Sen. Cruz to Newsmax: Ticket Act Restores Fairness to Consumers

It’s not fair to consumers to get charged high add-on fees for tickets to sporting events or concerts, let alone deal with the frustration of buying tickets online, Sen. Ted Cruz tells Newsmax, and he’s fighting back with legislation called the Ticket Act.

“I’ve teamed up with Maria Cantwell, who is the Democrat from Washington state. She’s the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. I’m the ranking member, the senior Republican on the Commerce Committee,” the Texas Republican explained on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”

“This legislation requires that ticket brokers disclose the total cost upfront so you can see right at the beginning how much it’s going to cost you. You don’t get surprised at the end,” he added.

The legislation also addressed the practice of speculative tickets, during which brokers will go out and buy a ticket for a person, but then often come back with a different ticket than the customer had wanted, said Cruz. 

But with the Ticket Act, “If you’re going to do that, you’ve got to disclose that up front as well,” said Cruz. “That should be disclosed to customers.”

The senator also discussed President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, including the concerns about his age coming into play. 

“Look, he’s not remotely fit today,” said Cruz. “The degree to which his mental capacities have diminished is really staggering.”

He also said voters must keep in mind the potential that Vice President Kamala Harris would have to replace Biden if he wins. 

“The actuarial tables tell us there’s a very real possibility that he doesn’t last four more years as president, which means we could wake up with President Kamala Harris,” said Cruz.

“That truly would be disastrous. Can you imagine Kamala Harris sitting across from [Vladimir] Putin or from Xi [Jinping] and just cackling? We need a serious commander-in-chief. We need a serious leader, and I think the American people are ready to change course from the disastrous course we’ve been on the last 2.5 years.”

Cruz also commented on the news that Biden, during a press conference Wednesday, was holding a note with a question from a Los Angeles Times reporter in his hand. 

“The Los Angeles Times should fire that reporter or whoever gave the White House that question,” said Cruz. “You’re not doing your job. That is absurd. I have done literally thousands of press conferences. Reporters don’t give me their questions. You haven’t given me your questions. I don’t know what the heck you’re going to ask next.”

But, Cruz said, “The media is no longer reporting on the news. They’re no longer reporting on facts … instead, they view themselves, not just as partisan Democrats but as the left wing of the Democrat Party, so their job is to push the Biden White House further left.”

Cruz also discussed Fox News’ firing of primetime star Tucker Carlson, calling it “unfortunate.”

“I can tell you as a fan, I enjoy watching Tucker,” he said. “I think his monologues at night are some of the most insightful and incisive analyses of what’s going on so I wish Tucker was still on the air.”

Also, the senator spoke out about news concerning Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, after an undercover video released Wednesday by Project Veritas revealed that doctors in the hospital were prescribing puberty blockers to children as young as age 8, according to a report in National Review.

“I just think that’s horrific,” he said. “I think a child that is 8 years old does not have the maturity to make permanent life-altering decisions.

“We see institutions across the country performing genital mutilations, performing surgeries where they remove perfectly healthy genitals from children, little boys, or little girls, making them no longer able to have children for the rest of their lives. That is horrific. I think that’s child abuse.”

He said he’s joined with Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, to conduct oversight about the hospital and its policies.