Oops-Biden Pretends his Open Borders were an Accident, plus Fauci Defiant & Denying

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Oops-Biden Pretends his Open Borders were an Accident, plus Fauci Defiant & Denying"

Release Date: June 5, 2024
Podcast: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Senator Ted Cruz

---

1. Introduction to Border Security and Executive Actions

The episode opens with Ben Ferguson welcoming Senator Ted Cruz to discuss recent developments in U.S. border security. The primary focus is on President Joe Biden's newly announced executive actions aimed at tightening the U.S.-Mexico border, actions that Biden previously claimed were beyond his authority.

Key Quote:
Ben Ferguson [00:01]: "Senator, finally we've got some real action from the President of the United States of America on the border with executive actions that he said he could never do."

2. President Biden's Executive Order on Border Security

Senator Cruz criticizes Biden's timing and motives behind the executive order, pointing out that it emerges five months before the upcoming election. He argues that Biden's administration has a history of undermining border security, leading to the current crisis.

Key Points:

• Contradiction in Biden's Stance: Cruz highlights Biden's shift from claiming inability to act on border issues to now enforcing strict measures.
• Historical Context: Cruz asserts that Biden inherited a relatively low rate of illegal immigration but deliberately reversed successful policies like the "remain in Mexico" agreement and halted border wall construction, resulting in a surge of illegal crossings.
• Deliberate Policy Failure: According to Cruz, Biden's administration intentionally allowed the border situation to deteriorate to benefit future Democratic voter demographics.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [04:58]: "Every day he's been in the White House, he's been lying. He could have enacted an executive order. Actually, he didn't need to understand."

Senator Ted Cruz [07:08]: "We have seen people dying across this country. We've seen children being brutalized. We've seen women being raped. All of that is your fault."

3. Political Motives and Election Predictions

Cruz predicts that Biden's executive order is a strategic move to appear proactive before the election. He anticipates only a modest drop in border crossings, which the administration will use to claim success, despite underlying political motivations.

Key Points:

• Short-Term Impact: Cruz believes the executive order will lead to a temporary decrease in illegal immigration figures, which Biden's administration will tout as a significant achievement.
• Long-Term Consequences: He warns that if Biden wins re-election, border numbers will spike again, continuing the perceived "invasion" to maintain Democratic power.
• Media Complicity: Cruz criticizes mainstream media for supporting Biden's narrative, suggesting they downplay the ongoing crisis.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [18:07]: "I'm predicting, and there are fairly few Republicans and conservatives who are predicting this. I'm predicting the numbers will go down between now and Election Day."

Senator Ted Cruz [09:14]: "He thinks the virus escaped from a government lab. ... And I think the majority of the evidence, this is not as strong, but I think it is greater than 50% is that this virus was deliberately created by the Chinese government."

4. Critique of Dr. Anthony Fauci's COVID-19 Policies

The discussion shifts to Dr. Anthony Fauci's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruz vehemently criticizes Fauci, labeling him as a significant detriment to American public health and scientific integrity.

Key Points:

• Policy Failures: Cruz condemns Fauci for advocating widespread lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates despite questionable scientific backing.
• Impact on Education: He emphasizes the detrimental effects of school closures on children's education, particularly affecting minority communities.
• Lack of Accountability: Cruz accuses Fauci of refusing to acknowledge mistakes and prioritizing political agendas over scientific truth.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [26:04]: "Dr. Anthony Fauci is the most dangerous and damaging American bureaucrat in the history of the United States of America."

Senator Ted Cruz [33:10]: "He elevated politics above science. If he admitted we didn't know at the time we made those decisions, in hindsight, some of those decisions were right, some were wrong. That would be rational."

5. Interaction and Light-Hearted Banter

Amidst the intense discussion, Ben Ferguson and Senator Cruz engage in light-hearted banter about favorite beverages, specifically White Claw and Bud Light, showcasing their camaraderie and injecting humor into the conversation.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [11:10]: "You don't want to win the wager, you get a White Claw."

Ben Ferguson [12:24]: "Yeah, it's Bud Light. I can't go."

6. Senator Cruz's Upcoming Trip to Normandy

Towards the end of the episode, Senator Cruz shares his excitement about attending the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. He plans to record the next podcast episode live from the event, emphasizing the historical significance and his personal connection to the anniversary.

Key Points:

• Historical Significance: Cruz highlights the importance of commemorating the 80th anniversary as the last major event where living World War II veterans are present.
• Personal Reflection: He reflects on missing the 75th anniversary five years prior and expresses pride in his family's experiences attending games, drawing parallels between personal memories and national history.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [43:03]: "It is going to be an incredible privilege to be there with these American heroes of the greatest generation to say thank you."

Senator Ted Cruz [44:40]: "We'll see you Friday morning for that."

7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with Cruz reiterating his criticisms of the Biden administration's border policies and Fauci's role during the pandemic. He underscores the importance of holding leaders accountable and ensuring that policies are based on sound science rather than political agendas. Ben Ferguson thanks Cruz and previews the upcoming live episode from Normandy.

Key Quotes:
Senator Ted Cruz [40:09]: "He just made it up. And this was all about politics and power. And Fauci was willing to put politics and power above medicine and science."

Ben Ferguson [44:40]: "I cannot wait. Be safe on your flight over there."

---

This episode provides a critical examination of President Biden's border policies and Dr. Fauci's pandemic response, framed within the broader context of upcoming elections and political strategies. Senator Ted Cruz offers a steadfast Republican perspective, challenging the administration's actions and motivations while emphasizing accountability and adherence to factual science.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, finally we've got some real action from the President of the United States of America on the border with executive actions that he said he could never do. But now all of a sudden he's all about it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, that's exactly right. We saw yesterday a campaign speech from the White House. The president now claiming he is tough, tough, tough on the border and he's going to impose tough executive action. Now, just coincidentally, five months before an election, we're going to break that down. We're going to explain exactly what he did. We're also going to talk about Dr. Fauci. Dr. Fauci was on the Hill. Dr. Fauci was testifying. And spoiler alert, Dr. Fauci thinks every single thing we did during COVID was a great idea. Shut every damn thing down. Mask everyone down, force everyone to be vaccinated. Nevermind the science. We're going to talk about that. And finally I'm going to mention a trip that I'm taking. I'm taking today. I'm going to be flying to France. I don't go to France often, but I'm going to France today for normandy, for the 80th anniversary of D Day. I'm going to talk about that. It's going to be a great show.

[Ben Ferguson]

Want to tell you about our friends over Patriot Mobile real quick. And if you have a cell phone, a lot of you have made the switch. And I get emails now and messages on social media from people saying, ben, you weren't kidding. Patriot Mobile is incredible. They're the only conservative Christian wireless provider. And you make a difference when you make a switch because they take about 5% of your bill every month at no extra cost to you. And they give it back to organizations that support free speech, religious freedom, which is under attack in this country. And they protect the sanctity of life of unborn children. They also advocate for the second amendment as well as our military, our veterans and they help with our wounded warrior heroes in this country. Now that that is what they do when you pay your bill. But the best part is this. You're not giving your money to Big Mobile that are actually supporting liberal causes. Patriot Mobile wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Big Mobile giving massive donations to Democrats running at the local, state and national level and activist organizations, including massive donations to Planned Parenthood. If you don't want your money going there, make the switch to Patriot Mobile. It is so easy now with technology. You don't have to go to a store. You can just call them and you can switch now. I switched a lot a couple months ago and I can tell you it's never been easier. It was done over the phone quickly. I got to keep my same phone. I have the same number that I had before. It is seamless transition and when it comes to service, you're going to be on the same towers that you're used to right now. Welcome to 2024. Changing your phone, it is not hard anymore. Call Pat Patriot Mobile. Make that switch today and stand up for the values you believe in. 972-PATRIOT. That's 972-PATRIOT 972PROT. Use a promo code. Verdict. You'll get free activation or they're online at patriotmobile.com verdict that's patriot mobile.com verdict Senator Biden came out, he signed this executive order. He didn't do it at the border. He just did it, you know, at normal Washington, D.C. he's a guy that's like, hey, there's a problem down there. But it's the fault of the republic Republicans. And he said for the last three years he wasn't, he couldn't do anything. His hands were tied. It was Republicans fault. They need to pass amnesty and then get a bill together through, through Washington, through Congress. And then all of a sudden Biden comes out and signs executive order that quote will dramatically tighten the border. That's the White House said the problem is it doesn't at all.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, listen, let me focus on a couple things you said. Number one, you said he didn't do this at the border. There's a reason for that. Joe Biden doesn't go to the border. Kamala Harris doesn't go to the border. Democrat senators don't go to the border. Democrat House members don't go to the border. And the reason is if you actually see what is happening at the border, nobody can defend it. If you see the dead bodies, if you see the people who are suffering, if you see the children who are being brutalized, if you see the women who are being repeatedly raped, you cannot defend it. So he did it from Washington. This was not about immigration. This was not about policy. This was a political speech. And so today he announced boldly, we are enacting an executive order to secure the border. Now understand what he's admitting when he said that today is he's admitting he could have done this in 2021, he could have done this in 2022, he could have done this in 2023, could have done this last month, the month before, the month of four, the month before, he didn't.

[Ben Ferguson]

Are you saying that Joe Biden lied to the American people, Senator? Every day he said he couldn't do anything.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Every day he's been in the White House, he's been lying. He could have enacted an executive order. Actually, he didn't need to understand. When Joe Biden became president, January 20, 2021, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. All he had to do with nothing was nothing. He didn't even have to have an executive order. He had to do nothing and accept the success that he inherited. I worked hand in hand with Donald Trump. We had incredible success securing the border. If Biden had done nothing, he could have accepted that success. He could have worked on, like, you know, socialism or whatever other policy he had. He didn't do that. Instead, he deliberately, systematically broke the border. He did that the first week in office. There are three decisions that caused this border crisis. Number one, he immediately halted construction of the border wall, by the way. He didn't reverse that today. Number two, he reinstated the disastrous policy of catch and release. So now when people apprehend illegal immigrants, the Biden administration lets them go. He didn't change that today. Number three, he pulled out of the incredibly successful remain in Mexico agreement. That is how we achieved the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. He did not reverse that. Those three decisions took us from the lowest rate in 45 years up to the highest rate ever recorded. 11 million illegal immigrants have crossed under Joe Biden. Understand, this is deliberate. This is the outcome they want. They're willing to overlook every person who dies, every criminal who comes into this country, every terrorist who comes into this country, every child who is brutalized, every woman who is raped. All of that they're willing to overlook. Why? Because they look at 11 million illegals and they say, those are future Democrat voters and we want power. And if people have to suffer and die, we'll take that trade off. Now. Go ahead.

[Ben Ferguson]

No, my question was, you look at this and you mentioned the timing in the intro, that this is five months before election Day and the White House gonna say, no, this is significant. I go back to the headline from NBC News. It says, Biden signs executive order dramatically tightening the border. He has faced political pressure as migrants have continued to arrive at the US Mexico border, saying that this is because of the facing mounting political pressure over the migrant influx at the US Southern border. And this is significant. You're saying that the news is lying as well, because this is not significant at all.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, yes and no. Look, we're five months out from an election. I'm gonna make a prediction. We're gonna see the numbers of the border drop over the next five months. They're not gonna drop massively, they're going to drop modestly. And Joe Biden and the Democrats are going to jump up and down and say, see, we solved the problem and we've seen this game. Listen, they only have about three plays in their playbook that they're not subtle, they're not sophisticated, they're not complicated. Think before 2022. What did Biden do before the election? That he did a couple of things. Number one, right before the election, he released massive quantities of oil from the.

[Ben Ferguson]

Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an all time low, by the way, in our oil reserves and didn't care that that made us vulnerable.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He doesn't care. National security, protecting the country doesn't matter to this administration. They have consistently undermined national security from day one. But it was all designed to lower gas prices. So gas prices, the price of gasoline had doubled under Joe Biden. So he does this massive release from the sprout. Why? Because he wanted to lower gas prices and he succeeded. They lowered gas prices a little bit and then they campaigned. See, gas prices are going down. And by the way, they enjoyed some electoral success because I think in part gas, gas prices went down. Let's. I'll give another example. Student loans. Right before the election in 2022, Joe Biden announces, I'm giving away a trillion dollars. Young people, I'm giving you money. I'm Santa Claus. All you gotta do is vote for Democrats. I give you money. Now, Joe Biden knew that that was not going to survive. I promise you. Every lawyer in the administration told him, Mr. President, as President, you can't give away a trillion dollars. There's no power in the Constitution for the President to give away a trillion dollars. The only way to spend a trillion dollars is if Congress appropriates that money. They haven't done that. This will be struck down by the courts, I promise you. DOJ said that. Even the White House counsel said that. Every lawyer around Biden said this ain't going to survive. And you know what they said? We don't care. We're going to announce it. Because their view is they think young people are stupid and they think young people will be like, ooh, free stuff. Vote for Democrats. And by the way, again, 2022, they enjoyed some electoral success. Now let's be clear. Biden's done it again. He announced a brand new. I'm giving away hundreds of billions of dollars of student loans. That's going to be struck down, too. Biden knows it, but he thinks young people are morons. And so he thinks he will buy votes. And so this announcement is entirely designed. In three weeks, he's going to be debating Donald Trump.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And he's going to stand on the debate stage and he's going to say Donald. He's not going to call him Mr. President. He's calling him Donald. Donald. I just entered an executive order to secure the border because you. And he's going to blame Donald Trump. You killed the fabulous bipartisan bill that would have solved this problem. Now, every syllable of every word of that sentence is a lie. And I'm going to wager you a White Claw.

[Ben Ferguson]

I can't. Anything else. Those things are terrible.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You don't want to win the wager, you get a White Claw. What are you doing?

[Ben Ferguson]

Now for a White Claw.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That's losing, by the way, for those of you all listening, why are we wagering a White Claw? Because when I was riding in the Houston Astros victory parade for winning the World series, some lefty 20something guy threw not one, but two white claws at me. And so that's why we wager a White claw, because. And the secret is, Ben really loves the raspberry kiwi pomegranate with the umbrella White claw.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, Boone's Farm blueberry for Christmas this year.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Let me ask you something. If you admit you love white claws, does Ole Miss rescind your diploma?

[Ben Ferguson]

They should.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

They absolutely think Ole Miss would be like, you're not a graduate of our university. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong.

[Ben Ferguson]

Back a diploma. That's that. That. Yeah. That's just the blasphemy right there, my friends. Blasphemy. I would rather go with. Now, I almost said Miller Light. I take that. I mean Bud Light. I take that back. It's like a hard one between Bud Light or I'd pick white. No, it's not Bud Light.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

White Claw over Bud Light. That's not even close, dude.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's Bud Light. I can't go.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right. So so. But let me say this. And by the way, all right, I'm going to make a connection to the Houston Astros. World Series, 2022. We're winning it. I've been so. For the last seven years. The Houston Astros have been in the ALCS for seven years consecutively.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yep.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

My youngest daughter, Catherine. She's 13 now. She was seven when we won the first World Series in 2017. We have been to virtually every single home game in the playoffs for the last seven years. It's been. I gotta say, actually, as a dad, what a joy it has been to, like, take your daughter. These, these are memories. And I keep telling her she's sort of used to it. In fact, she made a comment a year or two ago. She's like, hey, dad, when are we gonna go to the play? When are we gonna go to Astros game? Because we hadn't been in a while.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I made a comment. I felt incredibly embarrassed as soon as I said it. I said, we'll wait to the playoffs. And I, like, stopped. And I'm like, catherine, oh, my goodness, I'm tempting the baseball guys. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Like, I immediately told her, but I'm going to tell you another Catherine comment, which you'll really like. So 2022, and. And you know my girls very, very well.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yep.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But 2022, so ALCs, we're getting ready to head, and you had the Yankees in Cleveland playing. And Catherine asked me, she said, okay, who do we want to win? Because we'd already made it to the lcs and the Yankees in Cleveland were still playing. And I said, well, the Yankees are better. So if we want to say what maximizes the chance of the Astros winning, we probably want Cleveland. And Catherine, at age 11, I think it was, she said, dad, no, if we're gonna win, I wanna beat the best. I want the Yankees to win and I wanna beat them. And I gotta tell you, as a dad, I don't know that there's been a moment I've been more proud of that girl. I'm like, that is my daughter. That's stout.

[Ben Ferguson]

See, that's when you know, you raise them right, right there. You just gotta get them addicted to sports and your home team.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, to be clear, the Yankees won. And then we swept them in four games. And I went to Yankee Stadium for game four and we beat them in Yankee Stadium. And I was in bright orange Astros colors and it was glorious. And I will say, by the way, we have a crap ton of listeners on Verdict who live in New York. I'm sorry, but as Houstonian, I take great joy in our beating the Yankees.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's the best part about going, hey, trust me, they gave you enough high fives in the air, right? You know, I had it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I had at least 200 New Yorkers. Suggests that I do something anatomically impossible.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, that's when you know you're at a playoff game and I'm in bright.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Orange, and I'm just smiling, and all I say is I point up and I'd say, scoreboard. And they're just like, ah. I'm like, I hope you enjoy watching the World Series on tv. Now, I will say this right now, the Astro season is less than optimal, so maybe they turn it around, but it's not feeling like a fantastic year right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, I gotta ask you two questions real quick about the border. One of them. And. And I want to know your thoughts, because I. I'm genuinely torn on this. You NBC News. They came out and they're like, hey, this executive order from Biden is one that probably isn't going to have that big of an impact. And at first I'm like, wow, they're telling the truth. But then there was a second part of this in my mind, and I want to know your thoughts. Is this NBC News carrying water for the White House? To those that are angry that. That Biden would even think about using executive action, that looks like something, quote, Trump would have done. Right? Or did. That's a better way of putting it. And so they're trying to kind of wink and nod to the. To the hardcore extremist base of his movement that, hey, guys, don't worry. This is all for the cameras. This is all for show. This isn't actually to secure the border. We're fine. We're going to keep flooding America. And I want your response after I play it.

[NBC Reporter]

Listen, based on the details of this executive order and how it actually functions that we've learned so far today, I actually have to say I'm quite skeptical that this is going to have any kind of immediate, widespread, dramatic impact on the border, on the number of migrants who are crossing the border, and on the number of migrants who manage to stay in the United States as a result. And there's a few complicated reasons for that, but the main one is that I and a lot of other people were expecting that this authority to, quote, unquote, close down the border was going to be dependent on the United States being able to summarily expel migrants with no due process, no access to the asylum system immediately back into Mexico shortly after they cross. That does not appear to be the case, mainly because Mexico has not agreed to accept any more migrants than it already does. Mexico has pretty strict, you know, specific requirements on the number of migrants that it accepts and on the nationality of migrants that it accepts. And the US Cannot simply return people to Mexico without maximum Mexico's active participation.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's weird because, like, all right, they're telling the truth, but is it because they want the Biden supporters to know, hey, don't worry, this is all fake?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I think that's actually a little too cynical. And I'll rarely say that I actually think the NBC reporter was telling the truth there. I think he was saying, this is not going to be effective. And I'm going to make a prediction. I'm actually going to make a prediction that's going to surprise you. I think this order will be marginally more effective than NBC just said it would be.

[Ben Ferguson]

Really.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And here's why. We're five months out from an election. I think the Biden administration wants the numbers at the border to drop. And I think what we're going to see is we're going to see a drop. I'm going to make a prediction. We're going to see a drop in illegal immigration of 20%, enough that they can say the president took bold action and delivered results and understand he controls this.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The reason we have an invasion is because Joe Biden and the Democrats wanted it so he can reduce the numbers. And I think he's going to direct his Homeland Security Department for the next five months. Stop letting as many illegals go. Now, to be clear, if, God forbid, Biden wins in November, the numbers will skyrocket immediately. They want this invasion. They want 11 million to become 15 million, become 20 million, to become 30 million, because they view it as, this is how we, the Democrats, stay in power forever. So this is a short. It's like gas prices. It's like student loans. It's a short little burst right before the election that they're gambling. Number one, they know the corporate media will lie and say, oh, Biden solved the border. But number two, they're hoping that voters who are not engaged will be deceived by this. So I am predicting, and there are fairly few Republicans and conservatives who are predicting this. I'm predicting the numbers will go down between now and Election Day. But it is purely political camouflage designed to fool the voters. And I don't think it's gonna work. I think the American people are actually quite savvy. I don't think they're stupid.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And they've seen the crime that has come with illegal immigrants as well. They've seen it that every major city in America now is a border city now.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So let me jump in on that, Ben, you look at this week, you had two New York police officers who were shot and they were shot by an illegal immigrant that Joe Biden released. And this was a Venezuelan. He was a Venezuelan illegal immigrant. His name was Bernardo Raul Castro Mata. Now this is a name out of Charles Dickens. Mata is Spanish for he kills. His middle name is literally a communist murdering dictator. He's named after Raul Castro. This Venezuelan illegal immigrant came to America, came to Texas. He was apprehended at Eagle Pass. Now, if Joe Biden and the Democrats had just said, we're going to follow the law, they would put him on a plane, they will send him back to Venezuela. They didn't do that. They let him go. He went to New York and he shot two police officers. By the way, Joe Biden could have entered this executive order a month ago or two months ago or three months ago or four months ago or five months ago or three years ago and he could have prevented this individual from being released. He didn't do that. He could have prevented Lake and Riley from being murdered. He didn't do that. He could have prevented Jeremy Caceres being murdered. He didn't do that. But they, because Biden has the control over the dialogue, he is going to reduce the numbers enough that the press can claim Biden has solved the problem. It will be a lie, but they're going to say it.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's a great point. I want to talk to you real quick about chalk. I, about a year ago started taking chalk and I can tell you it is truly incredible. I am now down about £60 from where I was a little over a year ago. And it has been a huge, huge help in getting back my strength and vitality. If you look at what's happened, it's very clear testosterone levels are off a chart right now. They're historically off a cliff at an all time low. And if you feel like you've got a little bit over older and you feel like you've got a weakness and complacency that have just set in, like you want to work out but you're having a hard time getting just the energy to work out, maybe you want to go play a sport and you just don't feel like you have that energy to do it anymore, that is where you need to check out chalk and what they can do. The problem is, like I said, men's testosterone levels are off a cliff. Historically, the patriots at chalk spelled C H O Q are here helping real American men take back their right to maximize your masculinity by boosting your testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Now, I said a minute ago, I've been taking this now for over a year. It is manufactured right here in the US Of A. Chalk's natural herbal supplements are clinically proven to have game changing effects. And I'm a witness to this. I am proof of it on your energy, on your focus, on your mood. So if you're ready to get off the couch, you're ready to get back to feeling a little bit younger. Maximize your masculinity [e-mail] use the promo code Ben for a massive discount on any subscription. For life, just go to choq.com code ben for lifetime savings on any subscription. Limited time offer and subscriptions are cancelable at any time. Choq.com promo code Ben for massive savings. Senator, one, one final question. What approach do you think Donald Trump should take in the debate coming up about this executive action? Does he come at the president and say, look, this is the bare minimum still that you could have done. You're playing politics. If you were serious about it, you would have reimplemented building the wall. If you were serious about securing the border, you would have done the things I was doing. And there's a, there's a list of things that he had in place. What should he say?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He should prosecute the case. For three and a half years, you presided over an criminal invasion of the United States of America. We have seen people dying across this country. We've seen children being brutalized. We've seen women being raped. We've seen in the last couple of years, over 100,000Americans dying year after year after year of drug overdoses, fentanyl overdoses. All of that is your fault. Why did you allow, and by the way, you've made Mexican drug cartels, multi billionaires, the most powerful forces in the country of Mexico. You've utterly destroyed Mexico. Why have you done it? And you put out a red carpet for every jihadist, every Hamas terrorist, every Hezbollah terrorist who wants to murder Americans. You have had an open invitation, 2 million gotaways in this country. Why have you allowed America to be invaded? And he'll come back with, oh, I just did an order, nonsense. Three and a half years, 11 million people. Why did you allow America to be invaded? He needs to prosecute the case. And then he also needs, and we're going to talk more about the debate as we get close to it. He needs to let Joe Biden talk. I will say if you go back to 2020, the first debate. Trump talked a lot. He was so eager to talk that he bailed Joe Biden out. The man is. Is. Is senile and has dementia. Let him talk.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let him talk. Great, great point. Speaking of letting people talk, Dr. Fauci was in front of Congress, and this is a guy that is an unbelievable narcissist that was elected by no one. I think we prove it on the show before he is.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I am the science, Ben. I am the science.

[Ben Ferguson]

I am science.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, capital T and capital S. I am the science.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is a guy who, I think it's pretty clear, lied to Congress. You. You look at what he said back even in 2021 compared to what he said before Congress. There's a montage I want to play, and I want to get your reaction to it, but it's. It's obvious. Fauci basically says, I didn't do anything wrong. Everything was right. I do it all over again. And no, you're not going to get me to admit that we screwed up on anything, or most importantly, that we deliberately lied to the American people. You're gonna know which fouches from 2021 if you pay attention compared to what it sounded like on Capitol Hill in the last 24 hours. Take a listen.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Did the COVID vaccine stop transmission of the virus? That is a complicated issue, because in the beginning, the first iteration of the vaccines did have an effect. Not 100%, not a high effect. They did prevent infection and subsequently, obviously, transmission. However, it's important to point out something that we did not know early on that became evident as the months went by, is that the durability of protection against infection, and hence transmission, was relatively limited, whereas the duration of protection against severe disease, hospitalization and deaths was more prolonged. We did not know that in the beginning. In the beginning, it was felt that, in fact, it did prevent infection and thus transmission. But that was proven as time went by to not be a durable effect. When you get vaccinated, you not only protect your own health, that of the family, but also you contribute to the community health by preventing the spread of the virus throughout the community. In other words, you become a dead end to the virus. And when there are a lot of dead ends around, the virus is not going to go anywhere. And that's when you get a point that you have a markedly diminished rate of infection in the community. And that's exactly the reason, and you said it very well, of why we encourage people and want people to get vaccinated. The more people you get vaccinated, the safer the entire community is.

[Ben Ferguson]

That was Fauci in 2024, at the beginning, Fauci in 2021. And he's sitting there and he's acting like he never said what he said in 2021. He flat out lied to the American people. And, and he knew he was lying to them, but it was to go all in, no matter what.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So Dr. Anthony Fauci is the most dangerous and damaging American bureaucrat in the history of the United States of America. He was willing to put politics ahead of science. He did more damage to science and medicine than any person in our lifetime. People no longer believe what the so called experts say because Anthony Fauci was willing to say what was politically convenient rather than follow the science. The policies he advocated were disastrous. He advocated shutting down businesses across the country that lost billions, if not trillions of dollars. He advocated shutting down schools across the country. I think we will look back 100 years from now as that being the most catastrophically stupid public policy in modern times. Children, tens of millions of children for more than a year did not go to school. The damage they face, the learning loss they face, is massive. And by the way, nobody has done more harm to African American and Hispanic kids than Anthony Fauci. Because shutting down schools had a disproportionate impact on minority kids. He did enormous damage. He advocated shutting down churches, shutting down gyms, shutting down stores, shutting America down. He also advocated mask mandates despite the fact that there was no science behind it. He also advocated vaccine mandates despite the fact there was no science behind it and vaccine mandates for children and there was zero science behind it. And yet he is brazen. He is unapologetic. He is proud of his role shutting the country down.

[Ben Ferguson]

You mentioned that he's unapologetic. Congressman Jim Jordan, a good friend of the show here, he questioned Fauci on US tax dollars going to a grant recipient to the lab directly in China. I want you to hear what he had to say when he was asked about this. It was, it was honestly a little bit shocking to hear. Just the arrogance from Fauci prior to.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That call would have been on the call.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Well, the call was arranged by Jeremy Farrar. You should ask him.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay. Did US tax dollars flow through a grant recipient to the lab in China?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

I'm sorry, what was.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Did U.S. tax dollars flow through a grant recipient to the lab in China?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Yes, of course. It was a sub award to the Wuhan Institute.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And who approved that award?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Excuse me?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And who approved that award? What agency approved that award?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Your. Your agency approved that, right?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Yes, it did. After.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Does that have anything to do with this downplaying the lab leak theory? No, nothing to do with it.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Nothing.

[Ben Ferguson]

What this is a guy that still wants you to believe that the lab leak theory was a theory and not reality and that this somehow came from a wet market there. And then the other question that that was asked of him was from Representative Brad Winthrop, a Republican from Ohio. This was the question he asked and listened to the anger from Fauci.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

The vaccine saved millions of lives, and I want to thank you for your support and engagement on that. However, despite statements to the contrary, it did not stop transmission of the virus. Did the COVID vaccine stop transmission of the virus? That is a complicated issue because in the beginning, the first iteration of the vaccines did have an effect. Not 100%, not a high effect. They did prevent infection and subsequently, obviously, transmission. However, it's important to point out something that we did not know early on that became evident as the months went by, is that the durability of protection against infection and hence transmission, was relatively limited, whereas the duration of protection against severe disease, hospitalization and deaths was more prolonged. We did not know that in the beginning. In the beginning, it was felt that, in fact, it did prevent infection and thus transmission, but that was proven as time went by to not be a durable effect.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, just there he's like, well, I didn't really get it wrong. It was just, you know, the science that I'm in charge of was not what we thought it was. They'll never admit they really screwed up on any of this.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, listen, let me give a moment of benefit of the doubt to Fauci. I agree. When this pandemic was starting, people didn't know what we were facing. No doubt people were concerned, and there were people dying. And in the face of a pandemic, I understand the decisions. Look, Donald Trump signed off on shutdowns early on. The decision to have shutdowns for a week or two.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it was two weeks, remember, to stop the spread.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Two weeks to stop the spread. In hindsight, that was a mistake, but I can understand why people made the decision. At the time, we didn't know. We didn't know what the spreading was. We didn't know what the lethality was, and it was trying to save lives. If Fauci said, listen, we had limited information. We were trying to do steps to stop the spread of a contagious virus, and these were steps that made sense. That would not be a crazy thing to say. But by the way, he doesn't admit any mistakes. And what Fauci did that was fundamentally wrong is he elevated politics above science. If he admitted we didn't know at the time we made those decisions, in hindsight, some of those decisions were right, some were wrong. That would be rational. But his position is everything we did was right. Be glad we shut your schools down. Be glad your children didn't go to school for a year. Be glad their math scores and reading scores have dropped. Be glad that they will face learning loss for the rest of their lives. Be grateful that we, the benevolent dictators, did that. There is an arrogance this, this man, look, he publicly says, when you attack me, you're attacking the science because I am the science. There is an arrogance. He embodies the leftist arrogance. And, and to be clear, look, he. Early on, when, when, when people asked him, okay, are masks, do they make sense? He said, no, you shouldn't wear masks. They don't do any good. A mask is not going to stop the spread of a virus. And then going forward, he said, everyone's got to be masked. And he didn't explain the change. And by the way, when it came to the Wuhan lab leak, understand Anthony Fauci personally funded the research that I believe created the COVID virus. He was desperate to cover his own ass. He was desperate to argue no came from a wet market. We now know that is false. But he reached out. He asked Mark Zuckerberg, will Facebook suppress any allegations that this came from a Chinese government lab? And to be clear, I want you to go back. If you look at this podcast, in March And April of 2020, right at the beginning of COVID we did two different podcasts on Verdict where we laid out the evidence. Then early on that I thought the clear evidence was this virus escaped from a government lab. I think that is now overwhelming. It is almost indisputable as strong, but it is clearly the overwhelming weight of the evidence is that it escaped from a Chinese government lab. And I think the majority of the evidence, this is not as strong, but I think it is greater than 50% is that this virus was deliberately created by the Chinese government. Now, I don't think they created it because they wanted people to die. I think they were creating it because they were engaged in research and they were irresponsible and reckless. But they took viruses and they made them. They engaged in gain of function research, which is they made them more deadly and they made them more transmissible to humans. And then I think the virus escaped and the world faced a pandemic.

[Ben Ferguson]

There's something else that's also very shocking, and that is Dr. Fauci was asked a very simple question and I'll wrap with this, but it's an important one. And that was about the unvaccinated. And I want you to hear just some of the kind of disdain. They're still shaming the unvaccinated.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Listen.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Yes, it's proven that.

[Ben Ferguson]

And do you also agree that it saved hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of lives in America and across the world?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

That is absolutely correct. And it's very clear that it saved millions of lives here and throughout the world. The Europeans have done the same studies that we have and the data are incontrovertible that they save lives, sir.

[Ben Ferguson]

And do you think the American public should listen to America's brightest and best doctors and scientists or instead listen to podcasters, conspiracy theorists and unhinged Facebook memes?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Listening to people who you just described is going to do nothing but harm people because they will deprive themselves of life saving interventions, which has happened and you know, some have done studies. Peter Hotez has done an analysis of this and shows that in people who refuse to get vaccinated for any variety of reasons, probably responsible for an additional 2 to 300,000 deaths in this.

[Ben Ferguson]

An additional 2 to 300,000 deaths in this country, they're still shaming anyone that asks a question. Remember the Ivermectin? Oh, you guys are taking horse dewormers. I mean, the list goes on and on.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, in a subsequent pod, we should play Chris Cuomo when he was called out for his lying on Ivermectin. But it is the corporate media crawled in bed with Anthony Fauci, crawled in bed with the left wing, dishonest, political, scientific, medical world and they just lied to people. And I will say if you look at something like Covid vaccines for children, for children under six, there was zero scientific evidence to back that. I get why someone who was 80 or 90 or even someone who was 50 or 60 made the decision to get the COVID vaccine. Because look, you could make a rational cost benefit analysis that we don't know everything about this vaccine. There are risks to it, but we also know this is a very infectious disease and they're particularly for people who are health compromised. It can be really damaging. And so people who are older could make a rational decision to get the vaccine. For a five or six year old. I think there Was no rational decision to give a child that. Because the rate fatality behind that as.

[Ben Ferguson]

There was behind the six foot rule which apparently he's admitted now. Yeah, we just kind of made it up.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He just made it up. And this was all about politics and power. And Fauci was willing to put politics and power above medicine and science.

[Ben Ferguson]

Ammo squared helps you stock up on ammunition automatically. This is a really cool concept in a company. If you are like me and you want to make sure you have ammo and you want to make sure you get it at a great price and you want to make sure the next time there's a run on ammo and it happens every couple of years, something happens and people run out and buy ammo and then you can't find it. It really happened during the COVID time. Well, ammo squared, if you remember then you didn't have to worry about that. It is set it and forget it automated ammo purchasing program. You pick your calibers, you set your budget, you select a shipping trigger and that's it. Your ammo grows slowly over time. And the best part is it is stored for free as it builds up and is shipped with a click of a button or automatically. Whatever you want to do. It's like an ammunition subscription on steroids. Because you aren't forced into a set budget and shipping every month. Instead you decide your budget and you schedule when you want your ammo shipments to arrive. Ammo squared offers more than 60 different caliber options and each shipment contains a carefully curated mix of factory new ammunition from brands you know and love. It's budget friendly as well. And you can save money. Buy as little as a few dollars a month. You heard me right. Buy as little as a few dollars a month and use dollar cost average to your advantage over time. Everything is managed online using a simple web app. Forget about moving heavy case of ammunition. Your garage, your home. Yeah, you don't have to deal with that. And if you ever want to get rid of ammo, you don't have to worry about selling it online. You can literally exchange your ammo squared inventory from one caliber to another in seconds with just the click of a mouse. Now here's the other thing. If you ever need money or the price of ammo skyrockets, you can sell your ammo and make big profits as well. There is no minimum to buy, no memberships needed and no extra fees. Customers can buy ammo on a small budget, then watch it grow over time like a savings account. So how do you do it? Sign up@ Ammo Squared.com Ben that's Ammo Squared.com, ben today. And you're going to get free ammo in your account. Yeah, you heard me right. Free ammo in your account. Ammo squared.com Ben sign up and get free ammo in your account today. Finally, Senator, you've got a really cool trip. And I want to use this as a moment to preview a very important 80th anniversary that you're going to celebrate. And, and remember on this trip to France, and we're going to actually have you live from there that we're going to record our next podcast.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, that's exactly right. Later today, I'm going to get on a plane. I'm going to fly to France for the 80th anniversary of D Day. I'm going to go to Normandy. I'm going to be there for the celebration. President Biden's going to be there. We're going to have about 25 senators are going over.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hold on. Are you going on Air Force One? Are you guys. Oh, you didn't get the invite?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No, no. Why would he possibly bring any of us? We're going to go on a separate plane, but we'll be over there. And I got to say, I'm excited. So five years ago was the 75th anniversary of D Day, and I wanted to go, but I had a scheduling conflict and I didn't go. And I got to tell you, Ben, I've kicked myself. I've been mad at myself that I didn't go to the 75th anniversary. I missed it. And so for this One, listen, the 80th, this is particularly special because if you were 19 years old in World War II, you're 99 now.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

This is in all likelihood the last major anniversary where we will have living veterans from World War II. The people who are going to be there are going to be 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103. It is going to be an incredible privilege to be there with these American heroes of the greatest generation to say thank, thank you, thank you, thank you, the boys who scaled those cliffs, who defeated the Nazis, who saved the free world. It is an incredible moment of American heroism and American leadership. And I'm thrilled. I'm really, really looking forward to this. It's going to be. And we're going to do the next podcast from France. I'm going to record. I'm going to bring the equipment and I'm going to record it there. And so we're going to talk to you from France and, and, and, and, and right after the ceremony on D Day, we're going to talk about that.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's going to be awesome. I cannot wait. Be safe on your flight over there. Don't forget the center and I do this Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Hit that subscribe auto download button and please share this podcast on social media. We would greatly appreciate if you do that. It helps us reach new listeners in the center. And I will see you back here here Friday as he will be celebrating that 80th anniversary in Normandy. We'll see you Friday morning for that.