00:00:04.500Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:08.120And 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.
00:00:17.380We're going to talk about that. Senator, you were there, but also we've got an update as well on the government shutdown.
00:00:24.500Well, it is day 15 of the Schumer shutdown.
00:00:28.880We voted on Tuesday to reopen the government.
00:00:32.380The Republicans voted to reopen the government.
00:00:34.320And sadly, the Democrats continue to say, shut it down, shut it down, shut it down.
00:00:38.440Now, 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.
00:00:49.740And he said, we're going to pay our servicemen and women.
00:00:52.100We're going to send out their paychecks.
00:00:53.540I think Schumer and the Democrats were counting on these paychecks not going out.
00:00:57.500You have a number of Democrats expressing their dismay about it.
00:01:00.520We're going to break that down and tell you what's happening about the shutdown.
00:01:04.200We'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.
00:01:14.740I was there. It was an incredible event.
00:01:35.420I've actually owned two different barbecue restaurants, one right now.
00:01:39.360And the quality of meat when you want to make amazing food is so vitally important.
00:01:45.200Now, you've heard of Big Pharma, but have you ever heard of Big Ag?
00:01:48.140Did you know that 85% of American beef is controlled by just four major companies?
00:01:54.560Just because you buy American doesn't mean you're buying healthy.
00:01:58.240And buying organic only means they control what the cattle eat, not how they live.
00:02:03.600Well, that's why I want you to know about Backyard Butchers.
00:02:06.360It is Texas steer steaks that come directly from a real Texas ranch where the cattle are raised, processed, and shipped from the same location, completely bypassing Big Ag.
00:02:19.780These Texas steers are 98% grass-fed and then 2% natural grain finished.
00:02:26.420That's how you get amazing steaks with no growth hormones, no antibiotics, and no preservatives.
00:02:32.820The quality and flavor are just straight-up exceptional.
00:02:37.180Making America healthy again, yes, that is a big deal.
00:02:40.600And it starts with going back to our roots and eating real meat from the hard-working ranchers who raise cattle the right way.
00:03:34.340So one of the consequences is federal workers all across the federal government had their paycheck not direct deposited.
00:03:41.700And 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.
00:03:49.160They're not getting the check they're planning on to go to the grocery store.
00:03:52.580They'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.
00:04:01.400It was also scheduled to be the day on which our troops, our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen, and Marines would not get paid either.
00:04:11.560And we've seen online images of young soldiers standing in line at food pantries to get food.
00:04:20.280You 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.
00:04:28.880Now, 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.
00:04:42.980He's shifted it around to an account to pay our service men and women.
00:07:53.520You're in an echo chamber where everyone you hear is saying it's the horrible Republicans, it's the horrible Republicans.
00:08:00.320And so I think that's part of the reason why the two sides have very different perspectives.
00:08:04.820I don't think this is going well for the Democrats at all.
00:08:06.960But I'm not sure they agree, because if they're just listening to their radicals, they think it's wonderful.
00:08:15.640By 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.
00:08:49.260And 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.
00:09:04.500My guess is Schumer never votes to open the government.
00:09:07.740But 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,
00:09:15.040at letting eight to ten Democrats vote to say let's reopen the government.
00:09:19.540And I think all the rest of the Democrats vote no, no, no to preserve themselves from their left flank.
00:09:25.180Do you believe that Democrats will actually sit down with Republicans?
00:09:28.760It's really something that hasn't happened.
00:09:30.440Certainly on the House side, Democrats are saying, no, we have nothing to talk about.
00:09:35.800Do you think that Democrats will be let out of that jail once this No Kings rally takes place?
00:09:41.960And how quickly afterwards do you think we can actually see that conversation begin?
00:09:46.040Well, look, right now, Schumer is not talking with Republican leadership.
00:09:49.260Hakeem Jeffries in the House is not talking with Republican leadership.
00:09:52.860I don't think it will be Democrat leadership.
00:09:55.260There's a group of about a dozen Democrat senators who are having conversations, and they're talking a little bit to Republicans.
00:10:02.620And I think the way this will end is after the rally.
00:10:08.020If you're a federal worker right now and you're working at, say, the VA and you didn't get your paycheck today,
00:10:13.180the 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.
00:10:23.500I mean, this is pure left wing politics.
00:10:26.840And by the way, Schumer's comment on this, he said, quote, every day gets better for us.
00:10:32.380He said, quote, every day the Republicans refuse to negotiate to end the shutdown.
00:10:36.420The worse it gets for Americans and the clearer it becomes who's fighting for them.
00:10:40.840That is their view that that or that is at least the view of the radicals.
00:10:46.700But I think what you'll see is among that that roughly dozen Democrats who are having conversations right now,
00:10:54.260you'll see seven, eight, nine of them say, OK, let's open the government.
00:11:30.260They've laid off thousands of federal government workers.
00:11:33.460And 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.
00:11:41.300And they're going to focus on policies and priorities that are inconsistent with the president's agenda, that are Democrat priorities.
00:11:49.940And 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.
00:12:02.760We're going to allow that to be signed into law.
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00:12:36.500Speaking 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.
00:12:44.800You and I had the honor and the privilege to go to the memorial service for Charlie Kirk.
00:12:50.980What we witnessed today was something incredible.
00:12:53.680Donald Trump awarded Charlie Kirk the Medal of Freedom on what would have been his 32nd birthday at the White House.
00:13:02.620And his wife, his widow, Erica, was there to accept this.
00:14:25.120And I had an opportunity to just tell both his mom and dad, say, look, look, Heidi and I, we love Charlie.
00:14:31.420And when we got to know him 14 years ago, his vision then was as clear as it was the day he died.
00:14:45.440His 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.
00:19:44.940Josh 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.
00:19:56.760Yeah, it just happened actually not too long ago in Santa Monica, just two blocks from the beach.
00:20:01.500So 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.
00:20:10.100After trying to talk to him into leaving, it was obviously not going to work.
00:20:13.940The man lunged at Court with a sharp object trying to attack him.
00:20:17.740With 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.
00:20:27.900It worked, and Court called the police and gave him the description of the assailant.
00:20:31.940Now, police were able to locate someone that somewhat matched the description in the area, but not quite exactly.
00:20:36.980And 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.
00:20:46.180It 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.
00:20:53.900And they worry about or they wonder about the stopping power of less lethal weapons.
00:21:06.080You 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.
00:21:15.660I 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.
00:21:28.320If 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.
00:21:49.920You know, I think one of the most incredible things that you just mentioned is the legacy.
00:21:53.860And 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.
00:22:01.580And this is what the president said about that.
00:22:04.660He said on the day that he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and for freedom.
00:22:12.200And from Socrates to think and to St. Peter, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, those who change history the most.
00:22:22.220And he really did have always risked their lives for causes.
00:22:45.260It 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.
00:23:05.280Ultimately, they look like they're doing well, and then they end up failing, because the truth has been unrelenting over the years, over history.
00:23:14.980And people like Charlie, it's just they've got a power that others don't have and very few people will ever have.
00:23:22.560And so today, like those martyrs before him, Charlie's voice, his message and his legacy are stronger and greater than ever before.
00:23:52.300Charlie will be remembered in the same breath with those types of leaders.
00:23:56.100And I think that's part of the legacy.
00:23:58.080And 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.
00:24:12.540And just what he was able to do in his death is phenomenal.
00:24:18.660But also what he was doing to fight for this country at the same time.
00:24:22.280That is going to be a legacy that's going to live on because of so many people.
00:24:27.600I think you and I would include ourselves in that as well.
00:24:30.100Well, listen, he was very much he was a martyr for freedom and a martyr for truth.
00:24:36.800I 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.
00:24:47.480That the number of people who went and said, who was this Charlie Kirk guy?
00:24:53.800What 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?
00:25:06.780I 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.
00:25:16.020So 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.
00:25:30.700And, 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.
00:25:45.240And he kind of laughed about it, but he said that, and it was, that was a back and forth from Arizona.
00:25:53.640Well, 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.
00:26:08.080I think he, like when he was in a battle, he would fight his enemies, and fight them vigorously.
00:26:14.520And listen, Charlie was a strong man and a passionate man who knew what he believed.
00:26:22.340Erica 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.
00:26:38.780And she said, and she said, I saw that.
00:26:41.240She said, I don't know that anyone else saw that, but she said, I saw him, and he prayed for his enemies.
00:26:46.420And 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.
00:26:54.720And 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.
00:27:05.540We should not give in to those who argue for positions that are harmful to America.
00:27:13.460We should be full-throated in our argument.
00:27:14.980But 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.
00:27:28.660When 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,
00:27:38.940when 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.
00:27:51.740He 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.
00:28:13.220Love does not mean saying, I accept the position you're advocating, even though I believe it is harmful to our country.
00:28:19.800But 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.
00:28:38.100And 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.
00:28:47.200And I thought that back and forth Tuesday between the president and Erica was really powerful.
00:28:52.340Yeah, I would encourage everyone that is listening right now, if you did not get to see specifically Erica's remarks, go listen to them.
00:29:02.120And go listen to Donald Trump's full remarks as we played one of the highlights here.
00:29:06.960But there was a lot that was said, and it wasn't covered in the same way, obviously, that his memorial was covered.
00:29:14.500I'm still in shock that we're a month since we lost Charlie Kirk.
00:29:22.020I'm so thankful the president did this.
00:29:24.240I'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.
00:29:33.900And 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.