Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, everybody. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon today. I'm joined in the studio by Wesley Wildmon.
Ray Pritchard: Good morning.
Ed Vitagliano: Chris Woodward is in the house. Hello, Chris.
Chris Woodward: Hello.
Ed Vitagliano: You know, sometimes your sound gets close to being a pirate.
Chris Woodward: Just a little hoarse.
Ed Vitagliano: It's hard to unhear that on TV now.
Chris Woodward: The pirate analogy is absolutely something I hadn't considered until now, and that's all I'm going to consider when I hear that.
Ed Vitagliano: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea, right?
Ed Vitagliano: And Dr. Ray, are you in Florida? Are you on the road?
Ray Pritchard: For the moment, I am in Florida, where it is in the upper 70s with blue skies.
Ed Vitagliano: It's a beautiful late-November day here in Florida, and one of the few remaining red states in the country.
Chris Woodward: We're all smiling here. We told you so. We're going to start building a border wall.
Ed Vitagliano: That's right. We're going to make George pay for it.
Chris Woodward: Thank you.
Ed Vitagliano: If anyone can build a border wall around Florida, it's Governor Ron DeSantis.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks, it is November 10th. We are heading directly toward Thanksgiving. I hope you're having a wonderful week. The weather seems to be pleasant around the country, with maybe a few exceptions here and there.
Before we get to the depressing and heavy news of the day, let's talk about favorite seasons. Do any of you have fall down as your favorite season of the year?
Ray Pritchard: I do, for one reason.
Wesley Wildmon: Hunting.
Chris Woodward: Yeah.
Ray Pritchard: Obviously, my kids have grown to enjoy and love being out in this beautiful creation, whether in the woods or in an open field. But you mentioned Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are all joined together within about a month and a half. Having a family of five and three kids, I get to spend that much more time with them because they're out of school.
Ed Vitagliano: Good point. There are fewer activities. A lot of the sports, with the exception of basketball and a few others, are on break, so the kids have less to do. That means more time with us. We're looking forward to that part of fall.
The only downside is that the holidays come rushing in: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Then you have that long dry spell in terms of holidays and days off in January and February, usually almost all of March if Easter comes early. If Easter doesn't come early, you have to wait until April.
So what about you, Ray?
Ray Pritchard: During the years we lived in Chicago, somebody told us when we moved up there from Texas, "You're going to love the four seasons." Compared to Florida, where it's either hot and dry or rainy and sort of hot, those are our two seasons of the year.
In Chicago, you really have seasons. Everybody knows about Chicago winter, but spring is wonderful because it means, by the grace of God, you survived the winter.
Ed Vitagliano: The snow starts to melt.
Ray Pritchard: Right. You live through late April or May, and it's wonderful. I think fall in the Midwest can't be beat. We were just up there for a ministry dinner, and we were reminded again of how beautiful the Midwest is when the leaves change.
Ed Vitagliano: Down here, if you look for the changing leaves, you can see two or three leaves changing here in Florida, but it's not like the Midwest.
Ray Pritchard: Down here in the South, they just turn brown and die.
Chris Woodward: I'm with you. Fall has always been my favorite time of year because of the changing colors in New England, where I grew up. Then there are all the things Wesley mentioned. I always loved fall sports. Of course, everyone knows I love hockey, and hockey season starts. There's also football and the weather. I loved when it was time to pull out sweaters and sweatshirts.
The winters, like you said, are brutal. I can remember May coming around, sometimes even into June, with big parking lots where all the snow was piled up. It wouldn't melt until late May or early June. You'd have this iceberg-looking thing in the middle. Everything else was dry, but that huge pile of packed snow took a long time to melt because it was leftover from winter.
Ed Vitagliano: Some of our listeners experience all those things now, too.
All right, we enjoyed that little nostalgia, a walk down the pleasant pathway with the beautiful leaves and the song of birds and geese flying south for the winter. Now let's talk about the end of the world.
It's going to be a very busy day in the House for a couple of reasons. One of them is that this afternoon, somewhere around 5:30 p.m. Eastern, the House will be voting on an article of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. This is something Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky brought up a couple of days ago.
According to Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a vote on the Hegseth impeachment is set for today at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Mace says she will vote no to impeach Secretary Hegseth.
It appears that Massie does not like Hegseth's handling of the situation in Iran, and therefore brought this up yesterday in a House speech. This morning, Secretary Hegseth had a press conference where he responded to the article of impeachment. Hegseth said that this is about policy disagreements, not high crimes and misdemeanors.
Pete Hegseth: What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. It's time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and, most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.
It's a farce and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it. In the 250 years of our American republic, no secretary of war or secretary of defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations, and in our case, successful ones at that.
Ed Vitagliano: Wesley, I have to agree with the secretary of war on this. I don't care which party you're a part of. I do not like using the power of the government, and I don't like using impeachment for these kinds of issues because it does seem petty on the part of Massie. It seems like a stretch of constitutional authority, and it seems awfully personal to be going after Pete Hegseth.
Frankly, I think the Trump administration is just going to have to batten down the hatches because, come January 1, the Democrats are going to abuse power. I think you'll see a lot more of this.
Wesley Wildmon: It's a complete waste of time for him to try to do this. It's also one thing to live and die on principle, and this is not even principle. He's doing exactly what his job is expected of him. In fact, if he didn't do what he did, that would be worthy of considering impeachment.
So, yes, it's a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, we're going to see a lot more of this when the Democrats take office. It's a waste of time when there are other important issues that we need to be covering.
Ed Vitagliano: Ray, we have been critical of President Trump and the Trump administration on this show where we felt it was necessary. We don't have one particular view of any administration, and we sometimes disagree on this show.
But if the Democrats, and there are some who have supposedly prepared articles of impeachment for the president, go back to that playbook, they may squander some of the blue that they painted over much of the country. I think the American people want problems solved, and I think that's why the vote went the way it did on November 3rd.
Some people never learn. You can be red or blue and do the same dumb thing over and over again.
Ray Pritchard: First of all, Ed, this is going to come to nothing. What Massie is doing is a pure political vendetta. He lost in the primary, and he's gone at the end of this term. He wants to take a shot at Hegseth on the way out.
It's one thing to say, "I disagree with what the secretary has done. I disagree with his methods." You could make a laundry list of things. It's perfectly good in our system to have disagreements. In fact, our system is set up that way.
It's something else to use the constitutional power of impeachment to try to punish Pete Hegseth. It's not going to get through the Senate, and he's not going to be removed. This is pure political grandstanding by a defeated Republican who, I think, accomplished some good things in his days in office. But he's angry and wants to take one last shot.
The bigger story here is, as Wesley said, everybody better hitch up their pants because when January comes, we're going to see a lot more of this, and not just about the secretary of war. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats respond to this.
I don't think Massie is going to get much headway with Republicans on this, but Democrats might be all in. The Democrats are in the minority, but they're not in the minority by much. It would be interesting to see if you get 214 Democrats agreeing with Thomas Massie and voting for impeachment of Pete Hegseth. If you get just a handful of Republicans to go along with this, it goes to the Senate for a vote. This could get highly absurd.
Wesley Wildmon: I think Democrats are in a win-win situation at the moment because anything that looks bad, optics-wise, for the administration or for people who side with Trump seems to them like an advantage.
If they vote on this and it goes to the Senate but doesn't move forward, Democrats can say, "That's all the more reason to vote for more Democrats for the Senate in the next big election." If they come out with a Medicare for All bill in May of 2027 and it doesn't get through, they can say, "This is all the more reason why we need a Democrat in the White House." That's going to be their mindset for the next couple of years. I think that's going to be their playbook.
Chris Woodward: I think that's giving the Democrats way too much credit. They are on a hot streak, and whoever their strategists are, they're doing a pretty good job right now, politically speaking.
I will be shocked if, once they get in, they carry on with their very effective strategy. At some point, not long after they get in office, they're going to get sidetracked back into men's and women's sports and the cultural issues that are losers for them. That's exactly why they changed their strategy to focus on the economy and use the same talking points that Trump used to get elected in 2024. It's a very effective strategy.
Wesley Wildmon: I think there may be some truth to what Ray said about agreeing to disagree, but I don't think they're smart enough to do that. I think their egos are too big. Ego and Washington, D.C. go together, and now egos are on both sides.
I think in this case the Democrats are going to get the best of them.
Ed Vitagliano: So I mentioned it's going to be a busy day in the House for a couple of reasons. The Hegseth thing is the first one. The other is that House Republicans may be choosing their next leader today.
As we have discussed on this program, House Speaker Mike Johnson is not going to pursue any sort of leadership position in the new Congress. It looks like Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio are going to be vying for House Minority Leader today in the new Congress.
Why are they voting on this with six weeks or so to go before the changeover? I'm not certain, but Republicans do want to go ahead and pick their next leader as early as today. This person will be the one in the room with what we can only expect to be House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries come next year.
Ray Pritchard: I will venture a guess. Because of the political catastrophe they just experienced, Republicans probably want to start preparing as early as possible for what they're going to do after the calendar flips to January 2027. They have their work cut out for them, and I think they don't want to wait until after the holidays to get some ideas on paper. That's my guess.
Ed Vitagliano: It's interesting to me that Mike Johnson voluntarily stepped down. A lot of people have said he did an excellent job. When he got that position, Republicans had gone through three or four speakers very quickly. Then you get this guy from Louisiana that the rest of the world knew nothing about. He came in quietly, did his thing, and people seem to think he did a good job.
I don't blame him at all for stepping down after what happened during the midterms. I think it's very smart. I already said earlier, hitch up your pants, boys. It's going to be a rough ride in January, and I think Republicans are trying to get a head start.
What are they saying the Democrats are going to have, 255 seats or more than that?
Ray Pritchard: It's going to be a much bigger majority for them than it has been for Republicans in this Congress.
Ed Vitagliano: On the night of the election, when we had our program covering it, I had done some research. This is not the first time there's been a political bloodbath. Both political parties, both sides of the aisle, have had presidents who lost. I think Barack Obama has the record for the largest turnover, with a loss of maybe 68 seats.
So, Wesley, when you have a loss like they have had, I think it's traditional for the leaders of your party in the House and the Senate to fall on their sword. I don't know Mike Johnson personally, but from what I've read, he's a fine Christian and an honorable man. As Ray pointed out, he's done an excellent job.
But when you have a disaster of these proportions, even in wartime, generals will sometimes say, "I resign my commission," because they lost big. I think that's what Mike Johnson is doing.
Wesley Wildmon: I think that's exactly what he did. I agree that he did a wonderful job, all things considered, especially in that role. It's a lot more difficult than we would like to think it is, particularly when he's a Christian conservative. We may have had more realistic expectations of what he could accomplish.
Looking back, I think it's safe to say he did a wonderful job. Having the outcome we had on election night, we need to be able to say that we're going to miss him, but I also think it's noble or respectable for him to do that and give someone else a shot.
I think Jim Jordan would be as good, maybe better. I know Steve Scalise, I can live with him, but between the two, assuming there isn't a dark horse, I prefer Jim Jordan. I think he's a little more aggressive.
Chris Woodward: I am curious to see whether Jim Jordan starts wearing a coat if he gets a leadership position. He does not wear a coat, ever. Not that you have to. I'm not putting it on the same level as Senator Fetterman showing up in a hoodie, but it is not the contemporary wardrobe choice of several people there.
Wesley Wildmon: And that is important to you?
Chris Woodward: I'm just curious to see. We're pretty relaxed around AFR, and I kind of like that. But you're right, when you're in front of the people as Speaker of the House or Minority Leader, you kind of have to dress for the job.
Mike Braun, when he was running for Senate in Indiana, always wore a blue shirt. That was his thing. He was Blue Shirt Mike Braun. Then he got elected and started wearing white shirts.
Ed Vitagliano: President Trump has always dressed for it. He's always got a suit and tie on. I'm not sure I've ever seen him without one, maybe when he's golfing. You come from that world of success and being a CEO, and you dress for it.
Wesley Wildmon: He might sleep in it. He could be lying back like this, then get up, comb his hair, and tweet. He'll send something on social media.
Chris Woodward: I have actually heard a reporter tell a story about how Trump does not sleep when he's on Air Force One. One time, Trump had something on his mind and had staffers wake up Marco Rubio because Trump wanted to tell him something.
So Trump's just sitting there, wired from Coke, Coca-Cola, and French fries.
Ed Vitagliano: That's the kind of boss nobody wants to have, but Marco Rubio probably already knew that about President Trump. Most presidents are probably that way in emergency situations. You could always be called, but Trump is a force of nature. He seems to hardly ever sleep. You sign up for that team, and you know that's going to be your life for however long you're there.
Chris Woodward: I get home at about six, and I drink a cup of coffee to make it to my kids' bedtime.
Wesley Wildmon: And I am half his age.
Ed Vitagliano: You guys are so young compared to an advanced senior citizen such as myself. I'm only six years behind the president. Last night I got to bed about 8:30 and felt like I should have gotten in bed 20 minutes before that.
Mr. Trump, politics aside, has a metabolism that's generational, maybe supernatural.
Ray Pritchard: That may be closer to the truth. God may have preserved him. But his diet appears to be awful. He seems to be carrying a few too many pounds and hardly sleeps. How that man is still alive, I don't know.
Ed Vitagliano: He's also been shot at and hit.
Chris Woodward: We've seen this before, but there's some money to be made here. If they put his vitamin regimen, or whatever he's doing, on a label, it could say, "If you do this, you'll have the energy of Trump."
Ray Pritchard: If anyone could make money doing it, it's President Trump. He's got the Midas touch.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks. We're going to take a short break. When we come back, Brother Jerry Lawson will join us. Many of you know that this time of year is AFA Christmas Button time. He is the AFA Christmas Button Ambassador, and we'll talk with him about it.
Ed Vitagliano: And welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon. Today I am joined in the studio by Wesley Wildmon and Chris Woodward, and from an undisclosed location in a bunker far underground, Dr. Ray joins us remotely.
Chris, before we go to our Ray Pritchard, somebody has a birthday.
Chris Woodward: Yes. The U.S. Marine Corps was founded on this day in 1775, when the Continental Congress ordered that two battalions of Marines be raised for service during the American Revolution. Today is the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. Tomorrow, of course, is Veterans Day, so if and when you see somebody who has served, be sure to tell them thank you.
If they are a Marine, remember that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
Ed Vitagliano: Thank you very much. You said it better than I did. When you see somebody who served, tell them thank you for their service.
My dad was a Marine during the Korean War, and I once introduced him to somebody as an ex-Marine. He corrected me right there on the spot, which my dad would do. He said, "No, no, no." They are very particular about how they talk about that. He said he's not an ex-Marine because every Marine is always willing to sign back up.
I also had a nephew who was a Marine Corps sniper.
Ray Pritchard: Once a Marine, always a Marine. My nephew, whom I won't name, is a sniper instructor at MARSOC.
Ed Vitagliano: To all the Marines out there, happy birthday.
We have another birthday coming up, a far more important birthday. It's the birth of our Lord and Savior. In honor of that, AFA has been producing a series of Christmas buttons for many years. We encourage people to wear them and share them. Every year we've had Brother Jerry Lawson back, who is our AFA Christmas Button Ambassador.
Pastor Jerry, welcome back to Today's Issues.
Jerry Lawson: It's a delight to be here today.
Ed Vitagliano: You've already been on some radio shows, and we're going to stretch you for all you're worth for the rest of the day, putting you on as many radio stations as we can.
Jerry Lawson: I think we close out after five this evening.
Ed Vitagliano: You're going to be on with Abe Hamilton?
Jerry Lawson: That's correct.
Ed Vitagliano: What are you going to do for energy and caffeine?
Jerry Lawson: Trump doesn't have his regimen for sale.
Ed Vitagliano: Do you drink coffee?
Jerry Lawson: No, sir. No coffee. It's my strength.
Ed Vitagliano: Okay, fair enough.
Wesley Wildmon: We often say things like that jokingly, but he means it. I've been around him enough to know that he's sincere, even though he says it with a little tongue in cheek.
Ed Vitagliano: I appreciate you encouraging me. I say this somewhat hesitantly because I get convicted when I'm around Brother Lawson. I don't have my Christmas button.
I had one for the longest time, but I was lazy and didn't want to poke the hole through my shirt. Then he gave me a magnet last year. It sits in my closet where I get ready, stuck to my metal shelf. I saw it this morning and thought, "It's about that time." Tomorrow I will have my personal Christmas button.
Jerry Lawson: You'll have it.
Ed Vitagliano: Before I turn you loose to talk about the buttons and how you give them away, you can go to resources.afa.net and look at our new Christmas button for 2026. We'll tell you how to order it.
Since Wesley has confessed, I want to make a confession too, Pastor Lawson. I was here when Brother Don first had the idea for these buttons. I don't remember what year it was, maybe the late 1990s or early 2000s.
He came over while I was writing for the magazine and said, "I have this idea." Rusty Benson was a graphics person, and I was in the office right next door. Brother Don said, "I want to have Christmas buttons. Wear them and share them."
This was during the war against Christmas, and AFA was in the middle of that fight. It was a way for Christians to start talking about the real reason for the season. He asked what we thought about the idea.
In my deep recesses of wisdom, I said, "Brother Don, honestly, I haven't seen anyone wear a button since the late '60s, Nixon versus Hubert Humphrey. Everyone was wearing buttons. I just can't imagine anyone wanting buttons."
That's what I said. He replied, "All right, well, I'm going to do it anyway." I think we sold a million buttons that year.
Wesley Wildmon: I think it was over a million.
Ed Vitagliano: I was one of the people who put the bags in the wrappers and envelopes. So tell us, why do you like buttons, and how are they a part of your regular outreach to people on behalf of the Lord?
Jerry Lawson: Brother Don put the inspiration for this ministry in his heart, and along the road of life, the Lord put other inspirations in his heart to grow this ministry. The Lord could see what fruit would come from these buttons. Evidently, this building here is a big part of that blessing.
So many times in ministry, you're out there all alone, and there are many voices of discouragement in the world. But in your heart of hearts, you have this inspiration that encourages you. Pretty soon it becomes crystal clear that God is laying something on your heart for you to do for Him.
With these buttons, everywhere I go I see hurting people, hopeless people, and people living in doom and gloom. I know that my button has a chance to put a sparkle in their life for a moment, and that brings joy to my heart.
The Lord will often say, "Jerry, that person over there needs a button." I'll go engage that person. The Lord has already touched that person's heart, and they are receptive to the button.
Ed Vitagliano: It's such a nonconfrontational way to bring up Jesus. You have tons of stories about someone saying, "What a nice button."
Tim Wildmon once told a story about being out at a restaurant with his wife, Allison. The waitress came up and said, "I love your button. There's a ministry in town where people give these away."
To Tim's credit, he didn't say, "I'm the president of it." He just said, "I'm aware of that. Would you like it?" When you give someone something, even if it's just a button, there is so much negativity and hostility today. Everybody is wound so tight. You give them something simple and tell them about the hope in Jesus, and that can change their day and change their life.
Jerry Lawson: Absolutely. We were coming back into Tupelo last December, and Deborah wanted to stop at a restaurant. I walked in, and a lady left from behind the cash register, came up, grabbed me, and squeezed me.
I said, "I have a wife right here."
She backed up and said, "Here in Tupelo, I wear my Christmas button every day. You're the first person I've seen come into this restaurant wearing a Christmas button just like I had. I had to hug your neck."
I told her I wanted a picture with her. She said I could have it, so I took it and sent it to Buddy. It's right here in Tupelo. Everybody ought to have a button.
Ed Vitagliano: Was she talking about wearing it all year round, or was she talking about the season?
Jerry Lawson: Seasonally. We have seasonal buttons here.
Wesley Wildmon: We have Easter buttons too. I wear a button every day.
Ed Vitagliano: Go to resources.afa.net. The Christmas button is at the top, or you can call 877-927-4917.
Wesley Wildmon: Obviously, you have different categories or areas of life. You've got politics, education, family, and church. Within all these areas of life, you'll find what Brother Jerry Lawson was talking about.
A lot of people may have issues with one another, whether politically or even in church, but generally speaking, we don't listen to people very well. When you give someone a button, it lowers whatever potential temperature there might be, levels the playing field, and is a random act of kindness, which Jesus gave us a great example of.
As a demonstration of God's love for you, giving someone a button is a wonderful way to reach out. There are no excuses, because even if you're an introvert, you can give a button away, even if you don't say anything.
Ed Vitagliano: It's a wonderful way to remind us and those around us that on December 25th we celebrate Jesus' birthday. The button says, "Merry Christmas. I bring you good tidings of great joy." It's a green button with a desert in the background, a couple of sheep, a couple of wise men, and an angel over the top. It's a beautiful button for this time of year.
Jerry Lawson: It comes in a 10-pack.
Ed Vitagliano: It comes in a 10-pack so you can keep one for yourself and give the others away.
Jerry Lawson: One pack is $15. Two to four packs are $10 a pack.
If you're in leadership or have any connection to leadership at your local church, I would ask you to buy a box of 100 and leave them out front as people walk in, the way they would pick up a magazine or other resources. Put these Christmas buttons in your local church. That's another way to spread the good news without even having to interact.
Ed Vitagliano: I always try to think about introverts. If you're an introvert, you can get the buttons, put them at the front of your church, and make sure you get your pastor's permission. That's another way to spread the good news.
We're talking to Brother Jerry Lawson, whom we fondly call our AFA Christmas Button Ambassador. I'm going to give you the last word. What would you like to say to folks listening about the AFA Christmas button?
Jerry Lawson: The motto is, "Wear them and share them." If you want to have a Merry Christmas, bless somebody else. We've been put here to be a blessing to others because we've been blessed.
Ed Vitagliano: Amen. Thank you, Brother Jerry. We always appreciate you, and you did a wonderful job in our devotion this morning. It was a very inspiring, meaty word, and it was a blessing to have you on Today's Issues.
Jerry Lawson: The joy was all mine. Thank you, sir.
Ed Vitagliano: Once again, resources.afa.net. You can call if you prefer not to go to the website: 877-927-4917. These come in a 10-pack so that you can wear them and share them.
Chris, what's next?
Chris Woodward: For anybody wondering when the trial for Tyler Robinson is going to be, you're going to have to be patient. Yesterday, a Utah judge named Tony Graf gave the date and time for the Tyler Robinson trial. Tyler Robinson is the man accused of shooting and killing TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
Judge Graf said that jury selection will begin June 21, 2028, at 9:30 in the morning in Courtroom 4B of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, subject to further order. The court will hold monthly pretrial status conferences to protect the constitutional rights at stake.
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025. Tyler Robinson was arrested a short time later. It's going to be a couple of years before we see this trial play out, and it will probably stretch into the fall of 2028.
A legal contributor who appeared on Fox was asked about the judge scheduling the trial so far in advance.
Ray Pritchard: That's a tremendous amount of time, setting it out over a year from now. It will be three years by the time we're looking at a verdict, counting from when Charlie was killed. Why they feel they need 105 days for the trial itself, it really does seem overwrought.
They're sending out 3,000 jury questionnaires. That's a tremendous number of questionnaires to try to select 12 people to hear this case. All of it seems to have a little bit extra added to it.
Ed Vitagliano: Ray, none of us are lawyers here, but I don't ever remember a case taking this long to go to trial. Is this part of the insistence of the defense team that they need this amount of time to prepare a defense?
Ray Pritchard: I just don't get it. I don't know what the stall is all about. It seems to me they could have set it for June of 2027. That gives you many months, but it's not unlimited, to dig up whatever the defense is looking for. Why the extra year?
It has to be because this is such a high-profile case, since everybody in the nation knows about it. I don't doubt that the 3,000 questionnaires are necessary. It's going to be tough to find 12 people in Utah who don't already have a strong opinion about this case.
I'm sympathetic on that point, but two years from now seems too long. We say we want speedy justice. If so, this seems like the opposite of a quick and fair trial.
Wesley Wildmon: I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I have seen and heard about things happening in my lifetime that are somewhat similar to this, just crime in general, where it seems clear that the person is in the wrong and there is evidence for it.
It seems to me that so many times it takes forever for our courts to provide justice, especially when it seems so obvious as it does here. I understand and am frustrated with it as well, but I am reminded by having traveled to different parts of the world that the wheels of justice do spin here. They roll, but not as fast as we want. In other parts of the world, they don't roll at all.
I remember traveling to India and beginning to learn how their justice system works. That was quite depressing. Both things can be true at the same time. We need to do a better job of having quick and speedy trials, especially when there is as much evidence as there seems to be here. At the same time, it's far worse in other parts of the world.
Chris Woodward: Luigi Mangione, who pled guilty in court in 2024 in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has also not gone forward. There is a motion from his defense team to drop the charges because of double jeopardy, but that's already two and a half years ago. Maybe it's because of the high profile. I'm not sure why this is.
Wesley Wildmon: A lot of it is delay tactics, delaying the inevitable. I don't think the judge should allow that. In the case of Utah, when they arrested Robinson, the governor had already said they would pursue the death penalty. Clearly, Robinson's defense lawyers have tried from day one to delay this as much as possible, knowing that Utah has already said, "We're going to kill you for killing him." I think that's part of it.
Ed Vitagliano: Unfortunately for taxpayers, they're going to have to feed and house this guy for the next couple of years.
Ray Pritchard: If he's convicted and there's a death penalty attached, sometimes they can appeal for ten years.
Wesley Wildmon: It could easily be 20 or 30 years before we get an end to this story.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, next story. Let's keep it with Charlie Kirk for a moment. For days now we've had a viral video that may have been recorded without permission. The comedian Dave Chappelle, during a stand-up performance, talked about Charlie Kirk and said, "Ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered, I feel better."
The video has gone viral and gotten a lot of reaction. Someone who was on Fox News yesterday evening to talk about this was Andrew Kolvet with TPUSA. He had this to say about Dave Chappelle's joke, or lack thereof.
Andrew Kolvet: Dave Chappelle is somebody Charlie defended when a maniac jumped on stage and tried to attack him. Charlie defended him and said that refusing to prosecute was inspiring more of this.
The thing that's most troubling is the cheers. I went back and looked at 1981. Were there any comedians who came out and made gratuitous jokes about the attempted assassination of President Reagan? I couldn't find one. I did find one from a small improv performance by a no-name comedian. Nobody laughed. The joke bombed.
I wasn't alive in 1981. You and Ray remember the day Reagan got shot. Do you remember anybody joking about that?
Ray Pritchard: No. It was a different world. You didn't even want to see your political opponents get attacked. Democrats gave their well wishes and asked people to pray for the president, even though he was a political opponent.
The amount of animosity today is something else. Most of the animosity at this level comes from the left toward the right. I don't see many conservatives, understandably upset and on the opposite side of the spectrum, doing this kind of thing.
Ray Pritchard: No, you don't, and you won't. The problem is that we've become so deeply divided. I wish I could say I was surprised by what Dave Chappelle did, but I'm not. That was unacceptable in 1981. It's almost like an asterisk in the morning news. People shrug and move on.
Chris Woodward: I do want to point out that Andrew went on to say he wasn't trying to police everybody's speech. He just wants people to stop laughing at things like an assassination.
Ed Vitagliano: I don't know how you give people a conscience. I guess that's God's job, but a lot of people don't have one.
Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, everybody. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon today. I'm joined in the studio by Wesley Wildmon.
Ray Pritchard: Good morning.
Ed Vitagliano: Chris Woodward is in the house. Hello, Chris.
Chris Woodward: Hello.
Ed Vitagliano: You know, sometimes your sound gets close to being a pirate.
Chris Woodward: Just a little hoarse.
Ed Vitagliano: It's hard to unhear that on TV now.
Chris Woodward: The pirate analogy is absolutely something I hadn't considered until now, and that's all I'm going to consider when I hear that.
Ed Vitagliano: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea, right?
Ed Vitagliano: And Dr. Ray, are you in Florida? Are you on the road?
Ray Pritchard: For the moment, I am in Florida, where it is in the upper 70s with blue skies.
Ed Vitagliano: It's a beautiful late-November day here in Florida, and one of the few remaining red states in the country.
Chris Woodward: We're all smiling here. We told you so. We're going to start building a border wall.
Ed Vitagliano: That's right. We're going to make George pay for it.
Chris Woodward: Thank you.
Ed Vitagliano: If anyone can build a border wall around Florida, it's Governor Ron DeSantis.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks, it is November 10th. We are heading directly toward Thanksgiving. I hope you're having a wonderful week. The weather seems to be pleasant around the country, with maybe a few exceptions here and there.
Before we get to the depressing and heavy news of the day, let's talk about favorite seasons. Do any of you have fall down as your favorite season of the year?
Ray Pritchard: I do, for one reason.
Wesley Wildmon: Hunting.
Chris Woodward: Yeah.
Ray Pritchard: Obviously, my kids have grown to enjoy and love being out in this beautiful creation, whether in the woods or in an open field. But you mentioned Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are all joined together within about a month and a half. Having a family of five and three kids, I get to spend that much more time with them because they're out of school.
Ed Vitagliano: Good point. There are fewer activities. A lot of the sports, with the exception of basketball and a few others, are on break, so the kids have less to do. That means more time with us. We're looking forward to that part of fall.
The only downside is that the holidays come rushing in: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Then you have that long dry spell in terms of holidays and days off in January and February, usually almost all of March if Easter comes early. If Easter doesn't come early, you have to wait until April.
So what about you, Ray?
Ray Pritchard: During the years we lived in Chicago, somebody told us when we moved up there from Texas, "You're going to love the four seasons." Compared to Florida, where it's either hot and dry or rainy and sort of hot, those are our two seasons of the year.
In Chicago, you really have seasons. Everybody knows about Chicago winter, but spring is wonderful because it means, by the grace of God, you survived the winter.
Ed Vitagliano: The snow starts to melt.
Ray Pritchard: Right. You live through late April or May, and it's wonderful. I think fall in the Midwest can't be beat. We were just up there for a ministry dinner, and we were reminded again of how beautiful the Midwest is when the leaves change.
Ed Vitagliano: Down here, if you look for the changing leaves, you can see two or three leaves changing here in Florida, but it's not like the Midwest.
Ray Pritchard: Down here in the South, they just turn brown and die.
Chris Woodward: I'm with you. Fall has always been my favorite time of year because of the changing colors in New England, where I grew up. Then there are all the things Wesley mentioned. I always loved fall sports. Of course, everyone knows I love hockey, and hockey season starts. There's also football and the weather. I loved when it was time to pull out sweaters and sweatshirts.
The winters, like you said, are brutal. I can remember May coming around, sometimes even into June, with big parking lots where all the snow was piled up. It wouldn't melt until late May or early June. You'd have this iceberg-looking thing in the middle. Everything else was dry, but that huge pile of packed snow took a long time to melt because it was leftover from winter.
Ed Vitagliano: Some of our listeners experience all those things now, too.
All right, we enjoyed that little nostalgia, a walk down the pleasant pathway with the beautiful leaves and the song of birds and geese flying south for the winter. Now let's talk about the end of the world.
It's going to be a very busy day in the House for a couple of reasons. One of them is that this afternoon, somewhere around 5:30 p.m. Eastern, the House will be voting on an article of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. This is something Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky brought up a couple of days ago.
According to Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a vote on the Hegseth impeachment is set for today at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Mace says she will vote no to impeach Secretary Hegseth.
It appears that Massie does not like Hegseth's handling of the situation in Iran, and therefore brought this up yesterday in a House speech. This morning, Secretary Hegseth had a press conference where he responded to the article of impeachment. Hegseth said that this is about policy disagreements, not high crimes and misdemeanors.
Pete Hegseth: What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. It's time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country, and, most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it.
It's a farce and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it. In the 250 years of our American republic, no secretary of war or secretary of defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations, and in our case, successful ones at that.
Ed Vitagliano: Wesley, I have to agree with the secretary of war on this. I don't care which party you're a part of. I do not like using the power of the government, and I don't like using impeachment for these kinds of issues because it does seem petty on the part of Massie. It seems like a stretch of constitutional authority, and it seems awfully personal to be going after Pete Hegseth.
Frankly, I think the Trump administration is just going to have to batten down the hatches because, come January 1, the Democrats are going to abuse power. I think you'll see a lot more of this.
Wesley Wildmon: It's a complete waste of time for him to try to do this. It's also one thing to live and die on principle, and this is not even principle. He's doing exactly what his job is expected of him. In fact, if he didn't do what he did, that would be worthy of considering impeachment.
So, yes, it's a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, we're going to see a lot more of this when the Democrats take office. It's a waste of time when there are other important issues that we need to be covering.
Ed Vitagliano: Ray, we have been critical of President Trump and the Trump administration on this show where we felt it was necessary. We don't have one particular view of any administration, and we sometimes disagree on this show.
But if the Democrats, and there are some who have supposedly prepared articles of impeachment for the president, go back to that playbook, they may squander some of the blue that they painted over much of the country. I think the American people want problems solved, and I think that's why the vote went the way it did on November 3rd.
Some people never learn. You can be red or blue and do the same dumb thing over and over again.
Ray Pritchard: First of all, Ed, this is going to come to nothing. What Massie is doing is a pure political vendetta. He lost in the primary, and he's gone at the end of this term. He wants to take a shot at Hegseth on the way out.
It's one thing to say, "I disagree with what the secretary has done. I disagree with his methods." You could make a laundry list of things. It's perfectly good in our system to have disagreements. In fact, our system is set up that way.
It's something else to use the constitutional power of impeachment to try to punish Pete Hegseth. It's not going to get through the Senate, and he's not going to be removed. This is pure political grandstanding by a defeated Republican who, I think, accomplished some good things in his days in office. But he's angry and wants to take one last shot.
The bigger story here is, as Wesley said, everybody better hitch up their pants because when January comes, we're going to see a lot more of this, and not just about the secretary of war. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats respond to this.
I don't think Massie is going to get much headway with Republicans on this, but Democrats might be all in. The Democrats are in the minority, but they're not in the minority by much. It would be interesting to see if you get 214 Democrats agreeing with Thomas Massie and voting for impeachment of Pete Hegseth. If you get just a handful of Republicans to go along with this, it goes to the Senate for a vote. This could get highly absurd.
Wesley Wildmon: I think Democrats are in a win-win situation at the moment because anything that looks bad, optics-wise, for the administration or for people who side with Trump seems to them like an advantage.
If they vote on this and it goes to the Senate but doesn't move forward, Democrats can say, "That's all the more reason to vote for more Democrats for the Senate in the next big election." If they come out with a Medicare for All bill in May of 2027 and it doesn't get through, they can say, "This is all the more reason why we need a Democrat in the White House." That's going to be their mindset for the next couple of years. I think that's going to be their playbook.
Chris Woodward: I think that's giving the Democrats way too much credit. They are on a hot streak, and whoever their strategists are, they're doing a pretty good job right now, politically speaking.
I will be shocked if, once they get in, they carry on with their very effective strategy. At some point, not long after they get in office, they're going to get sidetracked back into men's and women's sports and the cultural issues that are losers for them. That's exactly why they changed their strategy to focus on the economy and use the same talking points that Trump used to get elected in 2024. It's a very effective strategy.
Wesley Wildmon: I think there may be some truth to what Ray said about agreeing to disagree, but I don't think they're smart enough to do that. I think their egos are too big. Ego and Washington, D.C. go together, and now egos are on both sides.
I think in this case the Democrats are going to get the best of them.
Ed Vitagliano: So I mentioned it's going to be a busy day in the House for a couple of reasons. The Hegseth thing is the first one. The other is that House Republicans may be choosing their next leader today.
As we have discussed on this program, House Speaker Mike Johnson is not going to pursue any sort of leadership position in the new Congress. It looks like Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio are going to be vying for House Minority Leader today in the new Congress.
Why are they voting on this with six weeks or so to go before the changeover? I'm not certain, but Republicans do want to go ahead and pick their next leader as early as today. This person will be the one in the room with what we can only expect to be House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries come next year.
Ray Pritchard: I will venture a guess. Because of the political catastrophe they just experienced, Republicans probably want to start preparing as early as possible for what they're going to do after the calendar flips to January 2027. They have their work cut out for them, and I think they don't want to wait until after the holidays to get some ideas on paper. That's my guess.
Ed Vitagliano: It's interesting to me that Mike Johnson voluntarily stepped down. A lot of people have said he did an excellent job. When he got that position, Republicans had gone through three or four speakers very quickly. Then you get this guy from Louisiana that the rest of the world knew nothing about. He came in quietly, did his thing, and people seem to think he did a good job.
I don't blame him at all for stepping down after what happened during the midterms. I think it's very smart. I already said earlier, hitch up your pants, boys. It's going to be a rough ride in January, and I think Republicans are trying to get a head start.
What are they saying the Democrats are going to have, 255 seats or more than that?
Ray Pritchard: It's going to be a much bigger majority for them than it has been for Republicans in this Congress.
Ed Vitagliano: On the night of the election, when we had our program covering it, I had done some research. This is not the first time there's been a political bloodbath. Both political parties, both sides of the aisle, have had presidents who lost. I think Barack Obama has the record for the largest turnover, with a loss of maybe 68 seats.
So, Wesley, when you have a loss like they have had, I think it's traditional for the leaders of your party in the House and the Senate to fall on their sword. I don't know Mike Johnson personally, but from what I've read, he's a fine Christian and an honorable man. As Ray pointed out, he's done an excellent job.
But when you have a disaster of these proportions, even in wartime, generals will sometimes say, "I resign my commission," because they lost big. I think that's what Mike Johnson is doing.
Wesley Wildmon: I think that's exactly what he did. I agree that he did a wonderful job, all things considered, especially in that role. It's a lot more difficult than we would like to think it is, particularly when he's a Christian conservative. We may have had more realistic expectations of what he could accomplish.
Looking back, I think it's safe to say he did a wonderful job. Having the outcome we had on election night, we need to be able to say that we're going to miss him, but I also think it's noble or respectable for him to do that and give someone else a shot.
I think Jim Jordan would be as good, maybe better. I know Steve Scalise, I can live with him, but between the two, assuming there isn't a dark horse, I prefer Jim Jordan. I think he's a little more aggressive.
Chris Woodward: I am curious to see whether Jim Jordan starts wearing a coat if he gets a leadership position. He does not wear a coat, ever. Not that you have to. I'm not putting it on the same level as Senator Fetterman showing up in a hoodie, but it is not the contemporary wardrobe choice of several people there.
Wesley Wildmon: And that is important to you?
Chris Woodward: I'm just curious to see. We're pretty relaxed around AFR, and I kind of like that. But you're right, when you're in front of the people as Speaker of the House or Minority Leader, you kind of have to dress for the job.
Mike Braun, when he was running for Senate in Indiana, always wore a blue shirt. That was his thing. He was Blue Shirt Mike Braun. Then he got elected and started wearing white shirts.
Ed Vitagliano: President Trump has always dressed for it. He's always got a suit and tie on. I'm not sure I've ever seen him without one, maybe when he's golfing. You come from that world of success and being a CEO, and you dress for it.
Wesley Wildmon: He might sleep in it. He could be lying back like this, then get up, comb his hair, and tweet. He'll send something on social media.
Chris Woodward: I have actually heard a reporter tell a story about how Trump does not sleep when he's on Air Force One. One time, Trump had something on his mind and had staffers wake up Marco Rubio because Trump wanted to tell him something.
So Trump's just sitting there, wired from Coke, Coca-Cola, and French fries.
Ed Vitagliano: That's the kind of boss nobody wants to have, but Marco Rubio probably already knew that about President Trump. Most presidents are probably that way in emergency situations. You could always be called, but Trump is a force of nature. He seems to hardly ever sleep. You sign up for that team, and you know that's going to be your life for however long you're there.
Chris Woodward: I get home at about six, and I drink a cup of coffee to make it to my kids' bedtime.
Wesley Wildmon: And I am half his age.
Ed Vitagliano: You guys are so young compared to an advanced senior citizen such as myself. I'm only six years behind the president. Last night I got to bed about 8:30 and felt like I should have gotten in bed 20 minutes before that.
Mr. Trump, politics aside, has a metabolism that's generational, maybe supernatural.
Ray Pritchard: That may be closer to the truth. God may have preserved him. But his diet appears to be awful. He seems to be carrying a few too many pounds and hardly sleeps. How that man is still alive, I don't know.
Ed Vitagliano: He's also been shot at and hit.
Chris Woodward: We've seen this before, but there's some money to be made here. If they put his vitamin regimen, or whatever he's doing, on a label, it could say, "If you do this, you'll have the energy of Trump."
Ray Pritchard: If anyone could make money doing it, it's President Trump. He's got the Midas touch.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks. We're going to take a short break. When we come back, Brother Jerry Lawson will join us. Many of you know that this time of year is AFA Christmas Button time. He is the AFA Christmas Button Ambassador, and we'll talk with him about it.
Ed Vitagliano: And welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon. Today I am joined in the studio by Wesley Wildmon and Chris Woodward, and from an undisclosed location in a bunker far underground, Dr. Ray joins us remotely.
Chris, before we go to our Ray Pritchard, somebody has a birthday.
Chris Woodward: Yes. The U.S. Marine Corps was founded on this day in 1775, when the Continental Congress ordered that two battalions of Marines be raised for service during the American Revolution. Today is the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. Tomorrow, of course, is Veterans Day, so if and when you see somebody who has served, be sure to tell them thank you.
If they are a Marine, remember that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
Ed Vitagliano: Thank you very much. You said it better than I did. When you see somebody who served, tell them thank you for their service.
My dad was a Marine during the Korean War, and I once introduced him to somebody as an ex-Marine. He corrected me right there on the spot, which my dad would do. He said, "No, no, no." They are very particular about how they talk about that. He said he's not an ex-Marine because every Marine is always willing to sign back up.
I also had a nephew who was a Marine Corps sniper.
Ray Pritchard: Once a Marine, always a Marine. My nephew, whom I won't name, is a sniper instructor at MARSOC.
Ed Vitagliano: To all the Marines out there, happy birthday.
We have another birthday coming up, a far more important birthday. It's the birth of our Lord and Savior. In honor of that, AFA has been producing a series of Christmas buttons for many years. We encourage people to wear them and share them. Every year we've had Brother Jerry Lawson back, who is our AFA Christmas Button Ambassador.
Pastor Jerry, welcome back to Today's Issues.
Jerry Lawson: It's a delight to be here today.
Ed Vitagliano: You've already been on some radio shows, and we're going to stretch you for all you're worth for the rest of the day, putting you on as many radio stations as we can.
Jerry Lawson: I think we close out after five this evening.
Ed Vitagliano: You're going to be on with Abe Hamilton?
Jerry Lawson: That's correct.
Ed Vitagliano: What are you going to do for energy and caffeine?
Jerry Lawson: Trump doesn't have his regimen for sale.
Ed Vitagliano: Do you drink coffee?
Jerry Lawson: No, sir. No coffee. It's my strength.
Ed Vitagliano: Okay, fair enough.
Wesley Wildmon: We often say things like that jokingly, but he means it. I've been around him enough to know that he's sincere, even though he says it with a little tongue in cheek.
Ed Vitagliano: I appreciate you encouraging me. I say this somewhat hesitantly because I get convicted when I'm around Brother Lawson. I don't have my Christmas button.
I had one for the longest time, but I was lazy and didn't want to poke the hole through my shirt. Then he gave me a magnet last year. It sits in my closet where I get ready, stuck to my metal shelf. I saw it this morning and thought, "It's about that time." Tomorrow I will have my personal Christmas button.
Jerry Lawson: You'll have it.
Ed Vitagliano: Before I turn you loose to talk about the buttons and how you give them away, you can go to resources.afa.net and look at our new Christmas button for 2026. We'll tell you how to order it.
Since Wesley has confessed, I want to make a confession too, Pastor Lawson. I was here when Brother Don first had the idea for these buttons. I don't remember what year it was, maybe the late 1990s or early 2000s.
He came over while I was writing for the magazine and said, "I have this idea." Rusty Benson was a graphics person, and I was in the office right next door. Brother Don said, "I want to have Christmas buttons. Wear them and share them."
This was during the war against Christmas, and AFA was in the middle of that fight. It was a way for Christians to start talking about the real reason for the season. He asked what we thought about the idea.
In my deep recesses of wisdom, I said, "Brother Don, honestly, I haven't seen anyone wear a button since the late '60s, Nixon versus Hubert Humphrey. Everyone was wearing buttons. I just can't imagine anyone wanting buttons."
That's what I said. He replied, "All right, well, I'm going to do it anyway." I think we sold a million buttons that year.
Wesley Wildmon: I think it was over a million.
Ed Vitagliano: I was one of the people who put the bags in the wrappers and envelopes. So tell us, why do you like buttons, and how are they a part of your regular outreach to people on behalf of the Lord?
Jerry Lawson: Brother Don put the inspiration for this ministry in his heart, and along the road of life, the Lord put other inspirations in his heart to grow this ministry. The Lord could see what fruit would come from these buttons. Evidently, this building here is a big part of that blessing.
So many times in ministry, you're out there all alone, and there are many voices of discouragement in the world. But in your heart of hearts, you have this inspiration that encourages you. Pretty soon it becomes crystal clear that God is laying something on your heart for you to do for Him.
With these buttons, everywhere I go I see hurting people, hopeless people, and people living in doom and gloom. I know that my button has a chance to put a sparkle in their life for a moment, and that brings joy to my heart.
The Lord will often say, "Jerry, that person over there needs a button." I'll go engage that person. The Lord has already touched that person's heart, and they are receptive to the button.
Ed Vitagliano: It's such a nonconfrontational way to bring up Jesus. You have tons of stories about someone saying, "What a nice button."
Tim Wildmon once told a story about being out at a restaurant with his wife, Allison. The waitress came up and said, "I love your button. There's a ministry in town where people give these away."
To Tim's credit, he didn't say, "I'm the president of it." He just said, "I'm aware of that. Would you like it?" When you give someone something, even if it's just a button, there is so much negativity and hostility today. Everybody is wound so tight. You give them something simple and tell them about the hope in Jesus, and that can change their day and change their life.
Jerry Lawson: Absolutely. We were coming back into Tupelo last December, and Deborah wanted to stop at a restaurant. I walked in, and a lady left from behind the cash register, came up, grabbed me, and squeezed me.
I said, "I have a wife right here."
She backed up and said, "Here in Tupelo, I wear my Christmas button every day. You're the first person I've seen come into this restaurant wearing a Christmas button just like I had. I had to hug your neck."
I told her I wanted a picture with her. She said I could have it, so I took it and sent it to Buddy. It's right here in Tupelo. Everybody ought to have a button.
Ed Vitagliano: Was she talking about wearing it all year round, or was she talking about the season?
Jerry Lawson: Seasonally. We have seasonal buttons here.
Wesley Wildmon: We have Easter buttons too. I wear a button every day.
Ed Vitagliano: Go to resources.afa.net. The Christmas button is at the top, or you can call 877-927-4917.
Wesley Wildmon: Obviously, you have different categories or areas of life. You've got politics, education, family, and church. Within all these areas of life, you'll find what Brother Jerry Lawson was talking about.
A lot of people may have issues with one another, whether politically or even in church, but generally speaking, we don't listen to people very well. When you give someone a button, it lowers whatever potential temperature there might be, levels the playing field, and is a random act of kindness, which Jesus gave us a great example of.
As a demonstration of God's love for you, giving someone a button is a wonderful way to reach out. There are no excuses, because even if you're an introvert, you can give a button away, even if you don't say anything.
Ed Vitagliano: It's a wonderful way to remind us and those around us that on December 25th we celebrate Jesus' birthday. The button says, "Merry Christmas. I bring you good tidings of great joy." It's a green button with a desert in the background, a couple of sheep, a couple of wise men, and an angel over the top. It's a beautiful button for this time of year.
Jerry Lawson: It comes in a 10-pack.
Ed Vitagliano: It comes in a 10-pack so you can keep one for yourself and give the others away.
Jerry Lawson: One pack is $15. Two to four packs are $10 a pack.
If you're in leadership or have any connection to leadership at your local church, I would ask you to buy a box of 100 and leave them out front as people walk in, the way they would pick up a magazine or other resources. Put these Christmas buttons in your local church. That's another way to spread the good news without even having to interact.
Ed Vitagliano: I always try to think about introverts. If you're an introvert, you can get the buttons, put them at the front of your church, and make sure you get your pastor's permission. That's another way to spread the good news.
We're talking to Brother Jerry Lawson, whom we fondly call our AFA Christmas Button Ambassador. I'm going to give you the last word. What would you like to say to folks listening about the AFA Christmas button?
Jerry Lawson: The motto is, "Wear them and share them." If you want to have a Merry Christmas, bless somebody else. We've been put here to be a blessing to others because we've been blessed.
Ed Vitagliano: Amen. Thank you, Brother Jerry. We always appreciate you, and you did a wonderful job in our devotion this morning. It was a very inspiring, meaty word, and it was a blessing to have you on Today's Issues.
Jerry Lawson: The joy was all mine. Thank you, sir.
Ed Vitagliano: Once again, resources.afa.net. You can call if you prefer not to go to the website: 877-927-4917. These come in a 10-pack so that you can wear them and share them.
Chris, what's next?
Chris Woodward: For anybody wondering when the trial for Tyler Robinson is going to be, you're going to have to be patient. Yesterday, a Utah judge named Tony Graf gave the date and time for the Tyler Robinson trial. Tyler Robinson is the man accused of shooting and killing TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
Judge Graf said that jury selection will begin June 21, 2028, at 9:30 in the morning in Courtroom 4B of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, subject to further order. The court will hold monthly pretrial status conferences to protect the constitutional rights at stake.
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025. Tyler Robinson was arrested a short time later. It's going to be a couple of years before we see this trial play out, and it will probably stretch into the fall of 2028.
A legal contributor who appeared on Fox was asked about the judge scheduling the trial so far in advance.
Ray Pritchard: That's a tremendous amount of time, setting it out over a year from now. It will be three years by the time we're looking at a verdict, counting from when Charlie was killed. Why they feel they need 105 days for the trial itself, it really does seem overwrought.
They're sending out 3,000 jury questionnaires. That's a tremendous number of questionnaires to try to select 12 people to hear this case. All of it seems to have a little bit extra added to it.
Ed Vitagliano: Ray, none of us are lawyers here, but I don't ever remember a case taking this long to go to trial. Is this part of the insistence of the defense team that they need this amount of time to prepare a defense?
Ray Pritchard: I just don't get it. I don't know what the stall is all about. It seems to me they could have set it for June of 2027. That gives you many months, but it's not unlimited, to dig up whatever the defense is looking for. Why the extra year?
It has to be because this is such a high-profile case, since everybody in the nation knows about it. I don't doubt that the 3,000 questionnaires are necessary. It's going to be tough to find 12 people in Utah who don't already have a strong opinion about this case.
I'm sympathetic on that point, but two years from now seems too long. We say we want speedy justice. If so, this seems like the opposite of a quick and fair trial.
Wesley Wildmon: I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I have seen and heard about things happening in my lifetime that are somewhat similar to this, just crime in general, where it seems clear that the person is in the wrong and there is evidence for it.
It seems to me that so many times it takes forever for our courts to provide justice, especially when it seems so obvious as it does here. I understand and am frustrated with it as well, but I am reminded by having traveled to different parts of the world that the wheels of justice do spin here. They roll, but not as fast as we want. In other parts of the world, they don't roll at all.
I remember traveling to India and beginning to learn how their justice system works. That was quite depressing. Both things can be true at the same time. We need to do a better job of having quick and speedy trials, especially when there is as much evidence as there seems to be here. At the same time, it's far worse in other parts of the world.
Chris Woodward: Luigi Mangione, who pled guilty in court in 2024 in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has also not gone forward. There is a motion from his defense team to drop the charges because of double jeopardy, but that's already two and a half years ago. Maybe it's because of the high profile. I'm not sure why this is.
Wesley Wildmon: A lot of it is delay tactics, delaying the inevitable. I don't think the judge should allow that. In the case of Utah, when they arrested Robinson, the governor had already said they would pursue the death penalty. Clearly, Robinson's defense lawyers have tried from day one to delay this as much as possible, knowing that Utah has already said, "We're going to kill you for killing him." I think that's part of it.
Ed Vitagliano: Unfortunately for taxpayers, they're going to have to feed and house this guy for the next couple of years.
Ray Pritchard: If he's convicted and there's a death penalty attached, sometimes they can appeal for ten years.
Wesley Wildmon: It could easily be 20 or 30 years before we get an end to this story.
Ed Vitagliano: All right, next story. Let's keep it with Charlie Kirk for a moment. For days now we've had a viral video that may have been recorded without permission. The comedian Dave Chappelle, during a stand-up performance, talked about Charlie Kirk and said, "Ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered, I feel better."
The video has gone viral and gotten a lot of reaction. Someone who was on Fox News yesterday evening to talk about this was Andrew Kolvet with TPUSA. He had this to say about Dave Chappelle's joke, or lack thereof.
Andrew Kolvet: Dave Chappelle is somebody Charlie defended when a maniac jumped on stage and tried to attack him. Charlie defended him and said that refusing to prosecute was inspiring more of this.
The thing that's most troubling is the cheers. I went back and looked at 1981. Were there any comedians who came out and made gratuitous jokes about the attempted assassination of President Reagan? I couldn't find one. I did find one from a small improv performance by a no-name comedian. Nobody laughed. The joke bombed.
I wasn't alive in 1981. You and Ray remember the day Reagan got shot. Do you remember anybody joking about that?
Ray Pritchard: No. It was a different world. You didn't even want to see your political opponents get attacked. Democrats gave their well wishes and asked people to pray for the president, even though he was a political opponent.
The amount of animosity today is something else. Most of the animosity at this level comes from the left toward the right. I don't see many conservatives, understandably upset and on the opposite side of the spectrum, doing this kind of thing.
Ray Pritchard: No, you don't, and you won't. The problem is that we've become so deeply divided. I wish I could say I was surprised by what Dave Chappelle did, but I'm not. That was unacceptable in 1981. It's almost like an asterisk in the morning news. People shrug and move on.
Chris Woodward: I do want to point out that Andrew went on to say he wasn't trying to police everybody's speech. He just wants people to stop laughing at things like an assassination.
Ed Vitagliano: I don't know how you give people a conscience. I guess that's God's job, but a lot of people don't have one.
Ed Vitagliano sits in for Tim Wildmon as the panel examines Representative Thomas Massie’s impeachment effort against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The discussion considers Hegseth’s response, the constitutional use of impeachment, and whether the effort reflects policy disagreement or political retaliation.
The program also looks at the contest between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan for House Republican leadership after Mike Johnson’s decision not to seek a leadership role. The panel discusses the challenges Republicans may face when the new Congress begins.
Pastor Jerry Lawson explains how Christmas buttons can create opportunities to share the message of Jesus. The program also covers the delayed Utah trial of Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the killing of Charlie Kirk, and reactions to comedian Dave Chappelle’s remarks about Kirk’s death.
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