BONUS: Trump & Putin in Alaska: What it Means & What's Next plus Standing up to the CCP in Africa

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: BONUS: Trump & Putin in Alaska: What it Means & What's Next plus Standing up to the CCP in Africa
Date: August 18, 2025
Hosts: Ben Ferguson & Senator Ted Cruz
Key Topics: Trump-Putin Alaska summit, Ukraine war, Biden’s foreign policy, U.S. position on Somaliland, China’s influence in Africa.

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Episode Overview

This episode dissects two of the week's most significant—and, the hosts argue, underreported—geopolitical stories:

• The historic Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict.
• Senator Ted Cruz's campaign to have the U.S. recognize Somaliland’s independence in Africa as a check on China’s growing influence.

With humor and pointed critique, the hosts explain the context, strategies, and public/media reactions, offering insights on America’s global position and the ongoing competition with the Chinese Communist Party.

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1. The Trump-Putin Alaska Meeting: Peace Talks and Media Frenzy

Background & Main Purpose

• Trump hosted Vladimir Putin in Alaska for what’s described as a bold, high-stakes one-on-one with the stated goal of charting a path to end the Ukraine war.
• The meeting, its outcomes, and U.S. media/Democrat reactions are critiqued and analyzed.

Key Discussion Points

A. Handshake Hysteria & Political Optics

• Media Reaction:
  • The handshake and visible smiles between Trump and Putin sparked outrage in the mainstream media and among Democrats.
  • Ferguson observes: “The entire media just erupted... It is truly incredible to watch the meltdown.” (05:06)
• Cruz: “It is astonishing how the corporate media and the Democrats are rooting for America to fail. They hate President Trump so much that actually seeing him succeed in ending this war would be intolerable...” (05:06)

B. The Goals and Substance of the Talks

• Cruz: Outlines Trump's strategy—first meeting Putin alone, then moving to meet Zelensky—to assess real intentions and broker peace.
• Trump (on meeting): “We were together almost three hours, and it was very extensive, and we agreed on a lot of points... One or two pretty significant items... I think they can be reached now. It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done.” (05:59)

C. Economic Pressures & Ukrainian Position

• Ferguson: The war is “costing Russia a lot of money,” putting pressure on Putin to seek an exit. (06:40)
• Cruz: “President Zelensky has been reluctant to reach a peace deal because he wants to recover every square inch of Ukraine... President Trump has been clear the United States is out of the business of funding the war...” (07:13)
• “My hope is the resolution... will end it in a way that is a clear and discernible loss for Putin.” (07:13)

D. Next Steps: The Zelensky Meeting

• Trump to meet Zelensky in Washington, signaling that Ukraine needs to come to terms.
• Ferguson: "Donald Trump clearly needed to get in the room with Vladimir Putin, talk to Putin, and probably be able to say some things... without Zelensky in the room." (09:23)
• Cruz recalls Reagan’s Cold War tactics: “Reagan got up from the table and left and walked out... His leaving... was a critical element of winning the Cold War...” (10:44)

E. Memorable Exchange on the Nobel Peace Prize

• Reference to Hillary Clinton’s comment that she’d nominate Trump if a real deal were struck.
  • Trump, smiling: “Well, that was very nice. I may have to start liking her again.” (12:32)
  • Cruz: “That may be a quote... Democrats [will] come back to regret.” (12:50)

F. Assigning Blame and Historical Context

• Cruz: Argues the war was caused by Biden’s perceived weakness (Afghanistan withdrawal, lifting Nord Stream 2 sanctions).
• Putin (clip): Confirms that under Trump’s presidency, the war would “indeed” not have occurred. (15:31)

G. Trust but Verify

• Putin: “Naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well... I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will... pave the path towards peace in Ukraine.” (23:40)
• Cruz: “We should not take Putin at his word for that. But… it’s better that he says it than he doesn’t.” (24:19)

H. NATO Expansion Rejected

• Both Trump and Cruz oppose inviting Ukraine to NATO, warning it would obligatorily draw U.S. troops into future conflicts.
• “I have zero interest in putting American troops in harm’s way defending Ukraine.” (24:40)

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2. Standing Up to the CCP in Africa: The Somaliland Question (28:52)

Background & Significance

• Cruz leads a push as Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee chair to formally recognize Somaliland—a stable, pro-U.S., self-governing territory in the Horn of Africa.

Key Discussion Points

A. The Case for Somaliland

• Somaliland: Democratic, peaceful transitions; critical partner in anti-terrorism, maritime security; pro-U.S., pro-Taiwan, pro-Israel, and supports the Abraham Accords.
• Geographic importance: Gulf of Aden, near vital shipping routes.

B. China’s Pushback and U.S. Response

• The Chinese Communist Party and Somalia (with China’s backing) are pressuring Somaliland due to pro-Taiwan/pro-Western stances.
• Cruz’s letter to President Trump urges formal recognition: “It is in America’s national security interest... Somaliland would eagerly join the Abraham Accords...” (32:28)
• China’s angry statement frames U.S. as interfering in “Somalia’s internal affairs,” denouncing Cruz.

C. The Broader Africa-China Struggle

• America’s engagement in Africa as part of a global contest with China.
• Cruz: “Africa has become a major battleground where China is trying to gain influence, trying to gain power, and do so at the expense of America.” (28:52)
• Somalialand’s significance amplified by China’s reaction: “The fact they are this pissed off... confirms that I was exactly right.” (35:19)

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3. Notable Quotes & Segments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Key Point | |-----------|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:06 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “It is astonishing how the corporate media... are rooting for America to fail.” | | 05:59 | Donald Trump | “We were together almost three hours...one or two significant items, but I think they can be reached.” | | 07:13 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “My hope... is a resolution that is a clear and discernible loss for Putin.” | | 10:44 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “Reagan got up from the table... it was a critical element of winning the Cold War.” | | 12:32 | Donald Trump | “Well, that was very nice. I may have to start liking [Hillary Clinton] again.” | | 15:31 | Vladimir Putin | “If [Trump] was the president back then, there will be no war... I can confirm that.” | | 17:42 | Donald Trump | “Gotta make a deal. Yeah. Look, Russia’s a very big power... We have the greatest military equipment.” | | 23:40 | Vladimir Putin | “Naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well... pave the path towards peace.” | | 24:40 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “I have zero interest in putting American troops in harm’s way defending Ukraine.” | | 32:28 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “Somaliland would eagerly join the Abraham Accords... in America’s national security interest.” | | 35:19 | Sen. Ted Cruz | “The fact that China is freaking out... confirms that I was exactly right.” |

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4. Episode Structure & Major Timestamps

• [01:06] Start of substantive content: Alaska Trump-Putin meeting introduced.
• [05:06] First major segment: Media and political reaction to Trump-Putin meeting.
• [05:59] Trump describes Alaska summit details.
• [12:32] Exchange on Nobel Peace Prize remarks.
• [15:31] Putin affirms war wouldn’t have happened if Trump was president.
• [24:40] NATO/Ukraine membership discussion.
• [28:52] Transition: Stand against China in Africa, spotlight on Somaliland.
• [32:28] Cruz reads letter to Trump re: Somaliland recognition; China’s condemnation.
• [35:19] Cruz explains why China’s anger is validation.

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5. Tone and Other Memorable Moments

• Blunt, humorous, and sharply critical of Biden, media, and the Democratic Party.
• Repeatedly reference the importance of “America First” and skepticism toward both Russia and China.
• Trump utilizes characteristic humor (re: Clinton Nobel remark) and boasts of assertive negotiation style.
• Cruz leverages historical context (Reagan/Gorbachev) and legwork in foreign policy.

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6. Takeaways for Listeners

• Trump claims substantial progress; next phase depends on Zelensky and European buy-in.
• The episode blames Biden for the Ukraine war and foreign policy problems, credits Trump for intervention.
• The recognition of Somaliland is framed as a vital U.S.-China battleground, with Cruz characterizing Chinese condemnation as proof of the policy’s merit.

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For more, catch The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show—and tune in Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for further updates.

Transcript

[Senator Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome it is Verdict with Center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you and today's show. We've got a lot of big news. It all revolves around Russia, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and the big meeting in Alaska. Center what's even more amazing about this story is how Democrats are obsessed with hating Trump almost as much as they hate Vladimir Putin and hoping that this conversation is a failure. Even Hillary Clinton saying, well, if he can get a deal done, I'll nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. But saying it in a way that was pretty clear she thinks this is never going to happen.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, this was a major meeting that happened in Alaska. It was a one on one meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. The proof will be in the pudding. We will see what results. But my hope and my belief is this is going to result in a peace agreement in ending the war in Ukraine. And that's an outcome that needs to happen. What we're going to do on this podcast is we're going to break down what exactly happened in Alaska, what we know, what President Trump said, what Vladimir Putin said, and what's likely to happen next. What are the consequences for ending the war in Ukraine? We're going to give you all the details on today's pod. We're also going to talk about a story that you may not have seen, but it is consequential, which is that I've been calling for the recognition of a new nation in Africa, Somaliland. And I'm the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa. And the Chinese Communist Party is very, very unhappy with me for doing so. And so they have been blasting me this week for daring to stand up to China and Africa. Well, here's a spoiler alert. I'm going to keep standing up to them but we're going to explain that issue to you because it's important and it's another arena in which we are contesting communist China.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it really is an important story that no one's talking about. That's why we do this show to bring you headlines like this. Want to take a moment and tell you about an incredible company that makes a difference with every dollar that you spend with them. It is a bill that you have every day. 99.9% of you listening right now have a cell phone. You may not realize that if you're with Big Mobile they're taking your dollars and they're giving big donations to radical causes and organizations. I'm talking about organizations, for example that are advocating and supporting abortion. That is why about 12 years ago Patriot Mobile began. There was a group of people that said we want to have cell phone service and we want to make a difference with it. Well, everybody. And that's hundreds of thousands of people that are at Patriot Mobile right now. Every month about 5% of their bill goes back to support causes that we. They're on the front lines fighting for God given rights and freedoms. Our first and second amendment rights, the rights of unborn children. And they stand with our military, our veterans and our wounded warriors. And that happens with every phone call you make and every text that you send and every bill that you pay. That's why I want you to check out Patriot Mobile and make the switch. Switching by the way is easier than it's ever been. You can literally activate in minutes from the comfort of your home or your office. You keep your same number you got now. Keep your phone or you can upgrade to a new one. Now Patriot Mobile also has an all US based support team standing by to take care of you. Call them and make the switch. I'm going to give you a free month of service. 972 Patriot is the number. That's 972 Patriot or go to patriot mobile.com verdict if you use the promo code verdict you're going to get a free month of Service. That's patriot mobile.com verdict. 972 Patriot make the switch today. Promo code verdict you'll get that free month of service. All right, so let's start at the beginning of this meeting. The first thing that made people lose their minds was the fact that Donald Trump shook hands with Vladimir Putin and they smiled at one another. And that was when, like, the entire media just erupted with. I can't even believe that they're touching each other and shaking hands. It is truly incredible to watch the meltdown.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You know, it is astonishing how the corporate media and the Democrats are rooting for America to fail. They want the president to fail. They hate President Trump so much that actually seeing him succeed in ending this war would be intolerable to the left that hates him so much. And listen, I don't know if he will succeed. This is not easy. This was courageous to go and do this meeting. There is a risk of failure, but if we know anything about President Trump is that he is afraid of very little on planet Earth, and he's not afraid of Vladimir Putin. And so he went. He invited him to come to Alaska. He went and met one on one. He looked him in the eyes, and he made very clear this war needs to come to an end. I want you to give a listen to what President Trump said about his meeting with Putin.

[Donald Trump]

We were together almost three hours, and it was very extensive, and we agreed on a lot of points. I mean, a lot of points were agreed on, but there's not that much. There's, you know, one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached now. It's really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it's up to President Zelensky. I think we are. And if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting. They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelensky and President Putin and myself, I guess. You know, I didn't even. I didn't ask you about it. Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done. And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.

[Ben Ferguson]

If he described as a pretty good chance of getting it done. Part of this is the economics, and that's something, Senator, that a lot of people have not been talking about. This war is costing Russia a lot of money, and they are a country that is very poor at this point. They're teetering, some would say, economically. And so there is a real chance that Vladimir Putin needs to get out of this from a financial standpoint. That's part of what I think the president clearly was talking to him about as well.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I think that's right. And I believe the Ukraine war will end and it will end this year. That was clearly something President Trump campaigned on. He was explicit to the American people that he intended to end this war. And listen, President Zelensky has been reluctant to reach a peace deal because he wants to recover every square inch of Ukraine. Now, I understand why he does. You and I, if we were president of Ukraine, we probably want the same thing. But President Trump has been clear the United States is out of the business of funding the war, that we have sent billions and billions of dollars to Ukraine and the cash spigot has stopped. And I think that is a powerful incentive to President Zelensky to reach an agreement. You are right that the war has been incredibly costly on Russia. They have poured in enormous money and material and manpower and soldiers who've been lost. And what I've urged the president is, number one, end the war, but number two, end it in a way that is a clear and discernible loss for Putin. Putin is not our friend. Putin is our enemy. And we do not want our enemy getting stronger. We want our enemies getting weaker. And so my hope is the resolution there's going to be some kind of negotiated settlement. I think it will be reached later this year. The follow up on Monday. Today, President Zelensky is scheduled to be in Washington and meet with President Trump. That will be the next step. And then the objective is to get Zelensky and Putin together with President Trump and see if we can make real progress to a resolution. That is not going to be easy because Zelensky has not wanted to give anything up, and Putin generally doesn't want to give anything up either. And so you've got two people that are pretty dug in, in their positions. But I think President Trump is trying to move heaven and earth to stop the war, to stop the shooting and stop the bloodshed.

[Ben Ferguson]

You talk about the next steps and let's just go to that meeting with Zelensky. I think it's pretty clear and a lot of people criticize in the media, also Democrats, that Zelensky, quote, wasn't invited to this meeting and they wanted to hit the president on that. Look, Donald Trump clearly need to get in the room with Vladimir Putin, talk to Putin, and probably be able to say some things to Vladimir Putin without Zelensky in the room. Yeah, there was no indication, by the way, that Vladimir Putin wanted to meet with Zelensky. And if you look historically at these deals, usually the person, the country that brokers the deal has a meeting with one side first, has a meeting with the other side, then they have that follow up meeting that the President talked about. That has been standard practice for decades and decades and decades, maybe even centuries around the world. And yet people want to criticize the President for using this strategy, which has been proven to work. Well, I think the President was smart. Here you go to this meeting with Zelensky. I'm assuming he's gonna treat it very much the same way he treated this meeting with Vladimir Putin, except there is a difference. One's gonna be at the White House and one's in Alaska. So I think that also plays out well in the President's favor with Zelensky saying, hey, I'm showing you respect. I want to get this deal done. You need to stop the killing for your people that's coming in, I think with a smart idea and strategy. Your reaction?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, President Trump, before the meeting in Alaska, he was explicit. He said he wanted to see if Putin is willing to make a deal to reach a resolution. And he was also explicit, and he said if Putin is not, Trump was perfectly prepared to get up and leave. And remember, that's what President Reagan did when he met with Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik. And Gorbachev was not willing to reach a deal. In particular, Gorbachev wanted Reagan to give up sdi, the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was Star wars, it was missile defense. And Reagan was not willing to give it up. And Reagan got up from the table and left and walked out. And I'll tell you, his leaving that negotiation was a critical element of winning the Cold War because the Soviet Union, they did not have the economy to support the military buildup. They needed to keep up with SDI, to keep up with our military. And we ultimately won the Cold War without firing a shot. I think President Trump did a good job of setting expectations. And I wasn't in the room with Trump and Putin, but I assume he looked at him flat out and said, listen, are you willing to reach a deal or not? And the answer was satisfactory enough that Trump stayed and continued the meeting. I think that's a step forward. It's a positive step forward. And you know, the left is contemptuous. But I want you to listen to this exchange with Bret Baier. We ask her, ask Trump about Hillary Clinton. Give a listen.

[Donald Trump]

In fact, did you see that Hillary Clinton yesterday said that if you got this deal done and not capitulate to Putin, that she would nominate you for the Nobel Peace Prize.

[Ben Ferguson]

If President Trump were the architect of that, I'd nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

[Donald Trump]

Well, that was very nice. I may have to start liking her again.

[Ben Ferguson]

That one just made me laugh, like when I watched it, because I think he was even like, really like. Hillary Clinton noticed she had a caveat in there. If it's without capitulating. Right. There's always a caveat with Dems.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, and that's their wiggle language, she said, and not capitulate to Putin. So whatever the deal is, if Putin gets anything at all, Hillary will say, nope, nope, that was capitulating. So I didn't mean it. I'm not nominating him. But that may be a quote that she and the other Democrats come back to regret. Because I think there's going to be a deal. And if there is a deal, you can be assured that quote is going to be played multiple times. And if the President negotiates the deal, she'll try to walk away from it 100%. She tries to walk away from it, but it shows, you know, she's rooting for failure and the other Democrats are rooting for failure. But. And a significant part of the reason, understand this war in Ukraine should never have happened. It was unnecessary. This war in Ukraine was caused by two things. It was caused by, number one, Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan, the incompetence, the debacle that unfolded. Every enemy of America took a measure of President Biden and determined that the commander in chief was weak and ineffective. That was a major reason Putin invaded Ukraine. And it was caused secondly by Joe Biden waving sanctions on Nord Stream 2. Nord Stream 2 is the undersea pipeline that Putin built from Russia to Germany. And the reason he built that pipeline to carry natural gas was to circumvent Ukraine. Because right now Russia's natural gas goes through Ukraine on pipelines. And the purpose of Nord Stream 2 was so that he didn't need to go through Ukraine and he could invade Ukraine in the first term. I authored sanctions legislation, crushing sanctions legislation to shut down Nord Stream 2. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support. It passed the House with bipartisan support. President Trump signed my sanctions legislation into law. And Ben Putin stopped construction of Nord Stream 2 literally the day President Trump signed my sanctions legislation into law. That legislation stopped the invasion, prevented the invasion, and had the sanctions remained in place, we would not have have a war in Ukraine. But Joe Biden came in and waived the sanctions. He gave a multi billion dollar gift to Putin Putin finished Nord Stream 2 and almost immediately thereafter invaded. And by the way, it's not just me saying this. Give a listen to Putin saying the same point, which is that the war in Ukraine would never have happened if Trump had been president in 2021. Give a listen.

[Vladimir Putin]

I'd like to remind you that in 2022, during the last contact with the. I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities. And I said it quite directly back then that it's a big mistake today when President Trump saying that if he was the president back then, there will be no more. And I'm quite sure that it would indeed be. So I can confirm that. I think that overall, me and President Trump have built a very good businesslike and trustworthy contact and have every reason to believe that moving down this path we can come and the sooner the better to the end of the conflict in Ukraine.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, he said it there. I also think he said it because he's probably messing with our media a little bit, which I love. It's like you guys are idiots and you're wrong. And if you knew what was actually going on, you tell the truth. It's pretty bad when even Putin knows how to just call out the media.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, and the media actually behaves like Pravda. It behaves like the Soviet media, except they, they pitch the hard left Politburo line. And so as a result, they blame everything on President Trump. But understand, Joe Biden and the Democrats caused wars. They caused the war in Ukraine. And I believe Biden's weakness caused the war in Gaza, caused October 7th. And the world is safer. We have fewer wars when we have a strong commander in chief. And President Trump is working, I think, very hard to end this war. Now, one big question is, is Zelenskyy willing to make a deal? And President Trump had some very straightforward advice to President Zelensky. Give a listen.

[Donald Trump]

What's your advice to make a deal?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Make the deal.

[Donald Trump]

Gotta make a deal. Yeah. Look, Russia's a very big power and they're not. They're great soldiers. They have great. But you know, they also had the best equipment. You know, they had our equipment. And I gave them javelins, if you remember my first term. In fact, there was a statement I gave javelins. You remember the statement I gave javelins. And Obama gave. Because it was Obama at that time. Obama gave him sheets. And that's true. I gave javelins. And a lot of tanks were knocked out because of the Javelins. The Javelins incredible weapon. It's a tank. You know, you look at this big, powerful tank, it ends up being a ball of metal lying on the ground and burning. I've never seen anything like it. We have the greatest military equipment in the world. But they did have courage in fighting and you know, they're fighting a big war machine and we, I think, are close to a deal. But I won't, I don't like saying it. I always say if I'm really close, I say 50. 50. 50.

[Ben Ferguson]

50. Right. I love how he says that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yep. Yeah. Look. And this was President Trump also made clear that, that that Biden is the one who screwed this up. And he's coming in now and he's trying to fix the mess that, that Joe Biden, the Democrats weakness caused. Here's how the president put it.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Donald Trump]

1986, Reagan walks away from Reykjavik with Gorbachev. And it was a strong moment. I mean, you could foresee if it goes down a bad path, you get up and walk away. I'm not doing it based on history, based on anything else. I'm doing it based on a deal. If we make a deal, great. If we. If I see that there's no hope of making a deal, I'm out of there. It's over. I'm out of there. This isn't my war. This is Biden's war. This is. Biden screwed this up, just like he did with Afghanistan with that horrible retreat and the way he did it. I'll never forget it.

[Ben Ferguson]

He'll never forget it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And neither will the soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines who fought in Afghanistan, who bled, who lost brothers and sisters there. Every veteran of that war. Biden's disastrous retreat is indelibly marked under their conscience.

[Ben Ferguson]

Final question for you on this. If you were meeting with Zelensky about getting this deal done, what would you say to him? What would your advice be, and how would you see this thing ending if you could do it your way?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, my advice would be the same as what President Trump's was, which is make a deal. It's gotta be a negotiated settlement. Zelensky's not going to get everything he wants. But it is important that Ukraine have an outcome where their security is protected. And that's one thing that is striking. Putin acknowledged that. That was a real concession, that Putin said there needs to be an outcome where Ukraine's security is protected. I also think it is important that the resolution of this continues to leave Nord Stream 2 shut down. When I'm meeting with our European allies, and I do so frequently, a question I pose to them over and over again is I say, listen, when the war in Ukraine ends, who are you going to buy your energy from? Are you going to buy your energy from Russia, or are you going to buy it from the United States. Because I would like to see a resolution to this war that is America first. That puts America first. I'd like to see Europe buying their energy from us and not enriching Putin. And so that's an outcome that I think is very much in America's view. But I want you to listen to Putin. I want you to listen to Putin acknowledging the importance of an outcome that protects the security of Ukraine. Give a listen.

[Vladimir Putin]

And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to work on that. I would like to hope that the agreement that we've reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine. We expect that Kiev and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won't throw a wrench in the works.

[Ben Ferguson]

Two things there. One, he says it clearly, the security of Ukraine should be insured. Now, I think this goes back to trust but verify. Right, but at least he's saying that out loud.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Absolutely. We should not take Putin at his word for that. But. But it's better that he says it then than he doesn't.

[Ben Ferguson]

And then you hear him at the end, it does seem to be that he is talking in a way you would talk. If you're winding things down. I think you have to read into that a little bit and say, okay, this is not a bad thing either.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, if he was hell bent on continuing the war and trying to conquer all of Ukraine, he wouldn't say we need to ensure that the security of Ukraine is protected. Now, he also said that the Europeans shouldn't throw a wrench into it. And one of the real questions is there have been some in Europe and there have been a number of Democrats who've advocated that Ukraine be a member of NATO. I think that would be a real mistake. I've been vocal opposing that. President Trump has been explicit he opposes that. And the reason is NATO. Under Article 5 of NATO, when a country becomes a member of NATO, the other members take an obligation to defend it in the case of war. And I have zero interest in putting American troops in harm's way defending Ukraine. And so I think inviting Ukraine to NATO would be a bad mistake. President Trump has made that clear. And I think that's what Putin was saying there as well, is that that would do real damage to the prospects of peace. And so I'm glad that President Trump has taken that off the table.

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[Ben Ferguson]

I wanna move to this other story, and it's one realistically that probably 99% of this audience doesn't even know about this because no one's covering it. It doesn't mean that it's not an extremely important story. It is you calling out China. It's an epic fight over creating a new country in Africa. This reminds me of that story we were talking about not that long ago, about China creating an island in the middle of the ocean based in the middle of nowhere, that we helped give them air superiority. If there was a massive world event that took place, another world war, it would give them the ability to reach places they currently cannot reach. And now we're hearing that they're looking at creating a new country in Africa. You're trying to bring that to light and also stop it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, that's exactly right. So I am the chairman of the Africa Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And so I've been chairing a number of hearings, in particular focusing on the growing influence of Communist China in Africa. Africa has become a major battleground where China is trying to gain influence, trying to gain power, and do so at the expense of America. And so what this last week, I wrote a letter to President Trump urging the president to recognize a new country in Africa. I'm going to read you the letter. Dear President Trump, I write to urge your administration to formally recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state with sovereignty within its 1960 borders. Somaliland first gained independence and international recognition in 1960 before voluntarily uniting with Somalia later that year. Since moving to reclaim its independence in 1991, it has functioned as a stable, self governing, democratic nation. It has held several peaceful elections since 2003, marked by strong voter turnout and peaceful transitions of power. Somaliland has emerged as a critical security and diplomatic partner for the United States, helping America advance our national security interest in the Horn of Africa and beyond. It is strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, putting it near one of the world's busiest maritime corridors. It possesses capable armed forces and contributes to regional counterterrorism and piracy operations. It has enabled the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in the capital of Hargeisa, sought to strengthen ties with Israel, and voice support for the Abraham Accords. It has proposed hosting a US Military presence near the Red Sea along the Gulf of Aden and is open to critical minerals agreements that would support our supply chain resilience. The US Somaliland Partnership is robust and it is deepening. Somaliland faces mounting pressure from adversaries due in no small part to its role as a partner for the United States and our allies. The Chinese Communist Party is using economic and diplomatic coercion to punish Somaliland for its support for Taiwan as well as to undermine that support. The government of Somalia has played an unfortunate role in these efforts. In April 2025, the CCP arranged for Somalia to bar Taiwanese passport holders from transiting into Somaliland. And Chinese support to Somalia is benefiting anti Somaliland groups working to erode its sovereignty. Despite these threats, Somaliland remains committed to forging closer ties with the US and is actively engaged in enhancing military cooperation, counterterrorism efforts and economy and trade partnerships to do so to the greatest effect and the greatest benefit to American national security interest. It requires the status of a state. I urge you to grant it that recognition.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is obviously significant. What are the chances that this could move forward this way?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I'm optimistic. I think there's a real chance the President will recognize Somaliland. As I said, they've been an ally to us. They've been an ally. This is a Muslim country in a very dangerous part of Africa. And they've shown real courage. They've shown real courage standing with the United States. They've shown real courage standing up to China. They've shown real courage siding with Taiwan, which infuriates communist China. They've shown real courage embracing Israel and the Abraham Accords. I think Somaliland would eagerly join the Abraham Accords. And so it is in America's national security interest, I believe, to recognize Somaliland. And, and probably the best confirmation of that is this week China put out a public release blasting me, absolutely furious that I made this public call to recognize Somaliland. And here's what China put out as their statement. They said, quote, a U.S. senator in a letter boasting of so called U.S. recognition of Somaliland region launched baseless attacks against China and China Somalia relations. The Chinese embassy in Somalia firmly opposes this misconduct. This coercive letter constitutes serious interference in the internal affairs of Somalia and further exposes the hegemonic and bullying attitude of certain US politicians to the Somali people. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non interference in each other's internal affairs are enshrined in the UN Charter as basic norms governing international relations for safeguarding world peace and stability. China never interferes in other countries internal affairs and absolutely does not accept meddling in its own internal affairs by any countries. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. This is history and this is reality. China firmly opposes Taiwan independence, separatism and external interference and possesses the legitimate right to take measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The fact that China is freaking out, the fact that they are this pissed off from my perspective, confirms that I was exactly right and is yet another argument why President Trump should recognize Somaliland as an ally to America and as a country in Africa willing to stand up to Communist China.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, great point. We're gonna keep you updated on this story because it's an important one and we will have movement on it, I have no doubt. So make sure you download this show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscriber auto download button wherever you get your podcast so you don't miss a single episode and the center and I will see you back here on Wednesday morning.

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Iheart presents the Big 3 Championship next Sunday, August 24th. The remaining two teams fight it out for the Big 3 Championship Dr. J Trophy in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big Three 8th annual All Star Game featuring All Stars Dwight Howard, Montrez Harrell, MVP Michael Beasley, Lance will make you, Dan Stevenson, Jordan Crawford, Greg Monroe, Earl Clark, Nazia Kor and more show you why they are the best three on three basketball players in the world. Big three's exciting all star game plus the crowning of a new big three champion. The no hold spot action starts Sunday at 2pm Eastern, 11 Pacific only on CBS.

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