The President, the Virus, and the State of the Nation

What is God saying to the nation now that the president himself is battling COVID-19? It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and president of Fire School of Ministry. Get into The Line of Fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. You know, these days, immediately before the radio show starts, I've got to take a look at this. Anything just happened in the news seconds ago.

Yeah, that's the world we're living in today. Michael Brown, welcome to The Line of Fire 866-34-TRUTH, 866-34-8784. Now, I know many of you catch the broadcast after it's over on podcast. A day later, a few days later, you may be watching right now on America's Voice on Dish TV or Pluto TV, and it's Saturday night. But right now, as I speak to you, it is 3-0-4 Eastern Time, Monday, October 5th, and the latest news on the president's health is that he expects to be discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center and to return to the White House tonight. So by the time you hear this, that may be old news. Maybe there'll be other changes suddenly that happen in the next few days, but that's where we are right now. So everything we say is based on the current situation, and the reflections that we offer are relevant today, but they'll be all relevant a month or a year from now. Now, I want to put a couple of questions out for you to call in, 866-34-8784.

One is this. Has the president coming down with COVID-19 changed your view at all about the virus, about wearing a mask, about safety, about wisdom? Has it changed your view at all? Has it made you more sympathetic with the president seeing him go through something like this? Have you realized even more the importance of his reelection, the thought of what if it was somebody else filling his shoes?

And in your own practice, is this influencing whether you will be more careful to wear a mask and abide by certain guidelines or not? 866-34-8784. Okay, let's watch the first video that President Trump posted after he had announced that he had COVID-19, and now he's going to be going to Walter Reed Hospital shortly after this.

Let's listen to the first video announcement that he made. I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support. I'm going to Walter Reed Hospital. I think I'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out.

The First Lady is doing very well. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. I will never forget it.

Thank you. All right, so there he is in a jacket and tie. You think you're on your way to the hospital.

You picture someone just kind of dressed casually or, you know, wearing sweats or whatever, but he's dressed in jacket and ties, being presidential. And there was something very boyish about it all. You know, we know the tough street fighter and all this, but there was something very boyish like, hey, I'm doing okay. I think I'm doing okay. I hope I'm doing okay.

I'm going to make sure I'm doing okay. The First Lady, well, she really is doing okay. I mean, there was something kind of innocent about it all, but then obviously he's trying to project a certain thing. And friends, I am not here to give a left wing or a right wing analysis. I'm not here to parse every word as the media has been doing breathlessly and understandably trying to make sense of things. It's the President of the United States.

It's a major issue. But I'm not here to get into a partisan discussion either way. I'm here to be your voice of moral sanity and spiritual clarity.

I'm here to try to step back and get some divine wisdom. So I'm going to offer up some reflections on what we can learn from this and what our response should be in the midst of yet another shocking development. I mean, everything is uncertain. The reason I've said for months now that, God willing, on November 3rd I'll be voting for Donald Trump versus Joe Biden is because we still don't even know that normal elections will be held. I mean, you're going to guarantee me there's not going to be something else while that happens that we can't even go ahead with elections in person. And the other thing is we're dealing with the oldest candidates running against each other in history. So you just know there's uncertainty about that, all right? And I'll get to an interesting prophetic word from a younger colleague of mine, Jeremiah Johnson, that he published in January of this year about Trump collapsing about 100 yards from the end of the marathon he was running and then being helped by two elderly ladies who represent the older generation of Christians praying for him to get to the finish line.

We'll get to that in a little while as well. But what I find so interesting is that you've got this 18-second video and you're trying to, media is trying to parse every word. He said he thinks he's doing well, but she is doing well.

What does he mean? And then the doctors, what are they telling us? What are they not telling us? But that's the information you have.

I'm used to doing that with the Bible, right, where we dig into every word, we go to the original languages, we see how a word's used elsewhere, you know, that kind of thing. But here, media's doing that with this little video from the president. Okay, then video number two, and this time he's at Walter Reed Hospital. Let's listen. We're getting great reports from the doctors. This is an incredible hospital, Walter Reed. The work they do is just absolutely amazing, and I want to thank them all, the nurses, the doctors, everybody here. I've also gotten to meet some of the soldiers and the first responders, and what a group. I also think we're going to pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street, and they've been out there for a long time, and they've got Trump flags, and they love our country. So I'm not telling anybody but you, but I'm about to make a little surprise visit.

So perhaps I'll get there before you get to see me, but I just, when I look at the enthusiasm, and we have enthusiasm like probably nobody's ever had, or people that love the job we're doing, we have more enthusiasm than maybe anybody. So it's been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the let's read the book school, and I get it, and I understand it, and it's a very interesting thing, and I'm going to be letting you know about it.

In the meantime, we love the USA, and we love what's happening. Thank you. All right, that was actually the third video when he made the surprise trip out. So this video number three, let's go to video number two. This is four minutes long, and let's listen to what he says now. This is his longer update from the hospital before he was going to make this surprise trip out on the street. Let's check out what the president had to say. I want to begin by thanking all of the incredible medical professionals, the doctors, the nurses, everybody at Walter Reed Medical Center.

I think it's the finest in the world for the incredible job they've been doing. I came here, wasn't feeling so well. I feel much better now. We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to make America great again. We've done an awfully good job of that, but we still have steps to go, and we have to finish that job, and I'll be back. I think I'll be back soon, and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we've been doing and the kind of numbers that we've been doing. We've been so proud of it, but this was something that happened, and it's happened to millions of people all over the world, and I'm fighting for them, not just in the U.S.

I'm fighting for them all over the world. We're going to beat this coronavirus or whatever you want to call it, and we're going to beat it soundly. So many things have happened. If you look at the therapeutics, which I'm taking right now, some of them, and others are coming out soon that are looking like, frankly, they're miracles. If you want to know the truth, they're miracles.

People criticize me when I say that, but we have things happening that look like they're miracles coming down from God. So I just want to tell you that I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days.

I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days. I just want to be so thankful for all of the support I've seen, whether it's on television or reading about it. I, most of all, appreciate what's been said by the American people, by almost a bipartisan consensus of American people. It's a beautiful thing to see, and I very much appreciate it, and I won't forget it.

I promise you that. I also want to thank the leaders of the world for their condolences and their — they know what we're going through. They know what — as your leader, what I have to go through. But I had no choice because I just didn't want to stay in the White House. I was given that alternative. Stay in the White House. Lock yourself in. Don't ever leave. Don't even go to the Oval Office. Just stay upstairs and enjoy it. Don't see people.

Don't talk to people, and just be done with it, and I can't do that. I had to be out front, and this is America. This is the United States. This is the greatest country in the world. This is the most powerful country in the world. I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say, hey, whatever happens, happens.

I can't do that. We have to confront problems. As a leader, you have to confront problems. There's never been a great leader that would have done that.

So that's where it is. I'm doing well. I want to thank everybody. Our First Lady is doing very well. Melania asked me to say something as to the respect that she has for our country, the love that she has for our country, and we're both doing well. Melania is really handling it very nicely.

As you've probably read, she's slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit, and therefore, just we know the disease. We know the situation with age versus younger people, and Melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled, and that makes me very happy, and it makes the country very happy. But I'm also doing well, and I think we're going to have a very good result.

Again, over the next few days, we're going to probably know for sure. So I just want to thank everybody out there, everybody, all over the world, specifically the United States. The outpouring of love has been incredible.

I will never forget. Thank you very much. So again, we're not here to parse every word. We're not here to analyze the President's sicker than he was saying. Interestingly, we were playing a video clip, but for much of it, I didn't see it on my screen, which meant maybe the same with those watching, which meant that I was just listening to his voice. So just hearing the voice without seeing the face, you can hear the voice is not totally normal. Obviously, the face is not totally normal.

It's that lack of makeup. Who knows? We're praying for his recovery, praying for the safety of former Vice President Biden, praying for God's best for everyone involved, as all decent human beings should do. But regardless of the exact nature, everything going on, the medical treatments, what we're being told, and on and on, all the questions that others are discussing, I want to step back and bring some kingdom reflections.

In other words, as God's children who worship at the throne of our Heavenly Father, who is the creator and sustainer of all, I want us to step back and offer some useful reflections. I think you're going to find this super helpful to go to your calls as well. Stay right here. Fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks, friends, for joining us on The Line of Fire.

You get to express your views. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884 is the number to call. And everyone listening, watching, if you don't get my emails, that means you probably haven't visited our website either. Go to AskDrBrown.org. Check things out. We have literally thousands of hours of free resources there, radio shows, videos, debates, articles, all kinds of resources by the thousand waiting for you there. So check it out, AskDrBrown.org, our bookstore with my 40-plus books and other materials you can order, whole classes you can take. And make sure you sign up for the email. So you'll see a little box for that. Click to be sure that you get our emails, and we'll send you a really neat free mini book, an e-book, Seven Secrets of the Real Messiah.

Okay, before I get some calls and then share some of my reflections with you, on Twitter, John Gabriel posted this. It kind of sums up the reaction to Trump getting COVID-19. Trump doesn't wear a mask.

Put on a mask. Trump wears mask, lol, a mask. Trump gets COVID.

Faking it. Trump's COVID is mild. He's dying. Trump has strong therapies.

Too strong. Trump in hospital, lol, he called the lid. Trump waves to supporters. He's killing everyone. There is a lot of hysteria on all sides relating to the president's sickness. But I just penned some simple reflections you can read these at stream.org.

And I wrote this. First reflection is that life is fragile. Let's just remember that. So reflections on the president contracting COVID-19. First thought, life is fragile.

I mean, you think of Trump in his 74, he's obese, clinically obese, maybe some health issues, but otherwise seems robust, full of energy, goes on with his rallies and several in a day speaks. This is indomitable. Life is fragile. That's the first thing to remember.

Nobody's invincible. So life should be cherished, appreciated, and protected. Second, COVID-19 is serious. It does really spread.

It kills a lot of people. I wrote on March 2, my first article on the virus. I said it's not an end time plague from the book of Revelation, but I recognize the seriousness of this virus. And I went on to say that pandemics and epidemics are tragic reminders of the broken state of our world and of the frailty of our race. And while doing all we can to prevent and combat the spread of COVID-19, we should pray for the mercy of God.

And then also said we shouldn't let the virus paralyze us, but we shouldn't ignore it. And then number three, there are cruel people on both the left and the right. There are people literally now, celebrities and others, literally praying for Trump's death, literally praying for it, praying for the virus to succeed, literally, and posting it, tweeting it, putting out videos, literally doing this. Well-known people. And there were people, when I just posted condolences to the Ginsburg family after her passing, you know, what, you're going to do that for Hitler now? So you got cruel people on both the left and the right. Conversely, there are decent people on both the left and the right. That's the reality, friends.

That's the reality. So, yeah, the debate was fierce, and Joe Biden had a lot of insults for Donald Trump. But in fact, he immediately issues a statement.

He and his wife, Jill, are praying for the full recovery of Donald and Melania Trump. And he says his campaign will suspend attack ads, you know, during this time. Yeah, that's a classy thing. Of course, that's what you do. And the same way Tucker Carlson, who's known for his sharp tongue, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away, that night is basically, you know, a commemoratory time about the positive contributions. So there's decency on the left and the right, and there's cruelty on the left and the right. Another thing, number five, the president is just a regular human being.

That's all. You know, he becomes larger than life, the Trump brand. But he's a regular guy with fears and emotions and concerns, like everyone else, and he needs our prayers. Number six, the office of the president has massive consequence. You just think, if it's not Donald Trump, what if Mike Pence is in those shoes? What if Nancy Pelosi's in those shoes? What if Joe Biden's in those shoes? What if Kamala Harris is in those shoes?

Boom, he's just, whoa, whoa, that was a big shoes to fill. So always take that in mind when casting your vote. Number seven, the left would rage against Mike Pence as president. I would say that the left would hate Donald Trump more severely, but would be more hysterical about Mike Pence, because Mike Pence is anything but Donald Trump in terms of his personality. But he would be, there would be all the more concern, because he's going to try to set up a theocracy, he's one of these Bible bashing people.

So you just watch. The more Mike Pence is a subject, the more the vitriol comes towards him. Number eight, no one knows what will happen on November 3rd. I'm believing we'll have normal elections on the table. We still don't know. We don't know for sure who, what candidates will be living by that day.

None of us, any of us will be here, but you understand what I'm saying. And then we don't know if there'll be clarity, if there'll be clarity in the outcome. Number nine, the virus might change President Trump. Maybe he'll be gentler because of this, or more humble, or kinder, right?

These things do have an effect on us. Number 10, God is not sitting idly by, hoping and wishing. He has a plan, and he's working out in the midst of the chaos and confusion.

So I tweeted this October 2nd. Of this, I'm sure, in the midst of the political chaos, the virus, the shutdown, the protests, the rise of the SCOTUS seat, and now the president's positive COVID test, God has a plan, making our prayers simple. Your name be hallowed, Father. Your name be hallowed, Father. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.

Can we agree on all of us praying in that way? All right, let us go to the phones, and we'll start in Calgary, Canada. Jacob, welcome to the line of fire. How you doing? Yes. Hi, I'm doing good, Dr. Brown. Shalom.

Shalom. I just wanted to ask, have you heard of the prophecies of a humble pastor in Kentucky named Dana Coverstone? Sure, yeah, those have gone totally viral.

That's how we all heard of him in the last few months. Yeah, so for those who haven't, he had shared with others in his church and his leadership that he had visions, dreams of the plague coming, the pandemic and different things like that, and then he had seen increased persecution against believers in the country and felt especially circled the months of September and November as calamitous months in the nation. Yeah, so folks, those went viral, and folks have been asking me about my impression, so would you like me to give my thoughts on them? Absolutely. Yeah.

Well, I can let you know one thing. I believe he is genuine about those dreams and visions. In fact, when I saw the YouTube video regarding this on July for the month of September, guess what happened in September?

There were historic fires in 10 Western American states. We even saw the smoke up 1,000 miles away here in Calgary, and of course, Pensacola was pretty well wrecked by that hurricane, so it seems his September vision was right on the dome. Right. So, Jacob, here are my thoughts. I don't know, Pastor Dana, personally, but yes, everything had the mark of genuineness to me, including the unprofessional way that the video was taken, you know, not even holding the phone the right way for all of that. In other words, the last thing in his mind was that I'm about to record something that millions of people are going to watch, you know?

He just felt to get it out. So, the genuineness, without knowing him at all or knowing anyone who knows him directly, I don't question the genuineness. Number two, I don't question that God revealed in advance what was happening to some of his people. I question the idea that you can just go to prophets and say, what's God showing you about the future? I think we make a mistake when we do that, and that's happened with prophets saying, you know, COVID would diminish by mid-April and say, well, that didn't happen.

They were wrong. But I think part of the wrongness was when you go to people and say, okay, what's the Lord showing you? Let him speak.

Let him determine what should be revealed and whatnot. But the fact that Pastor Coverstone's, if we get the last incorrect there, his prophecies, the dreams went out so widely, that's one of the things that gets my attention, is, you know, why did this suddenly catch fire? And what about what's coming? Now, my attitude, though, after watching them, was no different than before, because this is how I've lived for years and years and years. In other words, with an intense sense of readiness, with a sense that everything around us is being shaken, with a sense that only God's kingdom is secure.

So, it doesn't affect the way I live at all. In other words, hearing this, you know, be ready, get ready, it's like, yes, that's how I seek to live, always. So, in short, circling these months and then November, right, I mean, October is left out. Now we have the president sick.

I mean, that ups the ante of everything as well. But the coming elections in November, that would seem to be very logical, that there could be chaos, uncertainty, and regardless of who wins, the other side being very, very, very upset over it. So, I think, yes, sir, we need to be very sober at this moment, not fearful, not panicking, but very, very sober. We need to be in solid relationship with God so our own lives are secure.

How are we going to help others if we are not secure ourselves? And then we need to seize this moment for outreach while praying for God's mercy and God's will in our nation. We need to seize this moment for outreach because at times of uncertainty and chaos is when people are much more open to hear eternal truth. So, everyone listening, watching, if you do not know that you know that you're in right relationship with God, then reach out to us through our website, askdrbrown.org. Reach out or just ask a friend of yours that you know really has a solid relationship with God through Jesus. Say, I want to sort this out.

I want to know for sure about my life and my fate here and in the world to come. Let's reap the harvest now, right? Back with your calls and an analogy I think that's going to help many of you understand why so many evangelicals still support Donald Trump.

We'll be right back. Two different news websites and they tell you opposite things. You know, read the coverage on a conservative website about the president's health is he's bad than COVID-19 and it's upbeat positive, doing well, could be discharged, responding well to medications. Then you go to a liberal website, left wing website, he's dying and this being mishandled. It's really wild, really wild.

866-348-7884. Has the president coming down with COVID-19 changed your view about how dangerous this is, what our own approach should be, how we should be responding? I posted a Twitter poll and asking the question of wearing a mask and how you feel about it and let's see here. Here we go. So this was posted right now as I'm speaking to you, October 5th, 3.34 p.m. Eastern Time.

The poll is about three something hours old, a thousand votes already on our Twitter feed. This is a completely anonymous poll. So please answer candidly, do you believe that wearing a mask helps to protect either you or others from COVID-19? So does it help?

Not guaranteed, but does it help protect either you or others from COVID-19? 31.9% answered absolutely. 30.6% said not sure. 37.4% said not at all. I would have answered not sure because I'm honestly not sure what works and what doesn't work and what's better for you or for others.

I wear the mask because of legal requirements and I wear the mask out of love for my neighbor. But do I know? I don't know. But interestingly, here maybe reflecting certain conservative Christian views, they don't take it that seriously.

They don't think it works. So is this negligence? Is this foolishness?

Is this being cavalier? Or is this that we just don't trust what the government says, what the media says, all the changing views? Fair questions.

Are Americans just like independents? We're going to do what we want to do. We don't want to be inconvenienced.

Where's the love in that? These are questions before us. Now they're coming with great intensity and rapidity because of the president and now White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, and on and on, different ones close. And then senators, then I have a Republican senators. This is going to affect the vote for Amy Coney Barrett. Think of that. Think of that. That if certain senators couldn't be there for the House Judiciary Committee to make sure they have a quorum to get the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett all through to the Senate to vote because you know either side is going to do what they can, one to push it through the other to stop it. Wouldn't it be wild if they couldn't because of the virus? They got the virus because they were at the meeting announcing her nomination. Yeah. It's good to know that God is God and that we don't have to figure all this out and that we can worship him and then be practical and be wise. 866-34-TRUTH. One caller said that presidents coming down with virus is not affected wearing a mask or not.

Views remain the same. Let's go to Raleigh, North Carolina. Mo, welcome to the line of fire. Hello, Dr. Brown. How are you? Doing well. Thank you. Good, good. It hasn't changed my opinion. I don't know.

I'm not a scientist, but I wear it because the scientists say you should, and it's a good thing to do for your neighbors, protect your neighbors. Now, as far as the president himself, as soon as we heard our prayer group, we're in the prayer for the president. I'm not a supporter of the president, I'll be very honest.

Yeah. We pray for, if he doesn't know Christ, we pray for his salvation, and that he might turn around and have a Paulinian experience and influence not only Putin but a lot of people in the world. Amen.

And we also pray for his healing. Now, to the extent that I have a vote, I would never give it to the man. Let me just give you a little background real quickly. I am a believer, and I am a conservative believer.

I'm starting my ninth decade on this planet, and I've had a lot of experience. I've been in the military background, corporate, as well as church. And the leadership I've seen from him is just not compatible. The military, I was under some great generals who demonstrated what leadership is.

Most of us are compatible with what the Bible teaches about leadership. So I couldn't give it to him. I stopped my grandchild.

I don't want them to listen to him because I don't know when he's going to come out of a swear word and all of that. So now I do believe in a lot of things he's done, some things he's done. However, what we're at right now, I believe the whole, I know God's in control, but he does. People can have impact on what goes on.

I believe that our republic is in trouble. I don't want to see four more years of what he's doing and what he's done. So if he doesn't come around like that, I don't think we can survive. I know God is in control, but as I said, and I think that the way he handled the pandemic, we know now that he knew it was really bad, but he said some other things to us, things that don't even make any kind of sense. And that this will go away.

It's only, it's going to be like magic. And yet he was saying this thing is a killer. So you feel that, yeah, so while trying to be upbeat and not allow fear to sweep the nation, that his statements were irresponsible. That would be your view, right? I think he's irresponsible. I think you got to tell the people what's going on. And that influences people to do or not, or wear or not wear the mask.

And they're saying, some scientists could have saved thousands. If he had been timely, told us what was going on, that we could choose as to whether we wanted to do it. But his leadership means a lot. So the leadership principle he violates just about all the time in contradicting information. One day he's for the mask, the next day he's not. I just can't trust him. He doesn't tell the truth.

How can, you know, no organization can survive on lies and disorientation. I don't know who the man is, where he stands. So from a... Well, let me just ask this.

And with first, with all respect for your Christian heart, you know, praying for him if he doesn't know the Lord to really encounter him and praying for his healing, that's the way we should respond. Amen to that. And I hear the concern in your voice. And of course, I respect you. I'm 65, but you're my elder.

By the way, I'm assuming Mo is big Mo. You still play bass guitar? No, no, no, that's not me. Not you? Okay. All right. That's another somebody. That's another somebody. I was trying to try to piece a few things together here.

I love to though, because I'm a bass singer and I love to play it, but I can't. Okay. I hear the voice.

All right. Doesn't mean anything to you, sir, that in many important ways, like appointing justices to the courts, fighting for religious liberties, moving the embassy, that the president has kept his word there and displayed real fortitude and done what he promised to do. I agree that other things he says are playing with the truth or just lying or being out of touch with reality.

And yet in other ways, the reasons I voted for him, he's kept his word on all those. I find it to be very important. Does that mean anything to you? Very important.

However, it's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I'm to the point now where I don't see this republic surviving under him. So, I mean, if you're on the Titanic and you're concerned about your watch, you've lost it on the desk someplace and the ship is going down. Come on, get with it. You're going to lose the ship. Get off the ship.

Forget about the watch. Right. That's where we are now in my perspective.

Yeah. And sir, again, I appreciate your gracious spirit and the humble way that you put things forward and the honest way. And I know other committed followers of Jesus who feel exactly as you do. And then others that would be in my camp would say that the Titanic going down is the state of the nation that trumps weaknesses and flaws and mistakes, et cetera, are more like trying to find the watch.

That would be the debate. But my brother, thank you for calling in. That's why we have live talk radio.

And maybe one day we'll meet face to face when none of us have to wear masks. Hey, thank you again for the call. God bless.

866-34-TRUTH. In a moment, I'm going to share with you an illustration that I put in writing. I don't think I've ever used something quite like this before, really anything exactly like this before. So I'm going to share with you something that will help explain. And I know our brother Mo is aware of these things, but just to lay out why so many evangelicals still strongly support Donald Trump, especially after the debate, you think, what could have been less evangelical, less Christian than the way they behaved in the debate? You say, yeah, but if you look at the transcript or watch the video again, you'll see that once they went back and forth, there'd been no interruption before then. And then Joe Biden started interrupting Trump.

And then Chris Wallace started the first six interruptions with them interrupting him. And then it's like, you want to play like that? Fine. I understand that. But there's still, okay, you push back a little.

And then if others stop interrupting, then you just play it even. How could the support be so strong even after that? Well, I'm going to explain that.

I'm going to explain that. But I'm so glad that on this show that folks are listening and watching and happy to share different viewpoints and that ultimately we can unite around Jesus even if we differ about Trump. Because I preach Trump. If I preach Trump, I'm in trouble. I preach Christ crucified and resurrected, not Trump elected and reelected. If I preach Trump, I'm in big trouble. If I preach Jesus, I'm in harmony with God. But when it comes to vote, I'm voting a certain way.

And I respect my brother who feels he has to vote differently. Let us go to Howard in Greensboro, North Carolina. Thanks for calling the line of fire. Hello, Dr. Brown. Hey. I have a personal experience when it comes to masks.

I'm not necessarily a fan of them. Where I work is in higher education. And we have a mandate that everybody that comes to school as a student and instructors when we interact must wear a mask. We had a student who, unbeknownst to us at the time, was walking around the building with COVID positively tested. And at the end of the week, actually went to the doctor and got tested and proved positive.

But even though he had been walking around our facility for a week, nobody else came down positive. And we mandate masks in the building when we're interacting. So I don't know. I mean, I've watched all the videos of what happens with masks and don't know that it's necessarily quantifiable like that.

But I guess they do something. I can't think of any other reason why this young man walking around our building, interacting with everybody within it, and nobody else came down sick when he did test positive for the COVID after being in our building a week. Thanks, Howard, for sharing that. I mean, that's a powerful anecdote. I wonder, are there studies out there analyzing the millions that contracted this? How many were wearing masks and following God lines and how many were not? I'm curious to hear that.

Again, I do where it's mandated by law and out of respect for my neighbor there, but I'm still not sure of the science. We'll be right back. It's The Line of Fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Get into The Line of Fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Remember to visit our website and askdrbrown.org, askdrbrown.org. Sign up for our emails, get all kinds of special announcements and resources sent your way. You get a free mini ebook when you sign up. And then let us know how you heard about the website. They'll have some choices there when you fill that out.

So do that. We want to send some free stuff your way to be a blessing to you. 866-34-TRUTH. A couple of headlines over the weekend. Wall Street Journal. Biden scores 14-point lead over Trump in poll after debate.

Whoa, that's big. 14 points. And someone would say, yeah, Hillary had a one-pole 14-point lead on October 10th.

Okay. How about this headline from the UK Express. US election poll.

Trump beating Biden despite being hospitalized with COVID. So who do you believe? You say, but those are polls. Yeah, well, it depends on what questions are asked and the sampling. And is it likely voters and are Trump supporters expressing their views or not?

Or what who's being oversampled, undersampled? Honestly, I don't know what to make of these, but I know that God is certain. God is sure. God is true. And I pray that his will would be done.

And I do everything I know how to do to walk in obedience to him and then leave the other results to him. So before I go back to your calls, I was having a discussion with Nancy and we were talking about Mike Pence, transfer of power and things like that. What if that happened if the president was really sick and had to be a transfer of power, of course, praying immediately for his full recovery naturally and for the safety and health of candidate Joe Biden and his wife and family as well. So the question comes up about Mike Pence. Would he be strong enough? Would he be tough enough? You know that his demeanor is gracious and he's never been a nasty guy. And you know, you can imagine during a debate, he conducts himself in a certain gentlemanly way with decorum. But is he tough enough? And he's like, well, that's why people voted for Trump.

You know, he's a fighter. And OK, so let me give you a picture for those who who wonder how can evangelicals support Trump still? Now, they're saying, what? Where is there a question?

Who even questions obvious? But many don't see it, especially because we are the values voters, the ones who say character, personality matters. And if you don't have my book yet, Evangelicals at the Crossroads, get it, friends. Get it, your friends, because we really open up these issues and lay out the pros and cons. So whatever side of the argument you're on, you'll find your side represented fairly. And then we come to what we believe are godly conclusions in terms of how we should live and what our priorities should be. But let me give you an analogy. All right. You live in the suburbs.

You and your spouse committed believers, followers of Jesus with four kids. Your next door neighbor is a good neighbor, but a bad role model. He became famous as a bar fighter. He was the toughest guy in the bars, cracked open many a skull, but then decided to make a living out of it, got trained, became a mixed martial artist, a cage fighter, and makes a good living, lives out in the suburbs now. He's a good neighbor, bad role model. He's very profane. He still drinks.

He's got multiple girlfriends. But otherwise, you know, decent neighbor. Your kids come home from school one day, they're all shaken. Some older teens came up to them on the way home and started yelling and screaming at them and threatening them, even spat at them. And they said, we hate Christians. We know your whole family, Chris. We hate you.

We hate you. And our dad, they call him crazy Sam for a reason. Wait till you see what our dad's going to do to your mom and dad. So they come home. They're all shaken.

Before you can really process, figure out what to do is a knock on your door. And it's this furious looking guy with murder. And it's a crazy Sam.

It's the dad. And he's got a couple of guys with him. And you see they've got tire irons and knives in their hands and they're ready to strike. I mean, before you even call 9-11, before you know it, your neighbor comes out of nowhere, pounces on them. And while getting stabbed and struck with the tire iron, he beats them down, subdues them until the cops come and says, if you ever touch these people again, if you ever threaten them or their kids again, you will have to pay for it. You don't dare come back here.

Well, can I ask you a question? Would your view of your neighbor change a little? You still might not like violent sports or violent video games or violent movies. You still might think there's a better career to have than mixed martial artists. But suddenly you call this guy fought for us. And this guy took a beating for us. I owe him something. And if someone's daddy's mixed martial arts, you say, don't you say that about them.

This guy saved my life. Now, it's not just the perception of Trump supporters that he fights because fighting in itself is negative. Fighting itself, contentious, divisive, people get hurt. But the perception of many Americans is he fights for us. Now, the way the media has painted that is you're all white racists wanting Trump to keep America white.

I'm sure there's a minority of white racists, just like a minority of black racists. But no, that's not what most are feeling. They feel the country's getting out of control, going in a wrong and dangerous direction.

It doesn't do with color, has to do with direction, and that Trump fights for things important to him. Christian conservatives feel it even more. He's in the trenches fighting for our religious liberties. He's pushing back against a media that hates us.

He's standing up to, you know, forces of evil. And he's taken a hit because he's keeping his word to appoint pro-life justices. And is there anything more important than stopping the slaughter of the unborn? Just like in the days of slavery, that was the number one issue in America, and I would have been a one-cause voter if neither candidate stood against slavery. They wouldn't get my vote, all right?

Here, it comes down to life for me, life beginning in the womb. So, yeah, there are a lot of things about Trump I don't like, and I'll never defend. I'm not his apologist. I won't defend that. I won't proclaim him as savior. I won't look to him, you know, putting my hope in him, but I will vote for him.

And for those who say, how can evangelicals do it? That's the perception that he got in the trenches and fought for us when he could have just lived his life as a rich, famous man. Yeah, he, fine. I'm sure there are lots about him being Trump, the biggest man in the world.

Yeah, fine. I'm sure there's narcissism in there, too, as a human being, fleshly, sure. But in terms of his actions, he's fighting for things really important to us, really, really important to us.

That's why we vote. I have that in the article. If you haven't read it yet, it's on our website on the stream.

Once again, why so many evangelicals support Trump. All right, let's go to William in Wilmington, Delaware. Welcome to the line of fire. Hi, God bless you, Dr. Brown. God bless. I really appreciate you a lot. I thank God for you.

My question is this slash statement. Yeah. Because I have some siblings and some people, I don't want to argue with no one. I'm over that.

I'm 48 years old, and I just like to ask a lot of questions. And I just do not get, when I hear a Christian that has two options. One of them is someone that will kill millions of babies, and someone that is fighting for those babies that have to get killed. Yeah. Yes, there are other issues, of course, you know, character flaws and stuff like that on both sides, but when it comes down to you and me having this option to keep many, many babies alive and that blood not to run through our hands and one day give account to God, I guess my question is, why do Christians having that option, and to get all things considered, why do they don't see it? And I have to, I've come to the conclusion that it's got to be a spiritual thing. Something is a spiritual issue, isn't it? Well, I mean, ultimately, William, there are spiritual issues on all sides that can give us greater insight, or if we're on the wrong side of it, can blind us.

I would say this, William, it's that basic to me as well, all right? But at a certain point, we would draw a line. In other words, if Trump was fighting for the life of the unborn, but was getting high in the White House, getting drunk, having parties with scantily clad women coming in and out and saying, hey, this is what I want for America, you'd say, okay, I can't vote for the man. So those I know, or a brother like Mo that called in, sincere Christians that can't vote for him feel that who he is at the helm of our nation does more harm than good.

In other words, you look at the good with pro-life, you look at the good with religious liberties, you look at the good with moving the embassy to Jerusalem, you look at the good with helping the economy, you look at the good with pushing back against international terror and Islamic extremism, all of that, and they'd say, yeah, but the destruction he's brought by his character and lies and divisiveness is worse. I don't agree with that. I don't agree with that at all.

I believe that the scales tip the other way. But that would be the issue because we've all been saying character is important, integrity is important. And by the way, Felix, William, thank you for your call. I don't have time to get to your call, Felix, but you feel that Trump did not lie to the nation regarding COVID.

And that's the question. In other words, did he take action, shutting down travel to China when he was criticized for doing that, going along with the national shutdown, and then issuing guidelines to follow? And then remember, Dr. Fauci himself has gone back and forth on the mask and ambiguity there. So he tried to speak in an upbeat way and encourage folks. He didn't want fear to reign, but he did take appropriate action. Others would say his words are responsible. The debate continues, but let us pray God's best for the president, for the nation, for the church, and each of us, here I am. Lord, use me to make a difference.