How can Ted Cruz tell whether someone knows him from his podcast or television? The hair. “If a guy with a ponytail and tattoos comes up and says, ‘Hey, I love what you’re doing,’ I know what the next words he’s going to say are. He’s going to mention the podcast,” the Texas Senator tells The Hill.
In an interview with the Capitol Hill newspaper, Cruz says unlike a lot of politicians who turn up on television, he is not interested in being a political pundit. Instead, the one-time presidential candidate says his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz allows him to lay out his decision-making to constituents. “Part of fighting successfully is communicating and explaining what the issues are that matter. So, I view the podcast as fulfilling one of the really important responsibilities of representing Texans,” he says.
Cruz initially launched Verdict during the impeachment of former President Trump, and when that process ended, he decided to keep the podcast going. The show reportedly had two million downloads in July among more than one million unique listeners.
“Much of the corporate media does not provide in-depth coverage of what is going on,” Cruz tells The Hill. “The reason why people faithfully listen three times a week is because when they’re done they’ve learned something … far better than what they’re able to get from the vast majority of media sources.”
While the series – which is distributed by iHeartPodcasts – may offer Cruz an opportunity to connect with voters, it has not proven to be an income source for the Senator. His reps tell the Austin American-Statesman that Cruz receives “no financial benefit” from his podcast.
The recent headlines involving Hunter Biden and legal proceedings around former President Trump have seemingly helped give Cruz a bump in recent weeks. Verdict is currently the No. 3 political podcast on Apple Podcasts and the No. 10 news podcast in the U.S. according to Chartable. And it ranks No. 11 among news podcasts on Spotify.