Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 28, 2020


So Help Me God


Episode Stats

Length

28 minutes

Words per Minute

168.22296

Word Count

4,726

Sentence Count

281

Misogynist Sentences

8

Hate Speech Sentences

5


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.080 Judge Amy Coney Barrett has become Justice Amy Coney Barrett
00:00:09.560 after a confirmation vote in the Senate
00:00:12.000 and a wonderful ceremony,
00:00:14.260 it seemed like just minutes later,
00:00:16.160 over at the White House.
00:00:17.800 How is this going to affect the bench
00:00:19.440 for the next 10, 20, 30,
00:00:22.740 who knows how many years?
00:00:24.040 We will find out.
00:00:25.200 And almost of equal importance,
00:00:27.680 how will this affect the vote in less than two weeks?
00:00:31.780 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:00:38.940 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:00:40.860 I'm Michael Knowles.
00:00:42.500 I wish that I were in Washington right now
00:00:45.220 because it sounds like it has been a whirlwind past two days.
00:00:49.720 Senator, I know that you voted on Justice Barrett
00:00:53.240 earlier yesterday.
00:00:54.420 Then it seemed to went straight to the White House
00:00:56.560 for her confirmation ceremony
00:00:59.660 with Justice Thomas and the president
00:01:01.720 within, what, half an hour or an hour after that.
00:01:04.780 Could you just take us through,
00:01:06.080 we know that she's on the bench now,
00:01:07.520 could you take us through how it all unfolded?
00:01:09.760 So, sure.
00:01:10.300 So, yesterday was a big deal.
00:01:12.980 It was historic.
00:01:14.380 The confirmation vote itself was
00:01:17.080 about 8 o'clock at night, Monday night.
00:01:20.340 It was teed up, so we voted at 1 p.m. on Sunday
00:01:24.720 on what's called cloture,
00:01:26.840 which is the vote to end debate on a nomination.
00:01:30.020 And so we invoked cloture Sunday at 1 p.m.
00:01:34.200 And then there's a 30-hour rule
00:01:36.080 that the nomination is 30 hours after that vote.
00:01:39.120 So we voted 1 p.m. on Sunday.
00:01:41.440 So then Monday night was supposed to be about 7 p.m.,
00:01:45.080 ended up being about 8 p.m.
00:01:46.380 So we all gather on the Senate floor.
00:01:52.560 The Republicans are all there,
00:01:55.120 and the only Democrat on the floor is Chuck Schumer.
00:01:58.680 And Schumer is, when I come and sit at my desk,
00:02:02.740 Schumer is pontificating about how he intends
00:02:05.540 to burn the country down, and you will rue the day.
00:02:09.560 I don't know if he actually said you will rue the day,
00:02:11.620 but that was kind of his whole theme,
00:02:13.320 is you will rue the day.
00:02:14.360 And we're going to be even worse.
00:02:17.800 But it was an odd thing,
00:02:19.660 because all the Democrats were missing.
00:02:21.720 So it's the Republicans listening to Schumer lecture us.
00:02:25.280 So we sat there for, I don't know,
00:02:27.560 10, 15 minutes listening to him go on and on.
00:02:30.340 He finishes, and then Mitch McConnell
00:02:32.860 gets ready to give his speech.
00:02:34.900 And Schumer leaves, like he walks off the floor.
00:02:37.540 So not a single Democrat is on the Senate floor
00:02:41.640 while Mitch is speaking.
00:02:42.520 And by the way, I thought Mitch gave a very good speech.
00:02:44.520 I told him afterwards, I thought it was the best speech
00:02:45.960 I've ever heard him give,
00:02:47.140 because it was sort of a very reasonable assessment
00:02:49.760 of how the Democrats have abused the confirmation process
00:02:53.400 and how what Republicans were doing
00:02:56.840 is consistent with how the Senate has operated for 200 years.
00:03:00.620 So Mitch gives his speech 20 minutes or so,
00:03:03.440 and we're all sitting there listening to him.
00:03:04.780 Interestingly enough, by the way,
00:03:08.260 most of Mitch's speech, he's turned around
00:03:11.140 and kind of talking to the other Republican senators,
00:03:14.060 which is odd, because if you're on the floor,
00:03:15.980 you're usually talking to a TV camera.
00:03:17.340 You're talking to C-SPAN.
00:03:18.880 So I guess the image from C-SPAN,
00:03:20.800 I haven't seen the TV cut, but it's kind of his back,
00:03:23.520 because he's like turning around and talking to us.
00:03:26.520 Why do you think he was doing that?
00:03:27.940 Why did he change position?
00:03:28.880 I think he was very much trying to address,
00:03:32.360 I don't know if it was wobbly votes.
00:03:34.160 I don't think there were any votes
00:03:35.420 that were wobbly at that point,
00:03:36.820 but it was more just sort of, I think,
00:03:39.120 assuaging the Republicans
00:03:40.880 that all of this apocalyptic talk on the left
00:03:44.980 isn't right or accurate.
00:03:47.760 So all the Democrats skip, boycott Mitch's speech.
00:03:53.520 Then Mitch finishes,
00:03:55.860 and Schumer, who's hiding in the Democratic cloakroom,
00:03:58.320 he sticks his head out and says,
00:04:00.900 there isn't a quorum.
00:04:02.320 And technically what you do is,
00:04:04.040 so he sits in the back, pulls out his mic,
00:04:05.560 and says, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
00:04:08.100 The clerk starts calling the roll,
00:04:10.600 and actually Chuck Grassley,
00:04:13.860 who's the most senior senator,
00:04:15.840 who's the president pro tem,
00:04:16.880 he took the chair, and he looked around,
00:04:19.680 every Republican was sitting in our damn chairs.
00:04:21.820 I mean, you could look around
00:04:22.580 and see that we were all there.
00:04:24.360 So Grassley just rules, there is a quorum,
00:04:26.760 which I kind of appreciated
00:04:29.460 that he didn't make us actually
00:04:30.680 all physically say present,
00:04:32.420 because every one of us could see each other.
00:04:35.680 Right.
00:04:36.540 What was funny is during that quorum call,
00:04:40.780 Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow
00:04:42.700 stepped onto the floor,
00:04:45.760 and I guess she just didn't get the message
00:04:48.280 that they were all boycotting,
00:04:50.160 and one of the Senate floor staffers
00:04:52.420 rushed over to her,
00:04:53.520 like, no, no, no, no, Senator,
00:04:54.700 you've got to get out, you've got to get out,
00:04:55.880 and so she turns around and runs out.
00:04:57.140 There's no voting here, this is the Senate.
00:04:59.220 You can't, you've got to get out of here
00:05:00.440 if you're a Democrat.
00:05:01.740 They were making a sort of petulant statement
00:05:04.780 that we're really mad by all boycotting,
00:05:08.200 and then when we finally got to the vote,
00:05:10.560 and the vote kicked in,
00:05:12.560 we each vote,
00:05:13.940 and so for the Republicans,
00:05:16.280 we're all sitting in our seat,
00:05:17.300 and when they call your name,
00:05:18.200 you stand up and say aye,
00:05:19.760 and 52 of the 53 voted aye.
00:05:22.480 The Democrats,
00:05:23.700 you know what was fascinating, Michael,
00:05:25.020 is most of the Democrats
00:05:26.200 didn't call out their vote nay.
00:05:30.040 They would just kind of quietly go up
00:05:31.840 and signal to the clerk
00:05:32.740 they were voting no,
00:05:34.440 which actually is how you normally vote
00:05:36.300 on most issues.
00:05:37.180 You normally,
00:05:37.880 it's very rare for us to be in our seats
00:05:39.900 and sort of vote vocally,
00:05:42.760 but in that sort of circumstance,
00:05:44.100 I thought it was fascinating.
00:05:47.760 Maisie Hirono walked down
00:05:49.420 and was captured on C-SPAN voting hell no,
00:05:53.260 which I don't necessarily even falter.
00:05:55.580 I get that she's impassioned on that.
00:05:58.280 She's impassioned, yeah.
00:05:59.580 But then the vote was over,
00:06:01.620 and Justice Barrett was confirmed,
00:06:06.720 and at that point,
00:06:07.840 actually, there was a standing ovation
00:06:09.920 as the Senate Republicans
00:06:10.920 all burst into applause.
00:06:13.160 We then went,
00:06:14.080 there was a little press conference
00:06:15.680 in a room in the Capitol
00:06:18.720 that's called the LBJ room.
00:06:20.680 So we had TV cameras set up there.
00:06:23.440 A number of us went up
00:06:24.160 and talked to the cameras
00:06:25.080 and then jumped in a car
00:06:27.440 and headed to the White House
00:06:28.380 for the swearing-in ceremony
00:06:29.560 that was immediately thereafter.
00:06:31.460 That sounds like a wonderful night.
00:06:33.780 It all went off without a hitch,
00:06:34.960 and I have to say,
00:06:36.240 I, Senator,
00:06:37.240 I was wrong in my prediction.
00:06:39.040 You were right in your prediction
00:06:40.380 because I assumed
00:06:42.020 there was going to be
00:06:42.960 some last-minute surprise
00:06:45.140 that was going to come up
00:06:46.080 and they were going to try
00:06:46.860 to make a big deal out of Barrett.
00:06:48.900 And you said at least,
00:06:50.380 what was it,
00:06:50.700 a week or two weeks ago,
00:06:51.520 three weeks ago,
00:06:52.060 you said the Democrats realized
00:06:54.440 that Judge Barrett
00:06:55.280 is going to be Justice Barrett.
00:06:56.880 They've basically surrendered this fight.
00:06:59.460 Was there anything left for them to do
00:07:01.060 or they just,
00:07:01.720 they had no cards to play?
00:07:03.300 Look, they tried to take some shots
00:07:04.800 at her in the hearing.
00:07:06.200 She was really good.
00:07:08.080 And they realized
00:07:09.760 every minute the American people
00:07:12.340 spent listening to Judge Barrett,
00:07:14.540 this calm, cool, collected,
00:07:16.920 serious, her temperament,
00:07:19.100 scholarly, judicial,
00:07:21.360 defending the Constitution,
00:07:23.400 they were losing
00:07:24.520 when the American people
00:07:25.660 were hearing her.
00:07:27.120 And so they decided,
00:07:28.840 you know, there's one exchange.
00:07:31.580 Do you remember
00:07:31.880 when Dick Durbin
00:07:32.940 blasts her on race
00:07:35.140 and how did you feel
00:07:36.040 when George Floyd,
00:07:37.720 when that video broke,
00:07:40.500 became public?
00:07:42.380 And she pointed out to him,
00:07:44.400 she said,
00:07:44.720 look, I do have
00:07:45.540 two black children.
00:07:47.960 And like, you know,
00:07:48.860 we cried over it.
00:07:50.220 And you could see Durbin's face
00:07:52.720 of like abject terror
00:07:55.080 of, oh crap.
00:07:56.460 And I have to admit,
00:07:57.380 I thought of the Monty Python
00:07:59.440 skit, run away, run away,
00:08:04.040 as quickly Durbin realized,
00:08:05.620 okay, this is not,
00:08:07.160 the usual democratic demagoguery
00:08:09.640 is not really working on this.
00:08:12.540 And so I think they decided
00:08:13.960 to get out of Dodge.
00:08:15.540 They didn't have the votes,
00:08:17.140 but Schumer's speech
00:08:18.600 was all about
00:08:19.340 throwing down the marker.
00:08:20.340 And we talked about this
00:08:21.400 on our last podcast,
00:08:22.940 but throwing down the marker,
00:08:24.960 if they win next Tuesday,
00:08:28.160 they intend to pack the court.
00:08:29.760 And that was what
00:08:31.240 Schumer's speech was all about,
00:08:33.400 is if Democrats win,
00:08:37.600 Katie barred the door.
00:08:39.120 Right.
00:08:39.420 You saw the New York Times
00:08:40.460 almost immediately
00:08:41.200 after the vote publish
00:08:42.220 about half a dozen columns
00:08:44.100 saying we need to pack the courts,
00:08:46.100 we need to change the way
00:08:46.900 the courts are set up.
00:08:48.040 Joe Biden came out
00:08:48.920 and he said,
00:08:49.500 I'm not willing to institute
00:08:51.320 term limits on the court.
00:08:52.940 But I would be willing
00:08:53.920 to move judges
00:08:55.060 from the Supreme Court
00:08:56.240 to other courts,
00:08:57.440 which effectively,
00:08:58.240 obviously,
00:08:58.760 puts term limits on the court.
00:09:00.080 So it does seem
00:09:01.180 that at all levels
00:09:02.160 of the left here,
00:09:03.660 they are serious
00:09:04.620 about transforming the court.
00:09:07.340 AOC, I mean,
00:09:08.140 so many other elected officials
00:09:09.360 were talking about this
00:09:10.140 the moments after ACB
00:09:12.320 was confirmed.
00:09:14.000 Look, it's brute power
00:09:15.480 and it's worth noting
00:09:16.780 for the first two years
00:09:18.000 of the Trump presidency,
00:09:20.000 Republicans had majorities
00:09:21.200 in both houses.
00:09:22.000 We could have packed the court.
00:09:24.160 Nothing to prevent us
00:09:25.380 from ending the filibuster
00:09:26.500 and adding justices.
00:09:27.820 We didn't do that.
00:09:29.260 Yeah.
00:09:30.060 And we wouldn't have.
00:09:32.660 Nobody even suggested it.
00:09:35.300 And so, look,
00:09:38.180 I hope we don't wake up
00:09:41.520 in a world that is
00:09:42.520 a Biden-Schumer-Pelosi world.
00:09:44.640 But if we do,
00:09:46.520 they're going to pack the court,
00:09:48.100 I believe.
00:09:48.460 And that's naturally
00:09:50.020 going to escalate.
00:09:50.880 So the next time
00:09:51.660 Republicans take power,
00:09:52.860 we will pack the court
00:09:53.840 in response.
00:09:54.880 I mean, it will,
00:09:55.760 if they go to 11,
00:09:56.700 we'll go to 13.
00:09:58.380 That's bad for the court.
00:09:59.620 That's bad for the country.
00:10:00.600 I don't want to see us
00:10:01.540 go down that road.
00:10:02.620 But I don't think
00:10:04.680 a single Democratic senator
00:10:06.760 will oppose their efforts
00:10:08.420 to pack the court.
00:10:09.780 It would seem that way.
00:10:10.900 There seems to be
00:10:11.400 a lot of uniformity.
00:10:12.520 And I'm pleased
00:10:13.760 that the Barrett nomination
00:10:15.400 went off easily.
00:10:16.960 I am curious, though,
00:10:18.420 Senator,
00:10:18.740 on a completely different topic,
00:10:20.320 if there will be
00:10:21.580 more hostile interactions
00:10:23.000 in the Senate
00:10:23.700 with big tech.
00:10:25.540 Big tech has played
00:10:26.500 a huge role
00:10:27.200 in this election.
00:10:28.080 I know that senators
00:10:29.180 have been grilling
00:10:30.180 and hammering
00:10:31.000 these big tech overlords.
00:10:32.980 But it's been pretty opaque.
00:10:34.380 I don't think we've really seen
00:10:35.400 what's going on
00:10:36.140 behind the scenes.
00:10:37.360 Are there any updates,
00:10:38.740 especially now
00:10:39.360 as we get into
00:10:39.800 the waning days
00:10:40.340 of the campaign
00:10:41.020 with regard
00:10:42.640 to the political oversight
00:10:44.600 of big tech?
00:10:46.820 So tomorrow,
00:10:48.400 there's going to be
00:10:49.300 a hearing
00:10:49.820 with the CEOs
00:10:50.860 of Google,
00:10:52.120 Facebook,
00:10:52.540 and Twitter
00:10:53.000 in front of the
00:10:54.260 Senate Commerce Committee.
00:10:55.260 And so I'm on Commerce.
00:10:56.640 I'll participate in that.
00:10:59.040 I'm going to be
00:10:59.820 questioning them.
00:11:01.140 We're doing it virtually.
00:11:02.160 It's a virtual hearing.
00:11:03.000 So I'm back in Texas now.
00:11:04.600 I'll be doing it
00:11:05.280 from here.
00:11:07.300 And then in November,
00:11:09.380 the Judiciary Committee
00:11:11.140 will be having
00:11:11.740 a second hearing
00:11:12.620 with the CEOs
00:11:14.000 of Twitter and Facebook.
00:11:15.400 And so we're going
00:11:16.120 to have two hearings
00:11:16.880 in the next couple of weeks
00:11:17.980 with big tech.
00:11:20.800 You know,
00:11:21.020 today I spent
00:11:22.120 over an hour
00:11:23.020 on the phone
00:11:24.000 with the CEO
00:11:24.780 of both Google
00:11:26.660 and Facebook
00:11:27.460 in preparation
00:11:29.920 for the hearing
00:11:30.740 and talking about
00:11:31.480 these issues.
00:11:32.200 And in both instances,
00:11:33.780 I would say
00:11:34.920 the conversations
00:11:35.740 were vigorous.
00:11:37.660 I don't want to ask
00:11:40.100 for tails out of school
00:11:41.360 here, Senator,
00:11:42.260 but I would anticipate
00:11:44.740 the conversations
00:11:45.360 were vigorous.
00:11:47.040 Can you give us
00:11:47.900 a little behind the scenes
00:11:49.240 what to expect
00:11:49.940 at these hearings?
00:11:50.780 What was discussed?
00:11:52.400 So on both of them,
00:11:53.900 both of them asked
00:11:54.880 for the calls.
00:11:55.520 And so I said,
00:11:56.060 sure,
00:11:56.440 and I'm happy
00:11:57.160 to hear them out.
00:11:58.780 And so I let
00:12:00.220 both Sundar
00:12:02.600 and Mark Zuckerberg
00:12:04.100 drive the conversations
00:12:05.660 and lay out
00:12:07.840 their views.
00:12:11.040 Zuckerberg and I
00:12:11.960 have talked
00:12:12.500 a fair amount.
00:12:14.180 And I will say,
00:12:15.700 you know,
00:12:15.940 my views
00:12:16.980 on the sort of
00:12:17.620 big tech players
00:12:18.620 is they all occupy
00:12:19.720 different spaces.
00:12:22.700 I think Facebook
00:12:24.100 and Zuckerberg
00:12:25.180 has been
00:12:27.180 the most
00:12:27.840 outspoken
00:12:29.120 in the general
00:12:31.900 direction
00:12:32.500 of free speech.
00:12:33.740 I don't think
00:12:34.340 they're a very good
00:12:35.140 player,
00:12:35.720 but I think
00:12:36.260 they're the least
00:12:37.280 bad of the three
00:12:38.320 players.
00:12:39.780 Yeah.
00:12:40.600 And actually,
00:12:41.500 Zuckerberg has taken
00:12:42.220 a lot of grief
00:12:43.080 from the rest
00:12:44.580 of big tech
00:12:45.400 for suggesting
00:12:46.680 free speech
00:12:47.280 even matters.
00:12:49.580 And so,
00:12:51.520 you know,
00:12:51.860 I'm in a posture
00:12:52.960 of trying to
00:12:53.720 encourage him,
00:12:54.720 okay,
00:12:54.880 that's good.
00:12:57.160 But Facebook
00:12:58.360 still throttled
00:13:00.360 the New York
00:13:00.880 Post story.
00:13:01.880 And so,
00:13:03.140 with Zuckerberg,
00:13:04.080 I made the case
00:13:04.740 to him tonight
00:13:05.420 that,
00:13:06.060 listen,
00:13:06.740 y'all should not
00:13:07.460 be in the business
00:13:08.180 of deciding
00:13:08.840 what media stories
00:13:10.000 are allowed
00:13:10.880 to be seen
00:13:11.440 and what media
00:13:11.960 stories aren't.
00:13:13.080 That,
00:13:13.180 by any measure,
00:13:15.220 the New York
00:13:15.520 Post is a
00:13:16.200 serious major
00:13:17.200 media company.
00:13:19.000 And,
00:13:19.660 as he knows
00:13:22.040 well,
00:13:22.540 and as we've
00:13:23.080 talked about
00:13:23.460 a lot in this pod,
00:13:24.220 I have serious
00:13:26.020 issues with
00:13:27.280 big tech censoring
00:13:28.480 the speech
00:13:29.380 of American
00:13:29.840 citizens,
00:13:31.120 crossing over
00:13:33.020 into censoring
00:13:33.700 the media
00:13:34.260 is a major
00:13:35.800 threshold
00:13:37.140 to cross.
00:13:38.820 Yeah.
00:13:39.720 Now,
00:13:40.060 by the way,
00:13:40.580 Zuckerberg
00:13:41.000 pointed out,
00:13:41.700 he said,
00:13:42.660 Facebook never
00:13:44.360 blocked
00:13:44.880 sharing the
00:13:45.900 Post story
00:13:46.560 and that they
00:13:48.380 have zero
00:13:49.040 constraints on it
00:13:49.960 right now.
00:13:51.420 That's good.
00:13:52.240 That's better
00:13:52.720 than as we sit
00:13:53.460 here talking
00:13:53.900 right now,
00:13:54.820 Twitter is still
00:13:55.660 blocking the
00:13:56.320 New York Post
00:13:56.900 today.
00:13:57.420 That is a
00:13:58.320 distinction worth
00:13:58.940 making because
00:13:59.480 the former
00:14:01.280 Democrat operative
00:14:02.200 who's now running
00:14:02.780 communications at
00:14:03.640 Facebook did say
00:14:05.020 we're suppressing
00:14:05.860 the spread of
00:14:06.640 the article.
00:14:08.240 But compared to
00:14:08.780 Facebook,
00:14:09.300 they were basically,
00:14:10.040 or compared to
00:14:10.480 Twitter rather,
00:14:11.080 they were basically
00:14:11.520 a free speech
00:14:12.060 platform.
00:14:12.580 They were allowing
00:14:12.920 people to post it.
00:14:13.920 They were allowing
00:14:14.200 people to message
00:14:14.740 it.
00:14:15.180 Twitter was not
00:14:15.840 doing that.
00:14:16.380 And as you point
00:14:16.900 out,
00:14:17.080 I had actually
00:14:17.520 forgotten.
00:14:18.800 The New York
00:14:19.460 Post is still
00:14:20.220 not permitted.
00:14:20.980 Even though
00:14:21.240 Twitter has lifted
00:14:22.340 the regulations
00:14:23.600 surrounding that
00:14:24.520 link,
00:14:25.100 they still will
00:14:25.960 not allow the
00:14:26.780 New York
00:14:27.100 Post to
00:14:28.100 post their
00:14:28.960 stories now
00:14:29.720 however many
00:14:30.280 days before
00:14:30.720 the election.
00:14:32.340 So,
00:14:32.820 of those
00:14:34.180 three companies,
00:14:36.160 Twitter is
00:14:36.720 the most
00:14:37.060 brazen.
00:14:38.060 I mean,
00:14:38.340 Dorsey is
00:14:38.940 just a hard
00:14:39.780 leftist
00:14:40.360 partisan
00:14:40.800 saying,
00:14:41.840 screw you,
00:14:43.240 we have
00:14:43.780 power and
00:14:44.360 we're going
00:14:44.600 to use it.
00:14:45.820 Twitter is
00:14:46.260 also the
00:14:46.700 least powerful
00:14:47.380 of the three.
00:14:47.960 It's funny,
00:14:48.420 they're the
00:14:48.720 smallest player
00:14:49.700 and the
00:14:50.600 most in
00:14:51.020 your face
00:14:51.440 about it.
00:14:52.580 Although,
00:14:53.260 you know,
00:14:53.560 I think of
00:14:54.140 Twitter kind
00:14:55.300 of like the
00:14:55.880 morning Joe,
00:14:56.860 of social
00:14:58.960 media.
00:14:59.760 And what I
00:15:00.780 mean by that,
00:15:02.100 you know,
00:15:02.360 Morning Joe is
00:15:03.200 the show on
00:15:03.780 MSNBC that
00:15:04.960 has like virtually
00:15:05.980 no viewers,
00:15:07.760 but it's on
00:15:08.760 every morning.
00:15:09.500 And the people
00:15:09.960 who view it are
00:15:10.560 actually all the
00:15:11.900 media folks who
00:15:13.900 there was a
00:15:15.020 period of time,
00:15:15.720 less so now,
00:15:16.700 it's actually
00:15:17.120 Morning Joe has
00:15:17.760 been more
00:15:18.120 marginalized.
00:15:19.140 But a few
00:15:19.900 years ago,
00:15:20.660 Morning Joe could
00:15:21.540 drive the news
00:15:22.740 news because
00:15:23.560 all the
00:15:24.100 reporters and
00:15:24.860 all the
00:15:25.560 thought leaders
00:15:26.820 were watching
00:15:27.500 it.
00:15:28.480 Twitter is kind
00:15:29.100 of the same
00:15:29.580 thing in that
00:15:30.220 it can drive
00:15:30.880 news,
00:15:31.720 but its
00:15:32.940 reach is
00:15:34.460 much,
00:15:34.940 much smaller
00:15:35.620 than Facebook
00:15:36.920 and both of
00:15:38.500 them are dwarfed
00:15:39.460 by Google,
00:15:40.820 which is this
00:15:41.900 vast omnipresence
00:15:43.880 in the sky
00:15:44.580 with octopus
00:15:46.160 tentacles
00:15:46.980 expanding the
00:15:48.600 cosmos.
00:15:49.020 So is there
00:15:50.900 any insight
00:15:51.320 you can give
00:15:51.740 us from
00:15:52.080 that vivid
00:15:54.260 and accurate
00:15:54.840 image?
00:15:55.680 Is there any
00:15:56.420 insight you
00:15:56.780 could give
00:15:57.060 us from
00:15:57.680 Sundar Pichai,
00:15:58.880 the head of
00:15:59.540 Google?
00:16:00.360 So it's
00:16:00.840 interesting.
00:16:01.740 Sundar,
00:16:04.000 his reputation
00:16:06.800 is of not
00:16:08.620 being deeply
00:16:09.760 political,
00:16:11.660 and I don't
00:16:12.600 have a reason
00:16:13.540 to doubt
00:16:14.180 that.
00:16:15.500 But a point
00:16:16.600 that I made
00:16:17.220 to him is
00:16:17.860 because he's
00:16:18.660 an engineer,
00:16:20.800 because he's
00:16:21.640 not necessarily,
00:16:22.400 he may be,
00:16:23.300 but he's not
00:16:23.960 visibly and
00:16:25.000 overtly political.
00:16:27.200 He doesn't
00:16:28.280 perceive that
00:16:28.940 everything around
00:16:30.080 Google is
00:16:30.800 hard left
00:16:31.900 and is
00:16:32.680 profoundly
00:16:33.320 partisan.
00:16:34.460 And so I
00:16:35.060 pressed him,
00:16:36.080 the conversation
00:16:36.700 with Sundar
00:16:37.180 was quite
00:16:38.020 vigorous,
00:16:38.640 where I said,
00:16:39.300 look,
00:16:39.560 Google has
00:16:40.220 massive power.
00:16:42.920 Now I did
00:16:43.400 point out,
00:16:43.900 actually on the
00:16:44.300 New York Post
00:16:44.860 story,
00:16:46.000 Google,
00:16:46.560 by all
00:16:46.920 appearances,
00:16:47.500 did not
00:16:48.720 censor the
00:16:50.040 story.
00:16:51.000 Right,
00:16:51.620 right.
00:16:52.160 It was a bit
00:16:52.500 strange at the
00:16:53.020 time.
00:16:54.020 Twitter and
00:16:54.380 Facebook did.
00:16:55.160 Now we talked
00:16:55.700 about last
00:16:56.180 podcast,
00:16:56.720 I think one
00:16:57.100 of the reasons
00:16:57.580 Google may
00:16:58.120 not have is
00:16:58.800 because of
00:16:59.300 the DOJ
00:16:59.960 lawsuit and
00:17:01.420 Google's
00:17:02.080 kind of
00:17:02.480 sort of
00:17:03.380 on best
00:17:03.760 behavior.
00:17:05.240 And it was
00:17:05.900 interesting,
00:17:06.800 Sundar said,
00:17:07.520 well,
00:17:07.920 the New York
00:17:08.240 Post is a
00:17:08.740 media outlet
00:17:09.180 and we don't
00:17:09.540 want to be
00:17:10.200 constraining
00:17:10.800 media outlets.
00:17:11.540 I'm like,
00:17:11.800 good,
00:17:12.040 that's a
00:17:14.500 step in
00:17:15.120 the right
00:17:15.460 direction.
00:17:16.100 Now I
00:17:16.420 press them
00:17:17.240 on,
00:17:18.100 their search
00:17:18.480 outcomes are
00:17:19.060 biased,
00:17:19.460 they have
00:17:19.660 no
00:17:19.820 transparency,
00:17:21.520 you guys
00:17:22.720 were the
00:17:23.040 single biggest
00:17:23.620 donor on
00:17:24.680 the face
00:17:24.980 of the
00:17:25.200 planet to
00:17:25.660 Hillary
00:17:25.880 Clinton,
00:17:26.960 you're
00:17:27.240 profoundly
00:17:27.980 left wing.
00:17:29.640 It was,
00:17:31.020 look,
00:17:31.300 I think it
00:17:31.620 was beneficial
00:17:32.240 to talk
00:17:32.920 through.
00:17:33.720 My sense
00:17:34.580 was some
00:17:35.140 of these
00:17:35.480 issues are
00:17:36.580 new to
00:17:39.820 him as a
00:17:40.500 stretch,
00:17:41.020 but I
00:17:44.080 think Google
00:17:45.500 has such
00:17:46.160 vast power
00:17:47.100 that they
00:17:49.140 just don't
00:17:49.740 seem to
00:17:50.180 care much
00:17:51.080 and so I'm
00:17:51.800 hopeful the
00:17:53.980 continued
00:17:54.520 scrutiny
00:17:55.140 draws their
00:17:56.660 attention.
00:17:57.880 I think
00:17:58.140 this is a
00:17:58.620 great point
00:17:59.320 that conservatives
00:18:00.280 don't focus
00:18:00.960 on that
00:18:01.800 much,
00:18:02.320 which is
00:18:02.980 that these
00:18:03.840 guys are
00:18:04.440 living in
00:18:05.220 this very
00:18:05.800 left wing
00:18:06.320 world of
00:18:07.060 big tech.
00:18:07.960 Everything
00:18:08.260 around them
00:18:08.780 is left
00:18:09.120 wing.
00:18:09.620 Often they
00:18:10.000 don't perceive
00:18:10.620 themselves as
00:18:11.280 political.
00:18:12.080 They just
00:18:12.420 assume that
00:18:13.300 leftism,
00:18:14.400 liberalism,
00:18:15.140 progressivism is
00:18:16.340 the only type
00:18:17.080 of politics.
00:18:17.800 They don't
00:18:18.800 understand maybe
00:18:19.460 even some of
00:18:19.880 the premises
00:18:20.300 that they are
00:18:21.060 accepting here.
00:18:21.940 It would be
00:18:22.580 good.
00:18:22.860 I'm glad to
00:18:23.260 hear you had
00:18:23.620 a vigorous
00:18:24.400 conversation
00:18:24.960 with them.
00:18:25.740 I hope
00:18:26.120 that it
00:18:26.380 can open
00:18:26.800 their eyes
00:18:27.400 and if
00:18:28.560 their eyes
00:18:28.920 cannot be
00:18:29.340 opened in
00:18:30.140 that sort
00:18:30.700 of way,
00:18:31.060 then perhaps
00:18:31.540 there's a
00:18:31.940 role for
00:18:32.560 the DOJ
00:18:33.480 lawsuit for
00:18:34.620 other mechanisms
00:18:36.000 that we've
00:18:36.380 discussed many
00:18:36.920 times on this
00:18:37.480 show because
00:18:38.300 time is running
00:18:39.300 out,
00:18:39.560 Senator,
00:18:39.820 I have to
00:18:40.220 call your
00:18:40.460 attention before
00:18:41.280 we get to
00:18:41.700 the mailbag to
00:18:42.800 this terrifying
00:18:44.320 headline that I
00:18:45.520 saw in the
00:18:46.040 Financial Times,
00:18:47.020 which is that
00:18:48.220 Texas is on
00:18:49.820 its way to
00:18:50.860 becoming a
00:18:52.100 blue state.
00:18:53.080 You are a
00:18:53.980 Texan.
00:18:54.640 I trust you
00:18:55.320 more than the
00:18:55.820 Financial Times.
00:18:57.400 Is this true?
00:18:59.340 I hope not.
00:19:00.600 I don't know.
00:19:02.260 I don't think so.
00:19:03.380 I think Texas
00:19:04.020 will stay red.
00:19:04.960 I think Texas
00:19:06.180 will vote for
00:19:06.820 Trump.
00:19:07.180 I think John
00:19:07.840 Cornyn will
00:19:08.300 get re-elected.
00:19:09.540 But Texas is
00:19:10.200 clearly a
00:19:10.620 battleground.
00:19:11.880 Texas has been
00:19:12.580 trending more
00:19:13.240 purple.
00:19:13.780 I wouldn't say
00:19:14.300 Texas is blue,
00:19:15.540 but it's
00:19:16.100 trending more
00:19:16.680 purple.
00:19:17.860 And I can tell
00:19:18.700 you, so this
00:19:19.200 is Tuesday
00:19:20.040 night.
00:19:21.020 Let me just
00:19:21.520 tell you about
00:19:21.980 my next week.
00:19:23.520 So yesterday
00:19:24.500 I was in D.C.
00:19:25.540 We confirmed
00:19:26.160 Justice Barrett.
00:19:27.640 This morning I
00:19:28.420 flew back to
00:19:29.080 Houston.
00:19:29.540 Actually tonight
00:19:30.120 is my daughter
00:19:30.680 Catherine's
00:19:31.240 10th birthday.
00:19:32.220 So I'm going to
00:19:32.760 leave the podcast
00:19:33.440 and go have
00:19:34.300 dinner to
00:19:35.540 celebrate Catherine's
00:19:36.420 birthday, which I
00:19:37.120 made it home
00:19:37.560 for.
00:19:38.640 Second year in
00:19:39.340 a row, by the
00:19:39.800 way, I've
00:19:40.120 turned down
00:19:40.560 World Series
00:19:41.080 tickets to go
00:19:41.980 to spend it
00:19:43.320 instead for
00:19:44.040 Catherine's
00:19:44.540 birthday.
00:19:44.960 So both this
00:19:45.480 year and last
00:19:46.040 year I declined
00:19:47.600 to go to the
00:19:48.060 World Series
00:19:48.500 because I had a
00:19:49.320 date with a
00:19:49.740 9-year-old and
00:19:50.280 now a 10-year-old.
00:19:51.680 You are a
00:19:52.160 better father
00:19:52.680 than I think I
00:19:53.360 would be.
00:19:53.780 That is a big
00:19:54.460 sacrifice, a very
00:19:55.620 nice thing to do.
00:19:57.040 It was easier
00:19:58.180 this year because
00:19:59.360 the Astros aren't
00:20:00.160 in it, so I'm a
00:20:00.960 little more
00:20:01.520 ambivalent about
00:20:02.360 the results.
00:20:04.260 Last year I
00:20:05.020 actually invited
00:20:05.780 Catherine to come
00:20:06.420 with me to the
00:20:06.980 World Series.
00:20:07.980 How'd that go?
00:20:09.080 She went to some
00:20:09.980 of the games, but
00:20:10.640 she didn't want to
00:20:11.440 go on the day of
00:20:12.060 her birthday, so we
00:20:13.300 skipped it on the
00:20:14.600 day of her
00:20:14.900 birthday.
00:20:15.980 Tomorrow I fly to
00:20:18.320 North Carolina to
00:20:19.240 campaign with Tom
00:20:20.140 Tillis, who's
00:20:20.740 running for Senate
00:20:21.980 there in a very
00:20:22.700 close contested race.
00:20:24.060 Tomorrow night I
00:20:24.680 fly to Montana, do
00:20:27.040 I think two events
00:20:28.180 in Montana with
00:20:29.040 Steve Daines in a
00:20:29.940 very close contested
00:20:30.920 Senate race in
00:20:32.020 Montana.
00:20:32.580 From Montana, I fly
00:20:33.680 to California, do a
00:20:35.220 fundraiser in
00:20:35.940 California to help
00:20:36.980 try to keep the
00:20:37.900 Senate red.
00:20:39.020 From California, I
00:20:40.820 fly back to Texas
00:20:41.960 because Catherine has
00:20:43.200 her 10th birthday
00:20:44.360 party this weekend.
00:20:45.560 I told her I'd be
00:20:46.200 here for the party.
00:20:47.560 Hold on, hold on.
00:20:48.320 No, no, I don't
00:20:48.920 fly.
00:20:49.180 I fly from
00:20:49.600 California to
00:20:50.460 Iowa.
00:20:51.080 I'm sorry, I
00:20:51.540 forgot where I do
00:20:53.020 I think three stops
00:20:54.180 with Joni Ernst
00:20:55.000 campaigning to help
00:20:56.320 her hold on to her
00:20:57.640 Senate seat in Iowa,
00:20:58.700 then back to Texas
00:20:59.640 for Catherine's
00:21:00.340 birthday.
00:21:01.300 Then on Sunday, I
00:21:02.320 fly to Arizona, do
00:21:03.460 several stops with
00:21:04.420 Martha McSally, who's
00:21:06.440 running to hold on to
00:21:08.180 her seat there.
00:21:09.020 And then I come back
00:21:09.840 on Monday to campaign
00:21:11.220 with John Cornyn in
00:21:12.320 Texas, and then
00:21:13.400 Tuesday's election
00:21:14.100 time.
00:21:14.460 So a nice relaxing
00:21:15.540 couple weeks before
00:21:16.600 we get to November
00:21:17.380 3rd.
00:21:17.840 You know, Senator, you
00:21:18.980 do hear these stories
00:21:20.140 of President Trump is
00:21:21.340 doing two rallies this
00:21:22.300 day or one rally
00:21:23.080 isn't, and you think,
00:21:23.820 oh my gosh, this is
00:21:25.480 so unusual.
00:21:26.400 This is really putting
00:21:27.560 out the effort.
00:21:28.440 But it sounds like
00:21:29.620 this is just how
00:21:31.420 election season works
00:21:32.700 in politics.
00:21:33.740 This is not exactly
00:21:34.560 your first rodeo.
00:21:36.280 It's not, and frankly,
00:21:37.860 I enjoy being out
00:21:38.760 there campaigning.
00:21:39.520 I will say I hate
00:21:41.860 campaigning in the era
00:21:43.120 of COVID because what I
00:21:45.180 like to do is events.
00:21:46.740 So you go to a rally or
00:21:48.040 something, you give a
00:21:48.740 talk, and then what I
00:21:49.760 like to do is, you know,
00:21:50.980 go off the front of the
00:21:52.000 stage and into the
00:21:53.580 crowd and take pictures
00:21:54.660 with people and hug
00:21:55.560 people and, like, just
00:21:56.920 hang out.
00:21:57.560 And we would usually
00:21:58.700 schedule events where,
00:22:00.080 say, the event was an
00:22:00.860 hour, and then I'd just
00:22:02.040 stay an extra hour just
00:22:03.160 to be with people
00:22:03.760 afterwards.
00:22:05.120 In the era of COVID,
00:22:06.240 you can't really do
00:22:07.040 that.
00:22:07.380 I mean, you know, you've
00:22:07.940 got an infectious
00:22:08.800 disease, so for most of
00:22:10.720 these events, I'll do the
00:22:11.860 remarks and then just kind
00:22:13.080 of leave through the
00:22:13.740 back, which I hate.
00:22:15.700 I mean, it's miserable,
00:22:18.540 and I really will be
00:22:19.720 grateful to getting back
00:22:20.780 campaigning the way it
00:22:21.780 should be done, which is
00:22:22.720 actually interacting
00:22:24.740 directly with lots and
00:22:25.820 lots of people.
00:22:26.260 And it actually, it's
00:22:28.300 not even just, you know,
00:22:29.160 it's nice to shake hands
00:22:30.160 and meet people, but
00:22:31.080 there is something very
00:22:31.800 helpful about it, too,
00:22:32.920 which is that when you
00:22:34.020 get to campaign in that
00:22:35.000 way or you go to events
00:22:35.780 in that way, you're
00:22:36.540 hearing from people what
00:22:38.040 is really going on, what
00:22:39.380 maybe you're not hearing
00:22:40.100 in the mainstream media.
00:22:40.900 So it kind of works both
00:22:42.160 ways.
00:22:42.880 COVID seems to have cut out
00:22:43.940 that aspect of the
00:22:44.700 campaign.
00:22:46.320 It has, and it's just
00:22:48.220 kind of, particularly the
00:22:50.120 last couple of weeks, I've
00:22:51.480 been very cautious about
00:22:52.980 it because, look, the
00:22:54.700 biggest thing that could
00:22:55.940 have derailed Justice
00:22:57.140 Barrett is if three of
00:22:59.920 us have gotten COVID.
00:23:01.640 Yeah, right.
00:23:02.400 I mean, she was
00:23:03.280 confirmed 52 to 48, and
00:23:05.160 by the way, the median
00:23:05.940 age in the Senate is like
00:23:06.940 142.
00:23:08.120 I mean, it's, you know,
00:23:09.720 these are not spring
00:23:10.560 chickens in this body.
00:23:12.480 And we've had several
00:23:14.300 senators test positive for
00:23:15.700 COVID, but it was a big
00:23:18.160 concern.
00:23:18.840 We were all sort of
00:23:19.720 consciously limiting our
00:23:22.080 interaction because we have
00:23:23.600 to, in the Senate, you
00:23:24.520 have to vote in person.
00:23:25.940 If you're not physically
00:23:27.360 on the floor, you don't
00:23:28.500 get to vote.
00:23:29.620 No Zoom votes.
00:23:31.420 And so we were legitimately
00:23:34.700 discussing, and we had
00:23:36.140 procured, like, space
00:23:39.200 suits, like hazmat suits.
00:23:40.880 Like, I, when I
00:23:43.160 quarantined, I told Mitch
00:23:44.720 McConnell, look, if I need
00:23:46.260 to wear a hazmat suit to
00:23:47.380 come vote for Justice
00:23:48.680 Barrett, I will.
00:23:50.300 And I'll tell you,
00:23:51.120 actually, we had them.
00:23:52.300 The White House went and
00:23:53.300 got, if we needed to put
00:23:55.600 a senator in, like, a
00:23:58.480 hazmat suit to walk onto
00:23:59.720 the floor and go, aye, we
00:24:01.160 would have done it.
00:24:02.180 In a sense, I'm glad nobody
00:24:04.160 came down with COVID.
00:24:06.160 But in another, another part
00:24:07.420 of me thinks, if you just
00:24:08.540 had a senator walking down as,
00:24:10.440 like, a bubble boy or
00:24:11.360 something, that would have
00:24:12.300 made for great political
00:24:13.840 imagery.
00:24:14.740 But I guess better that
00:24:15.760 everybody's healthy.
00:24:16.760 You know, we have only a
00:24:18.640 minute or two remaining
00:24:19.420 before you've got to hop all
00:24:20.440 around God's green earth.
00:24:21.800 I do want to get to one
00:24:22.760 mailbag question, though,
00:24:23.600 because we've been talking
00:24:24.140 about how things have
00:24:24.920 gotten so extreme and the
00:24:26.700 Democrats are going to
00:24:27.780 completely break every
00:24:29.200 norm of our Constitution if
00:24:30.920 they get power in November
00:24:32.000 and Republicans have become
00:24:33.420 more conservative.
00:24:35.500 Stephen wants to know,
00:24:36.500 does Senator Cruz believe we
00:24:37.760 will ever reach back to a
00:24:39.700 more centrist right and
00:24:41.540 left, or would we even
00:24:42.420 want to?
00:24:43.520 Or are we forever locked to
00:24:45.540 the extremes by this
00:24:46.720 election and the ensuing
00:24:48.060 ones?
00:24:48.360 So, I hope so, and it
00:24:51.600 will take breaking the
00:24:52.700 fever.
00:24:54.660 You know, if you look at
00:24:55.660 elections, typically what
00:24:57.020 happens is if one side gets
00:24:59.220 clobbered over and over
00:25:00.560 again, they engage in some
00:25:03.140 introspection.
00:25:03.940 They say, okay, what's going
00:25:04.840 wrong?
00:25:05.160 Why do we keep losing?
00:25:06.680 Think about the Democrats
00:25:07.940 through the 80s and early
00:25:09.420 90s, where you had Reagan,
00:25:11.680 Reagan, Bush.
00:25:12.560 And so Democrats lost three
00:25:14.080 elections in a row.
00:25:14.960 And, you know, they had a
00:25:19.600 massive period of
00:25:20.620 introspection and said,
00:25:21.640 gosh, what we're selling,
00:25:23.680 people ain't buying.
00:25:25.240 And what did they do?
00:25:26.240 They came back with Bill
00:25:27.160 Clinton, who ran as a
00:25:28.360 centrist Democrat and won,
00:25:29.820 and won twice.
00:25:31.740 You know, one of the
00:25:32.880 interesting effects of Trump's
00:25:35.260 victory in 2016, Democrats,
00:25:40.120 by and large, in Washington,
00:25:42.820 very quickly blamed Russia
00:25:44.980 for the loss.
00:25:46.560 Yeah.
00:25:46.760 And we had the whole three
00:25:47.920 years of Russia, Russia,
00:25:49.240 Russia.
00:25:51.060 One of the consequences of
00:25:52.660 that is you had virtually
00:25:53.840 none of the introspection
00:25:55.320 that usually follows an
00:25:56.660 election loss, where almost
00:25:59.240 no Democrats said, wait a
00:26:00.580 second, how did we as the
00:26:02.580 Democratic Party lose
00:26:04.380 working class voters in
00:26:06.940 Pennsylvania and Michigan and
00:26:08.820 Wisconsin and Ohio?
00:26:10.700 You know, these are, you
00:26:11.520 know, FDR union voters who
00:26:13.580 suddenly voted Republican.
00:26:15.780 Any sane Democrat would be
00:26:17.560 saying, wow, we might need to
00:26:19.600 adjust what we're saying.
00:26:21.640 They didn't engage in that
00:26:22.960 process.
00:26:23.980 I think if we see a really
00:26:25.500 fantastic election this time,
00:26:27.420 you may see some Democrats
00:26:28.920 second guess.
00:26:30.940 But I think the only way you
00:26:32.700 will see a decline in the
00:26:35.540 divide is to have one or
00:26:39.340 two electoral thumpins to
00:26:43.580 cause one or the other
00:26:45.320 party to recalibrate.
00:26:46.800 This is a great point,
00:26:48.040 because whenever I hear
00:26:49.000 people say, oh, we need to
00:26:50.080 come back to the center, I
00:26:51.000 think, well, you know, if the
00:26:51.960 center is very far left or if
00:26:53.340 it means unilateral
00:26:53.960 disarmament, that doesn't
00:26:55.280 sound so interesting to me.
00:26:56.560 But but and I don't think it
00:26:57.820 would work anyway.
00:26:59.220 Your take does seem to be
00:27:01.260 historically valid, which is
00:27:03.720 you need to force a little
00:27:05.500 introspection.
00:27:06.120 You need to lead people into
00:27:08.240 a way that they can't resist
00:27:09.960 it anymore because they keep
00:27:10.920 getting rejected at the
00:27:11.660 ballot box.
00:27:12.400 So the way to come back to a
00:27:13.820 little moderation and come
00:27:15.260 back to the center is to give
00:27:16.860 them a good thumping at the
00:27:17.700 ballot box.
00:27:18.320 Let's hope that we can
00:27:19.240 accomplish that this go
00:27:20.500 around all the time we have
00:27:22.140 for today.
00:27:22.820 Senator, I'm sure you'll have
00:27:23.860 visited 25 states before I
00:27:25.680 speak to you next in a few
00:27:26.620 days.
00:27:26.920 But in the meantime, I'm
00:27:28.580 Michael Knowles.
00:27:29.340 This is Verdict with Ted
00:27:30.800 Cruz.
00:27:39.620 This episode of Verdict with
00:27:41.800 Ted Cruz is being brought to
00:27:43.380 you by Jobs, Freedom and
00:27:44.800 Security Pack, a political
00:27:46.360 action committee dedicated to
00:27:48.020 supporting conservative
00:27:49.000 causes, organizations and
00:27:50.900 candidates across the country.
00:27:52.780 In 2022, Jobs, Freedom and
00:27:54.800 Security Pack plans to donate to
00:27:56.700 conservative candidates
00:27:57.760 running for Congress and help
00:27:59.380 the Republican Party across
00:28:01.060 the nation.
00:28:02.320 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:28:04.820 Guaranteed Human.