Even in evangelical churches, only about 10% have a truly biblical worldview
>> : Mainline Protestant churches have softened and even rejected the Bible, the gospel of salvation and biblical sexual morality. Even in evangelical churches, only about 10% of members have a truly biblical worldview. Satan desires to do to the Bible believing evangelical churches what he did to the mainline churches, and he's made progress. Your financial support now is critical to AFA's efforts to defend and strengthen the church. Go online at afa.net equippedchurches
>> : welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today is Wednesday, July 15, 2026, and again, as always, we thank you for listening to afr. Joining me in studio today is Ed Battagliano. Good morning, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ed, back from a one day break.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I worked from home yesterday.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that's right. I'm sorry.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It wasn't a break.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Was not a break.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In fact, I usually wind up working. Never mind.
>> Tim Wildmon: I want to get back to that.
Wesley Wildma talks about working from home and getting more done
let me introduce the rest of this distinguished, panel, Wesley Wildma. Good morning, Wesley. What were you gonna say about Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I was actually, I was not. I was about to say I usually work harder at work at home than I do at work, but that's not true. But I usually get more done at home than I do at work. Fewer interruptions at home.
>> Tim Wildmon: Fred Jackson. Good morning, Fred.
>> Fred Jackson: Good morning.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why are you laughing?
>> Fred Jackson: I'm just absorbing, you know, look, the.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The bigots over in the news department.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Wow.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Anybody works as hard as they.
>> Tim Wildmon: We're already throwing around names like bigots.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Nobody seems to care about me. I got an injury.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Wesley. What? What do you have to say about.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I have an injury. Nobody seems to care.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You have an injury.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, I did. I've bit my lip multiple times this morning. I'm having a hard time mumbling here. I mean, it is swollen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why are you biting your lip?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Not bad. By accident. I'm eating breakfast. Y' all done it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I've done it. That, and that's miserable.
>> Wesley Wildmon: It's very annoying.
>> Tim Wildmon: The good thing about it is your mouth heals pretty quick.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: So just hopefully by tomorrow. But you need a zippy.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You have to skip lunch. No more chewing.
>> Tim Wildmon: Being on a talk show doesn't help the healing process.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We've all done that. You're eating and then you end up doing it twice.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I usually bite my foot because it's usually in my Mouth.
>> Tim Wildmon: But you know how the world has changed so much. and this was even going on before COVID But with the. You know, the way everything's computerized and Internet and everything like that. What you talked about working from home.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which is a real thing. But my. My dad would not have accepted that. and our. The generation prior to us would not have accept. Accepted the.
>> Wesley Wildmon: As an option.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely not.
>> Tim Wildmon: Of working from home.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My dad would have just said, now you're just slacking off.
>> : Get back.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Get back in the.
>> Tim Wildmon: Back to the office.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Your dad would have said that.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm saying. My dad. My dad got to rest his soul, you know, Would he.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He was old school.
>> Tim Wildmon: He was old school.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He was. He was old school.
>> Wesley Wildmon: But they didn't have the technology.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm saying. Technology's changed everything. You don't have to be in a physical offense, somewhere to do the work you can do.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You got zoom.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, you got zoom. I mean, it's. Everything's changed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And your dad lived it. I mean, he was. I would come up here sometimes on a Saturday if I forgot something.
>> Tim Wildmon: My dad, who founded the ministry.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. Brother Don Wildmon, he'd be up here working on Saturdays. He was in here when I got here. He was in here in the office when I left.
>> Tim Wildmon: Turn the lights on. And he turned the lights off.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, that's the kind of. Now what he probably would have said. This is the kind of thing I heard many times. Everyone who's been here, long enough has that.
Tim Wesley: Things have changed from being bound to an office
If we had ever said in devotion, for example, brother Don, can we start working from home? He would say, fine. Just don't come back in the next day. You can work from home tomorrow.
>> Fred Jackson: Sure.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Don't come back in.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, man.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That would have been his answer.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think things have changed from, being bound to an office.
>> Donald Trump: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which was the way before the Internet and email and everything else to just do your job.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, get your job done.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Get your job done.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And that idea was out there far before COVID but Covid. Yeah. It was the end. All be all right for anybody that was holding out.
>> Ed Vitagliano: A lot of things changed.
>> Wesley Wildmon: A lot of change.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. although you're a farmer, you can work from home. Am I right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, you can. I will say I was probably overly harsh with Fred and the news department. They don't ever work from him. That's what he was laughing at.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They don't ever work from home. They are, They're always here when we shut down. I'm, talking about the news department when we shut down the office, like, and we have a long weekend, like we have a Monday off and a Labor Day or something. We'll let the staff go home at noon on Friday.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Not the news department.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because the news goes on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The news goes on and they're always here. So that's why he was. Although his smirk sometimes irritates me, Fred, I do recognize, I do recognize the fact that our news department, they're the real deal.
>> Tim Wildmon: You do have a smirk, Fred.
>> Donald Trump: Do I?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. I mean, it doesn't bother me.
>> Fred Jackson: I'm trying to hide it.
>> Tim Wildmon: It doesn't bother me. But it's a little Canadian smirk you got going on that I see, Ed's talking about that. All right, thanks for joining us, everybody. Tim Wesley.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch testifies before a Senate hearing today
Fred, what's our first news story?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, when I arrived at the office at 6 o'. Clock.
>> Tim Wildmon: Here we go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And he's off.
>> Fred Jackson: several big stories of the day. And right now, as we are here live on the air, the acting Attorney General, Todd Blanch, is before a Senate hearing because he would like to have the job full time. And, just a few moments ago, he gave his opening statement. This is a little bit of what he had to about his priorities in this job. Cut number one, when a family can
>> Todd Blanche: send their kids to school, walk their neighborhood after dark, and build a life without fear, every promise of the American dream is within reach. When they cannot, none of it is. That's my job, securing safety for every American. I'm pleased to testify again today to tell everybody here that we are doing just that. We are keeping America safe since President Trump took office. It's been said a few times this morning already, but it bears repeating. Murders are down roughly 20% nationwide. We have the lowest murder rate since 1900. Violent crime arrests are up nearly 114%. We've taken almost 5,000 child predators and human traffickers off the streets.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, that record probably will not be the topic for Democrats today. they don't like Todd Blanch. They've made that very, clear in the last several weeks. They believe that he is nothing more than a puppet for President Donald Trump. That's one of the accusations being made, one of the questions he expected, and he was, ready for an answer this morning. Had to deal the investigation, the Epstein files, et cetera, et cetera. And he responded to that much the way that we have responded around here. The Biden administration had the Epstein files for four years and did nothing. And now they're crying, saying they want complete transparency. Yes. So Todd Blanch, gets a lot of praise from a lot of different people. and, you know, they're Jonathan Turley, one of the legal experts, on, on Fox and others. They believe he'll be able to handle himself well today and that he will do the job that, President Trump wants him to do.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Those are significant numbers. 5,000, he said, child predators.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You got that and you got the course shutting the border down and deportation. I know there's. We wish that Congress would, would do more on that, you know, because the president, the president is limited, but he's doing what he can. President Trump and his administration is doing what they can with executive orders to shut down the border and deal, with crime. You look what, you look what Trump could do in D.C. and he did that just within a couple months. And there's a lot on that front that's not being discussed as much. And I'm glad, and I think this is an opportunity for him to, bring some of that back to the news.
Todd Blanche will be confirmed as attorney general on January 6th
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, so, so Todd Blanche is, going to succeed, should he be confirmed? And I think he will probably be along party lines.
>> Bert Harper: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: A5347 probably be the score, for his confirmation. But he will succeed Pam Bondi.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. What? I don't think there's anything that can stop him for.
>> Tim Wildmon: there's nothing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's just if it's vote along party
>> Tim Wildmon: lines, it'll be party lines.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's the way, that's the way things are today.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And there may be a few Democrats who just, yeah. That see this for what it is. It's just, you know, political gamesmanship and you want to look better.
>> Tim Wildmon: Man will be the only Democrat that'll vote for him.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I hope that's not true, but I. He's usually pretty fair minded. So you'd think that this would be, to me, okay, you drag the opponent's nominee over the coals, you make your speeches, you know, for your reelection campaign, but then you got to vote on the man's qualifications. I wish there would be a lot more Democrats who would say, all right, we had our say. Well, you know, we don't like this guy because we don't like the president who nominated him. But to be fair, we're going to vote for him, but we probably won't. It'll probably be almost strictly, along party lines.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Well, I like Him, I'd like Tim, Todd Blanche, I'm talking about m. since he held that press conference about the Southern Poverty Law center indictments, because he exposed a lot of, you know, a lot of, problems with that organization that deserve the
>> Ed Vitagliano: attention of the Attorney General's office.
>> Tim Wildmon: But, anyway, so he'll be. He's having a hearing today. Again, the Democrats will say what they say. And, you know, that's what we come to in this country is basically presidential nominees for staffing. Of course, this is a high profile position. Attorney General is a cabinet position. But it's come down to what team are you on. Yeah, you know, that's just the way. That's the way. That's the way it is today. Go ahead.
>> Fred Jackson: One of the other matters, that Todd Blanche mentioned in his opening statement, and I was a little surprised that he would put it in the opening statement, he said he'll investigating, and I'm paraphrasing to a certain extent here, the previous administration, the previous Attorney General and his department and their weaponization of that department against political enemies. And we all know what he's talking about with that. And, I think we're already starting to see that because there is an investigation into what the special prosecutor, Smith,
>> Ed Vitagliano: remember him, Jack Smith.
>> Fred Jackson: Jack Smith was doing, how far he went. The allegations are out there that he went much further than the law would allow him in. Going after individual lawmakers, checking their Messages, spying. Spying.
>> Tim Wildmon: 47 of them.
>> Fred Jackson: 47 of them.
>> Tim Wildmon: I bet they were all Republicans, some of them.
>> Fred Jackson: No, there were a few Democrats apparently, too. but who said two?
>> Tim Wildmon: For those who don't remember, Jack Smith was the, special prosecutor who, went after President, Trump when he wasn't president, between the two terms, and he was, charged, with investigating about the. January 6th.
>> Fred Jackson: January 6th. And also the documents at Mar A Lago.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah. That's when they raided the home and all that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And Chuck's numbers skyrocketed.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes. I mean, before that, it rockets, that backfiring, that whole. But now what we're talking about is Jack Smith. Is he having to appear before Congress or is this just.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, there's talk about him being subpoenaed and to come in, we'll have to wait and see. Now, he has appeared before, and one of the allegations is that he did not tell the whole truth when he was under oath as to the extent of his investigation. All right. And it's also possible there's reports President Trump is doing Ah, an address to the Nation tomorrow night, 9 o' clock Eastern, 8 o' clock Central. There's been some talk that he will review some of the findings thus far in the weaponization of the former Attorney General's department.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And then the 2020 election.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: How does President, President Trump feel about that? Well, 2020 election. I haven't heard him talk much on
>> Wesley Wildmon: that, which we can go back. He got some audio.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He believes. He believes and happened.
>> Tim Wildmon: He believed it happened.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. There was an election in 2020.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think we're going to find out that they, what I've, what I, what I've been reading in social media, and you know that's always true, is the expectation is that the Department of. Has been reviewing and he will reveal in his speech tomorrow night that foreign nations were active in trying to, turn the election results, illegally, obviously, against him, like Trump. Against Trump. So that we. That remains to be seen.
President Trump will give a major speech on Russian interference tomorrow night
Now, I'm going to be, My wife and I are going to be visiting my in laws. I'm going to have to figure out a way to sneak away and listen to the speech. Fortunately, he only speaks for 15 or 20 minutes. When he, when he speaks, what are
>> Tim Wildmon: you gonna say, Wesley?
>> Wesley Wildmon: I was gonna ask, Well, I got a joke and well, something facetious and then a serious question. Fred, how serious, question? How long do you think this will, Is it gonna last? Seriously?
>> Ed Vitagliano: You talking about my trip to visit my in laws?
>> Tim Wildmon: Depends on the food.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, depends on the food.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Does politics come up? I don't know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I, I think.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Is it an hour speech?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think it's going to be a long speech, but it's. No, I don't think so. No, it's. And it's President Trump, even if he has an official speech, he hardly ever seems to stick with a speech. He ad libs, so I don't know. That's what I've been reading on social media is that they expect that to be part of the, whatever subject,
>> Wesley Wildmon: matter he discusses tomorrow night and so other questions. So what you're reading is what's the number one easiest way to explain that foreign countries interfered with the. In what way? What's the number one way?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I, I do not know. I don't know. I don't. Do not know the, financially or.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Or, you know, maybe on social media using bots and false information. I'm not sure what, what kind of smoking gun there's going to be. And it may not be that I'm
>> Wesley Wildmon: not over Pennsylvania still So, yeah, I
>> Ed Vitagliano: mean, those kind of things.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We'll.
>> Tim Wildmon: We'll.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We'll wait to see. I'm like, I don't want to say anything in advance because there have been people sued, you know, but if they make comments about voting machines and things like that. So we'll wait to hear what the president has to say. He may just be talking about Iran.
>> Bert Harper: I don't know.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think. Well, I thought maybe he would talk about the war, and he might, but the promotion is. He's going to talk about what happened in 2020.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, you know, so we'll see what happens there. You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. Is that tomorrow?
>> Fred Jackson: Tomorrow evening.
>> Tim Wildmon: Tomorrow evening.
>> Fred Jackson: Okay. 8 o' clock central.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, good. It was going to be kind of boring this summer in between hunting seasons and sports seasons, and we needed a Trump Thursday night.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Summer's not easy for a lot of reasons.
>> Tim Wildmon: I hope there's some new information that is. That is,
>> Wesley Wildmon: Solid.
>> Tim Wildmon: Solid. This isn't a, Trump sings his greatest hits.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, he'll lose. He'll lose the audience quickly. Yeah, quickly. If it's. If it's not anything new.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Put it this way. It doesn't need to be a Pambani. We got the files.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Donald Trump: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: On my desk.
>> Wesley Wildmon: On my desk.
>> Tim Wildmon: On my desk. All right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: remember that one?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that was.
I want to know the number of times Trump will use the word rigged
>> Tim Wildmon: I want to take the over under from you guys on the number of the times Trump will use the word rigged. Okay. How many times, Ed?
>> Bert Harper: You mean?
>> Ed Vitagliano: If it's talking about 20, 20, 20, 20.
>> Tim Wildmon: I want to know your. Your number. the number of times we hear the word rigged.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'll say. I'll say ten.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ten times, Wesley. Eight, Fred.
>> Fred Jackson: I'll say seven.
>> Tim Wildmon: Seven. Rigged.
>> Todd Blanche: Uh-huh.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What about you, Tim?
>> Ed Vitagliano: you want to go astronomical?
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm going to say reasonable. I'm gonna go with eight. Is that what you said, Wesley? Yeah, I'm gonna say eight. Rig. The word rig will be used eight times tomorrow. Is it tomorrow?
>> Ed Vitagliano: The over, under.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Not that we. Not that we do that.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, it's for entertainment purposes only. Whatever that means. I hear that all the time. When describing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Means you can't prosecute us for breaking the law.
>> Tim Wildmon: When describing gambling. Yeah, gambling terminology. The over under. All right. You're listening to Today's issues. Fred, what is it?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't even know what that means. Over and under. It means.
>> Tim Wildmon: It means if you're going to. I don't do this. I don't gamble right. At all. So. But I do understand the terminology, what it means. It means, if you're going to bet, you're going to bet. Okay. Is he going to use the eight or more? Yes.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Over.
>> Bert Harper: Over.
>> Tim Wildmon: If you're going to bet the over, you're betting that Trump is going to say rig more than eight times.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: If you're going to bet the under, then you're going to say, what
>> Ed Vitagliano: if you think it's going to be exactly 8? What's the term for that?
>> Wesley Wildmon: bus.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, your bingo card.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's official terminology.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, I don't. I don't know. I don't know if it. Maybe. Maybe you get your money back, you know? I don't know what that means. All right, Fred.
Donald Trump threatened to charge fees on ships using the Strait of Hormuz
>> Fred Jackson: All right. You guys talked a little bit about the war with Iran.
>> Tim Wildmon: what war?
>> Donald Trump: What war?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Chapter 29.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, the page is turned again, even from yesterday about this time when we were reporting that Trump was threatening to charge fees on ships, using the Straight of Hormuz. In exchange, he said, we will be. He said the United States would be the guardian angel of the Strait of Hormuz.
>> Tim Wildmon: Then he said. He's just kidding.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, well, he backed away from that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You pulled it. You pulled the punchline.
>> Jenna Ellis: You.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You stole the punchline.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry, he's not there yet.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Go ahead.
>> Fred Jackson: he's. He's. He's modified that stance a little bit. Now. He's going to work out new trade deals with countries like UAE and Kuwait and others, where they end up paying. So, I mean, that's. That's today's plan, so we'll see what happens.
>> Tim Wildmon: I thought we were going to open the strait well into the straight for money.
>> Bert Harper: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Right. Yeah. Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: You pay, you play,
>> Fred Jackson: you pay, you sail.
>> Donald Trump: Right?
>> Tim Wildmon: You sail.
>> Fred Jackson: the blockade was reinitiated against Iranian ships. The blockade was reinitiated yesterday, afternoon, and fairly extensive bombing overnight. And also I learned this morning that they are not only bombing at night, but they're doing daytime bombings now. And I was listening to a military expert and that says that has a greater intimidation factor on the enemy when they can then show these videos real time during the day. Here's what we're doing. And they did. But one of the targets was apparently where a lot of Iranian soldiers were, and there were fatalities there. So that is what's going on.
President Trump spoke about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
In the midst of all of that, President Trump last night did an interview with Trey Youngst. He is a fantastic reporter for Fox. Normally you see him in Tel Aviv, but he was in Washington, D.C. last night, and he, Trey Angst, asked the president, about his relationship with prime, Minister, Netanyahu of Israel, and, cut number three. I'll let you listen to it. Cut number three.
>> Tim Wildmon: Have you ruled out endorsing a candidate other than Netanyahu?
>> Donald Trump: Well, I'd rather not be political, but I can tell you one thing was a great wartime prime minister. We fought well together. We bought, I mean, we beat some very tough customers, and the odds were pretty much against us.
>> Tim Wildmon: How would you describe your relationship?
>> Donald Trump: Great. Great. I think it's really great. I mean, we have little disputes, but I think it's a great relationship. Look, we've done a great thing. If it weren't for me, and he will tell you this, Israel, I don't believe would exist right now.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh,
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't think he will tell you that, but you can think that if you want to.
>> Donald Trump: Huh?
>> Tim Wildmon: what does he mean?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Sit this one out, Wesley. Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We weren't whispering.
>> Tim Wildmon: Seems like I'm against President Trump and I'm not.
>> Jenna Ellis: Right?
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm not. Once again, I'm not. But. But if you're going to tell me that I can't criticize President Trump when it's. When it's.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not saying that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I'm not saying that.
>> Tim Wildmon: But we got some listeners out there that they are, like, rabid. You say anything negative about President Trump, they're going to jump down your throat.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I think it's for. I think it's getting farther and fewer between. I think he's getting harder and harder.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Been on stuff like.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, listen, some of his statements. You know, I appreciate a lot of what he said right there, but then he closes by saying, if it wasn't for me, Israel wouldn't exist. Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Right now. Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Am I misquoting him?
>> Wesley Wildmon: No, no. But. No, but I will say what we talked about this and show. But just for context, he's referring to this, though. If he didn't. If he didn't get involved, he. He shouldn't say.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We know that what he's saying is if he didn't get involved, then he believes that Iran would have taken out Israel by now or severely damaged damage.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, no, no, no, no, guys.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: You were on you. He said they would not exist. That's not severely damaged. A, few drones dropped here and there. He said would not. Israel would not exist without him.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right now.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Right now.
>> Tim Wildmon: He didn't say right now.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I think.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, he did. he did say that at the end he just said that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: He said that at the end.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We can come back and play M.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We'll come back and play it again.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Anyway, I don't want to harp on this.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I know you don't.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't want to harp on this because I will get the wrath of the listeners who feel like I am criticizing God's anointed and those that feel that way.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I'm taking Dad's popcorn away.
>> Tim Wildmon: Cause you take my popcorn away. Hey, listen, I love most of what President Trump does and says, but then sometimes he gets just carried away with himself. We'll be back momentarily.
Preborn Network helps mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound
>> Ed Vitagliano: This year, America celebrates its 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries of, courage, innovation, faith, and freedom. But what will the next 250 years hold? The next generation could hold the next Billy Graham, the next Rosa Parks, the next Ronald Reagan, the next child whose life will impact generations. But first, they must be given the chance to live. Every day. PreBorn Network clinics help mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound. When a mother sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat, her baby is twice as likely to be given the gift of life. What story will God write through America's Next Generation? In honor of America's 250th anniversary, we're asking friends to consider a special gift of $250. Your gift can help provide nearly nine life saving ultrasounds. Dial 250 and say the keyword baby. That's 250 baby. Or donate securely at preborn.com afr that's preborn.com afr Every gift is tax deductible.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hello, everyone, I'm Tim Wildmon, president of American Family association and American Family Radio. Hey, we've got some great tours lined up for March of 2027. We've got one tour we call the Footsteps of Paul tour. That's mainly in Greece, are only in Greece, including Athens and Corinth and Thessalonica. And then we've got a separate tour to Italy where we're going to Venice and Florence and, Pisa and Rome and all the sites of Italy. So, you can do both of these tours if you want to. We've arranged that as well. Also this tour of Italy, it's not like the Olive Garden tour of Italy, you know, this is. We're really going there to Italy to see Italy and to eat Italian food too as well. So for information on any of the tours I've mentioned here, go to tours.afa.net tours.afa.net tours.aca.net
>> Jenna Ellis: finally, all of you should be of one mind, sympathize with each other, love each other as brothers and sisters, be tender hearted and keep a humble attitude. First Peter 3:8.
>> : This is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of Today's Issues.
President Trump says he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed, Wesley and Fred. We will play the comments of President Donald J. Trump one more time here because I was corrected by my colleagues. They said I, misunderstood what he said, and maybe so.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I admit, it can happen occasionally. You make a mistake.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, go ahead, play the comments. President, have you ruled out endorsing a candidate other than Netanyahu?
>> Donald Trump: Well, I'd rather not be political, but I can tell you one thing. He was a great wartime prime minister. We fought well together. We bought, I mean, we beat some very tough customers and the odds were pretty much against us.
>> Tim Wildmon: How, would you describe your relationship?
>> Donald Trump: Great. Great. I think it's really great. I mean, we have little disputes, but I think it's a great relationship. Look, we've done a great thing. If it weren't for me, and he will tell you this, Israel I don't believe would exist right now.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so he said right now.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, but now you're thinking about the first time about a month ago, he made a similar comment and he did not specify, but you kind of read between the lines that that's what he was talking about. Yeah, I'm done. Just saying it's.
>> Tim Wildmon: Fred, what do you think about what he just said?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Ah, that was so close. I thought you were going to next story. You were going to next story.
Wesley Bell: Israel exists because of God, not because politicians helped
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I do want to go next story and we have dinner as our guest. I just want to. Your thoughts on what he said there. He did say they have a great relationship.
>> Fred Jackson: He did say they have a great relationship and he admitted they have had some tests of that relationship in recent days. I don't like the idea the nation of Israel exists because of God, not because some politician is responsible for its existence. Israel exists today, right now, because of God's protection, not because of the United States military. God may have used the United States military to help out. That's the way I would
>> Donald Trump: provide,
>> Fred Jackson: the context for that. But for someone to say it wouldn't exist other than, you know, it exists because of what I have done any politician that would say that, whether it's Democrat or Republican, I think. I don't know the president's heart at that moment when he made that comment last night. But, if he believes that Israel would have been blown off the face of the earth unless I provided the military cover for it, that's wrong. Israel, I believe, will continue to exist until the Lord returns. Again.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's the difference between, ah, will and instrumentality. And what I mean by that is it is the will of God that Israel does exist as a nation and will continue to exist. Instrumentality is the means by which God sometimes accomplishes that.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, it was always God's will for Israel to return to its land out of captivity. He happened to use Cyrus, King of Persia.
>> Bert Harper: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. Cyrus cannot say. He might have, but it's not theologically correct to say I will that they return. And that's the only reason they return. No, God used Cyrus to allow them to return. And I think God used President Trump and has used President Trump in a lot of ways to help Israel and to recognize and Jerusalem, the capital, all those kind of things. Opening up an embassy in Jerusalem. No other president had been willing to do that. and maybe President Trump knows the distinction, but he is prone to, shoot from the hip kind of thing and, maybe sometimes says something that even that he doesn't necessarily believe. But it's the will of God that Israel exists.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Just one thing to keep in mind. The Israeli Air Force did a lot, too, a few months ago when this all started.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And they've taken out a lot of the leadership there in Iran. So they took this very seriously because they were the ones that felt most threatened by a potential nuclear weapon being used against them. Go ahead, Wesley.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And am I wrong here? Did they not also have a lot of the pre game or the intelligence? they do, yeah. I'm talking about where things are that help us help them.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, yes, yes, yes. We work the United States and Israel, work together on this, on this war against Iran. And remember, Israel suffered some consequences. I mean, they had rockets fired at them, drones fired, used against them. So I don't think that's happened in recent times, weeks or maybe months, but did remember that, remember all that. So it did, it did happen.
Jenna Ellis: I feel free trying to interpret what Trump says
You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. joining us now is Jenna Ellis. Jenna is host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning. heard weekdays 7 to 8 o' clock central time right here on American Family Radio. Good morning, Jenna.
>> Jenna Ellis: Good morning. Great to join you guys.
>> Tim Wildmon: Did you hear what we're talking about?
>> Jenna Ellis: I did, and I just have to say that, you know, it's. I feel free trying to interpret what Trump is saying because often I'm not sure he knows what he's saying. And so, you know, that's totally fair position.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, well, you know, we know he does have a history of, Ed calls it shooting from the hip. And, I've heard a lot of his supporters, and I'm one of them, say, you know, I like his policies, but his mouth just gets him in trouble with, even his friends.
Todd Blanche is set to become the next Attorney General of the United States
Hey, Jenna, I want to talk about the, gentleman who's, before Congress right now, Todd Blanch, who is set to become the next Attorney General of the United States. That is the top law enforcement official other than the President in our country. what do you know about him, and do you think he will be a good, ag?
>> Jenna Ellis: I do think he'll be a good ag, and I think he will be a good, better enforcer, frankly, than, Pam Bondi. And you know, he. A lot of. Of criticism or some skepticism maybe is a better word. that's been focused on him, has been focused on the fact that his party registration was Democrat for years, but that I think largely reflected the time he was practicing law in NewSong York. there's a friend of mine who actually ran under the Democrat a ticket this past primary in Colorado, unfortunately lost to a crazy person, for AG in Colorado, Jenna Griswold, who you'll remember is the Secretary of State currently, who tried to kick Trump off the ballot. All that she won the Democrat nomination for AG very sadly. But, my friend who was running, against her, I actually, had worked for, during my time, at the Colorado AG's office under a Republican. And for the same reason that, my friend's name is Micah Dougherty, is a Democrat, doesn't reflect so much his view on law enforcement, on Law and Order, because he's been a career prosecutor, but because he's from NewSong York and that's, that tends to be unfortunately, where they're from. M. So I don't think overall, just in my experience in the criminal law world that, just being a former Democrat is an indication of what Todd Blanche will on Law and Order, because that's really the first, issue of an ag. He's. His professional career has generally been that of a federal prosecutor and a white Collar defense attorney rather than more of an ideological activist.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah. I don't. You're right about the voter registration. He may have been a Democrat, but if you live in NewSong York City, President Trump was.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He was, he was a Democrat for many years.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Jenna Ellis: And no one should ever call him an ideological activist on anything. I don't think he's, he's ideological at all as much as just a pragmatist.
>> Tim Wildmon: So. And so Todd Blanche, they probably know, well, he served as President Trump's personal lawyer for. Just like you did. Right.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yes. Yes. And so, so Blanche represented Trump, in a lot of the civil, issues that happen, in NewSong York and everything post 2020. So he had, a very close relationship as a lawyer with President Trump. And so, more so, though, than that, I don't think that defending Trump necessarily predicts how he'll govern, because some criticism, on the other hand, says, well, he'll be more concerned about loyalty than he will about actually enforcing the law. I think that was, in part Pam Bondi's primary flaw. But representing Trump as a criminal defense attorney actually tells us very little about Blanche's philosophy as an AG because every, every defendant is entitled to counsel, and lawyers often represent clients whose politics or perspectives they don't necessarily share. So I think the more useful evidence is what he's actually done running the Justice Department since Pam Bondi's departure. And the publicly available record, says and suggests, I think, that he will be tougher than Pam Bondi and a good AG because his emphasis has been on immigration enforcement, border security, violent crime, expanding federal law enforcement resources rather than more broad civil litigation priorities. And so I think he at least appears to be less like a traditional political operative or just somebody that Trump picked because he's a loyalist and more like a career federal prosecutor who has become closely aligned with Trump. And that's pretty much exactly who you'd want in that position.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
There's a belief that the Attorney General's office should be independent
I was also going to ask you, and you answered it in part at least, what is the. For those who don't know, people know that the Attorney General of the United States is an important position. It is a cabinet level position. but what is the, what is the number one job of the ag?
>> Jenna Ellis: Well, it's for law enforcement. And so he's the chief, the nation's chief law enforcement officer. And so the AG leads the Department of Justice, enforces federal law, prosecutes federal crimes, and also defends the United States in court when, the United States is actually a party to the case, and also advises the President and the executive branch on legal matters. Letters. the White House Counsel obviously does that as well, but from a little bit different posture. But, also the AG oversees federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the dea, the atf, the US Marshals Service, and the, Bureau of Prisons as well.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ed, any.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, listen, I think that the Attorney General, position. Jenna, I remember from years ago in high school and college, us arguing about this in class, you know, in our different, you know, political science venues, there's this belief that the Attorney General's office should be independent of the President because the Attorney General. I think this actually goes back to the Nixon years, that the Attorney General might have to investigate the President one day for, some illegal, doings. But the fact of the matter is, it is as far as far back as I can remember, all the way back to Jon F. Kennedy, the AG has to be able to work with the President. So they have to be on the same page. They can't be completely independent. And, because the AG is, in effect, a position, even though it's a Cabinet, cabinet level position, has to be able to carry out, the President's desires in terms of, you know, are we going to prosecute, like this administration is. The Trump administration has taken, for example, child, trafficking very seriously. And the Biden administration, not so much. So the AG does carry out the wishes of the President. What's your feeling on that, though? I mean, should it be more independent, or what?
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I think the nuanced and the constitutionally appropriate answer is that the AG should be independent in the application of the law, but not independent of the Constitution's chain of accountability. So the Constitution vests executive power in the President pursuant to Article 2. So the AG is appointed by and accountable to the President. And the President, of course, sets policy agenda. But independence means exercising legal judgment without political favoritism and, but still not operating outside of presidential authority. So I think that's the distinction that often gets lost in public debate because there's a difference between policy direction, like focusing on setting law enforcement priorities versus using the Justice Department as a political weapon. And then when you get to case specific prosecutorial decisions, those should be grounded in evidence, legal standards, and equal application of the law. And that's where the independence needs to be, set in. Because justice, if you are truly pursuing justice as any prosecutor at any level should, that requires legal independence from policy priorities.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think that's the first time in the history of this show we've ever had somebody say, quote, pursuant to Article 2, which, you know, she, she pulled that out.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: yes, your honor, pursuant to article two. you know what, talking, about the constitution, obviously.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, Jana, what do you got? Coming up tomorrow on Jenna Ellis in the morning.
>> Jenna Ellis: Oh, I am so excited about this. So we actually have. If you have been following, the lieutenant governor of. I, believe it's, he is in Indiana. I could be totally, wrong on that. But if you have been following at all, Micah Beckwith, he has, is a rising political star and he's a lieutenant governor and has posted against, mosques being in America, for godly leadership. And I was actually connected to him by a mutual friend yesterday. So he's going to be on at the top of the program tomorrow and talking about service, in that kind of capacity. So I'm really excited to have that conversation with him. And then I'm also going to be talking, with the NRBs, CEO, Troy Miller, who always has really great perspectives.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. All right, that's Jenna, Ellis in the morning, weekday 7 to 8 o' clock Central time right here on American Family Radio. Alright, Jenna, take care. Thanks for being on with us pursuant to today's issues.
>> Jenna Ellis: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Pleasure. All right, thank you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Thanks, Jenna.
Ed: The fact that we have Jenna on the air was your idea
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, that's Jenna Ellis joining us from the Sunshine State.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you should, you should be proud. The fact that we have Jenna on the air at that 7 o' clock spot, that was your idea, wasn't it?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, mine and I. It's shared with Walker.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay, he, he stepped, he took a little humility there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, notice that I don't, you know, you don't brag. I don't like to brag. Yeah, I don't like to. It's unbecoming.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Did he really, did Walker really have a little.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, he did. Well, he. When Sandy, Rio stepped down, she told me she was stepping. You know, after 10 years of being on there in the morning, she said, tim, going to podcasts, I love this job, but I want to go to podcasts because then I can do it on my own time.
>> Ed Vitagliano: She don't have to get up at 4 in the morning.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, Exactly. So I said, no, no, no, you're not quitting me. That's right, Sandy.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And she gave you another couple months
>> Tim Wildmon: or Sandy was older than me, she said, don't disrespect your elders. So anyway, no, Sandy, gave us 10 years and she said, So we said, what are we going to do? We have a very important, time on our schedule, weekday mornings. That's a big deal because people start their day listening what's happening, you know. And so, Walker was already, listening to Jenna, I think, podcasting, and she was already doing some other work for, some other Christian radio. So we approached her and she said, prayed about it, and she said yes. So Jenna's been with us, is it three years now or four, something like that?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, you know, I just give Sandy some credit too, because it did work out for us and her that she said, you know, find somebody and then we'll go from there. She didn't just say, that's true.
>> Tim Wildmon: She didn't give her two weeks notice.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Notice. Yeah, yeah, she could have. And people do that, and that's fine. But she went above and beyond and was like, take your time.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But, but actually it sounds like this. We, It's Walker that we should be applauding.
>> Tim Wildmon: I said, Walker and I work together on finding Jenna Ellis for the show. yeah, I think that's what we want to rewind and play the Trump clip.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Do you want to be corrected, Ed?
>> Donald Trump: No,
>> Ed Vitagliano: we've already probably given them a far and above enough time to this issue. All right, I think we should move.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Here we go.
>> Tim Wildmon: Fred, what's our next story?
Democratic Socialists of America are announcing their platform ahead of Michigan primary
>> Fred Jackson: The Democratic Socialists of America.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: I was just thinking a couple of years ago, if I had mentioned that, it would be a big yawn.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: They probably held conventions in a phone booth. Some people don't remember what a phone booth is, but, today they are a fairly serious force in politics in this country. So much so they are announcing their platform today. Democratic Socialists of America. Things like universal daycare, universal Medicare for everybody.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Good. It's free, right?
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, free, free, Free housing for everybody. we're going to get rid of the Senate, they say.
>> Tim Wildmon: where's this, where's this announcement taking place today?
>> Fred Jackson: not in a phone booth.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, this is Bernie Sanders crowd, which is growing and growing and growing. In fact, everybody's talking about a primary in coming, up in Michigan on August 4, two weeks from next Tuesday. And, looking at some of the candidates there, and there is suspicion that a Democratic, socialist could win that primary. They've already won some primaries in other jurisdictions. Hugh Hewitt is one of the political advisers, commentators on Fox, and he kind of gives us a preview of what's going on in Michigan in events of this primary.
>> Bert Harper: Cut number seven, It's a, ah, fascinating primary in Michigan, Lawrence, for a number of reasons. You've got about 200,000 Muslims in Michigan who are mostly Arab American. You've got about 100,000 Jews in Michigan. They're going to vote overwhelmingly for Stephen. She's heavily backed by aipac. She's very pro Israel. El Said very critical of Israel. But I go back to 2016, when Hillary Clinton mixed it up with Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders won the Michigan primary in 2016. Now, President Trump carried Michigan handily in 2024. It's the, swingiest of swing states. But this race is so close that you'll get One poll for Dr. El said. You get another poll from Congresswoman Stevens. That cringe video coming at this just before early voting gets going in about a week. That hurts Haley Stevens badly. But poor Michigan people, they can't turn on the TV without seeing an ad about doctor Said or a doctor, or how he's leading or what he thinks about Israel or why Haley Stevens got the support of aipac. So hard to call this one. I'm not putting much stock in the polls because the margin of error gets it very, very close. It's going to be cliche of cliches. Turnout election. But the kids in Anne Arbor aren't there. El Sayed needs to win Detroit and Anne Arbor, and the students aren't back yet. El Sayed as a go blue guy. He's a Michigan guy. so it's just too close to call. Classic turnout. Classic. Mike Rogers is going to win this anyway. But will the man of the far left beat the woman of the left? We'll see.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, what he's talking about right there is the US Senate seat in the state of Michigan. And he's talking about the Democrat primary.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Coming up in two weeks. Is that what he said?
>> Fred Jackson: August 4th.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you have a Jewish man and you have a what, A woman who's, against Israel.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. Well, the one being talked about is this Dr. Abdul Al Sayed.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, Is that a guy or a woman?
>> Fred Jackson: That is a guy.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's a guy.
>> Fred Jackson: That's a guy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: And he is the one that's getting a lot of press.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: he has no use for Israel, basically that we shouldn't support them.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is he like an Arab from Detroit or something?
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. You heard Hewitt mention there, there are some 200,000 Muslims, in Michigan.
>> Tim Wildmon: Big population. Big population. So what's the other person?
>> Ed Vitagliano: well, There's Mallory M. McMorrow. And then the Haley Stevens Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So there's three of them.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: We don't know. We don't know who's going to win that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Nominees.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: So what are we bringing this up for?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, it's because of the political force that the Democratic Socialists of America are evolving in this country. And it's interesting, I was reading a story a couple of weeks ago. So the demographic being attracted to this movement, many of them are white, young females. They, when you often see them, the Democratic Social of America being praised, it is young, white, female.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why is that?
>> Fred Jackson: I don't know whether they're attracted to universal daycare, Medicare or, you know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I mean, there's. But you wouldn't find that in Alabama, right?
>> Fred Jackson: Probably not.
>> Tim Wildmon: Probably where they live.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. It has a lot to do with where they are.
Bernie Sanders almost won the Democrat nomination for president in 2020
They have been very successful in NewSong York, State of NewSong York, so far. And you're going to see more. I mean, these are the people who believe in aoc.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, listen, let me remind folks that Bernie Sanders almost won the Democrat nomination for president in 2020. 2020. I mean, he was neck and neck with Biden. So the Democrat socialist.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And I even thought that he got done wrong.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, he got booted by the Democrat establishment. M. basically is what happened. They had enough power, at least back then, to keep him from being at the top of the ticket. I'm talking about Bernie Sanders, but his wing of the Democrat Party is now reflecting, I would argue, the majority.
>> Wesley Wildmon: 55. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: The voters in the Democrat, party. So we'll be back momentarily with more of today's issues. Stay with us.
>> Jenna Ellis: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Tim, Ed and Wesley talk with Fred on top news headlines of the day. Also, Jenna Ellis joins the program to discuss Acting A.G. Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing.
Tim, Ed and Wesley talk with Fred on top news headlines of the day. Also, Jenna Ellis joins the program to discuss Acting A.G. Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing.
