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Ben Ferguson
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human welcome. It is verdict with center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. It's nice to have you with us after a awesome celebration of the United States of america with the 250th anniversary of this country. I love it. It was amazing. Center, I know you were with family and friends. How was your fourth?
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, let me say I'm really proud to be now in our nation's 251st year. We are the start of our second quarter millennium. And you look back, this first 250 years has been extraordinary. America has been, I believe, the greatest country in the history of the world. We have a lot to celebrate. On our Friday podcast, we did a deep dive into what makes America exceptional, what makes it extraordinary. And look, part of what we celebrate in the 4th of July is just the families that are the foundational building blocks of our nation. And so, you know, Ben, I know you were with your family, with your kids. I was too. We had a great time. We had some. We had some burgers and hot dogs. We watched, watched fireworks. And then we actually went and watched on TV the big fireworks show down in D.C. the President's speech. I gotta say, it was. The fireworks we watched were impressive in person, but even more impressive was there was a massive thunderstorm. And it was really quite striking. Looking at. We were looking at kind of little fireworks and then above it, massive thunderbolts cracking through the sky. And I joked to Heidi and the kids, although it was right, it's like, well, God's celebrating the 250 and his fireworks show is putting, putting anything done by the hand of band to shame.
Ben Ferguson
If people didn't see your video that you posted of those fireworks, it. I mean, and I mean, the ultimate fireworks of that lightning, you should go check it out on Social because you actually put a video up there and it was. It. You're almost understanding how cool it was.
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah. And I just pulled out my phone and just filmed it because you could see the little bitty fireworks going off and then just the entire sky shaking as thunder and lightning was cracking across. It was. It was pretty spectacular. That being said, the D.C. fireworks display was something else. I mean, I guess they were saying it was the largest fireworks display in human history. Got to say, I believe that that thing went on for 40 minutes. And they just kept playing another song and another song. You know, the ordinance that was exploded, that was breathtaking. You know, it was fun seeing all those families. They'd been rained out initially and they stayed there anyway. And Seeing those veterans, World War II veterans there, and especially seeing little kids, it was really fun to see the families that decided, let's go to D.C. let's go to the mall, let's go cheer on our country. Let's watch fireworks and little kids after midnight. You know, five and six year olds just filled with joy and wonder and really just celebrating America. That is a beautiful thing. I hope everyone listening, I hope you took the time, number one, to love on your family, to love on your kids, love on your spouse and your parents and those who you care for. But number two, to reflect. You know, why is it we lasted 250 years? What is it that we've done that is different from. From other nations? This is a really good time to reflect, especially because we are here in a time of crisis. Look, you and I and the folks listening to this podcast, we love our country, but. But this is not a time of just kind of everything's hunky dory, nothing to worry about. Yippee. Okay. There are massive threats facing America right now. We are facing an almost civil war of extreme, radical, activist views, much of that financed by foreign money that is trying to tear down everything that made America exceptional for the first 250 years. You know, we saw contrasting speeches between President Trump and, I think his reflection on American greatness was beautifully done. But we saw before that Comrade Mandami give a very different, dark speech about his view of a communist and Islamist takeover of this country. And the coming years are going to determine which vision prevails.
Ben Ferguson
Were you shocked by that speech? Because I watched the Mandani speech, and for me, it was weird on two different points. One, it was just tone death. And I'm like, who really wants to hear this on the 4th of July? That was the part that was just kind of shocking. I believe everything that he said in there, he actually believes. I actually think he can't stand this country and thinks it's terrible and wants to completely dismantle it and turn it into, you know, Comrade Mandani, a communist country? I believe that part, truly. But. But I. I was trying to figure out, like, who is his audience? Is it those that suffer from Trump derangement syndrome, or was this more of a rallying cry for other communists to come out of the woodworks and get involved in the Democratic Party? Because now this is the Democratic Party.
Senator Ted Cruz
Yeah, this was a call to young, angry Communists, young, angry leftists. We are taking over the Democrat Party. We are taking over New York. We are taking over Colorado. We are taking Over California. We are taking over the world. That was his message. Here, Give a listen to Mondami and what he had to say on the 4th of July.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, before we play that, I do want to also just take a moment and talk about how awesome the 250th anniversary is that we get to celebrate in America. It's a milestone that also is a time to reflect on the enduring relationship between the United States of America and Israel. They're our greatest ally. President John F. Kennedy once said, israel was not created in order to disappear. Israel will endure and flourish. Now, those words, they really capture the spirit of a young democracy determined to truly survive two different nations thousands of miles apart. We are. Yet we're united by the shared values of democracy, faith, freedom, and, honestly, resilience as America. And we fight against communism. Right now, we celebrate our 250 years of independence. The international fellowship of Christians and Jews, well, they turn to God in prayer, asking that his wisdom will guide elected officials and lead America and Israel to, to moral clarity and national unity. And that is where the really cool call to action comes in for you. I, When I go on tv, I wear a US Israel flag pin. And so many have asked me about, where can I get one? And I want to give you one for free right now. All you have to do to get your free US Israeli flag pin is you can go online right now to flag pin. IFCJ.org that's flagpen IFCJ.org flagpin IFCJ.org all right, I want to play for you what Senator Cruz mentioned a moment ago, that, that this very dark, dark fourth of July speech from Mandani, whereas, by the way, his desk was backwards. If you didn't see that, it's hilarious. But here's Mandani in his own words.
Comrade Mondami
Yes, we see America in a health insurance industry that exploits the sick. But. But that is not all we see when we look for America. We see it, too in the nurse who works a double shift and then stops on her way home to check on an ailing neighbor. Yes, we see America in corporate landlords for whom negligence is a business model. We see it, too in the father who tucks his children into bed beneath a ceiling stained with leaks, who wakes before dawn to go to work and still believes his country can do better by his family. Yes, we see America when we spend our tax dollars on bombs and bailouts, when we sell our elections to the highest bidder.
Ben Ferguson
I mean that. You hear that and it's like, wow, you really genuinely Hate this country, and it's scary what you want to do with it.
Senator Ted Cruz
Well, and he's contrasting every. Everything about America is bad. But then he says, you know, we care for the nurse. We care for the individual person. And this is the classic lie of the communists. The communist comes and says, we're for the little guy. We're for the poor, we're for the downtrodden. And yet what you have, every time you have communism, you get poverty and misery and suffering and death. You get more poor people. You get equality, but you get equality of misery. And in fact, the only people that are not equal are the rulers. Ironically, you know, Mondami put out a decree, told New Yorkers, turn your air conditioning up to 78 degrees because it's going to be hot this Fourth of July. And a watchdog group came and checked on Mondami's offices, and of course, they were not up at 78 degrees. They were turned down to 72, because what the communist decrees for you, he never lives by his own rules.
Ben Ferguson
You know, by the way, I was laughing. You were on vacation. I didn't send you the clip, but it exploded. I was on CNN on Abby Phillips show on Thursday night when they were celebrating Mandani saying to turn your, your AC up to 78. And, and I, I, I, I just asked, are you, are you in favor of this? And they tried to, you know, like, yeah, well, yeah, I was like, well, it's not 78 right now in this studio. So, so what? Let's crank up. I looked at everybody on set, all the liberals, like, all right, let's crank it up in solidarity with Mandani. Like, let's go to 78 and sweat. Let's go. If you guys are going to be all in favor this, why is it 67 in here right now instead of 78? And it goes to the point you're making, they'll go on national TV and say that he's a hero for saying this. But they wouldn't. Even in New York City. We were in New York City. They would not put the studio at 78 degrees because they would never do that and have a sweaty show.
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, Fidel Castro was a billionaire. Putin is a billionaire. Communist leaders aggregate all the money for themselves. They live like kings, and they use the military with guns as enforcers. I want you to listen to another segment from Speech, American Exceptionalism.
Comrade Mondami
American Exceptionalism, the conventional wisdom tells us, makes our freedom a little more free, is how we dug the Erie Canal and irrigated the west, is why Children in faraway lands grow up dreaming of one day moving here. And yet the irony is that the story of America has so often been written by those who were told by others with power and influence and wealth that they were anything but exceptional. For generation after generation, we have been told that when the world has sent its people to our shores, it has not sent its best. It sent Puritans and Sikhs and Quakers and Muslims and Jewish people who were banished for praying the wrong way, worshiping the wrong gods, angering the wrong people. It sent peasants and serfs from slums and shtetls who were treated as less because they hardly owned clothes, let alone land. It sent immigrants from whom power was something someone else had. We are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here nothing is fixed into place. The frontier may be closed. We may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that work endures. And it belongs to us all. It belongs, too, to our newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of whom were recently naturalized nearly a decade ago. I, too, felt what you feel. The joy of no longer being just a New Yorker, but an American too. You each hold a special power, the power to determine what America means. The powerful have always known their answer. America, in their view, is an arena of supremacy where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal. America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit. How small they are, how weak, how unoriginal. At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another. Division is the oldest trick in politics and the cheapest. But time and again, including 250 years ago, though those forces of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.
Ben Ferguson
You listen again. This is a manifesto of why America is bad. Why America should not, apparently, I guess, be celebrated on the 4th of July. Why you should tamper down your excitement for the fireworks. And I do believe this is not a one off, as we mentioned earlier. This is the new manifesto of the Democratic Party. Heading into the midterms.
Senator Ted Cruz
As I listen to him talk, I think, what a small and petty man, filled with hate, filled with ideology, filled with contempt. Not Just for you and me and miss fellow Americans, but for the very idea of America. You know, his remarks there are profoundly dishonest. One thing he says is we are told that America is exceptional because we are richer or stronger or more powerful. Baloney. Who has ever said that? I've never heard any human being articulate that sentence. That's what's known as a straw man. It's erecting a fake argument to then demolish it. He is in fact inverting the causality. We are not richer and stronger and more powerful. That is not why we are exceptional. Rather, because we are exceptional. That is why we have become richer and stronger and more powerful. He's completely misunderstanding the cause and effect. What is exceptional about America, number one, is that our rights come from God. And you know, nowhere in that speech could Van Damme bring himself to say that, that God has given the rights. He says, we're told people are not created equal. Well, really, Gosh, comrade, what is this holiday we are celebrating on the 4th of July? What was the document that John Hancock put his signature on? What did Thomas Jefferson write? We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He claims that America was built on the notion that we're not equal. And he is spitting in the face of the Declaration of the Constitution. Of course, he probably doesn't know that. He is counting on the people listening to it, definitely not to know that. And his notion about the people that came here, because we are built by immigrants, we must let everyone in with no limits. Listen, my father was an immigrant who came from Cuba. America was a beacon of freedom for my family. But there's a right way to come. You come legally. And the argument that the leftists and the Marxists say is because we were built by immigrants, we have to open up our borders to every criminal, to every rapist, every terrorist, that we could have no laws whatsoever. And why? And I'm going to answer this question, but I want to ask it first. Why in the speech does Comrade Van Damme not reflect on what is it that makes people from every country on earth want to be in America? What do we have here that is different? You don't have other countries, people coming, coming to. And it is because of the opportunity. The opportunity to a have your rights protected. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And notably, we don't have a right to happiness. We have a right to the pursuit to the journey. None of us are guaranteed happiness. But the American dream is real and alive. And it comes from. Do you know what gives us the American dream? Capitalism. Not communism. If you want communism, Comrade Mondami, go to Russia, Comrade Van Damme, go to Cuba, Comrade Mandami, go to North Korea. Why do all the communist countries have such misery and suffering? And you know what? They all also have zero human rights. Because those petty little despots. And Mandami is so eager to use that power. When they get power, if you disagree, if you dare speak to the contrary, they will lock you up. That is the history, that is the legacy of communism. You know, Ben, it's been a while since, since I told the story that my grandmother told me of what happened in Cuba when Fidel Castro and the Communists took over. So my grandmother was, was a sixth grade teacher in Cuba, and then she taught sixth grade for many, many years. And she told me the story that, that when the communists took over, soldiers came into the classrooms. And she described to me in particular what they did in a first grade classroom. They came in with machine guns and they told all of the kids in the classroom, they said, close your eyes, close your eyes and pray to Jesus for candy. And all the kids closed their eyes, they prayed, and there was no candy. They then told the kids, close your eyes and pray to Fidel Castro for candy. They close their eyes, and the soldiers quietly set a piece of candy on the desk of every child. That is communism. It is based on lies, it is based on power, it is based on subjugation. And Mondani notice the only reason he says anyone should come to America, he tells the story of those recent immigrants. And he said, you come here to change it. This is what leftists are trying to do. Why did Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats load over 12 million illegals into this country? Because they want them to fundamentally usher in a takeover of this country by the Democrat Party. And by the way, the Chuck Schumers of the world think that means they get to be in power. Mondami's laughing, going, no, no, no, Chuck, Chuck, you are a, a useful idiot. Because the people we brought into this country, we are going to use this not just to keep the Democrats in power, but the Communists are right now seizing control of the Democrat Party. We're seeing it in New York where Mondami backed America hating bigots and Communists. And by the way, they didn't just win in New York, they also won in Colorado. They're winning all over the country. That is the base of the Democrat Party. And I don't think, I don't think the Democrats in office have fully realized that the mob is coming for them. That Robespierre will find that the guillotine falls on his head as well. And this takeover, let me say to the Republicans who are celebrating, yay, the crazies are taking over the Democrat Party. That means it's easier for us to win. Do not celebrate. Do not celebrate because these lunatics can get into power. All right, I'm going to give an example. One of the people who just won the primary and took out a long time Democrat incumbent is a candidate named Milat Heroes. He is a communist and an Islamist. And I want you to listen to what she says about what they are trying to do, what the communists are trying to do. Give a listen.
Ben Ferguson
We are winning from coast to coast
Senator Ted Cruz
from every level of office.
Ben Ferguson
We are taking back our party and our country. By the way, this is not a Saturday Night Live skit. That actually is what it sounded like in Denver as she unseed a 30 year incumbent as a full blown socialist.
Senator Ted Cruz
And understand socialist, Democrat, socialist is just their fake term for communist. The economic system of communism is socialism. And they're using, they use the word Democrat simply to say they're taking over the Democrat party and turning it into a communist party. To give you a sense of how America hating these radicals are, give a listen to what Milad kiros says about September 11th and the nearly 3,000Americans who were murdered in that horrific act of terrorism on US soil. Give a listen. Do you believe that the 911 terrorist attacks on America were the inevitable consequence of American foreign policy?
Milad Kiros
Inevitable in the sense that we destabilized a lot of the Middle east that forced people to believe that another act of violence was the only response. And again, just like I said before, our responsibility is to, to getting rid of those conditions that lead to violence in the first place.
Comrade Mondami
You.
Ben Ferguson
And by the way, that was her PC answer. The reason why she was asked that question by that reporter ahead of election day was they were trying to nail her down on what she had said in the past, that yeah, we deserved it, it's our fault. And that was her and her most PC response. Try not to, you know, just look like she's a total crazy person. And what she was saying, that's right,
Senator Ted Cruz
she, she, she had said America deserved 9 11. She's also been clear what she want. She wants to abolish ice, which means we don't enforce our Borders at all. We don't arrest criminal illegal aliens. We don't arrest murderers, rapists, child molesters, gang bangers. And she wants to give full and immediate citizenship to every single illegal immigrant in America. That would be, I don't know, 20 million, 30 million. We don't have anywhere near a reliable measure. Why does she want to do that? Because she wants to elect 100 other communists just like her. Give a listen to her laying out that, that political objective.
Milad Kiros
Abolishing ICE is just one step. Right. Democrats have been in power multiple times over the last few decades and did nothing to address the immigration reform that we actually.
Ben Ferguson
Expenditures increase spending.
Milad Kiros
Exactly. Yeah. And so if we're. I think there has to be an immediate pathway for every single undocumented immigrant that's here in this country today that does not require them to shell out thousands of dollars to go through the process for it to take take decades at a time to be able to get to citizenship, an immediate pathway to citizenship and then just re.
Ben Ferguson
I mean, I mean, not only is she saying immediate pathway to citizenship, we're talking about amnesty and we're saying, you abolish all ice and that is what she's going to do. And she believes Democratic Party must do so. You get rid of law enforcement. This is another example of the defund the police movement.
Senator Ted Cruz
It is. You cannot enforce the law. There are no borders. Any criminal, any gang banger, any terrorist is welcome in this country, and she wants to make them an American citizen. Here's what she said. Her priorities in Congress are. She's been very explicit. Give a listen.
Ben Ferguson
We will not wait. We will not wait to take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy.
Senator Ted Cruz
We will not wait.
Ben Ferguson
We will not wait to abolish ICE and pass Medicare for All. I mean, she's going to change things, that's for sure.
Senator Ted Cruz
The simple reality is there is not a Democrat in Congress who is not terrified of the next candidate like her in their primary. I'm here to tell you right now, Chuck Schumer cannot win a Democrat primary in the state of New York. And in fact, I'm going to predict Chuck Schumer won't run for reelection, that he's looking at this party and he realizes this party has left him. And by the way, he was complicit in all the policies that led to this takeover of the Democrat Party by the communists. And part of what we're seeing here is this is a shift of where the heartbeat of the Democrat Party is. And it's moved from the University from the union hall to the university faculty lounge. Instead of the Democrat party being a blue collar steel worker type party, a working man party, it is no longer. And in fact they hate blue collar workers. Understand these communists, they are all, many of them have vast resources, they have trust funds, they have inherited wealth, many of them, they have college degrees, they sat around gazing at their navel and reading Foucault and reading Marx and believing that these abstract theories work. And by the way, they rationalize a way to the extent they know anything about the misery and suffering that communism has wrought across the world, they rationalize it away as, oh well, they did it wrong there. Here we'll do it differently and it always ends up the same. This is. Look, as we start the 251st year, I'm reminded of what Ben Franklin said as he came out of Constitutional and two things. One, a woman asked him, what have you given us? And he said, a republic man, if you can keep it. Secondly, he described how the chair that Washington was sitting in the back of it had a son carved into it. And Franklin described how he wondered each day if it was a rising sun or a setting sun. And at the end of the Constitutional Convention he said, I can now tell you it is a rising sun and not a setting sun. If these forces of darkness, if these America hating leftists that believe you have no rights, you have no free speech, you have no right to liberty, you have no right to defy the state. They want power over what you think, over what you say, over your religious faith, they want power over your money, they want to control you, they want to look, they want to destroy anyone who is successful. If they succeed in seizing power, that rising sun more than 200 years ago will have become a setting sun instead. And so the stakes we have. Ben, I'm energized. I'm energized. You and I and everyone listening to this podcast, we get to fight at a time of consequence, at a time when it matters. Do we save the next 250 years? That's our task.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. And I will say I'm glad that we've been so blunt in calling it out. I'm glad the President was so blunt in his speech on the fourth of July calling it out that communism is a thing threat to this country and it's something that we should really be focused on, that they do not take over, that we do not allow them to take over. But, but this is no longer a joke. This is no Longer a sideshow. This is the Democratic Party.
Senator Ted Cruz
Best thing that's ever happened to you financially. Go easy. Sold my car on Carvana. Amazing offer, really. I hit 200 on the scratcher. Did the scratcher come to your house and hand you a check? No. How many scratchers did you hit to get that? I hit a button on Carvana.com once. Okay, that's fair. It's like the lottery, except you always win. Not like the lottery at all, actually. Exactly. Inexplicably good offers worth bragging about. Sell your car today on Carvana.
Comrade Mondami
Pick up.
Senator Ted Cruz
These may apply.
Ben Ferguson
Speaking of fun, by the way, I gotta say we got some really exciting news. One of our best players that got a red carpet card in the last match. And. And if you're not a soccer fan, there's a lot of people that are fair weather on this one. And I'm totally fine. I'm one of those. But I cannot wait to watch Monday night America in their necks in the knockout rounds. And it's going to be fun because one of our best players who got that red card which makes you ineligible for the next game, it was overturned by FIFA, so he will be able to play. You can call this the four of July miracle, but I'm pumped because of it.
Senator Ted Cruz
Look, I am too. It was great fun. I will admit I'm a fair weather soccer fan myself. I did play soccer in high school. I played basketball, football and soccer and I enjoyed playing it. But I've not been a soccer fan who follows the sport closely as an adult. The World cup has been fun. It's been fun at a time when there's so much America hating everywhere else. It's been fun seeing people come together and rooting for America. You know what's been fun also? Watching people from other countries come to America and discover how wonderful this country is. You know, Freddie from Germany. I don't know if you've seen what he's been tweeting. I probably retweeted him 20 times as he's come and seen, you know, a Buc Ees. And he's like, you know, Waffle House. And he's like this. This country is incredible. Nobody told me how amazing this country is. That celebration is great. I will say our World cup victory against Bosnia Herzegovina was fantastic. Particularly when we got the red card and the red card knocked out one of our best players. Then we had to play a man down with just 10 men on the field. Miraculously, we not only held on, but scored another goal and advanced to the round of 16. But the ordinary consequence of getting a red card as the player is out, not just for that game, but for the next game as well. And the player, Bill Ogan, who's got scored a bunch of goals in this World cup, he's been one of us, if not our single best player. Losing him against Belgium was. Belgium was going to hurt. And so I got to admit that the story that broke today. So FIFA reversed their decision, and here's what Clay Travis put out, which I hope is true, and I have no reason to assume it's not. Clay Travis says. Sources. President Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House task force head Andrew Giuliani put together a team of elite lawyers from outside the government to challenge the flow below gum red card. Specifically, they challenged the use of slow motion instant replay to give the red card, which they argued violated FIFA rules. The president also conveyed to Johnny Infantino, FIFA's president, that the appeal had been filed and he believed the red card penalty was excessive. FIFA's independent committee reviewed the decision and agreed the penalty was incorrectly given, rescinding it under their Rule 27 authority. I am thrilled with that because I gotta say, watching that red card, I was at a sports bar with the family watching it, and we were enjoying some wings and cheering and I might have yelled some expletives that I wasn't terribly proud of yelling in front of my kids when that red card came down. Because, look, I mean, if that's a red card, it was a foul, sure. But if that's a red card, they'd throw half the players out of soccer in every game. Because, you know, he, yes, he hit him.
Ben Ferguson
In the end, it was not to injure another player. It was a play, play on the
Senator Ted Cruz
ball, like, yes, yes, yes. It was not done maliciously. They were playing hard. And by the way, the, you know, the player went down, grabbed his ankle, was screaming and wailing, and then as soon as the red card issued, he jumped up and was fine. So. So magically, the agonizing pain went away. This was the right decision. But I gotta say, the fact that Trump engaged directly, you know what I thought immediately?
Ben Ferguson
What was that?
Senator Ted Cruz
I'm still not tired of winning.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah.
Senator Ted Cruz
Like you remember, Trump said, we're going to win so much, you're going to get tired of winning. I'm not tired of winning. And God bless the President. I looked at that and my response is usa, usa, usa. And beat Belgium tonight.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah, it's going to be a fun game and we'll have a recap I can promise you on Wednesday. Hope you had a great weekend and a great time with your family. Fourth of July celebrating America and be safe if you're heading back home. A lot of people do that on Monday. And the Center, I will see you back here on Wednesday morning as well. And go Team usa.
Episode: Celebrating America’s Greatness and Answering the Call to Defeat the Communists Taking over the Democrat Party
Date: July 6, 2026
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz
This episode, featuring Senator Ted Cruz, is a post–Fourth of July reflection on America’s 250th anniversary, its enduring greatness, and stark warnings about what Ben Ferguson and Cruz perceive as a growing threat of communist ideology within the Democratic Party. The conversation mixes patriotic celebration with political commentary, examining recent political speeches, primary election upsets, and controversial views from rising progressive figures.
"We are the start of our second quarter millennium... America has been, I believe, the greatest country in the history of the world." — Sen. Ted Cruz (00:20)
"This was a call to young, angry Communists, young, angry leftists. We are taking over the Democrat Party." — Sen. Ted Cruz (05:39)
“This is the classic lie of the communists. The communist comes and says, we're for the little guy... Yet every time you have communism, you get poverty and misery and suffering and death.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (08:32)
“He is in fact inverting the causality. We are not richer and stronger and more powerful. That is not why we are exceptional. Rather, because we are exceptional, that is why we have become richer and stronger and more powerful.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (13:46)
Progressive Victories in Primaries: Both discuss recent election upsets where self-described socialists or progressives ousted established Democrats (20:55–22:17).
Milad Kiros & Immigration: Ferguson and Cruz highlight Milad Kiros’s positions: abolishing ICE, immediate pathways to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants, and radical changes to immigration enforcement (21:59, 23:16).
“Abolishing ICE is just one step... There has to be an immediate pathway for every single undocumented immigrant that's here in this country today...” — Milad Kiros (23:16)
Reaction to Radical Rhetoric:
“The economic system of communism is socialism. And they're using, they use the word Democrat simply to say they're taking over the Democrat party and turning it into a communist party.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (21:20)
Democratic Party’s Shift: Cruz sees a transformation from the party of blue-collar workers to university-educated, ideological elites. He predicts more moderate figures like Chuck Schumer will be targeted by this new wing (24:51–25:54).
Historical Analogy: Franklin’s “rising sun” is evoked as a warning; “if these America-hating leftists” seize power, that sun will set (26:45).
Cruz’s Call to Action:
“We get to fight at a time of consequence, at a time when it matters. Do we save the next 250 years? That's our task.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (28:15)
World Cup Segment: Ben and Cruz shift to a lighter patriotic story — the U.S. soccer team’s victory and the dramatic reversal of a red card against a star player, attributed to high-level U.S. government intervention (29:21–33:12).
“The fact that Trump engaged directly, you know what I thought immediately?... I'm still not tired of winning.” — Sen. Ted Cruz (33:45)
Celebration & Unity: The soccer run is discussed as an example of American pride across backgrounds, with a humorous aside about European visitors discovering American culture (30:01–33:43).
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------| | 00:00–02:50 | Fourth of July reflections, America’s history and greatness | | 03:40–06:00 | Contrasting Fourth of July speeches: Trump vs. Mondami | | 07:47–13:19 | Mondami speech analysis, excerpts played | | 13:46–20:55 | Cruz’s critique on leftist ideology, historical context, and immigration | | 21:59–24:21 | Discussion of Milad Kiros’s candidacy and “abolishing ICE” | | 24:51–28:25 | The Democratic Party’s direction; the stakes for America | | 29:21–34:02 | World Cup redemption story, presidential intervention, national unity |
This episode blends patriotic celebration with a dire political warning. Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz celebrate America’s 250th birthday and its founding values while steadfastly warning listeners against what they call the radical, communist shift within the Democratic Party — allegedly evidenced by recent political speeches and election wins by self-identified socialist or far-left candidates. The episode is marked by a strong tone of urgency and mobilization, interspersed with moments of levity about American sports and cultural pride.
If you missed the episode, this summary covers the essential arguments, featured quotes, and memorable moments—offering a clear sense of the hosts’ strong feelings, urgent warnings, and celebratory patriotism, with direct attributions and relevant timestamps for further exploration.