Jesus, Trump, & DeSantis

The following program is recorded content created by TheSteveNobleShow.com. And now, here's your host, Steve Noble. Welcome back.

Hope you're doing well. Thanks for being here, as always. And just a little note, in the second half of the show, I am not ignorant of what's going on out there. We talk about breaking news and the news of the day on a regular basis. And then we push away from that table, because I don't know about you, but I know for a fact for myself, that I can definitely be gluttonous when it comes to the news of the day and politics.

And so I purposely push away from the table here in my personal life, as well as on the show. And so that's why yesterday we talked to, we were talking to Joy Forrest and Lauren Rose from Called to Peace Ministries about domestic abuse, which is an incredibly important topic. Tomorrow at Theology Thursday, we're actually going to be talking about ministering to widows, which is one of the signs of somebody that's actually a Christian. It's going to be a fascinating conversation on Theology Thursday tomorrow. And then today in the second half of the show, we're going to get to now King Kong versus Godzilla is becoming much more official as each day goes by. That's Donald Trump versus Ron DeSantis.

So DeSantis just did a long form interview over at Fox News with Piers Morgan. And so I want to get into all of that very interesting topic that's going to be around for the next year. But I want to elevate above really all of those things right now and focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not in the American context, but in the African context and in great opportunities that we have occasionally with our friends here on the Truth Radio Network and specifically Transworld Radio to be a part of what God is doing. God is, by the way, doing things more than just in the United States of America. So most of the body of Christ is outside of our nation. It's helpful to remember that. And so we should be paying attention to what God is doing elsewhere.

And then where we have an opportunity to sew into that and be a part of getting the gospel to people. So we're excited to have Andy back on from Transworld Radio. Andy, thanks for being on today, my friend. How you doing?

I am doing great. Excited to be here. It's great to have you on.

Always love talking to you guys. And I do not want to assume for one second, Andy, that everybody that's part of our conversation right now knows about Transworld Radio. It's one of the most wide reaching Christian ministries on the planet. But let's just do a little Transworld Radio 101 and then we'll focus in on the Africa Needs Jesus campaign where we're shooting to get 200 radios provided. They're about 50 bucks each to get the gospel to people in Africa.

So we're going to talk about that. Africa Needs Jesus. But tell us a little bit about Transworld Radio in general, Andy. When we talk about Transworld Radio, now we just go by TWR. We certainly still do tons of radio work around the world. But TWR basically is we will use media wherever, however we can to share the gospel with people around the world. I'm talking about over 300 languages reaching people in at least 190 countries. And when you look at basically the footprint of TWR around the world, over 4 billion people can access TWR content in their language and learn about Jesus. Yeah. And then tell us a little bit about the content and then we'll dive a little bit deeper into Africa Needs Jesus, the campaign.

Can you say that one more time for me, Steve? The content. Tell us a little bit about the actual content that's going out in 300 languages. I want people to really understand what people have access to in terms of the content that you're putting out there. Much like what you hear as a listener to Truth Network, we're talking about Bible teaching programs in some locations.

We are talking about music. Like in Africa, there's a very popular program called Worship Connection, or now we've changed the name to 100% Worship. But basically we're talking about Christian radio programming, solid Bible teaching, some of these from programs and Bible teachers you would be familiar with. Programs like Turning Point with David Jeremiah, or we work with Grace to You, Insight for Living, In Touch.

Many programs you're familiar with. We partner with them. We take their content. It is not just translated, but it is contextualized. And what I mean by that, American illustrations are taken out.

Illustrations that fit that particular people group are used. And we're talking about someone from that people group that speaks that language with the proper accent is able to communicate to their people the gospel message very clearly. Yeah, that's so amazing and so important to contextualize that. That's one of our challenges here in America. We have such a limited perspective, and that's so important. We don't even think about that, that we're using American-based examples, even when you got good gospel preaching going on. But that's so amazing that God has enabled you guys to be able to do that into these 300 different languages. So important, which also kind of takes us into set this up just a little bit.

We got about a minute and a half before the break, Andy. But, you know, in America, you think about, wow, somebody needs access to a wind-up radio. I mean, that sounds so far-fetched to us because we're so far beyond that technologically. But help us understand the status of a lot of people in Africa that simply don't have access to regular technology like we do. Well, when we think about radio, we get in our car and it has a radio. But if you're talking about many parts of Africa, I mean, few people are driving cars in certain parts of Africa.

They're using a bicycle or they're walking. Many parts of Africa don't have electricity. In other places, the people are so poor that they either can't afford the electricity, or if they had a radio with batteries, they can't afford the battery. So that's why we've come up with this idea of let's use a wind-up radio.

You wind it up, it charges it up, and then they're able to listen for an hour or two to TWR. And we only give these to the people that cannot afford to buy a radio on their own. The people are identified in advance and we can talk about that. But really what we're saying is these are hand-selected people to receive a radio that you can give them today with your gift. Yeah, which is really such an amazing opportunity. It's so mind-boggling to think about that, because it's so outside our context, like I mentioned. And so when you go to AfricaNeedsJesus.com, this is the goal.

This is what we're talking about. These little handheld wind-up radios, literally wind it up and you can listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ and solid teaching for an hour. Just $50 apiece and with our friends at Truth Radio trying to send 200 radios over there. Imagine you have the opportunity to impact 200 people directly in your own neighborhood, in your workplace, at your school, at your kid's school, whatever the case may be. Would you do it? Well, I think the obvious answer for all of us would be yes, Steve, of course. But will we do it for our brothers and sisters, our neighbors in Africa? What a great opportunity. Andy, I'm going to put you on hold.

We're going to keep talking about this and how these are being used. How do you select these people? Where in Africa? AfricaNeedsJesus.com. Let's try to get 200 radios over there at $50 apiece. AfricaNeedsJesus.com is the website I want you to check out and go there and be a part of what God is doing over there. AfricaNeedsJesus.com. You can also call them.

So if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, which is great. The last time we did a campaign with TWR, I picked up the phone myself. It was nice to be able to talk to somebody instead of just doing something online. So if you want to do that, the phone number is 888-988-5656, 888-988-5656, or just go to AfricaNeedsJesus.com.

Each radio costs $50, so maybe you're a one radio person, a two radio person, a 10 radio person, whatever the case may be. But with our friends at Truth Radio Network, we're trying to send at least 200 radios over there. And not just to share the gospel, but good, solid biblical teaching.

It's super important, obviously, and Andy Napier is with us today from TWR. And Andy, thanks again for your time and helping us get caught up and understand what the Lord is doing here. And obviously, sharing the gospel is at the top of the list.

We want to do that. But I don't think we can underestimate the follow up to that, which is just good, solid biblical teaching that's really a required one-two punch. I think oftentimes we think gospel. We don't often remember to think discipleship.

That's exactly right. And let me give you a perfect example of not just evangelism, but discipleship. There's a gentleman whose name is Peter. Peter is in Malawi. We met Peter. Peter came to Christ by listening to TWR.

Peter kept listening. He was discipled. Peter then, certainly in attending his church, got more involved. Peter is now an elder in his church. And not only that, Peter then worked alongside TWR in going to these communities, working with pastors and helping identify people in his neighborhood, in his community that can't afford a radio. So we work now with Peter.

We work with these local pastors and getting more radios out in the hands of other people. So when we think about in Peter's case, he came to Christ. But if he's discipled, now look at the impact he's having.

It's that exponential effect. So, I mean, that's that's what we call TWR, lasting fruit, not just someone who comes to Christ, but someone who grows and bears fruit. Yeah, because I think we can all turn around, Andy, and look at that in our own lives. And we all should be asking the question, what kind of fruit am I bearing for the kingdom? And the more you learn, the more you mature, the more that naturally flows out of your walk with Christ. And so, again, gospel absolutely number one, they got it. They have to come to know the Lord.

They have to be redeemed first. But after that, that multiplicity effect, lasting fruit, as you said, is so important. And that only comes by study and by growing.

And then as you do and you become a more mature believer, like in Peter's case, he gets involved in his church and he's helping identify other people. I did want to ask you about that real quick. And we're talking to Andy Napier from TWR. AfricaNeedsJesus.com trying to get 200 radios over there through our partnership with Truth Radio.

They're just $50 apiece. So you might be a one radio person, a three radio person, a 10 radio person, whatever the case may be. I'll leave that between you and the Lord. I'll also remind all of us that as followers of Christ, apathy is never an option for us. So when we become knowledgeable about these things and an opportunity is presented in front of you, oftentimes you can just assume that's God inviting you to be a part of something he's already doing. So AfricaNeedsJesus.com. You mentioned a couple of times now, Andy, about identifying people that can't afford a radio. I would imagine that that takes a lot of work, just boots on the ground, getting to know the people in the community. Well, again, we work with local pastors at local churches. They identify people that don't have a radio, that could never afford a radio.

And also think about this. What a great tool for a pastor who wants to reach a particular person in his neighborhood. Maybe he's had some conversations with that person. But is that pastor able to go inside that person's home every evening and talk with them about the Lord? Invite them to your church. You give them a radio. They wind it up each night and they're listening to solid Bible teaching. I mean, that is how you can have a tremendous effective outreach.

And by the way, let me say this. When we give these radios out, we don't just stand on a street corner and say, here, let's open a box. Who wants a radio? When they come to one of these events, they've already been invited. They have to sign a contract that says, I promise I will never sell this radio.

I promise I will take care of it. They even promise that if they ever notice that the signal is weak or disappears, that they will contact PWR and let them know. The best way I know to put it, these people really do become ambassadors.

I mean, they become friends of PWR. This is a big deal when they're invited to an event and given a radio, not just because they get a cool appliance for their home. But we're talking about the word of God coming through that windup radio day in and day out.

And it will change lives. Now, you can be part of that right now when you call in with a $50 gift for one radio, a $100 gift for two radios. Maybe, as Steve has mentioned, you're a 10 radio person, a $500 gift. Call 888-988-5656. That's 888-988-5656. Or you could even go to truthnetwork.com and on the left side of the screen, you'll see a rotating banner on the left.

And it says TWR, Africa Needs Jesus. Click there and you can give there as well. Yeah, it's so it's so easy to get involved.

And there's people listening that even using the Truth Radio app, that that's kind of a normal landing place for them as the Truth Network website or AfricaNeedsJesus.com. It's easy enough to remember or the old fashioned way, as we like to say, picking up the phone. 888-988-5656 is the number.

888-988-5656. We've got about a minute and a half left, Peter. Andy, I wanted to ask you, do you have another example of somebody like Peter? I love those stories. I sure do.

Let me give you two very quick ones. We have a brand new station in Cote d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast in Africa. Believe it or not, we applied for the license for this station in 1996.

Twenty five years later, we're finally granted a license. The station is on the air. We're distributing radios now. It's an FM station in the city of Yamasubra. It's the third largest city in Ivory Coast. Six hundred thousand people.

We're not only broadcasting, but again, identifying people that can't afford a radio and placing radios in their hands. Let me go to another country. Mozambique.

Listen to this one. This testimony out of Mozambique. If God can speak through a burning bush, can God speak through a little box? Well, if you consider that that box is a radio, then God spoke to me. I am a forty seven year old Christian man and a leader of a Baptist church in my city in central Mozambique. And I am writing to let you know that I became a Christian through TWR.

Here's a man through that little box. God spoke to him through radio. He is now a pastor.

Think about how many people he is impacting. And again, it started with one radio. Yeah, so cool because that's just like a mustard seed. And the next thing you know, with a little fifty dollar wind up radio, you have a pastor and the pastor is going to flock and the flock's out there growing in faith.

And the multiplying just continues to go on from there, which is so cool. And we can all be a part of that again. Andy, how can we get involved?

How do we take care of these radios at fifty dollars apiece? It's easy. You can call triple eight nine eight eight fifty six fifty six triple eight nine eight eight five six five six. You can also give online at Truth Network dot com and look for the banner that says Africa Needs Jesus. But again, that phone number eight eight eight nine eight eight fifty six fifty six. And not only do. Welcome back at Steve Noble, the Steve Noble Show.

Great to be with you. So Godzilla versus King Kong. That's kind of what is developing now in the Republican primary as Ron DeSantis is starting to come out of his Florida based gig as the governor down there and starting to engage a little bit on the national level. On Monday, I think it was Monday, he did a pretty long interview with Piers Morgan.

The only way you can see that at this point is if you're a Fox Nation subscriber, of which I am not. And so but Piers Morgan wrote a pretty detailed article, I've got it in front of me, about a lot of the contents of this. And so Trump's been taking his swings here and there at DeSantis and Ron to sanctimonious and stuff like that. And so that's out there. And so this is this is going to start this is going to start ramping up. Here's something that Trump said just recently on Truth Social.

This was I think it's either earlier today, maybe yesterday. While I am fighting against radical left lunatics, persecutors and unfair prosecutors who want to destroy us all. Ron de sanctimonious is not working for the people of Florida as he should be. He is too busy chatting with a readings challenged TV host from England, desperately trying to rescue his failing campaign. But it's my fault.

But it's my fault. I got him there. Meaning Trump being Trump takes credit for Ron DeSantis being the governor.

Now, on that note, DJT, I'll agree with you. In 2016, Trump's endorsement definitely pushed Ron DeSantis over the edge. He barely won in 2016. In 2020. Just last year, Ron DeSantis in 2018, Ron DeSantis last year won the biggest Republican victory in Florida history as the governor by like 16 points.

He trounced his opposition. He's just incredibly popular in Florida and it's just rock and rolling down there. And that has nothing to do with Trump. So Trump can take some credit for Ron DeSantis becoming the governor four years ago, but he can't take any credit for him becoming the governor again recently. So, but Trump's coming out with that kind of stuff.

And Ron de sanctimonious and this, that and the other thing. So here's the Piers Morgan thing. And this is just sitting the table. This is setting the table. This is just starting. OK, we're we've got another at least year, 12 months till March of next year. The Republican National Convention is in June of next year.

So we've actually got 12, 13, 14 months of this King Kong versus Godzilla. You decide who is whom. And but but this is just starting. But this is going to give you a little flavor of what's going on. So this is the article that Piers Morgan wrote about his interview on Monday. Ron DeSantis, Governor Ron DeSantis finally taken the gloves off and launched a blistering attack on his former mentor, former President Donald Trump. I wouldn't call it blistering, nor would I call Trump his mentor. But that's Piers Morgan just trying to get people to pay attention.

Right. So it's wide ranging interview of Piers Morgan Uncensored, which I think is coming out on Fox Nation tomorrow. For months, DeSantis has said nothing as Trump has escalated his verbal attacks on him, branding his ex-protege Ron de sanctimonious and Meatball Ron.

Welcome back to fourth grade. On Monday, Trump went nuts after DeSantis took a shot at him over his anticipated indictment over alleged payoffs to ex alleged ex lover Stormy Daniels, saying, I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. That's what DeSantis said when he was asked to talk about this.

I think that was on Monday. The inferred morally censorious tone sparked a furious response from Trump, who raged on his truth social platform. Ron de sanctimonious will probably find out about false accusations and fake stories, all caps.

Sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser and better known when he's unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are underage, quote unquote, are possibly a man. He's alluding to some other garbage that came out before about DeSantis. I'm sure he will want to fight these misfits, just like I do. Trump's mood is likely to deteriorate further when he hears what DeSantis says about him in our lengthy interview at the governor's mansion in Tallahassee. And in a series of jabs at likely his biggest rival for the Republican nomination, DeSantis slammed Trump over his character failings, chaotic leadership style and for his handling of the COVID pandemic, especially in keeping controversial health chief, Dr. Anthony Fauci in his post, helping to run the White House Coronavirus Task Force. So remember, this is being written by Piers Morgan before the interview comes out tomorrow. So he's gonna he's gonna gin this up a bit to try to get attention for himself and his rating. Right. So always remember that you're always being sold.

I'm always being sold. You have to remember that when I asked DeSantis to cite specific differences between him and Trump, he said, well, I think there's a few things. The approach to COVID was different. I would have fired somebody like Fauci.

I think he got way too big for his britches and I think he did a lot of damage. DeSantis also slammed Trump's chaotic, self-obsessed, divisive management style. That's Piers Morgan's words, remember? I also just think just in terms of my approach to leadership.

Now, this is DeSantis. I get personnel in the government who have the agenda of the people and share our agenda. You bring your own agenda in, you're gone.

We're just not going to have that. So the way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama. Focus on the big picture and put points on the board.

And I think that's something that's very important. As for the rude nicknames, he mocked. Again, this is the interviewer, Piers Morgan, writing the article. DeSantis said, I don't know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I don't really know what it means, but I kind of like it. It's long. It's got a lot of vowels. We'll go with that. That's fine. I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner.

Because that's what we've been able to do in Florida is put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level. Until now, this is Piers Morgan writing, DeSantis has never engaged with any of Trump's regular attempts to provoke him. And he doesn't intend to make a habit of it. To me, it's just background noise, DeSantis said. It's not important for me to be fighting with people on social media. It's not accomplishing anything for the people I represent.

So we really just focus on knocking out victories day after day. And if I got involved in all the undertow, I would not be able to be an effective governor. So I don't think it's something that makes sense for me. Piers Morgan said, I reminded him of what Trump had tweeted before the 2018 election. Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard, who would make a great governor of Florida. He loves our country.

He's a true fighter. DeSantis, 44, chuckled. Quote, things have changed a little bit, I guess.

It is what it is. Then he spoke about their previous friendship. Again, this is Ron DeSantis. We had a good relationship when he was a congressman, meaning DeSantis. And I think one of the reasons he got to know me is because I saw the Russia collusion thing as a farce from the beginning.

Very few people said that. We had a handful of us in Congress that were fighting back against that. So I would go on TV and I would defend him when it wasn't popular and when it was kind of politically risky.

But I just thought it was the right thing to do. And then I thought that he had good ideas for the country. And then when I became governor his last two years as president, we worked very well together. He had a place in Florida and worked well with us to serve our state.

Remember that, by the way. That could come back to haunt Trump. Trump's permanent residence is now Mar-a-Lago.

It's not New York, okay? He's a Floridian. All of his kids are Floridians.

So if Florida weren't a well-run state, I don't think the Trump family would all call it home. But then came the big breakup. Quote, you made a fatal error in your relationship with Donald Trump, I suggested. This is Piers Morgan.

What's that? DeSantis says. You got too popular. DeSantis laughed loudly. Well, I would say if you look at some of the change from that, the major thing that's happened that's changed his tune was my reelection victory. That was DeSantis. It was mainly because while most of Trump's big endorsements did badly in the midterms, his previous pet student was by far the biggest Republican winner, talking about DeSantis. Landing a massive new majority by more than 1.5 million votes and a stunning validation of his leadership by Florida voters. Quote, if you're Trump desperately trying to get back to the White House, this was a nightmare. That was Piers Morgan saying that.

It was a nightmare. My view, though, is we should want the country to do well, DeSantis replied. I want other Republicans to do well, he went on to say.

I want them to eclipse me. We're setting a great standard in Florida. Have everyone up their game. Piers went on to say, you know, he met just two hours after he poked a disproving moral stick at Trump over his stormy Daniels legal scandal. When I asked if he meant to be as censorious as he sounded when talking about Trump allegedly paying off porn stars, he doubled down and replied, well, this is DeSantis. There's a lot of speculation about what the underlying conduct is.

That's purported to be it. And the reality is that's just outside my wheelhouse. I mean, that's just not something that I can speak to. The message was clear. This is Piers Morgan writing. I'm nothing like Trump when it comes to sleazy behavior. And when I followed up by asking if personal conduct in a leader matters, he contrasted Trump to past presidents with a higher moral code. At the end of the day, as a leader, he said, you really want to look to people like our founding fathers, like what type of character.

It's not saying that you don't ever make a mistake in your personal life, but I think that type of character, what type of character are you bringing? So somebody who really set the standard is George Washington because he was always willing to put the republic over his own personal interest. When we won the American Revolution, Washington surrendered his sword.

King George III said he's the greatest man in the world if he gives up power. I think the person is more about how you handle your public duties and the kind of character you bring to that endeavor. So this is Ron DeSantis, quote unquote, hitting back, which, you know, there's a lot of hyperbole here that Piers Morgan is employing. And I wouldn't call what I'm reading and what DeSantis says.

And again, if you're a Fox Nation subscriber, I think this is available tomorrow. DeSantis is much more self-controlled than Trump, and he's not going to play the Trump game in terms of really getting down in the gutter, so to speak. And all the slamming personally people, calling names, all that kind of stuff. He's going to try to stay above that, but he's going to have to hit back in one way or another. We'll pick it up there when we come back.

Welcome back. It's Steve Noble, The Steve Noble Show. Well, the Godzilla versus King Kong has not, I wouldn't say it's officially begun, but it's semi-officially begun. Ron DeSantis on Monday did a long-format interview with Fox Nation's Piers Morgan, who Trump ripped into that, right? And this is what most people don't know. They just go, oh, Piers Morgan, he's a Brit. What a jerk. He's uber liberal in other ways, but he's pretty conservative and level-headed in other ways, which is why he's on Fox Nation. And so Trump comes out and kind of blasts that. He's talking about Ron DeSantis. He's too busy chatting with a ratings-challenged TV host from England, desperately trying to rescue his failing campaign.

But it's my fault I put him there. Because in Donald Trump's world, everything's about Donald Trump. So Donald Trump slamming Piers Morgan is funny because Piers Morgan brought up the fact when he rebuked that Trump action and saying, well, that's kind of funny since I've interviewed Donald Trump 40 times.

OK, Donald, if he's such a two-bit hustler loser, why did you interview with him 40 times? So that's pretty funny. So we'll see.

This is just coming out of the ground. And it's going to be fascinating to watch. And again, with Trump versus DeSantis, who's got more experience in the presidential role? Clearly, that's Trump, because he has been the president. And for three out of his four years, he was a very successful president. I was thrilled with everything about his administration. Well, not everything, but just about everything.

Until Covid, then I thought they completely bumbled Covid. He lost control of it. His poor communication, his hyperbole was all ridiculous and not helpful. And then he just let Fauci and Burks et al run wild.

So and then Operation Warp Speed, that could come back to bite him. But there's no question that in terms of presidential qualifications, Donald Trump is more qualified than Ron DeSantis because Donald Trump's actually been the president. That being said, you go look at a microcosm, which isn't so micro, the state of Florida. And Ron DeSantis has had an amazing four years.

Florida is the new Texas. Donald Trump didn't accomplish that anywhere. He didn't accomplish it in the elections that he got involved in with all of his candidates. He didn't accomplish it as a nation. And, you know, 340 million people is one thing. Florida is another. I'm with you.

We're not it's not exactly apples to apples here. But Ron DeSantis, from that perspective, really turned Florida into the new Texas, because while he has a lot of the same policy initiatives and strengths that that Trump does, his style is very different. And he's more action, not nearly as much talk as Trump. So this is going to be fascinating to see how Ron DeSantis I mean, how would you play it? If you're consulting Ron DeSantis and he's going to come out, let's say, in the next 45 days and officially announce for the presidency, if he does that, what's your advice to him with respect to dealing with Donald Trump?

I mean, how do you fight? Is Donald Trump Godzilla or is he King Kong? I think he's more like King Kong.

King Kong seems a little less self-controlled than Godzilla. Either way, this is this is this is going to be wild and we're going to have the next 12 to 14 months to sit back and watch it. So I'm not throwing down anywhere this early. This is like the first official kind of official exchange. So it's a little early to be thinking this is going one way or the other. Now, what's interesting?

Now, here's my take. And a lot of people, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton were talking about this earlier today on their show, which was the replacement for Rush Limbaugh's show. Talking about, well, hey, you know, Trump is surging in the polls. You know, before DeSantis six months ago was ahead of Trump in polling nationally. Now Trump's ahead of him.

I think the one of the most recent polls, the Monmouth poll was like 43 percent to 23 percent. And then Nikki Haley was down there like three percent. Forty three plus twenty three is sixty six plus three is sixty nine plus Vivek Varshwami, whatever his last name is.

Really smart guy. Maybe maybe gets one percent. OK, so you have forty three plus twenty three. It's forty six plus another three is forty nine plus another one is fifty. Right. Or sixty.

So you don't. Is that right? No.

Seventy. Come on, Steve. Wake up. So you still got a big chunk of the Republican electorate that hasn't chosen anybody. So why the flip? Think about that.

Why the flip? Well, one of the interesting things that's happened with Donald Trump, if you go back to he was he was saber rattling in October and November because the election. December, January, even most of last month, he was quiet. Did you catch my point? When Donald Trump is quiet, that's better for him, because instead of judging him based on what he's saying now, you judge him based on what he did then.

And three out of his four years, I would say, were excellent from a presidential effectiveness perspective. Now that he's coming out and Trump is Trump, now you're going to see as these polling evolves over the next several months, even over the next 12 months, you're going to see the Trump fatigue factor kick in. So I was talking about this with my classes this week and U.S. history and civics, and I'll talk about it again tomorrow, showing them the difference between how the Democrat Party operates and how the Republican Party operates. So the Democrat Party, let's say it's Joe Biden and they're all going to be behind him. Some disgruntled people here and there, but publicly, they're going to be one voice. OK, so you got 100 percent of the Democrat machine is going to be behind Joe Biden. That's over here on the left. Over here on the right, with Donald Trump in the primary, he has to win the primary. You got the MAGA Republicans, the red hat wearing MAGA Republicans, his hardcore supporters. They're in the middle of a bunch of concentric circles. OK, are they as big as they were in 2020? Are they as big as they were in 2020?

Perhaps. But let's move out from there. Now you've got Trump supporters that aren't exactly MAGA hat wearing people. And then you go out from there and you got people that are, I don't really like Trump, but you know, there's some good stuff about his presidency. I liked a lot of his policies, but man, I don't know if I could do this again.

All right, now you get into Trump fatigue. So you're going to be splitting up the Republican vote. And that's going to hurt him. But he can still win. But can he win a general election?

So here's this article from townhall.com, because that's that's the ultimate question here. Is not can he win the primary? I think he can win the primary. But can he win a general election? Scott Morfield in townhall.com, as former President Donald Trump and his diehard supporters continue to jump the shark with baseless and unhinged attacks on the most popular elected Republican in decades, talking about the Santas.

The elephant continues to lay waste to the room, stomping and trumpeting and generally making a nuisance of itself to the extent that it's impossible to ignore. We can talk about records. We can talk about positions on issues. We can talk about who makes better hiring decisions. We could talk about a whole host of things that are all quite relevant to picking up the next president United States. But all of them are moot. If one thing is missing, that elephant of all elephants electability in a general election.

So remember, I tell my students often 30, 30, 40. Got to remember that 30 percent of registered voters across the country are Democrats, 30 percent Republicans, 40 percent now independent. So really what what happens is you fight over the 5 percent in the middle of the whole thing. OK, you can say what you want about Trump and you'd probably be right. Did he get robbed in 2020? Yes. Does he deserve a second term to make up for that?

Seems fair. Are Trump's policy positions, especially on trade, immigration and foreign policy, the best course for America? Absolutely. Can he do the job effectively? If he learns from his mistakes, especially on hiring decisions, there's no doubt. Was his record mostly good until March of 2020? Two thumbs up. If he's arrested this week on this bogus nonsense, would it be nothing more than a political witch hunt?

Obviously. As I've written and said many times before, if I could give Trump a second term with a wave of a magic wand, I would in a heartbeat. Even with his tendency to rile at the left to feral levels, his policies would result in a far better America than the policies of almost any Republican and certainly any Democrat. But sadly, since there is no such thing as a magic wand I can use to wave Trump into office, he and his supporters are stuck with having to do it the old fashioned way by actually winning the Electoral College in a national general election. And that's where it gets tricky, because despite smug assurances from the QAnon leftovers who formed the obnoxious hashtag always Trump contingent on Twitter, Trump isn't going to shock the world like he did in 2016. How do I know, especially when I was the one who wrote back in 2016, that a win was possible? Yes, it's an entirely different political landscape today, but it's also one in which Trump and his antics have managed to permanently alienate at least half of eligible voters in this country. Do you believe that? I'm asking you. I do. And it's just not voters in California and New York, but plenty of key swing states as well, states that will absolutely be necessary for Trump to win the Electoral College.

But don't take my word for it. Let's dive in, shall we? Use this presidential election interactive map and do your own math if you wish. It takes 270 votes to win. And Trump or any Republican starts off here with 125 to 209 disadvantaged, with the supposed in-play states being Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. So we would call those swing states. Of those in-play states, Trump or really any GOP candidate could reasonably expect to pick up Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Iowa. That's 109 votes added to the original 125 for 234.

He's still short. So where do you get the remaining 36? Again, this is just Electoral College math. This is what actually determines it, hopefully. On the other side, it's pretty safe to conclude the Democrats will add Minnesota, New Hampshire, the remaining portions of Maine, Nebraska, and yes, Michigan and Pennsylvania, to their total, bringing them up to 261. Michigan and Pennsylvania obviously won Trump in 2016, which was just amazing. But that's not going to happen again. So now what?

What's left? Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Yikes. Nevada's really a toss-up state of late, right? Trump or DeSantis must win Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Winning two out of the three might be an impressive feat, but it won't result in a victory.

Yikes. So this gets really tight. Okay, ultimately, what we're talking about here is the Electoral College map. You know what's going to the left, you know what's going to the right, then you fight over four or five or six states in the middle, and that's where Trump's going to run into a problem. Because of all the Trump baggage and Trump fatigue, of which DeSantis has none. And ultimately, you have to, we will have to over the course of the next 12 to 14 months, as voters, as primary voters, the big Kahuna, the big fish, the big goal is to beat Biden. And in the end, I don't care if it's Trump or DeSantis, Biden has to lose.

We'll see who ends up in that fight, King Kong or Godzilla, we'll keep talking about it. This is Steve Noble on The Steve Noble Show. God willing, I'll talk to you again real soon. And like my dad always used to say, ever forward. Another program powered by the Truth Network.