Iran: Why We're Fighting, How's it Going & What's the End Game

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Episode: Iran: Why We're Fighting, How's it Going & What's the End Game
Date: March 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the unfolding military conflict between the United States and Iran, with special attention on why the war began, the current state of operations, and what the long-term objectives are. Host Ben Ferguson is joined by Senator Ted Cruz, offering in-depth commentary on the rationale driving U.S. action, strategic and political developments, and debunking common narratives circulating among political opponents and in international propaganda. They also feature a special update from Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, highlighting key military objectives and progress.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Military Progress in Iran – Successes and Objectives

• Senator Cruz outlines progress:

  • Massive reduction in Iranian missile and drone attacks within the first eight days of conflict.
    • "Iran launched 350 ballistic missiles. By day eight, that had dropped to 15." (02:48)
    • "Iran launched 541 drone attacks. By day eight, that had Dropped to 12." (03:07)
  • U.S. operations have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses, missile manufacturing, drone capabilities, and naval fleet.
    • "Virtually every ship in their navy has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean." (03:47)

• Pete Hegseth’s Mission Brief (Secretary of War):

  • On day 10 of "Operation Epic Fury," U.S. is "winning with an overwhelming and unrelenting focus."
  • Three key objectives:
    1. Destroy Iran’s missile and defense industrial base.
    2. Destroy their navy.
    3. "Permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever."
    • "It's a laser focused, maximum authority mission delivered with overwhelming and unrelenting precision. No hesitation, no half measures." (06:47–07:37)

2. Debunking Political and Media Narratives

• Democratic Messaging & Propaganda:

  • Ben notes shifting Democratic talking points—from accusing Trump of starting a "forever war" to attempts at internecine Republican disputes.
  • Senator Cruz:
    • Democratic argument that Trump is manipulated by Israel is untrue.
      • "The suggestion was Israel is a puppet master controlling Donald Trump. That’s just a blatant lie. This military conflict has very little to do with Israel." (36:39)
    • Cites Iranian state-sponsorship of terror, attempts to assassinate Trump, and ongoing attacks on Americans as core justifications.

• Countering Tucker Carlson and Foreign Propaganda:

  • Cruz criticizes Tucker Carlson’s comments, who suggested U.S. demands for Iran’s surrender signal American cruelty.
    • "Tucker has become such an Islamist shill, such an Israel hating zealot... he has argued this week that President Trump's demand for unconditional surrender of Iran means that Iran should expect American soldiers to rape their wives and daughters. Yes, that is an absolute slander." (11:33)
  • Points out Iranian, Russian (RT), and Muslim Brotherhood media amplifying these narratives.
    • "The government of Iran is broadcasting Tucker to their people. The Muslim Brotherhood has retweeted and put out Tucker's broadcast..." (13:14)

• Foreign Influence in U.S. Universities:

  • Discussion about Qatar providing $6.6 billion to American universities, funding anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment.
    • "You want to know why the our universities are so rabidly anti American... Cutter [$6.6 billion] to our universities." (17:53–18:02)

3. Personal & Political Anecdotes

• Media Manipulation & Foreign Offers:

  • Ben Ferguson recounts being offered a lucrative contract by RT (Russia Today) meant to entice conservative voices for propaganda.
    • "It was seven figures... I literally remember the number." (15:00–16:27)

• Senator Cruz on Political Smears:

  • Candid reflection on slander during the 2016 campaign and intrusive attempts by opponents to dig up scandal, illustrating personal integrity and the nature of political combat.
    • "It sucks to pick up the phone and call your spouse and say, sweetheart, so there is a front page story... that said I'm having five simultaneous affairs." [21:58]

• Faith and Leadership:

  • Cruz shares insights from his church community and a lesson from his pastor about resisting temptation and cultivating humility for leaders.

4. Gas Prices and Domestic Political Impact

• Short-term vs. Long-term Price Trends:
  • Democrats are latching on to a temporary spike in gas prices as a political weapon.
  • Cruz offers perspective:
    • Prices up a dollar to $3.50/gallon since the start of the conflict; under Biden, they hit nearly $6/gallon.
    • Expects long-term decrease in prices after regime change in Iran.
    • "If and when we have a government in Iran that is not a radical, theocratic Islamist... the effect on global gas prices will be to lower them significantly." (35:31–36:39)

5. The End Game: Avoiding "Forever Wars"

• Explicit Rejection of Old Models:
  • Pete Hegseth emphasizes this is not an Iraq/Afghanistan-style conflict:
    • "This is not 2003. This is not endless nation building... winning decisively with brutal efficiency, total air dominance." (43:02)
  • Cruz echoes:
    • Very little risk of large-scale, prolonged ground occupation in Iran.
    • The mission is tightly scoped: destroy enemy capacity and deter future state-sponsored terrorism.
    • "Avoiding endless wars does not mean embracing isolationism. Yeah, peace through strength is what Reagan called it. Donald Trump just understands it as being a strong commander in chief, that when people are killing Americans, he is going to respond vigorously." (44:21)

6. Reflections on Public Reaction & Political Stakes

• Expectations:
  • If the conflict drags on and U.S. casualties mount, public support will dwindle. But both Cruz and Ferguson emphasize that current strategy and pace make this unlikely.
  • Conclude with strong support for decisive U.S. action as a deterrent and as a boost to national security.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Rapid Military Breakdown of Iran:

  "Virtually every ship in their navy has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean. That effect in less than two weeks. Profound."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (03:47)

• On Justification for War:

  "When the Ayatollah says death to America, he means it. I think President Trump is right to act, to take out the leadership in Iran because having radical Islamist leadership that wants to murder Americans is bad for America."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (08:28)

• On Propaganda Wars:

  "The government of Iran is broadcasting Tucker [Carlson] to their people. The Muslim Brotherhood has retweeted and put out Tucker's broadcast... So you want to talk about a damn effective propagandist for people who hate America."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (13:14)

• On Foreign University Funding:

  "Cut our [Qatar]: $6.6 billion with a B... so rabidly anti American, so rabidly anti Semitic, so rabidly anti Israel, so rabidly anti Capitalism..."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (17:53–18:02)

• On the End Game:

  "We're not going to see a massive troop presence on the ground. We're not going to see an extended military occupation... Iran is not Iraq."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (42:12)

• On the President’s Objectives:

  "Our generation of soldier will not let that happen again. And nor will this President who very clearly ran against those kinds of never ending, nebulously scoped missions. Those days are dead."
  — Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War (43:02)

• On Policy vs. Politics:

  "This military conflict has very little to do with Israel... The reason President Trump decided to attack Iran is because Iran has been waging war with America for 47 years..."
  — Senator Ted Cruz (36:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Military progress report – drop in Iranian attacks: 02:48–03:47
• Pete Hegseth mission update: 06:47–07:37
• Democratic messaging, Tucker Carlson controversy: 08:28–14:19
• Russian/foreign influence in U.S. media: 15:00–17:37
• Foreign funding & anti-American sentiment at universities: 17:41–19:29
• Gas prices discussion and political ramifications: 34:18–36:39
• Risk of endless war, strategic objectives: 42:12–44:21
• Pete Hegseth on avoiding quagmires: 43:02–43:48

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Episode Takeaways

• The military operation against Iran has been rapid, focused, and effective according to guests and cited officials.
• The central justification is Iran’s longstanding campaign of violence against Americans and attempts to assassinate U.S. leaders, not protection of Israel per se.
• U.S. leaders and military brass claim a decisive, no-occupation, no-nation building strategy.
• Political and media narratives, especially those amplified by foreign adversaries, are misleading and often tied to propaganda efforts.
• Economic fallout (gas prices) is expected, but both short-lived and mitigating in the medium-to-long term.
• The episode blends serious commentary with levity and personal anecdotes, maintaining a tone of both gravity regarding war and camaraderie between the hosts.

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This summary captures the full sweep of the podcast’s arguments and insights—offering context and clarity on the present conflict with Iran, the rationale behind it, the U.S. approach to victory, and the broader battle over public perception and political spin.

Transcript

[Senator Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you. It's so nice for you to join us today. And we've got a lot to talk about. The world's talking about Iran right now, Senator, and we've got updates on where we are in this war with Iran.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, we're in week two of the war with Iran and I will say the successes continue to build up. If you look at the first day of this conflict, Iran launched 350 ballistic missiles. By day eight, that had dropped to 15.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The second day of this conflict, Iran launched 541 drone attacks. By day eight, that had Dropped to 12. What we have done in less than two weeks now, we have taken out Iran's air defenses, We've taken out their missile launching capacity. We have taken out their missiles, we have taken out their missile manufacturing. We've taken out their drone launch capacity. We have taken out their drones, we have taken out their drone manufacturing. If you look at their navy, virtually every ship in their navy has been sunk to the bottom of the ocean. That effect in less than two weeks. Profound. And, and I want you to listen to the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, talking about what's been accomplished and what to expect next. Give a listen.

[Ben Ferguson]

Before we get to that though, I want to tell you about our friends at Bitcoin Ira, can you buy real bitcoin in your retirement account? If not, it's time to upgrade to Bitcoin ira. You can buy and sell bitcoin with major tax advantages. Visit Bitcoin ira.comBen to learn more right now. That's Bitcoin ira.comBen. or call 866-679-7871. That's 866-679-7871. All right, Senator, so. So let's play for every interrupt you.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Let me interrupt you right now, Ben. So you're right now in Cabo.

[Ben Ferguson]

I am. That's true. Yes. Yes, that's true.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I just want to thank you on behalf of every verdict listener, but especially the verdict viewers. So there are a lot of verdict viewers who watch on YouTube, who watch on Facebook and I just want to say I'm really glad that you are not in a speedo right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

I am not. I am in a suit, a jacket,

[Senator Ted Cruz]

or even worse, a Borat.

[Ben Ferguson]

A Borat, Yes.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That like covers the equipment and goes over your shoulders. I'm just gonna say, to be Honest. We don't know if you're in a Speedo or Borat because the camera shot is only chest up.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, this is, this is what you call hazing. When, when Senator Cruz, one of us is at work.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Like, I've spent the whole day in the Senate. I'm working. By the way, it's your spring break. It's my spring break.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

My girls were skiing on spring break. I went for a day and a half and then got on a plane and I flew back to Washington, D.C. because some of us have a job.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I know.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And, and I'm proud of you.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want you to know that. I'm proud of you. As I was sitting on the beach today.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Benjamin has had 19 daiquiris today. And, and, and if I asked him to, to walk in a straight line and, and spell the Alphabet backwards, he couldn't do.

[Ben Ferguson]

So I, I did have two Miami Vices today just in honor of you. I knew you would have.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I don't even know what a Miami Vice is.

[Ben Ferguson]

You. That's, that's just sad. I'll introduce you the next time we're hanging out in Cabo.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

What. What is a Miami Vice?

[Ben Ferguson]

It's, it's a pina colada strawberry daiquiri. Together they call it a Miami Vice.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay.

[Ben Ferguson]

You never had a Miami Vice in your entire life. As I'm sitting here in Cabo. I mean this sincerely. I just don't care. I. That's how happy I am. All right, so here we go. Here's Pete Headset. We're going to start with Pete Headset giving an update on the war. I want you to take a listen to what he had to say about where we are now and what is happening. Take a listen to this.

[Pete Hegseth]

On day 10 of Operation EPIC Fury, we are winning with an overwhelming and unrelenting focus on our objectives, which are the same as the day I gave my first briefing here on Operation Epic Fury. They're straightforward and we are executing them with ruthless precision. One, destroy their missile stockpiles, their missile launchers and their defense industrial base missiles and their ability to make them. Two, destroy their Navy. And three, permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever. It's a laser focused, maximum authority mission delivered with overwhelming and unrelenting precision. No hesitation, no half measures.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, let me ask you this, Senator, as you hear him lay that out, I want to know what the Pulse is in D.C. as you guys are there talking about this, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly the Democrat talking point is. I've seen like four or five of them, that they've been kind of throwing jello at a wall to see if anything will stick. They're obviously wanting to hurt Donald Trump in this or trying to say he's going to get us into forever war. It's not really working. So what are your colleagues saying in the Senate about this? And also among Republicans as well? There's even been, I. There was an interesting moment, by the way, where, like, they were trying to bait you into trashing Lindsey Graham and others are trying to turn Republicans against Republicans. And as I was sitting here on the beach drinking my Miami Vice, I enjoyed watching you have to deal with that on tv because I just got to be a spectator. It was great.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Look, last night I was on Laura Ingraham, and Laura's a friend and she's supporting President Trump in this military conflict. But she asked a whole series of questions about, aren't you upset that it's been reported that Lindsey Graham was talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu? And she basically said, isn't Lindsey acting as a lobbyist for Israel? And I said, laura, with all due respect, no. And that's really a silly question. Listen, Lindsey, I agree with Lindsey on some issues. I disagree with Lindsey on other issues. You look at the Iraq war. Lindsey was a big proponent of the Iraq war. I think the Iraq War was a serious mistake. I think it did harm to the United States. And I've said that for a long, long time. So Lindsey and I are on totally different pages when it comes to Iraq, when it comes to Iran, Lindsey and I agree. I think when the Ayatollah says death to America, he means it. I think President Trump is right to act, to take out the leadership in Iran because having radical Islamist leadership that wants to murder Americans is bad for America. The regime in Iran has been the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism for 47 years. They provide 90% of the funding for Hamas, for Hezbollah, and for the Houthis. They've killed nearly 1,000Americans in the last five decades. The Ayatollah, he leads mobs chanting Death to America, and he hires two different crews of hitmen to try to murder Donald J. Trump. Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

Not one. Two. And can we pause on that for just a second?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And one was just convicted in the last week of doing so.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I was gonna say let's spend a moment on this, because this is part of the Democrats talking point. And I've been fighting this pretty hard on TV as well. And they're like, well, there was not A direct threat here. This was not a direct threat to America.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Totally false.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're now putting people in harm's way. Let's make it very clear on this show, as you described it, not one, but two that we know about were sent to try to take out and kill the President of the United States of America. That came directly from Iran.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, the hitman told the Department of Justice, I was hired by Iran, I was trained by Iran, and my purpose was to murder President Trump. There's no dispute that it was Iran that was paying for this. And I will note if you remember last year when I was interviewed by Tucker Carlson, it was an unhinged interview, but he disputed me. He said, no, no, no, I've never heard that. Iran's trying to murder Donald Trump, which was insane and totally counterfactual. And it's hard to actually argue with someone for whom facts don't matter and they just make up facts. But, but then Tucker said bizarrely well, and, and if Iran was trying to murder Trump, we should attack them now. We should nuke them. Yeah. Which was insane. And by the way, I will say in Monday's podcast, we pointed out Tucker has become such an Islamist shill, such an Israel hating zealot, such an advocate for every Islamist enemy of America, that he has argued this week that President Trump's demand for unconditional surrender of Iran means that Iran should expect American soldiers to rape their wives and daughters. Yes, that is an absolute slander of our American servicemen and women. It is totally false. It is ahistorical. We don't do that. Other armies do that. America does not. And he also argued that he thinks America is going to nuke Iran. Yeah, to be clear, that's what jihadist Tucker said in his interview we should do. If Iran was trying to murder President Trump, we now have one of the hitmen convicted in a federal jury for trying to murder Trump. So Tucker's bad faith, disingenuous position is we should nuke them. Of course we should nuke them. We're not going to nuke Iran. That is bizarre. That is wrong. We're also not. There is no circumstance in which American soldiers are going to rape the women of Iran. And, but do you know who is broadcasting Tucker's broadcast right now?

[Ben Ferguson]

Literally, Iran state sponsored media is broadcasting it to their people.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The government of Iran is broadcasting Tucker to their people. The Muslim Brotherhood has retweeted and put out Tucker's broadcast to the world rt, the, the, the press organization today. Russia, Russia today. Is pushing out Tucker. So you want to talk about a damn effective propagandist for people who hate America. And this is the slippery slope of Jew hate and Israel hate. You start with just hating Israel and Jews, blaming everything bad in the world, it's the Jews. And you very quickly get into the problem is capitalism. By the way, Tucker is now attacking capitalism on a daily basis and embracing, he's embraced Comrade Mandami as the mayor of New York. He's defended him repeatedly. He's embraced Nicolas Maduro, the Marxist America hating dictator of Venezuela, who Donald Trump went and rightly apprehended for being one of the biggest drug dealers in the world killing Americans. Tucker is defending him. And that pattern is incredibly dangerous. We're seeing it play out every day.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, side note, this is going to be interesting. I want you to guess in 2000. This would probably be 2009. Eight or nine. My big today, today, like to date right now, the biggest contract I've ever been offered in my entire life to do radio or tv. Do you know who it was from?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I'm guessing Tucker. And what I want to ask is, did you have to buy a home in Qatar like he has done? No.

[Ben Ferguson]

No. That's a good guess, but no, it was not. My biggest offer in the history of my career was rt. They tried to hire, they were trying to hire conservatives. And so in 2000, whatever year they, they came into America in the marketplace. What.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

How much do you.

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, dude, it was seven figures. I mean, it was, I don't remember. Like, like, seriously, I get rich. Like instant get rich money.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So like they offered you over a million dollars?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, over a million dollars.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So to like, to, to say Vladimir Putin is wise and a damn good looking man.

[Ben Ferguson]

So, so this is how they entrap people. As I describe it, I was I in the Bush years, I get a phone call from a former worker slash, you know, TV executive from Fox News Channel. And they said, hey, I've moved on to something else. I'd love to meet with you. I'm like, sure. More than happy to meet. I'd worked with them before at Fox News Channel. Like, okay, no big deal. I go to lunch in D.C. that's where I was living at the time. And she hands me her card and she's working for rt. And I'm like, rt, like Russia Today? Like, and she's like, yes. And she's like, we would love to have you come on and just give your viewpoint. We would never tell you what to say. We would Never tell you what to like, you know, we want you to just be exactly who you are. We want a fair and balanced conversation about the world. We think you would be great. I was like, I was like, I'm still in shock. I'm like, this is, I'm like looking for cameras. I'm waiting for like, you know, somebody to come out, like from the side room, like, we got him. And I'm like, I literally looked, I was like, there's no amount of money that is going to make me work for the Russian, for Vlad. I think I said, Vladimir Putin. They were like, well, here's the offer. And they slid it across the table. It was like a scene out of the movie. And I opened it. It was, I mean, it was seven figures and I literally, I literally remember the number.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Tell me what seven figures mean. Do you remember?

[Ben Ferguson]

It was well over a million per year, but it was a multi year deal.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it was like a million one, a million nine.

[Ben Ferguson]

I can't remember if it was like, I want to say again, a long time ago, I want to say it was like a million two or three. And that was their first offer per year. So I leave the meeting and I'm like, look, I'm not going to do it, but thanks. I just think about it and I'm like, I'm not going to do it, but thanks. They're like, well, if you ever want to come on as a guest or if you ever change your mind. So I leave and I called John Ashcroft at the time, who's the former Attorney General. I was like, john, I just got offered money from Vladimir Putin. He was like, started chuckling like Santa. He was like, russia Today. I was like, yeah. He's like, you're like the eighth person has called me today to tell me in the last week they're getting an offer from Russia Today because they're trying to legitimize themselves in America for their propaganda. And then they were on TV until they invaded Ukraine and then RT, like fired everybody in America. But I knew people that took the money and got rich. Like, I knew like, legit people, like, yeah, I'll take the Russian cash, like, no problem. That is, by the way, the reason why I bring that up is because of, with Tucker Carlson, when everybody's like, well, is there really money to be made to be like anti America or anti Israel? Yes, there is lots of money that people are getting paid. I don't know who's getting paid, but a lot of people are getting paid. So just know that money.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So by the way, we know that a foreign funders for U.S. universities.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The number one country in the world. Do you know what it is?

[Ben Ferguson]

Is it China?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Nope.

[Ben Ferguson]

Really? Russia?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Nope.

[Ben Ferguson]

Iran?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Nope.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, who is it?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Cutter.

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, that. Okay, There you go.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

$6.6 billion with a B.

[Ben Ferguson]

6.6 billion comes from.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Cut our universities to our universities. You want to know why the our universities are so rabidly anti American, So rabidly anti Semitic, So rabidly anti Israel, So rabidly anti Capitalism, So rabidly. Look. You look at the anti Semitic protests that we had on college campuses all across the country. Yeah. Did any of you notice that the tents all matched? Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

There you go.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And to be clear, Cutter, by the way, it's been publicly reported they hired spies to spy on me. Yeah, they. They view me as their biggest opponent in Washington. And. And listen, it's very simple. I don't have anything against the Qataris other than that they welcome and host. Let me finish this. Let me finish this. I don't have anything against the Qataris other than that they welcome and host the senior leadership of Hamas. They live like billionaires. They live in lavish luxury. They support Hamas, they encourage Hamas, they fund Israel. Haters, America haters. Communists, people tearing America down. They propagandize our kids. I'm perfectly happy to welcome the Qataris into the society of civilized nation if they will stop funding people trying to destroy America. And I don't take it kindly when you write lots of checks to people who hate America and are trying to destroy our nation. I view that as less than friendly conduct.

[Ben Ferguson]

Having just come back from Israel, I want to paint you a picture. It's midnight, sirens are blaring, and you have only seconds to grab your child and run. Now, imagine you're elderly, your legs don't work like they used to. Getting downstairs feels impossible. And after all of that, you end up in a bomb shelter for hours, even days, because you can't make the trek again. This is what's happening across Israel as Operation Epic Fury continues. Children are being traumatized, families are just exhausted, and homes have been destroyed. And that's why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is there on the ground, bringing food, emergency equipment, care for those children and help for the elderly, and supplying the bomb shelters and medical centers for critically needed essentials. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to stand for Israel and stand for good against evil, this is it. And that's why I'm asking you to now please act. Give $45 right now to rush life saving essentials to the vulnerables under fire. You can also call 888-488-ICFCJ. That's 888-488-IFCJ. Join me and give and make a real difference [e-mail] that's ifcj.org by the way. To everyone in Qatar, that's a spy listening right now. I just want you to know, and this is a compliment, Ted's life is very boring sometimes. He's really is methodical. It's not. There's nothing exciting happening there. I just want to be clear.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right. Can I tell a story? And it's a story some of our podcast listeners will remember. So back in 2016, when I'm running for president and it's getting down to the end of the race, and it's me and Donald Trump and we're neck and neck. And in that race, I won 12 states, Trump won 24, and no other Republican won more than a single state. Kasich won Ohio, Rubio won Minnesota, and Trump and I won every other state in the country. And in the course of that campaign, there was a story that broke in the National Enquirer that said I was having five simultaneous affairs. And this is front page, big story. Cruise caught.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And look, Ben, you know my wife Heidi.

[Ben Ferguson]

I do.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I had to call Heidi. And for anyone married, let me say to everyone listening and watching this spot, if you're married, I got to tell you, it sucks to pick up the phone and call your spouse and say, sweetheart. So there is a front page story that is in every checkout aisle of every supermarket in America that said I'm having five simultaneous affairs. And I adore Heidi. She's my best friend in the world. But I was nervous about this call. That is not a fun. If you had to call on and say that, that would be a call that sucked.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, that's, that's.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So I, I make the call. Do you know Heidi's reaction?

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, I, I know this story and I know exactly the reaction, which is the best part about the whole story.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Heidi burst into uproarious laughter. She's like doubled over laughing. And I actually got offended. I'm like, sweetheart, it's not true. But damn it, I could. I mean, like, what are you saying? Like, I, like, I didn't.

[Ben Ferguson]

But you're that undesirable. That's what she's saying right there. There's no way.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I gotta say, for the Qatari spies, I think they were frustrated because, look, I have dinner many nights in D.C. at Capitol Grill. You and I have had dinner many times there. Yes, we had my political opponent.

[Ben Ferguson]

To be clear, I don't think you and I have ever had dinner anywhere else in D.C. but there. That's how mundane it is.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay.

[Ben Ferguson]

Restaurants even exist in D.C. in your world. Okay, just checking. Just, I want to make sure.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I'm.

[Ben Ferguson]

If you're cheating on anybody, it's Capitol Grill. That would be the story.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay. I'm a homebody. Listen, when I was in law school, I lived in the dorms Hemingway. I lived in Hastings hall, which is a dorm. I lived there three years. Right next to it was Hemingway Gym, and then right next to it was Gannett House was the Law Review. That triangle was maybe 300 yards.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I spent almost every waking moment of three years of law school in that triangle between my dorm, the gym, and the Law Review. That was basically. I would go to class. Class occasionally, but it was essentially that triangle D.C. i. I rarely like, like Cap Grill is six blocks away from the capital. I rarely go beyond that. That radius. Yeah. But I will tell you, in 2016, my opponents, and more than one of my opponents was like flashing major chunks of cash, trying to get Cap Grill waiters and waitresses to like rat on me. Like, running around and. And getting busy with some Washington lobby.

[Ben Ferguson]

They were looking for an Easter. And people don't realize this. This is real in politics.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Like, they go, they're dragging through trying

[Ben Ferguson]

to get hand out cash to anybody. They'll give them a story so they can report it. As someone who says in this world,

[Senator Ted Cruz]

and I gotta say, like, my life is just pretty damn boring on that. Yeah. And I will tell you, I actually, I want to take a minute. I want to speak to the men listening to this podcast. I want to share some wisdom. So our pastor is Greg Mott. And actually you now go to our church. You used to go to Second Baptist. You now go to First Baptist. Greg Mott is a wonderful, dear friend. He's a man of God. Before you moved, First Pastor Greg did a sermon series. It was like, I think six weeks. And it was on King David. And I really enjoyed that sermon series. King David was a remarkable person in the Bible. And I remember he was covering the chapter on Bathsheba. And if you remember, King David is standing on the roof of his palace, and he looks down and he sees Bathsheba, the most beautiful woman in the land. And he gazes upon her and he ultimately ends up bringing her in and sending her husband Uriah to the front lines and killing him and sleeping with her and then marrying her. And God extracts the price of killing her firstborn son, although her next son was King Solomon. So he did continue the line. But Pastor Greg is talking about. And he just stops. He says, all right, I want to talk to all the men in the congregation. And he says, you may, by the

[Ben Ferguson]

way, if you're listening to this podcast and you want to hear Greg Mott's voice, like, go listen to one of his sermons and you'll understand how good he is at delivering these types of lines. Continue.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's. And by the way, Pastor Greg started his ministry. He was a student at Texas A and M, and he started a little Bible study in his dorm room or his apartment. And it started with a few students. It grew into what's called Breakaway, and he would have 10,000 students a week meeting in the basketball gymnasium. So where we go to church? First Baptist Church is an institution in Houston. I went there as a little kid. Dr. John Bassania was the pastor 40 years ago, and he was a Houston institution. By the way, the church was founded. Do you know the story? Do you know when the church was founded?

[Ben Ferguson]

No.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So the church was founded. I don't know the exact year, but Texas was an independent nation between 1836 and 1845. And First Baptist Church of Houston was founded somewhere in that nine year period. I don't remember the year. And Pastor Greg said one time, he said, look, this church was actually founded by American missionaries who were coming to a foreign nation. And the foreign nation was the Republic of Texas. So American nations went from America to the Republic of Texas and they founded the church. Anyway, what he said to the men in the church. And by the way, so Pastor Greg built up Breakaway, and it was getting 10,000 students a week to come to this Bible study at A and M. And then when Dr. Bassano retired, first Baptist did a search. Who's our new pastor? And they actually found Pastor Greg. He was 33 years old and they brought him in. He never pastored a church. He just, like, led this Bible study at A and mm. They brought him in and he's led. Pastor Greg and I are exactly the same age. We're both 55. And they brought him in like, like. And he's become our pastor. And he is. He's a great pastor. But what I admire most about him is he's incredibly humble. Yes. Like, Heidi doesn't like mega churches. She grew up in a very small church in the Central coast of California. She likes small, intimate churches where you have 40 people there on Sunday morning, like, like where everyone knows everyone and. And First Baptist is a huge church. The only reason we go there is because she likes Pastor Greg so much that she's just like, all right, I will endure the larger, the large crowd. But part of the reason she likes him and I like him is he is genuinely humble and he's a godly man. A lot of pastors of megachurches are frankly arrogant. I mean, hubris.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, hubris is they become rock stars in a bubble.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Pride is a temptation in the ministry, It's a temptation in politics. It's a temptation in the media, like you like, it's easy when you're surrounded by adulation to believe it, and it's hard to resist it. And I will say Pastor Greg does an amazing job. He and I spend every month, actually something we started this year, which I'm really grateful for. He's begun coming over to my house once a month, Sunday afternoons or evenings, just to have a Bible study and prayer session together, which I'm grateful for. But anyway, his day, his David sermon, when he talks about Bathsheba, he says, I want to talk to the men in the congregation. And he said, you may think you're strong, you may think you have integrity, you have resolve. And he said, I want to tell you, when temptation presents itself, run, run. Just get away. He said, the mistake David made is he's on the roof of his palace, he's looking down and he kept watching. What David should have done is turn around. And by the way, the Bible describes David as a man after God's own heart. And he said, David should have turned around and just gotten himself out of that.

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Oh boy.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, I know my golf swing is off today. It's just a lesson. Loosen up, champ.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I can't.

[Ben Ferguson]

I think I might have gotten away with something I shouldn't have. The heck are you talking about? Okay. You see that brand new Hyundai Santa Fe over there? Yeah. Well, I only paid

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[Ben Ferguson]

Finish that bucket of balls on your own. I gotta run. Los Santa Fe's coming.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Green, right? I love green. What? No.

[Ben Ferguson]

To come back.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I paid for the full hour.

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

So before we wrap, I want to get back to something else political world that I do think is important for us to cover real quick. And that is the one thing that the Democrats seem to be being able to grab on and something tangible here is gas prices. I know you've been around the president. I know you're in D.C. the president's been pretty clear about this. This is gonna be short term increase. Democrats do seem to be latching onto this. Like, remember when egg prices was like a big thing in the, in the political world?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is the new egg price thing. Right. Oh my gosh. Donald Trump says lower price of the pump for you. Look at it now. Look how bad it is now. It's gonna be, you know, $10 a gallon in California. It's gonna be five, six dollars a gallon. Everywhere else. The president's come out and says it's gonna be short term. I believe him. I think also seeing how hard we're hitting Iran right now is also showing the timeline here that they are wanting to do everything as fast they can. Why drag this out, go all in, do it quickly, get the pain over with and let those people hopefully rise up and take over Iran and actually move forward. Are you that worried about the gas prices? I'm not yet. Like if it's three months from now or two months from now, I'm going to be more worried. But right now I feel like this is exactly on schedule or ahead of schedule as the White House has described it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. So look, there's been a short term increase in gas prices and anytime there's a military conflict in the Middle east, gas prices go up because a lot of oil comes from the Middle east and so military conflict has an effect on supply and demand. I think this will be short term. One of the things to remember is so six months ago, gas prices were about, I don't have the exact number off the top of my head, but about $2.50 a gallon. Yeah. They've risen about a dollar. They're about $3.50 a gallon. This is national averages. And so it is true that over the last six months, gasoline prices have risen. Where were they 18 months ago? Under Joe Biden? They were nearly $6 a gallon. So by any measure, they're massively cheaper than Joe Biden. Yes, they've gone up from about 250 to about 350, but I think this is a short term increase. And I got to say, if and when the Iranian regime collapses, and by the way, we've utterly degraded their military and we've taken out the Ayatollah and the senior military leadership, if and when we have a government in Iran that is not a radical, theocratic Islamist government who wants to murder America, who is funding terrorists all across the world, who is actively trying to murder Americans every single day, if we have just a normal government, I don't really care who we have, just as long as it's not a crazy person killing Americans. The effect on global gas prices will be to lower them significantly. So I actually think this conflict in the long term or even the medium term will have a substantial downward pressure on gasoline prices. There's a short period where prices have spiked somewhat, although, to be clear, they're much, much lower than under Biden, but they are higher than they were six months ago under Trump. Look, I think the Democrats are attacking gas prices because they hate Trump and they're just. Everything Trump does is wrong. This is an incredibly important decision that Trump has made for advancing US national security. And I will say part of the reason why, when, like, I was being questioned on Lindsey Graham, I like Lindsey, as I said, I agree with him sometimes, I disagree with him sometimes. But what the questioning really was about is, isn't the Iran war about Israel? Isn't this all about Israel? And the suggestion was Israel is a puppet master controlling Donald Trump. That's just a blatant lie. This military conflict has very little to do with Israel. The reason President Trump decided to attack Iran is because Iran has been waging war with America for 47 years, and they've killed nearly a thousand Americans, and they're the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. And so the people trying to say, I don't want another war for Israel, I don't want my children to die for the Jews. That is, that is not honest. Because we are doing this because the regime in Iran is killing Americans. And to be clear, if they had the capacity, if they had nuclear weapons, they would kill many, many more Americans. If they could, they would kill you and me right now, Ben, if they could, every listener of this podcast, they would kill. If they had a nuclear weapon, I believe there is a real possibility they would detonate it in the skies of Tel Aviv or New York or Los Angeles. And I'm not interested in seeing a day where hundreds of thousands of Americans are murdered by an ayatollah chanting, death to America. That's why President Trump acted. But it was not about Israel. It was about America. And I think we need to be very, very clear about that.

[Ben Ferguson]

I want you to pause what you're doing for just one minute, and I want you to hear about Alejandra. She lives in a remote community with very few resources and little to no health care. So when Alejandra gets sick, her parents have no real options, no doctors in their community, and no money for real medical care. By the third day, her body was shutting down. She woke up and just long enough to tell her, mom, I can't take the pain anymore. I can't keep going. Her parents drove hours to find a doctor who tried everything, but she needed a private hospital, and that was impossible for her family to afford. And that is when Compassion International stepped in. Now, through Compassion, Alejandra was treated. And against all odds, she survived. She lived. Because someone just like you took action. Right now, unfortunately, there are children just like Alejandra who won't survive unless someone like you steps in. Compassion International partners with local churches, providing children with the support that they need. Critical medical care, plus food, education, and the hope of the gospel, all in Jesus name. So help a child just like Alejandra. Today you can visit compassion.com that's compassion.com I also think one of the other things that I think is really frustrating is just seeing how many people act as if somehow Donald Trump was hoodwinked by Israel for us to get involved in this war. And you were asked about that. I was asked about as well on tv, and I said, that is the biggest load of crap I've heard in a long time. President Trump isn't hoodwinked by anybody. President Trump isn't walked around by anyone. And if you've ever been around him, you know that. I think it goes back to what you just said. The president understood the national security risks, not to Israel.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right? They're all, this is America First, Correct?

[Ben Ferguson]

It's America. And the national security threat to America, including the fact that they're trying to kill and have sent people, people and trained people and paid people to try to kill the President of the United States of America. Also people in the last administration, John Bolton, for example, was one of those. There's several others on this list that have actually been. They've had hits. Yes, exactly. So you go with the list here. The President was clear about this, that this is about America. And I think that's another example. When I said there's like four or five working theories, Democrats throwing gel at a wall saying, does any of this fit with Americans? I also think it's very interesting and final thing to you. I don't think the American people are buying this. And part of it's because I think Democrats have just said some of the most landish and crazy things on every issue trying to hurt Donald Trump. Now it's becoming a little bit more of white noise and that's that. I'm thankful for that, to be honest with you.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, no, I think that's right. And look, some of the reaction of the voters will depend on how this plays out. If this military conflict lasts many months or years, if we're sitting here a year from now and still mired the military conflict, if we've got a massive troop presence on the ground, if we have hundreds or thousands of American soldiers being killed, this war will be very unpopular. Yeah, I think the chances of that happening are very, very close to zero percent. Iran is not Iraq. We're not going to see a massive troop presence on the ground. We're not going to see an extended military occupation. Actually, I want you to listen to, to Pete Hegseth making this point and we're going to wrap up on this. Listen, listen to the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth.

[Pete Hegseth]

You see, this is not 2003. This is not endless nation building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama. It's not even close. Our generation of soldier will not let that happen again. And nor will this President who very clearly ran against those kinds of never ending, nebulously scoped missions. Those days are dead. Instead, we're winning decisively with brutal efficiency, total air dominance and an unbreakable will to accomplish the President's objectives. On our timeline, we stay locked on the target because here at the Department of War, that's our job.

[Ben Ferguson]

You listen to Pete there. This is one of the reasons why I actually think it was a blessing that he was named and made it through confirmation.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He's a guy that's a combat veteran who's been in harm's way.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. This is a guy that I think is genuinely in the room advocating to make sure that what happened to a lot of his colleagues when he was serving in uniform and deployed. That doesn't happen to this group of soldiers now. And it's clear that this is personal for him. That's why I'm so thankful that he's there in this position because he lived the other side of it that he was just describing.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Right. Look, avoiding endless wars does not mean embracing isolationism. Yeah, peace through strength is what Reagan called it. Donald Trump just understands it as being a strong commander in chief, that when people are killing Americans, he is going to respond vigorously to take them out. And by the way, our enemies are terrified. As I've said before, at 3am on January 3, there was not a Latin American dictator who didn't have to change his shorts because that's when President Trump sees Nicolas Maduro. What is happening in Iran, the top leadership has been taken out. Every bad guy, every person who hates America is really, really worried right now because this is a nation that defends itself. And by the way, that makes clear if you kill Americans, there are going to be massive consequences to it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden's weakness and appeasement that if you kill Americans, oh well, we're not going to do anything about it. That invites more people to target and kill Americans. This is about avoiding war by being strong enough to take out the people that are killing Americans and that avoids protracted military conflict. I think that's what we're seeing right now and it makes America a whole lot safer.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, no doubt about it. For everybody listening, thank you for joining us. As we do a dual pod with the Ben Ferguson podcast and Verdict with Ted Cruz. Don't forget, hit that subscribe or auto download button wherever you're listening right now. And if you want to watch the show, it's also on YouTube. Verdict with Ted Cruz there. You can watch it on Facebook as well and we'll see you back here in a couple of days.

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

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