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


Episode Stats


Length

32 minutes

Words per minute

176.45245

Word count

5,726

Sentence count

396

Harmful content

Misogyny

8

sentences flagged

Toxicity

43

sentences flagged

Hate speech

46

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Sen. Ted Cruz returns home after a trip to Latin America and gives us a final update on his time in the region, including his trip to El Salvador, Panama, Mexico, and the Central American countries. He also talks about his visit to the Panama Canal and talks about the importance of removing China from the canal. And finally, he talks about how the Democrats are in support of criminals and the party of murderers.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.700 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.