In Hollywood, the Revolution Will Be Televised ft. Isaiah Washington

Summary

Podcast Summary: "In Hollywood, the Revolution Will Be Televised ft. Isaiah Washington"
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Release Date: August 18, 2020

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of "The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson," host Ben Ferguson delves deep into the intersection of Hollywood and politics with special guest Isaiah Washington, a prominent actor turned political activist. The conversation sheds light on Washington's journey from the entertainment industry to his outspoken stance against Hollywood's prevailing leftist ideologies.

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Isaiah Washington’s Career Journey

Isaiah Washington begins by reflecting on his 24-year tenure in Hollywood, highlighting the challenges he faced as a black actor navigating a predominantly leftist landscape. He discusses the microaggressions and colorism prevalent in the industry, emphasizing how limited opportunities pushed him towards political activism.

"I've been a contradiction in this town for 24 years... It had everything to do with microaggressions."
— Isaiah Washington [00:57]

Washington recounts his initial reluctance to pursue television, which he dismissed as "not cool," only to be enticed by a lucrative commercial deal that led him to reevaluate his career path.

"I did a commercial and I got a check in the mailbox and I was completely corrupted."
— Isaiah Washington [01:45]

He further explains how he sought roles that defied Hollywood stereotypes, aiming to portray "thugs with a heart" to showcase intelligence and depth beyond the typical one-dimensional characters.

"I need to play a bad guy or a thug that has a little bit more intelligence... And it worked."
— Isaiah Washington [06:24]

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Transition to Political Activism

Washington's shift towards political consciousness is deeply rooted in his military experience during the Reagan administration. He shares a poignant moment of witnessing the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which profoundly impacted his worldview and mental health.

"I was clinically depressed because no one... was listening."
— Isaiah Washington [03:28]

This experience led him to leave his military career, walk away from his personal life, and face homelessness, a period he describes as transformative and pivotal in his journey towards activism.

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Views on Criminal Justice Reform

A significant portion of the discussion centers around criminal justice reform, particularly the First Step Act. Washington praises former President Donald Trump's efforts in this domain, contrasting it with previous administrations' inaction.

"Trump championed that and that we got it done as a bipartisan matter."
— Ted Cruz [10:33]

Washington criticizes the Democrats for their prolonged inaction on reforming the criminal justice system, emphasizing the importance of differentiating between violent and nonviolent offenders.

"The left has tricked these useful idiots... It never made history."
— Isaiah Washington [09:41]

He underscores the need for policies that support reformation rather than punitive measures, especially for first-time nonviolent offenders.

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Critique of Hollywood Politics

Washington offers a scathing critique of Hollywood's political landscape, labeling it as a hub of leftist ideology where dissent is neither tolerated nor welcomed. He describes Hollywood as prioritizing personal wealth and maintaining an establishment that stifles genuine political discourse.

"These people in Hollywood are fighting for their greed."
— Isaiah Washington [17:58]

He further elaborates on the lack of diversity in political thought within the industry, noting that many stars and executives prioritize financial gain over ideological consistency or moral responsibility.

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Discussion on China’s Influence on Hollywood

A heated segment of the conversation addresses the influence of China on Hollywood. Washington criticizes Hollywood executives for pandering to Chinese interests, suggesting that economic dependence has led to compromised values and stifled dissent.

"Hollywood is paying the bill. China rather is paying the bills for Hollywood."
— Isaiah Washington [19:04]

He recounts an anecdote involving John Lasseter, highlighting arrogance and a lack of genuine engagement with Chinese counterparts, ultimately portraying Hollywood as a sector too financially beholden to China to resist its influence.

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Walk Away Movement

The Walk Away Movement is another focal point of the discussion. Washington explains his involvement and the backlash he faced from the Hollywood community for his outspoken support of conservative policies and figures.

"I started tweeting like crazy, and it started driving the Democrats crazy. Everybody attacked me."
— Isaiah Washington [16:18]

He details his collaboration with Brandon Strzok, leveraging his platform to amplify conservative voices and challenging the entrenched leftist narrative within Hollywood.

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Predictions for the Future

In a bold prediction, Washington voices his concerns about the outcomes of political elections, specifically addressing the potential rise of Joe Biden. He warns of societal unrest and a possible civil war within six months of Biden's presidency, a claim he presents with unwavering confidence.

"If Joe Biden wins... there are 6 million people that will be very, very happy to see Biden try to go into the white House, you will have a civil war and it will be over within six months, guaranteed."
— Isaiah Washington [25:18]

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a discussion on the perseverance required to challenge the status quo within Hollywood. Washington remains steadfast in his commitment to his beliefs, despite facing significant opposition and ostracization from the entertainment industry. The conversation underscores the deep-seated political divisions and the challenges of fostering diverse ideological perspectives within a heavily politicized environment.

"The revolution will be televised... or maybe it will be live streamed."
— Isaiah Washington [25:20]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "I've been a contradiction in this town for 24 years... It had everything to do with microaggressions." — Isaiah Washington [00:57]
• "I did a commercial and I got a check in the mailbox and I was completely corrupted." — Isaiah Washington [01:45]
• "Trump championed that and that we got it done as a bipartisan matter." — Ted Cruz [10:33]
• "These people in Hollywood are fighting for their greed." — Isaiah Washington [17:58]
• "Hollywood is paying the bill. China rather is paying the bills for Hollywood." — Isaiah Washington [19:04]
• "If Joe Biden wins... there are 6 million people that will be very, very happy to see Biden try to go into the white House, you will have a civil war and it will be over within six months, guaranteed." — Isaiah Washington [25:18]

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a candid exploration of the fraught relationship between Hollywood and conservative politics, as narrated by someone who has experienced both worlds firsthand. Isaiah Washington's insights provide a provocative look at the systemic challenges within the entertainment industry and the broader American political landscape.

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Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

We are in the belly of the beast, the left coast, la la land. We have left the politicians, we have moved on over to show business. And yet even here, even in the heart of leftism, there are some people, including our guest, who have decided it was too much, who have decided to walk away. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz. Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz. I'm Michael Knowles. We are in sunny Hollywood, California. Senator, thank you for flying out here. And also thank you to our guest, a showbiz man, not someone usually in politics, Isaiah Washington. But, Isaiah, you have become very politically active here. Maybe not of your own desire, but because you have contradicted some of the leftist orthodoxies of Hollywood and they don't take that very well.

[Isaiah Washington]

Yes, yes. I have been a contradiction in this town for 24 years. I've taken a lot of checks from a lot of people I did not like and a lot of people who did not like me for various reasons, and none of them had anything to do with politics. It had everything to do with microaggressions. You know, back in the 90s, there weren't a lot of people that looked like me in colorism. There were certain people like, you know, you may know of. Heard of Guy, Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, you may have heard of.

[Michael Knowles]

I heard of those guys, Yeah. I think so.

[Isaiah Washington]

Oh, my namesake. You probably know this guy named Denzel. Denzel Washington, yes.

[Michael Knowles]

And it rings a bell.

[Isaiah Washington]

Guy was kind of popular. Pretty popular. Time magazine named Arsenio Hall. Oh, yeah, you know, Don Cheadle, those guys. So I studied them. Back in 1988, before I became a Californian in New York in theater, I swore I would never do television because that's not cool.

[Michael Knowles]

And then you became a big TV star.

[Isaiah Washington]

Oh, I did a commercial and I got a check in the mailbox and I was completely corrupted. That is what set me on study. What kind of actor can I be in this town that I know I don't want to be in? So I had to start to figure out the look as of my engineering background in the military. I took 10 years to say, well, what's missing? How can I fit in? Because they have these great names, these great businesses, and they have these Will Smiths. And I know they only pick one at a time for whatever reason. It's like a pecking order out here. Couldn't take it personally, so I had to take it in a business way to figure out how can I fit in, how can I catch up? I'm starting late in the game.

[Ted Cruz]

So what drew you to the world of acting? Did you always know it's what you wanted to do or.

[Isaiah Washington]

No. I had a midlife crisis at 23, shortly after the space shuttle blew up. I was working, as in the private sector in Herndon, Virginia, with an organization. And at the time, we had a fax. We didn't have Internet. 1986, right? 85. 86. And I was very concerned, lowly position about O rings. And at the time, I was like, you know, we need to take a look at the shelf life of these O rings that are going out in the world now. I don't know if there was a connection, but I knew there was a problem with the O rings for the space shuttle and it went up anyway.

[Ted Cruz]

Right.

[Isaiah Washington]

And what. I started becoming really politicized after even I was in the military during the Reagan years. I started seeing things that I didn't want to see, like, why are we putting Christopher McAuliffe and these people up in this ship when there's some issues? And all I remember were a lot of people around me going, it's got to go up. It's got to go up because the president. Ratings are down. We need a boost. Literally where it went up and it blew up.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Isaiah Washington]

Heard a lot of people. We know the story. I think for me, I was clinically depressed because no one. I didn't know what to do with the information I had. No one was really listening. I think at the time, when I look back on it, it's a good question. I think I was clinically depressed but didn't know it. And at that point, I left. Walked away from my wife. I walked away from everything. I walked away from my big screen television back in the 80s, you know, like a big old bowling ball. The big red, green, ugly thing. Right. I had an ascot, my pipe. I walked away from my cars, everything. Ended up homeless.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow.

[Isaiah Washington]

And ended up in Wendy's.

[Ted Cruz]

Were you in Virginia?

[Isaiah Washington]

Here I was in Gaithersburg now. Went there hungry. Crossed the street, was sleeping on my lawn, sold all my furniture, thinking I just completely lost it. And I said, I'm gonna pretend that I'm gonna eat this Wendy's burger. That's when they were making a good Wendy's burger, when it was really big, thick, square meat. Is that.

[Ted Cruz]

Where's the. Where's the beef?

[Michael Knowles]

Where's the beast?

[Isaiah Washington]

Where's the beef? Sat there, smelled the food, pretended that I had eaten, and went back. I was no longer hungry. And at that point, I felt like, if I can act Like I've eaten and I haven't eaten in three days. And I asked God, if you tell me what I'm supposed to do, I promise you I will be the best at that thing of whatever it is. The next day I was given an opportunity to audition for a play called Cancan. I wasn't a dancer. They wanted me to come and dance. I lied and said I could do a pirouette. I didn't know what a pirouette was. Then I said, can you do a PK turn? I didn't know what a PK turn was. So I looked at all the other guys that was doing these little turns and went out there and made a complete fool out of myself. So they had fun with me and they said, okay, that's God awful. Can you do a cartwheel? So I did three cartwheels. Did not get the job, but I got the attention of another musical director that put me in a play in a church. And that was my first play called Franken Beans, where I played a gay character that was infected with hiv. Full blown eights.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow.

[Isaiah Washington]

That was my first role. And from there I got to Howard University. Vera Katz, who's writing the book now, who's behind many people from Debbie Allen, Alicia, Rashad, a lot of people went to Howard University. She put me on, put me on in New York City Kids. Original play member for the City Kids Repertory Theater, dealing with kids, the City at Risk children. Maliki Oba came out of that and then did a commercial. Got the money. One life to live. Next thing I know, I'm in la. Didn't want to be. But I figured that if I find a role where I can play a thug with a heart, if I can play a thug that looked like he's intelligent, like in Romeo Must Die, then I might be able to work more than everybody else. So that is what I saw was missing. I saw these stereotypes of bad guys. Crips, Bloods, not really. I said, I need to play a bad guy or a thug that has a little bit more intelligence. And it worked.

[Michael Knowles]

Well, this is an aspect of Hollywood is there are always just boxes and you gotta fit into this box and, oh, it's only one or two guys that get to fit in that box at a time.

[Isaiah Washington]

Except for Sam Jackson. He created his. He worked so much that he just beat them down with his talent. He just worked so much. That was another way. He just became Sam Jackson.

[Michael Knowles]

But you've, you've had a great career in Hollywood. I have, but in a. In a Certain sense you don't fit into a box.

[Isaiah Washington]

No, I hit him. I. I'm the kind of person that, being a Texan, you try to put me in a box.

[Ted Cruz]

And you're a native Houstonian. So you and I grew up in the same town, yeah. You still have family in Houston?

[Isaiah Washington]

They're all dying off. Moved out, unfortunately. My mom passed in 2001, same year as Aaliyah, you know, so that was my transition, where I don't have a reason to go back to Houston and go to Dave and Buster's anymore or wear my boots anymore. I still have my hats and all that, but I don't have the reason to go back to Houston. But, yeah, you know, I was at ffa. I rodeoed.

[Ted Cruz]

Oh, wow.

[Isaiah Washington]

We did. You know what we call mule saddling was a big deal. You ever seen a mule cry? It's really sad. Cry. They cry blood. They cry blood. Literally. It's like, damn, why am I treating this mule this way? He doesn't want to move. But that's the demographics for you. A bunch of jackasses. Just stubborn.

[Ted Cruz]

All right, so that's not a popular statement in Hollywood.

[Isaiah Washington]

What? Jackass. Democrats.

[Ted Cruz]

Anything about the Democrats that is short of Neil Salon? All of the above.

[Isaiah Washington]

Uh huh.

[Ted Cruz]

So what's Hollywood's politics like from the inside?

[Isaiah Washington]

I never really knew until I went to the White House.

[Ted Cruz]

Huh.

[Isaiah Washington]

For Trump, supporting a policy that I believed in that's letting out 91% of the men that's getting out of federal prison for first time offenses look like me. So when Meek Mill didn't want to go because Jay Z told him not to go, and I understand that you don't want to mess with his paper. Well, you'd already messed with my paper, so I had to figure out how to make paper on my own. Right. Literally. Well, it's not like the Federal Reserve. Not that literally, but yeah. I had to figure out how to survive without you. And I've done that for 12 years. And I always say that up to that point, I was 12 years a slave. So you thought. And then I happened, ironically, to be freed on a tweet from April Fool's Day that I, as a tweet of irony saying, look at this, I'm being blown away with this man getting off this teleprompter and helping these returning citizens, letting them out of federal prison. Now we got a man that's sitting here working for acreage, named the first orange man, supposedly Bonner, sitting at the biggest cannabis company in the world or it's not in the country selling weed. And here I am being ostracized and excoriated for supporting a policy that's freeing out people that look like me that was caught selling weed. So I made a tweet saying, isn't it funny that I was talking to this guy named 44 Obama, talking about nothing but the black agenda, nothing about Africa. What do we promise? But here I am watching this man who's supposed to be a racist, freeing people and poor people.

[Michael Knowles]

So that was a big issue for you. That was a big sort of eye opening thing was criminal justice reform.

[Isaiah Washington]

It still is. And I'm really disturbed because the left has tricked these useful idiots to the point to turn the First Step act into not a non sequitur. But it never made history. It was never all that fighting that everybody had to get behind in a bipartisan way. Now you forced this man to create a 10 year prison thing for tearing down monuments. So now you're going to take these same people that look like me, most of them not really from here. But still, the optics of you taking these people and now putting them back in federal prison, that doesn't seem like an accident to me.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, and you know, look, the Democrats, they had eight years of the White House under Bill Clinton, they had eight years of the White House under Barack Obama. They didn't pass criminal justice reform, they didn't do anything. And first step back, I was a big supporter of it.

[Isaiah Washington]

That's right.

[Ted Cruz]

I know, I was in the Oval Office when the president signed it. And my view, I've been involved in criminal justice a long time. I see a big difference between violent offenders and nonviolent offenders.

[Isaiah Washington]

Oh, what we call survival crimes.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, if you've got a young African American, young Hispanic who gets busted for possession of marijuana and serves a long prison term, that can really be unjust. And that's a very different crime than someone who's murdered someone, someone who's raped someone. You commit violent crime. The whole purpose of law enforcement is to stop violent criminals and keep people safe. But I think the First Step act took a very important step to saying if it's a nonviolent crime, you know, some 18, 19 year old kid who made a mistake, this may have seemed like the only way out and it was a mistake. But ruining the kid's whole life is not the right step. And it was remarkable that Donald Trump championed that and that we got it done as a bipartisan matter. Democrats talked about it forever, but never did anything on it.

[Isaiah Washington]

You're absolutely right. You know, I probably committed more felonies in the military than I've ever done in my private life.

[Michael Knowles]

Really.

[Isaiah Washington]

I made my Problem about first $950,000 selling weed in the military in the Philippines. Some of the top, biggest officers in the thing. But I had to do it because if you didn't, you could get fragged, literally killed in the Philippines. Clark Air Base at this time. This is the truth. So it was so bad, I went so deep to survive that my commanding officer brought me into. I talk about this on my podcast. So there's no statute of limitations. And no, I don't know where the bag of money that I buried in the Philippines is. So don't ask me, don't. But I had to do it because I wanted to live. So I understand how corruptions work on both sides. We were busy listening to the Stars and Stripes every day. The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming. The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming. But yet I'm doing these things with other people that have all this metal on their shoulders. And we're all going. Like the money that we're getting paid by the taxpayers wasn't enough, huh? It wasn't enough. And it didn't stop this behavior of corruption. And it was at 19. I was a part of it too, at the highest level.

[Michael Knowles]

Well, you know, corruption can be a big issue. It can be a big eye opener. One thing we talk a lot about on the show is, is the kind of diversity of thought on the right among conservatives. So we've gotten your kind of acting and professional evolution. But did you have a political evolution? It would seem at one point you would have said you were on the left and then you were on the right. Or maybe not. Maybe I have that wrong.

[Isaiah Washington]

Well, my acting, like I was saying, started at 19. I had to act like I was a decent human being. As an airman, we all had to act like we were professionals. Now imagine I'm 19, but I can't go off the base and drink alcohol because I'm not 21. When I got back to Holloman Air Force Base, my point is to go to this, that I saw so much things, so many things that didn't add up. Coming as a little country boy out of Houston where you go to church, there was white and there was black. There was no gray. There was no in between. My point of bringing that up is, is that people have to do what they have to do if they didn't have the opportunity to do what they were supposed to do. And what I mean by that, I didn't get the scholarships to the, to the colleges I wanted to go to because there was corruption in my high school, Willard Ridge High School. The coach decided he was going to get in a kickback to try to send me to a smaller program. So that was the first scandal. So I've been a part of scandals since I can remember. I've been part of dealing with things where you go, shh. And I never really been political until I decided, well, who was in power? Well, Reagan was in office. So Reagan is our boss. I didn't get to vote. So whatever Reagan says Reagan we have to do. To the point when I finally got in the middle in Ellenborough, I'm like, why are we sending F5s to Central America? Why are we sending live ordinance in Thailand only to find out that we were doing things we weren't supposed to do with taxpayers money. Why are we dropping bombs in Vietnam? Oh, well, somebody wanted to clear out all the landmines. Well, who? For what? Not a wartime situation. It's a lot of money. Shut up, Airmen. Now I find out, oh, well, there's a big resort being built in that area.

[Ted Cruz]

You were active duty for how long?

[Isaiah Washington]

Four years. And that's why I got out. So I by politics, I became political by seeing that I'm working for corporations. I'm not working for you or you. I'm not working for the people. And I found out from 19 to 21, I want nothing to do with this. And then I jump in the private sector. Reagan needs get a bump, people die. So it just seems like I've always been reminded of people that are doing things they shouldn't be doing, but they make it look like it's really cool. This is the right thing to do and it's really great.

[Ted Cruz]

Tell us about the walk away movement and what that means to you.

[Isaiah Washington]

Well, a friend of mine who's a Sierra Leonean who went to me with the Sierra Leone when I got my dual citizenship and I wanted to see how I could help the most stigmatized country in West Africa that couldn't get any help, talked to all the senators, Senator Obama at the time about how we could remove the stigma of this country. She I didn't like how I was treated in the press. Again, to bring up this toxic narrative that wasn't accurate in the first place of my exit of this show, the medical show, Right. So at this point I actually got angry after I was a good guy, like, okay, I should have said What? I said to go to gloves. I've been drinking. I told the truth, but it wasn't a good place to say that. Okay. You don't say the word that everybody's accusing you of saying it was not a good idea. But I told the truth. I'm not a liar.

[Ted Cruz]

It was the truth.

[Isaiah Washington]

So this comes back up again and again. I'm not doing anything wrong. I decide I'm going to walk away. So she said, you need to join the walk away. I didn't know what it was. I just thought it was a good term. So everything I was tweeting that I was pissed off about and reminding people of my good works, I use hashtag walkaway so much that it got Brandon Strock's attention. And like, dude, that's my brand. Like, what are you doing? Are you with me or are you against me? Like, what's going on? So he hit me. I'm like, who are you? Oh, I'm Brandon Strzok Straka. Yeah.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah.

[Isaiah Washington]

He said no. Struck. So we got together, got on Varney and company. We linked up. I supported him and used my platform. And then I started tweeting like crazy. Started tweeting like crazy, and it started driving the Democrats crazy. Everybody attacked me. April Ryan, everybody, Roland Martin. I crushed them. Everybody that came to me, Mark Lamar Hill, I crushed him. Because anybody know me on Twitter? I get very blue. Yeah, I'm not scared. I will cuss you out in some of the most extraordinarily creative ways on Twitter. I'm highly documented, very entertaining, and they all block me.

[Michael Knowles]

This is something about Hollywood. And, Senator, you've spent a lot of time in Hollywood. I mean, it's kind of like an unknown fact of politics that a lot of Hollywood conservatives have supported you for years and you've known them. And the thing about Hollywood is they're very big characters, very eccentric personalities out here. And yet it's so weird to me that you got this whole fun place with such wild characters and personalities, and yet when it comes to politics, they're all exactly the same. They're all identical ideology, and if you disagree with that, you get kicked out.

[Isaiah Washington]

I found out why.

[Michael Knowles]

Why?

[Isaiah Washington]

I was talking to a person. We remain nameless, but I was at an event, and he asked me, man, what are you doing? You're hurting me. I said, what are you talking about? You're killing me. You're on the wrong team. He says, if I don't get this mayor reelected, if we can't get Trump out of here, I'M going to lose my access to the bag. And I said, what are you talking about? He says, man, I got great opportunities. I got kids, man. I want to build my foundational wealth. And these people will let me know where all the residential places are. I can get all the inside information on what I can invest in if I lose them. I don't know anybody in the Conservative Party. I don't know any Republicans. They don't like me. I don't have a relationship with them. It has nothing to do with politics. These people in Hollywood are fighting for their greed.

[Michael Knowles]

So you're saying it's an establishment, It's a personal interest kind of thing. I mean, you see this. We talked about this with China, right? The relationship between Hollywood and China, really.

[Ted Cruz]

And as you know, Hollywood is terrified to piss off China.

[Isaiah Washington]

They've been broke since 2008. Yes, China has paid for anything. There's a man named John Lasseter. I think he still run Will Smith's company. I got invited to a special little meeting. I felt like I got the little cans where you can hear the Understand the Mandarin. I felt like I was at the un so somehow I don't know why they invited me. I'm like the big tattletale. I'm the wrong guy.

[Michael Knowles]

I know you show up on podcasts and talk about it, right?

[Isaiah Washington]

So I'm there. John Lasseter is arrogant and other people are arrogant, and the Chinese are sitting there talking about the different levels of copyrights. Like, there's 24 levels of copyright. Like, if you try to sue them on one, it's like, no, you can't, because there's two. I learned so much from these Chinese, and all they were asking in a special meeting with SAG after was, give us some respect. You didn't respect Jet Li enough. And, you know, you didn't make him a star. Just take one of our Chinese people and just actors and make them a huge star, like Tom Cruise, like. Like Meryl Streep. And they fell asleep. The guy fell asleep on the stage. Yeah. I say to John, I saw you do it. He fell asleep. Arrogantly. He fell asleep on the stage in front of the Chinese that's paying his bills. All of them. Each one of the major executives, they fell asleep like they had no care. They played the game like, yeah, we're broke.

[Michael Knowles]

Well, Hollywood is paying the bill. I mean, China rather is paying the bills for Hollywood. But it seems that there's a. A political dimension of this as well. It's not just that they're Infiltrating Top Gun or something. There's an agenda here on the international level.

[Ted Cruz]

So, as you know, I just got sanctioned.

[Michael Knowles]

That's a heavy word, man.

[Ted Cruz]

By the Communist government of China. They announced that I am banned from China.

[Isaiah Washington]

Why?

[Ted Cruz]

Because I don't like communists and I criticize them and call them out. The Communist government of China. They're murderers. They're torturers. They've got 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps right now. They're censoring. And by the way, among other things, their censorship helped create the coronavirus pandemic. Because you had Chinese, they censored.

[Isaiah Washington]

Did you say the virus is from China?

[Ted Cruz]

It is from Wuhan, China. Say that, and the Chinese government is responsible.

[Isaiah Washington]

Did you just say they. This is a pandemic? That this is. This is a. This is an economic hit? Did you just say China attacked us?

[Ted Cruz]

Do you know that's war? That when the whistleblowers, Chinese doctors in December of last year said, hey, we got an outbreak here. This is a problem. The Chinese government arrested them and said, you cannot. Any responsible government would step in, send health professionals, quarantine the people. And this may well have been stopped as a regional outbreak. And all of the death, all of the economic shutdown, all of the misery could have been stopped, but the Chinese government didn't do that. And I've been calling them out and so you ask why they sanctioned me? One of the reasons they sanctioned me is. Is in October, I flew to Taiwan and I flew to Hong Kong, and I met with the protesters in Hong Kong. They don't like 2 million people in the streets. I did one of the Sunday shows dressed in all black in solidarity with the protesters.

[Isaiah Washington]

What are you asking for?

[Ted Cruz]

Oh, you better look. My dad was over.

[Isaiah Washington]

Wait a minute. I got chill bumps. Hey, where's my bag? You go get us all.

[Ted Cruz]

You go get us all.

[Isaiah Washington]

Hey, man, did y'all do it? Did y'all? Check this, bro.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, I'm real simple. I don't like Communists.

[Isaiah Washington]

I get you.

[Ted Cruz]

I don't like.

[Isaiah Washington]

It doesn't work.

[Ted Cruz]

And you know, my dad was imprisoned and tortured by Batista in Cuba. My theasonia was imprisoned and tortured by Fidel Castro. And so when it comes to standing up to communists, I'm eager to do so. And I gotta tell you, Hollywood is scared to do so.

[Isaiah Washington]

They're not scared. They just don't have a personal interest to protect anyone who's not part of the club. It's about building their foundational wealth. It's about like purge what Ethan Hawke did to the character, the one black character that tried to help his dog ass. He says, well, I'm gonna save you and I'm gonna help save you. And they still stabbed and almost tried to kill him in the movie. It's just a thankless job.

[Michael Knowles]

Do you think amid all of this, there's any hope that Holly Hollywood. You're right. I guess it was a crazy premise to begin with. You don't think there's any way that Hollywood's gonna break apart from the leftist consensus that they enforce?

[Isaiah Washington]

I wanted you to explain the HR748, how that became one thing, became the Care act, but that's another one. Like, was this a lot of people hitting me, like, wait a minute, this was done. And before he shut down, you know, why is this the bill. This way? But my thing is. No, no, it's not about that. It's about distraction. No one's asking the right questions. Why would Bob Iger step down? Why you gotta. Why can you not open up a nation as large as California, makes all this money driving cars. Why are you going to lose all this money when you are a state that produces 33% of all of the wealth into this nation? Just put up the wall and just say you want us to see. Just be. I will respect the Democrats and Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris. If you say you want to kill us, you want to hurt veterans and bring in illegal immigrants, you don't want to close your borders. Just tell us you want to succeed. Just stop playing at this thing. Don't hurt innocent people. Let's just get it on.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, Isaiah, I'll make a prediction right now.

[Isaiah Washington]

Please do.

[Ted Cruz]

Which is if Joe Biden wins, God forbid.

[Isaiah Washington]

I already know what's going to happen.

[Ted Cruz]

I don't want him to win. But if he wins, I know what's going to happen. The day after he wins, they'll declare everything's better. They'll open up the schools, they'll open up the economy. Suddenly they'll say, everyone, go back to work. And you're seeing so many people in politics and the media that just hate the president.

[Isaiah Washington]

Yeah. That's amazing.

[Ted Cruz]

And they want everything shut down. They want every school, they want every business. They want everything shut down right until election day because they think it'll change the outcome.

[Isaiah Washington]

And if they were to happen, I can sit here and safely tell you that there are 6 million people that will be very, very happy to see Biden try to go into the white House, you will have a civil war and it will be over within six months, guaranteed. How do I know? I know.

[Michael Knowles]

And the one thing we know, too, is unfortunately.

[Isaiah Washington]

So that's not gonna happen.

[Michael Knowles]

We could go on for hours. But unfortunately, the one thing we do know pertaining to Hollywood is the revolution will be televised. Or maybe it will be live streamed. I should mention too, Isaiah, before we head out, you have a show on Fox Nation.

[Isaiah Washington]

Yeah.

[Michael Knowles]

You've got Kitchen Talk on Fox Nation, which you've got to check out with Isaiah Washington. And the next time, well, hopefully California does not secede before we can get the senator back out here. And we'll have to continue the conversation next time. I am Michael Knowles. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Ted Cruz]

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs, Freedom and Security pac, a political action committee dedicated to supporting conservative causes, organizations and candidates across the country. In 2022, jobs, freedom and Security PAC plans to donate to conservative candidates running for Congress and help the Republican Party across the nation.