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- [00:00]
Michael Knowles
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainians have put up an incredible fight, fought much harder, I think, than a lot of people were expecting. Not least of all Vladimir Putin, who has met fierce resistance. And yet he continues on his march to Kiev and throughout other Ukrainian cities, leaving a lot of us in the west asking one simple question, can anything be done to stop it? This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.
- [00:37]
Ted Cruz
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- [01:52]
Michael Knowles
Back to Verdict with Ted Cruz. I'm Michael Knowles. Senator, you are privy to much more informative conversations about what's going on in Ukraine right now than I am or I suspect any of us are. So I think a lot of people are feeling frustration here. This has been going on for days and weeks over a week now. There's been a buildup to this for weeks and even months and yet Putin seems to be winning. Is there anything that we in the west can do to stop the Russian takeover of Ukraine?
- [02:24]
Ted Cruz
Well, there may be. I can tell you I just came from a two hour all senators classified briefing and what's happening is ugly and it's probably going to get uglier before it gets better. We are seeing the most significant, the most large scale military conflict in Europe since 1945. The economic effects of this are already significant on Russia, I think they're expected to get much, much worse. And so Putin, the price is higher than he anticipated. But that being said, I think the most likely projection for the coming days and coming weeks is a whole lot of bloodshed in Ukraine, both of Ukrainians. And Putin is targeting civilians, but also of Russians as well.
- [03:15]
Michael Knowles
So you're seeing, as you mentioned, Senator, some pushback on Putin at home. You're seeing protests in Moscow and elsewhere. You're seeing certain Russian oligarchs actually calling for an end to the war because this is not great for their bottom line. Maybe they have humanitarian motives too, but certainly they have financial ones. And then on the Ukrainian side, you've got Ukrainian President Zelensky now making an emergency application for Ukraine to join the European Union. And the EU President has said that she is in favor of Ukraine. Ukraine joining at some point, maybe not right now. There is a process. You think, well, if they don't join right now, there might not be a Ukraine to join. You've got Zelensky now asking the United States to impose a no fly zone. You had nominally Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Republican Congressman who tends to side with the more liberal members of the House. He also was calling for a no fly zone. No fly zone, meaning that we would shoot Russian planes out of the air if they violated it. So is any of that going to happen? Is the United States going to get involved in a full fledged war here for Ukraine or not?
- [04:24]
Ted Cruz
Well, I certainly hope not. I think that would be dumb as hell for us to do. Let me say, first of all, Zelensky is a badass. And you want to talk about rising to the occasion, you know, when the Biden administration offered to help evacuate him, which is a great way to project strength right at the outset. Yeah. Zelenskyy's response was. Was nothing short of spectacular, which is, I need ammunition. I don't need a ride. I mean, that is. Look, I think that has rallied the men and women of Ukraine powerfully to see their leaders ready to fight. I think it also underscores that the Biden administration has been woefully slow providing Ukraine with ammunition, with weapons. They have been weak throughout. The reason this occurred, the reason the invasion happened, is because of the weakness of Joe Biden and the weakness in Afghanistan. The disastrous withdrawal last year from Afghanistan, but also specifically the repeated weakness of Biden with respect to Ukraine and Russia. We've talked about Nord Stream 2 at length, but also on weaponry. Biden twice last year, in April and December of last year, halted the transmission of weapons to the Ukrainians. They need Stinger missiles, they need Javelins right now. They need the equipment to take out Russian tanks and Russian planes and Russian helicopters, and they're running low on all of them. We're seeing Europe stepping up. Look, I gotta tell you, just even a month ago, the Biden administration was slow walking, providing lethal aid to Ukraine and they were embarrassed into it. Because what happened is a group of Democratic senators went over to Ukraine on a codel on a congressional delegation, and they got there and they're unloading weaponry from the Brits. The United Kingdom was sending offensive weaponry. And like, you know, the Americans, the Biden administration is still, still too scared of its own shadow to do that. It was only when the Brits shamed us into it that the Biden administration finally began providing some in terms of weaponry. But I think, I think we ought to listen to Zelenskyy when he says he needs ammunition. We ought to be providing ammunition in large quality quantities. But a no fly zone. Are you frigging nuts? We should not be using the American military to shoot down Russian airplanes, to shoot down Russian tanks, to kill Russian soldiers. That is an invitation to escalation, which would be spectacularly dangerous. And I think it's unfortunate you've got American politicians calling for that. Not very many. Most have better judgment than that. But look, the Ukrainians have shown they want to defend their nation. We ought to be helping ensure that they have the weapons to do so and they can fight to defend their own country.
- [07:32]
Michael Knowles
Now, Senator, you just said that because Joe Biden has not led on this issue. And he's actually, you might go further and say he's created some incentives actually for Russia to invade. But because of that, Europe now is stepping up and Britain. So you're talking like a Republican senator. Because when I hear my Democrat friends talk, what they're saying is Joe Biden, through his magnificent leadership, has united Europe like never before. How about that?
- [08:02]
Ted Cruz
You know, I think it's spectacularly funny. Ironically, there's a level of truth to it in a very perverse sense, because what Biden has done has been so spectacularly bad. It has provoked the greatest military conflict in Europe since World War II. And now all of Europe is like, oh, crap, Russia's invading. So yes, everyone is Unified now after Russia invaded. Why did Russia invade? Because of Joe Biden's weakness. You know, it reminds me of during the Obama administration where I've joked that Obama may have retroactively deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Remember, they gave him the Nobel Peace Prize, like, 12 minutes after he was sworn in as president for the great accomplishment of not being George W. Bush. That was enough to give him the prize. But in hindsight, Obama may have deserved it because he did something no one thought was possible. He unified. The Israelis and the Arabs, they came together and all Obama had to do was put in place a deal that. That was putting us on a path to giving Iran nuclear weapons. And suddenly the Israelis and Arabs said, are you frigging nuts? This is so lunatic. This is very much the same as what Biden has done in Europe. His weakness has been so provocative that Russian tanks have rolled into Ukraine and all of Europe is like, oh, crap, now we're united. Well, yes, but it's only because it's gotten so spectacularly bad that Europe has united against Putin. But look, listen, Michael, as you know, I have been for a year predicting exactly where we are right now, and it makes me sad. This is not a prediction I wanted to come true. We saw this danger back in 2019. We saw it in 2014 when Putin first invaded Ukraine. We saw it in 2015 when Putin started the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to go around Ukraine so that he could invade Ukraine and still get his gas to Europe. We saw it in 2019 when I authored the sanctions legislation that passed with bipartisan super majorities that Trump signed and that stopped Nord Stream 2. It's why Putin didn't invade Ukraine in 2017-2018-2019-2020, because he needed to get his gas to market and he had to go through Ukrainian pipelines to do so. And because we had a strong president and Donald Trump and Putin didn't want to mess with him. Just weeks before the invasion, 44 Democrats voted in favor of waiving sanctions on Russia. Remember that when they start beating their chest about how tough they are on Russia, they caused this invasion by waiving those sanctions. But we filmed the last podcast last week. At the time, I mentioned in the last podcast the possibility of a deal. Here's what had happened. And this was something that had happened. But I didn't reveal the complete. I didn't reveal the complete details of it on the pod, but the day before, I actually called Chris Coons, called him on a cell, and he was in Europe. He was actually in Warsaw, Poland. And I called Chris and said, look, Putin has just invaded Ukraine. How about now the Biden White House finally do what it should have done a year ago and impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2. And I said, Chris, if the White House does this, I'll lift all my holds on the State Department nominees. And Chris's reaction? He thought it was a very good deal. He said, look, I'll call the administration right now and relay that offer. And so I had, when we filmed the last podcast, I had just made that call and made that offer and it was pending. The day after we filmed it, the White House took the deal. They finally imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2. Now a year late, but they imposed them and I lifted all the holds. And so it shows some of the leverage you can impose on in the Senate to try to force actions. But when it came to the sanctions on Nord Stream 2 from the Biden White House, it was too little, too late.
- [12:21]
Michael Knowles
So I remember as we were filming that episode, we were sort of waiting to find out if this deal was going to go through. You know, you can't give too much cuz you don't want to sink the deal. It does end up working probably hours after the podcast ended up dropping. So the deal worked, the sanctions are in place. Now the question is, will that deter Putin? Did Biden need to put more behind the sanctions? Did Biden need to institute the sanctions earlier? Did other countries need to get on board? What are the sanctions actually gonna do?
- [12:55]
Ted Cruz
Okay, so no. Yes, yes, yes. In response to your questions. So will that deter Putin at this point? No. Putin is fully invested on the invasion. He wants to conquer Ukraine and he is giving up significant Russian casualties every day to do so. At this point, his pride is at stake. That being said, does Biden need to do more? Yes. So the problem with the Nord Stream two sanctions, one spot Biden put in place is he's projected so much weakness that the sanctions aren't credible to Putin. Putin is sitting there. I think Putin is in fact laughing at the Nord Stream 2 sanctions because I think Putin believes, well, fine, they'll sanction it now while I'm actually driving tanks on Kiev.
- [13:42]
Michael Knowles
Right?
- [13:43]
Ted Cruz
But once Putin succeeds in conquering Ukraine, which I think he believes he will, and once he succeeds in putting a puppet government in place, which I think is what Putin plans to do in Ukraine, then I think he believes for good reason that Biden will say, oh well, what a shame, now we'll lift our sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and you can turn the pipeline on. And so the Biden White house's sanctions on Nordstream 2 are not credible as sticking. And that's why I'm introducing legislation this week to make the sanctions on Nordstream 2 permanent and to take away Biden's ability to waive them. And you know, there's an old military phrase that people learn about, which is people have heard the phrase you shouldn't burn your bridges, but that actually comes from military strategy where an invading army would come in, they would cross a bridge and they'd burn the bridge behind them. So they had to win the war because retreat was no longer an option. And I think in order for the Nord Stream two sanctions to be credible, we've got to burn Biden's bridges because Putin now knows Biden's so weak he'll waive the sanctions again once the urgency is gone.
- [15:11]
Michael Knowles
Right.
- [15:11]
Ted Cruz
We'll have a lot more deterrent effect. If it is clear and written in US law that Nord Stream 2, the sanctions are permanent and it will never, ever, ever be allowed to be turned on because that gives Ukraine the ability, the pipelines still go through Ukraine. It puts Putin in a much more vulnerable position.
- [15:31]
Michael Knowles
Right. So even if the current conveyor of the sanctions, Joe Biden, even if he has no credibility, the sanctions themselves could. And if the Democrats really believe what they're saying about Ukraine and about Russia, they'll vote for your legislation. We'll see if that actually pans out.
- [15:47]
Ted Cruz
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- [17:02]
Michael Knowles
You mentioned something that seems really crucial here, which is Putin's pride. He's so far into this at this point, it seems impossible for him to turn around. There have been reports, one from your colleague Marco Rubio, who says he tweeted out today, he said, I can't go into the intelligence briefings, but. But something is seriously wrong with Putin. And he's far more erratic, for instance, than he was some years ago. I think that was the insinuation of it. You've got certain Russia watchers. Fiona Hill would be one example, who's saying Putin, he really means business. The man could launch World War three. We might be in it already. He would be willing to use nuclear weapons. What's your take on the madness of Putin?
- [17:47]
Ted Cruz
Look, I think Putin is exceptionally dangerous. I think he is an autocrat. I think he is a tyrant. I think he is a dictator. I think he is surrounded by yes men. I think nobody is willing to tell him no. Nobody is willing to stand up to him. And anyone that tries dies. Like, he kills any dissenters that has a way of quashing dissent. And I think he has, you know, he's megalomaniacal. I mean, that's a term I've used for many times. He is and was a KGB thug. And we talked about in the last podcast about how he has these grand visions of Russian greatness. He yearns for the old Russian empire. He yearns for the Soviet Union. He yearns for the Russian Empire of 1922. He wants to be a czar. He doesn't want to be a president. He wants to be a czar. And I think he views it as his destiny to restore Russian greatness and dominance. That's very, very dangerous. I think he's also a strong man in the sense that when he sees resistance, his instinct is crush, kill, destroy. I think in the coming days and weeks in Ukraine, we're going to see some horrific atrocities. The Russians have some weapons which, if they use them, could kill vast numbers of civilians. They have bombs that effectively suck the oxygen out of a place and kill everything in that vicinity. I think there's a real risk of Russia using weapons that inflict horrific outcomes. You know, Putin made a big show about directing his nuclear forces to be on alert. Do I think that means that we're likely to see global thermonuclear war? Hopefully, no, I don't think we're on the verge of that. But I don't put it past Putin at all to use what are sometimes called tactical nukes, which are smaller nuclear weapons that can inflict devastating consequences, but less than a global nuclear fallout. I pray to God he doesn't do that, but I don't put that beyond him at all. I think that is more likely a threat than a real possibility. But he is someone who, when pressed, when pressed, is very, very dangerous. And it's why Biden's weakness is so it jeopardizes American security. Look, you look at last year, Biden waived sanctions on Nord Stream 2. You look at last year, Biden twice halts delivery of weapons to Ukraine in an effort to appease Putin. You look at Biden, the Biden administration negotiating with Putin saying, well, okay, if you promise not to invade, we're willing to consider pulling troops out of Europe, we're willing to consider pulling our missiles out of Europe, we're willing to consider pulling our anti missile batteries out of Europe. Look, all of that weakness tells Putin, push harder, push harder, push harder. That encourages the bully even now. So the Biden administration, after the invasion, they're kind of stuck. They'd been saying, oh, look, all of this weakness and negotiation is gonna stop an invasion. Well, no, it's not. And anyone that understood Putin knew that it was not. Which I'd been screaming from the mountaintops for months that this was the outcome of what Biden was gonna do. But at this point, the sanctions they put in place, they put in place as we sit here tonight, three tranches of sanctions. They've sanctioned some of the Russian banks, but not all of them. They put in place. What they haven't input in place is secondary sanctions on the Russian central bank. What that means is the Russian central bank can still engage in financial transactions with, for example, China, with, for example, India, if we want to really impose financial harms. You impose secondary sanctions on the Russian Central bank. They claim they've made Russia pariah so that now no one in the civilized world will deal with Russia. But interestingly enough, the State Department put exceptions and said, well, except on climate, we're going to continue to have John Kerry play footsie with Russia on climate. And they said, oh, and except on Iran nuclear deal, when it comes to giving the Ayatollah nuclear weapons, we'll continue to play footsie with Russia on that. So they put all these exceptions, but here's the funniest exception, Michael. So they have sanctions on Russian banks, but they make an exception for energy transactions for oil and gas. Now, mind you, oil and gas is Russia's principal source of revenue. So these supposed tough sanctions exempt the thing that is funding Putin carrying out this invasion. And it is once again this almost inherent weakness in Biden and Harris and Schumer and Pelosi. And Putin can smell that weakness. And unfortunately it only encourages it.
- [23:12]
Michael Knowles
So why don't we put the sanctions on the energy industry? Is it one, because Biden doesn't really care if Russia conquers Ukraine and he knows that what he is doing right now doesn't have any teeth, so nevermind. Or is it two, because we need the oil and Europe needs the oil.
- [23:30]
Ted Cruz
Look, it's some of both. On one level, I think the Biden administration has all but given up hope that the Russian invasion will stop. They believe this is a done deal. It may be a few weeks, maybe even a few months if the Ukrainians surprise. But they believe eventually Russia will conquer Ukraine. And then what they're counting on is an insurgency that plays out over years, that if Russia conquers Ukraine, that the Ukrainians engage in guerrilla warfare and that may play out. Look, Russia invaded Afghanistan and for years faced guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan. That's a possibility. I think that's about all the Biden administration is holding on hope for. They really don't see any vision for preventing Russia from conquering Ukraine any more than they saw a vision for stopping the invasion in the first place. That they believe they don't understand strength. I told you about the previous briefing where one Democratic senator asked, why didn't Putin invade in 2017-2018-2019-2020. And several of us just started laughing out loud. I mean, it's a question that answers itself. But I will say also on the European dependence on Russian oil. Listen, Biden has gone a long way to creating that dependence. When Biden in his first week shuts down the Keystone pipeline in America, when he shuts down new leases on federal lands, when he shuts down new offshore leases, all of that reduces America's ability to export energy, which makes our allies more dependent on our enemies.
- [25:23]
Liz Wheeler
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- [26:35]
Michael Knowles
There'S been a little bit of a schizophrenia maybe on the American right when it comes to the person of Vladimir Putin. There have been some right wingers who seem to be, if not admiring of Vladimir Putin. They are so critical of our own leaders in the west that they look at things that Putin does and they think, well, maybe we should do that as well. There was the head of MI6, the British spy agency, he tweeted out something to the effect of what distinguishes us from Vladimir Putin is LGBT rights. And that's why we need to celebrate LGBT rights. And I think a lot of people looked at that and said, well, if transgenderism in the classroom is all that separates us from Putin, then pass the vodka, comrade. I mean, there was a real. But you look at Putin, the guy's obviously a killer. He's a thug. He leads the country that we were at war with for half of the 20th century. What is our understanding of Putin and why do some people find him, if not attractive? Why is there a kind of interest on the right in Putin?
- [27:50]
Ted Cruz
Yeah, look, I think that MI6 tweet was really unfortunate. And I love the Brits, I'm a die hard Anglophile, but that made one want to weep at how the empire has fallen. Look, there is, I think, a small fringe group on the right that finds themselves enamored with strongmen, and Putin in particular. I think it's a very small group. Any conservative, as far as I'm concerned, any conservative, any Republican, any American, any patriot, the view on Putin. My view on Putin is he's a dictator, he's a thug, he's a murderer, he's an evil man, he is our enemy, he hates us, and he wants to kill us. Just so we have no ambiguity, I will say I think the press desperately wants to amplify this small little fringe group on the right because, A, they love any dissension on the right. So they, you know, we're in this weird Alice in Wonderland where for 60 years, conservatives stood up to the Soviet Union and liberals defended, celebrated, heralded. The Soviet Union for more than 60.
- [29:19]
Michael Knowles
Years, for almost a century, probably.
- [29:21]
Ted Cruz
It was forever and ever. Look, Bernie Sanders honeymooned in the damn Soviet Union.
- [29:27]
Michael Knowles
Right? Right.
- [29:30]
Ted Cruz
You know, going back to, you know, the Sandinistas. I mean, there's not a communist revolution on earth that Democrats haven't defended. When Trump became president, there was this fictional narrative that Democrats and the corrupt corporate media invented of Russia, Russia, Russia. And it was very weird. For four years, Democrats suddenly discovered Russia was bad. And it's the most bizarre. Like, what's weird? So some of the old Democrats, the ones who've been around the Senate a long time, they actually know that these are sort of fake talking points that they were using for convenience to attack Trump, but they don't really believe it. Some of the newer Democrats didn't quite get the joke, and they suddenly, oh, oh, this is what we believe. Russia bad. And then suddenly, when Biden is surrendering to Russia, they're like. They don't know what to say. They just kind of stammer voicelessly because they haven't figured out that for four years. When Democrats were saying Russia bad, they were posturing, they were lying. Look, Russia bad. I will say it unequivocally, but you know what? I said it during Jimmy Carter. I said it during Ronald Reagan. I said it during Bush and Clinton and Bush and Obama and Trump and Biden. So Since I was 5, I've been saying russia bad. That's what happens when you're raised in a Cuban household. We tend to have fairly stark views of communism that continue forever. But I will say there is this fringe view on the right that celebrates Putin, and it does. So, I guess, because they think he has the right enemies, that there are some leftists who he is dismissive of. And it's sort of like, all right, if he's dismissive of leftists, and I don't like leftists, therefore he's my guy. It's like, no, he wants to kill you, too. So don't be confused about this.
- [31:33]
Michael Knowles
No, I think that's a really important point, Senator, because a lot of American conservatives, they look at the deep state, they look at the elected government now in America, they look at the global leaders, or at least the Western leaders, and they say, well, all those guys hate my guts. And the President says that I'm a Nazi and half the country's full of Nazis, and we really ought to just shut up and go away and. And have no role in our government. We're all terrorist insurrectionists. And so I don't like them. And Putin doesn't like them either. But you've made an important observation, which is Putin hates us, too. Putin does not particularly favor one American side over the other. He doesn't like America. He doesn't like the West. He's aggressing on the West. It is true that Vladimir Putin funds the construction of cathedrals, while America funds drag queen story hour in libraries. But by any measure, Ukraine is a more Christian country and at least equally conservative as Russia. So even if American conservatives are trying to export or superimpose domestic political values on the Russia, Ukraine conflict, I don't think it holds up. And I think it's a really important insight you're making here. Just because a man is the enemy of my enemy or my opponent does not make him my friend.
- [32:53]
Ted Cruz
Yeah, and it's as I said, I think the corporate media vastly elevates these few handful of fringe folks on the right because they love telling the narrative, right? And look, you even look at, for example, the press went crazy about Trump's comments about Putin, that his strategy of framing himself as a peacekeeper was savvy. Listen, nobody's ever said Putin was stupid, right? Let's be clear. His failing is not lack of intelligence. His failing is that he's an evil murderer trying to conquer the world. It would be better if he were stupid. I wish Putin were stupider. He might be less of a threat than them, but the press obsessively holds onto. So, you know, you look at the Sunday shows, the Sunday shows, all they want to question any Republican is, well, isn't it terrible that Trump used the word savvy to describe what Putin is doing? You don't see any of the press questioning Democrats. Well, why did Biden surrender to Putin over and over again? Why did 44 Democrats vote just weeks ago not to sanction Russia? Because the press are propagandists.
- [34:16]
Michael Knowles
One of the big issues here is we need foreign energy, we need foreign oil, we need foreign gas. We were on a pathway back to energy independence in recent years, and then, unfortunately, this president doesn't seem all that interested in it. So what does the future look like for American energy? The White House says we need American energy. We have to be less reliant on foreign oil. But we're not gonna drill here. We're not gonna build our pipelines, we're not gonna build nuclear facilities. So what is the White House saying they're gonna do?
- [34:50]
Ted Cruz
Look, they don't have any reasonable plan. They are driven by zealotry and extremism when it comes to the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal. Last week, I had a lunch with A number of CEOs of energy companies in Houston. And one of the things I was trying to explain to them is I said, look, you guys are trying to argue based on reason, based on logic, based on facts. You can't reason with these people. They're not interested in reason or logic or facts. The radical left, the Green New Deal proponents, the people driving the Biden administration's energy policy, they hate oil and gas. They want to destroy all US Production. They want to bankrupt every US Oil and gas company, and they don't care about the consequences they don't have. When you ask them, how are you going to drive to work? How are you going to power jet airplanes? They don't have an answer. It's not like you're going to put a windmill in the front of an airplane. They have no answer. It is visceral. It's emotional. And part of the problem is, for too many on the left, faith is no longer part of their life. They are virulent atheists. And so this angry environmentalism has replaced faith in their lives. It is their new faith. Look, mankind, all of us yearn for doing something bigger than ourselves, serving a purpose that is higher than just the momentary existence of waking up and eating and going through the day and going back to sleep. We want a transcendent purpose. And for too many on the left, this visceral, emotional environmentalism has replaced religion. And in that context, oil and gas producers are evildoers. They are Satan. They must be vanquished. And one mustn't concern oneself with the pesky details of how it works and who suffers and who pays the price.
- [37:06]
Michael Knowles
This is the most convincing take I've actually heard on this, because I've been trying to wrap my head around what the end goal is here for Democrats. Is it that they. Well, I know they want alternative energies, but surely they know that windmills and unicorn tears are not gonna power the United States. So what are they trying to do? Are they trying to work on some other international energy schem? But what you're saying here is actually ties in with a conversation we're having about Putin, which is, on this issue, they're just not behaving like rational actors. And even if the elected politicians are on the Democrat side, they are beholden to a base that has become fanatical in its environmentalism. And so why won't they pursue nuclear? Well, because that's bad. Why won't they produce oil at home or encourage the production of oil at home? Well, because that's bad. They'll buy it overseas. So what? Yeah, okay. At least we don't need to think about. There's just not a. There's not a through line of reason.
- [38:01]
Ted Cruz
Michael, what was the end goal of burning witches at the stake?
- [38:05]
Michael Knowles
To get rid of all those pesky witches?
- [38:07]
Ted Cruz
I thought that is their end goal. That is how they view it. You know, a couple of years ago I was doing this thing called Tribfest, which is, it's done in Austin at the University of Texas at Austin. And I was being interviewed by Chris Hayes, you know, the leftist host on msnbc. And it was before the last election. And I asked him, I said, hey, I kind of turned the tables back and was asking him a question which he didn't like. I said, chris, so if Biden wins, should the Biden administration ban fracking? And it was interesting. Hayes starts backtracking, he's like. Cause he didn't wanna commit to that before the election, cuz he knew that was unpopular. And he's like, well, well maybe over time, in a phased outcome, over five years, maybe. And I said, look, projections are if you ban fracking, it would destroy 1.4 million jobs in this country. And suddenly the students at UT begin applauding.
- [39:00]
Michael Knowles
Huh?
- [39:01]
Ted Cruz
Wow. And we're in this big auditorium and they begin applauding. And I say, look, it's very easy for all of you guys sitting there sipping your Starbucks lattes.
- [39:11]
Michael Knowles
Yeah.
- [39:11]
Ted Cruz
By the way, at a university paid for by oil and gas, your professors are paid for by oil and gas. All of the buildings were built by oil and gas.
- [39:20]
Michael Knowles
The state was built by oil and.
- [39:21]
Ted Cruz
Gas for you to sit there applauding, destroying the jobs. Right now there's an Hispanic guy driving to work in the oil field in South Texas in his pickup truck, and he's providing for his kids, and you're applauding, yes, yes. Take away that dirty man's job.
- [39:39]
Michael Knowles
Right.
- [39:40]
Ted Cruz
You want to know why the American people are fed up with the contemptuous left. It's you sitting there in plush comfort saying, much better that he has no job. That's the elitist contempt the left has right now.
- [39:54]
Michael Knowles
That's the betoization of all sorts of hell, yes, we're gonna take your job. Hell, yes, we're gonna take your energy and your gas and your oil and your heating, of course, doesn't play very well in Peoria. I've got to ask you, switching gears a little bit before we go. We are recording this on Monday. The state of the Union is tomorrow, on Tuesday, probably. Joe Biden is not going to talk very much about energy. It doesn't seem to be a big winner for him. Do you have any predictions for the State of the Union?
- [40:24]
Ted Cruz
I'm going to predict what it's not going to be. It's not going to be honest. If Joe Biden were honest, he would stand up and say, the state of the union, thanks to the Biden administration's policies, is weaker in every respect than it was a year ago. If Joe Biden were honest, he would say, we spent trillions of dollars, we racked up trillions in debt, and that has produced galloping inflation that is hurting Americans across the country. If Joe Biden were honest, he would say, we refuse to enforce the law. And the result was the worst illegal immigration in 61 years. As 2 million people entered this country as a result of our policies, we saw more crime, we saw more children being physically and sexually assaulted. We saw more disease, and we saw more poverty. If he was being honest, he would say, as a result of our illegal and unconstitutional vaccine mandates, we've seen doctors fired. We've seen nurses fired. We've seen police officers and firefighters fired. I've been the one firing soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines. We've seen truck drivers fired as a result, if he were being honest of my giving in to the radical socialist left, we've seen police officers and police forces across the country undermine. We've seen crime rates skyrocket, murder rates skyrocket, rocket carjacking rates skyrocket. And all of that is just domestic. If you look abroad, every region of the world. As a result of the Biden administration's weakness, every region's gotten worse. We abandoned Afghanistan to the Taliban. We abandoned Ukraine to Russia. We are in the process of abandoning Taiwan to China, and we're trying to give the Ayatollah and Iran a nuclear weapon. If he were being honest, he would say it was a mistake. When I gave in to the radical left, when I was running For President in 2020, I campaigned as a moderate, as a centrist, and then I gave control of the agenda to Bernie Sanders, to aoc, to Elizabeth Warren. And that was a mistake. I apologize. And I'm going to go back to doing what I told the American people I would do in the election. The chances that he does that, I think, are 0.0%. But that would be an honest state of the union.
- [42:52]
Michael Knowles
If Joe Biden were honest. Senator, if my aunt had cojones, she would be my uncle. So I don't think we're gonna look forward to that speech.
- [43:00]
Ted Cruz
And in today's world, Michael, she can be both.
- [43:02]
Michael Knowles
She might be. She might be. On that note, Senator, we must bring in our friend Liz Wheeler. Liz, what are you gonna be talking about on the Verdict community series, the Cloakroom.
- [43:16]
Ted Cruz
And actually, before Liz starts, can I ask you something? Liz? Liz, can I ask, just for the record, you are neither Michael's aunt nor uncle, is that right?
- [43:26]
That is correct. And nor can I change my gender. Michael, the question that you asked me, what are we gonna talk about in the cloakroom? It's a little hard to know what following. Following a comment and interaction like that. It's a. It's like following. You're asking me essentially to follow. To follow the headliner here. Senator, we have a great conversation for the Cloakroom over on Verdict. Plus, as you know, anybody who wants to join us can join us on verdict with TedCruz.com plus you can use promo code Cloakroom to get one month free on an annual subscription. Today, we're gonna be talking about two interesting controversies, the first being pro golfer Phil Mickelson was flirting with the idea of backing an alternative. An alternative PGA Tour. An alternative to the PGA Tour with the Saudis. And this has caused quite the kerfuffle. So we're gonna talk about that. We're also gonna talk about former Attorney General Bill Barr. He's writing a book called One Damn Thing after the Other. And is this another John Bolton book where the attorney general might trash Trump? It appears that it might be. So. So we're gonna discuss both of those things as I said. Join us on verdict with TedCruz promo code Cloakroom for one month free on your annual subscription. It's gonna be a good conversation.
- [44:38]
Michael Knowles
Well, I can't wait to hear the conversation. I can't wait to read the former attorney general's book because if it does turn out to be a bad book, we totally, we never had him on this show. It was never a very popular episode of Verdict. Do not pay no attention to that. I look forward to it, Liz. In the meantime, I'm Michael Knowles. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.
- [45:01]
Ted Cruz
Foreign.
- [45:06]
Liz Wheeler
This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs, Freedom and Security pac, 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.