In this hard-hitting episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson pull back the curtain on the real reason behind the government shutdown: Democrat obstruction. Led by Senator Chuck Schumer, the Left is accused of deliberately keeping the government closed to push a radical agenda — including taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.
Cruz and Ferguson highlight how Republicans are fighting to reopen the government and protect American workers, while Democrats play politics at the expense of federal employees and national security. President Trump is commended for his decisive leadership, using Defense Department funds to ensure our service members are paid — a move that exposes the Left’s failed strategy.
The episode also covers the upcoming “No Kings Rally,” a far-left protest in D.C., which Cruz suggests is part of the Democrats’ broader anti-Trump narrative. He predicts the shutdown will only end when moderate Democrats stand up to their party’s extreme wing.
In a moving second half, Cruz honors Charlie Kirk during his posthumous Medal of Freedom ceremony. With heartfelt reflections on Kirk’s legacy, Cruz shares how Erica Kirk’s public forgiveness of her husband’s killer was a powerful act of Christian grace. Kirk is remembered as a bold voice for truth, freedom, and faith — a modern-day martyr compared to Lincoln and MLK.
Highlights Include:
- Democrat-led shutdown and its impact on American families
- Trump’s leadership and defense of military pay
- Radical immigration policies exposed
- Tribute to Charlie Kirk’s life, faith, and conservative influence
- Christian forgiveness and moral courage in the face of tragedy
Tune in now for a passionate defense of conservative values and a tribute to one of the movement’s most inspiring voices.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome. It is verdic with Center, Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson
with you, and we've got a big show for you today,
including really an incredible moment at the White House honoring
Charlie Kirk on what would have been his birthday. We're
going to talk about that center you were there. But
also we've got an update as well on the government shutdown.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, it is day fifteen of the Schumer shutdown. The
government remains shut down. We voted on Tuesday to reopen
the government. The Republicans voted to reopen the government, and sadly,
the Democrats continued to say shut it down, shut it down,
shut it down. Now today October fifteenth, the President is
doing something that is really kind of wrecking the Democrats playbook,
(00:41):
which is the President moved funds around within the Department
of War and he said, we're going to pay our
servicemen and women. We're going to send out their paychecks.
I think Schumer and the Democrats were counting on these
paychecks not going out. You have a number of Democrats
expressing their dismay about it. We're going to break that
down and tell you what's happening about the shutdown. We're
also going to talk about, as you noted, Tuesday, President
(01:04):
Trump in the Rose Garden gave Charlie Kirk posthumously the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. I was there. It was an
incredible event. It honored his life. We're going to talk
to you about that as well.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, it's a really important conversation that we're going to
have about that, and it's one that's not being reported
on as well. So we hope that you guys are
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let's just talk about like where we are to give
the updates This is something I think it's important for
us to do when it comes to shutdown what is
happening now in Washington, And I got a feeling you're
gonna be like nothing at all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, look it's October fifteenth. So one of the consequences
is is federal workers all across the federal government had
their paycheck not direct deposited. And so for a lot
of workers who are living paycheck to paycheck, it means
they're not getting the check that they were planning on
to pay their bills. They're not getting the check they're
planning on to go to the grocery store. They're not
(03:48):
getting the check they're planning on to pay healthcare expenses,
tuition expenses, all daycare expenses, all of the day to
day expenses. It was also scheduled to be the day
on which our troops, our soldiers, our sailors, our airmenham
marines would not get paid either. And and we've seen
(04:08):
online images of young soldiers standing in line at at
at food pantries to get food. You know, many of
our young, particularly enlisted men and women, are living on
very limited budgets and and and not getting a paycheck
is a real hardship for them. Now, I will say
the latter has not happened because President Trump has done
(04:29):
something that I don't think has ever happened in the
previous shutdown, which which is he has readjusted money that
was going to other expenses within the Department of War.
He's shifted it around to an account to pay our
servicemen and women. I'm grateful that he did so. It
really is quite striking that the Democrats, multiple Democrats, are
expressing dismay, how dare you pay our servicemen and women? Uh?
(04:53):
But on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Senate came back in
town and we voted. We voted for the ninth time,
Republicans voted to reopen the government. I voted to reopen
the government. We're ready to reopen it. And the Democrats
came in almost party line, All but a couple of
Democrats voted no, no, no, keep the government down. And
(05:13):
by the way, Schumer recently said it was quote better
for Democrats to extend the government shutdown. Now, I got
to say that's a cynical statement. They're counting on the
media to be dishonest about what's going on. But listen,
the end of this is it's going to end in
the same place. At some point, the Democrats are going
(05:34):
to give in. And I'll tell you what most of
the Republican senators believe, myself included, which is the shutdown
will continue at least until next week. And the reason
for that is on October eighteenth, on Saturday, there is
a big rally planned in Washington, d C. The so
called No King's Rally, where a bunch of leftist radicals
(05:56):
are going to be coming to Washington, d C. To
protest against Donald try Trump. Because that's what the left does,
is they say we hate Trump, we hate Trump. And
what I'm hearing is the Democrats are terrified of reopening
the government before that No King's Rally because they think
if they do reopen the government, those radicals will be furious.
(06:17):
And listen, why are we having a shutdown. We're having
a shut down two reasons. Number one, because the Democrats
want free, taxpayer provided health care for illegal aliens. But
number two, the real reason we're having a shutdown is
because Chuck Schumer is fighting for his political life and
he's trying to demonstrate to the radical left he hates
Trump as much as they do and so I think
(06:40):
at a minimum, the shutdown will continue through this weekend.
The earliest we see the government opening up is next week.
But you know what, Schumer and the Democrats might make
it drag out even further than that, because right now
they seem utterly oblivious to the consequences of their massive
political obstruction.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, it really is. And I go back to being
held hostage and the fact that Democrats are really outraged
over the idea of paying our military. I think that's
just really gross. I am shocked they're not taking a
bigger political hit, and the media is just giving them
full coverage on this one to act like their outrage
(07:20):
is somehow sane or normal. I actually think the American
people look at this otherwise. Am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Look, I think you're right, although candidly, I think each
side lives in its own echo chamber. So I think
if you're inclined to agree with Republicans, your view is, Gosh,
the Democrats are being ridiculous. This is the Schumer shutdown now. Sadly,
if you're inclined to agree with Democrats, if you're on
the left, you're listening to see it in you're listening
(07:48):
to MSNBC. You're in an echo chamber where everyone you
hear is saying, it's the horrible Republicans, It's the horrible Republicans,
and so I think that's part of the reason why
the two sides have very different percent I don't think
this is going well for the Democrats at all, but
I'm not sure they agree, because if they're just listening
(08:09):
to their radicals, they think it's wonderful. By the way,
their radicals would leave the government shut down for months
and months and months, because all they care about is
saying we hate Trump. Now here's how this is gonna end.
I don't think Chuck Schumer is gonna end it. I
don't think he's gonna show any leadership because I think
he is terrified. He is hearing AOC breathing down his neck.
(08:33):
What I think is going to happen is you're going
to need at least seven Democrats who decide, Okay, enough
is enough, let's reopen the government, let's stop this petulance.
And I think it is going to be almost exclusively
retiring Democrats, people who are on their way out and
(08:55):
Democrats who are not facing their left wing voters anytime soon.
My guess is Schumer never votes to open the government,
but I think he may condone. He may look the
other way and wink a couple of times at letting
a little bit of a jail break, at letting eight
to ten Democrats vote to say, let's reopen the government,
and I think all the rest of the Democrats vote no, no, no,
(09:17):
to preserve themselves from their left flank.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Do you believe that Democrats will actually sit down with Republicans.
It's really something that hasn't happened. Certainly on the House side,
Democrats are saying and no, we have nothing to talk about.
Do you think that Democrats will be let out of
that jail once this No King's rally takes place? And
how quickly afterwards do you think we can actually see
that conversation begin.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Well, look, right now, Schumer is not talking with Republican
leadership at King Jeffries in the House is not talking
with Republican leadership. I don't think it will be Democrat leadership.
That there's a group of about a dozen Democrat senators
who are having conversations and they're talking a little bit
to Republicans. And I think the way this will end
is after the rally. And by the way, think about it.
(10:03):
If you're a federal worker right now and you're working
at say the VA, and you didn't get your paycheck today,
the reason you didn't get your paycheck is the Democrats
are scared to have a rally of radicals in Washington
while they allowed you to get your paycheck. I mean,
this is pure left wing politics. And by the way,
(10:23):
Schumer's comment on this, he said, quote, every day gets
better for us, he said, quote every day the Republicans
refused to negotiate to end this shutdown, the worse it
gets for Americans, and the clear it becomes who's fighting
for them. That is their view, or that is at
least the view of the radicals. But I think what
you'll see is among that roughly dozen Democrats who are
(10:48):
having conversations right now, you'll see seven, eight nine of
them say Okay, let's open the government. And that's how
this ends.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Final question on this. The President today at the White
House did talk about, Hey, you better get ready come
Thursday Friday. You guys don't get back on board of
opening the government up, I'm going to start cutting democratic
programs because we think there's a lot of waste there,
not Republican programs. Is that the type of leverage that
we need right now?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
So.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I was at the White House on Tuesday. I talked
with many Cabinet members. I talked with Russ Vode, who's
the head of the Office of Management and Budget and
he's in charge of the layoffs. And they've already started.
They've laid off thousands of federal government workers. And the
Trump White House has said the longer the shutdown continues,
the more government workers will be laid off, not furloughed temporarily,
(11:36):
but laid off. And they're going to focus on policies
and priorities that are inconsistent with the President's agenda, that
are Democrat priorities. And I think that leverage will accelerate
the Democrats saying Okay, we're going to stop holding the
government hostage, and we're going to allow the clean Continual
Resolution that the House passed weeks ago. We're going to
(11:58):
allow that to be signed to.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Speaking of the White House, as you just mentioned, you
were there with many Cabinet members that were in attendance
for a really I think special moment. You and I
had the honor and the privilege to go to the
memorial service for Charlie Kirk. What we witnessed today was
something incredible. Donald Trump awarded Charlie Kirk the Medal of
(12:21):
Freedom on what would have been his thirty second birthday
at the White House and his wife, his widow, Erica,
was there to accept this. It was a moving moment
and you were there for all of it.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So it was truly a beautiful It was a beautiful day.
It was a beautiful fall day at October at Washington,
d c. The sun was out. We were in the
Rose Garden, and in the Rose garden you had you
had a lot of members of Congress, you had virtually
the entire cabinet came out for it, and Erica Kirk,
Charlie's widow, was there. The President really, i think did
(12:56):
a very good job remembering Charlie, speaking speed from the heart,
honoring Charlie's legacy, and presenting him with the highest civilian
honor we have in this country and in the military context,
the Medal of Honor is the highest recipient that that
can be awarded an individual. In the civilian context, the
(13:16):
Medal of Freedom, it is the highest honor that can
be awarded an individual and to give it to Charlie.
It was bittersweet because Charlie would have been thirty two.
He was a young man. He had an incredibly bright future,
as you and I have talked about. We both have
known Charlie a long time. I considered Charlie a very
close friend. Heidie and I met Charlie when he was
(13:40):
just eighteen years old, when he was a kid, you know,
at the ceremony at the White House, I met Charlie's parents.
I had not met his parents before, and I had
an opportunity to just just tell both his mom and
dad say, look look, Hidie and I we love Charlie.
And when we got to know him fourteen years ago,
(14:05):
his vision then was as clear as it was the
day he died. His vision of creating a movement to energize,
to mobilize young people, to mobilize young people to love freedom,
to love, free enterprise, to love the Constitution, to love America.
(14:25):
That vision, you could see it. What I met at
me was this tall, lanky, eighteen year old kid, was
fresh out of high school, had not gone to college.
And you gotta remember the context. This is twenty twelve,
beginning of twenty thirteen, Barack Obama had just been reelected.
The Democrats were resurgent at that point. Young people being
(14:45):
a Democrat at an Obama democrat was hip and cool.
The idea of energizing a lot of young people to
be conservatives, frankly, sounded looney. It did not sound like
an easy task at all. A lot of people in
the Republican Party said this will never work. But Charlie
had a vision. And I was telling his mom and dad.
I said, look, his vision was extraordinary. One of the
(15:09):
things I said to them is I said, look, I'm
queer grieving the loss of your son. He was extraordinram
so sorry, so sorry for your loss. But I said,
you know what I think, in the last month, it
may well be possible that more people have heard the
Gospel than in any comparable period of our lifetimes. That
(15:32):
that memorial service in Arizona for Charlie was a global
event where people heard the gospel. And I got to
say at Charlie's funeral service when Erica stood up and
she talked about how when Jesus was hanging on the
cross and he was looking down at the Roman soldiers
who had nailed him to the Cross, who were in
(15:54):
the process of killing him, and Jesus said, from the Cross, Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. And
she talked about how how Charlie really had a mission
for young people, particularly young men, young men who were
often disaffected, disillusion to help them find find their way
and find find a purpose in life, a meaningful purpose
(16:19):
that provides real, real satisfaction and real reason uh for living.
And she talked about that young man who shot Charlie,
that young man, and then she said, and I got
to say, she was doing this wind up. I knew you,
knew where she was going. And I got to tell you,
(16:41):
and I understand you and I were standing next to
each other. I literally held my breath. I'm like, is
she going to be able to say this? And she
stood up with with the eyes of the world upon
him and said, that young man, the young man who
pulled the trigger and murdered her husband, murdered the father
for children. She said, I forgive him. I don't know
(17:07):
that there was a dry eye in the house. And
one of the things that is so incredible is millions
of people were watching that and and listen, if you're
a Christian, you understand just like Jesus said, Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do, even as they
(17:28):
were killing him. But if you're not a Christian, I
believe thousands, if not millions, of people looked at each
other and said, how can she say that? Where does
that come from? Where does that forgiveness come from? Where
does that love come from? And I think it was
(17:48):
as powerful a testament of the Gospel as as as
as we have seen in a long long time, and
and and and it and I got to say today
the President spoke beautifully. And by the way, when Erica
said I forgive him, Ben, I hope and pray you
(18:10):
or I are never in that situation. I don't know
that those words could come out of my mouth. I
would want them to, I would desperately want them to.
But I that the strength it took for her to
say those words I find utterly astonishing. And I just
I told Charlie's parents, I said, listen, I so wish
(18:34):
Charlie were with us today. But millions have heard the
Gospel in the last several weeks because of Charlie, and
that is one hell of a legacy.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So over the last several weeks, you've heard me talk
with Josherrard from Berna. He's been telling stories of how
people just like you have used their Berna launcher to
protect themselves and their families. Now, Burna is a handheld
pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to
separate you from an attacker, and it can be life saving.
(19:09):
Josh is back with you today to tell another story
about how a former professional race car driver saved his
family from an attack outside the garage of their own home. Josh,
tell me about this.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, it just happened, actually not too long ago in
Santa Monica, just two blocks from the beach. So former
pro race car driver Court Wagner was pulling into his
garage with his family in the car when he was
confronted by a man hiding in the alley. After trying
to talk to him into leaving, it was obviously not
going to work. The man lunged at Court with a
sharp object, trying to attack him, with his wife and
(19:43):
child only steps away. He grabbed his Burnal launcher that
he kept in the glove box of his car and
fired five rounds, striking the attackers several times. The suspect
fled immediately it worked, and Court called the police and
gave him the description of the assailant, and now police
were able to locate someone that somewhat matched a description
in the area, not quite exactly. And it wasn't until
officers lifted the suspect shirt and saw the multiple wealths
(20:06):
from the burn A launchers that they knew they had
the right guy and subsequently arrested him.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
It really is incredible. And I get this question now
often when I'm out, and that is okay. Tell me
about how a launcher works, and they worry about or
they wonder about the stopping power of less lethal weapons.
I've used it. It's amazing. I have it in all
of my cars right now because I want to have
this option.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, you know, the stopping power is great, no
matter if you're using our kinetic rounds or even the
chemical agent rounds that obviously have the gas in them,
the tear gas, the pepper spray that's going to incapacitate them.
I mean, this is a great case of how some
resistance enough resistance obviously to cause these wealths immediately stop
the situation, and was able to provide that safety for
(20:50):
Court and his family.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
It really is incredible. If you want more information on
what I carry and how you and your family members
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is for a daughter, or for a family member or
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dot com? That's burna b why r ina dot com again?
(21:11):
Burna dot com right now? You know, I think one
of the most incredible things that you just mentioned is
the legacy. And one of the things that the President
said today at the White House for people that didn't
hear it, was talking about Charlie Kirk being a martyr.
And this is what the President said about that.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Said on the day that he was assassinated. Charlie Kirk
was a martyr for truth and for freedom, and from
Socrates to Think and to Saint Peter, from Abraham Lincoln
to Martin Luther King, those who change history the most,
and he really did have always risked their lives for
(21:51):
causes they were put on earth to defend. He was
put on earth to do exactly what he was doing.
He didn't want to waste time. He would have been
a top student at any college in the country I know,
to college as well he's smarter than the guys. He
was so smart. But he almost I guess, didn't have
the time. He knew what he wanted to do. It
wasn't like Jae I want to sit in this classroom
(22:12):
for four years listening to people teach me liberal principles,
because they were never going to teach him that anyway.
But he didn't have the time. He really didn't have
the time. But every time the enemies of goodness and
virtue tried to silence the voice of righteous and noble
leaders like Charlie, they failed. They seem to fail. Ultimately,
they look like they're doing well, and then they end
(22:32):
up failing because the truth has been unrelenting over the years,
over history, and people like Charlie, it's just they've got
a power that others don't have, and very few people
will ever have. So today, like those martyrs before him,
Charlie's voice, his message, and his legacy are stronger and
(22:54):
greater than ever before. They are greater than ever before.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
You know him saying as I said on the day
he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth
and for freedom, and I couldn't agree more. To compare
him as he did to Saint Peter, to Abraham Lincoln,
to Martin Luther King Junior. These are people that change history.
Charlie will be remembered in the same breath with those
(23:19):
types of leaders, and I think that's part of the legacy.
And as you mentioned, not only did Charlie and his
legacy now it is one hundred percent setting I think
young men and young women on fire to be bolder
in their faith, to be better Christians and to seek
the truth of the Bible and the Gospel. And just
what he was able to do in his death is phenomenal,
(23:43):
but also what he was doing to fight for this
country at the same time, that is going to be
a legacy that's going to live on because so many
people they are going to do it for Charlie. I
think you and I would include ourselves in that as well.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Well. Listen, he was very much He was a martyr
for freedom, a martyr for truth. I also told Charlie's parents,
I think more people heard Charlie's words of the last
four weeks that then heard them in the entire thirty
one nearly thirty two years of his life. That the
number of people who went and said, who was this
(24:17):
Charlie Kirk guy? What did he have to say? Who
listened to exchanges as he was on college campuses, as
he was engaging with people who disagreed with him, as
he treated them with respect, with dignity. That is a
powerful legacy. I will tell you. One of the things
that was also striking about the Metal of Freedom ceremony
is it was a continuation of a conversation that happened
(24:39):
at Charlie's funeral ceremony. So at the funeral, Erica Kirk
spoke and I mentioned how she said that she forgives
the murderer who murdered her husband, and she talks about
how Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. And you know,
Trump spoke at the funeral, and he gave, I think,
(25:00):
very strong remarks. But one of the things he said
is he said that's something he had a great deal
of difficulty doing, that he did not love his enemies,
that he hated his enemies, and he liked to fight
his enemies. And he kind of laughed about it, but
he said that, and and it was that was a
back and forth from Arizona. Well in the Rose Garden,
(25:20):
Trump brought it up again, and and look, President Trump
knew Charlie very well, and he said, you know, I
know Erica talked about how he loved his enemies. But
he said, you know, when I talked to Charlie, he said,
I'm not sure I saw that. I think he like
when he was in a battle, he would fight, fight
his enemies and fight them vigorously. And listen, Charlie was
a strong man and a passionate man who knew what
(25:43):
he believed. But it was very interesting. Erica spoke after
the President in the Rose Garden and she gave beautiful remarks.
But one of the things she said that I think
was directly responding to the president. She said, look, I
can tell you from having been married to him, Charlie
prayed for his enemies. And she said I saw that.
(26:05):
She said, I don't know that anyone else saw that,
but she said, I saw him and he prayed for
his enemies. And and President Trump was standing behind her
right shoulder, and she said it was it was lighthearted,
but she was kind of she was in many ways
responding to the President. And he like laughed, He was
good natured, but he was genuinely laughing and it was
a look. I think it was a good back and
forth that that that we should be vigorous in what
(26:29):
we believe. We should not not give in uh to
to to those who argue for positions that are harmful
to America. We should be full throated in our argument.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
But but I.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Also think that the message that Erica was carrying forward
about it's possible to disagree, and and look, you go
watch the exchanges Charlie had on college campus after college campus,
when when you would have someone come in and argue
for open borders, when you would have someone come in
and argue for socialism, when someone come in and argue
(27:02):
for transgenderism, when you have someone come in and argue
for for hamas terrorists. Charlie was vigorous and full throated
in disputing them, but he was not mean spirited about it.
He was not I hate you, he was not you're
the enemy. But he would engage in a way that said, look,
(27:23):
I understand why you're saying that. Here's why I believe
you're mistaken. And and I think Rika was right that
he was able to do so from a position of love.
Love does not mean agreement. Love does not mean saying
I accept the position you're advocating, even though I believe
it is harmful to our country. But love means not
(27:46):
treating your political adversary as the enemy to be destroyed,
but instead trying to respond with reason, with compassion, trying
to move, and even if you don't move, your immediate
interlocktur those who are observing it. Charlie was very good
(28:09):
at responding in a way that persuaded a lot of
other people. And I thought that back and forth Tuesday
between the President and Erica was really powerful.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yeah, I would encourage everyone that is listening right now,
if you did not get to see as specifically Erica's remarks,
go listen to them, and go listen to Donald Trump's
full remarks as we played one of the highlights here.
But there was a lot that was said and it
wasn't covered in the same way obviously that his memorial
(28:38):
was covered. I'm still in shock that we're a month
since we lost Charlie Kirk, but today was a very
special day. I'm so thankful that the President did this.
I'm thankful that his parents were there, that they got
to see how many people he influenced, the most important
people in our government the President of the United States
of America, and just to be able to hear from
(29:00):
people like you centered and to love on them and
to let them know that their son's life mattered in
such a big way.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Amen. Amen, Amen, don't forget.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
We do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that
subscribe or the auto download button wherever you get this podcast,
share it wherever you can, and then Senator and I
will see you back here on Friday morning.
Welcome. It is verdic with Center, Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson
with you, and we've got a big show for you today,
including really an incredible moment at the White House honoring
Charlie Kirk on what would have been his birthday. We're
going to talk about that center you were there. But
also we've got an update as well on the government shutdown.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, it is day fifteen of the Schumer shutdown. The
government remains shut down. We voted on Tuesday to reopen
the government. The Republicans voted to reopen the government, and sadly,
the Democrats continued to say shut it down, shut it down,
shut it down. Now today October fifteenth, the President is
doing something that is really kind of wrecking the Democrats playbook,
(00:41):
which is the President moved funds around within the Department
of War and he said, we're going to pay our
servicemen and women. We're going to send out their paychecks.
I think Schumer and the Democrats were counting on these
paychecks not going out. You have a number of Democrats
expressing their dismay about it. We're going to break that
down and tell you what's happening about the shutdown. We're
also going to talk about, as you noted, Tuesday, President
(01:04):
Trump in the Rose Garden gave Charlie Kirk posthumously the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. I was there. It was an
incredible event. It honored his life. We're going to talk
to you about that as well.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, it's a really important conversation that we're going to
have about that, and it's one that's not being reported
on as well. So we hope that you guys are
going to take that story and share it wherever you
can on social media, sharing this podcast. We're going to
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(03:09):
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let's just talk about like where we are to give
the updates This is something I think it's important for
us to do when it comes to shutdown what is
happening now in Washington, And I got a feeling you're
gonna be like nothing at all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, look it's October fifteenth. So one of the consequences
is is federal workers all across the federal government had
their paycheck not direct deposited. And so for a lot
of workers who are living paycheck to paycheck, it means
they're not getting the check that they were planning on
to pay their bills. They're not getting the check they're
planning on to go to the grocery store. They're not
(03:48):
getting the check they're planning on to pay healthcare expenses,
tuition expenses, all daycare expenses, all of the day to
day expenses. It was also scheduled to be the day
on which our troops, our soldiers, our sailors, our airmenham
marines would not get paid either. And and we've seen
(04:08):
online images of young soldiers standing in line at at
at food pantries to get food. You know, many of
our young, particularly enlisted men and women, are living on
very limited budgets and and and not getting a paycheck
is a real hardship for them. Now, I will say
the latter has not happened because President Trump has done
(04:29):
something that I don't think has ever happened in the
previous shutdown, which which is he has readjusted money that
was going to other expenses within the Department of War.
He's shifted it around to an account to pay our
servicemen and women. I'm grateful that he did so. It
really is quite striking that the Democrats, multiple Democrats, are
expressing dismay, how dare you pay our servicemen and women? Uh?
(04:53):
But on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Senate came back in
town and we voted. We voted for the ninth time,
Republicans voted to reopen the government. I voted to reopen
the government. We're ready to reopen it. And the Democrats
came in almost party line, All but a couple of
Democrats voted no, no, no, keep the government down. And
(05:13):
by the way, Schumer recently said it was quote better
for Democrats to extend the government shutdown. Now, I got
to say that's a cynical statement. They're counting on the
media to be dishonest about what's going on. But listen,
the end of this is it's going to end in
the same place. At some point, the Democrats are going
(05:34):
to give in. And I'll tell you what most of
the Republican senators believe, myself included, which is the shutdown
will continue at least until next week. And the reason
for that is on October eighteenth, on Saturday, there is
a big rally planned in Washington, d C. The so
called No King's Rally, where a bunch of leftist radicals
(05:56):
are going to be coming to Washington, d C. To
protest against Donald try Trump. Because that's what the left does,
is they say we hate Trump, we hate Trump. And
what I'm hearing is the Democrats are terrified of reopening
the government before that No King's Rally because they think
if they do reopen the government, those radicals will be furious.
(06:17):
And listen, why are we having a shutdown. We're having
a shut down two reasons. Number one, because the Democrats
want free, taxpayer provided health care for illegal aliens. But
number two, the real reason we're having a shutdown is
because Chuck Schumer is fighting for his political life and
he's trying to demonstrate to the radical left he hates
Trump as much as they do and so I think
(06:40):
at a minimum, the shutdown will continue through this weekend.
The earliest we see the government opening up is next week.
But you know what, Schumer and the Democrats might make
it drag out even further than that, because right now
they seem utterly oblivious to the consequences of their massive
political obstruction.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, it really is. And I go back to being
held hostage and the fact that Democrats are really outraged
over the idea of paying our military. I think that's
just really gross. I am shocked they're not taking a
bigger political hit, and the media is just giving them
full coverage on this one to act like their outrage
(07:20):
is somehow sane or normal. I actually think the American
people look at this otherwise. Am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Look, I think you're right, although candidly, I think each
side lives in its own echo chamber. So I think
if you're inclined to agree with Republicans, your view is, Gosh,
the Democrats are being ridiculous. This is the Schumer shutdown now. Sadly,
if you're inclined to agree with Democrats, if you're on
the left, you're listening to see it in you're listening
(07:48):
to MSNBC. You're in an echo chamber where everyone you
hear is saying, it's the horrible Republicans, It's the horrible Republicans,
and so I think that's part of the reason why
the two sides have very different percent I don't think
this is going well for the Democrats at all, but
I'm not sure they agree, because if they're just listening
(08:09):
to their radicals, they think it's wonderful. By the way,
their radicals would leave the government shut down for months
and months and months, because all they care about is
saying we hate Trump. Now here's how this is gonna end.
I don't think Chuck Schumer is gonna end it. I
don't think he's gonna show any leadership because I think
he is terrified. He is hearing AOC breathing down his neck.
(08:33):
What I think is going to happen is you're going
to need at least seven Democrats who decide, Okay, enough
is enough, let's reopen the government, let's stop this petulance.
And I think it is going to be almost exclusively
retiring Democrats, people who are on their way out and
(08:55):
Democrats who are not facing their left wing voters anytime soon.
My guess is Schumer never votes to open the government,
but I think he may condone. He may look the
other way and wink a couple of times at letting
a little bit of a jail break, at letting eight
to ten Democrats vote to say, let's reopen the government,
and I think all the rest of the Democrats vote no, no, no,
(09:17):
to preserve themselves from their left flank.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Do you believe that Democrats will actually sit down with Republicans.
It's really something that hasn't happened. Certainly on the House side,
Democrats are saying and no, we have nothing to talk about.
Do you think that Democrats will be let out of
that jail once this No King's rally takes place? And
how quickly afterwards do you think we can actually see
that conversation begin.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Well, look, right now, Schumer is not talking with Republican
leadership at King Jeffries in the House is not talking
with Republican leadership. I don't think it will be Democrat leadership.
That there's a group of about a dozen Democrat senators
who are having conversations and they're talking a little bit
to Republicans. And I think the way this will end
is after the rally. And by the way, think about it.
(10:03):
If you're a federal worker right now and you're working
at say the VA, and you didn't get your paycheck today,
the reason you didn't get your paycheck is the Democrats
are scared to have a rally of radicals in Washington
while they allowed you to get your paycheck. I mean,
this is pure left wing politics. And by the way,
(10:23):
Schumer's comment on this, he said, quote, every day gets
better for us, he said, quote every day the Republicans
refused to negotiate to end this shutdown, the worse it
gets for Americans, and the clear it becomes who's fighting
for them. That is their view, or that is at
least the view of the radicals. But I think what
you'll see is among that roughly dozen Democrats who are
(10:48):
having conversations right now, you'll see seven, eight nine of
them say Okay, let's open the government. And that's how
this ends.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Final question on this. The President today at the White
House did talk about, Hey, you better get ready come
Thursday Friday. You guys don't get back on board of
opening the government up, I'm going to start cutting democratic
programs because we think there's a lot of waste there,
not Republican programs. Is that the type of leverage that
we need right now?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
So.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I was at the White House on Tuesday. I talked
with many Cabinet members. I talked with Russ Vode, who's
the head of the Office of Management and Budget and
he's in charge of the layoffs. And they've already started.
They've laid off thousands of federal government workers. And the
Trump White House has said the longer the shutdown continues,
the more government workers will be laid off, not furloughed temporarily,
(11:36):
but laid off. And they're going to focus on policies
and priorities that are inconsistent with the President's agenda, that
are Democrat priorities. And I think that leverage will accelerate
the Democrats saying Okay, we're going to stop holding the
government hostage, and we're going to allow the clean Continual
Resolution that the House passed weeks ago. We're going to
(11:58):
allow that to be signed to.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Speaking of the White House, as you just mentioned, you
were there with many Cabinet members that were in attendance
for a really I think special moment. You and I
had the honor and the privilege to go to the
memorial service for Charlie Kirk. What we witnessed today was
something incredible. Donald Trump awarded Charlie Kirk the Medal of
(12:21):
Freedom on what would have been his thirty second birthday
at the White House and his wife, his widow, Erica,
was there to accept this. It was a moving moment
and you were there for all of it.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
So it was truly a beautiful It was a beautiful day.
It was a beautiful fall day at October at Washington,
d c. The sun was out. We were in the
Rose Garden, and in the Rose garden you had you
had a lot of members of Congress, you had virtually
the entire cabinet came out for it, and Erica Kirk,
Charlie's widow, was there. The President really, i think did
(12:56):
a very good job remembering Charlie, speaking speed from the heart,
honoring Charlie's legacy, and presenting him with the highest civilian
honor we have in this country and in the military context,
the Medal of Honor is the highest recipient that that
can be awarded an individual. In the civilian context, the
(13:16):
Medal of Freedom, it is the highest honor that can
be awarded an individual and to give it to Charlie.
It was bittersweet because Charlie would have been thirty two.
He was a young man. He had an incredibly bright future,
as you and I have talked about. We both have
known Charlie a long time. I considered Charlie a very
close friend. Heidie and I met Charlie when he was
(13:40):
just eighteen years old, when he was a kid, you know,
at the ceremony at the White House, I met Charlie's parents.
I had not met his parents before, and I had
an opportunity to just just tell both his mom and
dad say, look look, Hidie and I we love Charlie.
And when we got to know him fourteen years ago,
(14:05):
his vision then was as clear as it was the
day he died. His vision of creating a movement to energize,
to mobilize young people, to mobilize young people to love freedom,
to love, free enterprise, to love the Constitution, to love America.
(14:25):
That vision, you could see it. What I met at
me was this tall, lanky, eighteen year old kid, was
fresh out of high school, had not gone to college.
And you gotta remember the context. This is twenty twelve,
beginning of twenty thirteen, Barack Obama had just been reelected.
The Democrats were resurgent at that point. Young people being
(14:45):
a Democrat at an Obama democrat was hip and cool.
The idea of energizing a lot of young people to
be conservatives, frankly, sounded looney. It did not sound like
an easy task at all. A lot of people in
the Republican Party said this will never work. But Charlie
had a vision. And I was telling his mom and dad.
I said, look, his vision was extraordinary. One of the
(15:09):
things I said to them is I said, look, I'm
queer grieving the loss of your son. He was extraordinram
so sorry, so sorry for your loss. But I said,
you know what I think, in the last month, it
may well be possible that more people have heard the
Gospel than in any comparable period of our lifetimes. That
(15:32):
that memorial service in Arizona for Charlie was a global
event where people heard the gospel. And I got to
say at Charlie's funeral service when Erica stood up and
she talked about how when Jesus was hanging on the
cross and he was looking down at the Roman soldiers
who had nailed him to the Cross, who were in
(15:54):
the process of killing him, and Jesus said, from the Cross, Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. And
she talked about how how Charlie really had a mission
for young people, particularly young men, young men who were
often disaffected, disillusion to help them find find their way
and find find a purpose in life, a meaningful purpose
(16:19):
that provides real, real satisfaction and real reason uh for living.
And she talked about that young man who shot Charlie,
that young man, and then she said, and I got
to say, she was doing this wind up. I knew you,
knew where she was going. And I got to tell you,
(16:41):
and I understand you and I were standing next to
each other. I literally held my breath. I'm like, is
she going to be able to say this? And she
stood up with with the eyes of the world upon
him and said, that young man, the young man who
pulled the trigger and murdered her husband, murdered the father
for children. She said, I forgive him. I don't know
(17:07):
that there was a dry eye in the house. And
one of the things that is so incredible is millions
of people were watching that and and listen, if you're
a Christian, you understand just like Jesus said, Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do, even as they
(17:28):
were killing him. But if you're not a Christian, I
believe thousands, if not millions, of people looked at each
other and said, how can she say that? Where does
that come from? Where does that forgiveness come from? Where
does that love come from? And I think it was
(17:48):
as powerful a testament of the Gospel as as as
as we have seen in a long long time, and
and and and it and I got to say today
the President spoke beautifully. And by the way, when Erica
said I forgive him, Ben, I hope and pray you
(18:10):
or I are never in that situation. I don't know
that those words could come out of my mouth. I
would want them to, I would desperately want them to.
But I that the strength it took for her to
say those words I find utterly astonishing. And I just
I told Charlie's parents, I said, listen, I so wish
(18:34):
Charlie were with us today. But millions have heard the
Gospel in the last several weeks because of Charlie, and
that is one hell of a legacy.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
So over the last several weeks, you've heard me talk
with Josherrard from Berna. He's been telling stories of how
people just like you have used their Berna launcher to
protect themselves and their families. Now, Burna is a handheld
pistol that fires both kinetic rounds and chemical irritants to
separate you from an attacker, and it can be life saving.
(19:09):
Josh is back with you today to tell another story
about how a former professional race car driver saved his
family from an attack outside the garage of their own home. Josh,
tell me about this.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, it just happened, actually not too long ago in
Santa Monica, just two blocks from the beach. So former
pro race car driver Court Wagner was pulling into his
garage with his family in the car when he was
confronted by a man hiding in the alley. After trying
to talk to him into leaving, it was obviously not
going to work. The man lunged at Court with a
sharp object, trying to attack him, with his wife and
(19:43):
child only steps away. He grabbed his Burnal launcher that
he kept in the glove box of his car and
fired five rounds, striking the attackers several times. The suspect
fled immediately it worked, and Court called the police and
gave him the description of the assailant, and now police
were able to locate someone that somewhat matched a description
in the area, not quite exactly. And it wasn't until
officers lifted the suspect shirt and saw the multiple wealths
(20:06):
from the burn A launchers that they knew they had
the right guy and subsequently arrested him.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
It really is incredible. And I get this question now
often when I'm out, and that is okay. Tell me
about how a launcher works, and they worry about or
they wonder about the stopping power of less lethal weapons.
I've used it. It's amazing. I have it in all
of my cars right now because I want to have
this option.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, you know, the stopping power is great, no
matter if you're using our kinetic rounds or even the
chemical agent rounds that obviously have the gas in them,
the tear gas, the pepper spray that's going to incapacitate them.
I mean, this is a great case of how some
resistance enough resistance obviously to cause these wealths immediately stop
the situation, and was able to provide that safety for
(20:50):
Court and his family.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
It really is incredible. If you want more information on
what I carry and how you and your family members
can protect themselves or they burn a launcher webs there
is for a daughter, or for a family member or
a grandparent, go to Berna b why r in a
dot com? That's burna b why r ina dot com again?
(21:11):
Burna dot com right now? You know, I think one
of the most incredible things that you just mentioned is
the legacy. And one of the things that the President
said today at the White House for people that didn't
hear it, was talking about Charlie Kirk being a martyr.
And this is what the President said about that.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Said on the day that he was assassinated. Charlie Kirk
was a martyr for truth and for freedom, and from
Socrates to Think and to Saint Peter, from Abraham Lincoln
to Martin Luther King, those who change history the most,
and he really did have always risked their lives for
(21:51):
causes they were put on earth to defend. He was
put on earth to do exactly what he was doing.
He didn't want to waste time. He would have been
a top student at any college in the country I know,
to college as well he's smarter than the guys. He
was so smart. But he almost I guess, didn't have
the time. He knew what he wanted to do. It
wasn't like Jae I want to sit in this classroom
(22:12):
for four years listening to people teach me liberal principles,
because they were never going to teach him that anyway.
But he didn't have the time. He really didn't have
the time. But every time the enemies of goodness and
virtue tried to silence the voice of righteous and noble
leaders like Charlie, they failed. They seem to fail. Ultimately,
they look like they're doing well, and then they end
(22:32):
up failing because the truth has been unrelenting over the years,
over history, and people like Charlie, it's just they've got
a power that others don't have, and very few people
will ever have. So today, like those martyrs before him,
Charlie's voice, his message, and his legacy are stronger and
(22:54):
greater than ever before. They are greater than ever before.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
You know him saying as I said on the day
he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth
and for freedom, and I couldn't agree more. To compare
him as he did to Saint Peter, to Abraham Lincoln,
to Martin Luther King Junior. These are people that change history.
Charlie will be remembered in the same breath with those
(23:19):
types of leaders, and I think that's part of the legacy.
And as you mentioned, not only did Charlie and his
legacy now it is one hundred percent setting I think
young men and young women on fire to be bolder
in their faith, to be better Christians and to seek
the truth of the Bible and the Gospel. And just
what he was able to do in his death is phenomenal,
(23:43):
but also what he was doing to fight for this
country at the same time, that is going to be
a legacy that's going to live on because so many
people they are going to do it for Charlie. I
think you and I would include ourselves in that as well.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Well. Listen, he was very much He was a martyr
for freedom, a martyr for truth. I also told Charlie's parents,
I think more people heard Charlie's words of the last
four weeks that then heard them in the entire thirty
one nearly thirty two years of his life. That the
number of people who went and said, who was this
(24:17):
Charlie Kirk guy? What did he have to say? Who
listened to exchanges as he was on college campuses, as
he was engaging with people who disagreed with him, as
he treated them with respect, with dignity. That is a
powerful legacy. I will tell you. One of the things
that was also striking about the Metal of Freedom ceremony
is it was a continuation of a conversation that happened
(24:39):
at Charlie's funeral ceremony. So at the funeral, Erica Kirk
spoke and I mentioned how she said that she forgives
the murderer who murdered her husband, and she talks about
how Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. And you know,
Trump spoke at the funeral, and he gave, I think,
(25:00):
very strong remarks. But one of the things he said
is he said that's something he had a great deal
of difficulty doing, that he did not love his enemies,
that he hated his enemies, and he liked to fight
his enemies. And he kind of laughed about it, but
he said that, and and it was that was a
back and forth from Arizona. Well in the Rose Garden,
(25:20):
Trump brought it up again, and and look, President Trump
knew Charlie very well, and he said, you know, I
know Erica talked about how he loved his enemies. But
he said, you know, when I talked to Charlie, he said,
I'm not sure I saw that. I think he like
when he was in a battle, he would fight, fight
his enemies and fight them vigorously. And listen, Charlie was
a strong man and a passionate man who knew what
(25:43):
he believed. But it was very interesting. Erica spoke after
the President in the Rose Garden and she gave beautiful remarks.
But one of the things she said that I think
was directly responding to the president. She said, look, I
can tell you from having been married to him, Charlie
prayed for his enemies. And she said I saw that.
(26:05):
She said, I don't know that anyone else saw that,
but she said, I saw him and he prayed for
his enemies. And and President Trump was standing behind her
right shoulder, and she said it was it was lighthearted,
but she was kind of she was in many ways
responding to the President. And he like laughed, He was
good natured, but he was genuinely laughing and it was
a look. I think it was a good back and
forth that that that we should be vigorous in what
(26:29):
we believe. We should not not give in uh to
to to those who argue for positions that are harmful
to America. We should be full throated in our argument.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
But but I.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Also think that the message that Erica was carrying forward
about it's possible to disagree, and and look, you go
watch the exchanges Charlie had on college campus after college campus,
when when you would have someone come in and argue
for open borders, when you would have someone come in
and argue for socialism, when someone come in and argue
(27:02):
for transgenderism, when you have someone come in and argue
for for hamas terrorists. Charlie was vigorous and full throated
in disputing them, but he was not mean spirited about it.
He was not I hate you, he was not you're
the enemy. But he would engage in a way that said, look,
(27:23):
I understand why you're saying that. Here's why I believe
you're mistaken. And and I think Rika was right that
he was able to do so from a position of love.
Love does not mean agreement. Love does not mean saying
I accept the position you're advocating, even though I believe
it is harmful to our country. But love means not
(27:46):
treating your political adversary as the enemy to be destroyed,
but instead trying to respond with reason, with compassion, trying
to move, and even if you don't move, your immediate
interlocktur those who are observing it. Charlie was very good
(28:09):
at responding in a way that persuaded a lot of
other people. And I thought that back and forth Tuesday
between the President and Erica was really powerful.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yeah, I would encourage everyone that is listening right now,
if you did not get to see as specifically Erica's remarks,
go listen to them, and go listen to Donald Trump's
full remarks as we played one of the highlights here.
But there was a lot that was said and it
wasn't covered in the same way obviously that his memorial
(28:38):
was covered. I'm still in shock that we're a month
since we lost Charlie Kirk, but today was a very
special day. I'm so thankful that the President did this.
I'm thankful that his parents were there, that they got
to see how many people he influenced, the most important
people in our government the President of the United States
of America, and just to be able to hear from
(29:00):
people like you centered and to love on them and
to let them know that their son's life mattered in
such a big way.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Amen. Amen, Amen, don't forget.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
We do the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that
subscribe or the auto download button wherever you get this podcast,
share it wherever you can, and then Senator and I
will see you back here on Friday morning.
Host
Ben Ferguson
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