What's the Objective in Iran? plus New DHS Secretary & Big Texas Primaries

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7871 or Bitcoin IRA.com slash Ben. That's Bitcoin IRA.com slash Ben to open a free account and earn up to a thousand dollar bonus right now. All right, Senator, so let's talk about where we are with Iran. I got to say I am incredibly impressed with the Trump administration, the Department of War, and just the leadership and the bravery, but also the planning. Like, it is really incredible to see just how powerful, how accurate, and how good our intelligence has been, obviously sharing Israel back and forth intelligence, taking out not just the Ayatollah, but virtually. everyone around him at this point. That is a job you don't want, by the way, because every time they keep naming a new person, we take them out within minutes, if not hours, of them being named to their new job. This is a big display of what America can do. Well, there's no doubt that our military has been incredibly effective. You know, I will say as we're now just about a week into the attack on Iran. There are people who are asking what is our objective, and it has been less than transparently clear to a fair number of folks what it is we're trying to accomplish. I want to be very clear what it is that we're trying to accomplish. Iran is a profound national security threat to the United States. The regime in Iran... For 47 years has been the number one state funder of terrorism in the world. For 47 years, Iran has provided 90% of the funding to Hamas, 90% of the funding to Hezbollah, 90% of the funding to the Houthis. They have killed to date nearly 1,000 Americans. The Ayatollah, when he was still alive, would lead mobs chanting. death to America. The Ayatollah twice hired hitmen to try to murder President Donald Trump. The president on Saturday made the decision to go in, to go in with overwhelming force, and to take out the Ayatollah to take out this regime. What's the objective? Let me be very clear. The objective is regime collapse. It is taking this government out. The Ayatollah was eliminated the first day. Much of his National Security Council, the top leadership, was eliminated the first day. They were meeting together. Israel took them out with a targeted bombing, and they're gone. Moving forward, our objectives likewise are taking out Iran's short-range and medium-range missiles and their drone capacity. Now, right now, Iran, we just had a very lengthy classified briefing this week. So I heard from the senior administration officials on all of these issues. Iran has been producing roughly 100 missiles a month. And one of the reasons that the administration acted now is you look, so today we have six.

U.S. servicemen and women who've been killed. If we had delayed, Iran was building so many missiles, Iran was building so many drones, that an attack at a later date would have likely resulted in substantially more U.S. casualties. Yeah. And I think a lot of people didn't understand how close they were to actually doing that. Yeah. Listen, Iran in the course of the nuclear negotiations had told our negotiators that they had uranium and rich uranium sufficient to produce 11 nuclear bombs. And their intention, I believe, was to develop nuclear weapons. And to be on, look, they wanted nuclear weapons. I think if they had had nuclear weapons, they would have used nuclear weapons. The risk was unacceptable. that the Ayatollah, when the guy routinely screams death to America, if there's one principle of geopolitics, it's when someone tells you they want to kill you, believe them. Yeah. The Ayatollah. And the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, by the way, his predecessor was the Ayatollah Komani. Their names are really similar. They're different dudes. They're both theocratic lunatics who hated American. And they both have killed vast numbers of Americans. They have been waging war against us for 47 years. And... As you know, I spent virtually the entire day on Friday right before this war launched with President Trump. I was on Air Force One with him. I was in The Beast riding one-on-one with him. And we spent most of that time talking about Iran. It was right before he issued the go order. And I was urging him. I said, this regime has never been more fragile, never been more vulnerable. Do not let this opportunity pass. Take them out now because there is very little, if anything, we can do in the global stage that will improve U.S. national security more taking out the Iranian regime. This will make Americans safer. Donald Trump agreed and he acted. There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after. Walking into the Garden of Gassimony is one of them. Standing at the Jim Jordan River where Jesus was baptized is another. Watching the sun rise over Jerusalem, gold light spilling across the stones that have witnessed the entire story of faith is something you never forget. Israel isn't a destination. It's a revelation where every site you've studied. Every scripture you've memorized, every sermon that ever moved you suddenly has an address, a landscape, a heartbeat. This is the trip that changes not just how you see the Holy Land, but how you see everything. I am, Israel. Come experience a journey your faith was literally made for. Start planning your trip today. Follow, Visit Israel on social media. That's Visit Israel on Facebook and Instagram.

Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving healthcare, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. The future won't wait, and neither should you. That's why American Public University offers master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality, and flexible so you keep moving forward. With career-relevant programs in business, health care, education, IT, and more, you can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University, made for what's next. Learn more at APU.apus.edu. Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat, emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan, $15 dollars a month a month. Even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, $1,000 per month plan required $50 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Saturday, July 25th. I know I will be the best wealth away in the world. An undefeated phenom. That man is a rising star. And a frightening force. What a win for Shemiel Musayyat. Ascend on the nation's capital to fight for gold. Thad, the silverback gene. Silverback nation makes some noise. Versus Shemil Musayev. Oh, it's over! for the pfl welterweight world title saturday july 25th and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN Senator, I want to get back into what we're talking about with Iran a moment ago. The objective question has been a really important one and an important response. There are a lot of conservatives that are worried about getting into a never-ending war. There's a lot of people that will never forget my generation of that, you know, evidence that was put before the U.N. about why we should go into Iraq, and we found out that intelligence was, well, basically crap. And there's people that worry that we're going to get into another situation like that. worried about that. I think the president's been very clear about his objective here. And I want you to talk more about it because I think there's a lot of people that have those questions for good reason. The objective is very simple. To collapse this regime. to take this regime out of power. Now, I will say the Trump administration has been a little bit cautious in articulating that. And I think the reason is they are reluctant to say the words regime change. And you just highlighted why? Because regime change brings back the Iraq war, brings back George W. Bush and a lot of bad experiences. Now, let me be clear. I think the Iraq war was a mistake. I've been very clear. I've been on the record for that.

for more than a decade that the Iraq war was a mistake. That being said, the Iraq war was a mistake because we went in Saddam Hussein, who was an evil dictator, was murdering his own people. He was killing terrorists. We came in, we toppled Saddam Hussein. The terrorists took over. They began killing Americans. It made America less safe. By the way, we did the same thing in Libya. Gaddafi was again an evil tyrant. He was murdering his own citizens. He was killing terrorists. We came in and toppled him. The terrorists took over and began killing Americans. I don't believe we should do something that results in more Americans being at risk. This is a qualitatively different situation. The Ayatollah and the Mullahs. have effectively declared war on the United States. They have been waging more actively killing Americans for 47 years. They have been funding terrorists killing Americans for 47 years. And so removing radical, theocratic, homicidal and genocidal maniacs from power. makes America substantially safer. That's what the administration is doing. They haven't necessarily articulated that the objective is regime collapse. What they've talked about is they've said, we want to take out the short-range missiles, the medium-range missiles, the drones, the drone manufacturing capacity, the missile manufacturing capacity. All of that is right. Look, there are lots of countries on earth that have short range and medium range missiles. France has short range and medium range missiles. We're not bombing France right now. Why? Because France is not led by theocratic lunatics who want to murder us. The reason we're acting against Iran is the government, the Ayatollah, who's no longer with us. Thank you. And I'm very glad he went to meet his 72 virgins. Amen to that. I'm sure he is deeply dismayed when he discovers that all 72 of his virgins are Nick Fuentes. I'm sure that is not what he anticipated. But the reason we are acting is because the leadership of this country has been trying to and has been, in fact, killing Americans. And I want you to listen to President Trump when he talks about Number one, I want you to listen to President Trump when he talks about the successes we've had. Give a listen. And before we begin, I think I will say a few words about what's going on with respect to our operation in the country of Iran. The United States military, together with the wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule. and at levels that people have never seen before, actually. We're destroying more of Iran's missiles and drone capability every single hour, knocking them out like nobody thought was possible. As soon as they set off a missile within four minutes, the launcher gets hit. They don't know what's happening. But we have the greatest military anywhere in the world. Their Navy is gone.

24 ships in three days. That's a lot of ships. Their anti-aircraft weapons are gone. So they have no air force. They have no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone. The communications are gone. Missiles are gone. Launches are gone. About 60% and 64% respectively. Other than that, they're doing quite well. I said, what's left? But they're tough, and they want to fight. And they're calling, they're saying, how do we make a deal? I said, you're being a little bit late, and we want to fight now more than they do. We've had 47 years, depending on the way you counted, but 47 years of... horror with this group. And, you know, when you see somebody walking down the street without their legs, without the arms, whose faces so badly affected and hurt, it mostly came from 95 percent, Soleimani and Iran. And we other presidents lived with it. I didn't live with it. And so. Our people are doing a great job. Again, the greatest military anyone's seen. Senator, I love that he just is so proud of our military, but let's go back to the oil part as well, which is really important. So one of the critical pieces of this that many people don't realize is that between going after Maduro and Venezuela and going after Iran, in addition to taking out two very serious enemies of America, President Trump is also taking a serious step against China because both Venezuela and Iran have been sending vast amounts of oil to China. What percent of Iran's oil exports do you think have historically gone to China? I'm going to guess it's a significant amount because they definitely need them as an ally. No, that was kind of a weasley answer, but let me give you the more precise answer. That would be 87.2% of Iran's oil export have gone to China. What percent of Venezuela's do you think went? It's got to be, let's say, 60% plus? That's actually pretty good, 55.1%. So more than half of Venezuela's and nearly 90% of Iran's have gone to China. And so the effect of taking both of these leaders out has been not only to reduce the threats to America, but it has done a serious blow to China and their energy sources. That makes a big difference for America. I want to be honest with you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple of years ago, I made the choice to partner with an amazing organization called Compassion International. Why? Because I wanted to sponsor a child in need. It was a nice idea, sure, but I had no idea just how much that simple act would change my life as well. I sponsored Nadia.

And got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes. Going from starving literally alone on the streets to getting the health care and education, she needs to reach her God-given full potential. I got to be a part of that change. And the light of that compassion not only illuminates in her. It illuminates now in me. That is the power of compassion. The light of Christ shines on all of us. Feel it for yourself and change literally a child's life. Change the world and you also change yourself. You can sponsor a child today. Visit compassion.com. That's compassion.com. Senator, there was a shakeup. You don't want to ever be the first one to be a cabinet secretary to get the boot, but it was pretty clear. Kristi Noem got the boot this week. One of your colleagues is going to take over at Department of Homeland Security. Markwayne Mullin, I want to get your take on all of that. Well, the president announced this week that he was removing Kristi Noem from Secretary of DHS and replacing her with Markwayne Mullin. I have to say this was not much of a surprise to anyone watching closely. Kristi Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. I was part of that hearing. I questioned her on it. the questioning was bumpy and and she got the Democrats of course went after her hard but a number of Republicans went after her hard as well and I have to say one of those that that was the most effective was was my my friend and colleague from Louisiana John Robert F. Kennedy Jr. John has been on this podcast and he's someone who's a good friend of mine I want to play John Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cross-examination of Kristi Noem because this proved very consequential cross-examination. Give a listen. How do you square that concern for waste, which I share, with the fact that you have spent $220 million? running television advertisements that feature you prominently? Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from, with putting commercials out that told them that if they were in this country illegally, that they needed to leave, or we would detain them and remove them, and they'd not get the chance to come back to America the right way. That has been extremely effective. to run these advertisements. Is that right? We had that conversation, yes, before I was put in this position and sworn in and confirmed and since then as well. Okay. Did you bid out those service contracts? Yes, they did. They went out to a competitive bid, and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials. And the people that you ended up picking...

were people who had formerly done your political work back in South Dakota. Is that right? No, that's not correct, sir. I think it is. No, it's not, sir. The individuals who, I believe the careers who they chose were two different media firms. There's been conversation about their subcontractors, but we have no legal authority to look into subcontractors on work like that. Okay. And you're saying that... You're testifying that President Trump approved this ahead of time. Is that my understanding? We had conversations about making sure that we were telling people. No, ma'am. I'm asking you. Sorry to interrupt. But the president approved ahead of time, you spending $220 million. running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently. Yes, sir, we went through the legal processes. Did it correct? Did the president know you're going to do this? Yes. He did? Yes. Okay. And one thing, Senator, I think, would be helpful to know is how effective that communications has been. Well, they were effective in your name recognition. I mean, I personally just... I mean, to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot. And I'm not saying you're not telling the truth. It's just hard for me to believe, you know. And the president, as I do that you said, Mr. President, here's some ads I've cut, and I'm going to spend $220 million running them, that he would have agreed to that. I don't think Russ Vought. at OMB would have agreed to that. It's something we have to defend. I'm on the Appropriations Committee. I mean, my research shows that you did not bid them out. In fact, one of the people you picked the strategy group, I'm sorry, Safe America Media was a company formed 11 days before. You picked them and that the strategy group got most of the money and the head of that is married to your former spokesperson. I'm, I'm, look, we all have friends who are qualified. I'm not quibbling with that. I'm just, it troubles me. Quarter, a fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money. When we're scratching for every penny and we're fighting over rescission packages. I just can't agree with, Madam Secretary. Are you still running those ads? Senator, I did not have anything to do with picking those contractors. I know politicals at the Department of Homeland Security did. I understand. Are you still running those ads? Are you still running those ads? I think the ads are due to end here in March, I think within a week or two. I'm not sure of the update.

The one that is running is focusing on angel families. Have you seen that? It is the one that's talking about this is our why. This is why we work every day is for the angel families and their victims. Senator, it was not a good showing there for her. And, you know, your colleague there, Senator Robert F. Kennedy Jr., asking questions, I think a lot of Americans care about. The president's also come out saying she did not run this by him and the amount of money being spent either. That also didn't work well for her either. Well, and that's something that... that John Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pointed out, he said in the aftermath, he said that President Trump was, quote, mad as a murder hornet that Kristi Noem claimed he approved the $200 million ads contract. And listen, John is a good friend of mine. I talked to him today on the Senate floor, and I just, the number of nominees that his cross-examinations have taken out is quite remarkable. And I think it was John Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cross-examination that was pivotal. in the decision to shift from Chris Christie. Look, I like Christy personally. I had dinner with her just a few weeks ago. And I do think the results of the Department of Homeland Security in terms of securing the border have been very effective. And so that is beneficial. I think John Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s line of questioning here was fair. And it was... It was incredibly effective. I also think, and we've talked about this on the podcast before, that the messaging from the administration, particularly following the shooting of two different Americans in Minneapolis, that the messaging was wrong. And it did real damage. That I think the messaging was... Look, anytime an American citizen is killed in a confrontation with law enforcement, it's a tragedy. And we should see our officials acknowledging it's a tragedy. We should see our officials saying, listen, if there's an officer involved shooting, there's going to be an investigation where we're going to examine what happened and determine what exactly caused it. And instead, the rhetoric immediately leaped to... really aggressive rhetoric calling both of the individuals using language like terrorists and seeking mass murder and and and that was that was hard to square with the facts of what occurred I think that rhetoric

did damage to the administration, and I think it was one of the things that contributed to the decision of the president to shift from Chris Christie Dome as the leader of Homeland Security. Markwayne Mullin, Markwayne Mullin, I've served with him in the Senate. He's a good guy. He's someone the president trusts. I think he will be confirmed. I think it will be a party line vote in the Senate. We may get John Fetterman. but I would be surprised if any other Democrat votes for him. So my prediction is the vote on Markwayne Mullin will be 54 to 46, that 46 Democrats will vote now. And I think Markwayne Mullin, look, there are advantages to being an experienced elected official. He was a House member. He's been a senator. I'm hopeful that he will bring a level of professionalism and effectiveness. The results of DHS have been quite strong. But I do think the testimony that Secretary Kristi Noem gave. It was not an easy day for her, and I think John Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Thom Tillis also lit into her really hard, but I think the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cross-examination was more significant. There's been quite a bit of reporting that the president was unhappy that she said that he knew about the ad she had run, and I don't have independent knowledge of that, but I don't have reason to doubt that reporting. Yeah. And so, look. We need to secure our border. We've had an incredible success rate doing so so far, and I'm hopeful that Markwayne Mullin coming in will continue with that success and continue to keep our family safe. It was election day on Tuesday in America. It was a very big election day in Texas. There was certainly some upsets on the House side. There's a lot of people around the country watching Dan Crenshaw's race. He lost that race to someone that you endorsed. That was a big one that I was on national TV talking about over and over again. And then there's obviously the Senate race that's happening as well. That's now gone into a runoff between two people that you know well. your colleague in the Senate and also Ken Paxton. So we're going to have to wait and see how that plays out as well. But then there's also the Democrat running against whoever wins that runoff. And this is a guy that Democrats are really excited about. He's talented. He's radical. He's extreme. But he comes across like a very moderate guy if you listen to him today. Well, we had primary day in Texas this week, and it was highly consequential. Number one, there were a number of House candidates who I endorsed, who prevailed. We had won Jessica Steinman, who was my former regional director in Houston. She won decisively the Republican primary. She is going to be, in all likelihood, the next Republican Congress member from Houston.

We had another Chris Gober, who's been my lawyer for 10 years. He won his primary decisively. He's going to be a new Republican congressman from central Texas. We had another John Bonk, who I endorsed, who is a close friend. He is the son-in-law of one of my closest friends in the world. who has been my national finance chairman for years. By the way, that was a fun night. Just let's take a moment, talk about how fun that was. So you were obviously in D.C., but I went to the victory party, and it's fun to see someone that you and I know personally and the smile on your dear friend Willie's face. And even Heidi was there as well, your wife. It was really a cool evening to see someone work hard and win. I know you had to have a really, that had to feel personal to you. So Willie, who's John Bonk's father-in-law, is one of my two or three closest friends on planet Earth. And I love him. He's a good man. He's a principled man. He's a conservative. He's a godly man. He's someone who, frankly, I rely on for advice, for spiritual counseling. We pray together. We talk together. And John... John is very likely to win. He did not clear 50%, so unfortunately there's going to be a runoff, but I think he's going to prevail. I actually did a rally for him just a week ago. In the middle of the rally, while it had several hundred people there rallying for him, I got the chance to announce from the stage while I was up there that President Trump had endorsed him. That was a very cool moment. We knew it was likely to come. I thought there was a chance that Trump would call on the cell phone. If he had called, I would have put the cell phone up to the microphone and let him announce it to the whole crowd. Instead, I got to announce and the crowd went nuts. That was really gratifying to have three people who are... two who are members of my team and have been employees and another who's a very close friend to see three new likely members of Congress coming. That was a big deal. We also had Don Huffeins, who I endorsed for Comptroller in a statewide position in Texas that won decisively. That was a big victory. And then you noted Dan Crenshaw. Look, in my 14 years in the Senate, I almost never endorse against Republican incumbents. Yeah. There's a reason. If you're serving in the Senate, if you're working in Congress, if you're endorsing against your colleagues, it makes it very hard to get anything done. Like that makes lifelong enemies. And so you just have to be really reluctant to do so. I endorse in open races, but I almost never endorse in races against Republican incumbents. I've made two exceptions in 14 years. The first was Liz Cheney.

because Liz Cheney lost her mind and became a radical leftist who hated President Trump. And so I endorsed her opponent, Harriet Hageman, who beat her and is getting ready to be the new senator from Wyoming now. And then I did it again for Dan Crenshaw, for much the same reason, because he had really lost his way. He had gotten. Yeah. angry with his constituents. There were multiple instances in which he yelled. There was one instance where he yelled at a 14-year-old girl and just got angry. In this race, there's a very good friend of mine who's been a longtime supporter and close friend who was supporting Dan Sullivan opponent. and Dan decided to just light him up. This is a banker, a private citizen in Texas, and Dan decided to go after him personally. And I've got to say, that pissed me off. He's a close friend of mine, and I didn't like Dan just attacking him directly. And so I endorsed his opponent, Steve Toe. Steve Toefe has been a state legislator for a number of years. He's a very strong conservative. And it ended up that Steve Toth won, and one decisively won by a big margin, and that was a little bit of a cannon shot. You know, I will say Dan also, oh, a couple of months ago, we were on a plane landing in D.C. and in the jetway walking off, Dan began screaming and cursing at me. And it was really a little unhinged, and he was like, why are you coming after me? And I was like, well, I'm not. And he was mad that supporters of mine were supporting his opponents. And look, I don't control what my supporters do. They're individuals who have free choice. But he was literally screaming and cursing at me. And I told him at the time, I said, Dan, if I come after you, I promise you. You'll know it. Like it will not be subtle. It will not be hidden. You will have full awareness of it. And but I told him afterwards, I said, listen, in 14 years in the Senate, you were the only House member who's ever screamed and cursed at me on an airplane, and that includes all the Democrats. And so it just pushed me beyond the edge, and the voters of Texas decided that he was not reflecting their conservative values. And so they've elected Steve Toth will be a great member of Congress, he'll be a strong conservative. Now, we've got the Senate race. The Senate race, there is a runoff between John Cornyn, my colleague right now, and Ken Paxton, the Attorney General. Both of them I know very well. Both of them are friends of mine. Both of them I've worked together.

closely with for years. I've endorsed both of them in the past. I've campaigned with both of them in the past. And I've got to say this primary is better and nasty. Look, it is to date the most expensive primary in American history. Yeah. And John and Ken really dislike each other. And so it is going to be brutal. It is going to be ugly. I don't know how it's going to resolve. President Trump tweeted out this week that he is going to make an endorsement. He is not yet, so we'll see what the president decides to do on this. But I will say at the same time, the Democrats nominated a guy named James Talarico who's a state rep. And this guy is dangerous. He's an ordained minister. He's a radical. He's a hardcore leftist and will in subsequent podcast break down just how radical and extreme his record is. But what makes him dangerous is he sounds reasonable. He masks his radicalism. in reasonable sounding, soft language. He masks it in the language of a pastor. It's incredibly deceptive and dishonest, but that makes it dangerous. And so we've got a real fight in Texas, and I don't know what the result of be. Yeah, we're going to cover it all. I can promise you that. Don't forget down with Verdict with Ted Cruz, wherever you get your podcast. And the senator, I will see you back here on this radio station next week as well. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving healthcare, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage.

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