now. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com >> announcer: now frfr kwwl, this is the steele report. >> ron: and welcome to this week's edition of the steele report. we have two very special guests. i'll introduce them to you moment taerl. now, remember, this is airing the day before thth iowa caucuses. last week, we had lieutenant governor kim reynolds on the program along with democratic presidential candidate senator bernie sanders, so save your emails and everything. this is revengngof the republicans this week, i guess, so save the emails for later because we're going to try to even things out as we go along throughomt the course of the campaign. so welcome back, first of all, iowa fourth district congressman steve king making, i don't know, third or fourth appearance on the program in the last year. i appreciate tt. he's been in iowa's congrereional delegation since 2003 and the fourth district is iowa's largest geographical area as far as representing of iowa's 99 counties. many of those in the kwwl

and welcome for the first time on the show, heidi cruz, the wife of presidential candidate senator ted cruz, the junior senator out of texas. they'v'vbeen married almost 15 years now, going back to 2001. they have two young daughters, caroline and katherine. mrs. cruz in her own right is a very successful invesent banker and private wealth manager. you're on leave from that right now, i understand. she's the region head for investments management division for goldman in houston, texas, graduate of harvarar business school. she worked in bush 43 administration. and that's how you met your husband, so welcome to the program. sounds like e u're the one that ought to be running for president. >> heidi: definitely not. >> ron: i enjoy having congressman king on the show because he's the most outspoken membmb of the iowa delegation. i'm going to start with this because it's in the news the last few days. probably a real shocker to you when the governor of iowa, terry

program m ny times as well, came out publicly and didn't endorse anyone, instead (e said don't vote in the caucuses for ted cruz. ababt that. you had to be stunned by that. >> rep. king: i'd say my blood pressure is not yet down to normal levels because of that and as terry bran sad has only caucus. he was very clear that he would endorse no one in this and yet apparently at the renewable e fuels conference on january 19th, he came out with that statement. as i listened to the statement, there were a number of components not supportable by the actual facts and the allegations made by the arf, the group formed to promote the rff standards, have been allegations that haven't been supportable by facts from the beginning and they've been running commerciaia against ted cruz on that and i'm in those commercials, so we're taking negative hits for two months on this and governor branstad supported that. i'd say this.

and take a look at the text and listen to the audio of your statement. you will find at least four components of that that need to be corrected. correct the record and let iowans go to caucus working with what is true and factual. by the way, this iowa caucus first in the nation was put at great risk by that statement. we lost the straw poll in ames and that was initiated, we know, with governor branstad's statement a year ago. it. i said then if we lose the straw poll, that will bebehe elimination of a barrier that keeps them from eliminating the first in the nation caucus. what i'm concerned about now is can we hold this caucus tother? because when a presidential candidate sympathies about coming to iowa to run for president, he's gogog to think about a governor that took a shot at him just a week and a half out. >> ron: and eric bratad, his son, as member of that organization that i i certainly supporting this. mrs. cruz, when you heard, this were you stunned by it yourself? do you have a reaction to the governor of iowa going so public against your husband?

about our campaigngns that it starts at the top with the leadership and that is our candidate. when our candidate isn't rattled by things, there's no reason the wife should be. ted is focused on his strategy and wing the state of iowa through an enormous grassroots army we built and an incredible fundraising effort undertook in 2015,so we're going to keep with the strategy that's been winning. >> ron: he's in favor of phasing out the renewable fuels starpd over a five-year period and thth is somomhing that weighs heavily on the minds of iowans, but doesn't carry too far beyond iowa, it does? >> rep. king: no, not too far beyond iowa. it might go as far as the corn distinction. the message delivered for two months was ted cruz was for eliminating the rff necessarily and that's not true. he -- immediately, and at's not true. he introduced a piece of legislation on march 27th, 2014, a broader energy bill, and in that bill, it steps down the rff

it expires at the end of five years anyway, so the question is as it would be stepped down under the cruz plan, do we have more market access under the cruz plaand ted cruz would eliminate the 10% blend wall, allow us to sell e-25 or e-30 and those things give us an opportunity to sell more ethanol that we're selling today. someone who built more than half the ethanol plants in iowa estimates it would increase the masht share by 60%. i think the governor and the industry needs to stop, take a deep breath, and listen. we have a presidential candidate whom i've worked with on this issue, the immigration issue and others, and we have a presidential candidate who will work with the industry and understand -- and by the way, we have a first lady that understands it too in heidi cruz and i know that because we had a deep disisssion about the sue on the bus one day. >> heidi: we did. >> ron: there're looking at

on the total goal of 36. i'ved that donald trump on this program. actually, he fired me on my own program, i don't know if that went over big or not, but a lot of people probably agreed with him on that one. trump rallies of late have been interesting in that he does attract large, boisterous crowds that seem to support a lot of what he says until he criticizes ted cruz, your husband. what is that saying about your campaign here in iowa? you're running neck and neck in the latest polls. >> heidi: our campaign reflects who ted is and from the beginning,g,hat's a person anan a campaign that's not going to attack others, that's going to stick to our naej and take the high road. i've always admired that inin teded because ted isiso focused on the substance, he knows the issues so well and he's principled. he knows what he believes in. he doesn't have to spend a lot of time attacking others and at's been a big posititi for our campmpgn and we're going to keep doing that.

people like on nbc in their profile of you recently, describe you as the quote-unquote, secrett weapon. that's a flattering statement because you have not been afraid to take an active role in this campaign. as you look at republicans, do they have the demographics to win the white house now or do they have to expand? how is your husband going to be able to do that without compromising the principl you mentioned? >> heidi: i absolutely believeve the republican party hasthe coalition to win this nraition. when you look at -- this nation. when you look at historical elections and general election knowledge, when we run a consertive, an economic conservative, a social conservative, and a national security conservative, we win national elections. people turn out when they know that the candidate is principled, when there's a frofr ven track record and a consistete track record. people have a chance to get to know you and who you are and they can look at what you've done, there's a lot of voters out there who want to know that

ally know them. when we turn out base in the republican party, we win elections. >> ron: even governor branstad, though he criticized your sband, asking ioions to voe against him on caucus night, admitted that he has the best ground game in the state right now. we have guys like steve king helpininyou, so tell me how proud you arof the team that you haha here in iowa because on caucus night, you just never know. you've got to get your people out or you'll find out, as other people have, that aurora not as strong as -- you're not as strong as you thought you were. >> heidi: we could not be more proud of the team we've built in iowa. this is an incredibly important state in this state and every presidential election. we started out with two traffic aims in this campaign. one is to build a grassroots army that this country has not seen since reagan. our team thatcame togethth in iowa is the strongest that we could have even hoped for with congressman steve king joining

family leader, and we got to know them deeply. these are important leaders and i will tell you and i want to tell iowa caucus goers, they do their homework. they have evaluated every candidate. we've spent with them getting to know t tm, talking to them, talking to them about our marriage, our family, our faith, what drives us, what ted's principles are. and it was such an honor, not just because of the election, but just personally to have the support and the respect of such incredible leaders in our nation in bob and steve. >> ron: i've seen a lot of video of you actually on the phone, nning the phones, trying to reach as many iowans, and i don't know if you were talking to iowans at the time, but iowans and new hampshire and as you u ve into the other prpraries. steve, when sarah palin came out with donald trump, what did that say to you guys? were you hoping for he endorsement or is that -- i had a guy say to me that trtrp finally played a mistake, i mean in his mistaken.

sarah palin fan in iowa. what do you think about that endorsement? how does it hurt or help anybody? >> rep. king: i like sarah palin. she came to the event i hosted last january 24th a year ago and gave a speech in the state as did donald trump anded cruz d a number of oothers, and at that time, we set up a pheasant hunt for the next day, ron, and i remember ted and sarah and i standing in a little triangle circle there the evening before, and i was trying to convince herr to come to our pheasant hunt the next day. i didn't try hard enough. i could have closed the sale, but i thought i'm not going to press that hard. now i know it's my fault. if i had gotten her out there in the field with a shotgun, we would have had a bond. but a lot of sarah's policies are ted's policy. her statement on energy position is ted's energy position and it can't hardly be donald trump's and ted's at the same te becausshe said she's against

the playing field. so i think philosophically she's closer to ted than trump. we'll see how it works out on the night of caucus. >> ron: are you friends of sarah palin and were you surprised by her endorsement of donald trump? >> heidi: sarah came toto texas and campaign for ted and made big difference in his race. i expense soue time with their family and we like the pail lins. i think sarah haha had ininedible impact on the country and we hope she continues to do so. >> ron: so you were surprised probably that she is endorsing donald trump? >> heidi: not much surprising me. ron: were you upset about it? >> heidi: back to your question before, ted, if you watch ted and if you spend time with ted, you see what an incredibib unflappable character he has and that comes from his mother. ted was born to an irish-italian mother. her mother was one of 17 children. the family was blue collar

ted's father was the first of her family to go to college. she is smart, wise, she's an incredibib listener, very, very patient, and nothing rattles her and ted has a very, very strong dna of that and it's a great blessing. things really don't ther ted. i knkn what he's's doing and why he's doing it, and we are confident that voters will get to know him. >> ron: i'm not going to get you to answer that question, am i? >> heidi: i juju answered. [ laughter ] >> rep. king: answer this, ron. if you have irish blood, that's an explanation for any kind of behavior whatsoever. >> heidi: that can be true. >> ron: : 'll take a break real quick. reminder, the program in its entirety will be on kwwl.com as well shortly after we air it here, as wealways followow meet

we'l ron: welcome back t tthe final portion n our repopo this week on the steele report on kwwl. we have, of course, congressman steve king and heidi cruz with us, the wife of senator ted cruz and on t campaign trail and doing a job that is really tough. i mean, it's grueling, you have to be so dedicated. i know you've been mary about 15 -- married about 15 years, this has been to be a test of your dedication to each other. your husband talked about this earlier, not relinquishing the core v vues on issues that are controversial like same sex marriage.

to do that without any compromise at all tois faith, to what he believes? you were born, i believe, and grew up as a seventh day adventist, so you have strong faith in your background. give me the pitch and give the people watching here today, your husband is a man who will not compromise, high values. that's what you love about him, right? >> heidi: well, thank you, ron, for asking that question. absolutely, ted will be able to run this race through the primary and the general without compromising his principles. this is what's been so interesting about elections for so long. there's an old adage in the republican party, run to the right in the primary and run to the middle in the general and guess what? when we do that, we lose. when we run as o we genuinely are and we have a candidate who's a consistent principled conservative and even on the website, we don't talk about the issues and talking points. we talk about what he's done. when people see that, we'll turn out the base of the party and

and vote for ted in the general and what is so unique and from larve about ted as a candidate, he's a man of fate, a christian man, raised a family dedicated to democracy and fighting for freedoms. his father came here from cuba as a freedom fighter. he was raised with the bibleeand the constitution is deep endly superlative about him is he's able to have the principles personally and vern from base of faith, but as a constitutionalist. our constitution was inspired to govern a land of freedom, of individual choice, of opportunity and consequence. law and order and consequence. and ted, i believe, is one of the foremost in our nation today that understands the constitution and how to apply it to citizens and states of this country. and when y y listen to what he says and not what others say about him, it is a fascinating experience because ted does not back down from who he is and his

three branches o ogovernment, he knows the limits on power, and he understands the 10th amendment. i am with ted wherever he campaigns, from new york city to iowa to south carolina, new hampshire, los angeles. and he says the same thing to every single voter in any of these different states. we are a nation ofmany, many different -- of many, many faiths. peopleleame here from all over the world and it's natural that they live differently, but we need to convince our fellow citizens of our beliefs and not rule through the executive ordede in the office. >> ron: : know he has the pen out asking for more ink to get rid of some of these executive orders. donald trump did bring the citizenship eligibility. what was that all about? >> heidi: i don't know buy donald trump brought it its when he does. that's his own campaign strategy. we'll keep running ourace. from the way this played t and i said this on television before, this is not a legal matter that will be of consequence.

>> rep. king: i'd just like to jump in on that. i'm on the constitution subcommittee, the house judiciary committee and i've looked into this deeply and actually tracked it over the years. it really comes down to this. there are two ways to be a citizen the united ststes. you can be naturalized or natural born, and if you look back at the scholarship on this, when this was debate, when it was put into the constitution, the people that passedthe act that clarified that in 1790, a number of them were there shaping the constitution itself. and so they understood what natural born was and what it really means is if when you're born, you are a citizen of the united states, you're naturally born to be a citizen of the united states. you can either be naturali\ed or natural born. there's no otherer kind of citizen. no one questions ted cruz's citizenship. he's not naturalized, he's natural born and it fits the constitution and it fits current law that goes back to 1790. >> ron: let's talk about new york values.

does he wish he phrased it another way is that anotherr thing that he's not going to back down from saying something like that that apparently offended a lot of people inhe state of new york? >> heidi: as you might know about ted, he is willing to work with those who want to advance our country. from day one in the senate, he campaign to 17 million texans that he would work hard to redudu the debt and deficit and to defund and get rid of oak, and he has done -- obamacare and he has done exactly that. he is happy to work hard with those who want to move our country y orward. he's not happyto gogo up and not do what he said he would do and make deals to do less than what he promised voters. so when -- if it's ever said about ted thathe's uncompromising, he is uncompromising to get a bad deal, that is true. >> ron: did you just say that he regrets saying new york values or not? >> heidi: you have to ask ted himself what he regrets saying, but i do talk to ted and ted is

experience -- >> ron: as of you. >> heidi: and my experience of 1616ears knowing ted cruz, assess what he means and he means what he says, and he define the terms as he did in a letter that he wrote to those that asked, which were democrats, asked ted for an apology and i'd really encourage the caucus goers of iowa to read that letter of apology that ted wrote to the dememrats, which is what he meant by his statement. ted apologize for small business owners for being run out of new york because of overregulation. ted apologized for the overregulation of manhattan because of the size of their soda drinks. ted apologized to the african american kid who had his choice taken away from him by de blasio ananput back in failing excuse. that is what ted meant. i encourage you to go to google and look up that letter. it's one of the greatthings

means. that's why we encourage people to listen to what he says, not what peopl say about him. >> ron: that seems to be one of the things that are at tracking cruz. two men who are saying whatever is on their mind and not being as politically correct as seem people feel we need to be. there's a auaul lot ofof debate about that. let's make predictions now -- >> rep. king: ron, what's missing from the dialogue is that the new york values that ted spoke to on the debate that thursday night were thth new w rk values that donald trump had described to the rest of america in an interview with tim russ sart, october 24th, 2009. he even referenced that his values might be different from iowa. i would say the politics didn't change, 84% of manhattan still we for barack obama.. that's the p pt that's missing from there dialogue here today and i appreciate heidi's answer, i think is better than mine. >> heidi: thank you. >> ron: one other issue not really dogging you, but i'm

you work for a bank, goldman sachs, got a loan in 2012, a couple loans, obviously paid back or are being paid back, but were not disclosed properly or may not have been. why don't you set the record straight on that? and it does matter to people. >> heidi: abablutely. ron: because any appearance of dishonestly or trying to circumvent the law is a big dfal in iowa. >>,heidi: thank you for asking that question because i hope it matters s people that hospitaly is first and foremost. ted can publicly disclose the loans. he took out two loans to finance the senate race. we had the assets to back them, they were at market rate and both p pd back a long time ago. rather than selling our stocks, waeld rather take out a margin loan in case and a straight-up loan in the other casese and pay them back. as i recall, the market did rise

ted did disclose both of those loans. ititas on one form and not triebz to another form. we've said many times, we have the paperwork. i really appreciate the question because i at the end getting closer and closer to votes, they're always a desire by some to try to find risks that are -- that might disclose character and in there case, i can assure you, i knowted better than anyone else, he is a tremendous vutful person, in -- truthful person, incredibly meticulous. >> ron: and there's s evidenen he got any special treatment, there was margin available -- >> heidi: correct. we do not favor employees over customers and i pe that most banks don't, and we had a margin loan for our asset value at the going market rate. >> ron: i want to ask you something real perm. there's a lot of -- personal. there's a lot of stories coming out that many people in the untry go ththugh a depression period in their life.

how did you deal it and how can