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Cruz Keeps Upping Chances Dems Pick Another Nominee as Questions Remain on Who Is Running the White House

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  February 12, 2024 8:00 AM

Last Thursday was a wild day for the White House, especially as Special Counsel Robert Hur released his report on President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents. Charges will not be brought against Biden, as the president is deemed too old. A common theme of the reactions to such a report has been if the president is too old to be charged, how can we expect him to be able to run for reelection? Even if Biden were to only serve one term, though, we still have close to another year before a new president is inaugurated. In the meantime, many wonder and worry about who it is that's really running the White House, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) among them.

That press briefing was so alarming that Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson recorded their episode of "The Verdict" in the very early hours of Friday morning, not long after Thursday's short but noteworthy press briefing. 

When asked for his reaction to the report, specifically as it called Biden an "'elderly man with a poor memory,' who was so deteriorated with his cognitive decline, they couldn't charge him with crimes even if they wanted to," Cruz emphasized it was "extraordinary."

This wasn't merely because, as Cruz bluntly put it, "the U.S. Department of Justice released a formal report  laying out the evidence that the sitting President of the United States is not competent to stand trial." As the senator also pointed out, last Thursday was also the day that the Senate decided to separate the border bill with providing aid to Ukraine and Israel. And, it was the day that the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Trump v. Anderson case when it comes to whether Colorado can kick former and potentially future President Donald Trump off of the ballot. It's not looking good for Colorado, and we may see an 8-1 or even 9-0 decision.

Going back to the president, Cruz pointed out to Ferguson that such stories being pushed aside speaks to how "you and I, and kind of anyone with eyes and common sense, have been observing for a long time that Joe Biden's cognitive decline is massive." While Cruz and Ferguson may be considered partisans and biased, the senator acknowledges, it's very telling that this DOJ, which Cruz aptly pointed out "has proven itself the most politicized and partisan Department of Justice in history," has spoken to Biden's memory issues to do with when he was vice president, when his son, Beau, died, as well as his thoughts on Afghanistan. 

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For Biden's own DOJ, Cruz pointed out, to describe the sitting president as "a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory," should beg a question. "The natural question for anyone to say is holy crap, if he's not competent to stand trial, why is he the commander in chief with the authority to send our sons and daughters into harm's way? Why does he have access to the nuclear codes?" Cruz wanted to know.

The senator went on to make a disturbingly frank point. "Understand the description here, they say you couldn't charge him with a crime because he's, he's not aware of enough to have the requisite mental intent. And yet Joe Biden tonight, if he so desired, could literally exterminate humanity from the face of the planet, as Commander in Chief if he gave the order, 'launch the nuclear weapons now.' Unless the military refused to obey the Commander in Chief, Joe Biden could exterminate every life on this planet. And if he's not mentally competent to stand trial, that is terrifying."

As they further discussed the concerns and "panic" involving Thursday night's press briefing, Cruz also brought up whether he thought Biden would ultimately end up being the nominee. Last September he thought there was a 25-30 percent chance that Democrats would pick someone else at the convention, namely former First Lady Michelle Obama. Last month he shared he thought it was about 50-50. Now, however, Cruz thinks the odds are about 65-35, with it being "significantly more likely than not that Democrats will not have Joe Biden on the ballot."

Those chances have gone up with how much harder it is for Democrats to spin concerns about Biden's age. As the senator reminded, those concerns about age are often dismissed as being a tactic furthered by "MAGA Republicans," a term often used by the Biden reelection campaign and the president himself to demonize his political opponents. 

"Well, the one thing we know is the Biden Department of Justice, they are not MAGA Republicans," Cruz shared with a chuckle. "And this is his own Department of Justice saying he has severely diminished mental faculties." Biden also "made it worse" by teasing that press briefing with no prior indication about what it would be about, as well as how he "did not perform well," Cruz thought. When it comes to how he did when he actually did come to the podium, the senator offered "I think that only increased the concerns."

Another theme discussed throughout the episode was the concern among White House staff. Ferguson wanted to know from Cruz if it amounted to being the "beginning of the end of the Biden presidency," especially with the Democrats who are looking to "offload" the president. 

Cruz still thinks that Biden will remain president for the rest of his term, "as long as he is able to stand vertically and not fall over" He did remind that it has become increasingly more likely for Biden to be replaced by Michelle Obama, though. "It's now more likely than not that the Democrats decide this guy cannot be our nominee in November," Cruz stressed.

To close the episode, Ferguson begged to know "who is running the country?"

Not only did the events of Thursday take place, as Ferguson reminded, but the president has repeatedly mixed up the names of foreign leaders as well as which ones have already died, multiple times in a matter of days. He even mixed up the Egyptian and Mexican presidents during Thursday's press briefing. 

Cruz, who says he gets asked that question "regularly," offered "the honest answer, and this is really scary, I don't know. I genuinely don't know. I have a theory. I think it is Barack Obama. But I can't prove that. I don't know that to be a fact," Cruz shared, pointing to a theory that has been mentioned before. This is especially since Obama, unlike other modern presidents, actually remained in D.C. and has met with Democrats and members of the administration, where he is "holding court."

Although he can't prove it's Obama, Cruz was more certain "I just know it's not Obama," as he added "it is some combination of Obama, and other senior White House officials. and people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and AOC."

It isn't merely Cruz and other Republicans who were so alarmed by the press briefing. Even some of Biden's fellow Democrats were as well, as we covered. Ferguson also opened the episode by highlighting how "there was a moment in this country where the media, the White House press corps, Democrats and Republicans were wondering if Joe Biden was going to step down as President of the United States of America" after that report's release. 

The episode at one point included a clip of former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany pointing out how even White House press corp reporters from liberal outlets were asking if Biden would step aside as president, or at least not run for reelection, with even CNN describing that press conference as a "nightmare." Ferguson also described a change in the media as something have changed, so that they became "hostile," which Cruz pointed out was indeed "revealing."

"These questions are not going away," Cruz pointed out, as he also reminded that Biden and the White House got it wrong in categorizing what the special counsel's report actually said, especially since it did find wrongdoing from Biden when he was no longer vice president. 

Since Hur's report, the Biden administration has doubled down on gaslighting, misleading, and lying about the report. This includes the president himself during Thursday night's disastrous press briefing, as well as White House Counsel Iam Sams, First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Another issue discussed at the end of the podcast involves long-term consequences that don't merely have to do with the 2024 election, but with investigations from House Republicans into Biden. "It shouldn't, and I don't think it will," especially with the amount of "very significant" evidence against Biden when it comes to his wrongdoing and "aggressively trying to cover that up," Cruz offered. Ferguson also previewed that if the media doesn't "calm down," and Biden continues to lose the media, then "that can change an awful lot."

Further, a future DOJ and attorney general could bring charges against Biden, as Cruz and other legal experts have pointed out. 

"If there's a Trump Department of Justice, and there is real evidence of bribery and corruption of Joe Biden and Hunter Biden and the extended Biden family, I think the possibility of a prosecution is real and significant," Cruz shared.