Biden DOJ Spied on Susie Wiles & Kash Patel plus a Tale of Two Olympians and Dems No Longer Proud of America

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Date: February 27, 2026
Title: Biden DOJ Spied on Susie Wiles & Kash Patel plus a Tale of Two Olympians and Dems No Longer Proud of America
Host: Ben Ferguson (with guest Senator Ted Cruz)

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Overview of the Episode

This episode of The 47 Morning Update delves into several high-profile political stories:

1. Allegations that the Biden Administration’s DOJ and FBI spied on figures close to Donald Trump, specifically Susie Wiles and Kash Patel.
2. A discussion contrasting the Olympic journeys of Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu, focusing on patriotism and the American immigrant experience.
3. A deep dive into recent polling revealing a marked decline in the number of Democrats who report feeling proud to be American.

Throughout, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz provide unvarnished conservative analysis and commentary, marked by humor, personal anecdotes, and pointed critique.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Alleged Spying by the Biden DOJ and FBI

[05:05 – 17:33]

• The Breaking News:
  Ben Ferguson introduces the explosive claim that the Biden-era FBI spied on Susie Wiles (Trump’s campaign manager) and Kash Patel (now described as FBI Director), even capturing Wiles' attorney-client phone call without her knowledge.

  • "If you're listening those phone calls, you're listening in, I would assume, to everything that deals with the campaign or campaign strategy. ... That is interference in election, in my opinion." (Ben Ferguson, 11:16)

• Senator Ted Cruz’s Reaction:
  Cruz underscores the unprecedented nature of these actions, linking them to a broader pattern of power abuse by the Democrats against Trump and his associates.

  • "We now know that the Biden FBI and DOJ under Jack Smith ... was engaged in a massive dragnet ... targeted at ... Republicans who supported Donald J. Trump." (Senator Cruz, 05:54)

• Details on Subpoenas:

  • The FBI subpoenaed the phone records of 20% of Senate Republicans, including Cruz himself.
  • Cruz humorously notes the incompetence of the DOJ in his own case, having subpoenaed only a general office number.

• Legal Ramifications:
  Cruz, as a lawyer, is particularly alarmed at the possible breach of attorney-client privilege:

  • "The idea for any lawyer that you would know law enforcement was taping your conversation with your client, you would be disbarred, you would lose your license." (Senator Cruz, 09:41)

• Historical and Political Context:
  Cruz claims weaponization of federal agencies began under Obama:

  • "What Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama succeeded in doing ... Every federal agency was weaponized to go after Obama's political opponents." (Senator Cruz, 11:37)
  • Both hosts recount skepticism and mockery faced by Trump for his 2016 claims of being spied on—assertions they argue were ultimately validated.

• Memorable Quip:
  In discussing how the agencies classified the Steele dossier as "user generated," Cruz jokes, “That's dossier. ... You fling your hand in there. Point your pinky when you say dossier. I wanted some Perry with my dossier.” (Senator Cruz, 14:34–14:44)

• Past vs. Present DOJ Practices:

  • Cruz describes a prior era where political spying would have been "laughed out of the room."
  • Contrasts the rigorous checks then with the current "drunk with power" DOJ:
    • "They were drunk with power, and the rule of law was utterly and completely forgotten." (Senator Cruz, 17:28)

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2. A Tale of Two Olympians: Alyssa Liu vs. Eileen Gu

[18:39 – 29:15]

• Patriotic Triumph and Personal Sacrifice:
  Cruz recounts the story of Alyssa Liu, an American figure skater whose father fled China as a political refugee. Beijing allegedly spied on and tried to intimidate their family ahead of the Olympics.

  • "In 1989, Arthur Liu fled China as a political refugee after the Tiananmen Square massacre ... Decades later, his daughter, Alyssa Liu, became the face of Team USA. But the CCP didn’t forget." (Senator Cruz quoting Afshine Am.Ronnie tweet, 19:10)

  • Alyssa competed under huge pressure, protected by the FBI, and delivered America’s first women’s figure skating gold in 24 years.

• Contrast with Eileen Gu:

  • Eileen Gu, also of Chinese heritage and born/raised in the US, chose to compete for China.
    • She reportedly accepted millions in endorsement deals from the Chinese government.
    • Cruz warns against vilifying her, attributing her choices in part to age and cultural context:
      • “I’m not in that camp. Look, she’s a 20-year-old college kid ... And there is something of a tradition in the Olympics ... you have lots of people who are from other countries... and no one is horrified.” (Senator Cruz, 24:10)
    • Ferguson distinguishes this from international NBA players representing their native countries vs. Gu’s defection from the US:
      • “That’s not defecting from America. But when you’re in America ... then you’re like, all right, I’m literally defecting and going to do this for China.” (Ben Ferguson, 25:52)

• Patriotism Beyond Politics:

  • Cruz emphasizes that despite reports Liu is politically liberal or even “woke,” he stands with any American competing for the flag:
    • “She competed for America ... I don’t give a damn if she votes for Barack Obama or Joe Biden. She's an American and I'm proud to cheer her on.” (Senator Cruz, 29:05)

• Humorous Banter:

  • The two riff on their own (lack of) skating abilities, with Cruz joking, “I'm an unbelievably bad skater. I basically wobble around the skate rink and hold onto the walls… Four year olds come skating past me.” (Senator Cruz, 22:47)

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3. Declining American Pride Among Democrats

[34:14 – 39:45]

• Gallup Poll Data:
  Cruz introduces new Gallup polling showing a dramatic decline in “pride in being American”—from 87% in 2001 to 58% in 2025 across all adults.

  • Notably, among Democrats, pride dropped from 87% (2001) to 36% (2025) vs. Republicans, who remain at 92%.

• Causes and Context:

  • Cruz attributes this to leftist indoctrination in education, describing a trend of teaching that “America is evil ... a colonialist, oppressive nation.”

    • “It's indoctrinating leftists. And part of leftism ... is that America is evil.” (Senator Cruz, 37:21)

  • Ferguson ties in the Olympic story, suggesting athletes like Eileen Gu, educated in elite institutions, may be influenced by such views.

• State of the Union Moment:
  The hosts recall a recent SOTU where Trump challenged Democrats to stand for American citizens over illegal immigrants:

  • “Every single Democrat, all of them, 100%, stays sitting. By the way, that image is going to be played on a million campaign ads.” (Senator Cruz, 38:10)

  • Cruz shares an inside tidbit—a Trump staffer doubted the tactic would work, but Democrats did, indeed, remain seated:

    • “He [the staffer] said, I thought it was at best 50/50. And it's amazing. Not a single [Democrat stood].” (Senator Cruz, 39:00)

• Broad Implications:
  Both hosts lament the fracturing of unity and shared pride, underscoring what they see as a looming ideological crisis.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Attorney-Client Spying:
  “The idea for any lawyer that you would know law enforcement was taping your conversation with your client, you would be disbarred, you would lose your license.”
  —Senator Ted Cruz ([09:41])

• On the Historic Use (and Abuse) of DOJ Power:
  “What Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama succeeded in doing. ... The entire system would have said ... we want to be certain that this is not abuse of power. And what is amazing is during the Biden DOJ, there were no checks.”
  —Senator Ted Cruz ([11:37]; [16:57])

• On the Decline in National Pride:
  “It’s indoctrinating leftists ... part of leftism ... is that America is evil.”
  —Senator Ted Cruz ([37:21])

• On Eileen Gu’s Olympics Decision:
  “But you know what? ... If you decide I want to compete for China ... you can do that. But you know what you're saying? I want 1.3 billion people in China to root for me and I want to beat the United States of America.”
  —Senator Ted Cruz ([27:03])

• Humorous Skating Anecdote:
  “I basically wobble around the skate rink and hold onto the walls ... Four year olds come skating past me and are like, get out of the way...”
  —Senator Ted Cruz ([22:47])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Breaking down Biden DOJ/FBI Spying Allegations: [05:05 – 17:33]
• Alyssa Liu vs Eileen Gu – Tale of Two Olympians: [18:39 – 29:15]
• Interview with Alyssa Liu’s Father: [31:58 – 33:26]
• Declining Patriotism Poll Discussion: [34:14 – 39:45]

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Final Takeaways

This episode delivers a sharp critique of the current administration, warning of the precedent set by political surveillance and the long-term consequences of ideological division. Through the Olympic stories, Ferguson and Cruz highlight questions of loyalty, patriotism, and the immigrant American dream, even as they express concern over declining national unity and pride, particularly among the younger left. The tone is punchy, opinionated, and laced with humor—classic Ferguson and Cruz.

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For listeners seeking a distilled version of the headlines, context, and conservative analysis shaping the week, this episode pulls no punches.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with center Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you as well. And it's so nice to have you with us. If you're listening on the radio around the country, we've got a lot to talk talk about in today's show. And Senator, I tell you what, it's a very interesting moment with this new breaking news that apparently there was a lot of spying going on on people in and around Donald Trump, including the FBI director, Cash Patel.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, just when you think the abuse of power from the Joe Biden, Department of Justice and FBI could not get worse, it gets worse. We now have evidence that the Biden FBI spied upon, number one, Susie Wiles, who was then President Trump's campaign manager number two, Kash Patel, who is obviously now the director of the FBI. They spied on him when he was a private citizen. We're going to break that down. It is part of a broader pattern of the Democrats being willing to abuse power, do anything humanly possible to stop Donald Trump from being reelected. The good news is they failed. Secondly, we're going to talk about a tale of two Olympians. We're going to talk about the comparison between Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu. And the two are about as far apart as they could possibly be. They both competed in the Olympics. They competed for different countries and the media reacted fundamentally differently. One is a powerful inspirational story, the other less so. We're going to break that down. And then finally, we're going to talk about what is really concerning. Data that Democrats are not proud to be American. We saw that on display at the State of the Union. But we're also seeing that in polling numbers in a way that is really concerning and it points to a broader problem in our society. We're going to lay out the data and talk about what it means.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to also take a moment and talk to you about an amazing organization that I want you to know about. It's called Compassion International, and I need

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

your attention for just 60 seconds. Love, generosity, and compassion. We say those words all the time, and they sound good, they feel good. But here's the truth. Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action. And right now, not later today, not tomorrow, there's a child in the world who doesn't know if they'll eat, if they'll have a chance to learn, or if there's any hope at all. And while we're all busy, life keeps moving forward. But that child is waiting. This is where you come in. With Compassion International, you have the chance to change a child's future not just with words, not with promises, but with real help that provides food, education, and hope through local churches and people already in their community. Put your words into action and join me. Introduce a child to a loving heavenly father [e-mail] that's compassion.com. hey, it's Ben Ferguson, and I need your attention for just 60 seconds. Love, generosity, and compassion. We say those words all the time, and they sound good, they feel good. But here's the truth. Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action. And right now, not later today, not tomorrow, there's a child in the world who doesn't know if they'll eat, if they'll have a chance to learn, or if there's any hope at all. And while we're all busy, life keeps moving forward. But that child is waiting. This is where you come in. With Compassion International, you have the chance to change a child's future, not just with words, not with promises, but with real help that provides food, education, and hope through local churches and people already in their community. Put your words into action and join me. Introduce a child to a loving heavenly father [e-mail] that's compassion.com all right, Senator,

[Ben Ferguson]

so let's get into this first topic. It is a wild one. Every time you think that the deep state can't get any worse, then something like this happens. Allegedly. Now, the FBI under Biden was secretly obtaining, and I'm quoting now, Susie Wilds, that's the chief of staff of the president, United States of America's phone records, including from when she was Trump's campaign manager, and they even recorded, apparently, a phone call she had with her lawyer while her lawyer knew the phone call was being recorded, allegedly, but she did not know it. So you want to talk about attorney client privilege that is shocking as well. Oh, and then, by the way, the FBI director now, Cash Patel. Yeah. They were also spying on him also at the same time. So, like, why not, Right? It's the Joe Biden's FBI. It's the corruption there. They were spying on everybody, including the campaign.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So we now know that the Biden FBI and DOJ under Jack Smith, it was engaged in a massive dragnet. And it was a dragnet targeted at clearly the nexus of all evil, the villains that they were most concerned about. And by that I mean Republicans, especially Republicans who supported Donald J. Trump. They subpoenaed the phone records of 20% of the Republicans in the United States Senate, including yours truly. They subpoenaed my phone records, by the way, not just my personal phone records. They literally subpoenaed my office phone records. Now, these guys were actually not very competent with respect to me. They subpoenaed the general number in my office that has every person who calls in to complain about a pothole, to complain about whatever they're angry about. That's what they subpoenaed for me. So these guys are, let me just say, the Nobel Prize for physics. They're not in the running for not in the running.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

What is now released is that they also, in addition to 400 different Republicans, Turning Point USA, different conservative groups, they went after Susie Wiles and Cash Patel. Here's what CBS reported. Quote, at least 10 FBI employees who worked for former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Trump's retention of classified records after he left the White House in 2021 were fired on Wednesday. Multiple sources told CBS News. The firings came after Reuters reported that the FBI had subpoenaed records of phone calls made by FBI Director Cash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles when they were both still private citizens as part of Smith's probe into Trump. The Reuters article quoted Patel, who alleged that the FBI had secretly subpoenaed his phone records, quote, using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire proceeds in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight. The Reuters article added that it had not independently verified any of Patel's claims. Patel did not provide any evidence of wrongdoing by the staff who were terminated. And you go on to say CBS News confirmed with a source familiar with the matter that Wiles his record were reviewed as part of the documents case, but was unable to verify whether Patels were in the case involving the 2020 election, known as Arctic Frost, by the way, that that is named After a disease that strikes oranges in the state of Florida. Like, the fruit oranges. Like, let's get clear on this. The name of the FBI investigation was essentially a pun on orange man. Bad. This is a disease that kills oranges in Florida. We, the FBI Democrats, using our power, are a disease killing oranges in Florida. I mean, they're not subtle. If you look at this, what is interesting, as you mentioned, number one, the reporting is that Susie Wiles was on a phone call with her lawyer and the FBI intercepted the call. And then the claim is that her lawyer knew that the FBI was intercepting the call. Now, now, I've googled this this evening, her lawyer at the time, guy named Hank Cox, claims, I didn't know. I don't know what they're talking about. I've never, I've never known of any client of mine being intercepted and taped while I was talking to them. I, I gotta say, my reaction, and, and, you know, you read a minute ago that story, it may not have horrified you at the same level it did me as a lawyer. The idea, if I'm your lawyer, and by the way, if I'm your lawyer, I mean, good God, there's a lot of criminal conduct I could be representing you for. So a host of, listen, I let

[Ben Ferguson]

you borrow a dollar one time. That's a retainer is how I look at it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But the idea for any lawyer that you would know law enforcement was taping your conversation with your client, you would be disbarred, you would lose your license.

[Ben Ferguson]

You would lose your license if you did that. Correct? If you're a part of that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. So before we, before we started recording this, I literally jumped on my phone. I'm like, wait a second, as a lawyer, you can't do that. That means you don't get to be a lawyer ever again. I was gratified in a sense. I don't know this particular fellow, Hank Cox, but he at least is saying, this is a lie. I didn't sign off on it. I don't know what the facts are, but I hope we drill down and find the facts regardless. Jack Smith and the Biden doj, there were no bounds of propriety other than get Trump Orange man bad at any cost.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want to go to the politics of this for a second. What, what I find very interesting, Senator, about this story is the timeline of when they were doing this. If you are spying on and listening in on Susie Wilds, for example, she was in many ways the de facto campaign manager for Donald Trump early On she was going to be involved in the campaign, in every decision. There was a lot of people wondering if Trump was going to run or not. This covers that time. And if you're listening those phone calls, you're listening in, I would assume, to everything that deals with the campaign or campaign strategy. You can see who she's talking to, who they may be calling, prospective donors, people they may want to get on their staff on the campaign. Like that is that. That is interference in election, in my opinion. Because you're spying on your political opponent, by the way, they've done it before. We know that they were spying on Trump's campaign in 2016 as well. So I guess it's like, why not do it? And then you're spying on Cash Patel as well. Why would you do that? He was also going to be involved in the campaign and heavily involved. So those two things right there in the timeline, that's the part I think is so egregious here. It's like, hey, all right, who are we going to be up against? Well, let's just listen in and see what their campaign strategy is.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, Ben, as you know, the third book I wrote was called justice how the Left Has Weaponized the Legal System and Trace the history of It. It started with Richard Nixon. I'm not a fan of Richard Nixon. I think the man was a total and complete crook. Now, I also think the Deep State conspired against him. And yet, even as bad as it was, there was a limit to how much they went after him. And in fact, a number of people in the Deep State resisted Nixon's efforts to weaponize government against his political opponents. What Richard Nixon tried to do, Barack Obama succeeded in doing. And much of this cancer in the government started with Barack Obama, who turned the machinery of the federal government to a weapon to attack his political opponents. He spent eight years doing that. The IRS was weaponized. The FBI was weaponized. The DOJ was weaponized. The Alphabet soup. Every federal agency was weaponized to go after Obama's political opponents. Then, to the shock of all of them, Donald Trump gets elected in 2016. Now, we know that the Obama DOJ was spying on Donald Trump the first time he ran. And when he came into office, when

[Ben Ferguson]

he said that, everybody said he was crazy lying. Remember the media?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The media laughed at him. It was totally right.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, he's deranged. That never. That didn't happen. He wasn't spied on. He has no information to back this up. And then, sure enough, it became fact. None of them Corrected their stories, of course.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And when he came into office, a significant mistake President Trump made in the first term is he kept James Comey on as the head of the FBI. That was a catastrophic mistake and one that he certainly grew to regret as time went on. I think the first Trump White House believed they could get Comey on the reservation, get him actually focused on doing his job as head of the FBI, rather than just being a partisan Democrat attacking them. That was mistaken. And from the earliest days of the Trump administration. Look, Michael Flynn, when he was named the incoming National Security Adviser, James Comey and the FBI were already going after him, trying to destroy him. They tried to destroy, for four years, the deep state tried to destroy Donald Trump. They almost did. Look, Russia, Russia, Russia. The entire. And it was a lie. It was literally concocted by Hillary Clinton's research opposition. And to be clear, it would have worked. It reminds me of like the old Scooby Doo when the villain has the mask pulled off his face and said, you know, I would have succeeded if not for you meddling kids. Haha. Like that is the Obama and Biden doj.

[Ben Ferguson]

But, and, and to be clear, to put this in context, the Steele dossier, the FBI said, we'll give you a million bucks.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, that, that's some good French. Can you say that word? Dossier again?

[Ben Ferguson]

Dossier. You like dossier.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I like that. You fling your hanging hand in there.

[Ben Ferguson]

The dossier.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Point your pinky when you say dossier. I wanted some Perry with my dossier.

[Ben Ferguson]

Dossier. Yeah, exactly. The still dossier they described.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay. They said, look, you're an honorary Mississippi boy. That's dossier.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, right there. That, that them. They're dossier. It was a dosser. So they went to Michael Steele and they said, if you can corroborate any of this, we'll give you a million bucks. He couldn't do it. The guy who authored it. They then classified it at the FBI as user generated, meaning it's fictitious. This is not real. They brought this to us. It's user generated, meaning they created it out of thin air. And, and they still went forward with using it as the basis to go after Donald Trump. The FBI knew it was a lie. They even said and categorize it as a lie.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, 25 years ago, I was in the Department of Justice, right at the beginning of the George W. Bush administration. I was an associate deputy Attorney General. By the way, government is weird. Yes. I had that many modifiers in my title. Associate Deputy Attorney General, kind of a Big deal.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's what he should have said on your nameplate.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No, no.

[Ben Ferguson]

Kind of a big deal.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Actually, the more accurate thing is kind of a med size deal. That would. That would. I'm giving Ron nothing. Not nothing. I mean, I was not like a summer intern at the time, but not particularly above you.

[Ben Ferguson]

Keep going. I'm ready.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But when I was at doj, the idea that the department would spy on the political opponents of the administration, like if someone had come in and said, okay, Bush, doj. Let's spy on Bill Clinton. Let's spy on Hillary Clinton.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hillary Clinton.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Let's spy on this guy, Barack Obama. Let's spy on Joe Biden. Let's spy on Chuck Schumer. Look, there are a lot of Democrats.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nancy Pence.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It would have first of all been laughed out of the room. You'd been like, no, okay, that's not what we do. And at a minimum, let's suppose you had really serious evidence. You had evidence of, say, some Democrat, I don't know, cutting a deal and sending $1.7 billion in cash and unmarked pallets to Iran in exchange for a political deal, by the way. That actually happened. Barack Obama did that.

[Alyssa Liu's Father]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Even then you wouldn't spy on Obama. But if you had horrible evidence, the checks and balances in the Department of Justice to doing that would have been enormous. The entire system would have said, okay, we want a higher threshold. We want to be certain that this is not abuse of power. And what is amazing is during the Biden DOJ, there were no checks. Spy on 20% of the Republicans in the Senate. Goodbye, me. Spy on Trump's campaign manager. Goodbye, me. Spy on Cash Patel. Goodbye, me. They were drunk with power, and the rule of law was utterly and completely forgotten.

[Ben Ferguson]

Israel is a very hot topic right

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

now, and with so many opinions and

[Ben Ferguson]

emotions surrounding it, it can feel hard

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

to know where to start.

[Ben Ferguson]

The Bible tells us, I will bless those who bless you.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

That isn't just a comforting promise. It's a clear calling from God.

[Ben Ferguson]

And today, with anti Semitism rising around the world, that calling is more urgent than ever. At a time when Jewish communities are experiencing more hostility, more threats, and more violence than ever, Christians have a powerful opportunity to respond with God's love to say, you are not alone. When Christians choose to bless Israel, we're

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

not entering a political issue.

[Ben Ferguson]

We're honoring the the root of our faith and standing against hatred. Supporting Israel is more than a belief. It's a biblical mandate. And by partnering with the International Fellowship

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

of Christians and Jews, you Can push

[Ben Ferguson]

back against darkness and be a light to God's people. Learn how you can bless Israel and be blessed in return. Visit IFCJ.org today. That's IFCJ.org today. Be a blessing.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

Live in the world.

[Ben Ferguson]

Answer the call. All right, center, let's talk about the Olympics. There were so many cool stories out of the Olympics, obviously celebrating hockey that kind of took everything over when that happened. But there were some other really incredible and important stories in these Olympics. And, and one of them that just is something we got to talk about is involved not only China, but also America's gold medalists who won in figure skating. It's an amazing story.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, we obviously have the incredible victory of winning the gold in both men's hockey and women's hockey. And I gotta say, that moment was extraordinary at the State of the Union. It was wonderful to see the men's gold winning Olympic hockey team there. The pride they had for America was fabulous. But there's also a story that got some coverage, but I think it's worth going back and focusing because it was a powerful contrast. And it was a contrast between two Olympians. It was a contrast between Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu. Now, both are women of Chinese heritage. One, Alyssa competed for the United States. The other, Eileen competed for China. Let's start with Alyssa because Alyssa's story is extraordinary. And I want to read from a tweet from a fellow named Afshine Am. Ronnie, I don't know who this person is, but I thought the, the way he wrote it was very effective. Here's what he said. The ultimate American revenge story. The script couldn't have been have written it better. In 1989, Arthur Liu fled China as a political refugee after the Tiananmen Square massacre. He came to America with nothing but a dream for a free life. Decades later, his daughter, Alyssa Liu became the face of Team USA. But the CCP didn't forget. Before the 2020 Beijing Olympics, the FBI uncovered a brazen spying operation. The target, Alyssa and her father. The Chinese government tried to stalk them on US Soil, intimidate her into silence, pressure her to turn her back on the country that gave her family refuge. The FBI had to give them 24. 7 security just so she could compete.

[Ben Ferguson]

Isn't that amazing?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

She faced intimidation. She refused to be a pawn. She walked away from the sport for two years to find her soul again. And then she came back with a vengeance. Today, the story is complete in a flawless performance to Donna Summers, MacArthur Park. Alyssa Liu just did the impossible Olympic Gold. The first American woman to win individual gold in 24 years. She didn't just skate for a medal. She skated for the freedom her father risked everything for. She didn't just win for herself. She won for the flag that protected her family when the world felt small. That's what a patriot looks like. Now, I gotta say, I want to give listeners some background into this show. The way you and I record this pod is we sit down right before recording it, and we go through all the stories that are in the news. We say, all right, what do we want to talk about? And by the way, the pod is not scripted. Like, you and I don't know what we're going to say. We just sort of talk about topics. We pick a couple of topics and riff on it. And I want everyone to know. Ben is like, no, no, no, I don't want to cover this story. Ben said, I hate Americans. I hate Olympians. I can't skate. And that's true.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm a very good skater.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I'm secretly a communist.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, there we. Okay, got it. Okay, I see where we're going here.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

Now.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Are you a good skater? I suck at skating. I'm a horrible skater.

[Ben Ferguson]

So my dad's, you know, from up north, and that was, like, one thing. They would take us skating, his kids, and then we would skate on the ponds. We went to North Dakota. So, yeah, I've been skating a long time.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I'm an unbelievably bad skater. I basically wobble around the skate rink and hold onto the walls the whole time. It's terrible. Like four year olds come skating past me and are like, get out of the way. Like you, you, you terrible thing.

[Ben Ferguson]

I can. I can picture this. And I believe you completely that you're not overselling that point at all.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I'm not, but let's just say for the record, I can kick your ass at basketball. And to be clear, I've broken your finger playing basketball.

[Ben Ferguson]

That is true. They kicking me a part. At some point, we might need a one on one game. Just so and so's the score here. I'm just saying.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Give me six.

[Ben Ferguson]

Train.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, you've got mass and strength, but I'm just saying you can't shoot to save your life. All right, why did I want to cover this story? Look, some of it is, as the child of a refugee from Cuba, I find Alyssa Liu's story inspirational. I find it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, you identify with it. It's incredible.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And listen, there's a contrast with her and Eileen Gu. Now I want to say something. So Eileen Gu is also of Chinese heritage. She's a student at Stanford. Alyssa's a figure skater. She won the gold. Eileen Gu is a downhill skier. She won two silvers. Both were offered the opportunity from China. The Chinese communist government said, we will give you millions of dollars to compete for China.

[Ben Ferguson]

Literally millions. You're not joking. Like some reports have been upwards of 6 million plus.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Like massive amounts of money. And Eileen said yes and Alyssa said no. Now I gotta say, in the conservative media, there's been a world of hate. Pound on, pounded and dumped on Eileen. I'm not in that camp. Look, she's a like 20 year old college kid. I don't have any hate or animosity to her. I understand. I mean, look, if I were in college, no one, There've been reports she received like $14 million. No one ever offered me $14 million in college. I understand that. And there is something of a tradition in the Olympics. You think about the NBA where you have all these stars. You know, Victor Wembanyamu in the NBA competes for France. Alperin Sengun competes for Turkey. You have lots of people who are from other countries, they compete for other countries and no one is horrified. And they're not like, you're a horrible human being.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me say, here's the difference.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's different. It is different, but go ahead.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's the reason why it's. This one's different is when you grow up in America and you do everything in America and you're part of this country and this country supports you. And then because someone throws money at you, you defect to communist China. That's the difference between if you come into the league from another country and you play in the NBA. And then you go back to like when I played tennis, a lot of the guys from smaller countries would go back and play Davis cup or the Olympics for their team. It was awesome. Like, there was teammates, mine that made their Olympic team. There was from, you know, Kazakhstan or smaller nations and they were the best in their country. That's not defecting from America.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

Right.

[Ben Ferguson]

But when you're in America and you're American citizen, then you're like, all right, I'm literally defecting and going to go do this for China.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

And I'm.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's solely for a big payday. It was, it's, it from an athlete standpoint, I get the money. But it is different than if you're in the NBA and you're from France, like Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol and they go and play against the USA in that game. Like I have no qualms about that. That's where you were raised.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

To be clear, the Gasols are from Spain, not France, wherever it is. But you get my point. We Latins don't like when you call us French. Like, like the. That is getting it wrong.

[Ben Ferguson]

I apologize to Pow and Mark. There you go.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay, you are right that it's different. You know, Victor Wembanyama is French. He grew up in France. Like his whole background is that so? It is different when you go and play for the country you were born and grew up in. Both Alyssa and Eileen were born in and grew up in America. So that is different. That being said, there was some real vitriol directed at Eileen. And Listen, she's a 20 year old Olympic athlete. I don't have anger towards her. But my view is simple. If you decide I want to compete for China, I want to win the gold medal for China, you can do that. But you know what you're saying? I want 1.3 billion people in China to root for me and I want to beat the United States of America. Well, you know what? I'm not going to root for you. I'm going to root for the athletes that say I'm competing for America. I thought people were a little bit overwrought in condemning Eileen Gu. I don't know her at all and she's a talented athlete and she's a 20 year old kid. But she made the decision she wants the Chinese to root for and she does not want America to root for her. And to be clear, when she made that decision, she's saying, I want the United States of America to lose. Yeah, that's a decision I disagree with. And the contrast with Alyssa Liu, she was offered millions of dollars, Senator.

[Ben Ferguson]

I also think just really cool part of the story is Alyssa Liu's father. We mentioned that earlier. But like this is a guy that sacrificed everything, had to flee. The country comes to America, he is literally being attacked and still being hunted by the Chinese government to the point where the FBI is coming after him. And on top that stays focused to make his daughter an Olympic gold medalist while having to look over his shoulder to the point where the FBI had to give them protection. That's the best part of the story as well. Like they love this country. They didn't take the money, by the way. If they took the money, I'm assuming they wouldn't need protection anymore.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

Right?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, he was incredibly driven. He raised his daughter she was extraordinary. And I will say one aspect of this story that I really like. According to the Internet, according to Twitter, apparently Alyssa Liu is politically liberal. And so leftists are like you conservatives can't cheer her on because she is allegedly woke. I don't know if she's politically liberal or not, but you know what? I don't care. She competed for America. When she was standing there, she had the American flag around her shoulder. She's tearing up as the Star Spangled Banner. She's cheering for America, and I'm cheering for her. And I don't give a damn if she votes for Barack Obama or Joe Biden. She's an American, and I'm proud to cheer her on.

[Compassion International Spokesperson]

I want to be honest with you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple of years ago, I made the choice to partner with an amazing organization called Compassion International. Why? Because I wanted to sponsor a child in need. It was a nice idea, sure, but I had no idea just how much that simple act would change my life as well. I sponsored Nadia and got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes. Going from starving literally alone on the streets to getting the health care and education she needs to reach her God given full potential. I got to be a part of that change. And the light of that compassion not only illuminates in her, it illuminates now in me. That is the power of compassion. The light of Christ shines on all of us. Feel it for yourself and change. Literally a child's life. Change the world and you also change yourself. You can sponsor a child today. Visit compassion.com that's compassion.com when someone you

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[Ben Ferguson]

So I want to go back to the dad, Alyssa, Lou's father. He did an interview recently, and it was just a little bit about the story of the political pressure that he was under from China. That they were under from China. And just to be able to get through this much pressure and still pursue the dreams of your daughter is amazing. Take a listen.

[Interviewer]

Ahead of the 2022 winter in Beijing, the Justice Department and FBI said that China actually sent individuals to track and target you and your family, including her, ahead of the Olympics. Talk to us about what?

[The Balm Box Spokesperson]

That.

[Interviewer]

What was Beijing's motivation? Were you afraid for her?

[Alyssa Liu's Father]

Well, because of my background, because I was wanted by the Chinese government back in 1989. And after I came to America, I also continued to organize protests in front of the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, some protests and hunger strikes in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. the Chinese government never let me go and continue to spy on me. And before the Winter Olympic Games in 2022, I was, you know, I got a phone call from somebody who claimed to be from the US Olympic Committee and wanted copies of my passport and Alisa's passport. And then the FBI informed me that the Chinese government is spying on me. And, of course, I was concerned about Alisa going to China to compete.

[Ben Ferguson]

You listen to him talking about the concerns. Yeah, I'd have a lot of concerns. The father as well, of course.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And listen, this man loves his daughter. And I gotta say, Alyssa's Olympic gold performance, it was beautiful. I'm not particularly into figure skating. I gotta say, she did a gorgeous performance. It was. There was a sense of joy and abandon in watching it. That. That was really fabulous. And. And it made you. It made you really happy for her. It made you cheer her on. There's. There's a great image. I love a photo taken from above as she's, like, spinning and looking up, and there's a level of just reckless abandon. It's not reckless abandon. It's actually incredibly controlled, joyful skill.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But look, it made you proud of America. And I gotta say, you would think everyone would be proud of America watching that. But what is amazing. So there was recent polling numbers that came out from Gallup that are highly concerning, that showed that not everyone is proud of America anymore. And if you look at just the generic question, U.S. adults pride in being American, 2001 to 2025. So in 2001, 87% said they were extremely, very proud. By 2025, that had dropped to 58%. 87 to 58, that's a massive decrease. And you might say, well, I don't. I don't know what's driving that. But. But actually, the second chart is even more concerning because it's not just everyone's losing faith in America. It's not just that everyone is no longer proud of being an American. It's very particular and ideological. It is Democrats, it is liberals. And I want to focus on this chart that Gallup put out. So in 2001, 90% of Republicans were very proud of being American. 87% of Democrats were very proud of being American. So there's not really a partisan divide. And by the way, 84% of independents were very proud.

[Ben Ferguson]

Which year again? Which year was this?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

2001.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, so, yeah, get ready, folks. You're about to.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, okay, 25 years ago, it was 90%, 87, 84. So they're all clustered. They were all within a few points of each other. Basically everyone, whether you were a Democrat or Republican, everyone, 87, 90%. I'm very proud of being American. So let's Fast forward to 2005. So 2005, 2001, 90% of Republicans were very proud of America to be American. In 2005, 92% of Republicans are very proud to be an American. So it actually has gone up a little bit for Republicans, what has happened for independents. So independents were at 84%, and in 25 years, it's dropped from 84% to 53%.

[Ben Ferguson]

So almost a 50, 50 split that you're prideful in this country, and you don't have pride in this country. That's among independents. That's scary.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I want to say the next stat is even more horrifying. So Democrats in 2001, 87% of Democrats. I'm very proud to be an American. What do you think the number is in 2005?

[Ben Ferguson]

I think the majority of Democrats hate this country. So I'm going to say 28%.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it's not quite that bad, but it's 36%.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, it'll get to 28 in a few more years, I guarantee you that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it went from 87% to 36%. So the differential, if you're Republican, 92% of you are proud to be an American, if you're Democrat, only 36% are very proud to be an American. I gotta say. That is.

[Ben Ferguson]

How much of that, Senator, do you think is our public school system and our universities, like, training up an entire generation to be ashamed of America?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's indoctrinating leftists. And part of leftism. Thank you. Is that America is evil. We are a colonialist, oppressive nation. They're taught that capitalism is evil. And frankly, look, going back to the story we just covered, again, I don't know Eileen Gu. But she's at Stanford. I assume she's been raised by leftists all her life. You know, she was asked, what do you think about the Communist Party committing a genocide against Uyghurs, having over a million Uyghurs in concentration camps? And she said, hey, that's not my problem. I'm not worried about it. I don't mean to pass judgment on her, but I'm just saying that is the fruit of leftists controlling our education system. That's saying you cannot have a view. Is mass murder good or bad? I'm sorry? Leftists say, no, America's always bad. You cannot have a view on over a million people in concentration camps, on human slavery, on torture, on murder. No, no, no. America's always bad. And look, we saw this at the State of the Union. The moment that I thought defined the whole State of the Union address is when President Trump turned to the Democrats and he said, okay, I'm going to give you a chance to decide right now. Stand up. If you believe our first priority should be to fight for American citizens and not illegal aliens. And every single Democrat, all of them, 100%, stays sitting. By the way, that image is going to be played on a million campaign ads. I was talking to a very senior official in the Trump White House today, and I was congratulating him on an incredibly successful State of the Union. And I brought that up. I said, that was the moment. And he kind of laughed and he said, yeah, I argued against that. He said, I didn't think it would work. I didn't think they would fall for that. I thought they'd all stand up. And he said, I thought it was at best, 50, 50. And it's amazing. Not a single. Look, I'm not very good at putting myself in the shoes of being a Democrat, but I would think that's a

[Ben Ferguson]

good thing, by the way. That's a good thing.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

If I was a Democrat and heard that, I would have stood up and said, yeah, we stand for American citizens and not illegals like 12 seconds ago, that would have been what they did. They're all so indoctrinated that every single one said, nope, we're with illegals and not American citizens. That's tragic.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it is. Don't forget, we do this show as a podcast three days a week. So download Verdict with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcast and the center, and I will see you back here on this radio station next week and on the podcast all week long. This is an I heart podcast, guaranteed human.