Verdict with Ted Cruz - May 30, 2025


Stop China： Trump Increases Scrutiny of CCP Ties for Student Visas, plus the Great Phil Robertson Passes & CA Relents on Boys in Girls' Sports

Topics
Phil Robertson legacy duck hunting with Phil Robertson
Hosted by
Ted Cruz
Mentioned
Phil Robertson Donald Trump Robert Bork Terry Bradshaw Ben Ferguson Pam Bondi Verdict Joe Biden Frank Easterbrook Ronald Reagan Gavin Newsom Edith Jones Jennifer Stewart Caitlin Clark Chuck Schumer Looney Tunes John F. Kennedy Marco Rubio Looney Tune Leah Thomas and 4 more
BONUS POD： Propaganda Prime Time： What the Media Won’t Say about what DOGE is Finding NPR Lawsuit Unpacked, the Fight for Women’s Sports plus Comey & a Message in the Sand Week In Review

Episode Stats


Length

35 minutes

Words per minute

172.8

Word count

6,101

Sentence count

455

Harmful content

Misogyny

4

sentences flagged

Toxicity

5

sentences flagged

Hate speech

4

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Ted and Ben are joined by Sen. Ben Ferguson (R-MA) to discuss a variety of topics, including: China's student visa ban, the tragic loss of Phil Robertson, the American Bar Association's new role in judicial selection, and more!

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.680 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.380 Welcome. It's nice to have you with us on Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:00:08.640 Ben Ferguson with you as always.
00:00:10.840 And Senator, we have got a lot to talk about.
00:00:13.140 Well, there's a ton happening.
00:00:14.740 The Trump administration announced that they are going to begin revoking student visas for Chinese students
00:00:20.040 and vigorously scouring their applications to make sure that they are not connected to the Chinese Communist Party.
00:00:27.400 That is a welcome step that is much needed.
00:00:29.400 We're going to break that down in detail.
00:00:31.660 California also reversed its policies on transgender athletes,
00:00:36.020 taking a major step to protect women and really showing that the left realizes they are in full retreat.
00:00:44.000 We're going to explain exactly what's going on there.
00:00:46.560 We're also going to talk about the sad news this past week that my good friend Phil Robertson,
00:00:51.680 the great Phil Robertson, passed away.
00:00:53.880 We're going to reflect on the impact he had.
00:00:56.360 And I'm going to take you guys inside what it's like to go duck hunting with Phil Robertson,
00:01:00.560 one of the most incredible and fun things I've ever had the joy of doing.
00:01:04.500 And finally, the Trump administration announced that the American Bar Association, the ABA,
00:01:08.780 is no longer going to have any special role in judicial selection.
00:01:13.060 Long overdue and a great announcement.
00:01:15.200 All of that on today's show.
00:01:16.340 Yeah, it's a good one.
00:01:18.000 I want to talk to you real quick, though, about what's happening in Israel.
00:01:20.800 And what we're seeing right now is truly disturbing.
00:01:24.040 Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world.
00:01:26.740 And sadly, even right here in America, Jewish schools are being targeted.
00:01:30.960 Synagogues are being threatened and families are living in fear.
00:01:34.460 It's something that we hoped we'd never see again in our lifetime.
00:01:37.440 And so let me say this.
00:01:39.420 Silence is not an option.
00:01:41.780 This is the moment that we can all take a stand with the people in Israel.
00:01:45.820 And that's why I want you to be involved with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
00:01:50.340 You may have heard of it.
00:01:51.500 It's called IFCJ.
00:01:52.720 And they are on the front lines providing real help where it's needed the most.
00:01:56.700 They're giving food and shelter to Jewish families that are under threat.
00:02:00.400 They're even building bomb shelters on virtually a daily basis for children in Israel.
00:02:05.200 And they're helping survivors of hate rebuild their lives.
00:02:09.320 And they don't just respond to crisis.
00:02:11.220 They work every day to prevent it.
00:02:13.240 And that's where your gift of only $45 will help support their life-saving work by providing food, shelter, and so much more.
00:02:21.700 So please call IFCJ and stand with God's people in Israel.
00:02:26.740 888-488-IFCJ.
00:02:30.340 That's 888-488-4325.
00:02:34.200 You can also go online and find out more about IFCJ and to donate at ifcj.org.
00:02:41.100 Every dollar helps.
00:02:42.280 Don't wait.
00:02:43.120 Be the difference.
00:02:43.940 Visit ifcj.org or 888-488-IFCJ.
00:02:48.760 All right.
00:02:49.340 So let's dive into this big first topic, Senator.
00:02:51.800 And it deals with what you mentioned earlier.
00:02:54.720 China and Chinese student visas.
00:02:57.060 There was an interesting number that was thrown out earlier in the day on TV.
00:03:01.740 And I'm going to quote it.
00:03:03.020 I'm not sure if it's exactly accurate, but it is.
00:03:05.900 And that's why I said it was I saw it earlier today.
00:03:08.540 And I want to prefix that with saying it.
00:03:10.960 But it's said that there are about 500 American students that have visas in China and more than 280,000 Chinese students in the U.S.
00:03:18.780 is what was said.
00:03:20.260 Why are we doing so much for Chinese students?
00:03:23.580 Many of them, by the way, they come in here that spy and rob us of our intellectual property.
00:03:28.540 And the administration, Trump administration, is basically saying we're trying to put a stop to this.
00:03:34.500 Well, what the Trump administration has announced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that they will begin aggressively revoking the visas of Chinese students in the United States.
00:03:46.180 China engages in extensive propaganda and espionage.
00:03:51.180 And they're going to begin vetting and vetting aggressively whether a particular student seeking a visa to come to this country has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
00:04:01.140 I think this is long overdue.
00:04:03.060 And it's part of a broader effort.
00:04:04.880 They're also engaged with foreign students that are coming to the United States, examining their social media history, examining if they have a history of radicalism.
00:04:12.640 So if you are seeking a student visa to come to America and you've been public saying, I hate America, I want to destroy America, which sadly we've seen some of these radical students who've said that.
00:04:23.240 And nonetheless, Joe Biden and the Democrats said, welcome to America.
00:04:26.340 We need more people who hate our nation and want to destroy it. 0.79
00:04:29.580 Well, I think the president's exactly right to stand up and say we're not going to welcome people to this country who are trying to undermine and destroy this country. 0.89
00:04:37.680 With respect to China, you know, the question of espionage and intellectual property theft, that's existed since the dawn of time.
00:04:47.580 Look, when the first caveman invented the wheel, I suspect somebody stole his idea and made another wheel.
00:04:55.800 That's part of the human condition.
00:04:57.620 What is not ever before existed is a nation state with massive economic resources like like China, making it a state policy to engage in the theft of resources. 0.50
00:05:10.920 And so I am very I think it's exactly right that we're going to vigorously scrutinize those students coming in to make sure that they are not operating as agents of the Chinese Communist Party.
00:05:22.380 Now, let me say at the same time, look, part of the reason you don't get that many Americans going to China to study is you don't have a whole lot of folks that want to go to Chinese universities, whereas people from all over the world want to come to American universities.
00:05:35.900 And I will say if you have people who are not agents of the communist government, we want the best and brightest in the world coming to America.
00:05:44.620 We end up having inventions coming here because because the best and brightest students across the country come and come and study science and engineering and they make inventions.
00:05:53.160 And those inventions in turn fuel American companies and they create great jobs.
00:05:57.480 And so I think the administration is cutting the right balance here, which is saying we're going to stop spies, we're going to stop terrorists.
00:06:04.480 But at the same time, that doesn't mean that we want to close our doors entirely to to brilliant physicists and engineers from around the world being able to come to America and benefiting from from the fruits of that.
00:06:18.200 You know, there's one thing that we mentioned, gosh, it was probably a little over a year ago on this show and the podcast that we do.
00:06:25.180 I tell people this is why you should download verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:06:28.100 We do it three days a week.
00:06:29.220 We talked back when under the Biden-Harris administration, there was even warnings coming from their administration that they're the number one threat to this country was China and Chinese espionage and influence operations.
00:06:43.520 That is now a kumbaya moment with the Trump administration, where, in essence, two administrations that saw nothing eye to eye, both agreed on China and what they were trying to do in stealing intellectual property and sending an incredible number of spies into this country.
00:07:02.500 And many of them come through our university system.
00:07:05.900 Yeah, but the Biden administration did next to nothing to stop it.
00:07:09.060 So they acknowledged it's a problem.
00:07:10.720 But at the same time, they were complicit in it.
00:07:12.880 And I'll tell you, I have for over a decade been leading the fight to stop Chinese espionage, to stop Chinese propaganda, to stop China's malign efforts.
00:07:25.360 I think we need a comprehensive effort to take on communist China, much like we had under Ronald Reagan, to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. 0.53
00:07:33.280 And I'll tell you, Ben, one of the very first pieces of legislation that I authored and passed dealt with exactly this.
00:07:39.160 And it dealt with what are called Confucius Institutes.
00:07:42.140 So Confucius Institutes were started at U.S.
00:07:46.220 Universities all across America, where there were roughly 200 of them.
00:07:50.240 And they were controlled by communist China.
00:07:53.200 They were paid for by communist China, by the government.
00:07:56.140 And they were used to engage in propaganda and espionage on campus.
00:08:00.480 I authored legislation and said, if you have a Confucius Institute on campus, you will not get funding from the federal government, from the Department of Defense.
00:08:08.040 I passed it into law.
00:08:09.640 And I'll tell you, that simple piece of legislation resulted in over 100 Confucius Institutes shutting down at universities across the country, shutting down their espionage, shutting down their propaganda.
00:08:23.840 I think the Trump administration's announcement is the next step in that very important fight.
00:08:28.320 Senator, let's deal with California.
00:08:30.580 And there has been a fight since the president came in with his executive order on trying to protect women from men being in their locker rooms, being in their sports, beating them up.
00:08:43.100 We saw it during the Olympics in boxing.
00:08:45.580 We've seen countless women who their achievements have been taken away from them on the podium because of men claiming they're women, which is impossible in reality.
00:08:56.200 And California decided they were going to stand up to Donald Trump.
00:08:59.140 And guess what?
00:08:59.820 It didn't go very well for them.
00:09:01.920 Well, listen, we've seen the Democrat Party getting more and more radical ever since Donald Trump took the oath of office back in 2017.
00:09:09.600 They hate Trump and they've gotten more and more extreme on a host of issues.
00:09:12.920 And one of the poster children for their extreme issues is embracing boys and girls sports, men and women's sports.
00:09:21.800 And it is wrong.
00:09:22.800 It is unfair.
00:09:24.140 It invites injury.
00:09:25.660 And it also deprives both girls and women of athletic victories they should have and they've earned.
00:09:34.200 There are differences between boys and girls.
00:09:36.460 There are differences between men and women.
00:09:38.100 That did not used to be a controversial proposition.
00:09:40.920 It is only in today's Looney Tune left that they can't tell the difference between men and women.
00:09:47.000 But I got to tell you, even though in the Senate, Senate Democrats, all of them continue to defend men and women's sports and boys and girls sports.
00:09:57.280 We're seeing the state of California.
00:09:58.740 We're seeing the Democrats beginning to retreat.
00:10:01.700 We're seeing Gavin Newsom, the governor, who's been a far left radical governor.
00:10:05.760 He's got ambitions of being president.
00:10:08.120 He's looking at looking at running in 2028.
00:10:11.000 And he's decided, OK, we're on the wrong side of an 80-20 issue.
00:10:14.360 I want to get the hell away from this.
00:10:16.940 And so California announced this is a big deal.
00:10:19.820 They're changing their policy for track and field so that if you're a biological girl and you got you missed out on making it to the state championship because you were beaten by a biological male who claims to be a transgender woman, then the girl, you will still get your slot.
00:10:39.880 You still get invited to the state championship.
00:10:43.400 Look, that's a significant step in the right direction.
00:10:46.100 And Gavin Newsom is embracing it.
00:10:48.680 And I got to say, this really illustrates that at least some Democrats realize, wow, we are on the wrong side of an issue that America, America wants to protect girls sports and women's sports.
00:11:01.460 We want to protect our daughters, and we don't want to see them hurt or competing unfairly.
00:11:08.720 And so the crazy thing is that means in track and field in California now they may give three gold medals, one to the boy, one to the girl, and one to the transgender athlete.
00:11:20.200 You may have gold medals all around, but for bright blue California to make this concession, it shows that at least some Democrats realize they are way on the wrong side of this issue.
00:11:33.320 This also, I think, is an issue that it's worth fighting for, and I think many that are listening are saying we don't want to give in and we don't want to give up.
00:11:41.700 And the pendulum went so far to the radical left for so many years that this is the fight that is worth fighting on and fighting over and showing California having to change girls' track and field championship rules after the Trump threatens funding over the trans athletes is just an example of, hey, we are, many times, the silent majority, and we need to start acting like it, especially on these types of issues.
00:12:07.800 Well, I'll tell you, Ben, this issue is a powerful issue, and as you know, I ran for re-election in Texas last year in 2024.
00:12:16.320 It was a quarter-billion-dollar race.
00:12:18.920 I was Chuck Schumer's number one target, and my campaign was the first campaign in the country last year to put real time and energy behind this issue of we're going to protect girls' sports from boys' competing,
00:12:34.380 and we put tens of millions of dollars behind this issue.
00:12:38.380 What's fascinating is the media completely misunderstood the issue.
00:12:42.760 So one of the things that my campaign did is we did focus groups in Houston and Dallas of undecided moderate women to understand what issues moved them,
00:12:51.700 and we tested 30, 35 different messages.
00:12:54.500 The number one issue that moved undecided moderate women in Texas was boys' and girls' sports, and when I started campaigning on it, it was very funny.
00:13:05.640 The reporters are like, oh, Cruz is trying to appeal to the crazy right wing, and I was just laughing at him.
00:13:11.540 I'm like, you guys are so clueless.
00:13:13.860 This is not the crazy right wing.
00:13:15.740 This is soccer moms. 1.00
00:13:16.840 This is soccer moms who love their daughters, and we led on this issue, and then you saw Senate races all across the country pick up the same message because they were seeing the same data we were.
00:13:28.640 We saw President Trump lean in hard on this message.
00:13:31.740 And by the way, some of those women that you were talking to, let's be very clear, had moved from California because how many people from California moved to Texas over the last six years?
00:13:43.100 A lot.
00:13:44.140 We have over 1,000 people a day moving to the state of Texas, and California is overwhelmingly the heaviest, the largest state that is sending people to Texas.
00:13:54.980 But this issue, what's fascinating, Ben, is, you know, four years ago, this issue did not work politically.
00:14:02.020 You saw campaigns try to raise it four years ago.
00:14:04.580 And I think people thought then that it was jumping the shark, that it didn't feel real four years ago.
00:14:10.540 I think people said, oh, come on, that's not a real threat.
00:14:14.200 Well, you know what?
00:14:14.880 We've now seen Leah Thomas, the swimmer who is a biological man and looks like Michael friggin' Phelps, who we've also seen, and I think this was really a seminal moment, in the Olympics, the two dudes competing in women's boxing and beating the hell out of women.
00:14:35.480 And I think a whole lot of people said, wait, this is not theoretical.
00:14:38.920 This is happening over and over and over again.
00:14:42.200 Enough is enough.
00:14:44.020 And I think this is another milestone, that California is retreating on this issue.
00:14:50.540 Shows that truth and sanity are winning.
00:14:53.900 Yeah, and now the question becomes, how much are they going to be able to fight back through the court system?
00:15:00.100 And is this going to be something that's going to be, unfortunately, an issue for probably years to come?
00:15:04.500 Well, look, we'll see.
00:15:06.100 And to be honest, California hasn't conceded altogether.
00:15:08.840 They're still having biological males compete against women, which is unfair.
00:15:13.660 It invites injury.
00:15:15.240 You know, if you're playing volleyball, we've seen women who have a biological man spike the ball into their head and they get injured. 1.00
00:15:21.780 I mean, California is still Looney Tunes, but the fact that even the lefty government of California is saying, we've gone too far, that's a very positive sign.
00:15:34.040 We had some really sad news this week, but also a celebration of an incredible legacy and a life.
00:15:40.060 You know him from Duck Dynasty.
00:15:41.840 Phil Robertson passed away this week.
00:15:44.440 And many people may not realize this.
00:15:46.900 He was actually incredibly influential in your 2016 presidential campaign.
00:15:52.480 He went all in for you and even did an ad for you.
00:15:56.020 Some thought that was political suicide for Duck Dynasty, the brand.
00:15:59.840 Oh, don't get involved in politics.
00:16:01.500 Whatever you do, just, you know, be Duck Dynasty, sell stuff, you know, in Walmart and just be famous.
00:16:07.360 He was not afraid to take a stand for what he believed in, whether it was his faith or in politics.
00:16:12.440 And that's one of the reasons why I absolutely love the legacy of Phil.
00:16:16.800 Well, Phil Robertson was extraordinary.
00:16:19.460 He was one of a kind.
00:16:20.720 He was truly an American original.
00:16:22.920 He passed this week at age 79.
00:16:26.160 And Phil built a business empire as the founder of Duck Commander.
00:16:32.500 And on television, he was, you know, a unique character.
00:16:36.440 He and his family with their long, scraggly beards, with their love of hunting, with their real—I mean, there was a genuineness to Phil.
00:16:45.060 And then there is to his whole family that is—it is spectacular.
00:16:50.580 And there is also a love of Jesus, a love of God, an open embrace of faith, which, frankly, you don't see on TV very much.
00:16:59.660 And it is part—it was integral to who Phil was.
00:17:03.980 I was really blessed.
00:17:05.300 I got to know Phil.
00:17:06.260 I admired him.
00:17:07.560 I considered him a friend.
00:17:09.540 And I got to say, you know, one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life is I got to go duck hunting with Phil.
00:17:17.660 And this was during the 2016 presidential campaign.
00:17:20.600 They invited me to come to his home.
00:17:23.560 And so I came to his home and went and had dinner with him and the whole family, which was really cool.
00:17:28.460 And then we got up at 4 in the morning the next morning and went to the duck blind.
00:17:33.560 And listen, you and I both enjoy hunting.
00:17:36.500 Hunting is a lot of fun.
00:17:37.980 I've hunted with a lot of different people.
00:17:40.120 I will tell you hands down, Phil Robertson is the best shot with a shotgun I've ever seen in my life.
00:17:46.480 You're not the only person that's told me that.
00:17:48.500 I was talking with another friend that went and hunted with him.
00:17:51.960 They said, like, he was next level, like, like completely different level that it was just in his blood and he knew how to shoot.
00:17:59.940 And it was just like, oh, wow, like this is like Olympic level is how it was described to me this week.
00:18:05.240 So so we would be in the blind and you see some ducks flying over the horizon and Phil would take a shot at a distance.
00:18:13.900 I wouldn't even pick up my gun like like it's a distance like there's no way on earth I'm hitting that bird. 0.93
00:18:18.900 If the duck flies over by us, I'll shoot it.
00:18:20.700 But like that, like he he that was the thing that really stood out is that he he would shoot ducks at a distance that was like 50 percent further than any other duck hunter I've ever seen.
00:18:32.960 And as I said, they were far enough away that I didn't even buy.
00:18:35.700 I'm an OK shot with a shotgun.
00:18:37.220 I can hold my own.
00:18:38.320 But but these ducks were so far away.
00:18:40.480 I wouldn't waste the shells.
00:18:41.780 And and it was it was impressive to watch.
00:18:44.620 He was also just just real.
00:18:46.920 He was he was fun.
00:18:48.780 All right.
00:18:49.020 I'm going to tell you a neat Phil Robertson story that he told me.
00:18:52.800 So so Phil was a very good athlete.
00:18:55.160 He was actually the starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech University.
00:18:59.940 I did not know that he was the starting quarterback.
00:19:02.680 And then one day he quit.
00:19:08.220 He quit the team and said, I'm not going to play anymore.
00:19:10.820 Now, do you know who his backup quarterback was?
00:19:13.760 Who was that?
00:19:15.540 It's a guy named Terry Bradshaw.
00:19:18.380 Is that why he quit?
00:19:20.300 Nope.
00:19:20.880 Nope.
00:19:21.140 That's not why he quit.
00:19:22.160 So Terry Bradshaw, who for those of you who are not not football fans, is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks ever to play, was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is a legendary quarterback.
00:19:32.160 Terry Bradshaw was Phil Robertson's backup.
00:19:34.600 He was not getting a ton of playing time because Phil Robertson was the starter.
00:19:37.940 He quit because football season interfered with hunting season.
00:19:43.360 And no way.
00:19:44.580 And so the story Phil told me is is is is his coach came to his apartment and was going to was trying to convince Phil to come back and play football.
00:19:54.380 And and Phil said, hey, coach, coach, come on in, come on in.
00:19:57.360 Hey, he said, come on in the bathroom.
00:19:58.780 I'm cleaning a deer here in the bathroom in my bathtub.
00:20:03.120 And so the coach comes in and he's cleaning a deer.
00:20:06.600 And the coach says, Phil, I'm not going to convince you to come back and play football, am I?
00:20:11.200 And Phil says, nope, not a chance.
00:20:12.640 But but but I'm really glad you came over.
00:20:14.680 And so he quit.
00:20:16.360 And Terry Bradshaw, a legend, was born.
00:20:18.680 And then a second legend, Phil Robertson, was born because his love of hunting led him, led him to to to to to form form duck commander to start duck dynasty.
00:20:31.880 And one of the coolest things.
00:20:34.340 So in 2016, he cut a TV commercial for my presidential campaign.
00:20:39.720 And and and like the image of it, it's the two of us hunting together and we're in camo and we got face paint and he he's talking.
00:20:47.040 But I want I want to play that that ad.
00:20:48.880 You don't have the visuals, but you can Google it if you want to watch the visuals.
00:20:51.960 And it was classic.
00:20:52.900 But this is this is all Phil.
00:20:55.460 And I'll just say this.
00:20:56.980 Not a word of this was scripted.
00:20:58.540 They just pointed the camera at him and said, Phil, talk.
00:21:01.340 And this is what he said.
00:21:03.120 And by the way, let's be clear.
00:21:04.700 This has got to be the only presidential campaign ad that actually starts with duck calling.
00:21:11.040 I just want to point that out because Phil is calling in the ducks.
00:21:14.780 And that's the first thing you're going to hear.
00:21:17.420 My qualifications for president of the United States are rather narrow.
00:21:22.420 Is he or she godly?
00:21:23.940 Does he or she love us?
00:21:25.620 Can he or she do the job? 0.97
00:21:27.380 And finally, would they kill a duck and put him on a pot and make him a good duck gumbo? 0.86
00:21:33.840 I've looked at the candidates. 0.97
00:21:35.980 Ted Cruz is my man.
00:21:37.680 He fits the bill.
00:21:38.920 He's got me.
00:21:40.000 He loves us.
00:21:40.880 He's a man for the job.
00:21:42.400 And he will go duck hunting because today we're going.
00:21:47.780 Ted Cruz is my man.
00:21:50.060 I'm voting for him.
00:21:51.200 Ted Cruz, the reason we're going to vote for you, all of us, is because you're one of us, my man.
00:22:03.540 That's why I'll be voting for you.
00:22:06.300 It's now and ever.
00:22:10.520 I got to say, it might be one of the best ads I've ever seen.
00:22:13.880 It's the closest you'll ever be to Rambo, Senator, with the face paint.
00:22:18.280 But but this was a big risk for him.
00:22:21.440 And I'm sure there was a lot of PR people around him.
00:22:23.880 Like, why do you want to get involved in politics?
00:22:25.640 It's going to alienate people that could be, you know, duck commander friends and people that could buy stuff from you.
00:22:31.080 Why do you want to get into politics?
00:22:32.480 He believed in you that much.
00:22:33.880 He said, I don't care.
00:22:35.360 Yeah.
00:22:35.480 Look, if he was listening to PR people, I certainly saw no evidence of it.
00:22:40.240 I think he's a man who followed what he believed was right.
00:22:44.500 And he spoke out and he spoke the truth.
00:22:46.820 You know, one of the things I loved about Duck Dynasty is is that his faith was real and he talked about it.
00:22:53.280 And he was proud to to to to demonstrate the love of Jesus every day.
00:22:58.720 And I'll tell you a really cool follow up.
00:23:00.880 So he cut that ad and and I asked Phil, hey, would you come to Iowa?
00:23:05.800 Would you campaign with me on the ground in Iowa?
00:23:08.360 Now, it was in the middle of duck season and Phil had gone hunting every single day of duck season every year for more than 40 years.
00:23:19.580 He had never missed a day.
00:23:21.680 And so we'd asked him to come.
00:23:24.900 We're having a big rally in Iowa.
00:23:26.060 We asked him, Phil, would you would you fly up to Iowa and join us?
00:23:28.920 And we didn't get a definite answer.
00:23:30.600 He had the invite.
00:23:31.500 And he told me he actually went to went to the duck blind at, you know, four, four thirty in the morning.
00:23:39.140 And he was sitting there and he said he sat there like 20 minutes and then he got up and left and got on a plane and flew to Iowa.
00:23:46.680 And it was the first day in over 40 years that he didn't go duck hunting on a day during duck season.
00:23:53.220 And instead he came and campaigned in Iowa.
00:23:56.440 By the way, how big of an impact did that have in Iowa when he, I mean, because this was at the height of their fame, obviously, in 16.
00:24:02.940 Well, look, we won Iowa.
00:24:04.220 I won Iowa decisively and ended up winning 12 states in 2016.
00:24:10.200 And Phil's coming there played, made a real difference.
00:24:14.140 And I'll tell you, Phil spoke at that rally and my dad spoke.
00:24:17.440 And Phil and my dad were about the same age.
00:24:20.840 Phil was a little bit younger than my dad.
00:24:22.580 My dad's 86.
00:24:23.620 Phil was 79 when he passed.
00:24:25.120 But but they got along and my father's a pastor and man and and like Phil, my dad is is unapologetic.
00:24:33.800 Like like my father, Ben, you know, my dad, well, he is he's incapable of guile.
00:24:40.500 He's incapable of telling you of not telling you what he thinks putting it.
00:24:45.560 It really is sometimes to his own fault.
00:24:48.900 My dad will just say exactly what he thinks. 0.83
00:24:52.780 Consequences be damned.
00:24:54.700 And it's a and the back to back at that rally of having Phil talk and my dad talk.
00:24:59.920 That combination was was really, really potent.
00:25:03.800 It's it's an incredible story.
00:25:05.760 I know you you know, the family as well.
00:25:08.420 And I and I know you wanted to say to them, obviously, it's something about their father passing and just how thankful you are for the legacies left.
00:25:16.520 Well, look, to the to the entire family, to Jason and Willie and Cy and the entire extended family, you guys have had an incredible impact on on America.
00:25:27.540 You've had an incredible impact touching people's lives.
00:25:30.320 You've had an incredible impact speaking up for for ordinary Americans.
00:25:34.600 But but also you guys have powerfully spread the gospel.
00:25:39.240 And I appreciate that that cheerful, happy warrior, that unapologetic willingness to speak truth.
00:25:47.540 Look, we are sad that that Phil is not with us.
00:25:50.360 We are mourning.
00:25:51.060 And I'll tell you, Heidi and I are praying for the family that is mourning the loss of the patriarch.
00:25:56.100 But at the same time, we're celebrating a life incredibly well lived.
00:26:01.160 And he's with Jesus now.
00:26:02.960 And Phil, we love you.
00:26:05.460 Canadian women are looking for more, more of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders and the world around them. 0.70
00:26:11.800 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
00:26:15.540 I'm Jennifer Stewart.
00:26:16.700 And I'm Catherine Clark.
00:26:17.920 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.
00:26:27.420 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
00:26:30.420 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
00:26:36.380 All right, Senator.
00:26:37.460 So let's dive into this other issue that really is an interesting one.
00:26:43.280 You've got a lot to say about the Trump Justice Department telling the American Bar Association that it will no longer comply with ratings for judicial nominees.
00:26:54.360 Now, explain the politics behind this.
00:26:57.720 The ABA has had a lot of power and they're basically now saying we're not going to let you guys have that power because there's been a lot of bias coming out of the American Bar Association.
00:27:07.940 Well, the American Bar Association, it's a national organization of lawyers, and it is a left-wing advocacy group.
00:27:16.400 It is not fair.
00:27:17.320 It is not impartial.
00:27:18.680 It is a radical left organization.
00:27:21.660 And the ABA has had a formal role in judicial selection for 75 years.
00:27:27.680 It started rating judicial nominees in 1953, and until 2001, the ABA actually had a formal role evaluating judicial nominees before they were nominated.
00:27:42.720 So a president, a Department of Justice, an administration would share with the ABA, hey, we're thinking of nominating Ben Ferguson to be a federal judge.
00:27:52.260 And they'd go and research and interview former clients, and at some point people would say, wait, Ben's not even a lawyer.
00:28:00.000 How the hell is he going to be a judge like he probably should go to law school first?
00:28:04.460 And by the way, that point is not crazy.
00:28:09.400 But they engaged that they would do a formal role and they would rate the qualifications of judicial nominees.
00:28:16.580 Now, here's the problem.
00:28:18.280 For decades, the ABA's qualification measures were wildly biased.
00:28:26.120 So, for example, Robert Bork.
00:28:28.100 Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in 1987.
00:28:34.160 Robert Bork was by any measure one of the most qualified federal judicial nominees in the history of this country.
00:28:39.900 Robert Bork had been the Solicitor General of the United States, the chief lawyer for the United States in front of the Supreme Court of the United States.
00:28:47.900 Robert Bork had been one of the most renowned and respected law professors for decades.
00:28:54.640 Robert Bork had been a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
00:28:59.080 And so a remarkable career.
00:29:03.260 And yet the ABA, when they evaluated Robert Bork, they concluded he was, quote, not qualified to be a judge.
00:29:09.080 They also concluded the same thing for Frank Easterbrook.
00:29:12.500 Again, brilliant, brilliant judge, brilliant professor, one of the greatest judges to have ever served on the Court of Appeals, Frank Easterbrook.
00:29:20.520 The ABA concluded he was not qualified.
00:29:23.020 Also, Edith Jones.
00:29:24.780 Edith Jones is a judge on the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals down in Texas. 1.00
00:29:29.560 I know Judge Jones well.
00:29:30.860 She's a phenomenal jurist, one of the best and most conservative judges in the entire country.
00:29:37.080 The ABA rated her not qualified.
00:29:40.680 Well, the breaking news is this week the Trump Justice Department announced the ABA will no longer have a role in judicial selection.
00:29:49.260 They will no longer have a role in vetting.
00:29:51.120 They're out.
00:29:52.220 And the Department of Justice said, you know what?
00:29:54.440 They can chime in like any other left-wing advocacy group, but they don't have a role in this process.
00:30:00.160 This is going to have, I think, a big impact on the quality.
00:30:05.000 Pam Bondi informing the ABA that they'll no longer enjoy the special access to judicial nominees.
00:30:10.660 And the left, by the way, when that news came out, they totally freaked out.
00:30:15.480 And I think that also shows just how much they were depending on the ABA to get rid of good candidates that were maybe more conservative.
00:30:23.880 Yeah.
00:30:24.140 And so Pam Bondi sent a letter to the president of the ABA, and she said, quote,
00:30:30.040 While the ABA is free to comment on judicial nominations along with other activist organizations, there is no justification for treating the ABA differently from such other activist organizations, and the Department of Justice will not do so.
00:30:44.440 And so previously, the Office of Legal Policy, which is the office within the Department of Justice that handles judicial selections, they changed – they had previously directed judicial nominees to provide a waiver to the ABA to let the ABA access non-public information, including bar records.
00:31:06.500 And so no longer is the Department of Justice going to tell judicial nominees, give the ABA special access.
00:31:12.540 That is over.
00:31:14.740 And moreover, Pam Bondi says, quote,
00:31:18.160 Nominees will also not respond to questionnaires prepared by the ABA and will not sit for interviews with the ABA.
00:31:25.120 In other words, you can be like every other whack job organization on the left, but you're not going to have any special access whatsoever.
00:31:33.860 This is something I've called for a long time.
00:31:36.680 I have for years, for more than a decade, advocated that the ABA is wildly biased, and it should not have a special role in the process, and I want to commend President Trump and Pam Bondi.
00:31:48.560 It's the right thing to do.
00:31:50.140 Senator, we hear a lot about bias and bias against conservatives, but my other question is, were they also biased in advocating for liberals?
00:31:58.880 Absolutely. They are a hard-left advocacy organization masquerading as a nonpartisan professional organization.
00:32:08.140 And Joe Biden, over the last four years, nominated over and over again radicals and zealots, many of whom were wildly unqualified.
00:32:15.680 And the ABA was more than happy to stamp them with a rating of qualified.
00:32:20.880 And one example is Charnel Bejelkingren, who was wildly unqualified, and yet the ABA happily deemed her qualified.
00:32:31.800 And rather than me lay out how bad she was, I want you to listen to this cross-examination from my colleague John Kennedy to this judicial nominee in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
00:32:41.880 Here, give a listen.
00:32:42.420 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations to all of you.
00:32:51.320 Judge, on the far end, tell me what Article 5 of the Constitution does.
00:32:59.300 Article 5 is not coming to mind at the moment.
00:33:02.720 Okay. How about Article 2?
00:33:04.960 Neither is Article 2.
00:33:06.980 Okay. Do you know what purposivism is?
00:33:10.180 In my 12 years as an assistant attorney general and my nine years serving as a judge, I was not faced with that precise question.
00:33:22.180 We are the highest trial court in Washington State, so I'm frequently faced with issues that I'm not familiar with.
00:33:30.080 And I thoroughly review the law, research, and apply the law to the facts presented to me.
00:33:36.100 Well, you're going to be faced with it if you're confirmed.
00:33:40.080 I can assure you of that.
00:33:43.540 He was dumbfounded at the end there.
00:33:45.580 Like, I can't believe you don't know this.
00:33:47.860 Well, and let me underscore how simple the first two questions are that he asked.
00:33:53.720 So, the Constitution has seven articles.
00:33:57.720 It's not a very long document.
00:34:00.120 Article 5 is the article that lays out the process for amending the Constitution.
00:34:05.300 It's fairly basic.
00:34:07.140 That was his opening question.
00:34:08.360 She had no idea what Article 5 was.
00:34:10.840 Article 2 is even more fundamental.
00:34:12.960 So, the first three articles of the Constitution, Article 1 creates the Congress.
00:34:17.260 Article 2 creates the President and the Executive Branch.
00:34:20.340 And Article 3 creates the Federal Judiciary.
00:34:22.960 To not know what Article 2 is is stunning.
00:34:26.600 To give you a sense, you will flunk constitutional law and not graduate law school if you don't know what Article 2 is.
00:34:33.940 She was being nominated to be what is called an Article 3 judge.
00:34:39.560 I assume she had no idea what Article 3 was.
00:34:42.540 And nevertheless, the ABA said she's qualified to be an Article 3 judge, even though she has no idea what it is.
00:34:48.700 Because I'm very glad the ABA no longer has a role in making those determinations.
00:34:53.360 As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:34:59.020 Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day you're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards.
00:35:06.060 I'd love to have you as a listener to, again, the Ben Ferguson podcast.
00:35:09.860 And the Senator and I will see you back here for the Weekend Review on Saturday morning.
00:35:13.800 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:35:17.380 Guaranteed Human.