Kamala Says Being Gay or Jewish was a Disqualifier from Being her VP Candidate plus Kimmel BACK on ABC

Summary

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - Episode Summary

Episode: "Kamala Says Being Gay or Jewish was a Disqualifier from Being her VP Candidate plus Kimmel BACK on ABC"
Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into the fallout from Kamala Harris’ explosive book release, where Harris reveals that she considered but ultimately rejected Pete Buttigieg and Josh Shapiro as vice-presidential running mates—citing Buttigieg’s sexuality and Shapiro’s Jewish identity as political liabilities. Senators Cruz and co-host Ferguson scrutinize these revelations, analyzing what it means for the Democratic Party’s professed values of diversity, inclusion, and tolerance. Additionally, the episode addresses Jimmy Kimmel's controversial return to ABC after making misleading statements about the Charlie Kirk assassination and features a comedic segment involving Jon Stewart’s satire of Ted Cruz.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kamala Harris’ Book Revelations

Kamala's self-praise, frustration with the Democratic Party, and the exclusion of Buttigieg and Shapiro as VPs.

• Harris’ new book is described as “scorched earth,” throwing various Democratic colleagues under the bus and portraying herself as the only viable candidate ([03:06]).
• Cruz summarizes:

  “She admits that she didn't pick Pete Buttigieg as vp. Why? Because he's gay. And she didn't pick Josh Shapiro as vp. Why? Because he's Jewish... But remember, we're the party of tolerance and inclusion.” ([03:38])

Buttigieg Exclusion

• Harris considered Buttigieg her first choice but decided it was “too big a risk for a black woman to run with a gay man” ([07:07]).
• Cruz and Ferguson highlight Harris’ statement:

  “‘Buttigieg would have been an ideal partner if I were a straight white man. But we were already asking a lot of America to accept a woman, a black woman, a black woman married to a Jewish man.’” ([07:07])

• Cruz critiques the Democratic Party as being intolerant at its core, saying Harris blames her election loss on the country’s supposed racism rather than the administration’s policies.

Shapiro Exclusion

• Harris eliminated Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro despite his electability in a critical swing state, citing concerns about antisemitism within the Democratic base and fear of pro-Hamas protests ([14:36]).
• Quoting Harris:

  “We talked about how to handle the attacks he'd confronted on Gaza and what effect it might have on the enthusiasm we were trying to build. Big protests at the convention were a major concern.” ([16:18])

• Cruz observes that, per Harris’ own writing, being gay (Buttigieg) or Jewish (Shapiro) were effectively disqualifiers for her VP choice, due to fears about the Democratic electorate’s response.

2. Kamala’s Appearance on Rachel Maddow

Confrontation over exclusion of Buttigieg; Maddow’s disappointment and Kamala’s awkward defense.

• Ferguson introduces a tense Maddow-Kamala interview segment ([10:06]).
• Maddow questions:

  “To say that [Buttigieg] couldn't be on the ticket effectively because he was gay, it's hard to hear.”

• Harris attempts to redirect, saying:

  “No, no, no, that's not what I said... It wasn’t about any prejudice on my part. But…with such a short period of time and the stakes so high…maybe I was being too cautious…But that’s the decision I made.” ([10:22-13:11])

• Cruz mocks this reasoning, arguing that Harris is transferring blame for prejudice onto voters, especially within her own party ([13:11]).

3. Broader Implications and Commentary

Who qualifies as a candidate in the Democratic Party? Hypocrisy accusations; analysis of Harris and Biden relationship.

• Cruz and Ferguson express confusion and irony over the eliminations, with Ferguson asking:

  “Who does qualify to be president? So is it just only people that are straight white guys? I'm really confused now in the New Party of the Democratic, like who is an appropriate candidate?” ([18:22])

• Cruz jokes that Kamala settled on "the weirdest white guy"—Tim Walz—as her VP ([18:48]), lampooning the performative nature of identity politics in the Democratic selection process.
• The hosts revisit old Democratic primary dynamics—how Biden, in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the ensuing summer of unrest, was “boxed in” to choosing a black woman as VP, with Harris the only Senate-level option ([24:50-26:38]).

Notable Quotes

• Cruz:

  “Democrats are at their Core racist. They are at their core deeply bigoted.” ([07:07])

• Cruz (on Shapiro elimination):

  “Shapiro was vetoed because he’s Jewish, and Buttigieg was vetoed because he’s gay. That is her own confession written in her own book.” ([18:22])

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4. Kimmel's Return and Free Speech Analysis

Cruz and Ferguson discuss late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC after subjecting viewers to misleading commentary on the Charlie Kirk assassination.

• Ferguson:

  “We thought they actually had done the right thing and were willing to say that…it’s no Jimmy Kimmel… but it’s a sentence of going on a vacation for about six days.” ([35:43])

• Cruz highlights the danger in Kimmel’s misinformation:

  “He engaged in active disinformation. His sort of joke…was that the murderer of Charlie Kirk was a right wing MAGA guy. Now that's a lie and it's a lie with consequence.” ([36:34])

• Cruz discusses market vs. government remedies:

  “The federal government, the FCC, should not be threatening the licenses of ABC in order to force them to take someone off the air. Even someone incredibly unfunny with terrible ratings…” ([48:56])

• Both hosts agree market forces should handle Kimmel, noting 66 ABC affiliates refused to air his program. Cruz reiterates the risk of empowering the government against speech, even he disagrees with, referencing his opposition to Biden FCC attempts to de-license FOX News.

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5. Comic Relief: Jon Stewart Roasts Ted Cruz

Cruz plays and praises a Daily Show segment where Jon Stewart satirizes his pop culture references and Senate speeches.

• Cruz:

  “Jon Stewart did a whole riff on the Daily show blasting me and it was funny as hell... Stewart is actually funny.” ([39:52])

• Stewart lampoons Cruz’s attempts at impersonations and movie references, drawing laughter from both hosts ([41:05-45:37]).
• Ferguson and Cruz express appreciation for genuine comedy—even at Cruz’s expense—contrasting Stewart’s humor with Kimmel’s partisanship.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Kamala Book Introduction & Main Claims: [03:06–07:07]
• Kamala on Buttigieg & Maddow Interview: [09:54–13:11]
• Shapiro Exclusion & Commentary on Party Bigotry: [14:36–18:22]
• Biden-Harris VP Selection Dynamics: [24:40–28:12]
• Kimmel Back on ABC/Charlie Kirk Discussion: [35:43–48:56]
• Jon Stewart’s Satirical Take on Ted Cruz: [39:52–45:35]

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Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz:

  "She said, if he weren’t gay...he’d be on the ticket. She decided he couldn’t be on the ticket because he’s gay." ([13:56])

• Rachel Maddow (to Kamala Harris):

  "To say that he couldn’t be on the ticket effectively because he was gay, it’s hard to hear..." ([10:22])

• Ferguson:

  "Who does qualify to be president? ... like who is an appropriate candidate? That’s what I want to know." ([18:22])

• Cruz (on market forces):

  “…market forces are a great check for horrific, unfunny, partisan, dishonest speech…” ([48:56])

• Cruz (on Democrats):

  "They are bean counters. Nobody is an individual. You are not a human being. In their book. You are a white, male, southerner, conservative. You don’t even exist.” ([24:49])

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Overall Tone

The conversation is acerbic, biting, and highly critical of the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, and Jimmy Kimmel, laced with the hosts’ characteristic sarcasm and pop culture riffs. There's a willingness to laugh at their own expense (e.g., via Jon Stewart’s roast), but an underlying seriousness in dissecting issues of inclusion, bigotry, and free speech.

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Conclusion

This episode offers an in-depth and provocative breakdown of Kamala Harris’ book, raising questions about the Democratic Party's real views on diversity and inclusion, and featuring spirited, sometimes comedic, discussions on media honesty, internal party conflicts, and the consequences of politicizing identity.

For those interested in conservative analysis of current events with a personal, sometimes humorous touch, this episode is both instructive and engaging.

Transcript

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[C]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, we are going to get back to more of what we normally do on this show today after this incredibly sad but inspiring last week, especially as you and I have come back from the funeral of Charlie Kirk. And one of the things that we're going to be talking about is a very interesting book launch. And man, is she just throwing her colleagues under the bus. Kamala Harris going scorched earth, but then trying to take some of it back in the interviews. It's really bad pr.

[B]

Well, I think Kamala Harris has decided she needs a new pair of shoes. So she wants to sell books, to sell a lot of books. And so she's come out with her book and in the book she admits that she didn't pick Pete Buttigieg as vp. Why? Because he's gay. And she didn't pick Josh Shapiro as vp. Why? Because he's Jewish. And then she's proceeded to say, no big deal, just the Democrat Party is no gays need apply, no Jews need to apply. But, but remember, we're the party of tolerance and inclusion. We're gonna break that down, tell you exactly what she said. And finally, Jimmy Kimmel is back on abc. At least for a minute or two. I don't know how long this will last, but, but he is back on. Uh, we're going to talk about that. What it means, what it means for abc, what it means for America, what it means for free speech, all of that on today's Verdict.

[C]

Yeah, it's going to be really interesting. I want to talk to you real quick about the international fellowship of Christians and Jews and something that is coming up that's really important that I want you to be involved in it. It was nearly two years ago that the terrorists murdered more than 1200 innocent Israelis. And then they took 250 hostages. Many of them they've killed today. It seems as if the cries of the dead and the dying have been drowned out by the shouts of anti Semitic hatred. And the most brutal attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust by many now has just been forgotten. Yet as the world looks away, a light shines in the Darkness. And it is a movement of love and support for the people of Israel that we want you to be a part of. It's called Flags of Fellowship, and it's organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Now, this is the best part. On October 5th, just a few weeks away, millions across America will prayerfully plant an Israeli flag in honor and solidarity with the victims of October 7, 2023. And they're grieving families as well. And you can be a part of this movement this day. Also, you can get your church involved as well. All you have to do is get more information, and you can join the Flags of Fellowship movement by visiting Fellowship online. Just go to ifcj.org and again, you can get all the information on how to join the Flags of Fellowship movement. You can also find out how to get your church involved. That's IFCJ.org that's IFCJ.org all right, so Kama put out this book, and the name of the book is really funny. It's the number of days that our campaign was obviously, when Joe Biden was forced, after that first debate, to get out. Kamala Harris was the obvious pick for multiple reasons, including, it was easiest way to keep the money rolling from the presidential campaign of Joe Biden. But she's now basically saying, I'm a brilliant candidate. Everybody else was bad, and no one helped me the way they should have. And she's, like, angry at the entire Democratic Party and also at Joe Biden and his family.

[B]

Well, she's got a lot of anger, but. But I will admit that there's actually at least a moment or two of honesty and candor in this book. And the honesty and candor is just how intolerant and judgmental and hateful the Democrat Party has been. So she writes in the vote.

[C]

Hold on. They're the party of tolerance. They've been saying it for years.

[B]

Well, here's what she wrote. She said that her first choice to be VP was her close friend Pete Buttigieg. But she decided that it would be, quote, too big of a risk for a black woman to run with a gay man. And she says Buttigieg, quote, would have been an ideal partner if I were a straight white man. But we were already asking a lot of America to accept a woman, a black woman, a black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, screw it. Let's just do it. But knowing what's at stake, it was too big a risk. Now, let me start by saying, listen, Democrats are at their Core racist. They are at their core deeply bigoted. So her view of it, by the way, she didn't lose in Kamala's world because the Democrats agenda for four years under Biden and Kamala was a train wreck. It was a disaster. She didn't lose because of open borders and 12 million illegals coming into this country. She didn't lose because of Americans being murdered and raped and being assaulted by illegals they'd release. She didn't lose because of out of control inflation making it harder for working Americans to buy groceries and pay their bills. She didn't lose because on the international stage they'd screwed everything up and went from peace and prosperity to two simultaneous wars. She didn't lose because of anti Semitic protests on college campuses that Democrats did nothing about. No, no, no, no. In Kamala's world, she lost because. I'm going to go back to her quote. We were already asking a lot of America to accept a woman because clearly that's why she lost in Kamala's world, because she's a woman. A black woman. Clearly that's even more why she lost in Kamala's world. A black woman married to a Jewish man. I'm sorry, is there a single voter on planet earth who voted against Kamala because she's a black woman married to a Jewish man? Well, actually, the answer may be yes, but that would be a Democrat who is anti Semitic and can't stand that she was married to a Jewish man. But that was her world. Is she said, well, because everyone's racist like we in the Democrat party are. I can't pick Pete. And she says Pete would be an ideal partner. That's who she wanted to pick. And the singular reason she did not is he was gay. If he were straight. She, she. She doesn't explicitly says it, but she pretty clearly suggests he would have been her pick. And she's quite open about saying nope. For her, being gay was disqualifying.

[C]

Yeah, I want to play this. And there's two versions of it. I want to play the longer version because Kamala went on the biggest, you know, TV show to sell a book. If you're a Democrat, Rachel Maddow on msnbc.

[A]

And.

[C]

And Rachel is for people that don't know she's openly gay. She was not happy with Kamala and had the book there and was clearly wanting to take her to task. I want you to listen to this back and forth and how awkward it got.

[A]

Let me ask you a politics question I mentioned in the intro tonight that you say in the book, really bluntly, that your personal first choice for your running mate would have been Pete Buttigieg. And you praise him effusively. You say, he would have been an ideal partner if I were a straight man. And you say effectively, that demographically it was. It was too much to ask of the American people, to ask them to elect you with him as your running mate. I wonder if his reaction to that, since this part of the book has come out, if you've had any reflection on that, or I guess I'd ask you to just elaborate on that a little bit. It's hard to hear with you running, as you know, you're the first woman elected vice president, you're a black woman and a South Asian woman elected to that high office, very nearly elected president. To say that he couldn't be on the ticket effectively because he was gay, it's hard to hear. No, no, no, that's not what I said. That. That's that he couldn't be on the ticket because he is gay. My point, as I write in the book, is that I was clear that in 107 days, in one of the most hotly contested elections for President United States, against someone like Donald Trump, who knows no floor, to be a black woman running for president of the United States and as a vice presidential running mate, a gay man, with the stakes being so high, it made me very sad. But I also realized it would be a real risk no matter how, you know, I've been an advocate and an ally of the LGBT community my entire life. So it wasn't about. It wasn't about. So it wasn't about any prejudice on my part. But we had such a short period of time and the stakes were so high. I think Pete is a phenomenal, phenomenal public servant, and I think America is and would be ready for that. But at when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go, you know, and maybe I was being too cautious. You know, I'll let our friends, we should all talk about that. Maybe I was, but that's the decision I made. And I'm. And I, as with everything else in the book, I'm being very candid about that. Yeah. With a great deal of sadness about also the fact that it might have been a risk.

[C]

So in other words, I'm not racist or bigoted. You are. So I couldn't do what I wanted to do because you're racist. And by the way, this would be among Democrats. She's literally saying to Democrats, y' all couldn't handle a gay man.

[B]

Yeah. And if you listen to what she said to Rachel Maddow, and let's be clear, Rachel Maddow was pissed. Yes, she was clearly pissed. She was trying to restrain herself, but she was really unhappy. And you listen, actually, Kamala interrupts Rachel Maddow and says, quote, no, no, no, that's not what I said. That. That's that he couldn't be on the ticket because he is gay. Ben, that is exactly what she said.

[C]

Yep. It's in the book.

[B]

She said, if he weren't gay. It's in the book, he'd be on the ticket. So she said, I didn't say that he couldn't be on the ticket because he's gay. I just decided he couldn't be on the ticket because he's gay. And so her answer is, it's not me. It's just the voters are so prejudiced that I decided to exclude him. But the amazing thing is that's not the only vice presidential candidate that she excluded, again, for prejudice. And so she admits the very same thing about Josh Shapiro.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And Josh Shapiro, look, you and I talked about this on the podcast. If you were a Democrat and you wanted the Democrats to win, look, obviously you didn't want that. I didn't want that. But if you wanted the Democrats to win, Josh Shapiro was the obvious choice. He was a popular governor in Pennsylvania, the single most important and largest swing state in the country. And Harris wrote that she had three finalists. Shapiro, Tim Waltz, who she picked, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. And she interviewed them one on, one by one in her vice presidential residence, the Naval Observatory, on August 4, 2024. Two days later, she announced the selection of Waltz. Shapiro was apparently the first of the three she interviewed. And she writes, quote, at one point, he, Shapiro mused that he would want to be in the room for every decision. I told him bluntly that was an unrealistic expectation. A vice president is not a co president. I had a nagging concern that he would be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership. I had to be able to completely trust the person in that role. Every day as president, I said, I'll have 99 problems and my VP can't be one. But then she went on to say that the real reason she didn't pick Shapiro is that he's Jewish. And here's what she writes in her book. I know, it's a shocker. It's surprising.

[C]

Here's what she writes. Yeah. There's bigots in the Democratic Party. Never saw that coming. Keep going. I'm ready.

[B]

Quote, we talked about how to handle the attacks he'd confronted on Gaza and what effect it might have on the enthusiasm we were trying to build. Big protests at the convention were a major concern. Now understand what she's saying there. Number one, she was worried if I pick a Jew the problem will be what effect it might have on the enthusiasm we were trying to build. Democrats would be furious. How dare you pick a Jewish person as your vp. But then the next thing she wrote is even more astonishing. Big protests at the convention were a major concern. But by the way, who would be protesting? So not right wingers. It's not the Klan. She was worried that left wing pro Hamas sympathizers would protest at the convention. And you know what? They would have. The fundamental problem is the pro Hamas wing of the Democrat party has taken over the party. And you and I said at the time the reason she did not pick Josh Shapiro is the pro Hamas wing of the Democrat Party now has a veto and they vetoed Shapiro because he is Jewish. That's what she admits. She also says that she and Shapiro discussed an opinion piece he had written as a 20 year old in which he said that the people in Palestine are too battle minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own. And to be clear, Shapiro has since run away from that and has embraced a two state solution. And by the way, his stated positions on Israel are the same as hers, which is they are all in against the government of Israel. But nonetheless she is unequivocal. Shapiro was vetoed because he's Jewish and Buttigieg was vetoed because he's gay. And that is her own confession written in her own book.

[C]

So here's my question then. Who does qualify to be president? Because the white guy I guess is kind of acceptable, I should say vp, but not if you're gay and, or if you're Jewish. So is it just like it's just only people that either don't look like her or only people that are just straight white guys? I'm really confused now in the New Party of the Democratic, like who is, who is an appropriate candidate? That's what I want to know.

[B]

Well look, and she managed to find the weirdest white guy she could, Tim Waltz. And there's an irony because until she picked him as vp, the only thing people knew about Tim Waltz is that he said Republicans were weird. That was sort of his breakthrough moment where he said they're weird. And then suddenly gets on the national stage and everyone's like, holy cow, this guy. You know, like the nickname he got of jazz hands. Like, I don't get how he, like, waves, but, you know, you know who he reminded me of?

[C]

Who?

[B]

Is that Will ferrell on Saturday night live when he played the cheerleader with Sherry o'. Terry.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean. I mean, that is Tim waltz.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And, gosh, I almost wish he'd been on the national stage for longer than 22 seconds. Because if they could have brought Will Ferrell back to reprise him, he could have done the most spectacular Tim waltz. But the problem is they'd never do it. They'd probably bring in, I don't know, Brad Pitt to play him instead. Because, you know, Saturday night live is all about lionizing the left and attacking the right. But. But if they were being honest, Will Ferrell could have done a spectacular Tim waltz.

[C]

All of you know that I am a pro second amendment guy. I've shared on numerous occasions how carrying my firearms saved my life from a gang related attack. But for those of you out there with family members who may not be comfortable having a gun by their side, you still want them to be able to protect themselves and others in times of danger. And that's where the burner launcher comes in. Burn is a handheld pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to separate you from an attacker. Burna is a handheld pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to separate you from the attacker. I'm here today with Josh Sherrard from berta to share the true story of how a California homeowner used a burner launcher to stop a home intruder. Josh, tell us what happened.

[E]

You know, Bob Braden was one of the earliest adopters of burna back when we first started. He lived in California in a residential suburb of l. A. That was pretty prone to a lot of vagrancy, a lot of homeless walking up and down the street. He kept a burn in his living room. And one of these vagrants wandered in his home just confused, probably drunk and intoxicated in the wrong house. Bob was able to pull his burner out, point it at the intruder, who promptly backed out of the home, back into the yard. And of course, it was all hot on surveillance. He didn't even have to use the burner, and he was able to ward off this intruder in a situation that could have ended incredibly badly had more force been used. This is a great demonstration of how the lowest level of force can be used to rectify a situation. And of course it was all caught on video, which makes for a great illustration of how that burner can be used on a day to day basis.

[C]

There's a lot of people are going to say, well, why wouldn't the homeowner just use a gun in this case?

[B]

Yeah.

[E]

Well, one, it comes down to legality. You know, in this part of California it may be very difficult to use a gun. And then two, we saw this intruder literally just stumbled into the wrong home in an altered state of mind. Nobody wants to kill anybody that doesn't need killing that they absolutely don't have to. So this is a great instance where the burner was able to be used the lowest level of less lethal force is able to use to rectify the situation without bringing a gun into that situation.

[C]

Yeah. I tell you, I have one of these. My family members do as well. A lot of my friends. If you want more information how you or a family member can protect themselves with a burner launcher, go to burna by rna.com that's burna.com by rna.com Again, protect yourself and your family. Burna by rna.com Final question on this. I, I actually kind of expected this from Kamala. There's one consistent we see with her. It's never going to be her fault anything. You know, she had a really hard time in the White House keeping staff with that was well documented. There's a lot of the staff felt like she just chastised them and berated them. A lot of them quit early on. There was not like a big tenured staff there either. And, and now it's not her fault. The American people didn't reject her before Iowa when she was running for president and had what polling it like 1 or 2% and then they're like, well, it's, it's not my fault that I didn't win. It's their fault that I didn't win and they didn't do it right. And she also trashed her the guy who made her into even having a chance at the White House and Joe Biden and trash Joe Biden's family as well. I, I think you're going to see probably some pushback from them in the near future because this book was not flattering of Joe Biden who really without Joe Biden she wouldn't have even gotten to write this book.

[B]

Well, look, Joe Biden, I mean, let's be honest, he can't stand Kamala Harris and he has never been able to stand Kamala Harris. If you remember the 2020 presidential primary? Kamala lit into him and basically called him a bigoted Klansman. In fact, her signature breakout moment was when she was talking about little girls, little African American girls being left behind in segregated schools and busing. She said, I was that little girl. And it was a, you know, tear down this old white bigot moment. Now it failed. And she ended up getting, I think, effectively zero votes in the Democrat primary. I don't know, maybe. Maybe she got more than zero votes, but she got zero delegates. She dropped out before Iowa, but Biden trapped himself. So do you know why Kamala was Biden's vp?

[C]

I think he had no choice. She was going after him, saying he's a racist old white guy. And they're like, all right, how do we shut her up?

[B]

No, no.

[C]

Okay, so that's wrong.

[B]

I don't believe that is.

[C]

All right, I'm intrigued now.

[B]

I'm ready. Okay. Okay. So I have a theory. I can't prove this, but I feel pretty good about my theory. So Biden had initially promised that he would pick a woman as vp. And listen, I went back to the Democrats. They are bean counters. Nobody is an individual. You are not a human being. In their book. You are a white, male, southerner, conservative. You don't even exist. Yeah, uh, but everyone falls into a category. Uh, and so Katanji, Brown, Jackson, Joe Biden promised, I'm going to nominate a black woman to the court. Katanji becomes Justice Jackson. Uh, Biden early on promised, I'm going to nominate a woman as vp. And it's again, it's the. It's the everyone is their characteristic rather than who they are and what they say and what they believe. I believe personally that Biden intended to pick Amy Klobuchar. I think that when he said that, that was in his mind. He liked Samy. They get along. And then what happened that messed up his plan is, is George Floyd was killed. And we saw the country erupt in violence. We saw riots, violent riots in cities all across the country. Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots. We saw police cars being firebombed. And suddenly it changed the dynamics of a Democrat primary. So he was heading to be the nominee. Maybe he was the nominee. I forget the exact timeline, but he was the nominee. And the realities of Democrat primary politics meant suddenly it didn't just have to be a woman, it had to be an African American woman.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And he was suddenly stuck. So if you look at the category of senators or governors who are African American women, There was precisely one. Kamala Harris. He could choose, others he could have chosen. There are a couple of House members that he could have chosen. There are a couple of mayors that he could have chosen. But Joe Biden is a man of the senate. He spent 40 years in the Senate. I think it was just Biden was incapable of picking what he would view as a lowly House member, a lowly mayor. It just. That was not in his range. And he suddenly was backed into. It must be a woman. And because of George Floyd, now it must be an African American woman. And there was one and only one choice, and that was Kamala Harris. And boom, he named Kamala. But. But I think Biden to this day can't stand her. And I think she to this day can't stand him.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And so. And by the way, she was fully.

[C]

Really couldn't stand her from the very beginning. Apparently from internal reporting, she did not want Joe Biden to pick her. Didn't like her, didn't trust her, didn't want her to be the vp, but he trapped her.

[B]

Like, what other choice did he have when he said it was gonna be a woman? Do you agree with me that as a matter of Democrat politics, after George Floyd, it had to be an African American?

[C]

I mean, I think they pander so much in their world. Yes. And I think, like you said, it had to be a woman. And if you look at that list, who's on that list is at that level. And. Yeah. And also, it's literally a set of one.

[B]

It's literally a set of one. What? He could have picked Karen Bass, now the mayor of Los Angeles, who was this, you know, Marxist, Fidel Castro loving House member. Like. Like Biden was not going to do that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And so he was stuck. And let's be clear, when Biden cratered. So for most of the Biden presidency, the president froze Kamala at everything. They couldn't stand her. She was screwing up. She was losing staff. Every time she did an interview, she messed it up and said they just froze her out. And so then when Biden had his disastrous debate with Trump, look, it was Kamala who was quite eager. She let others actually plunge the knife in. It was Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and others that. That finished the job of a tube brute and stabbed Biden in the back and took him out. Although, to be clear, and longtime listeners of Verdict will remember this, Ben, you and I did a special podcast the night of that debate.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Where we predicted that night, we said, will go down as the most consequential debate in presidential history. Why? Because this debate changed the names that will be on the ballot in November and we predicted that night within an hour of the debate Joe Biden will not be on the ballot November because of this debate. By the way, we'd been predicting for a year that the Democrats would pull Biden and a bunch of the corporate media had been mocking us and to be clear, me in particular for saying that. And of course that prediction proved right. But. But Kamala, the bad blood between them is real and it's significant. So she's evening a score there. But it is amazing how she can readily admit she excluded Shapiro because he's Jewish and Buttigieg because he's gay. And yet she can nonetheless feel self righteous that theirs is the party of inclusion and it's the Republicans that are intolerant and hateful and it's just. It's just false Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game.

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[C]

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[C]

I want to pivot real quick to something that just truly is hysterical and that is ABC News. We thought they like had actually done the right thing and were willing to say that it yeah, it's no Jimmy Kimmel. You're not going to go out there and lie about who assassinated and what they believed in of Charlie Kirk. We now know that the sin for doing that, for that crime is a sentence of going on a vacation for about six days. So less than a week. And ABC News like, all right, we started back up on Tuesday night. Now here's the other interesting thing. Not everybody's going along with this. Nextar and Sinclair are saying no, they're not going to be hearing it. They want and a real apology for him before they think about putting him back on the air. Your reaction to that?

[B]

Well, you and I are recording this show Tuesday night. And as we're recording it, Kimmel has not yet gone on air. So I don't know what he's going to say. He might do all sorts of things. He might stand up and give a heartfelt apology. He might admit that in his last show he told a lie. He engaged in active disinformation. His sort of joke which wasn't remotely funny was that the murderer of Charlie Kirk was a right wing MAGA guy. Now that's a lie and it's a lie with consequence. I mean, we've seen the polling that shows a majority of Democrats believe Charlie Kirk's killer was a right winger. Now that is a brazen lie. Charlie Kirk's killer was radicalized. He was a leftist. Law enforcement has said this over and over again. He was living with his boyfriend, who was a transgender, who was a furry, who was a man transitioning to be a woman. The killer engraved antifa and transgender slogans on the casings that he used for the assassination. So there is no ambiguity. This is a man of the left. And so maybe, maybe, just maybe, and I may be holding out hope, Kimmel stands up and gives a heartfelt apology, says, I'm sorry. And what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific. It was a political assassination. It is wrong. And it's clear this was not some right winger who did this. This was a leftist. This is my side of the aisle. This is Jimmy Kimmel speaking. And I'm sorry if that happens. I think the odds are very, very high. You and I, almost, regardless of what happens, are going to be talking about this on Friday's pod. So on Friday we'll know what he said. We don't know what he said right now. I think that's unlikely. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. But I think it's unlikely that Kimmel, he may give a half hearted apology. He may say, I'm sorry, some people were offended. Maybe. I actually think he's more likely to be defiant and say, to hell with you, everyone who was offended by the lies that I told. But we'll see what I will say. Look, my view on Kimmel, I think he is profoundly unfunny. He hasn't been funny in years. There was a long time ago when he could be a comedian, a thousand years ago, but then partisanship and hate overcame him and his show consists of just relentlessly screaming, I hate Donald Trump. I hate Donald Trump. I hate conservatives. I hate Republicans, by the way, frequently. I hate Ted Cruz. Ever since I beat him at basketball, I've lived rent free in his head. And the problem is, listen, as a Republican, I'm actually fine with comedy that is roasting Republicans and Democrats. I think good comedy makes fun of everyone. Actually today I retweeted, so. So, so Jon Stewart did a whole riff on the Daily show blasting me and it was funny as hell. He actually played a clip from Our Last Verdict where, you know, where, where I talked about Kimmel and, and I did an impression of a Godfather. Actually. I'll tell you what, let's play Jon Stewart because this is actually comedy. Listen, I don't agree with Jon Stewart's Politics. But Stewart is actually funny. I mean, he makes me laugh and so let's play the clip. I'm gonna play a clip. This is making fun of me. But to all our Verdict listeners, this is me playing Jon Stewart just mocking me. And he does a very good job. He's a talented comedian. I'm perfectly fine with comedians who mock me, as long as that's not all they do. As long as they don't just scream, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. But they're actually funny. So here was Jon Stewart on the Daily show talking about he's gonna quote verdict, and then he's just gonna mercilessly mock me. Give a listen.

[H]

Now, Cruz has supported this president through insults to his own wife's looks and to his own father's loyalties. And yet Cruz still manages to maintain a modicum of self respect when it comes to this president trampling all over our Constitution. Sir, it brings me no pleasure to.

[B]

Have to play this. Look, I like Brendan Carr. He's a good guy. He's the chairman of the fcc. I work closely with him. But what he said there is dangerous as hell.

[H]

Fantastic. Fantastic. Senator Ted Cruz boldly stating that the FCC chairman threatening the licenses of networks is dangerous. And Senator Cruz, I would just say maybe you should stop there. I would stop there. I would not continue with the thought. Perfect. No notes. All right, go on.

[B]

And I gotta say, he threatens it. He says, we can do this the easy way or we could do this the hard way.

[H]

The.

[B]

What?

[H]

Sort of impress the hard way. What kind of mobs have you ever heard? We could do this the hard way. We could do it the easy way. The odd way. Easy, Odd. That's not the Godfather. That's Lenny from Mice and Men. The bunny. The bunny can do it, Daisy. The hard way. You got. You got more, Senator, don't you?

[B]

And I gotta say, that's right out of Goodfellows. That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, nice bar you have here. It'd be a shame if something happened to him.

[H]

That's not a good fellas quote. I know this because all of my decorative pillows have Goodfellas quote on them. I mean, I would go home, I would say, that's me at home. Look at me. Now, Senator, a lesser man might tell you to go home and get your shine box, but I don't, because you wouldn't even know what that means. Ted Cruz, I mean, to do that with Goodfellas, with that accent. Is there anything in Pop culture that I love that you can't ruin.

[B]

But, dad, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat animals. But, Lisa, animals are so delicious. There's the animal. We get bacon from the animal. We get ham from the animal, we get sausage from. Dad, that's all the same animal. Smithers, release the hounds. Excellent.

[H]

They're not booing. They're saying boo.

[C]

Urns.

[H]

Imagine having to endure a Texas power outage with this guy. Who wants to hear my Apu? Anyone? Well, he ruined my love of the Simpsons. At least I've still got my favorite franchise, Star wars, all to myself, so I don't have to.

[C]

The Force is strong with this one. There is no try, do or do not.

[H]

At best, he sounds like Yoda with a sinus infection trying not to come do or do. You may enjoy Star wars, said Cruz, but there's one thing we'll never have in common, and that's my comfort movie. The Princess Bride. A fantastical tale of adventure and true love with an outstanding cast. Oh, you know what's coming. You know what's coming. With an outstanding cast, including the inimitable. Oh, it. Just roll it.

[B]

So what is it you have that's so worth living for? He presses on his chest and Wesley goes. True love. Liar. Shut up, witch. I'm not a witch. I'm your wife. But after what you just said, I wish I wasn't. Don't say that name. What? Humperdink? Humpading. Humpading. Humpading. I can't hear you. So.

[C]

Whoa.

[H]

That was a strange. I'm like, oh, the One Man Show. Do you know how hard it is to make Mario Lopez uncomfortable? Truly. Mario Lopez, the man who, need I remind you, did this dance in a tank tee in front of everyone at the max.

[C]

All right, I gotta say, I'm laughing a little bit because it is pretty good roast. I'm not gonna lie.

[B]

Look, Ben, that's hysterical. Yeah, I do like to do impressions. I'm not particularly great at them, but I have fun. And I like pop culture, but, like, that's actual comedy. Like, I. I'm gonna make a prediction right now. What Jon Stewart just did there is 100,000 times funnier than whatever Jimmy Kimmel will do tonight. So we'll see what he does. But look, the point that I made in this podcast is the federal government, the FCC, should not be threatening the licenses of ABC in order to force them to take someone off the air. Even someone incredibly unfunny with terrible ratings who gets 1.1 million views. Which means he gets fewer views and listens than verdict does. We beat Jimmy Kimmel regularly. And someone who was actively lying about a political assassination. I think all of those are reasons for ABC to fire him. But I don't think the federal government should be forcing ABC to fire him. Why? Because, look, when Biden was president, the Biden FCC tried to yank Fox News license and I led the fight against it. We beat them. We stopped them from doing it. You know what? If we embrace the fcc, stripping licenses from anyone who says something you disagree with, the next Democrat president who gets in the White House will do this and will come after. Will come after everyone right of center. And so that is, that is a slippery slope to oblivion. But at the same time, understand, just because I'm saying the federal government shouldn't force Kimmel off the air, I think market forces should. And it's interesting that 66 ABC stations did not carry the Kimmel program tonight. And if there are enough market forces, ABC ultimately will respond to them. I think market forces are a great check for horrific, unfunny, partisan, dishonest speech. And by the way, if you're dishonest enough, there could also be legal liability and litigation and all sorts of consequences that come when you lie on air. I just don't think it should be government regulators saying we don't agree with the politics of your speech so we're taking your license. But that being said, the world is better off without an unfunny, dishonest left wing partisan who lies to the American people. And. And sadly, there was a time when Jimmy Kimmel could be funny, but. But that's what he has become.

[C]

Yeah, great point. Don't forget we do a show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscriber auto download button wherever you listen. You can also tell Siri or Alexa, hey, play Verdict with Ted Cruz and it will do it automatically for you. So make sure that you listen wherever you can, on demand, whenever you want to. And we will see you back here in a couple of days.

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I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the wealthbreak podcast, a real conversation about finance. Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look.

[F]

The same for everyone.

[H]

I feel like sometimes being broke is.

[B]

A cycle and that we might have to revisit that. And we're not stopping at success stories.

[D]

What happens when it doesn't go right? How do you cope with it?

[H]

Because wealth isn't just about money.

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It's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same. Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartradio app.

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.