Jim Biden Bigger Offender than Hunter, the Highly Organized College Protests & New Legislation to Make Kids Safer on Social Media Week In Review

Summary

Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson Episode Title: Jim Biden Bigger Offender than Hunter, the Highly Organized College Protests & New Legislation to Make Kids Safer on Social Media Week In Review
Release Date: May 4, 2024
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz

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Introduction

In this episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson engages in a comprehensive discussion with Senator Ted Cruz. They delve into three major topics: allegations against Jim Biden’s business dealings, the rise of highly organized protests on college campuses, and new bipartisan legislation aimed at safeguarding children on social media platforms. The conversation is enriched with detailed analysis, exclusive insights, and notable quotes from various sources.

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1. Jim Biden’s Alleged Business Dealings: A Bigger Offender Than Hunter?

Timestamp: 00:01 – 03:19

Senator Ted Cruz kicks off the discussion by highlighting a significant report from Politico that alleges President Joe Biden’s brother, Jim Biden, may have engaged in business activities more lucrative—and potentially more compromising—than those of Hunter Biden.

Key Points:

• Jim Biden’s Financial Activities: According to a recent Politico report titled “Fund Manager Indicates Jim Biden Was in Business with Qatari Officials”, Jim Biden is accused of partnering with Qatari government officials to fund his U.S. healthcare venture. This involvement is characterized as some of the closest known financial ties between a Biden family member and a foreign government.

• Alleged Money Transfers: Testimony from fund manager Michael Lewitt suggests that Jim Biden orchestrated multi-year fundraising efforts with Qatari partners, resulting in significant financial gains. Notably, Jim Biden is reported to have transferred $200,000 of received payments to President Joe Biden in March 2018, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and ethical breaches.

Notable Quote:

Ben Ferguson [03:19]: "If substantiated, the alleged arrangements would constitute some of the closest known financial links between a relative of President Joe Biden and a foreign government."

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2. Highly Organized College Protests: Funding and Antisemitism Concerns

Timestamp: 06:59 – 25:17

The conversation shifts to the increasingly organized nature of protests on college campuses across the United States. Ferguson and Cruz examine the financial backing behind these movements and the troubling rise of antisemitism fueled by university policies and political rhetoric.

Key Points:

• Organized Funding: Both hosts highlight that these campus protests are not spontaneous but are financially supported by influential donors and business leaders. Figures like Robert Kraft from Columbia University and Bill Ackman from Harvard have taken stands against university administrations by withholding donations unless significant changes are made to address antisemitism and radicalism.

• Antisemitism on the Left: Ferguson references op-eds and tweets that accuse the left—not just fringe elements—of harboring antisemitic sentiments. For instance, columnist Carol Markowitz from the New York Post emphasizes that antisemitism is becoming mainstream within liberal circles, contradicting the common narrative that it is solely a right-wing issue.

Notable Quotes:

Ben Ferguson [12:09]: "That's how the Biden family sadly approaches government."

Carol Markowitz Tweet [13:58]: "A lot of liberal Jews are trying to parse things right now. They imagine that they are still of the left, but just on this one tiny little thing, their right to exist."

Jonathan Bernitsky Op-Ed [21:08]: "Right-wing anti Semites are kooks. And grifters. Left-wing anti Semites are college professors, newspaper editors, Hollywood stars, a growing number of Democratic members of Congress, and quite a few Biden administration officials."

Discussion Highlights:

• University Leadership Accountability: Guests argue that university presidents and administrators are failing to address antisemitism effectively, often retaining their positions despite problematic behaviors or policies. This inaction allows antisemitic ideologies to flourish among students.

• Impact of DEI Programs: The discussion critiques Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, claiming they propagate harmful narratives that paint Jews as oppressors and Palestinians as victims. This, they argue, feeds into antisemitic sentiments and supports extremist ideologies like those of Hamas.

Notable Interaction:

Ben Ferguson [22:55]: "So, this is the same Hamas the protesters support. You know who is anti genocide? Israel. Israel is trying to save the lives of civilians."

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3. New Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Children on Social Media

Timestamp: 25:17 – 30:59

In the final segment, Ben Ferguson introduces a significant piece of bipartisan legislation aimed at enhancing the safety of children and teenagers on social media platforms. Senator Cruz provides detailed insights into the bill’s provisions and its potential impact.

Key Points:

• Kids Off Social Media Act: Co-introduced by Ben Ferguson and Senator Brian Schatz, this bill seeks to prohibit children under 13 from accessing social media platforms like TikTok. Additionally, it aims to restrict big tech companies from using algorithmic boosting to target children under 17 with harmful content.

• Eyes on the Board Bill: Previously introduced with Senator John Fetterman, this bill mandates schools receiving federal funds to block social media usage on campus, ensuring that students remain focused on their studies during school hours.

• Legislative Outlook: Senator Cruz expresses optimism about the bill’s prospects, noting that as the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, he anticipates strong bipartisan support. There is a possibility of the bill passing the Commerce Committee unanimously and advancing to the Senate floor.

Notable Quotes:

Ben Ferguson [25:44]: "This bill says if you're under 13, you can't be on social media. And then it says for kids younger than 17, big tech companies are prohibited from using algorithmic boosting to send messages to them."

Senator Ted Cruz [29:04]: "We'll keep you updated on it. So important, especially children under 13 from having access these social media sites and, and also, as you mentioned, programming those algorithms for teens younger than 17."

Ben Ferguson [30:59]: "The senators are there in their 70s or 80s. They don't quite get this issue in the same way that if you're a parent, you're dealing with it. And so I'm hopeful that we'll see some real bipartisan agreement that we ought to enhance the tools parents have to keep their kids safe."

Discussion Highlights:

• Parental Concerns: Both hosts emphasize the universal parental concern regarding children’s exposure to harmful content on social media. They highlight the challenges parents face in managing their children's online interactions amid peer pressure and the pervasive nature of these platforms.

• Cross-Party Support: The legislation garners support from both Republican and Democratic senators, underscoring the bipartisan acknowledgment of the need to protect children from the adverse effects of social media, irrespective of political affiliations.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz provide a critical examination of pressing issues affecting American society and governance. From scrutinizing the Biden family's alleged international business dealings to addressing the organized antisemitism on college campuses, and finally proposing actionable legislation to protect the younger generation from the pitfalls of social media, the discussion is both comprehensive and impactful. Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and engage with the topics presented, fostering a more aware and proactive community.

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Stay Informed:
Don’t miss future episodes of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Subscribe now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts to stay ahead with unfiltered insights, exclusive interviews, and honest commentary on the issues shaping America today.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, Weekend Review. Ben Ferguson with you. These are the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, a major report the media is not talking about. It involves the president's brother, Jim Biden, and he may have been making more money than anyone selling access to his brother, even more than Hunter Biden. So who is paying him and whether they get return, we'll break it all down for you. Also, you know what's happened on college campuses. You've seen the protesters. So who's paying them? It's clearly organized. And how much are they getting paid? We've got the financials and we'll have that for you in a moment. And finally, new legislation that's bipartisan that Senator Cruz wants you to know about that deals with keeping your kids safe and your grandkids safe on social media. It is verdict we can review and it starts right now. Senator, I one of the reasons why I just, I love doing this show with you is we get to talk about issues that the media is not covering. The last one's a great example, but there's also one that needs to have everyone listening share on social media, and that is this new report out that it wasn't just Hunter Biden that was getting in on the, on the action of selling access to daddy. Jim Biden was getting in on the action and actually may have been a bigger offender based on what we're finding out. Jim Biden is now being accused of being in business with Qatari officials, the actual government. And Hunter Biden, yeah, he leverages ties to his dad. We, we've seen that. But Politico has a new report out that says that Joe Biden's brother was winning business deals with business partners that were directly linked and tied to foreign governments, those that were actually tied to terrorism. According to the outlet, Jim Biden, the president's brother, was in business with Qatari officials to fund his health care venture. That would be, quote, some of the closest known links between a Biden relative and a foreign government.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, that's exactly right. This was a bombshell report that came out three days ago in Politico. The title of the report is, quote, fund manager indicates Jim Biden was in business with Qatari officials. And Politico explains, quote, new details about Jim Biden's foreign fundraising efforts are spilling out into a Kentucky bankruptcy court where recent testimony indicates that President Joe Biden's brother partnered with the Qatari government officials in his quest to find money for a US Healthcare venture. The sworn testimony by fund manager Michael Lewitt, a former business partner of Jim Biden's attests that two companies that facilitated the efforts were part owned by members of the Qatari government. One company named in the testimony partnered directly with Jim Biden in the multi year fundraising efforts. The second company provided financial backing for a series of loans that a hospital chain paid Jim Biden to arrange, according to documents and testimony Lewitt submitted in the course of the federal bankruptcy proceedings. If substantiated, the alleged arrangements would constitute some of the closest known financial links between a relative of President Joe Biden and a foreign government.

[Ted Cruz]

It's also about following the money. Yes, we're hearing now that this money that was coming in was not just going to Jim Biden, but it was also going into the pocket of the now President of the United States of America. The this testimony that came out in this bankruptcy, these documents and now this, this individual that did business with the Bidens, he said, look, at first there was a bridge loan to AmeriCorps that coincided with a payment from AmeriCorps directly to Jim Biden. The report says Biden said in testimony in February that the roughly $600,000 payments that he received from AmeriCorps around the time where his role was in arranging, quote, loans and many other services, quote, unquote. And then In March of 2018, Jim Biden transferred $200,000 of the payments in question to then his brother, Joe Biden.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, look, that is exactly right. And you didn't understand. Qatar has some of the most problematic foreign policy of any country on earth. And so this is, you know, it's amazing. The Biden crime family and that phrase, I gotta say, a while ago it sounded like hyperbole. It no longer sounds like hyperbole because the entire Biden family is engaged in a business where they only do business with our enemies. They somehow never seem to do business with Canada. They never do business with the United Kingdom, they never do business with France or Spain or Japan. They only do business with Russia. They do business with Ukraine. They do business with Communist China. Let me read from this political article because it lays out, quote, In June of 2017, Cutter's neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia, ganged up and cut diplomatic ties with the country, citing its alleged support for terrorism. The ensuing financial and physical blockade through the country, a peninsula that juts out from Saudi Arabia into the Persian Gulf into a sustained crisis. In response, the country's rulers began showering well connected Westerners with gifts and financial benefits. Sometimes in the form of investment funding. The Qatari influence offensive strengthened the country's ties to the US And Europe, but also led to corruption scandals, including the European Parliament's sprawling Cuttergate fiasco. Around the time of the blockade, Jim Biden was embarking into a foray into the healthcare business in which he worked closely with with a troubled hospital chain, AmeriCorps. And by the way, when Jim Biden was was raising money, he pitched himself very directly as. So, for example, here's what Jim Biden said in a draft letter to official at Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund. He said, quote, my family could provide a wealth of introductions and business opportunities at the highest level that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency. On behalf of the Biden family, I welcome your interest here. That's how he was pitching it. And, and it. It resulted in payments of roughly $600,000 from AmeriCorps that he received. And Jim Biden transferred $200,000 of those payments directly to Joe Biden. Now understand who Cutter is. Also, do you know where the leaders of Hamas live?

[Ted Cruz]

Where is that?

[Ben Ferguson]

Qatar.

[Ted Cruz]

There you go.

[Ben Ferguson]

They live as billionaires. They live in incredibly lush, opulent apartments. They fly private jets. Qatar gives them sanctuary. Qatar supports them, Qatar protects them. This is the same Hamas that carried out October 7th. This is the same Hamas that murders Israelis and murders, murders Americans. And yet the Biden administration consistently refuses to sanction Cutter, refuses to stand up to Qatar, and suddenly we discover that. That the Biden family has been bought and paid for. By the way, can you go back.

[Ted Cruz]

And read that one line? Because I do think it's an important one.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me read a different line. Yeah, which is, Jim Biden presented a presentation on behalf of AmeriCorps saying that AmeriCorps was seeking $30 million in financing to acquire hospitals. Do you know how the presentation described Jim Biden?

[Ted Cruz]

I'm going to guess Joe Biden's brother.

[Ben Ferguson]

It described him as totally separate person with no connection to the Vice President or the President. No, no, that actually is not correct. I'm going to read you what it said. And this is a quote, jim Biden, quote, brother and campaign finance chair of former Vice President Joe Biden. So it ain't complicated. Why do you want to give him money? Because he's Joe, Joe's brother. And by the way, the money you give him, he'll give to Joe. Why is this not on the six o'clock news, Ben?

[Ted Cruz]

Because it indicts the President of the United States of America. In a pay to play scheme, that would bring down, I would argue, any other presidency.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, in any normal sense, that would be right. But if you look at these documents, these documents are being ignored by the media. So, for example, Lou wrote to Jim Biden to express confidence that his funds would be repaid immediately for its loans to AmeriCorps with money from Dubai, according to an email that emerged in the bankruptcy litigation. Quote, nothing else changes in terms of what I will be doing re AmeriCorps since I will be just as responsible for the Dubai $$3 signs with the added worry being driven around the desert. LOL.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow. I mean, I'm sitting here and I say wow. And I mean it. Rarely am I speechless, but I go back to that. That sentence. I wanted you to read again, where the pitch is to His Excellency. I mean, they're saying, hey, do business with us. You guys need access. You're in trouble. This is how you get the Biden family on your team again. It's just going to cost you millions of dollars in, quote, business.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. Let's be clear. The entire pitch, it was not about Jim Biden's financial acumen. It's not about what he knew about healthcare. As far as we can tell, he didn't know a thing about healthcare. Here's what he read, what he wrote.

[Unnamed Guest]

I'm going to read it again.

[Ben Ferguson]

The draft letter from Jim Biden read in part, quote, my family. It's not even me. My family. And who's my family mean? He means his brother. It's just like Hunter Biden. When he says my father, they're all talking about Papa Joe. My family could provide a wealth of introduction and business opportunities at the highest level that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency. And his and Excellency are both capitalized. On behalf of the Biden family, I welcome your interest here.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Meaning I'm speaking on behalf of my brother.

[Ben Ferguson]

Just like Hunter Biden said. I'm sitting here next to my father, to the Chinese Communist, if you do not give me $5 million right now, my father will retaliate. It wasn't just Hunter. It was Jim. It was the entire family. And I want to underscore, why didn't they do business with the French or the British or any friends, the Japanese, the Canadians. No, it was only enemies of America. It was only countries that provide comfort and shelter to Hamas and terrorists who murder Americans. That was their business strategy, is find people who hate America, find countries who are enemies of America, but who need favors from Joe Biden and go get hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars from them.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, and this comes, by the way, two weeks after James Biden, it came out in court documents as well. Apparently secretly negotiated $140 million settlement deal in 2012 between a U.S. company and the Saudi Arabian government, quote, due to his relationship with then Vice President Joe Biden. Court documents revealed. And no one talked about that story either on the nightly news.

[Unnamed Guest]

As you mentioned a moment ago, look.

[Ben Ferguson]

It reminds me of Mel Brooks movie History of the World Part 1 where he says repeatedly, it's good to be the king.

[Ted Cruz]

It's good to be the king.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's how the Biden family sadly approaches government.

[Ted Cruz]

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.

[Unnamed Guest]

Let's go back and look at the hierarchy of this. Just to put it in perspective. In the hours after the attack on Israel, you had to call out the United States government, the Biden administration, repeatedly, repeatedly, and I want you to go through that quickly in a second, but you had to call them out for basically holding Israel to a standard they're not holding Hamas to, which is if Israel responds and protects itself and anyone dies that they're somehow evil. You then have a White House that's doubled down on that. You then have people like Alamo Mar and others in the Senate and the Democratic Party that have done the same exact thing. You then have that trickle down to the presidents of these universities. And we saw them go before Congress and none of them, by the way got fired. Some of them aren't presidents anymore, but they still got their six figure salaries, are still indoctrinated kids on campus. None of them did lost their access to the university, which they've taken away from even some Jewish professors this week. So then that trickles down into the base professors which we just played a moment ago, which then trickles down into the students that can hate Jews. And then it trickles down into the outside non students who are the protesters that are there. And yet you could fix all of this the way that we've seen in Texas this week, the way we've seen it in Florida this week, where these.

[Ted Cruz]

Protesters come out in those universities in those states and they said we're not.

[Unnamed Guest]

Putting up with this crap. So this is all being done and organized and allowed by the universities, by law enforcement, by Democrats who are locally elected and they could stop it all in a matter of days. But they're saying, no, no, let's keep going and let's keep this growing.

I want to read something that was tweeted by Carol Markowitz. Now. Carol Markowitz is a columnist at the New York Post, and she said something online that I think was really quite powerful. She said, quote, a lot of Jewish friends, especially those who are finally awake after October 7th, say things like, quote, how is this America? Or quote, it's so scary that this Jew hatred is happening everywhere, but it's very much not a America and it's absolutely not happening everywhere. In South Florida, Jews wear the dinner plate Megan Davids and no one says one word. In rural Michigan, churches put Pray for Israel on the signs outside. I'm not naive. Obviously Jew haters can and do live anywhere, but they're only thriving, open, proud, in blue areas. And I'm not going to let people ignore that. A lot of liberal Jews are trying to parse things right now. They imagine that they are still of the left, but just on this one tiny little thing, their right to exist. They disagree. No, my friends, it's a house of cards and you're pulling the one from the very bottom. The whole left ideology is corrupt and you're going to have to face it. You can't spread the blame around. The hatred, the rage, the violence, the dehumanization is all coming from one side yours. A second example is an op ed that was written in jns. It was written by Jonathan Bernitsky. It's entitled Jewish Democrats Wake Up. And it says at the outset, quote, the anti Semitic right is a fringe phenomenon, while the anti Semitic left is mainstream, powerful and shaping America's future. And I'm just going to read the beginning of this because it's really quite powerful. Quote, this is addressed to you, my fellow Jews, since most of you are Democrats. You've heard from liberal colleagues that Tucker Carlson, who show you've never watched, has been flirting with anti Semites. You've been told by liberal friends that Candace Owens, whose show you've never watched, has been picking fights with Ben Shapiro, whose show you've never watched from CNN and msnbc. You know that a pack of guys with citronella tiki torches march through Charlottesville while shouting, the Jews will not replace us. And that's why you've convinced yourself that there are far more anti Semites on the right than there are on the left. I wish to pose several questions. How many of the thousands of individuals who gathered in Times Square on October 8, 2023 and chanted Resistance is justified and Glory to our martyrs are registered Republican voters and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump. How many of the individuals who barricaded Jewish students inside Cooper Union's library on October 25, 2023, pounded on the doors and carried signs that read Zionism Hands off Our Universities are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for it for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands of individuals who rallied in Manhattan on December 25, 2023 and carried banners emblazoned with the words quote by any means necessary and quote Resistance until return are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands on thousands of individuals who assembled at Columbia University on February 2 and shouted Globalize the Intifada and Death to the Zionist State are registered Republican voters and plan to cast ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the individuals who amassed in Dearborn, Michigan on April 5 and yelled death to America and Death to Israel are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the thousands of individuals who blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and other cities on April 15 and carried the flag of Hezbollah are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? How many of the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have participated in the thousands of anti Zionist and pro Hamas protests across the country since October 7th are registered Republicans and plan to cast their ballots for Donald Trump? And then he answers it. He said the answer to every question posed above is close to zero, if not none. He goes on. Yet we've been told by reporters and commentators at august publications and news networks, leaders of esteemed nonprofits, academics at prestigious colleges and universities, and career civil servants at major three letter federal government agencies that antisemitism is solely a problem of the right. Yes, fringe right wing anti Semites are a problem. They should be considered a threat. But they are on the fringe. And because these fringe elements continue to be the near exclusive target of the left's so called quote quote fight against antisemitism, it's more apparent than ever that our elites are purposely engaged in a partisan game. This next paragraph is the most important paragraph in the op ed. Right wing anti Semites are kooks. And grifters. Left wing anti Semites are college professors, newspaper editors, Hollywood stars, a growing number of Democratic members of Congress, and quite a few Biden administration officials. They have immense cultural and political influence and they are decisively shaping the future of America. I don't know how you can dispute one word that was written there, and that is A point that explains why these universities are sick, why these college students are being fed poison, why the administrators are afraid to stand up to the bigoted lies, why Democrat politicians are celebrating the bigoted lies. AOC and Ilhan Omar are going and cheering on the anti Semites. And why even so called mainstream Democrat politicians like Joe Biden stand happily by while the squad cheers on the anti Semites.

Senator, last question I want to ask you about what's happening on college campuses is we talked about following the money and we now know who's behind it. Isn't there an obligation now for people that went to these universities to stand up and say not only do we think at Columbia the president should resign, but you're not getting another dime from me until we see significant changes. You look at Robert Kraft, the Patriots owner. He really came out and did some interviews. He didn't just stop the flow of money and there are buildings and named after him at Columbia. He has been a massive donor. He said they're not getting another dime of my money. And he didn't just say it, he went out and explained it and challenged others to do the same thing. We need people to do that all over the country in a big way.

Absolutely, yes. And you look at Robert Kraft with Columbia. You look at Bill Ackman with Harvard. Bill Ackman played a pivotal role in Claudine Gay stepping down. You look at Mark Rowan with Penn. Mark played a pivotal role. These are all very, very successful leaders in business who've been massive, massive multimillion dollar donors to these universities who've taken leading roles speaking out and saying what is happening is disgraceful. The antisemitism, the radicalism that you are allowing the DEI oppression. And by the way, this antisemitism is the fruit of dei, the inner people.

[Ted Cruz]

That don't know what DEI stands for.

[Unnamed Guest]

Explain that more.

It is diversity, equity and inclusion. And it is the vehicle within universities where they teach this nonsense, they teach this racism. They teach that Jews are oppressors and Palestinians are victims. Look, here's an illustration and let's play this as our final clip. Ilhan Omar talking about the protests. Give a listen.

[Ilhan Omar]

How do you think this will translate to the Jewish students who are facing.

[Ben Ferguson]

Anti Semitism here on campus?

[Ilhan Omar]

So I actually met a lot of Jewish students that are in the encampment and I think it is really unfortunate that people don't care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate anti Semitism or bigotry for All Jewish students, whether they are pro genocide or anti genocide.

[Unnamed Guest]

What utter garbage. Whether they are pro genocide or anti genocide. Understand what she's saying. If you're not protesting in favor of Hamas, then you are a pro genocide Jew. Now, Israel is not remotely committing genocide and in fact they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid civilian casualties. They are killing terrorists. Do you know who is trying to commit genocide? Hamas. Hamas. When they entered on October 7, they were only murdering Jews. They were looking for Jews. They were murdering them because they are Jews. That is genocide when you are trying to wipe out a people.

Look at the rocket attacks the other day. They were. They weren't targeting any one building, they were just targeting any part of Israel.

Any Jew.

[Ben Ferguson]

Like we started off with the Columbia organizer. He wants to kill Zionists, by which.

[Unnamed Guest]

He means Jews, she's saying. And this is where the left. It is Orwellian. They turn things upside down. You know who is pro genocide?

[Ben Ferguson]

Hamas. The same Hamas she supports.

[Unnamed Guest]

The same Hamas the protesters support. You know who is anti genocide? Israel. Israel is trying to save the lives of civilians. Hamas is also ironically pro Palestinian genocide. Why? Because they put Palestinian civilians in harm's way and they want them to die because they know the useful idiots will use the deaths of those Palestinian civilians to attack Israel. That is the sad reality of cultural Marxism. This is the fruits of this poison that has taken over our institutions as before.

[Ted Cruz]

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.

[Unnamed Guest]

You may have missed.

[Ted Cruz]

Finally, Senator, I want to get into something else. It's a very important piece of legislation that you're working on and I have actually seen a little bit of this be talked about on social. There are some people that don't actually think they understand the intent of what we're trying to accomplish when it comes to protecting kids on social media. So explain why this legislation is something that parents really need to know about.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, this is legislation I introduced this week and it's bipartisan legislation. I teamed up with Brian Schatz, who's a Democrat from Hawaii. And the bill is called the Kids Off Social Media act and it does several things. Number one, it prohibits children under 13 from accessing social media. So kids, there's no reason for an.

[Unnamed Guest]

8 or 9 year old to be.

[Ben Ferguson]

On TikTok or to be on social media. And there are a lot of harmful things I'll tell you. Listen you and I are both parents and any parent who is dealing with, I'm dealing with teenagers. Your kids are not teenagers yet, but if you blink, they will be. Any parent dealing with teenagers or adolescents, how to deal with phones and social media is one of the greatest challenges because phones are really a portal for kids to access all sorts of harmful content. And so this bill says if you're under 13, you can't be on social media. And then it says for kids younger than 17, big tech companies are prohibited from using algorithmic boosting to send messages to them. So we know right now there's been a lot of testimony in the Senate that big tech companies send messages to our kids, to our teenagers that are really harmful. They send messages that undermine their body image. They send messages that encourage self harm. They send messaging that increases suicidal ideation. They send messaging that that increases, increases their feelings of depression and anxiety. They send messages encouraging dangerous behavior. They send messaging pushing radical beliefs, things like pro Hamas beliefs. And so this bill says if you're under 17, Big Tech cannot target using algorithm boosting to send messages that are addicting and that are harmful. And then the bill also includes a separate bill that I had introduced previously, and I introduced it with John Fetterman. It was also bi. Bipartisan and, and my separate bill was called the Eyes on the board bill. And the Eyes on the board bill, which is now part of this bill, says that any school that receives federal funds has to block social media on campus. And the basic idea is while our kids are in school, they ought to be listening to teacher, they ought to be doing schoolwork. They don't need to be posting on Instagram while they're in school. For older kids, they can do that when they get home.

[Unnamed Guest]

But at school they ought to be.

[Ben Ferguson]

Focused on the schoolwork.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, they should be. And this is legislation that you mentioned is bipartisan here. What does it look like, the chances of this moving forward, since it is a bipartisan piece of legislation.

[Ben Ferguson]

So I'm actually quite optimistic. We are likely to have a markup in the Senate Commerce Committee next week. I'm the ranking member, the senior Republican on the Commerce Committee, and I think it's, it, it is very likely to pass the Commerce Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. I think there's a good chance it'll pass unanimously and I think there is a good prospect of this bill being passed into law. There are two other bills called COSA and COPPA that are both dealing with things like online predators targeting kids. And, and I think there's a real possibility of all three of these bills being put together and, and brought to the Senate floor. And I'm hopeful we can pass all three of them.

[Ted Cruz]

We'll keep you updated on it. So important, especially children under 13 from, from having access these social media sites and, and also, as you mentioned, programming those algorithms for teens younger than 17. This is really important. Job well done. And we'll keep everybody updated on how this looks moving forward.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, that's right. And you look, I'll say something also as a parent. I mean, I mean, these are hard issues. And one of the things I, I talk to a lot of parents, I, I don't know a parent who disagrees on this issue. And that's true. Right or left. That's true. Regardless of politics, we're all worried about our kids. I mean, it's really, it's hard to be a teenager right now. The pressures on our kids. You and I didn't have these kind of pressures when we were teenagers. It's really tough. What is? All of the influences that are pounding our kids. And it's hard to be a parent right now. And one of the challenges, because some people say, well, parents ought to just restrict this. Look, it is a hard dynamic when your kid, when every student in their class is on the social media platform, when that's how the kids communicate, when that's how they schedule play dates, when that's how they interact. No parent wants to socially ostracize their kids. And so a lot of parents will talk to each other and say, I wish they were all off of it, but I'm not willing to have my kid, the only one that's not able to interact with their peers and have a social life. And that's one of the reasons why, you know, it's interesting in the Senate, the folks that are coming together and supporting this bill, so myself and Brian Schatz and we've also got Katie Britt. We're all about the same age. We're all in our 40s or 50s. We all have kids the same age. I have to say, the senators are there in their 70s or 80s. They don't quite get this issue in the same way that if you're a parent, you're dealing with it. And so I'm hopeful that we'll see some real bipartisan agreement that we ought to enhance the tools parents have to keep their kids safe.

[Ted Cruz]

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.