In this riveting episode, we explore the complexities of modern geopolitics through a heated debate between two prominent figures: Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz. Their insightful discussion traverses the intricate political landscape surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions and America’s potential military responses. We delve into historical contexts and contemporary analysis, aiming to illuminate the multifaceted nature of these global threats. Join us as we dissect their arguments and consider the broader implications of U.S. foreign policy strategies.
I hope her sister kept her big mouth shut. Nancy Wilson of Heart, so talented, so great, such a great band. And not long ago, Mike said, oh, it’s really embarrassing to be an American right now. And I’ll never be a shut up and sing or shut up and play person. Because if I say it about Heart, it means I’ve got to say it about Ted Nugent. Yeah. Say what you want. Do what you want. Do what you want. So welcome, my friend. How are you? Busy times in our industry.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, they really are. And there’s a lot of tension. There’s a lot of concern about what’s next in this war. You know, our friend and colleague Hugh Hewitt writes over at Fox News that the most important decision of President Trump’s life is before him. And, of course, I had a friend who rather cynically said, boy, your buddy Hugh and the neocons are pretty excited about dropping bombs on Iran, aren’t they? And, you know, I get that take. It’s best exemplified in the two-hour interview that Tucker gave to Ted Cruz. And I’m going to tell you right now, right flat out, let me just tell you right now, Everybody inevitably will take sides. Oh, Tucker was a jerk. Oh, Ted Cruz was unprepared. Oh, Ted was great and he bested Tucker. Put that aside for a minute. It’s a master class in two incredibly smart men laying out positions for what is a complicated issue. I know that we got the tease of the minute of, you know, the stupid gotcha question and all that. But the two hours, Mark, it’s great. It’s fantastic. In fact, let me give you a little mention. Let me share with you one of the I’m paraphrasing here. But at one point, Senator Cruz was clearly frustrated. And he said, Tucker, would you stop with the snark? Would you just knock off the snark? It’s kind of my point. Well, you want to know what Tucker said? He said, you’re absolutely right. It’s a quirk of mine. I do it too much. I’m working on doing it less. And I got to do better at it. And I’m like, that’s the kind of raw, you know, passion that they both brought to the table. And, you know, and look, Senator Cruz was brilliant. I mean, you know, you’re never going to best Ted Cruz in a debate. But you got but you’re also it’s really hard to push back against Tucker’s interviewing technique because he’s very good at it, too. And there is there is resistance within our community. Our tribe, there are people who are worried about us taking the ball off illegal immigration. Fair or not? Okay, I get that. I think we can do two things at once. I do too.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wait, wait, pause on that. And I get this all. We will get calls. You will get calls. I will get calls. Something big will happen in the news. Something. Not as big as a raging war, but some big thing will happen. Invariably, I’ll get 16 calls and 43 texts. Yeah, Mark. I think the reason this is happening is so that we won’t pay attention to this over here. 15 things can, especially these days, haven’t we learned that 25 things can happen at once? There’s nothing about the Iran-Israel conflict that means we’ve stopped paying attention to the border.
SPEAKER 04 :
I agree with Hugh and with Senator Cruz and with many others who believe that if President Trump orders our military to destroy the most hardened targets in Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, he’s going to end a war that began since, you know, the first Ayatollah Khomeini. You know, we’re going back to 1979. Okay, pause on that.
SPEAKER 03 :
I hope, because I, too, and I don’t think we’re not in a different place on the spectrum, I don’t think. We begin with, and it’s not through any type of hero worship or cult-like thing, my base setting, my default setting is trust of Trump. He has more information than either you or I have, and his instincts, I think, are sound and good, and his heart and his mind are solid. That said… If it’s an American crew and an American bomber that drops that bunker buster on Fordow and takes out that nuclear site, there’s all kinds of good things about that, all kinds of reasons to do that, 100%. Two things that I don’t know happen, that I don’t know. Number one, the regime just falls, or the Iranian regime all of a sudden goes, oh, we’re so sorry, we’ll be better now. don’t know that that happens. And the other thing that I also don’t know that may be a terrible thing that might happen is what’s left of the Iranian war machine starts lobbing missiles at every American installation they can find. So be careful what you wish for. That’s not me saying don’t do it. It’s me saying it might not be as tidy as some people think.
SPEAKER 04 :
well it’s it’s fair and it also confirms the complicated nature of all of this you know you talk about a regime change and toppling the current the mullahs who’s to say that the ones who replace them aren’t going to be worse you know you just don’t happen in afghanistan happen in libya that’s right and best case scenario is that the people of iran who want a democracy will rise up, you know, and they’ll be, supposedly there’s some Iranian, you know, leader living in Virginia right now that’s willing to go back. I think it’s the Shah’s grandson. Oh, Reza Pahlavi, yep. You know, so, I mean, but look, what we can’t afford and what I believe in, and I’m with you, my default is trust Trump. He’s been saying for years, probably 20 years, he said, I’ve been saying this for 20 years, we cannot allow Iran to get their hands on a nuke. Look what they’re doing now. They just bombed a hospital in Israel. Now, look what Israel’s doing. They’re bombing military targets. Israel’s going after nuclear sites and terrorist military sites. They’re not going out. They’re not trying to kill civilians. This is what Iran is committed to, wiping Israel out and wiping us out. You know, so in a way, this is our war and we can pretend it’s not. But I also don’t want to pretend that the counterpoint of you, the other view is not existent. I don’t. And there is a real knee jerk inclination for people to say, oh, there’s no division. Yes, there is. Yes, there is. Don’t say that. Tucker Carlson, whatever you think of him, Tucker Carlson has millions and millions of supporters.
SPEAKER 03 :
No doubt. And there are shades along this spectrum of people who are going, okay, you might think that’s a great idea. I don’t know how great it is. But the notion of MAGA world split in two irreparably is wildly overstated and just wishful thinking on some parts. Did you hear the gentleman I talked to leading up to our segment? Sorry, I missed it. There was something Tucker-esque about it in the following way. And a wonderful gentleman. He can call me back any time. Some pretty sound, solid points to make. But the people on the other side, just as Tucker thinks you’re stupid if you disagree.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Maria, first off, thank you for having me here. It’s always nice to answer the listeners’ questions.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
or you don’t care about the details of regime change. By the way, you’re so 100% right. Listen to the two hours. Tucker is so smart and so great. Good Tucker comes out way more than jerk Tucker. It’s really, really important. But the very title of his post was, Ted Cruz wants regime change in Iran and doesn’t care about the details. That kind of condescension and snark, like you said, is just not helpful. The gentleman I spoke to, very thoughtful, said that to be all in for, whatever that even means, to be really boldly in support of Israel, or for Christians to consider Israel to be religiously significant, that that constitutes Israel worship. I was like, dude, don’t do that. That is so condescending, you know?
SPEAKER 04 :
This was a huge chunk of the Tucker Cruz showdown. Ted Cruz said something that I’ve said for many years, and I think you have too. Right from the Bible, those who bless Israel, I will bless. Those who curse Israel, I will curse. Well, Senator Cruz invoked that, and Tucker just bagged all over that.
SPEAKER 03 :
And Tucker’s a person of faith. Tucker’s not some agnostic.
SPEAKER 04 :
And then that got legs on social media where people were making fun of Senator Cruz. An actual senator is quoting the Bible to defend foreign policy? But see, isn’t that interesting, though? You and I are like, well, duh. It’s true. And we do have a spiritual alliance with Israel. And Tucker doesn’t seem to see that at all. I mean, honest to goodness, that was probably five minutes, riveting minutes about whether or not it’s appropriate for a U.S. senator to invoke a biblical admonition about our support of Israel. And Tucker just could not believe it. He said, well, what do you mean? Modern day Israel? Benjamin Netanyahu? You think the Bible’s talking about today’s military in Israel? We’re talking about the state of Israel.
SPEAKER 03 :
So what do we mean? Let’s take 60 seconds on what we mean by that in 2025. I’m never going to use something biblical to say that that is the one sole beacon for some foreign policy constitutional strategic thing I want to do now. But it helps to inform the importance of that country to me, to America, to our. And I know that we’re a country of many, many different religious faiths. So it’s not like that’s the one thing, the guiding beacon, nor does it mean that anything Israel does is magically right and proper and good. Not at all. It just means that against this backdrop, that in a Judeo-Christian rooted country, there is significance here that goes beyond the global strategies of the moment.
SPEAKER 04 :
We have many, many reasons to defend and stand with Israel. And that’s one of them. I think it’s one of the most important ones, frankly. But I don’t want to ignore God. Tucker wants to dismiss God.
SPEAKER 03 :
You knock yourself out. Can you do something? You literally have two minutes. It might take all two minutes for you to do it. And you’ve got to do it because I said I was going to make you do it. Explain the Karen Reid trial to me. Who’s this woman? Why do I care? Why does it lead national newscasts?
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s a fascinating story. I can give you 30 seconds because I also want to tell you about something really important about what’s going on in New York right now with the protests. Karen Reid, this is a woman who was charged with murdering her Boston police boyfriend one wintry night a few years ago. It was a blizzard. They’re all out drunk. She’s drunk. He’s drunk. They’re all drunk. There’s a bunch of cops involved. The accusation is that his fellow officers had some nefarious role to play. He was found dead in the snow. There’s a fascinating documentary about it on HBO. I think it’s called Man in the Snow. She was found not guilty yesterday. And what was crazy was in the courtroom where they had cameras when they read the not guilty verdict, you could hear the roar of the crowd outside.
SPEAKER 03 :
She had a huge… gathering of supporters she has why the supporters what was the which is it right that she was acquitted and why was the trial why was the prosecution of her flawed and again why was the it’s a local crime story a salty and you know bizarre i know it’s one of those it’s one of those fascinating stories it’s a jean benet kind of a whodunit kind of a mystery and you don’t queen
SPEAKER 04 :
kid and it’s weird well this is cops this is corruption allegedly of the cops these are cops that were covering up for one of their own they were railroading her allegedly uh you know they were planning evidence a whole thing it’s it’s pretty fascinating i knew true crime mike would have the answer oh i know but but true crime mike is not decided on her guilt or innocence so i gotta give it so i really it’s one of those and i hate those kind of things i normally like to say yeah you did it No, you didn’t do it. I don’t know.
SPEAKER 03 :
We like to tie a bow around things in a tidy way. All right, protests in New York. Go, the people with the Iranian flag wrapped around them in Times Square. A massive crowd with the Iranian flag. What are they thinking?
SPEAKER 04 :
Mark, here we go. Well, there we go again. I mean, it’s official. No matter how evil or how diabolical Hamas is. Iran, the left is going to celebrate it. The American left. I mean, what’s next? Hitler and Satan? I mean, there’s no low for them. There is no low they won’t go, Mark. The Iranian flag. What do you suppose that’s about?
SPEAKER 03 :
Does it look like just New York randos? I mean, it’s not like Rashida Tlaib was out there, you know, emceeing the thing, was it?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, what I know is AOC is celebrating this Democrat socialist who might become the next mayor. And Mark, just mark it down. That happens. I ain’t ever going back to New York.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because this is the guy who says, I’m going to freeze your rent. I will set up, what did you say? I’m going to set up city funded…
SPEAKER 04 :
And already John Katsimatidis, who owns Gristiti’s, said, if that happens, we’re out.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’ll shut down all the Gristitis. Grocery stores. Exactly right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Grocery stores.
SPEAKER 03 :
To regulate the prices.
SPEAKER 04 :
$30 minimum wage. $30 an hour. Social workers instead of police.
SPEAKER 03 :
Correct. Defund the police.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that’ll work. Show up with your comfort doll rather than a gun when somebody’s stabbing you to death. I mean, oh yeah, this guy’s not. But by the way, you want to know the option?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo. I know. He’s back. I mean, unbelievable. All right, well, I’ll be in New York today and tomorrow. Okay, wow. I’ll be there tomorrow and Monday, so pray for me. And we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead of us, but we’ll get through it all.
SPEAKER 03 :
Glad to be walking through them with you. Always so glad to do it every day. That’s our buddy Mike Gallagher. He is on as soon as we’re done, 10 o’clock right here on 660 AM. The answer. For full shows live and on demand, it’s Salem News Channel.
