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Quoted By: >>1345910
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/23/ted-cruz-texas-senate-podcast-verdict/
Midway through his stump speech at a recent campaign rally, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz did something unusual: He asked the audience to take out their cell phones and text an automated number that would respond with a link to download his thrice-weekly podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”
Cruz had recorded his latest episode at midnight, several hours before the Friday morning rally, after Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech accepting her party’s presidential nomination. Cruz proudly recited the episode title for the crowd: “Kamala’s Speech: Vapid, Radical, Disconnected from Reality and Dangerous as Hell.”
“Now, why do I do the podcast? I do the podcast to equip and arm you, to give you the information you need,” Cruz told the hundreds of rallygoers packed into a bar in downtown Georgetown. “It does not cost a penny, but when you subscribe, it'll magically appear on your phone about 5 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It takes about a half hour to listen to, and it's designed to give you the information, the facts.”
The campaign trail plug was only the latest reminder of how Cruz’s popular podcast has become an integral part of the Texas junior Republican senator’s life — and a tool in his effort to win reelection this fall. The show has helped Cruz reach new audiences and solidify his status as a leading conservative voice on national issues, allowing him to quickly fire off takes on the political news of the day, unfiltered by mainstream media, to thousands of listeners.
The podcast has also attracted legal scrutiny: Democrats and watchdog groups have filed multiple formal complaints accusing Cruz of violating campaign finance law via a financial arrangement through which the company that syndicates his podcast has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to a pro-Cruz super PAC.
Midway through his stump speech at a recent campaign rally, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz did something unusual: He asked the audience to take out their cell phones and text an automated number that would respond with a link to download his thrice-weekly podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”
Cruz had recorded his latest episode at midnight, several hours before the Friday morning rally, after Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech accepting her party’s presidential nomination. Cruz proudly recited the episode title for the crowd: “Kamala’s Speech: Vapid, Radical, Disconnected from Reality and Dangerous as Hell.”
“Now, why do I do the podcast? I do the podcast to equip and arm you, to give you the information you need,” Cruz told the hundreds of rallygoers packed into a bar in downtown Georgetown. “It does not cost a penny, but when you subscribe, it'll magically appear on your phone about 5 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It takes about a half hour to listen to, and it's designed to give you the information, the facts.”
The campaign trail plug was only the latest reminder of how Cruz’s popular podcast has become an integral part of the Texas junior Republican senator’s life — and a tool in his effort to win reelection this fall. The show has helped Cruz reach new audiences and solidify his status as a leading conservative voice on national issues, allowing him to quickly fire off takes on the political news of the day, unfiltered by mainstream media, to thousands of listeners.
The podcast has also attracted legal scrutiny: Democrats and watchdog groups have filed multiple formal complaints accusing Cruz of violating campaign finance law via a financial arrangement through which the company that syndicates his podcast has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to a pro-Cruz super PAC.
