to talk about, Senator, and the chaos there.
00:04:34.120 We also have a government shutdown that's looming, apparently, over this issue with ICE.
00:04:38.140 Let's go through that real quick.
00:04:40.520 Yeah, let's start with Minneapolis.
00:04:43.540 And listen, everyone who has anything resembling a conscience is horrified by what's happening
00:04:49.720 in Minneapolis.
00:04:50.780 And what I want to call on everyone to do is just ratchet things down.
00:04:56.920 Ratchet the rhetoric down.
00:04:59.500 Ratchet the anger down.
00:05:00.940 You know, we are a nation, and we're supposed to be one nation.
00:05:05.320 And right now, we're seeing a confrontation.
00:05:09.000 Now, look, this is an organized confrontation.
00:05:11.280 This is a deliberate confrontation.
00:05:12.980 We're going to talk about that.
00:05:14.640 But I want to start with the rhetoric that politicians are using on both sides.
00:05:19.960 And the rhetoric, frankly, that people are using, just people on both sides on X are using.
00:05:25.460 Where on one side, they view every shooting as an absolute tragedy, as evidence that America
00:05:34.600 has become Nazi Germany.
00:05:36.660 On the other side, you see some people that seem pretty eager to celebrate a violent and
00:05:44.440 lethal confrontation with law enforcement.
00:05:47.500 And listen, there are lethal confrontations with law enforcement.
00:05:51.600 They happen.
00:05:52.400 But any time you have an American who is killed in a confrontation with law enforcement, it
00:05:57.880 is tragic that a life is lost, particularly in this instance.
00:06:02.060 We now have two people, two Americans who've been killed in confrontations with law enforcement,
00:06:07.740 who from all appearances are not violent criminals.
00:06:11.320 They don't have long criminal records, or at least if they do, we don't know them right
00:06:15.120 now.
00:06:15.400 There's no indication that they do.
00:06:16.880 And any time you have an encounter gone wrong that results in a fatality, there is cause
00:06:25.120 for mourning.
00:06:25.840 There is cause for grief.
00:06:28.600 You know, that was somebody's mother.
00:06:30.860 That was somebody's brother or sister or father.
00:06:34.800 And, you know, that's a tragedy.
00:06:38.000 At the same time, we can ask, what has caused these shootings?
00:06:43.340 What has caused these violent encounters?
00:06:45.380 I'll give you an amazing stat, which is in Texas, where you and I both live, there have
00:06:50.940 been anywhere from six times to 10 times as many ice arrests in Texas as there have been
00:06:58.280 in Minnesota.
00:06:59.380 The numbers vary, but according to 2026 reports, Texas has seen approximately 60,000 arrests,
00:07:08.900 ice arrests, compared to approximately 10,000 in Minnesota.
00:07:12.920 That's one estimate that there are numbers that vary, but we're not seeing violent confrontations
00:07:19.740 with ice in Texas.
00:07:21.160 And I think there are a couple of reasons for that.
00:07:23.860 One, the state and local officials are cooperating.
00:07:27.680 Yep.
00:07:27.860 Local police are working with the federal immigration enforcement agents.
00:07:34.200 In Minnesota, the governor, the mayor, the local officials have decided to, to, well, to use
00:07:42.680 Tim Walts's word, go to war with the federal government.
00:07:47.080 Civil war is what they're describing.
00:07:48.600 And you have that governor there over his fence, like yelling and encouraging people to,
00:07:52.180 to, to go after ice.
00:07:54.000 You have Democrat politicians who are behaving with, with reckless irresponsibility, urging
00:08:01.660 citizens, go out, find ice, confront ice, get in their way, frustrate them, block them
00:08:08.540 from, from, from arresting violent criminals, from arresting murderers, from arresting gang
00:08:13.320 bangers, from arresting child molesters.
00:08:15.760 Um, and, and, and you see those efforts that, that really, the, the flames being fanned as
00:08:23.660 you use rhetoric, calling federal law enforcement officers, Nazis or Klansmen or Gestapo.
00:08:30.360 Well, that, that, that, that leads to the temperature going up and up and up.
00:08:34.960 I'll say secondly, just, just a word of, uh, of advice to anyone who, who is in an interaction
00:08:42.600 with law enforcement, um, which is don't do anything on your own side to escalate.
00:08:48.820 If you are driving a vehicle, an SUV, and you drive that vehicle directly into a law
00:08:54.640 enforcement agent, the odds are quite significant.
00:08:57.040 You will be met with lethal force.
00:08:58.980 That's true in Minnesota.
00:08:59.900 It's true.
00:09:00.400 Most places across the country that, that, that, that if you respond to law enforcement
00:09:05.260 with violence, you are risking your own safety and your own life.
00:09:08.920 And likewise, this latest shooting, look, as, as, as we sit here today, we don't know
00:09:14.320 all the facts.
00:09:15.000 And, and one of the things I would urge people to do is not to just leap to conclusions.
00:09:19.380 Um, anytime you have an officer involved shooting, there's always an investigation that
00:09:23.560 is standard practice, uh, in just about any context.
00:09:26.480 And so there'll be an investigation here.
00:09:28.780 Uh, you and I have both seen a number of the videos.
00:09:31.720 It is hard to tell from the videos exactly what happened.
00:09:34.880 There's a lot of, uh, day after quarterbacking going for springing by frame.
00:09:41.160 What I can tell you is this.
00:09:42.780 We know that the individual who lost his life came to the protest.
00:09:46.200 He came to the protest as has been reported multiple times with a firearm, with, with multiple
00:09:52.280 magazines, uh, of ammunition.
00:09:54.780 And, and there was a violent confrontation that ultimately resulted in his being shot and
00:10:00.000 killed.
00:10:00.560 What exactly transpired?
00:10:02.320 I'm going to wait for the investigation to figure that out that there are basic rules
00:10:07.660 that govern when officers, either police or, or federal law enforcement officers, when they
00:10:13.800 can permissibly use lethal force, uh, they can use lethal lethal force if they reasonably
00:10:20.360 believe that, that their safety is in danger or the safety of others are in danger.
00:10:26.100 And so they can use lethal force if, if in the instance of, of the first woman who was
00:10:32.200 killed, we saw it, it took a couple of days for it to come out, the video of, of the ice
00:10:38.340 agent from his camera.
00:10:40.260 And she clearly drives the vehicle straight into him and hits him.
00:10:44.600 And the ice agent ended up going to the hospital with internal injuries.
00:10:48.380 If you actually run over a law enforcement officer, that, uh, that is a justifiable use of lethal
00:10:56.180 force.
00:10:56.720 Um, with respect to the most recent incident, incident, it will depend upon the extent to
00:11:02.080 which the, the agents reasonably believed, uh, that, that the individual posed a threat to
00:11:09.740 them.
00:11:09.940 And he had, he had a gun.
00:11:11.260 There was confusion, um, confusion at the time.
00:11:14.780 And so there needs to be an investigation.
00:11:16.620 Here's what they can't do.
00:11:17.960 What they can't do is if a suspect is fleeing and by the way, fleeing, even if they've committed
00:11:22.740 a crime, there's a classic example of someone steals a television and they're running away
00:11:27.120 with the television.
00:11:28.240 An officer is not allowed to shoot someone in the back, even as if they're committing
00:11:32.260 a crime, uh, the Supreme court has, has ruled that you cannot use that lethal force to
00:11:38.160 shoot someone in the back when they're fleeing a crime.
00:11:40.020 So, so whether it is a good shooter, a bad shoot turns, uh, on the question of, did the
00:11:47.040 officers reasonably believe that, that, that the individual posed a, a, a serious threat
00:11:53.180 to themselves or to others, they can intervene.
00:11:55.360 If, if, if someone is getting ready to hurt somebody else, they can also use lethal force
00:12:00.240 to prevent that.
00:12:01.300 I'll say this also though, that question will take some time and an investigation to resolve,
00:12:06.440 but the individual who was shot, he could have avoided that risk altogether.
00:12:11.180 All of this could have avoided number one, number one, he could have chosen not to go
00:12:16.380 to the protest.
00:12:17.080 That's one choice.
00:12:17.840 Now you might say, well, he feels passionately that he disagrees with what ice is doing and
00:12:23.060 he wants to exercise his first amendment rights.
00:12:25.120 Okay.
00:12:25.640 Those are protected.
00:12:26.800 He has that right.
00:12:28.200 Secondly, he could have chosen to go there and not bring a firearm.
00:12:32.960 Now, lots of folks on, on X are going back and forth saying the second amendment, you got
00:12:38.160 a right to bring your gun and you're right.
00:12:39.700 You do.
00:12:40.180 You do have a right to bring your gun.
00:12:41.760 That being said, if you are going into an environment where there is a reasonable possibility
00:12:46.980 that you will get at a violent confrontation with law enforcement, my advice to everyone,
00:12:51.820 leave your damn gun home.
00:12:53.020 If you are anticipating violent confrontation with law enforcement, you're having a gun.
00:12:58.880 And if you're wanting to get arrested, if you're wanting to get a mugshot that day, and there's
00:13:03.060 some protesters that got there and they want to get arrested, it's pro and if you're going
00:13:06.900 to fight the police, there's two, by the way, there's two different types of being arrested.
00:13:10.620 You go back to civil rights and there was, and Martin Luther King was a perfect example
00:13:15.240 of this.
00:13:15.980 Many times they knew they were going to be arrested, but they did it in a very peaceful
00:13:18.640 manner.
00:13:19.420 Fighting police officers while having a firearm on you is always stupid.
00:13:23.800 You're putting your life at risk.
00:13:25.160 As my dad said, we were talking about this and he's obviously life in law enforcement.
00:13:28.880 I carry a gun.
00:13:30.360 When I'm pulled over, the first thing I do is I tell that police officer, I have a gun.
00:13:34.820 I want you to know it.
00:13:35.960 What do you want me to do?
00:13:37.060 I can either take it off, I can put it on the foreboard, it's on my holster, on my waist,
00:13:40.920 whatever.
00:13:41.740 But you don't, you have a right to carry a gun.
00:13:44.900 And I think this is one of those things, I think it's important we make it clear.
00:13:48.540 I'm in favor of people carrying a gun.
00:13:50.220 You are as well.
00:13:51.560 What I'm not in favor of is saying that carrying a gun while fighting a cop is somehow protected
00:13:56.380 as part of your Second Amendment.
00:13:58.680 That is not how it works.
00:14:00.320 And there's too many people out there that are like, well, so now you guys are saying
00:14:04.440 you're not in favor of the Second Amendment.
00:14:05.500 No, I'm in favor of the Second Amendment.
00:14:06.580 I'm also in favor of you not fighting law enforcement while having a gun on your person
00:14:10.640 and putting their lives at risk.
00:14:12.240 Because you're putting their lives at risk and your own life at risk.
00:14:15.200 I just want to get that off my chest because I've been seeing these internet warriors and
00:14:18.180 they drive me insane.
00:14:19.480 Yeah.
00:14:19.740 And look, just because you have a right to do something doesn't mean that doing it in those
00:14:25.080 circumstances isn't stupid.
00:14:27.560 Yes.
00:14:27.960 If you are anticipating getting in a violent confrontation with police officers, by the
00:14:32.280 way, that's stupid in and of itself.
00:14:33.680 You should not get in a violent confrontation with police officers.
00:14:36.820 But if you are entering an environment where you see that as a reasonable possibility, if
00:14:43.140 you have an IQ that breaks room temperature, any firearm you have, leave it at home.
00:14:49.100 Why?
00:14:50.040 Because in a violent confrontation with law enforcement, if you have a firearm, the odds
00:14:56.840 of that confrontation escalating rise dramatically.
00:15:00.060 Look, police officers don't know if you intend to use that firearm to commit harm, to harm
00:15:07.400 others or to harm them.
00:15:08.500 We are seeing, sadly, leftists targeting ICE agents for murder.
00:15:13.820 And if you have that firearm and you're engaged in violence, the agent's perception of the physical
00:15:21.060 threat to them is understandably much, much higher.
00:15:24.580 Yep.
00:15:25.040 Had that individual left his gun at home, he almost certainly would be alive today.
00:15:30.100 And third, I'd say, don't engage in a violent confrontation with law enforcement.
00:15:35.320 Don't and listen, many of these, I wish the governor waltz would also say the same thing
00:15:39.660 you're saying right now.
00:15:40.400 I wish the mayor would say the same thing as well, because they're out there basically
00:15:43.640 saying they're not going to risk their lives.
00:15:45.620 They're wanting people to hire people and encourage others to show up and basically go out there
00:15:51.960 and risk their lives.
00:15:53.580 They're going to stay in their mansions.
00:15:55.400 They're going to stay back in their billion dollar yachts, writing these checks to these
00:15:58.660 protesters and follow the money.
00:16:00.920 But you've got a governor and a mayor there that are deliberately, I would say, putting
00:16:04.960 their citizens' lives at risk and encouraging it.
00:16:07.820 They're not pulling back.
00:16:08.920 After we saw the last lady that was shot when she was running over an ICE agent with a two-ton
00:16:13.460 car, they've encouraged more of that, which I also think is very sick for them as an elected
00:16:18.400 official.
00:16:19.360 It is reckless and it is irresponsible.
00:16:22.200 And they're doing it, I will say, from the political agenda of a leftist.
00:16:26.420 Seeing more civilians killed in confrontations with ICE agents furthers their political agenda.
00:16:33.940 They want ICE delegitimized.
00:16:36.520 They want enforcing our federal immigration laws delegitimized.
00:16:41.200 Why?
00:16:41.860 Because they supported for four years open borders.
00:16:44.480 They've decided they are a radical open borders party.
00:16:47.600 And every single shooting you have, particularly with someone who is not a Trender-Aragua gang
00:16:55.520 member, an MS-13 gang member, someone who appears to be a mother of three or an ICU nurse,
00:17:03.580 every shooting that happens, unfortunately, we're seeing Democrats in the media use to inflame
00:17:11.480 the tensions, to divide us more, and to distract from the absolute scandal of $9 billion stolen
00:17:18.040 by Somali fraudsters in Minnesota.
00:17:20.320 This is the guy at jail free card, and we need to connect that dot for people so they understand.
00:17:25.020 I truly believe that the Democratic Party as a whole, certainly the governor and the mayor,
00:17:31.500 they need a distraction from the billions that were stolen and their connection and their donations
00:17:38.080 that came to them from some of these people that are even in jail now.
00:17:41.420 They need this to go away.
00:17:43.180 I think every time there's a shooting there, they think, great, we're getting away from
00:17:46.700 that scandal, and this is the new thing, so this is working out perfectly for us.
00:17:51.720 That also is a part of this, the politics that people have to understand.
00:17:55.280 I think that is absolutely right, particularly because I think many of those Democrat politicians
00:18:00.220 are complicit and face their own liability for what is to date the most massive taxpayer fraud
00:18:06.460 that has ever been discovered.
00:18:07.620 There may be larger ones in states like California and New York, but Minnesota is right now the
00:18:12.460 single largest in the history of America, and the Democrats really, really, really want
00:18:17.360 everyone to forget that.
00:18:18.760 Let me say something else.
00:18:20.100 I don't think it's an accident that this is happening in Minneapolis.
00:18:24.540 Minneapolis is where the George Floyd riots began.
00:18:28.280 It's where the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots began, where the looting began, where the
00:18:33.660 firebombing of police cars began, where the violence began.
00:18:37.620 And there has grown up an organized, funded resistance in Minneapolis that operates in many ways like a
00:18:47.580 military force.
00:18:48.840 Operates with intelligence.
00:18:50.520 Operates with millions of dollars behind it.
00:18:53.220 Operates with surveillance.
00:18:54.980 Operates by targeting law enforcement agents.
00:18:58.180 Operates by sending people in to deliberately obstruct law enforcement, including, you had it, one of these,
00:19:03.860 one of these instances, one detainee bit the finger off of a law enforcement agent.
00:19:10.200 You had another person who was arrested who had spikes that she was putting to blow the tires out on law enforcement vehicles, and she was arrested with a whole bag full of those.
00:19:22.640 They are engaged in not just peaceful protests standing there holding a sign, but deliberately active, violent protests designed to stop law enforcement from arresting the criminals.
00:19:35.740 And there's real money behind it.
00:19:38.460 And listen, I would call upon DOJ and the FBI, follow the money in Minnesota.
00:19:45.340 Amen.
00:19:45.700 You see report after report after report of people being surveilled, of people being stopped on the street and asked for their identification, not by law enforcement, but by these rogue militias.
00:19:58.880 And, you know, the Democrats in the media were really fond for a long time of using the word insurrection.
00:20:05.220 Yes, they love that word.
00:20:06.880 A violent effort to take over a city is, in fact, an insurrection, sustained, engaged in violence, funded.
00:20:14.760 And we are seeing that.
00:20:16.300 And, indeed, we've seen, I've seen pictures on X of parts of Minnesota where they're building walls and trying to create an autonomous zone.
00:20:24.240 And it is exacerbated by the fact that the Democrat politicians are handcuffing the police so that the local police are not able to do their job.
00:20:33.880 And I'm certain those police are deeply frustrated by the politician bosses that prevent them from doing their job.
00:20:41.140 Canadian women are looking for more.
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00:21:06.380 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
00:21:12.220 By the way, what you just said is the perfect segue into the second subject that I want to cover.
00:21:16.860 And that is Democrats right now are trying to find any way they can to fight back and to hurt Donald Trump because approval ratings give you your power in Washington, D.C., especially if you're dealing with rhinos on the House side or even on the Senate side.
00:21:32.540 Right.
00:21:32.780 If they look at the poll numbers more than anybody, they want a reason not to stand with President Trump on certain issues.
00:21:38.200 That's how Washington works.
00:21:40.540 And what we're now witnessing is Democrats, I think, feel like this issue plays to their base.
00:21:47.660 It engages their base, and they're now going to use it to justify another government shutdown.
00:21:56.980 This is my opinion.
00:21:57.920 I want to get your thoughts on it because I think that we're headed there for this reason where they're like, hey, we have a justification now for what we want to get rid of ICE.
00:22:07.260 We want to get rid of ICE funding, funding for them.
00:22:09.100 Is that worth shutting the government down over?
00:22:10.960 Are you seeing the way I'm seeing it now that this is where we're headed?
00:22:14.360 Yes, but before we get to shutdown, I want to point out because politically it's more than just their base.
00:22:21.080 Yes, it is true that these violent protests energize their base, drives turnout, drives fundraising.
00:22:27.420 The crazies get all the more excited, the more violence the left foments.
00:22:32.500 But it's about more than that.
00:22:33.960 It's also about totally capturing the news cycle, taking the fraud and corruption out of the news cycle.
00:22:40.920 That's a totally separate objective that is critically important to them.
00:22:45.040 But there is a third one, Ben, which is not the base of the Democrat Party, but rather moderate women, soccer moms, who may not be deeply politically engaged.
00:22:57.100 And historically, moderate suburban women have been a swing vote.
00:23:01.160 If you look in the last decade, the two most predominant political movements we've seen is that we've seen, number one, blue collar voters moving right.
00:23:12.820 That's moved Midwestern states.
00:23:14.700 States like Ohio have gotten a lot red.
00:23:16.760 They used to be purple.
00:23:17.680 Ohio is now red.
00:23:18.780 But we've also seen suburban voters, particularly suburban women, moving left.
00:23:22.780 And that's moved what used to be red states to purple.
00:23:26.460 States like Georgia and Arizona, both of them just a few years ago, they had four Republican senators from Georgia and Arizona.
00:23:34.680 We now have four Democrat senators from Georgia and Arizona.
00:23:38.680 The reason is suburban women in Atlanta and Phoenix move left.
00:23:42.700 The Democrats of the media are seizing on this to tell stories and understand they're looking for not the person that is following every development, but just the person who's living, living their life and taking in what's happening and seeing a headline, you know, ice shoots mother of three.
00:24:04.000 Ice shoots ICU nurse.
00:24:07.180 Ice apprehends five year old child.
00:24:09.880 That story was everywhere.
00:24:10.940 By the way, it's a total lie.
00:24:12.700 It's absolutely false.
00:24:14.380 In fact, what happened is ice came to apprehend the father.
00:24:17.880 The father ran off and abandoned the five year old child.
00:24:21.320 And understandably, ice was not going to leave a five year old child alone on the street in the middle of winter.
00:24:28.000 Much less freezing to death outside.
00:24:28.840 Yeah.
00:24:29.000 I mean, they wouldn't leave him alone, period.
00:24:30.880 But the argument that the left has made, I'm like, let me get this straight.
00:24:33.720 You guys want the kid to be left alone just to wander the streets of a city and be alone?
00:24:39.120 That's insane.
00:24:39.660 And then in the winter, when they could freeze to death, that's also insane.
00:24:43.680 They actually found the woman, the mother of the child.
00:24:46.840 It is reported they found the mother of the child.
00:24:49.360 They knocked on the door, tried to give the child back to her.
00:24:52.080 She wouldn't take him.
00:24:53.080 She closed the door and said, no, I won't take him.
00:24:55.840 And so, look, the purpose of that story is not actually factual journalism.
00:25:01.700 It is entirely about telling a story to pull on people's heartstrings and to cause suburban voters who are not paying close attention to say, oh, this has gone too far.
00:25:14.020 If they're shooting moms and nurses and arresting little kids, clearly it's gone too far.
00:25:19.140 This is a political campaign.
00:25:21.740 And tragically, it's a political campaign that is costing people's lives.
00:25:26.000 But because, look, the political campaign is having some real effect.
00:25:30.020 It is having effect.
00:25:32.640 We saw, you know, John Kasich, speaking of suburban women, we saw John Kasich put out a whole video saying, you know, oh, oh, I'm just I'm hurting so much.
00:25:47.600 We must stop.
00:25:48.560 We must stop arresting illegals.
00:25:50.720 You know, unfortunately, that's the target audience.
00:25:54.220 And and and in the world of politics, we've got to realize that we've got to confront the bad stories with stories that are compelling.
00:26:03.440 And it's where tone matters.
00:26:04.860 And I would encourage, look, the administration is doing a fantastic job securing the border.
00:26:11.260 Illegal crossings have dropped 99 percent.
00:26:13.680 It's phenomenal.
00:26:14.260 They're doing a terrific job going and arresting violent criminals, murderers and rapists and gang bangers, which is why we've seen the murder rate drop 20 percent.
00:26:25.120 We covered that in the last podcast that the murder rate has dropped 20 percent across the country.
00:26:30.200 That's a massive success.
00:26:31.560 What I think the administration could do better is is the tone with which they're describing this, that that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out.
00:26:42.900 You know, guns blazing that that we took out a violent terrorist.
00:26:47.720 Hooray.
00:26:48.440 And the problem is, particularly for someone not paying attention, if you're being told this is a mom of three and there's no indication, you know, she's not waving an ISIS flag or doesn't have a suicide vest around her.
00:27:01.580 Yeah.
00:27:02.820 Escalating the rhetoric doesn't help.
00:27:05.540 And it actually loses credibility.
00:27:07.680 And so I would encourage the administration to be more measured, to recognize the tragedy and to say we don't want anyone, anyone's lives to be lost.
00:27:18.280 And the politicians who are pouring gasoline onto this fire, they need to stop.
00:27:24.500 Yeah, I agree with you there.
00:27:26.220 And I also think, look, facts matter.
00:27:28.620 Explaining what happened is very important.
00:27:30.860 The five-year-old story is a perfect example.
00:27:32.840 All the morning news shows, ABC, NBC, CBS, they led with that story and ran it into the ground that morning that a five-year-old was detained by ICE.
00:27:41.080 And they didn't correct that story.
00:27:43.640 It's a new year, 2026.
00:27:45.940 You probably heard the name Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
00:27:48.460 So the question so many people have is, is it safe and is it something that I should be invested in?
00:27:55.220 It's a question I want to get answered for you today.
00:27:58.060 And joining me now to talk about that is the co-founder of Bitcoin IRA, Chris Klein.
00:28:02.740 Chris, I appreciate you being here.
00:28:04.840 And it is pretty cool to see what's happening in the crypto space.
00:28:08.240 It has become normal.
00:28:09.760 It now can be a part of your IRA.
00:28:11.880 The federal government has changed the rules.
00:28:14.460 They're accepting cryptocurrency like it's a stock.
00:28:17.300 Yes, absolutely.
00:28:18.240 And it's really driven itself into a mainstream space.
00:28:21.300 I remember a decade ago when we first started Bitcoin IRA and everybody was like, are you crazy, kid?
00:28:26.820 You're putting Bitcoin in retirement accounts.
00:28:29.160 Is this even possible?
00:28:30.240 And you fast forward to where we're at today where countries are building stockpiles, corporations are building stockpiles.
00:28:35.840 Strategy, for example, is pretty much its entire business models around this.
00:28:39.320 It's a piece of diversification that every major player in the space in economics is looking at.
00:28:44.520 And so should, too, the individual sovereignty of the average American looking to put it inside of their retirement.
00:28:49.020 You guys actually have a really cool stat that you told me about at dinner.
00:28:52.580 And that is that your clients, 75% were born before 1976.
00:28:58.240 So the idea that you maybe missed out on this or if you're a little older, it's a young man's game in crypto.
00:29:04.320 That is also just not true.
00:29:06.460 That's definitely one of the myths I wanted to come debunk with you and your audiences.
00:29:09.400 This isn't our grandfather's economy and grandfathers are buying Bitcoin and putting it inside of their retirement for long-term holdings, especially now that they're thinking about inheritance and handing some of these things down.
00:29:20.200 But, yeah, that was actually shocking to me.
00:29:21.880 We've discovered that in 2018 that 75% of them were older than my parents' generation.
00:29:27.800 And what we found from surveying all of them was this is something that they think is new age and that I think almost every American, especially older ones, has a genuine concern of watching what's happened to the U.S. dollar over the last four or five decades.
00:29:40.500 And there's always been gold and silver as a potential hedge, land, real estate, these scarce assets.
00:29:45.420 And Bitcoin, while it may seem, oh, that's digital and it's different, it's scarce.
00:29:49.920 There's only 21 million assets of Bitcoin that will ever be mined.
00:29:53.160 19.5 million have been mined so far.
00:29:55.260 And you and I actually won't live, our kids will probably live to see the last one get mined.
00:29:59.900 This is something, you know, we're in a world of abundance since I was born in 1985.
00:30:03.140 It's abundance.
00:30:03.660 We just printed and printed and printed more.
00:30:05.600 This is a moment in time where we may be able to revert back to scarcity.
00:30:08.520 And there'll be a day we're just saying, I have one Bitcoin, will be life-changing.
00:30:12.280 Chris, I hope a lot of people that are watching this, you guys will go and find out more.
00:30:15.920 It is amazing what you can do in your retirement account now, just like your other investments, with Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
00:30:22.980 Find out more right now at BitcoinIRA.com slash Ben.
00:30:28.120 That's BitcoinIRA.com slash Ben.
00:30:31.960 And see what cryptocurrency can do for your portfolio.
00:30:35.120 Not only is the Democratic Party looking for an opportunity, so is the media.
00:30:40.080 And they now believe that, like, this civil war and hold this flag up is, you know, and planet is, we as Democrats, we're willing to shut down the government to defund ICE.
00:30:49.940 That's going to be the premise, is what I've been told from many in the media that I've talked to and some of my friends on the left.
00:30:56.440 They're like, yeah, we're going to shut down.
00:30:57.700 We're justified this time way more than we were last time.
00:31:00.640 Last time we really weren't justified very much in shutting down the government, but we tried it anyway.
00:31:05.140 Now they actually feel emboldened.
00:31:07.220 Do you think a government shutdown is going to come, yes or no?
00:31:10.400 Yes, 100 percent yes.
00:31:12.480 OK, and it's going to be tied to this issue, right?
00:31:14.940 Yes, yes, 100 percent.
00:31:17.140 The last government shutdown, which was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history,
00:31:21.140 Chuck Schumer and the Democrats forced through, really to show his radical base that he was fighting because he's scared of being primaried by AOC.
00:31:29.860 But they also did it to tee up the issue of health care and the cost of health insurance premiums.
00:31:35.960 Mind you, the premiums have skyrocketed because of Obamacare, because of their policy.
00:31:40.340 But they did the shutdown.
00:31:42.020 It was entirely with an eye towards November that they say, look, we fought like crazy on health insurance and the mean Republicans didn't give us what we wanted,
00:31:51.360 which was 50 billion dollars in corporate welfare subsidies to giant health insurance companies.
00:31:56.240 And that's why your health insurance has gone up.
00:31:58.960 Now, that's factually wrong.
00:32:01.840 But it is a political narrative they're telling here.
00:32:05.560 They are going to tell the narrative, we will not fund ICE under any circumstances and we will shut the government down.
00:32:13.280 And by the way, the media covered for them so much.
00:32:17.540 Their base was so happy with the shutdown.
00:32:20.640 I think they perceive very few downsides to shutting the government down.
00:32:24.400 Now, this shutdown that will happen on January 30th will be will likely be smaller than the previous one.
00:32:32.160 And the reason is we funded.
00:32:33.500 Explain explain why, because is that mean they're being more strategic in how they're doing it or explain that?
00:32:39.400 OK, now between the two, we have passed some appropriations bills.
00:32:43.840 So once appropriations bills are passed, those departments are funding.
00:32:48.280 So ag, the Department of Agriculture is funded.
00:32:51.660 And so everything that goes through ag is funded.
00:32:54.940 CJS, Commerce, Justice and Science, that is funded.
00:32:58.460 Energy is funded.
00:32:59.520 Water is funded.
00:33:00.400 Interior, Environment, Ledge Branch, Military Construction and the VA.
00:33:06.160 All of those are funded.
00:33:07.920 So the shutdown will not impact any of those.
00:33:10.480 So what would a shutdown impact?
00:33:12.880 It would it would impact defense, the Department of War.
00:33:16.060 It would impact the Department of Labor.
00:33:18.220 It would impact HHS.
00:33:20.040 It would impact the Department of Education.
00:33:23.060 It would impact the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
00:33:26.880 It would impact the SEC, the FCC, the independent agencies.
00:33:31.780 And it would impact DHS, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE directly under that.
00:33:38.260 And I think you're going to see the Democrats force a shutdown.
00:33:42.360 And actually, you don't have to take my words for it.
00:33:44.360 Here, let me read for you what what Schumer tweeted out to the world.
00:33:48.200 He said, quote, what's happening in Minnesota is appalling and unacceptable in any American city.
00:33:55.960 Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill.
00:34:00.960 But because of Republicans refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE.
00:34:09.300 I will vote no.
00:34:12.100 Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.
00:34:20.800 There he is explicitly, unequivocally threatening a shutdown.
00:34:25.100 I think that's what we're going to see come January 30th.
00:34:27.180 And by the way, he's not the only one.
00:34:28.640 So Elizabeth Warren was responding to another tweet.
00:34:31.280 I want to read it.
00:34:31.880 It was just the tweet she was responding to to give it context.
00:34:35.060 As a reminder, DHS legislation that funds ICE at current levels without policy restrictions is in the Senate and needs 60 votes to pass.
00:34:43.780 Deadline is next Friday.
00:34:45.420 Elizabeth Warren puts it out there with this.
00:34:48.040 And she says, quote, I'm a hell no, not a penny more for ICE.
00:34:52.020 We should not fund this terror.
00:34:55.460 So she's also jumping on board with this as well.
00:34:58.660 And then there's other senators have come out.
00:35:00.320 And so this is why I say this isn't a one off.
00:35:03.040 This is clearly a coordinated attack is the best way I can describe it.
00:35:07.540 Well, here's Chris Murphy on CNN.
00:35:09.900 Give a listen.
00:35:10.820 I want to ask about what your leader, Chuck Schumer, says that Democrats are going to vote against the government funding package that is before the Senate soon.
00:35:20.340 And it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security.
00:35:23.520 How is that going to play out?
00:35:25.760 Well, we can't vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security.
00:35:30.360 We can't fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security.
00:35:33.820 Senator, that's pretty bold words, if you ask me, by a senator that clearly is like, hey, we're all on the same page.
00:35:38.820 This is what we're doing now.
00:35:40.520 Yeah, look, that's the position of every Democrat.
00:35:43.480 And understand, this is the same position that is abolish ICE and abolish the police.
00:35:48.260 They're saying they're going to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the department that is charged with keeping us safe, with securing our border, with protecting our families.
00:36:00.040 And the Democrats are saying we won't fund it.
00:36:03.300 So what will happen?
00:36:04.460 I think there's a chance we see Congress put together an appropriations package that funds everything but DHS.
00:36:12.440 That that might be that might pass in terms of DHS.
00:36:17.820 I think the Democrats are going to force a shutdown and I think they want it to be extended.
00:36:22.260 And in order, this is not a short one.
00:36:24.980 To be clear, you think they want this to be painful, almost like they're running in the midterms on this issue of ICE.
00:36:30.860 I think they want to be able to tell their base, we are defunding ICE.
00:36:36.420 We are abolishing ICE.
00:36:38.220 We are against law enforcement.
00:36:40.720 We're with the criminals.
00:36:41.740 That's that's their messaging.
00:36:43.820 It is incredible.
00:36:45.080 We're going to keep covering it.
00:36:46.200 I can promise you that we're going to keep exposing it.
00:36:48.680 I go back to the issue of follow the money here.
00:36:51.100 That's something I'm certainly interested in many other Americans as well.
00:36:53.840 So don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
00:36:56.500 Hit that subscribe or auto download button and make sure you do not miss an episode.
00:37:00.160 Plus, the majority of the episodes now are on Facebook and on YouTube.
00:37:04.160 So you can watch them there.
00:37:05.300 If you're a YouTube watcher, just put in verdict with Ted Cruz as well.
00:37:08.300 And you can watch this episode there as well.
00:37:10.980 And the center, I will see you.
00:37:11.940 Oh, one of the things, let me just say this.
00:37:13.440 Make sure you share this podcast.
00:37:15.060 When you guys put on social media, it reaches people that don't normally listen to it.
00:37:19.220 So I mean this sincerely.
00:37:20.580 Thank you.
00:37:21.240 But people I see all the time in the airport, they're like, hey, what can I do to help?
00:37:24.320 Share the show.
00:37:25.480 Share the show so other people hear the info we're putting out there.
00:37:28.460 It helps tremendously.
00:37:29.640 It's a great way to get involved.
00:37:30.860 So again, we'll see you back here in a couple of days.
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