If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic society
>> Ed Vitagliano: If we lose this cultural war, we're
>> Tim Wildmon: going to have a hedonistic, humanistic society.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. The movement m Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture. Watch Culture Warrior today for free. Visit culturewarrior movie.
The Issues offers a Christian response to the issues of the day
Welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Huh? Here's your host, Tim Wildmon. M. President of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to afr. I'm Tim Wildmon, as the announcer just told you, and in studio with me is Ed Vitagliano. Good morning, brother Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: And Fred Jackson. Good morning, brother Fred.
>> Fred Jackson: Hey there, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: we got. That's it, folks. Just three of us.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, just the three amigos.
>> Tim Wildmon: Three amigos. do you know what a plethora is, Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I do know what a plethora is.
>> Tim Wildmon: I just need to know if you know what a plethora is.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Could it be El Jefe?
>> Tim Wildmon: El Guapo?
>> Ed Vitagliano: El Guapo, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Could be El Guapo. That you are mad at someone else. And you're taking you. Once again, you are taking it out on me.
>> Ed Vitagliano: El Jefe. No, he was El Jefe wouldn't.
>> Tim Wildmon: he. That's when you've watched a movie clip too many times.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Too many times, too many times. And that is from the movie the Three Amigos.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's a. That's a very funny movie. It's got Chevy, Chase. Martin short.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Steve Martin.
>> Tim Wildmon: Steve Martin. Martin short. Martin Short. I said that, right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's a short guy. Yeah, Martin is.
>> Fred Jackson: How about that?
>> Tim Wildmon: What's that?
>> Fred Jackson: We just referred to as Three Amigos. Short is Canadian.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's true.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's Canadian. So we got a Canadian because he
>> Ed Vitagliano: played an SCTV years ago, was kind of like the Canadian version of Jon. Yeah, all of those guys. All right, Kenzie brothers.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: What now?
>> Ed Vitagliano: The Mackenzie brothers.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. A. All right. you're listening to today's Issues on afr. Lot to talk about on the program. We have Jenna Ellis coming up at the bottom of the hour.
Fred: We're gonna learn a new Spanish word today on the show
So before amigos, three amigos and a senorita, right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. Senorita means young lady, right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, I think that's right. Senora means like an old married lady.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. What's grandma,
>> Ed Vitagliano: I used to know all this in high school. Okay, abuela. Is it abuela?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know what? I'm gonna look that up, see if I'm right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, look that up, see if you're right. Fred, in the meantime, what's happening, Grandma? Yes. You got it right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I got it right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Grandma in Spanish is what?
>> Ed Vitagliano: abuela, Abuelita, is the diminutive form, like little, you know, granny, little.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, what if you got a big.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All the way from high school?
>> Tim Wildmon: You do. What if you got a big granny? What's that?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Abuela grande.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're on fire. I'm fire. You're Spanish, man. You're gonna start doing the show in Spanish here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Tell your friends, people. I'll be here today.
>> Tim Wildmon: We're gonna learn a new word, folks, right here, on, today's issues.
President Trump is standing in front of the construction where the ballroom is being constructed
All right? so, Fred, what is happening in this here world of ours?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, because you just used the word grande, I'm going to change our lead to what I've just been watching for the last 45 minutes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay?
>> Fred Jackson: For some reason this morning, President Trump, El trumpo grande. Grande. Emerged from the White House. And for the last 45 minutes, he's been standing in front of the construction where the ballroom is being constructed. And it surprised me. I knew it was big, right? But this thing is massive. And he's standing and he's got. All the hammers are being banged in the background, and they're working, they're building, pipes are being moved around. I did not realize. This thing, there are three floors below ground level. And on.
>> Tim Wildmon: He.
>> Fred Jackson: He's talking about all the security measures that are going to be in this. They're going to be missile launchers on the roof of this thing.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's brought those at my.
>> Fred Jackson: It got your.
>> Ed Vitagliano: At your wedding?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, at my house. You know, you never know when you're going to need them. So they got missile launchers.
>> Fred Jackson: Missile launchers.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Ah, Seriously? Probably for drones. For drone defense.
>> Fred Jackson: It is so this. They brought in military people to put together the blueprints for this. It is, to use President Trump's term so often. It is huge. It's absolutely huge. Now, there's been some controversy, in Congress about who's gonna pay the bill. President Trump stressed several times this morning that the ballroom itself, what he was pointing behind him, he said, I am paying for this, referring to himself and a bunch of patriotic Americans. So they're donating.
>> Tim Wildmon: He raised the money from the, corporate community. Yes, business leaders.
>> Fred Jackson: He says there are other security measures. Around the ballroom that they're asking Congress to pay for. So that's where that debate is. And of course, as is often the case, he opened up things to the reporters, and he was asked about what's going on with Iran.
Can I talk about the ballroom first? Oh, sure, yeah
>> Tim Wildmon: Can I talk about the ballroom first?
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, sure, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: The ballroom was. Was needed. Has been needed. and the. We've all seen the pictures of. And the videos of presidents, and I, you know, you can go way back, having to have big events, on the front on the South Lawn. I, mean, now I have. I had the good fortune of being invited to a White House dinner, during President Trump's first administration. And there is. I forgot what it's called. but it's.
>> Fred Jackson: It was.
>> Tim Wildmon: It was a big. It was a big room, but it only housed about, I'm saying, 200 people or something like that in the room for a. For a formal dinner. And so, if you want to have more than that, you know, you need a bigger space. And so this has been, in my opinion, much needed for. For the. For the president to. Whoever the president is, to host a big, state dinner, for example.
>> Fred Jackson: Uh-huh.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And to do it safely and securely, unlike the White House correspondents dinner.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. At a hotel. At a hotel, yeah. So this is going to be really, really, really nice and very much needed. I think the Democrats have given up complaining about that. At least I haven't heard them much complaining about the ballroom. They've got other things they, you know,
>> Ed Vitagliano: or they haven't stopped complaining. Well, stop complaining about this.
>> Tim Wildmon: Nobody cares. Yeah, no, nobody cares about their criticism about this, because this ballroom is needed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And I didn't know about all the, I don't. All the extra security measures that have been. But it makes sense, you know, to be as fortified as building as you can possibly make it. So, I look forward. We'll be in D.C. in about a month. I look forward to going by there and seeing what's going on.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. I talked about titanium walls. I mean, this. It's going to be bulletproof, missile proof.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. I'm sure it'll be able to take a missile strike.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, so.
>> Tim Wildmon: So when President Trump says only, how he can do it, that nobody's ever seen anything like it, he will actually be right.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Won't be hyperbole.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes, absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Nobody's ever. Nobody will have ever seen anything like this.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. It's going to be like the car that he drives around in the beast.
>> Tim Wildmon: Beast, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. You know, you can't go down to local Toyota or Ford and pick one of those up.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. That's true. You know, so newly noted.
President Trump says he's close to a deal with Iran over nuclear deal
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: As I was saying, he was asked by reporters about the change of heart in the last 24 hours because President Trump said yesterday, ready to resume, the attack on Iran, military attack on Iran. And he said one hour before he was going to give the order to resume, and he says, we're ready to do it. He said he had conversations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, uae, Kuwait, and they asked him to hold off for a few days because they are. Those countries are part of the negotiations during this ceasefire. And he says they asked him to hold off because they do believe. Now, some people are skeptical when they. Because we're hearing this a lot, that we're very close to a deal with Iran. Okay, cut number 11.
>> Tim Wildmon: I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because
>> Fred Jackson: they think that they are getting very
>> Tim Wildmon: close to making a deal. And if we can do that where there's no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think.
>> Fred Jackson: And if they're satisfied, we will be probably satisfied. Also. It's also interesting, Prime Minister Netanyahu announcing this morning that he's extending the ceasefire with Hezbollah, for another 45 days. So there's something going on. the outcome of this is anybody's guess because we've kind of heard this. a deal is coming. A deal is coming. Trump is saying Iran is begging to make a deal. we'll just have to wait and see. But Trump did say during this impromptu news conference this morning at the White House that he was asked, okay, how long are you willing to wait? He said, maybe to Friday or Saturday. That's specifically what he said.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I do like the idea of some of these other countries in the m. Middle east trying to broker a deal. My own personal opinion is, and this is just opinion, just my understanding of human nature, Iran is not going to make a deal with the United States or with Israel because those two countries attacked Iran and has devastated Iran's military. Now, Iran deserved it. but what I'm saying is I don't think you're ever going to get Iran and make a deal with the United States. However, they could save some face if they said, well, we talked to our Muslim brothers in the Middle east, and for the sake of peace in the Middle east or the sake of whatever, you know, we're willing to do this or do that for them.
>> Jenna Ellis: That.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That, that moves. For me, that moves the needle a little bit in terms of the hope of something getting done, short of America being embarrassed and just having to pull back on this, or on the other hand, devastating Iran and their infrastructure and hurting the people of Iran. So that moves the needle a little bit. But this has been dragging on for a while. I'm not. I'm not out of the red, so to speak, in terms of the. Where that needle is.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Well, you need to keep in mind that, while both Iran and the Arab countries are. That were mentioned. Saudi Arabia, uae. And who was the other one?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi, Saudis.
>> Tim Wildmon: That they are two different religions. basically. Well, two different branches of the same religion, but very distinct. the Iranians are Shia and the Arab countries are Sunni. And they consider them, as I understand it, both consider the other to be, like, heretical. Okay. So, however, they all are in the same neighborhood. And so maybe these Arab countries can convince Iran to give up their nuclear weapon. goals and ambitions. I doubt it, but I'm just speculating. but if they are, there would be. There would have to be some sort of, way to monitor this.
>> Fred Jackson: Uh-huh.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, there was. Have to be some sort of. So would the Iranians be willing to say, okay, the United States can come in, or maybe. I don't know. Who would we trust? Who we. The United States would trust to verify that Iran is not, you know, again, trying to build a nuclear weapon? So a lot to be decided. you know, President Trump, I do think he has tried everything to give this time to work. I also think he's being played by the Iranians. I don't think they have any intentions of conceding to the United States, for the reasons Ed mentioned. They got too much pride involved. and the Israelis are another. You know, they're another factor here. You know, what will they do? What will they agree to? Because they have their own intentions here. So we'll say also that we got this blockade still in place, right?
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. In the step.
>> Tim Wildmon: the U.S. blockade that has to be squeezing.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, sure.
>> Tim Wildmon: The Iranian economy greatly.
>> Fred Jackson: Absolutely. I actually saw some interviews yesterday with some business people in Tehran, and I'm a little surprised of what they had to say publicly. we're hurting. that's what they're saying. Our economy is really, really bad.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, the blockade, for those who don't know, has been, you know, instituted by the United States Navy, and I guess maybe Other forces of our military, branches of our military, but it's keeping, Iran from having any, of their merchant ships, leave their ports to go to China, for example, and deliver goods or oil, namely. So it's basically cut off their, their economic spigot in that regard. Yeah. So that's hurting them, and that's, that's without having to fire a shot, you know, which is always, you know.
>> Fred Jackson: And I think the political pressure is building on President Trump, too. We're in an election year.
>> Tim Wildmon: How so would you say?
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, no question.
Ed: People are complaining about the price of gas
Gas prices. Somebody was telling me this morning in our neck of the woods here in Tupelo, Mississippi, they saw a gas station yesterday. They said regular gas was $4.19 a gallon.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oof.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that true, Ed? Have you verified that?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I've not. Over the weekend, in some places, it had dropped to 380, and I was surprised at that. But that was just a temporary, like a temporary glitch, you know.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know what, guys?
>> Ed Vitagliano: What? I've not seen 419.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, if it's over $4, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to go to anybody's graduation. I would go otherwise.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, gladly.
>> Tim Wildmon: Gladly. I would gladly go support all these people who. I don't know who send me graduation.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. invitations, sit outside at night.
>> Tim Wildmon: But I can't. $4. I just can't do it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's either that or they get a $50 gift certificate. Yes or no.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, which do you want?
>> Tim Wildmon: Which do you want? I think they're going to go with the $50, although that value about what, 6 gallons of gas today anyway. So. So we'll see.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: What happens.
>> Fred Jackson: I just think, you know, but that
>> Ed Vitagliano: is right, what you're saying coming up.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so what's going to happen here's the idea is that, people are going to. People are complaining about the price of gas and they're going to blame President Trump because the war got us this and they're going to set that. A lot of people are going to view that independently from the righteous cause of the war.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Am I right, Ed?
>> Fred Jackson: No question.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, the average Joe out there who isn't interested in politics that much, not keeping up with the war or, why we're doing it necessarily. Might blame the. Might just go with, hey, the oil prices up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't care why you tell they in order. If you're going to ask the American people to sacrifice.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They have, like you put it, they have got to know this war is the right thing to do, but they also have to understand how it comes to an end. What is it we're trying to accomplish, and are we going to get there? So you've got to have a reasonable, a reason why we're doing it, and can we get there? Can we win? And if the thing just drags on, I think that erodes support for the righteous cause, as you put it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right, you. We'll see. I didn't know it was up to 419.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I just looked, up.
>> Fred Jackson: That's at one stage, at one place.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I just looked up. This is AAA, today's AAA Mississippi average, $3.99 and eight, whatever that is.
>> Fred Jackson: You talk about bumping up against four.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, no, it's. It's bumping up against four. but, in the count, different counties around the state, as high as $4.29 in certain places.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. And, next bright new story. Fred, bring it.
President Trump is backing Ed Gallerin in Kentucky's 4th district primary
>> Fred Jackson: let's stay with politics. Today is election day. Primaries being held, in various places. And one of the places being watched, is in Kentucky, Thomas Massie, a Republican, that President Trump does not like very much.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, he hates his guts.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's accurate.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. Just about puts it, President Trump in that case, in that, in that district, has endorsed Ed Gallerin over Massie. Now, Massey was just interviewed a few moments ago on Fox News. It was very, very interesting. One of the things that President Trump has problems with with Massie, he voted against the big, beautiful bill, Massie is saying. But a lot of people know I voted against the big, beautiful bill because he said, I don't like big bills.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: But he said in that bill, the planned, Parenthood financing was continued in that big, beautiful bill. He said, according to Massie, taxpayer, funding of surgeries for transsexuals was still in that bill. So he said, I voted against it for that reason, but that, you know, that's one of the things, you know, there are a number of things that, President Trump has problems with when it comes to Massey, but that will be watched, today. Here's what President Trump called in yesterday, I think, to a radio station in, in Kentucky, and he said why he's not favoring Massie in that primary today. Cut number three.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm asking you to get out and vote for andy Barr for U.S. senate, for Ralph Alvarado for Kentucky, six congressional district and for Ed G. Who's a fantastic guy, this is a group, great group of people, but that's in Kentucky's 4th congressional district against a disastrous Thomas Massey. I say he's the worst Republican congressman in the history of the country.
>> Fred Jackson: I think he's just horrible.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's been a horrible, horrible person.
>> Fred Jackson: So there you have it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Horrible, horrible person.
>> Tim Wildmon: why does it, we asked, why does Trump do this kind of stuff right there? Why does he have to denigrate somebody personally over and over again?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know. He, Listen, he, he and Thomas Massie Massey also, I mean, Massey's got some solid conservative credentials. Okay. He was, also very. He pushed, for the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Now, President Trump initially opposed that. he did sign it, but I, I read a lot of conservatives on social media who are always saying, why, why, why is nobody going to prison over this, Epstein, Epstein island and all those kind of things. so Massie pushed for that. Trump also, mocked, Thomas Massie remarried after his first wife died. And this new young lady that he married, Trump called her a radical left flamethrower. I don't know anything about the lady. So anyway, it's.
>> Tim Wildmon: Imagine him, it's married. I really can't imagine Thomas Massie marrying a left. A lifelong, pretty conservative fella.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean, he and Chip Roy and, two or three others were considered the stalwarts of the conservative movement.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: In the Congress, in the House of Representatives. Now, I don't know, there's some people oppose Massie because he's against funding for Israel.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: On the conservative side, I'm talking about, but I don't hear Trump talking about that much.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and Thomas Massie also opposed, what he considers to be foreign interventionism. I don't think he liked what we did in Venezuela, going down and getting maduro. and I think some of his opposition to funding of Israel is based on keeping America out of, wars. So this is the way I view, Massie is. He's a straight up kind of no compromise conservative who's not going to want to make deals, not going to want to compromise those conservative convictions in order to make a deal.
>> Tim Wildmon: No matter who the president, doesn't matter
>> Ed Vitagliano: who the president is. Now, sometimes I think that conservatives like Massie can, make the mistake of saying, well, if I can't get the whole loaf, I don't want anything. You know, sometimes in politics, the best you can do is get half a loaf. You're going to have to give something up in order to compromise and get something done. So anyway, I think that's what Thomas Massie seems to be. Trump is more of a deal maker and so Massie has been a fly in the ointment kind of thing.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: But he just seems infatuated. President Trump does with one congressman. on the now. Now, what, what, where they to collide is President Trump is, is not a fiscal conservative.
>> Fred Jackson: No.
>> Tim Wildmon: So he's a, he's a big spender.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Thomas Massie is a true fiscal conservative.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think.
>> Tim Wildmon: So they butt heads on that. Now Trump has proven he'll take out conservatives. He took out, Bob Good. Yeah. In Virginia, who was a fine man, who, and now he's, he's wanting to take out, you know. Yeah. Take out Thomas Massie, another conservative again with some caveats there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: but we'll see what happens today. But the primaries today it is in Kentucky. We'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.
The AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations
>> Ed Vitagliano: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial 250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com afr the AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. It won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app.
>> Tim Wildmon: This is Today's Issues.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Email your comments to commentsafr.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.
There are tornado warnings in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri today
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed and Fred. Breaking news. There's tornado warnings in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri today.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Shocker.
>> Tim Wildmon: Back to you, Fred.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That time of the year, where it really is, there. Here in the Deep South.
>> Tim Wildmon: The heartland. In the Deep south and the Midwest too. This time of year that straight line. Ohio, Illinois and Indiana's tornado country. And they don't get as many, but they get hit too.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yep.
>> Fred Jackson: I always get worried when it's 75 degrees at 5 o' clock in the morning.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, it was muggy this morning.
>> Fred Jackson: It sure was.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm not complaining, fellers.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, you're Fred and I do. We do. We do. Like, I don't know about Fred. I don't. I'm not crazy about freezing cold weather anymore, but, Fred and I at least like a little bit of cool. You like it hot?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I've, I've formed a hate group against cold weather and we're gaining members. Yeah, I've called the SPLC to try to get on their list, you know, so I can recruit some more folks. anyway, yeah, I did test cold weather, so I'm happy as a. I don't know what I've lost for a word.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Happy as a clam.
>> Tim Wildmon: Happy as an iguana at hot weather.
>> Ed Vitagliano: As happy as an iguana in Florida.
American Family Radio's Jenna Ellis cannot stand cold weather
>> Tim Wildmon: Speaking of not iguanas, but in Florida, is our colleague Jenna Ellis, who joins us today, who's heard each weekday morning on American Family Radio with the show Jenna Ellis in the morning from 7 to 8 o' clock Central time, right here on American Family Radio. Good morning, Jenna.
>> Jenna Ellis: Good morning. Just call me the iguana from Florida. You know, that's, that'll be my, like,
>> Tim Wildmon: site name, the Iguana from Florida. Well, I will say this. You, you paid your cold weather dues growing up in Colorado, right?
>> Jenna Ellis: 100%. And I am part of your club that is the cannot stand cold weather. There's like one week at Christmas where it's totally magical and you stay inside wrapped up in a blanket with your hot chocolate and your Christmas movies. You watch, you know, the, the snow outside after that and surrounding that before and after, it's just dull and lifeless. And I'm tired of digging my car out of snow and all that. So I love being in Florida where if it's below, 70, it's like a cold day.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know that that's an absolute she. Which what Jenna just said is an absolutely real thing.
>> Tim Wildmon: Her growing up in Colorado, grew up
>> Ed Vitagliano: in Boston, grew up in NewSong Hampshire. NewSong Hampshire, and in NewSong England and Boston area early. But in NewSong Hampshire, everyone thinks of it as a, Hallmark movie. And it is beautiful. When the snow's coming down, you can go outside, you can hear the snow. It's that hush. You can hear the snow hitting the ground. It's beautiful when you have a nice, clear morning. But most of the winter, it's overcast. The snow turns to brown and slush, and it hardens.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's real life.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's the real life. I can remember waiting for the bus at the bus stop with a ski mask on, and it was so cold when you breathed in, it hurt your lungs.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And who needs it, man?
>> Tim Wildmon: Red Grip, Nova Scotia, even Northeast.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: I'll tell you where it gets really depressing, right, this time of the year. And it snows, y'.
>> Jenna Ellis: All.
>> Fred Jackson: In Calgary, it snowed last week.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: In parts of Saskatchewan, it snowed. I've lived that. And that is depressing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Fred Jackson: Because you've come through six months of winter.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: And every. And you turn on your tv, especially if you're watching something from the south, and it's beautiful. And that's when you plan your trip to Florida.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yes, I know water parks open and, like, everybody's pool stays open all year round.
>> Tim Wildmon: And I know three people that I have triggered with childhood memories.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You have triggered.
>> Jenna Ellis: We are a hate group, but I'm okay with that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Jenna Ellis: Long live the haters of winter.
Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky, has a primary tonight
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, all right, all right. so what did you. You covered the, story, on your show, Jenna, about this morning about Thomas Massie, the congressman from Kentucky, the Republican. He has a primary today and is kind of being watched by the country because President Trump, has endorsed his primary. Ah, opponent. Gentleman's name escapes me now.
>> Fred Jackson: Ed Gowering.
>> Jenna Ellis: Ed Gallant.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. So why is this, a big deal?
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, that's a great question, actually. you know, this is kind of setting up a GOP reckoning because Massie is actually, based on his voting record, a genuine conservative. Now, that doesn't mean that he votes with Trump's agenda 100% of the time. And people have rightly pointed out that over his last term, his scorecard in terms of voting with the party has fallen to about 77%. But his voting record, in terms of his own principles and fidelity to the Constitution and principles of limited government, limited spending. He didn't end up voting for the one big beautiful bill because he said, listen, this isn't giving us tax breaks. It's actually increasing the national deficit by, you know, billions of dollars. And that's not okay. Right. But he did vote for the SAVE act because obviously, election integrity matters. And he's been a very consistent voice for, liberty. But limited government. But that flies in the face of Trump's agenda, which is. And My guest Todd Stearns this morning rightly pointed out that the base of the American voters overwhelmingly not just voted for Donald Trump in 2024, but they voted for Trump's agenda? And so Massie is kind of this really interesting figure that represents stalwart conservatism, but also represents independence and kind of a contrarian view that isn't going along with the party. And Speaker Johnson, you know, has very famously said for years that Congress is a team sport and Trump is the head of the party. And with the trifecta, when you have a Republican in the White House and then a Republican majority in Congress, he expects Congress to go along with his agenda. And that's not happening. So what you have tonight, which I think is really fascinating, is coming down to the question of who really controls the party. Is it Trump's agenda that the American people voted for, or is it the principles of independence and conservatism that actually span well before Trump and hopefully will endure long after Trump? And I said also on a video that I posted to my social media pages, I don't like the fact that this has set up to where if Trump loses tonight because Massie wins, the left is going to use that, of course, as the headlines will be like, you know, Trump's grip on the GOP is waning, he's losing influence, he's a lame duck, you know, all of that. But if Massie loses and Trump wins, they're going to call him, you know, a dictator, he's a tyrant, all of that. And they're also going to be very happy, the left, that they have lost one of the members that's actually willing to stand up for truth and liberty and especially for, things that maybe the Trump agenda isn't standing up for, that conservatives have long wanted. So it's almost a lose lose in a sense for the gop. And I don't like that. But I think heading into this, it's going to be very fascinating to see will Massie survive as a very popular, Republican in his district, or have people had enough and they said, you know, I don't care who we primary, I want Trump's agenda to move forward, which will then be a very strong warning signal to people like Bill Cassidy, who was just primaried, out of Louisiana, that senator and others, that if Trump comes for you, you're probably toast.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, he went after Bob Good in Virginia and beat him.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes.
>> Jenna Ellis: So we have a track record here.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And Bob Good, similar to Thomas Massie, not identical, but they're very similar in terms of their political, views. Bob Good was a true conservative, a member of the Freedom Caucus and Chip Roy. President Trump's, you know, threatened to primary him too. So there's a trend here. President Trump doesn't like real conservatives.
>> Jenna Ellis: Mm
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. He doesn't like them because he, he sees them as unflinched. Ah. as
>> Ed Vitagliano: Uncompromising.
>> Tim Wildmon: Uncompromising.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And in politics you got to compromise some. So. And that's true if you're going to get things done, you're going to have to compromise some along the way. Give and take. Because neither party has a dominant force in Washington D.C. it's about 50, 50 as the country is 50, 50. So I understand both sides, of the argument. Somebody like Thomas Massie is going to say, you know, we can't. We're going to spend ourselves into oblivion and we're going to pay a great consequence if we don't stop this, you know, free spending. And President Trump would say, well you can do that when somebody else is President. M. But right now I've got a budget, I got things I want to do and budget I want to meet. And I don't have time to be some kind of principled fiscal conservative.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean the military has asked for I think one and a half trillion dollars.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So there are countervailing forces at work here and I'm not sure who's going to come out on top in terms of the Republicans.
>> Tim Wildmon: I do think. One other thing. I do think the days of having a party in Washington D.C. that is, does champion the cause of fiscal conservatism and like, you know, balancing the budget, paying for what we you know, having the money to pay for what we need instead of just barring way, barring our way to if oblivion ever comes. But I mean hyper inflation and things of that nature which we've been warned against. But I, and I say I know I'm getting long winded here. It's rare. Did I do that? Right, Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No comment.
>> Tim Wildmon: No comment.
The Republican Party gave up being the party of physical conservatism on fiscal issues
So, because you don't want to lie. Right? That's, I understand.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I don't want, and I also like to be long winded sometimes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So here's the, here's the point. The Republican Party gave up being the party of physical conservatism because the American people don't care about that issue. And I think the Republican Party realized, hey, Americans don't. After the Tea Party. That was the last of the Mohicans as Far as people who said, hey, we need to balance the budget, you don't hear that anymore. Maybe Rand Paul or Thomas Massie. Go ahead.
>> Jenna Ellis: Even back, in the 1980s, like before I was even born, Barry Goldwater as a Republican was calling out other fellow Republicans by saying they're not being fiscally conservative anymore. They're recognizing that government is not a revenue generating institution that actually has to balance its budget and that like a corporation actually has to resolve and they have to not go into the red and they have to actually be responsible to shareholders and all of those other principles of capitalism. And so he was saying that, you know, Republicans are basically acting like Democrats where, the personal property of private citizens they believe is theirs for the taking. And we, and they, and he was saying back in the 80s that we no longer have to request permission to, from the American people to tax and spend and get their approval for what we want to spend things on. And we've seen that in Doge, by, you know, I mean the Arab Sesame street and all of this ridiculous nonsense that our federal government is spending money on. If that was put to a vote, that would overwhelmingly fail. Even most Democrats, like of the voters, not the party leaders, but at least of the majority of Americans still care about the economy regardless of party. And they would vote down all of those stupid initiatives because they understand that the money that they keep actually matters. So I mean, this isn't new. It's just that Trump ultimately doesn't care either. He's not a fiscal conservative and we've known that for a really long time.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And so the only way that the American people will care about government spending ever again is if there's some sort of pain caused by you know, America goes into, what do you call it, default or, you know what I'm saying the US dollar is no longer the reserve current, international reserve currency, things of that. Something would have to happen otherwise the Republicans have been warning, fiscal conservatives have been warning about doomsday for a long. I remember I used to buy into that, you know, 20 years ago or so like that. And I'm not saying that there's not a doomsday coming fiscally because we like in the name as maybe you get hyperinflation, something like that, that won't go away because, we just can't borrow any more money, because we're at $35 trillion of debt. So does that have consequences or not? You know, and some people have been saying since it was 15 now, 20 now, 25. I remember asking a congressman 10 years ago, hey, when the national debt goes to 50 trillion, will that matter? He couldn't answer the question because I don't think anybody really can answer the question.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, we're at 39 trillion now, right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And it's, and we're about to have liftoff. I mean, it's going to go, it's going to keep soaring. So I don't know does that ever. None of us are economists, but economists would say, yeah, it's going to have an impact one day. But that one day seems to never get here in terms of.
>> Jenna Ellis: But that's. This is where Thomas Massie has been such a fiscal conservative. And he's become famous for those, you know, know, ticking, debt, like the little placards on, that you can just wear as like, lapel pins that show in real time the racking up of, the American debt. And, you know, has said that this is something that the balanced budget amendment he supported. And he's been, one of the most fiscally conservative Republicans. And Speaker Johnson used to be, at least in principle, before he became Speaker. Now it's, you know, he's operating a little bit more like, you know, just a grief counselor in Congress than he is necessarily a leader, in my opinion. But, you know, that's, that's, that's been something that Massie has promoted from the get go. And I think it would be a real shame to lose him in Congress.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's a horrible person. That's what Trump said today, that Thomas Massie's a horrible person. Jenna. yeah, I don't know why you're For a horrible person standing.
>> Jenna Ellis: Right. And, and you know what he also said back when, Massie was running for reelection just this last time was the glowing, complete and total endorsement. And it's like, what's changed since then? Well, just maybe his, contrarian view and also his push to release the Epstein files if and where and whatever they exist. But, you know, he's not been the Trump MAGA team player. He's been Team Constitution and Team Liberty and so that it flies in the face of Trump's agenda.
Let's say President Trump finishes his term and we're looking at J.D.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, so put, put your prediction hat on. Okay? I'm not even talking about the election, the primary results. Yeah, I'm not even talking about that. So here's my question, Jenna. Post Trump. When President Trump, God protect him so that he can finish out his term.
>> Jenna Ellis: Amen.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because there are, there are wackadoodles that want him Dead. Okay, I'm not talking about that. Let's say President Trump finishes his term, and we're looking at J.D. vance or Marco.
>> Tim Wildmon: Him.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What's that?
>> Tim Wildmon: There's a finish line?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no, I've.
>> Tim Wildmon: He doesn't believe that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He knows it.
>> Fred Jackson: I'm just kidding.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, so post Trump, J.D. vance, whoever is going to be the standard bearer for the Republican Party, whether he's elected president or not, does. Is it. Is it a MAGA Republican Party, or do we go back to, the, the old kind of, vision of the Republican Party? Fiscal conservatism, strong, defense, social conservatism? Do we go back to that, or do we continue on the MAGA path? What do you think is going to?
>> Jenna Ellis: Well, I'll give you my personal hope and then also my pragmatic prediction and my personal hope. And I wouldn't actually characterize it as going back to, you know, the days of traditional conservatism and policy that's actually predicated on a biblical worldview. We didn't have that pre Trump, and that's why we have Trump now. We had the establishment GOP that really didn't care anything. They were pro life in name only. They were conservative in name only, and that's why we call them Republicans in name only. So I hope that we don't go back to that, but I also hope that we don't have M. MAGA as it is now, which is godless populism that's centered around one person. His name is Donald Trump. I hope that we don't have that moving forward either. I hope that we carve a new path forward in this kind of rededicate, 250 of America, type of view to say that what we actually need to go forward to is looking upward and saying that none of this has worked. If we have a party that is centered around, you know, greed, around, a person, around godless populism, around power, any of that. We actually have to move forward with principles, and we have to elect people that actually genuinely understand that. That's why I was such an advocate for Governor DeSantis, because I think that he actually understands that, and he understands how to execute it. I think Marco Rubio also understands that and how to execute it. And a lot of my really good, Christian friends actually supported Rubio back in 2016 for that reason. So I hope that we choose wisely moving forward and having a leader. I don't think Donald Trump is going to go anywhere, but I think that in terms of his influence. But I hope that whoever is the next, ah, leader of the party in terms of occupying the seat will be able to work with Trump, but kind of marginalize the godless populism MAGA brand in favor of a return to sanity and a return to conservative principles that are actually effective, not just in name only. So that's my hope. My pragmatist sort of view is that I think that Trump is going to have a death grip on the GOP until literally he's. He's done. And he, you know, hopefully it's, you know, of old age and, you know, at some point, because none of us live forever. I don't think that Trump is going anywhere until he, you know, literally can't, because he dies of old age or until the party, forcibly kind of removes him and says, we no longer want your influence, which I don't see happening. So I think that whoever is the next person, is going to have to make, as part of their campaign, concession and compromise, that they will basically be under a chancellor or president emeritus of a Donald Trump. And I think that he is going to try to control the party literally until the day he dies.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, that's. I mean, that you've thought this through. You had. You have a, pragmatic view, and I like that. That was very good.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know. President Trump strikes me as kind of guy that just wants to fade away.
>> Jenna Ellis: Exactly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?
>> Tim Wildmon: Cowboys in the Western, just right off in the sunset.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Jenna Ellis: Favorite poem is not man in the arena. You know, that's him. I mean, he just. He wants to be the person.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, well, there you go. Thank you, Jenna. Appreciate it.
Jenna Stredge is the first woman born from a frozen embryo
And, what's coming up on your podcast this week?
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, this week, actually. I'm so glad you asked because, this week is really important. I'm having, as my special guest, a young woman who is actually the first frozen embryo, who was later adopted to parents and is now a wonderful, example of a Christian woman who is speaking out for pro life. And there's a documentary, that will come out, I believe, next year, talking about the impacts of frozen embryos on life and how, we need to pay more attention in the pro life movement to what's actually going on in the ethics of ivf. So I'm really excited to talk to her about her story.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What's her name?
>> Jenna Ellis: that is a great question. I'm forgetting. Let me go back. Okay, look here, real quick, you guys can. While I'm Looking at this?
>> Tim Wildmon: No. When does the podcast drop?
>> Jenna Ellis: it drops on every Friday morning. And so. Oh, and her name is Hannah Stredge. I believe Stredge is how she pronounces it. And you can follow her at Hannah Stredge. And her dad actually wrote a book, that talks about this. And I just, got it off of Amazon. And, that goes into her story. And so she has a really great, commentary on her X feed, so you can follow her. Hannah. And the last name is S T R E G E. And she's.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What? What did you say? She's the first frozen. She's the first woman, born from a frozen embryo that was preserved. This is a question of ivf. I'm sure you'll cover this in your podcast, at least from a Christian perspective. She's the first woman born from a frozen embryo.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, she, So she was the first frozen embryo for two years, suspended in ice after obviously continuing conception, as. Because an embryo is a life. so at conception and was frozen for two years, her biological parents, apparently just was, we're going to just leave her frozen, but then ended up adopting her to a couple that then she was implanted through IVF and was, born. And so, yeah, and so it's, it's an incredible story. And also, you know, she says, she says in her pin tweet, one of the smallest humans in a freezer, grew up and wrote this tweet, speaking of herself. I'm the first adopted frozen embryo in the world. I was frozen for two years before I was born. My adoptive parents chose to adopt me and 19 of my siblings after my biological family created 32 embryos through IVF. Only four of us are alive today. The rest didn't survive. I'm here because I was given a chance today. I'm a social worker, but millions like me are still in storage waiting, and my story is for them.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so, the interview that Jenna's talking about on her podcast, her podcast that's not heard on afr, but that's on our AFR website, so you can get it each Friday. And it's. So it's a weekly, podcast. Go to afr.net afr.net and click on the podcast and you'll see Jenna's, once a week podcast. Of course, Jenna is heard daily Monday through Friday, right here on AFR from 7 to 8 o' clock central time, as she gets. You started each day with news and information and analysis that you need to know about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you can also listen to her daily show, going to that same place, afr.bar.net if you don't get our radio station. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: So. All right. Thank you, Jenna.
>> Jenna Ellis: Take care, you guys. All right, talk to you soon.
>> Tim Wildmon: Long live Summer. All right, that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's. That's amazing, that story that she's gonna be covering, with this Hannah. Ah. I think she said stretch.
>> Tim Wildmon: are you gonna hang around, Fred?
>> Fred Jackson: Steve is in next.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, well, you can hang around.
>> Fred Jackson: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: We got some stories you got. I mean, Steve's got his stack of stuff, too, but you can, Unless you got a meeting to go to or.
>> Fred Jackson: No, I'm gonna hang around and, you know, we can talk to you. The. What's the weather?
>> Ed Vitagliano: What choice do you got? The president said, can you hang around? When the president says, can you hang around, you hang around.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hang around.
>> Fred Jackson: This is a great place to hang out.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Ah.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, we're going to take a break right here. When we get back, more, Steve Paisley Jordal will be sitting in a chair two feet from me, and we'll. We'll talk to Brother Steve. So stay with us.
>> Jenna Ellis: M. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
