Sen. Cruz on ‘Hannity’: ‘Democrats Understand They Are in Trouble,’ Now Realize Their Push to Defund the Police is Unpopular With the American People

HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week joined Fox News' 'Hannity' to discuss the Democrats' hypocrisy concerning their repeated calls to defund the police as crime rates surge in major cities. They also discussed the ongoing crisis on our southern border, which the Biden-Harris administration created with their reckless immigration policies. Highlights of his interview are below.

WATCH: Sen. Cruz: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Need to Enforce the Rule of Law, Secure the Border

On the Democrat effort to deny their repeated calls for defunding the police, Sen. Cruz said:

"For them to run out and claim Republicans want to defund the police is like an arsonist showing up at the fire and blaming the firemen. That is like the Chinese blaming the Americans for the Wuhan virus. That is like O.J. saying he's going to help find the real killer. That is like Democrats saying they are the ones that want to build the wall. It is absurd. It is ridiculous and they know it, but you know what, they are also counting on the media all encircling Joe Biden and saying, ‘Poor Uncle Joe, he doesn't want to abolish your police.' Well, last I checked, Bill De Blasio, the Democratic mayor of New York, campaigned on defunding the police, cut a billion dollars from the NYPD, and De Blasio was standing on that same Democratic stage with Joe Biden. Joe might not remember it, but De Blasio was right there. Last I checked, AOC is a Democrat. Last I checked, Tlaib is a Democrat. Last I checked, Omar is a Democrat."

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"Look, the Democrats understand they are in trouble. Abolishing the police is stupid. The American people know that. By the way, African-Americans and Hispanics overwhelmingly oppose abolishing the police. Suddenly, these rich, white liberals that said let them eat cake, let them be without police, are realizing, oh, no, this is unpopular."

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"You want to know what Joe Biden thinks? Look no further than two of the senior officials he appointed for the Department of Justice, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke. They are two of the leading advocates for defunding and abolishing the police. Last year in writing a Congressional testimony they advocated it. Biden appointed them to two of the top positions of the Justice Department. Out of 50 Democrats in the Senate, you know who voted to confirm both of them, all 50. Every single Democrat voted to confirm vocal advocates for abolishing the police. That is who is helping run the Department of Justice right now."

On the Biden-Harris border crisis and Vice President Harris' photo-op visit to El Paso, Sen. Cruz said:

"As you know, it is complete lawlessness and the Biden administration refuses to enforce the law. A couple of months ago, I brought 19 senators down to the border to see firsthand what was happening. I've been to the border many, many times and with Border Patrol on midnight patrol; it is worse than it's ever been. Over half a million people have crossed illegally. I've got to tell you for many people crossing illegally, they don't have to be apprehended by the Border Patrol. They go and seek out the Border Patrol and turn themselves in because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris deliver them the rest of the way. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the last mile of the human trafficking network that's resulting in abusing thousands of little boys, thousands of little girls. It is utterly lawless. It's striking."

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"The trip that President Trump is taking to the border, and we are glad to welcome him back in Texas - it did prompt Kamala Harris finally to discover that we had a southern border, and she traveled to the southern border, but amazingly enough she did not go to the Rio Grande Valley. She did not go to the epicenter of the problem. She went to El Paso, which is a wonderful city, but it is 800 miles away. Chicago is closer to Washington, D.C. than El Paso is to the Rio Grande Valley, and there's a reason that Kamala didn't go to the Rio Grande Valley. Because if she had, she would have had to have seen the Biden cages. You've seen the Biden cages. Cage after cage after cage of little children. She didn't want the news media to cover it because the media today, they don't pretend anymore. They are the Praetorian Guard protecting Biden and Harris. She went to El Paso to say, ‘See, I went to the border and everything is fine here,' while ignoring - we are on pace for more than 2 million people to cross illegally. It is a crisis. You want to know how bad it is? McAllen, Texas, a great city down in the Rio Grande Valley, historically bright blue, 80 percent Democratic. They just elected a Republican mayor because the people said, ‘Enough already with this chaos that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has given us.' We need to enforce our law and we need to secure our borders."

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