← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Loading summary
Transcript128 lines
- [00:00]
Jon Voight
Hi, I'm Jon Voight, and I'm on a set in Burbank, California. And I'm looking at the beautiful face of Ted Cruz. And this is Michael Knowles, who's the boss. We're on Verdict with Ted Cruz.
- [00:17]
Michael Knowles
Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz. As Jon just said, I'm Michael Knowles. It is so good to be here because we're at a time of great tension. Lockdown, plague, riots. Everyone seems to be very tense. And in this town in particular, it is so nice to be among friends, including one of the great American actors, Academy Award winner, and more importantly, I would say, John, great American, Jon Voight.
- [00:42]
Jon Voight
Thank you so much, Michael. Yeah, I thought you were gonna say. Usually I say the man who. Did you know Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home, Runaway Train, and of course, the Great Anaconda.
- [00:54]
Ted Cruz
Yes, yes.
- [00:55]
Jon Voight
And people laugh when they say that.
- [00:57]
Ted Cruz
And with two little girls, the national treasures. I've gotta tell you, that is popular in the Cruz household.
- [01:03]
Jon Voight
Well, I'm very pleased about that because, as you know, I'm crazy about your two gals.
- [01:08]
Ted Cruz
By the way, I do need to ask the president the next time I'm at the White House if I can check on the Resolute desk to see if anything is hidden in there.
- [01:15]
Jon Voight
Aha. Yes.
- [01:17]
Ted Cruz
You just kind of wait.
- [01:18]
Jon Voight
Maybe we can go in together.
- [01:19]
Ted Cruz
That'd be fun.
- [01:20]
Jon Voight
And get our screwdrivers and fool around.
- [01:24]
Michael Knowles
So this is not the first time that you guys have met, obviously, Senator Cruz, you've spent a bit of time in Hollywood. Jon, you've spent a lot of time in Hollywood. And you're one of the few big Hollywood stars who has been open about your political views and increasingly so over the past few years as we face these national problems.
- [01:42]
Ted Cruz
So actually, the first time John and I met was 2013, and I was newly elected to the Senate. And I came to California to speak to Friends of ape, which, as you know, was a group of conservative, libertarian, right of center people in entertainment. And it was a big crowd. Probably four or five hundred people came out. And I've never been in any other group where people were afraid. Like, there was a rule, no cell phones, no pictures. And there were a handful of big stars, and John was the most notable who was, like, open. He was willing to be there. And John's a big enough deal that it was like, all right, to hell with it. I'm here and deal with it. But it made a real impression on me that the people who were there, the gaffers, the carpenters, the writers, the lighting folks, they were terrified if someone got a picture of them at that gathering, they'd be unemployable. And it was really. I sort of joked, if we were at a Satanist gathering that was murdering kittens, it wouldn't have been more dangerous.
- [02:54]
Jon Voight
Yeah.
- [02:55]
Ted Cruz
And that's. Look, I mean, you've demonstrated a lot of courage to speak out in a town and industry that it's not easy to do.
- [03:04]
Jon Voight
Well, I mean, that's. Look, we all know we're in a very serious situation. It's an historic situation that I've been, you know, born at this time and come to this point where this country is being threatened in this way. I never would have been able to put that together. But I. But I saw the beginning of it anyway. I mean, the beginning of the open hostility in the 60s.
- [03:33]
Ted Cruz
Yep.
- [03:34]
Jon Voight
And that had been produced by a lot of work with the communist system, with the KGB working overtime to try to infiltrate.
- [03:46]
Ted Cruz
Now, when did you start acting? How old were you when you started in the movie business?
- [03:52]
Jon Voight
I don't. I don't want to talk about movie. When I was a young fellow, I mimicked some of the things I saw on television and stuff and wanted to make people laugh and all of that. So that's when it really started. And a great, wonderful comic actor by the name of Sid Caesar was somebody I went to school on, and I have to credit him with giving me the instructions. Cause the stuff that he did was so indelible. And we just lost Carl Reiner a couple of weeks ago, and. And Imogen Coker and those guys. They were really wonderful. And so that was the beginning. And then I really didn't know I was going in that direction. I just was smitten with those characters. And then later on, I made a serious effort to be an actor. This was right before my senior year in college when I realized I was walking around with a book that was a book of criticism for the British theater. And I was looking, and I'd earmarked all the work of Laurence Olivier, all the heroic roles of Laurence Olivier. And I suddenly said, after three years driving people, mostly girls, crazy, asking, what do you think I should be when I get out of college? And I said, I know what I want to do. I want to be him, Laurence Olivier. And that's where it started. And once I had made that decision, it was such a relief that I knew I could do something. I was going to do this, and I knew I would never give up. I knew at that moment that was it for me and probably that's true for you guys, too, in some way that you get something you love and, you know, you can put yourself to work at it. And that's it, you know, and it's going to be difficult. I'm going to have to start from scratch and all of that. I'm going to have my ups and downs like everybody else. And I certainly have had my successes and my failures, and I've had long periods of time without enough money and all of that. But I knew I wouldn't. I wouldn't put it aside. I knew I would go.
- [06:02]
Ted Cruz
Now, was there a moment that was your big break, that it was like a part you got. Did you start in theater or TV or movies or when did you get started?
- [06:12]
Jon Voight
Well, these are just, you know, I worked on a play after I studied for two years in a professional class with Sansford Meisner, one of the great teachers. And then coming out of that, I was just saying a prayer that I would get some kind of work where I could test my abilities. And I got a role in A View from the Bridge, which was a wonderful play by Arthur Miller. And Arthur Miller was kind of producing it, too. And Dustin Hoffman became the assistant to the director because he knew Ulu Grossbar, the director. And Bobby Duvall was playing the leading role, and I was the second lead. And Dusty and I got to know each other before I ever saw any of his work as an actor. I had heard that he was a genius, but we got to know each other and we had some fun.
- [07:06]
Ted Cruz
So you and I share something I just learned, which is we've both been an Arthur Miller play. So in law school, I did the Crucible.
- [07:13]
Jon Voight
Wow.
- [07:14]
Ted Cruz
And was Reverend Paris. And all politicians are frustrated actors. Like I. In high school, I was convinced. I told my parents, I'm dropping out of school. I'm moving to Hollywood. I want to be an actor. And look, it's a good thing I went the path I did because I didn't have the talent you had. I didn't have the talent to make it. But I envy and love.
- [07:33]
Michael Knowles
You have said that before. I mean, there is a line. They always say that politics rather is show business for attractive people. I think that's.
- [07:41]
Ted Cruz
That ain't how it goes.
- [07:42]
Michael Knowles
That's not how it goes.
- [07:42]
Ted Cruz
Okay.
- [07:43]
Michael Knowles
Well, it's similar to that.
- [07:45]
Jon Voight
Thanks for that. Well, listen, you're. You have plenty talented. You both are plenty talented. And I was saying before we started this thing that my son James is. James Haven, as he calls himself, is now working on human trafficking. He's very, very astute in that area. And he's helping out. But he's political to some degree. But he's crazy about you. He says, when this guy talks, he says, that's it. I everything. Everybody listens to him. And he said, and that's true. And the way you phrase things and the way you prepare and you gather the focus, nobody's better.
- [08:31]
Michael Knowles
You both raise an excellent point here, which is it does seem to be a lot of actors are interested in politics and politicians are interested in acting. There does seem to be a similarity in these two businesses. And I've always thought there's.
- [08:42]
Ted Cruz
Like, you remember what Reagan said when someone asked, how could an actor be in politics? And he said, well, how could someone in politics not be an actor?
- [08:49]
Michael Knowles
How could they not be an actor?
- [08:51]
Ted Cruz
And it's, look, at the end of the day, you're trying to communicate with people, and it. One way or the other, one of the frustrating things. Yeah, go ahead, just say, you know, a lot of conservatives, we're not doing a lot of communications. The whole point of this podcast, I mean, we're seeing an assault on our whole country. We're done on our Constitution, on our founding principles. And young people, I mean, it makes you weep. The schools aren't teaching the principles that built this country. And if we don't explain them, how can we fault the young people for not knowing?
- [09:24]
Jon Voight
Well, they've been getting that fed to them for more than a generation. Several generations have been brought up on Common Core. And this is a disaster, teaching against our country. And they don't teach history well.
- [09:44]
Michael Knowles
They teach a sort of fiction. I've noticed. It actually reminds me of a line from your acting teacher, Sanford Meisner, who famously described acting as living truthfully in imaginary circumstances.
- [09:54]
Jon Voight
That's very good.
- [09:55]
Michael Knowles
Increasingly, the history is good to school this guy. Thank you. But increasingly, it seems like the history we're being taught is imaginary circumstances.
- [10:03]
Ted Cruz
So I'll give an example. My girls, who you've met, I'm crazy about, they are wonderful little girls. They're nine and 12. We were recently with two other friends of theirs who are about the same age. And the topic of Christopher Columbus comes up, and all four of the girls are being taught in school that Columbus is a genocidal maniac that murdered people. And look, as a dad, you're trying not to be too overbearing with your kids. And so I've asked Carolyn, I said, well, okay, look, we have a federal holiday in this country called Columbus Day. Do we typically name holidays after psychopathic murderers. Is there maybe another side to this? And I'm not invested in defending Christopher Columbus as the greatest person who ever lived, but it's the degree to which our children are being fed propaganda. And you see this in the mobs that are tearing down and attacking George Washington and Jefferson and Madison and Lincoln. They attack Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist, and they don't even know who he is. But if there's a statue of him, he's got to be bad.
- [11:18]
Jon Voight
We're facing real insanity here. But as I say, it's been. This destruction has a source, and now it has many sources because there's Islamists, there's originally Russian Marxism, and now there's Chinese Marxism, Chinese incursions. And a lot of people in the United States are really wanting so badly to take down this president that they're falling in with anything, and there's just nothing. But there's a real lack of compass morally, and they'll do anything and say anything to get to power. So we're in a tough spot here.
- [12:16]
Ted Cruz
Now, was there a time when you saw Hollywood, when you saw entertainment get worse, get markedly more intolerant? I mean, is there a point that sort of stands out to your mind as a shifting point, or was it more gradual?
- [12:31]
Jon Voight
Well, gee, was. I mean, it's a good question, Ted. I think the movies that I love. I was raised at a time. I was born in 1938, and I was raised on the golden age movies, the movies of Capra and all these. When they talk about actors and when they say, john, you're a great actor, one of the fellas looks what we came from. I mean, you know, we had Bogart and Tracy and Gable and Jimmy Stewart and all those fellows were. You know, I was going to school on those guys. And then Marlon came along, of course, and then we just threw in with Marlon, But. And the gals of that age, fantastic performers. And all of a sudden, at some point, we felt, oh, we're a little. We're more sophisticated. We have more complex techniques to bring to the fore. You know what I mean? But you look at the other stuff that was before, it's fantastic. But we lost. What did they have? In the golden age? Hollywood invented the happy ending. The Hollywood ending. They invented it. Who invented it? A group of Jewish people who were saved, came here to save their lives and to build their lives. They know what a happy ending is because they were all people who read the Bible.
- [14:03]
Ted Cruz
We defeated the Nazis. We'd freed the world from the evil of Hitler. I mean, that was a powerful.
- [14:11]
Jon Voight
Oh, you bet. But the other thing is, you see that in the Bible, the Jewish people at the end of every chapter, you have to end on a positive note. So if you know if it's coming to the end, like if you read Isaiah, some bad stuff is being stated. They telling you that the is going to be pretty dim. But then they go back and reiterate something on the positive side, you know, there will come a time when the so and so and the change and we've reached the land of Israel or whatever.
- [14:44]
Ted Cruz
Now you're talking about movie greats. Did you get to know John Wayne? And what do you think about the recent efforts to rename the airport? I mean, there's a real. The left is mad at Wayne.
- [14:57]
Jon Voight
I think they should call it the Redskins.
- [15:04]
Michael Knowles
Redskins are used in Orange County.
- [15:06]
Jon Voight
Listen, you know, I'm very close to the Indian community and they'd love it that they have a football team. They should keep the name and they should give these guys, you know, 75% off of tickets or may give them tickets to every game.
- [15:26]
Michael Knowles
That's a better deal than remaking Cool.
- [15:27]
Jon Voight
And then celebrate the natives.
- [15:29]
Michael Knowles
I suppose this is the fear though, is you had this Hollywood ending that Hollywood invented. Increasingly, though, it seems to me people don't like a happy ending. People seem to have a much more.
- [15:41]
Jon Voight
That's what's happened, you see.
- [15:43]
Michael Knowles
How did it happen?
- [15:44]
Jon Voight
It's a negative strain because it's a loss of a spiritual base, really. We're meant to be happy. Human beings are meant to be happy. God is saying, be happy, enjoy. Let go, Let God do you know. And this is the way you approach problems. That's the way I approach problems. I say, what are we doing? What am I getting all up? Cool down, man. Just watch what happens. Do the best you can. Celebrate the day. Be grateful for your gifts and the many gifts and stuff like that. And that's a property positive way to be. Like when you see I came into this group and you can't see everybody, you can't see all the people around here. We're all in a positive note. Everyone's happy, we're cheerful, we're saluting each other, making each other feel good. And we'll have a nice experience here. And that's the way we were meant to be. And we've lost that to some degree. We think we're smart, Alex. We can be more sophisticated. And Marlon didn't help sometimes because he created this dark image and it was so attractive that everybody wants to be dark and mean and, you know, whatever it was. But listen, Marlon was magnificent. Let's. You know, I'll let you know. I'm still crazy about Marlon. I'm crazy about.
- [17:10]
Ted Cruz
Well, and people communicate with storytelling. I mean, that's what's so powerful. And the left, they've seized culture. They've seized education K through 12. They've seized colleges and universities. They seize journalism and movies. I love movies. I love stories. I mean, when I was a kid, my dad. So you and my dad are both the same age. You're both 81. And my dad would tell these incredible stories, and I would just sit and listen to them. And you think about the stories that are told now. I mean, I look at these protests. Are we ever gonna see another cop movie again? Can any of all the great movies of heroes who are police officers, can they be told anymore?
- [17:52]
Jon Voight
I think we need them more than we absolutely do.
- [17:57]
Ted Cruz
And let's take something like the great debate right now in this country between free enterprise and socialism. You look at the movies coming out of Hollywood. When's the last time someone in business was portrayed as not a villain? I'm actually happy when a small business owner is not murdering kids. If they're just a crook and stealing, that qualifies for a positive portrayal. And what about all of the epic stories of our nation of people with nothing who made it big? And that's why people come to America.
- [18:34]
Jon Voight
Well, you know, there's still. The positive thing, is they're still coming to America.
- [18:38]
Ted Cruz
That's true.
- [18:39]
Jon Voight
Like the Neil diamond song, you know, they're coming to America. And why? Because there's nothing else out there, fellas. And anybody who wants to is listening to me. You kids, you're listening to me. Why? As does everybody want to come to America? Because the other side, this socialism that people are saying is a good thing to ingest and speak for, has never worked, ever, has never brought about anything but misery and death.
- [19:08]
Ted Cruz
Yep.
- [19:09]
Michael Knowles
But, John, every time on this point on immigration, it is.
- [19:14]
Jon Voight
I'm telling you, kids, listen here, Darren.
- [19:19]
Michael Knowles
But this is such a great point. People are still coming here. They're coming here to this country so much more than to any other country on earth. And yet it's this problem you've identified, which is that people no longer have gratitude for their country, for their family, for their God. It seems like we're in more of an entitlement society than a grateful society.
- [19:37]
Jon Voight
Well, people want us to be an entitlement society. That's what the Democrat party is Selling, so. Oh, boy. And they have really sold out completely. I remember I said this before, but there was a moment when Villa Rugosa, our mayor, who's a good guy, by the way, was asked to go out and correct the Democrat platform. This was several. Beginning of the Democrat convention for Obama, I think. And he was sent out, you see, as a sacrificial lab to. To put God back in the platform and to put the idea of Jerusalem being the capital of Israel into the platform because they felt they couldn't sell the tickets. Do you understand?
- [20:30]
Ted Cruz
Yep, I remember.
- [20:31]
Jon Voight
Well, a lot of votes won't go their way, and that's all they're interested in. They care what it is if they, you know, they would say anything in order to get a vote, and they have. Anything.
- [20:44]
Ted Cruz
Three times the delegates at that convention voted no.
- [20:46]
Jon Voight
That's right. So, Mayor. So that's it. So all in favor of putting this in the platform say aye. And they go, aye. You know, and pretty good. And then. And the nays. Nay. And they go, yeah, nay. And it was. One was more dominant. The nays were more dominant.
- [21:06]
Ted Cruz
Very much so.
- [21:07]
Jon Voight
And then he does it. Let's do that again.
- [21:11]
Michael Knowles
He could have used better acting lessons. He didn't do a good job.
- [21:13]
Jon Voight
Let me do that again. You understand what we're saying now? So. And so. And he says, God in the platform and put the capital of Israel is Jerusalem. Okay, all in favor? Aye. Aye again. Same sound. And nay. Nay. And you see the people that go and have throwing things, I mean, there really is. This is the beginning of that movement of telling that we saw in the streets. Right. It's right there.
- [21:45]
Ted Cruz
Yes.
- [21:46]
Jon Voight
And then somebody walks up to him from long, this big stage, walks all the way over to him and says. And he goes. He says, okay, we'll do it one more time. All those in favor say aye. Same thing, same response. All those again, nay. The ayes have it. Thank you. And he gets picked off the stage.
- [22:08]
Ted Cruz
Well, and as you noted, that was to put God back in the platform. Cause they'd. They'd removed it. And three times the delegates denied it. And I have to admit, I sort of chuckled and wondered if there was a rooster crowing somewhere. I mean, there is a parallel for that, but it is some of the early beginnings in modern times of the antisemitism, of the anti Israel sentiment, of the anti American sentiment on the far left that has been manifested. That are now manifested in the mobs that are burning our cities and that are murdering police officers.
- [22:47]
Jon Voight
Exactly, exactly. And it's and with the complicity and the support and the encouragement of the media.
- [22:56]
Ted Cruz
And it's the media. Donald Trump has broken the media. I mean, remember, the media used to argue they weren't biased. They used to pretend they weren't biased. They don't pretend anymore. I mean, they hate him with an unhinged quality. And I want to tell a story about John that's an interesting story. So John is passionate about our country.
- [23:19]
Michael Knowles
Oh, we know that.
- [23:20]
Ted Cruz
And passionate, at risk to himself. He's in a town, he's in an industry where speaking out carries risks. But in 2016, as you know, Michael, I had a tough primary against Donald Trump.
- [23:34]
Michael Knowles
I think that's a diplomatic way to put it.
- [23:36]
Ted Cruz
We both went at each other, and he won, I lost. And after that happened, John actually got on a plane. He called me and said, hey, can I come see you at your house? And you got on a plane, you flew to Houston and you came over to my house. It was about 10:00 at night. I said, sure, come on over. I'm happy to talk to you. And you went, you brought, for my girls, stuffed animals, I think it was stuffed rabbits. And you sat in my living room for about an hour. And you were urging me at the time, saying, ted, you need to support Trump. And I wanted to see Trump be conservative. I wanted him be more conservative. And you were as earnest, and you said, look, our country is hanging in the balance. And that conversation, it was powerful because it was from the heart. It was because it was a plea, we've got to pull our country back from the brink. And I supported Trump, I campaigned with him. But the fact that you flew across the country to sit in my living room and make that plea, this was not just type a tweet and throw it out in the world.
- [24:36]
Michael Knowles
This was, by the way, there were no cameras there. I mean, this was a private interaction.
- [24:41]
Ted Cruz
I never told that story.
- [24:42]
Jon Voight
That's right.
- [24:42]
Michael Knowles
I think this is the first time you've ever said it publicly, but you did it because you care about the country.
- [24:46]
Jon Voight
Yes. And I knew the power of Ted. I knew it was important that we can't lose Ted. And I had seen Ted with his filibuster, and I was so impressed with it. And I listened to a lot of it. He was like Jimmy Stewart. You know what I mean? This was as good as a movie. And he was wonderful, really wonderful. And the statement he made, regardless of whether he was able to sway everything at that moment was extremely important. He was making a stand and he was doing it with a smile, not an angry statement. He was just saying, this is America, fellas. Don't lose it. That's the essence of what he was doing. And I saw that, and I said, this guy's important. And so I actually went out of my way to say hello to him. And then when this thing happened, I knew. I talked to friends of mine. I said, you know, I really want to go and talk to Phil. Well, why don't you do that? Call him up. He'll be. And that he said, come on down and come on. Just spend the time. And I spent time with Heidi and the children, and I had a wonderful time, this wonderful time. And we were able to connect on.
- [26:05]
Michael Knowles
That filibuster, on that very moment you're describing. I know that didn't win you a lot of friends in Washington. I think it didn't make you Mr. Popular in the Senate. It probably won you a lot of supporters out here in the rest of the country. But I think I see the same thing with you, John, which is you've been outspoken, you've been passionate about your views, not just on politics, but on religion, too. Very unpopular in this town. And somehow.
- [26:27]
Jon Voight
So that's it, you see? It's the same thing, but there's no religion anymore. You know what I mean? It's like, look at what our governor does. You see, you can march in the streets arm in arm, but you can't sing in a church.
- [26:40]
Michael Knowles
That's right.
- [26:41]
Ted Cruz
I mean, it's crazy.
- [26:42]
Jon Voight
You can break into somebody's, you know, offices and work and burn them down and turn over a police car. You can't go pray, and you can't pray.
- [26:55]
Ted Cruz
In a time of crisis, people's character comes out. And on the left, there is, for too many elected officials, a deep hatred of religion, of religious liberty. And we've seen petty tyrants. Whether it is Gavin Newsom saying you can't sing church, or Bill de Blasio in New York City saying, any church or synagogue that meets, we're going to permanently close that church or synagogue. And who the hell. What politician? You don't have the power under the First Amendment.
- [27:32]
Jon Voight
Where did our freedom go? Where did they go?
- [27:35]
Ted Cruz
It is fundamentally wrong. And that doesn't mean that there isn't government power to have reasonable common sense. You can have a prohibition on large public meetings if there's a public health crisis, that there's a long constitutional authority for quarantines, for reasonable restrictions. What you can't do is single out and persecute Religious faith and treat it worse than everything else. You can't say if I agree with what you're saying, it's okay. But if it's just faith, you're a second class citizen and we're gonna come shut you down. You look at de Blasio, the persecution that he's directed at the Orthodox Jewish community. I mean, it has been, it's very revealing of the antipathy for faith that the far left is.
- [28:26]
Michael Knowles
Yes, for sure, this issue, Senator. I mean, you're obviously in the political fight every day. You're in the fray. And John, you're outspoken and you've seen a lot of this. You've been, you've been one of the biggest actors in town for decades and decades now. You've seen things change. Are you looking forward, hopeful for the country or less than hopeful?
- [28:52]
Jon Voight
I'm an optimist. I'm an optimist by, I mean, that's the essential me is an optimist.
- [29:03]
Michael Knowles
People who know, you know, that this is true.
- [29:05]
Jon Voight
But I feel we've been blessed with this president. I feel that this man, I mean, you look carefully at what he does day by day, you can't think of another human who's above 24 that could handle this schedule and this kind of battle every day.
- [29:30]
Ted Cruz
And the hate that's visited upon him, I mean, it's unhinged.
- [29:34]
Jon Voight
Yes. So what he needs is us. You know, he needs every pat on the back he can get. He needs to see our smiles and our lack of fear in the face of this too, because he's leading the way with that in those aspects. And so do we have the leadership? Yeah, we have the leadership. Yes, we have the leadership. We have many brilliant people right now. And I said at one point, I said, look, I said, the Democrat Party and the Democrat Party is not anywhere near, it's not even an American party any longer, unfortunately. I have to say that they're not for America. They're wed to something else. These guys are connected to Marxism and to those countries that represent Marxism, it's serious. So they're a torpedo against the ship of state. There's no doubt about that. But I said, you know, there's no one on the other side. I said, Mark Levin. I said, mark, they don't have anyone of stature. There are no statesmen, no one of stature. No one. Well, look what they've come up with as their candidate. And they've gone through everything they can go through, and that's what they came up with.
- [30:53]
Michael Knowles
There were 27 candidates I think at.
- [30:54]
Jon Voight
The beginning they don't have anything. Pardon.
- [30:57]
Ted Cruz
He's in hiding and he's not willing to take on the mob of the angry living.
- [31:02]
Jon Voight
He's being told to hide. Listen, this is all manipulated. They're figuring how they can get him in. Now, on the other hand, I told Mark Levin, I said, I can give you 50 people of great stature right now, and you can give me another 50 on top of that. And I believe that. I believe we have an army of great people. And if we are directing ourselves toward helping this union restore itself, guys like Ted Cruz, who knows what has been taken from the Constitution. Mark Levin, another one like that. We have to go back to that essential the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and all of the letters of our founding fathers in support of those things and the history of the decisions that were made by the great people. Lincoln and Jefferson and Adams and Jackson and all of these people, right to the present. They were great people. Right to the present, okay? We have a tremendous history that we can fall back on and learn from and restore ourselves with. And that's what we have to do.
- [32:24]
Ted Cruz
And people are hungry, I believe, for leaders who will defend America, who are proud of America, who say, I love our nation. And that doesn't mean that you ignore our faults. That doesn't mean that you don't try to move towards justice. You know, you look at the great civil rights leaders, you look at Frederick Douglass, you look at Dr. King, where they made explicit appeals over and over again to our founding documents. You know, the Declaration of Independence began, you know, made the majestic promise, we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. And yes, we had slavery, we had discrimination, we had. That was the original sin of our nation. But we were founded on a promise of equal rights and equal justice for all. And I agree with Dr. King that the arc of history bends towards justice. But the left, they don't teach that, they don't know that, they tear it down, that we're an evil society rather than a society committed, founded on noble ideals. And we've had a long and at times bumpy journey. I mean, we fought a Civil War where 600,000 lives were lost to end slavery, you bet. And that, you know, you referenced the Obamacare filibuster. You know, I think that was a moment where people wanted someone to stand up and fight the President. The best characteristic of President Trump is he's got a backbone and he will stand and fight. And there's. So we need that. We need people who will defend America? Who will stand up and defend police officers? Who are, you bet, heroic and risky?
- [34:05]
Jon Voight
I keep saying, you bet. Are you gonna bet?
- [34:08]
Michael Knowles
That's a good affirming line, too. And this is the strange thing. I hate to play devil's advocate here, gentlemen, but I'm looking around, I'm seeing statues falling down. I'm seeing the country rioting. I'm seeing a whole young generation, my generation, go towards socialism. How do I get your optimism? I mean, John, all of your peers in Hollywood, how on earth do you end up being one of the very few to defend our country and look with hope on its future?
- [34:31]
Jon Voight
I've had a lot of support in my life. I've had a noble father, told stories, great storyteller, just like your dad. And, you know, I've been helped, and I've helped. Been helped by other people right to this day. And I really rely on those friends who tell me the truth and have straightened me out when I've been out of line and all of that stuff that I've gone through, you know, and that's where I get my stuff. And also, I'm a fellow who says a prayer every day, many prayers. And I meditate and I try to get there. You know what I mean? I try to get there. It's hard to meditate. People say it's easy. True prayer is hard to get to that tone where it's really just talking.
- [35:24]
Ted Cruz
So let me give you a moment of optimism. We're in the midst of a year unlike any other. We've got a global pandemic. We've got the Great Depression. We've had race riots. On some level, it's horrifying. At another level, look, I gotta tell you, like the shutdown we had in March and April and May in our family, there's never been a moment that has been better. So if you were to ask, as parents, and it's hard to be a parent.
- [35:55]
Jon Voight
Oh, you bet.
- [35:56]
Ted Cruz
With our girls. There I am again, the single biggest thing. If I could have prescribed what our family needed more than anything else, it would have been cancel every event, cancel every dinner party. Cancel every play date, cancel every basketball game. Cancel everything. Put all four of us, Heidi and me and both girls in the house 24 hours a day with nothing but each other for about three months. And we've never had. So Heidi and I, we began during the whole time of the COVID lockdown. We did lunch every day with the girls and dinner every day. We've never done that in their whole Lives.
- [36:34]
Jon Voight
It's great, huh?
- [36:35]
Ted Cruz
We began doing something I've wanted to do for a long time, but we've never done. We began doing a devotion at night where we would read together. We would read three chapters of the Bible each night and just start with three. And I'd wanted to do that, but look, it's hard. You're busy, you're on the road. Everyone's doing something or else. And we were all at home. And I gotta admit, the first week or two we did it, the girls went nuts. They didn't want. They wouldn't stay still. I mean, they were pushing back. And it's been a wonderful. We just finished 2 Corinthians, so we started in Matthew. We made it through 2 Corinthians, actually, in Galatians. We're in Galatians chapter two right now. But it's been every night, and we have conversations. We live near downtown Houston. Every night, Heidi and I would go for a walk. We'd walk her dog at about sunset. And the whole town, we turned into Mayberry. People were out. You couldn't get close to each other, so you'd walk socially, distance. And it was a beautiful thing. And it was a reminder. This is still a great country. I mean, I point to that as a source of optimism. I have heard so many people who say, our families grew closer. And that's a wonderful thing. All right, let me segue to a different topic, which is just the world of movies. You worked with lots of actors. Is there an actor in all your time who you were just like, wow, that guy is incredible. That woman is who took your breath away. Is there someone who stands out?
- [38:16]
Jon Voight
Well, I have to say, when I look at people, I just see talent. I see everybody as unique. I see some people. Remember, there's a rabbi that called. People said, how can you. He was giving dollars to people all day long. All day long, old man. And he said, how can you do this? He says, well, I'm counting diamonds. How can you get tired of counting diamonds? And he's talking about human beings, the value of human beings and the potential of each human being. I believe everyone has superpowers. I believe everyone has potential like that. So it's just a matter of encouraging them and getting them to discipline things and do things and think positively and all of that. And something comes out, you know? And the actors I've worked with, I've worked with great actors. Are there people who stand out? Yes, all the people with the movies that have been successful. For me, like starting with Midnight Cowboy. Nobody was better than Dustin Hoffman. Dustin Hoffman, when they said he was a genius on the set of the Arthur Miller play A View from the Bridge, they were right. He was a genius. And we got along. We liked each other and we got along together. We were perfect for each other. We helped each other and we laughed with each other. We invented. Okay, that's that. And then every other one, you know, certainly with Burt Reynolds and Deliverance, Burt got the role of his life.
- [39:57]
Ted Cruz
One of the great movies of all time. I mean, it. Iconic.
- [40:01]
Jon Voight
Yeah. And Bert was sensational. It was his role. You know, when anybody gets animated, when every individual has that kind of. Every individual is just filled with potential. I remember I ran a class for a couple of years, for a year. A year. I said, I'll take over the class. Cause somebody's leaving. And the teacher was leaving, and they said, john, would you take over the class? I said, okay. And my purpose in the class, I set as my purpose that I was going to get every one of those kids in that class, which were about 24 kids, to achieve that moment where they took the class over, where it became their moment, their class, when everybody walked around and said, wow. And I remember this one fellow, right down to the end, we couldn't get him. On the last class that I had, he broke through and he was fantastic. And not that he could do it every night. Not that he went on to have a great career, but that night he was a superstar.
- [41:08]
Ted Cruz
Different question. Do you have a thought? Is one harder than the other? Drama versus comedy, or. I mean, they're both.
- [41:16]
Jon Voight
Well, I've never done real comedy comedy. I've done some stuff that was funny, like in Holes when I played Mr. Sir, you know, it was a funny character. And I have a pretty good sense of humor. And in every role, like with Cowboy, Midnight Cowboy, there's a lot of humor in that. And the thing that actually sustains Anaconda is humor. That character. Every line I say in that movie is funny to me. I love it. I love every line. It's so crazy. So anyway, there's humor in the work that I do, but I haven't done comedy comedy. I think comedy is very specific. You know, it's. It's a different. Different aspect, different technique in a certain way. But we have. We. And we have people who are. Are doing wonderful, wonderful work. I grew up in a time when we had Sid Caesar, as I said, Jackie Gleason, sure. I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was a genius. And, you know, we had all these human Americans.
- [42:19]
Ted Cruz
Ricky Ricardo.
- [42:20]
Jon Voight
Ricky Ricardo. Oh, yeah, he was. And he was quite brilliant. Ricky. So anyway, so Jackie Gleason used to. They say he didn't rehearse. He would have somebody else read lines for him. And he had a kind of photographic memory, but he was absolutely. He knew what it was and he knew this character so well. And then he would come on and do it, and they loved it because that's why it was so spontaneous. That's why people were listening to each other. He had this little cluster, you know, with Art Carney and the gal. What was her name? Audrey Meadows. They were fantastic. But he came on and they didn't know quite what. He hadn't rehearsed it, so he was just, you know, he was going. He was ready, you know.
- [43:07]
Michael Knowles
On the subject of comedy, there are many jokes about politicians and actors, which I'm sure we've all heard. They're very negative, but I am struck by a positive version of it, which is that a similarity between actors and politicians is they've gotta be concerned with truth. The truth about public policy, public philosophy. We're getting at truth about a character truthfully, in imaginary circumstances. And you've gotta like people. You know this. If you don't like people, you're have a horrible time on the campaign trail. If you don't like people, why would you dedicate your life to building characters? You know, that's the bright side of it.
- [43:38]
Jon Voight
That's pretty good.
- [43:38]
Michael Knowles
And I thank you very much. And I gotta tell you, gentlemen, I think you both exhibit the bright side of both of those professions. And I wish we could go on another five hours, but we'll have to just do it again, Senator, next time you're in town. John, thank you so much for being here. I'm Michael Knowles. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.
- [44:05]
Unknown
This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs, Freedom and Security Package, a political action committee dedicated to supporting conservative causes, organizations and candidates across the country. In 2022, jobs, freedom and Security PAC plans to donate to conservative candidates running for Congress and help the Republican Party across the nation.