Ted Cruz Recalls the Time He Pitched Rupert Murdoch on Poaching Jay Leno After His NBC Exit: He ‘Laughed At Me’

Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) recently recalled the moment he phoned Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch in an ill-fated attempt to convince him to hire Jay Leno.

During the Thursday edition of Verdict with Ted Cruz, Cruz explained he pitched the media titan on the idea shortly after he was elected Senator in 2013.

“So I’ve been in the Senate 10 years. When I first got there, every late-night host would have senators and national figures on both Democrats and Republicans. It’s one of the ways the world has changed,” Cruz said.

“So when I was a brand new senator, I was on Jay Leno, I was on Jimmy Fallon, I was on Jimmy Kimmel, I was on Stephen Colbert. It was part of the job,” he added. “In the last five years, I don’t know of a single one of the late night comics that has had a single Republican on there. They become left-wing shills.”

Despite the ridicule, Cruz said Fallon was “by far the best,” crediting his success with the takeover of Leno’s spot with a large midwest audience.

As the conversation continued, Cruz said, “Fallon. Look, the guy probably leans left.”

“If you had to watch one, that’s the one I’d watch,” chimed in co-host Ben Ferguson.

“So I will tell you an interesting thing. When Jay Leno got cut from late-night TV, I was a newbie senator, I made a phone call,” Cruz said.

“Do you know who I called?” Cruz asked Ferguson.

“Who?” Ferguson asked.

“Rupert Murdoch,” Cruz replied. “And I called Rupert Murdoch and I said, ‘Rupert, let me encourage you, Fox should put Jay Leno on late-night tv. I actually think it is important for America, that comedy matters, that culture matters, that entertainment matters.’ And Jay Leno, I don’t know Jay, well, I don’t think he’s a conservative.”

“I assume he is left of center, but he spent years speaking to the middle of America. And so what Jay Leno would do is he would make fun of both sides of the aisle,” he added.

“And not in a vicious evil or mean way,” Ferguson said.

“By the way, making fun of Republicans is fine. I mean, you and I make fun of Republicans,” clarified Cruz.

“And, and when — I gotta say, when I pitched it to Rupert, he kinda laughed at me. He thought — he did not think it was serious. I still think the country would be better off to have — I think comedy is powerful,” Cruz concluded.

Listen above via Verdict with Ted Cruz.