Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 31, 2026


The Five-Year-Old his Parents didn't Want, Trump's Wealth-Building Revolution & Media makes Violent Offender a Saint Week In Review


Episode Stats


Length

27 minutes

Words per minute

173.25789

Word count

4,695

Sentence count

340

Harmful content

Misogyny

5

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Ted Cruz and Ben Fergusons discuss the use of a 5-year-old boy to smear ICE and Homeland Security agents, a man who was shot and killed in Minneapolis, and how the Trump administration could make America a better place for young people.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.360 Welcome, it is Verdict with Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:08.720 It's the Week in Review, and here are the big stories
00:00:10.820 that you may have missed that we talked about.
00:00:12.620 First up, the media lied using a five-year-old boy
00:00:16.380 to slander ICE and Homeland Security agents.
00:00:19.980 So what is the real story?
00:00:21.640 Well, it's not what they told you, and we'll have it for you.
00:00:24.840 Also, the nitty-gritty on the Trump accounts
00:00:28.080 and how it could literally transform America
00:00:30.420 into a different place for young people.
00:00:33.180 This is a major opportunity for so many American families.
00:00:36.560 So how can you get involved in it?
00:00:38.060 We'll explain it as well.
00:00:40.080 And finally, a man that was shot in Minneapolis.
00:00:42.340 They memorialized him in the media as a kind, loving man
00:00:46.040 who was just a do-gooder.
00:00:47.780 Well, now more of the story's coming out,
00:00:49.740 and that man wasn't so peaceful after all.
00:00:52.580 It's the Week in Review, and it starts right now.
00:00:55.460 ICE apprehends five-year-old child.
00:00:59.020 That story was everywhere.
00:01:00.160 By the way, it's a total lie.
00:01:01.960 It's absolutely false.
00:01:03.460 In fact, what happened is ICE came to apprehend the father.
00:01:06.960 The father ran off and abandoned the five-year-old child.
00:01:10.480 And understandably, ICE was not going to leave
00:01:13.020 a five-year-old child alone on the street
00:01:16.140 in the middle of winter.
00:01:17.060 Much less freezing to death outside.
00:01:17.920 Yeah, I mean, they wouldn't leave him alone, period.
00:01:19.960 But the argument that the left has made,
00:01:21.940 I'm like, let me get this straight.
00:01:22.760 You guys want the kid to be left alone just to wander
00:01:25.240 the streets of a city and be alone?
00:01:28.260 That's insane.
00:01:28.920 And then in the winter, when they could freeze to death,
00:01:31.240 that's also insane.
00:01:32.800 They actually found the woman, the mother of the child.
00:01:36.020 It is reported they found the mother of the child.
00:01:38.480 They knocked on the door, tried to give the child back to her.
00:01:41.160 She wouldn't take him.
00:01:42.260 She closed the door and said, no, I won't take him.
00:01:45.340 And so, look, the purpose of that story
00:01:48.100 is not actually factual journalism.
00:01:50.640 It is entirely about telling a story
00:01:53.640 to pull on people's heartstrings
00:01:55.220 and to cause suburban voters
00:01:58.860 who are not paying close attention to say,
00:02:01.300 oh, this has gone too far.
00:02:03.200 If they're shooting moms and nurses
00:02:04.900 and arresting little kids,
00:02:06.760 clearly it's gone too far.
00:02:08.240 This is a political campaign.
00:02:10.820 And tragically, it's a political campaign
00:02:13.000 that is costing people's lives.
00:02:15.080 But because, look, the political campaign
00:02:17.460 is having some real effect.
00:02:19.140 It is having effect.
00:02:21.840 We saw, you know, John Kasich,
00:02:24.960 speaking of suburban women, 1.00
00:02:27.840 we saw John Kasich put out a whole video saying,
00:02:32.960 you know, oh, oh, I'm just, I'm hurting so much.
00:02:36.780 We must stop.
00:02:37.640 We must stop arresting illegals. 1.00
00:02:40.220 You know, unfortunately, that's the target audience.
00:02:43.040 And in the world of politics,
00:02:46.540 we've got to realize that.
00:02:48.180 We've got to confront the bad stories
00:02:50.800 with stories that are compelling.
00:02:52.660 And it's where tone matters.
00:02:54.140 And I would encourage, look,
00:02:56.240 the administration is doing a fantastic job
00:02:58.760 securing the border.
00:03:00.360 Illegal crossings have dropped 99%.
00:03:02.600 It's phenomenal.
00:03:03.960 They're doing a terrific job
00:03:05.720 going and arresting violent criminals,
00:03:08.400 murderers and rapists and gang bangers, 0.99
00:03:10.040 which is why we've seen the murder rate drop 20%.
00:03:14.040 We covered that in the last podcast
00:03:15.760 that the murder rate has dropped 20% across the country.
00:03:19.400 That's a massive success.
00:03:21.100 What I think the administration could do better
00:03:23.340 is the tone with which they're describing this,
00:03:27.880 that immediately when an incident like this happens,
00:03:31.180 they come out guns blazing,
00:03:34.240 that we took out a violent terrorist, hooray.
00:03:37.300 And the problem is,
00:03:39.560 particularly for someone not paying attention,
00:03:41.420 if you're being told this is a mom of three
00:03:44.300 and there's no indication, you know,
00:03:45.860 she's not waving an ISIS flag
00:03:47.900 or doesn't have a suicide vest around her. 0.96
00:03:51.100 Yeah.
00:03:51.820 Escalating the rhetoric doesn't help.
00:03:54.500 And it actually loses credibility.
00:03:56.760 And so I would encourage the administration
00:03:59.420 to be more measured,
00:04:01.180 to recognize the tragedy
00:04:02.720 and to say, we don't want anyone's lives to be lost.
00:04:07.600 And the politicians who are pouring gasoline
00:04:11.700 onto this fire, they need to stop.
00:04:13.940 Yeah, I agree with you there.
00:04:15.300 And I also think, look, facts matter.
00:04:17.720 Explaining what happened is very important.
00:04:19.960 The five-year-old story is a perfect example.
00:04:21.940 All the morning news shows, ABC, NBC, CBS,
00:04:24.980 they led with that story
00:04:26.260 and ran it into the ground that morning
00:04:28.040 that a five-year-old was detained by ICE.
00:04:30.400 And they didn't correct that story.
00:04:33.020 Not only is the Democratic Party
00:04:34.240 looking for an opportunity,
00:04:35.260 so is the media.
00:04:36.940 And they now believe that, like,
00:04:39.140 this civil war and hold this flag up is,
00:04:41.840 you know, and plan it is,
00:04:42.980 we as Democrats were willing to shut down
00:04:45.140 the government to defund ICE.
00:04:46.840 That's going to be the premise,
00:04:48.020 is what I've been told,
00:04:49.720 from many in the media that I've talked to
00:04:51.840 and some of my friends on the left.
00:04:53.420 They're like, yeah, we're going to shut down.
00:04:54.560 We're justified this time
00:04:55.840 way more than we were last time.
00:04:57.540 Last time, we really weren't justified
00:04:59.140 very much in shutting down the government,
00:05:00.580 but we tried it anyway.
00:05:01.560 Now they actually feel emboldened.
00:05:04.120 Do you think a government shutdown
00:05:05.400 is going to come, yes or no?
00:05:07.220 Yes, 100% yes.
00:05:09.360 Okay, and it's going to be tied to this issue, right?
00:05:11.820 Yes, yes.
00:05:12.660 Okay.
00:05:12.860 100%, the last government shutdown,
00:05:15.420 which was the longest government shutdown
00:05:17.080 in U.S. history.
00:05:18.280 Chuck Schumer and the Democrats forced through,
00:05:21.020 really to show his radical base
00:05:23.100 that he was fighting
00:05:23.840 because he's scared of being primaried by AOC.
00:05:26.720 But they also did it to tee up
00:05:28.720 the issue of health care
00:05:29.980 and the cost of health insurance premiums.
00:05:32.840 Mind you, the premiums have skyrocketed
00:05:34.660 because of Obamacare,
00:05:35.800 because of their policy.
00:05:37.000 But they did the shutdown.
00:05:39.500 It was entirely with an eye towards November
00:05:41.700 that they say,
00:05:42.560 look, we fought like crazy on health insurance
00:05:45.400 and the mean Republicans
00:05:46.680 didn't give us what we wanted,
00:05:48.240 which was $50 billion
00:05:49.520 in corporate welfare subsidies
00:05:51.320 to giant health insurance companies.
00:05:52.920 And that's why your health insurance has gone up.
00:05:55.840 Now, that's factually wrong.
00:05:58.800 But it is a political narrative
00:06:01.440 they're telling here.
00:06:03.540 They are going to tell the narrative,
00:06:05.740 we will not fund ICE under any circumstances
00:06:08.580 and we will shut the government down.
00:06:10.160 And by the way,
00:06:11.500 the media covered for them so much,
00:06:14.420 their base was so happy with the shutdown.
00:06:17.520 I think they perceive very few downsides
00:06:20.160 to shutting the government down.
00:06:21.280 Now, this shutdown
00:06:23.360 that will happen on January 30th
00:06:25.600 will likely be smaller
00:06:27.440 than the previous one.
00:06:29.080 And the reason is we funded some parties.
00:06:30.920 Explain why.
00:06:32.420 Because does that mean
00:06:33.100 they're being more strategic
00:06:34.160 in how they're doing it?
00:06:35.440 Or explain that.
00:06:36.300 Okay.
00:06:36.860 Now, between the two,
00:06:38.320 we have passed some appropriations bills.
00:06:40.840 So once appropriations bills are passed,
00:06:43.740 those departments are funding.
00:06:45.320 So ag,
00:06:45.980 the Department of Agriculture,
00:06:47.760 is funded.
00:06:48.720 And so everything that goes through ag
00:06:50.080 is funded.
00:06:51.280 CJS, Commerce, Justice, and Science,
00:06:54.480 that is funded.
00:06:55.340 Energy is funded.
00:06:56.400 Water is funded.
00:06:57.840 Interior, environment,
00:07:00.100 ledge branch,
00:07:01.440 military construction, and the VA.
00:07:03.280 All of those are funded.
00:07:04.980 So the shutdown will not impact any of those.
00:07:07.360 So what would a shutdown impact?
00:07:09.800 It would impact defense,
00:07:11.720 the Department of War.
00:07:13.020 It would impact the Department of Labor.
00:07:14.680 It would impact HHS.
00:07:16.900 It would impact the Department of Education.
00:07:19.960 It would impact the Department of Transportation
00:07:22.060 and Housing and Urban Development.
00:07:23.900 It would impact the SEC,
00:07:26.220 the FCC,
00:07:27.100 the independent agencies.
00:07:28.700 And it would impact DHS,
00:07:30.960 the Department of Homeland Security,
00:07:33.240 and ICE directly under that.
00:07:34.920 And I think you're going to see
00:07:37.180 the Democrats force a shutdown.
00:07:39.260 And actually,
00:07:39.680 you don't have to take my words for it.
00:07:41.240 Here, let me read for you
00:07:43.040 what Schumer tweeted out to the world.
00:07:45.340 He said, quote,
00:07:46.160 I will vote no.
00:08:08.980 Senate Democrats will not provide the votes
00:08:11.700 to proceed to the appropriations bill
00:08:13.800 if the DHS funding bill is included.
00:08:17.700 There he is,
00:08:18.420 explicitly, unequivocally,
00:08:20.620 threatening a shutdown.
00:08:21.980 I think that's what we're going to see
00:08:23.160 come January 30th.
00:08:23.760 Well, and by the way,
00:08:24.360 he's not the only one.
00:08:25.520 So Elizabeth Warren was responding
00:08:27.360 to another tweet.
00:08:28.180 I want to read it.
00:08:28.760 It was just,
00:08:29.500 the tweet she was responding to
00:08:31.260 to give it context.
00:08:32.080 It says,
00:08:32.240 Reminder,
00:08:33.220 DHS legislation that funds ICE
00:08:35.540 at current levels
00:08:36.380 without policy restrictions
00:08:37.780 is in the Senate
00:08:39.200 and needs 60 votes to pass.
00:08:40.680 Deadline is next Friday.
00:08:41.760 Elizabeth Warren puts it out there
00:08:44.060 with this,
00:08:44.920 and she says,
00:08:45.480 quote,
00:08:45.800 I'm a hell no,
00:08:46.900 not a penny more for ICE.
00:08:48.760 We should not fund this terror.
00:08:52.200 So she's also jumping on board 0.93
00:08:54.600 with this as well.
00:08:55.540 And then there's other senators
00:08:56.460 have come out,
00:08:57.220 and so this is why I say
00:08:58.540 this isn't a one-off.
00:09:00.220 This is clearly a coordinated attack
00:09:02.580 is the best way I can describe it.
00:09:04.000 Well, here's Chris Murphy on CNN.
00:09:06.780 Give a listen.
00:09:07.660 I want to ask about
00:09:08.780 what your leader,
00:09:10.880 Chuck Schumer,
00:09:11.660 says that Democrats
00:09:12.780 are going to vote against
00:09:13.620 the government funding package
00:09:15.060 that is before the Senate soon,
00:09:17.220 and it includes money
00:09:18.200 for the Department of Homeland Security.
00:09:20.600 How is that going to play out?
00:09:22.660 Well, we can't vote
00:09:23.640 to fund this lawless
00:09:25.200 Department of Homeland Security.
00:09:27.460 We can't fund this lawless
00:09:29.240 Department of Homeland Security.
00:09:30.720 Senator,
00:09:30.920 that's pretty bold words,
00:09:31.980 if you ask me,
00:09:32.880 by a senator that clearly is like,
00:09:34.320 hey, we're all on the same page.
00:09:35.700 This is what we're doing now.
00:09:37.600 Yeah, look,
00:09:38.200 that's the position
00:09:39.260 of every Democrat,
00:09:40.360 and understand,
00:09:41.340 this is the same position
00:09:42.400 that is abolish ICE
00:09:43.580 and abolish the police.
00:09:45.860 They're saying
00:09:46.640 they're going to refuse
00:09:47.420 to fund
00:09:48.420 the Department of Homeland Security,
00:09:51.240 the department that is charged
00:09:52.640 with keeping us safe,
00:09:54.240 with securing our border,
00:09:55.680 with protecting our families,
00:09:56.960 and the Democrats are saying,
00:09:58.500 we won't fund it.
00:10:00.300 So what will happen?
00:10:01.980 I think there's a chance
00:10:03.340 we see Congress
00:10:04.280 put together
00:10:05.040 an appropriations package
00:10:06.340 that funds everything
00:10:07.620 but DHS.
00:10:09.300 That might pass.
00:10:12.260 In terms of DHS,
00:10:14.760 I think the Democrats
00:10:16.020 are going to force a shutdown,
00:10:17.560 and I think they want it
00:10:18.440 to be extended.
00:10:19.460 And in order to...
00:10:20.440 So this is not a short one,
00:10:21.840 to be clear.
00:10:22.640 You think they want this
00:10:23.720 to be painful,
00:10:24.840 almost like they're running
00:10:25.940 in the midterms
00:10:26.640 on this issue of ICE?
00:10:27.740 I think they want to be able
00:10:30.020 to tell their base,
00:10:31.540 we are defunding ICE,
00:10:33.300 we are abolishing ICE,
00:10:34.940 we are against law enforcement,
00:10:37.600 we're with the criminals.
00:10:38.600 That's their messaging.
00:10:40.320 Now, if you want to hear
00:10:41.200 the rest of this conversation,
00:10:42.960 you can go back
00:10:43.720 and listen to the full podcast
00:10:45.300 from earlier this week.
00:10:47.280 Canadian women
00:10:48.000 are looking for more.
00:10:49.320 More out of themselves,
00:10:50.380 their businesses,
00:10:51.320 their elected leaders,
00:10:52.280 and the world around them.
00:10:53.500 And that's why we're thrilled
00:10:54.460 to introduce
00:10:55.120 the Honest Talk podcast.
00:10:57.220 I'm Jennifer Stewart.
00:10:58.420 And I'm Catherine Clark.
00:10:59.660 And in this podcast,
00:11:00.780 we interview Canada's
00:11:01.760 most inspiring women.
00:11:03.420 Entrepreneurs,
00:11:04.080 artists,
00:11:04.760 athletes,
00:11:05.380 politicians,
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00:11:06.960 all at different stages
00:11:08.000 of their journey.
00:11:09.140 So if you're looking to connect,
00:11:10.960 then we hope you'll join us.
00:11:12.380 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast
00:11:13.760 on iHeartRadio
00:11:14.760 or wherever you listen
00:11:15.720 to your podcasts.
00:11:18.160 Now on to story number two.
00:11:20.800 All right, Senator,
00:11:21.420 I want to get back
00:11:22.000 to these Trump accounts
00:11:22.940 and let's talk about
00:11:24.160 the nitty-gritty of this.
00:11:26.060 When you look at the dollars
00:11:27.840 and the growing of wealth
00:11:31.520 and how this could fundamentally
00:11:33.200 change a country
00:11:34.000 where every child
00:11:35.760 that is in poverty
00:11:36.680 could get out of poverty
00:11:37.940 just by having these accounts
00:11:39.700 and talk about
00:11:41.340 where they could start
00:11:42.080 a small business
00:11:42.700 or be able to pay for college
00:11:43.960 or different things like that.
00:11:45.620 It is truly empowering
00:11:47.540 for an entire generation
00:11:48.940 what we are now starting
00:11:50.580 with these Trump's accounts.
00:11:51.600 I actually think
00:11:52.260 it's going to be
00:11:52.620 one of the biggest parts
00:11:53.340 of your legacy ever.
00:11:54.940 Yeah, look,
00:11:55.560 I think the Trump accounts
00:11:56.860 will be truly transformational.
00:11:59.180 I will say it's interesting.
00:12:00.400 I think President Trump
00:12:01.560 initially,
00:12:02.220 when we laid out the idea to him,
00:12:04.020 he liked it.
00:12:04.820 But I think as he's seen
00:12:07.400 more and more
00:12:08.080 what these are going to do,
00:12:09.160 I think he's really appreciating
00:12:10.640 that these are going to be
00:12:11.320 a huge part of his legacy
00:12:13.020 when all of us
00:12:14.880 are dead and buried.
00:12:15.700 People are still going to,
00:12:16.780 the impact of the Trump accounts
00:12:18.400 is going to echo forward.
00:12:20.920 And the two massive benefits
00:12:22.680 are, number one,
00:12:24.680 every kid in America
00:12:25.740 is going to get the benefit
00:12:27.000 of compound growth.
00:12:28.340 You know,
00:12:28.700 half of the people in America
00:12:30.140 don't own a single stock
00:12:31.320 and don't own a single bond.
00:12:33.120 And the impact,
00:12:34.580 well, here,
00:12:34.960 give a listen to Fox News
00:12:36.420 talking about
00:12:37.220 just how much wealth
00:12:39.660 kids can accumulate
00:12:42.080 through these Trump accounts.
00:12:43.120 You kind of touch on this.
00:12:45.040 By age 18,
00:12:47.300 right,
00:12:48.060 you could have $303,000.
00:12:51.700 By age 28,
00:12:53.120 it's more than a million.
00:12:54.700 If you do the maximum contributions,
00:12:57.060 if you give no contributions,
00:12:58.880 you're still shy of $6,000,
00:13:00.840 which ain't nothing.
00:13:01.880 And then $18,000 by age 28.
00:13:04.860 You know,
00:13:05.180 President Bush 43
00:13:06.520 pushed this idea
00:13:08.320 about 25 years.
00:13:09.560 I mean,
00:13:10.140 you look at just
00:13:11.060 the political willpower
00:13:12.180 of getting something
00:13:12.980 like this done.
00:13:13.820 It shouldn't take this much,
00:13:15.580 but this was a major
00:13:17.040 fight center
00:13:17.740 that you had to go
00:13:18.720 to war with
00:13:19.860 to get it to happen,
00:13:20.880 and I don't understand why.
00:13:23.140 Look,
00:13:23.680 in the tax cut,
00:13:25.140 you were competing
00:13:25.860 with everything else.
00:13:27.060 Everyone else had a priority,
00:13:28.640 and so
00:13:29.400 it was dividing the pie.
00:13:31.740 And it was also,
00:13:32.840 look,
00:13:33.000 this was something new.
00:13:34.120 It was major.
00:13:34.840 Getting it through
00:13:35.360 the Senate parliamentarian
00:13:36.520 was a real challenge,
00:13:37.440 and we fought hard
00:13:38.740 and got it through.
00:13:40.420 And, you know,
00:13:41.340 you look at that math,
00:13:42.980 you know,
00:13:43.720 you're not talking
00:13:44.680 about just the kids
00:13:45.740 of rich people.
00:13:46.860 You're talking about
00:13:47.660 the kids
00:13:48.560 of a single mom
00:13:50.000 who's waiting tables.
00:13:51.700 And the math of that,
00:13:53.320 so a little girl
00:13:54.360 born this year,
00:13:56.000 she gets the $1,000
00:13:57.200 automatically put
00:13:58.720 in the account,
00:13:59.580 and that can accumulate
00:14:00.800 and grow.
00:14:02.000 But where the real math is
00:14:03.460 is if there are contributions
00:14:04.700 of $5,000 a year,
00:14:06.480 now those can come
00:14:07.320 from a parent,
00:14:08.400 those can come
00:14:09.180 from a family member,
00:14:10.060 or those can come
00:14:10.660 from an employer.
00:14:11.740 And there are two
00:14:13.760 big accelerants
00:14:15.440 that we wrote
00:14:16.080 into the bill.
00:14:17.580 Number one
00:14:18.340 is the employer
00:14:19.080 piece of it,
00:14:19.740 that the employers
00:14:20.520 think about,
00:14:22.060 to give you a sense
00:14:22.960 of the scope
00:14:23.740 and magnitude,
00:14:25.380 think back
00:14:26.840 to when Congress
00:14:27.720 passed Section 401k
00:14:29.400 of ERISA.
00:14:29.980 That was decades ago.
00:14:31.820 And I suspect
00:14:33.140 nobody in Congress
00:14:34.520 knew just how
00:14:36.140 fundamentally
00:14:36.800 they were going
00:14:37.280 to change
00:14:37.820 how Americans
00:14:38.460 save for retirement.
00:14:40.320 There are right now
00:14:41.640 more than $12 trillion
00:14:43.900 in 401k accounts.
00:14:46.640 It's massive.
00:14:48.500 And there will be
00:14:50.320 in just a couple
00:14:51.080 of years
00:14:51.600 trillions of dollars
00:14:53.080 in Trump accounts
00:14:53.940 as well.
00:14:54.620 The volume of it
00:14:55.820 is massive.
00:14:56.360 And one of the things
00:14:57.100 that's a real accelerant
00:14:58.280 is, you know,
00:14:59.660 most big employers
00:15:01.040 match 401k contributions.
00:15:04.320 If you're an employee,
00:15:05.140 sometimes employers
00:15:06.220 will contribute directly
00:15:07.200 to 401ks.
00:15:08.420 Other times they'll match
00:15:09.720 if you make a contribution.
00:15:11.380 I think we're going
00:15:12.440 to see the same thing
00:15:13.280 with Trump accounts.
00:15:14.020 This is going to become
00:15:14.960 a standard,
00:15:16.200 a ubiquitous
00:15:17.080 employee benefit
00:15:18.720 that employers will say,
00:15:20.460 we're going to match
00:15:21.860 your contributions
00:15:23.760 or contribute directly
00:15:24.900 to the Trump accounts
00:15:25.880 that your kids have.
00:15:27.360 A bunch of big employers
00:15:29.120 have already announced
00:15:29.940 they're doing that.
00:15:30.820 Actually, Visa
00:15:31.320 had a very clever thing
00:15:32.400 they announced.
00:15:33.640 They said you can use
00:15:34.900 your reward points.
00:15:36.140 You can convert them
00:15:37.060 into money
00:15:37.580 and deposit them
00:15:38.400 in your kids'
00:15:38.940 Trump accounts.
00:15:40.140 That's an accelerant
00:15:41.600 to help more dollars
00:15:43.540 get in.
00:15:44.680 And one of the things
00:15:45.620 about compound growth
00:15:46.680 that you know
00:15:48.040 is the earlier you invest,
00:15:50.640 the bigger it grows.
00:15:52.200 And that's one of the things
00:15:53.020 that's really powerful
00:15:53.940 is starting,
00:15:55.600 you know,
00:15:55.900 if someone starts saving
00:15:57.060 at age 40 or 50 or 60,
00:16:00.060 You're so far behind.
00:16:01.140 Yeah,
00:16:01.680 they don't have
00:16:02.400 a long enough time horizon
00:16:04.020 for it to really grow
00:16:05.240 into big,
00:16:05.820 big numbers.
00:16:07.020 If you start at age zero,
00:16:09.280 that gives a long time
00:16:11.100 for that growth
00:16:11.820 to compound.
00:16:12.780 That's really powerful.
00:16:14.200 The second accelerant.
00:16:15.600 Go back to the number
00:16:16.260 that you mentioned
00:16:16.820 that Fox had there.
00:16:18.740 If you do
00:16:19.240 the maximum contribution,
00:16:20.540 you have a child
00:16:21.160 five grand a year.
00:16:22.480 Yeah.
00:16:22.640 All right?
00:16:23.000 Like five grand a year,
00:16:24.720 you think about that.
00:16:26.180 Over,
00:16:26.720 I mean,
00:16:27.020 over 12 years,
00:16:28.100 that's $60,000
00:16:28.960 that you put in.
00:16:29.980 But if you keep going,
00:16:31.480 and I'm putting that
00:16:32.480 in perspective to realize
00:16:33.300 like this is not
00:16:34.000 a crazy amount of money
00:16:35.160 if you're disciplined.
00:16:36.380 You're talking about
00:16:37.480 $1,091,900
00:16:39.240 by age 28.
00:16:41.260 That is unbelievable.
00:16:44.100 Yeah,
00:16:44.600 and look,
00:16:45.000 $5,000 a year
00:16:46.320 is about $100 a week.
00:16:48.480 And so that can come
00:16:49.340 from a parent,
00:16:50.000 come from another family member.
00:16:51.560 But the other accelerant
00:16:52.980 that's really powerful
00:16:53.920 is we wrote this
00:16:55.540 so that it can accept
00:16:56.760 charitable gifts.
00:16:58.260 So as you know,
00:16:59.080 Michael and Susan Dell
00:17:00.160 are giving
00:17:01.400 six and a quarter billion dollars.
00:17:03.880 They're giving $250
00:17:04.700 to every child under 10
00:17:07.260 who lives in a zip code
00:17:09.660 where the median income
00:17:10.560 is $150,000 or less.
00:17:13.060 That is a massive contribution.
00:17:15.400 Brad Gerstner,
00:17:16.520 who came up with the idea
00:17:18.200 for the Trump accounts
00:17:19.020 and who was my partner
00:17:20.620 in getting this done,
00:17:21.460 and we worked hand in hand,
00:17:22.940 Brad has announced
00:17:23.760 he's doing the same thing
00:17:24.920 for the state of Indiana.
00:17:26.020 That's so cool.
00:17:27.300 $250 for every kid under five,
00:17:29.800 but it's going to be
00:17:30.400 about $250 million
00:17:31.400 that he's giving.
00:17:33.080 And same thing,
00:17:34.520 targeted for kids
00:17:35.820 in zip codes
00:17:37.480 with the median income
00:17:38.160 is $150,000 or less.
00:17:39.660 I think you're going to see
00:17:40.640 lots of people
00:17:41.680 doing charitable contributions.
00:17:43.840 That is really,
00:17:45.540 really powerful,
00:17:46.500 and it's something
00:17:46.980 President Trump
00:17:47.640 is encouraging.
00:17:48.800 It's something,
00:17:49.540 I'm encouraging
00:17:50.220 every employer
00:17:51.000 to do this.
00:17:51.700 I'm encouraging
00:17:52.540 philanthropists,
00:17:54.300 and by the way,
00:17:54.820 Michael Dell has said
00:17:55.600 he's not done
00:17:56.280 at $6.25 billion.
00:17:57.440 He's talked about
00:17:58.120 giving a lot more money
00:17:59.640 than that.
00:18:00.640 One of the cool things
00:18:01.640 about this
00:18:02.240 is it's infinitely scalable.
00:18:04.460 So Michael Dell
00:18:05.340 has more than $100 billion.
00:18:08.240 If you're thinking
00:18:09.340 about where to give
00:18:10.400 your money away
00:18:10.960 in philanthropy,
00:18:11.620 there are not a lot
00:18:12.100 of charities
00:18:12.520 that can take
00:18:13.140 amounts that big.
00:18:14.940 This is infinitely scalable,
00:18:16.740 and so it has a potential
00:18:18.480 really to accelerate
00:18:20.120 the wealth creation
00:18:22.200 for kids.
00:18:23.200 As before,
00:18:24.660 if you want to hear
00:18:25.300 the rest of this conversation
00:18:26.540 on this topic,
00:18:27.820 you can go back
00:18:28.520 and download the podcast
00:18:29.840 from earlier this week
00:18:30.700 to hear the entire thing.
00:18:32.920 I want to get back
00:18:33.980 to the big story
00:18:35.180 number three of the week
00:18:36.120 you may have missed.
00:18:37.340 All right, Senator,
00:18:37.940 I want to get into
00:18:38.520 this other story
00:18:39.420 that is the media
00:18:40.840 and the bias of the media
00:18:42.240 and the narrative
00:18:43.060 they've been pushing
00:18:44.920 in Minnesota specifically
00:18:48.060 with this ICU nurse.
00:18:51.040 They turn him
00:18:51.840 into a do-gooder.
00:18:52.640 We then get a video
00:18:53.820 that comes out
00:18:54.600 showing him
00:18:55.080 attacking ICE agents
00:18:56.220 days before
00:18:57.560 the fatal confrontation
00:18:59.340 with ICE,
00:19:00.460 and that part
00:19:01.620 seems to be
00:19:02.300 just disappearing
00:19:03.320 from the media's coverage.
00:19:05.140 Well, yeah, look,
00:19:06.360 we have seen
00:19:07.540 with the protests
00:19:08.980 and the riots
00:19:09.660 that are unfolding
00:19:10.600 in Minneapolis,
00:19:11.520 we have seen
00:19:12.100 the corporate media
00:19:12.940 just turn into
00:19:14.260 shameless propagandists,
00:19:15.900 and they have a narrative,
00:19:17.400 and that narrative
00:19:18.280 is disconnected
00:19:19.400 from facts and reality,
00:19:21.040 and they're trying
00:19:22.340 to mislead people,
00:19:23.360 and so we've seen that
00:19:24.720 with the headlines
00:19:25.720 everywhere saying
00:19:26.940 ICE arrested
00:19:27.740 a five-year-old boy,
00:19:29.360 and people read that
00:19:30.640 and are like,
00:19:30.940 okay, that's crazy.
00:19:31.700 Why are you arresting
00:19:32.320 a five-year-old?
00:19:32.980 Well, turns out
00:19:33.680 they didn't.
00:19:34.280 It's false.
00:19:35.000 It was a lie.
00:19:36.320 What actually happened
00:19:37.440 is they were there
00:19:38.540 arresting his father,
00:19:40.080 who was an illegal immigrant,
00:19:41.400 and the father ran away
00:19:42.760 and abandoned the five-year-old,
00:19:44.100 and so the five-year-old
00:19:44.780 is left alone
00:19:46.060 in the cold
00:19:46.740 on the streets
00:19:47.380 of Minneapolis.
00:19:48.560 Of course, ICE didn't just
00:19:49.600 leave the kid there
00:19:50.900 to wander outside.
00:19:52.080 They had to take care of him,
00:19:54.180 and in fact,
00:19:54.540 they tried to return him
00:19:55.340 to his mother.
00:19:55.860 His mother said no,
00:19:56.580 wouldn't let him in the house,
00:19:58.040 and so that's an example.
00:20:00.860 Look, another example,
00:20:02.980 the man who was shot
00:20:04.640 in Minneapolis,
00:20:06.500 Mr. Preddy,
00:20:08.160 you're right,
00:20:09.100 the media portrayed him
00:20:10.540 as this peaceful protester,
00:20:12.620 this ICU nurse,
00:20:14.020 and just you saw Democrats
00:20:16.380 saying that ICE
00:20:18.360 are cold-blooded murderers,
00:20:20.040 and that's a flat-out lie,
00:20:21.460 and it's a slander,
00:20:22.960 and it is something that...
00:20:24.460 By the way, you even had
00:20:24.680 one of your colleagues
00:20:25.620 put up an AI picture
00:20:27.720 on the floor of the Senate,
00:20:29.540 for goodness sakes,
00:20:30.300 that was not a real picture.
00:20:32.580 Look, it is designed
00:20:34.720 to be manipulative
00:20:35.720 and dishonest,
00:20:36.440 and then a couple of days
00:20:37.400 after the shooting,
00:20:38.980 we had a video
00:20:39.920 that the BBC put out
00:20:41.500 that they had gotten
00:20:42.640 Mr. Preddy
00:20:43.460 a couple of weeks earlier,
00:20:45.520 and let's look at the video.
00:20:46.840 For those who are
00:20:47.340 watching this online,
00:20:48.620 let's look at the video
00:20:49.460 real quickly.
00:20:50.780 Yeah, and by the way,
00:20:51.620 for those listening right now
00:20:52.960 on the radio,
00:20:54.040 we'll put this up
00:20:54.920 on social media,
00:20:55.740 but this shows the man
00:20:56.940 spitting in the face
00:20:57.880 of ICE agents,
00:20:59.020 kicking the tail
00:20:59.740 out of their car,
00:21:00.960 in a full-on confrontation.
00:21:03.280 Take a listen
00:21:03.780 and watch if you're
00:21:04.520 watching online.
00:21:05.100 This is a moment
00:21:06.700 the news movement
00:21:07.420 filmed on January 13th
00:21:08.920 in Minneapolis,
00:21:10.080 showing a man
00:21:10.700 who appears to be
00:21:11.520 Alex Preddy
00:21:12.240 interacting with
00:21:13.360 federal immigration agents
00:21:14.660 11 days before
00:21:16.000 Border Patrol shot
00:21:17.160 and killed him.
00:21:19.000 Our footage was analyzed
00:21:20.080 by the BBC,
00:21:21.480 whose facial recognition
00:21:22.500 technology confirmed
00:21:23.760 his identity
00:21:24.380 to a 97% degree
00:21:26.140 of accuracy.
00:21:27.140 Now, the video
00:21:28.140 goes longer than that,
00:21:29.340 and you can watch it online,
00:21:30.800 but I think the point
00:21:32.100 that so many people
00:21:33.100 understand is
00:21:33.700 they were talking
00:21:34.360 about the accuracy
00:21:35.000 of this video,
00:21:36.220 and hey,
00:21:36.560 it's almost,
00:21:37.140 we're almost positive
00:21:38.160 with Tim.
00:21:38.880 Well, the family
00:21:39.380 has now confirmed
00:21:40.660 that this is actually
00:21:42.060 him doing this,
00:21:42.900 kicking out the taillight,
00:21:44.480 screaming F you
00:21:45.340 at the ICE agents,
00:21:46.240 spitting at the ICE agents,
00:21:47.740 like this is a man
00:21:48.740 that wanted a confrontation
00:21:50.000 with law enforcement.
00:21:51.600 He was there
00:21:52.100 for that reason that day,
00:21:53.720 and in the day
00:21:54.340 that unfortunately
00:21:54.980 cost him his life.
00:21:56.700 Well, that's right,
00:21:58.540 and this was not
00:21:59.860 peaceful protest.
00:22:01.440 In the video,
00:22:02.520 as you said,
00:22:03.920 he was spitting
00:22:04.480 at ICE agents,
00:22:05.840 but he also is
00:22:06.580 repeatedly kicking
00:22:07.760 the taillight,
00:22:08.340 and he kicks
00:22:08.920 the taillight
00:22:09.560 out of an SUV.
00:22:10.560 I mean, it's a hard kick
00:22:11.400 that he, like,
00:22:11.920 knocks it out,
00:22:13.120 and that was clearly
00:22:14.640 a violent assault.
00:22:15.780 By the way,
00:22:16.760 he has his gun
00:22:17.860 strapped on his waistband
00:22:19.020 while he is attacking
00:22:20.160 law enforcement officers,
00:22:22.200 and the media
00:22:23.240 wanted to convey it
00:22:24.420 as just, you know,
00:22:25.120 he's this peaceful soul.
00:22:26.440 Listen,
00:22:26.640 if you engage
00:22:28.660 in acts of violence
00:22:29.820 directed at law enforcement,
00:22:31.800 there is a very real risk
00:22:34.100 that the response
00:22:34.920 to an act of violence
00:22:35.980 will be the use of force
00:22:37.160 and, in some instances,
00:22:39.000 can be the use
00:22:39.900 of deadly force.
00:22:40.700 At any time
00:22:41.600 an American is killed
00:22:42.780 in an interaction
00:22:43.400 with law enforcement,
00:22:44.120 it is tragic.
00:22:45.540 Yes.
00:22:45.720 But the media
00:22:47.420 was being deliberately
00:22:48.940 deceptive
00:22:49.780 in falsely portraying him
00:22:52.860 as this peaceful protester,
00:22:55.440 almost like a nun
00:22:56.260 holding a candle
00:22:57.120 by the side of the road,
00:22:58.720 and that's not.
00:23:00.200 He was clearly
00:23:02.300 and captured on video
00:23:03.600 engaged in violent attacks
00:23:06.200 on law enforcement,
00:23:07.660 and then in terms
00:23:08.620 of propaganda,
00:23:09.340 I've got to say,
00:23:10.040 MSNBC went even further,
00:23:12.300 and rather than me
00:23:13.140 tell you what happened,
00:23:13.960 listen to Joe Rogan,
00:23:14.800 because Joe Rogan
00:23:15.580 comments on just how
00:23:17.480 shamelessly MSNBC 0.92
00:23:21.100 was acting
00:23:22.460 as a political propagandist.
00:23:23.600 Yeah, was wanting you
00:23:24.420 to root for this nurse,
00:23:26.520 like, wanted to change
00:23:27.700 who he was
00:23:28.360 so that everyone
00:23:29.220 would root for him.
00:23:30.000 Here it is, Joe Rogan,
00:23:31.060 and Joe Rogan also
00:23:32.060 talking about his own experience
00:23:33.300 when he was attacked
00:23:35.760 by the media,
00:23:37.340 and they changed the color
00:23:38.340 of his skin during COVID.
00:23:40.140 Did you see what MSNBC
00:23:41.440 did to his image?
00:23:42.460 Yeah.
00:23:43.180 Where they gussied it up?
00:23:44.320 Basically, they did the opposite
00:23:44.880 of what CNN did to me.
00:23:46.780 You know, CNN during
00:23:47.840 the COVID times
00:23:48.680 turned me green,
00:23:49.540 and they made me ugly
00:23:51.360 and looked like I was dying,
00:23:52.700 and they made him handsome.
00:23:53.960 Yeah.
00:23:54.240 So people would be
00:23:54.980 more sympathetic
00:23:55.600 to him getting shot,
00:23:56.780 which is kind of wild.
00:23:58.400 Like, are ugly people
00:23:59.800 less valuable to MSNBC?
00:24:02.200 Less marketable.
00:24:02.880 That is crazy to me.
00:24:06.020 Like, look at the difference.
00:24:07.300 Yeah.
00:24:07.700 Look at the difference.
00:24:08.420 They shortened up his face.
00:24:10.220 They gave him a little bit
00:24:11.180 of a tan.
00:24:12.260 They widened his face
00:24:13.500 a little bit, it seems like.
00:24:15.100 They just made him
00:24:15.660 a little handsomer.
00:24:17.340 Yeah.
00:24:17.840 A little hotter.
00:24:18.140 They gave him a bit
00:24:18.980 of that Chad jaw, didn't they?
00:24:20.380 They shrunk his nose
00:24:21.260 a little, too, didn't they?
00:24:22.180 Yeah, they did.
00:24:22.940 They shrunk his nose.
00:24:24.080 Yeah.
00:24:24.400 Gave him a little bit
00:24:24.980 of a handsome jaw.
00:24:26.040 So he looks like
00:24:27.420 an American.
00:24:28.860 If you look at the shoulders,
00:24:29.820 it even looks like
00:24:30.420 they may have plumped up
00:24:31.820 the shoulders there a bit.
00:24:32.860 A little bit.
00:24:33.580 Yeah, the one on the right
00:24:34.600 looks like he's a little plumper.
00:24:36.880 Yeah.
00:24:37.280 Yeah.
00:24:38.260 Yeah, they changed
00:24:39.440 the tone of the color.
00:24:40.980 Wild.
00:24:42.580 I mean, look at it.
00:24:44.040 They changed his teeth, man.
00:24:45.500 Communist News Network.
00:24:46.340 They gave him veneers.
00:24:47.500 Yeah.
00:24:47.920 Look at the difference
00:24:48.560 in his teeth.
00:24:50.100 He's a much more handsome guy.
00:24:52.020 Like, that one on the right
00:24:53.000 is like the handsome brother.
00:24:54.460 I mean, Senator,
00:24:56.100 you want to talk about
00:24:56.720 just straight-up propaganda.
00:24:58.040 This dude,
00:24:58.540 they literally made him jacked.
00:25:00.160 They gave him muscles.
00:25:01.340 They changed the color
00:25:02.540 of his scrubs from the picture.
00:25:03.920 They gave him veneers.
00:25:05.540 They even made his beard
00:25:06.680 look a little bit darker
00:25:07.760 and more full.
00:25:09.040 Changed his nose.
00:25:10.140 Like, it was like
00:25:11.280 you went to AI
00:25:12.040 and you said,
00:25:12.620 hey, make this guy 1.00
00:25:13.980 the most attractive you can
00:25:15.520 and then we're going to
00:25:16.300 put that up on TV
00:25:18.140 so that somehow
00:25:19.220 people will be rooting
00:25:19.960 for him a little bit more.
00:25:21.440 It's truly amazing
00:25:22.960 that MSNBC did this.
00:25:24.160 And they haven't actually
00:25:25.000 technically apologized
00:25:26.060 for it yet.
00:25:26.720 They've put a statement
00:25:27.880 out there,
00:25:28.340 but that's about it.
00:25:29.600 Yeah, understand.
00:25:30.620 There is zero dispute
00:25:31.680 that MSNBC did this.
00:25:33.280 In fact, MSNBC
00:25:34.320 put out a statement.
00:25:35.840 They said,
00:25:36.140 editor's note,
00:25:37.440 MSNOW swapped out
00:25:38.960 the original thumbnail
00:25:40.060 image for this video.
00:25:42.540 The previous thumbnail image
00:25:44.120 was an AI-enhanced image
00:25:46.180 of Alex Preddy.
00:25:47.300 So they've acknowledged
00:25:48.300 they used AI
00:25:49.320 to significantly
00:25:50.900 change his appearance
00:25:52.000 and to make him
00:25:52.680 markedly better looking.
00:25:55.080 And look,
00:25:56.100 I looked online
00:25:57.160 as far as I can tell,
00:25:58.260 MSNBC has not apologized.
00:26:00.300 Nobody has been fired.
00:26:01.560 If they are in fact
00:26:02.780 a news organization,
00:26:03.940 they pretend they are.
00:26:04.840 You fire somebody immediately.
00:26:06.160 Their job is to report
00:26:07.640 the news and report facts.
00:26:09.100 Not only were they
00:26:09.720 not reporting facts,
00:26:10.780 they were lying
00:26:11.680 to their viewers.
00:26:12.520 They were creating
00:26:13.440 a fabricated
00:26:15.020 and false image
00:26:16.240 to change the facts
00:26:17.860 to fit their
00:26:19.360 political narrative.
00:26:20.500 And any journalistic outfit
00:26:23.360 with any integrity
00:26:24.260 would fire whoever
00:26:25.940 was responsible,
00:26:27.140 would go on air
00:26:28.040 and apologize
00:26:28.820 and say,
00:26:29.680 we violated our integrity.
00:26:31.700 The fact that MSNBC
00:26:32.900 doesn't think they need to
00:26:34.020 shows just how much
00:26:35.800 the corporate media,
00:26:37.280 they are political liars. 0.77
00:26:39.500 They are not even attempting
00:26:40.900 or pretending
00:26:41.680 to be journalists.
00:26:43.180 As always,
00:26:43.960 thank you for listening
00:26:45.140 to Verdict
00:26:45.940 with Senator Ted Cruz,
00:26:47.180 Ben Ferguson with you.
00:26:48.100 Don't forget to download
00:26:48.960 my podcast
00:26:49.780 and you can listen
00:26:50.520 to my podcast
00:26:51.160 every other day
00:26:51.700 if you're not listening
00:26:52.260 to Verdict
00:26:52.640 or each day
00:26:53.440 when you listen
00:26:53.840 to Verdict afterwards.
00:26:55.140 I'd love to have you
00:26:56.060 as a listener to,
00:26:57.060 again,
00:26:57.500 the Ben Ferguson podcast
00:26:58.640 and we will see you
00:26:59.560 back here on Monday morning.
00:27:02.560 This is an iHeart podcast.
00:27:05.180 Guaranteed human.