Verdict with Ted Cruz - Schumer Shutdown Continues plus a Beautiful Tribute to Charlie Kirk as he receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.600 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.500 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.120 And we've got a big show for you today, including really an incredible moment at the White House honoring Charlie Kirk on what would have been his birthday.

00:00:17.380 We're going to talk about that. Senator, you were there, but also we've got an update as well on the government shutdown.

00:00:24.500 Well, it is day 15 of the Schumer shutdown.

00:00:26.720 The government remains shut down.

00:00:28.880 We voted on Tuesday to reopen the government.

00:00:32.380 The Republicans voted to reopen the government.

00:00:34.320 And sadly, the Democrats continue to say, shut it down, shut it down, shut it down.

00:00:38.440 Now, today, October 15th, the president is doing something that is really kind of wrecking the Democrats playbook, which is the president move funds around within the Department of War.

00:00:49.740 And he said, we're going to pay our servicemen and women.

00:00:52.100 We're going to send out their paychecks.

00:00:53.540 I think Schumer and the Democrats were counting on these paychecks not going out.

00:00:57.500 You have a number of Democrats expressing their dismay about it.

00:01:00.520 We're going to break that down and tell you what's happening about the shutdown.

00:01:04.200 We're also going to talk about, as you noted, Tuesday, President Trump in the Rose Garden gave Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

00:01:14.740 I was there. It was an incredible event.

00:01:16.600 It honored his life.

00:01:18.160 We're going to talk to you about that as well.

00:01:19.680 Yeah, it's a really important conversation that we're going to have about that, and it's one that's not being reported on as well.

00:01:26.100 So we hope that you guys are going to take that story and share it wherever you can on social media, sharing this podcast.

00:01:31.780 We're going to have that for you in a moment.

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00:03:18.960 All right, Senator.

00:03:19.620 So let's just talk about, like, where we are to give the updates.

00:03:23.420 This is something I think it's important for us to do when it comes to shutdown.

00:03:26.820 What is happening now in Washington?

00:03:29.500 And I got a feeling you're going to be like nothing at all.

00:03:32.780 Yeah, look, it's October 15th.

00:03:34.340 So one of the consequences is federal workers all across the federal government had their paycheck not direct deposited.

00:03:41.700 And so for a lot of workers who are living paycheck to paycheck, it means they're not getting the check that they were planning on to pay their bills.

00:03:49.160 They're not getting the check they're planning on to go to the grocery store.

00:03:52.580 They're not getting the check they're planning on to pay health care expenses, tuition expenses, daycare expenses, all of the day-to-day expenses.

00:04:01.400 It was also scheduled to be the day on which our troops, our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen, and Marines would not get paid either.

00:04:11.560 And we've seen online images of young soldiers standing in line at food pantries to get food.

00:04:20.280 You know, many of our young, particularly enlisted men and women are living on very limited budgets and not getting a paycheck is a real hardship for them.

00:04:28.880 Now, I will say the latter has not happened because President Trump has done something that I don't think has ever happened in a previous shutdown, which is he has readjusted money that was going to other expenses within the Department of War.

00:04:42.980 He's shifted it around to an account to pay our service men and women.

00:04:47.520 I'm grateful that he did so.

00:04:49.520 It really is quite striking that the Democrats, multiple Democrats are expressing dismay.

00:04:54.220 How dare you pay our service men and women?

00:04:56.220 But on Tuesday, on Tuesday, the Senate came back in town and we voted.

00:05:02.900 We voted for the ninth time.

00:05:05.120 Republicans voted to reopen the government.

00:05:07.700 I voted to reopen the government.

00:05:09.140 We're ready to reopen it.

00:05:10.480 And the Democrats came in almost party line.

00:05:13.040 All but a couple of Democrats voted no, no, no.

00:05:15.740 Keep the government down.

00:05:17.580 And by the way, Schumer recently said it was, quote, better for Democrats to extend the government shutdown.

00:05:24.580 Now, I got to say, that's a cynical statement.

00:05:27.040 They're counting on the media to be dishonest about what's going on.

00:05:30.360 But listen, the end of this is it's going to end in the same place.

00:05:36.300 At some point, the Democrats are going to give in.

00:05:39.760 And I'll tell you what what most of the Republican senators believe, myself included,

00:05:44.420 which is the shutdown will continue at least until next week.

00:05:49.580 And the reason for that is on October 18th, on Saturday, there is a big rally planned in Washington, D.C.,

00:05:57.260 the so-called No Kings rally, where a bunch of leftist radicals are going to be coming to Washington, D.C.

00:06:03.020 to protest against Donald Trump, because that's what the left does is they say, we hate Trump.

00:06:06.900 We hate Trump.

00:06:08.320 And what I'm hearing is the Democrats are terrified of reopening the government before that No Kings rally,

00:06:17.860 because they think if they do reopen the government, those radicals will be furious.

00:06:22.340 And listen, why are we having a shutdown?

00:06:24.460 We're having a shutdown.

00:06:25.240 Two reasons.

00:06:26.400 Number one, because the Democrats want free taxpayer-provided health care for illegal aliens.

00:06:30.880 But number two, the real reason we're having a shutdown is because Chuck Schumer is fighting for his political life

00:06:36.600 and he's trying to demonstrate to the radical left he hates Trump as much as they do.

00:06:42.860 And so I think at a minimum the shutdown will continue through this weekend.

00:06:48.620 The earliest we see the government opening up is next week.

00:06:52.020 But you know what?

00:06:52.900 Schumer and the Democrats might make a drag out even further than that,

00:06:55.760 because right now they seem utterly oblivious to the consequences of their massive political obstruction.

00:07:03.240 Yeah, it really is.

00:07:04.100 And I go back to being held hostage and the fact that Democrats are really outraged over the idea of paying our military.

00:07:12.960 I think that's just really gross.

00:07:16.360 I am shocked they're not taking a bigger political hit.

00:07:19.400 And the media is just giving them full coverage on this one to act like their outrage is somehow sane or normal.

00:07:25.880 I actually think the American people look at this otherwise.

00:07:28.900 Am I wrong?

00:07:30.380 Look, I think you're right.

00:07:31.780 Although candidly, I think each side lives in its own echo chamber. 0.99

00:07:37.320 So I think if you're inclined to agree with Republicans, your view is, gosh, the Democrats are being ridiculous. 0.94

00:07:44.280 This is a Schumer shutdown.

00:07:45.340 Now, sadly, if you're inclined to agree with Democrats, if you're on the left, you're listening to CNN.

00:07:52.080 You're listening to MSNBC. 0.93

00:07:53.520 You're in an echo chamber where everyone you hear is saying it's the horrible Republicans, it's the horrible Republicans. 0.61

00:08:00.320 And so I think that's part of the reason why the two sides have very different perspectives.

00:08:04.820 I don't think this is going well for the Democrats at all.

00:08:06.960 But I'm not sure they agree, because if they're just listening to their radicals, they think it's wonderful.

00:08:15.640 By the way, their radicals would leave the government shut down for months and months and months because all they care about is saying we hate Trump.

00:08:24.940 Now, here's how this is going to end.

00:08:27.320 I don't think Chuck Schumer is going to end it.

00:08:29.480 I don't think he's going to show any leadership because I think he is terrified.

00:08:33.520 He is hearing AOC breathing down his neck.

00:08:37.820 What I think is going to happen is you're going to need at least seven Democrats who decide, OK, enough is enough.

00:08:45.680 Let's reopen the government.

00:08:47.560 Let's stop this petulance.

00:08:49.260 And I think it is going to be almost exclusively retiring Democrats, people who are on their way out and Democrats who are not facing their left wing voters anytime soon.

00:09:04.500 My guess is Schumer never votes to open the government.

00:09:07.740 But I think he may condone, he may look the other way and wink a couple of times at letting a little bit of a jailbreak,

00:09:15.040 at letting eight to ten Democrats vote to say let's reopen the government.

00:09:19.540 And I think all the rest of the Democrats vote no, no, no to preserve themselves from their left flank.

00:09:25.180 Do you believe that Democrats will actually sit down with Republicans?

00:09:28.760 It's really something that hasn't happened.

00:09:30.440 Certainly on the House side, Democrats are saying, no, we have nothing to talk about.

00:09:35.800 Do you think that Democrats will be let out of that jail once this No Kings rally takes place?

00:09:41.960 And how quickly afterwards do you think we can actually see that conversation begin?

00:09:46.040 Well, look, right now, Schumer is not talking with Republican leadership.

00:09:49.260 Hakeem Jeffries in the House is not talking with Republican leadership.

00:09:52.860 I don't think it will be Democrat leadership.

00:09:55.260 There's a group of about a dozen Democrat senators who are having conversations, and they're talking a little bit to Republicans.

00:10:02.620 And I think the way this will end is after the rally.

00:10:06.180 And by the way, think about it.

00:10:08.020 If you're a federal worker right now and you're working at, say, the VA and you didn't get your paycheck today,

00:10:13.180 the reason you didn't get your paycheck is the Democrats are scared to have a rally of radicals in Washington while they allowed you to get your paycheck.

00:10:23.500 I mean, this is pure left wing politics.

00:10:26.840 And by the way, Schumer's comment on this, he said, quote, every day gets better for us.

00:10:32.380 He said, quote, every day the Republicans refuse to negotiate to end the shutdown.

00:10:36.420 The worse it gets for Americans and the clearer it becomes who's fighting for them.

00:10:40.840 That is their view that that or that is at least the view of the radicals.

00:10:46.700 But I think what you'll see is among that that roughly dozen Democrats who are having conversations right now,

00:10:54.260 you'll see seven, eight, nine of them say, OK, let's open the government.

00:10:57.700 And that's how this ends.

00:10:59.640 Final question on this.

00:11:00.900 The president today at the White House did talk about, hey, you better get ready.

00:11:04.400 Come Thursday, Friday.

00:11:06.220 You guys don't get back on board of opening the government up.

00:11:09.520 I'm going to start cutting Democratic programs because we think there's a lot of waste there, not Republican programs.

00:11:14.680 Is that the type of leverage that we need right now?

00:11:18.460 Absolutely.

00:11:19.260 So so I was at the White House on Tuesday.

00:11:22.280 I talked with with many cabinet members.

00:11:24.260 I talked with Russ Vogt, who's the head of the Office of Management and Budget, and he's in charge of the layoffs.

00:11:29.300 And they've already started.

00:11:30.260 They've laid off thousands of federal government workers. 0.58

00:11:33.460 And the Trump White House has said the longer the shutdown continues, the more government workers will be laid off, not furloughed temporarily, but laid off.

00:11:41.300 And they're going to focus on policies and priorities that are inconsistent with the president's agenda, that are Democrat priorities.

00:11:49.940 And I think that leverage will accelerate the Democrats saying, OK, we're going to stop holding the government hostage and we're going to allow the clean, continuing resolution that the House passed weeks ago.

00:12:02.760 We're going to allow that to be signed into law.

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00:12:36.500 Speaking of the White House, as you just mentioned, you were there with many cabinet members that were in attendance for a really, I think, special moment.

00:12:44.800 You and I had the honor and the privilege to go to the memorial service for Charlie Kirk.

00:12:50.980 What we witnessed today was something incredible.

00:12:53.680 Donald Trump awarded Charlie Kirk the Medal of Freedom on what would have been his 32nd birthday at the White House.

00:13:02.620 And his wife, his widow, Erica, was there to accept this.

00:13:07.660 It was a moving moment.

00:13:09.020 And you were there for all of it.

00:13:11.080 So it was truly a beautiful, it was a beautiful day.

00:13:13.620 It was a beautiful fall day in October in Washington, D.C.

00:13:16.780 The sun was out.

00:13:18.340 We were in the Rose Garden.

00:13:19.800 And in the Rose Garden, you had a lot of members of Congress.

00:13:24.300 You had virtually the entire cabinet came out for it.

00:13:27.840 And Erica Kirk, Charlie's widow, was there.

00:13:30.460 The president really, I think, did a very good job remembering Charlie, speaking from the heart, honoring Charlie's legacy.

00:13:37.740 And presenting him with the highest civilian honor we have in this country.

00:13:42.120 In the military context, the Medal of Honor is the highest recipient that can be awarded an individual.

00:13:50.780 In the civilian context, the Medal of Freedom is the highest honor that can be awarded an individual.

00:13:57.100 And to give it to Charlie, it was bittersweet because Charlie would have been 32.

00:14:03.060 He was a young man.

00:14:03.880 He had an incredibly bright future.

00:14:06.160 As you and I have talked about, we both have known Charlie a long time.

00:14:10.020 I considered Charlie a very close friend.

00:14:13.720 Heidi and I met Charlie when he was just 18 years old, when he was a kid.

00:14:18.380 You know, at the ceremony at the White House, I met Charlie's parents.

00:14:23.200 I had not met his parents before.

00:14:25.120 And I had an opportunity to just tell both his mom and dad, say, look, look, Heidi and I, we love Charlie.

00:14:31.420 And when we got to know him 14 years ago, his vision then was as clear as it was the day he died.

00:14:45.440 His vision of creating a movement to energize, to mobilize young people, to mobilize young people, to love freedom, to love free enterprise, to love the Constitution, to love America.

00:14:59.280 That vision, you could see it.

00:15:03.540 What I met him, he was this tall, lanky 18-year-old kid who was fresh out of high school, had not gone to college.

00:15:09.160 And you've got to remember the context.

00:15:11.020 This is 2012, beginning of 2013.

00:15:14.580 Barack Obama had just been reelected.

00:15:16.720 The Democrats were resurgent.

00:15:18.480 At that point, young people being a Democrat, an Obama Democrat, was hip and cool.

00:15:25.380 The idea of energizing a lot of young people to be conservatives, frankly, sounded loony.

00:15:31.120 It did not sound like an easy task at all.

00:15:33.460 A lot of people in the Republican Party said this will never work.

00:15:37.240 But Charlie had a vision.

00:15:38.740 And I was telling his mom and dad, I said, look, his vision was extraordinary.

00:15:43.980 And one of the things I said to them is I said, look, we are grieving the loss of your son.

00:15:48.900 He was extraordinary.

00:15:49.820 I'm so sorry.

00:15:50.940 So sorry for your loss.

00:15:52.480 But I said, you know what?

00:15:54.960 I think in the last month, it may well be possible that more people have heard the gospel

00:16:02.980 than in any comparable period of our lifetimes.

00:16:06.920 That that memorial service in Arizona for Charlie was a global event where people heard the gospel.

00:16:14.980 And I got to say, at Charlie's funeral service, when Erica stood up and she talked about how

00:16:22.080 when Jesus was hanging on the cross and he was looking down at the Roman soldiers

00:16:27.240 who had nailed him to the cross, who were in the process of killing him,

00:16:30.840 and Jesus said from the cross, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

00:16:38.160 And she talked about how Charlie really had a mission for young people, particularly young men,

00:16:44.100 young men who are often disaffected, disillusioned, to help them find their way

00:16:49.560 and find a purpose in life, a meaningful purpose that provides real satisfaction and real reason for living.

00:17:03.060 And she talked about that young man who shot Charlie, that young man.

00:17:09.160 And then she said, and I got to say, as she was doing this windup, I knew, you knew where she was going.

00:17:14.860 And I got to tell you, you and I were standing next to each other.

00:17:19.120 I literally held my breath.

00:17:21.700 I'm like, is she going to be able to say this?

00:17:26.140 And she stood up with the eyes of the world upon him and said,

00:17:30.780 that young man, the young man who pulled the trigger and murdered her husband,

00:17:34.420 murdered the father of her children, she said, I forgive him. 0.99

00:17:41.240 I don't know that there was a dry eye in the house.

00:17:45.740 And one of the things that is so incredible is millions of people were watching that.

00:17:52.600 And listen, if you're a Christian, you understand, just like Jesus said,

00:18:00.560 Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, even as they were killing him.

00:18:05.620 But if you're not a Christian,

00:18:09.060 I believe thousands, if not millions of people looked at each other and said,

00:18:14.760 how can she say that?

00:18:16.480 Where does that come from?

00:18:18.140 Where does that forgiveness come from?

00:18:19.920 Where does that love come from?

00:18:22.000 And I think it was as powerful a testament of the gospel as we have seen in a long, long time.

00:18:31.040 And I got to say, today, the president spoke beautifully.

00:18:36.860 And by the way, when Erica said, I forgive him,

00:18:42.700 Ben, I hope and pray you or I are never in that situation.

00:18:47.760 I don't know that those words could come out of my mouth.

00:18:50.200 I would want them to.

00:18:51.060 I would desperately want them to.

00:18:53.760 But the strength it took for her to say those words, I find utterly astonishing.

00:19:04.440 And I told Charlie's parents, I said, listen, I so wish Charlie were with us today.

00:19:10.500 But millions have heard the gospel in the last several weeks because of Charlie.

00:19:17.740 And that's that is one hell of a legacy.

00:19:22.140 So over the last several weeks, you've heard me talk with Josh Sherrard from Berna.

00:19:26.600 He's been telling stories of how people just like you have used their Berna launcher to protect themselves and their families.

00:19:33.880 Now, Berna is a handheld pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to separate you from an attacker.

00:19:42.760 And it can be life saving.

00:19:44.940 Josh is back with me today to tell another story about how a former professional race car driver saved his family from an attack outside the garage of their own home.

00:19:55.200 Josh, tell me about this.

00:19:56.760 Yeah, it just happened actually not too long ago in Santa Monica, just two blocks from the beach.

00:20:01.500 So former pro race car driver, Court Wagner, was pulling into his garage with his family in the car when he was confronted by a man hiding in the alley.

00:20:10.100 After trying to talk to him into leaving, it was obviously not going to work.

00:20:13.940 The man lunged at Court with a sharp object trying to attack him.

00:20:17.740 With his wife and child only steps away, he grabbed his Berna launcher that he kept in the glove box of his car and fired five rounds, striking the attacker several times.

00:20:26.160 The suspect fled immediately.

00:20:27.900 It worked, and Court called the police and gave him the description of the assailant.

00:20:31.940 Now, police were able to locate someone that somewhat matched the description in the area, but not quite exactly.

00:20:36.980 And it wasn't until officers lifted the suspect's shirt and saw the multiple welts from the Berna launcher that they knew they had the right guy and subsequently arrested him.

00:20:46.180 It really is incredible, and I get this question now often when I'm out, and that is, okay, tell me about how a launcher works.

00:20:53.900 And they worry about or they wonder about the stopping power of less lethal weapons.

00:20:58.780 I've used it.

00:20:59.820 It's amazing.

00:21:01.160 I have it in all of my cars right now because I want to have this option.

00:21:05.340 Yeah, absolutely.

00:21:06.080 You know, the stopping power is great no matter if you're using our kinetic rounds 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.

00:21:15.660 I mean, this is a great case of how some resistance, enough resistance, obviously, to cause these welts, immediately stopped the situation and was able to provide that safety for Court and his family.

00:21:26.620 It really is incredible.

00:21:28.320 If you want more information on what I carry and how you and your family members can protect themselves with a Berna launcher, whether it is for a daughter or for a family member or a grandparent, go to Berna, B-Y-R-N-A dot com.

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00:21:49.920 You know, I think one of the most incredible things that you just mentioned is the legacy.

00:21:53.860 And one of the things that the president said today at the White House, for people that didn't hear it, was talking about Charlie Kirk being a martyr.

00:22:01.580 And this is what the president said about that.

00:22:04.660 He said on the day that he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and for freedom.

00:22:12.200 And from Socrates to think and to St. Peter, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, those who change history the most.

00:22:22.220 And he really did have always risked their lives for causes.

00:22:27.180 They were put on earth to defend.

00:22:29.000 He was put on earth to do exactly what he was doing.

00:22:32.320 He didn't want to waste time.

00:22:33.360 He would have been a top student at any college in the country.

00:22:37.040 I know the college as well.

00:22:38.440 He was smarter than the guys.

00:22:40.040 Harry was so smart.

00:22:41.960 But he almost, I guess, didn't have the time.

00:22:43.900 He knew what he wanted to do.

00:22:45.260 It wasn't like, gee, I want to sit in the classroom for four years listening to people teach me liberal principles, because they were never going to teach him that anyway.

00:22:53.920 But he didn't have the time.

00:22:55.160 He really didn't have the time.

00:22:56.720 But every time the enemies of goodness and virtue tried to silence the voice of righteous and noble leaders like Charlie, they failed.

00:23:04.520 They seemed to fail.

00:23:05.280 Ultimately, they look like they're doing well, and then they end up failing, because the truth has been unrelenting over the years, over history.

00:23:14.980 And people like Charlie, it's just they've got a power that others don't have and very few people will ever have.

00:23:22.560 And so today, like those martyrs before him, Charlie's voice, his message and his legacy are stronger and greater than ever before.

00:23:31.660 They are greater than ever before.

00:23:34.340 You know, him saying, as I said on the day he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and for freedom.

00:23:40.880 Yeah.

00:23:41.260 And I couldn't agree more to compare him as he did to to St. Peter, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King Jr.

00:23:48.920 These are people that change history.

00:23:52.300 Charlie will be remembered in the same breath with those types of leaders.

00:23:56.100 And I think that's part of the legacy.

00:23:58.080 And as you mentioned, not only did Charlie and his legacy now, it is 100 percent setting, I think, young men and young women on fire to be bolder in their faith, to be to be better Christians and to seek the truth of the Bible and the gospel.

00:24:12.540 And just what he was able to do in his death is phenomenal.

00:24:18.660 But also what he was doing to fight for this country at the same time.

00:24:22.280 That is going to be a legacy that's going to live on because of so many people.

00:24:25.700 They're going to do it for Charlie.

00:24:27.600 I think you and I would include ourselves in that as well.

00:24:30.100 Well, listen, he was very much he was a martyr for freedom and a martyr for truth.

00:24:36.800 I also told Charlie's parents, I think more people heard Charlie's words of the last four weeks that then heard them in the entire 31, nearly 32 years of his life.

00:24:47.480 That the number of people who went and said, who was this Charlie Kirk guy?

00:24:53.800 What did he have to say who listened to exchanges as he was on college campuses, as he was engaging with people who disagreed with him, as he treated them with respect, with dignity?

00:25:04.200 That is a powerful legacy.

00:25:06.780 I will tell you one of the things that was also striking about the Medal of Freedom ceremony is it was a continuation of a conversation that happened at Charlie's funeral ceremony.

00:25:16.020 So at the funeral, Erica Kirk spoke, and I mentioned how she said that she forgives the murderer who murdered her husband, and she talks about how Jesus teaches us to love our enemies.

00:25:30.700 And, you know, Trump spoke at the funeral, and he gave, I think, very strong remarks, but one of the things he said is he said that's something he had a great deal of difficulty doing, that he did not love his enemies, that he hated his enemies, and he liked to fight his enemies.

00:25:45.240 And he kind of laughed about it, but he said that, and it was, that was a back and forth from Arizona.

00:25:53.640 Well, in the Rose Garden, Trump brought it up again, and look, President Trump knew Charlie very well, and he said, you know, I know Erica talked about how he loved his enemies, but he said, you know, when I talked to Charlie, he said, I'm not sure I saw that.

00:26:08.080 I think he, like when he was in a battle, he would fight his enemies, and fight them vigorously.

00:26:14.520 And listen, Charlie was a strong man and a passionate man who knew what he believed.

00:26:18.800 But it was very interesting.

00:26:22.340 Erica spoke after the president in the Rose Garden, and she gave beautiful remarks, but one of the things she said that I think was directly responding to the president, she said, look, I can tell you from having been married to him, Charlie prayed for his enemies.

00:26:38.780 And she said, and she said, I saw that.

00:26:41.240 She said, I don't know that anyone else saw that, but she said, I saw him, and he prayed for his enemies.

00:26:46.420 And President Trump was standing behind her right shoulder, and she said it, it was lighthearted, but she was kind of, she was in many ways responding to the president.

00:26:54.720 And he, like, laughed, he was good-natured, but he was genuinely laughing, and it was a, look, I think it was a good back and forth, that we should be vigorous in what we believe.

00:27:05.540 We should not give in to those who argue for positions that are harmful to America.

00:27:13.460 We should be full-throated in our argument.

00:27:14.980 But I also think that the message that Erica was carrying forward about it's possible to disagree, and look, you go watch the exchanges Charlie had on college campus after college campus.

00:27:28.660 When you would have someone come in and argue for open borders, when you would have someone come in and argue for socialism, when you'd have someone come in and argue for transgenderism, 0.93

00:27:38.940 when you'd have someone come in and argue for Hamas terrorists, Charlie was vigorous and full-throated in disputing them, but he was not mean-spirited about it.

00:27:51.740 He was not, I hate you, he was not, you're the enemy, but he would engage in a way that said, look, I understand why you're saying that.

00:28:01.220 Here's why I believe you're mistaken.

00:28:03.080 And I think Erica was right, that he was able to do so from a position of love.

00:28:10.980 Love does not mean agreement.

00:28:13.220 Love does not mean saying, I accept the position you're advocating, even though I believe it is harmful to our country.

00:28:19.800 But love means not treating your political adversary as the enemy to be destroyed, but instead trying to respond with reason, with compassion, trying to move.

00:28:38.100 And even if you don't move your immediate interlocutor, those who are observing it, Charlie was very good at responding in a way that persuaded a lot of other people.

00:28:47.200 And I thought that back and forth Tuesday between the president and Erica was really powerful.

00:28:52.340 Yeah, I would encourage everyone that is listening right now, if you did not get to see specifically Erica's remarks, go listen to them.

00:29:02.120 And go listen to Donald Trump's full remarks as we played one of the highlights here.

00:29:06.960 But there was a lot that was said, and it wasn't covered in the same way, obviously, that his memorial was covered.

00:29:14.500 I'm still in shock that we're a month since we lost Charlie Kirk.

00:29:19.300 But today was a very special day.

00:29:22.020 I'm so thankful the president did this.

00:29:24.240 I'm thankful that his parents were there, that they got to see how many people he influenced, the most important people in our government, the president of the United States of America.

00:29:33.900 And just to be able to hear from people like you, Senator, and to love on them and to let them know that their son's life mattered in such a big way.

00:29:42.920 Amen.

00:29:43.600 Amen.

00:29:44.380 Amen.

00:29:45.100 Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

00:29:47.840 Hit that subscribe or the auto download button wherever you get this podcast, share it wherever you can.

00:29:54.140 And the center and I will see you back here on Friday morning.

00:29:58.440 This is an iHeart Podcast.

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 15, 2025

Schumer Shutdown Continues plus a Beautiful Tribute to Charlie Kirk as he receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

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