Verdict with Ted Cruz - To Absurdity and Beyond!

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.180 Think about that.

00:00:06.040 Social Security.

00:00:07.460 You paid for your whole life.

00:00:11.200 Medicare.

00:00:13.100 Medicaid.

00:00:14.000 Not a joke.

00:00:16.140 Really, ask yourself,

00:00:17.900 how are you going to sleep at night knowing that every five years

00:00:21.020 Ted Cruz and the other ultra-maga Republicans 1.00

00:00:24.260 are going to vote on whether you'll have Social Security,

00:00:26.780 Medicare, or Medicaid?

00:00:28.120 It's unlikely they'll be able to wipe it out.

00:00:30.660 But any one of you doubt for a second

00:00:32.740 they'll find ways to cut benefits and programs

00:00:35.860 in order to keep anything going?

00:00:38.700 That's what this is about.

00:00:40.920 They've always wanted to cut Social Security.

00:00:43.640 They've always wanted to cut Medicare.

00:00:45.620 They've always wanted to cut Medicaid.

00:00:52.880 This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz

00:00:55.000 is brought to you by American Hartford Goal.

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00:04:32.280 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:04:33.980 I'm Michael Knowles,

00:04:36.020 no longer able to sleep at night

00:04:38.600 because the co-host of this show

00:04:41.040 is going to take away everybody's social security.

00:04:44.180 So says the leader of the formerly free world.

00:04:48.020 Senator, what say you?

00:04:50.140 Well, you know,

00:04:50.600 I will say the White House this week

00:04:52.300 noted and designated it as Elder Abuse Day.

00:04:56.480 And I guess I do have to apologize

00:05:00.140 because apparently I'm interfering

00:05:01.940 with Joe Biden's nap time.

00:05:05.040 You know, it really is amazing

00:05:07.460 the kind of fear mongering

00:05:09.400 that the White House does.

00:05:11.980 You remember years ago,

00:05:13.060 the Democrats ran ads of Paul Ryan

00:05:15.080 literally pushing Granny off the cliff.

00:05:17.140 So now he's standing at the AFL-CIO

00:05:19.680 saying Cruz wants to end the social security.

00:05:23.220 I mean, look, let's be honest.

00:05:24.640 Who has hurt seniors more

00:05:28.280 in the past 20 years

00:05:31.940 than Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.?

00:05:35.640 You got 9% inflation,

00:05:39.600 food prices skyrocketing,

00:05:41.160 healthcare skyrocketing,

00:05:42.260 electricity skyrocketing,

00:05:43.480 gas skyrocketing. 0.98

00:05:44.960 Seniors are getting screwed. 0.96

00:05:46.920 The only one who can compete with Joe Biden 0.99

00:05:48.640 for screwing seniors 0.79

00:05:49.620 is Jimmy Carter.

00:05:51.120 And so what does he do?

00:05:54.040 He fear mongers.

00:05:55.040 He suggests, look,

00:05:57.400 social security is a bedrock of our country.

00:05:59.820 Ain't nobody messing with it.

00:06:01.360 He knows that.

00:06:03.440 But he can't run on his record.

00:06:05.160 So he's got to scare people.

00:06:06.960 And I'm sorry that Joe Biden

00:06:11.480 is finding it hard to sleep at night.

00:06:13.120 Someone once told me in politics

00:06:14.540 many years ago

00:06:15.300 that the only thing worse

00:06:16.740 than being talked about

00:06:17.900 is not being talked about.

00:06:19.720 And I assume that principle

00:06:21.260 is in play here.

00:06:22.580 It's interesting that Biden,

00:06:24.640 while he's making this desperate plea

00:06:26.600 in what seems to be

00:06:27.760 a very unfavorable year for Democrats,

00:06:30.160 he's going after you.

00:06:32.640 Yeah, I will say,

00:06:33.360 I guess I'm kind of flattered

00:06:34.560 that apparently I'm not just MAGA.

00:06:36.580 I am ultra MAGA.

00:06:38.660 Like, that's OK.

00:06:39.660 That's a point of clarification here, Senator.

00:06:42.080 You worked very well with Donald Trump.

00:06:44.140 Obviously, you guys worked very well together

00:06:45.780 during the administration.

00:06:46.640 But I seem to recall

00:06:48.860 that you were the man's

00:06:50.620 chief primary rival.

00:06:52.960 If I were going to describe someone

00:06:54.660 as ultra MAGA,

00:06:56.380 doesn't that seem a little bit strange

00:06:57.920 to describe the guy's

00:06:59.140 primary rival that way?

00:07:00.900 So, look, Biden gets confused sometimes.

00:07:03.280 And I'm not sure he knows

00:07:04.820 what any of these words mean.

00:07:06.540 I mean, Biden literally,

00:07:07.840 he was elected to the Senate in 1972.

00:07:11.080 When Joe Biden was first elected

00:07:14.380 to the Senate,

00:07:15.240 I was one and a half years old.

00:07:17.720 Yeah.

00:07:18.080 So I understand how he remembers

00:07:20.720 back to the to the

00:07:21.960 false campaigns Democrats have run

00:07:24.820 way back when.

00:07:26.180 You know what?

00:07:26.600 Biden said Ronald Reagan

00:07:27.700 was going to take away Social Security.

00:07:29.160 I mean, Biden has been saying that line

00:07:31.340 for a long time,

00:07:33.580 for literally the entirety of my life

00:07:36.100 and for about double

00:07:37.340 the entirety of yours.

00:07:38.920 That's a good, good point, actually.

00:07:40.860 And Reagan had two terms,

00:07:42.200 didn't take away Social Security.

00:07:43.620 It did strike me when he said that

00:07:45.800 as just a kind of tired old line.

00:07:48.680 Maybe it would have worked

00:07:49.340 in 2010 or 2012.

00:07:50.940 But, you know, even even

00:07:52.480 his talking points,

00:07:53.580 they seem to be a little dated

00:07:55.060 at this point.

00:07:55.760 But it wasn't just a Biden senator.

00:07:57.720 You know, I do not speak Spanish.

00:08:00.500 You know this.

00:08:01.240 You have spoken Spanish to me.

00:08:02.820 I have responded by asking you

00:08:04.520 where the library is.

00:08:06.220 That is the extent of my Spanish.

00:08:07.820 But from what I could make out,

00:08:09.940 it sounds as though

00:08:10.720 the president of Mexico,

00:08:13.040 Mr. Andres Manuel López Obrador,

00:08:17.780 does not like you very much.

00:08:19.120 Mr. Andres Manuel López Obrador,

00:08:21.500 este señor Ted Cruz, senador,

00:08:27.020 diciendo que celebra el que yo no asista a la cumbre

00:08:35.100 porque yo protejo.

00:08:37.160 Marco Rubio, y si me permite, dice,

00:08:39.820 me alegra ver que el presidente mexicano

00:08:41.680 que ha entregado secciones de su país

00:08:44.140 es a los cárteles de droga

00:08:45.320 y es un apologista de la tiranía en Cuba,

00:08:49.160 un dictador asesino en Nicaragua

00:08:50.740 y de un narcotraficante en Venezuela,

00:08:53.200 no estará esta semana en Estados Unidos.

00:08:56.880 ¿Qué comentaría a Marco Rubio?

00:08:59.980 Bueno, pues yo no sé, es que no los identifico bien,

00:09:05.360 pero hay uno.

00:09:06.420 ¿Es senador por Florida, republicano?

00:09:09.800 Sí, pero no sólo es ese,

00:09:13.260 entonces son tres,

00:09:15.220 es este señor Rubio, 0.74

00:09:17.460 que este pertenece al partido republicano,

00:09:20.940 así es, ¿verdad?

00:09:22.480 Y Ted Cruz también al partido republicano.

00:09:26.800 También.

00:09:27.340 Bueno, el Ted Cruz, igual,

00:09:31.780 pero todavía Ted Cruz le añadió

00:09:35.580 que no sólo protejo dictaduras,

00:09:39.840 sino que permití al narcotráfico

00:09:46.840 que dominara en un amplio territorio de México.

00:09:56.600 Yo le digo al señor Ted Cruz,

00:10:00.940 a Marco Rubio, pero también al otro,

00:10:04.620 a los dos que presenten pruebas.

00:10:09.840 I could make out about one phrase there,

00:10:12.460 Senator.

00:10:13.140 The phrase was,

00:10:14.140 Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz kept coming up.

00:10:17.320 So if you wouldn't mind,

00:10:18.480 I know you're a little more fluent than I am.

00:10:20.480 What did the president of Mexico say about you

00:10:22.740 and why is he so angry with you?

00:10:25.240 So I will say that

00:10:26.420 that is one of the most bizarre press conferences

00:10:28.540 I've ever seen

00:10:29.260 because you've got a Mexican reporter

00:10:31.060 who asks him a question about Marco Rubio

00:10:33.980 and AMLO says,

00:10:36.220 I'm sorry, who is this Rubio guy?

00:10:38.220 I don't know who he is.

00:10:39.000 And the reporter says,

00:10:41.580 oh, he's the senator from Florida.

00:10:43.260 And he goes,

00:10:43.980 yeah, yeah, yeah,

00:10:44.420 there are three of them,

00:10:45.880 three of the Cubans,

00:10:47.200 but Ted Cruz.

00:10:48.180 And it's the most bizarre thing

00:10:49.560 because the reporter asked about Rubio

00:10:51.380 and AMLO responds by attacking me.

00:10:54.560 And I mean,

00:10:54.900 going off on a screed,

00:10:57.820 attacking me.

00:10:58.800 And it's really bizarre.

00:11:01.660 So the reason AMLO is so worked up

00:11:04.240 is that at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing,

00:11:06.680 I pointed out

00:11:07.580 that Mexico has had a horrific record

00:11:10.800 under AMLO's presidency

00:11:12.060 of allowing journalists to be murdered.

00:11:14.480 And we're seeing historic levels

00:11:17.400 of the drug cartels murdering journalists.

00:11:20.280 If a journalist dares cover the drug cartels

00:11:22.700 and cover their murder and extortion and crimes, 0.89

00:11:26.300 they're killing them. 0.75

00:11:27.800 And AMLO is turning a blind eye.

00:11:29.480 And what's fascinating about this exchange,

00:11:32.240 so Rubio had tweeted about AMLO's support

00:11:35.360 for Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and dictators.

00:11:39.160 And actually, AMLO doesn't mind that.

00:11:40.420 He's like, yeah, yeah,

00:11:40.860 forget about the dictators.

00:11:42.600 Cruz is saying,

00:11:43.600 I'm turning a blind eye

00:11:44.920 to the drug cartels.

00:11:47.120 And what he says there is,

00:11:48.780 show me the proof.

00:11:50.080 And he actually goes on later

00:11:51.200 in that press conference to say,

00:11:52.820 I have the proof.

00:11:54.080 I have the proof

00:11:55.080 that Cruz is on the take

00:11:57.980 from the supporters of gun rights.

00:12:00.480 And so he goes on this whole thing about,

00:12:02.380 you know, Cruz refuses to ban guns.

00:12:05.180 You know what, AMLO? 0.98

00:12:05.980 Damn straight. 0.97

00:12:06.680 I refuse to ban guns. 0.98

00:12:08.700 We have this thing in the United States

00:12:10.480 called the Second Amendment,

00:12:11.620 the right to keep and bear arms.

00:12:13.560 You don't want your citizens 1.00

00:12:15.000 to be able to defend themselves

00:12:16.540 from the drug cartels

00:12:19.060 that are terrorizing

00:12:20.960 innocent Mexican citizens.

00:12:23.580 And instead of responding to the substance,

00:12:25.960 instead of having a government

00:12:26.920 that actually takes steps

00:12:28.640 to protect freedom of the press,

00:12:31.620 to protect journalists,

00:12:32.920 to stand up to the criminals,

00:12:35.220 instead, you know,

00:12:36.880 AMLO seems very dismayed.

00:12:39.140 It, you know, to quote Shakespeare,

00:12:41.960 me thinks she doth protest too much.

00:12:43.440 I just love that he has that nickname,

00:12:46.100 AMLO.

00:12:46.860 He's sort of like J-Lo

00:12:47.860 with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

00:12:50.660 That's very impressive.

00:12:51.880 And when you've got two world leaders,

00:12:54.660 both in North America,

00:12:56.360 attacking you,

00:12:57.700 you've got Biden going after you

00:12:59.560 and then this feckless guy down in Mexico.

00:13:01.320 I suppose that means

00:13:02.560 you're probably doing something right.

00:13:04.440 Look, I'm just waiting for Justin Trudeau.

00:13:06.880 I want the trifecta.

00:13:08.340 Come on, man.

00:13:09.160 The Canadian truckers were right.

00:13:10.760 Let's see if Trudeau rises to the occasion.

00:13:14.940 Now, Justin Trudeau knows a thing or two

00:13:17.280 about Cuba and Cubans,

00:13:18.960 according to rumors,

00:13:20.500 but who knows?

00:13:21.780 Maybe we can discuss that

00:13:23.200 on a future podcast.

00:13:25.580 I do have to talk about one other group.

00:13:27.280 Michael, I'm not going to ask you

00:13:28.200 who's your daddy.

00:13:30.520 That's true.

00:13:31.320 As Telemachus says,

00:13:32.700 it's a wise man knows his own father.

00:13:34.980 And certainly that's true

00:13:36.140 up in America's hat as well.

00:13:38.000 But closer to home,

00:13:39.500 there is another group

00:13:40.180 that's going after you.

00:13:41.420 That would be, of course,

00:13:43.060 the media

00:13:43.740 and the congressional Democrats.

00:13:46.340 And really, I suppose

00:13:47.220 I'm repeating myself

00:13:48.300 in the January 6th committee,

00:13:51.440 because you have been such a target

00:13:53.340 of this whole thing.

00:13:55.500 What is your take

00:13:56.780 on the January 6th hearings?

00:13:59.200 You know, Pelosi really gave up the game.

00:14:02.160 When the committee was being formed,

00:14:04.500 and typically in a committee,

00:14:06.300 you have a roughly equal number

00:14:09.100 of Democrats and Republicans.

00:14:10.480 The majority party

00:14:11.380 typically has one or two more,

00:14:12.880 but it's about equal.

00:14:14.800 And the majority party

00:14:16.200 doesn't get to pick

00:14:17.320 the other party's members

00:14:19.260 that are on it.

00:14:20.120 And so Kevin McCarthy

00:14:24.400 selected several people,

00:14:25.840 including Jim Jordan

00:14:27.800 and Nancy Pelosi said,

00:14:29.360 no, no, we don't want

00:14:30.480 real Republicans.

00:14:31.280 We don't want actually people 1.00

00:14:32.340 who will ask questions.

00:14:35.520 Instead, she picked Liz Cheney 0.99

00:14:38.860 and Adam Kinzinger

00:14:39.620 because they both decided

00:14:41.020 they're not Republicans anymore.

00:14:42.460 And their agenda is the same,

00:14:43.680 which is to attack

00:14:44.280 all the Republicans

00:14:44.940 just like Pelosi's is.

00:14:47.180 Right.

00:14:47.460 And, you know, I got to say,

00:14:49.720 so as you walk down the hall,

00:14:50.920 this is the only question

00:14:51.940 that reporters want to ask.

00:14:53.060 And they're asking it constantly.

00:14:54.900 And I just laugh.

00:14:56.140 They're like, are you going to watch?

00:14:57.040 And I'm like, why would I watch this?

00:14:58.380 I don't watch

00:14:59.500 the Democratic National Convention's

00:15:02.340 convention every four years.

00:15:05.300 That is a multi-day

00:15:07.260 political campaign act.

00:15:09.240 It is designed to be propaganda.

00:15:11.040 And I get it.

00:15:11.520 They can have their campaign ads,

00:15:13.020 but it's not actual factual inquiry.

00:15:18.020 And if it were,

00:15:19.740 look, if you want to ascertain

00:15:21.060 what's going on,

00:15:21.840 if you look at congressional hearings

00:15:23.180 that go somewhere,

00:15:24.540 you have cross-examination.

00:15:26.540 You have scrutiny.

00:15:28.080 You have,

00:15:29.060 if a particular witness comes in

00:15:30.680 and makes a charge,

00:15:31.620 there's all these allegations

00:15:32.680 that are made,

00:15:33.960 you actually have someone

00:15:35.700 challenge the credibility

00:15:37.600 of the witness,

00:15:38.600 press on,

00:15:39.460 engage.

00:15:40.460 Cross-examination

00:15:41.640 is a powerful tool

00:15:44.060 for ferreting out truth.

00:15:45.640 But for example,

00:15:46.900 this kangaroo court

00:15:48.740 has zero interest

00:15:49.940 in Nancy Pelosi's culpability 0.98

00:15:51.700 on January 6th

00:15:53.960 with stopping

00:15:54.920 a sufficient law enforcement presence,

00:15:58.040 stopping

00:15:58.480 a sufficient effort

00:16:00.700 to stop the riot

00:16:01.780 that happened

00:16:02.340 because she said,

00:16:03.340 in her words,

00:16:04.160 it was bad optics.

00:16:05.820 They don't want to talk about that

00:16:07.060 because that's inconsistent

00:16:08.740 with their political narrative.

00:16:11.120 I think it makes

00:16:11.800 a lot of reporters

00:16:12.540 really excited,

00:16:13.520 but I don't think

00:16:14.400 it's going to change

00:16:15.400 any voter's mind

00:16:16.900 anywhere in America.

00:16:18.700 And by the way,

00:16:19.340 the New York Times,

00:16:20.340 there's an old line

00:16:23.460 that a gaffe

00:16:24.140 is when someone

00:16:24.960 in Washington

00:16:25.520 accidentally tells the truth.

00:16:27.940 Right.

00:16:28.160 The New York Times

00:16:29.060 let the cat out of the bag

00:16:31.200 when they ran

00:16:32.000 as a headline,

00:16:33.340 January 6th

00:16:34.220 committee hearings

00:16:34.980 present opportunity

00:16:36.580 for Democrats

00:16:37.520 to change

00:16:38.600 the midterm narrative.

00:16:41.020 Well,

00:16:41.300 that's obviously

00:16:42.100 what they want to do.

00:16:45.240 I think it has

00:16:46.740 failed badly so far

00:16:48.240 and I think it's going

00:16:48.820 to continue to fail.

00:16:49.560 Do you think Pelosi

00:16:51.120 made a mistake

00:16:52.160 kicking Jordan

00:16:53.480 and Banks

00:16:54.360 and the real Republicans

00:16:55.300 off the committee?

00:16:56.500 That is,

00:16:57.040 if you do think,

00:16:59.140 because if they were

00:17:00.060 on the committee,

00:17:01.160 presumably the Republicans

00:17:02.340 would be more engaged,

00:17:03.720 you'd have the grilling,

00:17:04.960 there would be a reason

00:17:05.840 to tune in. 1.00

00:17:07.140 I think it was stupid 0.99

00:17:08.720 to kick off 1.00

00:17:10.080 the real Republicans.

00:17:11.980 Look,

00:17:13.060 even from a perspective

00:17:14.660 of TV,

00:17:16.360 let's say you,

00:17:17.040 let's say you're

00:17:18.180 Nancy Pelosi

00:17:18.780 and you're not

00:17:19.340 interested in truth.

00:17:21.340 You are interested

00:17:22.400 in eyeballs.

00:17:23.840 Right.

00:17:23.980 And frankly,

00:17:25.240 the clash

00:17:26.100 of seeing

00:17:27.240 Jordan or Banks

00:17:28.060 go at it

00:17:29.120 with the witnesses

00:17:30.840 makes good TV.

00:17:34.220 That conflict

00:17:35.620 would cause

00:17:37.700 some people

00:17:38.540 possibly

00:17:39.240 to give a flip

00:17:40.000 about what's going on.

00:17:41.360 This is right now

00:17:42.740 a bunch of Democrats

00:17:43.560 talking to a bunch

00:17:44.420 of Democrats.

00:17:44.880 It's MSNBC.

00:17:46.840 This is like a panel

00:17:47.840 of MSNBC

00:17:48.620 talking heads

00:17:49.400 sitting down

00:17:49.940 and going, 1.00

00:17:50.280 Trump is terrible. 0.98

00:17:50.940 Yes, 1.00

00:17:51.140 Trump is terrible. 0.99

00:17:51.680 Oh, 0.99

00:17:51.780 I agree.

00:17:52.480 Oh,

00:17:52.740 definitely.

00:17:53.580 Uh-huh.

00:17:54.380 And like,

00:17:55.440 that's boring

00:17:57.440 and not news.

00:17:59.440 Like,

00:18:00.000 we know you think that.

00:18:01.500 It was not lost on us

00:18:03.400 that you don't have

00:18:04.640 the Donald Trump

00:18:05.260 swimsuit calendar

00:18:06.160 up on your wall.

00:18:07.080 We got that.

00:18:07.800 I think it was

00:18:09.640 a bad strategic

00:18:11.740 and tactical mistake

00:18:13.120 for Pelosi

00:18:14.700 to throw

00:18:15.480 the Republicans

00:18:17.320 selected

00:18:18.000 by the Republicans

00:18:19.140 off the committee

00:18:20.100 because just like

00:18:21.800 the New York Times,

00:18:24.160 it said the quiet part

00:18:25.640 out loud.

00:18:26.320 It made it obvious

00:18:27.640 we are telling a story

00:18:30.200 complete with our

00:18:30.900 Hollywood producer

00:18:31.640 and we don't want

00:18:33.280 anyone telling

00:18:33.840 any different stories

00:18:34.780 than the story

00:18:35.420 we want to tell.

00:18:36.900 And just look at

00:18:37.440 the coverage.

00:18:38.080 I think the Times

00:18:38.940 example is a great

00:18:40.320 point here.

00:18:41.680 The New York Times

00:18:42.540 is covering

00:18:43.300 the coverage.

00:18:44.660 The New York Times

00:18:45.120 is covering

00:18:45.700 the way they want

00:18:46.660 to shift the narrative

00:18:47.240 but there's no

00:18:47.800 actual news happening

00:18:49.580 and so it just

00:18:50.820 doesn't seem

00:18:51.360 politically urgent.

00:18:53.140 Well,

00:18:53.420 and Michael,

00:18:54.140 an easy way

00:18:55.500 to understand 0.91

00:18:56.220 how ludicrous 0.86

00:18:56.860 it is what the 0.86

00:18:57.520 Democrats are doing

00:18:58.400 is just to flip

00:18:59.580 the premise.

00:19:01.280 Imagine if

00:19:02.280 Donald Trump

00:19:03.040 held an inquiry

00:19:04.020 onto what happened

00:19:05.840 on January 6th.

00:19:07.440 and it was just

00:19:07.920 Trump.

00:19:09.740 To be honest,

00:19:10.900 would the press

00:19:11.660 give it any

00:19:12.100 credibility?

00:19:12.700 No,

00:19:12.860 of course not.

00:19:14.200 But to be honest,

00:19:15.720 if you wanted

00:19:16.300 to have something,

00:19:17.120 you would want

00:19:17.760 to have both parties.

00:19:18.940 You would want

00:19:19.340 to have free speech.

00:19:20.240 You would want

00:19:20.740 to have conflict.

00:19:21.620 You would want

00:19:22.040 to have debate.

00:19:23.440 That's the method

00:19:24.340 for ascertaining truth.

00:19:26.620 Nobody in the press

00:19:27.780 would give any

00:19:28.380 credibility

00:19:28.800 to a purely

00:19:30.740 Republican assessment

00:19:32.180 of January 6th

00:19:33.660 or anything else.

00:19:34.460 whatever you talk

00:19:37.000 about,

00:19:37.320 a purely

00:19:37.820 Republican assessment

00:19:38.860 gets no

00:19:39.880 credibility,

00:19:41.200 and that's not

00:19:42.320 crazy because

00:19:43.160 we have a partisan

00:19:43.820 system.

00:19:44.460 Both parties

00:19:45.060 want to advance

00:19:46.540 their narrative,

00:19:47.100 and if you're

00:19:48.440 an intelligent

00:19:50.160 voter,

00:19:50.800 look,

00:19:51.360 as a consumer

00:19:53.080 of news,

00:19:53.700 I don't just

00:19:54.320 read right-wing

00:19:54.920 news.

00:19:55.900 I read left-wing

00:19:57.340 news too,

00:19:57.840 and I try to

00:19:58.340 figure out the

00:19:58.900 truth somewhere

00:19:59.980 in the middle

00:20:00.580 when the Democrats

00:20:02.440 and the corporate

00:20:03.700 media are only

00:20:04.920 spewing their 0.97

00:20:07.220 propaganda,

00:20:09.140 you know,

00:20:09.860 it's transparent

00:20:11.520 to everyone.

00:20:13.000 Now,

00:20:13.140 speaking of

00:20:14.260 Nancy Pelosi's

00:20:15.120 missteps

00:20:15.600 and transparency

00:20:18.040 and other

00:20:19.080 trans issues,

00:20:20.060 Nancy Pelosi

00:20:20.660 made a claim

00:20:21.440 this past week

00:20:22.860 on a television

00:20:24.880 show that I

00:20:25.700 will admit

00:20:26.300 I don't

00:20:26.640 regularly watch.

00:20:28.320 She gave her

00:20:29.040 theory on

00:20:30.280 what America

00:20:31.240 is all

00:20:32.380 about.

00:20:33.500 I'll give it

00:20:34.240 to you in

00:20:34.780 her own words.

00:20:35.840 Please give

00:20:36.960 a warm

00:20:37.580 drag race

00:20:38.460 welcome,

00:20:39.140 Nancy Pelosi.

00:20:41.580 Welcome back.

00:20:43.400 My honor to

00:20:44.200 be here.

00:20:45.440 Your freedom

00:20:46.040 of expression

00:20:46.940 of yourselves

00:20:47.760 in drag

00:20:48.520 is what

00:20:48.920 America

00:20:49.360 is all

00:20:50.040 about.

00:20:52.540 Senator,

00:20:53.280 I'm not a

00:20:53.700 graduate of

00:20:54.360 Harvard Law

00:20:54.940 School.

00:20:55.420 I've never

00:20:55.720 clerked for

00:20:56.280 the Supreme

00:20:56.760 Court.

00:20:57.300 I'm not a

00:20:58.000 member of

00:20:58.320 the United

00:20:58.600 States Senate.

00:20:59.240 in your

00:21:00.460 estimation,

00:21:01.320 is

00:21:01.700 transvestitism

00:21:03.380 what America

00:21:04.380 is all

00:21:05.060 about?

00:21:06.260 You know,

00:21:06.880 I kind of

00:21:07.380 think Nancy

00:21:07.940 may have

00:21:08.360 missed some

00:21:08.820 days in

00:21:09.260 American

00:21:09.560 history.

00:21:11.700 Like,

00:21:12.240 look,

00:21:12.440 you got a

00:21:12.960 right to

00:21:13.480 dress up

00:21:13.840 any way you

00:21:14.260 want.

00:21:14.520 That's

00:21:14.700 great.

00:21:15.060 Knock

00:21:15.520 yourself

00:21:15.840 out.

00:21:17.420 But the

00:21:18.060 idea,

00:21:19.520 you know,

00:21:19.900 the last

00:21:20.320 pod we did,

00:21:20.980 we talked

00:21:21.420 about the

00:21:23.540 drag show

00:21:24.760 for kids

00:21:25.520 in Dallas.

00:21:27.440 This is

00:21:28.160 another

00:21:28.400 example of

00:21:29.260 the Democratic

00:21:30.180 Party going

00:21:30.920 so extreme.

00:21:33.760 Like,

00:21:34.700 look,

00:21:35.120 if people

00:21:35.640 want to

00:21:35.920 dress in

00:21:36.280 drag,

00:21:36.600 that's fine.

00:21:37.640 I'm quite

00:21:38.500 libertarian

00:21:39.180 about do

00:21:39.700 what you

00:21:39.940 want to

00:21:40.260 do.

00:21:40.920 But to

00:21:41.620 claim that's

00:21:42.380 what America

00:21:42.960 is all

00:21:43.320 about,

00:21:43.820 look,

00:21:44.160 I get it.

00:21:45.360 The Founding

00:21:45.920 Fathers did 0.84

00:21:46.520 wear wigs,

00:21:47.160 so she does

00:21:47.620 have a point

00:21:48.080 there.

00:21:48.900 They were

00:21:49.360 wearing wigs,

00:21:50.340 but I'm not

00:21:50.880 sure that's what

00:21:51.480 Washington and

00:21:52.120 Jefferson were

00:21:52.680 doing.

00:21:54.920 But it

00:21:55.440 is such

00:21:57.580 the dominant,

00:21:59.780 the left-wing

00:22:01.420 culture war

00:22:02.640 is the

00:22:04.240 Democrat

00:22:04.580 Party.

00:22:07.480 You know,

00:22:07.880 there was

00:22:08.520 a,

00:22:09.940 it's just,

00:22:10.860 it is who

00:22:11.600 they are and

00:22:12.400 what they're

00:22:12.800 driven by,

00:22:13.580 and they keep

00:22:14.500 going.

00:22:16.540 It's not

00:22:17.260 accurate to

00:22:17.820 say that's

00:22:18.200 what America

00:22:18.620 is all about,

00:22:19.340 but it is

00:22:19.720 accurate to

00:22:20.240 say that's

00:22:20.720 what today's

00:22:21.320 Democrat

00:22:21.680 Party is

00:22:22.160 all about.

00:22:22.880 I at

00:22:23.480 least understand

00:22:24.160 that the

00:22:24.820 Democrats are

00:22:25.620 making this

00:22:26.200 philosophical

00:22:26.780 claim that

00:22:27.700 this is at

00:22:28.940 least what

00:22:29.360 the country

00:22:29.760 should be

00:22:30.280 all about.

00:22:31.020 What I

00:22:31.240 don't

00:22:31.560 understand

00:22:31.940 is how

00:22:33.260 can Pelosi

00:22:33.840 with a

00:22:34.320 straight face

00:22:35.040 make the

00:22:35.820 historical

00:22:36.400 claim that

00:22:37.540 transvestitism,

00:22:39.580 which was

00:22:40.020 illegal,

00:22:40.800 by the way,

00:22:41.280 in lots of

00:22:41.800 America,

00:22:42.540 throughout parts

00:22:43.100 of the 19th

00:22:43.700 century,

00:22:44.180 in San

00:22:44.620 Francisco of

00:22:45.500 all places,

00:22:46.300 which has

00:22:46.780 not exactly

00:22:47.420 been promoted.

00:22:48.380 I don't think

00:22:48.740 it was part

00:22:49.160 of the

00:22:49.860 shining city

00:22:50.480 on a hill

00:22:50.880 speech.

00:22:51.340 I don't

00:22:51.760 think

00:22:51.940 Governor

00:22:52.160 Bradford

00:22:52.680 was writing

00:22:53.140 about his

00:22:53.860 great passion

00:22:55.220 for cross-dressing.

00:22:56.960 How do you

00:22:57.520 make the

00:22:57.900 historic claim

00:22:58.860 that actually

00:22:59.860 America,

00:23:00.520 it's not about

00:23:00.960 apple pie or

00:23:01.840 freedom or

00:23:02.680 going west,

00:23:03.280 young man?

00:23:03.620 No, no,

00:23:04.080 it's about

00:23:04.620 dressing up

00:23:05.100 like a

00:23:05.400 lady.

00:23:05.600 Well, and

00:23:07.200 there's a

00:23:07.520 richer

00:23:07.780 irony.

00:23:08.240 So she

00:23:08.760 did,

00:23:09.820 she has

00:23:10.720 a tiny

00:23:11.840 leg to

00:23:15.200 stand on

00:23:15.780 in that she

00:23:16.260 starts off

00:23:16.880 by saying

00:23:17.360 freedom of

00:23:17.960 expression.

00:23:19.120 And you

00:23:19.780 can make

00:23:20.140 an argument

00:23:20.580 that freedom

00:23:21.080 of expression

00:23:21.800 is what

00:23:22.220 America is

00:23:22.700 all about.

00:23:24.380 But the

00:23:25.120 irony is

00:23:25.700 Nancy Pelosi

00:23:26.260 doesn't believe

00:23:26.700 in freedom

00:23:27.020 of expression.

00:23:28.080 Like,

00:23:28.520 today's

00:23:29.040 Democrat

00:23:29.380 party has

00:23:30.080 abandoned

00:23:30.480 free speech.

00:23:31.200 So she

00:23:31.600 literally

00:23:32.000 means only

00:23:33.480 if you

00:23:34.040 want to

00:23:34.480 dress up

00:23:34.960 as a

00:23:35.200 woman is 1.00

00:23:36.500 what America

00:23:37.040 is all

00:23:37.380 about.

00:23:37.880 But if

00:23:38.340 you want

00:23:38.740 to make

00:23:39.020 a movie

00:23:39.360 asking what

00:23:40.040 is a

00:23:40.280 woman, 1.00

00:23:40.680 that is

00:23:41.200 not what

00:23:41.620 America

00:23:41.940 is all

00:23:42.240 about.

00:23:42.700 So she

00:23:43.620 it is

00:23:44.860 quite

00:23:45.280 amazing.

00:23:46.640 You know,

00:23:47.020 Nancy Pelosi

00:23:47.780 leads a

00:23:48.980 Democrat

00:23:49.360 party that

00:23:50.760 wants big

00:23:51.400 tech to

00:23:51.860 censor,

00:23:52.780 that wants

00:23:54.160 views that

00:23:55.080 they disagree

00:23:55.700 with silence,

00:23:56.640 that wants

00:23:57.080 to ban

00:23:57.780 conservative

00:23:58.540 speakers from

00:23:59.220 campus.

00:23:59.620 So I'm

00:24:01.060 glad she's

00:24:01.740 acknowledging

00:24:02.220 freedom of

00:24:02.740 expression is

00:24:03.320 important,

00:24:03.920 but, you

00:24:04.700 know,

00:24:04.820 I wish there

00:24:05.360 were Democrats

00:24:05.900 in Congress

00:24:07.400 that still

00:24:07.840 believe that.

00:24:09.080 Of course,

00:24:09.600 because when

00:24:10.300 Pelosi uses

00:24:11.100 the phrase

00:24:11.540 freedom of

00:24:12.060 expression,

00:24:13.120 and really

00:24:13.640 it's true

00:24:14.280 of Democrats

00:24:14.820 broadly,

00:24:15.520 all they

00:24:15.940 really seem

00:24:16.380 to mean is

00:24:16.860 replacing our

00:24:17.860 taboos with

00:24:19.040 their taboos

00:24:19.860 and replacing

00:24:20.900 our standards

00:24:21.700 with their

00:24:22.360 standards.

00:24:22.860 There's this

00:24:23.160 major Supreme

00:24:23.860 Court case

00:24:24.500 of a high

00:24:25.500 school football

00:24:26.040 coach who

00:24:26.920 just said a

00:24:27.860 prayer on his

00:24:29.060 knee by

00:24:29.680 himself alone

00:24:30.920 on the

00:24:31.940 football field

00:24:32.840 after the

00:24:33.340 games and

00:24:34.500 the school

00:24:35.100 fired him

00:24:36.520 for it.

00:24:36.960 They were so

00:24:37.780 angry at this

00:24:38.600 individual act

00:24:39.940 of expression.

00:24:40.600 So I don't

00:24:41.060 think Pelosi

00:24:41.500 is defending

00:24:42.140 that, but

00:24:43.580 to your point,

00:24:44.600 they're only

00:24:45.420 defending this

00:24:46.080 sort of thing

00:24:46.560 and actually

00:24:46.960 it ties right

00:24:47.740 in with the

00:24:48.640 big story out

00:24:49.240 of Hollywood,

00:24:49.880 which is that

00:24:50.340 there's a new

00:24:50.800 movie, it's a

00:24:51.400 new toy story

00:24:51.940 movie about

00:24:52.880 Buzz Lightyear

00:24:54.000 and for some

00:24:54.960 reason, Disney

00:24:56.440 felt it was

00:24:56.880 very, very

00:24:57.420 important to

00:24:58.340 include lesbian 0.98

00:24:59.580 toys kissing 0.87

00:25:01.320 in the Buzz

00:25:02.760 Lightyear movie.

00:25:04.180 Meanwhile, they

00:25:05.160 fire Tim Allen

00:25:06.180 who originated

00:25:06.840 the role of

00:25:07.460 Buzz Lightyear.

00:25:08.360 They replace 1.00

00:25:09.000 him with,

00:25:10.520 frankly, probably

00:25:11.080 a more expensive

00:25:11.920 actor.

00:25:12.900 What is going

00:25:13.440 on?

00:25:13.760 Do our kids,

00:25:14.480 is it so

00:25:15.200 important that

00:25:15.700 our kids see

00:25:16.540 lesbian toys 0.95

00:25:17.300 smooch? 0.98

00:25:18.320 Well, I gotta

00:25:18.640 say, Michael,

00:25:19.280 I think it is

00:25:20.620 remarkable that

00:25:22.300 the Verdict

00:25:22.780 podcast seems

00:25:23.960 to be driving

00:25:25.080 Hollywood's

00:25:26.060 agenda.

00:25:27.320 You and I

00:25:28.140 sat at the

00:25:28.640 University of

00:25:29.180 Alabama for

00:25:29.860 our live

00:25:30.280 campus tour

00:25:30.960 and we were

00:25:32.480 talking about

00:25:33.360 Woke Disney

00:25:34.300 and I observed,

00:25:36.500 I said, look, 0.99

00:25:37.160 these lunatics, 1.00

00:25:38.460 they want to 1.00

00:25:39.280 see Mickey and

00:25:39.940 Pluto going at

00:25:40.780 it.

00:25:41.640 And the press

00:25:43.660 lost their

00:25:44.120 mind.

00:25:45.180 And then what

00:25:45.940 do they do?

00:25:46.560 Boom, the next

00:25:47.340 movie they come

00:25:48.040 out, Buzz Light

00:25:48.840 Year.

00:25:49.400 What do we

00:25:50.040 need?

00:25:51.040 We need 0.99

00:25:51.540 lesbian toys. 0.99

00:25:52.960 Now, never 0.99

00:25:53.500 mind that the

00:25:54.320 last time I

00:25:54.960 checked, most

00:25:55.560 toys are kind

00:25:57.520 of androgynous.

00:25:58.460 They're usually

00:25:59.000 without genitalia

00:26:00.260 unless you're

00:26:00.740 shopping.

00:26:01.860 Yeah.

00:26:02.720 Yeah, like

00:26:03.160 it's just, but

00:26:05.660 it is the

00:26:06.580 commitment to

00:26:07.660 culture is,

00:26:11.000 and, you

00:26:11.700 know, this

00:26:12.000 movie has now

00:26:12.780 been banned, I

00:26:13.540 think, in 14

00:26:14.320 countries.

00:26:15.100 The UAE has 1.00

00:26:16.200 banned it,

00:26:16.720 they're countries

00:26:17.080 in the Middle

00:26:17.440 East, they're 0.87

00:26:17.860 countries in

00:26:18.220 Asia.

00:26:19.060 There's

00:26:19.360 significant

00:26:20.020 discussion that

00:26:20.800 China is not 0.99

00:26:22.300 going to allow

00:26:22.980 the movie in

00:26:24.100 because of

00:26:25.160 this scene.

00:26:25.840 And I got to

00:26:26.780 say, it's a

00:26:27.700 wild twist where

00:26:30.640 Hollywood has been

00:26:32.160 willing to grovel

00:26:33.020 to China, to let

00:26:34.020 China censor its 0.92

00:26:35.040 movies, to embrace

00:26:36.500 anti-Americanism, to

00:26:38.300 avoid any criticism of

00:26:39.600 China because they want 0.99

00:26:40.520 to get access to the

00:26:41.360 Chinese movie market.

00:26:43.240 market, but when it

00:26:44.800 comes to their

00:26:45.760 culture agenda,

00:26:48.000 apparently now

00:26:48.980 suddenly they

00:26:49.700 discovered, all

00:26:50.540 right, give up

00:26:52.460 the money because 0.99

00:26:54.460 lesbian toys are 1.00

00:26:55.840 more important. 0.91

00:26:57.520 And I must say, it

00:26:59.400 brings a whole new

00:27:01.020 meaning to the

00:27:01.900 phrase, to

00:27:02.520 infinity and

00:27:03.460 beyond.

00:27:04.880 Yeah, that's

00:27:06.340 sort of like the

00:27:08.140 slippery slope,

00:27:09.020 Senator, you know.

00:27:09.660 It seems that we

00:27:10.500 never get to the

00:27:11.320 bottom of the

00:27:11.880 slippery slope.

00:27:12.480 Maybe that's

00:27:13.260 because the

00:27:13.640 slippery slope

00:27:14.480 goes to infinity

00:27:15.640 and beyond.

00:27:17.360 Why do toys

00:27:19.260 have to go at

00:27:21.440 it?

00:27:22.900 Like, like, like

00:27:23.660 it just, you

00:27:25.220 could do without,

00:27:27.940 we don't need to

00:27:29.200 see, it's the

00:27:31.760 sexualization of

00:27:33.040 kids that Hollywood

00:27:33.980 embraces and it is

00:27:35.760 a political agenda

00:27:37.160 that is all

00:27:38.840 consuming.

00:27:39.480 And look, they

00:27:40.100 fired Tim

00:27:40.700 Allen.

00:27:40.980 they replace him

00:27:43.220 with Chris

00:27:43.620 Evans, Captain

00:27:44.280 America.

00:27:45.800 So, so, I

00:27:46.500 mean, it is

00:27:47.140 American icons

00:27:50.140 driving an

00:27:56.760 agenda that

00:27:57.840 that astonishingly

00:27:59.940 enough for the

00:28:00.440 first time matters

00:28:01.260 more to Hollywood

00:28:01.860 than money.

00:28:02.280 Well, I think

00:28:03.440 this is why it's

00:28:04.840 important that

00:28:05.760 Allen's getting

00:28:06.440 dropped for

00:28:07.020 Chris Evans is

00:28:07.720 you might say,

00:28:08.720 well, maybe

00:28:09.140 Tim Allen was

00:28:10.020 just asking for

00:28:10.740 too much money

00:28:11.440 and so it's,

00:28:13.240 they're moving

00:28:13.760 on to a

00:28:14.160 cheaper actor.

00:28:15.100 I suspect

00:28:15.600 Chris Evans is

00:28:16.560 demanding a

00:28:17.400 higher contract

00:28:18.400 right now than

00:28:19.080 Tim Allen is.

00:28:20.260 He's a major,

00:28:21.140 major movie star,

00:28:22.340 young and right

00:28:22.980 in the prime of

00:28:23.680 his career.

00:28:24.140 And so the

00:28:25.380 only explanation

00:28:26.360 I can think

00:28:27.120 of is that

00:28:27.600 Tim Allen is

00:28:28.200 an outspoken

00:28:28.900 conservative.

00:28:29.900 Chris Evans is

00:28:30.520 a huge lib

00:28:31.140 from everything

00:28:31.680 that I can

00:28:32.180 tell.

00:28:32.920 And so even

00:28:33.760 more to your

00:28:34.300 point, the

00:28:35.100 studios are

00:28:36.240 willing to

00:28:36.840 lose money

00:28:37.540 if it advances

00:28:38.760 their cultural

00:28:39.760 agenda.

00:28:40.360 And speaking of

00:28:41.260 people losing

00:28:41.860 money, Senator,

00:28:42.720 it's not just

00:28:43.340 Hollywood losing

00:28:43.920 money.

00:28:44.540 You and I

00:28:45.120 and all the

00:28:45.460 rest of America

00:28:46.320 is losing

00:28:46.800 money right

00:28:47.300 now because

00:28:48.000 inflation is

00:28:48.760 through the

00:28:49.140 roof and our

00:28:50.140 president is

00:28:51.340 blaming

00:28:51.980 Republicans.

00:28:54.080 You know,

00:28:54.700 the White

00:28:56.160 House has

00:28:56.580 one talking

00:28:57.140 point.

00:28:58.120 I didn't do

00:28:59.040 it.

00:28:59.440 Not my

00:28:59.900 fault.

00:29:01.200 It's

00:29:01.720 Republicans'

00:29:02.540 fault.

00:29:03.120 It's Putin's

00:29:03.760 fault.

00:29:04.100 It's anybody's 0.65

00:29:04.880 fault but

00:29:05.500 Joe Biden.

00:29:09.100 There's a

00:29:09.800 reason Biden's

00:29:10.740 approval rating

00:29:11.400 is in the

00:29:11.820 30s because 0.94

00:29:13.680 people recognize

00:29:15.400 that that's

00:29:16.040 just not

00:29:16.600 credible.

00:29:17.980 To watch

00:29:19.120 this White

00:29:20.940 House try to

00:29:21.700 blame everything.

00:29:22.700 You know,

00:29:22.880 watching Biden's

00:29:24.400 energy secretary

00:29:25.280 go on TV and

00:29:26.260 saying, you

00:29:27.080 know, Biden's

00:29:27.600 trying to do

00:29:27.980 everything he

00:29:28.480 can to lower

00:29:29.000 gas prices.

00:29:29.860 Well, yeah,

00:29:30.540 except allow

00:29:31.280 people to drill

00:29:31.940 for oil and

00:29:32.440 gas.

00:29:33.400 Like, other

00:29:34.220 than that, I

00:29:36.300 mean, you'd

00:29:36.880 literally have

00:29:37.540 had for a

00:29:38.380 year and a

00:29:38.780 half an

00:29:39.180 unrelenting

00:29:39.580 war on oil

00:29:40.700 and gas

00:29:41.040 production in

00:29:41.540 the United

00:29:41.800 States.

00:29:42.440 They keep

00:29:42.880 doubling down.

00:29:43.720 They keep

00:29:44.080 bizarrely, Biden

00:29:45.820 is going to be

00:29:46.260 flying to

00:29:46.760 Saudi Arabia to

00:29:47.600 kiss Saudi 1.00

00:29:48.220 Arabia's behind 1.00

00:29:49.020 after he's been

00:29:50.120 attacking Saudi 0.98

00:29:50.900 Arabia for a

00:29:51.480 year and a

00:29:51.780 half and

00:29:52.160 alienating them

00:29:52.960 because he

00:29:54.600 wants the

00:29:54.980 Saudis to

00:29:55.440 produce more

00:29:55.920 oil.

00:29:56.440 He wants

00:29:57.080 Venezuela to

00:29:57.740 produce more

00:29:58.260 oil.

00:29:58.560 He wants

00:29:58.900 Iran to

00:29:59.440 produce more

00:30:00.000 oil.

00:30:00.500 He wants

00:30:00.720 everyone to

00:30:01.080 produce more

00:30:01.540 oil except

00:30:01.920 Americans.

00:30:03.220 Yeah.

00:30:03.360 And it is, he

00:30:07.700 believes that he

00:30:08.900 can just

00:30:09.520 convince the

00:30:11.120 American people

00:30:11.860 it's everybody

00:30:12.640 else's fault.

00:30:13.940 It seems like

00:30:14.860 they're deflecting

00:30:15.560 a little bit,

00:30:16.100 Senator, and

00:30:16.520 it's actually a

00:30:18.020 type of

00:30:18.480 deflection that

00:30:19.540 you first called

00:30:20.480 my attention to

00:30:21.400 right in the

00:30:22.300 earliest days of

00:30:23.400 this podcast when

00:30:24.360 we were in the

00:30:24.780 middle of the

00:30:25.120 night in the

00:30:25.620 bunker in the

00:30:26.280 middle of

00:30:26.660 Washington, D.C.,

00:30:28.020 which is, the

00:30:29.380 Democrats' line

00:30:30.360 here is,

00:30:31.440 inflation is not

00:30:32.560 entirely Joe

00:30:33.420 Biden's fault,

00:30:34.700 which of course

00:30:35.640 inflation is not

00:30:36.500 entirely Joe

00:30:37.720 Biden's fault,

00:30:38.560 but that doesn't

00:30:39.300 mean that it's

00:30:39.740 not at all his

00:30:40.740 fault or even

00:30:41.380 largely his fault,

00:30:42.760 and you can point

00:30:43.400 to the reasons

00:30:44.460 that he's driving

00:30:45.200 inflation, the

00:30:46.140 ones that you've

00:30:46.700 named.

00:30:47.080 One, he's not

00:30:47.760 allowing us to

00:30:48.420 produce energy.

00:30:50.140 Two, he in

00:30:51.040 many ways caused

00:30:52.080 the war in

00:30:53.260 Ukraine, at

00:30:54.100 least according

00:30:54.640 to President

00:30:55.600 Zelensky's take

00:30:56.460 on things.

00:30:58.320 Three, he's

00:30:59.720 continued to

00:31:00.900 lock down the

00:31:01.540 economy in many

00:31:02.300 ways that I

00:31:02.880 don't think is

00:31:03.340 very conducive to

00:31:04.660 economic growth.

00:31:06.340 You know, the

00:31:06.760 list goes on and

00:31:07.720 on.

00:31:07.820 And four, he

00:31:08.000 keeps spending a

00:31:08.840 crap ton of

00:31:09.440 money. 0.98

00:31:10.140 Like at the end

00:31:10.960 of the day,

00:31:11.740 trillions and

00:31:12.500 trillions of

00:31:13.000 dollars.

00:31:13.260 You're right,

00:31:13.600 it's not entirely

00:31:14.500 Joe Biden's fault.

00:31:15.480 It's also Nancy

00:31:16.140 Pelosi's and Chuck

00:31:16.920 Schumer's and 1.00

00:31:17.740 every damn 1.00

00:31:18.180 Democrat that 1.00

00:31:18.880 votes for a

00:31:19.400 trillion here and

00:31:20.000 a trillion there

00:31:20.640 and spends and

00:31:21.220 spends and

00:31:21.560 spends and

00:31:21.900 spends.

00:31:22.540 And actually,

00:31:23.780 you know, so

00:31:24.160 one form of

00:31:25.020 inflation they call

00:31:25.820 shrinkflation.

00:31:26.740 You notice you go

00:31:27.300 in and like

00:31:27.980 packages are all

00:31:28.800 smaller in the

00:31:29.400 stores.

00:31:31.100 So, you know,

00:31:31.880 you buy Doritos and

00:31:32.840 you have five fewer

00:31:33.540 chips in the bag.

00:31:35.320 So maybe CNN was

00:31:37.280 right because they

00:31:38.760 might start selling

00:31:39.640 gas by the court.

00:31:40.820 but we're not far

00:31:42.540 away from two

00:31:43.380 dollars a quart for

00:31:44.460 gasoline.

00:31:45.600 And so, you know,

00:31:46.540 it just, it's a

00:31:47.780 smaller unit.

00:31:48.840 Like, a good

00:31:50.180 question to ask if

00:31:52.220 you're watching a

00:31:52.780 CNN broadcast, and

00:31:54.200 I pick on CNN in

00:31:55.560 particular because

00:31:56.300 they actually used

00:31:57.340 to be something of

00:32:00.980 journalists.

00:32:01.480 They were bad

00:32:01.940 journalists, but

00:32:02.520 they were trying to

00:32:03.080 be journalists.

00:32:04.360 Right.

00:32:04.500 Now they're just

00:32:05.320 shameless shills.

00:32:06.760 But a question

00:32:07.420 that's worth asking

00:32:08.260 if you watch a news

00:32:09.120 broadcast is, would

00:32:11.500 a word of this

00:32:12.460 have been different

00:32:13.380 if the Biden

00:32:15.040 White House had

00:32:15.860 written the script?

00:32:17.860 And if the answer

00:32:19.120 is no, it's not

00:32:21.900 journalism.

00:32:23.220 Right.

00:32:23.580 This is not a

00:32:24.380 complicated concept,

00:32:25.420 but CNN and MSNBC

00:32:26.980 seem very confused

00:32:29.060 at the concept.

00:32:29.640 Well, speaking of

00:32:31.500 perhaps unethical

00:32:33.500 ways to make money,

00:32:34.720 like just having

00:32:35.440 the government

00:32:35.840 print endless

00:32:36.640 amounts of cash,

00:32:37.880 there was a

00:32:38.520 mailbag question

00:32:39.280 that came in.

00:32:40.100 I mentioned it to

00:32:40.940 you a little bit

00:32:41.720 earlier because I

00:32:42.500 didn't know anything

00:32:43.360 about it, but I

00:32:44.420 would love your

00:32:45.400 take on it if you

00:32:46.960 have formed one.

00:32:48.020 This is from Chris.

00:32:49.020 I believe Chris is,

00:32:50.920 or I'm sorry, the

00:32:51.580 question is from

00:32:52.160 Jonathan, but it's

00:32:52.840 about someone who

00:32:53.520 is one of your

00:32:53.980 constituents.

00:32:54.860 The question is,

00:32:55.360 the Twitch streamer

00:32:57.440 Asmon Gold said he

00:33:00.080 reached out to

00:33:00.760 Senator Cruz's office

00:33:01.800 about regulating

00:33:03.020 loot boxes in

00:33:04.860 video games.

00:33:06.260 Where does the

00:33:06.860 senator stand on

00:33:08.080 loot boxes?

00:33:09.160 I know that those

00:33:10.100 are all words and I

00:33:11.200 understand they have

00:33:12.040 been strung together

00:33:12.920 in an English

00:33:13.460 sentence, but I

00:33:14.480 don't really

00:33:15.620 understand what it

00:33:16.720 means semantically

00:33:17.900 together.

00:33:19.120 Look, I'm happy to

00:33:20.080 engage in a

00:33:20.540 conversation with him.

00:33:21.320 I'm happy to see

00:33:22.880 what he has to say

00:33:23.640 on it.

00:33:24.020 But as I

00:33:25.400 understand it, the

00:33:26.180 concern he's raising

00:33:27.340 is a concern about

00:33:30.100 gambling and kids.

00:33:32.340 And I will say it is

00:33:33.440 certainly true that

00:33:34.660 social media, online

00:33:37.540 environments, including

00:33:39.540 video games, are

00:33:41.700 designed to be

00:33:42.560 addictive.

00:33:43.100 Now, I'm something of

00:33:44.340 a gamer.

00:33:44.800 I'm not a gamer like

00:33:45.760 hardcore Twitch

00:33:47.600 streamers, and I

00:33:48.980 don't do the massive

00:33:50.560 multiplayer games.

00:33:51.980 Not yet, Senator,

00:33:52.700 but I'll tell you, I

00:33:54.000 bet you never thought

00:33:54.860 that you were going

00:33:55.440 to be a top

00:33:56.020 podcaster.

00:33:56.780 So who knows?

00:33:57.420 We may have to

00:33:58.180 launch the verdict

00:33:58.800 Twitch stream and

00:34:00.040 start playing Pac-Man

00:34:01.220 or whatever the kids

00:34:01.840 are playing these

00:34:02.340 days.

00:34:03.320 That could well be.

00:34:05.440 And you remember

00:34:05.820 when you and I did

00:34:06.700 Dave Rubin's podcast,

00:34:08.220 we did a Twitch stream

00:34:09.660 on playing, I think it

00:34:10.580 was Nintendo that he

00:34:11.560 had, and we did that.

00:34:13.540 And if I remember 1.00

00:34:14.100 right, I beat his ass. 1.00

00:34:15.180 I'm pretty sure that's 1.00

00:34:16.120 right.

00:34:16.400 And if not, that's the

00:34:17.200 story I'm going with.

00:34:18.160 But look, there are

00:34:25.580 different components of

00:34:26.900 it in games.

00:34:27.960 I'll tell you, I don't

00:34:28.860 like it when you can buy

00:34:30.220 in-game items and sort

00:34:32.480 of make your character

00:34:33.140 stronger or get

00:34:34.260 advantages.

00:34:35.200 Now, I'll confess, when

00:34:36.100 I play some games, I'll

00:34:37.000 sometimes buy it because

00:34:38.060 it is more fun if

00:34:38.900 suddenly your character

00:34:40.080 has a lot more great

00:34:41.280 stuff that would take

00:34:42.180 you six months or a

00:34:43.800 year to build up.

00:34:44.640 So sometimes I'll, okay,

00:34:46.720 I'll spend 20 bucks and

00:34:48.540 buy a, you know, a

00:34:50.480 treasure chest full of

00:34:51.460 coins because then I

00:34:52.200 can spend them to get

00:34:52.940 cool things in the game.

00:34:54.920 You know, I think it is

00:34:57.580 a greater concern when

00:34:59.040 you're dealing with

00:34:59.780 kids, when you're

00:35:01.540 dealing with minors who

00:35:02.700 have a potential, number

00:35:04.560 one, to spend a whole

00:35:05.840 lot of money.

00:35:08.280 And, you know, with some

00:35:09.540 of the loot boxes,

00:35:10.620 there's a fair amount of

00:35:12.480 randomness that you could

00:35:13.440 get a lot of great stuff

00:35:14.620 or some lousy stuff.

00:35:15.900 And so I guess that's the

00:35:16.900 argument that it's

00:35:17.720 gambling.

00:35:18.860 I'll confess I haven't,

00:35:20.300 I'm open to hearing

00:35:21.660 arguments on this, but I

00:35:24.380 approach the issue with a

00:35:26.720 pretty strong libertarian

00:35:27.960 bent.

00:35:28.480 So I'd like to not see

00:35:31.280 kids exploited and

00:35:32.480 harmed.

00:35:34.680 And so I'd be

00:35:37.340 interested in his

00:35:39.500 views.

00:35:40.880 But at the same time,

00:35:42.280 I'm not sure that the

00:35:43.460 federal government really

00:35:44.380 has a dog in the fight

00:35:46.520 that if people want to

00:35:47.560 in a video game, spend

00:35:49.120 money on stuff in the

00:35:50.040 game, I think my

00:35:52.600 instincts are probably

00:35:53.620 that that may not be a

00:35:54.660 great choice if you're

00:35:55.600 spending massive amounts

00:35:57.340 of money in games.

00:35:58.720 But I'm not sure the

00:36:00.880 federal government has a

00:36:01.860 role preventing you from

00:36:02.760 doing that.

00:36:04.340 Well, we'll have to look

00:36:05.000 into loot boxes more.

00:36:06.660 Maybe I'll brush up on my

00:36:08.140 Donkey Kong or, you know,

00:36:09.600 whatever is really hip right

00:36:10.580 now.

00:36:12.540 And I hope that we can

00:36:14.060 figure out maybe maybe

00:36:15.040 we'll have to get back

00:36:16.220 and forth.

00:36:16.480 I'm quite confident it's

00:36:16.720 not Donkey Kong.

00:36:18.180 Is it not?

00:36:18.800 OK, I'm a little behind

00:36:19.780 the curve, but there were

00:36:21.660 there were no loot boxes

00:36:22.860 in Donkey Kong, too.

00:36:24.000 So maybe we'll we'll hear

00:36:26.100 from Osmond Gold.

00:36:27.240 And, you know, I will

00:36:28.240 note.

00:36:28.920 So I actually just watched

00:36:30.720 last week, watched again,

00:36:32.120 Ready Player One.

00:36:33.020 Did you ever see this this

00:36:33.880 movie?

00:36:34.660 No, I heard it was great,

00:36:35.820 but I didn't catch it.

00:36:36.560 I've seen it several times,

00:36:38.680 but I just happened to have

00:36:39.580 rewatched it last week.

00:36:40.700 And it's it's a really good

00:36:41.760 movie about virtual reality

00:36:43.140 and people going into the

00:36:45.740 game and a whole

00:36:46.640 alternative world in the

00:36:47.900 game.

00:36:48.560 But people amass money

00:36:51.100 in virtual reality and it

00:36:53.040 ends up for many people

00:36:54.320 subsuming the world.

00:36:56.480 And and look, there are

00:36:59.140 hard challenges where we're

00:37:00.740 not we're not yet to the

00:37:03.460 dystopic world of Ready

00:37:05.040 Player One, but we might

00:37:07.480 be where we're on a path

00:37:08.760 towards that.

00:37:10.120 And and, you know,

00:37:12.220 escapism, there are times

00:37:14.280 when escapism can be

00:37:15.320 valuable, but it also is

00:37:18.420 going to raise all sorts of

00:37:19.660 challenges and and

00:37:21.040 challenges that can spill

00:37:22.500 over from the virtual

00:37:24.140 world to the real world

00:37:25.180 and how those intersections

00:37:26.540 happen.

00:37:29.100 We're going to have to learn

00:37:30.220 more about them.

00:37:31.860 And specifically on this

00:37:32.840 issue of the loot boxes

00:37:34.140 and gaming, a lot of the

00:37:36.540 question involves the role

00:37:37.960 of parents and parental

00:37:39.200 rights is a big topic these

00:37:40.420 days.

00:37:40.600 And I believe parental

00:37:42.120 rights is the topic of your

00:37:44.080 conversation on the cloak

00:37:45.860 room with Liz Wheeler. 0.95

00:37:46.780 Is that right, Liz?

00:37:48.480 Yeah, this is a great

00:37:49.280 question, right?

00:37:50.000 It's it's a question I think

00:37:51.040 a lot of conservatives are

00:37:52.000 asking.

00:37:52.960 Are parental rights

00:37:53.680 absolute?

00:37:54.420 Can parents actually be bad

00:37:55.780 parents and take their kids

00:37:56.660 to a drag show or can that

00:37:58.620 or should that be illegal?

00:37:59.660 We're going to break this

00:38:00.520 down on the cloak room.

00:38:01.480 You can join us for this

00:38:02.340 conversation at verdict with

00:38:03.940 Ted Cruz dot com slash plus.

00:38:05.720 If you use my promo code,

00:38:07.000 which intuitively, you know,

00:38:08.280 this is cloak room.

00:38:09.600 You can get your first month

00:38:10.300 free on your annual

00:38:11.040 subscription.

00:38:11.480 That's verdict with Ted

00:38:12.460 Cruz dot com slash plus.

00:38:14.080 But before I toss this back

00:38:15.780 to you, I want to talk about

00:38:16.800 the Tim Allen thing that you

00:38:17.720 guys were talking about

00:38:18.460 before the new Disney movie,

00:38:20.120 the Buzz Lightyear movie.

00:38:21.420 There was actually a member

00:38:23.620 on our verdict plus community

00:38:24.820 today that was asking

00:38:26.720 whether you, Senator, are

00:38:28.680 ever going to star in a movie

00:38:30.260 or even make a cameo in a

00:38:31.920 movie.

00:38:32.100 I think they said, are you

00:38:32.640 going to be a high powered

00:38:33.620 lawyer in one of these

00:38:34.860 one of these crime movies?

00:38:36.380 And I laughed when I saw

00:38:37.720 that.

00:38:37.900 I thought to myself, what

00:38:38.760 could possibly trigger the

00:38:40.040 libs more than conservative

00:38:42.060 Tim Allen being in a movie?

00:38:43.140 And Senator, I think the

00:38:44.180 answer is you.

00:38:45.560 I'll tell you right now,

00:38:46.920 I'm not fighting Sylvester

00:38:48.200 Stallone.

00:38:50.440 And Schwarzenegger would

00:38:52.980 break me in half.

00:38:54.300 So but but but I'm game.

00:38:56.380 And and and listen, if

00:38:58.260 if Star Trek could have

00:38:59.500 Stacey Abrams as as the

00:39:01.120 president of Earth, which

00:39:03.840 which really was I look, I

00:39:05.960 I'm something of a Trekkie.

00:39:08.980 I'm not a hardcore Trekkie, but

00:39:10.240 I like Star Trek.

00:39:11.180 And it really is just sad for

00:39:12.860 them to be.

00:39:16.100 To be yet another woke mouth

00:39:18.340 mouthpiece, it's one thing to

00:39:19.660 take on issues.

00:39:20.340 It's another thing to be just 0.99

00:39:23.420 silly. 0.96

00:39:24.020 It reminds me of, you know, 0.99

00:39:25.120 Michael Jordan, Republicans

00:39:26.260 buy sneakers to, you know,

00:39:28.000 Republicans watch Star Trek

00:39:29.200 too.

00:39:29.540 And you start putting Stacey

00:39:30.660 Stacey Abrams there. 0.62

00:39:32.000 And and suddenly I'm going to

00:39:33.480 have to find something else to

00:39:34.560 watch.

00:39:34.900 I'll go back.

00:39:36.240 I'll go back to to original

00:39:38.120 Star Trek.

00:39:40.280 James T.

00:39:40.980 Kirk, by the way, was the best

00:39:42.160 captain ever anyway.

00:39:43.800 So so that.

00:39:47.120 And you've never seen the

00:39:48.360 Internet get more upset when

00:39:49.800 then when I said that James

00:39:51.700 T.

00:39:51.960 Kirk is a Republican and

00:39:53.440 Admiral Picard was a Democrat

00:39:55.660 and and and apparently lefties

00:39:57.480 don't like it when you comment

00:39:58.540 on their art.

00:39:59.160 They believe they own it.

00:40:00.120 Well, and now, Senator, not

00:40:01.280 only will you be criticized by

00:40:03.000 the president of the United

00:40:04.240 States, not only will you be

00:40:06.000 criticized by the president of

00:40:07.560 Mexico, but you will be 0.99

00:40:09.060 criticized by the president of

00:40:10.900 the world on Star Trek.

00:40:12.280 I have no doubt much more to

00:40:15.320 be covered on the cloakroom.

00:40:16.560 So do not go anywhere.

00:40:17.740 I will go somewhere, though,

00:40:18.680 because that is it for

00:40:19.860 Verdict.

00:40:20.360 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:40:21.600 This is Verdict with Ted

00:40:22.580 Cruz is being brought to you by

00:40:35.080 Jobs, Freedom and Security

00:40:36.640 PAC, a political action

00:40:38.240 committee dedicated to

00:40:39.420 supporting conservative

00:40:40.400 causes, organizations and

00:40:42.300 candidates across the country.

00:40:44.180 In 2022, Jobs, Freedom and

00:40:46.200 Security PAC plans to donate to

00:40:48.100 conservative candidates running

00:40:49.500 for Congress and help the

00:40:50.940 Republican Party across the

00:40:52.700 nation.

00:40:54.000 This is an iHeart podcast

00:40:55.280 guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 17, 2022

To Absurdity and Beyond!

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