Verdict with Ted Cruz - PEACE in the Middle East-Hostages Freed under Historic Trump Agreement

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.260 Welcome.

00:00:05.960 It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.900 It is right now, 1 0 7 a.m.

00:00:11.260 Eastern Standard Time.

00:00:12.860 That means it is 8 0 6 a.m.

00:00:15.580 right now in Tel Aviv in Israel.

00:00:18.220 And the hostages that are being held in Gaza are set to be released.

00:00:22.140 We are hoping that's going to happen at any moment.

00:00:25.060 And very well could happen as we are taping this in the wee hours of the morning.

00:00:29.400 Senator, I want to get your reaction just to this and what all we're going to be talking about today.

00:00:35.420 Well, it is an historic day, although I will have to note, Ben,

00:00:38.280 I am impressed that somehow Jerusalem has managed to go back in time, 1.00

00:00:42.180 that it is 1 0 7 a.m. in the East Coast of America, but it is only 8 0 6 a.m. in Jerusalem.

00:00:48.900 So they're somehow a minute ahead of us.

00:00:50.940 That, look, look, the Holy Land.

00:00:53.000 It changed what he's talking.

00:00:54.360 I think that's appropriate.

00:00:56.580 So I appreciate, like a fine Swiss watch, you have an acute appreciation for the passage of time.

00:01:04.940 I'm just looking at the screens here.

00:01:07.340 I got you. 0.90

00:01:09.560 Look, peace in the Middle East is a big damn deal.

00:01:13.520 Now, as we're sitting here right now, we're holding our breaths because the peace deal has been announced.

00:01:19.220 If this follows through, if Hamas releases the hostages, it will be historic. 0.96

00:01:27.620 At the moment, we don't know if they're going to follow through.

00:01:31.300 They said they're going to follow through.

00:01:33.080 Yeah.

00:01:33.180 But Hamas is not exactly the most trustworthy of dealmakers. 0.96

00:01:39.620 They've broken deals over and over and over again.

00:01:41.960 Terrorists have a bad habit of doing that.

00:01:44.240 So we are waiting.

00:01:45.900 We are hoping.

00:01:46.540 We are praying.

00:01:47.140 What's interesting about this podcast is by the time you're listening to it, you're going to know.

00:01:51.780 And so we very much hope the hostages are released.

00:01:55.380 The agreement that President Trump negotiated was an agreement to release all the hostages, both the living hostages and the remains of those who have been killed.

00:02:06.100 And there are a number who've been killed.

00:02:08.220 They're holding on to the remains.

00:02:09.420 Obviously, the families would like to bury the dead.

00:02:11.780 And in exchange, Israel has agreed to a complete and immediate ceasefire.

00:02:18.780 That is historic.

00:02:20.640 It is such a big deal that President Trump is flying to the Middle East to be there to welcome the hostages to their release.

00:02:31.020 And I will say this is a day of great celebration if Hamas follows through on the terms of the deal. 0.99

00:02:39.000 Yeah, by the way, right now, the hostage release process is beginning.

00:02:44.100 We are witnessing in Gaza City the Red Cross vehicles are leaving the compound there.

00:02:49.860 And so we are doing this, like I said, at a.m. here, 1 a.m. Eastern, 1 10 a.m.

00:02:55.980 And this is what we're watching as we're seeing this happening.

00:02:58.680 But the first process, they're saying, coming from the AP right now, release process is beginning and going as planned.

00:03:06.120 And that certainly is a great sign as we're recording this right now.

00:03:11.080 Amen.

00:03:11.620 Those hostages have been in living hell for two years now.

00:03:16.700 And it is time for them to be released.

00:03:18.940 And hopefully within minutes, they will be.

00:03:22.460 They will be back with their families.

00:03:23.820 As I will tell you, in the last two years, I have met with many of the families of the hostages that when they've come to Washington, they've come by my office.

00:03:31.600 They've shown me pictures of their loved ones, of their sons, of their daughters, of their sisters, of their moms, of their dads.

00:03:37.580 And it's heartbreaking.

00:03:38.560 I've met with family members of those who were killed, killed on October 7th, and seen just the horrific atrocities that Hamas carried out on that day.

00:03:51.120 And this is a time, I think, really to commend President Trump.

00:03:56.420 And by the way, it's not just me saying that.

00:03:59.560 You want to see how extraordinary it is.

00:04:02.180 Hillary Clinton has praised Donald Trump for this peace agreement.

00:04:07.280 I want you to give a listen to what Hillary Clinton had to say about Donald J. Trump.

00:04:13.040 It's a really significant first step.

00:04:16.100 And I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region, for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what's often called the day after.

00:04:36.460 Most importantly, the conflict, hopefully, will end with the ceasefire.

00:04:43.960 The hostages will be returned.

00:04:46.220 And then the very hard work of rebuilding Gaza, of finding the kind of security that Israel and the Palestinians, after Hamas, deserve to have.

00:04:58.900 Moving forward with the other points in the plan to try to create an opportunity for Palestinians to have a better life and for Israel to have greater peace and security.

00:05:12.360 I am very hopeful that we'll be able to see progress.

00:05:17.680 Today's a good start, but we have to keep going from here.

00:05:20.840 You listen to Hillary Clinton there saying that, Senator, and this goes back to, I think, what the world is admitting right now.

00:05:28.860 This was something that never had a chance of happening under the Biden regime.

00:05:33.900 Their administration, they weren't even close to this.

00:05:37.360 What President Trump has been able to do, bringing people together, bringing the Arab world together, being able to iron out the points of this deal, I truly believe this.

00:05:46.580 I think he's probably the only guy in the world that could have pulled this off the way he did as quickly as he did.

00:05:51.460 Look, undoubtedly, and I'll say a sentence I've never before said in my life.

00:05:56.860 Bravo, Hillary Clinton.

00:05:59.180 Yeah.

00:05:59.440 Like, I will give her credit for commending Donald Trump.

00:06:03.260 She must have hated saying those words.

00:06:07.120 It was the right thing to do.

00:06:08.760 And I want to draw a contrast because Hillary Clinton acknowledged the obvious that this is historic.

00:06:16.000 This is a massive step forward.

00:06:18.920 And I want to contrast it to Barack Obama because Barack Obama put out a statement.

00:06:25.640 After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza,

00:06:30.760 we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight,

00:06:35.880 that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families,

00:06:39.480 and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered.

00:06:45.800 More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community

00:06:52.120 to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza

00:06:54.860 and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples,

00:07:01.600 can achieve lasting peace.

00:07:04.160 Now, Ben, do you know what word is nowhere in Barack Obama's statement?

00:07:09.300 Yeah, the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump.

00:07:11.960 The guy who negotiated the deal.

00:07:14.440 The guy without whom there would be no such deal.

00:07:16.800 And by the way, Hillary Clinton was Barack Obama's Secretary of State.

00:07:19.800 So Hillary Clinton is demonstrating some class. 0.89

00:07:23.620 And Obama, this is one of the most classless statements I have ever seen

00:07:30.980 because Obama cannot acknowledge that Trump accomplished something,

00:07:36.740 and accomplished something really powerful and meaningful and is a major step towards peace.

00:07:42.040 And those are words I think Barack Obama is utterly unwilling to say.

00:07:47.160 You also got to listen, and I want to play this.

00:07:49.400 This is Netanyahu talking as well about this deal getting done

00:07:53.020 with Whitcoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the President Donald Trump.

00:07:58.720 And getting this deal done, they put together a statement.

00:08:01.780 And I want to play that for everybody.

00:08:03.340 As again, it's now being reported by virtually all the major news networks

00:08:07.400 that the hostage release process has begun and is moving its way

00:08:11.600 the way it's supposed to be choreographed.

00:08:13.800 That is good news.

00:08:15.300 Yes.

00:08:15.420 We are seeing in Gaza now that there are multiple Red Cross vehicles that have moved into the area

00:08:20.700 where they're going to do the handoff of these hostages.

00:08:23.240 We're going to keep you updated on that, obviously, as it's happening, as we're recording this.

00:08:26.640 But I want you to hear what Netanyahu had to say as well, and those in Wiscoff as well,

00:08:30.620 and Jared Kushner, take a listen.

00:08:31.920 We are at a momentous development in the last two years.

00:08:38.660 We fought during these two years to achieve our war aims.

00:08:42.960 And the central one of these war aims is to return the hostages, all of the hostages,

00:08:48.500 the living and the dead.

00:08:50.100 And we're about to achieve that goal.

00:08:51.900 We couldn't achieve it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team, Steve

00:08:59.640 Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

00:09:02.120 They worked tirelessly with Ron and his team, our team.

00:09:05.900 And that and the courage of our soldiers who entered Gaza and the combined military and diplomatic

00:09:16.800 pressure that isolated Hamas, I think, has brought us to this point.

00:09:21.600 I want to personally thank both of you, Steve, Jared.

00:09:26.120 It's been long hours.

00:09:27.080 You worked around the clock, but not only worked.

00:09:39.180 I think you put in your brains and your hearts.

00:09:46.940 And we know that it's for the benefit of Israel and the United States, for the benefit of decent

00:09:53.200 people living there, and for the benefit of these families who will finally get to be

00:09:57.200 with our loved ones.

00:09:58.520 And I want to thank you on their behalf as well, and on behalf of the people in Israel.

00:10:02.380 Thank you.

00:10:03.200 Without a moment.

00:10:07.280 Obviously, bringing the hostages home is a, it's been a priority for President Trump for

00:10:13.060 a very, very long time.

00:10:14.240 And we've all worked very tirelessly to do that.

00:10:17.800 But I really want to say that this all would not have been possible without the bravery of

00:10:22.460 the IDF and the soldiers, what they've accomplished, not just in Gaza, but also what they've done

00:10:28.280 in the theater over the last couple of years to eliminate Hezbollah in the north and really 0.98

00:10:33.620 degrade them.

00:10:34.680 What you were able to do in Iran, it really helped set a big tone.

00:10:37.880 But particularly, seeing the way that your citizen army, I know a lot of you, probably

00:10:41.880 all of you, have family, friends who are in this effort, really put your sacrifices on

00:10:47.660 the line to fight for your country and to try and try to make a difference.

00:10:51.740 I think that made a very, very big difference in there.

00:10:54.760 And I want to just give a very, very special thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who really

00:11:00.760 did an incredible job with this and did a great job in negotiations.

00:11:06.040 You held your lines firm.

00:11:07.160 And I think that between you and President Trump, you had a lot of alignment on what the

00:11:12.000 end stage should be.

00:11:13.180 The hard job was the prime ministers.

00:11:15.500 He had the job of protecting this country.

00:11:17.640 He had the job of making tough choices with regard to how tough to be with Hamas, when 0.59

00:11:24.580 to be flexible, when not to be flexible.

00:11:26.700 I think to myself all the time, I lost sleep over it.

00:11:31.760 What would I have done in some of those circumstances?

00:11:34.480 There were times that I thought we should be more flexible, or your country should be more

00:11:40.220 flexible.

00:11:40.800 But the truth is, as I look back, I don't think we get to this place without Prime Minister

00:11:45.460 Netanyahu playing it.

00:11:47.020 I'm not just saying that.

00:11:55.060 They're not just words.

00:11:56.200 The President believes that.

00:11:57.280 My President believes it.

00:11:58.420 He believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu made some very, very difficult calls.

00:12:04.720 And lesser people would not have made those calls.

00:12:07.380 And here we are today, because Hamas had to, they had to do this deal.

00:12:14.160 The pressure was on them.

00:12:15.680 They were backed up.

00:12:17.420 And you've got the bigger army.

00:12:19.400 You were making inroads.

00:12:20.820 And that's what led to this deal.

00:12:23.180 You can hear Wischoff there saying that's what led to this deal.

00:12:26.020 And look, this was all about the presidential leadership and the President of the United States

00:12:30.000 of America leading in a way that no one else could.

00:12:32.300 Well, and the contrast is really night and day to the previous administration.

00:12:38.880 You know, you mentioned a minute ago, you said that President Trump achieved something

00:12:42.260 that Joe Biden could not have done.

00:12:45.080 Well, I'll tell you someone who disagrees with that is Tony Blinken.

00:12:48.080 And Tony Blinken, of course, was Biden's Secretary of State.

00:12:51.140 And he put out a long Twitter statement on this.

00:12:54.080 And here's where he said, critically, he says,

00:12:57.200 It starts with a clear and comprehensive post-conflict plan for Gaza.

00:13:01.600 It's good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden administration developed

00:13:08.080 after months of discussion with Arab partners Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

00:13:13.100 Like, what nonsense?

00:13:15.180 It literally is Tony Blinken saying, well, this Trump peace deal, it's really the Biden peace deal.

00:13:21.720 Yeah.

00:13:21.840 And that's utter nonsense because Biden spent four years demonstrating weakness and appeasement to our enemies.

00:13:31.440 That weakness and appeasement, I believe, is why October 7th happened.

00:13:35.960 The $100 billion that Joe Biden, with Tony Blinken being a very active part of that,

00:13:41.740 flowed $100 billion to the Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran.

00:13:46.600 He provides 90% of the funding, 90% of the funding to Hamas and 90% of the funding for Hezbollah. 0.72

00:13:54.300 So in a very real sense, Joe Biden and Tony Blinken and Kamala Harris and the entire Biden administration

00:14:01.800 funded the October 7th death squads because the $100 billion they sent to Iran and they allowed to flow to Iran.

00:14:09.860 Much of that ended up directly in the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah carrying out those mass murders. 0.99

00:14:17.460 And so the idiocy to say, well, gosh, all Trump did was implement the Biden plan is gibberish. 0.98

00:14:24.580 And look, the person who refuted that most directly was Hillary Clinton, where she gave credit. 1.00

00:14:29.560 And look, we don't have this peace agreement without Trump's strength.

00:14:34.400 Let me tell you, this peace agreement doesn't happen, I believe, without President Trump ordering the bombing attack on Iran

00:14:42.100 and taking out Iran's nuclear facilities, nuclear facilities where they were working to develop nuclear weapons

00:14:48.200 to target the United States and to target our allies.

00:14:51.180 And that act of strength, combined with Israel's 12-day war where they decimated the Iranian military air defenses,

00:15:00.840 the senior leadership, the IRGC leadership, all of that.

00:15:05.360 Look, Hamas, Iran is Hamas's patron, and Iran is in a much, much weakened position because of President Trump's strength.

00:15:15.240 That is a major, major reason this deal was reached today.

00:15:20.040 And this deal, we are both hoping, we are praying that Hamas follows through 1.00

00:15:25.820 and that within hours all of the hostages are released.

00:15:28.660 If that happens, this will be an historic day, a day to celebrate, and a day to say, thank God for President Donald J. Trump.

00:15:36.740 So over the last several weeks, you've heard me talk with Josh Sherrard from Berna.

00:15:40.960 He's been telling stories of how people just like you have used their Berna launcher to protect themselves and their families.

00:15:48.940 Now, Berna is a handheld pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to separate you from an attacker.

00:15:57.300 And it can be life-saving.

00:15:59.500 Josh is back with me today to tell another story about how a former professional race car driver saved his family

00:16:05.900 from an attack outside the garage of their own home.

00:16:09.620 Josh, tell me about this.

00:16:11.300 Yeah, it just happened actually not too long ago in Santa Monica, just two blocks from the beach.

00:16:16.440 So former pro race car driver, Court Wagner, was pulling into his garage with his family in the car

00:16:21.400 when he was confronted by a man hiding in the alley.

00:16:24.840 After trying to talk him into leaving, it was obviously not going to work.

00:16:28.480 The man lunged at Court with a sharp object trying to attack him.

00:16:32.280 With his wife and child only steps away, he grabbed his Berna launcher that he kept in the glove box of his car

00:16:37.540 and fired five rounds, striking the attacker several times.

00:16:40.960 The suspect fled immediately.

00:16:42.620 It worked.

00:16:43.180 And Court called the police and gave him the description of the assailant.

00:16:46.480 Now, police were able to locate someone that somewhat matched the description in the area, but not quite exactly.

00:16:51.380 And it wasn't until officers lifted the suspect's shirt and saw the multiple welts from the Berna launcher

00:16:57.100 that they knew they had the right guy and subsequently arrested him.

00:17:00.940 It really is incredible.

00:17:02.340 And I get this question now often when I'm out, and that is, okay, tell me about how a launcher works.

00:17:08.460 And they worry about or they wonder about the stopping power of less lethal weapons.

00:17:13.300 I've used it.

00:17:14.380 It's amazing.

00:17:15.700 I have it in all of my cars right now because I want to have this option.

00:17:19.700 Yeah, absolutely.

00:17:20.900 You know, the stopping power is great no matter if you're using our kinetic rounds

00:17:23.820 or even the chemical agent rounds that obviously have the gas in them, the tear gas, the pepper spray that's going to incapacitate them.

00:17:30.220 I mean, this is a great case of how some resistance, enough resistance, obviously, to cause these welts,

00:17:35.960 immediately stopped the situation and was able to provide that safety for Court and his family.

00:17:41.380 It really is incredible.

00:17:42.500 If you want more information on what I carry and how you and your family members can protect themselves

00:17:48.660 with a Berna launcher, whether it is for a daughter or for a family member or a grandparent,

00:17:53.800 go to Berna, B-Y-R-N-A dot com. 1.00

00:17:57.560 That's Berna, B-Y-R-N-A dot com. 1.00

00:18:01.300 Again, Berna dot com right now.

00:18:03.560 Well, let's go back to something.

00:18:05.540 And I do think one of the very interesting historic moments as we go back and look at this weeks and years and months from now

00:18:13.080 is going to be Donald Trump not flinching on going after the Iran nuclear sites.

00:18:19.300 When you look at that moment and you see how quickly we now got to where we are when it comes to this deal being done,

00:18:27.660 how much of the psyche you think of Hamas and realizing what they were dealing with with President Trump

00:18:34.900 changed after he actually went after those nuclear sites?

00:18:38.200 I think it was fundamental.

00:18:39.880 And this is where the appeasement crowd gets it wrong.

00:18:44.600 They think that being weak to our enemies avoids war.

00:18:49.820 They'll say all the time quite piously, oh, we hate war.

00:18:53.420 And this is true of left wing Democrats.

00:18:55.920 But I'll tell you, within the Trump administration, there was a major debate about whether to launch that bombing run on Iran.

00:19:03.140 And there were major voices that were vocal saying, do not launch that bombing raid.

00:19:08.980 I was urging the president, take out those nuclear facilities.

00:19:12.440 It makes America safer.

00:19:14.500 And I think that decision, it's the single most important national security decision President Trump has made this second term.

00:19:21.140 And that decision demonstrated, number one, it weakened Iran, which is Hamas's patron and funder. 0.97

00:19:28.120 But number two, it demonstrates to Hamas, okay, this president's not going to flinch. 0.55

00:19:33.120 He's not going to give in.

00:19:34.180 He's not weak.

00:19:35.260 He's not going to roll over when we try to roar.

00:19:41.060 And I think without that, you don't have a peace deal.

00:19:44.400 As long as they believe, look, Joe Biden, what was he doing?

00:19:47.660 He was freezing weapons to Israel, blocking the IDF from getting weapons.

00:19:53.280 And I'll tell you what that did.

00:19:54.640 That encouraged Hamas. 0.99

00:19:55.740 That said, okay, great.

00:19:56.580 We've got a friend.

00:19:58.000 We've got a friend in the White House.

00:20:01.280 And by the way, you and I talked about it.

00:20:03.020 Joe Biden was harder on Israel.

00:20:03.840 We talked about this.

00:20:04.780 Joe Biden was harder on Israel many days than he was on Hamas to terrorists.

00:20:07.860 Well, you'll recall the podcast we did several months ago.

00:20:12.080 And it was right after I sat down and spent about two hours with Prime Minister Netanyahu

00:20:15.760 when he was in Washington, D.C.

00:20:19.280 And one of the things he told me in that meeting is that when they launched the pager attack on Hezbollah,

00:20:26.580 you remember that?

00:20:27.140 It's one of the most incredible military and intelligence actions.

00:20:30.640 By the way, I still can't wait for the movie to come out.

00:20:32.480 Can we all agree on that?

00:20:33.540 It's going to be unbelievable.

00:20:34.740 It would make an incredible movie.

00:20:36.320 And actually, if you had written that as a movie script, it would be rejected as a movie script.

00:20:42.220 People would say, this is too fantastical.

00:20:43.820 There's no way this would happen.

00:20:45.820 This is a bad Jason Bourne movie.

00:20:47.740 It's just not realistic.

00:20:49.400 And you look at what Israel did years earlier, creating a shell company in Hong Kong,

00:20:55.480 making the pagers, selling them to Hezbollah. 0.66

00:20:57.300 Hezbollah sends them to the terrorists. 0.88

00:20:59.300 But one of the things you and I talked about on this podcast is the government of Israel,

00:21:05.920 when they decided, okay, we're going to detonate those pagers and take out the Hezbollah terrorists. 0.98

00:21:10.540 They did not tell the Biden White House.

00:21:13.540 Yep.

00:21:13.740 And the reason they didn't tell the Biden White House is they were afraid if they told the Biden White House,

00:21:18.940 they'd pick up the phone and warn Hezbollah.

00:21:21.740 Yeah.

00:21:21.980 That says, you know what?

00:21:24.640 You don't get peace when the American president, when the American White House is going to warn the terrorists,

00:21:32.900 hey, your pagers are about to blow up.

00:21:35.480 So they notified the Biden White House as they were detonating the pagers, 0.92

00:21:39.960 hey, by the way, we just blew up a bunch of Hezbollah terrorists. 0.60

00:21:42.200 And that, President Trump saying, we stand with Israel, period, the end, 0.91

00:21:48.460 is a major, major reason we get to this moment to celebrate the peace deal,

00:21:53.500 to celebrate the ceasefire, but to do so from a position of strength.

00:21:57.800 Let's talk about, there's been a lot of criticism of the exchange for these terrorists, prisoners,

00:22:04.320 murderers, that Israel is going to release and saying that was a capitulation and a bad decision by Israel.

00:22:12.680 I understand that Israel did not want to do this, but they also understood that to get this deal done,

00:22:17.820 there had to be some movement here.

00:22:19.580 I want to get your take and your thoughts on that for people that are just wanting to criticize this deal

00:22:23.360 and try to find something wrong with it.

00:22:25.260 There's a perfect case scenario, and then there's reality.

00:22:28.180 This was part of the reality to get this done, to save the 20 that we believe are still alive at this moment.

00:22:32.940 Yeah, look, negotiations for the release of hostages are always difficult.

00:22:38.420 They raise incredibly challenging issues and questions.

00:22:43.080 I've spent a long time in the Senate.

00:22:45.060 I've made it a real passion of mine to fight for Americans who are detained abroad

00:22:49.480 and to fight for people like Mark Svedan.

00:22:51.980 Mark Svedan was a Texan.

00:22:53.860 By the way, I want to interrupt you.

00:22:55.440 We're just getting word now.

00:22:56.680 Hamas has officially just handed over the hostages to the Red Cross.

00:23:01.860 That is coming from multiple news agencies.

00:23:06.080 Hamas hands over the hostages to the Red Cross.

00:23:08.980 Apparently, it has officially just happened, as we're recording this,

00:23:12.140 at 1.28 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in the morning.

00:23:16.820 Well, that is phenomenal.

00:23:18.740 That is great news.

00:23:20.000 We should all say a prayer and thank God that this is an important and historic day.

00:23:29.660 And what I was saying a minute ago that you were asking about, in any hostage negotiation,

00:23:35.940 there are often difficult tradeoffs and there are agonizing tradeoffs.

00:23:39.760 And I've tried.

00:23:41.620 Mark Svedan, as I mentioned, was wrongfully imprisoned in communist China for more than a decade.

00:23:46.300 And I repeatedly pressed the Chinese communist government, pressed the Biden administration,

00:23:51.060 and we finally got him released.

00:23:52.380 And he's back with his mom in Texas.

00:23:54.620 And that's a phenomenal thing.

00:23:56.240 But those tradeoffs are difficult.

00:24:01.300 And so I'm not going to second guess the decisions President Trump made and Prime Minister Netanyahu made

00:24:08.380 in terms of the specific negotiations to get the hostages released.

00:24:15.480 Hamas remains incredibly dangerous. 0.99

00:24:19.460 They are terrorists. 1.00

00:24:20.320 Their objective is to murder as many Israelis as they can. 1.00

00:24:24.800 But today's a victory. 0.99

00:24:26.720 It's a victory for peace.

00:24:27.840 It's a victory for Israel. 0.98

00:24:28.960 It's a victory for President Trump.

00:24:31.420 And all of that is really good.

00:24:34.520 Canadian women are looking for more. 1.00

00:24:36.680 More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them.

00:24:40.840 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:24:44.560 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:24:45.720 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:24:46.720 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:24:50.780 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers.

00:24:54.320 All at different stages of their journey.

00:24:56.500 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:24:59.720 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:25:05.400 What are your thoughts on President Trump traveling to Israel

00:25:08.500 and also going to address the people he's going to meet with the hostages?

00:25:12.560 There are some that have said in the media that this seems to be grandstanding.

00:25:15.620 I think that's pretty absurd.

00:25:17.260 I think when you're doing a deal, you showing up also probably puts more pressure on Hamas 0.68

00:25:22.500 to do what they said they're going to do when you're there.

00:25:25.260 I actually think this is part of the strategy like, hey, if we get on Air Force One

00:25:29.600 and we're over there and we're landing, this is going to make it harder for them to pull out.

00:25:35.040 We now are seeing the breaking news of hostages and the Red Cross care as releases are underway.

00:25:40.540 That's one of the other headlines I'm witnessing as we're talking about this.

00:25:43.080 Having Donald Trump fly there had to put more pressure on them to do what they said they were going to do

00:25:48.520 and help almost guarantee or secure or have a better chance of those hostages being released.

00:25:53.400 I don't think it's grandstanding.

00:25:54.680 I think it was a smart move of diplomacy when you're dealing with a terrorist organization.

00:25:59.920 Unquestionably, number one, I think President Trump deeply wanted to be there to celebrate,

00:26:03.860 to celebrate their release, to celebrate this groundbreaking victory.

00:26:07.800 But number two, in terms of negotiating, President Trump and his entire team,

00:26:12.700 they know there is a very real chance that Hamas reneges on the deal,

00:26:17.140 that Hamas has broken deal after deal after deal.

00:26:21.380 Anyone who is paying the tiniest bit of attention knows that Hamas is not trustworthy. 0.69

00:26:26.720 The fact that the president of the United States gets on Air Force One and flies to Israel to be there,

00:26:32.080 to say, okay, you've said you're going to release the hostages, I'm going to be there to welcome them.

00:26:38.820 That ratcheted up the pressure enormously.

00:26:41.520 When he got on Air Force One, he didn't know.

00:26:43.320 He knew there was a chance that when he landed, Hamas would have said,

00:26:46.720 never mind, we're not going to release them, because they've done that over and over and over again.

00:26:50.320 But I'll tell you this, Hamas knew that President Trump would be unbelievably pissed.

00:26:56.220 Yeah.

00:26:57.140 If that were the case.

00:26:58.340 And it goes back to the doctrine of peace through strength,

00:27:02.960 that his being there makes clear, look, guys, I'm not messing around.

00:27:06.560 We've cut a deal.

00:27:07.460 I expect you to stick to the deal.

00:27:09.280 And I think ratcheting up that pressure,

00:27:12.220 even dealing with people who are not rational actors like Hamas terrorists,

00:27:17.520 they saw, I think, real downsides.

00:27:21.340 If we break this deal, the consequences would be even more devastating.

00:27:28.740 And I think his being there increased the likelihood of the hostages actually being released dramatically.

00:27:38.940 By the way, we're getting word now from Israeli sources.

00:27:41.460 You and I really get to do actual breaking news as we're recording.

00:27:44.320 Israeli sources are now saying the first seven hostages have been released to the Red Cross.

00:27:51.800 So that means they are in the hands of people that are caring for them, loving on them.

00:27:57.780 But again, Israeli sources are saying the first seven hostages have been released to the Red Cross.

00:28:02.080 There's 20 total.

00:28:03.780 So the first seven, and part of this is they're going to wait for the prisoners,

00:28:06.880 I'm assuming now, based on what I've been told on this,

00:28:09.960 to be released to certain set of the prisoners that are being released by Israel.

00:28:13.360 So then the next hostages will come in waves.

00:28:15.700 But this is certainly an incredible moment for not just Israel,

00:28:19.640 but for all of the family members that are hoping to get their loved ones back.

00:28:22.880 But the first seven hostages have been released to the Red Cross.

00:28:25.180 This is incredible.

00:28:26.620 It is incredible.

00:28:28.140 And I'll give credit to President Trump and to his entire team.

00:28:31.500 And, you know, it's striking.

00:28:32.500 We also saw this week that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded.

00:28:37.220 And in any sane world, it would have been given to Donald Trump.

00:28:40.960 I mean, that actually is not a difficult decision.

00:28:43.860 If you're actually asking in the past year, who has done the most to advance peace,

00:28:49.480 it's not a close call.

00:28:52.800 But the Nobel Prize are a bunch of Norwegians, and they're European liberals, 0.97

00:28:57.980 and they hate, hate, hate Donald Trump. 0.93

00:29:01.360 Yep.

00:29:01.480 So instead they gave it to Maria Corina Machado, who is the leading opposition figure in Venezuela,

00:29:09.660 standing up to Nicolas Maduro.

00:29:12.320 And I will say Machado is an extraordinary person.

00:29:15.620 I have met with her in person.

00:29:17.880 I've visited with her.

00:29:18.800 She has demonstrated remarkable courage fighting the tyranny of Maduro.

00:29:25.840 But at the end of the day, it wasn't even close that this should have gone to Trump.

00:29:34.120 And by the way, again, if you don't believe me, then maybe you should believe Machado.

00:29:40.460 Because Machado called President Trump, and here's what President Trump said.

00:29:46.320 He said, quote,

00:29:46.820 The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me and said,

00:29:51.240 I'm accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.

00:29:57.280 And by the way, she went and then said that publicly as well.

00:30:00.300 So she not only said that to President Trump, but she said that publicly.

00:30:04.460 Now, that was very smart of Machado.

00:30:06.820 Sure.

00:30:07.180 That was a very smart thing to do.

00:30:08.900 But it also, at this point, it just, it's the Nobel Committee being petty liberals.

00:30:17.560 And by the way, these are the same knuckleheads that gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama 0.51

00:30:22.580 when he was first elected, when he'd literally done nothing.

00:30:26.680 He'd walked in, been sworn into office, and they handed him the Nobel Peace Prize

00:30:31.160 for simply not being George W. Bush.

00:30:33.060 He won the Nobel Peace Prize for existing and being the Democrat who succeeded Bush.

00:30:38.900 Trump, look, he could cure cancer, and the Nobel Prize is not going to recognize anything

00:30:45.620 because they hate, hate, hate him.

00:30:47.940 But this is an historic achievement, and it is something that everyone should celebrate.

00:30:53.320 So many people, they're listening to Verdict.

00:30:55.000 They're going to get to not only, I think, hear from probably leadership in Israel

00:30:58.720 in the next several hours.

00:31:00.020 It's certainly going to happen in the morning or midday.

00:31:02.180 You're also going to be able to hear from the President of the United States of America.

00:31:05.340 What do you expect his message to be?

00:31:07.760 And this is, by the way, all happening right now while the federal government is still

00:31:12.980 shut down in the U.S., and I want to get your take on that in a moment.

00:31:17.120 But what do you expect to hear from the President today?

00:31:20.340 Look, I think the President is going to say this is an historic day.

00:31:23.860 This peace agreement is a moment of history that ended a war that has extended for two years,

00:31:31.580 that freed people who have been in captivity for two years, subject to horrific treatment.

00:31:38.500 And I think he's going to say, I expect the parties to stick to the terms of the agreement.

00:31:42.860 I think he is going to continue with peace through strength.

00:31:47.840 He's going to continue with the opposite of weakness and appeasement, because we don't get

00:31:52.720 to this peace agreement without President Trump's strength.

00:31:57.620 And then this is one thing to remember.

00:32:00.180 There are some observers who want to say that Donald Trump is an isolationist.

00:32:05.460 He has never been an isolationist.

00:32:07.300 Yeah.

00:32:07.940 He has...

00:32:08.740 Look, the first term that Trump was in office,

00:32:12.260 when he came into office,

00:32:14.720 he inherited an ISIS caliphate that had grown under Barack Obama,

00:32:18.880 that was the size of the state of Indiana.

00:32:21.020 They had an entire nation state to wage terror against America. 0.57

00:32:25.140 And Donald Trump utterly decimated and destroyed it.

00:32:27.980 Within months, the caliphate was gone.

00:32:30.520 He completely defeated them.

00:32:32.340 He also took out General Soleimani.

00:32:34.280 He took out al-Baghdadi.

00:32:36.660 Those are not the actions of an isolationist.

00:32:38.880 You look at the second term,

00:32:41.000 where he's been bombing the living daylights out of the Houthis, 0.95

00:32:44.100 who are attacking ships going through the Suez Canal.

00:32:47.220 He is bombing the heck out of narco-terrorists off the coast of Venezuela. 0.98

00:32:51.280 And by the way, Machado was smart to say he deserved it,

00:32:55.320 because, look, her efforts fighting Maduro are very important,

00:32:58.680 and they're courageous.

00:33:00.700 But President Trump's strength is the single factor

00:33:04.340 that makes it most likely that the Maduro regime will be toppled.

00:33:08.260 And so President Trump taking out those narco-terrorists 1.00

00:33:11.840 is another example of peace through strength.

00:33:14.680 And finally, the Iran bombing run,

00:33:17.920 taking out their nuclear facilities.

00:33:19.440 None of those are the acts of an isolationist.

00:33:21.800 Now, to be clear,

00:33:23.860 President Trump is also not an interventionist.

00:33:26.640 He's not invading foreign countries.

00:33:29.220 I don't expect to see the Marines engaged in invading other countries,

00:33:34.960 other than to protect the vital security interests of America,

00:33:38.960 to keep America safe.

00:33:40.280 The only instance in which we would see a ground war

00:33:43.920 is where there was a direct danger to the lives of Americans.

00:33:49.920 And in those instances,

00:33:51.580 President Trump is willing to use military force,

00:33:54.160 but he's not engaged in this broader endeavor

00:33:58.540 to send in our military

00:34:01.500 to try to turn every country in the world

00:34:03.680 into some utopian democracy.

00:34:06.040 That's not the job of the military.

00:34:08.520 Donald Trump doesn't think it's the job of the military.

00:34:10.660 And the result,

00:34:13.560 strength is the best way to avoid war.

00:34:18.680 Our enemies are afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:23.020 That is a very good thing.

00:34:24.540 Hamas is afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:26.520 Hezbollah is afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:29.160 Iran is afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:31.740 Maduro is afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:33.820 China and Russia are afraid of Donald Trump.

00:34:36.800 All of that is good because America is safer

00:34:39.840 and we are much more likely to avoid military conflict

00:34:44.000 when our enemies are afraid of the commander-in-chief

00:34:47.220 than when our enemies,

00:34:49.040 you look at Joe Biden,

00:34:50.140 when they look and say the commander-in-chief

00:34:52.000 is weak and completely incapacitated.

00:34:58.100 And that is why we went from no wars across the globe

00:35:03.200 to two wars, Ukraine and Gaza,

00:35:06.440 both raging under Joe Biden.

00:35:08.540 That's what happens when you have

00:35:10.180 a weak and appeasing president.

00:35:12.120 Yeah, no doubt about it.

00:35:13.120 Again, this is breaking as we continue.

00:35:15.680 Israeli sources are now saying

00:35:17.020 the first seven living hostages

00:35:19.520 have been released to the Red Cross.

00:35:22.220 In Tel Aviv right now,

00:35:23.320 we are witnessing celebration in the streets.

00:35:26.860 We are seeing this in Jerusalem as well.

00:35:29.100 The videos are starting to come in.

00:35:30.280 It is basically 8.40 a.m. in Israel right now.

00:35:33.840 We're seeing people line the streets

00:35:35.500 of the highway right now

00:35:36.800 and ram Israel as well.

00:35:39.100 And this is just some of that excitement

00:35:40.940 after two plus years

00:35:42.640 of these people that were taken

00:35:44.900 on that October 7th attack day.

00:35:47.940 We're going to keep monitoring this,

00:35:49.480 obviously, until we wrap up.

00:35:50.720 But I do want to get you an update for everyone

00:35:53.020 on the government shutdown here in the U.S.

00:35:55.920 We are into two weeks now

00:35:57.760 of this government shutdown.

00:35:59.140 We are starting to see it affect people's lives.

00:36:01.100 We're seeing health care issues

00:36:02.420 with those, for example, in San Antonio.

00:36:05.180 I was there today talking about

00:36:07.440 there's a lot of people there

00:36:08.560 that are saying that the providers

00:36:10.580 are not able to get the money

00:36:11.640 and the funding they need.

00:36:12.820 Doctors are frustrated.

00:36:14.360 The Schumer shutdown is really starting

00:36:15.860 to hurt people in our military,

00:36:17.120 their kids, those with special needs as well.

00:36:20.040 Your reaction, how much longer

00:36:21.560 this is going to continue?

00:36:22.860 And do you see any movement this week?

00:36:25.320 Well, we're right now in day 12

00:36:27.300 of the Schumer shutdown.

00:36:28.800 And the government is shut down

00:36:30.360 because over and over and over again,

00:36:32.340 the Democrats are voting

00:36:35.160 to shut the government down.

00:36:36.200 And I will say, you know,

00:36:37.140 it's actually interesting.

00:36:39.600 Today on Twitter, 53 Republicans was trending.

00:36:44.180 And the reason it was trending

00:36:45.600 was an exchange, a back and forth

00:36:47.480 that I had with Gavin Newsom

00:36:48.700 on the shutdown.

00:36:50.200 So Gavin Newsom tweeted out,

00:36:52.340 wow, that is wild.

00:36:54.020 I wonder who has control

00:36:55.160 of the White House, Senate, and the House.

00:36:57.060 And this is one of the Democrat

00:36:58.820 talking points as well.

00:37:00.140 This is the Republicans' fault

00:37:01.840 because the president

00:37:03.400 and the Senate and the House

00:37:04.780 are all in Republican control.

00:37:06.800 Here's what I responded on X.

00:37:08.820 I said, Gavin is deliberately lying.

00:37:12.200 To fund the government

00:37:13.060 takes 60 votes in the Senate.

00:37:16.180 There are only 53 Republicans.

00:37:20.060 We need at least seven Democrats.

00:37:23.320 We keep voting to open the government.

00:37:26.600 Dems keep voting to shut it down.

00:37:29.740 Gavin Newsom knows this.

00:37:32.140 And he's lying to you.

00:37:34.220 And as of right now,

00:37:35.220 that's had 1.7 million views.

00:37:36.980 It was trending on Twitter.

00:37:38.560 And it's the simple fact.

00:37:40.420 We cannot pass funding for the government

00:37:43.360 without 60 votes in the Senate.

00:37:44.860 That means there is nothing Republicans can do

00:37:47.220 to fund this on our own.

00:37:49.280 The Democrats all know this.

00:37:51.260 We have voted, I think, eight times now.

00:37:53.900 The Republicans have voted

00:37:55.160 to open the government,

00:37:57.340 to fund the government.

00:37:58.200 And every Democrat,

00:38:00.100 but I think three,

00:38:01.800 have voted no.

00:38:03.760 And that's why we have a shutdown. 0.58

00:38:06.280 Now, we're all expected

00:38:08.200 to go back to D.C.

00:38:09.340 on Tuesday of this week.

00:38:10.640 And we'll vote again

00:38:11.480 to fund the government.

00:38:12.500 I voted to fund the government now

00:38:14.000 over and over and over again.

00:38:15.580 I'll vote again on Tuesday

00:38:16.640 to fund the government.

00:38:17.980 And I think it is very likely right now

00:38:20.800 the Democrats will continue

00:38:22.140 the Schumer shutdown.

00:38:23.700 Wow.

00:38:24.100 And I'll tell you what I think

00:38:26.620 is one of the major reasons

00:38:27.780 is coming up on October 17th,

00:38:30.640 there is this big rally in D.C.,

00:38:33.320 the No Kings rally.

00:38:34.740 Yeah.

00:38:35.060 Where a bunch of the left-wing radicals

00:38:37.100 are coming to D.C.

00:38:38.900 And, you know,

00:38:40.740 what most of my colleagues believe

00:38:43.200 is the Democrat senators

00:38:44.560 are terrified

00:38:45.360 of opening the government

00:38:47.620 before that rally

00:38:48.720 because they don't want

00:38:50.420 their crazy base,

00:38:51.460 the same base

00:38:52.260 that almost cost Schumer

00:38:53.820 his job last time,

00:38:55.740 they don't want

00:38:56.520 their crazy base

00:38:57.560 to get angry.

00:38:58.580 And so I think most of us...

00:39:00.520 So to be clear, hold on, hold on.

00:39:00.800 So you're telling me,

00:39:02.760 the American people right now,

00:39:04.260 that there's a very good chance

00:39:05.720 that the government shutdown

00:39:06.520 will continue

00:39:07.000 because of a rally date.

00:39:09.300 Yep.

00:39:09.440 And that date again is what?

00:39:11.360 October 17th.

00:39:12.620 Okay.

00:39:12.880 So we got another

00:39:16.580 five, six days of this

00:39:17.920 just to get to the rally.

00:39:19.720 And then maybe

00:39:20.580 we'll actually do their job

00:39:21.940 and, like, fund the government.

00:39:23.160 Look, at some point

00:39:24.360 they're going to do their job

00:39:25.340 and fund the government.

00:39:26.500 But, you know,

00:39:27.040 a bunch of federal employees

00:39:29.880 are about to miss

00:39:30.660 their first paycheck.

00:39:32.320 I'll tell you,

00:39:33.320 ordinarily,

00:39:34.120 soldiers, sailors,

00:39:35.020 airmen, and Marines

00:39:35.780 would lose their first paycheck

00:39:36.960 as well.

00:39:38.320 The Trump Department of War

00:39:39.980 has said

00:39:40.340 they're going to move

00:39:40.840 some funds around

00:39:41.580 and pay our servicemen

00:39:43.660 and women. 0.98

00:39:44.180 And Democrats are furious.

00:39:45.980 How dare you find a way?

00:39:48.120 Look, I don't know

00:39:48.680 if they can do it

00:39:49.340 because it is not easy

00:39:50.400 with the funding paused.

00:39:52.260 But the Democrats don't care.

00:39:53.880 And I'll tell you,

00:39:54.460 one of the great acts 0.78

00:39:55.940 of hypocrisy 0.98

00:39:56.880 is the Democrat congressmen 0.97

00:40:00.040 are all paying themselves

00:40:01.400 or most of them.

00:40:02.260 Maybe, I don't know about all.

00:40:03.400 So, under the 28th Amendment

00:40:07.480 to the Constitution,

00:40:09.360 the compensation

00:40:10.320 of a member of Congress

00:40:11.380 cannot be reduced

00:40:12.360 during your term of office,

00:40:13.560 which means,

00:40:14.220 during a shutdown,

00:40:15.900 House members and senators

00:40:16.980 get paid no matter what.

00:40:18.220 Even though everyone else,

00:40:19.380 their paychecks stop,

00:40:21.080 elected members of Congress

00:40:22.300 get their paycheck.

00:40:23.280 Now, you can say no.

00:40:25.700 So I sent a letter

00:40:26.760 to the Secretary of the Senate

00:40:28.180 saying,

00:40:28.760 please hold my paycheck.

00:40:30.620 Do not pay me.

00:40:31.580 I do not want that money

00:40:32.720 deposited in my account

00:40:33.980 until the government shutdown ends,

00:40:37.280 until our service members

00:40:38.520 are being paid.

00:40:39.660 I'm not going to pay myself.

00:40:41.160 But you look at these Democrats

00:40:42.460 who are happily

00:40:43.020 shutting the government down.

00:40:44.340 They're also taking

00:40:45.320 their own paycheck

00:40:46.000 and saying,

00:40:46.600 gosh, I like being paid.

00:40:48.220 And, you know,

00:40:49.660 they are not troubled at all

00:40:52.340 if some young corporal

00:40:54.600 serving overseas

00:40:56.220 suddenly doesn't get his paycheck

00:40:57.740 and can't pay his bills this week.

00:41:00.240 That's incredible.

00:41:01.580 As we wrap this up

00:41:02.980 at 1.47 a.m.

00:41:05.340 Eastern Standard Time,

00:41:06.760 the latest news we have,

00:41:08.220 and this is good news,

00:41:09.180 Israeli sources are saying

00:41:10.260 the first seven living hostages

00:41:11.980 have been released to Red Cross.

00:41:13.940 We're obviously waiting

00:41:15.040 on the other 13.

00:41:16.760 And that hopefully,

00:41:18.020 by the time you get to hear this

00:41:19.320 in the morning on your commuter

00:41:21.040 in the afternoon,

00:41:22.180 they've all been released.

00:41:23.320 But this is certainly a good day.

00:41:25.180 And we'll have a lot more on this,

00:41:26.980 I can promise,

00:41:27.720 on Wednesday morning.

00:41:28.980 Ben, let me say this,

00:41:31.040 let me say this finally.

00:41:32.580 Number one,

00:41:33.360 congratulations to President Trump

00:41:35.000 and his team.

00:41:35.840 Congratulations to Prime Minister Netanyahu

00:41:37.800 and his team.

00:41:39.320 Congratulations to the people of Israel

00:41:40.960 who are celebrating right now

00:41:42.480 and rightly celebrating.

00:41:44.320 And I just want to say,

00:41:45.940 praise God,

00:41:46.580 God is good all of the time.

00:41:48.880 Amen.

00:41:49.140 Ben, we'll be back with you

00:41:50.160 on Wednesday morning.

00:41:50.960 Make sure you share this episode

00:41:52.040 wherever you can on social media

00:41:53.500 and grab my podcast as well,

00:41:55.520 the Ben Ferguson podcast.

00:41:56.740 I'll keep you updated

00:41:57.320 on the breaking news on Tuesday as well

00:41:59.060 as you get ready for us again

00:42:00.520 on Wednesday morning.

00:42:01.240 We'll see you back then real soon.

00:42:04.080 This is an iHeart podcast.

00:42:06.780 Guaranteed human.

00:42:07.420 No one.

00:42:08.540 Well done.

00:42:08.980 Bye-bye.

00:42:10.100 Bye-bye.

00:42:10.520 Bye-bye.

00:42:11.340 Bye-bye.

00:42:13.600 Bye-bye.

00:42:15.800 Bye-bye.

00:42:16.380 Bye-bye.

00:42:16.740 Bye-bye.

00:42:17.480 Bye-bye.

00:42:20.440 Bye-bye.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 13, 2025

PEACE in the Middle East-Hostages Freed under Historic Trump Agreement

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