Latest / The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson / 9/11, Charlie Kirk's Murder and the Communists & Islamists taking over the Democrat Party

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9/11, Charlie Kirk's Murder and the Communists & Islamists taking over the Democrat Party · The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: with you. It is so nice to have you with
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: us if you're listening on radio stations all over the country.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: And don't forget, we do this.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Show as a podcast three days a week, so download
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Verdict with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcasts. Senator,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: this week was a very interesting week, and depending on
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: when people hear this, we had an amazing convention. You
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: and I spent a lot of time together there. You
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: got to speak at the convention. And it was clearly
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: a re-energize the base, get ready for the midterms coming up.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: There was also somber moments at the same time. You
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: have the anniversary, the 25th anniversary of 9-11 and the
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: one-year anniversary of the passing of Charlie Kirk. There's a
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: lot of highs and lows for you and I personally.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: We both knew Charlie and also remembering 9-11 and this
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: excitement around America first and what we're fighting for in
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: this country at the same time.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Well, it is currently 12.03 a.m., Thursday night, early Friday morning,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: and the two-day Republican convention has just ended in Dallas.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I think it was a powerful convention. President Trump spoke
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: both nights. The stadium was packed. The energy in the
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: stadium was incredible. I think it was important. I think
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: it was valuable to energize voters. I think we are
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: 54 days out from the midterms. And the results are
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: all going to come down to turnout. And I believe
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: these two days here in Dallas were important for turnout,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: important for underscoring the stakes of this election and why
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: it matters that you show up, that you show up
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: and vote and fight for your country. As you noted,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: this week was also an incredibly consequential week. It was
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: a consequential week in terms of remembering moments of national tragedy.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: One year ago, On September 10th, Charlie Kirk was murdered.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: He was someone who was a dear friend. We're going
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: to talk about and remember the legacy of Charlie Kirk.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: We're going to talk about that later on this show. Also,
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: on September 11th, we remember the 25th anniversary of 9-11.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: You and I both lived through 9-11, through the horrific
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: terrorist attack that shocked the country, that killed nearly 3,000 Americans,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: the worst terrorist attack in American history. Those two events,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: I believe, underscore the scope of the threat we are
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: facing in this country right now. Those two events underscore
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: the hate, the animosity, and frankly, the evil that is
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: threatening our nation. And I will say that those two events,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: as you noted, I had the opportunity to address the
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: convention this final night here in Texas, And that was
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: the heart of my speech, was laying out just what
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: the stakes are in this election and why it matters
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: so much for our country.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was really, by the way, I was there
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: for the speech. I actually think one of your best speeches.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: It was incredibly sincere and accurate to the times we're in,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: warning what could happen to this country if we don't
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: stand up for it, if we don't get out and
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  Speaker 1: vote in these midterms. And I want to play that.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: But before we get to that, I also want to
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: take a moment and talk to you about Compassion International
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: and the incredible work that they're doing. Because right now,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: somewhere in the world, there's a child waiting, not waiting
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: for a birthday, not waiting for Christmas, waiting for someone
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: to choose them. That's what Compassion International does every single day.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: They connect children living in poverty with someone who will
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: know their name, pray for them, encourage them, and help
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: provide the food, medical care, education, and hope they need
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: through a local church. And that is so key. Now
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: this year, Compassion is expanding into four new countries, Malawi, Zambia, Cambodia,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: and Myanmar, meaning thousands of children are being reached for
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: the very first time. And for just $ 43 a month,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: you can join me and be the reason one child
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: stops waiting. So sponsor a child today at Compassion.com. That's Compassion.com. Senator,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: I want to play your speech just again from the convention.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: It was amazing. Take a listen.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: God bless Texas. And to Americans from all 50 states.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: Welcome to the great state of Texas. We are gathered
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  Speaker 3: here at a time for choosing. We are just 54
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: days out from the most consequential midterms of our lifetime.
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  Speaker 3: One year ago today, our friend Charlie Kirk was murdered.
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  Speaker 3: Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, Jihadist terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 Americans
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: in the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: History.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: In 2001, it would have been hard to imagine where
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: we are today. Who could have predicted that the extraordinary
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Donald Trump would be president? that he would have secured
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: the border, brought trillions of dollars of investment back to America,
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: and transformed the Republican Party into a blue-collar party of America.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: And on 9-11, could anyone have imagined that Comrade Mondami
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: would be the mayor of New York? The hate that
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: killed Charlie Kirk, that knocked down the Twin Towers, that
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: led to two assassination attempts on President Trump, it just
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: keeps getting worse and worse. And we are witnessing a
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: new and dangerous red-green alliance, communists and Islamists coming together
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: and sweeping over the Democrat Party. They are united because
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: they share the same enemies. They hate Christians. They hate Jews.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: They hate capitalism. They hate the Constitution. And they hate America.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: It gives me no pleasure to say this. For me
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: and my family, communism is not abstract or theoretical. My
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: family has bled and has been imprisoned and tortured by
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: communists in Cuba. That's what communists do. From the frozen
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: gulags of the Soviet Union to Chairman Mao's driving nails
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  Speaker 3: through the eyes of Christians. From the killing fields of
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: Cambodia to the starvation and misery of North Korea and
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: Venezuela and Nicaragua and Cuba. And Islamism, likewise, produces murder
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: and oppression. From the forced wearing of hijabs to the
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: stoning of rape victims. From the systematic murder of homosexuals
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  Speaker 3: to honor killings and the barbarism of October.
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  Speaker 2: 7th and 9-11. Hear me now.
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  Speaker 3: Sharia law has no place in America. Sharia law.
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  Speaker 2: Sharia law.
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  Speaker 3: Is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution, and we need to
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: stand together and stop it now. A simple truth. When
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: people tell you who they are, believe them. When Hasan
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: Piker says America deserved 9-11, Believe him. When Mondami says
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: he wants to seize the means of production, he means it.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: When Abdul Al-Sayed says he has a, quote, obligation to
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: comply with Sharia law, he means it. And when James
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Tallarico says he wants to dismantle capitalism, he means it.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: Now understand, not every Democrat in the House and Senate
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: believes this. But they are all afraid of these radicals.
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: because that's where the money and the energy and the
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: young people are in the Democrat Party. Why do you
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: think that only one Democrat senator was willing to call
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: out an avowed communist with a Nazi tattoo who was
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: their nominee for Senate in Maine. It was only when
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: they realized that Platner was going to lose that they
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: dumped him. Why does Al-Saeed refuse to disavow Hasan Piker?
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: Why does Chuck Schumer stand alongside Al-Saeed? Their threats are
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: not simply empty words. Over 60 years ago, my father
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: fled Cuba. When I was a boy, over and over
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: again he told me how grateful he was to be
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: able to come to Texas. But over and over again,
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: my father asked me, if we lose our freedom here,
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: where do we go? We go nowhere. We will unite.
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  Speaker 3: We will stand up. We will defend our nation and
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  Speaker 3: we will defend our freedom. From the dawn of America,
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: God's providential blessings have been on our nation and his
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: plan for this nation continues and I believe his grace
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: will endure. We have, as one Democrat president put it
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: long ago, before his party had lost their ever-loving minds,
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: we have a rendezvous with destiny. Together, we must stand
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: and fight for the Constitution. We must stand and fight
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  Speaker 3: for freedom. We must stand and defeat the communists. We
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: must stand and defeat the Islamists. And together, arm in arm,
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  Speaker 3: we must save America. Thank you and God bless you.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: Senator, I've got to say, it was pretty awesome to
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: just watch the room react to what you were saying.
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  Speaker 1: This is the warning, and this is what the midterms
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  Speaker 1: are about. This is what the future of this country
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: is up against right now, and it's very real from
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: the left.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it is, and this is a speech I sat
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  Speaker 2: down and wrote the day before yesterday. I just sat
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: at my computer and typed it out, and it's a
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  Speaker 2: message that Look, there are times at a convention speech
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: you give a rah-rah speech, you give a rally speech,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: and there's a value to that. That's important. This was
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: a different speech than that. This was a speech underscoring
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: the magnitude of the threat. And I believe the red-green
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: alliance that we are seeing, the merging, the juxtaposition of
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: communists and Islamists, trying to take over the Democrat Party.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: And one observation I made that I think is important
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: is it's not the case that every Democrat in the Senate,
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  Speaker 2: every Democrat in the House is today a Marxist or
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: an Islamist. But what is the case is virtually every
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  Speaker 2: one of them is terrified of this radical left wing
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  Speaker 2: in their party, and they're terrified for good reasons. Because
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: the Marxist and the Islamist are winning primaries in Democrat
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  Speaker 2: parties over and over again. It's where the money, the energy,
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  Speaker 2: the young people, it is the beating heart of the party.
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  Speaker 2: And that is dangerous when you have a party. Listen,
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  Speaker 2: if these lunatics win, and by the way, I think
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  Speaker 2: the two most dangerous Senate candidates in the country are
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Abdul Al-Sayed in Michigan, and James Tallarico in Texas. I
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  Speaker 2: think they're the two most radical candidates who are running
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  Speaker 2: in the country and, and they both have a real
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: possibility of winning. And so I wanted this speech to say,
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  Speaker 2: if you want to save America, understand this is what
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: the stakes of the election.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Senator, I want to go back into what was a
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: very interesting week politically for the democratic party and specifically
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: the big race in Texas, uh, James Tallarico decided, I'm
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: going to do a bunch of interviews and rewrite history
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: and basically say, hey, my past was just entertainment or
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: pathological lying. It's not actually what I believe now. And
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: everything that's become controversial, we're just going to make it
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: all disappear overnight. It was hysterical to watch him try
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: to backtrack. And I hope it's not working with the
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: voters at all.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Well, let's talk for a minute about the state of
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: the Texas Senate race. All of the polling that has
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: come out shows it's basically tied. It is a one-
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: or two-point race, and it's exceptionally close. But what it
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: also shows is a real difference in, when you look
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: at political polling, one of the important measures is what's
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: called faith-unfaith. And that is a comparison of, when you
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: ask people if you have a favorable impression of a
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: Ben Ferguson or an unfavorable impression. You get a number
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: of fave unfave, and you obviously want higher faves than unfaves. Well,
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: the current polling shows Ken Paxton with a fave unfave
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: is minus 15. That means 15, the number of people
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: saying they have an unfavorable view of them are 15
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: points higher than the number of people saying they have
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: a favorable view of them. That is not ideal. Uh,
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: James Tallarico right now has a fave on fave of
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: plus 9. So that means the delta, the difference between
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: minus 15 and plus 9, is 24 points. That's a problem.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: That is why this race is tied right now. Now,
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: here's the good news. Most of the voters of Texas
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: don't actually know James Tallarico's record right now. Look, Ken
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: Paxton went through a brutal priming. He had $ 200 million
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: in of attack ads run against him. It was the
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: single most expensive Senate primary in American history. Turns out
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: $ 200 million of attack ads leaves a mark. It does
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: some damage. And so those hits, there's a reason that
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Ken's numbers are upside down, because $ 200 million of attack
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: ads have done some damage. In contrast, Tallarico went through
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: basically a cakewalk of a primary. His opponent, Jasmine Crockett,
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: had very little money, and she didn't have the money
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: to really hit it. And so For three months, James
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: Tallarico has been alone on the airwaves running just positive
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: ads about what a sweet, wonderful guy he is. And
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: so his numbers reflect that. Also good news is the
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: polling is quite clear that when the voters hear his record,
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: they don't like it. The voters of Texas do not
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: agree with his radical left-wing record. And so that means
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: for the next two months, the job of Ken Paxton,
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: the job of Republicans, is to tell the voters of Texas,
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: Tallarico's record and Paxton's record. And I will say there's
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: a broader phenomenon. This is true in the Texas race,
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: but it's true in races across the country. Conservatives win
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: when we effectively articulate what it is we believe. There's
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: a reason for that. I think most voters in Texas,
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: and I also think most voters across the country, are center-right.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: They believe in common-sense conservative ideas. So if you articulate
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: effectively common-sense conservative ideas of a candidate, that is a
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: winning message. The inverse is true as well. Liberals win
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: when they effectively obfuscate their views and obfuscate their record.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: So Ken Paxton's entire objective is communicate his record and
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: communicate Tallarico's record. Tallarico's entire objective is hide, mislead, cover up,
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: deceive about Ken Paxton's record, and hide, mislead, cover up,
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: deceive about Tallarico's own record. So you have all of
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: these left-wing positions Tallarico has taken that he is now
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: in the process of desperately trying to run away from
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: and insisting that, no, no, I didn't mean that. That
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: was a mistake. That was wrong. No, no, no. So,
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: for example, James Tallarico famously said, God is non-binary. Now
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: that's a pretty bizarre and weird statement. Well, he did
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: an interview with Fox this week where he tried, he
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: doubled down on it and then he tried to back
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: away from it. So give a listen first to him
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: doubling down.
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: And just with the in-between comment, I know you're a preacher,
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: so you know this. I don't have to tell you,
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: but Mark 10, 6 states, quote, from the beginning of creation,
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: God made them male and female. Clearly in the Bible,
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: it doesn't state that in between.
• 19:36
  Speaker 5: Well, I think God is so much bigger than every
• 19:38
  Speaker 5: human category. God is bigger than any of our understandings.
• 19:43
  Speaker 5: And it's important for us to remember that when we're
• 19:44
  Speaker 5: having these discussions. What is clear from scripture is that
• 19:48
  Speaker 5: we are commanded to love thy neighbor as as thyself.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: So there he is doubling down on it and saying, oh, yeah,
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: God is definitely non-binary. And then he realizes, uh-oh, Texas
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: voters think that's a wacky position. So now listen to
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: him try to run away from it and dismiss the comments.
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: In 2021, you said God is both masculine and feminine
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: and everything in between. God is non-binary. Do you still
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: stand by that?
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: I was being provocative with that statement.
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: I get that.
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: What I was trying to say is that you can't
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: use human categories to define God. And that's not controversial theologically.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: It is really just hilarious, but also not surprising that
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: you're seeing this Tallarico 180 from from years and years
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: of constant rhetoric on these issues. And now it's like,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: I just want to make it all go away. Hand
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: me a white bucket of paint. Let me just paint
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: over everything I've ever said or preached or done in
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: the past. And none of it I really meant. Yeah,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: because I'm just trying to win an election.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Well, and look, his explanation there, I was I was
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: just being provocative. You know, I'm Howard Stern. I'm a shock.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: I just was saying something provocative. but I don't believe it.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: And one of the things to understand about James Tallarico,
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: this guy is a different cat than Beto O'Rourke, who
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: ran against me in 2018, and then Colin Allred, who
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: ran against me in 2024. One of the differences is generation.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: James Tallarico is 37 years old. Allred is 43. Beto
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: is 53. Allred and Beto didn't necessarily believe every woke
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: that took over the world during COVID lockdowns, during the
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: height of DEI, during the height of transgenderism. Tallarico does.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: He believes this nonsense. He believes that this is who
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: he is. As I said in my convention speech, when
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: they tell you who they are, believe them. So listen
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: to him trying to now run away from his comment,
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: another comment he made famously. Is there six genders? Now, Ben,
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: I'm not smart enough to know what the other four are.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: I know two of them. But beyond that, I literally
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: have no idea what the six are that he thinks
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: that exist. But today he realized, well, gosh, Texans think
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: they're men and women and they don't think they're anything else.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: So let me run away and pretend that doesn't exist.
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: During the 2021 hearing, you said there are six biological sexes.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: Do you still believe that, standing here with me right now?
• 22:25
  Speaker 6: No.
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: I've missed the mark on some of my past statements.
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: I will be the first to admit it. What I
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: meant is that there are two sexes, and then there's
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities. I obviously
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: didn't say it correctly. There are not six sexes. There
• 22:38
  Speaker 5: are two.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Wow. Look, the fact that he's just willing to run
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: away from that, he categorically said there were six. And
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: to be clear, he still believes they're six or he
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: probably believes they're 57. I remember what Facebook had years ago.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: You could opt into 57. You could say you were like,
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: I don't know, two spirits. I don't even know. The
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: list of 57 was the most bizarre list I think
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: I'd ever read. You know, another area, he's streaming a
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: lot of things, but when it comes to transgenderism, he's
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: obsessed with transgender. So at one point in an interview
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: and said, you know, who do you love? And he says,
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: I love, transgender children. In the legislature, there was a
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: bill to ban the sterilization and genital mutilation of kids
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: to do transgender surgery. And he voted no, and he
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: was passionate. You cannot do this. Well, now he's running
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: away from that eagerly. Give a listen.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: Down here standing with me, you can confidently say there
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: are two sexes, a man and a woman.
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: Absolutely.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: Speaking of gender, would you vote in favor of a
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: national ban for transgender surgeries when it comes to minors?
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: Absolutely.
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: And in fact, in the legislature, I voted for an
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: amendment that would have restricted the.
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: Bill in question.
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: To a ban on surgeries for minors.
• 24:04
  Speaker 4: In 2023, you voted against SB 14. That was the
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: Texas law banning transgender surgeries. for minors and puberty blockers.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: How come you voted against that?
• 24:15
  Speaker 5: Because the bill was overly broad. And in fact, if
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: you go back and check, I voted for a major
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: amendment to limit the bill to banning surgeries for minors.
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: So I've been consistent on this issue.
• 24:24
  Speaker 4: And what about biological men competing in women's sports? That's
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: a big deal here in Texas.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: And I oppose trans athletes playing in girls' sports if
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: it endangers safety or fairness. Every sport has to be safe.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: So there he is trying to run away from his
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: vote in favor of boys competing in girls' sports. And
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: he tries to put wiggle language in about, well, if
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: it endangers safety or fairness. Understand, he's a radical and ideologue.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: He doesn't think having dudes compete against your daughters endangers
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: safety or fairness.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Senator, we've been talking a lot about this James Tallarico
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: really running away from what he believes in. There is
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: a trend here happening with candidates that are in trouble
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: around the country. He's leading the way in a very
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: big way. And we have a few more examples of
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: just how much he's trying to act like everything in
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: his past, well, it was all just a joke. It
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: was all just for entertainment. It was all just, you know,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: I guess fake, you know, preaching at church. He didn't
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: mean any of.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: It at all. Well, it really is stunning to watch
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Democrat candidates living out a classic Monty Python skit of
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: run away, run away, run away, because that's what they're
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: trying to do is run away from their record. You know,
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: one of the most damning quotes that James Tallarico has
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: out there is a recently uncovered Zoom video he was
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: doing with a bunch of left-wing activists, Sierra Club activists
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: who are zealous. And he said on that video, and
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: you can watch him say it, that he wants to
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: dismantle capitalism. Now, I got to say, if you're running
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: in the state of Texas, most Texans don't want to
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: dismantle capitalism. And so his campaign realizes, uh-oh, this is
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: a problem, so listen to him try to run away
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: from that statement.
• 26:11
  Speaker 5: Tallarico himself under fire for past controversial comments, like this
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: call to dismantle capitalism.
• 26:18
  Speaker 6: The link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism
• 26:22
  Speaker 6: in our country, and I think only ending the ways
• 26:26
  Speaker 6: that all three of those oppressive systems work together are
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: we going to be able to begin the process of
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: dismantling them.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: Did you mean that?
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: So I've missed the mark on statements that I've made
• 26:35
  Speaker 5: in the past. I'll be the first to admit that.
• 26:37
  Speaker 5: What I was talking about when you listened to my
• 26:40
  Speaker 5: entire comments was not capitalism, but crony capitalism, which is
• 26:44
  Speaker 5: what we have today.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Senator, you listen to him, and I just envision a
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: campaign room where his advisors are like, hey, here's what
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: we got to do. We got to say everything that
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: you ever said that was radical or extreme didn't really
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: mean what you were saying. We're going to roll this
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: out as a campaign the same week as the Republican
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Midterm Convention happened. And this will be your moment to
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: say all of it was just kind of a joke.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: It was a ruse. It was for entertainment. It wasn't real.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: And then we'll just go into the rest of the
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: election over the last next 50 plus days saying we
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: didn't actually believe any of that. This is now what
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: we believe. And I guess they truly think this is
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: like their best option.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's a cynical approach, but it can be
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: an effective approach, particularly because the media is fundamentally dishonest. So.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: On Wednesday's podcast, I played the interview I had with
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: Caitlin Collins on CNN, where I brought up Tallarico saying
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: he wants to dismantle capitalism. And she clearly realized that
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: was a problem, because even the viewers of CNN don't
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: want to dismantle capitalism. And so she immediately jumps in
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: and says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: retracted that. He doesn't mean that. He's withdrawn from that.
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: And I'm just like... And she got mad because I said, listen, the...
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Socialists like Mandami and Abdul El-Saeed look at Tallarico and
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: see him as a fellow traveler. And she jumped in
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: and said, he's not a socialist. And I said, Caitlin,
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: he said he wants to dismantle capitalism. What does that
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: mean if it's not being a socialist? And she suddenly
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: just had to repeat his talking. That's why Democrats lie
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: in campaigns, because they know the media will carry their water.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: and cover it up. And it reflects the reality that
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: his record is radical. It's out of touch with Texas.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: And so their entire campaign strategy has run away. I
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: think next week he may pull on and make America great,
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: red hat, and start walking around being like, I'm a
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: Trump Republican, let's go. He won't quite do that, but
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: that's the theory, is lie to the voters, then get
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: in power, and I promise you, if God forbid this
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: guy ever got elected... He would be the most woke,
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: left-wing senator the country has ever seen. He would be
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: Bernie Sanders, but 37 and young enough to believe this knowledge.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it'll be very interesting to see how effective this
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: is with Democratic voters and also independents. Senator, before we
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: wrap things up, I do want to take a few
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: minutes and talk about our dear friend, Charlie Kirk. I
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: saw Erica, and we were both at convention, and there
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: were a lot of speakers that talked about Charlie Kirk,
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: his legacy, and the fact that it's been a year
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: is actually really, really shocking. He was a dear friend
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: of yours. different of mine. I really just can't believe
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: it's been a year. And I also think what's really
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: interesting is if you go back to his core mission
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: on college campuses, it was to expose socialism. He had
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: his shirts that, you know, socialism sucks and, and, And communism,
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: it sucks. And that was kind of one of his things.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: I wonder how much he, if he was alive today,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: would be saying, I warned you and I told you
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: this is where the Democrats were going. And now we
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: see the Democratic Socialists of America that have, in essence,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: taken over.
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: Well, that's right. He fought against these evils his entire life.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: He fought against communism. He fought against Islamism. He fought
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: for America, for Christianity, for truth. And I will say,
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: you know, this week I spent a lot of time
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: thinking about Charlie. As you noted, Charlie and I were
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: good friends. I met Charlie 14 years ago. I met
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: him in 2012. I think it was December of 2012.
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: And he was an 18-year-old kid. He was this tall,
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: lanky kid. He just graduated from high school in Chicago.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: And he had this vision, this vision that would become
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: turning point. He thought young people... could be inspired to
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: love freedom, to love the Constitution, to love free enterprise,
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: to love Jesus, to love America. And I gotta admit, like,
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: December of 2012, Barack Obama had just been re-elected. Young
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: people were enamored with Obama, with leftism. And listening to
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: this kid talk about that we can get young people
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: really excited about it, it sounded really out there. But
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: He believed it, and I believed it and supported him.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: I've spoken at dozens of turning point conferences over the years.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: And I will say, Dan, I did not fully appreciate
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: just how enormously important a person Charlie had become, the
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: movement that he started. What he built was so much
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: bigger than even what he hoped to and laid out.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: And I will say a year ago, you and I
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: were together at Charlie's funeral. And I actually think his
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: funeral and the mourning of his death and the celebration
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: of his life was one of the largest communications of
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: the gospel in the history of the world. Hundreds of
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: millions of people listened to the gospel, listened to the
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: words of Jesus Christ, listened to the saving blood of
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. And it was powerful. It was moving. And listen,
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: Charlie was someone, he worked, he studied, he did the research.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: He would go to campus, understand he was not killed
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: for doing things that were harmful. He was killed for
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: speaking the truth. He was killed for going and confronting people,
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: confronting them with love. He was not someone who insulted people. Others,
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: he was not someone who responded with vitriol, but he
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: did respond with facts and logic and reason, and the
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: left hated it for him. And I will say, listen,
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: I was grateful to be friends with Charlie. I remember
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: the horror a year ago when I watched online, I
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: heard the news that he was shot. You know, the
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: last text I sent him was, Charlie, are you okay?
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: I saw the news of the shooting, and obviously I
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: never got a response to that text. But watching the video...
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: This is the only friend of mine I've ever known
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: that I've watched being murdered on video. And I'm grateful
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: for Charlie. Thank you. His life was extraordinary and changed
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: the world.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, amen to that. I couldn't have said it any
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: better myself. Don't forget, we do this show three days
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: a week, so make sure you don't miss an episode
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: of Verdict with Ted Cruz. Wherever you get your podcast,
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: you can also tell Siri or Alexa to play Verdict
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: with Ted Cruz. That will happen for you automatically immediately.
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: And if you're listening on radio stations right now around
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: the country, we'll see you back here on this radio
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: station next week as well.