Cruz Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: CRUZ: We Need a Commander in Chief Who Stands Up and Doesn't Refuse to Say Radical Islamic Terrorism

HOUSTON, Texas – Presidential candidate Ted Cruz joined Mike Gallagher on the radio this morning regarding the fight against ISIS, that President Obama is completely out of touch with the American people, and how the USA Freedom Act strengthens our ability to target radical Islamic terrorists.

Below are excerpts, listen to entire interview here:

Regarding the President's Address

Mike Gallagher: I mean it's inconceivable to me that the President of the United States wants to stand at the podium in the Oval Office and talk about things like the no fly list and gun control, as if ISIS inspired terrorists are going to worry about gun control laws anywhere in America...

Ted Cruz: That is exactly right. You know last night's speech, the President is so out of touch and so unprepared and unwilling to defend this nation, which makes the next year extraordinarily dangerous. We saw the President lecture the American people like some condescending schoolmarm about the need to avoid Islamophobia.

What we need is a Commander in Chief who stands up and, number one, doesn't engage in politically correct doublespeak, doesn't refuse to say the words radical Islamic terrorism as Obama and Hillary and all the Democrats do. Number two, who says we will defeat ISIS, we're going to carpet bomb them in oblivion, we're going to arm the Kurds, we're going to go and find them and hunt them down and kill them...

Regarding USA Freedom Act

Gallagher: It came out over the weekend it seemed the government was a little bit handcuffed from accessing metadata regarding the San Bernardino attack because it's NSA access lapsed under this kind of legislation that you've been opposed to. Can you help us explain your vote..?

Cruz: Well sure this issue is quite straightforward and I'm very proud of having joined with Mike Lee and other strong conservatives in crafting the USA Freedom Act and passing it. And it is legislation that strengthened America's ability to target terrorists...What Senator Rubio believes is that we would be safer if the federal government had access to your and my cell phones and emails and location at every point.

And indeed unfortunately Senator Rubio last night dismissed the fourth amendment of the Bill of Rights is 'ideological silliness'. Now I have to say I don't think the Bill of Rights or the Constitution is ideological silliness. And I don't think America is safer by giving Lois Lerner access to your and my cell phones and emails.

So what did we do in the USA Freedom Act? We ended the federal government's bulk collection of phone metadata of law-abiding citizens. But at the same time we strengthened the ability to go after terrorists...Under the USA Freedom Act we can now intercept more cell phones we can get more metadata on the terrorists than we did before. The old program only included a portion of the phone records in existence. Under the USA Freedom Act, law enforcement and national security can now access a much broader universe to target terrorists, which is in fact what we did after San Bernardino...

Gallagher: It frankly reminds me a bit of Democrats response to gun control, I mean it's the same idea. Let's take everybody's right away to keep and bear arms in order to try and keep it out of the hands of terrorists, let's make sure everybody's cell phone is tapped into and everybody's communication is monitored to try and keep terrorists from being able to communicate, rather than focus on the actual terrorists themselves.

Cruz: That is exactly right.