Biden about to be GONE. Who's Next?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Biden about to be GONE. Who's Next?"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
• Host/Author: Premiere Networks
• Release Date: July 18, 2024
• Episode Title: Biden about to be GONE. Who's Next?

Overview: In this riveting episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson teams up with Senator Ted Cruz and an unnamed Republican commentator to discuss the alarming prediction that President Joe Biden is on the verge of exiting the presidential race. The conversation delves deep into the potential ramifications for the Democratic Party, explores possible successors, and examines the broader implications for American politics.

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1. Biden's Potential Exit from the Presidential Race

The episode opens with an intense dialogue between Senator Ted Cruz and the unnamed commentator at the Republican National Convention.

• [00:12] Ted Cruz: "It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz... Joe Biden is going to drop out of this presidential race."

  Ted Cruz shares his unprecedented belief that President Biden is likely to withdraw from the race, a sentiment echoed by the commentator who references their bold prediction made a decade prior.

• [00:35] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "For regular Verdict listeners, you will recall that this podcast, 10 months ago, predicted that Joe Biden would drop out of this race, that the Democrats would throw him out."

2. The Republican Party's Unified Front

The commentators express their astonishment at the current unity within the Republican Party, a stark contrast to past conventions.

• [02:58] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "I've been to a lot of conventions. I have never seen unity like this last couple of days."

• [03:06] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "Everyone is on the same page. Everyone is united. Everyone wants Trump to win in November. Everyone wants to win the Senate. Everyone wants to win the House."

3. Historical Parallels: Nixon's Resignation

Drawing parallels to historical events, the discussion shifts to President Richard Nixon's resignation, highlighting the potential use of the 25th Amendment.

• [09:45] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "When Richard Nixon stepped down... they said, Mr. President, you're done."

• [10:48] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "The 25th amendment... if they sign a letter declaring that the president is unfit for office, he is removed from office instantly."

4. Potential Democratic Successors: Kamala Harris vs. Michelle Obama

A significant portion of the conversation centers on who might replace Biden if he exits the race, with Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama emerging as the frontrunners.

• [11:22] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "I believe the replacement will be one of two human beings. It will either be Kamala Harris or it will be Michelle Obama."

• [12:02] Ted Cruz: "So explain the people the logistics argument... Because the money's there, the campaign's there."

• [13:42] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "It seems it's just balderdash... Michelle Obama can't access the money in the Biden coffers."

5. Media and Fundraising Implications

The commentators discuss the potential impact of replacing Biden with either Harris or Obama, particularly focusing on media coverage and fundraising capabilities.

• [20:23] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "Imagine it with a billion dollars of free media... reporters running after her, throwing their panties at her."

• [21:20] Ted Cruz: "You never know nowadays... You'd have a minority female who would make history while re-engaging women voters."

6. Vice Presidential Considerations

Exploring further, they speculate on potential vice-presidential picks that could complement the presidential nominee, considering figures like Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro.

• [25:08] Ted Cruz: "You gotta bet tonight you go with Gavin Newsom or Josh Shapiro."

• [25:56] Ted Cruz: "A double woman ticket."

7. The Role of the 25th Amendment and Party Strategy

The conversation emphasizes the strategic maneuvers the Democratic Party might employ, including the swift use of the 25th Amendment to remove Biden if necessary.

• [30:15] Ted Cruz: "All right, so the appellate lawyer and maybe has to say I love that you asked. A and 2. Yeah, like, like that's that, that's just kind of a fun outline."

• [31:54] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "The night of the debate, this is the most consequential presidential debate in American history... it took a few weeks to play out, but I think it is imminent."

8. Final Thoughts and Predictions

Concluding the episode, the hosts reflect on the unprecedented nature of the current political climate and the potential seismic shifts in the upcoming election cycle.

• [35:42] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "I think that is a fair prediction."

• [36:51] Unnamed Republican Commentator: "I believe that happened. I believe it was divine providence that turned his head."

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Notable Quotes:

• Ted Cruz [00:30]: "I've never believed it was possible before this morning."

• Unnamed Republican Commentator [03:20]: "But we have seen the momentum building and building and building."

• Unnamed Republican Commentator [11:54]: "If Michelle is the nominee, it is dangerous."

• Unnamed Republican Commentator [25:04]: "Mark Kelly would be a very credible fundraiser VP choice for either Michelle or Kamala."

• Unnamed Republican Commentator [30:55]: "We will have one [debate]."

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Conclusion: This episode of The 47 Morning Update presents a provocative analysis of the current state of American politics, focusing on the potential downfall of President Biden and the ensuing vacuum within the Democratic Party. Through incisive discussion and strategic predictions, Ben Ferguson and his guests offer listeners a deep dive into the mechanics of political power shifts and the possible outcomes for the 2024 election landscape.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome.

[Ted Cruz]

It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you live from the Republican National Convention. And we've got an audience out there.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love it.

[Ted Cruz]

Senator, this is the first morning I have ever woken up truly believing that Joe Biden is going to drop out of this presidential race. I've never believed it was possible before this morning. I want to get your initial reaction to that.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Well, listen, if only someone could have predicted that before this week.

[Ted Cruz]

I know, right?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

So for regular Verdict listeners, you will recall that this podcast, 10 months ago, 10 months ago, we predicted that Joe Biden would drop out of this race, that the Democrats would throw him out.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And we predicted 10 months ago that he'd be replaced by Michelle Obama.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And at the time, the corporate media treated that prediction as utter moon bat insanity. Insanity. Like complete.

[Ted Cruz]

Do we want a prize for 10 months ago? By the way, I got to give you the brainchild of it. 10 months ago. I'll give you full credit. Do we get a prize for that?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I think we certainly should get a prize. But look, I think it's going to happen. I think it is going to happen within the next week. And we have seen, we've seen the momentum building and building and building. And look, I got to tell you, and you and I have talked about this, I have mixed sentiments at this convention. On one side, I am thrilled, I'm excited, because the party is unified. It's unified at a level I've never seen. I've been to a lot of conventions.

[Ted Cruz]

You've been a lot of conventions. What was Your first one?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

1992. I was at 1992. I had just graduated from college. I was 21 years old. 1992 was in Houston.

[Ted Cruz]

Oh, well, there you go.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And it was actually, it was the last public speech Ronald Reagan ever gave. And actually, just after the convention, they announced he had Alzheimer's. So it was his last public address.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And so for his speech, it was very cool. Texas delegation was in front because it was in Houston. And they decided they wanted all the college kids down front. They wanted to show that the Republican Party is young and vibrant. So all the college kids, we were in that. We were put up front. So I was in the front row for Reagan's last public address.

[Ted Cruz]

I'm jealous.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And here's something really cool. At the time, Heidi was in college. She was at Claremont McKenna. She was the president of the College Republicans at Claremont McKenna out in California. She was at the convention and she was in the front row with the Texas delegation. And we didn't meet.

[Ted Cruz]

I was gonna say, did you meet?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

No, we didn't meet until eight years later.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wow.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

But every time I see photographs of that convention, I, like, scan them to see if someone somehow got a picture of Heidi and me standing near each other, because we were very close to each other. So the point is, I've been to a lot of these. I have never seen unity like this last couple of days. As. As you know, I've done a ton of media interviews, and you listen to the reporters. They're losing their minds. They're so unhappy. They're like, you guys are so unified.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And they're furious.

[Ted Cruz]

They don't like it. We know how to screw things up. Well, in the Republican Party, when it comes to unity, this does feel very different.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Everyone is on the same page. Everyone is united. Everyone wants Trump to win in November. Everyone wants to win the Senate. Everyone wants to win the House. But you and I have also talked about this. I'll tell you what I'm scared about. I'm scared about overconfidence.

[Ted Cruz]

I couldn't agree more.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Look, there is an aspect of this convention that feels like a celebration, and I get that. But. But my message to everyone at this convention is it is not time to celebrate. We'll celebrate after Election Day. We got work to do. We have a job in front of us. And listen, I think we're going to come out of this convention. I think we'll see a bounce in the polls. And then I think within days or even hours, the Democrats are going to announce Joe Biden is no longer our nominee. They're going to pull him off, and the media is going to reset the entire race. They're going to do everything they can to take away the momentum from this convention. And so nobody here should get overconfident because this becomes very, very dangerous. And the media is going to do everything they can to say, well, Joe was old, but now we're going to replace him with someone young. Everything solved. Move on forward.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

Has already started to write the obituary earlier today. MSNBC it helps because he's been dead for three years. Very true. They said on I want you to listen to this clip because it's an interesting clip. And they said on MSNBC they're so ready to be done with them. They said Joe Biden obviously has Covid and they said he is quote self isolating both medically and politically. Listen, get up to date though with.

[Unnamed Political Analyst]

What'S happening in Milwaukee. Also what you're hearing from the Biden campaign. Yeah, we'll start with the Biden campaign, Joe and exactly right about the sequencing. So on your air I talked about the fact three weeks ago that there was an effort among top Democrats to give President Biden the chance to walk off the stage. They said he is proud, he's stubborn, we love him, we appreciate him. We want to give him the chance to walk off the stage. President Biden in the view of these top Democrats did not take the hint. And the way that one top Democrat, someone very close to the West Wing, put it to me Sunday as I sat here on the floor of this hall with my laptop doing reporting at the Republican convention about what was happening in the Democratic Party. They said, we don't want to humiliate him. That was the effort. Then we saw this sequence yesterday. And as my brilliant colleague Zach Basu puts it at the top of Axios this morning, President Biden is now self isolating, both medically and politically.

[Ted Cruz]

That, I mean, that's an obituary to his entire career. And he says what we've seen. Let's talk about what we've seen. Every aspect of the Democratic Party has.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Now on him entirely.

[Ted Cruz]

Turn on him completely. You've got the Clintons, they're saying you're done. The Obama's saying you're done. Schumer saying you're done. Pelosi saying you're done. Jeffries saying you're done. The media saying you're done. The donors saying you're done. Hollywood saying you're done. Everyone, how the hell does this guy, he won't survive this.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

He doesn't. And look, you and I, we predicted this 10 months ago. And then the night of the debate, you and I did a podcast the night of the debate, immediately after the debate. And I said that night, Biden's done. He is no longer the nominee. He will be chased out. It'll take a few weeks for it to happen, but this is what's going to happen. Why? Because the Democrats are terrified they're going to lose. Now, it's worth noting none of them care that we have a Commander in chief right now with dementia. Has a single Democrat said, well, gosh, if he's so mentally diminished, he needs to resign as president? Nobody said that. Not a single Democrat. Apparently they're fine with him having his finger on the button. Now, mind you, there comes a point where you take the keys away from grandpa. Yes, but it's even scary if the keys are attached to ICBMs. Yes, but the Democrats aren't doing that. The only reason they're bailing on Biden is because the American people in the debate saw that and said, holy crap, that man can't tie his shoes and we're gonna lose. And they're suddenly protecting their rear end. Now, when you and I have been predicting it, people have asked, how does this happen? And you go back, go back to Richard Nixon.

[Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

When Richard Nixon stepped down, listen, he didn't do so because he just said, well, gosh, I want to Leave. He did so because a half dozen old bulls from the Senate, old Republican senators, went to the Oval Office and they said, Mr. President, you're done. And he resisted. And let's be clear, they didn't just rely on persuasion. They said, if you don't resign, the House is going to impeach you and we're going to convict you. So you will be removed. And your only choice is, do you want to do it voluntarily or do you want us to throw you out of office? And that ultimately led to the presidential.

[Ted Cruz]

Elections, where he said, I'm resigning right now.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

In this situation, we've seen the equivalent of the old bulls, the gray beards of the Democrat Party, all of the constituent groups, one after the other after the other, go to Biden and say, get out and get out. Get out. They initially did so quietly, quietly, didn't work. They then have done so more and more publicly. And by the way, if Biden were to dig in, if he were to say, I don't care, I'm not going, they have a hammer.

[Ted Cruz]

25Th.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

The 25th amendment. Understand how the 25th amendment works. All it takes is the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet and the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet. If they sign a letter declaring that the president is unfit for office, he is removed from office instantly. Instantly. Now he can file a letter saying, no, I am fit for office, and then it goes to Congress and it takes two thirds of both houses. But you know what? Pelosi's turned on him. Schumer's turned on him. The Democrats are terrified.

[Ted Cruz]

So they would accept it, is what you're saying?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Yes.

[Ted Cruz]

So let me ask you this. If he doesn't drop out, it's not.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Going to come to that. He's going.

[Ted Cruz]

So you think he will? Yeah, so what?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I don't think it's going to come to that. But that's the hammer that. They don't want to threaten that. And look, the whole line about. About dignity. Yeah, they don't want to have to threaten that. But he is gone. And in my view, there's lots of speculation about who the replacement will be. I believe the replacement will be one of two human beings. It will either be Kamala Harris or it will be Michelle Obama. Those are the only two human beings, I believe that will be at the top of the ticket.

[Ted Cruz]

And if Kamala gets it, it's only because of logistics.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

So actually, I think the logistics argument is completely overstated.

[Ted Cruz]

So explain that.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Let's.

[Ted Cruz]

Let's explain the people the logistics argument. The argument is.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Hold on. Before we do that, let me explain why it's Kamala or Michelle. Kamala's next in line. Now, a lot of Democrats recognize that Kamala has limitations as a candidate. And so there's some Democrats that are like, oh, what are we doing? So you people hear people talking about Gavin Newsom. I think the chances that Gavin Newsom is at the top of the ticket are 0.00%. And the reason why it's not complicated. The Democrat party is structurally unable to push aside an African American woman and replace her with a white guy. Like their party would implode. They would. I mean, you talk about civil wars. They would have a civil war with muskets. Like a literal civil war. They can't do that. Which means all of the names bandied about, none of them. You could have a primary and someone defeats her. But if it's anointing and a successor, I don't believe their party can do that. Which means the only human being on planet earth who could push Kamala side is Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is obviously also an African American woman, but an African American woman with much higher approval ratings and I think a much more dangerous candidate. 10 months ago I said, and I still say it today, if I were a Democrat, I would be all in. I would be begging Michelle, because I gotta tell you, look, sitting here as a Republican who desperately wants us to win in November, that scares the living daylights out of me. If Michelle is the nominee, it is dangerous. And everyone here better understand we're in for the fight of our life if it's her. Now, what is interesting is how much the Democrat party is circling the wagons behind Kamala. And I think Kamala has risen.

[Ted Cruz]

Is that because it's easier logistically? That's where I asked that question. Because the money's there, the campaign's there.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

It seems it's just balderdash.

[Ben Ferguson]

Tell me why.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Nonsense. So people are saying, oh, well, Kamala is the only one who can access the money Biden Harris has raised, and so that's why they'll do it. What utter. Look, imagine because that's what everybody's saying. Everyone's saying it. Anyone.

[Ted Cruz]

Doesn't mean it's true.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Doesn't actually hasn't run a presidential campaign and doesn't know how things operate. It's true. Michelle Obama can't access the money in the Biden coffers. What happens when the day Michelle Obama's announces the nominee, I'm assuming they would.

[Ted Cruz]

Start the campaign start raising money.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And every Democrat, every grassroots Democrat, every activist, every donor is, suddenly goes from despondency, depression, despair, they're resigned. Crap. We're going to lose. Crap. Trump's going to be president, we're going to lose the Senate, we're going to lose the House. They're in misery and they wake up and hallelujah, Hallelujah. Michelle Obama is riding in to save.

[Ted Cruz]

The day and a billion dollars of free press.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And they would raise a billion dollars within three weeks. Every Democrat billionaire goes, holy crap, we've saved the world. Get me my checkbook. And we're talking. Michelle would raise it in hundred million dollar chunks. There is no money problem, plus all the free media and the free media. So it is massive. The only thing that can save us from that is if Michelle says no. And I am praying, look, Michelle, you and I are not close, to put it mildly. But I just want to say, man, you got a good life. Yeah, you're kicking back. Martha's Vineyard is really nice in the summertime. I'm told I don't. I've never been there, but I'm told it's nice. Like, you're kicking back, you're sipping chardonnay, you're on a yacht, you're on a private jet, you're palling around with movie.

[Ted Cruz]

Stars, people like you, everybody loves you.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

You don't want to deal with the pesky, you don't want to deal with us, you don't want to deal with politicians, you can't stand us. So just live your life as a movie star and a celebrity and don't bother with the gritty mess. Now, I don't know if that's persuasive to her or not. Yeah, I will tell you, I've heard people say confidently, michelle doesn't want it. Maybe, and here's why I say maybe. When they say Michelle doesn't want it, they say, well, she said she didn't want it. Okay, well, you know politicians, you could always believe what they say. Like when they say they don't want something, it's always telling the truth, but I don't want it.

[Ben Ferguson]

I don't want it.

[Ted Cruz]

But I do get to be on Air Force One when I want it.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

So they base it on the fact that Michelle did not run in 2020. Well, that's true, but it is a very different decision to say, do I want to run for president? Do I want to spend two years going through the muck? Do I want a primary? Do I want to go through every county in Iowa? Do I want to go all over New Hampshire? Do I want to go all over South Carolina? Do I want to raise money nonstop? Do I want to spend two years of my life? It is all consuming. And by the way, Michelle knows it.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, she's witnessed it twice.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

She went side by side with Barack. So she knows exactly what's entailed in that. That is a very different decision than.

[Ted Cruz]

A three month, two and a half month campaign.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Michelle, we will have a coronation. Everyone will sing your hosannas. We will hand you the nomination. You'd give one speech, you do a debate, you do a couple of rallies, and suddenly you're President of the United States.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

There are very few people on planet Earth that if you walked up and said, okay, we'll make you president right now. All right, we got a studio audience here. How many of you would say yes if we offered you? Would you like to be president? Would you say yes if they were?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Okay. Right now we're getting nods. There's like, yeah, okay. One guy said no.

[Ted Cruz]

One guy said no.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

One guy said no at everyone here.

[Ted Cruz]

He lives at Martha's Vineyard, by the way.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I guarantee it's an unusual cat that would say no to being offered the coronation. So Michelle scares me, but I want to say something else to Republicans at this convention and across the country. Don't get overconfident with Kamala.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

Everything that you just went through, the Democratic party is in disarray. They're depressed. The donors are depressed. They feel like they're about to lose. I think anybody that gets this opportunity, that could be Kamala Harris, will reinvigorate the checkbooks, will reinvigorate the party, will reinvigorate every candidate that's down ballot because it's a. It's a reset button. I think the bump that we get out of this convention could have instantly disappear with Kamala Harris because of all of the news you're talking about. And I think the amount of money she'll raise. But I also think the thing is with Kamala is she will also get a billion dollars of free media. The media will obsess over her. It changes the race completely. Do you agree?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I absolutely do. And I will say, look, Republicans, people at this convention think rightly that Kamala is a train wreck, that she's been an absolute disaster. She's the border czar. Except she only went to the border once as vice president. She didn't actually even go to the Rio Grande valley. Everything she's touched has been a disaster. She got clobbered in the Democratic primary. There are lots of reasons to say Kamala is not very good at this, but you made the exact right point. Imagine it with a billion dollars of free media, with every media outlet hyperventilating, saying, oh, she's a combination of mother Teresa, Oprah, and Gandhi all combined. Like, you will see reporters running after her, throwing their panties at her. And by the way, that's just the men.

[Ted Cruz]

Those that identify as men. Let's be clear about that. Those that identify as men. Right. You never know nowadays.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And it is a dangerous thing. So Listen, I think we beat Kamala, but everyone here needs to be aware we're not just going against Kamala. We're going against every corporate media outlet. We're going against all of Hollywood. We're going against Big Tech, which will elevate everything. They will do everything they can and their narrative will be, you know what they'll say. Biden was a great, historic president, but he got too old. We all get too old and we fixed that problem now. Now Commelis is young and vigorous. She smiles a lot, she laughs, and it drives us crazy.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Get ready to hear that last so often you're going, you're going to wake up at night screaming and hearing the cackle.

[Ted Cruz]

They also believe that she's going to bring women together for, for two reasons. One, they're going to make Roe v. Wade an issue again and try to really bring feminists and women out on that. That'll be a core point of her campaign. But two, just the overall history of women and breaking the glass ceiling. She also is a minority.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

So you would have a minority female who would make history while in re engaging women voters in the Democratic Party and women that maybe are swing voters. I think that's actually very, very dangerous.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

It is exceptionally dangerous. And let's complicate it a little more. If it is Michelle, if it is Kamala, who's the V.P.

[Ted Cruz]

I, I, it's a great question. I, I honestly have not thought about it much. I say that. Here's why I'm like, do you pick a man? Do you pick another woman? Do you pick someone that's young? Do you pick someone that's older, that's not a threat to you if you don't do well in four years. I mean, I've been so focused on Joe Biden and I'm going, who's on the short list? I don't know if they would even know who their short yoast is yet. Who do you have?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Yeah, so, so I have a couple of thoughts. One possibility that is a real possibility is Gavin Newsom. I don't believe Gavin Newsom can be at the top of the ticket, but I believe he would be a very credible fundraiser VP choice for either, either Michelle or Kamala. That is a VP choice. And mostly Newsom comes with just a crap ton of California money. And he's a good looking guy. He's smooth, he's slick. Gavin Newsom reminds me of the comment about Bill Clinton. He's an unusually good liar. And in Democrat politics, that's really good. Attribute. He is a gifted and talented liar. Now, I've also pointed out, I consider Gavin Newsom. I want to actually name him Texas Realtor of the Year, because nobody has sold more homes in the state of Texas than Gavin Newsom. I mean, he could sell homes everywhere in Texas. But I'll also point out. All right, so Politico Playbook, which is every political junkie, reads the playbook. It's kind of a combination of news and gossip from politics. So Playbook right now writes about a polling memo circulating among Democratic Party officials that argues the best chance to defeat Trump is with a new nominee independent of the administration. In other words, not Kamala Harris. And look, we get that Kamala in an open field is not the most attractive political candidate for the Democrats, but I think they're locked into her unless Michelle is doing it. But what's interesting is what this memo argues, and it says, based on polling of who does well against Trump, it says the strongest candidates, and this is polling for their presidential nominee. But it says the strongest potential candidates are, in alphabetical order. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Yep. Maryland Governor West Moore, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

[Ted Cruz]

That's the one that keeps coming to my mind. A double woman ticket.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Look, that is certainly a possibility. And they're different philosophies on VPs. Sometimes a president picks a VP. That is different. That is markedly different. Think JFK picking LBJ. You pick kind of totally different branches of the party to unify them. Think Reagan picking Bush. That. That is one way to do it. Other times, a nominee reinforces the strength of a candidate. And think Bill Clinton picking Al Gore. We're both young, relatively conservative Southern Democrats kind of doubling down. This is our message. I think there is a chance they do that, but my guess is I think the Democrats are less likely to pick two women. I don't know this, but I think as. As I look at it, I. I would.

[Ted Cruz]

You gotta bet tonight you go with Gavin Newsom or Josh Shapiro.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And Josh Shapiro is a.

[Ted Cruz]

For people that don't know.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Okay, Josh Shapiro.

[Ted Cruz]

Our audience knows Ben Shapiro, not Josh Shapiro.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

They will not pick Ben Shapiro. Oh, boy, that would be fun. Can you.

[Ted Cruz]

There's your unity. That's a unity ticket right there.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Right. Josh Shapiro is the governor of Pennsylvania. He used to be the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. He is widely perceived as a moderate Democrat. He's not very moderate, but he's widely perceived as such. He's what passes for a moderate in today's Democrat Party. Now, look, Pennsylvania is A state both sides view as very close to must win. There are paths to getting to 270 electoral votes without Pennsylvania, but not many. Pennsylvania is probably the single most contested swing state in this election. Josh Sapiro is a popular governor.

[Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And a popular governor.

[Ted Cruz]

And governors do well in that position.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Look, I think Shapiro would be dangerous. I'd be surprised if she picked him. But I'll tell you, Mark Kelly would be a very dangerous candidate. I know Mark well. Mark is. Look, he's a Navy veteran. He's a former astronaut. He's a short, muscular, bald guy. And look, it's very hard to call Mark Kelly a wuss.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Like. Like he seems that there's a reason that he's a. Has won decisively in Arizona. He's also an affable guy. So he seems likable, moderate. He seems reasonable. His voting record is terrible.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

But he comes across as very. He comes across like he could be a Republican. So I could see. I doubt Mark Kelly would be the nominee, but I could see him being in the mix. So I would probably say Michelle, slash Kamala. And I'd probably give Kamala the edge right now. Part of that may be just wishful thinking. I want it to be Kamala, not Michelle. And in terms of the VPs, I would say Shapiro, Newsom, Kelly Whitmer.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

Two final questions. A, do they delay the convention? Number one and two, if they delay the convention, will he step down at the convention and then have that be the media or does it come out before the convention?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

All right, so the appellate lawyer and maybe has to say I love that you asked. A and 2. Yeah, like, like that's that, that's just kind of a fun outline.

[Ted Cruz]

You're welcome. Just want, just want to mess with you every once in a while, see if you're still on your game. Right. A and B, is that better?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

That is I like Roman numerals and.

[Ted Cruz]

Outlines and, and Z. No.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

But I'm not going to tell you I love Venn diagrams. I'm going to leave that to Kamala. Say Venn diagrams make my cold cruel heart go pitter patter. Look, I don't think they delay the convention. They might, but I doubt it and they don't. Wait. I think this happens within the next week. I think this could easily happen this weekend. And frankly, look, the Democrats are smart by delaying till after this convention, this.

[Ted Cruz]

Convention, let it happen and then kill them.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

A minute has been phenomenal. And the media will treat, whoever parachutes in. The media will treat it as a brand new race, ignore anything that happened before. We're brand new starting over. And so I think they want to get on with that quickly. So my prediction, by the way, if you want to think about momentous and historic weeks in politics, on Saturday, the former president of the United States was shot, the first presidential assassination attempt since 1981. Immediately thereafter, we've had an incredibly successful convention. We've had a vice presidential nominee named and it could be within a week of that because I could easily see it being this weekend, Joe Biden is off the ballot and we have a new Democrat nominee. And there's chatter, there's some of the pundits that are saying, oh, we ought to have an open primary, we ought to have Democrats fighting.

[Ted Cruz]

Not going to happen.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I don't believe that will happen. They will coordinate and I think it'll be one of the two.

[Ted Cruz]

Then my bonus question is either 3 or C, depending on how you want to list these. How many times will Kamala Harris or Michelle Obama debate Donald Trump? Once we'll have Just one debate.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

We will have one.

[Ted Cruz]

And could they get away with saying, I'm not going to debate now?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Now, even if it's Michelle, if I think they will do one debate, I think they will feel like it's not credible. If you don't do a debate, particularly because if you're Trump, do you push for two?

[Ted Cruz]

I would, yeah, but I say it's a reset. We're doing two of these suckers before.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

November, but I don't think they'll end up doing it. Look, I think Trump may well push for two. Part of the reason, if you're a Democrat, everyone concedes Trump mopped the floor with Biden. I think as a Democrat, you don't want that to be the only debate. If you're putting someone new, you need something credible. I will tell you, I just came for a meeting that J.D. vance met with all the senators. We're congratulating him. And he did have a very funny thing he shared with us. He said, you know, he was talking to Trump about, well, okay, who are we going to face? Is it going to be someone new? Is it going to be Kamala? And JD said, well, look, Mr. President, I said, yes, assuming I got to debate Kamala, if they actually bring in someone that's a really good debater, I may have to rethink this. And Trump said, no backing out. You accepted the thing. You're stuck.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, you ain't going anywhere.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

But look, that I. I think they'll do it fast. By the way, I will point out the night of the debate, when you and I did a podcast immediately thereafter, we said that night, this is the most consequential presidential debate in American history. And the reason we said that is because we said, I believe this will change the names on the ballot in November. And that has never happened. There's never been a debate that changed the names on the ballot. And that's exactly what that debate did. It took a few weeks to play out, but I think it is imminent. I think it is within days.

[Ted Cruz]

To everybody that's here in the hall, thank you guys for joining us. It's nice to do a show here live at the convention. Senator Cruz and I do this Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscribe auto download button wherever you are. And I have a feeling.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

How do you subscribe? Because. Because as you know, My dad is 85. My father is my hero. But my father points out all the time when I use the word subscribe, he says, my generation think magazine subscriptions. They think you're Going to charge us. Doesn't cost any money.

[Ted Cruz]

It doesn't cost any money.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

And you put. So, all right, a line. I say all the time on the trail, I say, if you're under 40, subscribe to the podcast. If you're over 40, call your kids or call your grandkids and ask them to help you subscribe to the podcast. But it's real simple. And I see a bunch of young people, they're laughing. You guys know how to do this. And, like, call your. Call your parents, call your grandparents and say, okay, give me your phone. Actually, don't even tell them. Just. Just take this easier. Here, pull it up. Pull up podcast, hit subscribe, and it magically appears. You can set it to download. It'll magically appear. And it's every Monday, every Wednesday, it's every Friday. And we do this. Number one, if you subscribe to the podcast, you know what's happening. We predicted this 10 months ago, and by the way, nobody else was predicting this. We were.

[Ted Cruz]

Do we get a letter from the media when they thought we were moonbags apologizing?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

No.

[Ted Cruz]

Okay.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

But number two, this is designed to equip you, to give you the tools when you're talking to your friends, your family, young people when you're talking to your classmates in school and they're arguing, and to give you the facts that the corporate media never reports. That's what we try to do three times a week on. This is. This is what you need to know to go and persuade and win.

[Ted Cruz]

And I promise we will have an emergency pod if and when Joe Biden drops out. That's a fair prediction.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

I think that is a fair prediction.

[Ted Cruz]

Grab it wherever you can. Donald Trump's speech tonight, any. Any prediction last minute, will he needle Joe Biden?

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Look, I think it is going to be substantially tamped down. I think Saturday changed the speech. In fact, I know Saturday changed the speech that I think prior to Saturday, the speech was going to be quite combative. And I expect to see a lot of unity, a lot more language seeking to bring people together. And look, we've seen this throughout the convention. We talked about. We did a live podcast at the convention yesterday. I talked about when I visited with President Trump yesterday. And I think Saturday really had an impact on him. Had an impact. I mean, he kind of pulled me aside and said really quietly, just said, God saved me. And it was quiet and serious in a way that I think is really consequential. And listen, I think it's. You can't go through what he went through Saturday having been shot and having been within a half inch of being killed.

[Ted Cruz]

Amen.

[Unnamed Republican Commentator]

Without really thinking about God Almighty turning his head. Because I believe that happened. I believe it was divine providence that turned his head. And had it been slightly one way or the other, we would be having a dramatically different conversation right now.

[Ted Cruz]

No doubt about it. Always a pleasure at the convention. Thanks to everybody that are here. We will see you back here in a couple of days.