Tariffs, Terrorism & Tons of Money from Foreign Adversaries Flooding our Universities

Summary

Verdict with Ted Cruz: Tariffs, Terrorism & Tons of Money from Foreign Adversaries Flooding our Universities

Release Date: March 28, 2025

Hosts:

• Senator Ted Cruz
• Ben Ferguson

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I. Introduction

In this episode of "Verdict with Ted Cruz," Senator Ted Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson delve into three pressing issues impacting America today:

1. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on imported cars.
2. The deportation of pro-Hamas radicals and the revocation of student visas.
3. The influx of massive foreign funds into U.S. universities from adversarial nations.

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II. Tariffs on Imported Cars

Trump's Tariff Announcement:
Senator Cruz opens the discussion by addressing President Trump's recent declaration of a 25% tariff on imported cars. He emphasizes the complexity of tariffs and their dual nature as both strategic tools and economic instruments.

Notable Quotes:

• Donald Trump at [03:29]:
  "So this is the beginning of Liberation Day in America... a 25% tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States."

• Senator Ted Cruz at [04:42]:
  "Tariffs can be very complicated. This is something that a lot of people are gonna hear and say, good, we're leveling the playing field, but they can also be very complicated."

Analysis:
Ben Ferguson supports the use of tariffs as leverage to compel foreign nations to act in America's interest, citing previous successes like the implementation of the "remain in Mexico" policy. He references President Trump's longstanding admiration for tariffs, underscoring their role in revitalizing American manufacturing and reducing dependency on countries like China.

• Ben Ferguson at [07:38]:
  "President Trump uses tariffs for multiple purposes... he loves tariffs. We've all heard him rhapsodize at length... 'tariff is the most beautiful word in the English language.'"

Cruz and Ferguson discuss the strategic implementation of tariffs, advocating for reciprocity to ensure that as the U.S. imposes tariffs, other nations reduce theirs on American goods. This approach aims to balance trade relationships, support domestic industries, and protect American consumers from inflated prices.

• Ben Ferguson at [09:29]:
  "I believe America prospers and does well when we can export our crops, our livestock, our goods, our services into other nations... I think we are the greatest producing nation."

Economic Implications:
The hosts highlight the potential impact on American consumers and businesses. While tariffs can protect certain industries, they may also lead to higher prices for consumers and uncertainty for businesses planning for the future.

• Ben Ferguson at [14:08]:
  "If you impose big tariffs, it means if you go and buy them, you pay a much, much higher price."

---

III. Deportation of Pro-Hamas Radicals and Student Visa Revocations

Current Measures:
Senator Cruz and Ferguson discuss the administration's efforts to revoke visas of individuals supporting Hamas and other terrorist organizations. They contrast these actions with previous administrations, emphasizing a tougher stance on foreign radicals.

Notable Quotes:

• Senator Ted Cruz at [20:51]:
  "We're not putting up with this, and it shouldn't be happening in America."

• Ben Ferguson at [24:07]:
  "If you're a foreigner and you're saying, I love Hamas... get the hell out of our country."

Case Studies:
They cite specific instances, such as the arrest of a Tufts University graduate student and a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, to illustrate the administration's commitment to removing individuals who pose a threat to national security.

• Senator Ted Cruz at [23:21]:
  "According to the Department of Homeland Security, the woman was arrested for glorifying and supporting terrorists... she's angry, we're not putting up with this."

Policy Contrast:
The hosts criticize the previous administration for not taking similar actions, highlighting a shift towards stricter enforcement under the current leadership.

• Ben Ferguson at [25:49]:
  "Democrats... do you support protecting Americans... or do you support the violent anti-American protesters? They are choosing the violent anti-American protesters."

Legal and Moral Considerations:
They discuss the limitations of the First Amendment for non-citizens, asserting that the U.S. has no obligation to admit or retain individuals who actively undermine its values and security.

---

IV. Foreign Money Influx into U.S. Universities

Report Findings:
A significant portion of the discussion centers around a Fox News report revealing that $60 billion has flowed into American universities in recent years, with $795 million originating from adversarial nations like China, Russia, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Notable Quotes:

• Ben Ferguson at [30:02]:
  "A new report... found that $60 billion in foreign gifts and contracts were funneled into American colleges and universities, including $20 billion alone to elite schools like Harvard, Yale, and others."

• Senator Ted Cruz at [29:01]:
  "What are they actually getting in return for the staggering amounts of foreign money? Is this covert ops by foreign nations? Is this trying to control the next generation of American minds?"

Historical Context:
Senator Cruz references his previous legislative efforts to curb foreign influence, specifically mentioning the shutdown of Confucius Institutes funded by China for espionage and propaganda purposes.

• Senator Ted Cruz at [32:57]:
  "Confucius Institutes were used as hubs of espionage... and tools of propaganda... we passed legislation resulting in more than 20 Confucius Institutes being shut down."

Current Concerns:
The infusion of foreign funds from adversarial countries raises alarms about potential espionage, intellectual property theft, and the shaping of future American leaders' perspectives.

• Ben Ferguson at [33:58]:
  "If Iran is funding your university, you're doing something fundamentally wrong."

Policy Recommendations:
Ferguson advocates for increased transparency and stringent penalties for universities accepting funds from nations hostile to the U.S. He emphasizes the necessity of safeguarding academic institutions from becoming conduits for foreign influence.

• Ben Ferguson at [35:45]:
  "We need transparency... require that universities report every dollar of foreign money they receive... put punitive tax penalties on universities that accept funds from enemy nations."

Conclusion:
The episode underscores the intertwined nature of economic policies, national security, and academic integrity. Senator Cruz and Ben Ferguson call for decisive actions to protect American interests on multiple fronts, from trade to education.

---

Final Thoughts

"Verdict with Ted Cruz" provides a comprehensive analysis of critical issues facing the United States, emphasizing the need for strategic policy implementation to safeguard national interests. Through detailed discussions and pointed critiques, the hosts offer listeners valuable insights into the complexities of tariffs, national security, and the integrity of America's educational institutions.

For those interested in understanding the nuanced interplay between government policies and their broader implications, this episode serves as an essential listen.

---

Note: This summary excludes all advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the substantive discussions between Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson.

Transcript

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[Ted Cruz]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, we've got a lot to talk about tonight, including some big news that Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on imported cars. We're going to deal with that, but also some other things as well.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, we're going to talk about tariffs, number one, we're going to talk about terrorists, number two, pro Hamas radicals being deported, having the student visas revoked. And we're going to talk, number three, about massive foreign money flooding into our universities. All of that we're going to break down on today's podcast.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. So let's start with the tariffs. And Donald Trump has come out. He has announced his 25% tariff import cars. And the president announcing it, said he believes this is the beginning of Liberation Day in America. Here's the president in his own words.

[Donald Trump]

So this is the beginning of Liberation Day in America. We're going to take back just some of the money that has been taken from us by people sitting behind this desk or another desk that's not quite as nice, but they have their choice of seven, as you know. And we're going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they've been taking over the years. They've taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe. And this is very modest. What we're going to be doing is a 25% tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States, if they're made in the United States basis, absolutely no tariff. We start off with a 2.5% base, which is what we were at, and we go to 25%. And basically, as you know, and as you've been seeing, not reporting as accurately as it should be reported, because it's a massive story, business is coming back to the United States so that they don't have to pay tariffs. And I think also because of November 5th, the election, they're very happy.

[Ted Cruz]

Now, that's the president talking in the Oval Office about this, Senator. And look, tariffs can be very complicated. This is something that a lot of people are gonna hear and say, good, we're leveling the playing field, but they can also be very complicated. And there's a lot that we're dealing with now in this country with tariffs. So I want you to break it down for people so they understand some of these tariffs have been straight up, just strategy from the president to get leverage and to let countries know they can't keep treating us the way that they are. We've seen that with Canada. We've seen that with Mexico. These are a little bit more complicated and complex.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, listen, President Trump uses tariffs for multiple purposes. One purpose he uses them for is his leverage to incentivize foreign countries to do things that are in America's interest. The easiest example of this is the threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada, where the president has threatened 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada unless and until they actively and aggressively help us secure our borders. Now, I got to tell you, Ben, on that, I emphatically support President Trump. There is no greater mandate that came out of the November election than we must secure our borders. And I got to say, in the first Trump administration, the President used the threat of tariffs against Mexico, a 25% tariff. He threatened to get Mexico to make enormous concessions on border security. Mexico ended up caving. And the government of Mexo Amlo, who was the president of Mexico, assigned 6,000 Mexican soldiers to their southern border. The Mexican southern border is much smaller than our southern border because it obviously it constricts into an isthmus. And they put 6,000 soldiers on their southern border, and they adopted the remain in Mexico policy. So the remain in Mexico policy was amazingly, tremendously successful. It produced the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. So when it comes to using the threat of tariffs or tariffs as a avenue of leverage, especially for something like securing the border, I am emphatically in support of it. By the way, we did an earlier podcast where when the nation of Colombia, earlier in the Trump administration, refused to accept illegal immigrants coming back, Trump immediately threatened tariffs against them, and Colombia cratered. Within hours, they just surrendered and said, okay, we'll take them back. So I'm all for tariffs as leverage to get positive foreign policy concessions from other countries.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, let's talk about the 25% on the cars and how this kind of got started from a political standpoint. Explain to the American people why this is a strategy that could work, but also, it is very complicated.

[Ben Ferguson]

So, Ben, there's a second component of President Trump's tariff approach, which is he genuinely loves tariffs. We've all heard him rhapsodize at length where he said tariff is the most beautiful word in the English language. And I gotta say, of every view President Trump has ever had, this is the most consistent policy view of his entire Life. If you go back to the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president, Donald J. Trump was calling for, we need more tariffs on foreign goods. He believes this. I have sat with Donald Trump over and over and over again, and he goes on at great length about how tariffs are wonderful, how they're gonna raise hundreds of billions of dollars. He goes on about how when William McKinley was president, the economy was great as you just played. He goes on saying, it's the golden age of America. Before we had an income tax, we got our revenue from tariffs. Now, I will say on that front, I've urged the President two things. Number one, I've urged President Trump focus on China. I believe China is the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States for the next hundred years. So tariffs are a great tool, a powerful tool. And everything we can do to delink our economy from China is a good thing. Everything we can do to onshore to bring manufacturing back from China to the United States is a good thing. Everything we can do to near shore to bring manufacturing back from China to countries near America, that is a good thing. So that's number one on what I've urged. The second thing I've urged the president to do is focus on reciprocity. Now, Ben, why am I focused on reciprocity? Listen, I believe in free trade.

[Ted Cruz]

And by the way, for people that are new, maybe they don't know what is it? What is your definition of free trade? So that they understand that? Because there's people that have bastardized free trade over the last 20 years to mean a lot of different things.

[Ben Ferguson]

So, look, as an economic matter, I believe America prospers and does well when we can export our crops, our livestock, our goods, our services into other nations, I think we are the greatest producing nation. We have the greatest economic power on the face of the planet. And when we can open up foreign markets to American exports, we do fantastic. American farmers and ranchers do great when foreign markets are opened up and there are enormous benefits. Now, what I've urged the president to do is focus on the principle of reciprocity. What do I mean by reciprocity? I mean by reciprocity that we should adopt tariffs that mirror the tariffs other countries apply to us. Why is it that I'm advocating for reciprocity? Because since I believe in free trade, I think it is better economically for America to embrace free trade. Reciprocity puts a downward ratchet on our tariffs. Because if the Trump administration imposes tariffs against foreign nations, there is an easy avenue for those foreign nations to lower the tariffs. And the way they can do so is lower their own tariffs against American goods. So I can tell you in the last two weeks, the CEO of a major European car company was meeting with me and they're very dismayed. They're very concerned about tariffs being imposed against them. And I can tell you this, European CEO is advocating Europe, we will zero out our tariffs on American cars. Right now, Europe has significant tariffs on American cars. The CEO is advocating we'll drop those to zero if America doesn't hammer us with tariffs on importing cars to the United States. That's a great outcome. I want to see foreign countries lower their tariffs on American goods. So that's a great outcome. I will say, Ben, it is clear the president likes tariffs. He describes when you sit down, I spend a lot of time with the president. When you sit down with him in person, he will go on sometime for hours, at length about how tariffs will generate hundreds of billions of dollars, how they're terrific for the American economy. I don't want to see a situation where it is a major feature of the long term economic picture of America that we have big tariffs in place. And here's why. Who pays tariffs? The American consumer pays tariffs. If there are major tariffs on imported goods, it means if you go and buy them, you pay a much, much higher price. And so I would rather see a scenario, I prefer lower taxes to higher taxes. I would rather see a scenario where we are not imposing big tariffs, but at the same time foreign countries are lowering their tariffs so we can export more. So I am emphatically on board with Donald Trump using tariffs as leverage. I have concerns and I think it would be harmful to Texas and the country if tariffs become a persistent feature of our economic policy nationally.

[Ted Cruz]

So this is one of those where it's also, if you're a business person and you're a manufacturer, you want there to be some stability in the market. What am I dealing with? What does the future look like for me? And so if you're planning, I think if I'm reading this correctly, you're saying this is probably going to be a part of his policy for quite some time. This isn't going to be a blip on the screen the way that you described it, and that may be why so many are so concerned. Right.

[Ben Ferguson]

So the single most frequent question I get from business leaders in Texas and from business leaders nationally, and I meet with business leaders literally every single day. That's a big part of the job of being in the Senate is you Meet with leaders from your state and across the country. The most frequent question I get is what's going to happen on tariffs, what's going to happen on trade? And I genuinely don't know. But look, all right, Ben, you're a fancy schmancy radio host, you're big national guy. So you drive a Porsche Pan America really cool ass car. Like, by the way, your steering wheel is like really antique wood, which is cool looking.

[Ted Cruz]

It's the best part of the car. I'm not gonna lie. It's like, it is nice. I agree.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, the last I checked, Porsche is made in Germany. Yes. Today the president announced a 25% tariff on foreign made cars. That means if you bought that car tomorrow, you, Ben Ferguson, would pay 25% more for the same car you have right now. That's meaningful.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's meaningful and what it makes. And the reality is, for many people, they'd say, all right, well, I'm not gonna spend the 25% premium on that car.

[Ben Ferguson]

And listen, I will say there's an economic matter when it comes to imposing tariffs to block imports. A lot of nations do that. And there's an economic school of thought called public choice theory, which examines how political decisions are made based on economics. And one of the consequences of tariffs is you have concentrated benefits. So there are industries and jobs that benefit and do great and they're very enthusiastic. And then you have diffuse harms. So frequently with tariffs, if you put tariffs and you protect jobs at home, if you look as a matter of economics, the benefits are in the aggregate much smaller than the harms, but the benefits are concentrated. So the people who are getting it are really energized, they care a lot about it. Whereas the people that are being harmed, it is more abstract. They're less energized, they're less focused on it. I believe America has benefited enormously from exporting our goods and services. If you talk to any farmer and rancher, the benefits of exporting to foreign markets are massive. If you talk to American manufacturers, the benefits of exporting to foreign markets are massive. And so I don't want to see a scenario where every country is putting massive tariffs on imports from other countries because it will hurt American exports significantly and it will raise prices for American consumers. That being said, if the president employs these tariffs in the way I'm suggesting, which is focused on reciprocity, then they can be a powerful tool for lowering the tariffs other countries impose and expanding trade, expanding what we sell abroad, expanding American business, expanding jobs and lowering prices for American consumers. I think that is a much better outcome.

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[Ted Cruz]

I want to move on to the corruption of academia and we are now seeing that 300 pro Hamas protests got visas protests I should say got visas revoked. And this was certainly a big deal. Marco Rubio talking about it, making it clear that hey, we promised you that if you're here on a visa and it's a privilege to be here and you are cheering on the terrorists and you're hurting your campus or this country. You're anti American. We don't have to put up with it. I love this your reaction.

[Ben Ferguson]

Amen. Hallelujah. And look, this is something we've talked about on verdict quite a bit. The first Amendment protects American citizens. So if you're an American citizen, you have a constitutional right to espouse the most hateful, horrible, terrible ideas. American citizen has a first Amendment right to advocate for being a Nazi to advocate for being a Klansman. By the way, if you do advocate for being a Nazi or a Klansman, the rest of us have a moral obligation to say you're a reprehensible bigot. And what you're saying is evil, but you have a right to say it. But the First Amendment does not apply to foreigners. It applies to Americans. And when it comes to student visas, foreigners that are getting student visas, they're asking for permission from the federal government to come study in America. They don't have a First Amendment right. And we have no obligation, no legal obligation, no moral obligation, no obligation under anything I can imagine, to let people in who hate America, who are undermining America, who are attacking Jewish students or other students at campus who are spreading poison. And so the story broke this week that 300 student visas have been revoked, by the way, under Joe Biden. When we had viciously anti Semitic, anti Israel, anti American protests on college campuses, to the best of my knowledge, zero student visas were revoked. And in fact, the Democrats, they support the pro Hamas protesters. Well, Trump being elected, and this is something I predicted before the election, this is something I said right after the election, you are going to see the radical anti American zealots. You're going to see them arrested and deported. Well, that is happening. 300 student visas have been revoked. And here's what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, quote, if you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa. If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter to the United States and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, we're going to take away your visa. And Secretary Rubio continued, you're no longer legally in the United States. And we have a right, like every country in the world has a right to remove you from our country. Amen. Hallelujah. And you ought to ask yourself, why didn't this happen even once under Joe Biden?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, you also look at what we found out about some of the people that are getting arrested. A great example of that is this Tufts University graduate student from Turkey was arrested by ICE agents on the street in Massachusetts. The liberals are losing their minds. Like, this is so unfair. Should have not been arrested. How dare you target this student. But according to the Department of Homeland Security, the woman was arrested for, quote, glorifying and supporting terrorists and for showing support for a terrorist organization, Hamas, the Palestinian political party and militant group. So they're like, you can be sad all you want to. We're not putting up with this, and it shouldn't be happening in America.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, if you are a foreigner and you're saying, I love Hamas, if you're a foreigner and you're saying, I hate America if you're a foreigner and saying, I support the enemies of America, we have no obligation to admit you to our country. We have no obligation to let you stay here, and no legal obligation, no moral obligation. And what is bizarre as the Trump administration is saying, all right, these radicals that hate America, that are attacking and threatening violence against Jewish students, that are demonizing Israel, that are demonizing America, that are praising Hamas. And by the way, look, let's be clear. Hamas are vicious terrorists that want to murder you. Are you, if you're an American. And I think most of the people listening to this podcast are Americans. Understand? Hamas wants to murder you. Understand? Hamas on October 7th carried out the mass murder of 1200 civilians. They raped women and little girls. And these radicals are praising child rapists. You know what? If you're praising child rapists, if you're supporting child rapists, get the hell out of our country. Now, look, if you're a US Citizen, we can't throw you out, but if you're not, if you're a foreigner, we have no reason to let you in here. And this is exactly right. And Ben is amazing. Democrats, given a choice, do you support protecting Americans, protecting Israel, protecting Jewish students at schools, or do you support the radical, anti Israel, anti American, pro Hamas zealots? They are choosing the violent anti American protesters. They are standing up and saying, deport nobody. We don't care if you are a radical, pro Hamas supporter. We want you in America. I got to say, I don't know any rational or normal American that wants pro Hamas supporters in America.

[Ted Cruz]

Let's give a perfect example of this. University of Alabama and a doctoral student that was arrested. An Iranian student who was studying at the University of Alabama was arrested by ICE agents, quote, the University of Alabama recently learned that a doctoral student had been detained off campus by federal immigration authorities. The school said in a statement, federal privacy laws limit what we can share about an individual student. International students are, quote, valued members of the campus community, the university added. The student newspaper said the called the Crimson White identified the man arrested who was in the United States on a student visa, saying, quote, it's unclear what charges he's facing, why he was detained, or if he has a lawyer, but here's what they did report and this part really made me laugh. Uh, in the statement that came out from the University of Alabama College Democrats, the group said they were aware of the man's arrest and saying, quote, our fears have come to pass. President Donald Trump, the border czar, Tom Homan and ICE have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of the University of Alabama's international community. As far as we know right now, ICE is yet to provide any justification for their actions. So we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities across the country. It goes back to your point that you just made. You. The Democrats on even at the University of Alabama are like, this is persecution. You know, facts be damned. Supporting terrorist activities be damned. Advocating for Hamas be damned.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, and let me be clear, understand the principle. When you were quoting that newspaper story, you said the Alabama Democrats were saying, we don't know what crime this person has been charged with. You don't have to be charged with a crime. Let me be clear, okay? If you're charged with a crime, that ought to be easy. Although I say it ought to be easy, if you're charged with a crime. My Democratic colleagues, when we argue, deport people who have committed crimes, deport people who committed violent crimes, deport people who are murderers, deport people who are rapists, deport people who are child molesters. My Democratic colleagues, party line, vote no. So even if you're guilty of a crime, they don't want to deport you. But. But set it aside for student visa. If you're not a US Citizen, you don't have to be guilty of a crime. If you come to America as a foreigner and we've given you a permissive visa, we said, okay, we want you to come and you come here and you grab a bullhorn and say, I hate America and I want the enemies of America to defeat America. You know what my answer is? Get the hell out. We don't have a reason to let you in. You don't have a protection. If you are an enemy of America, you're entitled to be that. You know what they're. There are 7 to 8 billion people on planet Earth. There are some people that are enemies of America, but why do we have to let enemies of America in? If you say, I hate America, it's like the old Saturday Night Live skit of the flight attendant as people are leaving the plane, going, bye bye, bye bye. You hate America. Bye bye, get out. Hate America somewhere else. But we're not letting you in here because we don't need people who hate America and are trying to undermine our nation in this country.

[Ted Cruz]

Which brings me to story number three, and this is one where we have, I think, led on exposing the amount of foreign money that's been pouring into universities. We also exposed it with the Biden crime family and the amount of foreign dollars coming in to the Biden Institute, for example, and other universities. And we've witnessed the amount of money coming in to a point where you say this doesn't make sense economically. This is my opinion. I think now you're looking at a bigger issue, which is what are they actually getting in return for the staggering amounts of foreign money that's pouring these universities? Is this covert ops by foreign nations? Is this trying to control the next generation of American minds? Is this about spying? What is it? But when you look at this new report from a nonprofit and a nonpartisan government watchdog group, they're sounding the alarm, saying this amount of money coming in is not just from do gooders. This money's coming in is coming in for something big. Senator, what is that?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, look, this is not covert. It is over, is open, it is out and brazen. So the story in Fox News entitled, quote, new report sounds alarm on staggering amount of foreign money pouring into US universities. The report says that $795 million has gone from foreign adversaries to American universities. And here's what the article says. I'm going to quote a little bit of it. Quote, A new report from a nonprofit and nonpartisan government watchdog is shedding light on the tens of billions of dollars, tens of billions that have poured into U.S. universities in recent years, including $20 billion to some of the most prestigious universities in the country. The report produced by Americans for Public Trust and released this week found that $60 billion, again $60 billion in foreign gifts and contracts were funneled into American colleges and universities, including $20 billion alone, to elite schools like Harvard, Yale and others. Within that total, $795 million came from nations that are long standing adversaries to the United States, including China, Russia, Venezuela and Yemen. This is shocking. It is fundamental corruption. I can tell you I've introduced legislation to require at a minimum that universities report every dollar of foreign money they receive so that we have scrutiny. And I'll tell you, Ben, one of the very first pieces of legislation I ever passed when I was a brand new baby Senator 13 years ago was dealing with this issue of foreign money flooding into universities. And China had been funding these things called Confucius Institutes. Confucius Institutes were institutes on American college campuses that taught Mandarin, that taught the Chinese language. And they were used, number one, as hubs of espionage where China would send spies to engage in espionage in the United States, and number two, as tools of propaganda where they would push propaganda that was favorable to the Chinese Communist government. And when I was a brand new baby Senator, I introduced legislation that banned any money from the federal Department of Defense, which going to university that had a Confucius Institute. And at the time I introduced it, we had a Democrat Senate. When I got elected, Harry Reid was the majority leader, the Democrats were in the majority. I was on the Senate Armed Services Committee. I introduced this amendment and Ben, I'll tell you, I got bipartisan support. I got Democrats to support me and Republicans. We passed it into law. And the legislation I passed resulted in more than 20 Confucius Institutes across the country being shut down. This was a problem back in 2013. I gotta say, in 2025, it's much, much worse.

[Ted Cruz]

So what is the government's response now? What should the government response be moving forward? And is it time to actually look at these universities and ask questions or have regulations about money coming in from foreign countries, especially those that are adversaries of the United States of America? I don't like government overreach. I want to make that clear. But the wild, wild west that we're looking at right now from this report, and 60 billion in foreign gifts and contracts are funneled into American colleges and universities like that, they're getting something in return, 20 billion alone to Harvard, Yale and other elite schools. They're getting something in return. And if they're buying the minds of American students or influence, or even what worries me the most is stealing intellectual property or spying on America and future leaders, this scares the hell out of me. So what should the government's response be?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, yes, yes, all of the above. So they're doing this to buy influence. They're doing this to push propaganda. They're doing this to engage in espionage. They're doing this to steal intellectual property. And so many of our universities, especially our elite universities, have eagerly jumped in bed with them. Look, you and I discussed early on in the wake of October 7, when the Anti Semitic protests were breaking out. If you look at the universities with the highest percentage of foreign students, it almost perfectly maps to the universities with the most, the most virulent, the most nasty anti Semitic protest. Universities like Columbia and NYU are at the very top of the list. And when you let in a bunch of foreign students, now look Universities like foreign students because they pay full tuition, they pay full freight. They're cash cows. But why are American universities in the business of educating foreigners? Especially foreigners who hate America and are undermining America? I don't see a reason for that. But not only that, but they're pushing this to drive a political agenda. And so what should we do? Number one, we need transparency. As I mentioned, I've introduced legislation to require transparency. If a university is getting money from a foreign country, we need to know about it, how much from which country, and I'll tell you. The legislation I'm introducing puts punitive tax penalties. If you get money from a country that is an enemy of America. In my view, the federal government ought to put penalties in place where you end up being taxed more than you get. We don't need the enemies of America funding our universities and actively undermining our education. We need leaders who are willing to stand up for America first. And I think that's incredibly important.

[Ted Cruz]

If you look at the money that came in, a perfect example of this is within that total I gave you the 20 billion alone going to those elite schools, 795 million came from nations that are long standing adversaries of the US including China, Russia, Venezuela and Yemen. Is it also time to look at certain countries and say you can't have donations coming in from there?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, and we ought to penalize the hell out of it. If Iran is funding your university, you're doing something fundamentally wrong.

[Ted Cruz]

Great point. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button. And on those in between days, grab my show the Ben Ferguson Podcast. I'll keep you up to date on breaking news as well. And we'll see you back here on Saturday for the week in review.

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