1
00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:01,960
Speaker 1: Welcome.

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,000
Speaker 2: It is a Verdict with Ted Cruz Week in Review

3
00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:09,320
Speaker 2: live from Austin. Ben Ferguson with you, and these are

4
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:11,240
Speaker 2: the stories that you may have missed that we talked

5
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 2: about this week. First up, Catherine Heritage was let go

6
00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:20,239
Speaker 2: from NBC News and the most shocking part is apparently

7
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,560
Speaker 2: her notes were seized by the network.

8
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,400
Speaker 1: What was behind that shocking decision.

9
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,360
Speaker 2: Also, what's going on in Russia and will there be

10
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,440
Speaker 2: reaccountability for Vladimir Putin for killing his top political opponent.

11
00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,120
Speaker 1: We're going to break that down for you. And finally,

12
00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:38,080
Speaker 1: the media turning on.

13
00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,240
Speaker 2: Joe Biden this week in the headlines that we never

14
00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,199
Speaker 2: thought they would ever write. So will this continue or

15
00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:47,920
Speaker 2: is just just gonna be a bad week for Biden?

16
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,400
Speaker 2: That will go back to the media praising him. It's

17
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,600
Speaker 2: the Week in Review and it starts right now. There's

18
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,080
Speaker 2: also another shocking story, and I want to make sure

19
00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,600
Speaker 2: we spend some time on this. Many people may know

20
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,840
Speaker 2: the name Katherine Herrid. She is a phenomenal reporter. She

21
00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,319
Speaker 2: was at Fox for a long time. She then moved

22
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,240
Speaker 2: to CBS News. She did incredible reporting on tough issues

23
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,240
Speaker 2: and stories, including what's been happening with the Biden crime family.

24
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,200
Speaker 2: She was let go, slash fired, whatever you want to

25
00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,680
Speaker 2: call it, laid off with some other people as CBS

26
00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,479
Speaker 2: is having financial issues and downsizing. But it was shocking

27
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,000
Speaker 2: that she was let go in that because she's basically

28
00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,240
Speaker 2: that one of their best and only tough investigative reporters,

29
00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,600
Speaker 2: certainly in Washington, d C. Now we have found out

30
00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:44,800
Speaker 2: that CBS News went full communists after quote seizing her

31
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:51,000
Speaker 2: journalistic files. That is not what's supposed to happen in

32
00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,080
Speaker 2: America in journalism. And yet now we're finding out and

33
00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,320
Speaker 2: only they get rid of her. But the question is

34
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,640
Speaker 2: what was she what did she have? What was she

35
00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,360
Speaker 2: about to report on? I would say this enter, I

36
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,120
Speaker 2: know you love her reporting. I think we should try

37
00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:05,920
Speaker 2: to get her on Verdict because I would love to

38
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,679
Speaker 2: hear what she has to say about everything she uncovered

39
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,120
Speaker 2: that maybe she hasn't been able to tell us yet.

40
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,080
Speaker 3: So I agree with you that we should have Catherine

41
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,079
Speaker 3: Herridge as a guest on Verdict. We're going to try

42
00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,040
Speaker 3: to make that happen. And I will say, look, in

43
00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,200
Speaker 3: many ways, Catherine Herridge is a unicorn because the corporate

44
00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,160
Speaker 3: media is so utterly corrupt, that they do not report

45
00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,399
Speaker 3: on news that is inconvenient to the regime. And Catherine

46
00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,280
Speaker 3: Harridge was a rebel in that she actually reported on

47
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,880
Speaker 3: things the Biden White House didn't like. And so CBS

48
00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,560
Speaker 3: was engaged in layoffs. And I get, Look, the media

49
00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:48,040
Speaker 3: are a bunch of dishonest, lying hacks. I understand that

50
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,760
Speaker 3: they're firing people because people don't want to purchase their

51
00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,560
Speaker 3: goods anymore, because it is useless. They're no longer journalists,

52
00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,519
Speaker 3: they're liars. That being said, if you're laying off people,

53
00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:05,480
Speaker 3: and some corporate suit in a corner office made a decision,

54
00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,600
Speaker 3: who do we want to lay off. Let's lay off

55
00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:11,600
Speaker 3: the person who actually is criticizing the White House, and

56
00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,400
Speaker 3: so Catherine herriage they laid off. That was shocking in

57
00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,560
Speaker 3: and of itself because she is such a unicorn. But

58
00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,840
Speaker 3: then the news broke this week that then not only

59
00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:27,600
Speaker 3: do they layer off, but CBS officials took the unusual

60
00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:34,680
Speaker 3: step of seizing her files, her computers, her records, including

61
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,480
Speaker 3: her information on privileged sources.

62
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,760
Speaker 2: And and that I've got to say, so explain people

63
00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,440
Speaker 2: privileged sources, so people understand why that's such a shocking,

64
00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,720
Speaker 2: in my opinion, abuse of power by CBS.

65
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 3: Well, listen, reporters have sources that give information and under

66
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:59,800
Speaker 3: promises of confidentiality, and those promises are that their name

67
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:01,920
Speaker 3: be held secret, they will not be outed.

68
00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:03,480
Speaker 1: And that's that.

69
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,480
Speaker 3: That is right at the heart the essence of journalism,

70
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,080
Speaker 3: of free press. Well, CBS, the corporate suits have said,

71
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,760
Speaker 3: we want to know who your sources are. And the

72
00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 3: problem is that nobody rational with their head not inserted

73
00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,840
Speaker 3: in a bodily orifice, believes that the corporate suits want

74
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 3: that for any reason other than bad purposes. Look, I'm

75
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,800
Speaker 3: going to read from an article in The Hill. So

76
00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:41,080
Speaker 3: in the Hill, this is something written by Jonathan Turley,

77
00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,200
Speaker 3: who has been really terrific on a lot of these issues.

78
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,279
Speaker 3: But here's what he But he wrote quote, I've spoken

79
00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,520
Speaker 3: confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated

80
00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,960
Speaker 3: that they could not recall the company ever taking such

81
00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,440
Speaker 3: a step before. One former CBS journalist said that many

82
00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,599
Speaker 3: employees quote are confused why Herridge was laid off. As

83
00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,560
Speaker 3: one of the correspondents who broke news regularly and did

84
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,400
Speaker 3: a lot of original reporting. This has led to concerns

85
00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,400
Speaker 3: about the source of the pressure. He added that he

86
00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,839
Speaker 3: has never seen a seizure of records from a departing

87
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,280
Speaker 3: journalist and that the move has sent a chilling signal

88
00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 3: to the ranks of CBS and that is deeply, deeply disturbing.

89
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:42,400
Speaker 3: By the way, there have been reports that when Catherine

90
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,599
Speaker 3: Herridge published stories that were critical of the Biden White House,

91
00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:52,680
Speaker 3: that CBS executives pushed back, including someone CBS News president

92
00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:58,679
Speaker 3: Ingrid Cyprianne Matthews, who I don't know, but good god,

93
00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:01,320
Speaker 3: her name sounds like something out of a science fiction

94
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,599
Speaker 3: movie about some overlord in the star chamber who wants

95
00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:11,240
Speaker 3: to silence all dissent Ingrid Cyprian Matthews, let's fire the

96
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:17,040
Speaker 3: reporter that dares report anything of substance because we are propagandists.

97
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 3: And I got to say, there was a time when

98
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:28,480
Speaker 3: CBS actually had a reputation as being real journalists. How

99
00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:34,760
Speaker 3: many Walter Cronkite is rolling over in his grave at

100
00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,720
Speaker 3: what has happened to CBS today.

101
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,719
Speaker 2: There's I want to just talk about the quality of

102
00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,680
Speaker 2: Catherine's reporting for a moment. There are reporters that you

103
00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,080
Speaker 2: don't talk to. There's reporters that I don't talk to

104
00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,520
Speaker 2: you see them, you roll their eyes. You deal with

105
00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,520
Speaker 2: it a lot more than I do. There's certain reporters

106
00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:54,719
Speaker 2: on Capitol Hill You're like, really, you again, give me

107
00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,760
Speaker 2: a break because you know they're hacks. When you when

108
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,560
Speaker 2: you saw Katherine and now there's like there seemed to

109
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:06,080
Speaker 2: be mutual respect from both sides out because she wasn't partisan,

110
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,240
Speaker 2: she just was a truth teller and investigative journalism. It's

111
00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,800
Speaker 2: something that we've lost in this country and that's what

112
00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:21,000
Speaker 2: ultimately I think made her lose her job at CBS.

113
00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:25,400
Speaker 3: Look sadly what Catherine Herridge does used to be the

114
00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,840
Speaker 3: Norman journalism. Yeah, you would have journalists who would actually

115
00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:34,480
Speaker 3: investigate stories, they would follow the facts, they would report

116
00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,920
Speaker 3: on the substance. That used to be how the entire

117
00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:44,000
Speaker 3: enterprise worked. Now and I really think this is post Trump.

118
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:49,440
Speaker 3: Trump broke the corporate media. They hate him so much

119
00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,800
Speaker 3: that they've abandoned any effort at truth telling, any effort

120
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,800
Speaker 3: at reporting facts, any effort at being even handed, at

121
00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:03,560
Speaker 3: the effort reporting both sides. Instead, Look, if you go

122
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,360
Speaker 3: back a decade ago, if you go back to twenty fourteen,

123
00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,920
Speaker 3: twenty fifteen, you would have people at CBS you'd have

124
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:15,440
Speaker 3: people at c and NMSNBC, even MSNBC that would claim

125
00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,800
Speaker 3: they're trying to be journalists and report both sides. What

126
00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:26,960
Speaker 3: has changed is Trump convinced a lot of the so

127
00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:34,040
Speaker 3: called journalists and all of the corporate brass that reporting

128
00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:39,040
Speaker 3: fairly was no longer acceptable, that Trump was the devil,

129
00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,720
Speaker 3: and because he was the devil, their mission was no

130
00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,240
Speaker 3: longer present both sides. Their mission and this is the

131
00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,959
Speaker 3: way they framed it was to save democracy. And what

132
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,960
Speaker 3: they mean by save democracy is elect left wing Democrats

133
00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,520
Speaker 3: in every election, no matter what, which means never ever

134
00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:04,200
Speaker 3: ever pored on anything harmful to left wing Democrats and

135
00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,720
Speaker 3: only be propagandists for the left wing of the party.

136
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,839
Speaker 3: Now listen, I don't like the New York Times. I

137
00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:15,719
Speaker 3: think they're a bunch of freaking communists. I don't particularly

138
00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,800
Speaker 3: like the Washington Post. I don't like much.

139
00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:19,160
Speaker 4: Of the media.

140
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,199
Speaker 3: But bizarrely, Ben, I think they're valuable. How many years

141
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:25,600
Speaker 3: were you an employee of CNN?

142
00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,320
Speaker 1: Seven years? In hell is how long I was there

143
00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:29,280
Speaker 1: fighting the good fight.

144
00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,080
Speaker 3: Okay, but compare CNN all right, you're a former employee.

145
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:35,520
Speaker 3: You were an employee there from win.

146
00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:36,920
Speaker 1: To win, gosh, it was.

147
00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,959
Speaker 2: I mean, go back what two years ago and then

148
00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,080
Speaker 2: and then add seven on to there. So in the

149
00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,120
Speaker 2: middle of it, right before Trump was elected, when it

150
00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,240
Speaker 2: wasn't that bad. I was there for I guess about

151
00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,440
Speaker 2: two years before the sixteen election when Trump was elected,

152
00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:52,679
Speaker 2: and then the will came off.

153
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,439
Speaker 3: So give your perspective, because you were a paid employee

154
00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:02,000
Speaker 3: of CNN. Give your perspective of CNN before twenty sixteen,

155
00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,240
Speaker 3: in the Trump election and after, because look, what I'm

156
00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,600
Speaker 3: describing is real, but you experienced it from the inside.

157
00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, when I first got hired, it was funny.

158
00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,960
Speaker 2: When I got hired by CNN, the call came in

159
00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,559
Speaker 2: and they said, look, we want real and genuine conservatives

160
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,600
Speaker 2: on the air. I got hired, I think it was

161
00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,400
Speaker 2: on the same day with New Gingrich and they said,

162
00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,680
Speaker 2: we want to have a robust debate and it was

163
00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,280
Speaker 2: and that's exactly what it started out as. And even

164
00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,079
Speaker 2: when they were covering Donald Trump in sixteen, remember CNN

165
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,360
Speaker 2: would go wall to wall with him campaign event after

166
00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,280
Speaker 2: campaign event, and I remember, well, yeah, it was huge

167
00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:41,600
Speaker 2: for their ratings. You remember, you were running against him.

168
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,560
Speaker 2: It's like CNN was giving It was almost like the

169
00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:48,160
Speaker 2: Trump News Network during the primary, and then once he

170
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,240
Speaker 2: got the nomination, and then once he actually looked like

171
00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,280
Speaker 2: he might have a chance of winning, they started to

172
00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,520
Speaker 2: turn a little bit. It wasn't until the night and

173
00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,640
Speaker 2: I was I was at CNA that night all night

174
00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,720
Speaker 2: long on election night, and you could see the shock

175
00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,800
Speaker 2: and the anger because everyone there from the highest up

176
00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,520
Speaker 2: people they assumed till they assumed Hillary was going to win.

177
00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:16,520
Speaker 2: So this was basically just great TV drama until he won.

178
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,760
Speaker 2: And then when he won, they basically and once he

179
00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,200
Speaker 2: started saying they were fake news, and he was in

180
00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,040
Speaker 2: there going after them as the president and going after

181
00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,200
Speaker 2: them in the in the White House Press briefing room

182
00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:31,760
Speaker 2: and allowing Sara Huckabee, Sanders and others to fight back,

183
00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:34,520
Speaker 2: they couldn't take it out on Trump enough, so they

184
00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,520
Speaker 2: started taking it out on the commentators that were left.

185
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,160
Speaker 2: I was one of the last, I think, real concertives

186
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,600
Speaker 2: left at CNN. I actually begged them to not re

187
00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,240
Speaker 2: sign me at the end. They had a right to

188
00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,400
Speaker 2: sign and right to match, and they did it anyway,

189
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:52,160
Speaker 2: And in my last year they signed me to silence me.

190
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,080
Speaker 1: I don't think I've ever talked about this publicly.

191
00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,800
Speaker 2: Actually, in my last year, I asked them not to

192
00:11:57,960 --> 00:11:59,840
Speaker 2: and they said, no, we're going to resign. I had

193
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,040
Speaker 2: other offer and they were gonna matchine and that was it.

194
00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,200
Speaker 2: I can say this and you'll laugh. I will go

195
00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:11,320
Speaker 2: down in history as being the highest paid CNN contributor

196
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,760
Speaker 2: in history if you count it per appearance, because in

197
00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,080
Speaker 2: the last year of my contract, when they extended it,

198
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,160
Speaker 2: they signed me to bench me just to say they

199
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,680
Speaker 2: had a pro Trump commentator on the payroll. And I

200
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:30,559
Speaker 2: did a total of two appearances in twelve months under contract.

201
00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:32,199
Speaker 1: Yes, one of appearances.

202
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,560
Speaker 2: Yes, that's I've never really talked about this publicly. So

203
00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,120
Speaker 2: they resigned me and I said, please don't and they

204
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,880
Speaker 2: did it anyway, and they didn't have me on for

205
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:44,800
Speaker 2: like three and a half four months.

206
00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,520
Speaker 3: All right, Ben, I don't want to out your personal finances,

207
00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,200
Speaker 3: but I kind of do. How much to see Ann

208
00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,880
Speaker 3: pay someone? I mean, look, if you don't want to

209
00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:54,720
Speaker 3: answer that, don't answer that. But I'm kind of curious.

210
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,679
Speaker 2: Yeah, it all depends on if you're hosting. What you're

211
00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,600
Speaker 2: resume was, how long you been there? And so I

212
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,680
Speaker 2: made I mean low six figures when I was there.

213
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:12,280
Speaker 2: My first yeah, clus I think it's what it was.

214
00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,240
Speaker 3: And you did two appearances in a year, in a year,

215
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,400
Speaker 3: in a year, they paid you fifty freaking thousand dollars.

216
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,480
Speaker 1: Per appearance, a little more than that.

217
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,400
Speaker 2: That's why I said, I go down in history is

218
00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:27,320
Speaker 2: the highest paid CNN contributor in history per appearance. But

219
00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,719
Speaker 2: they benched me, and the Hollywood Reporter noticed that there

220
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,040
Speaker 2: was like two or three of us that were pro Trump,

221
00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,920
Speaker 2: and we vanished from the screen. Because a normal week

222
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,760
Speaker 2: when I was there in the first, you know, six years,

223
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,400
Speaker 2: I would probably average four to six appearances a week

224
00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,199
Speaker 2: some weeks to be eleven, twelve, thirteen. During the political campaigns,

225
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,080
Speaker 2: I did so many appearances in my first contract.

226
00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,000
Speaker 3: That I'm doing some quick math. Let's say five appearances

227
00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,319
Speaker 3: a week fifty two weeks. That's over two hundred and

228
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,280
Speaker 3: fifty appearances a year. That's that's what you used to be.

229
00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,679
Speaker 3: And you went from two hundred and fifty appearances a

230
00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:02,760
Speaker 3: year to.

231
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,640
Speaker 2: Two to two in my last year two and it

232
00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,560
Speaker 2: was only I did one appearance where they tried to

233
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,560
Speaker 2: I think it was actually to try to get rid

234
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,840
Speaker 2: of me. They had me come on to defend Rush

235
00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,720
Speaker 2: Limball and they try to turn me into a racist

236
00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:20,200
Speaker 2: bigot that was defending Rush Limball, that was anti gay,

237
00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,920
Speaker 2: and I didn't take the bait. And you could see

238
00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,760
Speaker 2: I was very angry when I was on TV because

239
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,680
Speaker 2: I knew what they were trying to do and it

240
00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,400
Speaker 2: didn't work, and I didn't take the bait, and I

241
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,800
Speaker 2: fought back. And then there was a bunch of articles

242
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,160
Speaker 2: from you know, scumbags and media were trying to imply

243
00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,080
Speaker 2: that I said something I didn't say. And then Hollywood

244
00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:44,000
Speaker 2: Reporter noticed that the pro Trump surrogates, in essence, these

245
00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,560
Speaker 2: conservatives at CNN had vanished from the air, and they

246
00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:49,480
Speaker 2: wrote an article.

247
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,760
Speaker 3: So I say this seriously, and look, I don't watch CNN.

248
00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:57,880
Speaker 3: So but I can't recall a single pro Trump surrogate

249
00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,160
Speaker 3: in years they've had. Yeah, I can tell you I

250
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,120
Speaker 3: used to do CNN. I didn't do it five times

251
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,440
Speaker 3: a week because they paid me zero and in my

252
00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,280
Speaker 3: entire life have been paid zero by CNN, and you know,

253
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,960
Speaker 3: I feel it was a fair trade. But I used

254
00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,360
Speaker 3: to do CNN once a week consistently. I haven't done

255
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:23,040
Speaker 3: them in years, years because they're not interested in a

256
00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:29,840
Speaker 3: fair discussion. They are propagandas, yes, and they're not even

257
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,680
Speaker 3: Democrat propagandists. They are the left wing of the Democrat Party.

258
00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:41,440
Speaker 3: And it's not just CNN. Why did CBS seese Catherine

259
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:49,760
Speaker 3: Herridge's confidential source notes that is extremely unusual, but it

260
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,280
Speaker 3: is a manifestation of the complete corruption of the corporate media.

261
00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,200
Speaker 2: Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation,

262
00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:59,680
Speaker 2: you can go back and listen to the full podcast

263
00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:04,520
Speaker 2: from earlier this week. Now onto story number two. Let's

264
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:08,480
Speaker 2: talk about what's happening also with this adversary to Vladimir

265
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,720
Speaker 2: Putin and give a little context here so people understand

266
00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,600
Speaker 2: the Russian regime has been trying to murder Alexi for

267
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:23,560
Speaker 2: now years. You go back to Joe Biden, and he

268
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,040
Speaker 2: even went on the record in Geneva, Switzerland, back on

269
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,680
Speaker 2: June the sixteenth of twenty twenty one, saying that there

270
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:36,320
Speaker 2: would be major consequences if he died in captivity by

271
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,680
Speaker 2: the Russians, by Putin. I want to play this from

272
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,440
Speaker 2: June sixteen, twenty twenty one, mister presidents, a quick following

273
00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,520
Speaker 2: the same theme of consequences you said just now, you

274
00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:46,600
Speaker 2: spoke to him a lot about human rights.

275
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,040
Speaker 4: What do you say would happen if opposition later Alexi

276
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:49,880
Speaker 4: Dvanni dies.

277
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,240
Speaker 5: I made it clear to him that I believe the

278
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,400
Speaker 5: consequences of that would be devastating for Russia. I'll go

279
00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,400
Speaker 5: back to the same point. What do you think happens

280
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,280
Speaker 5: when he's saying it's not about hurting navalne, all the

281
00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:10,640
Speaker 5: stuff he says to rationalize the treatment of navalney, and

282
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,000
Speaker 5: then he dies in prison. I pointed out to him

283
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,200
Speaker 5: that it matters a great deal.

284
00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:22,160
Speaker 1: I mean, Senator, that was twenty twenty one.

285
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,000
Speaker 3: What changed, Well, actually nothing changed, And I'm going to

286
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,000
Speaker 3: explain in a minute that he didn't believe what he

287
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,800
Speaker 3: was saying then. But before I explain that, let's play

288
00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,040
Speaker 3: what Biden is saying now, because even he is admitting

289
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,920
Speaker 3: today that what he said then was full of crap.

290
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:41,200
Speaker 3: Listen to what he's saying right now.

291
00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:43,879
Speaker 5: Now's the time for even greater unity among our NATO

292
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,680
Speaker 5: allies to stand up to the threat that Putin's rush

293
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:50,199
Speaker 5: of poses. You know, I sent my deepest condolence as

294
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,600
Speaker 5: Alexi staff and supporters are going to continue his work

295
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,240
Speaker 5: despite this loss, despite all of Putin's desperate attempts to

296
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,760
Speaker 5: stamp out the opposition, and most of all to his family,

297
00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,680
Speaker 5: especially to his wife, his daughter, and his son. We've

298
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,240
Speaker 5: already sacrificed so much for their family and a shared

299
00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:10,480
Speaker 5: dream for a better future for Russia.

300
00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,520
Speaker 2: Now, that was him making his first statement at the

301
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,880
Speaker 2: White House. But then the media asked him that question, Hey,

302
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,960
Speaker 2: what happened to what you said three years ago? First?

303
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:24,200
Speaker 1: Was this an assassination?

304
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,320
Speaker 5: The answer is that we don't know exactly what happened,

305
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,960
Speaker 5: but there is no doubt that the death of the

306
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,639
Speaker 5: Volny was the consequence of something that Putin and his

307
00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:37,520
Speaker 5: thugs did.

308
00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,600
Speaker 2: And to be clear, you warned Vladider Putin when you

309
00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,520
Speaker 2: were in Geneva of devastating consequences if Navali died.

310
00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:46,440
Speaker 1: In Russian custody.

311
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,359
Speaker 3: What consequences should he and Russia face?

312
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,600
Speaker 5: That was three years ago. In the meantime, they faced

313
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,800
Speaker 5: a hell of a lot of consequences. They've lost and

314
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,800
Speaker 5: or had wounded over three hundred and fifty thousand Russian soldiers.

315
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,680
Speaker 2: I mean, he doesn't answer the questions. He says, that

316
00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,840
Speaker 2: was three years ago, and now, because of the war with Ukraine, Well,

317
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 2: they've had some somehow, some consequences that have nothing to

318
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:11,520
Speaker 2: do with killing this individual.

319
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,960
Speaker 3: Well, he did answer the question, actually, and his answer

320
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,040
Speaker 3: is nothing. That he's so weak, that he's so ineffective

321
00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,720
Speaker 3: that he's not going to do anything. And Putin knows

322
00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,560
Speaker 3: that everybody else knows that Navalney knew that. So last week,

323
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,200
Speaker 3: when the news of Navalney's death broke, here's the statement

324
00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,480
Speaker 3: that I put out. Quote. The Russian regime has been

325
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,880
Speaker 3: trying to murder Alexi Navolney for years to stop his

326
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:40,160
Speaker 3: criticism of Vladimir Putin's corruption and ontocracy and to intimidate

327
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:45,720
Speaker 3: the Russian people from similar criticism. Tragically, they appear to

328
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,719
Speaker 3: have finally succeeded in murdering him. We must ensure that

329
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:55,160
Speaker 3: they will never succeed in silencing him. The regime interprets

330
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,080
Speaker 3: weakness from the United States as appeasement and has only

331
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,359
Speaker 3: escalated it suppression in recent years. The Russian people are

332
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,720
Speaker 3: entitled to express their views peacefully without fear of retribution,

333
00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,320
Speaker 3: and I will work with my colleagues to hold accountable

334
00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 3: those in the Russian regime responsible for this atrocity. So

335
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:18,399
Speaker 3: that's what I put out. But I want to go

336
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:24,000
Speaker 3: back because I said that Biden didn't mean the tough

337
00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,840
Speaker 3: consequences when he said that. How do I know that,

338
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,240
Speaker 3: Because if you go back to twenty twenty one, you

339
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,080
Speaker 3: go back to the beginning of the Biden administration where

340
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:38,200
Speaker 3: Vladimir Putin poisoned Alexi Nevaldi actually poisoned him in August

341
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:42,440
Speaker 3: of twenty twenty and he was poisoned with a Novachok

342
00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:46,720
Speaker 3: class nerve agent, which is the same class that was

343
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:52,160
Speaker 3: used by Russia in the twenty eighteen assassin assassination attempt

344
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:58,119
Speaker 3: against a former British intelligence agency. It's a strategy of

345
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,399
Speaker 3: murder that the Russians are fond poisoning. And at the

346
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:09,080
Speaker 3: time Biden announced really mild sanctions on Russia, said okay,

347
00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,879
Speaker 3: we're going to slap your hand. And what I called

348
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:17,040
Speaker 3: for at the time was sanctioning and shutting down the

349
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,200
Speaker 3: nord Stream two pipeline. Now remember nord Stream two pipeline

350
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,800
Speaker 3: was a pipeline that Putin was building that went straight

351
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 3: from Russia to Germany. It circumvented Ukraine. The entire point

352
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,560
Speaker 3: of the nord Stream two pipeline was to enable Russia

353
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,159
Speaker 3: to get its natural gas to Europe without needing to

354
00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,119
Speaker 3: go through the pipelines in Ukraine. Why did Putin want

355
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:42,200
Speaker 3: the nord Stream two pipeline so he could invade Ukraine.

356
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,320
Speaker 3: I authored the sanctions that shut nord Stream two down.

357
00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,600
Speaker 3: I passed them into law in December of twenty nineteen,

358
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,400
Speaker 3: got overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate, got overwhelming bipartisan

359
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 3: support in the House. Donald Trump signed my sanctions legislation

360
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:04,959
Speaker 3: into law. Law and listen to this. Putin stopped building

361
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,440
Speaker 3: the nord Stream two pipeline literally the day, the very

362
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:14,040
Speaker 3: same day that Donald Trump signed my sanctions legislation, the

363
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:19,440
Speaker 3: pipeline was done. That was December of twenty nineteen. December

364
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,320
Speaker 3: of twenty twenty, I passed another set of sanctions legislation

365
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,760
Speaker 3: on nord Stream two, again with overwhelming bipartisan support. Again,

366
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,359
Speaker 3: Donald Trump signed it to law. The pipeline remained dead.

367
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 3: Now fast forward to January twenty twenty one. On January twentieth,

368
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,640
Speaker 3: Joe Biden takes the oath of office. He becomes president.

369
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:45,280
Speaker 3: Four days later, four January twenty fourth, twenty twenty one,

370
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 3: Putin resumes deep sea construction of the nord Stream two

371
00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:53,600
Speaker 3: pipeline literally four days into the Biden presidency. Why because

372
00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,760
Speaker 3: Biden was already showing weakness. Putin understood Biden was weak,

373
00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,119
Speaker 3: and by the way, that foreshadowing of weakness was true,

374
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 3: it was accurate. Why do we know that because several

375
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:08,800
Speaker 3: months later Biden formally waived the sanctions on nord Stream two.

376
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:13,040
Speaker 3: He gave Vladimir Putin a multi billion dollar gift. He

377
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:17,440
Speaker 3: let him complete that pipeline, and that pipeline waving those

378
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:22,119
Speaker 3: sanctions is why Putin invaded Ukraine. It is Biden's fault.

379
00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,080
Speaker 3: But when Navalney, when Putin went after Navalney, I called

380
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 3: on Biden. I said, all right, you gave Biden this

381
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 3: gift of Nordstream too. How about now, when Navalney's in jail,

382
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,640
Speaker 3: how about now impose the sanctions on Nordstream two. How

383
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:41,560
Speaker 3: about now grow a backbone and stand up to Putin?

384
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:47,080
Speaker 3: And Biden refused to do so, instead put little slap

385
00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,240
Speaker 3: of the wrist sanctions on it. And so when he

386
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,960
Speaker 3: said severe consequences, he didn't meet it in twenty twenty one,

387
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,560
Speaker 3: and he's admitted it now. The consequences he has in

388
00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 3: mind are nothing. And you know what, Putin will continue

389
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 3: to behave worse, will continue to be more oppressive, will

390
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 3: continue to be more of a threat. China, she will

391
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,760
Speaker 3: continue to behave worse, to be more oppressive, to be

392
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,680
Speaker 3: more of a threat North Korea, will, Venezuela will, Iran will,

393
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 3: every enemy of America Hamas will has blow will all

394
00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,119
Speaker 3: of them. When we have a weak commander in chief,

395
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,920
Speaker 3: America is at greater peril and every one of our

396
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:24,600
Speaker 3: allies is at greater peril.

397
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:25,200
Speaker 1: Cener.

398
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 2: Our final question for you on sanctions, what is the

399
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,080
Speaker 2: point of having sanctions And you mentioned multiple countries there

400
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,119
Speaker 2: that we have sanctions on that we're not doing anything.

401
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,679
Speaker 2: We're not enforcing the sanctions. And if the president and

402
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,359
Speaker 2: his administration will not enforce the sanctions, is there any

403
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:46,159
Speaker 2: checks and balances that can come into play on the House,

404
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:50,439
Speaker 2: the Senate, congressional oversight, Because if you've got the sanctions

405
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,000
Speaker 2: and they're worthless because you don't enforce.

406
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,560
Speaker 1: Them, who does that fall on And can it change?

407
00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,719
Speaker 3: Well, it certainly can change, and Congress can force the

408
00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 3: president to do it. And the best example of that,

409
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,040
Speaker 3: Let's go back to Nordstream two and I'll finish the story.

410
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:09,040
Speaker 3: When Biden waived the sanctions. My response, as I put

411
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,400
Speaker 3: a hold on every single nominee at the State Department.

412
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 3: I blocked them in the Senate, and it caused the

413
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 3: Biden administration to go nuts. It caused Senate Democrats to

414
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:21,480
Speaker 3: go nuts. And I said, listen, Joe Biden is handing

415
00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 3: a massive gift of Vladimir Putin. He is causing war

416
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,440
Speaker 3: in Europe. He is causing Russia to prepare to invade Ukraine.

417
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,480
Speaker 3: This makes no sense, and it is endangering Europe, our allies,

418
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 3: and it's endangering America. For all of twenty twenty one,

419
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 3: I had those holes in place. In December of twenty

420
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,680
Speaker 3: twenty one, I cut a deal with Chuck Schumer. I

421
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,080
Speaker 3: let I think it was thirty four of those holds

422
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:50,840
Speaker 3: go in exchange four scheduling a vote on new sanctions

423
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,199
Speaker 3: on Nordstream two in January of twenty twenty two. Schumer agreed,

424
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,160
Speaker 3: so I forced the vote on the Senate floor. Now.

425
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,880
Speaker 3: When the vote came up in January twenty twenty two,

426
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,720
Speaker 3: the week before the vote, President Zelensky and Ukraine publicly

427
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 3: begged the United States Senate please please please pass Cruises

428
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 3: sanctions legislation. This legislation is the last best hope to

429
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:24,280
Speaker 3: stop Russia from invading Ukraine to avoid war. That same week,

430
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:29,280
Speaker 3: the government of Poland put out a formal statement pleading

431
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,600
Speaker 3: with the United States Senate to pass my sanctions legislation.

432
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 3: Poland said, if you do not do so, Russia will

433
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:40,880
Speaker 3: invade Ukraine. Now, Ben that is highly unusual. Foreign countries

434
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,720
Speaker 3: generally do not put out statements on particular votes in

435
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,960
Speaker 3: the Senate asking the Senate to do something. In this case,

436
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,400
Speaker 3: both Ukraine and Poland put out those statements. The day

437
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 3: of the vote, Joe Biden came sixteen blocks from the

438
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,960
Speaker 3: White House down to Capitol Hill and he went to

439
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,480
Speaker 3: the Democratic CS Senate lunch and he personally lobbied the

440
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 3: Democrat senators. This was the first time he had done

441
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:14,120
Speaker 3: so since he became president, and he came there to

442
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,919
Speaker 3: lobby them. His request was, please please please vote against

443
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 3: Cruise's sanctions legislation. Please vote for Russia and putin so. Twice,

444
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,280
Speaker 3: when I had introduced my legislation and passed it to law,

445
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,560
Speaker 3: all the Democrats had come together and supported it, so

446
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:40,600
Speaker 3: they were on record twice supporting my sanctions. In January

447
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:44,840
Speaker 3: twenty twenty two, because of Biden's personal lobbying, forty four

448
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,639
Speaker 3: Democrat senators flipped their votes. They voted against sanctions, they

449
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,920
Speaker 3: voted in favor of Russia, they voted in favor of Putin,

450
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:59,520
Speaker 3: and as a result, a month later, Russia invaded Ukraine

451
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 3: and we had have still today the biggest war in

452
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 3: Europe since World War II. Look, I'm someone who hates war.

453
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 3: I am very reluctant to go to war. But I

454
00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,040
Speaker 3: agree with Ronald Reagan. I agree with Winston Churchill. I

455
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 3: agree with Donald Trump in the philosophy of peace through strength,

456
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,800
Speaker 3: that the best way you avoid war is being strong

457
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,440
Speaker 3: enough your enemies don't want to mess with you, and

458
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,640
Speaker 3: sanctions can be a very powerful tool for avoiding war.

459
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,280
Speaker 3: What the Biden White House is all about when it

460
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,679
Speaker 3: comes to our enemies is weakness and appeasement, and waiving

461
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:42,920
Speaker 3: these sanctions directly cause the war. Once the pipeline was complete,

462
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,680
Speaker 3: Putin's view was he could invade because he could still

463
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:51,480
Speaker 3: get his gas to Europe even if the pipelines in

464
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 3: Ukraine were.

465
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,760
Speaker 1: Destroyed as before.

466
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:55,800
Speaker 2: If you want to hear the rest of this conversation

467
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,440
Speaker 2: on this topic, you can go back and down the

468
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,160
Speaker 2: podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing.

469
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 2: I want to get back to the big story, number

470
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,160
Speaker 2: three of the week you may have missed, Senator. I

471
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:09,480
Speaker 2: want to move lastly to this other issue, and that

472
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:14,080
Speaker 2: is it is weird. The media seems to be turning

473
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:19,600
Speaker 2: on Joe Biden. Headlines now coming from major news organizations.

474
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,480
Speaker 2: The Washington Post, for example, had this headline, what happens

475
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,440
Speaker 2: if Trump or Biden can no longer run for president?

476
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,000
Speaker 2: Obviously to try to act like Donald Trump is in

477
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 2: cognitive decline. It's not happening, and we know it's different

478
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 2: with Joe Biden. The New York Times even said this

479
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 2: how old is too old to be president? An uncomfortable

480
00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:44,640
Speaker 2: question arises again, and now the New York Times taking

481
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 2: heat for that headline. I want to get your reaction

482
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,240
Speaker 2: to this moment on Fox News Channel as they describe

483
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,400
Speaker 2: this turning on the president.

484
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,640
Speaker 4: On the story thanks for being here this afternoon with us, everybody.

485
00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 4: Interesting when you take a look at a theme that

486
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:06,680
Speaker 4: seems to be emerging in the coverage of this campaign,

487
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 4: this presidential race. Right, check out some of these recent headlines,

488
00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:16,160
Speaker 4: quote what we know about cognitive decline? Quote what happens

489
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 4: if Trump or Biden can no longer run? For president?

490
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:23,000
Speaker 4: How old is too old to be president? These are

491
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:26,400
Speaker 4: not your typical electioneer headlines, But this is clearly not

492
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 4: a typical election year matchup if it turns out to

493
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,480
Speaker 4: be these two presumed nominees. So the publisher of The

494
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,720
Speaker 4: New York Times is standing by his papers reporting on

495
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,880
Speaker 4: the president's quote on popularity and his age, but says

496
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 4: that the White House is not happy. In fact, he

497
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,960
Speaker 4: says they're extremely upset about the coverage that they're getting

498
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 4: at the New York Times. And take a listen to

499
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,360
Speaker 4: this exchange. It's a short time ago as President Biden

500
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,200
Speaker 4: left for a fundraising trip to California.

501
00:30:55,400 --> 00:31:05,560
Speaker 1: Watch, Gavin, are you ready? Well, I'm looking for I'm

502
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,000
Speaker 1: looking to you. We're looking to you.

503
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,960
Speaker 2: Okay, with that we bring in our I mean, he

504
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,360
Speaker 2: didn't even know what they were talking about, Senator and

505
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,760
Speaker 2: you can see the media flipping on him. Is this

506
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,120
Speaker 2: the beginning of the end of his presidency with the

507
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,600
Speaker 2: Democratic Party figuring out how to offload him?

508
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:22,960
Speaker 1: Yeah?

509
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,600
Speaker 3: Look, that was weird that exchange at the end, being asked,

510
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 3: are you're going to California for a plan B to

511
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 3: talk to Gavin Newsom? Look, that was a nasty little question,

512
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 3: but his answer was bizarre. It was a non sequitor.

513
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:39,120
Speaker 3: It made no sense. And you know those three headlines

514
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,600
Speaker 3: that that that the Fox story just read. The first

515
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,719
Speaker 3: one was from the Wall Street Journal, the second one

516
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 3: was from the Washington Post, the third one was from

517
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 3: the New York Times. And and I do think we

518
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,800
Speaker 3: are seeing the corporate media starting to turn on Joe Biden.

519
00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:57,440
Speaker 3: And we've talked at length. Listen, it was this podcast

520
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,080
Speaker 3: that drove news and drove news across the country when

521
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,000
Speaker 3: we said months ago that that I believe there was

522
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,480
Speaker 3: a very significant chance the Democrat Party would pull the

523
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 3: court on Joe Biden, yank him out, and replace him

524
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,320
Speaker 3: with Michelle Obama. And I think if they do that,

525
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 3: they're likely to do it either at the Democrat convention

526
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:22,320
Speaker 3: this summer or shortly thereafter. And we're seeing the corporate media,

527
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,920
Speaker 3: which is one and the same with the Democrat Party,

528
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:27,960
Speaker 3: but in many ways they're the left wing of the

529
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,520
Speaker 3: Democrat Party. They're starting to get nervous. They're starting to realize, crap,

530
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,720
Speaker 3: if it's Biden against Trump, we think Trump's gonna win.

531
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,520
Speaker 3: And so they're they're they're hitting the panic button. And

532
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,040
Speaker 3: I think We're going to see more of these stories

533
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,440
Speaker 3: as the media turns on them. I do think you're

534
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,360
Speaker 3: seeing both Democrats in the media getting very, very worried

535
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,480
Speaker 3: about Joe Biden's ability to win in November.

536
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 2: When you are running for president, you've done this before

537
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,160
Speaker 2: and you see something this significant of a change in

538
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,760
Speaker 2: the news cycle. Joe Biden has had three years of

539
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,840
Speaker 2: basically a media that's been covering for him. I think

540
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 2: that's why he was so shocked when he had the

541
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,840
Speaker 2: report that came out about his cognitive decline and couldn't

542
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 2: answer basic questions, and then he came out with that

543
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,600
Speaker 2: very angry, really dysfunctional press conference at night, and the

544
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,840
Speaker 2: media didn't get back in line since then.

545
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,360
Speaker 1: So when you see this, who is moving the needle.

546
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 2: Is it donors who are saying we're not going to

547
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,000
Speaker 2: give money anymore, or is it the leadership of the

548
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,360
Speaker 2: Democratic Party saying we got to figure something out, we

549
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 2: got to figure it out fast.

550
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:33,560
Speaker 1: Or could it even be both?

551
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,840
Speaker 3: So I don't think it's donors, and I don't think

552
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 3: it's anyone cutting off money. And understand, the Democrats and

553
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,840
Speaker 3: the media would be perfectly happy if they could wave

554
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,240
Speaker 3: a wand and put Joe Biden there four years more.

555
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,520
Speaker 3: They're not worried that he's incompetent to be president. They're

556
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,920
Speaker 3: not worried that the Department of Justice says he's not

557
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,600
Speaker 3: competent to stand trial. They're not worried that he's such

558
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:58,920
Speaker 3: a weak commander in chief that our enemies are attacking

559
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,760
Speaker 3: our allies and threat America. They're not worried that he

560
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 3: lacks the competence to do the job. That there's only

561
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 3: one thing they're worried about, that he would lose. If

562
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,680
Speaker 3: they believed he would win, they'd be perfectly fine to

563
00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,800
Speaker 3: weekend it bernies him to stand him up as a

564
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:21,360
Speaker 3: corpse and say, Joe Biden's there, and let's keep pulling

565
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,319
Speaker 3: the puppet strings. Their concern is they're worried he's going

566
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 3: to lose, and that is a very real and an

567
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:34,360
Speaker 3: acute concern on their part. It's also worth noting you

568
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,840
Speaker 3: were talking about the press turning on him. You know,

569
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:40,279
Speaker 3: there's a real difference between Republicans and Democrats. Look, on

570
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,479
Speaker 3: my end, the press has always turned on me. They're

571
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,480
Speaker 3: always hostile. Every question they're asking there, they're looking to

572
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,600
Speaker 3: screw me. Nine ways to Sunday. That's just when when

573
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,799
Speaker 3: you're and by the way, and you've been in the

574
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,719
Speaker 3: Capitol with me, Ben, as you know, when I walk

575
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:55,600
Speaker 3: from my office to the Senate floor, and I do

576
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 3: so repeatedly, whether it is to vote, or to go

577
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,320
Speaker 3: to meetings or to go to committee hearings, I'm walking

578
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,240
Speaker 3: back and forth through the Capitol and there's a cluster

579
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,320
Speaker 3: of reporters that surround you, and they ask you a

580
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,080
Speaker 3: hostile question after hostile question on every topic under the sun.

581
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,879
Speaker 3: And if you're a Republican, especially a conservative Republican, you're

582
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:19,480
Speaker 3: used to just getting constant barrages of attacks. The Democrats

583
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:21,720
Speaker 3: don't get that. They get the kind of questions. Remember

584
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,200
Speaker 3: Joe Biden in his first year in the White House,

585
00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:27,080
Speaker 3: the reporters would ask him things like, mister President, what's

586
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:28,680
Speaker 3: your favorite flavor of ice cream?

587
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:33,840
Speaker 1: I mean, that was right. I mean, it's it's embarrassing.

588
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,200
Speaker 3: It's it's they're like groupies chasing the Beatles, throwing their

589
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,160
Speaker 3: pennies at him. And that's just the guys. I mean,

590
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 3: I mean, it is it's pitiful and and and so

591
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 3: he is really startled because he's not used to any scrutiny.

592
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,560
Speaker 3: He's not used to journalists actually being journalists. By the way,

593
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,000
Speaker 3: there is this phenomenon for Republicans as well. If you

594
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 3: remember John McCain, John McCain used to get lots of

595
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 3: a boring press coverage because when he was a Republican

596
00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:07,239
Speaker 3: senator he would often attack other Republicans and the press,

597
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 3: and he would attack him from the left, and the

598
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,600
Speaker 3: press loves it when a Republican attacks other Republicans from

599
00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:15,800
Speaker 3: the left. It's the best way to get good press.

600
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,680
Speaker 3: You get called a bipartisan statesman when you agree with

601
00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 3: the Democrats and attack your fellow Republicans. Well, when John

602
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:27,640
Speaker 3: McCain got the Republican nomination, and you and I both

603
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,560
Speaker 3: supported John McCain once we was our nominee, Yeah, but

604
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,200
Speaker 3: the press turned on him and turned viciously on him.

605
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,480
Speaker 3: If you remember, McCain made a comment something like, I

606
00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:40,120
Speaker 3: don't understand. I thought you guys were my base. And

607
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:46,000
Speaker 3: he was completely startled. Because it's the same sentiment Biden's having.

608
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:51,040
Speaker 3: When you're used to just getting your your hindquarters kissed

609
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,080
Speaker 3: by the media, when they start biting, you don't know

610
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 3: how to handle it.

611
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,440
Speaker 2: And one of two things is going to happen when

612
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,319
Speaker 2: it comes to this center. They're either going to get

613
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 2: back in line after trying to you know, step out

614
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:07,000
Speaker 2: and see will others follow us right and test the waters,

615
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:09,760
Speaker 2: or they're gonna keep going, what's your prediction.

616
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,160
Speaker 3: Well, if he stays the nominee, they'll get back in

617
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,520
Speaker 3: line and they'll immediately begin saying it's agist and racist

618
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 3: and horrible to even ask these questions, and they have

619
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,040
Speaker 3: no shame. So this is the moment where they're trying

620
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,520
Speaker 3: to see if they can push him out and replace

621
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,600
Speaker 3: them with Michelle Obama. If they can't, if he doesn't go,

622
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 3: If if we get to September and Biden's the nominee,

623
00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:36,880
Speaker 3: the media will suddenly be completely silent on this front

624
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,400
Speaker 3: and will attack anyone who dares raise the same questions

625
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:41,439
Speaker 3: they're raising right now.

626
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:45,120
Speaker 2: As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Center,

627
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,640
Speaker 2: Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you don't forget to down

628
00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:49,920
Speaker 2: with my podcast, and you can listen to my podcast

629
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 2: every other day you're not listening to Verdict or each

630
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,440
Speaker 2: day when you listen to Verdict afterwards, I'd love to

631
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,560
Speaker 2: have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson podcasts,

632
00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 2: and we will see you back here on Monday morning.

633
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:00,160
Speaker 5: Yes,