Tim Wildman is president of the American Family Association
>> I am thoroughly looking forward to our weekend with AFA coming up in October, where we're going to be able to meet our supporters like yourself, to fellowship, to visit our facilities here in Tupelo, and to have everyone come together for a wonderful weekend.
>> Jeff Chamblee: It's a weekend with AFA Thursday, October 2 through Saturday, October 4, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Speakers will include Abraham Hamilton III, Jenna Ellis, Tim Barton, Tim Wildmon, and more. [email protected] Weekend welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American, family Radio Network. Today's Issues is the name of this program. I'm Tim Wildmon. And in studio with me today on this Thursday, July 24, 2025. I know many people, count on me to tell them what day it is. So I'm happy to do that. Today's Tuesday, July 24, 2025. Ed Vitagliano. Good morning, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: Fred Jackson.
>> Fred Jackson: Hello there.
>> Tim Wildmon: And Chris Woodward.
>> Chris Woodward: Good morning. I'm, texting somebody that we work with that just called me to make sure there's not an emergency somewhere.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, I thought you texting them that Tim declared what day it was maybe.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Not to that important information along.
>> Tim Wildmon: I declared. I do declare. Nobody ever uses that expression anymore. Do you remember that when you were.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I, do declare that was somebody's catchphrase on some sitcom.
>> Tim Wildmon: I, do declare. I do declare.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't remember.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, was it, Yeah, like you're m mocking a Southern lady from the 50s.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, it seemed like it was not.
>> Tim Wildmon: In a bad way, but m. Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, imitating.
>> Tim Wildmon: Imitating, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Which is a sensation. Flattery. I, do. I, do declare.
>> Tim Wildmon: all right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So I would like a mint julep.
>> Chris Woodward: Sorry.
>> Tim Wildmon: I worry about that tomorrow.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That may be where I would be getting it.
>> Chris Woodward: He went full Savannah, Georgia with the wind.
>> Tim Wildmon: Worry about that tomorrow. All right. well, listen, people, half this stuff we don't want to talk about either.
>> Chris Woodward: That's going to be the title of my memoir. Things I Didn't Want to talk about. A legacy in media.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I do have to have to psych myself up.
>> Tim Wildmon: I know stuff in the news that just is sorted and ugly and, I.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Don'T know, signs of cultural.
>> Tim Wildmon: I just want to go full Caleb.
>> Chris Woodward: For more, crime stories. PhD in criminology.
>> Tim Wildmon: I just want to go full. Full positive and encouraging positive. And we got some negative and depressing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: News, negative and discouraged.
>> Tim Wildmon: What do you got, Chris?
>> Chris Woodward: Well, you know, Chris.
Chris Cuomo: It depends on where you get your news from
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, now moving on to positive news. Just kidding. Go ahead. What's leading the news, Chris?
>> Chris Woodward: It depends on where you get your news. And I say that based on the fact that Fox is running hard and heavy with things like the, Obama, Comey Clapper and John Brennan conspired to derail the Trump administration. I'll get to that in a moment. Whereas MSNBC and CNN are running hard with Trump may or may not be on the Epstein files.
Tulsi Gabbard declassified report alleging Obama colluded with Russians
so, we'll begin here with Tulsi Gabbard. The reason Fox is running hard and heavy, on this is because yesterday afternoon, not long after this show ended, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, went on national television. She joined Caroline Levitt in the White House press briefing, to talk about this report that Tulsi Gabbard has declassified that Gabbard says shows Obama, James Comey, other people that worked for the Obama administration got together not long after the 2016 election and decided to come up with a lie, pushing Russian collusion on the Trump administration in an effort to derail the Trump administration once it took office in 2017. Tulsi Gabbard told reporters yesterday, hey, this is not a partisan attack. This is something that every American, regardless of how they vote, should care about and pay attention to. Don't take my word for it. Clip 1.
>> Tulsi Gabbard: The stunning revelations that we are releasing today should be of concern to every American. This is not about Democrats or Republicans. This has to do with the integrity of our Democratic Republic and American voters having faith that the votes cast will count. There is irrefutable evidence that detail how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false. They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true. It wasn't.
>> Chris Woodward: One other clip that relates to this is some legal analysis from Andrew McCarthy. He was on Fox today saying, hey, there's little doubt Obama was involved here, but it remains to be seen who's going to go to jail, if anybody. Clip 2 and I don't think that's.
>> Chris Woodward: A new disclosure or a new revelation. I wrote a book about this eight years ago called Ball of Collusion, which laid this out. There's no doubt that Obama was complicit up to his neck in what I think was the worst political dirty trick in American history. The issue, narrowly, is whether there's any crime that comes out of that under circumstances where, you know, even President Trump spent all of 2024 telling people that presidents have to have complete immunity from prosecution. And this all happened nine years ago.
>> Chris Woodward: So, just to recap, the current administration says a former administration committed treason and tried to derail his presidency. They're bringing out legal people to take, Take up for them and agree with what they're, saying and telling media. And Fox is running hard and heavy with it, whereas other channels are reporting other things about Trump.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I'm just going to say, I think politically, this story has legs. Legally. increasingly, I don't think it does for all the reasons that this clip just stated. Chris, it's just played. there's a question about the statute of limitations. There's a question about whether there's actually a law that's been broken. there is questions of presidential immunity with regards specifically to President Barack Obama. maybe not as much with the others around him. but it certainly has political. I think there's a political impact here. I've been reading a lot of articles where people are saying, ah, I'm not sure there's anything here. If this is all true, the way Tulsi Gabbard has explained it, this looks really damaging to at least those players. Okay. You know, Clapper and Comey and those. And. And to the legacy of Barack Obama, although I don't think he. I doubt that any of them are going to actually go to prison. M. But politically, this seems damaging to me.
>> Tim Wildmon: What, to who?
>> Ed Vitagliano: To the Democrats, to the Democratic Party and to, you know, Barack Obama.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think it's a wash. Yeah. A wash. Yeah. What I was saying is that if you're a Democrat, you don't care about this. And if you're a Republican, you go, I already knew this. That's. That's my opinion. I don't buy a wash. I mean, I think it's. I don't think there's Democrats going, you know what? This changes my mind. I'm appalled by what, Barack Obama did. And I'm gonna, I'm going to change my votes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. I don't know whether it'll change the votes of Republicans or Democrats. It may change the votes of independence. you know, I think that what this, what has happened over the last half week or whatever, is that what was in the realm of conspiracy theory. And Trump was seen by a lot of people as Trump complaining About something that might be true. Now looks like it absolutely was true. And that. And that high level officials conspired to undermine a duly elected president. And again, I can't guarantee whether, Republicans or Democrats will change their mind, but I think Independents might.
>> Tim Wildmon: We knew Hillary Clinton was directly involved. Her campaign will spy on Trump and to put out that disinformation, that Steele dossier and all that. Remember all that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, but nobody knew this about. I don't think. Did you know this about Obama?
>> Tim Wildmon: No, but he can't run for president. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying he can't run for president. Again, I don't think half. I don't think people care about this much. I'll be honest with you. Go ahead, Fred.
>> Fred Jackson: I think the huge difference between the two cases.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Trump and Obama is the mainstream media. When Trump was being hit, with these allegations all during his first four years in office and following, the media loved it. They just cheered and they covered everything. Everything that the Democrats were saying about Donald Trump was true. The difference is, the mainstream media, they love Barack Obama and the Democrats.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Yesterday, and I'm not sure gonna play this, but cnn, interrupted Tulsi Gabbard, but with basically comments, everything. This woman who's up there in the White House right now, everything she's saying is f. Yeah. This morning the Associated Press. The Associated Press had a story saying everything that Tulsi Gabbard is saying, it's not true. So already they're dismissing it. And they have another story to go to, the Epstein story. But, we have an excerpt from the CNN interview. Yeah.
Multiple intelligence community assessments concluded Russia had no intent to influence US election
Cut.
>> Tulsi Gabbard: 5 Multiple intelligence community assessments released in the months leading up to the November 2016 election concluded that Russia had neither the intent nor capability to impact the outcome of the US election on December 5th.
>> Fred Jackson: We've been listening there to the Director.
>> Alex McFarland: Of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that all they listen to? You got 30 seconds of introductory remarks and then they cut away.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, they cut her off.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, you're right. Had this been flipped, and it was a, Democrat, official speaking with national intelligence agencies that would, they would definitely. It's what a team you're on. Fox is going to go pro, SL Republican, slash Trump and CNN is going to go pro Democrat, slash whoever. I mean it's whatever team you're on, that's what's going to be the focus on it.
>> Chris Woodward: To not to sound like a guy trying to sell something on television, but wait there's more. Clip 6.
>> Jeff Chamblee: We have no idea. I mean, this is hardly information that we should even, be repeating. never mind that it's, you know, some, some years after the fact. Eight years more than that after the fact, but also just to look at the source. But look, this is the, what this White House wants to, talk about. And I'm not sure that we should spend that much more time on it, frankly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that was CNN as well.
>> Chris Woodward: That was cnn, who has put a lot of things on the air that we later learned was not true.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, you know, CNN has also paid a cost, paid a heavy price for their political bias.
>> Chris Woodward: Oh, sure.
>> Fred Jackson: Well.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And look, okay, let's say we don't, you know, we obviously can't gauge at this point what the political fallout would be, but this is the same network and networks talking about cnn, msnbc, cnbc, BBC, take your pick. Who said the Hunter Biden laptop story was a, nothing burger.
>> Tim Wildmon: True.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And when, when people start finding out that there was something, it, it's, it just, it's kind of a drip, drip, drip, drip. So the very least, these media, news media outlets on the left are going to continue to hemorrhage viewers, I think. And, but we'll have, we will have to wait to see if there's any political fallout. And you guys might be right. It might, it might wind up being a wash, but I think it's an important story. And what Tulsi Gabbard has brought out is an important addition to, to the stuff we already knew about.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And I don't know if, because Americans have become cynical, about politics as a whole, not the Americans haven't been cynical in the past. I mean, generationally probably. But I'm talking about in today's world, and there's so many stories, so much information, so much to pay it. Try to pay attention to your hair, your head starts swimming. So you, you basically a lot of people boil it down to what team you're on, as I said earlier. And if you're on Team Trump, you don't care about the Epstein files. I don't. Doesn't bother. What does that have to do with the price of beans or the economy or our defense or. You know what I'm saying?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Let me just add one more thing. and, and this is. I can't, I can't prove what I'm about to say. Okay. But I, I think you, I don't think anybody will disagree. so I listened to Jenna Ellis show this Morning she had Steve D. And he was talking about the damage that's being done to young people who are, of the age, that they could be politically active, but especially young men. And he was talking about, he's talking about Epstein, but he was also talking about the economy and he was talking about the corruption in D.C. he said, There is long. He said, and I agree with this, there may be long term damage amongst young people. If, like you're saying, Tim and I, I think this is right, is that people are starting to view our political system as absolutely corrupt. There is no right or wrong. It just depends what team you're on. And the reason I think that is a potential danger, really dangerous for our republic is at some point you may have the people who are going to be voting and running the country, young people, they may say, well, scrap the whole thing. Let's try communism for all. Let's try socialism for a while. And that kind of decay in support for our public institutions could have long term consequences. It's hard for me to prove that. I can bring historical, examples of how this happened, like in France before World War II, when people don't think the republic is functioning, they are less likely to defend it anyway. That's just. Yeah, and that's even more pessimistic than I planned on.
>> Tim Wildmon: It was, it was. But that's all right. Fred, anything? Any more pessimism you'd like to dispense? Any more negativity, or did Ed suck all the negativity out of the room?
>> Fred Jackson: I think Ed has done a wonderful job.
>> Ed Vitagliano: As I typically do. I typically do. Bringing us all down.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, you're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. anything you want to add to that, Fred, by the way, on the Epstein files? there is a break. There is seriously breaking news, right? Yes, Chris. And then Fred can come here.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell today
>> Chris Woodward: I'm reading from the New York Post, which was the first, if not among the first, to report this, but Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, if that's how you say his name, will meet with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell today in Florida. That's according to sources familiar with the situation. Blanche is the second in command at the Justice Department, and he served as President Trump's personal lawyer, in the past. Maxwell, of course, is the disgraced British socialite who was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other crimes. She worked for Jeffrey Epstein and basically served as his madam.
>> Tim Wildmon: and, she's in the Federal pen.
>> Chris Woodward: She is, yes. This has led a lot of people whose, legal knowledge comes from television shows and films, to believe that there is some sort of. Hey, if you do this, we'll offer you this in exchange for information on Epstein and who may or may not be on the list.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, I think this is probably a good move politically, by the Trump administration, the Justice Department sending someone down to talk to this lady. I think she was sentenced, what, 20 years. I think what you're going to see, she's going to give them some information perhaps on, like, on what? Well, who traveled to the island, perhaps, meetings.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which island?
>> Fred Jackson: the island Jeffrey Epstein island where he.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The island of misfit perverts.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. Yes. she may give them some more information that wasn't forthcoming from her, first encounter with the law. I think there could be some deals made. I'll give you this information if you reduce my sentence.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wow. She wouldn't have done that in the first round.
>> Fred Jackson: maybe she feels more comfortable doing it now because, she believes she has something to offer. Well, and which would be beneficial.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Here's something else too. If this is, this is the conspiracy theory that Jeffrey Epstein was involved in international spydom and blackmail.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. If, if that was the case and Ghislaine Maxwell knew about it, that might have added to her sentence. I don't know. You know, I'm not a lawyer, but. And now maybe she's saying if you give me immunity on these and maybe knock off some time. I'll tell you, I do know that, that that Jeffrey was, you know, took part in, in blackmailing person X persons X, Y and Z. And I do know for a fact that he got his money from the CIA or the Mossad. Those are some of them.
>> Tim Wildmon: You have some strange bedfellows.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. That are interested in the Epstein files. The so called. It sounds like the X Files or something. A TV show next, next week on the Epstein Files. Bigfoot. it's, it's really strange. and odd because you have people on the left wanting the Jeffrey Epstein, story told, so to speak. Or to keep on going with it. Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: To go after Trump.
>> Tim Wildmon: To go after Trump.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: to try to make him look the more times I can show those pictures.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Of Trump and Epstein together in their New York socialite, days.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, in 80s, 90s when it 2000s, whatever. Because they, they did rent. They did run in the same circles.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because Trump was a New York, real estate tycoon. Also had a very, very popular national television show. And Jeffrey Epstein was like, you know, Mr. New York City, and obviously, did a lot of other things that were terrible. But, I mean, you know what I'm saying that maybe people didn't necessarily know about who were going to his parties or seen at parties he was at that. Things of that nature.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you know, you know how it is. this happens to me all the time.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're a socialite.
>> Ed Vitagliano: People see me on the street, they want to take a picture with me. You know, they see me at the, local pizza place. Hey, can I get a picture? I'm just kidding.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're Mr. Tupelo. Mr. Tupelo Pontot.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Nobody knows who I am, and I'm happy with it. But if you're famous, how many times have we seen. Or people who are listening, they saw a celebrity and they say, can I get a selfie? Can I get a picture?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That doesn't mean you know them and are responsible.
>> Tim Wildmon: I know that. Yeah. But you got, you got, you got. So you got people on the left. Then you got the, maga, leaders who are, who've been demanding that the Epstein files be released for what, two, three years?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Or longer, because does it indicate there's a shadow government, who, who did he have blackmail, or potential bribery, going on to influence our government? It was Republicans, Democrats for international leaders, whoever. Like that. Well, then, so you got those two forces wanting the Epstein thing to continue. That thing, for lack of a better word, we call investigation or, reporting. And then you got the leader of the MAGA movement saying, you people are a bunch of idiots if you believe this Epstein stuff. Huh?
Why is Trump wanting to shut this down? Is his name in there
yeah, that would be one Donald Trump saying, I don't what this is.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is the wild, wild.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why do, why do people want to continue with this? That's what he's saying. Then you got people going, well, why. Why is Trump wanting to shut this down? Is his name in there? Huh? that's right. That's what people are thinking and wondering.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you're going, that's why CNN's covering it.
>> Tim Wildmon: But, yeah, I'm not saying. I don't know. I'm not saying President Trump did anything.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Unethical and morally legal. I'm just saying you do start going, well, why do you want to shut. Why do you want to stop this? Unless he just has. Maybe he's looked at it, but he says he hasn't, though, right? So, it's really strange, but we.
>> Fred Jackson: Have to ask the question that for the last four years, it's been. The Biden administration's been in charge. The Epstein files have been sitting there during the four years of Biden.
>> Tim Wildmon: If you, if, if maybe there's nothing to it, then maybe it's a nothing burger.
>> Fred Jackson: You think if, Trump's name was prominent in those files, the Biden people would have been all over it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, but there may have been Democrats to, to that point.
>> Fred Jackson: To that point.
>> Tim Wildmon: And you start playing, you start releasing all these names, it could have hurt, somebody else. You know, the Democrats had their own people involved in this, and they're going, like, if you release this to try to hurt Trump, then you're going to have to release other names which are, which were more involved with Epstein than Trump was. You see what I'm saying?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and, and listen, the conspiracy continues to grow because we're talking about it. Well, you, well, you had people like Dan Bongino.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: When he was, Had a podcast, talking about what was in it. And then you have him and Cash Patel both saying, going silent. Yeah, well, there's nothing, there's nothing in it.
>> Tim Wildmon: everybody can be silenced. Okay? The reason Bonino and Cash Patel, they're in a different situation now. They work directly for President Trump. They don't have an independent megaphone, anymore, so they have to. So if Trump calls them on the phone and says, I don't want you talking, talking about this Epstein stuff, either they have to quit their job and go back to being an independent, podcaster, or.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But they said, they, they both have said, it's not just that they've gone silent. They've both said, there's nothing to it. There's nothing to it. And they said, for example, that's different. Epstein did kill himself.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, that's different.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, but I've heard people say, well, how come they suddenly went kind of, you know, soft on this? Has, has the pressure built on them from X, Y, or. I'm just saying, okay, you have.
>> Tim Wildmon: To, I, I, okay, this is. Everybody's got their opinion on this, right? So this is an opinion, one person's opinion. I think there's not much to this, as far as a, quote, list of people. And, there have been other, There have been people mentioned that people got in trouble, like the one in federal. The lady. so. His mist. His, Madam. Madam. So. And there's been so much investigation. There's been those files sitting there, as you say, Fred. And I just think that, if Bongino and Cash Patel and Pam Bondi and President Trump say there's nothing to it. I don't know. Then either you go with them, those four people right there, you go with them or you don't, or you say that they're, they're, they're part of.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The, they're part of the swamp too. Yeah, that's.
>> Tim Wildmon: So which one are you going to go with? I'm going to go with those four people. that's again, that's my opinion.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My opinion is, I think that's likely what you just laid out.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. now, Pam Bondi didn't help herself. You know what she as ag when she torn it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: President Trump didn't help.
>> Tim Wildmon: He didn't help him said, nor did Bongino.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: We'll be back momentarily. Stay with it.
Over 60% of abortions happen through the abortion pill
>> Ed Vitagliano: This June 24th marks three years since Roe versus Wade was overturned. But here's what you may not know. Abortion numbers have surged to a 10 year high. The battleground has shifted from the courtroom, to our homes. Today, over 60% of abortions happen through the abortion pill. Taken in silence, often alone. PreBorn Network clinics are standing in the gap, meeting women in their most desperate hour. And here's what they're seeing. Young mothers, terrified and misled, are delivering their babies, tiny, perfectly formed, onto bathroom floors. These precious babies, once called just tissue, now lie lifeless. 11% of these women who take the abortion pill will suffer seriously health complications. Countless others carry emotional scars for a lifetime. When you give to preborn, you're not just saving a baby, you're saving a mother too. You're giving her hope, financial support and the truth. Preborn has already rescued over 350,000 babies. But there are so many more who need our help. Your tax deductible gift makes this mission possible. To donate now, dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250, baby. Or go to preborn.com afr that's preborn.com.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Afr.
>> Jeff Chamblee: This is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of today's Issues.
Alex McFarland hosts Today's Issues on American Family Radio
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed, Fred and Chris. before, well, we have Alex. Right. Let's welcome Alex. Alex McFarland, host of Exploring the Word. Each afternoon on American Family Radio and co host of this show and others. He's he's our utility, player in baseball.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Term Utility Infield.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes. He can play anywhere on the diamond.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: good, morning, Alex.
>> Alex McFarland: Good morning, everybody.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And he can even pitch.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Alex McFarland: It's an honor to be the utility guy. When I worked for Dr. Dobson, they called me a utility rod writer because they would, they would come right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Any direction, Right. About any topic. Right.
>> Alex McFarland: And they would say, at 3:00pm they would say, quick, we need an 800 word editorial on, this or that. And we need two proofreads and we want to release it by quarter of five. And what you do is you bow your head and pray.
>> Chris Woodward: Let me write that down and take notes. Hold on.
Jim: Ed says you're wrong about how you pronounce Colorado
>> Tim Wildmon: So, Alex, I know you're going to wonder why in the world is he asking me this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. It pertained to yesterday. We got into a discussion with Jenna Ellis. Who was Jenna? On yesterday or the day before yesterday? Yesterday. And Jenna hails from Colorado.
>> Tim Wildmon: And you've. You've lived in different places around the country. There's a, There's a word. Okay. Okay. Would you say that word for us, please?
>> Alex McFarland: On.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. All right. That's North Carolina right there.
>> Alex McFarland: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Much like, we have a pronunciation here in, in Mississippi. That's how I pronounce it.
>> Alex McFarland: But I was awn.
>> Tim Wildmon: Jenna was making fun. And, and, and then Ed. Well, my dear brother Ed here, he just said you're wrong. It's. It's on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: On.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, on. And Fred, I guess you go with on. Don't.
>> Fred Jackson: On.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, okay.
>> Alex McFarland: Like ahn. Hm.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, that. Thank you. Thank you, brother. My fellow Southerner. Ah. And is how you guys are pronouncing. I don't think this should divide us like, it does free will and predestination. Mike. But I'm just saying that, own is a perfectly acceptable way, I think, of, describing the word.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, of course. I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have brought. Even brought it up.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm m. I was bothered.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My guess is that you and Alex as well as Fred and I have very similar problems when we dictate on our phones.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because our phones do not understand half of what we say.
>> Tim Wildmon: But Jim. But for different reasons, just outright mocking me. Pretty, pretty well. And you know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, she's from Florida.
>> Tim Wildmon: She lives in Florida. From. But Florida. I mean, you know, but I mean, Colorado. She was saying. She was saying. I was saying, oh, Florida. I was just drawing it on out there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Floridians can be a little Snooty sometimes.
>> Chris Woodward: And people in the Southeast will tell you that once you get out of the Panhandle, you're not in the south anymore. If you're still in the state of Florida.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: You get south of Ocala.
>> Fred Jackson: And if Jenna was on the air right now.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: She'd call you on how you just pronounced her home state.
>> Tim Wildmon: Colorado.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Colorado.
>> Fred Jackson: You say Colorado.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Colorado.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, well, correct me.
>> Fred Jackson: Colorado.
>> Tim Wildmon: Colorado. Well, Colorado. Little touchy there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, well, you know, you started. You started.
>> Tim Wildmon: Some people miss it. Some people in my home state of Mississippi get tired of drawing too many silvers.
>> Chris Woodward: It has two sets of double S's.
>> Tim Wildmon: They just go, Some of them just say Mississippi.
>> Chris Woodward: Mississippi.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, they just cut right to it, you know, just like butter. But it's like a hot knife through butter.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Just like.
>> Tim Wildmon: Just,
When you go to the grocery store, do you use a buggy or a cart
>> Chris Woodward: I have a question for real quick, Alex. When you go to the grocery store, do you use a buggy or a cart?
>> Alex McFarland: A boogie.
>> Chris Woodward: God bless you, sir.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I use a cart.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's just. Listen, there's no right and wrong here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, that's right.
>> Fred Jackson: A buggy is something that horse is horse drawn.
>> Chris Woodward: That's from a guy that.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, ask the Amish, they'll tell you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Or it describes the back porch.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: after 5:00', clock, it's buggy out here.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, it's a little buggy.
>> Alex McFarland: Grocery buggy.
>> Tim Wildmon: I do buggy. I guess, you know, we all know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What we're talking about.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I know just where.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, listen, we can all agree that the people who will not return the cart slash buggy to the corrupt.
>> Tim Wildmon: They're in the Epstein files.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They are the enemy. We can all agree. Put your car.
>> Tim Wildmon: You'll find their name in the Epstein files. Coming soon. Theater near you. all right, so, anyway, I don't know how we got started on that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, we all know you brought it up.
In the developed world, birth rates have been declining and marriage is declining
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so, what, here is a story we wanted to ask Alex about. and let me set it up a little bit here, but we've been paying attention some and we mentioned it about there is a, crisis in, civilization on planet Earth of, birth rate. There is in Japan. There's. The birth rate is so low in Japan that they, they're not even coming close to replacement levels. And so, people have said 100 years from now, there's not going to be any Japanese people on planet Earth. Now, that may be an exaggeration, but I mean, you're talking about a steep decline around different national, different ethnicities and nationalities. Because Especially in Europe and other, places like Japan I mentioned. And now the United States. Who's got the story that we're going to ask Alex about? Go ahead.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, we published, a story this morning that just came out. The US Centers, for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, they release a statistic for the total fertility rate. and they have just released the fertility rate for 2024 last year. And this is the headline from Associated Press. The U.S. fertility rate reached a new low in 2024. the rate, that they told us about this morning is 1.6 kids per woman. Now we know that in order for a culture to keep replacing itself, that rate has to be 2.1 kids per woman.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And that one covers infant mortality.
>> Fred Jackson: Correct. So the 1.6 represents the lowest birth rate, in history for the United States. It's an all time low.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And so Alex, you know, if the point here is if you have a man and a woman, hopefully they're married and they have one child, and that happens pretty much across your culture, then within one generation you have cut your population in half. And to Tim's point, if you keep doing that every year, eventually you run out of people of that particular nationality or cultural identity. and so, tell us what you think about that and why it seems to be happening. It's actually happening in China, as well, but for a while it's been mostly the West. What's going on?
>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, you know, really, I first heard about this, the danger of what they call demographic winter. in 2011, there's a book, and Bert and I have a rule. We never recommend a book unless we ourselves have read it. And a book came out in 2011 called How Civilizations Die by, David Goldman was the author. And Ed, I literally read this book three times because it was riveting, it was, alarming. But it was talking about. And this book in 2011, it is still a very relevant book in my opinion. But they said in a hundred years the last Japanese that, that ethnicity would be dying out because, okay, while the median age of the world is about 30, the, the median age in, in Japan is like in the mid-50s and inching upward every year. And this thing of replacement rate, you know, a woman should have like 2.1 children, to replace herself and her husband. Well, the birth rates in the developed world have been declining for decades. And I tell the kids in all of our camps and I say to audiences, look, if you want to be, happy, be prosperous, Be fulfilled and contribute to the Great Commission. Get married, stay married and raise a Christian family. You know what's interesting about the Goldman book, how Civilizations Die. Interesting. In the developed world, birth rates have been declining and marriage is declining, too, sadly. But Goldman said this. He said there are two groups in the developed world that are against the trends. conservative Jews and evangelical Christians. And I thought it was interesting because think about it, what do conservative Jewish families and evangelical Christians have in common? Well, we believe in, the Bible, and we believe in the sanctity of marriage and family, and we believe in what God told Adam and Eve. Be fruitful and multiply. And I just thought was interesting, an absolutely secular book by a sociologist really affirms, what we say, that that family and, and raising children matters.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, Catholics used to have big families. Is that true anymore? Does anybody know that? You know, Catholics used to be teased about that. You know, big Catholic family.
>> Fred Jackson: I think you would have to break out, the Catholic population between Hispanics and Anglophones.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'll call them Anglophones.
>> Chris Woodward: Well, non Hispanic, like a non phone.
>> Fred Jackson: Non Hispanic people. Okay, all right. Hispanics, I'm sure would be, not, have a 1.6 birth rate. I think they're.
>> Tim Wildmon: They have more. They have more children.
>> Fred Jackson: They have, you know, three, four or five kids.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: All right, so.
European leaders opened the floodgates to allow migrants to come in
And the other thing that is happening in Europe, this story, this AP story we published on our site this morning makes mention of European countries having the same problem, which is why European leaders in the last 10, 15 years said we have to have more people coming in. so they opened up the floodgates to allow all these migrants to come in. But unfortunately, many of these migrants come from a very different culture, religious background, and it has created other problems in Europe.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so, I have three reasons here, and maybe this, maybe this, these reasons conform with what the, who is the gentleman? What was the name of the book?
>> Alex McFarland: David Goldman was named. What was the name of how Civilizations die?
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. And it's talking about what we're talking about, right? The birth rate decline around the world.
>> Alex McFarland: And it was 14 years ago, and wow, the problem is really exacerbated.
The Catholic Church says using birth control is a sin
>> Tim Wildmon: let me mention the three reasons, then you can comment. but, okay, so, number one is birth control pills. Okay? The advent of birth control pills. Because they've been around for 40 years now 30.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Which is why there's probably a difference between Catholics who follow the church teaching and Catholics who don't. Because the Catholics who don't Are going to use birth control. The Catholic Church says using birth control is a sin.
>> Tim Wildmon: Really?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, for, this very reason. Okay. And so Catholics who probably follow the church teaching, I'm guessing, have very robust birth rates.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: As opposed to.
>> Tim Wildmon: You can tell whether somebody's a faithful Catholic or not, by looking in their vein.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, there are people who can't have kids.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm just kidding. Yeah, I'm just kidding. But. Okay, so.
Birth control, money and selfishness cited as reasons behind declining birth rates
But I'm interested. I'm mentioning the reasons why the birth. And birth rate is down so much over previous generations here, particularly, let's say in Canada, in the U.S. north America. so number one would be birth control. We all agree with that, right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Sure.
>> Tim Wildmon: The birth control pill in particular. change. There was a game changer.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Number, two, money. people go, I don't have. I can't raise four kids. I don't have the money.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, where it's, very expensive. We're gonna be in poverty if we have more than two, honey.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And she agrees with him. And then. So that shuts it down.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so. So would he agree that finance, finances.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And. And that's what young, Young couples who don't have kids or only have one. That's what one of the big reasons.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so that would be. And the third reason here is, a guess on my part, but not really, like, so I can't document it. and it's a negative thought, but just outright selfishness. In other words, I don't want to have children because, I want to do what I want to do with my life and kids interfere with that. So just give me a dog. I don't have to. I don't have to really do much with the dog. You know, I don't have to. The dog's not going to have emotional problems or have to go to ball games and stuff like that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So can I just toss in two.
>> Tim Wildmon: Others, two other reasons? What do you guys agree with? I hate to say that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely, absolutely agree. And that last one you said is also a reason that, that sociologists give for the declining selfishness. Selfishness.
>> Tim Wildmon: So birth control, money and selfishness.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What I would toss in. And this may overlap with something that you gave abortion.
>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, that's a good question, because that is why the Chinese birth rate is expected to crater by 2050. and then I would toss this in and toss it to Alex. I think a Christian worldview makes a difference. If you believe what, like Alex said in what God said for us to do. And you believe there's a future and you want to raise children to take part in it and be salt and light in the culture, you're more likely to have kids.
>> Tim Wildmon: What about abortion? You mentioned abortion and, Alex, that's what you were going to comment on then?
>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. I mean, since Roe vs. White, at least here in America, I mean, somewhere between 63 to 70 million Americans, don't exist because since 1973, they were. They were aborted. And I mean, how many of that.
>> Tim Wildmon: How many?
>> Alex McFarland: It's at least 63 million and probably more like 70 million. And the reason I know that I had the great privilege in 2022, with Robert Jeffers and folks from First Baptist Dallas, I got to speak in the Roe vs. Wade courtroom, and I was asked to speak on what is a human being? and they estimate it may be as many. This was what the right to life. People in Dallas said that it may be 85 million. But let's just take the low number. Like, the, Alan Guttmacher Institute says 63. 63 and a half million abortions since 1973. Well, these are people that in 52 years have not lived. They did not get married and have kids themselves. part of the reason that American Social Security is bankrupt. I mean, there's a whole nation of people that never lived, had gained employment and paid in. And so here's the thing. whether it be China or Europe, you know, declining birth rates. So they open the borders. But what comes in, as Arafat predicted, Muslims, you know, Yasser arafat in the 80s, he had a book called I have a Dream, you know. Well, Arafat said that, Islam would rule the world ultimately by the womb of the Arab woman. In other words, cultural jihad through Islamic birth rates.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's going to happen in Europe. Yeah, that is where they are trending. I mean, the Muslims are coming in from North Africa and the Middle East. They're having all kind of babies. The native, Europeans, are falling into this category of selfish or money or birth control. They don't want to have any kids.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Mohammed is the number one boy's name in London.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you give that. Give that, 30. Hey, the Muslims already 10, 11% of the French population right now. You give, you give, you make that 20, 25%. They'll control the right. They'll control the country. And I'm not saying all Muslims are bad or want to. I'm just saying that if they do impose, Their Sharia law, for example, that changes Europe. Right?
Even churches need to get into climate issues, Chris says
So, Chris, you were going to say.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, this, this factors into why a lot of young people particularly are using birth control. It's because they've also bought into the lie that, humans are a negative on the planet. We have too many people, we have to curb our population. And that is why I think, even churches need to get into climate issues. I don't want to go to a church service and hear a rant about UN policy. But we do need to figure out, I think, what, God tells us to do with the resources that we have.
>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. and, you know, this is why it's so important to obviously evangelize people of all ages. But young people need a biblical worldview. Marriage is a blessing. One other thing, guys, I didn't mention, but, you know, since 1970 and 71, California, and New York implemented no fault divorce. And there are so many kids, even Christian young people, that have never really known the stable family life of a mother and father, their biological mother and dad, all living under the same roof. And, I think even some Christian young people are, commitment averse, you know, and we need in the church to teach that, you know, marriage is a blessing. Commitment is a blessing. Keeping one's commitments honors God and grows us. there's just so much, so much wonderful maturity that takes place in marriage and family. And, that's why, I mean, glory to God for the American Family association, because honestly, the Christian home is the hope of our nation. It really is.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.
Alex Bird and Bert Harper will talk on American Family Radio this afternoon
All right, you're listening to today's issues. What do you got? What are you and Burt going to talk about this afternoon?
>> Alex McFarland: Well, we're in the Book of Numbers, and we just finished up numbers, 24 and 25, where it's really awesome. a guy named Balak tried to pay Balaam to curse Israel. And every time he would open his mouth, he would pronounce a blessing over Israel. And, Balaam said, hey, I can't help but speak what the Lord tells me to say. And, that's the kind of preachers and Christians we need. But we're, we're in the book of Numbers. And of course, tomorrow is far away Friday on Fridays on Exploring the Word, we take all questions for the whole hour. So, check it out, brother.
>> Tim Wildmon: I ain't doing that. I'm glad you and Bert do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's, that's dangerous right there. But now I'll say, Bert, brother, Burt's got the Right Idea.
>> Tim Wildmon: Bird and Alex.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Bert Harper.
>> Ed Vitagliano: When he gets. When they get a really hard question, Bert says, alex. Hats off to Alex.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, Alex.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There are. There are few people smarter than Alex and.
>> Alex McFarland: Oh, come on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: More experienced with scriptures, than Dr. McFarland. So he's the right guy to have.
>> Tim Wildmon: For Fireway Fridays at Fireway Fridays right here on American Family Radio. And exploring the word heard each afternoon from 3 to 4 o' clock Central time on American Family Radio. See what I did there?
>> Alex McFarland: I got right kudos. The man that had the idea for exploring the world I did is named Tim Wildmon.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: and he never ceases to remind us.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't. I'm not looking for. I didn't ask Alex to say that, so.
>> Alex McFarland: That's true.
>> Tim Wildmon: Thank you, Alex. Appreciate it. Take care.
>> Alex McFarland: Blessings. Thank you all.
>> Tim Wildmon: So that's, Alex and Bert will be on this afternoon right here on this station with it right here in the word.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right here on the station.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right here on the station on.
>> Tim Wildmon: Like it sounds like the name on, on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Of Green Games.
>> Tim Wildmon: yes. On the phones for you.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. When you, when you go to Jiffy Lube, do you change your oil or, Your oil.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oil.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oil.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I had to go get your oil changed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: As far as the name, up in New England, we would have said Ann and. Yeah, yeah, like my aunt. You know, I have my, you know, my dad.
>> Tim Wildmon: My dad, God rest his soul, and the founder of this ministry. Very, very intelligent man, smart man, man of Christian conviction. Everybody knows it. Has a great personality. Funny guy, too.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: But, he had that, There's a difference between. I would call it traditional Southern accent. Okay. Which maybe. And what I call backwoods country accent. And that every once in a while would come. Come at me with, the country.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Country accent.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Because he would say. I would say, dad, Nancy's on the phone for you. He would say, nancy.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Nancy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Didn't he.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And he would say thanks. And I said, thanks. What? Yeah, we can'. Go to a dance, dad. No, you meant dance, dad. Is that what you're talking about, going to a dance?
>> Chris Woodward: You know, that is something else that's gone away.
TV has impacted accents are homogenizing, says Steve Paisley
Talking about the declining birth rate. There has been a, A, decline in like a regional accent. for example, like a lot of young people today in the Southeast don't necessarily sound like Paula Dean. While there. There are still some people that are.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because of all the, melting pot.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Television has impacted accents Are homogenizing.
>> Tim Wildmon: Homogenizing?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: When I was in ninth grade, we used to do live readings of things like Shakespeare's works in English class. And, because we were, you know, a melting pot of various, accents, there were some students, they were like, Romeo. Oh, Romeo.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Sounds like the Andy Griffith show, right?
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, like Marty Fife reading, you know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: From that Romeo, that window shine.
>> Chris Woodward: What'd you say?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, man, I, I probably got the quotation wrong.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, I, I, we went to Alison. I went to Boston last year for our 40th anniversary. And that was fun, traveling around that area and listen to.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You got to go to a Duncan.
>> Tim Wildmon: Listen to your people.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. You're not from here, are you?
>> Tim Wildmon: They had, they have, like, Dunkin Donuts in the Boston area. Like, every block.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's from New England. Duncan's is, was a regional time M.
>> Chris Woodward: To make the donuts.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, Dunkin Donuts. yeah, they, that's where they started.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, they started from there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So everybody in Boston. Yeah, there's Duncan's everywhere. And that's what they call it. Duncan's.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Wanna go to Duncan's?
>> Tim Wildmon: Duncan's.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. we will return with more of today's issues on American Family Radio. we promised to let Fred talk.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, no, it's, too late now.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. so we'll, we'll be back with Steve Paisley Jordal after this five minute break. stay with us. M. The views and opinions expressed in.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
