In an era of political partisanship which is marked by vitriol and name-calling, Ted Budd is a breath of fresh air. He can discuss hot-button issues without getting hot under the collar. He is respectful of people who disagree with his positions, and he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight if it means getting a bill passed that can help those in need. He is a quick study and a hard worker, and he is one of the most genuinely charming men you could ever meet. He is also loyal to a fault and his support for a law-breaking president is baffling to me, yet if Ted himself ran for president tomorrow I would be the first in line to vote for him.
I first met Ted back in 2018 when he was a freshman congressman and since then he has appeared on Triad Today 10 times to discuss public policy and update our viewers about proposed legislation. Our latest exchange came during his spring break from the United States Senate. What follows are highlights from our conversation.
Jim: Recovery from hurricane flooding is still ongoing in western North Carolina. Talk about the federal response efforts that you were involved in.
Ted: Our office started before the storm actually hit. We were in touch with Duke Energy, the National Guard, and lots of others because we knew it was going to be a bad one, but we didn’t realize how bad. Remember there was already 10 inches of rain before the hurricane got there and this was a geological event like we’ve never seen in North Carolina. If you’ve been in this state long enough and you remember Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Floyd in the northeast that was a Category 1 that dumped a ton of rain. If you combine those two together that’s what we had in western North Carolina. We’ve been out there from the beginning just to offer support and see what was needed, and clear bureaucratic roadblocks so that these groups could do what they needed to do. Since then, we’ve been going out there to see what progress has been made and what still needs to be done, and toward that end, I recently secured a $1.4 billion dollar grant to help families recover from the devastation.
Jim: Let’s switch gears for a moment. What is the greatest security threat to our country? Is it Russia, China, AI?
Ted: They are all threats that we all have to keep our eye on. But some of them are opportunities. If you look at artificial intelligence, for example, it’s an opportunity as well as a threat. That’s one of the things our office focuses on is to make sure that we use AI for the benefit of the American worker. It needs to be a servant to us and not a master of us.
Jim: Over the past couple of years, the Biden administration allowed over 20 million illegal immigrants to enter our country. What are you and the administration doing to abate that problem?
Ted: When I go down and talk to border patrol agents and ask them what they need, they say, “What we really need is policy.” What President Trump has done is enforce the law which has lowered the amount of illegal entries by 94%, and that’s just by enforcing the laws that are already on the books, and if Biden had done that we wouldn’t have the problem that we have now.
Jim: How do you stand on tariffs?
Ted: Tariffs are a tool to level the playing field. When I talk to individuals whether they are a small business owner, a big business leader, or an individual they understand what President Trump is trying to do and level the playing field. I think people are willing to pay a short-term price for our long-term economic health, not just for their country, but for themselves.
Jim: You introduced a bill to provide support for families of substance abuse victims. Tell me about that.
Ted: You and I have talked about this since 2017 when I first came into office. It’s been a major concern of mine, and we don’t want families to not have the resources they need to deal with those who are addicted. It’s about providing resources so they don’t have to go through this alone. This is a bipartisan bill. It’s one of those few areas where you can reach across the aisle and say, “Would you help me on this?” A Democratic senator from New Mexico helped me on this bill and we introduced it together.
Jim: A lot of us older folks keep hearing from Washington that Social Security is going to be cut.
Ted: I think that’s a political threat. I know President Trump and I don’t see that. I think he’s caring for seniors, and all of the cuts that you see they’re not cuts on Social Security. They are things we’re doing to shore up our federal spending so that we have the money to pay for Social Security and Medicare. You’ve got to cut out the waste fraud and abuse and you’ve got to cut out unnecessary programs that don’t serve us that tend to get in the way economically in providing those key services. We want to protect those key services and that’s what President Trump is working on and that’s what I’m supporting.
Jim: Who or what led you to give your life to public service?
Ted: I’ve always been in the business of service, growing up in a family business that did janitorial and landscaping, or just helping your neighbor growing up on a farm in Davie County. So, I sort of had that city world and I had that agricultural world as well, and there’s nothing more rewarding than helping your neighbor. Look, this is a tough job and there are a lot of tough days where you feel like you’re getting your ribs kicked in, but at the same time, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to help people. I get to help a lot of people on this job, and it’s certainly rewarding, and I’m honored to do it.
Catching Up With Ted Budd
In an era of political partisanship which is marked by vitriol and name-calling, Ted Budd is a breath of fresh air. He can discuss hot-button issues without getting hot under the collar. He is respectful of people who disagree with his positions, and he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight if it means getting a bill passed that can help those in need. He is a quick study and a hard worker, and he is one of the most genuinely charming men you could ever meet. He is also loyal to a fault and his support for a law-breaking president is baffling to me, yet if Ted himself ran for president tomorrow I would be the first in line to vote for him.
I first met Ted back in 2018 when he was a freshman congressman and since then he has appeared on Triad Today 10 times to discuss public policy and update our viewers about proposed legislation. Our latest exchange came during his spring break from the United States Senate. What follows are highlights from our conversation.