Iran wants Revenge for Soleimani, Border Crossings Aren't Down Walz & Riley Gaines: More Men are Ruining Women's Sports Week In Review

Summary

Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson Episode: Iran Wants Revenge for Soleimani, Border Crossings Aren't Down Walz & Riley Gaines: More Men are Ruining Women's Sports Week In Review
Release Date: October 5, 2024
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Riley Gaines

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1. Iran's Attacks on Israel and U.S. Sanctions

Timestamp: [00:01] – [11:41]

Ben Ferguson opens the episode discussing recent attacks by Iran on Israel, highlighting the administration's failure to effectively enforce oil sanctions against Iran. He criticizes the Biden administration for allowing Iran to continue significant oil sales despite existing sanctions, which he argues fund terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Key Points:

• Sanctions Ineffectiveness: Ted Cruz explains that under the Trump administration, oil waivers were ended, reducing Iran's oil sales from one million to 300,000 barrels per day without impacting global oil prices. However, the Biden administration reinstated these waivers, increasing sales to two million barrels per day, generating over $80 billion for Iran annually.

  Quote:
  Ted Cruz [02:58]: "That goes back to them being able to now sponsor as much terrorism activity as they want to, which includes putting Israel and our other allies at risk."

• Assassination Threats: Cruz raises alarms about Iran's attempts to assassinate former President Donald Trump, mentioning ongoing threats against other Republican figures like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton. He accuses the Biden administration of being complicit by not enforcing sanctions, thereby facilitating Iran's funding of these assassination plots.

  Quote:
  Ted Cruz [03:08]: "The Biden White House is not saying a word. Biden hasn't said a word. Kamala hasn't said a word."

2. Assassination Attempts on Donald Trump

Timestamp: [08:08] – [11:41]

Cruz emphasizes the gravity of Iran's intentions to eliminate Trump, who remains a significant political figure and potential candidate in the upcoming elections. He criticizes the lack of response from the current administration and alleges that some Democrats covertly support Iran's hostile actions against Trump.

Key Points:

• Funding Terrorism: The administration's failure to enforce sanctions is directly linked to Iran's increased funding for terrorist activities and assassination attempts.

  Quote:
  Ted Cruz [08:08]: "The polling shows 20 to 30% of Democrats want Trump to be killed."

• Complicity of the White House: Cruz accuses President Biden and Vice President Harris of tolerating or even facilitating Iran's hostile actions by not taking decisive measures against Iran's oil sales and terrorist financing.

3. Border Crossings and Illegal Immigration

Timestamp: [11:50] – [17:40]

The discussion shifts to border security, specifically addressing claims made by Governor Tim Walz that border crossings have decreased since the previous administration. Cruz disputes these claims with statistical evidence, highlighting a significant increase in illegal border encounters under the Biden administration.

Key Points:

• Increased Border Crossings: Cruz presents data showing a rise in illegal border encounters from 89,072 in December 2020 to 158,988 in August 2024, and a staggering 2,756,646 year-to-date in fiscal year 2024.

  Quote:
  Ted Cruz [13:00]: "More than 13,000 illegal aliens who are free, who have not been apprehended, who are convicted murderers."

• Media and Moderation Failures: Both hosts criticize the media and debate moderators for not fact-checking or addressing the surge in illegal immigration and its associated crimes, such as the release of convicted murderers and rapists into the country.

  Quote:
  Ben Ferguson [09:53]: "We have sanctions on Iran. We have sanctions on their oil. They're not being enforced, so they're worthless."

4. Impact of Illegal Immigration on Housing and Public Services

Timestamp: [16:08] – [21:12]

Ferguson shares a personal anecdote about being stranded in New York City due to a lack of available hotel rooms, attributing the scarcity to illegal immigrants occupying hotel resources. This segment underscores the broader impact of illegal immigration on public services and housing markets.

Key Points:

• Housing Shortages: The influx of illegal immigrants strains housing availability, leading to increased prices and reduced accessibility for citizens and legal residents.

  Quote:
  Ben Ferguson [18:22]: "There was not a single hotel room in the city. That's what's happening now because illegal immigration."

• Economic Strain: The hosts discuss how increased demand from illegal immigrants exacerbates issues like housing shortages and economic instability in major cities.

5. Analysis of Political Debate Coverage

Timestamp: [21:12] – [32:37]

Ferguson and Cruz critique the recent political debates, particularly focusing on how moderators failed to address key issues related to illegal immigration and border security. They argue that significant points made by candidates were downplayed or ignored by the media.

Key Points:

• Missed Opportunities: The hosts lament the absence of discussions on the number of convicted murderers and rapists allowed into the country, which could have been pivotal in the debate.

  Quote:
  Ted Cruz [16:08]: "There are more than 13,000 illegal aliens who are free, who have not been apprehended, who are convicted murderers."

• Media Bias: Both Ferguson and Cruz accuse media outlets like CBS of neglecting to fact-check or highlight critical issues raised by Republican candidates, thereby skewing public perception.

• Candidate Performance: They commend JD Vance for his relatable portrayal and critique the moderators for not seizing upon Vance’s points to challenge opposing candidates effectively.

6. Women's Sports and Gender Identity Issues with Riley Gaines

Timestamp: [21:50] – [32:37]

The episode features Riley Gaines discussing the controversial inclusion of biological males in women's sports. Gaines outlines the physical dangers and unfair advantages posed by male athletes competing in female categories, arguing that it undermines Title IX and the integrity of women's athletics.

Key Points:

• Physical Safety Risks: Gaines cites specific incidents where female athletes suffered severe injuries due to competing against biological males, including concussions and facial injuries, highlighting the inadequacy of current regulations.

  Quote:
  Riley Gaines [22:38]: "Peyton McNabb...still to this day, she's partially paralyzed on her right side."

• Institutional Failures: She criticizes universities and athletic departments for permitting men to occupy positions in women's sports teams, thereby displacing female athletes and compromising their safety.

  Quote:
  Riley Gaines [24:17]: "San Jose State University...they have taken a roster spot that rightfully belongs to a woman."

• Advocacy and Resistance: Gaines shares her experiences advocating for women's sports rights, including facing hostility and violence during her campaigns to secure fair treatment for female athletes.

  Quote:
  Riley Gaines [29:13]: "These protesters...demanding that if I wanted to make it home to see my family safely again, I had to pay them money."

7. Conclusion and Call to Action

Timestamp: [32:37] – [32:37]

Ben Ferguson wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to subscribe to his podcast for more in-depth discussions and to stay informed on the critical issues affecting America today.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ted Cruz on Sanctions:
  "They were selling roughly a million barrels of oil a day. I made the case to the president, end the oil waivers." [02:58]

• Ben Ferguson on Sanctions Enforcement:
  "We have sanctions on Iran. We have sanctions on their oil. They're not being enforced, so they're worthless." [09:53]

• Riley Gaines on Athlete Safety:
  "Outside of sports, you understand, we're going to take a loss. That's what it means when you forfeit a match." [27:09]

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This episode of The 47 Morning Update delves into pressing national security concerns, the challenges of illegal immigration, the integrity of political discourse, and the urgent issues facing women's sports. Ben Ferguson and his guests provide a critical analysis of current policies and societal trends, urging listeners to stay informed and proactive in addressing these challenges.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is verdict with Ted Cruz. The week in Review. Ben Ferguson with you. And we had some major stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, Iran attacks Israel. And the worst part is our administration seems to be helping Iran be flowing with cash through oil sales that are sanctioned. But we are not actually doing anything with those sanctions. We're going to break that down for you. Also, walls lies and said the border crossings are down. The debate, that is actually not true at all. So why did they not fact check him in the media? We'll expose that. And finally, Riley Gaines joins us to talk about how more men are getting into women's sports. Will this be the end of women's sports? And what do women and mothers and grandmothers need to do to stand up for their granddaughters and their daughters? It's the week in review and it starts right now.

[Ted Cruz]

That's how they fund Hamas. That's how they fund Hezbollah. That's how they fund the assassins that are trying to murder Donald Trump is by selling oil. They were selling roughly a million barrels of oil a day. I made the case to the president, end the oil waivers. There was a fight in the Trump administration. State again was on the wrong side. Mike Pompeo was secretary of State. He argued if we end the oil waivers, the price of oil will skyrocket. The price of gasoline at home will go up. The Department of Energy, who you would think would know something about energy. Yeah. Said that's nonsense. There's plenty of global supply of oil. You could end the oil waivers without materially impacting the price. Again, I weighed in more than a dozen times with Trump. I was there day after day after day making this case. Again, he agreed with me. He ended the oil waivers boom. We know who was right. We know who was wrong. Energy was right and State was wrong. The oil waivers ended and Iran's oil sales dropped from a million barrels a day to 300,000. Their revenue collapsed. And you know what? The global price of oil didn't move a blip. It had essentially zero impact, zero impact of the price of the pump back at home. But it crushed the regime. When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came into office, the Iranian economy was in shambles. The regime was teetering. It was near falling, which would be the best thing that could possibly happen for the people of Iran and the best thing that could possibly happen for Israel and for America. And what did Joe Biden and Kamala Harris do? They came in, they rode like the cavalry to save the AYATOLLAH and almost immediately, they stopped enforcing oil sanctions. When they came in, Iran was selling 300,000 barrels of oil a day. How much you think they're selling today?

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm assuming it's got to be back to close to where it was.

[Ted Cruz]

It used to be at a million barrels a day. Today it's at 2 million barrels a day.

[Ben Ferguson]

So they've doubled it.

[Ted Cruz]

They've doubled it from their high. Do you know how much the difference is between 300,000 barrels a day and 2 million barrels a day for the last four years.

[Ben Ferguson]

How much?

[Ted Cruz]

$80 billion. More than $80 billion, which goes back.

[Ben Ferguson]

To them being able to now sponsor as much terrorism activity as they want to, which includes putting Israel and our other allies at risk.

[Ted Cruz]

And I want you to understand this threat on Trump is real. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have given the Ayatollah hundred billion dollars, $100 billion buys you a lot of assassins. And, and, and, and listen, we're not just talking about, you know, some jackadoodle with a suicide vest wandering up and trying to blow up the president. We're not just talking about some guy on, on a roof with a sniper rifle, although we've now seen two guys with sniper rifles. One who succeeded in shooting Donald Trump, the other who was prepared to do so and trying to do so. But, but there are also greater dangers. I want you to watch a video and, and this is one where I hope as many of you as possible are able to see the video version of this and, and go to YouTube, subscribe to the YOU YouTube channel, but also watch this video version. This is a video that was put out by the government of Iran by the Ayatollah. It was put out a couple of years ago in 2022. I want you to watch it, and for those of you who are listening, you'll be able to hear it. And we'll describe afterwards exactly what you see. But this shows you what Iran wants to do. Give a watch. For those who are listening, we're seeing right now an animated video of a drone attacking Mar? A Lago. They're hacking into the computers. This is the Iranians. They put together this video. They're disabling the security cameras. The drone is now going to the golf course. Donald Trump is playing on the golf course. There's a drone. There's a robot that's on the ground, and there's a drone in the air. The robot is pulling up to the golf course, and it is now citing Donald Trump, who is playing golf at his home at Mar a Lago. And the Iranians are targeting him directly to murder him. They're typing into computers. It says hacking. They're hacking into computers. People who are playing golf with Trump are getting attacked. Soleimani's murderer and the one who gave the order will pay the price. Each of the people playing golf with Trump is now getting that text. The robot drone on the ground is lighting Trump up with a laser guide. And the drone in the air is preparing to fire a missile. The Iranian is hitting fire on a dashboard. And it ends with the words revenge is definitely. And then an animation of General Soleimani with the Ayatollah Khamenei's website on the bottom. This is what Iran wants to do.

[Ben Ferguson]

And this was a couple years ago when this came out. It's now resurfaced and kind of turned into, oh, wait, this is something they've been wanting to do, trying to do, planning to do. And now you find out they've got the money and they're hiring people to try to take out Donald Trump. And nothing from this White House.

[Ted Cruz]

And here's the point that has been undercovered. And by undercovered, I mean not covered at all in the media. This White House is complicit. The hell is this White House doing? You have a foreign nation trying to murder the former President of the United States, the Republican nominee for president, the leading candidate for president in the polls, the person who may well be president, President elect, in. In less than 40 days. And this Biden White House is doing nothing. They are not going after. They are not making clear, you know what they're doing today? They're letting Iran sell 2 million barrels of oil today, like tomorrow. You know how much they're going to sell? 2 million barrels of oil, mostly to Communist China. The Biden White House is not saying a word. Biden hasn't said a word. Kamala hasn't said a word. They haven't said to Iran. Understand clearly, you will end this attempt. By the way, it's not just Trump. They're also trying to murder Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State of the United States. They're also trying to murder John Bolton, the former national security adviser to President Trump. They're also trying to murder Brian Hook, the former Assistant Secretary of State. The Department of State is today, right now, spending $2 million a month protecting those officials from the Iranian hitman. And this administration continues to treat Iran. The President of Iran was in New York at the United nations this past weekend, was treated like A celebrity with this administration kissing his behind while he's actively trying to murder the President of the United States. And look, here's the dirty little secret. There is a not insubstantial number of Democrats who are quietly rooting for Iran to be successful in murdering Trump.

[Ben Ferguson]

We've seen it on social media, by the way. You're not exaggerating every time there's an attack on Trump's life. There are celebrities, there are Democrats, there are people that are not, I would say, extreme or fringe people who are like, rooting this on.

[Ted Cruz]

The polling shows 20 to 30% of Democrats want Trump to be killed. Now, let me be clear. I don't want Biden killed. I don't want Kamala killed. I don't want any Democrats killed. I am anti murder. I'm anti assassination. If any country tries to do that, we should bring the full might of the US Military to, to bring any regime that threatens the president or vice president or a senior official in this administration bring them to their knees. I want to beat Kamala at the, at the polls. I want the voters to say, your policies are terrible. But there is a not insubstantial percentage of Democrats that are rooting for, please, please, please have an assassin's bullet destroy. They have been so poisoned by hate. They've been so indoctrinated to hate Trump. He's not their political opposition. He is the enemy. And it is. I cannot believe there is not outrage. There is not strength. I cannot believe the ayatollah has not been told. If you attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, you, the Ayatollah, will die and every mullah around you will die. You want to know what strength looks like? Look at Israel. We're going to put a pager in your pants and blow your pants off. I mean, I mean, Israel knows how to stand up to people that are trying to murder them. The Biden White House, what are they doing to stop an attempted assassination of the former president and quite possibly the next president of the United States?

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator, I want to say one thing, because I know this is going to come up. And I laugh when I see the comments when we put up the episodes on social media, when we put them up on, on YouTube. And people are like, well, you're. You're misleading the audience by, by claiming that we don't have sanctions on Iran. We have sanctions on Iran. That's what this administration says. But they're worthless if they're not being enforced. And that is the part I want you to just expand on quickly, because you'll see the media, and they'll say this, and the White House has said it countless times. We have sanctions on Iran. We have sanctions on their oil. They're not being enforced, so they're worthless.

[Ted Cruz]

So, a simple question. Anytime you hear a talking head saying that, why, when Trump left the office, was Iran selling 300,000 barrels a day of oil? And why today are they selling 2 million barrels of oil a day? So the way they're selling it is they have a ghost fleet of tankers, tankers that are not flagged, that are surreptitiously bringing the oil from Iran to China. And this administration's not going after the ghost fleet. It's not vigorously enforcing the sanctions. And the reason it's not is this administration desperately wants a new Iran deal. And so they're bending over backwards to give Iran everything they want because they want an Iran deal, and they're willing. Iran is funding Hamas, who carried out October 7th. Iran is funding Hezbollah, who is attacking Israel every day. Iran is actively attacking US Servicemen and women in the Middle east right now, today. And Iran is actively trying to murder Donald Trump. And yet Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they are sending Iran billions of dollars, principally through not enforcing the oil sanctions, but they are providing the funding for the hitmen who are targeting Donald Trump.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. Now, on to story number two.

[Ted Cruz]

You know, there was another moment on the same topic of the border where Tim Waltz said the most brazen lie of the entire debate. And when Waltz was backpedaling and trying to defend the disaster of Kamala's open borders, Tim Waltz said, quote, border crossings are down compared to when Donald Trump left office.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. Now, which is a lie. And you and I both are looking at the TV like, that's not true.

[Ted Cruz]

That is not slightly true. It's not kind of true. It's not in any way. And let me give you the stats. So, in December 2020, the total encounters with illegals was 89,072. In August 2024, the total encounters was 158,988. So it was nearly twice as many. And mind you, look, there's been a slight dip in the last couple of months because Biden and Harris are trying to pretend to do something about the border, and they're just doing it as electioneering. And to put it in all of fiscal year 2020, do you know how many encounters with illegals there were? Under Trump.

[Ben Ferguson]

How many?

[Ted Cruz]

646,822.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's like a month in this administration.

[Ted Cruz]

In fiscal year 24 year to date. And by the way, we're not all the way through 24. Do you know how many there have been?

[Ben Ferguson]

How many?

[Ted Cruz]

2,756,646.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

And by the way, these brave fact checkers, did you notice the CBS moderator.

[Ben Ferguson]

They didn't cut off anybody's mic.

[Ted Cruz]

Did they say, wait a second, Governor, you just said that border encounters were lower now than they were under Trump. That is flat out false. They didn't say that because they're not in the business of fact checking Democrats.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, and they also didn't bring up something else that. And I actually thought this was a missed opportunity. I think JD Had a great night, but I wish he would have seized on this. The acting ICE director put out all of these numbers that we've talked about here.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes.

[Ben Ferguson]

About the number of rapists that were let go that we knew were rapists, the number of murderers that were let go and the number of those that had been charged with heinous crimes. And we still let go into this country. And that didn't see the light of day tonight. And it's, again, it goes back to the moderators like it's shame on them for not actually talking about the acting ICE director saying this when they're going to talk about the border. How do you talk about the border without that? But I do. And again, it's debating's tough, and I want to be clear. It's tough, but there was a missed opportunity there. I, I'm shocked that JD didn't really try to hammer that, that point home.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Look, I think JD Did a very good job tonight. I was surprised that the 13,000 convicted murderers did not come up. It's such a powerful number. And CBS hasn't covered it. The news hasn't covered it. And so this debate was an opportunity for. That's actually something that I wish that, like, it had been slowly explained that they'd taken a little bit of time. You need to understand that right now, today, there are more than 13,000 illegal aliens who are free, who have not been apprehended, who are convicted murderers. There is nothing whatsoever stopping Kamala Harris from picking up all 13,000 of them tomorrow. Legally, she has every right to do so. They are here illegally. They can be detained, they can be deported. And, and yet. And There are another 2,000, roughly illegal aliens who have pending murder charges. So they're being charged with murder. And you know what? They're free too. There is nothing, zero preventing Kamala Harris from picking up those 2,000. And I would have loved to see JD turn to, turn to Tim, Tim Waltz and say, governor, why doesn't Kamala Harris pick up those 15,000 murderers right now? And what would you say to the mothers of the murdered by these illegal alien murderers that you continue to allow on the street? Yeah, he wouldn't have an answer to that.

[Ben Ferguson]

No, he wouldn't have an answer to that. And look, again, like I said, debating is hard. And I think one of the things that he did really well was he talked about the fact that people are suffering in this country because there's so many illegal immigrants. And it backfired. On cbs, they were talking about the economy and they were talking about the housing crisis. It was a little bit later in the debate. Many people, if you didn't watch the whole debate, this was one of those moments. I think they actually buried it on pur purpose. They need to check a box, ask a question about the, about housing. But there was a moment there where JD Vance seized on like, well, yeah, of course home prices are gonna be up. You let, you let 15, 20 million people in this country, they're, they gotta have a roof over their head at night. They're competing with you, especially for low cost housing and apartments which have skyrocketed in price, undoubtedly.

[Ted Cruz]

And CBS really beclown themselves on this because one of the moderators chimed in and said, well, do you have any evidence of that? What proof do you have of that? And JD to his credit was prepared and said, well, actually there's a Federal Reserve study that lays out the impact of illegal immigration driving up the cost of housing. And we'll put that out on social media right now so you can go read the study. But he also made the point of just supply and demand. What do you think an additional 11.5 million people is gonna do, demanding housing is going to do? Do these houses magically get created from the sky? Is there a wand that makes them come into existence? And the moderators just didn't like that point. And so they were. But they looked pretty silly when they asked if he had any evidence. And the answer was, well, yes.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love the other day on tv, they were talking about the price of hotels in New York City have skyrocketed. Yeah, because I think it's like one out of X number of every hotels is filled with illegal immigrants. They're taking away hotel rooms. So then they get more for the hotel rooms that are available. I, I, you and I, I don't even know if did you know I got stranded in New York City and there wasn't a single hotel room after we came back from the airport. Did I tell you this?

[Ted Cruz]

No.

[Ben Ferguson]

So this is how bad it is. And they, this is when I learned like really firsthand. I went the airport, was on the plane, was on the plane for like four hours. They finally canceled the flight. We pull back up the gate and they say, go back in the city. So I immediately get on the phone, I call Fox. I'm there for tv. I'm like, hey, I'm going to need a hotel room. And I got to get back to the city. And then I get a flight back in the morning to Houston. And she was like, no problem. I'll call you in a minute. Go ahead and head down the cars and we'll get you back to the city. She said, I've never seen this before. There's not a single hotel room in the city. And I'm like, not. And it wasn't like there was like the super bowl going on. This is a normal Tuesday in New York. And I was like, are you kidding? Well, then I open up my app and I'm like, I get on Expedia. I there no hotel rooms. They start looking in New Jersey. They're looking everywhere. Finally, the only option was to go back to the city and hope that someone doesn't come to a hotel room. I sat outside of the hotel I always stay at, know the manager. And I walked in, he's like, Ben, he's like, this is because of all the illegal immigrants in the city. He goes, there's no hotel rooms to deal with the capacity. I sat outside till one in the morning until finally someone canceled the hotel. And then he checked me into that room at 1:00. So I sat there from 7 to 1am My flight was at 6 in the morning. So I slept for like three hours. And he said, this is what they've done to our city, referring to the illegal immigrants and how many have come in. And when I say there was, it was, there was not a hotel room in the city. That's what's happening now because illegal immigration. Senator, I want to talk and wrap on the issue of style. You know, you and I both thought this was going to be a intense debate. They don't like each other, they're going to throw down. I think we're also gotten kind of used to that with Donald Trump. That's what we've seen over the last several years. Joe Biden likes to do that as well. We've seen a lot of the Republican debates, primary debates.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, Hillary and Trump was nasty.

[Ben Ferguson]

They were both nasty. Oh, yeah. I mean, they threw down. And tonight I didn't, I did enjoy a little bit the civility.

[Ted Cruz]

Absolutely.

[Ben Ferguson]

And that was something we haven't seen. But I also think if it was a strategy by the, by the Trump team, hey, you're going to be the likable guy. You're gonna try to bring more people into the tent. I want people to walk away really thinking that you're the right choice. They nailed it if that was the intent tonight.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I think JD Came across as real and relatable. He did a good job of telling his own family story and his own background. I mean, his, you know, he wrote a best selling book. Hillbilly Elegy was made into a movie, a very good movie. A movie that's terrific to watch, but yet a lot of people don't know that story. He's been a caricature, just like Trump has. And I think tonight made real progress making him seem like a real person, seem like a husband and a father and someone who has journeyed from very humble beginnings to right now being the nominee to be Vice President of the United States. That's one heck of a journey.

[Ben Ferguson]

As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing. I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed, Riley, you mentioned All American a moment ago that you know that the girls that were crying and the mothers and the dads that were crying because they were, they were one shot out. Right. One spot out of, of an incredible prestigious award. When you talk about shaving time and then this advantage that he has over you, what was the difference between first place and 10th place? When it talks about, when you're talking about shaving seconds or tenths of seconds off, Like, I don't think people understand just how close it is at the elite level.

[Riley Gaines]

Yeah, again, tenths of seconds. That's how much you're Even in the 50 freestyle, for example, it's first place to 16th place, which is what qualifies of being an all American top 16 in the country. It's tenths of a second.

[Ted Cruz]

Now we're seeing this not just in swimming, we're seeing this in sport after sport after sport. Right now it's become an issue with, with San Jose State volleyball where there's a biological man who's playing on the women's volleyball team. And there have now been multiple women's teams that have refused to play. Give us your reaction to that, having competed in a different sport but at the same elite level.

[Riley Gaines]

Well, first, this is the first time we have seen something like this, a movement in motion where teams are standing in unity together saying, we won't allow this to happen. Enough is enough. You're not going to continue to discriminate against us on the basis of our sex, which is of course everything that Title IX was passed originally to prevent from happening. As you described San Jose State University, they allowed a man onto their team to take a scholarship. He's taken a roster spot he has taken when they travel, you know, that travel spot that rightfully belongs to a girl, to a woman. But in talking with and working with these presidents of these other Mountain West Conference schools, like for example Southern Utah, Boise State, followed by University of Wyoming and most recently just last night, Utah State, these four schools have said, hey, we're not going to compete against this team. The universities of course, haven't specifically cited a reason. But I can tell you in talking to these teams, these girls are fearful of their safety. They understand, look, we know we're going to take a loss. That's what it means when you forfeit a match. But this is a worthy cause. We don't want to be on the receiving end. I've seen this boy give career ending concussions. And so they cite safety concerns, these women, for not feeling comfortable to play. And I'll tell you there's more schools in the pipeline coming up who will soon also cancel their games against San Jose State University.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, and the risks of physical safety, particularly in sports that have more and more direct contact, whether you're dealing with volleyball and someone spiking the ball into your face, or a sport like basketball or we saw at the Olympics so called women's boxing with biological males competing. Give us your thoughts on the risks of really serious injury that can happen when you have biological males engaged in direct physical violence in a sport against women.

[Riley Gaines]

Well, I'm not even going to give you my thoughts. I'll tell you exactly what is happening. I'm going to give you factual information here. Let's look for example at Peyton McNabb, a high school senior. She was at the time in North Carolina, a similar situation. Actually, it's the sport of volleyball. A man on the opposing Team. He jumps up, he spikes the ball hits her in the face. She's knocked unconscious where she lays for many minutes before, you know, finally coming back around. Still to this day, that was two years ago. That was September of 2022. So over two years ago, still to this day, she's partially paralyzed on her right side. Her vision is impaired, her memory is impaired. She has to have special accommodations for testing at school because she can't retain information like she once could. She was supposed to play softball in college, but because of this brain injury, she will not go on to do that. She has had part of her pituitary gland removed out of her brain because of how traumatic the head injury was. Let's look for, or look at, for example, what we saw at a high school in Massachusetts where a male was allowed to play field hockey with the girls against the girls. And this boy, he slaps a shot at the women. One of the women on the field, it hits her in the face, in the mouth, and it knocked all her teeth out. Even. She had to undergo reconstruction, facial reconstruction surgery to reconstruct her jaw. This male player, he's given career and concussions to girls. Like I said, most recently, we saw him. Him hit a woman in the face from University of Delaware to where she doesn't even have time to defend herself. Okay? Like, there was no reaction time for her that would have been able to prevent this hit from hitting her in the head. The list goes on. We saw recently even what the Olympics have done. The IOC allowed two men, two plural males, to compete in women's boxing, which naturally, both of these men went on to win gold medals in their respective weight divisions. And one of the female boxers who fought against this boxer, one of the male boxers, said she had never been punched that forcefully that hard in her entire life. She said this was nothing, a punch that a woman could throw.

[Ted Cruz]

How is this remotely fair? In what universe is this even arguably fair?

[Riley Gaines]

Well, it's absolutely not. And I'll tell you, the people who are lobbying for this, who are voting in favor of this, who are advocating for this, they don't even believe it. Even recently. Senator Cruz, when I testified actually before your committee, I had some of your colleagues from across the aisle come up to me before the hearing and say, hey, look, you know, I played football at Stanford. I totally get where you're coming from. I totally agree. And then gets on the other side of the table, and what does he do? He starts grilling me and sympathizes with those on the other side yeah, not the women. So they don't believe this. They're, again, just cowards. And they know that's why. One, you have been incredible on many issues outside of the gender ideology movement, but your opponent here in your state. I was so enthused to see this ad come out recently. It was so powerful, it was so effective. If the people listening haven't seen it, go watch it. I've reposted on my page, it's this perfect depiction that even if you just watch the last 10 seconds, you see a man in a jersey with all red on the back of it, and he tramples a young girl. And that is the message perfectly depicted. That is the message that we are receiving and that people are voting for. That's what you're getting if you vote for someone who advances these progressive and harmful policies.

[Ted Cruz]

Let me ask you, you've gone to a number of campuses and you've spoken out, and I admire your courage because you've had some really unpleasant receptions and threats of violence against you. Describe a little bit what you've experienced as a consequence of speaking out against this.

[Riley Gaines]

Well, I was just actually explaining to Ben. I'm actually at University of Texas in Austin's campus today, and I'll tell you, there was some minor heckling, but for the most part was very well received because these students are desperate to hear the truth. To be honest with you, they've been denied it from their universities, from these institutional academic institutions. They've been denied the truth through censorship and other things. And so I had a great reception tonight. But you're right, I have been in scenarios where have not been overly well received. One, for example, is San Francisco State University, where, I mean, I was accosted, I was ambushed, I was attacked by these protesters, hundreds of them. They rush into the room, they turn off the lights. I mean, I'm being punched in the face by these men wearing dresses, which, again, they ultimately held me for ransom for about five hours, demanding that if I wanted to make it home to see my family safely again, I had to pay them money. All the while, the police are being held for ransom with me because, remember, this is San Francisco, and the police don't know. I shouldn't say they don't know how to do their job. They just don't do their job in this city.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, often they're prevented from doing it by the political leadership who doesn't let them protect the rights of innocence, because ideology. Trump's actually defending people's rights and people's safety, and we See, whether it's in San Francisco or Minneapolis or New York or Los Angeles, we see that left wing Democrats prevent law enforcement from protecting innocence in many cases from violence. That the ideology on the left is if the violence is carried out by someone whose politics they align with, then they're happy to look the other way and to effectively handcuff police officers from protecting. Protecting the innocent from violence.

[Riley Gaines]

And that's exactly what these officers said. You know, I asked them, can't you do something? To which they said, no, we can't. We're not allowed to do anything because we're not allowed to be seen as anything other than an ally to that community or else we'll lose our jobs. Again, the same community who's on the other side of the door where we were barricaded, who called these officers racist pigs for protecting a white girl like me. That's who they again, were almost forcibly had to side with in this scenario.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, Riley, thank you for speaking out. Thank you for speaking out not just for yourself, but you're speaking out for women. You're speaking out for young girls. You're speaking out for the next generation of athletes. You know, Title IX transformed athletics and created opportunity for millions of schoolgirls to compete and develop discipline and teamwork and get all of the benefits of athletic competition. And I gotta say, the current insanity of pretending there is no such thing as girls and boys, there is no such thing as women and men, it really threatens the ability of both women and girls to compete in athletics. And I think your courage. There are a lot of people who are grateful to you, even if they don't say so. I'm telling you, there are millions of Texans and millions of people across, across the country who are grateful to you.

[Ben Ferguson]

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