The Birthday Show

Summary

Verdict with Ted Cruz: “The Birthday Show”

Podcast: Verdict with Ted Cruz
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz & Ben Ferguson
Episode Date: December 22, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this special, lighthearted episode entitled “The Birthday Show,” Senator Ted Cruz celebrates his 55th birthday alongside co-host Ben Ferguson. The two banter about age, sports (especially college football), family traditions, and memorable hunting adventures, peppered with jokes, nostalgia, and some behind-the-scenes stories from politics. Although the episode is geared more to fun and personal anecdotes, there are reflections on the nature of service in the Senate, the culture around birthdays and gift-giving, and the camaraderie between the hosts.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Birthday Banter and Aging

• Senator Cruz’s 55th Birthday
  • Ben teases Ted about turning 55, joking about senior perks (“I did not know I was gonna have a 55-year-old elder friend.” – Ben, 02:42).
  • Ted retorts he’s “in his 40s,” emphasizing the playful rivalry.
• Milestone Reflections
  • Ted notes being “closer to 110 than to birth” now (04:16).
  • Shares family pranks, including sending his older sister “Happy 40th” balloons for her 30th birthday (04:40).
  • “You may think 40 is really young, but I gotta say, our viewers…they’re saying, okay, boomer—just be clear, you are fully on the geriatric side of things.” – Ted Cruz (05:23).

Football, Rivalry, and Personal Stories

• College Football Fandom
  • Good-natured teasing about Ben’s Ole Miss team and Ted’s support for Texas A&M.
  • Discussion about recent Aggie and Ole Miss games, including Ted’s visit to the Notre Dame stadium (“Just a bucket list event…Touchdown Jesus looking over the end zone is pretty spectacular” – Ted Cruz, 07:41).
  • Ted describes almost making a faux pas by giving the wrong hand signal at Notre Dame.
  • Debrief on a defensive Aggie game (“If you can’t score a single touchdown, it’s really damn hard to win.” – Ted Cruz, 10:34).
• Football Community & Bible Study
  • Ben shares about his competitive Bible study group, which includes a “10 year NFL Titan who went to Ole Miss” (13:00).
  • Ted jokes about pride in Bible study, adding, “There’s nothing in the Bible about pride…” (14:00).

Life in the Senate & Political Trivia

• Senate Age Facts
  • Ted discusses how being 55 is comparatively “young” in Senate years.
  • Trivia: Youngest serving senator—Jon Ossoff at 38; Biden was elected at 29, just meeting the minimum age after the election (16:44–17:43).
  • Notes on font sizes used by senators: “You could see the gradation of age by just how big your font is.” – Ted Cruz (18:40)

Family, Gift-Giving, & Traditions

• Birthday and Christmas Gifts
  • Ted says he doesn't buy his own birthday gifts: “If there’s something I really want…I just go buy it” (18:59).
  • Ted’s daughters give extensive gift lists—including PowerPoint presentations outlining what they want for Christmas, sometimes up to “30 or 40 options” (19:56–20:25).
  • Heidi, Ted’s wife, sometimes buys her own gifts, wraps them, and writes, “to Heidi, love Ted” (21:08).
  • Ben shares stories about his kids’ direct requests to Santa, including “I want this dog. My friend has this dog. This is what this dog looks like. Santa…” (22:13).
  • Hunting is a family tradition, with Ben describing his son receiving his first shotgun.
  • Ted reminisces about his own hunting background, being credited with more birds than he shot as a senator in South Dakota (27:07), and telling a classic Dick Cheney hunting joke (25:38–26:10).

Political Campaign Anecdotes

• Campaigning with Glenn Youngkin
  • Ted recounts campaigning for Glenn Youngkin's Virginia gubernatorial run, doing large rallies together (28:46–30:25).
  • Story about playing the shotgun game “Annie Oakley” on Glenn's Texas ranch: Ted wins a round against Youngkin and (then-Speaker) Paul Ryan, turning to Ryan and cracking, “Welcome to Texas” (32:23).
  • “Paul does not like to lose.” – Ben Ferguson (33:36)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Turning 55:

  • “I am now officially eligible for AARP…as terrifying as this is, I am closer to the age 110 than I am to birth.” – Ted Cruz (04:16)

• On Family Gift Lists:

  • “One of your daughters does a legit PowerPoint presentation for her Christmas…with 30 or 40 options…If you got them all, it’d be like 50 grand.” – Ben Ferguson & Ted Cruz (19:56–20:31)

• On College Football:

  • “If we could take that Notre Dame offense and the defense against Miami and actually put them in the same game, they could go the whole way.” – Ted Cruz (10:41)

• On Life in the Senate:

  • “If you ever want to feel young, just get yourself elected to the US Senate, like, holy cow.” – Ted Cruz (15:28)
  • “You could see the gradation of age by just how big your font is.” – Ted Cruz (18:40)

• On Hunting with Politicians:

  • “I'm there with Glenn [Youngkin]…and Paul Ryan. The clay gets thrown out…Glenn shoots and misses…Paul Ryan shoots and misses…I get a lucky as hell shot and I hit it…Welcome to Texas.” – Ted Cruz (32:23)
  • “Paul does not like to lose.” – Ben Ferguson (33:36)

• On the Podcast Community:

  • “This is like having each of you into our living room three days a week and having a conversation…thank you, I appreciate you, you guys are amazing.” – Ted Cruz (35:16–36:30)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Topic/Segment | |----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:38 | Show kicks off, birthday jokes begin | | 03:19 | Ted Cruz “in my 40s” rebuttal, birthday banter | | 04:16 | Turning 55—being closer to 110 than birth | | 07:41 | Notre Dame game and “Touchdown Jesus” | | 09:15 | Recap of Aggie-Miami game and missed field goals | | 13:00 | Ben’s Bible study story and sports camaraderie | | 16:44 | Youngest senator trivia (Jon Ossoff, Joe Biden) | | 18:40 | Senate font size pecking order | | 19:56 | PowerPoint Christmas lists from Ted’s daughters | | 21:08 | Heidi buying, wrapping, and labeling her own gifts | | 22:13 | Ben’s son asks Santa for a dog and another for a shotgun | | 25:38 | Dick Cheney hunting joke | | 27:07 | Ted hunting story: outshoots colleagues in South Dakota | | 28:46 | Campaigning in Virginia with Glenn Youngkin | | 32:23 | “Welcome to Texas” – Ted bests Paul Ryan and Youngkin | | 35:16 | Thank you message to listeners | | 36:30 | Birthday send-off, closing banter |

---

Episode Tone & Style

The episode is defined by its informal, comedic, and personal style. Ted and Ben trade affectionate jabs, tell family and insider stories, and keep the pace lively with anecdotes from sports, hunting, politics, and their daily lives. The warmth and long-standing rapport between the hosts are evident, making the episode feel more like a festive reunion than a formal political podcast.

---

For Listeners: Why Listen to This Episode?

• For regular “Verdict” listeners, it’s a rare, intimate glimpse at Senator Cruz and Ben Ferguson’s lives outside D.C.—full of wit, self-deprecating humor, and relatable stories.
• Politicos will appreciate the trivia, Senate anecdotes, and campaign tales.
• Sports fans get plenty of football talk and playful trash talk.
• Anyone curious about the personal side of a US Senator will find fun, candor, and camaraderie here.

---

Happy birthday, Senator Cruz!

Transcript

[Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Guaranteed Human get ready for the wildest sight your lawn has ever seen. Sunday Sunday Sunday this Spring Unleash soil science like never before. Witness your custom lawn plan and the transformation to a soft, green paradise. Sorry, just trying to get your attention. Sunday is a boringly simple way to.

[Announcer]

Get a green, healthy yard.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No harsh stuff, no big trucks, no chaos.

[Announcer]

This holiday Sunday plans are 20% off.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Buy today and lock in your spring subscription.

[Announcer]

Sunday Smarter Lawn care for less getsunday.com.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games ON Prime Video January 8Trailer.

[Announcer]

On trainergames.com your ticket to big Savings is that big blue envelope in your mailbox.

[Ben Ferguson]

Valpak.

[Announcer]

It's brimming with deals from big name brands and your favorite local spots, dining services, stuff you're already buying. All for less. And you could score 100 or other instant prizes just for opening it. Or save even faster with mobile coupons you can use right [e-mail] Valpak there's definitely something in it for you.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The world's best ski and snowboard athletes are chasing medals. Now you can follow their every move. Join Insider, the official US Ski and snowboard fan loyalty program, and get premium viewing at World cup ski events, exclusive athlete meetups, discounts from brands you love, and a custom welcome gift mailed direct to your doorstep. This winter. Show your support as they race for the podium. Head to Insider USSKI and join today.

[Announcer]

Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Whimsound Smart speaker. Get high resolution Audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just 299. From Quiet Mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Winsound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Whim Sound Beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Whim Sound that's W I m S O u n d.

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. We got a few more days until Christmas and we've got a couple of shows left. We're going to be talking about some really big issues, including I think, the most shocking and that is just how old Senator Ted Cruz's as of today. I did not know that I was gonna have a 55 year old elder friend. This is seniors coffee is real now. You can get that. You can, I think, get assistance at the airport without even needing a medical condition for one of those walkers. Now that's exciting. I'm not gonna push you through there, but I'll get someone to hold the sign up for you. What other benefits do you get, Sir? I mean, 55. 55.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Listen, Skippy, I'm in my 40s.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm not 45. I'm 44. We're 11 years apart right now, laddie.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You need to learn to respect your elders.

[Ben Ferguson]

And do I need to talk louder to you? Is that what you're saying?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Sorry, what?

[Ben Ferguson]

My lawn.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay. I said get off my lawn at 25.

[Ben Ferguson]

I came out of the womb. I think you came out of the womb saying, get off my lawn, sir. I'm gonna. I think we could call your mom right now and she would verify that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right. What was that Clint Eastwood movie? I forget what the name. Where he's the crotchety old man with the, like, Trans Am.

[Ben Ferguson]

I forget what it was. Oh, it's a great movie. It's a great movie. Anyway. Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's a great. You know, Heidi laughs at me because I would drive along in Austin. This is 20 years ago, long before I was elected to the Senate. I'd drive along and I'd see protesters screaming about something, and I'd want to stop and argue with them. Yeah, she just like, just stop it. And I'm like, well, no, I don't want to, but. But I will say, double nickel is kind of interesting. 55. So I am now officially eligible for AARP. I'll tell you what I tell all my friends when they turn a birthday. So now that I am, as of December 22, officially 55 years old, as terrifying as this is, I am closer to the age 110 than I am to birth.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, that is true.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, when someone turns 25 and you tell them they're closer to 50 than to birth, it freaks them out. I mean, it really is. It's a terrifying way of framing it. I will tell you. My older sister Miriam, nine years older than I am when she turned 30. So I was just 21. I actually called a local flower shop and I sent a bouquet of balloons to her office. And the bouquet of balloons on her 30th birthday, the card said, Happy 40th, big sis. And I will say she called me up on my cell phone. And she said, and I apologize for the language, but this is my sister Miriam. She says, you little.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So somehow she didn't appreciate my saying she was 40 when she was 30. So you may think 40 is really young, but I gotta say, our. Our viewers, we've got teenagers and folks in their 20s and. And I gotta tell you right now, you know what they're saying to you, Benjamin? They're saying, okay, okay, Boomer, just be clear. You are fully on the geriatric side of things.

[Ben Ferguson]

I just can't wait to see what new sponsors I can go solicit. And they're gonn see Gray in. They're gonna be. Oh, hearing aids for sure. We gotta get that in here real quick. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm. This opens up a whole new world to this. To this show. I am. I cannot wait to talk about my older friends.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Yeah. I have to admit, I've also been sort of a mean friend. A buddy of mine turned 40 a number of years ago and I had two presents for him. I got him some Metamucil so he'd be nice and regular. And I got him some Viagra, which I knew he would never need. But I just try to look out for him. You gotta be there for your friends. This is.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is amazing. After all the, you know, what you've given me about Ole Miss, by the way, for that. This is just. This is. This is the. This is just Jesus giving me a gift. So. Happy 55th birthday. Sorry, I didn't say that louder. Happy 55th birthday over there.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I'm excited for you and I want to congratulate on. On Ole Miss.

[Ben Ferguson]

Did you see this?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

For Lane to get such a big bonus, like, you guys really take care of. Of people who leave you at the altar.

[Ben Ferguson]

Like, I mean, you know what? I just love that we beat Tulane by more than we did when we beat them in the regular season with him being our coach. We are in the second round. That's a big deal. And then, look, there's an exciting moment. We'll get to play. Oh, wait, no. We won't get to play your team because you guys lost.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, that was. Yeah, I was at Kyle Field. It hurt.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So I've had two games in two days, one loss and one win. Preferred the win to the loss, actually. All right. The Aggie game yesterday was frustrating because I went to two Aggie games this year. Well, three I went to the UT A&M game, but I was rooting for both. I'M Switzerland on that, so.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's a smart man right there.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I love them both. But. But as you know, I went to the A and M Notre Dame game in South Bend, which was just spectacular. Like, have you been to a game at South Bend?

[Ben Ferguson]

I've been to one. It's unbelievable. It was, by the way, freezing, but it was awesome.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So it was beautiful when I went. It was a great fall day and just a bucket list event. Like I'd never been there. You see Touchdown Jesus. Looking over the. The end zone is pretty spectacular. And. And it was number one. An amazing game. It was a pure shootout. There was. There was no defense on either side. It was just all offense.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. Aired out football.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I turned to the folks I was sitting with and I said, wow, whoever has the ball last is winning. Yeah. And. And it ended up A and M had the ball last, so we won. And I gotta tell you, I was in. I was in Maroon. I was loud, I was obnoxious. I was cheering. Cheering for the Aggies. And the Domers were the classiest fans I've ever seen. They were polite, they were gracious. Both Brett. Both Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett was there and I did talk some smack at them when. When Notre Dame lost. And even they were kind of gracious. As you should. Yeah, yeah. Like, but. But it was all right. Okay, so. So here's something funny. I'm down walking on the field and a number of fans see me and. And you know, I guess the folks there, they were. They were cheering and liked me. The folks there. I mean, there, there are peeps. And so I was waving and then I was like doing a thumbs up and I realized it's a gig, Em. And I'm like, oh, crap. I'm not trying to be obnoxious and like flip you off, but like, if you're in Kyle Field and you did a hook, em, you would get booed. And I'm like, goodness. With.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And so thankfully they didn't boom me.

[Ben Ferguson]

Even though I, Matthew McConaughey is the only one that can probably get away with that at Kyle Field. And like, not get.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right, all right, all right.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, exactly. Like, it's that guy. Okay, fine. Fair enough.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, yeah, the noted game. Game. No defense and just a pure shootout. And. And the Aggies had the ball last. And so we won. Fast forward to Saturday. Awesome defense. We went through three and a half quarters with the score three to three.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, so pause. You were there. And for everyone that's listening right now, that watched that game, the number of field goals missed, not by one team on both sides of the ball, was insane. As I was watching on tv, it did not look as that windy. So was it that bad or was it. Was it. They were overcompensating? What? Like, was it really that windy?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, I don't. I don't have a good answer on that. It didn't feel that windy in the stands. I mean, it was a beautiful day. It was just a gorgeous. It was warm outside. It was. It was a spectacular day for football. You know, the ribbons on the end of the goal posts, they were blowing, but they weren't, like, sticking straight out. It wasn't like there was a hurricane in there or something, but it was like. It was amazing. Missing field goal after field goal. And I turned to them, I was sitting with a bunch of Aggies, and I said, okay, if I'd have told you we'd make it three quarters and hold Miami to three points, how thrilled would you be?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, you'd be ecstatic.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And at the end of the day, we lost 10 to 3 because it turns out if you play a football game and you can't score a single touchdown, it's really damn hard to win. And if we could take that Notre Dame offense and the defense against Miami and actually put them in the same game, they could go the whole way. But.

[Ben Ferguson]

But sadly, now, since it's your birthday, I just want you to know we will adopt you for the rest of the playoffs as a rebel. Okay. You can. You can. I'll bring you a shirt. I've got a few of them. I might be. Yeah, I've got. Yeah, I've got a couple hundred of them. I can spare one.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay, I will.

[Ben Ferguson]

You need to be in. I feel like you need to still be in the playoff in the game here. And since you really don't have that, I just. I want. For your birthday, I don't want you to feel alone. Okay. So there's. There's my birthday gift to you.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, Ben, I'll give you some information. Tommy Tuberville, my colleague in the Senate.

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, yeah. Remember, he screwed Ole Miss back in the day. Don't forget that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Soon to be governor of Alabama. So. So, you know, he was the coach at Auburn, and so we're. We're all interested. Like, at lunch this week, everyone asks him, says, you know, coach, what's going to happen? Yeah. So Top Tommy's made a prediction. He is predicting Texas Tech to win it all. He says Texas champion this year so that's. Now, look, Tommy used to coach at Tech. He used to coach at A and M and then, you know. But it's just interesting. I, you know, I mean, the guy's a heck of a football coach and that's his call. So. So I'm cheering on Tech all the way. I had predicted Tech against A and M in the finals and, and I was going to pull out my Switzerland shirt again if that happened.

[Ben Ferguson]

As you should.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But now I could unequivocally root for the Red Raiders. Like, you're a Red Raider.

[Ben Ferguson]

You got your guns up.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You got guns up, right? There are no other Texas team. So. So, so I am excited about it. And by the way, I'm thinking of the folks that listen to us. So there's like a divide. Some of the folks that are regulars on our show, like, oh, this is fun that you guys are having some fun and it's Christmas time and you're talking about, you know, what, what normal people do during Christmas time, which is watch football and give each other grief. And then there are other people who are just complete politics nerds. And I don't say that as an insult because Ben and I are the biggest politics nerds on the planet.

[Ben Ferguson]

We went pro in that. We literally went pro in it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And there's some of the politics nerds that are like, damn it, like, we're not covering any substance right now. Why are you guys yabbering about the, the, the, the, the, the, the foosball instead of, instead of focusing on what's happening? And we're going to talk about what's happening in the country. There's a lot happening in the country.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right? So I have to, I have to tell you this because you're going to laugh talking about geeking out. So I'm in a Bible study on Thursday mornings and you know, like, I'll be on the road and I'll travel and you miss and come in and so I come in and a buddy texts me in the Bible, says like, hey, he's like, you finally have another rebel. And I'm like, another rebel? Like, he's like, yeah, we got a new dad. That Ole Miss guy, Mike, can't wait to meet him. I walk in, I will protect the, the names here, but it is like a 10 year NFL titan who went to Ole Miss who shows up in my Bible study. So now it's like gone completely off the chains because all you need is one. You just need one, right? I just needed one buddy who was in this with Me. And so now, like, the chirping, because it's all, we got a bunch of Aggies, you got a bunch of tcu, you got a bunch of Texas guys. I just needed one. And so now we walk in like proud peacocks every day in Bible study because it's like, I just needed one. I got my ole miss buddy. We're good to go now. And I'm like, this couldn't have been better for me. I get to go to Bible study and like you said, geek out over football.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And look, the good thing is in Bible study, there's nothing in the Bible about pride. So you shouldn't feel bad about that at all.

[Ben Ferguson]

Not at all. Not at all. By the way, did you go to church on Sunday? I'm putting you on the spot here. I love doing this. This is fun for me. I went, I looked for you. I didn't see you. I'm not saying you were there or weren't there, but our pastor is an Aggie and he literally made sure he worked into the false idols, into the sermon about going to the a M. Game and what happened to the A M. Game, which I, I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I, I have not talked to our pastor. Both he and his wife raggies, and I'm sure that they were mourning. I was not there today. Thank you for outing me.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're welcome. You're welcome. I did look. I looked. I know where he sits, guys, so I know if he's there or not.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I was. And actually our pastor texted me last night and said, hey, are you going to be there tomorrow? Like he had someone he wanted me to meet and I had to like fess up and say, no, we're like a lot going on. I'm sorry we're missing it. We are, we are going. We'll be there Christmas Eve. But see, there you go.

[Ben Ferguson]

You got that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You're gonna.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I've got my in laws coming in tomorrow. I've got my brother in law and his wife coming in. We've got family, you know, but it. We did not in fact go today. And, and, and, and thank you for.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're welcome. On your birthday. I just wanted. God's gonna bless you. It's your birthday. You get a freebie on that one. It's fine. You're gonna, you're gonna be okay.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

All right.

[Ben Ferguson]

On to the geeks of the politics.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, I will say this. Whenever anyone has a birthday, I do actually have advice to someone.

[Ben Ferguson]

What is that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Ever want to feel young? Just get yourself elected to the U.S. senate, like, holy cow. The median age. You're still 106. I mean, they really do think I'm in short shorts and wearing a beanie. I mean, I've got colleagues who.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, who is the youngest member now? I mean, you were at the bottom for a very long time. You're still in the low. Is it Katie Britt?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Katie's on the young side. Josh, Holly's on the young side. Ossoff shots. All right, Cotton, I'll tell you what. We all have supercomputers in our pockets, so let me.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's very true.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Who is.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love youngest. You want the Senate. You want the big leagues, as I call it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I don't want the youngest in all history. Although, interestingly, who's the youngest setter in history?

[Ben Ferguson]

I have no idea.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Nor did I. Samuel White.

[Ben Ferguson]

From what state?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Born December 1770. Died November 4, 1809. You have to be 30 years old when you start and age at the start of the term. 30 years, 2 months, 27 days.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, there you go. That's young. Okay, Congress is 26 or 27.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

House 25.

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, it's 25. Okay, it's 25. Then, then, then 36 to be president.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Ossoff, 38, is the youngest senator, so. From Georgia. So I knew he was in replacing Josh Hawley. So what did I say? I said Holly. So Holly. Holly, who had been the youngest person at age 41. Yeah, so. So when I was elected to the senate, I was 41. So.

[Ben Ferguson]

So were you the youngest that year or close?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yes. I don't know that for sure, but I assume so. All right, here's a bit of. Bit of trivia. How old was Joe Biden when he was elected to the Senate?

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, he had. He had to be in his 30s because he was there forever.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He was there forever. But this is actually a weird bit of trivia. 34, when he was elected, he was actually 29. The constitutional minimum is 30.

[Ben Ferguson]

But he took office. He had the birthday.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

He turned 30 before he was sworn in. So he was eligible by the time he was sworn in. But on election day, he was not old enough to be a senator.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's there. And he never left.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, that was 1972. So I was a year. I'd not even turned 2 when Biden was elected. Which gives you a set. That's what I mean by, like, you get in the Senate and they're just like 55 does not even count. That's kindergarten and Senate years.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's it's, it's incredible. Well, happy birthday. 55. That's a big one, by the way.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

There's a, there's a pecking order of senators, which is, you know, we sit next to each other in the dais and you look over and it's how big your font is and the older you are and blinder you are. I'm not going to name, I'm not going to out in my colleagues, but I will say. But there's some that are very big.

[Ben Ferguson]

You can read from the gallery upstairs.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's got to be without zooming in, 40 points. Like they're like seven words on a page.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And it's. I have it a little bigger. I have 16 point font because it makes it easier to look down and read it. But. But it is, it's literally, you could see the gradation of age by just how big your font is.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, final question. On your birthday, are you, is your family a gift giving family or you, you buy your own gift for your birthday so, you know, you get something you want.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, I don't buy my own gift. And I have to admit, like, as a kid I cared about birthday gifts. I'm not really, like, there's not a whole lot I want. I'm a pretty happy guy. Like, if there's something I really want, if I want, like, I just go buy it because I'm not, you know, so. So I don't know. I have yet to, to see. My family will get me something. Maybe they'll give me a shirt or a tie or something and I'll say thank you. A friend of mine actually brought some pretty cool, A cool gift, which was a box of cigars that she had special made for them and had a label with my name on it and the campaign logo and that. I was like, all right, that's cool.

[Ben Ferguson]

That, that's like, that's cool.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, that was kind of a. But. But I'm not sitting here longing for anything. And I will contrast that to my daughters who send like links to a hundred different things they want for Christmas. And they're like, okay, buy this one and this one and this one. And it's pretty.

[Ben Ferguson]

And Heidi, how was that, by the way? How expensive was the PowerPoint presentation this year?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Oh, if you bought everything.

[Ben Ferguson]

So I don't know people, if they missed last year's show. One of your daughters does a legit PowerPoint presentation for her Christmas.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

And it's a full presentation, which is awesome. And, and so was it, was it Would you rate it? Did you give her like an 8 out of 10? How good was it this year?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So this was not as egregious as last year. Last year was insanely expensive. But this had, I don't know, 30 or 40 options in them. If you got them all, like, like.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know why, you know why, don't you?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Why?

[Ben Ferguson]

Because the car is coming, you know.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, we're in the window. If you got them all, It'd be like 50 grand. Because she'll get like really expensive things on there and she does not get them all. Maybe she gets five and there's some like, yeah, you know, a top and some sweatpants and like, we'll pick and choose and then she'll include, you know, like a nine thousand dollar necklace. I'm like, okay, that's cute. No, but, but she puts them on anyway. And, and so, but Heidi does something even more amusing, which is she goes out, you ask, do you shop for yourself or for others? Heidi will go out and go shopping and buy herself things for me to give her for Christmas. And she'll go, she make you wrap.

[Ben Ferguson]

It or does she even wrap it for you?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

She'll come back, she'll wrap it for her and she'll write to Heidi, love Ted. And she's literally has bought it. And so this year she has this like nice scarf that she saw that she really liked that she bought. And she had it, wrapped it under the tree and we went, I told you today to the Texans game. And she decided she needed something with red in it. And so she went and unwrapped her. No, she didn't gift to wear it to the game. And I think she's going to wrap it again and then over it on Christmas. And so when she pulled it out, she's putting it on, she's like, oh, this is the scarf you got me. And I'm like, oh, that was very thoughtful of me. I'm really very kind.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're welcome. Look at who. You're welcome. All right. If my, if my kids, if my wife is listening with kids, this is when you turn it off. So this year you talk about lists. So George, one of the twins, he straight up, I mean, walked up to Santa at, you know, the meet Santa thing. Straight as an like walked up, assertive. He's like, I want this dog. My friend has this dog. This is what this dog looks like. Santa, can you please.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't give the answer to this. I don't want to blow your kids Christmas? Yeah, I'm just, I'm doing an intervention.

[Ben Ferguson]

But it was very, very direct.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay.

[Ben Ferguson]

It was very direct. And. And so then Bradley's like, okay, well if you're going, I'm gonna go. My nine year old. So he walks up and he's very smart. He's like, I like to go hunting with my dad. I need a shotgun more than a red rider, which I already have. So we took him hunting. My dad brought his shotgun, that became my shotgun, that now is my son's shotgun. So we, he got his Christmas gift early, but then he had to rewrap it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

410, 12 gauge, 20 gauge. What is it?

[Ben Ferguson]

So 20 gauge, single shot, 20 gauge. And then the second one, my dad brought it, which is a pump action he'll get probably in a year or two. So that. But like right now. So we took them duck hunting and he was the proudest kid you've ever seen. I mean, he was just sitting there with his real man shotgun with his one bullet. I was like, it's in my. And my brother in law's. His son got one too. So we were kept calling him Barney Fife. They didn't know what it meant, but you know, they got their one bullet and we're like, make it count. You got one bullet like, like you got one bullet. And they had the time of their life.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And let's be clear, you. You owned a gun store for many years. And some of our listeners are going to be freaking out saying, Ben says shotguns fire bullets.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. That's how you met with these shells. Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You sound like a USA Today reporter.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's like magazine. I love when people like, is it a clip or a magazine? Like I can run circles if I want to go there. If like that's the thing. But yeah, like it's a. It's 45 Barney Fife.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You're right.

[Ben Ferguson]

One bullet, right. Not a shell in his pocket.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And so that was the purists about magazine and not clip. But I don't know clips. Like, I don't get why it's like such a Paris.

[Ben Ferguson]

It is. Look, there's dorks in everything. In politics, there's dorks, and sports, there's dorks. And in shooting, they're mega dorks. And, and what I say is like, anytime that people do that, I'm like, like when I own the store, they're like, well, how many guns do you have? That's like a measuring thing, right? Like, how many guns do you have? Are you really? I'm like, I mean, I have like three to 400. I mean, Grant, they're all in a store, but technically I own them.

[Announcer]

Right.

[Ben Ferguson]

Like, you know, I was like, yeah, I've got a, I've got a decent collection. Three to 400 guns. And you know, I will say a dozen machine guns, but nothing big.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So. So when you're a center from Texas, like, like people have certain expectations of you and so like I, I hunt, but I don't really call myself a hunter because like, yeah, people who go hunting, like non stop. I go hunting once or twice a year. I enjoy it. I like birds. Birds are the most fun to hunt because they move and it's energetic and you're engaging.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm not a big deer hunter. That's. I, I like, I like to be able to talk and have camaraderie while hunting, which is bird hunting.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, no, bird. Bird hunting. I will say I've been like Cheney. No, no, it's been long enough.

[Ben Ferguson]

We can, we can still joke about that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Although I was actually hunting in South Texas, in Alice, Texas, right by the Armstrong Ranch. For, so for those who don't remember this, when Dick Cheney was vice president, he went hunting. He was quail hunting and he shot a man. Yeah. And. And the guy's name was Harry Whittington, who was a lawyer from, from Austin. I knew Harry and, and oddly enough, I was on the adjoining ranch, this is down in South Texas. And, and I was deer hunting. And I got this gives you a sense of the time over my BlackBerry, which were these devices that you used to get that you would get emails before you had smartphones. Yeah, I saw him. Oh, the type. The keyboard was so good.

[Ben Ferguson]

It was so good. I would go back tomorrow if they brought it back. I really would.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So the headline comes, Vice President shoots a man. And I'm like, surely that can't be real. That's metaphorical. Like shoots the bird at him, right? Nope. Like shotgun blasted. And it was. So, yes, I was down there for that. And a joke I've told on the trail is a lot of people don't realize when that happened, there were more than 200 phone calls to Texas Parks and Wildlife asking how much for a license to shoot a Republican lawyer. And I gotta say that that, that joke, it works.

[Ben Ferguson]

That'll play, that'll play on the campaign trail for, for sure.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, Harry Whittington, he had, you know, buckshot all in his shoulder. They left most of it in. And so when he would go through an airport metal detector. He'd set the metal detector off because most of that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, he's probably shooting steel. Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Like, it didn't make sense to take it out. It was healthier just to leave it in. Thankfully, he survived. He was not. And I do remember thinking, you know, it would have been interesting. Not in a good way, but if it had been the other way around, if someone's hunting with the vice president and shoots the vice president, Secret Service might have shot the guy dead. Like. Like, if you think about the. Like, how the reaction would have been. Yeah. So, you know. But anyway, I hunt once or twice a year. I enjoy it. You know, One time I was up in South Dakota pheasant hunting. And I like pheasant hunting. I like quail, too, but pheasants are bigger and slower, so I hit more of them. So it's kind of gratifying.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's easier and it's fun and it's.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But. But when I was up in South Dakota pheasant hunting, it was very funny because every. Every time I was there, like, 20 guys, so sort of a. You know, birds would flush, and you'd have just boom, boom, boom, boom. But, yeah, shotguns going off, and no matter who hit the bird, the other guys there would go, nice shot, Senator. And. And I was like, wow, this is the first hunt in my life. I was credited with more birds than I fired shells.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And it just did you limited out for the first time ever.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It was a lot of fun. So have I told.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know. You know, my dad's, they. That my family. His family's up in North Dakota. Bottineau, North Dakota. Yeah. It's flat, and there's a lot of snow geese there. So when I was. I think I was six, they put me in the back of the truck. It was really cold. My uncle and my dad's uncle. So my great uncle drives us out there. They blindfold you. It's like part of the deal. And then they. They get you ready with a gun, and they blow the horn, and the whole field is white, and it just lifts up and it's geese. And then they tell you when to shoot. And I shot two snow geese with one. Four. Ten. That's how. How many there were in the air. Got two blindfolded, and that was that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Blindfold.

[Ben Ferguson]

Everyone hunting blindfold. They blindfold you?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Let me just say, I love you, dude, but I'm not gonna be with you when you have a gun and are shooting it blindfolded. And I'm like, exactly.

[Ben Ferguson]

But it was. What a great way to get, like, your first hunt. Like, it was. It's a rite of passage. But the whole field, like, the. The dirt up there is pitch black, dark. It's. I mean, the soil is incredible in North Dakota. And so the whole field's white. They hit the horn, and the whole field just lifted up, and it went from white to black.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay, so a story I'll tell you go back, like, five years ago. Glenn Youngkin is running for governor of Virginia. And Glenn is a good friend. And I campaigned all over Virginia with Glenn. We did so in the primary. Going into the primary, Glenn was actually in second place. He was not winning. He was in second at the time. And we ended up doing seven or eight rallies all over Virginia, just Glenn and me, the two of us. They were huge rallies. And so I spent two days barnstorming him the day before the. Two days before the primary. And we would have people show up, and they would actually show up. Some people would be wearing the shirts of his opponent. And the end of the rally, when they saw him, they were impressed. They'd pull off their opponent's shirt. They'd grab, like, a Young and Yard sign.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's pretty awesome. You know, that was a cool momentum campaign at the very end. There was a big momentum switch at the very end of that campaign, which I think is the most fun campaigns to be on.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And Virginia has this sort of curious hybrid where it's sort of a primary, sort of a caucus. So there were, like. I don't remember, like, 50,000 people who were going to be voting in, who the nominee was going to be.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And. And we had. At the rallies we were at, I think we had more than 5,000 of them. So we literally had 10% of the actual voters physically present with us within 48 hours of election day. So. So it. I think that rally had a real impact. But I told a story, and look, Glenn at the time, was just getting known. And so some of it is. I think some of the folks that came out to the rallies were conservatives who knew me, who were coming out and giving him a chance. Because I was saying, listen, this is a good night.

[Ben Ferguson]

You need to look at this guy.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And my philosophy is the William F. Buckley rule. I support the most conservative candidate who can win. And I want both. I want a proven conservative. Show me your record. But I also want a path to victory. Like, we're not screwing around if you can't win. I'm not interested in tilting at windmills. We Gotta win. And so I told a story, and it was one of the ways of, like, getting credibility. I said, look, you know, year or two ago, Glenn and I were out shooting on a ranch. Now, we didn't mention that the ranch is actually. Glenn owns a ranch in Texas in the hill country.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, you leave that out. Yeah, that's a good leave out.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's a bad idea, if you're campaigning in Virginia, to mention. He lives in Virginia. He's a Virginian. But. But he does own a gorgeous ranch in Texas that I've stayed at multiple times. And it's just beautiful. It's on the Guadalupe River. And I said, all right. We were out at the shotgun range playing a game called Annie Oakley. And so Annie Oakley is. You throw up a clay, and the first guy shoots. And if the first guy misses, the second guy shoots. And if the second guy hits it, the first guy's out.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, if the second guy misses, Knockout.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The third guy shoots. A third guy hits. The first two are out. So we're out there playing, and I said, I'm there with Glenn. I said, I'm there with this kind of really uptight, intense guy. And then me. And so the. The.

[Ben Ferguson]

I love that. That guy remains nameless. Keep going.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So the clay gets thrown out. Glenn shoots and misses. He's a good shot, but he missed that one. In between us is the really intense, uptight guy. He shoots, he misses. I'm third. The clay is, like, trailing down, and I get a lucky as hell shot, and I hit it. Boom. It shatters. So I tell that story. All right, I'm gonna tell the listeners a verdict. Who the uptight guy was.

[Ben Ferguson]

I cannot wait for this.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It was Paul Ryan.

[Ben Ferguson]

No way.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Who I think was still the. Still the speaker of the House, I believe. I don't remember the exact timing. And Paul's a great guy. Paul is a friend of mine, but he's a serious hunter. Like. Like, he's one of the hunters. Like. Like, he goes hunting in Wisconsin. He goes deer hunting and turkey hunting. And he's one of the guys that, like, covers himself with urine.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I'm. I'm just a believer. I don't put, like, urine on my body. That. That does not. That's not my thing.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're not. Yeah. You're not putting blood. Blood on yourself to smell like. Like them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So bad. I will confess. And I like Paul, and we're friends, but. But what? I shot and hit and knocked both him and Glenn. Out. I, I couldn't resist. I turned to him and just deadpanned. Welcome to Texas.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, that is exactly, that's exactly.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And I'm an okay shot. Listen, in Texas there are a gazillion people who are much better shots than I am. But, but I, I am decent and can, can hold my own. And, and at least that time it was pretty fun.

[Ben Ferguson]

That is actually amazing. And Paul is so. If people don't know, Paul is like one of the most competitive guys, no matter what you're doing. Like, remember he was competitive with like CrossFit when he was in the house with working out. Like that was like he could work out harder than anybody else.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

Paul does not like to lose. That is a great way of putting it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, listen, I want to say to all our verdict listeners, we've been doing this a long time. We do it three days a week. We do it late at night. In fact, looking at.

[Ben Ferguson]

All right, it's, it is your birthday.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Let's look at it. It is officially 1203 in the morning. So as of three minutes ago, I just turned 55 years old.

[Ben Ferguson]

Happy birthday.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I will, you old man. My mom is 91. We're going to go out to dinner tonight with my mom and my dad and my whole family and I'm going to tell my mom. Wow, you're old. How do you have a 55 year old son?

[Ben Ferguson]

A 55 year old Heidi's married to a 55 year old man. Don't forget to remind her of that tonight.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Now, to be clear, When Heidi turned 50, you know what she did on her 50th birthday?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes, I do know this, which is still insane. She's like, hey, I'm 50, I'm gonna run a marathon. Like, who says that? Heidi does.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

She ran the LA marathon. Didn't do it on her birthday, but she did it in celebration of her birthday. So she did it a few months later and it was. So my question is, you know, you're not that far away from 50, Benjamin. Are you going to run the LA marathon on your 50th?

[Ben Ferguson]

There is no chance in hell.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Just checking.

[Ben Ferguson]

Just, just, we're gonna take that off the table. For my 50th birthday, I will do something like a midlife crisis. Like, I'll go buy a really cool car that's in a manual transmission. Because you know me and cars, I like fast cars that like, I'll do that. I might, I might sign up to like play a very legitimate 50 plus, like tennis tournament where you can Win a gold ball. That's like the standard. And like, that. I might. I might train for that. Like, I'm gonna be 50, see if I can, you know, my best friend, Devil's partner from college, let's play a devil's tournament together and see if we can win a gold ball.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

There you go. I like it. That's quality. Let me just say, you know, we've got about a million regular and dedicated verdict listeners. And if you count radio, we've got millions of listeners. Let me say to all you guys, thank you. I mean, I appreciate. I appreciate you. I appreciate. You know, this is like having each of you into our living room three days a week and having a conversation. And sometimes Ben and I give us give each other grief. Sometimes we talk about what we're mad at about. Sometimes we talk about what we're happy about. We try to give you information you can't get anywhere else. And I'm just grateful for this amazing community because I really do think scripture talks about it takes a remnant. And I think there are men and women who believe in liberty, who believe in America, and I believe it's the listeners of our show and those across the country who are committed to liberty who are going to save America. And so I am grateful for you. It's why we put the time in. And so on my birthday, I don't know about you, but sometimes I get contemplative on a birthday and think about where we are and where things are going. And I just want to say to every listener, a verdict. Thank you. I appreciate you. You guys are amazing.

[Ben Ferguson]

And I'm just glad I remembered how old you were. That's just like. It's full circle. Full circle there. I like that. Happy birthday, sir. 55. Don't forget, we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. If you're on social media, send a birthday message. I would put it in all caps and larger size font, big font, big font, big font. Happy. You might want to send multiple tweets, like, just happy then birthday, you know, like, yeah, you want to do it that way. So make sure he can actually see that and read it on his phone. And we'll see you back here on Wednesday morning.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Get ready for the wildest sight your lawn has ever seen. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. This spring, unleash soil science like never before. Witness your custom lawn plan and the trans to a soft, green paradise. Sorry, just trying to get your attention. Sunday is a boringly simple way to.

[Announcer]

Get a green, healthy yard.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No harsh stuff, no big trucks, no chaos.

[Announcer]

This Holiday Sunday plans are 20% off.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Buy today and lock in your spring subscription.

[Announcer]

Sunday Smarter Lawn care for less getsunday.com.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated.

[Ben Ferguson]

Pressure is coming down.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com your ticket.

[Announcer]

To big Savings is that big blue envelope in your mailbox. Valpak it's brimming with deals from big name brands and your favorite local spots, dining services, stuff you're already buying. All for less. And you could score $100 or other instant prizes just for opening it. Or save even faster with mobile coupons you can use right [e-mail] Valpak there's definitely something in it for you.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The world's best ski and snowboard athletes are chasing medals. Now you can follow their every move. JO Insider, the official US Ski and Snowboard Fan loyalty program and get premium viewing at World cup ski events, exclusive athlete meetups, discounts from brands you love, and a custom welcome gift mailed direct to your doorstep this winter. Show your support as they race for the podium. Head to insider.usski and snowboard.org and join today.

[Announcer]

Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Wimsound smart speaker. Get high resolution audio with a 1.8 inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just 299. From Quiet Mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Whim Sound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Whim Sound Beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Whim Sound that's W I I M S O u n D this is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.