“When America is weak, it emboldens our enemies”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is one of America’s leading conservative voices, and one of the Republican Party’s highest ranking national elected officials. First elected to the Senate in 2012, he is running for his third term this year against Democratic congressman Colin Allred. Recent polls show Cruz up by 3 points, in a close race.

He first came to national attention in 2016 when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination; he stayed in the race the longest against Donald Trump, and campaigned for him vigorously when Trump became the nominee. Cruz is now one of the sharpest blades Trump wields in the Senate and one of the staunchest advocates for his re-election.

An expert debater who thinks well on his feet and has mastered a vast amount of policy minutiae, Cruz has risen to the upper echelons of the Republican Senate hierarchy. He is the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee and holds seats on such key committees as Judiciary and Foreign Relations. Senator Cruz most recently made headlines with his participation in the Senate hearings with Secret Service chiefs following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Cruz is not afraid to speak his mind, and in a conversation with Mishpacha that covered a wide range of topics, he was unsparing in his criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza situation, Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy, the border crisis, and Secret Service miscues in the assassination attempt on Trump. But he also reiterated his promise to be “the leading defender of Israel in the Senate.”

You have called the White House to account several times, charging that they have impeded Israel’s progress in defeating Hamas in Gaza. Could you elaborate on that?

Well, sadly, the Biden-Harris administration has proven to be the most anti-Israel administration we have seen in modern times in the United States. From the very opening days, the White House has systematically undermined Israel. And in the wake of October 7, we have seen the Biden-Harris administration, at every stage, pressing Israel not to respond, not to defend itself, not to continue killing terrorists.

At the same time, the Biden administration continues to flow money to the enemies of America and the enemies of Israel — most troublingly, the nation of Iran. In the last four years, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, have flowed over $100 billion to Iran. And Iran is, of course, the leading funder of Hamas — over 90% of Hamas funds come from Iran. And it’s the lead funder of Hezbollah — over 90% of Hezbollah’s resources come from Iran. And so, flooding Iran with cash has strengthened and emboldened the enemies of Israel and has put Israel in greater danger and America in greater danger.

The Biden administration has sent large consignments of weaponry to Israel since the war began, for which Israelis are grateful — but it has also withheld weapons, to prevent Israel from attacking Rafah. What would a Republican administration do?

I believe the United States should stand unequivocally with Israel. In the wake of October 7, Israel is committed to utterly destroying Hamas. The United States should support that for as long as it takes. Destroying Hamas is unquestionably good for Israel, and it is unquestionably good for America.

If Donald Trump were still president, I do not believe October 7 would have happened. A major reason that the October 7 attack happened is that when America is weak, when the commander in chief in America is perceived as weak, it emboldens our enemies. I do not believe the war in Ukraine would have happened if Donald Trump were still president.

But Putin took measure of Joe Biden as commander in chief and determined that he was weak and ineffective, and I believe Hamas and Hezbollah and the Ayatollah and Iran have all done the same thing. And that is why they have engaged in relentless hostility.

Qatar supports Hamas, but also hosts a vast US air base. Shouldn’t the US use its leverage over the Qataris to make them stop funding terror?

I’ve introduced legislation to sanction any nation that supports or gives safe harbor to Hamas or Hezbollah. And unless Qatar dramatically changes their conduct, they would fall directly under the sanctions of the legislation I’ve introduced. Right now Qatar bears enormous responsibility for sheltering and encouraging Hamas, and they should bear the consequences for doing so.

Turkey’s Erdogan made a breathtaking threat recently when he said if Israel goes into Lebanon, he’ll send troops. Is it time to boot Turkey from NATO?

Turkey is a challenging situation. I have described the world as divided, from the United States perspective, into multiple categories. We have friends, we have enemies, we have competitors. And then the fourth category is what I call “problematic allies.” And the chief countries that fall into that category, from my perspective, are Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

All three are US allies. With all three, we would like to remain allies. There are important strategic reasons to continue a positive relationship with those nations. That being said, all three engage in conduct that is at times deeply concerning. And so I don’t believe Erdogan will follow through on that threat. But dealing with Turkey is challenging, to put it mildly.

There is an isolationist strain in the Republican Party that forms a key component of President Trump’s support. These people want the United States to stay out of the war in Ukraine, and they also want to dial back support for Israel. How much weight do those voices carry? Would a new Trump administration fully back Israel?

We should expect President Trump to stand unequivocally with Israel, which is exactly what he did the last time he was president. There are a handful of isolationist voices in the United States, but I believe it is a very small number. That handful at times can be noisy. But I do not believe it reflects where the American people are.

I’ve been in the Senate 12 years. When I was first elected, I resolved then to be the leading defender of Israel in the Senate. And I’ve worked every day since then to fulfill that promise. I believe that’s where the people of Texas overwhelmingly are. And I believe that’s where the people of America overwhelmingly are.

You grilled acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe regarding the attempt on President Trump’s life. It’s clear that there were mistakes. Do you believe there was negligence because it involved the Republican candidate?

There was unquestionably negligence. It was the most significant and catastrophic security failure since the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. As to why that failure occurred, we still have to get to the bottom of it.

But as I said at the hearing of the Judiciary Committee, I believe political and partisan concerns played a significant factor in the Secret Service refusing to provide a sufficient number of agents to adequately protect President Trump, and refusing to provide a sufficient number of assets, including aerial assets, to secure the rally scene. And I believe those same factors are what produced the Secret Service refusal to provide protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. until right after the attempted assassination of President Trump.

The Biden administration, sadly, has politicized the entirety of the federal government in a way that is profoundly harmful. The mission of the Secret Service is incredibly important, and it should not be corrupted by partisan politics.

The border crisis is a national issue, but for you as a senator from Texas, it is a special concern. You have claimed that this problem is Kamala Harris’s responsibility, and that she even wants the numbers to rise so they can become future Democratic voters. Can you explain how they have allowed the entry of illegals into the country to skyrocket?

Sure. So at the beginning of the administration, Joe Biden named Kamala Harris “the border czar,” he put her in charge of securing our border. In that regard, she has been an utter and complete failure.

When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came into office, they inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. I had worked hand in hand with President Trump, and we had achieved incredible success securing our southern border. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris deliberately and systematically broke the border.

Three decisions they made in their very first week in office caused this crisis. Their first week in office, number one, they immediately halted construction of the border wall. Number two, they reinstated the failed policy of catch-and-release. And number three, they pulled out of the incredibly successful remain-in-Mexico agreement. Those three decisions caused this crisis, and we went from the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years to what we have today, the worst rate of illegal immigration in the history of our nation.

Eleven and a half million illegal immigrants have come into this country. That is deliberate, that is the outcome that Joe Biden wants. That is the outcome that Kamala Harris wants. And every single day, we’re seeing another American murdered, another woman or another child assaulted by illegal immigrants that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have released into this country. They’re releasing murderers into this country. They’re releasing some the worst criminals there are into this country.

Just this week, I will be sitting down with the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl in my hometown of Houston, Texas, a beautiful young girl, who just over a month ago was kidnapped and murdered by two illegal immigrants from Venezuela, who Joe Biden and Kamala Harris released. This has to stop.

And not only do we have the crimes that are occurring day after day after day, we have every day a growing risk of terrorism. Iran has called for a global jihad against the United States, Hezbollah has called for a global jihad against the United States, Hamas has called for a global jihad against the United States. And Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have effectively rolled out the red carpet and extended an invitation for terrorists to come into this country. It makes no sense whatsoever. And I believe today we are at a greater risk of a major terrorist attack than we have been at any point since September 11.

Polls have shown Harris has a better chance to win the election than Biden. Do you consider it a mistake by the Republican Party to have insisted that Biden withdraw his candidacy?

Well, to be clear, it was not Republicans who insisted Biden withdraw. It was Democrats who chased him out. That was something I predicted would happen ten months ago, on my podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz. We actually have a lot of listeners for the Verdict podcast in Israel. And ten months ago, I predicted the Democrats would force Joe Biden off the ballot.

The reason they forced him off the ballot is that they concluded he was going to lose and Donald Trump was going to beat him. And so right now, you are seeing some excitement among Democrats with Kamala coming in. And I think what we see right now is essentially a sugar high. I think Trump is going to win in November, I believe the Democrats are going to lose.

And Kamala’s biggest problem is that she is defending the same failed record that Joe Biden was defending. She is defending out-of-control spending and debt that has produced rising inflation that is hammering American families. She was the border czar in charge of the chaos at our southern border and the invasion we are experiencing right now. She and Joe Biden together are responsible for the disaster of foreign policy that has resulted in two simultaneous wars and our friends and allies being undermined. And I would point out that it was Kamala Harris who boycotted the speech from Prime Minister Netanyahu, refused to even sit on the floor of the House and listen to what the democratically elected leader of Israel said.

As hostile as Joe Biden has been to Israel, I believe Kamala Harris would be even more antagonistic. She is captured by the fringe left of the Democratic Party that frankly sides more with the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, anti-American protesters that are spray-painting on monuments outside the Capitol, “Hamas is coming.” That, sadly, is the fringe part of the Democrat Party that Kamala Harris comes from, and she is beholden to that.

This year, we witnessed horrifying images of students being chased and attacked on university campuses across the country, simply for being Jewish. What can the federal government do to corral anti-Semitism on campus?

The wake of October 7 has revealed vicious anti-Semitism on many campuses across the America. I believe that anyone who threatens the safety of Jewish students — or, for that matter, any other students — should be arrested. They should be prosecuted. They should be expelled, and if they are a foreign students, they should be deported.

We need a federal government that will stand up and defend the rights of Jewish students against this vicious hatred and persecution and threats of violence that we are seeing right now. The Biden Department of Justice and FBI have been completely AWOL.

If Trump is reelected, I believe we will see the federal government stand up and defend Jewish students on campus. I believe we will see the federal government cut off the money from schools that refuse to protect their Jewish students. And I also believe the Department of Justice and the FBI will follow the money.

We know that Iran, we know that Qatar, and we know that other forces are funding the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic protesters. And the investigation should follow the money, and anyone in violation of anti-terrorism laws should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1023)