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Ted Cruz: “We toppled Gaddafi and the terrorists who hate Americans…”

Featuring: Ted Cruz, Republican | U.S. Senate, Texas

A Message to the Iranian People: You Can Change the World Right Now, plus WHY it Matters For America

Published January 12, 2026 | Video Starts at 31:50

By the way, we did the same thing in Libya with Gaddafi. Gaddafi, it was cruel and oppressive, but he was killing terrorists who hate Americans. We toppled Gaddafi and the terrorists who hate Americans took over. I believe we should be America first, which means we should put America's national security interests first. (31:50–31:54)

CLAIM

Asserts that the removal of Gaddafi led to terrorists taking control in Libya.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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