The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events, analyzed through the lens of scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Life can be traumatic, and for those that really take care of others, those that protect and serve, the law enforcement officers, we need to care about their welfare, their mental health, and we're going to have a conversation now with somebody who is being used in a magnificent way to help those first responders, those law enforcement officers. Hi, Alex McFarland here, and if you can hear some kind of ambient noise in the background, it's because we're coming to you from the floor of the Republican National Convention, the RNC in Milwaukee. If you've listened to any of our live broadcasts in the past week, we've been talking to a lot of people and very exciting, but where my heart is, none of the interviews mean any more than the one you're about to hear with Randy Sutton of The Wounded Blue. His website is thewoundedblue.org.
He originally served nobly in the greater Las Vegas area. I'm sure there are a lot of things we can learn about that, but first of all, Randy, it's a busy time. A lot of people are vying for your attention. I want to say thanks for making time to be with us on this show. It's my pleasure. In fact, I love American Family Radio. I've been doing law enforcement stuff with your radio station for a long time, and I have utmost respect for Steve Jordan and the team over there.
They're great. I mean, they really have a great news department, and Steve and I go back at least 20 years. But first of all, before we hear your story, tell me what brings you to the RNC. What are you doing here in Milwaukee during the convention? Well, I've had probably the greatest honor of my life bestowed upon me, and that was being a speaker last night at the convention at prime time. Just right after President Trump got here was when I was called out on the stage, and to have been given this honor, believe me, not something that I take lightly. When I was asked to speak here about the topics that I find I'm most passionate about, and that is our law enforcement officers, their health, their welfare, their psychological health, and also the public safety.
If you're a cop, you care about your community. I served for almost 34 years behind my badge, and I'm proud of those years. And I'm proud of what I'm doing now, and that is I'm serving the other community that I love so much, and that's the law enforcement community. And my role as the founder of the organization, the Wounded Blue.
We are the national assistance and support organization for injured and disabled law enforcement officers. And so last night I had the opportunity to talk to America about what keeps them safe, and the road forward to keeping our police safe as well. I had the privilege, I was down on the front row when you spoke, and it was very powerful.
I commend you, it was an incredibly powerful speech. And let me ask you this, as a veteran law enforcement officer, we know bad people do bad things. What's been your mindset during these years where the left has said defund the police, and in places like Seattle and Portland they try to live with no law enforcement. You know the old question, how's that working for you? Tell me your reaction and your colleagues for what I would call the insanity of the defund the police movement.
It was absolute madness. There's no other word for it. And to watch it happening before my very eyes, I tell you what disturbed me the most, is that so many of the citizens continue to put people into office that supported the defunding, dehumanizing movement. Because when you tell people as noble officers, you know, people who want to serve in law enforcement are protectors. There's no more noble a profession than to protect others. And when you tell people that literally put their lives on the line for their communities, that they're not loved, that they're not wanted, that they're animals, that they're cruel, that they're prejudiced, that they're biased, all these negative things that have been said about the law enforcement community. And then you have actual governments that feed into that. You have a media that feeds into that.
And you're hearing this from every angle. Well, it's demoralizing for our law enforcement officers. And what that's done, that's created a shortage. Because cops just finally said, I mean, you can only like beat a dog for so long before that dog runs away, right? Well, now what we have seen, we're facing a crisis of public safety, because there aren't enough police officers. And so not only are the great cops leaving the minute that they can, because they can retire, or just say, I'm done, quit. And then we're having a huge difficulty in getting qualified people to come into the profession. So you add those two factors together, and we're facing a crisis. And it's a generation. This will take a generation to fix.
Yeah. And, you know, my heart is heavy, because, you know, one of the great virtues is gratitude. And not pandering or flattery, but all my life ever since I was a child, my parents taught us to, if we saw a policeman say thank you, or, hey, we appreciate you, things like that. And the demoralizing and just the ingratitude and condescending tone of so much.
I mean, why would young people go into this wonderful profession when the community is just so ungrateful and denigrating? Let me tell you this, too. In Georgia recently, I spoke at a men's event.
There were about 5,000 men there. In Georgia and in Texas and in North Carolina, I'm a preacher. I've had men come to the altar and they'll say, preacher, pray that God would raise up some recruits, you know?
Which of course we do. But what would you say to young people that might be open, at least open, to a career serving our country in law enforcement? What would you say to the young people?
I would tell them this. There is no more noble profession than that of an American peace officer. Literally, you have the ability to create a legacy. That legacy, I call legacy based policing. Every time that you have an interaction with another human being, you leave a legacy, especially as a cop. Well, I'm going to tell you a story about what I call the power of policing in just a moment. But to answer your question more directly, you can touch the lives of so many people. You can, you can literally save lives by being a police officer. You can create a legacy that is so powerful that you can have an effect on the world. And you can do this by being a cop. So I say, if you want to protect others, if you want a career that's satisfying, if you want to be able to, to look at your face in the mirror and say, you know what? I did something noble today.
Join the police. Well said. We're going to come back and I want to hear about The Wounded Blue. Give us your website. Thewoundedblue.org. That's thewoundedblue.org.
That's our website. And I know you've got a book coming out. Before this first break, tell us the title of your upcoming book. Rescuing 9-1-1, The Fight for America's Safety.
Coming out in just two months. We'll look into what that's about after this brief break. Don't go away. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert.
Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly and we seem to be on a rapid moral decline. We've rejected God, morality and we've almost completely lost our sense of patriotism.
It's no wonder that many are asking the question, is this the end of America? Hi, Alex McFarland here and I want to make you aware of my book, The Assault on America. How to defend our nation before it's too late.
You know, our nation has seen politicians that are corrupted by greed and they've got a vested interest in power and many of our elected officials seem to care little about the country that they've been appointed to serve. Read my book, The Assault on America. We can stand up for our great nation and defend America before it's too late.
It's available everywhere. You can learn more on my own website, which is alexmcfarland.com. Read the book, The Assault on America.
How to defend our nation before it's too late. Welcome back. Alex McFarland here coming to you from the floor of the Republican National Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
You know, fascinating thing. Our guest, Randy Sutton of the Wounded Blue. Again, thank you for being with us. It is my pleasure to be here.
Thank you for having me. You know, ironically, one of the stories that I've told in my lectures has been about one of my favorite presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt. Just next door to where you and I are, Officer Sutton, Teddy Roosevelt was shot in 1912. He came out to give a speech. This person came out of the crowd, shot him at very close range, but he survived and went on to give an hour-long speech. And he said, you know, it takes more than that to kill a bull moose.
That was famously what he said. Ironically, here we are in Milwaukee, President Trump, who you know, who I have met, he survived an assassination attempt as well. As a law enforcement professional, what went through your mind when you watch the events of Saturday night, July 13? I was stunned.
I would tell you, I was stunned by two things. One is the amazing courage shown by President Trump. I tell you that that photograph that I saw with him seconds after being shot, raising his fist in defiance of that assassin with the flag behind him.
That's an iconic photo that will live on in history forever. And of course, I enjoyed that comparison to Teddy Roosevelt, who was one of the greatest presidents in American history and his toughness. President Trump, he's a warrior.
He truly is. He's a warrior. And the warrior spirit is something that I, so when I do my preaching, my flock is a little different than yours, but I preach about the warrior spirit.
Warrior spirit doesn't mean you're at war, but it means that at the moment it's necessary, you can turn and channel all that into that warrior spirit that you need to either save your life or save the life of someone else. And when I saw that face of President Trump and his words, fight, fight, fight, that showed me the warrior spirit that that man has. And that's what the commander-in-chief needs to be, needs to have. And so I thought that was amazing. Now, the other part of this on the other side of the coin was the absolute travesty of what I saw as far as the planning and the preparation and the incompetence shown by the Secret Service.
This was a massive epic fail of the leadership of the Secret Service. Yeah, I want to talk about that. You know, I've got to say, watching that, and I was at a conference, and part of the reason I think it's worth exploring this is God is doing something in our nation. There's a unity, there's a maturity, there's an enthusiasm I haven't seen in a while, but I was at a major conference, Officer Sutton, it was 6 p.m., this conference was starting, people are all of a sudden weeping. I mean, I watch grown men literally just get on their knees and start praying for Trump. And when he powerfully, I mean, he stayed so composed, here's a man wounded by a bullet, he's bleeding, and yet he kept his wits about him, and he not only stood to his feet but raised his fist.
It was like grown men were weeping. And I said, this is a man among men. This is a leader. And it was very inspiring.
And I'm with you, I think that photo will become as iconic as Iwo Jima or many of the photos. But let's talk for just a moment about how could this happen. How could some 20-year-old warped young person, 400 feet away, get up on a roof with a gun?
It's almost unexplainable. That's why I say, from a law enforcement perspective, the Secret Service has the ultimate responsibility for the tactical planning of protection. And they will call in resources from other law enforcement agencies to supplement them, and they will, they're the ones that make the plans. Okay, here's this building, you cover that, this, I mean, they do all the tactical stuff. If there's a drone where you put the drone up, it's unexplainable how that rooftop was not covered.
And in fact, there was a sniper team inside the building, which made zero sense. And this individual had been tracked by police for 30 minutes before this attack. So that's why there needs to be a full and transparent investigation.
And there needs to be people held accountable at the highest levels who were part of this debacle. Well, I want to hear about your next book. Give us the title again, and tell us the premise of your book, please. Well, it's called Rescuing 9-1-1, The Fight for America's Safety.
And people can take a look at it and actually send me an email saying, let me know when it comes out if they just go to rescuing911.org. But this book is about how we got to where we are. This is everything I talked about last night in my little three minute speech. But how did we get to where we got in this country with the anti-law enforcement rhetoric, the laws being passed that literally keep people less safe?
How did we get here? And it's also a call to action. It's a call to action to get involved, to become an activist, even if that activist in you only goes to vote. Because if we don't take this country back, then we're going to see more blood in the streets. We're going to see our nation fall.
And I fully believe that without law enforcement, without the police to protect the people, we are going to fail and we are going to fall. And I want to say one other thing before we go and that is I love country music. Me too. And Lee Greenwood is here at this at this convention. And Lee Greenwood is a huge supporter of the Wounded Blue. So much so that he and a bunch of other country artists like Craig Morgan and Tracy Lawrence and Vince Gill have all signed guitars to help raise money for the Wounded Blue. It's called guitarsforcops.com. Guitar is the number for cops.com. And some of the biggest country stars in country history, Tonya Tucker, Lee Greenwood have signed guitars to help us raise money.
So I urge you, if you're a country music fan like I am, go to guitarsforcops.com, buy a guitar from your favorite country artist and help the Wounded Blue. That's great. Congratulations on that one final question.
And again, thank you for your time. If you're just tuning in, Alex McFallon here talking with Randy Sutton of the Wounded Blue, thewoundedblue.org. How can citizens support or show solidarity for our law enforcement? Like if we're in a restaurant or out and we see a policeman or law enforcement officer, do they like it when people come up and say, hey, we appreciate you? I mean, what can we do to show just support and gratitude for our law enforcement officials? I'm really glad you asked that question because the dichotomy here is we're talking about all the negativity towards law enforcement, right?
But here's what I'm also hearing. I'm hearing my cops from all over the country saying, you know what? I've never had more people come up to me and say thank you.
I've never had more people when I'm in a restaurant, somebody picks up my lunch tab or somebody buys me coffee. I'm hearing this from cops from all over the country that people are showing their gratitude in ways that they've never shown before. So on the one hand, you know, we have this one portion of the populace and the media and the politicians who are degrading law enforcement. On the other hand, you have the common people, the everyday Joe, if you will, that is saying, I'm going to show that officer that I support him.
And even if it's, Hey, I really support you. It does mean something. It does mean, it means something to these men and women to hear that where the rubber meets the road is the people, you know, Sir Robert Peel was the creator of the modern policing Scotland yard. And his concept is this, the people are the police and the police are the people.
Wow. That's profound. Before we go, I thought about something that I teach in my courses. I'm faculty at a couple of colleges, Plato, many years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato, he would try to teach virtues and he would ask questions. And one day Plato asked, what is courage? And they talked about bravery. Maybe a soldier is brave or a boxer even in a ring is brave. Plato said this, and I think this typifies you.
This typifies American law enforcement. Plato said, true courage is knowing the right thing to do and being willing to do it. That's courage. You, sir, and your colleagues are people of courage. And we thank you. I can't thank you enough for having me on your show.
And Plato, I agree with you. Well said. Stay tuned, folks. Prerecorded from the RNC in Milwaukee. We're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert.
Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Are you tired of liberal agendas ruining our country, but you don't know what to do about it? That's why Truth and Liberty Coalition was founded. We want to equip you to take back our country and impact the world. Here's how we do it. We educate through broadcasts, conferences, and our website with resources that inform, equip, and motivate. We unify by collaborating with like-minded organizations like the Family Research Council, the Family Policy Alliance, and My Faith Votes. We mobilize by providing practical tools you can use to impact your local community.
As Christians, we are called to make disciples of nations. Together, we can change the course of our country for good. Join Truth and Liberty to connect with believers and organizations who not only want to see a change in our nation, but a community that is actually doing something about it. Join us online for our broadcast and subscribe for relevant updates on our website, truthandliberty.net.
He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Well welcome to the program. If you hear background noise, we do a lot of conferences, but this is probably the most significant one we've done all year, the Republican National Convention. And I'm going to get right to the content.
I'm sitting here with the first campaign manager for Donald Trump way back in 2016, Corey Lewandowski. First of all, thanks for making time to be with us and thank you for what you've done for our country. Well it's an honor and thank you for having me. So this is an exciting convention, and tell me what are your thoughts? I've got some questions about events of the last four days, but what do you feel the mood is here at the RNC this year? I think it's so upbeat.
I think it's so positive. You know, when you go and you talk to the delegates who are on the floor, they're so excited, they're unified. I'll tell you what, Nikki Haley did a great thing by releasing her delegates so that Donald Trump could become the nominee by acclamation, with almost no dissents. That was a very magnanimous thing to do. And it shows the unity of the Republican Party. These were rivals.
These were people who were battling each other on the stage not too long ago, and she stayed in the campaign really long. And to release those delegates I think was a really generous and smart and the right thing to do, and it shows the unity this party has. Well there's power in unity, and let me ask you this. For those that are out there in America on the fence, and I've talked to a lot of them, Corey, and they'll say, you know what, I just don't know that I'm going to vote this year. How important is it that people who love America believe in our Constitution, how important is it that we all get out and vote?
Well it's critical. Look, if you have ever had anybody who's lived the American dream, started with nothing and became successful, it's because people went out and voted. Look, we can have our disagreements in public, but we solved them at the ballot box, and there is no clearer dichotomy in this election than what Donald Trump's policies are for America and Joe Biden's policies are for America. Joe Biden wants to leave an open border. He has decimated our military. He has destroyed our economy.
Donald Trump's been very clear. You let me come back to the White House, and the four years that I was there before are only going to get better, and more people will achieve the American dream. When you began to work with candidate Trump, now eight, nine years ago, could you have envisioned what would play out?
I mean, you have watched history. You've been at the sidelines of the making of history. Did you envision what a drama and thrill ride it would be?
Never in my wildest dreams. You know, I have been on the front row seat of the greatest roller coaster ride in American history. I was the first employee of the campaign. I'm still here today, and so it's been so incredible. Look, I'm so proud of what Donald Trump has achieved for this country, and the reason I am still here is because I still have a young family, and I want them to have those opportunities that I had. I grew up with nothing, and not only did I ever think I would get to meet a president of the United States, I can call one a friend.
You know, it's just such an incredible place to live, this great country that we're in, and Donald Trump provides that hope for everybody. What went through your mind on Saturday, July 13, 2024? We were all watching television, just another great pep rally, and there's Donald Trump, we all love, and the unthinkable happened. What were your initial thoughts and feelings? I was angry. I was sad. I was devastated, because the initial reaction was someone shot Donald Trump in the head, and it was just, it was such a gut punch.
It almost, you know, made me sick to my stomach, and to watch this was so devastating. He's been such an integral part of our lives and so many people's lives, and to ask how this colossal failure, the security breach could even occur for a presidential protectee of the U.S. Secret Service is still a question we don't have the answers to, and so look, we need to get to the bottom of it. We had a 20-year-old kid carry a ladder and a long rifle to 150 yards of the leading candidate for president of the United States, and no one said a word. It seems odd to me, you know, and I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but something should have been done. Something went awry, and I am so grateful that he is safe. I have been to hundreds of those rallies, literally hundreds of them. I have stood exactly in the location where that bullet came by and killed the firefighter, because the senior staff would go and stand there for a better view, and we are only fortunate, by the grace of God, that it was so hot that day that the senior staff was in the back of the tents, because it was over 90 degrees, and so look, this tragedy could have been a lot worse. We have one man whose life was taken simply because he attended a political rally, and you know, this is, it's just a tragedy. Well, I think we all, people, even Bill Maher, people are saying, God intervened. I know you're short on time.
I want to say a profuse thank you. Any final challenge for the electorate out there as people from now to December will make their decisions a final word? Yeah, pray and come together and be unified. Look, we're never going to win the hearts and minds if we're arguing with our neighbors, so go and listen and talk, and then let's make our decisions based on policy and not personality.
Corey Lewandowski, thank you. Folks, stay tuned. We're back after this. Well, again, this has been Alex. It's been a busy week.
I'm coming to you right now. We're recording with guests all over the Republican National Convention here in Milwaukee, and you just heard Corey Lewandowski and earlier spoke with Laura Trump, spoke with Eric Trump, people like Trey Gowdy, Mike Lindell of MyPillow, we had him on, and just a week ago had Kathie Lee Gifford on, and so it's been a big month. But let me say this. Last night I was here and there were people gathered around praying, and they care about our country. Now, I can almost hear the voices, because I get emails all the time and people will say, you know, Alex, you preach the gospel.
Your home is heaven. You trust the Lord. Why are you interested in politics?
Why do you interview these elected officials, and why do you urge people to vote? Well, because the Bible tells us that we are to be good citizens. In Romans 13, 1-7, Romans 13, 1 says, Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been ordained or established by God. Now, Paul, the apostle Paul, would use his Roman citizenship when necessary.
You read the book of Acts, and whenever he needed to leverage the freedom to preach the gospel or the freedom to get a fair trial, the apostle Paul would talk about his Roman citizenship. Now, we have that today. We have recourse. And I want to call on my fellow pastors and clergy and all citizens to realize that our ability to vote is a stewardship issue. The ability to influence others is a stewardship issue. And really, you know, 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 says that we are not our own.
We're bought with a price. We are stewards. And so to be involved in the political process and to be informed and to influence others, that's just responsible citizenry. And I think that we need to teach citizenship to our students. In fact, one thing that I really want to do is to play for you students at our recent camp reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
And I want to do that now. Now listen as 300 students, after learning about the gospel, God and country, they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Wasn't that inspiring?
Didn't you appreciate that? Well, we as a nation, we have a godly heritage. America has done more for the Great Commission, more for the betterment of the human condition than any other nation.
So it's right to care about America, to want to preserve our nation. So let's be informed. Let's pray.
Let's vote. And let's remember that as we are free, safe, and prosperous, we have more ability to contribute to Christ's Great Commission. May God bless you. Keep us in prayer.
We've got three more summer camps in 24. You can go to my website, alexmcfarland.com, slash vote, to stay informed. And may God bless you, and may God use you to be a blessing. Alex McFarland Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you.
For over 20 years, this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmcfarland.com. You may also reach us at Alex McFarland, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Or by calling 1-877-Yes-God and the number 1. That's 1-877-Y-E-S-G-O-D-1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of The Alex McFarland Show.
