SP
BravenNow
Transcript: Sen. Ted Cruz on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," March 1, 2026
| USA | general | ✓ Verified - cbsnews.com

Transcript: Sen. Ted Cruz on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," March 1, 2026

#Ted Cruz #Iran #Mass Shooting #Austin #Terrorism #Diplomacy #Nuclear Weapons #Military Action #Hamas #Hezbollah #CENTCOM #President Trump #Margaret Brennan #Face the Nation

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Mass shooting in Austin: Senator Cruz acknowledges reports of a mass shooting in Austin and the FBI's involvement in investigating potential terrorism connections.
  • Iran Conflict Justification: Senator Cruz defends President Trump's decision to launch military action against Iran, citing Iran's history as a state sponsor of terrorism, funding for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and alleged attempts to harm President Trump.
  • Diplomacy Failure: Senator Cruz argues that previous diplomatic efforts with Iran were unsuccessful due to Iranian unwillingness to negotiate on uranium enrichment and address its proxies.
  • Nuclear Weapons Program: Senator Cruz asserts that Iran had an active nuclear weapons program a year prior and that a previous military operation significantly disrupted it. He claims the US bombing destroyed facilities like Fordow and halted rebuilding efforts, but he lacks current intelligence on their progress.
  • Missile Development: Senator Cruz states that Iran is actively building approximately 100 missiles per month, posing a threat to regional neighbors.
  • Regime Weakening: Senator Cruz posits that the 12-Day War weakened the Iranian regime, making it more vulnerable to President Trump's actions.

📖 Full Retelling

This interview features Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz discussing a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, and the recent military operation by President Trump against Iran. He addresses concerns about terrorism, the justification for the conflict, diplomatic failures, nuclear weapons concerns, and the ongoing missile development by Iran. The conversation takes place on March 1, 2026, during an appearance on "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan.

🏷️ Themes

National Security, International Relations, Terrorism, Diplomacy, Nuclear Proliferation, Political Strategy

📚 Related People & Topics

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz

American politician and attorney (born 1970)

Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008. Since 2025, Cruz has chaired the Senate Commerce Commi...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗
Margaret Brennan

Margaret Brennan

American journalist (born 1980)

Margaret Mary Brennan (born March 26, 1980) is an American journalist who is the current moderator of Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on CBS News, the network's chief foreign affairs correspondent, and a fill-in and substitute anchor for CBS Evening News. Brennan was previously a White House c...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Entity Intersection Graph

Connections for Ted Cruz:

🌐 Rocha 1 shared
🌐 Sullivan 1 shared
🌐 Presidency of Donald Trump 1 shared
👤 Dan Crenshaw 1 shared
👤 Steve Toth 1 shared
View full profile

Mentioned Entities

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz

American politician and attorney (born 1970)

 Margaret Brennan

Margaret Brennan

American journalist (born 1980)
}
Original Source
Face The Nation Transcripts Transcript: Sen. Ted Cruz on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," March 1, 2026 March 1, 2026 / 12:19 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on March 1, 2026. MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who joins us from Austin. Good morning to you, Senator. I'm glad we got your audio working. You are from Houston, I believe this morning. SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): I am. Good morning, Margaret. MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, I want to ask you about Austin, though, because there are reports of three people dead, more than a dozen injured following a mass shooting in that city. The FBI is saying this morning that their Joint Terrorism Task Force has joined the investigation. Is there any nexus to terrorism or anything that is going on in regard to the, the worldwide caution at this moment? SEN. CRUZ: We, we don't know for sure that there are some early reports that this shooting may be connected to terrorism, but we need to follow the evidence and see, see in particular, what motivated the shooting. We are certainly, Heidi and I, are praying for those who were wounded and the families of those who were killed, but, but at this point, we don't know what the evidence will show in terms of whether this was an act of terrorism. MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll continue to follow those, those early reports, but senator just looking at the global environment right now, CENTCOM announced three Americans were killed and five seriously wounded in this operation. President Trump and Presiden- Vice President Vance campaigned on not getting America involved in new wars. What do you say to Americans this morning who are asking why we are in this conflict now? SEN. CRUZ: President Trump's decision to launch this decisive action against Iran is the single most important decision of his presidency...
Read full article at source

Source

cbsnews.com

More from USA

News from Other Countries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇺🇦 Ukraine