Mexico & Canada CAVE, Trump Stands up to Iran & DOGE Halts Shocking Government Waste

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson - Episode Summary Release Date: February 5, 2025

In this compelling episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson engages in a robust discussion with Senator Ted Cruz, delving into significant developments in U.S. foreign policy, national security, and government accountability. The episode, titled "Mexico & Canada CAVE, Trump Stands up to Iran & DOGE Halts Shocking Government Waste," provides listeners with in-depth analysis and exclusive insights into the Trump administration's recent actions and their broader implications.

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1. Swift Resolution of Tariffs on Mexico and Canada

The conversation kicks off with an examination of the Trump administration's strategic imposition of 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Ben Ferguson humorously references Senator Cruz's initial projection, noting, "[...] you said that Canada and Mexico would cave in 36 days, and it was only 36 hours" ([00:01]).

Senator Cruz elaborates on the rapid response from Mexico and Canada, emphasizing the immediate concessions made to secure U.S. borders and combat drug trafficking. He states, "Both countries [Mexico and Canada] immediately said, no, we can't take these tariffs. We'll do whatever you want to secure the border. It is a huge victory for keeping America safe" ([00:26]). This swift compliance underscores the effectiveness of the tariffs as leverage, demonstrating the administration's ability to enforce policy swiftly and decisively.

2. Differentiating Tariffs: North America vs. China

Senator Cruz differentiates between the tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada versus those on China. He explains, "The Chinese tariffs, the 10% tariffs I believe will continue the entire Trump presidency. They may even go higher. That's an additional 10% on Chinese goods above and beyond the existing tariffs that I expect to be long standing Trump policy" ([04:25]). In contrast, the tariffs on Mexico and Canada were designed as temporary measures to extract specific concessions, highlighting a tailored approach to international trade policy.

3. Enhancing U.S. Foreign Policy Credibility

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the importance of credibility in foreign policy. Cruz asserts, "When you have weakness in the commander in chief, it makes America at much greater peril" ([10:34]). He praises President Trump for restoring deterrence and ensuring that both allies and adversaries recognize the U.S. commitment to its promises. This renewed strength is depicted as a cornerstone for advancing American interests globally and negotiating from a position of power.

4. U.S. Withdrawal from UN Bodies

Transitioning to international organizations, the episode covers President Trump's executive orders withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council and cutting funding for UNRWA. Cruz defends these moves, stating, "The UN Human Rights Council has been viciously anti American, viciously anti Israel, unwra... they had actual Hamas terrorists on their payroll" ([17:11]). The administration’s actions are portrayed as efforts to eliminate support for organizations perceived as biased or complicit in anti-American activities, reinforcing an "America First" stance.

5. President Trump's Stance on Iran and National Security

A pivotal moment in the episode features President Trump's strong rhetoric against Iran. When addressing threats against his life, Trump declares, "If they [Iran] do it, they get obliterated. That would include Iran. So I'm signing this, and it's a very powerful document" ([12:27]). Senator Cruz supports this stance, emphasizing the necessity of credible deterrence to protect national security. He aligns this with his philosophy as a "non-interventionist hawk," advocating for military action only when vital national interests are at stake.

6. Halting Government Waste with DOGE and Elon Musk

The latter part of the episode shifts focus to domestic governance, highlighting Elon Musk and DOGE's initiatives to curtail government waste. Cruz commends Musk's efforts, noting, "Elon Musk is doing a fantastic job. He is working around the clock at Doge and really focused on reining in government spending and reining in the absolute abuse" ([23:15]). Specific examples of wasteful spending by USAID are cited, including funds allocated to controversial programs in Serbia, Guatemala, Egypt, and Afghanistan. These expenditures are portrayed as ideologically driven and detrimental to American taxpayers.

7. Democratic Criticism and Defense of Conservative Initiatives

The discussion also touches on the backlash from Democrats against these austerity measures. Cruz critiques Democratic responses, particularly targeting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's remarks on Elon Musk, who she described as "unintelligent" ([26:45]). He defends Musk’s intelligence and the importance of his role in exposing and mitigating government waste, dismissing liberal criticisms as unfounded and ideologically motivated.

8. Conclusion: Upholding American Values and Fiscal Responsibility

Ben Ferguson wraps up the episode by reinforcing the administration's commitment to "standing up for your tax dollars" and ensuring they are not misused by foreign or anti-American entities. The conversation underscores a broader narrative of restoring American strength, integrity, and fiscal responsibility both domestically and internationally.

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Key Takeaways

• Effective Use of Tariffs: The Trump administration successfully leveraged tariffs to obtain swift concessions from Mexico and Canada, enhancing border security and combating drug trafficking.

• Strengthened Foreign Policy Credibility: President Trump’s decisive actions have restored deterrence, positioning the U.S. as a formidable and reliable partner on the global stage.

• Accountability in International Organizations: Withdrawing from biased UN bodies reflects a commitment to eliminating support for organizations that undermine American interests.

• National Security Prioritization: Strong rhetoric and policies against threats from Iran exemplify the administration’s dedication to safeguarding national security.

• Combating Government Waste: Initiatives led by Elon Musk and DOGE are effectively identifying and reducing wasteful government spending, ensuring taxpayer money is utilized appropriately.

• Political Polarization: The episode highlights the ongoing ideological battles, with conservative leaders defending their policies against liberal criticisms.

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This episode of The 47 Morning Update offers a detailed and insightful analysis of key policies and actions taken by the Trump administration, framed through the lens of Senator Ted Cruz’s expertise. It provides listeners with a comprehensive understanding of current political dynamics, national security concerns, and efforts to promote fiscal responsibility within the U.S. government.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, welcome. It is the Verdict with Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, I gotta say, you were right, but you were kind of like a really long, you know, big cast that you said of Annette over the time frame. You said that Canada and Mexico would cave in 36 days, and it was only 36 hours. Like, I need you to narrow that window down next time.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, it was a stunning victory, a victory for the United States, a victory for President Trump. We predicted on Monday's podcast that the tariffs that had been announced against Mexico and against Canada that they would be lifted. And we predicted the reason they would be lifted is that both Mexico and Canada would cave to President Trump's demands and would lean in vigorously to help us secure our borders. You're right. We got the timeframe wrong. I said that within 36 days the tariffs would be lifted. It was, as you noted, 36 hours. They immediately said, no, we can't take these tariffs. We'll do whatever you want to secure the border. It is a huge victory for keeping America safe. Secondly, this week we had Prime Minister Netanyahu from Israel in the United States meeting with President Trump. President Trump directly made major news on multiple fronts, including announcing that he was the. The United States is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council is cutting off funding for unwra, and President Trump addressed the threats of Iran to try to assassinate him. It was powerful and it demonstrated real strength. And finally, Doge, Elon Musk and Doge, I gotta say I'm excited about Doge. I'm excited about what they're doing. They're already highlighting and going after incredible waste, incredible abuse throughout our government system. And I gotta say that the Democrats are lighting their hair on fire. They're running around in absolute terror. We're going to break that all down for you.

[Ben Ferguson]

I tell you, the pace that they are getting things done is, is one that is amazing. It's why we love doing this show. So I will remind you, make sure you hit that subscriber auto download button because there is so much that's breaking. We don't want you to miss a single episode. So hit that subscribe or auto download button wherever you are listening to this podcast right now because we will be doing, I have a feeling, a lot of, quote, emergency pods when there is really big breaking news on other days that are not on normal days, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, that we do this show. Let me take a moment and tell you about what's happening in Israel. And after more than a year of war, tear and pain in Israel there is still a great demand for basic humanitarian aid. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has supported and continues to support those in the Holy Land still facing the lingering horrors of war and those who are desperate for your help right now. Your gift today will provide critically needed aid to communities in north and the south devastated by this ongoing war. Your generous donation will help deliver help to those in need, including evacuees and refugees from the war torn areas, first responders and volunteers and wounded soldiers, elderly Holocaust survivors, families who have lost loved ones and lost all of their belongings. And that is where you can give hope during this time of incredible uncertainty. So to give a gift to bless Israel and her people, you can do that by visiting supportifcj.org that is one word, support. Ifcj.org you can also call them 888-488ifcj. That's 888-488ifcj 888-488-4325 or supportifcj.org so Senator, we talked about this and you said it spot on. Donald Trump knew what he was doing with the tariffs. He, he knew not a 5% or 10% or 12% tariff was probably not going to get it done. He needed to go heavy handed. He went 25% on Mexico, 25% on Canada. And he, and he didn't flinch. He signed the executive order and said, you know, your move, Canada, your move, Mexico. And both countries, not only did they flinch, but they said, let us help you secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl at the same time.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, and one of the things to understand, we talked about this at length in Monday's podcast. I think there's a real difference between the tariffs President Trump announced on Mexico and Canada and the tariffs he announced on China, the tariffs on Mexico and Canada. President Trump uses tariffs as leverage to get concessions on other issues that matter to America. And I think with Mexico and Canada, that's what he was doing. Separately, President Trump also believes in tariffs. He believes in them as a source of revenue for the federal government. And he believes in them in terms of supporting US Manufacturing and production. And what we said on Monday's podcast is the Chinese tariffs. The 10% tariffs I believe will continue the entire Trump presidency. They may even go higher. That's an additional 10% on Chinese goods above and beyond the existing tariffs that I expect to be long standing Trump policy. The Mexican and Canadian tariffs. And it was 25% on all Mexican goods, 25% on all Canadian goods, except for energy exports and Energy exports from Canada, it was just 10%. That was designed, as I said on Monday, to bring Canada and Mexico to the bargaining table and to force them to make real concessions. And what I predicted is they would do that, and in particular, that Mexico would deploy thousands of troops to the border to help us secure the border. Well, within hours on Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, announced that she'd struck a deal with Trump to pause the tariffs only for a month. So he hasn't eliminated them from a possibility, but he's paused them for a month in exchange for her promise to, number one, deploy 10,000 Mexican troops to secure the border, and number two, to tighten cooperation on drugs and weapon trafficking, and number three, to further negotiations on border security and trade. And so that was the concession that. That Mexico made. Canada made similar concessions. Canada said likewise, that they were going to lean in and assist on stopping illegal immigration across our northern border. They were going to lean in and join us in fighting against fentanyl trafficking. And Canada did the same thing. Canada put out an announcement that they were implementing a $1.3 billion border plan with new choppers, technology, personnel, and they said that they're also deploying 10,000 frontline personnel working on protecting the border. And beyond that, Canada's prime minister said that he's going to appoint a fentanyl czar to lead the fight against fentanyl. And Canada also designated the Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. And. And a Canada U.S. joint Strike Force was launched to fight organized crime and fentanyl and money laundering. What happened with both Mexico and Canada is exactly what the president anticipated. Now, to be clear, the president delayed these tariffs only for a month. I think that is very much embodying Reagan's old adage of trust but verify. Okay? They've committed to lean in and help. Now they need to do it if they don't want these tariffs to go into. Into effect. And look, the tariffs, if they went into effect, they would hurt US Consumers, but they'd hurt Canada and Mexico much more because their trade with us US Is a much, much bigger percentage of their economy than it is the other way around. And that's why Trump's threat produced such rapid action.

[Ben Ferguson]

You talk about a trend, and in government, we see a lot of what I refer to as kind of BS fluff, push press releases of bipartisan this, or we're gonna get this done. And we see a lot of that happen, certainly for the last four years in the Biden Harris administration, where you name things like you Know that you're gonna do and fix and everything's gonna be amazing and nothing comes of it. These announcements that are happening, I mean, you want to talk about significant, real changes happening with these countries. And what we're doing, just looking at the aspect of, hey, we're going to help you stop fentanyl coming into your country, and we're going to work with you, and we're going to do all of these things and we're going to put money and resources. This is a significant win for keeping people safe in this country from the drugs as well.

[Ted Cruz]

It is. And, you know, today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, we had a hearing on the fentanyl Crisis, and over 100,000Americans died last year of drug overdoses. It is an enormous crisis, and we've got to stop it. The vast majority of it is coming across our southern border. It's coming from China, it's coming from Mexican drug cartels. A significant part of it is coming from Canada as well. And so I think what the President is doing is he's acting on the mandate from the voters. The voters want a secure border, and he's acting on it. And I gotta say, a lot of the pundits, they got very upset at these threatened tariffs. I'll note this is exactly the strategy President Trump employed in his first term. In his first term, when he threatened 25% tariffs against Mexico, I expressed real concerns that if he implemented those tariffs, it would hurt Texas and hurt America, and it would. But what we saw is that Mexico blinked that in the face of the threat, it proved to be leveraged. So this time around, I was not dismayed by the threat because we'd seen that it produced success, and it produced success again, although this time it produced success even faster than you and I had predicted.

[Ben Ferguson]

One other question on this, and that is, moving forward, what message does this send to other countries that we may be going into negotiations with? Things are changing quickly. This isn't just a success on the standpoint of our northern, southern border. This is going to have huge ramifications for other countries think they can mess with us.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, there is a credibility of deterrence. One of the real differences. When Joe Biden was president, our enemies were not afraid of him. They didn't fear him. Our allies didn't trust him. Nobody thought he was a credible threat. And that's one of the reasons why our enemies walked all over us, all over the country. That when you have weakness in the commander in chief, it makes America at much greater peril with Donald Trump, our enemies are terrified of him, and even our friends and allies, they understand that when he makes a threat, he'll follow through on that threat. And that credibility is incredibly valuable if America is going to be fighting and negotiating to advance American interest. It is important for other countries to understand that the president will follow through on what he says he will. And I think this past week really underscores it. And you put it on top of what happened last week with Colombia, where Colombia said, we're not going to take illegal aliens that are coming back to Colombia from America. And Trump immediately did the same thing. He announced 25% tariffs. He said he'd ratchet it up to 50% shortly thereafter, and Colombia caved within eight hours. That credibility, the next time we're in a showdown with a foreign country, they're going to understand that President Trump is not bluffing.

[Ben Ferguson]

This brings us back to national security and an international issue, and it deals with Iran. And I want to move to that because Donald Trump says that he was asked in the Oval Office, in fact, I just want to play it about these real threats from Iran on his life. And this is what he said in response.

[Donald Trump]

Why say he's unhappy to sign it if it's Iran and their proxies who have threatened to retaliate against you and your team by killing you guys for taking out Soleimani?

Well, they haven't done that. And that would be a terrible thing for them to do, not because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I've left instructions. If they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left, and they shouldn't be able to do it. And Biden should have said that, but he never did. I don't know why. Lack of intelligence, perhaps, but he never said it. If that happens to a leader or close to a leader, frankly, if you had other people involved also, you would call for total obliteration of a state that did it. That would include Iran. So I'm signing this, and it's a very powerful document, but hopefully we're not going to have to use.

[Ben Ferguson]

That was a pretty interesting and I would also say historic moment in this presidency, the second term. He's making it very clear, not only can we block Iranian oil sales as he was talking about, and ratcheting that up, but if they come after me or my people, like, first of all, they take me out, their whole country's gone.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look. And I think that was exactly the right thing. To say. But I think it's also important to understand, you know, as we start this second Trump term, there are a lot of people that are trying to read their own policy agendas on to the Trump administration when it comes to foreign policy. You and I on this podcast have talked a lot about how Republican foreign policy is divided really into two camps. You have the isolationists who want to withdraw back behind our borders and ignore the rest of the world. And you have the interventionists who I think have never seen a country they didn't want to invade. And a lot of people, when they think of Republican foreign policy, they think in a very binary term. You're either an isolationist or you're an interventionist. Now, I've long rejected both of those camps. I think both of them are wrong. I describe myself as a non interventionist hawk. What that means is I think we should be exceptionally reluctant to use US Military force. I don't want to send our sons and daughters into combat unless absolutely necessary. The only reason to do so should be to protect the vital national security interest of the United States, to keep Americans safe. That means we should be incredibly reluctant to invade other countries. It's worth noting, in eight years, the biggest country Ronald Reagan ever invaded was Grenada. Yeah, but there are some people who have been saying in the second Trump term that, that Trump's foreign policy is isolationist, that he's just withdrawing from everything. And it's worth noting, that was not Trump's policy the first term. He killed General Soleimani, the leader in Iran, who was responsible for murdering over 600American servicemen and women. Killing General Soleimani was exactly the right thing to do. And I gotta say, President Trump's foreign policy, the first term very much was the coterminous with my philosophy of being a non interventionist hawk. And that's not entirely an accident. I spent thousands of hours talking with President Trump and urging him to make the foreign policy decisions that he did. This is exactly right. When it comes to Iran, a nuclear Iran, I think, is an existential threat to Israel. I think it is an enormous threat to America and Iran threatening to murder the President of the United States. Trump is right. The way you respond to that is with absolute, credible deterrence that they will be obliterated. And for everyone that wants to read isolationism onto President Trump, I think today illustrates that is not where he is.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's a great point. And we talked about this. And let's go back to this kind of American first policy and looking at where our dollars are going. If there's anything that we're seeing a trend and a theme coming out of the first two weeks of the Trump administration is that they're saying, we're going to stand up for your tax dollars. We're going to make sure they're not being abused or sent to people that are actively working against the United States of America. If you're new to this show, we really did a lot on deep dives on the money that goes to UNRA and where this money was going, not just against our interests, but we're going towards people that were clearly terrorists. We talked about it, we exposed it on this show. I would encourage people go back and find those episodes and listen to them. If you haven't subscribed the show, this is when you hit that button right now, because this is some things we talk about way in advance. And now, months after we talked about it, President Trump has signed an executive order withdrawing from anti American UN organizations. This is incredible.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, this is a president and a commander in chief who is standing up for America and standing up to anti American institutions. The UN Human Rights Council has been viciously anti American, viciously anti Israel, unwra, unra, look, was, was complicit in funding Hamas terrorists. In fact, they had actual Hamas terrorists on their payroll. And so the president rightly withdrew America from the UN Human Rights Council, but also cut off funding American funding for unrwa. That was exactly the right thing to do. He was asked about that today at the White House. And listen to what President Trump said on this.

[Donald Trump]

In light of numerous actions taken by a number of bodies of the United nations which exhibit a deep anti American bias, we have an executive order prepared for your attention that would withdraw the United States from the UN Human Rights Council, would withdraw the United States from the unrwa, which is a refugee organization, and would also review American involvement in UNESCO, which has also exhibited anti American bias more generally. The executive order calls for a review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries that, as you've expressed previously, is deeply unfair to the United States.

So I've always felt that the UN has tremendous potential. It's not living up to that potential right now. It really isn't. Hasn't for a long time. It has. There are great hopes for it, but it's not being well run, to be honest. And they're not doing a lot of these conflicts that we're working on should be settled or at least we should have some help in settling them. We never seem to get help. That should be the primary purpose of the un, the United Nations. And again, it's got great potential. And based on the potential, we'll continue to go along with it. But they've got to get their act together.

[Ben Ferguson]

What would they need to do sort.

[Ted Cruz]

Of get their act together?

[Donald Trump]

Well, you got to be fair to countries that deserve fairness. They have some countries, as you know, that are outliers, that are very bad, and they're being almost preferred as countries to those that do their job and are doing a good job. And they have to really. They're going to end up losing a lot of countries are going to end up losing their credibility like other organizations, and then they're going to be nothing. The potential of the United nations, and not everybody agrees with me on this, the potential of the United nations is fantastic if properly run. So we'll see what happens.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, you hear him, he's telling the world, you mess with us, you screw with us, and you have organizations that are corrupt like this. Don't expect America to stay involved, no matter what the president has been beforehand.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, we're not going to foot the bill. We're not going to write the checks to fund people that are actively undermining Americans, that are undermining our allies. And this is. This is creating an incentive. It's creating an incentive, number one, for our allies to stand with America, that there's upside to standing with the United States. But at number two, it's creating real disincentives for our enemies to move against us. Because there are real consequences, negative consequences, and that's what a president should do. And I got a note, Ben. Every single thing Donald Trump is doing is 180 degrees the opposite of what Joe Biden did. Joe Biden undermined our allies and showed weakness and appeasement to our enemies. And it's why the foreign policy and national security scene became such an utter mess, utter chaos, wars across the globe. Because weakness doesn't work. And this is President Trump demonstrating strength. That's what we want and expect in our president.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

Well, I gotta say, Elon Musk is doing a fantastic job. He is working around the clock at Doge and really focused on reining in government spending and reining in the absolute abuse, the abuse that you would never see in a private company, but yet in government is commonplace and is a result of politicians funding their own political hobby horse, their own political pet project. And so I gotta say, one of the areas that Doge and the new White House has done is freeze funding at usaid. And Democrats in the media have been losing their minds over this, have been lighting their hair on fire. In fact, a bunch of Democrats went to the USAID offices to storm the offices this week, which was really pretty ridiculous. But they're very, very upset about it.

[Ben Ferguson]

They're not upset, by the way, about the abuse of the money and the fraud at all. They're just upset that they've lost their power. Right?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, they're Upset that the abuse is stopping. But you know, when reporters have asked me about it, I've said, listen, the President got a mandate from the American people and part of the mandate is to stop the out of control spending and debt. And USAID engages in all sorts of abuse. Let me give you some of the examples. USAID spent $1.5 million for advancing DEI in Serbia's workplaces. They spent $2 million for sex changes in Guatemala. They spent $6 million for tourism in Egypt. They paid for, quote, hundreds of thousands of meals that went to Al Qaeda affiliated fighters in Syria. They gave funding for the production of opium, the primary ingredient in heroin in Afghanistan, which benefited the Taliban.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

They spent $1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become quote, climate leaders. They spent $1 million for Hamas linked charity and they spent $15 million for, for contraceptives and condoms in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. This is all nonsense. This is a waste. And there's a reason Elon Musk is going after it. There's a reason President Trump is going after it and there's a reason Democrats in the press are horrified that this gravy train is stopping.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is a gravy train and it's a very, very big one that's costing taxpayers massive amounts of money. Elon Musk said early on that he thought there was probably like 10% waste in our government. He's now changing those numbers. I want to get your reaction. He's saying it could be well above 20%.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, there's massive waste and it is by design. Understand it's not just that they picked things out of a hat. These are all ideological. This is the agenda of the radical left. They're funding the agenda of the radical left. But it shouldn't be the taxpayers paying for this nonsense. And let me give you an example of one of the ones that I found frankly funniest. AOC Alexandria Ocasio Cortez went off on Elon Musk this week and listen to what she says. Her argument is that Elon Musk is a dummy. Give a listen.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]

This dude is probably one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met or seen are witnessed, which, you know, you can probably even glean that from watching these people on tv. Anyways, all of that is to say is that they don't do their homework clearly. Like they're putting 19 year olds in at the treasury. This dude is not smart. And the danger in the lack of intelligence and the lack of expertise that Elon has, I mean this guy is One of the most morally vacant, but also just least knowledgeable about these systems that we really know of. But the point is, is that what that means is that they're going to hit a button. Inevitably they are going to hit a button, and things can go side.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, this is one of those moments where you actually get to watch the. The, you know what, the sausage being made in her brain. She's making it up and pausing as she goes to try to figure out a way to hit a guy that's having massive success at saving taxpayers dollars.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, I gotta say, I laughed out loud when I. When I listened to that and watched that. It should be a Saturday Night Live skit. Of course, Saturday Night Live wouldn't actually make fun of liberals, so they wouldn't show it. But listen, you can criticize Elon Musk on all sorts of fronts, but the one front you can't criticize him on is being a dummy. I've spent a ton of time with Elon. Listen, I've been blessed, Ben. I have known a lot of brilliant people. I've known Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice William Rehnquist. I have known brilliant, brilliant scientists and world leaders. And I believe Elon Musk, this is without exaggeration, is the most brilliant man I've ever met. I've spent a lot of time with Elon. If you think about the distribution of intelligence, you assume roughly 8 billion people on planet Earth, intelligence is distributed along a bell curve. Someone is at the bleeding edge of that bell curve. And I think Elon Musk is that person. And I mean, I've sat with him for two, three, three and a half hours talking with him. And it's fascinating watching his brain work, because the guy, it's not even that he thinks outside the box. He doesn't know there is a box. And so listening to AOC say he's unintelligent, I gotta say, it reminded me of a scene from my favorite movie.

[Ben Ferguson]

I know where we're going with this one.

[Ted Cruz]

And so give a listen to what AOC was saying. And she was really. She was channel. Give a listen. You're that smart. Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?

[Donald Trump]

Yes.

[Ted Cruz]

Morons.

[Donald Trump]

Really?

[Ted Cruz]

So that's aoc Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Elon Musk, morons. Aoc she knows what's right.

[Ben Ferguson]

There you go. Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button on those. In between days, grab my podcast. I'll keep you up to date on the breaking news, the Ben Ferguson podcast. Wherever you get your podcast, write us that five star review. We ask you to do that. Why? It helps us reach new hearts and minds. When we go on the charts and the show moves up, people see it and they listen. And that's how we change hearts and minds in this country. That's when we ask you to do that. And the senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.