Verdict with Ted Cruz - On the Road in Mexico Urging the Mexican Government to get Serious about Defeating Cartels plus Dems Bemoan Trump's Fighting Violent Crime

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.700 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.500 Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz.

00:00:07.660 Ben Ferguson with you, Senator.

00:00:09.300 You have come back from a Codel of Latin America, 1.00

00:00:11.980 and it is finally wrapped.

00:00:13.980 You got back in the wee hours of the morning,

00:00:16.380 and you're going to give us a final update

00:00:18.100 on the last part of your trip.

00:00:20.560 Well, I got home at four in the morning last night,

00:00:22.600 so it's good to be at home.

00:00:23.640 It's good to sleep in my own bed.

00:00:25.320 It was a very productive trip.

00:00:26.920 As we discussed on previous pods,

00:00:28.820 we started by going to El Salvador.

00:00:30.740 I met with President Bukele,

00:00:31.940 the president of El Salvador,

00:00:33.700 saw the incredible success he has had

00:00:36.080 defeating gangs, defeating MS-13

00:00:38.440 and the 18th Street Barrio in El Salvador.

00:00:41.580 They've gone from the highest murder rate

00:00:43.400 in the entire world,

00:00:45.940 100 homicides per 100,000 people.

00:00:48.820 That meant in any given year,

00:00:50.760 one in a thousand Salvadorans was being murdered.

00:00:54.240 That number has plummeted by 98%.

00:00:56.700 Last year, their murder rate was 1.9 per 100,000.

00:01:00.940 That is among the safest in the world.

00:01:03.580 That is three times safer than the United States of America.

00:01:06.180 We're just over six murders per 100,000.

00:01:08.860 El Salvador is now three times as safe.

00:01:11.420 Incredible success, what they're doing in El Salvador.

00:01:14.120 From then, I flew on to Panama.

00:01:16.960 Panama was a fascinating meeting.

00:01:18.580 I toured the Panama Canal.

00:01:19.800 I must say, it is truly an engineering miracle.

00:01:23.860 The idea that the United States was able to build this

00:01:26.500 more than a century ago, in 1914.

00:01:29.380 It is incredible, an incredible design,

00:01:32.520 and it's incredibly important both for U.S. national security

00:01:36.540 and for U.S. economic security.

00:01:38.420 And so I had multiple discussions

00:01:39.760 with senior Panamanian officials

00:01:41.920 about the critical importance

00:01:44.440 of removing China from the Panama Canal.

00:01:47.840 China right now has a major port

00:01:50.280 at the mouth of both ends of the canal.

00:01:52.920 I went and went right up, right up by that port,

00:01:55.100 and you could see China's strategic location

00:01:58.280 to be able to shut down the Panama Canal.

00:02:00.800 Should we have a military conflict with China?

00:02:03.460 Not only do they have a major port

00:02:05.020 at the mouth of the canal,

00:02:06.060 China is also building a bridge

00:02:07.600 right across the mouth of the canal.

00:02:09.400 At the Pacific, they are also digging a tunnel

00:02:12.260 under the canal for a metro train.

00:02:15.940 Any of those would give them the ability,

00:02:18.080 if they use them maliciously,

00:02:19.500 to try to shut down traffic on the canal,

00:02:21.780 which, among other things,

00:02:23.400 would have a massive economic harm

00:02:25.340 to the United States.

00:02:26.780 But it would also severely limit our ability

00:02:28.740 to move our naval ships.

00:02:30.380 We have a very significant portion

00:02:32.540 of our fleet in the Atlantic.

00:02:34.240 The Panama Canal cuts weeks off the transit

00:02:38.440 to get those ships to the Pacific,

00:02:40.200 and should there be a conflict in the Pacific,

00:02:42.320 the Chinese would like to force our Atlantic fleet 1.00

00:02:45.080 to stay in the Atlantic

00:02:46.060 and not be able to traverse the canal.

00:02:48.340 And so it was a very productive meeting,

00:02:50.420 stressing that the United States

00:02:51.580 was going to do whatever is necessary

00:02:53.240 to make sure that the canal is safe

00:02:56.060 and that the Chinese don't control it.

00:02:58.760 The final step of the CODEL was Mexico. 0.93

00:03:00.880 And I spent yesterday or the day before in Mexico,

00:03:03.860 met with multiple senior government officials,

00:03:06.480 met with the foreign secretary,

00:03:09.300 met with the defense secretary,

00:03:10.520 and met with the agriculture secretary.

00:03:12.460 We had very productive meetings.

00:03:14.000 And the focus of my meetings

00:03:15.860 was very much safety and security,

00:03:20.020 number one, securing the border,

00:03:22.200 and number two,

00:03:23.360 going after the Mexican drug cartels.

00:03:25.960 And we have seen extraordinary success

00:03:28.980 securing our border

00:03:29.840 because President Trump is back in office

00:03:31.780 and because we have a president

00:03:32.920 who is willing to secure the border.

00:03:36.500 And we have seen illegal border crossings

00:03:39.280 drop 99%.

00:03:41.900 When I was in Mexico,

00:03:43.580 I was going to the Mexican government.

00:03:45.100 I was asking the government

00:03:46.180 to join with us,

00:03:47.540 join with us and partner with us

00:03:49.360 in taking out the Mexican drug cartels.

00:03:52.200 We had extensive discussions on this.

00:03:54.600 And finally, we're going to talk about

00:03:55.760 how J.B. Pritzker and the Democrats

00:03:57.440 have decided to be open,

00:03:59.460 that they are in support of criminals. 0.98

00:04:01.060 They are the party of murderers. 1.00

00:04:02.300 They are the party of criminals. 0.99

00:04:04.180 It is sadly,

00:04:05.340 it is the culmination of a long,

00:04:07.140 long downward slide

00:04:08.460 from today's Democrat party.

00:04:09.940 All of you know

00:04:10.880 that I am a pro-Second Amendment guy.

00:04:13.260 I've shared on numerous occasions

00:04:14.580 how carrying my firearms

00:04:16.180 saved my life

00:04:17.120 from a gang-related attack.

00:04:18.820 But for those of you out there

00:04:20.220 with family members

00:04:21.160 who may not be comfortable

00:04:22.320 having a gun,

00:04:23.340 by their side,

00:04:24.220 you still want them

00:04:25.060 to be able to protect themselves

00:04:26.400 and others in times of danger.

00:04:28.280 And that's where

00:04:28.920 the Berna launcher comes in.

00:04:31.160 Berna is a handheld

00:04:31.960 pistol that fires

00:04:33.000 both kinetic rounds

00:04:34.060 and chemical irritants

00:04:35.460 to separate you

00:04:36.460 from an attacker.

00:04:37.300 And I'm here with

00:04:38.260 Josh Sherrard from Berna

00:04:39.740 to share the true story

00:04:41.200 of how an avid hiker

00:04:42.880 used his Berna

00:04:43.780 to stop an attacking mountain lion.

00:04:45.840 Josh, tell us what happened.

00:04:47.340 Yeah, you know,

00:04:47.760 Jason is an avid hiker.

00:04:49.240 Decided to take his family

00:04:50.680 out on a hike

00:04:52.260 that he's done several times.

00:04:53.920 Super easy hike,

00:04:54.760 but super fun.

00:04:56.460 Armed with his Berna,

00:04:57.640 you know,

00:04:58.060 this is one of those things

00:04:58.920 where he didn't expect

00:04:59.560 to see anything.

00:05:00.180 And all of a sudden

00:05:01.120 on this hike,

00:05:02.160 this mountain lion

00:05:02.740 appears out of nowhere.

00:05:04.180 Of course,

00:05:04.360 he sends his family

00:05:05.480 on down the trail,

00:05:06.940 watches the lion

00:05:08.160 for a few minutes,

00:05:08.920 realizing it's not going away.

00:05:10.440 So uses his Berna,

00:05:11.640 fires a few rounds

00:05:12.500 to scare it off.

00:05:13.580 Continues down the trail,

00:05:14.800 but unfortunately,

00:05:15.660 this mountain lion

00:05:16.700 appears again,

00:05:18.320 at which point

00:05:19.160 he realized

00:05:19.660 he was going to have to

00:05:20.640 up his aggression

00:05:21.460 with that Berna.

00:05:22.580 Fires four rounds,

00:05:23.560 was able to strike

00:05:24.620 the mountain lion

00:05:25.260 all four times

00:05:25.980 in chest and torso,

00:05:26.800 at which point

00:05:27.820 that mountain lion

00:05:28.560 tears off

00:05:29.260 and never to be seen again.

00:05:31.120 These guys make it

00:05:32.020 down the trail,

00:05:33.020 but back to their car

00:05:33.840 and back to home safely.

00:05:35.760 Fortunately,

00:05:36.400 this is all it took

00:05:37.440 to make sure

00:05:38.560 and get this family

00:05:39.680 back home safe

00:05:40.540 off a hike

00:05:41.040 that could have

00:05:41.500 taken an obvious turn

00:05:43.260 for the worst.

00:05:44.160 And I'm going to guess

00:05:45.080 that Berna has been used

00:05:46.060 to stop other types

00:05:47.060 of animal attacks as well.

00:05:48.660 Absolutely.

00:05:49.380 We get stories

00:05:50.500 all the time

00:05:51.420 of users

00:05:52.740 with whether it be dogs

00:05:54.360 or other wildlife.

00:05:55.240 We even have an ecological park

00:05:57.140 whose security carries Berna

00:05:58.960 for bears out

00:06:00.700 in the Smoky Mountains

00:06:02.240 out there

00:06:02.740 that's been effective

00:06:03.900 there as well.

00:06:04.760 So, once again,

00:06:05.800 not just a tool for people

00:06:07.060 but very effective

00:06:07.920 against animals as well.

00:06:09.100 It's really incredible.

00:06:10.180 If you want to get

00:06:10.980 more information

00:06:11.640 on how you

00:06:12.400 and your family member

00:06:13.300 can protect themselves

00:06:14.400 with Berna Launcher,

00:06:15.680 go to Berna.com.

00:06:17.540 That's B-Y-R-N-A dot com. 1.00

00:06:20.980 Again, B-Y-R-N-A dot com. 1.00

00:06:23.600 Berna dot com.

00:06:25.180 Senator, let's start

00:06:25.920 with these meetings

00:06:26.460 that you just had in Mexico

00:06:27.520 and you mentioned

00:06:28.560 the issue of safety

00:06:29.840 and security.

00:06:30.960 That obviously is top of mind

00:06:32.260 for so many Americans.

00:06:33.820 Explain what their reaction was,

00:06:36.380 what they had to say

00:06:37.460 about the border

00:06:38.140 being shut down

00:06:38.860 in essence

00:06:39.300 compared to wide open border.

00:06:41.240 Look, one of their top

00:06:42.260 stimulus of their economy

00:06:43.260 is illegal immigrants

00:06:44.180 sending money back to Mexico.

00:06:45.820 So, this is going to have

00:06:46.780 some sort of economic effect

00:06:48.080 on their country

00:06:48.660 I'm sure as well.

00:06:50.420 Well, I started the meeting

00:06:51.660 with a long meeting

00:06:52.620 with Juan Ramón de la Fuente

00:06:54.060 who is the Secretary

00:06:55.200 of Foreign Affairs

00:06:55.960 of Mexico.

00:06:56.820 And it was a very

00:06:57.380 positive meeting.

00:06:58.520 He is, the minister

00:07:00.120 speaks fluent English.

00:07:01.920 He is someone

00:07:02.740 who has spent

00:07:03.720 significant time

00:07:04.660 in the United States.

00:07:05.700 He's a professional economist.

00:07:08.280 And we talked,

00:07:09.580 we actually started

00:07:10.380 by talking about

00:07:11.200 areas of cooperation

00:07:12.200 and in particular

00:07:13.300 trade and commerce

00:07:14.260 between the United States

00:07:15.640 and Mexico.

00:07:16.180 every year

00:07:17.700 in the United States

00:07:18.380 and Mexico

00:07:18.940 that we have

00:07:19.700 roughly $800 billion

00:07:21.720 worth of trade

00:07:22.760 and commerce

00:07:23.200 between our nations.

00:07:24.780 And about $300 billion

00:07:26.400 of that

00:07:26.880 is between

00:07:27.540 Texas and Mexico.

00:07:29.540 And so,

00:07:30.140 one of my big focuses,

00:07:31.460 my number one priority

00:07:32.500 in the Senate

00:07:33.000 without fail,

00:07:34.280 has been jobs.

00:07:35.220 Focusing on more jobs,

00:07:37.200 higher wages,

00:07:38.120 greater opportunity,

00:07:39.140 helping small businesses.

00:07:40.260 And so,

00:07:40.620 expanding trade

00:07:41.460 between Texas

00:07:42.080 and Mexico

00:07:42.640 is good for Texas

00:07:44.420 farmers and ranchers

00:07:45.440 and small businesses.

00:07:46.500 And so,

00:07:46.840 we talked about that.

00:07:47.600 We talked about

00:07:48.300 the four new bridges

00:07:50.260 that I've taken the lead

00:07:51.480 on getting built

00:07:52.340 between South Texas

00:07:53.280 and Mexico

00:07:53.880 to expand the ability

00:07:55.580 for our farmers

00:07:56.160 and ranchers

00:07:56.740 to sell our livestock

00:07:57.560 south of the border,

00:07:58.560 to expand our ability

00:08:00.100 for us to sell energy

00:08:02.080 south of the border,

00:08:02.960 to expand our ability

00:08:03.980 to export manufactured goods

00:08:06.160 south of the border.

00:08:07.080 And so,

00:08:07.600 on that,

00:08:08.060 I would say

00:08:08.460 the foreign minister

00:08:09.280 and I had a very

00:08:09.940 positive meeting

00:08:10.740 and there are steps

00:08:12.540 that are going forward

00:08:13.300 that have been taken

00:08:13.860 under the Trump

00:08:14.380 administration

00:08:14.960 that are expanding

00:08:16.900 trade,

00:08:18.460 mutually beneficial trade

00:08:19.680 for both countries.

00:08:21.100 But then we shifted

00:08:22.420 into,

00:08:22.960 okay,

00:08:23.700 that will happen

00:08:25.440 in an environment

00:08:26.520 where security

00:08:27.440 is maintained.

00:08:29.980 And,

00:08:30.540 I pressed,

00:08:32.200 I said,

00:08:32.560 listen,

00:08:33.840 the United States

00:08:34.640 wants to be a friend

00:08:35.460 to Mexico.

00:08:36.420 We want to be

00:08:37.420 your partner.

00:08:38.580 And I pointed out

00:08:39.720 to him

00:08:40.000 and I pointed this out

00:08:40.820 also to the

00:08:41.400 defense secretary.

00:08:42.440 I said,

00:08:42.740 listen,

00:08:43.040 under Joe Biden,

00:08:44.380 the Mexican drug

00:08:46.300 cartels became

00:08:47.860 unbelievably wealthy.

00:08:50.320 Here's a stat

00:08:50.880 from the New York

00:08:51.380 Times.

00:08:51.780 In 2018,

00:08:53.000 the Mexican drug

00:08:54.140 cartels made

00:08:54.860 roughly $500 million

00:08:56.500 from human trafficking.

00:08:58.640 2018.

00:08:59.000 last year,

00:09:01.060 again,

00:09:01.340 according to the New York

00:09:02.120 Times,

00:09:02.560 the cartels made

00:09:04.060 over $13 billion

00:09:06.700 from drug trafficking.

00:09:08.880 That is a

00:09:09.500 2,600%

00:09:11.820 increase.

00:09:13.280 And what Joe Biden

00:09:14.840 and the Democrats

00:09:15.440 did to Mexico

00:09:16.600 was horrible.

00:09:17.700 Mexico paid a very

00:09:18.460 real price for that.

00:09:19.380 And I told

00:09:20.060 the foreign 0.60

00:09:21.640 secretary,

00:09:22.160 defense secretary,

00:09:22.740 I said,

00:09:23.080 listen,

00:09:23.320 America was not 0.66

00:09:24.120 being a good friend

00:09:25.220 with Joe Biden

00:09:26.800 and the Democrats

00:09:27.520 open borders.

00:09:28.200 Those open borders,

00:09:29.200 they did massive damage

00:09:30.320 to the U.S.,

00:09:31.040 but they also did

00:09:31.900 massive damage

00:09:32.560 to Mexico

00:09:33.080 because we took

00:09:34.000 transnational

00:09:35.200 criminal organizations

00:09:36.480 who are vicious 0.99

00:09:38.000 murderers, 0.92

00:09:38.620 who commit

00:09:39.160 unspeakable

00:09:40.320 atrocities,

00:09:41.240 and Joe Biden

00:09:42.000 and the Democrats

00:09:42.620 flooded tens of

00:09:44.180 billions of dollars

00:09:45.140 into them,

00:09:46.220 turning them into

00:09:47.460 dominant economic

00:09:49.140 forces in the nation

00:09:50.300 of Mexico.

00:09:50.780 And there are

00:09:51.940 countless numbers

00:09:52.660 of Mexicans 0.95

00:09:53.320 who have been

00:09:53.780 murdered,

00:09:54.240 who have been

00:09:54.560 kidnapped,

00:09:55.120 who have been

00:09:55.420 tortured because

00:09:56.840 of Joe Biden

00:09:57.940 and the Democrats

00:09:59.220 open borders.

00:10:01.040 And so my request

00:10:02.780 to the Mexican

00:10:03.760 government is I said,

00:10:04.780 listen,

00:10:05.660 the United States

00:10:06.800 stands ready

00:10:08.440 to assist Mexico

00:10:10.380 in eliminating

00:10:11.060 the cartels.

00:10:12.520 The 2024 election

00:10:14.240 in the United States

00:10:15.020 was clearly a mandate

00:10:16.320 from the American

00:10:17.120 people to close

00:10:18.260 these open borders.

00:10:19.920 President Trump

00:10:21.140 has rightly

00:10:21.980 declared the cartels

00:10:24.020 to be terrorist

00:10:24.760 organizations.

00:10:26.460 And so my pitch

00:10:28.040 to them was work

00:10:29.240 hand-in-hand

00:10:30.080 with us

00:10:30.680 to take it

00:10:31.900 to a different

00:10:32.460 level,

00:10:32.800 to take those

00:10:33.680 cartels out.

00:10:35.540 You talk about

00:10:36.840 that.

00:10:37.260 What is their

00:10:37.700 response?

00:10:38.240 Because everybody

00:10:38.940 knows that the

00:10:40.300 infiltration of the

00:10:41.720 cartels in Mexico's

00:10:42.780 government is

00:10:43.580 significant and it's

00:10:45.000 real.

00:10:46.200 And I think

00:10:47.160 everybody knows

00:10:47.880 that,

00:10:48.100 that knows anything

00:10:48.580 about the cartels

00:10:49.420 down there

00:10:50.060 in general.

00:10:51.740 When you say

00:10:52.660 this,

00:10:53.100 is it lip service

00:10:54.040 or is there

00:10:54.740 a sense of like,

00:10:55.720 hey,

00:10:55.940 maybe you guys

00:10:56.820 can help us

00:10:57.660 do something

00:10:58.120 we can't even

00:10:58.880 do ourselves?

00:11:00.820 So unfortunately,

00:11:02.220 the response

00:11:03.160 was flat out no.

00:11:04.920 Yesterday,

00:11:05.780 Mexico's president,

00:11:06.700 Claudia Scheinbaum,

00:11:07.680 was asked about

00:11:08.600 my trip,

00:11:09.180 about the offer

00:11:09.860 I made for the

00:11:10.620 United States

00:11:11.260 to assist Mexico

00:11:12.580 in eliminating

00:11:13.900 the cartels,

00:11:14.880 and her answer

00:11:15.500 was absolutely not.

00:11:16.780 No,

00:11:17.740 we do not want

00:11:19.040 America's help.

00:11:20.140 This is Mexico.

00:11:21.480 We will handle

00:11:22.180 it internally.

00:11:23.600 Essentially,

00:11:24.300 we don't want

00:11:24.760 the Yankee gringos 1.00

00:11:25.620 in our country.

00:11:26.280 She didn't quite

00:11:26.780 say that,

00:11:27.860 but that was

00:11:28.620 the message of it.

00:11:30.620 And I would say

00:11:31.340 that was consistent

00:11:32.140 with what I was

00:11:32.920 hearing from the

00:11:33.460 foreign secretary

00:11:34.200 and the defense

00:11:34.700 secretary,

00:11:35.280 both of them.

00:11:36.520 The phrase they

00:11:37.520 repeated most often

00:11:38.680 was sovereignty.

00:11:39.940 They kept saying

00:11:40.440 sovereignty,

00:11:41.060 sovereignty,

00:11:41.520 sovereignty.

00:11:42.000 Mexico,

00:11:42.580 we want our

00:11:43.620 sovereignty.

00:11:44.220 We don't want

00:11:44.820 the American

00:11:45.320 military in

00:11:46.220 Mexico.

00:11:47.560 And I'll tell

00:11:48.100 you,

00:11:48.280 Ben,

00:11:48.440 I tried to

00:11:49.400 make an

00:11:49.680 historical analogy

00:11:50.560 and compare it

00:11:52.140 to some other

00:11:52.580 instances.

00:11:53.080 I pointed out

00:11:53.600 number one

00:11:54.080 to El Salvador.

00:11:54.940 And I said,

00:11:55.320 look,

00:11:55.480 I was just

00:11:56.000 in El Salvador

00:11:56.700 a few days ago.

00:11:58.000 And I described

00:11:59.080 to them the

00:11:59.720 unbelievable success

00:12:01.000 that El Salvador

00:12:01.880 had dealing

00:12:03.400 with the gangs

00:12:04.180 there.

00:12:04.520 And MS-13,

00:12:05.300 18th Street,

00:12:05.840 Barrio,

00:12:06.220 they were just

00:12:06.680 like the Mexican 1.00

00:12:07.320 drug cartels. 0.51

00:12:08.240 They were vicious

00:12:09.220 transnational

00:12:10.120 organizations.

00:12:11.380 And when you

00:12:12.100 had a leader,

00:12:13.300 President Bukele,

00:12:14.140 who decided,

00:12:15.880 I'm going to

00:12:16.480 value the

00:12:17.560 innocent civilians,

00:12:19.040 the moms and

00:12:20.220 dads and the

00:12:20.840 kids of El Salvador

00:12:21.780 more than those 0.85

00:12:23.080 criminals.

00:12:23.460 They knew who

00:12:23.820 the criminals

00:12:24.200 were.

00:12:24.860 They went and

00:12:25.520 arrested them

00:12:26.160 and they locked

00:12:26.680 them up.

00:12:27.120 And by the way,

00:12:27.720 if you did not

00:12:28.700 see our podcast

00:12:30.900 on Wednesday,

00:12:32.080 if you did not

00:12:32.480 listen to our

00:12:33.120 podcast on Wednesday,

00:12:34.660 let me encourage

00:12:35.280 you to listen to it

00:12:36.560 because I take you

00:12:37.340 inside the

00:12:38.360 Seacott Prison,

00:12:39.740 the maximum

00:12:40.220 security prison

00:12:41.060 where these very

00:12:41.720 worst gang members

00:12:42.580 are held.

00:12:42.920 I've never seen

00:12:43.940 anything remotely

00:12:44.860 like this.

00:12:45.440 I describe it in

00:12:46.160 detail.

00:12:47.180 And I also recount

00:12:48.060 an extended

00:12:48.620 conversation that I

00:12:49.580 have with an

00:12:50.120 MS-13 member who

00:12:51.380 joined in the

00:12:52.840 United States in

00:12:53.660 Falls Church,

00:12:54.300 Virginia, who 0.90

00:12:54.820 lived for years in

00:12:55.680 America, lived for

00:12:56.280 years in Texas.

00:12:57.380 And he described

00:12:58.160 some of the crimes

00:12:59.040 that he committed

00:12:59.620 in the United

00:13:00.140 States and some of

00:13:00.800 the crimes he

00:13:01.320 committed in El

00:13:02.500 Salvador.

00:13:03.420 If you didn't

00:13:04.120 listen to it, go

00:13:04.780 back and listen to

00:13:05.520 it.

00:13:05.660 But I use that

00:13:07.000 example with the

00:13:07.700 Mexican leaders to

00:13:09.380 say, we can do

00:13:11.760 this.

00:13:12.520 You know who the

00:13:13.280 cartel members are.

00:13:14.800 Go after them and

00:13:15.860 have the same

00:13:16.960 political will.

00:13:18.220 What is missing is

00:13:19.080 the political will.

00:13:20.340 Have the political

00:13:21.180 will that El

00:13:21.900 Salvador did to

00:13:22.960 say, we are not

00:13:24.640 going to let the

00:13:25.220 cartels be effectively

00:13:26.560 the government of

00:13:27.280 Mexico.

00:13:27.580 We are going to

00:13:28.220 let the people.

00:13:29.360 I made the argument

00:13:30.440 they were talking

00:13:30.960 about sovereignty.

00:13:31.700 I said, you want to

00:13:32.040 talk about sovereignty?

00:13:33.540 When the cartels are

00:13:34.800 allowed to control the

00:13:36.000 country and terrify

00:13:36.880 people, I described a

00:13:38.640 mayor of a northern

00:13:39.580 Mexico City who I

00:13:40.640 visited with a

00:13:41.360 number of years

00:13:41.820 ago, described how

00:13:43.660 in his region there

00:13:45.580 were over more than

00:13:46.680 3,000 disappearances

00:13:49.560 of Mexican nationals

00:13:50.720 who just disappear.

00:13:52.080 The cartels

00:13:52.540 kidnap them, they 0.91

00:13:53.300 murder them, they 1.00

00:13:54.280 throw them in mass 1.00

00:13:55.100 graves and abandon 1.00

00:13:55.980 them.

00:13:56.880 That is not the

00:13:57.940 behavior of a

00:14:00.100 sovereign country that

00:14:01.060 is protecting its

00:14:01.860 citizens the way it

00:14:02.720 should be.

00:14:03.180 And so my pitch was

00:14:04.220 follow the example of

00:14:05.740 El Salvador.

00:14:06.360 And then there was a

00:14:07.000 second example I

00:14:07.760 used, Ben, which was

00:14:09.460 Colombia.

00:14:10.660 Colombia in the

00:14:11.840 early 2000s.

00:14:13.960 George W. Bush was

00:14:14.980 president and he made

00:14:15.780 an offer to President

00:14:16.900 Uribe of Colombia.

00:14:18.820 He said, Colombia, like

00:14:20.720 El Salvador a few

00:14:21.860 years ago, like Mexico 0.99

00:14:23.080 now, had narco-terrorists 0.86

00:14:25.600 controlling the country,

00:14:26.820 had them murdering

00:14:27.520 police officers and

00:14:28.660 murdering soldiers and 0.74

00:14:29.800 journalists and judges 0.96

00:14:30.840 and elected officials

00:14:31.840 terrorizing the

00:14:33.300 citizenry.

00:14:33.940 And in Colombia,

00:14:35.180 President Uribe

00:14:35.920 demonstrated some of

00:14:36.940 the same clear-eyed

00:14:37.940 resolve that President

00:14:39.020 Bukele in El Salvador

00:14:39.980 demonstrated.

00:14:40.700 And President Uribe

00:14:41.340 said to the United

00:14:42.740 States, yes, we want

00:14:44.180 your help.

00:14:45.380 And the American

00:14:46.200 military came into

00:14:47.220 Colombia and just all 0.88

00:14:49.200 but eradicated the

00:14:50.600 terrorists. 0.53

00:14:51.140 Came in with incredible

00:14:52.300 force and effectiveness,

00:14:53.580 but did it hand-in-hand

00:14:55.060 with the partnership of

00:14:57.340 the Colombian government.

00:14:58.200 That was called Plan

00:14:59.220 Colombia.

00:15:00.600 And I said, follow that

00:15:01.820 model.

00:15:02.260 We will work hand-in-hand

00:15:03.520 with you.

00:15:04.080 And I got to tell you,

00:15:05.320 both the defense

00:15:05.860 minister and the

00:15:06.660 foreign minister and

00:15:07.380 then ultimately,

00:15:08.620 President Scheinbaum

00:15:09.740 yesterday said, no,

00:15:11.060 we do not want to work

00:15:12.460 with the American

00:15:13.060 military.

00:15:13.560 We're not willing to do

00:15:14.820 so.

00:15:15.740 That is unfortunate.

00:15:17.240 I understand the

00:15:18.780 Mexican politics.

00:15:20.000 I got to say, the first

00:15:22.040 night I was there, there

00:15:23.500 was actually a fist

00:15:24.720 fight in their Congress.

00:15:26.760 Two Mexican senators

00:15:27.960 began punching each

00:15:29.120 other on the face on

00:15:30.660 this issue.

00:15:31.720 So the level of this

00:15:33.100 It's amazing, by the

00:15:34.120 way, because I mean,

00:15:35.300 when you see the news

00:15:36.140 break like that, you're

00:15:37.160 like, wow.

00:15:38.140 Yeah, that was right

00:15:38.700 when I landed in Mexico

00:15:39.620 City.

00:15:40.540 And I looked at the

00:15:41.580 video of two senators

00:15:42.740 getting in a fist

00:15:43.740 fight and it was over.

00:15:45.260 Should we accept

00:15:46.140 America's help to use

00:15:48.000 military force to take

00:15:49.180 out the cartels?

00:15:50.160 And listen, there's a

00:15:51.920 long history of politics

00:15:53.980 in Mexico where it is

00:15:55.360 good politics, generally

00:15:57.140 speaking, it is good

00:15:58.160 populist politics to rail

00:16:00.400 against the Yankee

00:16:01.520 imperialist from the 0.95

00:16:02.600 north.

00:16:03.040 And that has elected

00:16:05.040 quite a few politicians

00:16:06.060 in Mexico saying, we're

00:16:07.180 going to stand up to

00:16:07.960 America.

00:16:09.620 Scheinbaum is a

00:16:10.420 protege of AMLO.

00:16:11.660 AMLO ran on a hard

00:16:13.100 left anti-American

00:16:14.400 agenda.

00:16:15.620 Scheinbaum less so.

00:16:17.600 But Mexico has a

00:16:18.600 complicated situation

00:16:19.660 because their economy

00:16:20.720 is intertwined with

00:16:22.940 the United States.

00:16:23.880 We are by far their

00:16:24.940 largest trading

00:16:25.640 partner.

00:16:26.680 And so there's a

00:16:27.420 combination, some of

00:16:28.580 what they're doing when

00:16:29.320 they're saying, no, we

00:16:30.780 will not let the United

00:16:32.380 States military into our

00:16:34.040 nation is that they are

00:16:35.580 appealing to those

00:16:37.360 populist and nationalist

00:16:38.460 sentiments in Mexico.

00:16:40.780 I was trying hard to say,

00:16:42.780 say, say, listen, this is an

00:16:44.400 opportunity for you.

00:16:45.560 Your nation will be

00:16:46.560 safer.

00:16:47.260 Your citizens will be

00:16:48.340 safer if you accept our

00:16:49.800 help.

00:16:51.300 When you look at the

00:16:52.420 response now, I think many

00:16:53.860 Americans are going to ask

00:16:54.620 the question, okay, this

00:16:56.120 goes back to the Trump

00:16:57.100 doctrine of declaring

00:16:58.100 these cartels terrorist

00:16:59.380 organizations.

00:17:00.420 Yes.

00:17:00.760 And that gives us more

00:17:01.740 ability to hit them.

00:17:03.680 Is your calculus

00:17:07.280 change because of this

00:17:08.720 trip?

00:17:09.120 What is your thoughts

00:17:10.840 about moving forward if

00:17:11.800 they're just not willing to

00:17:13.220 do it or they're so

00:17:14.040 compromised they can't do

00:17:15.300 it in Mexico?

00:17:16.700 So I will tell you,

00:17:17.780 particularly with the

00:17:18.360 defense minister, I had a

00:17:20.180 very frank and candid

00:17:21.500 conversation.

00:17:22.960 General Trevilla came in.

00:17:25.260 And he argued at first, at

00:17:27.200 great length, he says,

00:17:28.260 well, the cartels are not

00:17:29.540 terrorists. 0.53

00:17:30.100 We do not think they're

00:17:30.900 terrorists. 0.53

00:17:31.380 They're just ordinary 1.00

00:17:32.020 criminals.

00:17:34.400 Did he do it with a 0.83

00:17:35.240 straight face?

00:17:36.200 Oh, he did.

00:17:36.880 He had a whole PowerPoint

00:17:37.600 presentation.

00:17:38.760 And I listened to him.

00:17:40.340 I thought it was

00:17:40.940 interesting that that's how

00:17:42.020 he chose to begin his

00:17:42.920 presentation.

00:17:44.900 And he also argued

00:17:49.060 pointing to some military

00:17:52.440 exercises in which Mexico

00:17:53.920 had done very well and had

00:17:55.100 done better than the

00:17:55.820 United States and some

00:17:56.760 military exercises.

00:17:58.040 And I didn't bother to

00:17:59.860 argue with him on that.

00:18:00.860 It's like, okay, fine.

00:18:01.960 You guys are great.

00:18:03.040 Like, I'm not interested.

00:18:05.860 What do you gain from that

00:18:06.240 conversation, right?

00:18:07.660 I'm not interested in a 1.00

00:18:09.000 contest where we're

00:18:10.960 measuring appendages.

00:18:13.480 And this same defense

00:18:15.180 secretary, there was a

00:18:16.820 House member who

00:18:18.980 previously was down there

00:18:20.060 who apparently got in a

00:18:20.880 screaming match with him 0.85

00:18:21.920 over exactly this question

00:18:23.300 of whose military is

00:18:24.260 tougher.

00:18:24.580 And I'm like, look, I'm

00:18:26.460 not going to invest any

00:18:27.380 time and energy arguing

00:18:28.640 with you.

00:18:29.100 We both know the answer to

00:18:30.120 that.

00:18:30.480 So you can say whatever you

00:18:32.180 want to save face and

00:18:33.840 that's fine.

00:18:35.600 What I said to him was the

00:18:36.880 following.

00:18:37.300 And I said, listen, I

00:18:38.180 understand that you care

00:18:39.140 about your sovereignty.

00:18:39.860 That's good and important

00:18:41.000 that you should care about

00:18:42.080 your sovereignty.

00:18:43.120 America cares deeply

00:18:44.140 about our sovereignty.

00:18:45.780 But I said, you need to

00:18:46.660 understand these cartels.

00:18:47.800 If these were just criminal

00:18:48.820 organizations in Mexico and

00:18:50.200 if they were just killing 0.77

00:18:51.020 Mexican nationals, that 0.99

00:18:53.360 would be tragic, but it

00:18:54.900 would not be our concern.

00:18:56.780 They're not just killing

00:18:58.540 nationals in your own

00:18:59.520 country.

00:19:00.340 These Mexican drug cartels 0.80

00:19:02.040 are killing vast numbers of 0.99

00:19:04.280 Americans.

00:19:04.760 They're committing crimes in 0.88

00:19:06.680 the United States.

00:19:07.560 They're murdering people. 1.00

00:19:08.400 They're raping people. 0.99

00:19:09.240 They're dealing vast amounts 1.00

00:19:10.960 of drugs.

00:19:11.540 Last year, we had over

00:19:12.360 100,000 people die of drug

00:19:14.640 overdoses, 70 percent of

00:19:16.020 which was fentanyl.

00:19:16.860 So the impact on the

00:19:18.720 United States is enormously

00:19:21.000 harmful.

00:19:22.260 And I said, in light of

00:19:23.560 that, because we believe in

00:19:25.300 our sovereignty as well, we

00:19:27.700 are going to act.

00:19:28.560 And I told the defense

00:19:29.340 secretary, I also had a

00:19:30.220 press conference and I said

00:19:31.120 this in the press conference.

00:19:32.020 I said, I find it very hard

00:19:34.600 to believe that four years

00:19:36.920 will pass and the United

00:19:39.040 States will not act in a

00:19:40.600 serious military manner

00:19:42.000 against these drug cartels.

00:19:43.220 And I pointed out to both

00:19:45.000 the defense and foreign

00:19:46.720 secretary, I said, listen,

00:19:47.960 I'm not the commander in

00:19:49.160 chief.

00:19:49.420 That's that's not my

00:19:50.160 decision to make.

00:19:51.500 The ambassador, United

00:19:53.220 States ambassador for Mexico

00:19:54.360 was sitting next to me.

00:19:55.160 I said, that's not his

00:19:55.760 decision to make.

00:19:57.040 That decision is made by

00:19:58.580 President Donald Trump.

00:20:00.220 And I believe sometime in

00:20:02.360 the next four years, you

00:20:03.460 will see strong, decisive

00:20:05.080 military action against the

00:20:06.580 cartels.

00:20:07.260 I said, the choice you have

00:20:08.400 to make is which way do you

00:20:10.000 want it to go?

00:20:11.200 We would much rather it be

00:20:12.620 cooperative.

00:20:13.240 We'd much rather it be the

00:20:14.980 American government working

00:20:16.160 hand in hand with the

00:20:17.560 Mexican government.

00:20:18.260 That's the best way as

00:20:19.420 friends and neighbors for us

00:20:20.360 to do this.

00:20:21.580 Sure.

00:20:21.800 But if you refuse to act.

00:20:24.780 I think it is extremely

00:20:26.220 unlikely that Donald Trump

00:20:27.680 will allow four years to go

00:20:28.980 without acting militarily.

00:20:30.240 And the two examples I used

00:20:31.340 also, I said, listen, you can

00:20:33.760 talk about sovereignty all

00:20:34.840 you like.

00:20:36.860 But we just a matter of

00:20:39.100 weeks ago sent to be

00:20:41.020 T2s across the globe to 1.00

00:20:43.620 deliver bunker buster bombs 0.78

00:20:45.780 to obliterate Iran's 1.00

00:20:48.240 nuclear weapons facilities.

00:20:49.780 The United States is

00:20:50.900 perfectly capable of acting

00:20:52.420 and projecting force

00:20:53.500 anywhere on the planet if

00:20:55.440 American citizens are

00:20:56.720 threatened, if it is

00:20:58.040 endangering the lives of

00:20:59.520 Americans. 0.97

00:20:59.960 And these Mexican drug 1.00

00:21:00.880 cartels are most assuredly

00:21:02.660 doing that.

00:21:03.060 I said, you know what?

00:21:03.680 We didn't ask the Ayatollah's 1.00

00:21:04.740 permission to do so.

00:21:06.340 We did so because we had a

00:21:07.800 strong commander in chief who

00:21:08.900 was protecting the citizens

00:21:10.440 of America.

00:21:11.040 And I said, likewise, when

00:21:12.500 America went and took out 0.96

00:21:13.660 Osama bin Laden, I said, in 1.00

00:21:15.000 that instance, we did

00:21:17.360 cooperate with the

00:21:18.560 Pakistani government.

00:21:19.560 We did inform them and work

00:21:20.880 work with them to take out 0.84

00:21:22.260 bin Laden because bin Laden 0.94

00:21:23.900 was hiding in Pakistan.

00:21:25.540 But I said, I'll tell you

00:21:26.620 what, I think if the

00:21:27.380 Pakistani government had

00:21:28.380 resisted us, I believe we 0.83

00:21:30.140 would have taken out bin

00:21:30.920 Laden as well because he was 0.96

00:21:32.020 a terrorist and he was a 0.96

00:21:33.780 terrorist who had killed 0.94

00:21:34.720 thousands of Americans.

00:21:35.980 And so you've got a choice

00:21:37.740 to make.

00:21:38.920 I believe America is going

00:21:40.380 to act and we are going to

00:21:41.800 act very directly on these

00:21:43.420 cartels because they've

00:21:44.500 killed too many Americans 1.00

00:21:45.720 for us to sit idly by.

00:21:47.920 And your choice is, do you

00:21:49.600 want to be our partner in

00:21:51.360 doing so or do you want to

00:21:53.040 read about it in the

00:21:54.100 newspaper and watch it on

00:21:55.260 the six o'clock news?

00:21:57.800 Response, I got to ask,

00:21:59.140 what was it finally?

00:22:01.680 Look, the response was the

00:22:03.120 president doing a press

00:22:04.380 conference and she said, no,

00:22:05.720 we will not allow the U.S. 1.00

00:22:07.360 military into the United

00:22:08.500 States.

00:22:09.560 It was defiance.

00:22:11.080 It was it was giving in to

00:22:13.200 the populist stand up to

00:22:16.080 America rhetoric.

00:22:18.000 You know, that's fine to say

00:22:19.120 in a press conference when

00:22:20.160 you when you're feeding

00:22:20.940 feeding red meat to the

00:22:22.760 masses.

00:22:23.480 We'll see what she says to

00:22:24.780 the Trump administration

00:22:25.620 directly.

00:22:26.880 And and I think this is

00:22:28.660 going to be an ongoing

00:22:29.680 discussion for the next

00:22:31.420 three and a half years.

00:22:32.280 But as I said, I believe

00:22:34.080 that President Trump

00:22:35.080 he's already secured the

00:22:37.140 border.

00:22:37.540 I think he's going to act

00:22:38.400 decisively against these

00:22:40.100 cartels who have been

00:22:41.120 waging war on the United

00:22:42.420 States of America.

00:22:43.980 And during the Biden

00:22:44.780 administration, not only were

00:22:46.040 we not fighting back, but

00:22:47.840 Joe Biden, the Democrats

00:22:49.020 were actively complicit in

00:22:51.460 waging that war.

00:22:53.280 Canadian women are looking

00:22:54.340 for more, more of

00:22:55.560 themselves, their

00:22:56.400 businesses, their elected

00:22:57.640 leaders and the world

00:22:58.740 around them.

00:22:59.360 And that's why we're

00:23:00.040 thrilled to introduce the

00:23:01.380 honest talk podcast.

00:23:02.720 I'm Jennifer Stewart and

00:23:04.420 I'm Catherine Clark.

00:23:05.280 And in this podcast, we

00:23:06.820 interview Canada's most

00:23:07.940 inspiring women,

00:23:09.160 entrepreneurs, artists,

00:23:10.640 athletes, politicians and

00:23:12.080 newsmakers, all at

00:23:13.260 different stages of their

00:23:14.420 journey.

00:23:15.060 So if you're looking to

00:23:16.240 connect, then we hope

00:23:17.280 you'll join us.

00:23:18.280 Listen to the honest talk

00:23:19.140 podcast on iHeartRadio or

00:23:20.860 wherever you listen to your

00:23:21.840 podcasts.

00:23:24.060 Which center brings us to

00:23:25.780 part two of this

00:23:26.880 conversation.

00:23:27.500 Let's bring it back home.

00:23:28.960 J.B. Pritzker is a

00:23:31.520 interesting man.

00:23:32.840 He's got a lot of money.

00:23:34.280 He's a governor and he

00:23:35.860 thinks he's succeeding at

00:23:37.160 fighting crime.

00:23:38.800 But getting illegal 0.87

00:23:40.140 immigrant killers and 1.00

00:23:41.460 rapists off our streets is 1.00

00:23:42.920 quote unquote dangerous, he

00:23:44.720 says.

00:23:45.220 And now it is apparently

00:23:46.660 anti-American.

00:23:48.160 Tie that into your trip to

00:23:49.360 Mexico.

00:23:50.240 I mean, you want to talk

00:23:51.260 about two people that

00:23:52.300 could have gotten together

00:23:52.940 and had one heck of a

00:23:53.960 lunch.

00:23:54.300 The people you met with

00:23:55.180 with J.D., they'd be like

00:23:56.180 kumbaya-ing this stuff.

00:23:57.440 Well, J.B. Pritzker, he is

00:23:59.900 a billionaire.

00:24:01.160 Like many Democrat

00:24:02.520 billionaires, he did not

00:24:03.580 make his money.

00:24:04.420 He inherited it.

00:24:05.900 He inherited a vast

00:24:07.460 fortune and he's now the

00:24:08.960 governor of Illinois and

00:24:10.560 presiding over a state where

00:24:12.260 the people are fleeing his

00:24:13.300 state, where crime is out

00:24:14.420 of control, where left-wing

00:24:15.640 policies are an absolute

00:24:18.020 disaster.

00:24:20.240 And it's striking.

00:24:23.040 He has the same reality

00:24:25.680 denying vision.

00:24:27.680 Gavin Newsom has the same

00:24:28.780 thing in California, where

00:24:29.820 they both, you know, it

00:24:30.700 reminds me of that meme of

00:24:32.720 the dumpster burning in the

00:24:33.740 background and saying, you

00:24:34.800 know, everything's fine

00:24:35.560 here.

00:24:36.060 That is today's Democrats

00:24:37.840 just telling you, don't 0.99

00:24:39.320 believe your lying eyes. 0.95

00:24:40.500 Just make sure to duck the 0.99

00:24:41.580 bullets when you're in your

00:24:42.400 living room.

00:24:42.880 But everything other than

00:24:43.600 that is great.

00:24:45.280 J.B.

00:24:45.740 Pritzker says he's

00:24:46.740 succeeding at fighting

00:24:47.840 violent crime in Chicago.

00:24:49.160 And you're right, it is

00:24:50.260 reminiscent of these

00:24:51.740 Mexican government leaders

00:24:52.860 who said they're handling it

00:24:53.920 just fine, look at the

00:24:54.820 great progress they're

00:24:55.620 making, and you look at

00:24:56.460 the cartels who are

00:24:57.320 murdering Mexicans with 1.00

00:24:59.700 impunity and who are 0.99

00:25:00.800 committing vast numbers of

00:25:01.960 crime in the United

00:25:02.620 States.

00:25:03.020 Here, give a listen to J.B.

00:25:04.280 Pritzker, Governor of

00:25:05.300 Illinois.

00:25:06.200 What we won't do, however,

00:25:08.280 is engage in what is a

00:25:10.680 federal effort.

00:25:12.380 That is to say, they have

00:25:14.620 their job, immigration.

00:25:16.720 We have our job, which is

00:25:18.340 to fight violent crime on

00:25:20.040 the streets of our city.

00:25:21.500 And by the way, we're

00:25:22.380 succeeding at that job.

00:25:23.700 But when they bring people

00:25:24.680 in and don't coordinate with

00:25:26.320 us, they're going to cause

00:25:27.340 enormous problems.

00:25:29.340 So.

00:25:29.720 Going to cause enormous

00:25:30.520 problems there, Senator.

00:25:31.780 I mean, if that doesn't sound

00:25:32.640 like a threat, I don't know

00:25:33.480 what is.

00:25:34.420 So Pritzker claims he is

00:25:36.100 succeeding at fighting

00:25:37.360 violent crime in Chicago.

00:25:39.580 Chicago has had the most

00:25:40.900 murders of any American

00:25:42.820 city for 13 consecutive

00:25:45.800 years.

00:25:46.280 13 years in a row, Chicago

00:25:47.640 is number one.

00:25:49.320 Chicago's murder rate is 0.93

00:25:50.480 three times higher than

00:25:52.000 Los Angeles.

00:25:53.100 It is five times higher

00:25:54.780 than New York City.

00:25:56.120 It is two times higher

00:25:57.600 than Islamabad.

00:25:59.140 And it is 15 times higher

00:26:01.220 than Delhi.

00:26:02.700 And the answer to a

00:26:04.720 billionaire Democrat who

00:26:06.000 is surrounded by police

00:26:07.540 officers at all times.

00:26:08.640 So he's not worried about

00:26:09.620 being mugged on the

00:26:10.360 streets of Chicago.

00:26:11.380 That's not a threat he's

00:26:12.680 facing.

00:26:13.400 He says we've got the

00:26:14.600 highest murder rate in

00:26:15.460 America.

00:26:15.980 We're succeeding.

00:26:16.940 This is Democrat success. 0.99

00:26:19.520 You know, but he goes

00:26:20.560 even further.

00:26:22.060 He expresses great dismay

00:26:24.440 that if President Trump

00:26:27.560 is successful in turning

00:26:28.880 around crime in Chicago,

00:26:30.540 that would be a bad thing.

00:26:31.940 Listen to the second clip.

00:26:33.860 So this is dangerous.

00:26:35.120 They shouldn't be doing it.

00:26:36.280 It's anti-American.

00:26:37.400 It's un-American. 0.82

00:26:38.840 And I would tell her to

00:26:40.260 maybe check herself for 0.73

00:26:43.220 what does she really 0.99

00:26:44.340 believe.

00:26:45.200 Nothing says we're

00:26:46.220 fighting crime like

00:26:47.120 threatening the woman

00:26:48.380 who's out there in

00:26:49.240 Department of Homeland

00:26:49.780 Security Secretary Noem

00:26:51.040 and saying you need to

00:26:51.920 check yourself, right,

00:26:52.940 and saying it's dangerous

00:26:53.760 and un-American and

00:26:54.940 anti-American to go after

00:26:56.980 illegal killers and 0.99

00:26:58.480 rapists. 1.00

00:27:01.240 It's stunning. 0.99

00:27:02.160 The Democrats are

00:27:02.880 becoming more and more

00:27:03.800 open that if they have a

00:27:05.280 conflict between a

00:27:06.780 murderer and a victim,

00:27:08.460 if they have a conflict

00:27:09.760 between a Venezuelan gang

00:27:11.400 member and an innocent

00:27:12.740 American citizen, if they

00:27:13.900 have a conflict between a

00:27:15.080 rapist and a single mom, 1.00

00:27:17.320 if they have a conflict 1.00

00:27:18.220 between a violent sexual 0.92

00:27:20.360 predator and your 1.00

00:27:21.940 children, the Democrats 0.80

00:27:23.840 will pick the criminal

00:27:24.880 every single time.

00:27:26.340 They're not even

00:27:26.760 pretending anymore to go

00:27:28.740 after those criminals.

00:27:30.740 Democrat Governor Pritzker

00:27:32.000 says is dangerous, 0.98

00:27:33.200 anti-American and

00:27:34.200 un-American.

00:27:35.500 And I think the American

00:27:37.200 people are getting fed up.

00:27:38.240 You know, there was a new

00:27:38.860 poll from AP slash

00:27:41.100 NORC that that found that

00:27:44.260 a large majority of

00:27:45.520 Americans, 68 percent,

00:27:47.400 see crime as a major

00:27:49.080 problem in large cities.

00:27:51.160 And and the approach of

00:27:52.760 the Democrat Party is

00:27:53.680 they're not going to do

00:27:54.380 anything about it.

00:27:55.560 In fact, the highest

00:27:56.900 murder rate in the U.S.

00:27:58.000 they describe as a

00:27:59.200 success.

00:28:00.720 And what it is, it's

00:28:02.340 reminiscent of the

00:28:04.300 leadership in El Salvador

00:28:05.460 when they had the highest

00:28:06.540 murder rate in the world

00:28:07.440 and they describe what they

00:28:08.480 were doing as a success.

00:28:09.620 And the only answer is

00:28:10.860 new political leadership

00:28:12.020 that actually says

00:28:13.140 keeping our citizens safe

00:28:15.300 is our number one

00:28:16.140 priority and we're going

00:28:17.560 to do so.

00:28:18.340 We've seen what happens

00:28:19.540 when President Trump does

00:28:21.300 so in the United States

00:28:22.340 and the border is

00:28:23.120 immediately secured.

00:28:24.480 We had a 99 percent

00:28:25.920 decrease in illegal

00:28:27.000 crossings.

00:28:27.980 We saw what happened

00:28:28.780 with President Bukele

00:28:29.720 in El Salvador where

00:28:31.140 they had a 98 percent

00:28:32.300 drop in homicides.

00:28:34.620 Ironically, we saw what

00:28:35.920 happened in San Francisco

00:28:37.200 where President Xi

00:28:38.340 came to San Francisco

00:28:39.980 and Gavin Newsom

00:28:40.760 immediately cleaned up

00:28:41.580 San Francisco,

00:28:42.300 removed the homeless

00:28:42.860 people, took the junkies

00:28:44.260 off the street, and

00:28:45.120 cleaned up the human

00:28:46.580 feces off the street, 0.99

00:28:48.380 all of which demonstrates

00:28:49.640 they know how to do so.

00:28:51.020 If they could do so on

00:28:52.140 Monday, they could do so

00:28:53.660 on Tuesday, Wednesday,

00:28:54.560 Thursday, Friday,

00:28:55.200 Saturday, and Sunday.

00:28:56.180 The reason they don't,

00:28:58.480 the reason the crime

00:28:59.700 persists, the reason your

00:29:01.260 family is threatened, is

00:29:02.820 because the Democrats

00:29:04.020 politically, their ideology,

00:29:05.860 they think it's better to

00:29:06.900 side with the criminals

00:29:08.220 than it is with you.

00:29:10.060 And that, I don't get

00:29:12.460 that, but that's where

00:29:14.000 we are, and I do think

00:29:15.860 it's part of the reason

00:29:16.760 we see today's Democrat

00:29:18.520 Party getting more and

00:29:19.600 more extreme and appealing

00:29:21.380 to a smaller and smaller

00:29:22.660 sliver of our society.

00:29:24.540 Final question on this.

00:29:26.020 I believe now that the

00:29:27.720 Democratic Party is in 0.86

00:29:28.700 such shambles that they

00:29:30.520 don't even know how to

00:29:31.220 get out of this.

00:29:31.980 There is no real leader.

00:29:33.460 We're being told Obama's 0.84

00:29:34.820 coming back and going to

00:29:35.860 like, quote, start

00:29:36.600 mentoring people in the

00:29:37.740 Democratic Party.

00:29:38.400 That's how desperate

00:29:39.320 they are.

00:29:39.800 The same guy that's

00:29:40.520 the godfather, as I

00:29:42.400 described it on Laura

00:29:43.320 Ingram's show on Fox

00:29:44.420 Friday night, as the

00:29:46.780 godfather of this type

00:29:48.280 of insanity and anarchy.

00:29:49.520 He's the guy that

00:29:50.160 created the AOCs of the

00:29:52.200 party and gave them

00:29:53.300 power.

00:29:54.780 And so you look at the

00:29:56.160 Democratic Party now, I 0.66

00:29:57.620 don't want to be

00:29:58.120 overconfident, but what I

00:29:59.240 do want to say is I feel

00:30:00.900 like these midterms may

00:30:02.000 actually be a big

00:30:02.640 opportunity for Republican

00:30:03.640 candidates coming up.

00:30:04.660 Usually you give up seats

00:30:06.140 when you have all three

00:30:07.360 branches in the midterms.

00:30:09.340 There's a chance this could

00:30:10.840 actually work out for

00:30:12.100 conservatives, as you

00:30:12.940 mentioned, because the 0.87

00:30:13.880 voters are so sick and

00:30:15.420 tired of the left not

00:30:17.320 keeping them safe.

00:30:18.120 It's not even about the

00:30:19.020 economy.

00:30:19.520 It's about safety.

00:30:21.380 Yeah, look, I hope so,

00:30:23.000 Ben.

00:30:23.240 I'll confess I'm significantly

00:30:24.920 more worried than you.

00:30:26.640 We've got cross-cutting

00:30:28.000 forces for the midterms.

00:30:29.480 On the positive side for

00:30:31.280 Republicans, the Democrats

00:30:32.460 have gotten so extreme, so

00:30:34.660 whack job out there, that

00:30:36.600 it seems like they took a

00:30:37.740 list of a dozen 80-20

00:30:39.140 issues and they said,

00:30:40.180 let's take the 20% side of

00:30:41.420 all of them.

00:30:42.260 And in some instances,

00:30:43.140 they've even taken 90-10

00:30:44.480 issues and said, let's

00:30:46.000 appeal to the smallest

00:30:46.960 sliver of America we can.

00:30:48.940 Generally speaking, that is

00:30:50.220 a really bad political

00:30:51.560 strategy.

00:30:52.160 So that augurs in our

00:30:54.060 favor.

00:30:55.260 On the other side, we have a

00:30:57.000 real enthusiasm gap, and

00:30:58.220 this worries me about the

00:30:59.460 midterms, which is an awful

00:31:01.300 lot of Americans are really

00:31:02.560 happy with the success we've

00:31:04.520 seen in the first eight

00:31:05.520 months of 2025.

00:31:07.240 President Trump has been

00:31:08.180 winning major victories.

00:31:10.180 The danger is that when

00:31:11.900 people are happy, when

00:31:12.860 they're seeing success,

00:31:14.460 they're complacent.

00:31:15.560 They stay home.

00:31:16.740 I'll tell you what, the

00:31:17.620 left is not complacent.

00:31:18.800 They are enraged.

00:31:19.940 They are outraising

00:31:20.740 Republicans three to one.

00:31:22.580 They hate Donald Trump.

00:31:24.720 And we saw, we just saw a

00:31:26.340 special election in Iowa,

00:31:27.560 state senator seat, that

00:31:29.400 Trump had won that

00:31:30.780 district by 11 points.

00:31:32.740 They just elected a

00:31:33.720 Democrat state senator in

00:31:35.100 that district.

00:31:35.860 That, I believe, was an

00:31:36.780 enthusiasm gap, that the

00:31:38.600 left is motivated by rage

00:31:40.500 and hate, and that means

00:31:42.640 that they are definitely

00:31:43.980 showing up, and it's our

00:31:45.340 job to make sure that the

00:31:47.860 common sense majority of

00:31:49.800 this country is not

00:31:51.680 complacent, but realizes if

00:31:53.520 we don't show up to defend

00:31:54.820 what we've got, that that's

00:31:56.320 how you get these whack

00:31:58.360 jobs elected in the first

00:31:59.540 place.

00:32:00.280 Yeah, great point.

00:32:01.120 It's going to be a lot that

00:32:02.040 we're going to have to watch,

00:32:02.780 certainly going into the

00:32:03.500 midterm elections.

00:32:04.660 Don't forget, we do this

00:32:05.520 show on Monday, Wednesday,

00:32:06.560 and Friday, so hit that

00:32:07.560 subscriber auto download

00:32:09.020 button wherever you get your

00:32:10.640 podcasts, and so that you

00:32:12.440 don't miss a single episode.

00:32:13.660 Also, on those in-between

00:32:14.380 days, grab my podcast, the

00:32:15.780 Ben Ferguson podcast as well.

00:32:17.400 I'll keep you up to date on

00:32:18.100 the latest breaking news, and

00:32:19.620 the senator and I will see you

00:32:20.580 back here on Wednesday

00:32:21.720 morning.

00:32:23.460 This is an iHeart podcast.

00:32:26.340 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - September 01, 2025

On the Road in Mexico Urging the Mexican Government to get Serious about Defeating Cartels plus Dems Bemoan Trump's Fighting Violent Crime

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