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American Family Radio offers biblical insight on issues that others aren't willing to touch

>> Ed Vitagliano: Every day, AFA offers biblical insight on issues that others aren't willing to touch in the hopes that you'll become a world changer. That's why we're offering an in depth worldview training course called Activate. Thirteen different professors teaching 18 sessions, all available online, including a printed workbook to help you apply what you've learned and one year access to AFA streaming content to give you even more resources. Find out more about Acctivate and sign up today at Acctivate.AFA.net welcome to today's Issues. Join us for the next hour as we offer a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Ed Vitagliano. And welcome, to Today's Issues. It is Wednesday, May 20th. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon. Today, I am joined in studio by Wesley Wildmon. Good morning, Wesley.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Oh, right. Go to the guy on your left. That's a good idea.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I always turn to the left. That's my first thought.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And now I move towards the middle.

>> Wesley Wildmon: So you're working around.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm going to go to the right now. Tony Vitagliano, good morning to you. And then Fred Jackson, our news director for American Family News.

>> Fred Jackson: To the far right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Far right, far right. Fred. folks, by the way, the bottom of the hour, when we come back from our break, Sandy Rios will be joining us, host of Sandy Rios 24 7, the podcast [email protected] by the way, you can find all podcasts that are available at, American Family Radio afr.net you just go to the drop, down menu that says podcasts. You can find Sandy's there. You can. Jenna Ellis, all the podcasts that we have for shows that have already aired, lots of material. Summer's coming up. If you're taking a trip somewhere, listen to some podcasts. If the kids don't want to listen to news, there's Trivia Friday, lots, of great preaching and that kind of thing, too.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Check a couple programs that are not a couple podcasts that aren't on our radio network. They're only, only podcasted. So you want.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that's right. So Sandy's is only available as a podcast. Jenna Ellis, my new favorite. What's that?

>> Wesley Wildmon: My new favorite. It is the, Provident Americans providence by Steve McDowell.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, okay.

>> Wesley Wildmon: It's from 20. It's about 20 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on the subject he's talking about. That's a good one.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's a good one. So podcasts are us. If you Want to listen to stuff there? just go to afr.net Sandy Rios will be talking about something really encouraging that happened this past Sunday. So we'll have some encouraging news. Lots of spiritual.

>> Tony Vitagliano: You're kidding me.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Encouraging news.

>> Fred Jackson: I'm here for.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, right here. Okay, Fred.

Yesterday was a big election day around the country. Primaries galore

Yesterday was a big election day around the country. Primaries. Primaries galore. what happened? Is that your first story, by the way? I don't know.

>> Fred Jackson: It is the first story. It is the morning after these primaries around the country, and probably the most watched was a primary in Kentucky, because, under the banner of who does Trump like and who doesn't he like? Thomas Massie, the Republican who Trump has described as a thorn in his side, etc. Etc. Etc. And Trump endorsed the competitor to Thomas Massie, Ed Gallrain. Ed Gallrain was successful at the end of the night. so he is a former Navy seal. He is all in with President Trump, supports President Trump's agenda 100%. basically, that was what cost Thomas Massie because he has voted against what Trump liked. Also, Massie, over and over again refused to fund a, vote against funding for Israel. That also got him in trouble because a pro Israel group, AIPAC, spent a lot of money on behalf of Mr. Gallrain there. So that's kind of the backdrop to it all. So let's have a listen. Let's have a listen to the victory speech from Ed Gallerain. First cut number one.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Every vote in the Senate and the House counts.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Ed, you need to serve again.

>> Wesley Wildmon: You need to serve your district, your

>> Ed Vitagliano: nation, and your party.

>> Wesley Wildmon: And then I decided to run. I was only in this race, really, for about 15 weeks. When you pulled the holidays out, it was a David versus Goliath.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I was the underdog.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I want to thank the president. I want to thank the President, the conservative Republicans from this district, and my supporters and team, because it sends a message that we, the people are going to stand up.

>> Fred Jackson: Now, Thomas Massie, had no regrets for his record in Congress. He's been there for a very long time, since 2012. 2012. Yeah. This is what he had to say. cut number three.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We weren't really running against, Ed Galran. We weren't running against Donald Trump. We were running for. For what we believe in. If you always vote with the president, if the. If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king.

>> Fred Jackson: All right, so there you have it. no regrets from Thomas, Massie. Kellyanne Conway, former advisor to President Trump in his first administration. basically not a Massie fan. Also, cut number two.

>> Sandy Rios: I want to say something about Massie. He was relishing his moment in the sun being all petted and coddled by the mainstream media and other Democrats and

>> Ed Vitagliano: probably will continue to. Folks, this is a guy who voted against the one big beautiful bill, as did every other Democrat. This is a guy who voted against DHS funding. That's a disgrace for any member of

>> Sandy Rios: Congress, let alone a Republican member of Congress. He can run around all day saying, I'm the vote against government spending. I'm against the government. He was just seeking his 15th and

>> Ed Vitagliano: 16th year being employed by federal government

>> Sandy Rios: so that his family has nice health care and a great pension.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Wesley, I know that Thomas Massie was, was kind of a lightning rod for a lot, a lot of people on social media, liked his kind of civic mindedness when it comes to spending. A lot of people thought he was a rhino, that he was just getting in the way of what President Trump wanted to do. however people shake out in terms of their position on Thomas Massie, what seems clear to me from this is that President Donald Trump is firmly in charge of the Republican Party, while he is in office. Certainly this was probably his last big test in terms of his influence, for primaries. but President Trump is in charge. I don't know what's going to happen when he retires or when he is out of office, in terms of the direction of the Republican Party. But for now, this was a pretty stunning victory when this first started and Massie, I thought was probably going to get reelected despite President Trump's, animosity towards Massie, this was, seemed like a long shot to begin with, but Trump came through. I mean this was, this is a big win for Trump.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, it is a big win.

Ron Paul: I think this was a clear victory for Trump

And I still think though, while we, by the way, before I give a little bit of commentary, Jenna Ellis was on the program this week and she gave her assessment on the MAGA and Trump and afterwards and her prediction. I forget what day that was, but that was really good. It was about a five minute message. So if we can find out what day that is, I'll point people back to that here eventually. Tuesday. Yeah. Okay. Yesterday. There you go. Yesterday. So you want to, you're going to want to go back and list. That is even. It's way better than what I can do, but I'll give a little bit here. So, I do think though, while we often point to the fact that Trump Controls a lot MAGA and a lot of obviously Republican Party. That's true. I still think we overlook the fact that there are people that have to go vote too. They're not, not all of them. They're. Sure, some of them are just Trump followers, but a lot of them also believe in the rhino side of the Republican Party and they're very opposed to it now. Opposed to the rhino side. Now, I will say this, though. I mean, within all of this, this is why politics is dirty, because somebody's version of a rhino may not be another person's version of a rhino. so, the Republican Parties have their issues and, Trump helps more than he hurts, obviously. I believe that is. But switching, over to the Democratic side, the opposite is, if you look at the opposing side, they have way more problems than the difference between Massey and. What was the other gentleman. Oh, Golrain Gallerain. Yeah. And I think Walker had him on his radio program.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I don't think he's. Tony, I don't think he's a bad person. No, he's a, he's, he seems to be a very conservative person. I, I, I don't know a lot about him, but, so I don't think Kentucky, when it comes to Republican primaries, is going to vote for somebody that's, not a, a conservative. You can get fooled sometimes. You think someone's one way. But, what do you think in terms of, how this, I think this was a clear victory for Trump. I'm not sure that, like, we got a race going on in Texas and he, and President Trump has thrown in an endorsement there. I'm not sure how it'll play out in all the races, but this was probably the most visible. Ah. And, this seems to be a clear indication that for now, the Republican Party is a MAGA party.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Yeah. I think you take a risk, anytime you position yourself as the principled conservative. and that's what Massey positioned himself as. So no compromise on it sounds. And I'm not, I'm not, I'm not criticizing him for this. But no compromise on what the Constitution says, in regards to how the, you know, executive branch should function. you know, he, he's very, he was very America first in as far as, you know, our dealings with foreign, wars. Nations. Yeah, foreign wars. but you take, in this day and age in, in, in the state we're in politically, you take a risk at appearing, also appearing as the person who is the eternal contrarian. So we need to get something done. We need to get the one beautiful, big, the big, beautiful bill passed. Thomas Massey's over here holding out because he's talking about the budget and, you know, things that. Things that we should all care about. But he gets. He gets painted as this contrarian who's. He's not going to vote for it because it's, you know, then it looks

>> Ed Vitagliano: like he's siding with the Democrats. Correct that. And that's maybe unfortunate.

>> Tony Vitagliano: And I think that's, that's, that's the risk you take. And, you know, another person I think of, who's not as, not as extreme as Massey, some in certain situations, but Rand Paul. Rand Paul kind of has that image of like, you know, much like his father did, Ron Paul before, just the eternal contrarian. Okay, here's Rand Paul over here talking about, you know, the deficit again. We're just trying to pass legislation. We need to get this done. You know, and part of the problem

>> Ed Vitagliano: for people who do that. It's a good point. Part of the problem for people who take that position, like Thomas Massie, where you say, listen, the Constitution does not give. Does not give the federal government or the executive branch the right to have all these Alphabet or, you know, departments. Part of the problem with that is that ship has sailed.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, we have a bloated federal government.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We have all these government programs. The question is this would be difficult. This would be difficult for anyone. And I don't know. I have no doubt that Thomas Massie is sincere in what he believes. It'd be very. You almost have to have a two pronged approach. We have to get something done so that the government can function. And at the same time, how do we begin to move our federal government back towards a more constitutional approach? Those things are difficult. You got to do almost two opposing things at the same time. Meanwhile, most of the other members in Congress don't care.

>> Tony Vitagliano: No, they don't.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And so you, you are left out on an island. Sometimes I feel bad for Rand Paul and for Ron Paul, both of both. Both from Kentucky also, but both of them kind of stuck trying to hold this principled position. And I go, man, I agree with you. But we. The government's got to function.

We got to do something. We need to pass some legislation that benefits our policies

We got to do something.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Yeah. The. While the Republicans are in office.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tony Vitagliano: And have the advantage. We need to pass some legislation that, benefits our policies. Yeah.

President Trump endorsed Senator Bill Cassidy over sitting Senator John Cornyn

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, Fred, what else?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, just several days ago, another Republican paid the price for being contrary to President, Trump. Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: He, he failed to win even a runoff last Saturday. Of course, he voted to impeach Trump. So all of these things are.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, that'll get you for sure.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. That. That was foolish. I am so.

>> Fred Jackson: And the other big news yesterday with regards to President Trump's endorsements was that he endorsed Attorney, general, Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, over sitting Senator there, Jon Cornyn. that's going to be interesting. That, that, primary, I think, takes place next Tuesday.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: So it's going to be very interesting to see how that works out. And once again, Cornyn, made some decisions that didn't make President Trump very happy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: So, this election, even though President Trump isn't on the ballot. President Trump, MAGA is on the ballot.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And I think that's where people are. Ah, we had a discussion about this in the newsroom, much to what you were saying, Wesley, are people who are voting right now in the primaries, are they voting for Trump the man, or are they voting for the MAGA policies? Are they voting for a more secure border? Are they voting for people, because they believe there are a bunch of illegal immigrants in this country, and they agree with the Trump administration's aggressive stance against illegal immigrants, and are they supporting the war? And that's kind of a question mark right now.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: We discussed this a little bit yesterday. I think even amongst MAGA people, there is a growing tension as to how much longer we want to stay there.

There's some reports this morning, uh, and we're moving into another subject

There's some reports this morning, and we're moving into another subject here. I know there are some reports this morning that, we had the president yesterday, he said he was going to bomb on Tuesday.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. Call that off was in an hour from unleashing it, he called that off,

>> Fred Jackson: saying we're going to give the Iranians another two or three days. There's a report this morning that, seems to indicate the president is now aiming. Let's get Hormuz open. Straight to Hormuz, and then we'll worry about the other stuff later. Now, that's a little bit of detail. I think there's a lot more to that. But also, President, Trump was, at Edwards. He's off to do a commencement speech somewhere, and he gave a impromptu news conference, as he often does. He said he had a conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning, early this morning, I guess it was. And I was telling you gentlemen, prior to going on the air, this is a quote from President Trump. He says, Netanyahu is a good man. but he'll do anything I tell him to do.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Trump said his.

>> Fred Jackson: He said this. All right. he'll do anything I tell him to do. Which led me to speculate. Okay, I think I know what that conversation was about. I think President Trump is saying to Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, we all need to step back and we need to call it a day for now with regards to Iran. We'll get Hormuz open and we'll keep an eye. Now, I am speculating, but something led to that conversation this morning, and we learned yesterday that uae, Kuwait and others are now involved with the negotiations. So something is moving, but a lot of people may not be very happy with. We spent $29 billion to get the Strait of Hormuz opened. so that, that's. But other people. I'm not happy with gas prices.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: I don't care what you do. Get this over with so my gas prices can go down.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, so this. I'm going to toss this first to Wesley and then to Tony.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Ready to catch it?

Wesley Morris: What does this war do to the MAGA movement

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, this is now. Now we're moving to the subject, the specific subject of the war with Iran, but to the question that Fred asked just a few minutes ago. Is, support in. Within the MAGA movement. Is it for Trump as an individual or for the policies? And I think it's. I think it's both. I think Trump. President Trump is a heroic figure to the MAGA movement because he's. He loves the country, he wants. He is strong willed. He is determined to make America great again.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Anti woke.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He's anti woke. He is, unfairly, unjustly beaten on the head and the shoulders by the left wing in this country, persecuted by Democrats when they're in power. Okay. All of that makes him a heroic figure, as an individual. What's that? Survived, Survived assassin, literally assassination attempts. So as a person, he is a heroic figure to maga, but the MAGA movement also agrees with him when it comes to his policies, which is why I think the MAGA movement will. Will. Could survive and could be the Republican Party going forward for a generation because people agree with the policies even when the person is of office. But this war, I'm going to start with you. Okay, Wesley, if this, this war, if, if this. And I get your, Your take on what Fred has talked about here with President, Trump, you know. Yes, no, yes, no, the wars, you know, great, great discussions with Iran, we could have a deal. No. I'm going to bomb them into oblivion. Okay. What do you think this does to the MAGA movement? Because they love Trump. But what Trump has done in Iran has also been against what Trump promised. Forever wars. And he did promise to bring gas prices down. How do you think MAGA is handling this? And then, Tony, we'll get your take.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I, would say, Can I answer for myself?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Sure, absolutely.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Could I. I do follow MAGA closely, and I would, I would be considered in that camp for the most part. But on this issue, it's been a minute since I've kind of gotten a pulse, so I'll just give you my take. I, I've, I felt like between two and three months is a fair window before I was going to make a judgment about what I thought about it. but we're coming up on that right when we started. Yeah. So I'm starting to have to come to a more concrete, answer as opposed to a wait and see. And I'm starting to sense. I'll give you the more realistic version and then the hopeful version. Okay. The more realistic version is I think they got this. I think they did not account for the straight of Hormuz and that's a problem. And I don't think they have an answer for it anytime soon. Is my more, pessimistic, because it's a stop start? Yes. No, I don't think they have an answer. Otherwise something would have been done. We're America, we tell Iran to open it up. We're America, America, we tell them to open it up or else. Yeah, apparently that's not the case if you're having to negotiate with the terrorist run country. That's a problem. Yeah, I think it's becoming a little bit more of an embarrassment to the overall original strategy and plan. I do think they did plan on getting in and out. Yeah, I think, I think they thought

>> Ed Vitagliano: the regime would collapse.

>> Wesley Wildmon: And this is unfree. And this is, this is an unforeseen problem. And it's a problem. now hopefully I still got about

>> Ed Vitagliano: a week left because we're coming up to three months.

>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right. Hopefully. Hopefully, before the three month mark, hopefully that there will be a hard, answer to the Strait of Hormuz. And that's not a problem. Now I'm still not for using the word, me personally. A forever war when we're in three months, when there's wars that's been going. This is not even in the realm of some of the wars that were led by both Republican and Democrats.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We were in 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq.

>> Wesley Wildmon: So there's Republican and Democrat presidents prior to Trump that have been in war, which is what we're fearful of, which I'm fearful of, which is why I'm saying M. Two to three months, we got to get out, and it's safe to go. Okay. This is not a war per se. This is a. It's a little different than, planting up shop and nation building.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right, right.

>> Wesley Wildmon: What is, what is the fear? So that's kind of my assessment. So I still probably got about a week before I go. But. But if nothing changes here soon, I'm going to have to go on the record and just officially criticize President Trump for allowing this to continue to go on. And he can say, well, we didn't see it coming. Yeah, but you're in, you're in charge. Right. But I'm going to hold off, though.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Okay.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I got another week, so.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right. Tony, you're up.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.

The Iran conflict is the perfect example of Trump being the MAGA movement

>> Tony Vitagliano: So, I think that Trump, it's, in my opinion, Trump, I don't know how worth it, how far the MAGA movement goes after Trump. Trump is the MAGA movement. And this is. The Iran war is the perfect example of that. Because Trump and the MAGA movement ran on no more wars, right? No more wars. And MAGA was on board with that. Yes, no more wars. We just got through with Afghanistan, Iraq, those debacles. You know, we've been in the Ukraine war. we, you know, not. Nothing to show for it. But then this, there's this pivot between very prominent MAGA people. when we go into Iran. Yeah, we're going to get, you know, we're in full support of Trump and what we're doing in Iran. And, I think that's a demonstration that Trump is the figurehead of Iran, because Trump can flip flop and MAGA will flip flop with them. Now, you know, I'm not, I'm not debating the, the reasons for the Iran conflict. Okay. That's not, that's not what's up for debate. The question was, is, is the MAGA movement something, that can stand on its own, or is Trump the MAGA movement? And to me, this, the Iran conflict is the perfect example of Trump being the MAGA movement. Now, for me personally, Wesley gave his opinion. I'm giving my quick 30 second opinion. I, I was, against the Iran conflict, at the beginning, and then I had this kind of halfway point. I'm like, okay, they're not capitulating. Let's just get this over with. You know, if we're gonna, if you're gonna do something, do it all the way. Yeah, right. Just, let's just do what we got to do to finish it. And now, I'm back over to again, kind of.

>> Wesley Wildmon: It's a full circle.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Let's just get this, please, whatever we got to do to get out. Because, I mean, you know, everybody here has, families. You're going to the grocery store, you're going to the gas pump. And now, what you're starting to see is this, this discontent of. Okay, what was this for? You know, what, what, what are we going to have to show for if we get the straight of Hormuz closed and we start rolling back from Iran? What are we gonna have to show for it from. Apart from around here? $4 gasoline for who knows how long? so that's.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Anyways, yeah, I had a baseball analogy. I'll save it for after the break.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Okay. My soapbox.

Everyone's got a soapbox on this because everyone's being affected

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, well, everyone's got a soapbox on this because everyone's being affected by it. and, you know, I've said on this show on a number of occasions here the last two and a half months, I don't think Iran's not playing ball. They're not going to give President Trump an off ramp. They want to try to humiliate him. Trump doesn't get humiliated.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He's liable to blow the whole, the whole country up. And, so anyway, we're going to talk to, to Sandy Rios after the break, folks. We hope you'll join us.

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Wesley Wildman uses baseball analogy to discuss Iran wars

This is Today's Issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net past broadcast, of Today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of, Today's Issues. And welcome back to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon. Today. I'm joined in studio by Wesley Wildmon, Tony Vitagliano, and Fred Jackson. Sandy Rios is waiting in the bullpen. We're going to bring her out here in just a second. But before we do, Wesley, you promised.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I did.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You promised our listeners a baseball analogy, which is why I went right to Sandy Rios in the bullpen. Give us our. This is a baseball analogy about the Iran thing, right?

>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right. And then of course, we can bring Sandy in as a reliever to give her opinion.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely.

>> Wesley Wildmon: yeah. So, I look at it like this is. Think about a pitcher who starts the game and when you're in the fifth or sixth inning and there's just a couple innings left and he is pitching really well, maybe it's a complete. Or maybe it's a perfect game, maybe it's a one hitter doing really well and the whole momentum is going your way and you have. But his pitch counts, getting up and you have to go, okay, does, do I pull him out and just. And then take whatever happens after the fact, knowing that we ended on a good note, we pulled him out, forget his pitch count. Or do we try to set a record by letting him go two more innings, a couple more pitches, and finish the game out with the risk of leaving one pitch over the plate because he's tired, his pitch counts up and then he hits one out and then you go, oh, I should have pulled him out in the. You see where this goes? Yeah. I feel like that's where we are with the Iran wars. Like, you know, I'm really thinking, I, looking back now, I think after we set back their military, 80, 90%, after 15 days would have been a really good time to get out. And, and I think we may have, except for I don't think we accounted for the straight of Hormuz being this big of an issue. So, yeah, I like that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's because that is, it's, do we put good money after bad, you know, or we've invested this much in it? If we pull out now, do we risk? That's. That's an excellent analogy. I like it.

>> Wesley Wildmon: You're welcome. Fist bump to you, sir.

Ed: Sandy Rios is one of our most popular people

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right. Sandy Rios, host of Sandy Rios, 24 7. The podcast. The podcast that's [email protected] long time hosts. in the morning. Sandy Rios, in the morning. One of our most popular people. And, and, and there's, there's a good reason why she's popular. She knows a lot. She's got mondo personality and she can bring baseball analogies, too. So, Sandy, no pressure there. Good morning and welcome back to Today's Issues.

>> Sandy Rios: The only thing about baseball I can contribute is that, you know, baseball's in the, in the Bible, right, Ed? You know that, right?

>> Ed Vitagliano: go ahead, Sandy.

>> Sandy Rios: In the beginning.

>> Ed Vitagliano: In the beginning.

>> Sandy Rios: In the beginning, yeah. Otherwise. Otherwise, don't ask me. Don't ask.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, this is, as Tim would say, that's disappointing, Sandy. America, well, it used to be America's pastime. It's not anymore. So we will, we'll, we'll, we'll let this go. The fact that you can't bring a, a baseball analogy to play.

>> Sandy Rios: You know what? I, one time I was, talking. I was doing an interview on television, and, I was pretty ticked that some California team had chosen to have it be gay day. You know, Gay days. And I was waxing eloquent and I said something about the, the thing that happened at, at halftime. Oh. So, I mean, really, I have to tell you, when I was on radio in Chicago, I always said I can talk about anything. I really can, except sports and dogs. Don't ask me about sports.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You really said halftime for baseball?

>> Sandy Rios: I did, I did. I think I was with Bill O'Reilly. Yeah, of course, nobody heard what I really said because they couldn't get over that I said halftime. So don't ask me.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.

Ed Schultz: Sunday marked 250th anniversary of founding of United States

All right, all right, well, let's, let's get on to something I know you do know a lot about, and that is about the heritage of our country and the import that the, the, Christian values that imbued our revolution and our independence and our creation as a constitutional republic and the, the, the depth of the importance of returning this nation to Christ. So tell us what happened Sunday. I promised some, at the start of the show, some encouraging news. Tell us a little happened and your part that you played or your attendance at this event.

>> Sandy Rios: Thanks, Ed. I'm, thank you, guys. I, this is. Thanks for giving me this opportunity because I'm pretty high on this. I just. Actually, my two shows this week are both on this event. And if anybody's interested, if you want to hear like a. It was like eight hours, nine hours. So the condensed version will be on my show to two parts of it. So it was an incredible event, Ed. And I think to set it up properly. Excuse me, M. To, set it up properly. The interesting thing is that when President Trump, came into office in 2016, he had a list of things he wanted to do. And one of the lists, one, of the things on that list was some kind of renewal, return to God for this country. And so when they started planning this 250 celebration, they. They had pegged America. Praise was kind of the designation. And I was in on part of that early thing. I don't want to overstate my part, but I had something to do with it, with this part. And, they decided to do this special day in Washington, D.C. and they called it rededicate, 250, a national Jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. And before we go any further, I want to please say that happened on Sunday. There were 350,000 people, we think there, and millions watching. But it wasn't just that day. This event happened on behalf of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm listening to who's an American citizen. Even if you weren't there that day, you guys, this is on your behalf, this repentance. And it's not on that one day. It's like, now, who are we as a people? If we want God's blessing, who are we going to be? Because, a nation can't get on its knees and repent, the people of that nation have to do that. So, ironically, they chose last Sunday, which then after that, they realized that that was the very day that the Constitutional Convention was meeting in Philadelphia in, 1787, 250, years ago. And I want to read something to you because it's worth it, so just hang with me. Benjamin Franklin, you know, that famous evangelical preacher. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Ben Franklin, not so the ladies man from France and, the writer of dirty books. And I mean, but all the. He did all those great things too, but he, his character was not something he was known for really. So this is what makes this remarkable, I think. So they're in the Constitutional Convention and they're arguing. They're arguing because they. They're arguing over states rights, federalism, what kind of a government do we want to have? Slavery. Should we have it? Should we not? And they couldn't agree on anything. A money system, nothing. They were deadlocked. And so. Lincoln. Lincoln, yeah. Ben Franklin, this is. These are his actual words because they recorded and that movie the great awakening that I hope you guys saw. If you didn't, you have to. Those were Franklin's actual words in that movie. So this is the same thing. These are his words as recorded in this situation of this assembly, groping, as it were, in the dark, defined political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us.

Congressmen ask for prayers for divine protection during deliberations on national issues

How has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights. And to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. And I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our little partial local interests. Our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business. Benjamin Franklin. That was 250 years ago on last Sunday, when we met for that time of prayer, praise and thanksgiving and rededication.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Wow.

>> Sandy Rios: And, So, if you don't mind me, Just go. I usually don't lecture. You guys are talking. But. So forgive me for going on, but I want to say some things before I get quiet again, if you don't mind.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Sure.

>> Sandy Rios: People criticize President Trump. We all do. I've noticed he's an imperfect man. But I've noticed that God is using Him. And it's funny because I've noticed I'm an imperfect woman, and so is everybody that I know. We are sinners saved by grace, and God uses the worst of us to do some of the best stuff. President Trump actually only appeared once on Sunday, and it was to read from Second Chronicles. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and heal their land. He said the verse. I know I truncated a little bit, but that's what he read. And he read the rest of it, which said, if you. And if you don't do this, you will be a reproach among the nations. Our president is reading that scripture, and I can tell as he's reading it, he's taking it in. And on that. That rededication on Sunday, we had the President of the United States, we had the Vice President of the United States, we had the Secretary of State talking about the ways that God has intervened miraculously in this country since our beginnings. We had the Secretary of War, currently waging war in Iran, reading to us from scripture and talking about all of God's interventions in our military. The miracles of World War II, the miracles of the. Of the. Of, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, just reminding us of God's place in our country. We had, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who. I have to say, I've been very hard on him because I think he's made some very bad decisions because he is such a strong believer. I'm hard on him. I want him to do better. But I have to confess to you that God really revealed to me on Sunday as he was leading us in worship and repentance, that he loves God, he listens to God and listen to me. These are the men leading us right now. The President, the Vice President, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House, and others. But these are men who are listening to God. I don't. I don't know. I've never in my lifetime, never in my lifetime seen this in our government. And I've been. I know this is how old I am. My first president was Eisenhower, and even with Reagan, with all the others, they never did this. They never did this. And so God is at work. I want to make that clear. They also showed on the stage on Sunday the various ways that God was present, that it is part of our DNA. And they played the Apollo 8 mission. and this was December 24th of 1968. I remember this you guys, probably, some of you don't. Weren't alive then. I don't remember. But they. It was the first mission where they went up and they were actually showing images back to Earth. We saw the moon and its craters, and then we saw the Earth from a distance and they're describing it. And then all three astronauts take turns reading Genesis 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And God moved. This is what they read. They said, this is our message to the world. And at that time, I think there were like a billion people watching around the globe. And the point of that is that this acknowledgment of God is part of the DNA of the United States of America. And we were losing that. It was slipping away from us. But I believe we are. It's revival, it's renewal, and I believe it's happening. And I want people to be encouraged and energized and understand what a, time we're living in. So Speaker Johnson came out, other pastors, there were lots of pastors that you would know there, and, they called for repentance, prayers, people on their knees. And and we, ah, Krish Tomlin and other musical groups. But Krish, you know, his. He. He gave us the heart and beauty of his worship songs. How Great is Our God? I think that's what we ended with. And so that's what happened on Sunday. But again, it's not just about those of us that were there. It's about all of you guys.

It's about all of our people listening who are believers in Christ

It's about all of our people listening who are believers in Christ. This just, as though, like the prayers of heaven, all of our family members and that have gone before us who are up there praising and worshiping. We're not disconnected from that. We may not be there, but this is. We are one in the Holy Spirit. So what we did was on behalf of those of you that weren't able to be there or watch it, repentance. And so I'm asking you to join in each and every one of you, personal repentance so that God can unleash his power on this nation again. And so that's my, that's my pitch, you guys.

Ed: There's a biblical principle that applies to prayer on Sunday

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and I want to just bring up some, in case people are listening and saying, well, now, how much power does that kind of have? well, this is a theological principle, what Sandy, is talking about and what was done on Sunday. It's called intercession. Okay. And the word intercession, is connected to the word mediator. And intercessors stand between people, groups of people, or in this case, stand on behalf of a larger group in the presence of God. you can see this principle in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Nehemiah, where Daniel and Nehemiah prayed before God for all the people. And there's a negative aspect to it in the Book of Jeremiah, where God tells Jeremiah that he was done with Israel, the judgment was coming, and he said, even if Moses and Samuel stand before me, I will not listen. Which means on the flip side, that if Moses and Samuel did stand in God's presence, most of Israel's history, God would have listened. And this is true about the average Christian. When you pray for someone, you know, you are entering into the presence of God on behalf of that person. Sometimes parents, as an example, will pray before God in the, in his presence on behalf of children who are lost, who are not praying, who don't have their mind on God, and those parents are interceding for people who don't even want God's help. And so I want to encourage our listeners, you, it doesn't matter if you're behind a microphone at American Family Radio or you're doing, or you're behind the pulpit at a church. You can enter into God's presence and pray for our nation. You can pray for our president. In fact, the Apostle Paul says we are to pray for our leaders. So I want to encourage people, there's an old expression. Don't just, you know, light a candle, don't just curse the darkness. There's a lot of bad stuff happening, a lot of evil people who want to take charge and want to take our country even further away from God. You do not have to let them do that and just throw up your hands. You can, as happened Sunday. And this, I'm going to give it throw back to you, Sandy. this, what happened on, on Sunday, because a lot of people are listening. They didn't even know this happened. It doesn't matter. These are Christian people and important leaders in our country who stood before God and prayed for our nation. And as you said, Sandy, this has happened a lot of times in our nation's history. You mentioned you were talking about Ben Franklin, but you mentioned Abraham Lincoln. You made that mistake. But Abraham Lincoln did this on several occasions. I mean, this is a biblical principle of intercession that sometimes Christians in 2026 forget is a real thing. Right? Go ahead, Ed.

>> Sandy Rios: Let me add, one Other important thing, when in the early stages of planning this, again, I don't want to overstate my role because I just want to say that they. I was told when I was on calls and stuff that they were going to have imams and all kinds of people in this day of prayer would be interfaith on the Mall. Well, I was quite upset about that. And so I asked for a private meeting and I spent a lot of time praying and just writing out why that would not work, why that was wrong. And one of the chief things is that that's. We are celebrating America's birthday in history. Imams and, other faiths, but Jewish, of course, were there. That's. That's a. They're there with us. But other faiths were not there. Our founders were not serving other faiths. They were not praying to any other God. It was one God. And, and so I made that case in a number of different ways. And I was. Gosh, you can't imagine how thrilled and pleased I was, that that's. It was the Christian faith. And there was a Jewish rabbi, two cardinals and a lot of evangelicals of different stripes praying, but believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was loud and clear. And, And that other reminds me when President Trump was reading that passage from 2 Chronicles. It was the long. It was that whole chapter, most of it, it gets into an. If you follow foreign gods. If you follow foreign gods, I will not. I will not bless you. And President Trump read that with his own lips. And that all tied together. To me, we are re establishing the plumb line. This is a nation, one nation under God, one particular God, not God's. And I think that was very important.

Ed: I'm thankful that President Trump won the election

That's another thing that happened on Sunday.

>> Ed Vitagliano: anybody else got.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Yeah, I just want to say I am, hearing about this, event that took place, and all. And there have been other events that have taken place, in the similar, sphere of, celebrating the Christian, heritage of the United States. I'm just so thankful that, President Trump won the election and that we do not have to endure a leftist Democratic administration overseeing the celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation. We all know it would be now, events like this would probably still take place. I'm not saying we wouldn't still be able to do things like this, but overall, we would be hearing nothing. It would be a deconstruction of everything that's wrong with the United States and our arse. You know, it Would of course be making up things about, you know, sordid past. And it would just be, it would be nothing more than just a, one giant hit piece on the nation, the history of our nation. So I am, I'm, I am thankful, to God that we have an administration and people within that administration who love, the Lord and who are seeking his face rather than the alternative.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Nothing to add there. I agree.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Listen, I hadn't even thought about that. That had a, leftist slash progressive slash Democrat slash God hating, person and that party been in power.

>> Wesley Wildmon: The rainbow colors at the.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We would have had. We would have had every other religion and, and whatever Christian would have been, up there would have been, you know, with a, a rainbow stole around.

>> Tony Vitagliano: Oh yeah, his or her neck.

>> Sandy Rios: The White House lit up like, you know, heaven knows what.

>> Tony Vitagliano: You could not.

>> Sandy Rios: And I just. One last thing. I'd like to get in if I could.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Ed, go. You go ahead. You're gonna have the last word.

>> Sandy Rios: well, there. Just think. Listen quickly. There are so many events coming up. Freedom trucks are going all over the country with original documents. You could bring one to AFA and have an event. You just have to ask for it. Memorial Day at Arlington. There will be a candlelight storytelling. Family members of those that are buried will tear their family members stories. The UFC fight will be at the White House on June 29th. A great American State fair is taking place on the mall, June 25th to July 12th. It'll be the world's greatest fireworks on, on, July 4th. Teddy Roosevelt Museum is opening up in north, Dakota on July 2nd. The tall ships will be running for the harbor, NewSong York on July 4th.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Ah.

>> Sandy Rios: the Grand Prix will be running in D.C. august 21st through the 23rd. Go to, actually go to, Freedom250. That's the hashtag. And you can find Freedom250 online and those. Okay, Bruce and I will be there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, thank you. Five minute break. We'll be right back, folks.

>> Tony Vitagliano: The views and opinions expressed in this

>> Sandy Rios: broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.