← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Dems Bailing on Biden...Who Could Replace Him? plus RFK Jr Denied Protection & Ridiculous Trump Gag Order
00:47:38
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- [00:01]
Ben Shapiro
Senator, it's always nice to be sitting with you in studio. And for people that are listening, audio only. You can watch this episode on YouTube as well. Let's start with this idea and I think it's time to have a real discussion about it. The possibility that Joe Biden may actually not be the nominee for the Democratic Party, they seem to be turning on him. Your initial reaction to this?
- [00:24]
Ted Cruz
Well, I think the odds that Joe Biden is not the Democrats nominee in 2024 have risen significantly, maybe by as much as 20 or 30%. And I think there are all sorts of indicia that suggest that Democrats are getting nervous. They're getting nervous about his age. They're looking at polling numbers that show 2/3 of Americans think he's too old to be president. They're getting nervous about all of the evidence of Biden corruption. You've got Hunter being indicted, you've got all the connections to Joe. And then what we've seen in recent weeks is the media is turning on them. And remember the role of the media. Sadly, they're no longer journalists, they no longer report news. They are the left wing of the Democrat party. And when the media turns on the presumed Democrat nominee, I think that is the cutting edge of the Democrat intelligentsia saying we may have to cut bait and find someone new. So for example, David Ignatius.
- [01:20]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah.
- [01:21]
Ted Cruz
Columnist in the Washington Post.
- [01:23]
Ben Shapiro
Say that again in the Washington Post saying this, this is something that doesn't happen.
- [01:28]
Ted Cruz
Well, he wrote. Tell us what he wrote, Ben.
- [01:30]
Ben Shapiro
He wrote something interesting and basically was saying it's time to get rid of Joe Biden or maybe Kamala Harris or maybe both. And one of the things he talked about in here, he said he was concerned about Harris, that even with Biden, because he says that. Well, one way that Biden could help himself is by encouraging, quote, a more open vice presidential selection process that could produce a stronger running mate. So he's even saying, hey, Joe Biden, you're in deep trouble. Democrats need to pay attention to this. But if you're not gonna stop, if you're not gonna say I'm not gonna run, you might wanna look at replacing your vice presidential candidate because maybe that will at least make you go, all right, well we like you a little bit more cuz we know we're gonna replace you with someone that we like. Cuz her poll numbers are worse than Joe Biden's.
- [02:14]
Ted Cruz
Well, they are. And the fact that the Washington Post is throwing that marker out there. And let's come back to that, cuz I wanna Talk about the likelihood of Joe not being the nominee. I wanna talk about the likelihood of Kamala not being the vice president. But first, the fact that the Washington Post puts that out there in a very prominent column. It's like the starter's pistol. And the media, they all listen to the same things. And so when you have the Washington Post start saying that, when you have the New York Times start saying that, you start having others. So, for example, here's CNN this past week. Give a listen. He has done, I don't know if.
- [02:50]
Guest Speaker
It'S similar things, but he's sort of.
- [02:53]
Ben Shapiro
Told some stories that don't line up.
- [02:55]
Ted Cruz
Quite like this before he had this.
- [02:57]
Guest Speaker
President has a pattern at this point of either inventing or embellishing stories about his own past, his biography. He did it three times. In one speech last month alone, he claimed he had witnessed bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. When he actually showed up about six hours later. He claimed that his grandfather had died just days before he was born himself at the same hospital. In fact, his grandma, grandpa died more than a year before in a different state, not the same hospital. And he also repeated a favorite false story that I and others have debunked over and over again about a supposed conversation with an Amtrak train conductor he was friends with who was actually deceased at the time. The conversation would have had to take place. And that's not all. There are some more serious ones, in my view. Previously in his presidency, he claimed at one point he'd been arrested during a civil rights protest, when in other versions of the story, he just said an officer had taken him home from a protest. He said he had visited the Pittsburgh synagogue where worshippers were killed in a 2018 mass shooting. In fact, he had actually spoken to the rabbi, but never. But never went. And he's made a whole bunch of others, too. He said at one point, Republicans like to bring this up. He said that he used to drive a tractor trailer, used to drive an 18 wheeler. Never happened. The White House later clarified he used to drive a school bus at one point for. As a, as a job, briefly. School bus, of course, not an 18 wheeler. So whatever his intentions, whether it's foggy memory about stuff that's going on decades ago or deliberate embellishment, this is an unfortunate pattern that keeps coming up again and again with Joe Biden.
- [04:24]
Ben Shapiro
You go back to the starter gun analogy that used a moment ago. Senator. It's like everyone was holding back. Then all of a sudden the op ed comes out in the Washington Post and it's like we can now say this. We can now do this.
- [04:36]
Ted Cruz
Well, and I gotta say, that clip on CNN I think is funny on like 19 different levels. Number one, the most is they're finally reporting on the fact that Joe Biden is a pathological serial liar. He has been his entire career. He says things that are false. He says things that are false Again, he does it over and over and over and over again. The reporters all know that. Yeah, it's just CNN didn't used to talk about it. They didn't used to be willing to say it because hey, their job is to protect the Democrat president, not actually to report on what he says and does even though it's a lie. That's point number one on that. Point number two, the examples they use are deliberately minor examples. They're deliberately not that consequential. They didn't include the lie that Joe Biden just did last week where he said he was at ground zero the day after 911 and he saw it right there. That's a flat out lie. No, he wasn't. He was on the floor of the Senate on September 12, 2001. He did not go the day after 9 11. It's just at an absolute lie. But they didn't include that one because that is when I laugh.
- [05:43]
Ben Shapiro
Because they put at the bottom of the screen on the ticker, but they didn't mention it in their comments. They're like, well, it was like the pretext was like, let's not mention that one. Because I think that makes too many Americans angry that you would place yourself at ground zero the day after 9 11. So we'll just put at the bottom of the screen, but we won't even talk about it with our words.
- [06:01]
Ted Cruz
And most significantly, they do not include his repeated lies about his corruption with his son, Hunter Biden. They don't include the lie I've never spoken with my son about his overseas business dealings. That's now demonstrably false. Even the White House has backed away from it. But far be it from CNN to admit that that's a lie because that actually, that goes to their conceit. No evidence. No evidence. No evidence. There's no evidence. No direct evidence. We obviously had an entire podcast explaining what they mean when they say no direct evidence and why they're lying. So they don't include the most consequential and significant ones. And I gotta say, for those of you that are watching this on YouTube, this is one of our three pods a week that is both on YouTube and on audio. You can See the images they put up and they have a whole series of clips of Joe Biden. Every one of them, he's smiling.
- [06:53]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah, they're all good.
- [06:54]
Ted Cruz
He looks like a genial grandfather. So he's a liar, but he's just like an old.
- [06:59]
Ben Shapiro
He's just having fun. He's just trying to entertain you.
- [07:02]
Ted Cruz
I mean, who else hasn't claimed they were at ground 0 after 9, 11 when they weren't? That's just what really old genial Uncle Joe's do. So CNN is starting to criticize him, but they're so bad at it. Yeah, they're so used to being the Praetorian guard protecting him that they can't really bring themselves to do it. That being said, look this, the Washington Post flipping on him, CNN flipping on him. This is significant. And I think the Democrat intelligentsia is getting nervous. And Ben, I believe there is now a real possibility Joe Biden is not the Democrat nominee in 2024. And I think there are two ways this potentially plays out. One way is the pressure ratchets up internally within the Democrat Party significantly enough that Biden ends up backing out. I think there's some chance of that. He didn't want to. But I gotta say, the weird thing about Democrats, they're command and control. They are collectivists. And if enough of the power brokers go to Biden and say enough is enough is enough, I think there is some possibility. He says, I'm out. I did what I came to do. I stopped Donald Trump from getting in office in 2021. I'm done. I'm riding off into the sunset. That's actually what David Igdatius says. Yeah, look, you can victory lap. You did what you wanted to do. And by the way, one of the things fueling that is the unease about Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris's numbers, her poll support is terrible. Her unfavorables are terrible, worse than his.
- [08:46]
Ben Shapiro
And his poll numbers, to be clear, are at Jimmy Carter levels or below.
- [08:49]
Ted Cruz
38, 39% approval ratings and hers are.
- [08:52]
Ben Shapiro
Worse in the 20s.
- [08:53]
Ted Cruz
It makes you wonder if she wears mint flavored shoes because daily she seems to stick her foot in her mouth. And Democrats are nervous. Look, Joe Biden is 80 years old. If Biden is elected in 2024, the actuarial tables are very significant. The odds are high that he does not live out a second term, that he dies sometime in the White House. That's just the realities of the age he's at. Which means in this next election, if The Democrat ticket is Biden Harris. A huge part of it is gonna be, you pull that lever for Joe Biden, you are voting for President Kamala Harris. And that, number one, scares the heck, I think, out of a lot of voters. But number two, makes Democrats nervous because they recognize it scares the heck out of a lot of voters. Now, you asked, okay, might they dump Kamala Harris as vp? I think the chances of that are zero.
- [09:55]
Ben Shapiro
Is it for the same reason that I think it's probably zero, and that is, if it was a white male, they'd have a much easier time getting rid of that person. But this is an African American female. How do you offload an African American female without having to worry that women are gonna turn against you and minorities would turn against you, saying, how dare you get rid of our woman who could be the first female president in the history of the United States of America, could be Kamala Harris. Not because anyone elects her just because of age and him having to resign or based on age that he could die in office.
- [10:28]
Ted Cruz
So, yes, and especially because the Democrats are such hyper bean counting, they put everyone into categories. So they don't think of you as a human being. They think of you. You are a man. You are a white man. You are a black woman. Like whatever your race, whatever your category, ideally you're a transgender vegetarian pantheist or whatever, but whatever your category, they put you into it. If it were some poor schlub white guy, if the VP were Joe Biden, see ya. They'd put him out on a boat with a guy saying Hail Mary as he puts a round in his forehead, as they do in Godfather 2. That's what they do. And I mean that figuratively. I can just see the fact checkers now. Cruz says they're going to murder him, though. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying they'd get rid of him and get rid of him really quickly. I don't think the Democrats would be willing to dump Kamala Harris because they view African American women as such an essential part of their political coalition to victory that I think they'd be terrified of pissing off black women. And if African American women stayed home, Democrats lose.
- [11:45]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah.
- [11:45]
Ted Cruz
So I don't think they can dump Kamala Harris as much as the Washington Post columnists might want them to. So there are two scenarios in which Joe Biden is not the nominee. I believe, number one, the powers that be in the Democrat Party convince Joe Biden to pull out. If that happens, I think it's A free for all. I think a bunch of people get in. I think the top four Democrats who get in are Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, and Elizabeth Warren. And I think all four of them get in. I think Gretchen Whitmer probably gets in as well. I think there are some others that get in. I think you probably get five to 10 candidates who jump in the instant Biden is out. Now, in my view, the top tier are the first four I listed. And I think in that primary, I believe Elizabeth Warren wins that primary.
- [12:38]
Ben Shapiro
Really?
- [12:39]
Ted Cruz
And when I say that that shocks people, I get a lot of gasps. But add me to that group right.
- [12:44]
Ben Shapiro
Now, because that was not what I thought you were gonna say. Why Elizabeth Warren out of all them? I mean, she has Pocahontas for a reason.
- [12:50]
Ted Cruz
Because I think Elizabeth Warren is the ID of today's Democrat Party. She is the hard left, angry Marxist. And that is where the heart is. Look, it's Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and aoc.
- [13:02]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah.
- [13:03]
Ted Cruz
That drive the Democrat policy agenda right now because the entire party is terrified of her. In 2020, Elizabeth Warren was splitting the crazy moon bat Marxist left with Bernie Sanders.
- [13:17]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah.
- [13:18]
Ted Cruz
And the two of them were dividing that vote, which is what let Joe Biden win that primary. I don't think Bernie runs this time. I think he will recognize he's too old to run this time. And so I think Elizabeth has the crazy left winger lane all to herself, and I think that beats the rest of that field. That's scenario one. Elizabeth Warren comes out of a wide open, real Democrat primary. Now, thing about it is, you're running out of time, so I'll give you some deadlines. October 16th is the filing deadline for major party candidates in Nevada. November 10th is the filing deadline for major party candidates. Alabama. November 14th is the filing deadline for major party candidates in Arkansas. So we're starting to get to filing deadlines where it becomes exceedingly difficult to get on the ballot. And so if this scenario happens, it has to happen fast. It has to happen.
- [14:18]
Ben Shapiro
That was my question. The timeline, if Joe Biden's gonna. If he's gonna be pushed out, forced out, because it's not gonna be on.
- [14:24]
Ted Cruz
His own accord next 60 days.
- [14:26]
Ben Shapiro
Next 60 days.
- [14:26]
Ted Cruz
Yeah. I mean, it's. We've got him.
- [14:29]
Ben Shapiro
So then here's my question. Do we see the media change the way they're covering the Biden crime family over the next 60 days as part of the final push to get him to realize he can't run?
- [14:39]
Ted Cruz
I think that is entirely Possible. I think Washington Post and CNN are sort of the opening shots. And if we see in the next couple of weeks, if we see the media actually covering all of Biden's enormous problems, that's the pressure mounting. There's a second scenario, and this scenario I think is more likely and a heck of a lot more dangerous, which is, fast forward to next year. Fast forward to the Democrat National Convention. It's going to be in Chicago, Illinois, and it is August 19th through 22nd, if we get to August of next year. And number one, Biden's mental diminishment has gotten even worse and it becomes obvious to anyone that he can't find his shoes. And Democrats decide, okay, all of this downside is really worrying us. Then the convention is the opportunity to parachute someone in. You parachute someone in by having some, some story that for health reasons Biden's not able to continue. How the Democrats execute that exactly, I don't know. But the Democrats are very big on smoke filled rooms and forcing through the outcome they want. And they obey orders. Now, if you're a Democrat, poobah. And by the way, the Democrats also have what are called superdelegates. Republicans don't have superdelegates. Superdelegates are typically elected officials that have disproportionate power at their convention. They have the ability to really move the votes. If you get to the August convention for Democrats and they've collectively lost their nerve on Biden said it's time to put Joe out to pasture. What do they do then? Well, the natural thing to say is would be okay, it'll be one of those top four. And here's the problem. Whoever they pick is a problem. They pick Kamala Harris. She's the vice president, in some ways the natural choice. All of the downsides of Kamala Harris make that a really dangerous choice. If they pick Gavin Newsom, that makes some California Democrats happy. The problem is you're replacing an African American woman in the Democrat party with a white guy.
- [17:01]
Ben Shapiro
A rich white guy.
- [17:02]
Ted Cruz
A very rich white guy. You want to talk about a recipe for discontent, that's a big problem. They could go with Pete Buttigieg, another white guy. But Buttigieg is gay. That's at least the gay lesbian community. He's a big chunk of the Democrat coalition.
- [17:19]
Ben Shapiro
That'll fit in very well as well.
- [17:21]
Ted Cruz
So rich liberals would really like Pete Buttigieg. And a lot of the Democrat donors are gay and lesbian. That's a major chunk of the funding stream for a Democrat candidate. But you have the same problem. If you jettison an African American woman who's vice president for a white guy in the Democrat primary, you're really asking for trouble. And option four is Elizabeth Warren. Well, Elizabeth Warren makes the crazy moon bat leftists happy. Yeah, but you have the same everyone else who doesn't get it, I think anyone they go with as a coronation, it's different than an open primary where Warren wins because primary voters vote for that gives an element of legitimacy that the people who don't win can live with. Yeah, if it's just the kingmaker saying, nope, we pick you. Whoever doesn't get picked, everyone else is pissed. So here's the scenario that I think is perhaps most likely and most dangerous. In August of 2024, the Democrat kingmakers jettisoned Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama. And I want you to pause and reflect on that.
- [18:36]
Ben Shapiro
Oh, I'm pausing and I'm reflecting as we. And so is everybody else listening right now.
- [18:41]
Ted Cruz
I view this as a very serious danger.
- [18:45]
Ben Shapiro
I'm smiling right now because it terrifies me. And I also could totally see this happening.
- [18:49]
Ted Cruz
So Michelle Obama, number one, you don't infuriate African American women, which is a critical part of the constituency that Democrats are relying on to win. But number two, you avoid the problem if you pick from any of the four. The other three are pissed because they're all to some extent peers, they're rivals. They're all jabbing knives at each other. Michelle Obama, because she was first lady, has the ability to kind of parachute in above all four and say, hey, we're not picking among any of you. You guys can all fight it out next time, you're all going to be on the same level. We're coming. This is the Obamas saving the day. And I think in terms of a solution that unifies Democrats, there ain't nothing like that. I also think Michelle is not all that eager to run for president, but to parachute in In August of 24, a couple of months before the presidency, and suddenly wake up and be president.
- [19:50]
Ben Shapiro
Not a bad. Not a bad gig.
- [19:51]
Ted Cruz
It's not a bad gig at all. Now, would she do it? I don't know. I've met Michelle, but I don't know her personally in any meaningful way. I don't know if she would do it. I do think Barack Obama is already running the Biden administration. I think he is already the puppet master behind this Biden White House. I don't think Joe Biden is the decision maker. And so when I see the Media turning on Joe Biden right now. I think the odds of Michelle Obama parachuting in in August of 2024 have risen dramatically and that ought to scare the hell out of anyone who is unhappy about the direction this country is going and doesn't want us to go even crazier in an even worse direction.
- [20:39]
Ben Shapiro
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- [22:20]
Ted Cruz
Oh yeah, yeah, no, no. They immediately start carving him on Rushmore. Figuratively speaking, the Rushmore of socialists. Joe Biden would permanently look, he aspires to be the next fdr. And part of how Democrats would get him to step down is saying by doing this you're fdr. By doing this you're George Washington. Stepping down after two terms, you're demonstrating the ultimate statesman principle. Now look, I think Joe Biden loves the trappings of being president. This guy's wanted to be president forever since he was Two, and to be clear, I understand that particular sickness. My hands are not clean in that discussion, but. So I get it. But I do think the Democrats appeal to his vanity, that you will be legendary and immortal if you do this. And that may be an element of making it happen. And I don't think it is more likely than not. I don't think it's greater than 50% that Biden is not the nominee, but I think it's probably 25 or 30% right now.
- [23:24]
Ben Shapiro
It's interesting that you said that about Michelle, because I was doing my podcast the night after Michelle Obama was talking with Billie Jean King about equal pay and she did the speech at the US Open in primetime. And I said the next day, not thinking about the connection you're talking about here, I said it was almost like a coming out political speech. It was the first time I'd saw Michelle Obama in a political way. It wasn't a First lady speech. It was a political esque speech. It was in her own words, not under my husband, first lady esque. And if you think about that now with what you just said, that's scary as hell.
- [23:57]
Ted Cruz
And by the way, this is not a new thought for Democrats. You had Bill Clinton who served two terms, and then obviously Hillary was presumed to be the heir apparent. And so the dynamic from Barack to Michelle, listen, the Democrats are dynastic. The Democrats are top down. The Democrats are command and control. And it's because Michelle has a claim to already being at a higher level in the Democrat pecking order than any of the other contenders. It's the only solution for Democrat power brokers that doesn't cause a civil war.
- [24:35]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah, and it comes with the best political campaigner in the Democratic Party, her husband.
- [24:41]
Ted Cruz
Plus, look, Michelle spent eight years as First Lady. First lady is a position that by design keeps you out of the political fray. And so Michelle Obama has really high positives and relatively low negatives. Now she starts getting into policy. I think she is further left than Barack. I think she is further left than Joe Biden, I think as a president, she would be disastrous. But the American people think loudly of her because she's First Lady. The role of first lady insulates someone. And if she parachutes in in August with big positives and relatively low negatives, and she can also say, hey, all the things Joe Biden screwed up on, that wasn't me. Yeah, that is really potent politically. If I were a Democrat, I'd be excited about that.
- [25:32]
Ben Shapiro
There's also something else that happened this week with the Democratic primary. That was shocking to me. You've had people that made threats against you. You've run for President of the United States of America. I've experienced having people threaten against me as well. It's not a good feeling. You look at the Kennedy family and the fact that they've had assassinations and targeting, and RFK has made it clear he wants protection. There was something shocking that happened this week with a man that was dressed like law enforcement. Thank goodness they saw him. They figured it out. There were certain things he was wearing in his outfit, the way where his gun was being held on his person that didn't fit law enforcement. And he was arrested. But you were upset about this, I think. As you should be, because why have they still not decided to protect rfk? And what's taking them so long? Especially when you see things like this happen.
- [26:26]
Ted Cruz
Yeah, this was a really disturbing security incident. You had someone show up at an event for RFK Jr. He had two firearms and two shoulder holsters that he was wearing. He was dressed as law enforcement, and it was fraudulent. He was dressed with a lanyard that indicated he was a U.S. marshal. He was trying to camouflage. He told people he was part of RFK security detail. Thankfully, the private security that RFK hired recognized that he wasn't, and they detained and arrested him. But someone coming in with two loaded firearms and extra magazines impersonating law enforcement is, on its face, exceptionally dangerous. Now, RFK put out the following statement. We're going to put it up on the screen. Here's what RFK said. I'm very grateful that alert and fast acting protectors from Gavin de Becker and Associates, his private security firm, spotted and detained an armed man who attempted to approach me at my Hispanic Heritage speech at the Wilshire Ebel Theater in Los Angeles tonight. The man, wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines, was carrying a U.S. marshal badge on a lanyard and a belt clip. Federal id. He identified himself as a member of my security detail. Armed GDBA team members moved quickly to isolate and detain the man until LAPD arrived to make the arrest. I'm also grateful to LAPD for its rapid response. And then this is in bold. In his tweet, I'm still entertaining a hope that President Biden will allow me Secret Service protection. I'm the first presidential candidate in history to whom the White House has denied a request for protection.
- [28:07]
Ben Shapiro
Now, can you explain the politics of that real quick so people don't understand how this works?
- [28:10]
Ted Cruz
Yeah, let me do that. And the way I'm going to do that, I want to put up. I retweeted this and I retweeted it with my own comment. So let's put up what I tweeted. I retweeted RFK statement and here's what I said. This isn't a left or right issue. The Biden administration should give Robert Kennedy Jr. A security detail. Now, given his tragic family history, both his father and uncle were horrifically assassinated and this latest serious security incident, Biden shouldn't mess around. Under law, quote, major candidates are entitled to Secret Service protection. Is Mayorkas decision not to grant protection political? Surely this administration wouldn't put a man's life at risk. Rather than concede that RFK Jr. Is a major candidate, the Trump DHS gave Biden protection in March of 2020 after a security incident. Mayorkas should follow that precedent and expeditiously approve protection for RFK Jr. Now, the way it works under law is that a candidate for president is entitled to Secret Service protection if they are a, quote, major candidate. And being a major candidate, there are a series of criteria that are used to ascertain major candidate, including poll numbers. It is the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security that makes that determination. They do so in consultation with a bipartisan advisory committee that includes both Republicans and Democrats. At the easy level, the major party nominees both are entitled to coverage and they both get it. But historically they get it earlier than becoming the nominees. If you look at 2016. So I've got some real and personal experience with dealing with this. In 2016 in the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump was given Secret Service protection relatively early on and Ben Carson was given Secret Service protection relatively early on. Now, Ben Carson did not win a single state. Ben Carson was given Secret Service protection because the level of death threats that were directed at him was deemed sufficient that it merited Secret Service protection. I don't know exactly how many death threats we're talking about, but the Department of Homeland Security made the determination, given this threat level, given the risk that some lunatic would try to kill an African American Republican running for president, we're going to provide Secret Service protection. Now, as the primary went on, I won 12 states. For months, the race was essentially a two man race between me and Donald Trump. No other Republican other than Trump and I won more than a single state. So John Kasich won Ohio.
- [31:24]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah.
- [31:24]
Ted Cruz
Marco Rubio won Minnesota and Trump and I won the other 48 states. And at the time that I dropped out, I had won 12 and he had won something like 22, 23 states. So he'd won about twice as many states. That's when I dropped out. So for months earlier, I easily met the standard for a major candidate. And had I requested Secret Service protection, I almost certainly would have received it. Because under any objective measure, I met it. In 2016, I made the decision not to ask for it. And we talked about it in our campaign.
- [31:59]
Ben Shapiro
Why?
- [32:00]
Ted Cruz
Because when Secret Service comes into the campaign, they slow everything down. They come in, they take over all the security. They set up magnetometers, they set up metal detectors in the front of the events. That means people coming to your events often will have to wait one, two, three hours in line. It slows the operation down. Once you bring Secret Service in, typically a candidate will do maybe two or three events a day because it just slows the entire operation down. In 2016, we were running fast and hard. I was doing in days, six, seven, eight, nine events a day. I mean, we were going fast. And I didn't want pump the brakes to pump the brakes. I didn't want to slow it down. So we took security very seriously. So I hired private security and we had significant private security. But I would do something at the end of most events. I'd jump off the front of the stage and I'd plow into the crowd and I'd be hugging people, I'd be taking pictures, I'd be talking to kids. I remember Secret Service would never let you do that.
- [33:04]
Ben Shapiro
They would put the barrier up and you stay on the other side.
- [33:07]
Ted Cruz
And so we made the decision that we wanted to be faster and more nimble and that bringing Secret Service in would slow that down. And we also made the decision that we had a pretty significant investment in security and that we thought we could use private security to ensure safety while at the same time maintaining speed. In this instance, you've got RFK junior Number one. You've got his unique personal story. His father was murdered while running for President of the United States. Bobby Kennedy murdered as a candidate for the Democratic nominee for president. And before that, his uncle, John F. Kennedy, was murdered while being President of the United States. Given that history and given. People are just nuts. Look at this guy.
- [33:59]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah, copycats and crazies.
- [34:01]
Ted Cruz
Look, I think it is a no brainer that if RFK Jr wants Secret Service protection, given his circumstances, he deserves it. And the reason I believe the Biden administration hasn't granted it is because if they did, it legitimizes him. They would have to say he's a major Candidate and the approach of the Biden White House is rfk. Who? We never heard of him. Nope, nope. Nobody running. Nobody in the Democrat primary doesn't exist. This is a coronation. Joe's down in the basement. And I think it is purely political. And I ask everyone listening to this, imagine your reaction if you turned on the TV tomorrow and saw that RFK Jr. Like his father, was murdered while being a candidate for the Democrat nomination for president. Imagine the horror. How do you justify the Biden administration saying nope, politics matters more to us. So good luck to you. Hope nothing happens. This should not be. Look, I'm not voting for RFK Jr.
- [35:06]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah, but you should. If you're running for president, you should be safe while doing so.
- [35:09]
Ted Cruz
This is the right thing to do. And whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, this ought to be an easy choice. And the Biden White House ought to get their political heads out of their rear ends and do the right thing. Listen, they feel confident they can beat RFK Jr. Fine. If they're confident, then do the right thing and ensure that he's got Secret Service protection so we don't have a national tragedy on our hands.
- [35:37]
Ben Shapiro
Wanna tell you about Augusta Precious Metals. If you are worried about your retirement, if you've seen what's happened with interest rates hitting a 21 year high, for example, on houses, you've seen some of the bank failures that we had earlier this year and you lost money maybe last year in your retirement account. You should take a look at our friends at Augusta Precious Metals. At Augusta Precious Metals, they have one goal and that is to protect your assets by diversifying your funds, using gold as part of that plan. Now they do something that's really different. Not only will they send you their Free investor guide on gold, but they do a one on one web conference, a web conference that I've actually done with them where they answer all of your questions. They take a look at what your strategy is now. They take a look at what you've saved. They take a look at your earning potential, if you're still working or in retirement, how much money you need in that retirement and how to protect it. Then they'll talk to you about if gold is right for you or not. That's why I love them. If you've never checked out Augusta Precious Metals, do it. Call them 877-the-number-4-GOLD IRA. Get the free Investor's guide on gold. But then do the web conference for free and get the peace of mind of knowing that you're protecting your Hard earned dollars. Remember, if you're in retirement or close to retirement, there's no time to make up losses. That's why you want to preserve what you already have. 877 the number four gold IRA. That's 877, the number four gold IRA. Or online Augusta Precious Metals. That's AugustaPreciousMetals.com use the promo code. Verdict Senator, I also want to move on to something else that happened this week. And this one actually makes me really angry. It's judges getting involved in a way that I think is pretty clear. It's election interference. We've seen court dates that have come out now for Donald Trump with all these different indictments in different states. It could be like the days before Super Tuesday when any normal candidate would be on the campaign trail. You just mentioned why you guys didn't do Secret Service. That's how important it is to be.
- [37:39]
Ted Cruz
Fast and to actually be campaigning.
- [37:41]
Ben Shapiro
Right. To be campaigning. We're seeing two things now that seem to be marking the calendar. One, you could throw this guy in a courtroom during dates when he desperately needs to be out campaigning, taking away his ability to have a fair election against Joe Biden or whoever it may be. And two, now you may take away the president, former president of the United States of America and the leading candidate for the Republican Party's voice to talk about the accusations against him from the leftists. And These people, these DA's are trying to lock him up by putting a gag order on what he can say. This seems un American. It seems Banana Republic esque. I think it's disgusting political ploy here. Yet that's what we're really talking about. Now, is that real possibility?
- [38:24]
Ted Cruz
Look, you're exactly right. We have talked at length on this podcast about how the multiple indictments against Donald Trump, election interference. Democrats have convinced themselves that Donald Trump is Adolf Hitler. And because they believe he's Hitler, anything, anything, anything is justified to stop him. The ends justify the means. And they're willing to corrupt the legal process to turn the Department of Justice into a political weapon. They're willing to do everything they can to stop the voters from daring to make a decision to vote in the way these angry partisan Democrats don't want the voters to vote. We've gone over 200 years of our nation's history. We've never indicted a president or a former president or a major candidate for president. In the last six months, Democrats have done so four separate times. The U.S. department of justice under Biden is the most partisan and political we've ever seen. And Jack Smith, the special prosecutor, we've talked at length. He is a partisan. He has a history of abusing power, including. This is not the first presidential candidate or potential presidential candidate. He's gone after. He went after Bob McDonald, the governor of Virginia was considered a credible presidential candidate. Jack Smith indicted him, destroyed his political career, destroyed his life. And then on appeal, the Supreme Court unanimously threw out the conviction as not being consistent with law. But he'd already done its job.
- [39:49]
Ben Shapiro
He took him out.
- [39:50]
Ted Cruz
He took him out. In this instance, the case in the District of Columbia is profoundly dangerous. It's profoundly dangerous because, number one, the jury pool in the District of Columbia is over 90%, about 94% Democrat. So you're gonna get a jury that in all likelihood hates Donald Trump and believes he's Adolf Hitler. Now, if you believe someone's Adolf Hitler, you're inconvicted. That's not a hard guilty for whatever the crime is.
- [40:18]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah, it's just you hate it.
- [40:19]
Ted Cruz
If it's Adolf Hitler, turn the book at him. And yes, we also have a district judge who has demonstrated and earned a reputation as being one of the furthest left Democrat district judges on the federal bench in D.C. who is presiding. This trial is designed to directly interfere with the election. But Jack Smith said this is not enough. And so he filed a motion, a motion for a gag order. So he's gone to this left wing district judge and he's asked for a gag order. He says defendant has repeatedly and widely disseminated public statements attacking the citizens of the District of Columbia. That's by daring to point out that 94% of D.C. voters vote Democrat. And that's going to be the jury pool, the court. That's by pointing out that the judge has a record of being one of the most left wing Democrats on the entire federal bench. Prosecutors. That's by pointing out that Jack Smith is a hardcore partisan Democrat who's already abused his power repeatedly. And prospective witnesses. The government therefore requests that the court, quote, enter a narrowly tailored order pursuant to local criminal rule 57C that restricts certain prejudicial, extrajudicial statements and in particular what they ask for. The government seeks. This is a, quote, a narrow, well defined restriction that is targeted at extrajudicial statements that present a serious and substantial danger of materially prejudicing the case. The government's proposed order specifies that such statements would include A statements regarding the identity, testimony or credibility of prospective witnesses and B statements about any party witness, attorney, court personnel or Potential jurors that are disparaging and inflammatory or intimidating. Now, let's be clear. Who do they mean by potential witnesses? They mean people like Bill Barr.
- [42:22]
Ben Shapiro
Yep.
- [42:23]
Ted Cruz
And they mean people like Mike Pence. So Mike Pence is literally running against Donald Trump right now for the Republican nomination for president. And you have the Biden Department of Justice asking a federal judge issue an order that Donald Trump cannot say a critical word of Mike Pence about one of his opponents in the primary. Like, holy crap. If this doesn't piss you off, you're not paying attention. I mean, it is truly breathtaking. You want to understand why this is election interference. DOJ believes the federal court can order one political candidate. You're not allowed to criticize your opponent. Just don't say a word. Don't say a word at all. Despite the fact that you're facing a political persecution designed to interfere with the election, you're not allowed to say it. And if you do, by the way, look, a gag order is typically enforced by contempt and by jail. So what the Biden DOJ is proposing is if Donald Trump says a negative word about Mike pence, that the U.S. department of justice will show up and arrest him and put him in jail for saying a negative word about one of his opponents running for president.
- [43:40]
Ben Shapiro
And by the way, they would do that. Let's be clear, they would love to arrest him again.
- [43:44]
Ted Cruz
That's what they want. And to keep him in jail. This is election interference. It is wildly unconstitutional. It is a direct violation of the First Amendment. It is also a direct violation of the right to vote of our democratic process in this country. Now, the Democrat talking heads will say, look, sometimes you have gag orders. If you're going against a Mafia boss, you're going up against Al Capone. Courts will enter orders saying, okay, you can't intimidate witnesses. You can't say things that will prejudice the jury. You're right. In an ordinary criminal trial, those things can happen. In an ordinary criminal trial, the defendant is not a leading candidate for President of the United States actively running for President of the United States. And my guess, I don't think the district court will grant this. I don't know that. I don't know this judge at all. I've never met her. Her record demonstrates she's left wing. But I think if the district court granted this order, it would be exceptionally foolish. Why? Because the order would be appealed and it would be overturned on appeal. I do not believe there's any way the Supreme Court of the United States would Allow a leading candidate for president to be enjoined to be ordered from a court. You are not allowed to criticize your political opponents. I mean, if you could envision. Imagine a debate. Let's. We have a subsequent Republican debate. Trump shows up, and Mike Pence blasts him. And Trump turns and says, I'm sorry, I'm prevented by court order from responding.
- [45:19]
Ben Shapiro
Yeah. From defending myself.
- [45:21]
Ted Cruz
That is not free speech. That is not democracy. That is not how our system operates.
- [45:27]
Ben Shapiro
And that's election interference.
- [45:29]
Ted Cruz
Exactly. Perfect example of what election encapsulates. And by the way, that's what they want, actually. What they want. Look, they know in that circumstance, Donald Trump could not restrain himself.
- [45:40]
Ben Shapiro
Sure. And then they would arrest him.
- [45:42]
Ted Cruz
And then they would arrest him. I mean, you can almost envision the jackbooted thug sitting by the side of the debate. And as Trump blasts his opponents and he'll blast all his opponents, because that's what he does, you can almost envision them walking out in the middle of the debate and saying, sir, you're under arrest. If that is not election interference, holy cow. It really shows just how extreme the Democrats have gotten. This is horrific, by the way. Let's be clear. I would be every bit as opposed to an order preventing Joe Biden from criticizing his opponents, from criticizing RFK Jr. From criticizing Donald Trump. Now, to be clear, Joe Biden couldn't get up in the morning and speak without criticizing Donald Trump. He says, good morning. Trump is the devil. That's just how he addresses it. And he also demonizes every other Republican because he's in his mental enfeeblement. He's also become an even more vicious partisan. But I would be equally and adamantly opposed to any court trying to prevent Joe Biden from. From attacking me or Trump or anybody else, because that's what free speech and elections are all about. But today's Democrats, they don't believe in democracy, which is why these indictments are happening. They want to stop the voters from voting in a way they don't like. And they don't believe in free speech, which is why they want to muzzle their leading opponent for president. It is. It's a brave new world we're living in.
- [47:08]
Ben Shapiro
It certainly is. Don't forget, we do this show three days a week, Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Make sure you hit that subscribe, follow, or auto download button, depending on where you're listening to this podcast. And also we have a new podcast on Saturdays. That is some of the segments you may have missed during the week that we put together in a weekend review, so make sure you listen to that. And on the days in between, join me on my podcast, the Ben Ferguson Podcast, and I'll keep you up to date on the biggest breaking news on those days in between. We'll see you back here again real soon.