BONUS: Trump Bombs Iran-Decisive Strike Obliterates Iran's Nuclear Weapons Capacity
35:58 Share

This is an iHeart Podcast. You know that feeling when you're about to score 30% off, but they want your number?

Ugh. Give them your Line 2 number instead. It's a second line on your phone, perfect for nabbing promo codes without inviting spam to your party. Sign up for every discount under the sun, then block the junk texts that follow. You get all the perks, but none of the spammy baggage. More codes, less chaos. Visit line2.com slash audio or download Line 2 in the App Store and get your shopping sidekick today. Because the only thing blowing up your phone should be good deals.

The Jeep brand has always stood for American freedom. And now we're standing with you with Employee Pricing Plus. Hurry into your Jeep brand dealer for details today and join the family. Jeep, there's only one. Offer valid on select 2024 and 2025 Jeep brand vehicles for non-FCA employees and retirees. $200 admin fee applies. Not all buyers will qualify. Restrictions apply. Does not apply to leases. End 63025. Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC.

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Senator, we got really not a lot to talk about today. It is America first. You got 60 days to figure out what you want to do. And after that, we don't play around. What a message to the world with what just happened in Iran. Well, this weekend was incredibly consequential. President Trump made the decision to

to take out Iran's nuclear capability. Israel had been bombing Iran for over a week, and yet there were certain facilities, particularly the Fordow facility under a mountain in Iran, that Israel lacked the capability to take out. And we talked about this at great length.

Tucker Carlson and I went round and round on this. Tucker did not want the United States to engage in this bombing. I believed that we should act decisively to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons that they could use to murder Americans. And this weekend, President Trump resolved the issue by ordering an incredibly successful attack, an incredibly

beautifully orchestrated attack that devastated Iran's nuclear capability with no casualties on our part. We're going to break it down. We're going to talk about what exactly happened, what the consequences are, and what to expect in the days and weeks coming up.

It truly was consequential, and it was one that I think made not only America safer, but the rest of the world. And we're going to break down how we got to this moment and what the president had to say about it as well in a second. I want to talk to you, though, about Patriot Mobile for a moment. You've heard me say their name for a long time. You've probably seen their commercials on TV. So why have you not made the switch? The most conservative cell phone provider, a Christian cell phone provider that there is, period. And

Make a difference with every call that you make, with every text you make, because Patriot Mobile is different. They actually take a portion of your bill every month at no extra charge to you, and they give back to conservative causes and organizations that support our First and our Second Amendment rights. They stand with the rights of unborn children, and they also do amazing work with our veterans,

our first responders, our wounded warriors, and that's just part of what Patriot Mobile's mission is. They are a company that say, if you're a conservative, spend your dollars with us and we fight for what we believe in. The other thing is the coverage you get. They are amazing. They are on all three major networks. What does that mean for you? You're going to get the exact same coverage you're used to or even upgrade your coverage. And many times they can save you real money every month on your cell phone bill.

What are you waiting for? It is so easy to switch cell phones in 2025. You can simply call Patriot Mobile's 100% U.S.-based team from your home, your office, and they'll have you activated in minutes. I know this because I've done it. And if you're locked into a contract, not a problem. Patriot Mobile's contract buyout program covers up to 50%.

$500 per device. You get to keep your same number, keep your same phone, or treat yourself to an upgrade. And back to the point, what are you waiting for? It's time to switch to Patriot Mobile today. Support faith, family, and freedom with every call and text you make. Don't wait, and I'm going to give you a free month of service. PatriotMobile.com slash Vine.

Or 972-PATRIOT is their number. 972-PATRIOT. You use the promo code VERDICT, you're going to get a free month of service. PatriotMobile.com slash VERDICT or 972-PATRIOT. So, Senator, let's just talk about the 60 days was the deadline. Clearly, Iran didn't want to work on a deal. And there was a consequence for those actions. And it was the fact that they were so close to being able to get a nuclear weapon.

Well, that's exactly right. President Trump gave Iran 60 days to reach a deal. The deal, the terms he set out, was that the deal must entail complete and total dismantlement of their nuclear weapons capability, every centrifuge being dismantled, being shut down.

Iran took the entire 60 days, and then on the 60th day, the Ayatollah announced nothing. We give you nothing. We will not dismantle a single centrifuge. We will build more centrifuges. We're going to keep enriching weapons, keep enriching uranium, and the entire purpose is to develop a nuclear weapon to be able to use it against Israel or more to the point against the United States of America. On the 61st day, Israel began the aerial assault.

with incredible precision. And I got to say, by the way, the precision of the Mossad in terms of identifying senior military officials in Iran, taking out one after the other after the other. You know, every person that got named the chief of staff of the IRGC, it seemed within hours they were taken out. Then they named a new chief of staff of the IRGC, and within hours he got taken out, one after the other after the other. I got to tell you, that call saying, hey, Ben, you're the new chief of staff of the IRGC, I think people stopped answering their phone calls

It was almost like they were Hezbollah terrorists getting paged. That was their reaction to it. However, as incredibly effective as Israel's attack was on the senior military leadership, as incredibly effective as Israel's bombing attack was on nuclear facilities,

There were certain facilities they did not have the equipment to take out, and chief among those was Fordow. Fordow was built into the base of a gigantic mountain, and it was built to withstand aerial assaults. So at midnight on Friday, the B-2 strike package left the continental United States. Part of the package went east, the other part went west as a decoy.

The main strike package was comprised of seven B-2 bombers, which flew for 18 hours into the target area. Those seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs. Each of those bombs weighs 30,000 pounds. By the way, this is the first battle use of these bombs in history. In addition to that, 75 precision guided weapons were used during the operation.

More than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in the mission, including B-2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals.

This attack was a spectacular success. We had no American casualties. The Iranians did not know it was coming. And suddenly the crown jewel of their nuclear weapon operation was destroyed, was devastated, was on fire.

Let me start by saying congratulations to the incredible airmen who led this attack, the fighting servicemen and women who risked their lives. This was a dangerous combat operation and who carried it out with absolute precision. But I also want to praise President Trump.

for having the strength of resolve to say, we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and we will do whatever it takes to stop it. He was exactly right. I stand with President Trump. And tonight we are saluting our brave servicemen and women and the commander in chief who sent them out to keep America safe.

I want to ask you a question, and we're going to go backwards and talk more, obviously, about this attack and how important it is. But there is a new headline and a real concern that has come up, and that is about, okay, how will Iran retaliate, Senator? And one of the big concerns that's really been brought up, it's being written about right now, I'm seeing articles pop left and right on this, is...

is the possibility of Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. You and I have been talking about this now, unfortunately, for years, that the wide-open southern border was allowing for people on the terrorist watch list to get into this country. And the numbers are also, I think, shocking numbers.

of how many Iranians came across our southern border that we just, or the Biden administration, I should say, just let them into this country and let them walk freely and we just let them go. And that is something that every American should be really concerned about right now. Yeah, absolutely. It is a very dangerous time. And understand, I am not remotely Pollyannish about the threats we are facing.

You know, you and I talked in the last podcast about the interview I did with Tucker Carlson where he got all agitated and said, well, it could be dangerous if we attack Iran that all sorts of bad things could happen. I don't deny that. Yes, it is very, very dangerous right now. I just think it is more dangerous.

to have a theocratic lunatic like the Ayatollah who chants death to America and death to Israel, who calls Israel the little Satan and calls America the great Satan, to let a lunatic like that have nuclear weapons which could kill millions of Americans. One of the things to understand, you know, a lot of the commentators, particularly those who don't want to see us stand up to Iran, they say this is all for Israel, this is all for Israel. Listen, I agree with President Trump. We should stand unshakably with Israel.

But understand what happened this weekend. This was not for Israel. This was for the United States of America. Why? Because the Ayatollah is actively developing an ICBM program. What does ICBM stand for? Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Ben, you don't need an ICBM to go from Iran to Israel. That's not intercontinental. Iran is right now firing hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel.

They need an ICBM for one purpose and one purpose only, which is to carry a nuclear warhead from Iran to the United States of America. They were actively developing the capability to detonate a nuclear bomb over a major American city, whether New York or Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles.

And the president acted decisively to say he's not willing to wake up one morning and discover that millions of Americans have been murdered because the commander in chief didn't act. This was a threat to America. Now, what are the potential escalations? They're really threefold. The most likely escalation

is a continued and even an escalated barrage on Israeli civilians. More ballistic missiles being launched into Israel targeting civilians. And I think there's a very real possibility that we will see potentially hundreds of Israelis killed

in the days ahead. That's Iran striking back. Israel and the United States both targeted military facilities, military leaders. Iran is not doing that. Iran is not targeting military facilities. They're deliberately targeting civilians. They're trying to kill little old ladies. They're trying to kill children. They're trying to kill babies. They're lobbing missiles into densely populated urban environments, hoping to kill as many Jews as possible. That's one escalation.

A second escalation that is a very real possibility is an attack on U.S. servicemen and women in the Middle East. And we have thousands of servicemen and women stationed in the Middle East. Now, I will tell you,

President Trump has made unequivocally clear to Iran, do not do this. If you kill American servicemen and women, the consequences will be massive. I spoke with President Trump just over a week ago, and I said, Mr. President, thank you. Thank you for making that clear. You are keeping our servicemen and women alive because Iran knows the consequences of attacking them and trying to kill them are massive. But that's a second escalation that is entirely possible. We could face that in the coming days.

The third escalation, Ben, is the one you referenced, which is terrorism here in the United States or abroad, but in the United States in particular. We had four years of open borders under Joe Biden. We had 12 million illegal immigrants flood into this country. And I think there is the very real risk of sleeper cells, of Iranian sleeper cells, carrying out an act of terrorism, whether targeted at

U.S. servicemen and women are targeted at civilians, targeted at a shopping mall, targeted at a sporting event, targeted at some place where they could commit a significant act of mass murder. I pray that that does not happen. I am confident the Trump administration is doing everything humanly possible to protect against it. But the odds of that have gone up. And so all of us need to, number one,

be praying, be praying for our friends in Israel, be praying for our servicemen and women in harm's way, and be praying here in America that we not face a major act of terrorism. But secondly, we need to be vigilant. We need to be watching because it is dangerous right now. But understand, even if some or all of these escalations happen,

These escalations are less dangerous than what the world would be like with the Ayatollah with a nuclear weapon that he could use to murder millions of Americans. The chances of that scenario had dropped dramatically this weekend because of President Trump's strong, decisive leadership. You know, you hear the numbers, by the way, and I just want everyone to hear what Tom

He was talking about the number of nationals of Iran released into the interior of this country. We don't know where they are. Here's what he said about it. So I pulled numbers this morning just from a CBP under Joe Biden. There was 1,272 nationals of Iran released.

the country between OFO and the Border Patrol. And you compare that to the Trump administration, zero, right? Zero releases. And right now, because of President Trump's leadership, we have the most secure border in my lifetime, most secure border in the history of this nation. So we have a secure border. So that was President Trump's big win on securing this nation. So we're not releasing people in this country, especially when those aliens aren't crossing that border undetected. But under Joe Biden, we had over 10 million people cross that border. But my biggest concern from day one

beyond the fentanyl, beyond the sex trafficking in women and children, where the two million known gotaways. Over two million people crossed that border. We don't know who they are, where they came from, because they got away because border patrol was so overwhelmed with the humanitarian crisis that Biden created that over two million people crossed the border and got away. That is my biggest concern, and that's what created the biggest national security vulnerability this country's ever seen. You listen to the way he describes this, Senator, and he's talking about, look,

Iran wanting to hurt us and the possibility of sleeper cells here directly is a border security issue.

And so this brings two of the biggest reasons why so many people listen to show voted for Donald Trump, why you advocate and supported him and voted for him as well. And I did, too. And it seems like, look, Iran is in essence been waging a slow war on the U.S. and our allies. The Biden administration was asleep. The EU was asleep. How the U.N. was asleep and advocating for Iran now. And literally, we now understand how vulnerable we are because of their actions.

1,200 Iranian illegal immigrants released into this country by Joe Biden and the Democrats. In any sane world, every Democrat in Congress tomorrow would be asked,

Why did you release 1,200 Iranian illegal immigrants into America? Are you worried about terrorism from the 1,200 Iranian illegal immigrants you released into America? What possible interest did America have in releasing these? The contrast under President Trump, the number is zero, which is what Tom Homan just said there. Look, this is an enormous difference. And by the way,

1,200 does not limit it. Those are the ones we know they released. As Homan rightly noted, the even more troubling number is 2 million got away. So it could be thousands, it could be tens of thousands of Iranians. We don't know. We just know there are over 2 million people that we have signs they crossed the border and they got away. They evaded detection. So some combination of those

are murderers, some are rapists, some are child molesters, some are gang members from Venezuela or elsewhere, and some of those in overwhelming likelihood are terrorists, whether Hamas terrorists, Hezbollah terrorists, Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, or specifically Iranian terrorists.

But the danger is serious. And I will say this is a time for law enforcement in every jurisdiction to be vigilant and for citizens to be vigilant, to watch. And, you know, in the wake of 9-11, it was frequently repeated, if you see something, say something. This is a dangerous time. I wish it were not so dangerous. But four years of open borders exposed real vulnerabilities to us.

And the one thing I'll say is I have confidence that the Trump administration is doing everything humanly possible to keep us safe. And I think that's important, especially now. We see what's happening with Israel. They are at war for their survival, at war with Iran. Now, in a necessary act of self-defense, Israel finally has had enough with the hundreds of thousands of rockets being fired into their country. And rightly, they have struck Iranian nuclear facilities, military targets, top leadership.

Right now, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground preparing large-scale distributions of life-saving food, first aid, emergency kits, especially to Israel's most vulnerable people, the sick, the elderly, children, families in great, great need. Now, the fellowship is also making sure that hospitals, emergency rooms, shelters are fully stocked with critical and life-saving medical supplies.

but the fellowship needs your most generous gift today. Now is the time to stand with Israel's most vulnerable. Please call as soon as possible, 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888-488-IFCJ. Online, it's ifcj.org. That's ifcj.org today.

Hey guys, this is Lisa Booth from The Truth with Lisa Booth. When it comes to your health, you shouldn't have to beg for permission. You've seen how the system really works. Faceless bureaucrats and billion-dollar companies playing God, deciding whether you get care and what you're allowed to take, and ultimately whether you live or die. It's time to take your power back.

All family pharmacy puts the control in your hands, not theirs. No more waiting rooms, no more red tape, just fast direct access to over 200 trusted medications like ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine,

Maybe it's time you did too.

Go to allfamilypharmacy.com and use code USA20 to get 20% off today. Again, that's allfamilypharmacy.com with code USA20 to save 20% today. You know that feeling when you're about to score 30% off, but they want your number?

Ugh. Give them your Line 2 number instead. It's a second line on your phone, perfect for nabbing promo codes without inviting spam to your party. Sign up for every discount under the sun, then block the junk texts that follow. You get all the perks, but none of the spammy baggage. More codes, less chaos. Visit line2.com slash audio or download Line 2 in the App Store and get your shopping sidekick today. Because the only thing blowing up your phone should be good deals. ♪

Welcome to It Takes Energy, presented by Energy Transfer, where we talk all things oil and natural gas. Oil and gas drive our economy, ensure our country's security, and open pathways to brighter futures.

When it comes to meeting the world's energy needs, more is better. What we mean is our world needs a wide range of energy sources to meet our increasing needs. Just wind or solar won't get us there, as the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. With our growing population and the increasing use of energy-demanding technologies like AI, reliability is key.

and the reliability of natural gas is unmatched by wind and solar. That doesn't mean we all can't work together, but natural gas is vital to ensuring we meet our energy needs. Look around, and you'll see the essential role oil and gas plays in our lives. Our world needs oil and gas, and people rely on us to deliver it. To learn more, visit energytransfer.com.

Let's talk a little bit about the liberal logic that has been coming out of so many Democrats since this attack took place and the people who seem to be obsessing

over Iran's response, implying that their response is Donald Trump's fault, that they're going to respond, are the same idiots that were not afraid of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Can you explain that liberal logic, please? Sadly, today's Democrat Party sides with every enemy of America. They side on the other side. Look,

J.K. Rowling tweeted this weekend about this person, India Willoughby. Now, I'll confess, I have no idea who India Willoughby is, but J.K. Rowling tweeted, India, a fan of women-hating, gay-hating, authoritarian regime, color me astonished. So I went and Googled who is this India Willoughby person, and it turns out, according to Wikipedia, quote, she is Britain's first transgender national television newsreader.

Now, pause for a second, Ben. Iran murders transgender people. They throw them off buildings. If you are gay, they murder you. And think about the mindset of a leftist who this transgender newsreader in, I guess, the UK is like, even though the Ayatollah wants to murder me, I stand with the Ayatollah rather than America.

That is how messed up leftists are right now. They're like, oh, homicidal, theocratic, women oppressing, gay murdering, torturing, genocidal lunatics. Those are my people. It doesn't make any sense to me. And then you go back to also the quotes that people have been posting. And I think it's really important that history reflect. You go back to Bill Clinton, Senator, and he said that Iran couldn't get a nuclear weapon.

Hillary Clinton, when she was a senator, secretary of state and running for president, said Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon. Barack Obama said that he could not get a nuclear weapon. You had Joe Biden that said they couldn't get a nuclear weapon. And then they're at 60 plus percent. And Donald Trump stops them. And then all of the left's like, you can't do that. You're going to start World War Three. This is somehow your fault. You're the aggressor.

And understand, the reason we are here is because of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Barack Obama negotiated the disastrous Iran nuclear deal that flooded billions and billions of dollars into Iran. Listen, remember, Obama literally flew one point seven billion dollars of cash, unmarked bills on a pallet to deliver to the Ayatollah. That agreement set the stage for Iran to get nuclear weapons. Donald Trump, when he came in as president for a second and just now in hindsight, he

What really was that deal? Was that deal a, hey, I don't want to have to deal with you guys, so let's just, you kind of play nice with me, and then I'll kick the can down the road to another administration? Like, in hindsight, what was that? Why did we do that deal? It was radical ideology. You know, when Barack Obama first became president, he went and gave a speech at the University of Cairo in Egypt.

And in that speech, he said Iran has a right, and he used the word right, a right to nuclear technology. Now, that is nutty. I'm familiar with the right to the pursuit of happiness. I'm not familiar with a right to possess thermonuclear weapons. And at the end of the day, I think Barack Obama and his entire team came in with an ideological view

that America's role in the world is fundamentally illegitimate, that we are colonial oppressors. Look, as you know, my last book was Unwoke, How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America. These are the cultural Marxists. They view America as illegitimate, and therefore they view that we have no business, we have no right stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Listen, the Obama-Iran nuclear deal would inevitably lead to Iran with nuclear weapons. These guys are not idiots. They knew that.

they're fine with that outcome because they believe America has no right to prevent it. My view is, yes, we do. If you've got a lunatic who's saying death to America and we have the power to stop him from getting nuclear weapons, we will use that power because the commander-in-chief is not going to fail to protect America. And I got to say, by the way, the useful idiots across the globe, A, you've got the Democrats today who are all chirping about how dare you act to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

We also had the Secretary of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, who put out a statement. I'm going to read it to you. Quote, I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge and a direct threat to international peace and security. There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.

I call on member states to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.

At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace. What a blithering idiot. I'll tell you what I tweeted today. I tweeted, of course, the UN sides with Iran. Clown face emoji, clown face emoji, clown face emoji.

The only thing they couldn't decide is which chant they agree with more strongly, quote, death to Israel or, quote, death to America. And then I asked a simple question. Remind me again why we're paying their bills?

It's a fair question. And you've got to wonder what's the point of being involved if this is how insane they actually are. So let's move. But by the way, Ben, I also observed, I think Tehran would make a lovely UN headquarters just located right there. Maybe on the smoldering ashes of Florida, we can put

put the UN there and they can all get together with their anti-Israel hate and their anti-American hate and they can sit there and glow radioactive while they talk about developing nuclear weapons to bomb America. At least it would be intellectually honest. Like, where's the UN? It's in Tehran. Okay, that makes sense. Look, that's who they... This should not be complicated. Iran, like...

Let me ask you, Ben, seriously, put yourself in the head of the U.N. Secretary General. How do you look at this and say, where do I stand? I know, with Iran. Like what thought process goes through your brain?

Yeah. What's the upside of doing that and why? And especially if you know what Iran just did and how many terrorist organizations they've supported that are just beyond, I mean, factually accurate. Hamas, Hezbollah and the U.N. is like, we got you. We're going to cover for you. Don't worry. We got your back. It is. And that's the reason why I think it delegitimizes the United Nations to the point where I just roll my eyes at them now. I don't pay attention to what they say.

Now, they're complete zealots. Now, in contrast, I want you to listen to President Trump Saturday night as soon as the bombing run was complete. Give a listen to his address to the nation. A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime, Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.

Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. For 40 years, Iran has been saying, "Death to America, death to Israel." They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs.

That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate. In particular, so many were killed by their general, Qasem Soleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue. I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu

We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before. And we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.

Hopefully we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that's so. I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Raisenkane, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.

With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all by far and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.

Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago. Tomorrow, General Kane, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8 a.m. at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody and

In particular, God, I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.

I do got it. I have to say at the very end there, his part was so sincere about thing. God, you could tell he was very concerned about the safety of our men and women in uniform. He was so thankful for what they did and accomplish. And there was also, I think, a warning in there. We hope that they're done right, that their service is finished and

In other words, don't mess with us, because if you do, you may meet these people yet again. We don't want to do that. But if you come after American interests, we will defend ourselves and we will come after you. Which brings us to the questions. All right. What's next moving forward? Well, let me say one thing that struck me listening to President Trump on Saturday night.

which is the president is old enough, and I'm old enough to remember the 1970s. And Ben, you're 10 years younger than I am, so you don't remember the 70s. But when Iran took American hostages at the embassy, when the Iranian revolution happened and they took

took American hostages, Jimmy Carter was president. Jimmy Carter sent a military operation, a U.S. military operation, to rescue the Americans from the embassy. And not all military operations happen like the one did this weekend. The Jimmy Carter military operation, he sent in helicopters, and the helicopters crashed in the desert with no opposing fire.

And it was a level of ineptitude and incompetence on the part of the Carter administration. It played a pivotal role in Ronald Reagan winning in 1980 because the inability of the president to protect our nation was perfectly encapsulated by our troops crashing in the desert.

When the president, when the commander-in-chief gave this order, he didn't know what the result would be. It could have resulted in an American plane crashing. It could have resulted in an American bomber being shot down by a fighter plane. It could have resulted in an American bomber being hit by surface-to-air missiles. These are dangerous operations. We had...

had these stealth bombers fly halfway around the world, carry out an incredibly precise precision bombing attack. By the way, it also could have resulted in one of the bombs going awry and instead of taking out one of these facilities, hitting a civilian location and killing a large number of innocent people. None of that happened. And I want to credit the military, the military for their precise execution of this. But I think when the president was thanking God...

Listen, you and I have never been in the position of ordering our servicemen and women into combat in a circumstance where you know that that order could literally be sacrificing their lives. And I think the president was feeling...

feeling real gratitude that this operation proceeded so successfully. It was the right thing to do, and even if it had proceeded with American casualties, we obviously would not want those casualties, but I think the president was very much focused on his responsibility to protect American civilians from the threat of an Ayatollah with a nuclear weapon. That's what he was acting decisively to do. This could escalate further, but I think the president is laser-focused on his job. And let me be clear.

There are some voices chirping on the Internet. Oh, it's World War III. Oh, we're going to get drawn into a long foreign entanglement. The boots are going to be on the ground before you know it. The odds of American boots on the ground in Iran are essentially zero. No one is advocating that. No one wants to see it. I do not believe President Trump has any interest in American boots on the ground. I don't have any interest whatsoever.

in American boots on the ground. This was a limited and very targeted bombing run to take out Iran's capability to develop nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons they could use to murder Americans.

That is peace through strength. That is focusing on defending this nation. And so the prospect, you know, people are saying, oh, this is another Iraq war. Listen, I oppose the Iraq war. Donald Trump opposed the Iraq war. Nobody wants a long American war in the Middle East. But what we do want is what we have, a commander in chief who is strong,

and who will act decisively to protect our nation. That's what the president did. And I, for one, am immensely grateful that Donald J. Trump is the commander in chief tonight.

Final question, and this is what is next. It's very clear there's a warning from this president. Don't screw with us moving forward. If Iran is dumb enough to retaliate against Americans in the Middle East, maybe even shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, what is the president's obligation moving forward on that?

Well, one of the consequences of the bombing run is the parliament in Iran did vote to shut down the Straits of Hormuz. Now, the parliament's not the decision maker. At the end of the day, the Ayatollah is the decision maker. So it's not clear if Iran is going to do so or not.

If it did so, it would impact America, but it would impact China even more. Roughly half of the oil that China uses travels through the Straits of Hormuz. A very small percentage of American oil travels through there. But that being said, if the Straits of Hormuz were shut down, it would impact America because it would drive up global oil prices. It would drive up gasoline prices at home, and that would impact Americans.

I hope that doesn't happen. I think if they try to shut down those major trade routes and commerce routes, I think we will see forced to open them up because Iran does not have the right to shut down the ability of America and the rest of the world to engage in trade and commerce. That is a possible escalation. I think the most likely escalation

is going to be continued attacks on civilians in Israel because at the end of the day, I think the Ayatollah and the mullahs, they hate the Jewish people. And murdering innocent civilians is something that they believe in.

I worry, as I said, about the risk of terrorist attacks as well. I think those are sadly the two most likely. The people of Israel, I know the government of Israel, the Iron Dome, they're working hard to protect their civilians. America is assisting in that. And here at home, law enforcement and Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are all working hard to intercept and stop any terrorist attack before it occurs. But

understand these are dangerous times, but they're dangerous times because we have enemies that wish to do harm to America. And that's why the responsibility that the president has is so grave and serious. And I will say, listening to President Trump speak Saturday night, I think there are times where the weight of the job really falls on his shoulders and he feels it. And I think Saturday night was one of them because it...

was an incredibly consequential moment in our nation's history and a very positive moment of the president standing up and saying, my first responsibility is to defend America, and I will not shirk from that responsibility.

Yeah, great point. God bless America. We are going to keep covering this. Don't forget to hit that subscribe or auto download button. We'll have the latest breaking news for you Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And if there's anything obviously big that happens in between, we do those special pods as well. So make sure you join us. Hit that subscribe, auto download button and please share this on social media. Write us a five star review. It helps us reach more people as well. And we'll see you back here Wednesday morning. This is an I Heart podcast.