(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, slammed President Joe Biden for rolling out the “red carpet” for terrorists Thursday following New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
Before the sun came up on Wednesday, 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, an Army veteran who brandished an ISIS flag on his rented truck, reportedly plowed into pedestrians on Bourbon Street and killed 14 people before he died in a gunfight with police.
On his Verdict podcast, Cruz called his frequent warning that “the odds of a major terrorist attack in the United States were higher than they have been at any time since September 11,” stating that the New Orleans attack proved his prediction right. Cruz’s co-host, Ben Ferguson, said the Biden administration sent the message “we will spare your life” to terrorists for the past four years.
Terror Attack in New Orleans—What We
Know So Far.@benfergusonshow and I break down the latest on Verdict. https://t.co/phKvgITtCg
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 2, 2025
“We’ve had four years of an open-door, red-carpet invitation for terrorists to come across our southern border. That has made us much, much less safe,” Cruz said. “We have also had law enforcement, including the FBI, focused on political and partisan agendas instead of focusing on the bad guys, stopping the bad guys before they commit crimes like this.”
The senator continued, “We will find out what information there was that could have been used to prevent this attack. We need to find that out, and even if the Biden administration refuses to make it public and to be transparent, I have significant confidence that the incoming Trump administration will make that information public.”
Later Wednesday morning, Matthew Livelsberger, 37, reportedly killed himself and injured seven people when he blew up a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
The explosion, reportedly caused by fireworks and gasoline in the vehicle’s bed, did not even break the glass of the building’s lobby, prompting Tesla founder Elon Musk to tout the Cybertruck’s safe design.
Thursday afternoon, it was reported that Livelsberger had a gunshot wound to the head before the Cybertruck exploded. Authorities are investigating whether the incident should be classified as terrorism.
The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.
Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken. https://t.co/9vj1JdcRZV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025
“That vulnerability is very real, which is why we need a proactive FBI. We need law enforcement that is focusing on the bad guys and not on every political agenda that might be the latest fashionable priority,” Cruz said.
The Texan pointed out that the Biden administration’s open border made the U.S. more susceptible to a terror attack.
“The open borders for four years, have contributed to making us less safe, have contributed to increasing the likelihood of a terrorist attack, but at this point, look whether, whether Joe Biden and the Democrats intend to be transparent or not,” Cruz said, harking back to Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy’s promise to “chase” down federal officials to get the “truth” to concerned Americans.
🚨 New statement from President Trump: pic.twitter.com/zSPcWXkyxG
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 2, 2025
BREAKING: U.S. Senators are now urging the expedited confirmation of Trump’s national security team following the suspected terror attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
— Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) January 1, 2025
Cruz expressed confidence that the incoming Trump administration, which begins on Jan. 20, will be transparent as information about the attacks emerge.
He told his Verdict listeners, “It needs to be public so there can be accountability for where the ball was dropped, because at the end of the day, this attack was not prevented, tragically, and we need to learn from that and make sure we stop the next attack.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
