Walker Wildmon thanks American Family Radio sponsor Preborn for supporting pro life efforts
>> Walker Wildmon: 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 your help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound250 and say the key word baby or visit preborn.com af. We inform religious freedom is about people of faith being able to live out their faith, live out their convictions, no matter where they are.
>> : We quit.
>> Walker Wildmon: Sacred honor is the courage to speak truth, to live out your free speech. We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope.
>> : This is at the Core on American Family Radio.
>> Walker Wildmon: welcome to The Core here on American Family Radio. Walker Wildmon here with you on this edition of at the Core. Glad to be with you. The show's hosted each week by myself and Rick Greene. And I'm with you most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Rick's with you on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Speaking of Rick, I was with him this week in Alito, Texas at the Wall Builders Library recording a brand new episode of AFA at Home, One Nation Under God, celebrating America's 250th anniversary. We recorded that at the Wallbutters Library in Alito, Texas. And, that's going to be released on July 4th. On July 4th, Independence Day, we're going to release that 90 plus minute episode with Stephen McDowell, Rick Greene and Tim Barton. Of course, I'm on there as well. I do a lot less talking, but nonetheless, that's going to be released here in the next, few months as we head into July 4th. And so be on the lookout for that. You're going to enjoy, that I hope. And we cover a lot of American history, a lot of the whys behind American history. That's all coming up on our latest episode of AFA at Home. We're going to release it to the general public to the masses on July 4, 2026.
We're going to various places speaking of America's 250th anniversary
Let's turn our attention to the scripture. John Chapter 15 is where we are this week. John, chapter 15, verses 18 and 19. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own yet, because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. That's, verses 18 and 19 of John, chapter 15. So when believers face difficulty, trials and opposition from the world and from the unbelieving populace, should we be surprised? Should we be shocked? Should we be discouraged? Absolutely not. Jesus, was the foremost person to be hated by the world. Thus they crucified him. And so as believers, we should expect similar opposition and hatred from the world because they are blinded, from, seeing the truth of God's word. And of course, our goal as believers is to help open the eyes of the unbelieving world by sharing the gospel, Jesus Christ and teaching the whole counsel of God's word. John, chapter 15, verse 18 and 19. Well, we're going to various places speaking of America's 250th anniversary. We're going to some of these key historical sites where America's founding history took place, was carried out. We're going to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. That's one trip. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We're going there in June. My brother Weston and I were leading a group there in June of this year. We're also going to Washington, D.C. in June, of course, both the Washington and Williamsburg portion will be repeated in September. And then lastly, we're going to Boston. We're going to be walking the Freedom Trail for an entire day. We're going to be going over to Plymouth Rock. We're to going, we're going to Lexington Concord. We're going to James Adams home and State Park. And so there's just a lot that we're going to see up in Boston. This will be our second time there here in 2026. So if you want to go on any of those trips, what better time, what better year to do it than the 250th birthday of America? So that's what we're doing this year. And if you go with us in June to Williamsburg or Washington, you're going to be there just weeks before the 250th in, in June. So you're going to be there just weeks before the 250th anniversary there in Williamsburg in Washington, DC. So go over to tours.afa.nettours.afa.net to check out all the information, the itinerary, the pricing for our trips to Williamsburg and Washington D.C. and then later in the year, Boston, Massachusetts and other places around the Boston area. Tours.aca.net well, let's jump right into a little bit of economic news, and then we'll talk, some cultural issues, maybe some foreign affairs, and then we'll have Chris, on, on the last segment.
All indications are showing the economy is on a recovery path
Let's play this, CNBC report of the jobs numbers doubling past expectations just a couple weeks ago. Clip one. Hi, good morning, Kelly. Yes, it's job, job jobs Wednesday, not necessarily a Friday, but every bit is important. Nonfarm payrolls for January coming in twice expectations at 13000, 130k. That would be the juiciest going back to April of last year when it was 158.
>> Walker Wildmon: Well, there you have it. That's CNBC, getting rather excited about the doubling of expectations, doubling past expectations of the jobs report just out last week. all indications are showing, folks, that we're on a recovery path. All right. All indications are showing we're fully on a recovery path. There are no indications showing otherwise. There are absolutely no indications showing that the economy is headed in the wrong direction. Absolutely not the case. You look at inflation going down, you look at real wage growth going up, tariff revenue coming in zero. Absolutely zero indication or data to suggest that tariffs are causing inflation to go up. Inflation is dropping like a rock. And we talked a little bit last week with Krish about this. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the data that the Fed is relying on, on inflation is way behind. A recent study I saw showed that the Fed is relying on data that is anywhere from 60 to 90 days old when they're making decisions. But you've got these private metrics out there like truflation that is showing inflation well below the 2% threshold, well below the 2% benchmark. Some indications are showing inflation below 1%, which hasn't happened in years. And so President Trump has virtually defeated inflation. Wages are beginning to rise again and he's bringing down spending. And so things are looking good on the economic front, despite what everyone says. And of course, we ought be reminded the damage that Biden did to the economy was disastrous. You do not recover from that fully in a 12 month period. And so, par your expectations or pare your expectations accordingly that what took multiple years to mess up will take several years to rebuild. And that's what President Trump and his administration are currently doing.
Getting Congress to do anything positive heading into midterms is difficult
Let's talk another issue, and that is congressional inaction. Congressional inaction. We're heading into midterms and getting Congress to do anything positive is like pulling teeth. As a matter of fact, it's actually harder than pulling teeth. Congress, whether it's Democrats or Republicans, they get in there and they promise all these grand things and they do absolutely nothing. And if we want to be technical, they do absolutely minimal. They do minimal necessary to basically stay alive in Washington D.C. and it causes voters to be frustrated. And its voters, both Democrat and Republican. This is a bipartisan problem. The politicians, they talk a big game, promise all these things they get in Washington and they come up with every excuse under the sun as to why they can't do what they said they were going to do. And this passing the Save America act over in the Senate is just exhibit A. Just pass the legislation. But Senator Thune and the Republicans, they got a, they got a moaning groan and come up with all the reasons why they can't pass the Save America. Oh, we got the filibuster. Oh, we got the cloture rule. Oh, Senate tradition. Oh, what if the Democrats do this? It's as if they don't think America is truly at a pivotal moment. It is if they think that we're just in this routine, status quo environment where, you know, first do no harm and so they just get frozen. They don't do anything. They act as if there's not any problems. And then they wonder why voters get frustrated. We wonder why Republicans. And the enthusiasm gap with the Democrats is so broad heading in the midterms and is because the Republicans get to Washington and do absolutely minimal necessary to stay afloat. Okay, we passed the one big beautiful bill. Good for you. I'm glad we did. That's one piece of legislation. You guys are going to be in charge for the next 12 months, 11 months going into January. You've got to do more. Got to do more. And I'm not the only one picking up on this. Governor Kevan Stitt out of, Oklahoma was actually hosting a panel with Politico recently and talking about how congressional inaction with both parties absolutely frustrates voters and it actually runs contradictory to what the Founding Fathers intended. This is going to be Clip three. Let's listen.
>> OK Governor Stitt: My goal in my last year as governor is to make sure that I'm joyful, joyful, joyful that I'm the light, that I don't get bitter because politics has a way of just beating you down over time. And so I can't even imagine being the President, United States. So, it is, he's got a tough job to do and, you know, you'd have to ask him those, those questions. but, you know, I think the American people want, want a president to give us real solutions, right? Let's stop the fighting. Let's. What are the real solutions? I, I tell people, some of my friends when I'm back home, I'm like it's, it feels like we're a, we're a car racing towards a cliff. And right now my party's driving and the Democratic Party's in the driver in the passenger seat, and we're fighting over the control of the radio and our, our car is racing towards the cliff here. And then, you know, in three years, we may have a Democrat driving and the Republicans will be in the passenger. We'll still be fighting over what's on the radio. Congress is not getting anything done. We haven't passed a balanced budget in Congress since the 90s. Bill Clinton was the, was the last time that we actually had a balanced budget.
>> Walker Wildmon: A former governor. A former governor. So we, we literally have a crisis that's facing us and nobody seems to be talking about it. So, those are the things I think the American people want. Solutions.
Which branch of government is closest to what founders intended today
>> Walker Wildmon: Just to give you. Let me give you a sneak peek, all right, into our episode nine of AFA at home. One of the questions I asked the panel, including Steven McDowell, Tim Barton and Rick Greene, was which branch of government is either most closely aligned to what the founders intended currently today, or maybe has drifted the farthest from where the founding fathers intended. And the branch that came up the most was the legislative. The branch that came up the most was Congress. And here's why. All.
>> Walker Wildmon: Well, let's say most, if not all. Actually, actually, let's say all. And I can defend that. All of the problems with how Washington functions today boil down to Congress. That's a defensible fact. And here's why. If I moan and groan about the executive branch, well, guess who holds the executive branch accountable? Legislative branch. If I moan and groan about the judges, oh, the bad judges. Well, guess who holds the judicial branch accountable? The Legislative branch. So all roads per the Constitution and checks and balances point back to Congress. And I've actually been wrong before. Well, multiple times. But one time I was notably wrong was when I called the three branches of government co equal. And Tim Barton actually fact checked me or corrected me on this. The three branches technically are not CO equal. The legislative branch, I.e. congress, is the superior branch above all. Why? Because Congress has the authority to fire judges. Congress has the authority to fire the president via impeachment. So ultimate authority, ultimate accountability, ultimate power in Washington D.C. rest in the hands of Congress. The Legislative branch. We'll be back in a few.
>> : 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, at the Core podcast are [email protected] now back to at the Core on American Family Radio.
American Family Radio would greatly appreciate if our listening audience subscribed to the podcast
>> Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to the Core here on American Family Radio. Second segment now underway on this edition of the program. as a reminder, we're going to have Krish Woodward in the last segment as we do each Friday. Glad to have you with us here on afr. We would greatly appreciate if our listening audience subscribed to the podcast. Subscribing to the podcast not only brings the content directly to your device, but it also helps us spread the word about American Family Radio and about at the core radio program. So if you go to your podcast library on your smart device, on your tablet, on your phone, just type in the name of the program. At the core. When my show queues up there in your library, all you have to do is click the subscribe button and the program, the latest episode will be queued up there, right there on your device in your library for your podcast. It's free. No gimmicks, no tricks. All you have to do is click the follow or the subscribe button in your podcast library. Another way to keep up with the program is via the AFR app, the American Family Radio app, available on all major app platforms. Just type in AFR or American Family Radio. And lastly, we keep the video up on Facebook, on all our major Facebook channels and [email protected] you can watch the show on all those major platforms.
Study shows young men are returning to Christianity, back to traditional values
Alright, let's, talk a little bit about this, study that just came out about young men flocking back to church, back to Christianity. And let's, before we play this clip, let's set up the cultural context in which studies like this take place in. All right. And so we have, in the 60s and 70s, 60s and 70s, we have the rise of feminism and what once started as feminism and women's rights, such as the right to vote, which goes obviously back well before that. But nonetheless it's considered part of the feminist movement. What started out as women's rights, basic women's rights, hey, women ought to have the same access to things as men in society, jobs, etc. Voting. What started out as that which many people could agree to. Hey, this is a noble thing. What started out as what most would consider a noble thing was at some point over the last 30 to 40 years, at some point it was hijacked and traditional feminism morphed into modern feminism, which is an uber left godless ideology as it stands today. And they began making men toxic. And men were shamed. Men were called toxic. Masculinity was frowned upon. Traditional marriage was shunned. Scriptural passages talking about the male, female created order and the marital union were shunned even by professing Christians. Oh, men don't have authority over women in the household. There's no way God would intend that. And so the questioning and the undermining of even God's authority and God's clear teachings in scripture on the male, female relationship, including the head of the household and the spiritual leader in the marital union being the man, which is a clear biblical teaching in Christianity, virtually unchallenged for 2000 years, has all of a sudden come up for debate. And the way these debates take place is very demeaning and it's done in a way that's unserious. The end result is not to have serious conversation about theology or about God's created order and who should be leading the church, whether men or women should be pastors. This was not a genuine theological debate where both sides wanted to end at a place that was right and true. All of this cultural feminism over the last 30 to 40 years has been intended to tear down the Judeo Christian order of society. And so now we're in a place, and we have been for some while. This is not breaking news where women don't trust men. They're actually told they don't need men to be successful. Having children has been pitched as this optional add on accessory of marriage. Well, you can get married, but of course you don't have to be fruitful and multiply. And so there's all these worldly ideals rooted in cultural feminism that are 100% anti God that, that have been permeating American society for decades. Thus we have a below 2% population rate reproduction rate and have had that for 40 to 50 years going back to the 60s and 70s. But finally it is appearing that younger generations are beginning to wake up to the fact that the world's ways don't work and shunning masculinity doesn't work and that God's created order of male and female is good and it complements. And so the Latest study is showing that young men are actually flocking back to church, back to Christian faith, and back to traditional values that built this nation. Let's listen to this Fox report. This is going to be clip two. Let's listen.
>> : The young men report feeling culturally dislocated or villainized by progressive secular discourse regarding masculinity. Traditional forms of Christianity, particularly Catholicism and orthodoxy, offer a narrative of responsibility, sacrifice and hierarchy that appeals to, to men seeking a defined role in a fluid world. Now, the report also breaks down weekly religious attendance by education level. And those with postgraduate degrees are at 30%. People with bachelor's degrees, 28%. Emily, to add to this a little bit, okay, it's a worldwide phenomenon. 45% increase in the number of people baptized in France. In the UK, they have seen 18 to 24 year olds jump, from 4% believers and attending church in 2018 to 16%. But I love this. Most of this growth is concentrated among Catholics and Pentecostals. A shout out to my evangelical crowd there.
>> Walker Wildmon: Well, there you have it. That's a report out of Fox News talking about young men flocking back to church, particularly to Christianity. A couple different denominations at play here, but nonetheless, the point here is that young men are to the place where they understand that the cultural feminism movement and the current environment has utterly failed them. And, what's interesting is that some women are actually realizing the same thing. Not at the same rates as men, per the studies, but young women are also realizing that the feminist movement has utterly failed them. This trend of never getting married or waiting till you're 35 to be married and then 40 to have kids or 40 to get married with the goal of never having children. All of this narrative of self, self, self, me, me, me is falling apart before our very eyes. Do you want to know why? We're at record levels of anxiety and depression, record levels of loneliness. And you know what young people are doing? They're looking around and they're looking at older generations and they're saying to themselves, some of the happiest people on the planet are the ones that married young and had a plethora of children and lived an abundant life not from worldly standards, but from godly standards. And the fundamental teachings of scripture going back to the book of Genesis, are, once again turning out to be the right way. And of course, we know it's always been the right way. There's no time in history where God's way is the wrong way and then the right way. But my point is, is that there are seasons throughout human history where even the unbelieving world recognizes that God's created order is the best order for human flourishing. And so, as Charlie Kirk was once quoted saying, get married, have kids, work hard, raise a family. When you examine all these studies out there of young people, some of the most unhappy people in this world, especially in America, with materialism, social media, all the entertainment you could bargain for, the most unhappy people are the singles or the marrieds with no kids, working 12 hours a day, turn all this money and have all these things and do. Do all these trips, and then they get to the middle of their life and they look around and all they have is a bunch of stuff and thousands of hours poured into corporate America. One of the most sad things that I see just looking at life, is when I run into people that have no family. And you say to yourself, how do you have no family? Well, there's a couple ways, but, I'm talking about immediate family, okay? If we want to be technical here, I'm talking about siblings and children, spouses. That's what I'm talking about. And what happens is when people go down this path of, oh, no, no, I don't want to get married right now. I want to get 10 years into my career before I get married. Or, well, I want to get married, but I don't want to have kids right now. I want to wait till I'm, quote, settled down to have kids, and then, boom, you blink and you're 40. Boom, you blink and you're 45. This is leaving. There's no doubt about this. This is undisputed. This worldly way of thinking of me, me, me, self, self, self, is leaving a lot of people currently and in the future very lonely. And, all these doctors and psychologists, they act as if this is rocket science. And the doctors and psychologists, they prescribe all the medicine, they recommend all the counseling sessions. But when you look at all the studies, all the studies out there, some of the surest ways to bring about joy and happiness and contentment in someone's life is for them to get married, for them to have children, for them to raise a family and contribute to society and work hard, have a successful career, be happy with what you do for a living, build generational wealth, generational opportunity. And so young people are flocking back to that. They're flocking back to what worked for previous generations. And it's so very encouraging to see. So very encouraging to see. So glad to report that study, coming to you From Fox News on young men flocking back to church.
Tom Homan speaks out on illegal immigration and human trafficking
Bobby, how much time we got left for this segment? Four minutes. Okay, let's play a clip here and then we'll wrap this up. This clips, quite a bit of a vibe shift here. We're going to go to the home and clip. this is about illegal immigrants and what they're doing to young girls here. And I want to play this. Viewer discretion advise. Listener discretion advised. If you got young girls in the car, you probably want to turn this off. But this is Thom Holman, the ICE border czar talking about what they're discovering when they're arresting these cartel members and these gang members, what they're doing to young girls when it comes to illegal immigration and human trafficking.
>> Tom Homan: Clip 5 We're showing up at parking lots, vacant homes, but we're not going to give up to every one of these kids are found. So we just found one two days ago, an example, 14 year old little girl living with two adult males who trafficked her and we found her, she pregnant, from trafficking, being forced into prostitution. 14 years old. so we're taking care of her both physically and mentally. Despite what the media says, we're not heartless. We care about this because I'm a father and the reason I'm so emotional and so hard headstrong on this issue because I've dealt with dying children throughout my career. I've held dying children, I've held dead children. I talked to little girls as young as nine. They were raped multiple times by the criminal cartels. I'll never forget it. When you get on your knees, you talk to nine year old little girl, everything innocent and pure is ripped from her. And she don't believe in humanity anymore because you had a bunch of animals crawling on her, taking everything pure from her. You'll never forget it. That's happening every day through this trafficking and we're gonna put an end to it. Everything we can do.
>> Walker Wildmon: Well, there you have it. That's Thom Holman recently speaking to Republican governors and lawyers, at the Republican Lawyers Association. The reason I want to play that it's hard to listen to nobody, nobody wants to listen to that kind of news, that kind of talk about what's going on. But folks, we have to understand, and I know most of you do, if you listen to American Family Radio, you're mostly up to speed on this stuff. But when Democrats, members of the media, so called journalists, these radical left activists, when they defend illegal immigrants en masse, when they protest and block ICE operations in Minneapolis. They are de facto defending these sick individuals. The Democrat party has become the largest lobbying operation for these cartel rapists. And so as you go to the ballot box in November, as you consider who, which, which leaders you're going to pick, just remember that clip. Remember that Democrat governors, mayors and congressmen are lobbying for the cartel rapist to stay in America. That's what this is all about. In many ways. Abortion was on the ballot this past election and there's reason for concerning. There are many counties, cities and states who have radicalized abortion. And thousands of tiny babies will continue to lose their lives every day. Which is why the Ministry of PreBorn is on the front lines for at risk babies and mothers with unplanned pregnancies. Preborn sponsors clinics positioned in the highest abortion areas in the country. By providing them with resources that they need to rescue babies, PreBorn continues to expand their life affirming care. Their end of year goal is to equip 10 more clinics with ultrasound machines. These life saving machines cost $15,000 each, more than most clinics can afford. When a woman meets her baby on ultrasound, she is twice as likely to choose life. And when she comes to a preborn clinic, she will also be embraced with God's love. $28 sponsors one ultrasound. And now through a match your gift is doubled. How many babies can you save? Please donate. Just dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250 and say the keyword baby dot or you can go to preborn.com afr that's preborn.com afr all gifts are tax deductible and PreBorn has a four star charity rating
>> : at the Core. Podcasts are [email protected] now back to at the Core on American Free Family Radio.
Chris Woodward: The State of the Union is next Tuesday
>> Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to the Core here on American Family Radio. Krish Woodward is with us as he is each week, each Friday. Chris, welcome back.
>> Chris Woodward: Thank you very much.
>> Walker Wildmon: Well Chris, we've got a lot to talk about. A lot of economy. We'll start off with the economic news. Maybe we'll end talking about Iran and maybe the implies economic implications on that front which looks pretty imminent as far as the US move on Iran. but tell us what's going on. Maybe in the mortgage market or with home construction. What do you have over there?
>> Chris Woodward: Well, this one is involving housing starts. So new construction for housing plans. And this is Market Watch's headline housing starts jump to highest level in five months showing momentum growing or going Rather in, into the new year. I think we're going to hear a lot from the President next week during the State of the Union when it comes to things like housing, because of a couple of reasons. Number one, we have a housing shortage in America. We have a lot of people, we don't have places to put them. And two, a lot of people, as we have talked about on the show, can't afford a home or can't afford another home, to maybe move their growing family into due to a whole cost of factors, all of which involve decisions by the President and members of Congress. So, it's, it's good news for housing and I do think we're going to hear a lot from the president. The State of the Union is next Tuesday and some are saying that we should expect, the longest one in history.
>> Walker Wildmon: The longest shutdown.
>> Chris Woodward: The. Well, the longest, State of the Union.
>> Walker Wildmon: Oh, okay. Because they're also debating the shutdown. I thought. Longest shutdown.
>> Chris Woodward: Hopefully it's not the largest shutdown.
>> Walker Wildmon: We just did a month, a few months. We just did 30 days a few months ago. We'll see how that goes. Yeah, the longest. Okay. Didn't, didn't President Trump. Wasn't his last one the longest?
>> Chris Woodward: It was one of the longest for sure. I mean, I'm, I can remember one back in like the 90s when Gingrich was, running Congress, Bill Clinton was in the White House. That one was pretty lengthy. There have been a few. But this one, most recently, I think it was the most painful. Just because we have a bigger population, government has grown, there was a whole bunch of people not being paid.
>> Walker Wildmon: So let me ask you this. On the State of the Union, President Trump doesn't miss an opportunity to make history.
>> Chris Woodward: It's very true, very true.
>> Walker Wildmon: But if you want to do the longest, you're talking two hours.
>> Chris Woodward: Well, one thing that I would recommend as a tax paying American is that members of Congress would stop interrupting whoever the president is to cheer or boo. Just let him or her give their spiel and let us all go back to the party.
>> Walker Wildmon: You wonder if that plays, if that's counted. Yeah, like the number of cheers.
>> Chris Woodward: I think it does. Somebody does.
>> Walker Wildmon: I mean, remember last year they had, Johnson had to get somebody kicked out, Right?
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, that was, that was, a congressman from Texas.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: And that delayed the, proceedings even further.
>> Walker Wildmon: Green. Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: Well, it feels like five years ago.
>> Walker Wildmon: Here's what I'm thinking, Krish. I wonder if we're even going to have a State of the Union. Well, I think if we're bombing Iran,
>> Chris Woodward: I don't think I was about to joke that, I wonder if Iran is going to be the, you know, 52nd state come, come Tuesday. But you're right. That is, I'll be, that is a big one.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah. I'll be surprised if we have a State of the Union. Should, we do something on Iran between now and then? Very true. Could be delayed, but maybe they'll wait until after, who knows.
Chris: Mortgage rates and prices play a big role in home affordability
Chris, you were talking earlier going into the program about the new house starts.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Walker Wildmon: that plays into the mortgage rates and affordability. Talk a little bit about that.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. You know, mortgage rates have obviously been an issue, again because of, rates, and the fact that a lot of people can't afford a home, people that might be able to sell a home, they need some money to be able to buy another home. And that's been a big issue. I drive past half a dozen houses, that have been on the market for months, some for a year or more. And a lot of it is a price issue. So the government needs to do things to make it more affordable for a home buyer. I know the president has thrown out a lot of ideas. some of them have been crazy. You have like the 50 year mortgage idea, but then you have the tap into your 401k to get some money to put down on a house. There are some things out there and who knows, maybe the president's going to talk about that, in the State of the Union whenever it is.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: But definitely one of the things that he is going to say is I have done things to help make things cheaper and put more money in your pocket. So that if you're in that situation and maybe you're saving for a home, you will have some more money this year and going forward due to the tax cuts and the one big beautiful bill.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah. And there are. I want to be honest. Well, we always want to be honest. I want to be fair. on the mortgage side of things, there are first time home buyer programs out there, like fha. so if you're a first time home buyer, there are zero down programs out there for you. But to your point, I think the two things that are going to make the most impact is not necessarily, you know, meddling around with like, how do you help people get a down payment, stuff like that. I think the biggest help is going to be the rates and the prices. Now obviously that seems obvious, but, it's the simple stuff that people have been talking about for decades, that's the rates and the prices. I think if you get rates down in the 4% range on the mortgage side, they're at 6 now. They're actually at the lowest level in multiple years. If you get rates back down in the 4% range and you boost supply, that's going to open the door for hundreds of thousands of home buyers to get back in the market. And I don't think we're far off from that. I mean, I think we're probably 12 months off from that. if you get a new Fed chair, you drive down rates. If we're being honest, Chris, inflation isn't a problem anymore.
>> Chris Woodward: No, it's really not.
>> Walker Wildmon: I mean, you can cite some, a few categories like beef, but broadly speaking, inflation, fundamental or, like entrenched inflation is not even a thing anymore. And as you and I talked about last week, when you look at like truflation, which is a private tracker, they're showing inflation below 1% in some categories. So if inflation isn't a thing anymore, isn't a problem anymore, the Fed can drop rates pretty drastically. Right.
>> Chris Woodward: I think one of the things that the President should do or somebody that works for the administration and all of these economic speeches is basically show some charts and visual aids and explain to people where we were under Biden, where we are now, what we've done to bring things down from Biden, all kinds of things. It's a very numbers intensive topic, and you will lose people in the weeds because it is kind of an in the weeds issue. But throw out some visual aids and show people where we were, where we are today, where we will be when these things continue down the road under my policies, and why you should vote for me and Republicans in the midterm elections. The reason why you need to do that is we've all heard from Donald Trump for years now that Joe Biden was terrible and Kamala was a terrible candidate and all that other stuff. We know where you are on Joe Biden, but you need to show Americans how they have benefited from the year, plus that you've been in office and why these things will only get better if you continue to vote for people that will support my agenda. Because right now Democrats are out there with this misleading campaign that Donald Trump said he would bring prices down on day one and he lied. That's my Elizabeth Warren impression that I will never do again. Yeah, but, and those kinds of claims go, like, unchallenged. They make it on Ms. Now they make it on CNN to make it half a billion people around the world, through X. and the administration needs to do a really good and clear job of explaining how we have benefited from his short time in office.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, I agree. That's the winning message. I also think the winning message on the midterms, which I think the State of Union is probably going to be kind, of an opening salvo into the midterm messaging. the question that the American people have to answer this November, yes, President Trump's not on the ballot, but in a sense his presidency is, his agenda is. The question before us is, do we want two more years? I'm talking about a year from now. Do we want the remaining two years of the Trump presidency to be spent on wall to wall coverage of impeachments?
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, yeah.
>> Walker Wildmon: And wall to wall coverage on government shutdowns and wall to wall coverage on how Congress and the White House can't agree on funding because virtually that's what you're signing up for. And I think if you, if you, if the American people are being honest, I'm not sure that's where the appetite is. But unfortunately, Chris, the enthusiasm gap with the Democrat base, the Republican base, the Democrats are outpacing the Republicans on enthusiasm this election cycle. Yeah. The never Trump, hate Trump vote is strong and we can't forget that. I think President Trump needs to pay attention to that.
>> Chris Woodward: Right. I think that's one of the reasons why somebody in the White House or in the war room is saying, Mr. President, we really just have to make this about the economy because the I stuff has put a bad taste in some people's mouth. Yeah. and then you've got, you know, immigration. There was a story, a, couple of days ago about how Trump himself has been told, hey, the immigration crackdown has caused home buying or home building to be an issue because now contractors are not finding workers to climb on top of a house and, you know, build some stuff. And certainly there's a number of other service industries. So I think that's why the administration has tried to make this about the economy. I would also recommend that you get, somebody from the Education Department out there to push trade schools and other things and also give America the swift kick in the pants that it needs to teach young people that we need to work and we need to provide for ourselves and this country. Because unfortunately, we've trained up a couple of generations now, including mine, to just always depend on government to help you and that job is beneath you. we need to work, we need a better work ethic as a society.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah, yeah. The, if you want to me, this, this disconnect between presidential cycles and midterm cycles, it's just quite fascinating. I, guess when you, when people, when their person gets in charge, so to speak, for lack of a better way to describe it. I guess this kind of lackadaisical, kind of nonchalant, everything is good mentality takes over. I mean, that's really the only way to explain it because otherwise it doesn't make sense. How should Republicans lose the House? It doesn't make sense how the President wins the popular vote in all swing states and then turn around two years later and then you, you lose the House of Representatives.
>> Walker Wildmon: Now I will say the congressional makeup and these congressional maps are all over the place with this redistricting you've got. I mean, Virginia for example. This is why Indiana's got to step it up. There's no reason Indiana should not have redistrict. the Rhinos there, they're so weak. But Virginia Democrats, Virginia Democrats ran on a quote, moderate message. And that's, that's putting it lightly. They ran on a kind of a moderate message and they get in charge. The first thing they do is redraw all the districts and make it 101 Democrats and then smirk about it.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah, it was like 6, 5. It was 6 5, either Democrat or Republican. But nonetheless it was a basically 50, 50 split on congressional breakdown. And they do 10 1. Right.
Historically, the sitting president loses seats in midterm elections
101 Democrats, estimated to take over the Virginia delegation.
>> Chris Woodward: Virginia is now a shade of blue we don't even have a name for. That's how blue they've gone in just, the last few months.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah. And they don't play games. They're like, this is what we have to do to keep, to get power. Boom, let's do it. Take power.
>> Chris Woodward: Right. And that's, I don't even understand why like the moderate Dems continue to fall for the whole moderate sound. because they, you know, they're sold this kind of. I mean, we were told as Americans that Joe Biden was the moderate candidate and, and we need to have him as the nominee. Bernie Sanders. And then he gets in there and he expands access to abortion and all these other things. They're all the same, I mean, literally. And they've sold people a bill of goods for decades, and people keep electing them. You know, it's interesting, you talk about how like, historically, the sitting president, his power his party loses, seats in the midterm elections historically. And it is, it is odd because I did the numbers here roughly. We've had, ah, 11 elections in my lifetime, presidential elections. Three times a Republican presidential candidate has won the popular vote. 84, 2004 and 2024.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yep.
>> Chris Woodward: Why would we go from a popular vote president, losing seats in the midterm elections? I don't know. but certainly the media has done its job and will continue to pump these Democratic.
>> Walker Wildmon: so you're saying that, that Reagan, or was that HW84?
>> Chris Woodward: 84 was Reagan. That's when he took Mondale.
>> Walker Wildmon: So Reagan. So Reagan and Bush won popular vote. You're saying they did?
>> Chris Woodward: Yes. Yeah.
>> Walker Wildmon: That's an interesting trend.
>> Chris Woodward: And then Trump, Trump won. Bobby remembers 84, Minnesota, but some people say he got robbed there.
>> Walker Wildmon: They also. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you go too back and too far back in history, I'm out of the conversation. You and Bobby can.
>> Chris Woodward: I've only read about that in a history book. I don't remember.
>> Walker Wildmon: I can go back to the 80s. That's about it. but, but that's interesting and interesting analysis. So, I wonder who kept Congress after those. Because didn't Bush.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Walker Wildmon: Bush is one of the only. Bush and Clinton were the ones to defy kind of the midterm curse.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. And, you know, to be honest with you, to be fair, like, Democrats keep selling people a bill of goods, but also Republicans, because Republicans ran on things like the life issue. And for a brief moment during Bush's presidency, they had a super majority. And even, even Trump's first term in office and, you know, abortion was still the law of the land. So to be fair, Republicans also claim they're going to do things that they don't back up once they're in.
>> Walker Wildmon: Yeah. And I think they need to, because, look, the Democrats, they were this close. For those watching on camera, they were within, like a millimeter of getting rid of that filibuster. There were like one or two Democrat holdouts in the Senate that were like, no, we're not doing this. And, but, but you let this keep going, Mark. My word. We will. Look, we will, we will look back and at this moment and say, yeah, we saw that coming. We saw the Democrats getting rid of the filibuster, passing anything and everything they want to pass in the name of their radical agenda, and it will happen.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. And then, and then using their friends in the media to convince people that this is the right and the patriotic and the Democratic thing to do.
>> Walker Wildmon: You know what I think? Think whatever bad they pass now, it depends on what they pass. But I might be willing to accept that if the Democrats get rid of this fake filibuster and then we get back in charge and reverse whatever terrible thing they passed. But now we can pass legislation with 51 votes. Yeah, I might actually be thanking the Democrats. Depends on what they pass. We'll see. but we've got to get this legislature working. We've got to get the legislative branch working again. They're the ones who are supposed to be holding everybody accountable, including the executive and the judicial. Hey, Chris, thanks for coming on. Thank you. All right, folks, check out AFN American Family News. AFN.net.
>> : The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
