WE’RE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM.
PROVE THAT YOU ARE WITH US.
TED CRUZ REPUBLICAN SENATOR
FROM TEXAS MEMBER OF THE
FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE.
SENATOR CRUZ, THANK YOU FOR
BEING IN "FOCUS" TODAY.
I WANT THE START WITH WHAT
BENJAMIN HALL WAS REPORTING
ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE
PEOPLE ON THE GROUND IN UKRAINE.
MAYBE SEEING PRESIDENT BIDEN
TAKE MORE OF A VICTORY LAP.
SOMETHING ACCOMPLISHED THAT
HASN’T BEEN YET.
WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THAT?
>> I AGREE VERY MUCH WITH THE
SENTIMENTS BEING EXPRESSED.
THE STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
LAST NIGHT I THOUGHT WAS
INCREDIBLY DISCONNECTED AND OUT
OF TOUCH AND BIDEN REFERENCED A
NUMBER OF THE CHALLENGES IN
THIS COUNTRY BUT TOOK NO
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF THEM.
HE TALKED ABOUT INFLATION,
DIDN’T ACKNOWLEDGE THE
TRILLIONS OF NEW SPENDING AND
DEBT THAT’S DRIVING INFLATION.
HE TALKED ABOUT GAS PRICES
GOING UP BUT DIDN’T ACKNOWLEDGE
HIS POLICIES THAT ARE
DESTROYING THE DOMESTIC ENERGY
MARKET.
WHEN IT CAME TO UKRAINE HE
DIDN’T ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIRECT
RESPONSIBILITY HE BEARS FOR THE
RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE
BECAUSE OF TWO THINGS.
NUMBER ONE LAST YEAR THE
DISASTROUS WITHDRAWAL IN
AFGHANISTAN.
THE SURRENDER TO THE TALIBAN.
EVERY ENEMY OF AMERICA TOOK THE
MEASURE OF THE MAN IN THE OVAL
OFFICE AND THEY DETERMINED
UNFORTUNATELY THAT THE
PRESIDENT WAS WEAK AND
AFFECTLESS AND INEFFECTIVE AND
A BIG PART OF THE REASON RUSSIA
INVADED UKRAINE.
SECONDLY, JOE BIDEN
SPECIFICALLY MADE A SERIES OF
CONCESSIONS TO PUTIN AND
RUSSIA, MOST NOTABLY WAIVING
SANCTIONS ON NORD STREAM 2 THE
PIPELINE PUTIN WAS BUILDING TO
GO AROUND UKRAINE.
I AUTHORED THE SANCTIONS IN THE
SENATE AND PASSED THEM INTO LAW.
DONALD TRUMP SIGNED THEM INTO
LAW AND STOPPED NORD STREAM 2
UNTIL JOE BIDEN CAME INTO
OFFICE.
GAVE HIM THE PIPELINE AND
CAUSED THE INVASION.
BIDEN ADMITS NO RESPONSIBILITY
FOR ANYTHING AND THE SENTIMENTS
THAT WERE JUST EXPRESSED A
SECOND AGO I VERY MUCH AGREE.
JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS AND
THIS ADMINISTRATION ARE
RESIGNED TO PUTIN WINNING.
THERE IS NO RESOLVE TO WIN.
THERE IS NO FOCUS ON HOW DO WE
STOP PUTIN FROM TAKING OVER AND
CONQUERING UKRAINE?
THE WAY WE DO SO IS TWO-FOLD.
NUMBER ONE WE USE ECONOMIC
POWER, MASSIVE ECONOMIC
SANCTIONS.
BIDEN HAS EXEMPTED AS YOU NOTED
ENERGY.
HE HAS EXEMPTED OIL AND GAS.
THAT’S WHERE PUTIN GETS ALL OF
HIS REVENUE.
WE NEED TO BE BOYCOTTING
RUSSIAN ENERGY AND LEADING THE
WORLD IN A BOYCOTT OF RUSSIAN
ENERGY TO CUT OFF THE CASH TO
PUTIN.
NUMBER TWO WE NEED TO BE DOING
MUCH MORE TO PROVIDE MILITARY
AID TO UKRAINE.
NOT AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
AMERICAN SOLDIERS SHOULD NOT BE
FIGHTING THE RUSSIANS BUT WE
OUGHT TO BE PROVIDING STINGERS
AND JAVELINS BECAUSE THE
UKRAINIANS ARE HEROICLY
DEFENDING THEIR OWN HOMELAND.
>> Harris: WE’VE BEEN TALKING
TO PEOPLE ON THE GROUND THERE.
THEY ARE OUT OF GUNS.
I WANT TO VISIT A COUPLE OF
THINGS THAT YOU SAID BECAUSE IT
IS JUST SO JARRING IF ANY OF
THAT PART HAS EVIDENCE THAT
THIS ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE
ACCEPTING A VICTORY ALREADY BY
PUTIN.
IT IS -- THAT IS UNFATHOMABLE.
WE DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO
WRITE HISTORY FOR THEM.
BUT CERTAINLY WITH AS MANY
AMERICANS AND PEOPLE AROUND THE
WORLD WHO ARE PROFESSING THEIR
LOVE AND SOLIDIFIED WITH
UKRAINE IN ITS FIGHT FOR
FREEDOM IT IS WAY TOO EARLY IN
HISTORY TO TRY TO DO THAT.
I MEAN, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE
ARE CAPABLE OF UNTIL WE LEAN IN.
MY QUESTION FOR YOU, SENATOR,
PUTIN DID THIS NO MATTER WHAT
ANYONE WOULD HAVE DONE.
HOW DO WE KNOW?
BECAUSE VERY SHORTLY
AFGHANISTAN AFTER, TROOPS WERE
MASSING JUST IN OCTOBER WE LEFT
EARLY -- LATE AUGUST, EARLY
SEPTEMBER.
JUST WEEKS LATER HE WAS ALREADY
PUTTING NOW UP TO 200,000
TROOPS ON THE GROUND ALONG
BORDERS WITH UKRAINE.
SO HE WAS GOING TO DO THIS.
HOW DO WE STOP HIM FROM HIS
NEXT MOVE IF WE DON’T SHOW THAT
WE MIGHT USE MIGHT?
I AM NOT ADVOCATING IN ANY WAY
NO ONE WANTS NUCLEAR WAR.
BUT HE HAS ALREADY SAID HE IS
WILLING TO GO THERE.
>> SO LET ME TAKE THAT IN TWO
PIECES.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE
REMEMBER WHAT AMERICA’S
INTEREST IS IN UKRAINE.
SOMETIMES THERE ARE REPUBLICANS
WHO TALK ABOUT UKRAINE AND TALK
ABOUT THE NEED TO DEFEND
DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL NORMS.
FRANKLY I THINK IT IS ALL --
THE OBJECTIVE OF U.S. FOREIGN
POLICY AND THE JOB OF THE
MILITARY IS TO DEFEND AMERICAN
NATIONAL SECURITY.
THE REASON WE HAVE AN ACUTE
INTEREST IN WHAT PUTIN IS DOING
IS BECAUSE PUTIN HAS TOLD US
HIS OBJECTIVE.
TO REASSEMBLY THE OLD SOVIET
UNION.
WE WERE IN THE COLD WAR WITH
TWO SUPER POWERS, AMERICA AND
THE SOVIET UNION.
PUTIN IS TRYING TO REBUILD THE
SOVIET UNION.
THE SPEECH HE GAVE A WEEK AGO
SAID HE WANTED TO REBUILD THE
RUSSIAN EMPIRE OF 1922.
IT IS IN OUR INTEREST TO KEEP
OUR ENEMIES WEAK.
WE DON’T WANT A STRONGER
VLADIMIR PUTIN WITH DESIRES TO
CONQUER EUROPE AND THE WORLD.
IT’S WHY WE HAVE A STRONG
INTEREST IN PREVENTING HIM FROM
GETTING STRONGER BECAUSE IT’S
MORE DANGEROUS FOR US.
THE SECOND POINT YOU MADE
RESPECTFULLY, I DON’T THINK
IT’S RIGHT THIS WAS INEVITABLE.
IT WAS PREVENTABLE.
THE MOST FRUSTRATING ASPECT
ABOUT IT.
I THINK JOE BIDEN MADE SPECIFIC
MISTAKES THAT CAUSED THIS
INVASION.
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WE HAD A
CLASSIFIED BRIEFING WITH ALL
100 SENATORS AND ONE OF THE
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS STOOD UP
AND ASKED THE SECRETARY OF
STATE TONY BLINKEN, WHY DID
PUTIN NOT INVADE UKRAINE IN
2017 OR IN 2018 OR 2019 OR 2020?
I HAVE TO ADMIT I AND SEVERAL
OTHER SENATORS BEGAN LAUGHING.
THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS.
WHICH IS THAT PUTIN ONLY
RESPECTS STRENGTH.
AND HE BELIEVED PRESIDENT TRUMP
WAS STRONG.
HE DIDN’T WANT TO RISK THE
CONSEQUENCES AND CRITICALLY
TRUMP HAD SIGNED INTO LAW THE
SANCTIONS THAT I AUTHORED
SHUTTING DOWN NORD STREAM 2.
IF PUTIN INVADED UKRAINE HE
RISKED JEOPARDIZING THE
PIPELINES THAT GO THROUGH
UKRAINE.
WITHOUT THOSE PIPELINES PUTIN
CAN’T GET HIS GAS TO EUROPE AND
WHY NORD STREAM 2 WAS SO
IMPORTANT.
WHEN BIDEN CAME IN HE JUST
SURRENDERED NORD STREAM 2 TO
PUTIN AND WAIVED THE SANCTIONS
AND DID SO BECAUSE THIS
PRESIDENT AND THIS
ADMINISTRATION BELIEVES WHEN
YOU ARE FACING AN ENEMY, YOU
SHOULD SHOW WEAKNESS.
YOU SHOULD SHOW APPEASEMENT.
THEY THINK THAT’S HOW YOU STOP
AGGRESSION.
THAT’S WHAT THEY DID WITH THE
TALIBAN AND WITH RUSSIA AND
WHAT THEY’RE DOING WITH CHINA
AND IRAN TRYING TO GIVE IRAN
HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
WHICH WILL ONLY ALLOW THE
AYATOLLAH TO GET A NUCLEAR
WEAPON.
APPEASEMENT DOESN’T WORK.
>> Harris: YOUR DESCRIPTION OF
WHY WE ARE BEING TOLD TO
SACRIFICE WITH THE GAS PRICES.
PUSHED HIGHER THAN THEY WERE
ALREADY WITH THE INFLATION
DISASTER WE WERE HAVING BEFORE
THE END OF 2021, THAT
EXPLANATION WAS MISSING FROM
THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS QUITE
FRANKLY LAST NIGHT.
PEOPLE WHO WERE LISTENING TO
PUT THOSE PUZZLE PIECES
TOGETHER DIDN’T GET THAT.
YOU HAVE DONE SOME OF THAT
TODAY AND TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL.
I KNOW THERE ARE POLITICS
MIXED, TOO, YOU HAVE GIVEN A
PRIMER ON WHAT WE’RE ABOUT AND
WHAT OUR FOREIGN POLICY IS
ABOUT WITH REGARD TO THAT.
I HOPE PEOPLE ARE PAYING