The Biden administration must investigate reports of communist China and Cuba directly funding and influencing radical left-wing organizations to incite anti-Israel and anti-American protests across the U.S., according to Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who noted the goal of such externally funded subversion campaigns is to create chaos, weaken the country, and “tear us apart.”
On Wednesday’s episode of his podcast The Verdict, the Texas senator highlighted reports of the “direct involvement of communist China and communist Cuba in the anti-Israel, antisemitic, anti-American protests that are happening across this country”:
Coming to America to study on a student visa is a privilege, not a right.
Every foreign student who burns an American flag and chants “death to America” should be deported immediately.
We expose how the Ivy League caves to foreign pressure on Verdict 👇https://t.co/RFRXgW0guB pic.twitter.com/31sdleCKE5
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 16, 2024
One he cited revealed that key radical left-wing organizations central in the current anti-Israel and anti-America protest movement are significantly funded and influenced by a network tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which seeks to advance a “revolutionary, anti-government, anti-capitalist agenda,” threatening U.S. internal stability:
🚨 BREAKING: Communist China (CCP)-Backed Media Network Exposed
⚠️ BT Newsroom Tied to Massive Chinese Influence Operations
🗞️ Recent findings from the Network Contagion Research Institute expose deep connections between @BTnewsroom BT Newsroom and the Chinese Communist Party… pic.twitter.com/pXnXadwSsV
— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) May 14, 2024
“America’s enemies want this country ripped apart, and they are funding the mayhem we are seeing on our college campuses,” he said. “They are trying to destroy this country, and sadly, there are a whole lot of elected Democrats in Washington who are on board with that.”
According to Cruz, China is spending potentially $100 million to fund protests on U.S. campuses to create chaos and paralyze the country, not out of interest in Hamas or Israel, but to weaken America.
“You might think … what does China care about Hamas? What does China care about Israel? And the truth of the matter is they don’t. But they care about America. They care about tearing our country apart. They care about chaos and fomenting dissent and dissension that paralyzes our country,” he stated.
Palestinian Hamas militants are seen during a military show in the Bani Suheila district on July 20, 2017, in Gaza City, Gaza (Chris McGrath/Getty Images). // Chinese President Xi Jinping gives a joint press conference with France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Thursday, April 6, 2023 (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File).
He also insisted that the Department of Justice and FBI investigate the significant funding from China, Iran, and organizations tied to terrorist groups behind the anti-American and anti-Israel protests, though he expressed doubt they would due to politicization under the Biden administration.
He said:
My level of confidence that the FBI and the Department of Justice is even looking at this is incredibly low because, sadly, this Biden Department of Justice is so politicized that they’re much more interested in tracking down some little old lady on the National Mall on January 6 who was waving an American flag and saying, “God Bless America” and finding every Facebook post she put twenty years ago than they are actually interested in finding Communist China spending millions of dollars trying to rip America apart.
Noting that the influx of foreign students in Ivy League schools is financially beneficial, Cruz asserted that it raises concerns about educating individuals who may harbor anti-American and anti-Israel sentiments, contrasting with students who come seeking genuine educational opportunities and freedom, which is “very different from bringing in a bunch of radical anti-America, anti-Israel radicals.”
“Look, as far as I’m concerned, if you have a student on a student visa who gets out there and is burning an American flag and chanting, ‘Death to America,’ you should deport him that day,” he added.
He also referenced a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed highlighting how Cuba fuels U.S. campus protests, revealing that well-funded revolutionary groups with ties to Havana aim to destabilize America, with some agitators receiving practical support from Cuban intelligence.
Cruz, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then called on the Biden administration, IRS, and FBI to investigate tax-exempt organizations funding campus protests, but again expressed doubt the current administration will act due to political biases and connections to the funders:
Look, in a sane world, the FBI would be examining this closely. We watched during the Trump presidency the whole Russia nonsense, which was totally made up. … And yet, I have no indication that the Department of Justice is doing anything to examine this. I have no indication that the FBI … are investigating this … and I don’t believe they will because many of the funders, in addition to being the Chinese communists and the Cuban communists … are also the top funders for the Democrat party. And this Department of Justice operates as an adjunct to the White House. It is a Democrat enforcement bureau, which means I don’t think they’re going to go after the top funders of the Democrat party because … their objective is to reelect Joe Biden and so [not] stopping foreign communist governments from fomenting dissent, protecting Jewish students on campus, preventing our universities from being ripped apart, preventing airports from being shut down, preventing freeways from being shut down.
“Remember, these are the same people who during the ‘Summer of Love,’ the deep state didn’t want to do anything, and so I don’t believe the Biden administration is going to do a damn thing,” he added.
He emphasized that campus protests are highly organized and funded by various radicals to exploit vulnerabilities in America.
“This is not organic. This is not occurring spontaneously. This is highly organized,” he said. “There’s a reason why all of these activists have the same damn tents — because the groups that are pushing this sent out links to the same Amazon link to buy the tents, and they are being funded … by radical leftists, … by anarchists, … [and] by communists.”
Columbia University students participate in an ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment on their campus following last week’s arrest of more than 100 protesters on April 26, 2024, in New York City (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images).
“It’s not just American communists, of which there are sadly far too many,” he added. “It is Chinese communists, the Chinese Communist Party. It is Cuban communists, and they see this as a vulnerability in America, a way to tear us apart.”
Cruz then criticized elite institutions for tolerating antisemitic behavior.
“How the hell is Jerry Seinfeld now too controversial of a speaker for campus leftists? We saw at Duke’s commencement, oh, about fifty antisemitic leftist storm out,” he said, noting that the iconic comedian “was not giving a speech about Israel”:
Duke invited a Jewish speaker to graduation and Pro-H@mas graduates walked out. The speaker? Jerry Seinfeld.
pic.twitter.com/5p3YWl1b2V— @amuse (@amuse) May 12, 2024
“They simply said, ‘Damn it. I will not listen to a Jew. I am such a bigot. If you invite a Jew to speak to me, I will walk out ostentatiously,’” he added.
He then highlighted a recent Columbia University graduation, where some students angrily ripped their diplomas in support of Palestinians.
“You look at the recent graduation at Columbia where you had these nitwits walking up and ripping their diploma in half, and I mean they are angry,” he said.
“They are bigoted on the left,” he explained. “Being a bigot [and] hating Jews is accepted on the left now. That is an acceptable bigotry.”
Though universities may face challenges in revoking diplomas if students rip them up during graduation, Cruz suggested that detailing such actions on transcripts could be a possible consequence.
“You might actually have a breach of contract claim if you have actually paid your tuition and passed all your classes. I’m not sure they could revoke your diploma at that point, but you know what? They could certainly print on your transcript that [the student] is embarrassed to have graduated from Ole Miss and tore up his diploma. You should know that if you’re thinking of hiring [such an individual],” he said.
He also suggested that parents carefully consider the political climate of universities, particularly those in blue states, as these institutions may be more radicalized and less protective of students, especially Jewish students.
“My view has long been that a kid should go to the best school they can get into. And it does open doors. It opens career doors. It’s beneficial. I will say, the more radicalized these places get, the less convinced I am,” he said.
Calling it a “problem in blue states” and specifically at institutions such as Columbia, NYU, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, and the University of Washington, Cruz attributed it to “Democrats who will not stand up against it, who will not protect Jewish students, who will not oppose antisemitism, who will not lock up protesters, who will not stop pro Hamas protesters, who will not stop threats of violence.”
“These are the same people that were utterly powerless in the so-called Summer of Love and let anarchists take over portions of major cities in America,” he added. “These are the same people who allowed Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters to fire bomb police cars, to loot stores, to commit crimes. We’re not seeing this in red states.”
He then accused President Biden of doing “absolutely nothing” about the enforcement of federal civil rights laws and addressing the lack of protection for students facing threats,” claiming the Democrat president “wants the votes of the antisemites who are protesting.”
“His administration also seems to have zero concern about the Chinese communist money and the Cuban communist money and supporters behind this,” he added.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
