Democrats Abandon Israel-Not Just the Squad, but now Schumer & Biden, plus Mexican President Tries to Blackmail America on Illegal Immigration

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: Democrats Abandon Israel—Not Just the Squad, but now Schumer & Biden, plus Mexican President Tries to Blackmail America on Illegal Immigration
Release Date: March 29, 2024
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz

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Introduction and Technical Glitch Recovery (00:00 - 01:02)

The episode kicks off with Ben Ferguson welcoming Senator Ted Cruz, highlighting a recent technical issue that affected their broadcast schedule. They humorously discuss the challenges of coordinating across different cities, ultimately expressing relief at being back on air and eager to delve into pressing topics missed in the last episode.

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Democrats' Shift Away from Israel (01:02 - 11:26)

Historic Pivot by the Democratic Party

Senator Cruz opens the discussion by addressing what he terms a "systemic pivot" by the Democratic Party away from strong support for Israel. He criticizes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for delivering a "disgraceful speech" demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation, a move Cruz labels as unprecedented and a direct assault on both Netanyahu and Israeli voters (04:00).

U.N. Resolution and U.S. Abstention

Cruz details the recent U.N. resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, interpreting it as a veiled condemnation of Israel. He condemns the Biden administration for abstaining from the vote, allowing the resolution to pass without opposing it, which he views as abandoning Israel in a critical moment (04:45 - 09:07).

Notably, Senator Cruz quotes a headline from The Guardian: "United Nations, Israel Isolated as UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza" (08:50). He condemns the U.N. as a "pit of antisemitism and Israel hatred," emphasizing that traditionally, the U.S. vetoes such resolutions to protect Israel (05:15).

White House Response and Policy Changes

Cruz critiques National Security Council spokesman John Kirby's defense of the abstention, accusing the White House of "doubling down" on their stance without addressing the ongoing hostage situation (09:07 - 10:22). He highlights the Biden administration's broader policy shifts, including lifting oil sanctions on Iran, sending funds to Gaza, and waiving anti-terrorism laws to support Hamas, which Cruz argues has empowered terrorist activities against Americans and Israelis (10:22 - 12:05).

Historical Context and Long-term Undermining of Israel

Cruz references a 1982 incident where then-Senator Biden threatened to cut U.S. aid to Israel over settlement policies, showcasing a longstanding pattern of undermining Israel's sovereignty and security (18:30). He underscores that Biden's actions have consistently weakened U.S.-Israel relations, a trend that continues under his presidency (20:13).

Democratic Leadership's Accountability

Senator Cruz urges Democratic senators and House members to take a clear stance in support of Israel, questioning their agreement with Schumer's and Biden's actions. He laments the lack of accountability within the Democratic Party, attributing policy shifts to mainstream Democrats rather than fringe elements like the "Squad" (21:10).

Notable Quote:

• Senator Ted Cruz: "The problem is the so called mainstream Democrats. This demand that Israel throw Netanyahu out came from Chuck Schumer, the elected Senate Majority Leader." (20:28)

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Mexican President's Diplomatic Blackmail on Illegal Immigration (16:23 - 34:53)

AMLO's Ultimatum to the United States

The conversation shifts to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and his recent interview where he threatened to continue the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S. unless certain demands are met. Cruz labels AMLO a "hard leftist" and accuses him of aligning with anti-American entities like Venezuela and Cuba (16:23 - 27:35).

Economic and Security Demands

AMLO's demands include:

• Committing $20 billion annually to poor Latin American and Caribbean countries
• Lifting sanctions on Venezuela
• Ending the Cuban embargo
• Legalizing millions of law-abiding Mexicans in the U.S.

Cruz interprets these demands as extortion, equating AMLO's tactics to those of Mexican cartels, and argues that the Biden administration's policies have emboldened AMLO's threats (25:17 - 27:35).

Implications for U.S. Border Security

Cruz criticizes the Biden administration for its perceived weakness in handling border security, contrasting it with the Trump-era policies that, according to him, effectively reduced illegal immigration. He asserts that current Democratic leadership prefers to allow migrants in to bolster future voter bases rather than enforce strong border controls (28:02 - 31:04).

Fentanyl Crisis Mismanagement

The discussion touches on the fentanyl crisis, with AMLO downplaying U.S. involvement in drug manufacturing. Cruz counters by emphasizing that the majority of fentanyl-related deaths in the U.S. stem from Mexican cartels, supported by Chinese precursors, and accuses the Biden administration of facilitating this flow through inadequate border policies (32:55 - 34:53).

Notable Quote:

• Senator Ted Cruz: "The Biden White House is not capable of strength against leftists, against enemies of America. They're only capable of strength against our friends." (27:35)

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Good Friday and Easter Reflections (36:27 - 38:23)

The episode concludes on a personal note as Senator Cruz shares his reflections on Good Friday and Easter. He expresses hopes for listeners to enjoy the holiday with family, emphasizing the importance of faith, sacrifice, and spending quality time with loved ones. Cruz recounts his plans to relax at a ranch with his family, highlighting the value of pausing from work to cherish familial bonds.

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Closing Remarks

Ben Ferguson wraps up the episode by reminding listeners of the show's schedule and encouraging them to subscribe for future updates. He extends Easter greetings to the audience, reinforcing the personal connection established during the holiday reflections.

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Exclusions: Advertisements and Non-Content Segments

The summary intentionally omits all promotional content for Patriot Mobile, FreedomGoldUSA.com, Ammo Squared, and other advertisements interspersed within the transcript, focusing solely on the substantive discussions between Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz.

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Overall Insights: This episode of The 47 Morning Update delves into significant geopolitical and domestic issues, highlighting perceived shifts in Democratic Party policies toward Israel and critiquing the Biden administration's handling of border security and international relations. Senator Cruz provides a staunchly conservative perspective, advocating for unwavering support of Israel and stringent measures against illegal immigration, while criticizing what he views as the Democrats' strategic missteps and ideological compromises.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Senator, you are actually there tonight, correct? We have good networking. Internet.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I am indeed. The Internet is back. Verdict is back.

[Ben Ferguson]

Build back. Better work tonight. At least that's how we can spin this one. So it was hilarious the last show. Just, just to take you behind the scenes of how this show works. A lot of times you're in another city, I'm in one city. Uh, and then we're connecting to a third city. And we tried for like an hour the other night. It was after midnight. And so I'm glad to say we are all back.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Two in the morning for you? It was one in the morning for me.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. It was two in the morning when we finally said, okay, this is not going to work because I was in.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

New York and I was in Midland, Texas.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And, and, and our producer is in Memphis, Tennessee. So you. It was, it was, it was hilarious. And, and we are all working, which it's great to be back. We have got a lot to talk about because we obviously missed some big news in that last show that we didn't get to do. So let's talk about what we're going to chat about this today.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, we're going to start with Israel and do a deep dive on really the historic move the Democrat Party is making. The Biden, White House, Chuck Schumer abandoning Israel. And it is historic, it is tragic, it is enormously consequential, and we are going to explain exactly what's going on with it. Secondly, we are going to go into the border and what's happening at the border. And in particular, this weekend, the President of Mexico threatened the United States. He threatened that the flow of migrants will continue unless America gives into his demands. We're gonna break that down.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, this week was the culmination of what has been a systemic pivot by the Democrat Party away from Israel. And sadly, it is an historic pivot. It started in earnest two weeks ago when Chuck Schumer went to the Senate floor and gave an utterly disgraceful speech, a speech with no precedent in our nation's history, where he demanded the elected leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, step down. And it was an assault. It was not one he directed at Hamas. He didn't demand their leader step down. It wasn't directed at Iran or China or Russia or North Korea or Venezuela. None of those did he demand their leader step down, but instead only the nation of Israel, the only Jewish state on the face of the earth, our close ally. And while they're in the middle of a war, while they are defending themselves in the wake of the grotesque horror that is October 7th. And this was not just a comment off the cuff from Chuck Schumer. This was a long prepared remarks that he went out and demanded, viewing Israel as a puppet state that he and the other Democrats can treat like just people who must take their orders, demanded that the people of Israel, he chided them for daring to elect Netanyahu. And understand this is not just an assault on Netanyahu, it's an assault on the voters. Israel is, is a democratically, has a democratically elected government. It is our job to deal with the leaders of Israel, regardless of who they are, if the people elect them. We are allies with the nation of Israel. And when Netanyahu was Prime minister before, we dealt with him. When Naftali Bennett was, was prime minister, we dealt with him. Now that Netanyahu is Prime Minister again, we're dealing with him. But it's the voters of Israel who decide. So after Schumer gives his speech, immediately after the White House is asked about it and they say, oh, we knew about the speech. We knew about it beforehand. We knew exactly what Schumer was going to say and we thought the President thought it was a very good speech. So the White House immediately signals their agreement with it and then that culminated in what happened this week. This week, the United nations passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Now understand, the word ceasefire has become this, this, this leftist mantra. And what it means is Israel, stop killing terrorists now. What immediate cease fire means is Israel allow Hamas to win. What cease fire means is Israel do not destroy the leadership of Hamas, do not destroy any more terrorists, but rather allow Hamas to run Gaza, allow them to commit future acts of terrorism. It's okay with us, the Democrats, if they murder, murder future Israelis. Apparently, it's okay with us, the Democrats, if they murder Americans. Since October 7th is one of the worst terror attacks in our nation's history. The resolution. Now listen, the United nations has always been a pit of antisemitism and Israel hatred. The United nations, half the time it seems the UN exists to give speeches and issue proclamations condemning Israel. But historically. So no resolution can pass without the Security Council. All five permanent members of the Security Council have a veto. The United States has a veto. So historically, when the anti Semites get going at the un, America vetoes the resolution. And we've done that for a long, long time. Well, it turned out this was Biden's opportunity. And by the way, I believe the Biden administration teed this up. I think they orchestrated it. Technically, what Biden did was abstain. Just the United States didn't say anything. So the 14 other members of the Security Council voted to effectively condemn Israel to demand an immediate ceasefire, which Israel's not doing. And the United States, Biden just declined to. To exercise its veto and allowed it to pass. And I will say, let me just read the headline in the Guardian. Now, look, the Guardian is a lefty publication, but I gotta say, the headline right after this happened really sums up where we are. The headline is united Nations, Israel Isolated as UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza. And let me read the sub headline, because it. It's. It's even more revealing. Israeli PM cancels White House visit by two ministers and says US Abandoned its policy in the UN after abstaining on vote. That's where we are. It is disgraceful. It is dangerous. It's dangerous for Israel and it is dangerous for America. Today's Democrat Party, it's heartbreaking, is in the process of abandoning the state of Israel, and that is a terrible development for the world.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's not just how orchestrated this was, but also how the White House doubled down on it so quickly afterwards. National Security Council spokesman John Kilby said this about the UN resolution at the White House press briefing room, doubling down on their stance.

[John Kirby]

The ones we vetoed didn't condemn Hamas. This one didn't condemn Hamas, which is why we couldn't support it. But we didn't veto it because in general, unlike previous resolutions, this one did fairly capture what has been our consistent policy, which is linking a hostage deal and the release of those men and women with, of course, a temporary ceasefire.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, when he's talking here, it's like, what are you even saying, man? Like you're trying to spin this and act like this is somehow consistency. This is clearly a change in policy, which is, hey, we know you guys have hostages, including Americans, which no one's talking about, which is also disgrace. I think of the media and the White House and the President, they're not talking about that at all, number one. But number two, they're saying, all right, well, like, let's just go along with a ceasefire while they have hostages.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, you just listen to the words John Kirby said there. He said the ones we vetoed, the prior resolutions, didn't condemn Hamas. And then what's his next sentence? Well, this one didn't condemn Hamas either, but they let it pass. But of course, it's not a change. And, you know, it's actually particularly revealing. Minutes before the vote on Monday, the US Decided, okay, we're in the middle of condemning Israel. We're in the middle of screwing our ally. We're in the middle of abandoning our ally. Maybe we should ask that they should say something about Hamas. Maybe Hamas bad. Maybe, you know, it's not a great thing to murder 1200 people, to rape women and little girls, to take hostages, to mutilate their corpses, to desecrate their corpses. Maybe that's not great. Guys, can we kind of say raping and murdering children is bad? And it turns out in the U.N. nope, sorry, sorry. So, so the Biden administration briefly asked, could you add a sentence or two condemning Hamas? And the anti Semite said nope, absolutely not. And whatnot, Biden say, oh, nevermind. Okay, that's fine then we'll just focus on attacking Israel. We're with you guys.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And John was asked, by the way, hey, is this the official new stance that we're basically walking away from Israel, certainly this administration. And listen to his response on that here.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Now, for the first time in a while, the United States is at least abstaining and allowing it to go through. So the perception broadly is that the US has no longer got Israel's back when it comes to conversations like this.

[John Kirby]

That's just not true, Ed. Nothing could be further from the truth, quite frankly. Of course we still have Israel's back. I mean as you and I are speaking, we are still providing tools and capabilities, weapon systems so that Israel can defend itself against which we, we agree is still a viable threat to Hamas.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean you, you hear him there, he's like, no, no, nothing's further from the truth. Like we're still, we're still sending them some stuff. So everybody calm down.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, this White House unfortunately lies regularly. Here's what Linda Thomas Greenfield said, who is Biden's ambassador to the un Quote, this is about their request to condemn Hamas, quote, certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas. And we didn't agree with everything in the resolution for that reason. We were unfortunately, note that word unfortunately, not able to vote yes. In other words, we really would have loved to condemn Israel along with the other anti Semites, but, but we couldn't quite do that. However, she continues, as I've said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives of this non binding resolution. Okay, so even for UN doublespeak, that's something. And let me say something, there are a couple of really important points on this one, in many ways, Kirby is not lying. And here's why he's not lying. Because Joe Biden and this White House, from the day they arrived in the White House have been Undermining Israel. That is not new. The press hasn't reported on it. This UN Resolution is just the most visible example. But understand, Biden came in the White House. One of the very first things he did is stopped enforcing oil sanctions on Iran and allowed what's ended up being over $80 billion to flow to the Ayatollah, who chance death to Israel and death to America. The Ayatollah, by the way, Iran funds 90% of Hamas and 90% of Hezbollah. So that's one of the first things they did. One of the second things they did is send hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza. Gaza. The elected leaders of Gaza are Hamas, the terrorist organization. To do that, they had to waive US anti terrorism law. I led a group of 19 senators urging them, don't do that. Don't give money to Hamas, don't fund terrorism. By the way, 150 House Democrats sent a counter letter saying, yes, do send the money to Gaza, even though it'll go to Hamas. Even though it'll go to terrorism. We now know how the Biden administration resolved that issue, which is they concluded, yes, it was highly likely the money would go to Hamas, it was highly likely would go to terrorism. But instead of following US Anti terrorism laws, they simply waived it. And then understand what happened on October 7th. October 7th is unfolding. The world is watching in horror as 1200 people are murdered by vicious terrorists who are doing things the world has not seen since the Nazis. This was. These were Nazi tactics by. By terrorists that. That hate Jews because they're Jews. And within hours of the October 7th attack, what did the Biden administration do? The State Department set out a public tweet urging Israel, do not retaliate. Do not. Do not strike back. I called him out. They deleted that tweet. Then the next day, Tony Blinken, the Secretary of State, sent out another tweet saying Israel should not retaliate. Do not try to kill the terrorists again. I called him out again. They deleted it over and over and over again. Literally. From October 7th, Biden has been pressing cease fire, pause, stop killing terrorists. Stop killing terrorists. Stop killing terrorists. And then what has happened is the Democrat political base has gone crazy. There is a strong anti Israel, anti Semitic, anti Jewish, angry leftist core in the Democrat Party, and the Democrats are terrified of them.

[Ben Ferguson]

How much of this comes down to the election coming up, and I ask that, and I'll give you my opinion, is I think this has a lot to do with younger voters, Senator, that they're afraid are going to abandon The Democratic Party if they don't back the Palestinians and Hamas and everybody but Israel. And they're seeing the poll numbers and they're saying that they need young people to come out and vote for them. That the under 35 voter in the Democratic Party is vitally important to their success is part of this just saying we are willing to abandon our allies and it doesn't matter if they, if this puts us in bed with terrorists as long as we have a better chance of winning the next election.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So there's no doubt the political pressure is a factor and a significant factor. In fact, I'm told that there's a joke in Jerusalem that Chuck Schumer's speech was entirely about the two state solution, the two states being Michigan and Nevada. In other words, Schumer was entirely responding to the fact that a big chunk of the Democrat party is going crazy because they hate Israel. But, but I want you to understand it's not just responding to the fact that they've got some crazy leftists. Listen, one of the reasons I am so sad, I am so concerned about what has happened, there are a lot of people, a lot of people in the pro Israel community who focus on the squad. They focus on the crazy anti Semites in the House. They focus on AOC and Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush. And look, those people are out there. They hate Israel. They're vicious and, and it's kind of easy in the pro Israel community to say that's the problem is the extreme leftist. But I'm going to tell you that's not the problem. The problem is the so called mainstream Democrats. This demand that Israel throw Netanyahu out, throw their elected Prime Minister out came from Chuck Schumer, the elected Senate Majority Leader, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate. This decision to abandon Israel in the United nations came from Joe Biden, the President of the United States. These are not members of the squad. And understand with Biden, his undermining Israel is not new. He's appointed anti Israel radicals throughout the White House, throughout the State Department. They're all Obama holdovers. And to be honest, in the Obama White House they had the same same issue where they undermined Israel constantly. But let me tell you, actually a very famous exchange that occurred with Joe Biden more than 40 years ago in 1982. In 1982, I was 11 years old. You were a baby. You were what, one year old?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I was one years old. Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay. In 1982, Joe Biden is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and He's talking with Israel's prime minister, then, Menachem Begin, and he threatens Begin with cutting off US Aid to Israel if Israel did not stop. Its quotes settlements in Judea and Samaria. And Begin responded with one of the most famous remarks by a prime minister in decades. And this was said to Joe Biden after he was doing what he's doing now, which is trying to bully Israel. Here's what Begin said. Quote, don't threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it, we fought for it, we died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them, and when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid. Joe Biden has been doing this for more than 40 years, undermining Israel. But now he's not just some senator from Delaware spouting off. He is, sadly, the President of the United States. And it is extraordinarily consequential.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, as much as they're trying to make this a election year issue to bring in young voters, I think conservatives and Donald Trump better make this an election year issue, that you stand with your ally, Israel, for all these reasons. It's going to be, I think, a very, very big issue come November.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And, Ben, let me say something every single Democrat senator and every single Democrat House member should be forced to ask. Answer the question. Do you agree with Chuck Schumer demanding that Israel throw out its elected prime minister? And do you agree with Joe Biden abandoning Israel at the Security Council and allowing the enemies of Israel to force a resolution, effectively condemning Israel and demanding an immediate ceasefire that they stop killing Hamas terrorists? As far as I can tell, most Democrat senators and House members have not answered that because the press does not want to ask them.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, there's no accountability. That's. That's for sure. And it should be, like you said, an election year issue. Let's talk real quick about your finances and your retirement. If you have been looking at what's been going on, then you know that inflation has been eating up the dollar. With inflation still well above the Fed's target rate and consumer prices insanely higher than they were three years ago, you need a financial plan that ensures that the money you save today will be enough for you tomorrow. That's where gold and silver come in. Gold and silver have historically been good hedges against inflation and a great way to protect your hard earned retirement funds. And when it comes to buying gold and silver, you need a trusted partner. That's why I want you to reach out and talk to Freedom Gold usa. Not only do they preach protection, but they also preach diversifying your assets. They're not saying put everything in gold and silver. And also here's this. On average, they charge 25 to 30% less than most major gold and silver firms out there. So take control your financial future now visit freedomgoldusa.com verdict that's freedomgoldusa.com verdict. Make sure that you call them. And like I said, on average they charge 25 to 30% less than most major gold and silver firms, which means you have more buying power and you're preserving your wealth. FreedomGoldUSA.com verdict or call them 1-800-655-8843. It's 1800-655884-31800-655-8843 or online at go freedomgoldusa.com verdict center. I want to move to another issue. There was an issue, a interview, I should say that happened on Sunday. A lot of people don't watch 60 Minutes anymore. But the Mexican president did do a sit down interview and it actually took a couple days until anyone noticed it, which was I think the most unique part of this. First off, and then what he said, it was diplomatic blackmail, as it's been described by many. As the Mexican president said that the flow of illegal immigrants will continue unless the US Meets some of his new demands. In an interview, he was asked about the flow of not just illegals but also drugs coming across the southern border. And here's what the president of Mexico said about America.

[Interviewer]

He thinks you have the power in this moment to slow down migration. Do you plan to?

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

We do and want to continue doing it. But we do want for the root causes to be attended to, for them to be seriously looked at with the.

[Interviewer]

Ear of the White House. President Lopez Obrador proposed his fix that the United States commit $20 billion a year to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, lift sanctions on Venezuela, end the Cuban embargo and legalize millions of law abiding Mexicans living in the US if they don't do the things that you said need to be done, then what?

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

The flow of migrants will continue.

[Interviewer]

Your critics have said what you're doing or what you're asking for to help secure the border is diplomatic blackmail. What do you say?

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

I'm speaking frankly. We have to say things as they are.

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator, there's like five different things I want to discuss with you. Let's just start with number one. This is diplomatic blackmail. 20 billion a year. And if you give me 20 billion a year and then you allow all the illegal immigrants to become citizens in your country that are there, then you give what we want with Cuba in Venezuela, and then if you keep giving us 20 billion a year, we might stop the flow of fentanyl coming across the southern border. This is extortion on a level that I can't even get my head around. From Mexico.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, of course it is. And the Mexican president, everyone calls him Amlo. Amlo is short for his full name, which is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He is a thug. He is a hard leftist. He's been a hard leftist his entire life. He has been vocally and visually viciously anti American his entire life. That has been. That's how he got elected. That was his campaign. Standing up against the Yankee imperialists to the north. That's who he is. And by the way, notice his demands. His demands are in the embargo against Cuba and end the sanctions against Venezuela. He's standing with communist dictators in Cuba and Venezuela. That's who he aligns himself with, is the hard left, anti American, communist axis through Latin America. That's who Amlo is. So it's not surprising that's who he's always been. Now, that being said, is he trying to extort America? Of course, is the threat that the flow of migrants will continue unless you pay us off? 20 billion a year to Latin American countries. It's kind of like, you know, a mob enforcer. Nice little bar you got here. Shame if something happened to it. Boy, a fire would do real damage. He's saying, well, we'll keep these migrants coming unless you pay us off. Just, you know, a bag of cash each week would be good. I'll send my guys to pick it up. Yes, that's exactly what he's trying to do.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's almost like, is there a difference between the president of Mexico and the cartels of Mexico? Because the way he was talking, working, seems like the same type of conversation you'd have with the narcos.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and by the way, Amlo, one of the problems is his government has very much been in bed with the narcos and it is devastating the nation of Mexico. The people of Mexico are facing murders, they're facing kidnapping, they're facing enormous violence from these multi billion dollar global criminal cartels that Amlo has facilitated. But I'm going to say something that's going to surprise you. I'm actually not terribly upset that Amlo's doing that. That's who he is. That's, you know, it's, it's like brand.

[Ben Ferguson]

Is what you're saying. It's not like he's betraying us. This is who he is.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He is an anti American leftist who is going to behave like a thug. He is just like Nicolas Maduro. He is just like the Chavistas in Venezuela. He's just like the Castriestas, Fidel Castro and all of their progeny in, in, in Cuba. And, and that's who he is. But, but you know why I'm actually not all that worked up about what he said?

[Ben Ferguson]

Why is that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Because Joe Biden wants him to say this. Understand this crisis at our southern border is not because Amlo like his comment. You could stop it, couldn't you? And, and well, yes, but, but pay us money for us to stop it. Understand, Joe Biden doesn't want it to stop. Chuck Schumer doesn't want it to stop. The Democrats don't want it to stop the 10.4 million illegal immigrants. They're glad of them. They want more. They want 10 million to become 20 million to become 30 million. Those they view as future Democrat voters. And so Amlo listen, you know, do you get mad when a little like yapping dog comes and yaps at the door? No. Amlo's gonna scream, so what if we had a president? I'll tell you, when Donald Trump was president, Amlo was terrified of him. Utterly and completely terrified. And by the way, Amlo actually did a pretty good job when Trump was president because he was so afraid. Let's pause and ask, how did we secure the border under Trump? What happened? And I'll tell you what happened. Trump threatened amlodipine. And what he said is, you either help us secure the border or I'm going to oppose I, Donald J. Trump. I'm going to impose a 25% tariff on everything coming out of Mexico. And Amlo ran screaming. It terrified him because he believed Trump would do it. It wasn't an empty threat. And he was terrified. And what happened? Number one, AMLO put 6,000 troops on Mexico's southern border. You know, remember the shape of Mexico. Mexico is much more narrow at the south than it is at the north. At the north, Mexico has a 2,000 mile border with the United States. At the south, their border is much, much smaller. AMLO put 6,000 soldiers on their southern border to stop the flow. And critically, because of Trump's threat, AMLO agreed to the Remain in Mexico agreement. What was Remain in Mexico? It said anyone that crossed illegally into Mexico and most of the people coming at that time and now were not Mexicans, they were from elsewhere at the time. They were mostly from Central and South America. Remain in Mexico said they would stay in Mexico. These illegal immigrants would remain in Mexico while their US Asylum case was proceeding. And what happened when suddenly people paid cartels thousands of dollars, traveled all the way north and discovered, holy cow, I don't get to come into America. I'm stuck in Mexico, I can't cross over. The numbers plummeted to the lowest rate in 45 years. So when Amlo says this, by the way, the instant Joe Biden became president, the numbers skyrocketed because Biden is weak. Amlo isn't afraid of him. AMLO isn't scared at all. And actually everything Amlo is threatening Joe Biden and every other Democrat in Congress wants him to do that.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's almost like he's empowered to say this because he's actually backed up by the American policy. That's what you're telling us.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That is exactly right, that he's doing what they know he'll do. Look, look, Marxist gonna Marxist. That's who they are. He is going to engage in anti American rhetoric. The only thing he responds to is strength. This Biden White House is not capable of strength against leftists, against enemies of America. They're only capable of strength against our friends. They're only capable of undermining allies of America. But because Amlo is a leftist, just like in Cuba, they're communists, just like in Venezuela, they're communist, just like Lula in Brazil is an anti American leftist, just like Petro in Colombia is an anti American leftist. Every anti American leftist, this administration gives everything they want, and usually they want to give them money. So when actually Amlo saying, lift the Cuban embargo, you know what? Biden White House wants to lift the Cuban embargo. When AMLO says end the sanctions against Venezuela, you know what? Biden wants to end the sanctions against Venezuela. This is, they are, to use the old communist phrase, they are fellow travelers.

[Ben Ferguson]

You mentioned the drug aspect of this and I want you to hear what he had to say and everybody listening because there's zero compassion. The number one killer 49 under in this country is fentanyl. In this nation, more than anything else. That's what's killing us. And he was asked about the drugs and he kind of mocked America and laughed at America's demise when it comes to drugs and the deaths that are happening. Take a listen.

[Interviewer]

The head of the DEA says cartels are mass producing fentanyl. And the U.S. state Department has said that most of it is coming out of Mexico. Are they wrong?

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

Yes. Or rather they don't have all the information because fentanyl is also produced in the United States.

[Interviewer]

The State Department says most of it's coming from Mexico.

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

Fentanyl is produced in the United States, in Canada and in Mexico, and the chemical precursors come from Asia. You know why we don't have the drug consumption that you have in the United States? Because we have customs, traditions and we don't have the problem of the disintegration of the family.

[Interviewer]

But there is drug consumption in Mexico, but very little. So why the violence then in Mexico?

[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]

Because drug trafficking exists, but not the consumption.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, he's laughing when he gives the last answer there. Like he's smiling and smirking when he's like, haha, this is hilarious. Like, I can't believe you guys are even asking me these questions.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well look, that's exactly right. And he's lying when he's suggesting that fentanyl is manufactured in large quantities in the United States. The vast majority of what is killing Americans is being manufactured in Mexico. Now he's right that the precursors are coming from China. It's the Chinese communists who are sending it to Mexico. It's the Mexican drug cartels who are manufacturing it and they're smuggling it over the border. There's some fentanyl production in the United States, but, but it, it is very minor compared to the volume coming from Mexico. He knows that. But, but this is, and, and by the way, understand the, the total volume. Last year over 100,000Americans died of drug overdoses. 70% of that, over 70,000 was from fentanyl. And the vast majority of that was Chinese fentanyl manufactured in Mexico by the Mexican drug cartels. And Amlo is saying sadly, with Biden's blessing and the Democrats blessing, we're going to keep it flowing.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, I hope everyone has a wonderful Good Friday. I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend for those who are Christians. I hope you reflect on the extraordinary sacrifice that God sent his son Jesus to give his life for us. And on Good Friday he was crucified. For your sins. For my sins. And he died and was buried. And three days later and we celebrated on Easter, he rose from the dead and rose from the dead to bring us the gift of salvation. And Easter is a wonderful time to reflect on that extraordinary love that God has for us. It's also a wonderful time to be with family. And so I'll tell you, I have been crisscrossing the state of Texas for this entire past week. I've been all over the place and so I'm looking forward to the next couple of days. Just taking some downtime with with Heidi and the girls. We're gonna go to a ranch of a friend of ours and just spend some time with. The ranch is actually the some friends of our daughter. So they're gonna play and hang out on the ranch and I suspect we'll sit out by the fire at night and we may smoke a cigar or two and just spend time with family. And actually the ranch has, I think, 20 cats at the ranch. So my daughters in particular will be thrilled. Cause 20cats is a lot more than they're used to. And so it's going to be a really good time just to be together with family. And I would encourage everyone, don't let work consume so much time. Don't let your other activities consume so much time that you don't pause, particularly at the holidays, to hug your wife, to hug your husband, to hug your kids, to just sit and listen to them. Don't even just talk to them. Listen to them and just relax and love on your family. This is a wonderful time to do that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Amen. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, and if you missed anything this week, we do the weekend review on Saturday. So maybe if you're traveling over the weekend to get to the lake or whatever, grab the weekend review as well. And the Senator and I will see you back here on Monday. Happy Easter to all of.