THIRD Assassination Attempt on President Trump...while Democrats Rhetoric Fuels the Fire

Summary

Podcast Summary: "THIRD Assassination Attempt on President Trump...while Democrats Rhetoric Fuels the Fire"

Verdict with Ted Cruz — April 27, 2026
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz & Ben Ferguson

Episode Theme and Purpose

This episode addresses the recent third attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and explores the broader political and cultural climate that the hosts argue has contributed to such violent acts, focusing especially on the rhetoric from Democratic politicians, media figures, and popular left-leaning voices. Cruz and Ferguson discuss the normalization of extreme language, the consequences of ideological radicalization, and the ongoing risks to political figures in the US. They critique the reluctance of Democratic officials to denounce violent rhetoric from within their own ranks, and praise law enforcement’s prompt response to the attempt on Trump’s life.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Third Assassination Attempt — Immediate Reactions

[03:18 – 05:36]

• Ben Ferguson expresses gratitude that no innocent people, including President Trump and his team, were harmed in the recent attempt:

  "We are on the show, thankful that there was no innocent people that were shot or killed, including the president and any targets... God bless our men and women in law enforcement..." ([03:18])

• Ted Cruz highlights the recurring nature of these attempts and credits the Secret Service with preventing tragedy:

  "This is the third time that we have had an assassin, an armed assassin, attempt to assassinate President Trump... only because of the heroism of the Secret Service..." ([03:52])

• Both discuss the shooter’s stated intent, leftist ideology, and alleged "indoctrination," attributing blame to the rhetoric from Democratic figures and the media.

2. The Power and Use of Violent Rhetoric

[05:36 – 12:20]

• Ted Cruz references House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s comment:

  "'We are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time.' Hakeem Jeffries, this lunatic heard you. This is not acceptable..." ([05:14])

• Ferguson plays the actual Jeffries audio and points out the calculated, deliberate tone, criticizing it as purposeful messaging ([05:36 – 09:00]).
• They highlight left-wing pundit Hasan Piker's inflammatory language, alleged calls for violence against Republican senators:

  "'If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott, ok?...' He was calling for the murder of a Republican senator..." (Cruz, [10:03])

• Discussion focuses on what the hosts see as a culture of normalized left-wing violence, referencing the crowd’s laughter and perceived endorsement of calls for violence.

3. Media and Comedian Involvement

[12:20 – 13:07]

• Jimmy Kimmel’s joke at the (fake) White House Correspondents’ Dinner is criticized for implying hope for Trump’s assassination:

  "Melania is here. Look at, so beautiful, Mrs. Trump. You have a glow like an expectant widow." (Kimmel, as quoted by Cruz, [12:20])

• The hosts argue this signals "celebrating violence" on the left and that no meaningful repercussions follow, reinforcing their point about normalization in culture.

4. Polling on Political Violence

[13:07 – 15:07]

• Cruz summarizes recent polls from the Washington Times indicating openness to political violence, especially among those identifying as "very liberal" or "liberal":

  "25% of those who identify as very liberal say violence can sometimes be justified... These are the people laughing. These are the people making jokes about murdering President Trump." ([13:07])

• They express alarm at these attitudes and link them directly to acts of attempted or successful political violence.

5. Trump’s Remarks & the Media Follow-up

[17:59 – 21:55]

• Ben Ferguson commends Trump’s statesmanlike response after the attempt, highlighting his lack of visible anger and calls for unity:

  "...He talked about us coming together... He talked about how we need to make sure that we do this event... and we do it soon again..." ([17:59])

• Trump’s 60 Minutes interview is critiqued, especially the CBS anchor reading the shooter’s manifesto which accused Trump of being a "pedophile, rapist, and traitor." Trump defends himself sharply:

  "Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're, you're horrible people... I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody... I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person?... You should be ashamed of yourself reading that..." (Trump, [19:40])

• Cruz and Ferguson frame media repetition of such accusations as reinforcement for radicalized individuals.

6. Trump’s Call for Peaceful Resolution

[21:55 – 24:36]

• Cruz plays Trump’s unifying speech calling for Americans to "recommit... in resolving our differences peacefully," praising it as exemplary leadership ([21:55]).

  "I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully... There was a tremendous amount of love and coming together... Law enforcement, Secret Service in particular in this case..." (Trump, [21:55])

• Both hosts underscore this as the correct response and contrast it with what they describe as dangerous rhetoric from the left.

7. The Shooter’s Background and Radicalization

[24:36 – 27:07]

• Discussion reveals the shooter was a "Teacher of the Month," Caltech graduate, and a Kamala Harris campaign donor—emphasized as being "radicalized" by mainstream Democratic rhetoric, not by fringe actors:

  "It's no different than what we're talking about right now. This is a guy that was radicalized by the Democratic party." (Ferguson, [25:42])

• Cruz emphasizes that radicalization now often comes from top Democratic officials and not just extreme activists or online cults.

8. Celebrating Killers and Political Environment

[27:07 – 29:07]

• Cruz notes some on the left "lionize" those who commit political murder, referencing the United Healthcare CEO’s killer and an alleged celebratory post by journalist Taylor Lorenz.
• Raises the question if any Democrat will denounce such associations—other than John Fetterman, noted as an exception and reportedly alienated by his party.

9. Secret Service Funding and Security Discussion

[29:07 – 33:41]

• Ferguson and Cruz note that the Department of Homeland Security remains shuttered—many Secret Service agents remain unpaid due to stalled funding, despite risking their lives at the recent event:

  "DHS is shut down. It's been shut down for more than two months..." (Cruz, [29:27])

• Cruz criticizes a federal judge’s injunction against construction of a new security-optimized White House ballroom, highlighting the recent attempts on Trump’s life as clear justification.

10. The Role of Academia and Indoctrination

[34:46 – 39:07]

• Cruz reads from the shooter’s manifesto detailing Marxist-influenced logic, such as the oppressor-victim dynamic and justifying violence as resistance:

  "Complicity in the oppressor's crimes. That is Marxist language of oppressors and victims... he is repeating what leftists have indoctrinated him in university." (Cruz, [35:28])

• Both hosts compare such radicalization to jihadist recruitment, but argue Democratic leaders, not fringe online figures, are now the radicalizers.

11. Personal Security Now Expected

[39:07 – End]

• Ferguson reveals that public figures, including himself, now routinely wear bulletproof vests at political events due to real threats:

  "There's a reason why when I go on stage now, I wear a bulletproof vest. That is not normal... I was at CPAC... hugging friends and we were laughing because we're hugging each other with bulletproof vests on..." (Ferguson, [39:07])

• Both hosts conclude that the normalization of violence is wholly unacceptable and call for responsible leadership and honest self-assessment from Democrats.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ted Cruz [03:52]: "This is the third time that we have had an assassin, an armed assassin, attempt to assassinate President Trump... only because of the heroism of the Secret Service that stopped this shooter."
• Hakeem Jeffries [06:01] (audio clip): "We are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time."
• Trump [19:40]: "Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're, you're horrible people... I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. I'm not a pedophile... You should be ashamed of yourself reading that..."
• Trump [21:55]: "I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. We have to. We have to resolve our differences."
• Senator Cruz [34:46]: "Violence is wrong, period. I do think this attempted assassination, it is the fruits of a corrupted elite academic system... That is Marxist language of oppressors and victims."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | | ------- | ----- | --------- | | Opening & Immediate Reactions | Show intro and reaction to third attempt | 03:18 – 05:36 | | Political Rhetoric & Democrat Critique | Jeffries quote & Hasan Piker call outs | 05:36 – 12:20 | | Media/Comedian Involvement | Jimmy Kimmel's "expectant widow" joke | 12:20 – 13:07 | | Polling Data on Political Violence | Breakdown of violence acceptance | 13:07 – 15:07 | | Trump’s Press Conference & 60 Minutes | Trump's response and interview reaction | 17:59 – 21:55 | | Trump's Call for Unity | Trump's post-event statement played | 21:55 – 24:36 | | Shooter's Background & Radicalization | Shooter profile and donation history | 24:36 – 27:07 | | Celebrating Political Violence | Discussion of martyrdom and left reactions | 27:07 – 29:07 | | Secret Service Funding | DHS shutdown & ballroom security | 29:07 – 33:41 | | Academic Indoctrination | Shooter's manifesto and Marxism allegations | 34:46 – 39:07 | | Personal Safety Measures | Bulletproof vests and event hesitancy | 39:07 – End |

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Tone and Language

• The tone is grave, urgent, and often accusatory toward Democratic leaders, the media, and cultural figures.
• Language is direct, forceful, and emotionally charged, with frequent appeals to common sense, responsibility, and patriotism.
• The podcast amplifies concerns over rising political violence and expresses frustration at what is cast as a lack of accountability among Democratic officials.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson provide a detailed, passionate analysis of the third attempted assassination against President Trump, firmly blaming the mainstreaming of violent rhetoric by Democratic leaders, cultural figures, and media for contributing to a volatile political environment. They argue that radicalization is increasingly coming from establishment sources, not fringes, and cite polling, specific recent quotes, and cultural examples to support their case. The episode highlights Trump’s call for national unity and the professionalism of law enforcement, challenges Democrats to denounce their most extreme voices and examine the results of their rhetoric, and communicates urgency about restoring civility and safety in US politics.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you, Senator. Obviously, we are on the show, thankful that there was no innocent people that were shot or killed, including the president and any of the targets of the Trump administration that were named by this individual in the manifesto. We God bless our men and women in law enforcement for what they were able to do. And I think the part that is so shocking to me, this is now our third show that you and I have done after an attempted assassination attempt against President Donald Trump. And this is what the left has normalized.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You know, tragically, that is exactly right. This is the third time that we have had an assassin, an armed assassin, attempt to assassinate President Trump. This keeps happening over and over and over again. Now, thank God, and I hope everyone literally said a prayer of thanks to God that President Trump is unharmed, that the entire cabinet and administration is unharmed. That is only because of the heroism of the Secret Service that stopped this shooter. Had they not stopped this shooter, he came armed and his stated manifesto was to kill as many senior members of the Trump administration as possible, including, and especially his target was President Donald Trump. He was a leftist. He was indoctrinated. And the rhetoric from the Democrats, the rhetoric from the media, when you keep calling Donald Trump Hitler, people listen to you. People act based on this rhetoric. It is harmful. It is causing lunatics to hear what they say and to act out. And they are endangering people's lives. And I don't see a single Democrat backing off from it. In fact, just this week, Hakeem Jeffries, the lead Democrat in the House.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Did a press conference where he said the following. Quote, we are in, in an era of. Of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time. Hakeem Jeffries, this lunatic heard you. This is not acceptable. Political violence is not acceptable.

[Ben Ferguson]

By the way, you mentioned Hakeem Jeffries. I want to play for people how he said it, because he said it in such a calm and, I think, calculated way. This is not an accident. This is their messaging. This is what they are wanting to get out there. This isn't an accident. Listen to how calmly Hakeem Jeffries says this. This was clearly pre planned remarks by Hakeem Jeffries. Here he is in his own words.

[Donald Trump]

We are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Every Democrat knows the impact of their rhetoric. They're using it deliberately. Maximum warfare everywhere, all the time. But, but if you think, well, well, that may be ambiguous, maybe he meant metaphorically. I want you to listen to Hassan Piker, the left wing, America hating lunatic. Listen to what Hassan Piker said. Give a listen. If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott, ok? You wouldn't make Rick Scott, former governor

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

What is he?

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He's the. Richard Lynn Scott is an American attorney,

[Ben Ferguson]

businessman, politician, Navy veteran, serving as the senior United States Senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. And also I believe this past election

[Senator Ted Cruz]

cycle, he was literally the head of

[Ben Ferguson]

the, what was it like the Senate committee. Senator, you listen to this individual and this is normal rhetoric for anyone with a microphone on the left right now.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, there's nothing normal about this, this lunatic, and he is an America hating Marxist, explicitly said kill Rick Scott, not metaphorically. He was calling for the murder of a Republican senator because he is a Republican senator. Now you might say, well, this Hassan Piker guy, he's, he's a fringe lefty. Well, you know what? Just in the past two weeks he was campaigning with Abdul El Sayed, who is running for Senate in Michigan and is one of the leading Democrats running for Senate who is happy to embrace someone. Look, if I end up serving with Abdul El Said, I don't know how exactly he's going to look Rick Scott in the eye given that he's campaigned with someone who is calling to murder Rick Scott. These Democrats know what they're doing. And, and it is wrong. And let's be clear, I'm being unequivocal. Violence is wrong. I want no violence against anybody, whether I agree with you or disagree with you. Political violence is always, always wrong. And for some reason the Democrats hate Donald Trump so much that that is a sentence that is very, very difficult for them to get out of their mouths.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hasan also publicly advocated, by the way, for Trump's assassination as well. That has now gone viral. Listen to what he had to say. And also listen to the crowd laugh as he talks about someone taking out Donald Trump. And you actually wrote about this and it was a great video where you talked about, you know, someone has to do it. See, when I say that, everyone knows

[Donald Trump]

exactly what I mean.

[Ben Ferguson]

Which, which is, I think that shows that there is a lot of anger, a lot of resentment and untapped potential. Untapped revolutionary potential, as a matter of fact.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And it's a great opportunity for, for

[Ben Ferguson]

organizing, I think, in these, on and these unprecedented times is how he said it. So in other words, you're justified because Donald Trump was reelected by the majority of the American people. You are justified because we've declared that it is a unprecedented times to go kill Donald Trump or Rick Scott or anyone else we put on the kill list that we say is in our way.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, they're laughing and cheering. When he references murdering President Trump. He then says there's a lot of untapped potential of angry leftists who could go murder President Trump. And by the way, you don't have to go to this clown. Go to the White House Correspondent's dinner. Listen to Jimmy Kimmel, what he said this week to Melania Trump, our first Lady. Melania is here. Look at, so beautiful, Mrs. Trump. You have a glow like an expectant widow.

[Ben Ferguson]

This was just so everybody understands Jimmy Kimmel doing a fake White House correspondents dinner. They put up a picture of the first lady if you're not watching us on YouTube right now. And the audience laughs, implying that she's ready for Donald Trump to be assassinated

[Senator Ted Cruz]

and Jimmy Kimmel hasn't apologized. Look, the leftists hear what they're saying. We saw a deranged leftist fly from California to D.C. and, and go to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's house to murder him. This is happening over and over and over again. It is not okay. And, and, and by the way, if, if you want to look at the polling, the polling is, is deeply disturbing. If you look at polling, according to the Washington Times, quote, americans generally believe political violence to be wrong. But liberals and younger Americans are more likely to say political violence can be justified to achieve goals and to celebrate the death of a public figure. When split into partisan groups, 25% of those who identify as very liberal say violence can sometimes be justified. And 17% of those who identify as liberal, 9% of those who identify as moderate, 6% of those who identify as conservative, and less than 5% of those who identify as very conservative, 25% of self described very liberals say violence can sometimes be justified. These are the people laughing. These are the people making jokes about murdering President Trump. You know it's not funny. Three times lunatics have picked up guns and tried to do so. And one lunatic succeeded in shooting President Trump, murdering someone else standing behind President Trump. This violence, it keeps happening over and over and over again. We saw it happen with Charlie Kirk where he was murdered and the left keeps doing it. They do it deliberately. They're campaigning with this lunatic Hasan Piker, who's calling for murdering Republicans. The Democrats are happy to stand side by side and say, this is who we are. This is what we stand for.

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[Ben Ferguson]

did a press conference after, I mean, it seemed like it was minutes after this, this next assassination attempt on him at the White House, correspondence in the shooting. And he went to the White House and he addressed the nation. And I got to tell you, Senator, I was impressed by the lack of anger. He led like a leader should lead. I don't know if I would have been able to do that. He talked about us coming together. He talked about unifying the press. He talked about unifying people in that room. He talked about how we need to make sure that we do this event and we do it soon again. He even did a sit down interview with CBS News, Norah O' Donnell and for 60 Minutes to play on Sunday. And, and this is after someone has tried to kill him again. And even then, CBS News could not stop themselves from implying that Donald Trump is a pedophile and a rapist, which is exactly what makes these individuals. In the manifesto, this is what the guy was talking about, the reason why he wanted to kill Trump and the others around him. And I want you to listen to the President's response. And I'm shocked he set in the interview anymore. I honestly am. I would have probably walked out just because it's like, are you kidding me? We're not even 20 hours after 15 hours, 18, 14 hours afterwards, and you're already putting this type of rhetoric out there. Listen to what he said.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So called manifesto is a stunning thing

[Host/Announcer]

to read, Mr. President. He appears to reference a motive.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

In it he writes this, quote, administration officials, they are targets. And he also wrote this. I am no longer willing to permit

[Host/Announcer]

a Pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat

[Senator Ted Cruz]

my hands with his crimes. What's your reaction?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're, You're. You're horrible people. Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Oh, you think he was referring to you?

[Donald Trump]

Excuse me, I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, you know, I'll do this interview, and they'll probably. I read the manifesto. You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I'm not any of those things. Mr. President's words. Excuse me, you shouldn't be reading that on 60 Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go ahead, let's finish the interview.

[Ben Ferguson]

I got to tell you, he should restraint, in my opinion, having to deal with someone trying to kill him. And then, oh, by the way, we're going to say, well, this is justifiable. Let's put it back out there for these sick people to say, see, this is why we should be able to kill any political leader we don't like.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, it is deranged. And the leftist media repeats these attacks over and over and over again. Democrats repeat these attacks over and over and over again. The hateful and false things that, that, that this deranged person wrote in his manifesto. You could find Democrats saying that on any given day, elected Democrats, that, that. You know, ironically, one of the people who used language like that, deranged language like that, was Eric Swalwell. He was one of the nastiest for going after President Trump. He has now resigned in disgrace because it turns out that conduct allegedly describes himself. But this is deliberate. They know what they're doing, and it is really harmful. You know, you mentioned President Trump calling for us to come together, and I want to play actually what he said on that, because it's really important, and I appreciate his saying this. Give a listen.

[Donald Trump]

But in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to. We have to resolve our differences. I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, Independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives. Those words are interchangeable, perhaps, but maybe they're not. But yet Everybody in that room, big crowd, record setting crowd. There was a record setting group of people and there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched, I watched and I was very, very impressed by that. But we were. First lady and I were taken very well. Care. Very quickly, very quickly rushed off the stage. Vice President J.D. vance, who's here, was likewise, beautifully done. He was just saying how quickly everybody acted. Law enforcement, Secret Service in particular in this case. But law enforcement, Marco had the same thing. Pete was there. Pete didn't want any help. He didn't want anybody to help. He doesn't want anybody to help him. But he did get some, didn't you? And I think you also said that it was very impressive. So with that, I'd like to ask Todd Blanche to come up, say a few words and tell you it's already underway. The. The man is. Has been captured. They've. They're going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California and he's a sick person. A very sick person. And we don't want things like this to happen. I think it's very important that I say, though, and I told the representatives of the evening, they did such a beautiful job. It was such a beautiful evening. And again, they're talking about free speech in our Constitution. That's what it's all about. Not just White House correspondence. It's really, it was really based on free speech in our Constitution. But I said very importantly that we'll do it again within the next 30 days and we'll make it bigger and better and even nicer. So I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I also want to thank the press, the media. You've been very responsible in your coverage. I will say I've been seeing what's been out. You've been very responsible.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, Senator, you just talk about. This is 1039 Eastern.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

Right after this happened. The first lady's in the room, all of his team and is in the room. Many of the cabinet members are in the room. And to even then say I'm trying to bring us together. That is one of the best biggest takeaways for me is just this is what leaders do after things like this happen. Even though they're trying to kill him.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I appreciate his saying, I ask all Americans to recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. That's the right message. And, and I got to say, look, this shooter is sick. There's no doubt about it. But at least as we're in the opening days after this attempted assassination, there's no evidence that's been on earth so far that this person is dealing with significant mental illness, schizophrenic, anything like that. Now look, at some level, anyone who tries to commit mass murder is sick in the vernacular. But it appears the real sickness and there may well be mental illness. We'll find out more as this proceeds to trial. But the real sickness is ideology. It's the ideology of hate. And it's important to note this wasn't some character on the fringes of society. This was not a homeless guy sleeping on a bench. Who, who is, is.

[Ben Ferguson]

This is teacher of the month. This is a teacher of the month. This was a normal lefty who was radicalized by the leadership that he believed in. And this goes back, I mean you, you go back Senator, to, to just some of the things he said. He gave money, by the way, the commas campaign in 2024. This is a guy who was obsessed with January the six. If you want to know when the radicalization really got started. He called President Trump a traitor. The same words the media and the left has been using Democrats elected and said that the President had direct connections of Vladimir Putin. So he bought into all the Russian collusion. Lie. This is why lies have major consequences. And I mean he was. You know, they talk about with ISIS and Al Qaeda where you know, you have these lone wolves that are radicalized over the Internet. It's no different than what we're talking about right now. This is a guy that was radicalized by the Democratic party.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

But it is different in that the people radicalizing are not clerics that are online that are fringe. It is the leaders. It is the elected officials in the Democrat Party that keep using language like this when they know that deranged ideological leftists will choose to act on that. They know that. And look, this guy was a graduate of Caltech. The murderer who murdered the CEO of United Healthcare was a graduate of Penn, an Ivy League school.

[Ben Ferguson]

These great point.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And by the way, he is lionized by many on the left. You see idiots wearing T shirts with him or even getting tattoos of him because he's a good looking guy. Yes, he committed cold blooded murder. But, but you know, you see people like Taylor Lorenz, the, the reporter has been at the Washington Post describing the joy she felt when he murdered this CEO in cold blood. There is a culture on the left of celebrating violence. We saw leftists all over the country cheering on when Charlie Kirk was murdered. Fact celebrating violence, calling for violence. And at some point at some point, is there any Democrat who will take responsibility? All right, let's start with this. Is there one member, one Democrat in the Senate who will call out this clown running for Senate in Michigan for campaigning with this Piker guy who is calling for murdering President Trump and calling for murdering a sitting Republican senator? Is there one Democrat senator outside of John Fetterman?

[Ben Ferguson]

No. And by the way, there's rumor that Fetterman may run as an Independent or Republican his next election because he's so done with the Democratic Party.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The Democrat Party hates John Fetterman. They are trying to chase him out of the party. They will do everything they can to defeat him in his next election. And you're right. I'm sure John Fetterman would condemn it. He may have condemned it already. I don't think there's another one. Look, and let's be clear what I'm saying. Are there some Democrats who would condemn what Piker said? Sure. What they won't condemn is the current leading Democrat running for office for Senate in Michigan campaigning alongside the guy that they won't do anything that is criticizing a fellow Democrat even as you're celebrating calls to murder.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me ask you another question on this, and this is. I know the answer, but I think the audience needs to know this. The President was talking about how the Secret Service did an amazing job and making sure that this threat was neutralized. Do those guys get paychecks right now that were at the White House Correspondence Center?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, DHS is shut down. It's been shut down for more than two months.

[Ben Ferguson]

So they're not getting paid.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, some of them are getting paid because the president is reallocating money from other parts of the budget. So some of them have gotten paychecks. But.

[Ben Ferguson]

But the Democrats are saying they don't want them paid.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The Democrats have voted against funding the Secret Service funding the Department of Homeland Security. They voted against it 16 times. And by the way, there were Democrats at that event. That event. In fact, there were more Democrats in that room than there were Republicans because it's mostly reporters, and they're almost all either Democrats or further left. And. And the Secret Service. Look, when they stop this shooter, any one of them could be killed. You know, I don't know if you're a Democrat, how you justify going and voting against paying for the Secret Service when they may have quite literally saved your life the couple days before, but

[Ben Ferguson]

I have no doubt that they would still vote against it. Right? They would. They would vote against it. They would say no no, no, we're not going to fund them like, they're unified on that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That's, I don't know what they're going to do next. I do know that they voted 16 times against it. I'll also point out, you know, you look at the litigation against the new ballroom that President Trump is building. And yes, in that litigation, a federal district judge enjoined construction of the, of the ballroom, ordered that it be halted. And, and here was his reasoning. I want you to listen to it, because it, it, it's absurd on its face. Quote, the fact that the ballroom is planned to include security features such as bulletproof windows and a drone proof roof does not bring the structure within the scope of the national security exception. While these features may well be beneficial, defendants have not provided any national security justification for why these features must be installed immediately such that they should be excluded from the scope of the injunction. I'm going to give you the technical legal definition of that. That segment of the district court's ruling. That is stupid. It is stupid on its face. And now, thankfully, that injunction was stayed by the court of appeals, so it's not in effect. But the federal district judge was saying, why? I see no national security justification Three times.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wow.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

In about a year, we have seen President Trump attempt at a year and a half, attempted to be assassinated. And yet the judge is saying, look, if it were in the White House ballroom, if you had the security of the White House, that would be a much safer place to minimize these kinds of threats. And sadly, I think the odds are high this is not the last attempted assassination of President Trump. There are leftists out there who are hearing Hakeem Jeffries war all the time. Everywhere they're hearing Democrat after Democrat after Democrat using language that is not even a dog whistle. It's not even a coded call to violence. Their lunatic supporters know exactly what they're saying.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, you go back to the ballroom and the politics of this, by the way it was made. Private funds came in to pay for this as well. And there was. Democrats are obsessed with this ballroom. They don't want it to happen because Donald Trump's the one doing it. And the other thing I think was interesting is the president said in his interview on 60 Minutes that this has been something that the, that the Secret Service and the military have been saying for like, basically the last hundred years. We need this because it's a way to have events in a safe manner. You look at the hotel where the White House Correspondence center was last night, I've Gone to countless events there. I know you have. I mean, how many. How many events do you think you've been to that thing in your. In your political lifetime? Like, almost every event is there because it's one of the bigger, closest places.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

The nickname that, that pretty much everyone in politics calls it is the Hinckley Hilton because it is hotel where John Hinckley shot President Reagan. And it's just, I mean, you say, oh, we've got it eventually, Hill. That's just. That's just what they call it.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, and this goes back to the Secret Services obsession with safety is we do the best we can. We have all this security. It's still a hotel. This guy was able to check in, apparently on Friday. It still operates like a hotel. We're rushing people out the back. I had friends at Fox News that were rushed through the back of the. Of the hotel, through the kitchen, to try to keep them safe after all this went down. And as you mentioned, the nickname of the hotel goes directly back to Ronald Reagan, which, again, if any of these Democrats are against having a ballroom, which, by the way, will benefit Democrats in the White House, there will be more Democrats in the White House. I believe in our lifetimes, that's the way politics works. It will keep them safe as well, because I never want to see an American president assassinated. I don't care if you're Republican or a Democrat. And that's the difference between the Democratic Party, the Republican Party is Democrats call for this type of violence and assassinations and celebrate when people like Charlie Kirk get shot. And we on the right say we don't want anyone to die because of their political beliefs, even if they're against me.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You are absolutely right. Violence is wrong, period. I do think this attempted assassination, it is the fruits of a corrupted elite academic system. Where did this kid get radicalized? I think the odds are quite likely at Caltech being trained by leftists. And look, he wrote his manifesto, and I'm not interested in highlighting his deranged attacks on President Trump, but I actually do want to read a little bit of it because he put out a series of objections and rebuttals, and they show just how twisted the indoctrination is. So he writes, Objection 1. As a Christian, you should turn the other cheek. By the way, this guy calls himself a Christian. He claims to be a Christian. Rebuttal. Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I'm not the person raped in a detention camp. I'm not the fisherman executed without A trial. I'm not a school kid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior. It is complicity in the oppressor's crimes. By the way, listen to that language. Complicity in the oppressors crimes. That is Marxist language of oppressors and victims. And, and, and he is repeating what, what leftists have indoctrinated him in university.

[Ben Ferguson]

Here.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Here was his next objection to. This is not a convenient time for you to do this rebuttal. I need whoever thinks this way to take a couple of minutes and realize that the world isn't about them. Do you think that when I see someone raped or murdered or abused, I should walk on by because it would be inconvenient for people who aren't the victim? This is the best timing and chance of success I could come up with. Objection number three, you didn't get them all. So. So he believed he was going to kill President Trump. Multiple members of the cabinet. But he recognized someone would live. The Vice President, his speaker was there. His rebuttal gotta start somewhere. This is the consequence of consistent radical indoctrination. An indoctrination that says that, that. That in Marxist ideology the oppressor oppresses the victim and violence is justified in overthrowing the oppressor. This young man was taught that garbage. The young man who murdered the United Healthcare CEO was taught that garbage. And the people purveying this poison, they are doing massive damage. The lunatic who tried to murder Brett Kavanaugh was taught that garbage. And when you teach people violence is okay and justified and justified, morally justified, you must act. By the way, this lunatic was not at all worried about all the children who were raped by human traffickers under, under the Democrats open borders that those crimes he was not worried about. The people murdered by illegal alien criminals and gang bangers released, those murders don't concern him at all. It's kind of like the leftists who hate Israel and are constantly protesting against Israel. And yet when Iran murders between 10 and 40,000 protesters, not a single leftist utters a peep. Because they only care about the people they deem oppressors. And I really do hope that some responsible Democrat office holders stand up and say, you know, the rhetoric that my party is using is producing horrible results and we need to stop. But I gotta say, other than John Fetterman, I don't see anyone doing that.

[Ben Ferguson]

No. And they don't seem to be doing it even when they're in the room where they could have been an innocent bystander, they could have been killed. It is truly shocking to me. That room last night. I think you and I can say this. I had more friends in that room than any other room where this could have happened. The number of friends I had in that room last night, and I was invited. I didn't go. And honestly, I look at events now as a threat analysis. Is it really worth it? Do I really need to be there? There's a reason why when I go on stage now, I wear a bulletproof vest. That is not normal. That is where we are right now. I was cpac, I was hugging friends and we were laughing because we're hugging each other with bulletproof vests on. That is not normal. But that is where the political violence has come to at this point. We're going to keep you updated on all week long. I can promise you that. Don't forget we do the show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscriber auto download button wherever you get your podcast. You can watch this episode as well on YouTube or on Facebook and the center and I will see you back here, Lord willing, on Wednesday morning.

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