Biden's Immigration Dumpster Fire exit, the Timing of the Israel Ceasefire & Can College Campuses Reverse Course on Antisemitism Week In Review

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson: Episode Summary

Release Date: November 30, 2024
Episode Title: Biden's Immigration Dumpster Fire Exit, the Timing of the Israel Ceasefire & Can College Campuses Reverse Course on Antisemitism Week In Review

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Introduction

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson delves into three pressing national issues: President Biden's immigration policies, the recent Israel ceasefire, and the surge of antisemitism on college campuses. Joined by guest Senator Ted Cruz and reporter Katie Turr, the discussion offers a critical analysis of the current administration's actions and their implications for America.

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1. Biden's Immigration Policies: Creating a 'Dumpster Fire'

Overview:
Senator Ted Cruz opens the conversation by criticizing President Biden's recent moves to loosen immigration policies, suggesting these actions are deliberate attempts to create a crisis for the incoming Trump administration.

Key Points:

• Loosening Immigration Policies: Cruz argues that Biden is intentionally making it easier for illegal immigrants to enter the country by testing a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) app designed to streamline the check-in process. This, according to him, is meant to overwhelm the system before Trump takes office on January 20th.

• Potential Consequences: The app reportedly allows migrants to check in via phone or computer, bypassing in-person visits that currently help track their locations and legal statuses. Concerns include severe glitches, especially with Android devices, which could enable migrants to evade detection and continue illegal activities without oversight.

Notable Quotes:

• Ted Cruz (00:01): "Biden wants more illegals to come in to this country by loosening policies before Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20."
• Ben Ferguson (01:45): "Both Biden and Harris want Trump to fail... They want to make sure that Donald Trump inherits the worst stinking pile of crap possible."

Supporting Evidence:

• New York Post Report: Cruz references a report detailing the ICE app's dysfunctional rollout in New York City, which is struggling with a backlog of appointments.
• Bill Meljulia's Tweet (06:25): Highlights that there are 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. with final orders of removal, but only 13,000 are currently in ICE custody, suggesting a significant oversight gap.

Implications:

• Increased Illegal Immigration: The lax policies could lead to a surge in illegal entries, complicating border security efforts.
• Criminal Elements: There is a concern that criminals, including murderers and gang members, could exploit these loopholes to remain undetected.

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2. Israel Ceasefire Timing and Biden Administration's Role

Overview:
The episode shifts focus to the recent ceasefire in Israel, with critiques aimed at President Biden for allegedly abandoning Israel by not providing necessary military support.

Key Points:

• Ceasefire Agreement: Israeli government spokesman David Mentzer discusses the ceasefire's conditional nature, emphasizing that Israel will respond forcefully to any violations, particularly from Hezbollah.

• Biden's Influence: Cruz and Ferguson accuse the Biden administration of pressuring Israel into a ceasefire before Trump’s inauguration, implying that this move undermines Israel's ability to defend itself effectively.

Notable Quotes:

• Israeli Spokesman David Mentzer (14:52): "We will respond forcefully to any violations... Israel reserves the right to defend itself."
• Ted Cruz (15:05): "It's amazing how the media here is acting like Israel is a terrorist organization."

Media Critique:

• Perception of Israel: The hosts argue that mainstream media outlets, such as MSNBC and ABC, unfairly portray Israel as a terrorist entity, ignoring its right to self-defense against organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.

• Missed Support: They contend that Biden's reluctance to expedite weapon shipments to Israel contributed to the timing of the ceasefire, leaving Israel vulnerable.

Implications:

• Regional Stability: The ceasefire's effectiveness hinges on enforcing the agreement and preventing Hezbollah from rearming, according to Mentzer.

• U.S.-Israel Relations: The perceived lack of support from the Biden administration may strain the strategic alliance between the U.S. and Israel.

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3. Antisemitism on College Campuses: Potential for Reversal Under Trump

Overview:
The discussion culminates with an examination of the rising antisemitism on American college campuses, exploring whether the upcoming Trump administration can reverse this trend.

Key Points:

• Current Climate: There has been a significant increase in antisemitic incidents on campuses, driven by anti-Israel sentiments and broader antisemitic ideologies.

• Possible Solutions: Guest Victoria suggests that leveraging university funding could compel institutions to address and curb antisemitic behavior. By holding federal or state funding at risk, colleges might be incentivized to implement stricter policies against hate speech and discrimination.

Notable Quotes:

• Victoria (22:33): "If you hold their funding at risk, they will stop this behavior."
• Ben Ferguson (23:59): "We need to see more of that courage among academics, more of that courage among students."

Strategies Discussed:

• Funding as Leverage: Victoria emphasizes the importance of financial incentives in enforcing policy changes within educational institutions.

• Administrative Resistance: The hosts highlight resistance from university administrations, likening some actions to historical civil disobedience, as seen with the Denver Mayor's stance on illegal immigration.

Implications:

• Policy Changes: Potential shifts in university policies could create a safer environment for Jewish students and reduce antisemitic incidents.

• Political Influence: With Trump’s "America First" policies, there may be stronger federal support for combating antisemitism and supporting Israel.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Ben Ferguson and his guests provide a critical perspective on the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, its approach to the Israel ceasefire, and the troubling rise of antisemitism on college campuses. Through detailed analysis and pointed critiques, the discussion underscores the challenges facing America and the potential shifts anticipated with the incoming Trump administration.

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to The 47 Morning Update on the iHeartRadio app or their preferred podcast platform to stay informed on these and other crucial national issues.

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Notable Moments with Timestamps:

• 00:01: Introduction by Ted Cruz on Biden's immigration policies.
• 01:45: Ben Ferguson discusses Biden and Harris's intentions.
• 06:25: Reference to Bill Meljulia's tweet about illegal immigrants.
• 14:52: Israeli spokesman comments on the ceasefire.
• 22:33: Victoria discusses combating antisemitism on campuses.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this summary reflect the discussions and opinions presented in the podcast episode and do not constitute an endorsement or opposition by the summarizer.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz and our Week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And we had some major stories this week. You may have missed them. And I want to get you up to date. First up, Biden wants more illegals to come in to this country by loosening policies before Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20. Why is he doing it? Clearly trying to create an immigration dumpster fire for Donald Trump and the administration obviously not listening to the American people. Also, Joe Biden is celebrating the Rose Garden, the Israel ceasefire. Well, why did it actually happen? Well, it was because he abandoned our ally and refused to send the weapons that Israel needed. And finally, anti Semitism out of control on college campuses for the last year. So now will things change and will they reverse course because Trump has become president? We're going to talk about all of it. It's the and review. And it starts right now. There is like two dumpster fires that seem to be happening simultaneously with the Biden administration, his team around him. And I think Americans should be incredibly angry over this for the fact that they're clearly saying, we know we lost the election. We know you chose a different path, but we're gonna stick it to the American people and also stick it to the Trump administration. Biden has decided at the very end of his administration, not respecting the voters when one of their top issues was border security, to loosen key migrant policies, quote, unquote, right before you go into December, January and until January 20th, when obviously Donald Trump would undo all of this.

[Ben Ferguson]

I think it is absolutely clear that both Biden and Harris want Trump to fail. They want the problems in this country to get worse, and they want to make sure that Donald Trump inherits the worst stinking pile of crap possible. So you look at challenges at home and abroad. At home, the greatest domestic challenge we have is the open borders that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris put in place abroad. The greatest challenge we have are the wars that are unfolding because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris weakness domestically. What are they doing? Well, apparently, neither Biden nor Harris learned a damn thing from the election. They didn't hear from the voters that they don't want an open border. They don't want this invasion. So instead, they're doubling down and they're trying to make it harder for Trump to come in with the new administration, secure the border, and remove dangerous, criminal, illegal aliens. Take a listen to this reporting on Fox about what specifically the Biden administration is doing. Sandra, the Biden administration is quietly loosening.

[John]

Immigration policies before Trump takes office.

[Ben Ferguson]

This according to the New York Post.

[John]

It reports the administration is testing a new app that will allow illegal migrants to bypass in person check ins at their local ICE office. Jeff Paul is live with more.

[Ted Cruz]

It sounds like they're just given Donald.

[John]

Trump one more thing to undo.

[Jeff Paul]

Well, John, we do know the Biden administration has been testing this new Immigration and Customs app and the idea is to streamline the check in process for migrants, allow them to use their phones or computers to touch base with immigration officials while they wait for their date in court instead of appearing for those check ins in person. Now a source tells Fox News ICE has been using the app already in a couple of cities, but according to the New York Post, it's going to be launched officially next month in New York City. The field office there reportedly has been overwhelmed, fully booked with appointments for a year. Our sources tell us that's the really the push to get this backlog moved through the concerns regarding this app. Obviously it's a new app, so there's going to be some glitches. The other wider concern is could it cause even more migrants to go under the radar? We'll have to see what happens, John.

[Ted Cruz]

There's also some major issues in the reporting with this app. For example, the app reportedly has severe glitches and issues and does not track a migrant's location if he or she is using an Android phone or laptop. So hey, if you're an illegal immigrant, just don't use an iPhone phone and they won't be able to track you. The app also does not check migrants for past arrests or outstanding warrants, which is what they do now currently. And so that's another problem. They say the app allows them to opt out of the contest. Government orders to undergo electronic tracking. So you can just say, no, I don't want to be tracked. There's no way to find you. And they know all of these glitches are in here and yet they're going, yes, we should move forward with this knowing that Donald Trump's going to undo it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, understand the problem is not just that Donald Trump's gonna undo it, but the Biden administration is trying to make it harder to find these illegal immigrants. Why would you say, hey, you don't have to check in in person, hey, you can check in on an app that doesn't track your location if you're on an Android phone, hey, you can check in in a way that we're not gonna find out if you've been arrested, if you have a warrant. This is all designed to help illegal immigrants go underground. Because Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and let's be clear, every Democrat in the House and Senate, you don't hear any of the Democrats speaking out. None of them are saying, this is wrong. Don't do this. This is designed to make it more difficult for the incoming administration to find illegal immigrants and to arrest illegal immigrants and to deport illegal immigrants. That includes the convicted murderers that have been released by this administration, the convicted rapists, the convicted child molesters. You look at 2023 set the record for the highest number of illegal immigrants entering the country in a single year, 3.2 million. And Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they don't want those illegal immigrants removed from this country. They see them as future Democrat voters. This is all about power. And I gotta say, it is stunning. Well, here I want you to take a look at this tweet from Bill Melujian that lays out some of the numbers. And for those of you all that are listening, I'm going to read it to you. This is what Bill Malugian tweeted, new per US official to Fox News. There are currently 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the US who have been ordered deported by a DOJ immigration judge but haven't been removed yet.

[Ted Cruz]

So that's, by the way, if people want to know where Trump's going to start. I think Bill Meljian's tweet is a great reminder. There are 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the US who have been ordered to be deported. So if you want to know where they're going to start, this is where they would start.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I'm told approximately 13,000 of them are being held in ICE custody. So out of 1.4 million, only 13,000 are in custody. The population of 1.4 million illegal immigrants have final orders of removal, meaning they have had their immigration cases heard, received their due process, and have been ordered removed from the US By a DOJ federal immigration judge. A fraction of them may still have appeal options available to them and may not yet be removable. With only 13,000 in federalized custody, we are potentially looking at a lot of people roaming around the country who are in the US Illegally and who have been ordered removed. It is impossible to know how many of them may be in state or local custody. That 1.4 million, you are right, is exactly where I expect the Trump administration to start. I also expect them to start with the 500,000 convicted criminals, those with other criminal convictions, murder, rape, child molestation, who are illegal immigrants who are released to go and apprehend the criminals. Go after the murderers, the rapists, the child molesters. Go after the Venezuelan gang members. If you're a Venezuelan gang member, my advice is pack up and move out right now because we're coming for you. This administration is going to arrest you, they're going to remove you, they're going to deport you, and if you've committed criminal offenses, they're going to put you in jail.

[Ted Cruz]

Let's talk about the tone death aspect of this. And I say tone death. Some people would care. They don't seem to care, referring to the Biden administration. You just had a trial that was watched in Georgia of an incredible young lady who fought for her life for 18 minutes. 18 minutes. She was fighting to save her own life. She was ultimately killed by an illegal immigrant that we were paying for the hotel rooms. We were flying him from New York to Georgia and we allowing him to be able to kill this incredible student in nursing school. And yet the response from this administration is, yeah, we're gonna keep facilitating that and do it on an app and make sure we can't track people for the next 70 days because, well, we're sorry that you guys picked Donald Trump and you wanted security. We're not gonna give that to you.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, it's even worse than that. The attitude of a great many Democrats is massive resistance. It is reminiscent of Bull Connor during the civil rights battles. Bull Connor was an elected Democrat who did not want to follow the law and was defying the law. And he was bitterly angry. I want you to give a listen to a modern day Bull Connor, which is the Democrat mayor of the city of Denver. Give a listen to what he has.

[Katie Turr]

To say about civil disobedience. You've mentioned that a couple of times now. Would you be willing to participate in those? As the mayor of Denver, would you be willing to go out and protest these things?

[Denver Mayor]

I would if I believe that our residents are having their rights violated. If I think things are happening that are illegal or immoral or un American in our city, I would certainly protest it. And I would expect other residents would do the same.

[Katie Turr]

Trump's new borders are. Tom Homan has said that he is willing to arrest leaders like yourself for standing in the way of these policies that they want to enact. Would you be willing to go to jail for these things?

[Denver Mayor]

Yeah, I'm not afraid of that. And I'm also not seeking that. I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people how to solve Hard problems. Republican and Democratic presidents in the past have all tried to find solutions to these problems. President Reagan helped people get access to work so they could stay and support themselves. Biden and Harris worked on restricting entry at the border to close down. There are a lot of ways to approach this problem. We don't think it has to come to this. But, yeah, I think when you look at, you know, Ralph Carr has always been one of my heroes. He was the governor who in the middle of the internment of Japanese Americans, said this was the wrong thing to do and he stood up. It was unpopular. People were mad at him about it. That was the middle of wartime. If the president or any of his actors are going to do things that we think are illegal or immoral or un American, we'll stand up against those.

[Ted Cruz]

It's amazing how the law doesn't matter. He just said, well, if it's something I think is immoral, then I'm going to just say I'm not going to follow the law. That's clearly. And they want to become martyrs. They want to become famous. He's enjoying this moment. Please put me in handcuffs. Make me a martyr. And I'm saying that we are still a sanctuary city.

[Ben Ferguson]

So understand. The mayor of Denver is the modern day Bull Connor. He is standing at the courthouse saying, I will block federal law. I will not follow federal law because my politics, my prejudices. It's interesting, he referenced Japanese internment camps. Who was it that ordered Japanese internment camps? That was a Democrat, President fdr. You want to talk about patterns of lawlessness? The Democrat party has over a century of history of lawlessness. And I'm going to call for something right now. So the mayor of Denver has said, we want illegal immigrants in our city. We will fight to keep illegal immigrants in our city. I don't care that the voters don't want it. I don't care what federal law says. I don't care about the women being murdered, the women being raped, the children being assaulted. I'm going to call right now for Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, for Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and for any other red governor to start sending buses to Denver, Colorado. Mayor of Denver wants illegal immigrants. Well, you know what, Joe Biden, one of the lies that mayor just said is, well, Biden and Harris tightened the standards at the border. That is called a lie. They didn't tighten the standard. They open up the border. Texas is being invaded right now. And I'm going to urge the state government of Texas, send every one of the Illegals who comes into the state to Denver, Colorado. Drop them off in front of the mayor's residence. He wants them there. He's willing to go to jail to fight for them to be there. Fine. We will send you, the Venezuelan gang members to your city. And let's see, I'm gonna predict right now the residents of Denver aren't gonna like this. I'm gonna predict right now, when's the tipping point?

[Ted Cruz]

That was the question I was gonna ask you because it is in Colorado where we've seen these gangs from Venezuela take over apartment complexes.

[Ben Ferguson]

Aurora, Colorado. And by the way, abc, the corporate media just said, well, it was only a handful of apartment complexes.

[Ted Cruz]

There's five of them.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know what, we'll send a few more. And, and let us know when you would like us to stop because you're so proud. See today's Democrat, they don't fight for American citizens. They fight for illegal immigrants. They fight for Venezuelan gang members. They want more of them there. Well, I'm happy to remove them from the state of Texas, to remove them from Florida, to remove them from other red states. And guess what? They can all learn to be ski pros.

[Ted Cruz]

Now if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. Now on to story number two, Center. Let me ask you another question about the. Also, when it comes the timing of this, there was Israel wanted to make it clear they feel like the Biden administration completely abandoned them and their leadership, which was to force them into a ceasefire. Israeli government spokesman went on MSNBC and this is what he said on that.

[David Mentzer]

Potential cease fire deal. Joining us now, Israeli government spokesman in the office of the Prime Minister, David Mentzer. Really good to have you. Thank you for being with us. Is this a permanent deal or a temporary deal?

[John]

Look, the length of the cease fire depends on what happens inside Lebanon. We will certainly, from Israel's point of view, adhere to the agreement, but we will also insist on the agreement being enforced. We will respond forcefully to any violations. So with the US's understanding, we will maintain the full freedom of military action. Yes, of course we want our people to go home to their homes in sovereign Israeli territory. But if Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, infrastructure near the border, we will attack. And the Prime Minister's made crystal clear, if it launches rockets, if it digs tunnels, if it brings in truckloads of rockets, we will attack. We all want peace in this region, no one more than Israel, but we will respond forcibly, forcibly to any violation of this agreement.

[David Mentzer]

Does that go for the other side as well? If Israel comes back and rearms itself and resets for a possible future escalation, Possible future escalation in Lebanon, is that a violation of the agreement?

[Ted Cruz]

I just got to stop and get your reaction that it's amazing how the media here is acting like Israel is a terrorist organization. They should be held to the same standards as a terrorist organization. Like, well, hold on a second. If you're going to hold terrorist standards, Israel, are you guys going to not, you know, arm yourself? Again, Israel is doing this in a defensive manner because they've been attacked from all sides, and yet NBC is asking a question like they're a terrorist group.

[Katie Turr]

That may be the most astonishing question I've ever heard a reporter say in my life. I want you to play that. Play just the final question again. I want you to hear it because this is staggering.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is.

[Katie Turr]

Do you have the name of this reporter?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, this is on Katie Tor show NBC slash msnbc. And again, here's that question as she acts like Israel is a terrorist organization.

[David Mentzer]

Does that go for the other side as well? If Israel comes back and rearms itself and resets for a possible future escalation, possible future escalation in Lebanon, is that a violation of the agreement?

[Ted Cruz]

I mean, people wonder why the media, no one has any faith in them anymore.

[Katie Turr]

And understand. Katie Turr was a star reporter for NBC. She was embedded with the Trump campaign in 2016. She now has her own show on MSNBC. And what an absurd question. Is the agreement violated if Israel rearms itself?

[Ben Ferguson]

Katie, Israel is a sovereign nation. Israel is entitled to defend itself.

[Katie Turr]

There's nothing in this agreement. I mean, listen to the idiocy of. Well, doesn't this agreement say that Israel cannot have an army, can't defend itself, has to be utterly defenseless?

[Ben Ferguson]

Why? Well, they committed the horrible crime of existing when Hamas came in and murdered 1200 innocent civilians. Like, there is a reason that we.

[Katie Turr]

Did an episode early on, after October 7th.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's actually one of my favorite episodes entitled CNN is Hamas's Air Force. So is MSNBC. So is ABC. By the way, you want to go back? And that's one of the episodes we put on YouTube. It's a video episode, and you can watch it because we play about a.

[Katie Turr]

Dozen different clips where the corporate media.

[Ben Ferguson]

Is the PR arm of Hamas. Well, there is MSNBC being the PR arm of Hezbollah, saying, well, wouldn't it violate It. If Israel rearms itself.

[Katie Turr]

No, Israel has a right to defend itself and to keep the people of Israel safe. And they are not the equivalent, as apparently MSNBC seems to think of the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah that target and murder civilians.

[Ted Cruz]

I wish, by the way, I could say that this was the worst for Katie in this interview. Listen to the response from the Israeli government spokesman, the follow up to this, about why the timing has happened now for this deal to be done. And that's where Israel basically kind of says like, yeah, it's. It's the Biden administration's fault because they didn't give us what we need to defend ourselves. Listen, of course not, Casey.

[John]

Israel is a sovereign country, not a terrorist organization. We're talking about Hezbollah, a terrorist organization in my country, but also, last time I checked, in your country too, Katie. They're a terrorist organization. They're our enemy. But make no mistake, they're your enemy in the States as well. So we, of course, Israel will defend ourselves. That's our right, like any other country in the world, to defend ourselves. But if this terrorist organization begins to prepare another attack against us, we will defend ourselves. Israel reserves that right.

[David Mentzer]

Is this contingent upon the U.S. unfreezing weapons shipments, specifically those one ton bombs that. That Israel had been using so effectively?

[John]

Well, look, the Prime Minister made clear just before, a couple of hours ago, that the reasons why this has happened now are three reasons. It's because we want to focus now on the Iranian threat. The Prime Minister didn't want to expand on that, but we know that Iran is preparing to create a nuclear weapon. We cannot let that happen. We will always make that our number one priority. Because Iran say they wish to wipe this country off the face of the earth. Katie, when they say it, we believe it. And the second reason, of course, is to, yes, give our forces a breather and to replenish our stocks. And there have been big delays. The Prime Minister made that clear, that, yes, the US Is our closest ally in the world. There are no two closer countries anywhere in the world. That there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. The Prime Minister made that clear. And these delays, we hope, will be resolved very, very soon. But really, the third reason for this ceasefire now is to separate, as the Prime Minister said, the fronts and isolate Hamas from day two of this war. Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. That was a massive miscalculation. With Hezbollah now out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own. And Israel can increase our pressure on Hamas, get our hostages Home, which is our sacred mission, is our number one priority.

[Ted Cruz]

I mean, you hear it there. There's still like, hey, you guys, let us hang out to dry. The Biden administration did this on purpose. We need this. We got to wait for Trump to come in.

[Katie Turr]

Well, and, and that's why this ceasefire happened now, as the Biden White House put enormous pressure on Israel to accept this deal. Israel did. And it is rational for Israel to make the decision focusing on Hamas, cutting Hamas off from Hezbollah. That is a major strategic step forward. And so I understand why the deal was attractive. But the deal is also, this White House is A, it was prompted by this White House for extended periods of time, cutting off weapons to Israel. But B, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the Democrats are trying to tie Israel's hands, and they're trying to do it before the Trump administration comes into office. And so what I'm trying to make clear is nothing in this deal ties Israel's hands to protect itself, to defeat and kill terrorists. Understand? Literally on the day of October 7, the Biden administration was saying publicly, do not retaliate militarily. They have been saying every day since October 7th happened, stop killing terrorists. And Israel, to its credit.

[Ben Ferguson]

And I gotta say that the prime.

[Katie Turr]

Minister spokesman there, I think, did a fantastic job of articulating that Israel is going to defend itself, whether or not Democrats in Washington are willing to support it as before.

[Ted Cruz]

If you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing. I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. Let me ask you a question about college campuses. And we talked a moment ago. You mentioned. And the center and I talked about this a lot on the show, those presidents that came before Congress and it was shocking that they would not stop the just abuse of the Jewish students and not protect them. Do you feel like the pendulum will swing back watching what happened to some of those presidents and just seeing how extreme these college campuses have gotten? Or do you think they're just so indoctrinated to hate Israel now that this is just the policy of almost all of these Ivy League schools?

[Victoria]

Well, the good news, Ben, is as a sort of broken down academic myself, I can tell you one thing, which is the one thing they care more about than their parking spaces is their funding. And so if you hold their funding at risk, they will stop this behavior. And so I was at Penn last April to give remarks on why I Think it's a bad idea to hate Jews. And I required three layers of armed guards. I had Philadelphia city cops, I had 10 cops. And heritage was not satisfied with that. And they sent an additional armed guard with me because it was such radical thing for me to go on campus and make these remarks. And that speech isn't free. A lot of people had to pay for that, including the taxpayers of Pennsylvania, amongst others. And it just, it was a really enlightening moment that, that we have to hold this funding at risk. And I've heard President Trump talk about this, I think very forcefully that, that no university should get federal funding. And I think we can also look at this from the state perspective and hold that funding at risk, and that will actually change this behavior.

[Katie Turr]

Well, and I got to say, Victoria has a lot of courage going on to college campuses and facing the crazy left, the angry left, the Israel hating and America hating left. And we need to see more of that courage, more of that courage among academics, more of that courage among students. And, you know, I think back, you know, I mentioned Ben at the outset that Victoria was my first national Security advisor. And I think it's worth recounting a little bit of that story when we first started working together. So I was elected to the Senate 12 years ago. I show up in, in December of 2012, sworn in in January of 2013. And when you're a brand new senator, when you're a baby senator, they put you down, down in these little bitty basement offices, and it's basically freshman hazing. I mean, there, there are a hundred Senate offices that are full offices, but they keep the new senators down in the basement for three, four, five months, just basically as an initiation. And then, so Victoria was part of our very first team that came together right when I was newly elected. And she came and joined us initially for what was going to be two weeks, and just to help us get started, help us hire some staff. And then she, then she was going to move on. And when we got there, one of the very first things we had is we had a vote on John Kerry, who had been nominated as Secretary of State. And John Kerry, at the time I was elected, he was a senator, so he was a colleague of mine for like four minutes. And, and then Obama, the beginning of the second term, nominated Kerry as Secretary of State. I remember John Kerry came by my basement office. Victoria was sitting in the office in the meeting, and, and Kerry was, let me speak nicely, incredibly confident in himself. I'm trying to put that in a kind tone and he gave me this sort of long lecture how I really needed to embrace the law of the Sea treaty, which. The law of the sea treaty, among other things, significantly undermines U.S. sovereignty and gives away the ability of we the people to make our own laws. And I remember sitting there just kind of laughing and being like, okay, this guy has no idea who I am. Like, none whatsoever. And, and, and we, we then came to the vote on the floor of the Senate, and it was one of the very first votes I ever took. And. And I went down and voted no. And. And there was literally an audible gasp on the floor of the Senate when I voted no, because a freshman senator was certainly not supposed to do that. The vote was 97 to 3. So 97 senators voted yes. There were only three of us that voted no.

[Victoria]

It was 94 to 3.

[Katie Turr]

Oh, was it 94 to 3? Okay, well, then I guess Kerry didn't vote for himself. And I remembered the three. I remember that. I don't know who skipped. Whoever skipped, they did better than the 94. And then immediately thereafter, about concurrently with it was the confirmation of Chuck Hagel. Now, Chuck Hagel is who Obama had nominated to be Secretary of Defense, and Chuck Hagel had been a Republican senator. I didn't know Hagel, but as I looked at his record, his record was terrible. And so I ended up leading what was the very first filibuster in American history against a defense secretary. And it was, it was successful. It was before Harry Reid had used the nuclear option, before he'd blown up the filibuster. So you can't filibuster now a cabinet nominee anymore, but you could then. And we successfully held 41 Republicans, we stopped his nomination. And then, actually, Republicans being what they are, several other Republicans who joined us went wobbly and decided to confirm him anyway. But that's another story. But what I will say is I think it got Victoria's attention that this was not going to be just a quiet go along to get along tenure in the Senate, that we were there to fight battles and lead battles, and she ended up staying in. And I'll tell you something astonishing, Pat. So if you rewind the clock, 12 years ago, 12 years ago, I am elected to the Senate. I'm elected to the Senate. I'm 41 years old, Brand new, elected to the Senate. And as I came into the Senate, I had areas that I knew a lot about. If you were talking about legal issues, if you're talking about criminal justice, if you're talking about constitutional law, I Had a long background in all of those issues. When it came to foreign policy, I had essentially zero background, just my professional career. I'd never worked in foreign policy. I never worked in the State Department or the Defense Department. I'd never dealt with foreign policy. My focus had always been domestic. When I was on the George w. Bush campaign 24 years ago, I was the domestic policy advisor. That was my specialty. And so look, economic matter, domestic matters. I had a lot of experience foreign policy, I had essentially none. But. But I did have some strong beliefs. I'm, you know, the son of a Cuban immigrant who had fought in the Cuban revolution. I believed profoundly in freedom. I was inspired by Reagan. Peace through strength is, is. Is a principle and philosophy that I believed deeply in. But I didn't have a terribly deep subject matter expertise. And so one of the things I give that background, because one of the remarkable things Victoria did is basically convened a university in the United States Senate to train me up in foreign policy. And I say so with complete humility. And what proceeded for four years is we would do deep dives. And when I'm in D.C. heidi and the girls stay back in Houston. So when I'm in D.C. i'm solo. I don't have. I don't have anybody at home. And so my philosophy, if I get to get to my apartment at 7 or 8 or 9 o'clock at night, I'll be mad at my team. I'd be like, wait, what am I doing sitting in an apartment staring at a wall? There's work to be done. Like now, if Heidi and the girls were there, I'd want to be home with the kids. But if they're not there, I want to work. And so every night when I'm in D.C. i do a working dinner. And what Victoria began convening is we'd do working dinners. And many of them were with subject matter experts, where we'd bring in, say, a Middle east policy expert or a couple. We'd bring in an Israel expert or an Iran expert, we'd bring in a Russia expert, we'd bring in a China expert, and we'd do a deep dive onto a subject matter and sit there and have a three, four hour dinner, really asking, you know, I'm a big believer that there are no stupid questions other than the question you don't ask because you're afraid to ask. And so I was perfectly happy to ask question after question after question. And I will just say now, 12 years later, where I have been in the middle of virtually every Foreign policy battle in the Senate for a long time now. It's worth Looking back to 12 years ago, the incredible job Victoria did, systematically giving me a knowledge set to go along with principles that I started with, but I didn't have the subject matter expertise. And there's literally no person on planet Earth more responsible for my being able to develop that subject matter expertise than Victoria.

[Ted Cruz]

Victoria, let me ask you a question, following up on what he just stated there. And that is, it's getting close to Christmas. A lot of people buying gifts. It's Black Friday right now, as people are listening to this. When you wrote this book, who did you envision reading it? Is this one of those books that you should absolutely get for maybe your kids are in high school or in college? Is this, I mean, when you write it, When I wrote my book, I'm like, I was trying to envision who do I want to read this book? Who am I trying to give information to?

[Victoria]

I'm trying to give information, Ben, to people who, who are interested in American national security. And not to correct Senator Cruz, but not that I ever would, but the only thing I would adjust to what he just said is it's not foreign policy. This is national security. This is what touches all Americans every day. And so I would hope everyone from a high school senior to somebody who's just interested in the Middle east would be interested in this book because they want to know why this is in the United States best interests. And I would boil this down to a single issue. And I remember so clearly when we made the decision to do this, which was when Senator Heller's bill to move the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem came up right away in January of 2013, and it did not have a co sponsor. And I said to Senator Cruz, would you like to be co sponsor? And he said, yes, I would. You know, this seems like a really good idea because this gives that kind of clarity that we were just talking about. And that's when I knew we were off to the races. Same thing with, with the vote on John Kerry. Same thing with, with, with Chuck Hagel, that, that, that we are going to take a new approach to these issues. And it's one of the reasons it was not easy for me to leave Senator Cruz's staff to go into the Trump administration. But I had no conflict of interest because it was essentially the same policies. These are the America first policies. And one of those keystones of that is the relationship between the United States and Israel. And so that's really the purpose behind the book to explain to people why that is and then to give them ammunition to, to spread that information around. Because I think the disinformation about Israel, the very negative information about the Jewish people as well as Israel, is so pervasive. So that's why I wrote it.

[Ted Cruz]

I know it's going to be an important book and a lot of people are going to want to try to grab this. Where can they get it? Where do you tell people to go?

[Victoria]

Unfortunately, they can get it anywhere they would like. They can get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, they can go to the Encounter Press website. But Amazon is probably the easiest what we all have on our phones. So really appreciate any kind of pre orders and I hope it makes a great gift.

[Ted Cruz]

As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here on Monday morning.