Our apex goals, shaped by the goals of the Israeli government. And I'm just going to ask you that question straightforwardly. And if you say no, I think we both know that's not true. Are they shaped by is that are they coordinating with the Israeli government? Are they talking to represent the Israeli directing them? [00:00:15] What do you want to talk about? Fara the law on lobbying on behalf of someone. It is I hire you and you lobby on behalf of me, I direct you. Does Israel direct AIPAC? Know what you're now describing in a very defensive way, I will say, is foreign influence over our politics now. [00:00:31] And you began and it's so transparently obvious to everybody. It's a very weird thing. The obsession with Israel, when we're talking about foreign countries, it's hardly an obsession. You're not talking about Chinese, you're not talking about Japanese, you're talking about the Brits. You're not talking about the French. The question what about the Jews? [00:00:48] What about the Jews? I'm an anti-Semite now. Tucker Carlson carried out what I believe to be one of the best, if not the best interview of a sitting United States senator that I've ever seen. [00:01:04] I mean, it was incredible. You just heard him, you know, in a bit of an exchange with Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who he sparred with throughout the entirety of their two hour long conversation. And it's getting a lot of attention online. [00:01:20] And I really went out of my way to try to find the points of that conversation that people aren't talking about as much. Some of you may have come across the video that went viral featuring Ted Cruz, essentially letting the world know that he doesn't know basic facts about Iran, [00:01:39] a country that he would like to see regime change in a country that the United States might get involved in pushing for regime change in. Unbelievable, right. So that went viral for obvious reasons. He didn't even know the ethnic makeup of of the residents of Iran [00:01:56] didn't know the population. It's just You might want to know whether or not you know it's ruled by Sunnis, Shiites. You know, like it's just basic, basic. If you're going to try to carry out a regime change war, you need to know the basics. Okay, I'm not going to talk about that because there's so many other topics [00:02:14] that they touched on, including the influence of something we talk about quite a bit on this show. And that's the Israel lobby. Okay. It's not the Jewish lobby, it's the Israel lobby. It's known as AIPAC. And I say Israel lobby because this lobby isn't about helping [00:02:29] Jewish people across the world. This is a lobby that is powerful because of its involvement of evangelical Christians and Zionists as well. And it's not to make life better for Jews in America, for instance. It's all about basically lobbying our government to carry out policies that are [00:02:48] preferential and beneficial to Israel. And I was shocked to see that Tucker Carlson wanted to take cruise to task over this. So without further ado, let's take a look. I've never taken money from the Israel lobby. [00:03:04] Have you taken money from the Israel AIPAC? AIPAC raises a lot of money for me, but it's actually a misnomer because the people who raise money are individuals. So it's not the PAC itself, but their individual members who believe in the American-Israeli friendship and lack of foreign lobby. [00:03:22] No, it's an American lobby. It's the AIPAC stands for the American Israeli Political Action Committee. What is it lobby for? So, to be honest, not a whole lot effectively. Listen, I came into to Congress 13 years ago with the stated intention [00:03:38] of being the leading defender of Israel in the United States Senate. And I've worked every day to do that. AIPAC a lot of times. AIPAC, I wish, were much more effective. My understanding, having known a lot of people I could tell you, is that it lobbies on behalf of the Israeli government. [00:03:56] Oh, okay. When was the last time AIPAC took a position that deviated from Prime Minister Netanyahu? All the time. Okay, let me go back and give a little history if you want to do a deep dive on AIPAC. I don't I want to do a shallow dive that gets, no, I'm not going to do. [00:04:11] I want to get to the core question. AIPAC is lobbying for a foreign government, and I don't. It's not lobbying for the United States. It is lobbying for a strong us-israeli relationship. Guys, guys, I have never seen anyone in media, okay? [00:04:30] Whether we're talking about left wing media, right wing media, I haven't seen a single journalist in this country ask an aggressive line of questioning like that about AIPAC and its influence on U.S. Foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Obviously, that was amazing. [00:04:48] I mean, look, I hate to be in a position where I'm praising a man who I have far more disagreements with than agreements with, but I don't care. I don't care. This interview was incredible. First of all, how illuminating is it that we literally have a sitting United States Senator [00:05:08] who openly says that he came into the Senate promising to be the number one representative and defender of Israel, of a foreign country, of a foreign country. If that doesn't infuriate you, there's something wrong with you. [00:05:24] He was supposed to represent this country, the constituents who voted him in in the great state of Texas. Right. And he feels like it's totally okay to openly say, I came in, I came into the Senate, you know, committed to be the number one [00:05:42] representative, supporter, whatever. I can't remember the exact word he used, but basically to represent Israel's interests. So, look, given that he feels comfortable saying that openly, which I, I'm not interested in having anyone in Congress who prioritizes [00:05:59] any foreign country over our own. I'm. I'm Armenian American, right. If someone came into Congress and said, you know what, I came into Senate wanting to be the number one representative of Armenia. I'd be like, but why? But why? No, I don't. [00:06:14] We have problems here. And I think I finally figured out what's making Tucker tick. Like what the big change with him has been. I think he's looking at the conditions we're all living in in this country. The drug overdoses, the extreme poverty, the homelessness. [00:06:33] And he's asking himself, why are we so focused on foreign conflicts or what's happening outside of the United States? Okay, so there's more, because you can tell Ted Cruz is getting a little bit uncomfortable. [00:06:48] He's getting increasingly defensive, but then he finally just can't he just can't hold back anymore. And he says the quiet part out loud. Let's watch. How much contact do you think AIPAC leaders have with the government of Israel? No idea. [00:07:03] I imagine some I think the government of Israel is often frustrated with AIPAC. Do you think there's any? Not nearly strong enough. Do you think there's any coordination between the government of Israel and AIPAC? Do they talk? Sure. If you're lobbying for more U.S. Mexico trade, would you talk to people in the US and Mexico and the government? [00:07:19] Sure. My question is not, is it outrageous that foreign governments lobby the United States? They all do okay, including Israel? My only question is why don't we admit that is what's happening? You're denying it, but it's true. And why is what you're saying is false? Why aren't they registered as a foreign lobby? [00:07:34] Because they're not. They're not a foreign lobby. No they're not. I'm only trying to get to the question of what apex is, and I don't think you're being straightforward about AIPAC is lobbying on behalf of the interests of a foreign country, and they're not registered. And you're saying, no, that's not true. You're saying that they don't coordinate with the Israeli government, coordinate. [00:07:52] They talk with them. I don't know what they do. I can, why don't you care? Isn't it meaningful if a foreign government. I talk with Israel all the time. I talk with you, of course. Countries all the time. But the law is. And a lot of people have been prosecuted under this law, that if you are lobbying on behalf of foreign government, you must register. [00:08:09] - That's it. - That was incredible. Senator Cruz has never been asked those questions in an interview. Ever, ever. He did not come prepared to be asked about the foreign influence of our [00:08:26] foreign policy through groups like AIPAC. I that was so important for a conservative or right wing audience to hear about, because it helps people to understand why policies are what they are [00:08:43] in this country, why why we pursue the type of foreign policy that we pursue. So I really appreciated that. Tucker. Didn't you know, he had the follow ups he held Senator Ted Cruz's feet to the fire. And I think that it was illuminating for a lot of people who might [00:08:59] not have known the extent to which AIPAC basically influences our politicians to carry out policies that don't really benefit Americans, but certainly benefit the country of Israel, and in a lot of cases, also destabilize the Middle East, especially when we're talking [00:09:17] about regime change wars. So I want to just quickly talk about the big lie that he tried to tell in that line of questioning. Right. So Ted Cruz is like, no, no, I mean, it's not a foreign lobby. These are these are Americans. [00:09:32] They're not doing any coordination with Israel. But they are. But they literally are. So one of my favorite journalists, Lee Fong, posted this on X. Let's take a quick look at this. So you'll see a picture there, [00:09:47] of Israeli politicians and it's a post he quote tweeted a post by Israel Katz and he says, Lee Fong says in his response to it. Ted Ted Cruz told Tucker Carlson that AIPAC doesn't coordinate [00:10:02] with the state of Israel, thus does not need to register under Fara. That's plainly not true. They discussed coordination openly. Here's an Israeli minister stating that he asked AIPAC to lobby Congress on the International Criminal Court issue. [00:10:20] So Israel Katz wrote that, this evening I met with AIPAC leaders. He names them, the state of Israel owes them much for their long standing support. I asked them to work with the administration and Congress and Congress to take dramatic steps against the decision by the [00:10:37] prosecutor of the ICC to demand arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister and the defense minister. So, I mean, that's just open admission of coordination. You have an Israeli politician openly [00:10:53] admitting that these Israeli officials are meeting with coordinating with members of Congress in order to get the type of policies they want. And it's total. I mean, if this were a group of Russian politicians, [00:11:09] it would be considered foreign influence. It would be considered coordination, and failure to register as a foreign agent would be a problem. It might lead to prosecution. But for whatever reason, Israel tends to benefit from this weird double standard. [00:11:29] And so this is all to say that Ted Cruz, who's top contributor campaign contributor, is, in fact, AIPAC was lying, was lying to Tucker, lying to you, lying to the entire audience. Throughout his career, he has taken in $562,593 from AIPAC specifically. [00:11:50] Just something to know about. Now, as I know all too well, if you have specific critique or criticism of the great country of Israel, regardless of how credible or valid that criticism is, you're [00:12:06] automatically shut down as an anti-Semite. Israel defenders never substantively addressed the criticism or critique. And so what you're about to see is Ted Cruz essentially try to pull the same tactics. Let's see if it worked. [00:12:22] It's a very weird thing, the obsession with Israel when we're talking about foreign countries, hardly an obsession. You're not talking about Chinese. You're not talking about Japanese. You're not talking about the Brits. You're not talking about the French. The question what about the Jews? What about the Jews? I'm an anti-Semite. Now, Senator, you're asking the question. [00:12:40] You're asking, why are the Jews controlling our foreign policy? That's what you just asked. Hardly saying that, and I have. That is exactly what you just said. Well, actually, I can speak for myself and tell you what I am saying. Good. It's interesting you're trying to derail my questions by calling me an anti-Semite. Which you are. I did not. Of course you are. [00:12:56] And rather than be honorable enough to say it right to my face, you are sitting sleazy feline way implying it or just asking questions about the Jews. I'm not asking questions about the Jews. I have nothing to do with Jews or Judaism. It has to do with the foreign government. Isn't Israel controlling our foreign policy? [00:13:12] That's not about the Jews. You said. I'm asking, by the way. You're the one that just called me, I think, a sleazy feline. So let's be clear. Sleazy to imply that I'm an anti-Semite, which you just did. No, I just said. Why is that the only question you're asking? You answer it. Give me another reason. If you're not an anti-Semite, give me another reason. [00:13:28] Why? The obsession is Israel. I am in no sense obsessed with Israel. We are on the brink of war with Iran. And so these are valid questions. Let's just briefly discuss the hilarity of someone like Ted Cruz, who just earlier said I was voted into the Senate to be the number one representative [00:13:47] of Israel, Accusing Tucker Carlson of being obsessed with Israel. That, and by the way, at no point, at no point in this conversation did Tucker Carlson say anything about the Jews. [00:14:06] Ever. And that's another tactic that gets used. I mean, I just experienced it myself when I was debating someone on her take about potentially going to war with Iran over nuclear weapons that don't even exist. All he could do was accuse me of supporting Hamas. [00:14:23] I hate Hamas, you guys know what my comments were about Hamas after October 7th. You guys know what my comments were in regard to some of the people who were defending Hamas after October 7th. I am in no way, in no way supportive of Hamas. Oh, you love the Iranian regime? [00:14:38] No, I just don't want to do a regime change war and further destabilize the Middle East and destabilize a country of 90 to 92 million people with no strategy, no plan in place. But it shuts down the conversation real quick when someone just accuses you [00:14:55] of being an anti-Semite. And that's the one smear that for the longest time would for would stick to people. It would stick even though there was no evidence of it. But I think those who use that tactic have overplayed their hand, [00:15:11] because now so many people have spoken out against Israel's war crimes, for instance, that everyone's been called an anti-Semite if they've had the right stance in criticizing Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu for the war crimes that have been committed. [00:15:28] So it's lost its power. And I think that as a result, it kind of empowers someone like Tucker Carlson to just be like, no, no, I'm not an anti-Semite. I know what you're doing here. Answer my questions. And I really appreciated that. You know, for whatever it's worth, this is not me providing cover [00:15:45] for anything he said in the past. This is not me. Cosigning onto everything that he believes. This is me talking specifically about how he handled himself in this interview and it was fantastic. I have no problem saying it. I wish that this served as an example to all journalists, [00:16:01] all people in this profession, because I want to see more of this. I don't want this to be so novel, but it is. It's novel, in fact. Watching how he carried out this interview made me self-reflect. How can I how can I do better? How can I challenge my interviewees and get interesting answers from them? [00:16:22] So anyway, I thought that was an illuminating part of the conversation. I think people are waking up to the influence that the Israel lobby has. You know, John Mearsheimer, political scientist, you may have heard of him. You know, he does a lot of media, especially these days. [00:16:40] He was like he and his coauthor were like, run out of town because they're the ones who published that book, The Israel Lobby. It's a fantastic book. It explains how foreign policy gets made in this country, why so much of our foreign policy seems to be beneficial to Israel. [00:16:56] And they were just automatically smeared as anti-Semites. I remember reading, before the book was published, there was like a long essay version of, the work that they were doing. And that was what we read in one of my, graduate school classes. [00:17:12] And people were so offended. But I was like, wow, this is this is really interesting. I mean, it's cited, obviously, they're providing receipts. This seems to be a bit of a problem, but I think a lot of people are afraid of being smeared as anti-Semites, so they just kind of go along to get along. [00:17:28] But when you do that, you're not really living in a country where your government puts you first. And I think that's a huge problem. And that's what Tucker Carlson was trying to get at there. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true. [00:17:44] But it does keep you updated on our live shows.