Sen. Cruz thank you very much for the kind introduction and it has been so great spending time with ed and alyssa and their wonderful family. It is so great to be with so many dear friends this morning. I would like to begin by remembering those were murdered in San Bernardino yesterday. I would ask if we could observe a moment of silence in their honor. At this point, the details of what happened in San Bernardino are still unclear, but our prayers are with the families of those who were murdered, of those who were shot and all of us are deeply concerned that this is yet another manifestation of terrorism, radical islamic terrorism here at home. Coming on the wake of the terror attack in paris, this horrific murder underscores that we are at a time of war. Whether or not the Current Administration realizes it or is willing to acknowledge it, our enemies are at war with us, and i believe this nation needs a wartime president to defend it. [applause] in recent weeks, president obama traveled abroad to explain that he doesnt believe in American Leadership, that he doesnt believe in america winning, quote, i dont have time for that. You know, i got to say, f. D. R. And j. F. K. And Ronald Reagan were spinning in their graves to hear an american president say he doesnt believe in American Leadership or america winning. Ill tell you, when it comes to radical islamic terrorism, i think our strategy to borrow a page from Ronald Reagan and the cold war should be very simple, we win, they lose. \[applause] and there are three things the next president should do to keep this nation safe. The first is speak the truth. [applause] the truth has power, and at this point, the politically correct double speak that comes from the Obama Administration has gone beyond the point of ridiculous. When the president stands up and says, the Islamic State isnt islamic [laughter] thats just nutty. [applause] we need a president who will call the enemy by its name radical islamic terrorism and we will defeat it. [applause] you know, theres a power to speaking the truth. Back when israel was facing daily rocket fire with hamas, i joined with new york democrat Kirsten Gillibrand in introducing a resolution condemning hamas use of human shields as a war crime. That resolution passed both houses of congress unanimously as we came together to speak the truth. Likewise, following the terrorist attack that occurred in fort hood over five years ago, the Obama Administration refused to speak the truth, refused to acknowledge that nadal hasan, who had communicated with anwar alawlaki, a known radical cleric, who had asked about the permissibility of waving jihad against his fellow serviceman, who in walking through fort hood murdering 14 innocent souls yelled out, allah akbar, as he committed that act of terrorism, the Obama Administration characterized that instead as workplace violence. One of the things im most proud about my tenure in the senate is that i introduced the legislation to mandate that the purple heart be awarded to those soldiers who were murdered. [applause] the obama pentagon fought tooth and nail against that legislation. Yet, im proud to say on the Senate Armed Services committee, i was able to earn the support of both republicans and democrats. We passed it into law in december, and in april i was at the ceremony where those purple hearts were awarded and to each of the family members i simply shook their hands, looked them in the eyes and said, im sorry. Im sorry it took five years to acknowledge the sacrifice of your loved one. You know, when it comes to speaking the truth, this administration does precisely the opposite. We have a president right now who at times operates as an apologist for radical islamic terrorists. Now, i dont use that word lightly. The word apologist has a very specific meaning, is someone that gives a rationalization, a justification, for the conduct. I was at the last National Prayer breakfast, youll recall the day before isis had lit a jordanian pilot on fire. The king of jordan, who was supposed to attend the prayer breakfast, had to fly back to jordan and president obama gave a speech in which he said, yes, isis commits terrorist attacks but so do christians and so do jews. And he then invoked the crusades and the inquisition. Now, last i checked, those ended about 900 years ago, and i dont think its asking too much for the president of the United States to stay in the current millennium. [applause] and the argument this is just like the crusades and the inquisition is the same arguments that the terrorists use. It isnt beneficial when the secretary of state, john kerry you know him well. [laughter] suggests months ago that israel could become an apartheid state or when the secretary of state, john kerry, also says that the terrorist attack against Charlie Hebdo was understandable. The United States of america should not be trying to rationalize terrorists. I tell you when john kerry was nominated, only three senators voted against his confirmation. Never have i been prouder than to have been in that gang of three. [applause] and when kerry called israel an apartheid state, i went to the senate floor and called for kerrys resignation. And i would note that we need more senators, both republicans and democrats, that likewise call for accountability when the secretary of state uses language that undermines the safety and security of our allies. [applause] thats the second thing we need to do, we need to stand by our ally. All of us knew early in the Obama Administration, there are warning signs when in the opening week the president sent back to the United Kingdom the bust of winston churchill. That was just a foreshadowing of things to come. After seven years we have not seen an administration more antagonistic and hostile to the nation of israel in the history of this country. If id suggested to you six years ago that the elected Prime Minister of israel would come to america, would address a joint session of congress, and he would be boycotted by the president of the United States, the Vice President of the United States and every member of the cabinet, our friends in the media would have dismissed that as crazy conspiracy talk. That would never happen. Ill tell you, on the eve of that speech, i organized a Panel Discussion with elie wiesel to discuss the threat of the Iranian Nuclear deal. Elie weisel wanted that to be a bipartisan discussion. So i invited one democrat after another democrat after another democrat after another democrat, we invited roughly a dozen democrats and not a single democrat was willing to stand on a stage with elie weisel and discuss the Iranian Nuclear deal. I will tell you it was truly humbling and powerful to be on that stage with a man who has seen the face of evil and can speak with a moral gravity that when he said, as he did, that never again must mean never again and the one threat of that happening is a nuclear iran. [applause] we need a president who will stand unapologetically with the nation of israel. When hamas murdered three israeli teenagers, i joined with new jersey democrat bob me then december to introdution to introduce legislation providing a 500,000 reward for the terrorist who kidnapped naftali fran tell. That passed the senate and thankfully they captured the terrorist before the house could take it up. Just in the past couple of weeks, i put together a Bipartisan Coalition soft some 30 senators to write to the e. U. To pose their plan to require to oppose their plan to require labeling on the products coming out of israel. And i have pledged that if im elected president , on the very first day in office, we will begin the profwess process of moving the American Embassy to jerusalem, the once and eternal capital of israel. \[applause] and let me tell you now as we see the global b. D. F. Movement, unfortunately get more and more momentum behind it, in a cruz administration, any university that supports the b. D. S. Movement will find its federal funds stripped away. And the third thing we need is we need to defeat our enemies. Not to weaken them, not to degrate them but to defeat them. Two years ago, the nation of iran named their ambassador to the United Nations hamid abudalabi a known terrorist who participated in Holding Americans hostage. Everyone in this town said, this and let me tell you now as we see the global b. D. F. Movement, unfortunately get more and more momentum behind it, in a cruz administration, any university that supports the b. D. S. Movement will find its federal funds stripped away. And the third thing we need is we need to defeat our enemies. Not to weaken them, not to degrate them but to defeat them. Two years ago, the nation of iran named their ambassador to the United Nations hamid abudalabi a known terrorist who participated in Holding Americans hostage. Everyone in this town said, this is terrible, theres nothing we can do. I introduced legislation barring him and other known terrorists from coming to america. It passed the senate 1000. It passed the house 4350. And president obama signed it into law. Part of the feeting our enemies is understanding who they are. And that means not going down the misguided Foreign Policy of barack obama and Hillary Clinton and unfortunately too many republicans in this town. In 2009, Hillary Clinton and barack obama led the effort to topple the government in libya. The consequence of that, libya has been handed over to radical islamic terrorists fighting in a war zone. Short think thereafter, the Obama Administration led the effort to topple mubarak in egypt. The consequence of that, the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization became the government in egypt. And now we see the Obama Administration with the support of politicians in both parties trying to topple the government in syria with no plan for what will replace it. If we are to defeat our enemies we need to be cleareyed. That toppling a government and allowing radical islamic terrorists to take over a nation is not benefiting our National Security interests. Putting istiss or al qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood in charge of yet another state in the middle east is not benefiting our National Security. Instead, we need a president who focuses clearly and says we will utterly destroy isis. Who makes abundantly clear to any militant on the face of the earth if you go and join isis, if you wage jihad against the United States of america, you are signing your death warrant. And then finally, we have the Iranian Nuclear deal. If i am elected president , i have pledged on the very first day in office to rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian Nuclear deal. [applause] you the, at some of these republican debates there have been other republican candidates for president who have said, gosh, thats not a very sophisticated approach. You dont understand, we need to wait and see if we can trust the iranians. Let me tell you what. I do trust the iranians. When the Ayatollah Khomeini burns american and israeli flags and says death to america, i trust him that he means it. And i believe in peace through strength. We are facing a moment like munich in 1938. And president obama, like chamberlain, has come back from tehran promising peace in our time. Yet history has not been kind to those who have facilitated the gathering storm of homicidal maniacs who tell us they want to kill us. The next president needs to have the fortitude to say to the Ayatollah Khomeini in no uncertain terms, either you will stop your Nuclear Weapons program or we will stop it for you. [applause] and i want to give a word of hope and encouragement on all of this. Ive said many times this election, moment in time, is eerily similar to the late 1970s. The parallels between barack obama and jimmy carter are uncanny. The same failed economic policies, the same misery, stagnation, and malaise, the same feckless and nay eve Foreign Policy. And naive Foreign Policy. In fact, the exact same countries, russia and iran. Openly laughing at and mocking the president of the United States. I believe this next election, 2016, is going to be an election like 1980 that we are going to win by painting in bold colors and not pale pastels. [applause] the manifest failures of the Carter Administration set the stage for the reagan revolution, which came from millions of americans across this country. It was a grass roots movement. It didnt come from washington. Washington despised reagan. It came from the American People and it transformed this country and the word of optimism i will give you is the same thing is happening all over this country. People are waking up incredibly and when it comes to Foreign Policy, the difference a strong president can make is underscored by the simple fact that this very same nation, the nation of iran, released our hostages the day Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. And with that, im happy to answer or dodge any question you like. Matt on behalf of the Republican Jewish Coalition \[applause] this is great, ive never gotten a standing ovation before. [laughter] i have a couple of questions, weve been collecting questions over the last few weeks, but one thing that comes up, and my apologies in advance for this comparison, but a number of people have asked, much has been made of barack obama coming into office as a firstterm senator with no Foreign Policy experience. How do you respond to those who raise the same concerns about you . Senator cruz ill say two things, when the media asks, gosh, arent you like barack obama, my reaction to reporters is, i thought you thought that was a good thing . Last i checked, he won two president ial elections. And listen, barack obama is not a bad president because he was a senator. Barack obama is a bad president because hes an unmitigated socialist who wont stand up and defend the United States of america. [applause] but theres a broader point in this. If you look at the last 50 years and at the two moments that had the greatest impacts on human liberty, i would suggest it was 1980, the election of Ronald Reagan, and in 2008, the election of barack obama. The first in a positive way, the second in a very negative way. They shared something in common. Both reagan and obama believed profoundly in their principles, had the courage to fight for them. When barack obama said he wanted to fundamentally transform this country, he meant it. And the damage that has been done in the last seven years is enormous and i believe the only way to undo the damage is if republican is as republicans we need to nominate a candidate for president as committed to conservative principles as barack obama is to liberal principles. Matt this dove tails into the next question, which is, how would you convince staunchly prochoice voters who love your views on security, and israel, that they can still be prochoice and vote for you . Senator cruz thats a question that comes up a lot. The simple reality is to win. Every one of us wants to win. At this point desperately. Its not just a question of our team winning, its a question of saving this country. I believe the stakes have never been higher than they are right now. That we are at the edge of a precipice, were bankrupting our kids and grandkids, the safety and security of this country is hanging in the balance. If we continue another four or eight more years down this road, we will lose this country. So we should all look with a stone cold seriousness at how we win. Now in washington, there are Political Consultants who tell us over and over and over again, the way you run is the way you win is you run to the middle. Every time we followed that advice, we get clobbered. It does not work. The reason it does not work is simple. If you compare 2004, the last nationally,e we won i believe if we are going to win, the central question in this general election is how do you motivate and inspire, and bring back to the polls, the 54 million evangelical christians who stayed home in 2012 . How do you motivate and bring back to the polls the reagan democrats, the bluecollar catholics across the midwest and up into new england who stayed home in the polls . And the one thing that is abundantly clear is if we nominate another candidate, in the mold of a bob dole or a john mccain, or a mitt romney, all of whom are good, honorable, decent men, who love this country, but what they did didnt work. And if we do it again, the same millions of voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016 and hillary becomes the next president. So how do we win . If you look since world war ii, the only republicans who have ever won have won have run on all three legs of the conservative stool. They have run as fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, and National Security conservatives. If you chop off one of those legs, we dont get to 51 . And so the trick is to speak in a way that energizes. So for example you asked about the question of life. Ill tell you the context in which i most like to discuss life, and that is the Little Sisters of the poor. The Little Sisters of the poor are a Catholic Charity of nuns who have taken vows of poverty. They spend their lives taking care of the poor and elderly. Right now the Obama Administration is litigating against the Little Sisters of the poor, trying to force the nuns to pay for abortion inducing drugs in others. Ive joked before a really good rule of thumb, if youre litigating against nuns, youve probably done something wrong. If we focus on values that unify us, that bring us together, bringing back jobs and growth and opportunity, defending our constitutional rights, and restoring americas leadership in the world, that in 1980 is how the reagan revolution rose up. Its what brought millions of people to the polls who had never voted again, and its what were seeing happening now. There is a reason why in six months weve had over 500,000 contributions at tedcruz. Org. Our average contribution is 63. There is a reason why when we do rallies a couple of weeks ago we were in kalamazoo, michigan, 9 00 a. M. On a monday morning, in a hockey rink. 800 people came out, almost all reagan democrats. Irish Catholic Union members, working men and women, the people getting hammered by the obama economy. If were going to win, we run a populist campaign of hardworking men and women who want to believe again in the promise of america, and we run it against the bipartisan corruption of washington that Hillary Clinton embodies. And let me say one final thing, matt, which is, i cannot wait to stand on a debate stage with Hillary Clinton. [applause] senator cruz reagan understood that you win elections by making choices that are meaningful choices. You dont blur the difference. Theres a reason theres only one republican in the last 50 years who has a group of democrats named after him reagan democrats. We need to nominate a candidate who has the clarity to stand up and say, if you vote for Hillary Clinton, you are voting for the Ayatollah Khamenei to have Nuclear Weapons. And if you vote for me, iran will never have Nuclear Weapons. If you vote for Hillary Clinton, youre voting for 12 Million People who are here illegally to be granted amnesty. If you vote for me, well secure the border and stop illegal immigration. If you vote for hillary, you are voting for obamacare to be a permanent feature of our economy in perpetuity. If you vote for me, we will repeal every word of obamacare. That i believe is how we win with a cheerful, clear, meaningful distinction that makes a difference to working men and women across this country. Matt thank you, senator. [applause]