In the Oval Office, BIGGEST Stock Market Surge in History, plus Mexico Stealing our Water & Trump Fights Back

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson – Episode Summary Release Date: April 11, 2025

In this compelling episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson, host Ben Ferguson engages in an in-depth conversation with Senator Ted Cruz. The discussion navigates through pivotal political developments, economic milestones, and significant legislative actions shaping the current American landscape. Below is a detailed summary capturing the episode's key points, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for added context.

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I. Senator Ted Cruz’s Oval Office Visit

The episode kicks off with Senator Cruz sharing his recent experience in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump. Highlighting the significance of the day, Cruz reveals, “I spent about two hours in the Oval with President Trump today. And today was a very significant day” (00:13).

II. Historic Stock Market Surge Driven by Tariff Adjustments

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the unprecedented stock market surge resulting from President Trump’s recent tariff maneuvers. Cruz explains that yesterday’s decision to pause certain tariffs while increasing those on China led to “the greatest single day increase in the stock market in the history of the United States of America” (00:27). This strategic move has not only boosted investor confidence but also demonstrated Trump’s leveraging power in economic affairs.

III. Senate Proceedings and Democratic Obstruction

Senator Cruz details the challenges faced in the Senate, particularly Democratic efforts to block key nominations such as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He remarks on the Senate’s late-night sessions, stating, “We're scratching the Senate because they’re objecting... So we're like, fine, we'll do it” (01:18). This obstructionism underscores the heightened partisan tensions within Congress.

IV. Behind the Scenes: Swag and Memorabilia in the Oval Office

The conversation takes a lighter turn as Cruz shares amusing anecdotes about the memorabilia received from President Trump. He describes receiving oversized challenge coins, humorously comparing their size to tariffs: “It's the size of a pancake. It’s a coaster” (10:44). These tokens symbolize the camaraderie and unique culture within the Oval Office.

V. Legislation Impacting the Crypto Industry

Senator Cruz also touches upon his legislative efforts to repeal harmful regulations imposed by the previous administration on the cryptocurrency sector. He proudly mentions, “the president signed it into law” (11:32), highlighting the bipartisan support and the positive impact on the crypto industry.

VI. Strategic Tariff Policies and Future Economic Negotiations

Delving deeper into tariff strategies, Cruz discusses his ongoing dialogue with President Trump about reducing tariffs to stabilize the market. He advises, “My advice is cut a deal now. Pick one or two countries cut a deal” (13:30), emphasizing the need for swift action to prevent market instability. This pragmatic approach aims to foster better trade relations and expand market access for American businesses.

VII. Mexico’s Water Treaty Violations and Impact on Texas Farmers

A focal point of the episode is Mexico’s blatant violation of the 1944 Water Treaty, leading to severe water shortages for South Texas farmers. Cruz elaborates on the dire consequences: “South Texas farmers are taking half of their acreage out of production... there was one sugar mill in all of Texas last year. It shut down because of water” (33:25). This issue not only threatens the agricultural sector but also poses a broader national security concern, as highlighted by Cruz’s relentless advocacy for enforcing the treaty.

VIII. Legislative and Administrative Actions to Address Water Theft

Senator Cruz outlines his proactive measures to combat Mexico’s water theft, including authoring legislation that provided $280 million in emergency relief for Texas farmers (35:08). He collaborates closely with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rawlins to ensure federal support for the affected communities, showcasing a unified front against foreign exploitation.

IX. Personal Reflections and Political Journey

In a more personal segment, Cruz shares reflections on his political journey, including past setbacks and the importance of perseverance. He reminisces about his youthful aspirations and the lessons learned from failures, reinforcing the episode’s overarching theme of resilience and determination.

X. Closing Remarks and Senate Voting Session

As the episode nears its end, Ben Ferguson and Senator Cruz prepare for a live Senate voting session. Cruz emphasizes the critical nature of the upcoming vote, encapsulating the episode’s urgency: “This is a great victory for me in America” (40:32). The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to stay informed and engaged with the unfolding political landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• “I spent about two hours in the Oval with President Trump today. And today was a very significant day.” — Senator Ted Cruz (00:13)

• “The combination of those activities produced the greatest single day increase in the stock market in the history of the United States of America.” — Senator Ted Cruz (00:27)

• “It's the size of a pancake. It’s a coaster.” — Senator Ted Cruz on oversized challenge coins (10:44)

• “My advice is cut a deal now. Pick one or two countries cut a deal.” — Senator Ted Cruz (13:30)

• “South Texas farmers are taking half of their acreage out of production... there was one sugar mill in all of Texas last year. It shut down because of water.” — Senator Ted Cruz (33:25)

• “This is a great victory for me in America.” — Senator Ted Cruz (40:32)

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Conclusion

This episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson offers a comprehensive look into the strategic economic decisions and legislative battles currently shaping the United States. Through engaging dialogue with Senator Ted Cruz, listeners gain valuable insights into the administration’s tariff policies, international negotiations, and critical issues like water theft affecting Texas farmers. The episode underscores the importance of strong leadership and bipartisan cooperation in navigating the nation’s challenges.

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Stay informed and ahead by subscribing to The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson on the iHeartRadio app or your preferred podcast platform. Join Ben each day, Monday through Saturday, for unfiltered insights and honest commentary on the issues shaping America today.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, it was a very exciting day. You spent some time with the president today in the Oval Office. Even got, even got a nice little challenge coin as well.

[B]

So I did. I spent about two hours in the Oval with, with President Trump today. And, and today was, was a very significant day. So, so let's start. Yesterday was a phenomenal day. Yesterday, President Trump paused the tariffs that he announced last week on April 2, and at the same time, he jacked up the tariffs on China. The combination of those activities produced the greatest single day increase in the stock market in the history of the United States of America. Now, this week, I've spent a lot of time talking to President Trump. We're going to break that down. We're going to talk about the impacts of that. We're going to talk about the backstory of why the President did that and what to expect next. We're also going to talk about something the President did this evening. You and I are talking. It is right now 12:25am Thursday night.

[A]

And we're in the same place. This usually doesn't happen. We're in the same time zone right now.

[B]

We're both in D.C. why are we in D.C. because in a half hour, I'm going to be on the Senate floor. We have votes starting at 1am so the Democrats are so angry, they hate Trump so much that they are blocking the nomination for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And so look, I'm going to commend Republicans in the Senate. We're saying, all right, screw you, because they're objecting. They could delay the vote until tomorrow. Tomorrow is now today because it's past midnight. So we're like, fine, we'll do it.

[A]

Hang out tomorrow, 1am let's go.

[B]

By the way, if the Democrats had agreed, we could have left at like 6pm on Thursday. But no, they're going to drag all 100 senators to the floor at 1 in the morning. By the way, we've got senators in their 80s, we've got senators in their 90s.

[A]

I do not envy the guy who has that job to wake up the senator because, you know, they're asleep.

[B]

Yeah, look, this is where it helps, being a night owl. To be honest, I'm much happier doing a 1am vote than if they did a 6am vote. I'd be really pissed because.

[A]

Because I, as you know, I 100% believe you. I've seen you in the morning.

[B]

But by the way, I will say this so, so you and I record the pod. We record it often at 10pm or 11pm let's keep going up.

[A]

There we go. Now we're getting into reality. That's much more.

[B]

So the pod. Two days ago, we finished it 2:30 in the morning. Yes. And I will say I'm glad. You used to do a morning radio show. What time did your morning radio show?

[A]

7Am is when it started. So I had to be up in like, up and at him, thank the Lord, I don't do it anymore.

[B]

You had to be awake.

[A]

You had to be awake. I'd have coffee. I had to know what was going on. Like, I mean, it was educated.

[B]

You had to presumably say something like charming and funny and intelligent. If someone's going to listen to you.

[A]

Can'T wing it for two hours.

[B]

And I got to say, when I was keeping up till 2 and 3 in the morning and you were getting up at 6, 6:30.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I, I actually felt an enormous degree of guilt. I'm like, I'm killing Ben.

[A]

Yes, you were, you were on your way. It was the easiest way to get rid of me.

[B]

I don't want to kill you, man.

[A]

I appreciate it.

[B]

I want to give you a lot of grief and abuse, but I don't want you dead. I just, just, just want you being radly made fun of.

[A]

There's a reason why they, they took me off that show one day. There's a reason.

[B]

And, and your boss in the I heart world, Julie, she said, all right, Ben, I'm sparing you from The Morning Show 100% because we've decided that a dead Ben would be a bad thing.

[A]

That is how I know my life is valued on this earth right now.

[B]

There you go. So tonight also, Donald Trump leaned in and engaged on an issue that may sound esoteric, but it's actually a big deal, which is Mexican water. Mexico has been stealing massive amounts of water from Texas. This is an issue I've been leading the fight on a very long time, and it's had an enormously harmful impact on Texas farmers. I've been leading the fight against it. And tonight the president, at my behest, leaned in vigorously and said, mexico, you will provide the water that you have committed by treaty to provide, or else there are going to be very serious penalties, tariffs and sanctions. It's a big deal. And I would say he used those two words. He did. As you and I are sitting here at 12:25am The Mexican government is freaking out, and you know what's going to happen they're going to provide the farmers of South Texas the water. I'm going to walk you through the backstory of that. It is fascinating in terms of how international diplomacy has played out and the advantage of a strong president who actually fights for America versus the incredibly weak and ineffective president we had for the last four years.

[A]

Yeah, it's a really cool story. We'll talk about that. Plus, just like what happens in the Oval, the trinkets. The trinkets are impressive. We'll tell you about that in a moment. Want to tell you, though, real quick about the international fellowship of Christians and Jews. Because of amazing people just like you, we are standing with the people in Israel right now who are still under attack. Missile fire has resumed from Israel's enemies. Terrorists who seek utter death and destruction are at it 24 7. You really can't imagine what it would be like to live like this under constant fear. But for the people of Israel, it's very real and it's every single day. And that's why I'm asking you to join me and show the people of Israel you'll help protect them in this time of attack and uncertainty. One of the best ways for you to give is, is by giving to the international fellowship of Christians and Jews. Why? Because your gift provides security essentials like bomb shelters, flat jackets, and bulletproof vests. They also have done something that's been amazing. They have given armored security vehicles and armored ambulances so they can go into areas that are under attack. There's no better time to give than right now during the Passover holiday when we celebrate Israel's historic deliverance and birth as a nation. So to give a special Passover gift today and help protect the people of Israel, call right now. 888488, IFCJ. That's 888488, IFCJ. Or [e-mail] that's one word. Supportifcj.org all right, so let's just start with a little bit of color here. I gotta say, one of the most fun things about going to the Oval Office is Donald Trump loves having guests.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And the swag that you leave with is just the most incredible level of swag. And he pays for it out of his own pocket.

[B]

He does.

[A]

It's not the taxpayers. So when I went in the first time, it was in the last, in 45 in those years. And they asked if I would come up for State of the Union and Prep and. And that. And I was there the day to state the Union. And at the end, he's like, ferguson, he's like, I know you got three boys at home. What do you need? And I'm like, Mr. President, whatever. You know, if you'd sign. He's like, no, no, come over here. And he walks you around the corner into the room. He has this, like, full swag room. And he's like, three different hats for the boys signs. And he's like, now, one of your son plays golf. He signs a Pro V1 ball for him. Then he gives me another sleeve. Then he gives me a golf towel. And then he's like. And you're laughing because you're in the Oval Office. And you're like, I'm going to walk out of here, like, with all this stuff.

[B]

To be fair, you're not in the oval.

[A]

Well, no, you're outside of it, but you walk back in, you're like, holding all this stuff in the oval.

[B]

You're in the little office next to the oval.

[A]

Yes. Where the swag room is.

[B]

And what happened in that little room.

[A]

Which is one of his favorite stories. He's like, you know. You know where you are right now?

[B]

25 years.

[A]

Yeah. He's like, you know where you are right now? And I'm like, where am I right now?

[B]

This is where Monica Lewinsky.

[A]

Did not have sex with that man.

[B]

But shall we say. I don't know. Okay.

[A]

I think I did it perfectly there.

[B]

I'm trying to find a way to say this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And this is.

[A]

Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman, quote unquote, but may have.

[B]

But it's also where the blue dress got sullied.

[A]

There you go. That's a great way of putting it.

[B]

And it would be in that room. And you kind of look around and it's sort of little, and it's now filled with. If you could imagine the Make America Great again hats.

[A]

The 45, 47. I mean, it's. It's. It's legit.

[B]

And he has all these shelves full of swag. And he like, says, hey, what do you want? Take whatever you want.

[A]

And by the way, there's nothing in there that you can buy. So, like, it's either from there or you don't. Like, it's not.

[B]

And he just does that. And he pays for it all. Like, he's out of his. Like, he's paying for it himself, but he's like, what do you want? You want, like, they had gigantic MAGA hats that are like twice the size of a normal head.

[A]

The one that Elon Musk wore that. Kind of made it famous. A lot of people remember he put it on. He was like.

[B]

So he. He actually pointed that out. That's the one Elon wears.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So. And it's got all this stuff. He's got. It's cool stuff. So.

[A]

And by the way, the VIP gift is what I was told, which I think we can confirm is true, is a. Is. Is the cufflinks. So he looked at me, he's like, ferguson, you need this. Can't buy these anywhere. And he hands them to me. It was like. It's presidential cufflinks. They're amazing. I still have them this day. You've got a pair now as well.

[B]

So I do. And I've had a couple of presidential cufflinks in the past.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But these are really.

[A]

These are the coolest.

[B]

These are really damn cool. And I will say his challenge coin. So in the military and in law enforcement, people carry challenge coins, and they're typically about the size of a silver dollar. And so if you come to my office, you've been to my office, I have one entire display of military challenge coins, and I probably got, I don't know, 200 of them that, as I've traveled the world, they give them to you.

[A]

It's awesome.

[B]

Yeah. And then I have another display of law enforcement challenge coins. So police officers, law enforcement. And so the two are ones behind my desk, the military is behind my desk, and the other is on the other end of my office, like, kind of across my desk. So they're normally about the size of a silver dollar. Trump this evening gave me two challenge coins. He said, and his challenge coins are literally 300%.

[A]

The size of it is like the size of the tariff you put on Chinese goods.

[B]

It's the size of a pancake.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's a coaster.

[A]

It's a coaster.

[B]

It's a coaster. Exactly like it is a straight up. And he has one that's sort of gold and fancy, and then he's another. That is gunmetal. And he said, actually these are more popular because it's like military gun metal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it present the United States and a really cool coin.

[A]

I love it. That's the fun part about it. And you were there, by the way, for something that was not making big headlines, but it deals with crypto. And we're going to talk about this in another pod.

[B]

Yeah, no, that's exactly right. I was there for a bill signing, so legislation that I introduced to repeal an incredibly abusive regulation from the Biden administration that harmed the crypto industry. And I got it passed through Congress. The president signed it into law. And so I've been there for a number of bill signings, of legislation I passed. But it's always cool, because you're passing legislation the president signed, it suddenly becomes law.

[A]

Did you get to keep the pen? He loves giving away the Sharpie.

[B]

Yes. And it's not a Sharpie. It is much like the challenge coin.

[A]

It's huge.

[B]

It is huge. It is probably 300% the size of a Sharpie.

[A]

Yeah. It's like oversized. So when he signed my boy's hats, he goes, he goes, here's the pen. Take the pen home. And I still have the pen at my desk. It's like, it's got the. And it's got the Trump gold signature on the side.

[B]

Yeah. So I'll end up in my office framing that signing pen because it's legislation that I passed that's really significant. And in my office, I have a bunch of different pieces of legislation signed, and a number of them are signed, are framed with the signing pin. So I was there for that. But look, a couple of things. One, we talked a lot about tariffs and let's rewind two days ago.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So we have talked in this last week, we've had two podcasts entirely devoted to the Trump. We had won our Friday podcast right after the tariffs came out. 100% of the podcast was on the tariffs. And then our Monday podcast, we talked about two competing camps in the Trump administration. We talked about angels and devils that were on President Trump's soldiers shoulders. The angels were urging the President use the leverage of the tariffs you've announced to fight for lower tariffs across the world to expand market access for America. I emphatically agree with that side, the devils. And there are voices in the administration. They want to see massive tariffs in perpetuity from America and every other country. I think that's a terrible outcome. So we did Monday's podcast. We did a deep dive on that. So I will tell you, you and I are sitting here Thursday night, Tuesday night, I spent an hour on the phone with President Trump and I had several other senators there, and we were urging him. What I was saying is, listen, the market is in free fall. That's dangerous. People are freaking out.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And my advice to him, and I said, I did Hannity Tuesday night. So I said this on Hannity. So this is not secret advice. I said it on Fox News to the whole country. I said, my advice is cut a deal now. Pick one or two countries cut a deal. Now, I don't care what countries they are. Pick one, pick two, and cut a deal where they slash their tariffs massively and we slash our tariffs massively. I said, I think that will calm the market down enormously. That will assuage people that we are headed to a world with much lower tariffs, which, by the way, as I told him, if 30 days, 60 days, 90 days from now, we have a world where every country on Earth has massively lower tariffs, and American farmers and ranchers and small businesses and manufacturers are able to export all over the world. That will be an historic win, like an unprecedented win for American workers and American jobs. So that's what I'm urging him. We spent an hour on the phone, and I gotta say, look, President Trump, sometimes when you're urging him to do something, he can push back. And in that call, he was kind of pushing back and popping back, and he's saying, look, these. These tariffs are great. We're raising a ton of money. What's the problem? Spent an hour. But then on Wednesday, the President put out an announcement at lunchtime. And it is an announcement was twofold. Number one, he said he was pausing all of the reciprocal tariffs he had announced on April 2 for 90 days.

[A]

For 90 days, which is enough time to get deals done.

[B]

And number two, he said he was jacking up the tariffs on China even more, he said, to 125,000. Although it's actually 125%. Yeah, but it's actually 145%, because there's an additional 20% that he had announced as a penalty for their role in fentanyl smuggling of this country.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So the total tariffs against China are 145%. Now, he announced that. I'll tell you, on Wednesday, I was in the Senate Republican lunch. All the Senate, Senate Republican senators were. We have lunch together every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The middle of the lunch, Rick Scott, who hosts the Wednesday lunch, Rick Scott looked at his phone and announced, hey, the President's just paused all the tariffs and increased the tariffs on China. There wasn't exactly a round of applause, but close. Pretty damn close. There was literally, it was a relief, and, yes, a palpable sense of relief. And what is striking is the market, within minutes, exploded and stocks soared up. So tonight, when I was in the oval, I said, Mr. President, as a result of your decision yesterday, you produced the single largest increase in the stock market in one day in the history of the United States of America.

[A]

That's a good day.

[B]

That is a massive day. And so I will say the pause is important. I hope over these next 90 days, I hope what we see is, as we talked about on Monday's pod, there are two paths. Massively reducing tariffs for everyone or keeping tariffs in perpetuity. Over the next 90 days, I hope we see announcement after announcement after announcement of our trading partners, all of whom have come running to President Trump saying, we want to cut a deal. And to be clear, none of this would have happened without the April 2 announcement.

[A]

None of it. Well, and Scott Bessette, by the way, said this at the White House when they announced this. He walked out and he said, this is all about leverage, which is what the President said. Take a listen.

[C]

It was the President's decision to wait until today. And again, as I've said in the past, no one creates leverage for himself like President Trump.

[A]

And he said that, by the way, at the point when the dow was up 2,000 points. Right. So he just announced it, walks out there. And then Caroline Levitt also was a reminder like, hey, we're letting the rest of the world off the hook, but when it comes to China, we're not. She said this at the same press conference.

[C]

As you all know, the President just put out a statement announcing an additional tariff on China. The tariff on China will now go up to 125% because China imprudently decided to retaliate against the United States. And as I said at the podium yesterday, when you punch at the United States of America, President Trump is going to punch back harder. In that same vein, we have had more than 75 countries from around the world reach out to President Trump and his team here at the White House to negotiate better trade deals for the American worker. We have been overwhelmed with the amount of requests from countries around the world. I'll let the Secretary speak to that. We will continue with the tailor made negotiations that I spoke about yesterday. In the meantime, there will be a 90 day pause on the reciprocal tariffs as these negotiations are ongoing and the tariff level will be brought down to a universal 10% tariff.

[A]

I mean, you listen to them and I think it's pretty clear.

[B]

By the way, I will say this. Caroline Levitt I know really well. Yeah, she's a good friend. So Caroline ran for Congress in New Hampshire and she was running for Congress, if I remember correctly, she was 25 years old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And by the way, the Constitution, the minimum age for a member of Congress is 25 years old.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So she was on the House side.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Yep. Member Congress is 25. A senator is 30, and the president must be 35. That's what the Constitution lays out. So Caroline was running in. In New Hampshire. As you know, I raised a ton of money for Caroline.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I believe, if I remember correctly, north of $100,000 to support her campaign. And I flew to New Hampshire and campaigned with her. She was a great president.

[A]

She's a great candidate.

[B]

And by the way, I told the president that tonight. I said, look, she's kicking ass as your press secretary. But she was a fabulous. And the coolest part, we did a huge rally, and she rocked it. And it was a lot of energy and excitement. And then we went afterwards to a bar, I think it was a VFW bar, if I remember correctly. And there were, like several hundred, mostly veterans. And we were having a beer with them, and they loved her. It was really cool. It was like a fun. It was after the event, hanging out, having a beer with a bunch of New Hampshire veterans. And it was like a great moment. Now, she ended up. She won the primary. She did not win the general, although I pointed out to her tonight. I said, look, that didn't work out, even though you were a great candidate. But I said, you know what? You'd rather the job you have now.

[A]

Than being a fresh biggest house, biggest blessing in disguise. Because if she was in the house, yes, she would have done that job. She would be the press secretary right now. It's amazing how those things happen in your life when you're like, you want things so bad and then you don't get it. And then you're like, man, if I would have gotten that, where would I look at what I would have missed?

[B]

You know the country western song, Some of God's Greatest Gifts Are Unanswered Prayers?

[A]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[B]

There have been multiple steps in my life where I desperately wanted something. I didn't get it. I was crestfallen. I was frustrated. I used to keep. All right, this is going to be sort of a weird admission. When I was in high school and college, I literally kept a file folder. And by the way, for all of you under 30, you don't know what a file folder is, but I had, like, a file cabinet with a folder. You know what it was called?

[A]

What?

[B]

Failures.

[A]

How many were in there?

[B]

A lot. Okay, so look, I was someone. I tried for things. I applied for things. I wanted to be a Rhodes scholar. I applied for the Rhodes Scholarship. I didn't get it. I was really. I was like, damn, I'd really like to be a Rhodes scholar. I'm pissed. I didn't get it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But. All right. I think it's 10th grade. Okay. This is. Okay. I'm. I'm sort of embarrassed. Like, you guys know Ben's a jock. He was like a cool kid. And like, you know, although I tried hard.

[A]

I tried hard. Other.

[B]

To be fair, is a tennis player really a job?

[A]

Well, you know, it's. It's a sort of in the sec. It is.

[B]

I mean, it's not sec. It is, but like a tennis player, you're wearing like a white eyes on like it's not good swag.

[A]

We had some. We had some nice Nike swag. Like they. We did it right.

[B]

I. I'm just saying.

[A]

You were division football. It's not basketball. It's not baseball. I'll give you that. I will give you.

[B]

Can you dunk?

[A]

No, I cannot dunk.

[B]

I played hoops with you. I knew the answer.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Cannot. But I wasn't going for road scholar. I can promise you that. And I didn't have a briefcase. You had a briefcase. That's what we're really getting at.

[B]

No, I didn't have a brief briefcase. I'm sorry, I'm not Alex P. Keaton, which no one knows who that was. Michael J. Fox and Family Ties.

[A]

Amazing show.

[B]

But. But. All right, so in 10th grade, I was sitting there in class with my classmates and they were talking about like applying to a scholarship.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And several of my classmates said, well, no, no, I'm not going to apply. And I said, well, why not? And they said, well, if I apply, I might get rejected and I don't want to fail, so I'm not going to do it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And.

[A]

And you're like, screw that, I'm going for all of it.

[B]

And. And I wrote a poem in 10th grade, which I don't have. But. But I'm going to try to remember it. I don't know that I can remember it exactly, but imagine a dreamer walking off a cliff with hopes and aspirations. Many would say his steps were foolish. And yet all the great inventors, discoverers and achievers would say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And here's another element to complicate the matter. What if the walker learn to fly? And this is me as a geeky 15 year old writing a poem. Writing a poem inspired me. Like if, you know, that was before Chat gbt.

[A]

So you didn't even steal it from anybody.

[B]

Like, if you don't have a cliff, you ain't growing wings.

[A]

Okay, fair point.

[B]

And so my. I Literally had a whole folder of failures. Things I tried to do that, that I did not accomplish. But if you are, are to use another great hero of mine, Teddy Roosevelt.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, T.R. gave a great commencement speech about being in the arena. The man who is marred by blood and sweat and mud in the arena. And not one of those cold and timid souls.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Who know neither victory nor defeat.

[A]

Nor defeat.

[B]

And so I forget where I'm going on this. No, you got me ranting on tr.

[A]

You're talking about Caroline Levitt failing at the, at the.

[B]

Going for Congress.

[A]

And now it's the biggest thing in her life. So you're saying count your failures because they can be your blessings later in life.

[B]

If you have no failures, you've done nothing in life.

[A]

I just want to prove that right now to my wife how good of a listener I am, because I just saved that whole story right there. I just want credit for that moment. Anyway, continue.

[B]

Is she going to buy that?

[A]

I don't know. We'll see if she listens to the show, because I just. If she. If she doesn't listen, we're both going to know.

[B]

Well, look, I will say what happened on tariffs Wednesday was a massive day. Number one for the market and for a huge surge. But number two, the 90 days we have an opportunity. This is not hyperbole. President Trump could achieve the greatest victory for jobs and economic growth, certainly in our lifetimes and maybe in the history of America now.

[A]

Well, and you read between the tea leaves here like there does seem to be a strategy here. And this is some of the genius I do have to think of that. I give credit for that. A lot of people miss on President Trump. It seems like he's saying, hey, rest of the world, I want to get along with you. I'm going to bust China. They're taking advantage of us. They're still in their intellectual property. It's a national security issue. We witnessed what we witnessed during COVID with them as a nation. I want everybody else to succeed. And we're going to make sure they don't have all of this leverage over not just us, but other partners in the world.

[B]

Yes, but look, the two things I've been urging President Trump for a long time on trade to focus on are, number one, focus on China. I am all for pounding the living daylights out of China. You know, when I arrived in the Senate 13 years ago, what I said then is China poses the single largest geopolitical threat to the United States over the next hundred years.

[A]

Amen.

[B]

Now, Ben, when I arrived, that was a lonely voice. Almost nobody agreed with me. Every Democrat had disagreed with me and most of the Republicans disagreed with me. They looked at China and they saw nothing but dollar signs as far as the eye could see. Now the world has changed. I think a lot more people have opened their eyes to the danger, to the peril. China is fighting a thousand year war against the United States.

[A]

And that's not hyperbole. I mean, that's really how they look at it.

[B]

And everything we can do to delink our economy from China is a good step. So I've urged President Trump, you can't focus on China too much. The more you can bring jobs out of China, the more you can bring our critical infrastructure out of China, the more you can bring pharmaceuticals out of China, the more you can bring semiconductors out of China. Everything we depend upon, China is coming after us.

[A]

And this is national security. Things we depend on.

[B]

It is national security, is economic security. This is a fundamental battle. So I am all for focusing on China. But the other principle, reciprocity. Look, I don't want to be overly optimistic. As we mentioned on Monday's podcast, and you want to go back and listen to it, about angels and devils, there are really vocal and outspoken voices in the administration who don't want the President to lower tariffs in other countries. They want tariffs to be high and there forever. And they want the revenue. Look, tariffs are producing about two and a half billion dollars a day in revenues. Now, the point I made to the President, where are those revenues coming from? Tariffs are taxes. They're coming from American consumers. So yes, it's producing a lot of money. But I would much rather lower the barriers to other countries and let our farmers and ranchers and small businesses and manufacturers export the hell out of it. Because I think American businesses can beat every company on earth if there's a fair playing field. If most of the countries we trade with, there's not a fair playing field. And so this opportunity. And listen, President Trump's negotiation strategy is in some ways simple. He walks up to people, he smacks them in the head with a two by four, and then he backs up and negotiates from that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it has proven to be an incredibly effective negotiation strategy. So I will say I'm really, really glad about Wednesday's pause announcement. It produces, I noted, the biggest single day increase in the stock market in history. And I Hope the next 90 days we will see deal after deal after deal slashing tariffs and opening markets to American produce.

[A]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying something like that in the cabinet meeting when he said this about the president. And also he said, which I think was interesting, he said, and I'm going to quote him, he said, one of the most important things you'll achieve in your presidency is reordering the world in a proper way. For more than 31 years, multiple administrations have allowed the Chinese to de. Industrialize this country, to take away jobs in factories and pillars of our national strength. Like this is from a Secretary of State who's saying this is the ball game.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And, and then national security saying this is the ball game. And then producers are saying this is the ball game. And American workers are saying this is the ball game. I, I've never seen a moment politically where so many different factions are all seem to be aligned and understanding this threat, which is in fact is China. And so you look at this next 90 days, it's very important and there's got to be deals done. When do you think we'll start to see deals and momentum? Because it's all about momentum. Right. You get one with Vietnam or you get one with Taiwan, or you get one with Malaysia or India or wherever it is. Right. And you start going country by country. When will we start to see that? Because that's what the market's now looking for.

[B]

Yeah. Look, so what I urged the president Tuesday night is negotiate a deal fast. I said, I don't care what country.

[A]

Just get one on the books.

[B]

Get one and have it be a massive reduction on both sides because that will assuage people, okay, this is the path we're going down. When you have 70 plus countries that are seeking to negotiate deals, that takes a little bit of time. That's complicated.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And so I really like the 90 day pause because it gives you 90 days to negotiate deals. And so I hope in the next 90 days we see deal after deal after deal. And I think it'll build momentum.

[A]

So you think in weeks we'll start seeing the first ones.

[B]

I don't know. I don't know if it'll be weeks or 30 to 60 days. I don't know how long it takes.

[A]

90 days gives us time to do it right.

[B]

90 days gives us time to do it right. And I have a high level of confidence that in the next 90 days we will see a bunch of them. How quickly given the 90 day pause, there's not the urgency. What I was urging, what I said on Hannity is do it now, don't wait a week, like do it tomorrow. Because frankly, the market's freaking out and you don't want people's 401s to go to crap. And so I think, think there was real value to moving quickly. The pause essentially buys you time to then negotiate the deals. And I hope that's what they're going to do.

[A]

All right, before you go to this vote at 1:00 in the morning, not a joke, I want to ask you about this other, I would just say insane news because I can't believe that they've been allowed to do it for so long. And that is, that is Mexico stealing water, which is suffocating farmers. Specifically, it's happening in Texas and it's making farming industry collapse and farmers disappearing from areas because there is no water.

[B]

So let me give you the background. Cause this is a really important issue. It's important in Texas, but it's important to the country, which is there's a water treaty that we signed with Mexico in 1944, the Mexican Water Treaty of 1944. It obligates Mexico to provide 350,000 acre feet of water a year to South Texas. That's over a five year period.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

For the last five years, Mexico has been openly and brazenly violating the treaty. They've not been providing the water. They are right now, in this five year period, 1.3 million acre feet in arrears water they have not provided that they've committed by treaty to provide. Now what are they doing? They're diverting that water that should go to South Texas farmers under the treaty, to Mexican farmers. And a couple of things are happening. So in South Texas, there is a massive drought going on. It is doing enormous damage to farmers. And when I spent a lot of time in South Texas and the damage to farmers, we're seeing a lot of South Texas farmers that are taking half of their acreage out of production. They're shutting down half of their farms.

[A]

Just because they don't have the water to do it.

[B]

Right. They're laying off thousands of workers. So there was one sugar mill in all of Texas last year. It shut down because of water and it shut down because the sugar farmers did not have the water to raise the sugar.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And it's gone.

[A]

And Mexico on the other side is green as can be.

[B]

It is green as can be. The Mexican farmers are prospering. They're literally stealing our water. And by the way, like, President Trump talks a lot about foreign countries taking advantage of America.

[A]

This is a great example.

[B]

This is literally the Mexican government stealing our water.

[A]

And did Joe Biden do anything to stop this?

[B]

Zero.

[A]

And he knew about it.

[B]

So he knew about it. So I've engaged this issue. I engaged. I started engaging about two years ago, and I started engaging when I was down in South Texas and I did a round tail with farmers, and they raised this issue to me. And two years ago, I didn't know what the water tree of 1944 was. And they explained it to me. And at the time, they were really worried, we're going to lose our sugar mill if this doesn't change. And I said, look, I think I can help. I'm gonna lean in. And I began leaning in aggressively. I forced a vote on the Senate floor on an amendment to direct the State Department to use every lever point we have to force Mexico to comply with the water treaty. I got a majority of the Senate, a bipartisan majority, and then there's a water commissioner for the United States. I, like, leaned in with the water commissioner, said, look, the Senate has spoken. A bipartisan majority. And here's the fundamental problem. Joe Biden did. Didn't give a damn about this. So I desperately tried to get the Biden administration to exert leverage.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they just didn't care.

[A]

Now, by the way, leverage for Donald Trump at this point was him saying, hey, I'm coming after you with. With tariffs or sanctions, so do the right thing now before I have to do that. And they know he means it. Unlike even if you had that same statement from Joe Biden, he wasn't going.

[B]

To do anything, so. And South Texas cities are also facing massive drought. You're literally facing the cities not having enough water for their citizens because Mexico's stealing the water. And so I leaned in. I could not get the Biden administration do a damn thing. In December, as part of the continuing resolution, I authored legislation that got adopted that provided $280 million in emergency relief for Texas farmers because they're. They're going broke. And we're talking about generational farms, farms that have been three, four generations who are being bankrupted because their government is not enforcing the treaty and they're being starved of water. And so several weeks ago, I went down to South Texas with Brooke Rawlins. Brooke Rollins is the Secretary of Agriculture. Brooke has been a good friend of mine for 25 years. She's a Texan. She's the first Texan in the history of the country to be the Secretary of Agriculture. She's also the first Secretary of Agriculture ever to go to the Rio Grande Valley.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And she came to the Valley at my request. I asked her come down with me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we did. We did a press conference, number one, where she announced, I've got $280 million I'm giving to South Texas farmers because your federal government has been screwing you by not getting the water back and Mexico is starving you. But we also did a roundtable. We did a roundtable with farmers where Brooke and I talked with the farmers. And the Rio Grande Valley has been bright blue for 100 years. In 2024, the Rio Grande Valley flipped red. I won the valley and Donald Trump won the valley.

[A]

Incredible.

[B]

That has never happened. I won Hispanic statewide in Texas by six points. That's never happened. I have spent an enormous amount of time and millions of dollars in the Valley trying to flip the Valley red because I saw the potential there. And so I think I've invested more than any elected official in Texas in terms of turning the Valley red. Well, I gotta say, sitting there at that roundtable, you got farmers and ranchers, and you're just asking them, look, over the last four years, did Joe Biden do a damn thing for you?

[A]

No. And that's how you turn this.

[B]

And what I told them, as I said, listen, if there's one thing you know about Donald Trump, he will stand up to foreign countries and fight for you. And I made that commitment. And frankly, look, these are voters who their entire lives have voted Democrats. Their parents voted Democrat, their grandparents voted Democrat, their great grandparents voted Democrat. And this last election, for the first time, they pulled the lever for Republican. Going down there and saying, look, we're fighting for you. We're going to get you. The damn water is one of the ways you lock those votes. And it's a generational shift for Texas, by the way.

[A]

This is the first time for verdict. They've just opened the vote. They're only keeping it open for 15 minutes.

[B]

So I'm gonna go montarily, you're gonna.

[A]

Go momentarily, which means, actually, it's about 12 minutes because I'm a couple minutes behind. Just, this is. This is why I love doing verdict, because this is how it really works in the insanity of the Senate.

[B]

So I will say this. I called President Trump a week ago And I said, Mr. President, it would make a huge difference if you leaned in personally with the President of Mexico and said, provide us the water.

[A]

Yeah, knock it off.

[B]

And he said, I'll tell you what, I'll send a truth social post. And so I worked with him on the wording of it. And tonight, when I was in the oval, I said, Mr. President, can you send that Truth post? Yeah, he sent it tonight. I'm going to read it to you. Here's what President Trump sent this. Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty. But Mexico is unfortunately violating their treaty obligation. This is very unfair and it is hurting South Texas farmers very badly. Last year, the only sugar mill in Texas closed because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed. But Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the farmers. This ends now. I will make sure that Mexico doesn't violate our treaties and doesn't hurt our Texas farmers. Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty. My Agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas farmers. And we will keep escalating consequences, including tariffs and maybe even sanctions, until Mexico honors the treaty and gives Texas the water they are owed. And gives Texas the water they are owed is in all caps.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

That tweet got sent out tonight. I'll tell you in just within an hour of that tweet going out, the president of Mexico sent out a tweet saying, we're going to fix this. We're going to fix this. And the Mexican government is freaking out. That's what it looks like to be a leader President, Mexico, who is fighting for America. Joe Biden could have done that for four years, but he didn't give a flip about farmers in South Texas going out of business. The president's tweet, and I can tell you Mexico is in the process now of negotiating with the State Department to provide for the water. We're going to get the water. And that's a great, that's a great victory for me in America.

[A]

Go vote. You're on the clock now. I love it. Don't forget, we did a show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Sometimes it's like one in the morning. You're going to run and vote right now. We'll see you back here on what is today? Thursday, Wednesday. What is today? It's just, they're all running together now. Today's Thursday, so this is Friday, so the weekend review will be on Saturday. So there you go. Which isn't like a day, if you're looking at when we're recording this. We'll see then share this wherever you are on social media and we'll see you back here on Saturday.