'I fear we're headed into a dangerous chapter with Biden-Harris administration'
Israel Hayom
January 22, 2021
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) did not like what he saw on Capitol Hill on Jan.6, when hundreds of supporters for now-former President Donald Trump stormed the House of Representatives as a joint session of Congress was beginning the Electoral College vote count to formalize Joe Biden's victory in an attempt to overturn it.
"We saw a terrorist attack directed at the United States capitol," he told Israel Hayom in an exclusive interview. "The violence and the assault on the Capitol were despicable, and I believe every criminal who carried out that attack should be fully prosecuted and go to prison for a long time."
The interview with Cruz took place a few days before Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
Trump boycotted the inauguration – something that last happened in 1869 – and departed Washington on Wednesday morning, perhaps because he was the first president in 28 years not to be elected for a second term in office.
Curz, for his part, is now focusing on how to cement his position as the head of the opposition to the Biden administration, and he his unfazed by the fact that Trump continued to dominate the discourse in the Republican Party even post-presidency.
First elected to the Senate in 2012, Cruz has made a reputation form himself as a conservative legislator who defends the constitution even at a political cost, and as one who at times evokes harsh antagonism. He was, for example, lambasted for opposing President Barack Obama's healthcare reform in 2013, in a move that triggered a federal shutdown.
Cruz and Trump have locked horns in the past. In 2016, Cruz was vying in the Republican primaries and was one of the candidates who waged political attrition against Trump. The latter didn't pull any punches, often targeting Cruz's family, but as in all things politics, once Trump was elected president, the two were quick to reconcile.
Choosing to rise above the rivalry, Cruz became one of the closet people to Trump which, together with the fact that Trump has seemingly not had the final word, could be why he is reluctant to name Trump as the driving force behind the Capitol riots, not will he confirm future intentions to make another run in the Republican primaries.
Q: Four years down the road, will we see you running for president?
"That's a long way away. What I can tell you is that I am committed to fighting for the principles in which I believe. Fighting for a strong America, fighting for free market principles and the constitution, and to standing alongside our friends and allies, and most especially, the State of Israel."
Q: Do you think President Trump has hurt the Republican Party's chances four years from now?
"I think a great deal of positive policy results have been accomplished during the four years of the Trump presidency. We have seen historic tax cuts, reductions in job-killing regulations, and those together have produced an extraordinary economic boom."
"We have seen the most significant military rebuild since [Predident] Ronald Reagan, we have seen principled constitutionalist judges appointed to the federal courts, who will defend our fundamental rights, including free speech and religious liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms.
"On the foreign policy front, we have seen dramatic improvements from the eight years of the Obama-Biden presidency," he continued. "Our friends and allies did not trust us, and our enemies did not fear us. During the last four years, we have destroyed the ISIS caliphate, we have eliminated [Iranian Quds Force Commander] Gen. [Qassem] Soleimani, we have withdrawn from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal, and we have strengthened our relationship with our allies, and in particular with the State of Israel, such that our friendship is stronger than it has ever been before.
"Seminal policy issues, such as moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, helped transform Middle East geopolitics and led to the historic Abraham Accords. All of those policy victories I worked hand-in-hand with the president to achieve, and I am proud of the record we built together.
"Right now, Democrats in Washington and the media are engaged in an angry effort to try to destroy president Trump and to destroy every one of his supporters. That effort is petty, it is vindictive and it won't be successful.
Q: Do you think that calling the riots on Capitol Hill an insurrection was appropriate?
"We saw a terrorist attack directed at the United States Capitol. The violence and the assault on the Capitol were despicable, and I believe every criminal who carried out that attack should be fully prosecuted and go to prison for a long time," Cruz asserted.
But the backlash, he said, was disproportionate.
"What Democrats and the media are trying to do is blame the violent conduct of a limited number of criminals on the 74 million Americans who voted to re-elect President Trump. That is dishonest; it is cynical and it is not remotely credible."
"There is a stark difference between how Democrats conducted themselves and how principles leaders should be conducting themselves. This past summer we saw violent attacks, terrorist attacks, riots across America. We saw violent criminals murdering police officers and looting small business, firebombing police stations, and we saw Democratic politicians apologizing for and even celebrating these criminals.
"I believe violent criminals should be condemned, whether they are left-wing, right-wing or no-wing whatsoever."
Q: It has been argued that the rioters on Capitol Hill would have killed senators like you had they been able to. Did you think your lives were indeed in danger?
"It was clearly a dangerous situation. I don't know the full extent of the danger but I am grateful for the heroic Capitol Police and Secret Service and other law enforcement who stopped the attack.
"On January 6, the Senate debated creating an election committee to audit the claims of voter fraud and election misconduct. I continue to believe that would have been the right course of action in that it would have produced far greater trust and confidence in our election system and in the integrity of our democracy.
"Unfortunately, Senate Democrats voted in a straight party-line vote, demonstrated no concern for the deeply felt concern of tens of millions of Americans. And their actions on that day and subsequently have only served to tear Americans apart rather than bring us together."
Q: Would you say that the actual riots were a manifestation of the divisions between the Republicans or within the country?
"It was the action of violent criminals. In time we will no doubt learn the specific motives of each of those criminals but everyone should be united in condemning violence. The difference is that everyone is united in condemning this violence, but when the violence came from Antifa and BLM [Black Lives Matter], Democrats encouraged and celebrated [it]."
QAnon shaman Jacob Anthony Chansley, inside the Senate chamber during the Capitol riot
"There is a shameless double standard that is playing out. Under the constitution the distinction is clear. Everyone has a right to protest, everyone one has the right to peaceably assemble. Everyone has the right to speak out, whatever your political views. And I will defend anyone's exercise of their First Amendment right of free speech," Cruz asserted.
"What you don't have the right to do is engage in acts of violence, to assault or murder police officers, to terrorize your fellow citizens. And when you cross the line into violence, the reaction by law enforcement should be vigorous and immediate."
Q: If you say that they broke the law because they moved from legitimate protest to violent action, could you somehow trace that back to Trump's so-called incitement? Does he bear any responsibility?
"I think the president's language and rhetoric was reckless and irresponsible, and I wish he had not said what he said.
"That being said, the Democrats and the media are overreaching. This vindictive, impeachment action, combined with a social media purge by big tech of conservative voices is reminiscent of the final scene of every one of the Godfather movies. They are trying to settle their debts and eliminate their enemies.
"It is transparently political, it is not being honest with the American people, and I believe the people are smart enough to understand that the angry partisan politics being carried out by the Democrats is not good for our country.
"We are deeply divided, and we need to come together and unify. We can and should have vigorous debates on policies, but the angry emotional hatred, the rage, that today's Democrats are manifesting is not helping the nation."
Q: Do you think the Democratic Party has been taken over by the progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
"Unfortunately, the Democratic Party today is being driven by the extreme and angry Left," Cruz noted.
"The voices that are setting the agenda are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They are unapologetic socialists, they are advocating abolishing the police, packing the US Supreme Court, and ushering in a fundamental transformation of American society.
"I don't believe the voters want that. I don't believe that is consistent with the views and values of the American people. We have Joe Biden just this past week calling his political adversaries Nazis. The Nazi Party was a unique and utterly grotesque evil in the history of humanity, and when a modern-day politician resorts to calling his political opponents Nazis, it is indicative of a lack of intellectual or a moral foundation for the position they are advancing."
Q: Now that the Democrats are essentially in control of both chambers of Congress, what does that mean for Israel?
"I believe America will continue to stand alongside Israel. There is to be sure, an anti-Israel and an anti-Semitic far Left in the Democratic Party. And with Democratic majorities, that extreme faction will have greater influence.
"That being said, for eight years, I have endeavored to be the leading defender of Israel, in the United States Senate, and I intend to continue to do so. And I am hopeful that there will remain a significant bipartisan coalition to stand alongside Israel.
"I am reminded of a little over a year ago when several members of the extreme anti-Israel Left in the House made ugly anti-Semitic comments and the House of Representatives tried to find a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Speaker Pelosi tried to pass it. She discovered that the resolution could not pass in the Democratic conference, that the anti-Israel Left blocked it so instead the House passed a watered-down resolution condemning bigotry of all kinds, rather than clearly and specifically condemning anti-Semitism."
Q: Is Vice President Kamala Harris part of the far-Left?
"I think the greatest national security threat to Israel that will be posed by the Biden-Harris administration, will be their attempt to reestablish the disastrous Iran nuclear deal," he observed.
"Under President Obama, the signature so-called foreign policy achievement of his second term, was sending hundreds of billions of dollars to the Ayatollah [Ali] Kahmenei, who regularly chants 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel.'
"The Biden-Harris administration will set as their top foreign policy objectives, restoring that failed agreement. The single most important national security victory of the last four years, was pulling out that disastrous deal. There was a vigorous debate in the administration of whether to do so. Both the State Department and the Pentagon advocated staying in the deal.
"I argued vigorously multiple times that we should pull out of the deal, and President Trump agreed with me, and overruled his own defense department and state department withdrawing from the deal. That dramatically increased Israel's safety and security and dramatically increased America's safety and security. Not only that, the clarity and strength of America's position, standing unequivocally with the state of Israel, helped usher in the historic Abraham Accords.
"I fear we are headed into a dangerous chapter with the Biden-Harris administration, working actively to undermine the national security gains made in the last four years, and to reinvigorate the ayatollahs in Iran, which poses an existential threat to Israel."
Q: So you can draw a line from the Biden administration to an existential threat to Israel from Iran? Should Israel be worried?
"I think that is a fair assessment."
Q: Your new book on the Supreme Court, could it be relevant to the balance of power between the branches of government in Israel?
"I wrote a book called One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History. It traces the history of the court from the inside, telling war stories, of "landmark Supreme Court cases that I argued or helped litigate.
"I recount how so many of our fundamental rights, free speech, religious liberty, the right to keep and bear arms have been decided over and over again, by narrow five-four majorities. How we are one-vote away from losing our fundamental liberties.
"I was gratified to see the book become the number one bestseller in the country on Amazon and I believe it helps readers understand how precious our liberties are, how fragile they are, and the threats that could take them away."
2 comments:
Ted Cruz is an example of an American Zionist Christian who is more loyal to Israel than the united states. He is more concerned with the well being of Tel Aviv then Texas.
I don’t have a problem with it because he is very open and honest about it and does not pretend to be anything other than what he is, an Israeli firster Zionist Christian. I respect his honesty and hopes he moves there and runs on the likud ticket.
Anon, it seems that you have a problem with Israel.
Your problem may be solved by Biden-Harris when they rejoin Obama's treaty with Iran. Then in the not distant future the Ayatollahs will nuke Israel into oblivion.
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