Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Indictment Heard Around the World—U.S. Targets Raul Castro

Transcript

Indictment Heard Around the World—U.S. Targets Raul Castro · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Truly historic breaking news happened in Miami. The United States
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Department of Justice has officially indicted the former Cuban dictator
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Roel Castro on murder and conspiracy charges tied to one
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: of the most infamous acts of state sponsored terrorism in
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the Western Hemisphere. Now, the announcement came in Miami at
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the historic Freedom Tower. It is a symbolic location for
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: generations of Cuban refugees who fled communist oppression under the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Castle regime. The Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche announced the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: indictment alongside federal officials and members of Congress. Now, the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: charges stem from the nineteen ninety six shootdown of two
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: civilian aircraft that were operated by the humanitarian group Brothers
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: to the Rescue. Those planes were flying over international waters
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: when Cuban meg fighter jets fired missiles and blew them
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: out of the sky. Four men, three were American citizens,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: and one had a green cart. Now let's be clear
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: about what prosecutors are saying here. The DOJ says, this
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: was not an accident, this was not confusion, This was
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: not some rogue military officer acting independently. Federal prosecutor say
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Raoul Castro who at the time was Cuba's defense minister,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: not only was involved but helped direct and authorize the
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: operation that intentionally targeted on armed civilian planes over international waters.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: For decades, families of the victims have waited for this
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: type of accountability, and now, nearly thirty years later, the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: United States government is finally saying enough. Now, let me
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• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Now to put in perspective about just how big of
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: a deal this is when it comes to accountability, the
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: same Castro that was indicted by the US government for
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: murder today was sitting next to then President Barack Obama
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: at a baseball game when Barack Obama was trying to
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: normalize relationships with a man that the US government now
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: says is a murderer. Todd Blanche announcing all this, and
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: here is exactly what he had to say.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Today.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: We are announcing an indictment charging Roul Castro and several
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: others with conspiracy to kill US nationals. Just mister Castro
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: and the others are charged with additional crimes as well,
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: including destruction of aircraft and four individual counts of murder.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: The indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: this district in Miami on April twenty third, twenty twenty six,
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: and was unsealed today. For nearly thirty years. Thirty years
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: on February. This is a story all too familiar. On
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: February twenty fourth, nineteen ninety six, two civilian aircraft operated
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: by Brothers to the Rescue were shot down over international
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: waters by military aircraft from Cuba. Four men were killed,
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: Carlos Costo, Armando La Handre, Junior, Mario de la Pigna,
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: and Pablo Morales. They were unarmed civilians and were flying
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: oppression across the Florida Straits. As alleged in the indictment,
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Raul Castro and five co defendants participated in a conspiracy
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: civilian planes. And killing four Americans. Those are the allegations
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: returned by a federal grand jury. My message today is clear.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: The United States and President Trump does not and will
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: not forget its citizens. I want to say that we
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: also do not forget the families, the loved ones, and
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: the friends who have carried grief and heartache for thirty years.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: For the first time in nearly seventy years, senior leadership
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: of the Cuban regime has been charged in this country,
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: in the United States of America for acts of violence
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: resulting in the deaths of American citizens. Nations and their
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans, kill them and
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: not face accountability. President Trump is committed to restoring a
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: very simple but important principle. If you kill Americans, and
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: we will pursue you, no matter who you are, no
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: matter what title you hold, and in this case, no
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: matter how much time has passed.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: You could hear the emotion in the room when the
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: indictments were announced with the extended applause, because for decades
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: the families of the victims have been waiting for this
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: type of accountability and wondering if it would ever come,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: especially when you had the Obama administration CosIng up side
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: by side with the man that now the US is
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: charging with murder. Imagine being one of those family members
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: watching the politics of that play out now. The indictment
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: includes conspiracy to kill US nationals, multiple murder counts, and
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: destruction of aircraft. Prosecutors say the evidence includes military communications,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: intelligent assessments, and long standing testimony connected Castro directly to
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: the attack. And this matters for another reason, this is
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: not happening in isolation. The Trump administration clearly has a
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: game plan here, and they have dramatically escalated pressure on
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: the Cuban regime In recent weeks and months. Relations between
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Washington and Havana have deteriorated rapidly amid Cuba's economic collapse,
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: the blackouts, the isolation, and the protests, as well as
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: food shortages and the growing unrest inside the island nation.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: The timing of this indictment is also deeply symbolic. It
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: was announced on Cuba's Independence Day and the heart of
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Miami's Cuban exile community, and politically, there's also a very
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: clear message that White House is sending no communist dictator
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: is untouchable in the Western Hemisphere. Anymore because Americans just
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: watched something extraordinary happen in Venezuela with Nicholas Maduro. And
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: for years people said Madua would never face justice. People
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: said indictments were just symbolic and meaningless against cartel members
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: all over the world. People said dictators are also literally
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: protected for And then suddenly the pressure campaign intensified from
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: the Trump administration. International isolation that increased, the financial networks
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: around these individuals collapsed, and military allies then disappeared. People
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: around Maduro started turning on him, and eventually he was captured.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: That precedent is hanging over the story right now. And
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: let's be honest, Roe Castro is ninety four years old.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Cuba is not going to voluntarily extrite him tomorrow morning.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: But indictments, they do matter. Once someone is indicted by
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: the United States government, they become internationally radioactive. Travel becomes
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: extremely dangerous, The financial systems close, and allies deliberately start
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: distancing themselves from the individual Intelligence agency began coordinating, and
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: then the diplomatic pressure even increases more. It's exactly what
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: happened around Maduro and now it's happening around Castro, and
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: perhaps most importantly, the regime begins to fracture internally, because
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: once the people around a dictator realize that America is
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: very serious, the first thing that always happens, just like
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: with Maduro, is a survival instincts kick in big time,
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: and that is exactly what is happening in Cuba as
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: we speak. Many in Cuban exile community believe history may
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: be starting to repeat itself. The bigger story here is
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: that America is signaling a completely different posture towards hostile
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: regimes in our hemisphere. And for years communist governments in
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Cuba and Venezuela they operated under the assumption that they
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: could literally just outlast every administration in Washington. Now they're
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: looking at criminal indictments, sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and the very
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: real possibility that the people the top may eventually actually
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: face justice not in their country but in America's courtroom.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: And after thirty years, the families of those murdered pilots
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: finally heard words they've waited decades to hear that Raul
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Castro has been charged with murdering their family members. So
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: the big question a lot of people have now is
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: what happens next. The Maduro model, and well, could that
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: be exactly what Castro should be so nervous about. That
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: is the question everyone is asking, not just in the US,
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: but also in Cuba, because if you look carefully at
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: what the Trump administration has done with Venezuela and now
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: what they're doing with Cuba, you can see a very
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: clear strategy that's emerging. Step one, you criminally indict the
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: regime leadership. Step two, you cut off financial lifelines. Step
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: three the increased diplomatic isolation. Step four you pressure insiders
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: to then flip and we know the CIA director was
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: literally just in Cuba having meetings. And step five you
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: then wait for the regime to weaken from within. That's
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: exactly what happened with Maduro. It worked perfectly. At first,
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: people laughed off the indictments against him, They called them symbolic.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: They said he would never be touched because he controlled
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: the military and the intelligence apparatus in Venezuela.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: By the way, he.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Had a lot more money and guns and power than
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: what you see right now in Cuba. And then you
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: go back to the game play of Venezuela. Over time,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: things started to change. Sanctions crush the revenue streams, exactly
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: what we're witnessing in Cuba right now. Then international banking
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: access dried up. Key allies then became liabilities, corruption networks
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: got exposed, and people inside the regime started cooperating, and
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: then that's when the walls began closing in. Now look
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: at where we are at this exact moment with Cuba.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Cuba is facing almost the exact same warning signs. The
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Cuban economy is in a catastrophic condition. It's actually far
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: worse than it was in Venezuela. The island not only
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: suffering rolling blackouts, but now they're suffering real food shortages,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: fuel shortages, and increase public unrest that we haven't seen
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: in years. Young Cubans are also fleeing in record numbers.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: The government is literally struggling to maintain basic control. They're
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: also running out of jet fuel, and the regime no
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: longer has the same financial backing that it once relied
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: on from Venezuela and from other adversaries in the US.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: And that's critical because Cuba and Venezuela have long operated
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: as basically survival partners for socialist authoritarianism in Latin America.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: When Venezuela weakens Cuba weakens, and now the Trump administration
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: appears to be exploiting exactly that vulnerability, and it was
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: planned out perfectly. So the indictment against Royal Castro is
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: anything but symbolic. It's more than a legal document. Not
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: only is its psychological warfare against the Cuban regime, it's
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: telling the military officials there literally, you could be next.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: It tells the intelligence officers the United States is collecting
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: evidence and you could be next. It tells the regime
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: insiders your protection may have been lost forever, and that
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: creates the real fear inside authoritarian governments. Now, remember this,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: most dictatorships don't collapse from outside invasion anymore.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: They collapse internally.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: It's when people start to defect, when the military leaders
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: then start cutting deals, when the business elites start moving
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: their money. Intelligence officials then start leaking information to gain favors,
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: and eventually the regime loses the ability to even project
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: fear on the people to keep them down. And that's
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: what happened around Maduro. And by the way, many Cuban
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Americans they're celebrating because they believe that the same process
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: is beginning for them in Havana. Now There's also the
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: other question that everyone asks. Will Raoul Castro himself ever
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: stand trial in Miami?
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: No one knows he's ninety four years old.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: It's obviously a factor, being that he's so old in
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: his age. But this is bigger than just one man.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: This is about dismantling the aura of invincibility surrounding the
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Castor regime and the loyalists there. Look for decades, the
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Castro name represents an untouchable power in Cuba, so much
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: so that even Barack Obama set down with Roal Castro
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: and watched a baseball game side by side this murderer. Now,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: the former dictator stands indicted by the same US government
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: that used to sit down with him. That is a
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: change in history. And there's also another major issue. The
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Cuban military and political elite. Well, they're watching very carefully
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: to see whether America is serious, because if they believe
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: the pressure campaign will continue, if they believe sanctions will intensify,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: and if they believe more indictments are coming, then the
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: survival instinct begins to take over instantly, and that's when
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: everything starts to crack, When people start choosing themselves over
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: the regime. That they've been loyal to and if that
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: process begins to accelerate, and let's be clear, Cuba is
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: virtually shut down right now.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: From the rest of the world.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: The Cuban government now faces its greatest internal instability it's
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: seen since the revolution began. That's why this was not
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: just a courtroom story, just another indictment. This is a
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: geopolitical warning shot. The message from Washington is also very simple.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: The error of communist dictators in the Western Hemisphere operating
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: with our consequences may finally be coming to a very
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: real end, without a war actually ever starting. President Donald
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Trump's political endorsement may be the single most powerful force
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: in Republican politics today, and the numbers prove that that
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: is absolutely factually correct. In fact, over the last several
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: elections cycles, President Trump has transformed endorsements from simple political
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: support into something much bigger, a movement. Tests and race
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: after race, candidates backed by President Trump have surged in
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: the primaries and defeated establishment opponents. That is now reshaping
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the Republican Party from the ground up. We see it
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: in Senate races, we see it in gubernatorial races, and
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: we've seen it in congressional primaries all across the country,
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: and now once again, Trump's political muscle is front and
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: center and one of the biggest endorsements yet. It all
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: comes from the state of Texas, where the Texas Attorney
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: General Ken Paxton got the President's endorsement. Now Trump officially
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: threw his support behind Paxton, and it sent an unmistakable
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: message to the entire Republican establishment. This race is no
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: longer just another Senate primary. It's now a national referendum
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: on who truly represents the America First movement. Now, President
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Trump praised Paxton as a quote true MAGA warrior, highlighting
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: his record fighting the Biden administration on border security, election
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  Speaker 1: integrity laws, and conservative legal battles. The endorsement instantly changed
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  Speaker 1: the dynamics of the race because every Republican in Texas
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: now understands exactly what Donald Trump's backing means politically and
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: for Republican voters. The Trump endorsement also carries incredible credibility
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: because many believe he's been proven right repeatedly about candidates
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: who actually fight once they get into office, and that's
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: become a huge factor inside the GOP primaries. Republican voters
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  Speaker 1: increasingly care less about resume politics and local endorsements or
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: how long you've been in office, and a lot more
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: about who they believe will aggressively battle the political establishment
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: in DC instead of becoming a part of it. And
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: Trump has built enormous trusts with the Republican base. The
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: present endorsement machine has become so influential because it's not
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: just about fundraising anymore. It drives media coverage, grassroots enthusiasm,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: even donor energy, volunteer support, and then the most important thing,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: voter turnout, all at once. A Trump endorsement is instantly
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: nationalizes a race as well, and in Texas that really
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: matters because Texas Republicans remain overwhelmingly loyal to President Trump.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: In fact, in many parts of state, his endorsement is
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: viewed almost like a seal of approval for conservative authenticity.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: That's why this Pacson endorsement is such a political earthquake.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: It immediately put pressure on every major donor, activists, the consultants,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: and elected Republicans to decide where they stand. Are they
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: aligned with Trump and the America First movement or not?
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  Speaker 1: And politically speaking, history says betting against President Trump back
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: candidates in the Republican primaries well, is increasingly dangerous. And
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: that's now why everyone is talking about Texas, the fact
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: that the President chose to pick a newcomer to Washington
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: and get rid of an establishment Republican in John Cornyn,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Which brings me to the interesting point about the establishment Democrats.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: They were hoping that John Cornyn would stay in office.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Why because they know he's not really an ally of
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: the President and the establishment in Washington, d C. They
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: were throwing countless dollars to John Cornyn to try to
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: get him to survive one more election cycle. Because he
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: is the established, he's one of them. They can trade
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: deals and they can work together on things that the
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: American people aren't actually advocating for. In fact, it's the
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: complete opposite of the America First policies of the Trump administration. Now,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: Kim Paxton said it very clearly when he was on
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Fox News Channel with Laura Ingram. The MAGA agenda is
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: dead under John Cornyn, and that's why the President endorsed him.
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: General Paxton, I don't know about the vegans getting elected
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: in Texas, but like John Phone, the Republicans and the Senate,
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: they're very apparently unhappy about this your reaction tonight to
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: where things stand.
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: Well, first of all, I was glad that I got
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: to announce my candidacy against John corn on your show
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: April the eighth of last year, and I'm finishing my
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: campaign pretty much on your show again. And it's been
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: a great fourteen months where I've gotten to speak to
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: the voters and ask them one question. John Cornyn is
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: running for his fifth term for USA. Nobody's done that
• 23:00
  Speaker 5: in Texas history. He's been in office since I was
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: in college and I'm sixty three, and I've asked every
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: voter that I've met, whether it's one or thousands, can
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: you name one great accomplishment of John Cornyn? And the
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: answer has There's never been an answer, and that's part
• 23:14
  Speaker 5: of the problem. He doesn't deliver results for Texas. The
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: MAGA agenda is dead under John corn He kills it
• 23:20
  Speaker 5: every time, just like the Republican Senate that he's part of.
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: That's what they're doing.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: They're killing it. Now.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: The latest RCP Politics average has Talerico, youre likely opponent,
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: with about a one and a half point edge over you.
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: Now these are the numbers before the Trump endorsement, but
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: against Cornyn Taalerico is only up a half percent. I
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: don't know what that means, but nonominally, I guess you
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: could say he is performing a little bit better. But
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: again that's before Trump.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: Look, we've had a Republican. We've had Republicans in control
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: since nineteen ninety four, not a single Democrat statewide. I've
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: won three statewides in a row, and I am so
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: convinced that once people know his views on the issues,
• 24:03
  Speaker 5: I don't think there's a place for him to get
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: elected statewide here in Texas. Maybe in California his views
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: would be accepted, but I cannot imagine that once people
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: hear him talk and know what he believes, that he's
• 24:14
  Speaker 5: going to get elected in Texas.
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: Well, you hear some of the old guard and they're
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: wincing as they say this, and sometimes they're whispering in
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: general Paxton that well, when Trump endorsed you, goodbye Texas.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: I've heard this so many times. I mean, I've been
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: covering politics for eight presidential elections, all these cycles, and
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: they're just hoping and hoping and hoping Texas flips blue.
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: But they're like, well, it's gone for Republicans now, wishful thinking.
• 24:44
  Speaker 5: Oh look, this is a John Cornyn talking point because
• 24:47
  Speaker 5: he doesn't have anything to run on, he doesn't have
• 24:49
  Speaker 5: any accomplishments. His only talking point has been basically that
• 24:53
  Speaker 5: I can't win a general election. There's no proof of that.
• 24:56
  Speaker 5: There's no polling that says that exactly. The polls say
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: just the opp that I either do just as well
• 25:01
  Speaker 5: as John Cornyan or I do better. So once we
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: have the chance to vet this guy, he's not been vetted.
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: There wasn't a really a serious opponent for him in
• 25:09
  Speaker 5: the Democratic primary. Once Tellerica has been vetted, I am
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: convinced that Texans will reject what he's pushing.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt that Donald Trump has completely shaken up
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: the Senate race in Texas, and Ken Paxon, I have
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: no doubt will be the next Republican nominee. But if
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: there's ever been any doubt about who's still in control
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: of the Republican Party and who carries the most political
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: influence in America right now, these endorsements should in that debate.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is no longer just the leader of the GOP.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: He's literally the center of gravity and conservative politics. His
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: endorsement has become the most value political currency in any
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Republican primary anywhere in the country.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: And let's just.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Put that in compare and contrast mode for just a moment.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: Take a look at what happened in Orgia this week.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Kamala Harris and Barack Obama both back two candidates for
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: the Georgia Supreme Court, and both of those candidates lost.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Now that's a stunning reality check for Democrats because while
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: the left's biggest political names are struggling to move voters,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is dominating the Republican political world. It's unlike
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: anything we've really seen in modern political history in this country.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Republican voters trust Donald Trump. They believe he knows who's
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: going to fight with him to get his agenda done.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: The America First movement is what American voters and Republican
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: Party care about. And you look at what Democrats are offering, well,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: not a whole lot. And that's exactly why even Barack
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Obama and Kamala Harris going back to back to endorse
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: two cants in Georgia ended up being such a massive failure.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: That's why these midterms are becoming much more bigger than
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: a normal election cycle.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: As well.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: They are shaping up to be the national test not
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: only of Trump's dominance over the future direction of the
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Republican Party, but also American politics itself. And based on
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: what we're seeing right now, those that are predicting a
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Republican bloodbath come election day later this year, well, they
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: don't seem to be actually looking at the data.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: They don't actually.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Seem to be looking at what's going on in the
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: conservative movement. Donald Trump is still the leader, and he's
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: making a massive change in DC at the same time.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Whether it's Thomas Massey or John Cornyn, it doesn't really matter.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: If Donald Trump's on the other side of the ballot
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: endorsing someone against you, you've got big problems, and that
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: is very clear from what we're witnessing right now.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: We're going to cover it all every day for you.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Make sure you hit that subscribe auto download button, and
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: I will see you back here tomorrow on the program.