Chicago Bulls Dismiss Player Due to Christian Beliefs

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That's us! Right. I love There's American. Todd. Stars.

All right.

Well, hello, everybody. Welcome. Welcome to the Todd Sterns Radio Show. Great to have you with us today. Our telephone number, 901-260-5926.

That's 901-260-5926. By the way, coming up in just a few moments, at the bottom of the hour, we are excited to welcome Franklin Graham. He's going to be joining us by phone. And Franklin has, we're going to talk about a lot of stuff, but we always love having Franklin on in the lead up to Easter Sunday. And Franklin has some things to say about the situation in the NBA.

And that's going to be our starting point today. I'm not a big NBA fan. Dylan, are you a big NBA guy? You know, I'm college sports. Love it.

Yeah, no no I'm the I'm the same as you. I just started March Madness, but after that not really. You know, we have the Memphis Grizzlies here, and the team's on hard times. Very hard times. And, you know, it's, I mean, I don't know.

I just have not gotten into the whole NBA scene. Yeah. I'm right there with you.

So I had to do a little bit of homework on this guy, Jaden Ivey. And back in 2024, Sports Spectrum, which is a magazine, they cover Christian athletes, they cover a lot of Christianity and sports. You know, good, it's a great magazine. And they did a big feature story on him. And we've got a photo up on our website, by the way, of the moment that Jaden Ivey was baptized.

He rededicated his life to Christ, and he became a really passionate follower of Jesus. And here on this program, we never shy away from that. We never shy away from our faith. You know, when people tune in, noon to three, you're not expecting some sort of a Sunday sermon. or if you go to an Episcopal church, a homily.

But we but you know, whenever it's appropriate, we we talk about faith, and if there's a story that has a faith component, we talk about it.

So this story immediately caught my attention. About Jaden Ivey and the NBA.

So, this guy, passionate follower of Christ, and he uses his platforms to talk about his faith. And that got him in trouble with the NBA.

So I understand he played for originally, I believe, the Detroit Pistons, and then he was traded or joined the Chicago Bulls.

Well, he's been dismissed from the team. And the The Chicago Bulls putting out a statement yesterday. The saying That you know what I just figured out, Dylan. Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen. I just figured out I've been sending you emails from a bad email account of mine that always that's why I've so anyway, I just figured that out.

Voila. Email sucks. It's okay. The more you know, I suppose. There you go.

So It's that Apple email. You know, the one that goes to the cloud thing? I don't know how I even have that. Which is.

So, anyway, so we'll find the audio. We're going to get you the audio. And, Dylan, if you can find the audio, of him going after Pride Month.

So, the NBA forces people to celebrate Pride Month.

Now, look, I just want to step back for a moment. And just talk as a business owner. I happen to own a business. We have employees. And if my employees want to celebrate something, They are free to do that.

That is their right. But as a company, We don't celebrate those kinds of things. We just don't. That's not what we do. But I'm never going to force, you know, for example, if.

Let's see here if, well, Ian.

So, Ian, I don't know what. Let's just say that. Ian is uh do we know what nationality Ian is here? I've gotta make sure I offend him the right way. Uh can we find out, uh, Dylan?

Is he Scottish? Is he Irish? He said Albanian. He's Albanian. Yes.

Morner Vito's our friend. Oh. You know who I'm Paul.

Okay. Is Albanian.

Okay, so let's just say that Ian hates the Irish. And we force Ian to dress up like a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day and march in the St. Patrick's Day parade down Beale Street. You know, that would not be appropriate, right?

That would, we could say, Ian, you're going to do this. You Albanian. And you're gonna tonk like an Irishman. Top of the day. Or Morden, whatever.

So, no, of course, that would be so inappropriate for me to do as the owner of a company. It would be funny, but it wouldn't be inappropriate.

So that being said, what What gives the NBA the right to tell any of their players or coaches or cheerleaders? Or anybody on their staff, that they must bow down and worship. The LGBT agenda. Why is it that these NBA players are being forced to to go out there and pledge allegiance to the rainbow flag.

Now this guy he said. He got dismissed not because of anything he did on the basketball court. And it just seems to me that's what you ought to be judging a professional basketball player by whether or not they can get the basket, get the ball in the basket. or they can prevent the other team from getting the ball in the basket. That seems to me to be the most important part of basketball.

Where you put the ball. Oh, wait a second. That came out wrong. But it's important in basketball what you do on the court.

So this guy, Jaden Ivey, who's a Christian, decided that he was going to talk about this and say, you know what, I think it's really inappropriate that we have to do this. All right, let's take a listen. The world can proclaim L G B T Q. Right. They have they have They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA.

They proclaim it. They they show it to the world. They say come come uh come join us for pride For Pride Month. To celebrate unrighteousness. They proclaim it.

They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness So, how is it that one can't speak righteousness? How is it one that how are they to say that? You you Man, this man is crazy.

And now I'm Yeah. the J I used to be. But the old JI is dead. Um a lot of Christ. Uh you know, no matter what.

the the the basketball setting is No, um I'm born again, the Holy Spirit. Um and I've been saved by Jesus Christ. No matter what a how many DMPs I don't I don't get to play or No matter how many points I scored. These things are A temporary thing.

So I wanted you to hear that last part because they're using that last part now, these sports writers are using that last part to suggest that this guy is dealing with he's emotionally troubled and he's mentally unstable. And they're coming after him with guns ablazing. And it is ugly, but But you heard what he said. What he just said, that first part of it, is why he was dismissed from the Chicago Bulls. And the Chicago Bulls is saying, you know what?

Honestly, we don't want any of you Christian people, we don't want you playing. on our team and we don't want you to be a part of our organization. And you know what? Fine if they want to play that game. But let me just explain to you: this is what actual persecution looks like in America.

They are targeting this ball player because of his religious beliefs, which, by the way, is unconstitutional. And I have to imagine that Harmeet Dillon and the Justice Department are going to be taking a long, hard look at this case.

So anyway, Billy Donovan is he the head coach of the Bulls he's the head coach of the Bulls.

So he is out there, and he was asked to explain all of this yesterday. And here's his explanation. I would just say this: you know, at least since I've been with the Bruce, you know. But you've got it. People from all different backgrounds inside the organization.

So I think the first thing is how well organized this goes for players, I think coaches, everything that builds. It's always been, I think, the It's been from the top, like, we're all going to work well together. You know, we're all going to basically take care of each other, we're going to accept each other, and I think we're going to be. Hardworking, we're going to be accountable, and we're going to be respectful, and we're going to be professional. You know, if that's kind of what it's been, I know some of the things that we put out there.

Um You know, I think it's a situation for him where it's on his own personal Instagram. I don't want to get into what he put out there, but certainly I hope for him, you know, he's okay. I don't know, you know, like I've had conversations with Jaden and stuff, and he's been always about rehabbing his knee and trying to get rid of the court and want to play. But I think organizationally, there's certain standards I think we want to have as an organization and trying to move up to those each and every day.

So there you have the coach, and it's very clear. that they are trying to destroy this guy now. And there are some really terrible, horrible things that are being said about this guy and talking about all the problems he has had in his life. I guess he grew up in a really difficult home environment. And look, here's the deal.

Uh the reality is all of us are sinners saved by grace. And this young man, he's what, 24 years old. This young man, he accepted Christ and he turned from his wicked ways, as we all have. Anybody who is a follower of Christ, anybody who has had that experience, that life-changing experience, you know, in the eyes of God, sin is sin. And now these players are going out there and they're dredging up all these things and just saying really awful things about this guy, when in fact what we ought to be doing is celebrating this young man.

Now, here's the deal. A lot of Christians are saying he should have just kept quiet so he could have kept his job. And honestly, I believe that was That was the problem, and that is the problem with America, is that far too many Christians are silent. Far too many Christians are afraid to confront this great evil in our society. By the way, Jaden Ivey came out.

This is great. He came out with another statement. And here's what he, I just want to read this to you. He said, The NBA was everything to me. I didn't know God.

When I came to the NBA, I was a fornicator, I was a porn addict, and I used to get drunk. That's all I knew. After all those points I felt good. I felt like everything was set out for me. And then he found Christ.

But now you've got all these sports. And by the way, what happens when you find Christ? You become a new creation. When you die to yourself, and that was a phrase that I think Pete Hagseth got in trouble for a couple of days ago: when you die to yourself, you have to do that so that Christ lives through you. And now they're saying this guy is mentally unhinged and mentally unstable.

So now, if you, according to the MBA, if you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, that makes you somehow a bad person. But again, what does any of this have to do with basketball? And the greater concern here is now you go all the way back to Barack Hussein Obama. Remember when the Supreme Court redefined what God defined? That would be marriage?

Do you remember that? And Barack Hussein Obama stood out there and said, this is not going to impact any of you in America. This is all about gay people being allowed to marry each other. That's it. They just want to be left alone.

They want to live their lives.

Well, now we know that is not true.

Now we know that society at large is being forced to bow down and worship this agenda. As a matter of fact, Canada is working through legislation right now that would literally outlaw passages of the Holy Bible. Over in the United Kingdom, Christians are being arrested and thrown in jail for preaching from scripture about Islam and homosexuality. They're being thrown in jail. Is that what you want here?

Because ultimately, that is what's going to happen here. Yesterday, we had George Barna on our Newsmax show, and Barna said an overwhelming majority of churches in America are not teaching from the scriptures. They're not discipling their church members.

So you've got a bunch of ignorant church people running around. And as a result of that, you've got chaos in the culture. But again, ladies and gentlemen, what does any of this have to do with playing professional basketball? What? In all seriousness, so now in the NBA, as a result of all of this, we now know.

We now know that That if you want to play in the NBA, you've got to pledge your allegiance. To be an ally to the LGBT community. Do you believe that is fair, ladies and gentlemen? All right, we've got to take a break. 901-260-5926.

That's 901-260-5926. You do understand. At the end of the day, They're coming after the Christians. That's what this is really all about. They're coming after you.

And they will try to silence you. And we just can't let that happen. We'll be right back, everybody. Folks, if you're looking for a romantic comedy that's actually funny, uplifting, and safe to enjoy with your family, well, this is it. Angel Studios has done something special with Solo Mio, a film that proves Hollywood can still tell a great love story without crudeness or compromise.

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So, the question is: Do you believe that people of faith should be more vocal? Should people of faith be more active in the public marketplace? Welcome back to the Tom Stearns Radio Show, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. I want to play some audio for you.

You're not going to be able to understand this guy unless you speak Spanish. But this guy lives in Queens, New York. And he wanted everybody to hear what it sounds like. Because the Muslims are now allowed to broadcast their prayers five times a day from sunrise, like in the wee hours of the morning, to sunset. And then, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to think about this.

All of the mosques that are being built all over America, this very well could be your neighborhood. Take a listen. Uh And you know television. Yada. Yarre tadena vallo se convitió.

Uh El amaña, meodía, natales. Hey Okay, sta, sta, sty, stao. Could you imagine, Dylan? You're just like hanging out, and all of a sudden, that's what you hear outside of your home. Yeah.

As a music guy I would just say it's a little pitchy, but um It would not be a pleasant thing. That is insane.

So that's happening all over New York City. That was in Queens. I was talking to somebody in my old neighborhood back in the Frank and Christina, my neighbors back in the old hood. And they're like, Todd, we can hear the call to prayer. It's crazy.

Of course, they're old school Italians, so they said a few other things I'm not allowed to repeat on the radio. But, ladies and gentlemen, you better get ready because that is coming to your neighborhood. Let's go to the phone lines, Ohio, German Shepard. Hi, German Shepard. What's on your mind?

Hey, Mr. Todd, you're speaking my language, man. You know, uh, I go down to the DMV on my way out of town in Jacksonville to uh to share the gospel with everybody waiting in line to go into the DMV. And you know, on average, there's about 10, 15, 20 people standing there just waiting for the DMV to open. And, you know, it's also notable that when Jesus cleansed the temple, he did that, the Gentile courtyard, which is where the Jews were supposed to.

be evangelizing the non-Jews and They turned it into a bazaar.

So, and the church today is the same issue where. They're just secluded. It's turned, most of them turned into rest homes instead of. um embassies to Hit the march in order to share our faith, that's our purpose. Jesus, that's it, German Shepherd.

It's all about sharing the faith, that's what it's about. Oh, by the way. One of the big gay news publications, NBA's running a full-page ad now. They're looking for good ball handlers. We'll see how that goes.

Good luck to you. We'll be right back. Here's something most people don't know. When Warren Buffett was just 13 years old, he didn't put his money into a savings account. While other kids were earning next to nothing at local banks, Buffett put $114 into a little-known investment.

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This is the Todd Stearns Radio Show. You know, it's interesting. There was a big story that developed over the weekend. President Trump, as he often does on social media, he'll post a message. But it wasn't his message that generated the conversation.

It was a letter that the president had received from Franklin Graham. And it was a private letter. And President Trump posted this letter on his social media page in advance of Palm Sunday. And for me, Folks, those of us who have been able to be in the Oval Office, we've been able to talk with the President and have private conversations with the President. Those conversations are always meant to be private.

And one of the things I greatly respected about Franklin Graham is that he never told anybody about this letter. It was a letter between him and the president. And I think that really says a lot about Franklin Graham, who he is, what his life is all about, which is sharing the gospel message.

Well, Franklin joins us today on the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. Franklin, good to have you with us. I know you're a busy man. Thanks for taking a few moments with us today.

Well, thank you for having me. Todd, good be with you.

So, this, I had a chance to read the letter, and it was just really moving. And I'm wondering if you want to take us back to that moment when you said, you know what? I need to sit down and write the President a message.

Well, again, uh, you know, I don't I don't do release letters that I write to the President or and I don't talk about private conversations. Oh, I haven't. But since he's released it, I think I'm free to do that. Um He made a statement back in this letter that I reposted, I gave him back in October. He made a statement to the media sometime a week or so before that.

saying that he wasn't sure that he was going to go to heaven. And uh after hm uh I'll I'll I want to make sure that he understands. And 'cause I I know I've talk talked to him before about issues like this. And so I just thought I'd just put it in writing and just tell him that. We don't get to heaven by our own.

It's by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so I just presented the gospel and the letter to him. and uh and just uh told him that Um if you will that if he's willing to if anyone's willing to be a parent of their sins And by faith, believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as our Lord and Savior. that we'll be forgiven of our sins.

So um I I just put that in the letter to him and um And I never heard back. I never didn't get a response saying thank you for the letter. I just sent it to him. And I don't expect a response. He's busy.

Uh like I was uh Just a surprise that we released that. on Palm Sunday before Palm Sunday sold. And uh I'm glad he did because that gives the gospel out to millions of people.

Well, I think it does. And it also, as I was reading the letter, and I thought to myself, You know, when was the last time I actually share the gospel with someone? I mean, there you know, are there people and I think a lot of people are wondering, you know, maybe I need to be out there sharing the the gospel message wi with our friends, you know, with with their acquaintances, their family members. But in you know, it it doesn't uh you don't have to have a long letter, and this is just a couple of paragraphs. But is the fact that Jesus Christ is God's Son.

He came to save us from our sins, He shed His own blood. you uh on a cross. He was buried for our sins, and on the third day, God raised you alive. That's the gospel, God. And then you can ask the question to a person: Have you ever accepted Christ?

Have you ever confessed your sins and repented? And have you trusted Jesus as your Savior at the end? Haven't done that, would you like to do that right now? That takes 30 seconds. Uh It really is that simple, and it's a life-changing decision that people can make.

I wrote a book last year called Star Spangled Blessings, and in this book, it's a diggily devotional series. And there's a story about Ronald Reagan who sat down in the Oval Office one day. His father-in-law did not know Christ, and he actually sat down and wrote this beautiful letter to his father-in-law in the Oval Office in the throes of the Cold War and all that stuff that was going on. And yet, for that moment in time, the most important person was the soul of his father-in-law. And just again, that's the, you know, there's something about that that's really stirring.

Well, I'm um We all have family. And we all have family that are not saved, they won't be in heaven. And I think how important it is to make sure that our loved ones No. and understand. and have given an opportunity to accept price.

Franklin, there's a lot of chaos in the world. There are Christians under attack all over the place. Of course, one of the big stories that came out yesterday from the NBA, where the Chicago Bulls dismissed a player, his name is Jaden Ivey. This young man was baptized several years ago. He's an outspoken Christian, and he was critical of the NBA's decision to force players to celebrate these gay pride events.

And yesterday, he was dismissed from the team, and the team said that those kinds of comments are detrimental conduct to the team. What do you say about that?

Well, first of all, I want to say how much I appreciate Jim. for his boldness. And his clarity and not being ashamed of the gospel.

So my hat. uh tips for him and uh just I I just admire him so very much. for taking their stand. And uh if and the Chicago Bulls are shame on them. And all these major league and it's not just basketball, but We see this in football and other sports.

And I would just hope that the players would uh rebel against it and just say, We're not gonna play. We're just going to go on strike. Uh until you all remove the LGBTQ. you know, it basketball is about basketball. It's not about uh Simple sex between two men or two women.

That's that's that's not what this should be about. It should be about basketball or football. And I just would have hope that the players, because I know many of the players they don't believe this, they they don't support that. But they're told to, and because the money involved, they compromise. And I'll just.

Um encourage players And there are coaches too that don't go along with this and just rally behind Jaden and just say. You know, this is he's right, and we're not gonna go we're not gonna do this anymore. I got to tell you, I was so admired his courage for standing up because you're right, he could have, you know, he could have just, you know, just quietly gone on, but he didn't do that. He took a stand. And sometimes, you know, when you take a stand, you know, you never know how things are going to work out.

And I know he may have lost his spot there at the Chicago Bulls, but I have to imagine that God has something much bigger in store for this guy. No question. God's not going to let this guy just slide off into the weeds here. He's got a bigger plan for him. But anyway, I just thank God for Jaden.

And the courage, and I hope others will follow me. Before we let you go, I saw your tweet about Chick-fil-A, and I know you're a McDonald's guy.

So when Franklin Graham is tweeting about somebody other, a fast food restaurant other than McDonald's, I pay attention. And I just love this story: this Chick-fil-A franchise. And now we understand several hundred other Chick-fil-A outposts are inviting families to put aside the cell phones and share a meal together. And if you do that, you get a free ice cream. What a great idea.

It's it's an incredible idea. And first of all, for marketing for Chick-fil-A, Um it didn't cost them anything and their whole country's talking about it. Um and so that one franchise up in Maryland, I believe that's where they're out of, uh, they all they all Chick fil A needs to do corporate needs to do something special for them because this is an incredible idea, and I believe it's going to catch on. And not just Chick-fil-A, but I think there'll be other restaurants that will do something similar. It's a great, great idea, and it's so needed.

When you think about when we sit down at the table, somebody wanted to or usually own a cell phone. And and that should include the the watch too, because uh now you can get messages on your watch and you sit there and play with your watch while you're eating.

So, this is a great idea. Chick-fil-A, you know, God bless them. I think this is wonderful, and I would encourage people to. Take your families this weekend to Chick-fil-A and put your cell phones down and And if they're not participating in this, ask the management of that AAA if they would participate. It's a great idea.

Before we let you go, Franklin, there are a lot of people that are just struggling at these time, you know, this time of year, Easter, looking for answers. And I think it's important to take a minute and just explain that the answers to all of our problems is not in Washington. It's not in Hollywood, but it really is about a relationship with Jesus.

Well, and it is Todd. And of course, When Jesus faced Pilate, before he was sentenced and crucified, Pilot asked what is true.

Well, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. There's not multiple ways to God. There's only one path, and that's through Christ. And the reason that is is because he is the only one in history to take sin.

and died for your sin and paid the penalty of your sin. When he hung on the cross, uh God poured on his son. This sins past, it sins present, it sends future. That's us. Jesus Christ shed his blood, and the Bible says there's no our forgiveness of sin or remission of sin without the shedding of blood And here is God shedding the blood of his Son.

for you and me and the whole world. And all we have to do is just believe it. You don't buy it, you don't get money, you don't do good works to receive it. It's just by simply faith, believing. And so the Bible says by grace are we saved through faith.

And um And so I would just direct, I would encourage a person who's listening: if you've never invited Christ into your heart, do it right now. Just say, God, I'm a sinner, and I will turn. to my experience. And I want to Trust your Son Jesus Christ as my Savior. I want to invite Him to come into my heart, to take control of my life.

from this minute forward, forever. And if you pray that, and you mean that God will hear your prayer, He'll answer your prayer, and you'll be forgiven, and not only forgiven. That he will guarantee that you have a spot in heaven for eternity with him.

So, um I would encourage people to do that. And again, and just be sure, just like the president, just be sure, make sure. Yeah, but uh Your heart is right. God will. Bless you and Uh give you eternal life.

Amen to that. Franklin, we're going to have to leave it there. Just wish you and your family a very, very happy Easter. Thank you, Todd, and same to you. All right.

Franklin Graham, everybody. We'll be right back. All right, good to have you with us. Dylan, I'm contemplating this next story we're about to talk about, but we're going to have to talk about it, ladies and gentlemen. If you're eating a bologna sandwich, Or maybe a delicious tuna fish sandwich.

You might want to just stop for a moment because we do have some breaking news to share with you. Breaking news now on the Todd Starn Show.

Well, here is the headline. The latest from Washington, the husband of Christy Noam, has apparently come out of the closet as a gay man who likes to cross dress under the name Busty Bimbo. According to the New York Post. Christine Dome is devastated by the salacious allegations her husband Byron lives a a double life actually a double D life, to be exact. Where he cross-dresses and chats online with fetish models.

According to Ms. Noam's representatives. She is devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they asked for privacy and prayers at the same time. According to the Daily Mail, Byron Byron Noam chatted up women from the so called bimbofication fetish scene.

in which adult performers augment their boobies With massive amounts of saline to achieve a Barbie doll-like appearance. Dylan, anytime, please tell me to stop. I may have wanted you to do that a couple of minutes ago. Citing hundreds, hundreds of messages purportedly sent by three women from the scene, Noam's husband enthusiastically praised their heavily augmented appearances and proclaimed he coveted huge, huge, ridiculous boobs. One photo claims that Mr.

Noam shared with the women features him wearing pink hot pants. in a flesh colored skin tight suit. He appears to have put balloons in his shirt to mimic comically oversized, lopsided breast. complete with fake protruding Can't Say That Word on the Radio. The outlet spoke to national security experts who surmised her husband's alleged proclivities could have left the former DHS secretary, who was fired last month, vulnerable to potential blackmail.

Well, all right, well, you think so?

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I've been getting some messages during the commercial break, and one person said everybody knew about this and washed everybody knew about this.

So if that's true, if everybody knew about this, and by the way, They had to have known. If you're telling me that when the FBI went in and they do background checks on everybody, you're telling me the FBI missed that? I don't believe it. I I'm serious. This is insane.

So, I mean the Christy Dome had been and it had been long Long rumored that she was in a relationship with Cory Lewandowski, they traveled everywhere together. And it was just a little weird. She was asked about the relationship during hearings and she refused to answer the question. And that is, by the way, what led led her led to her ouster. But Dodd, it was a promotion.

She was promoted. No, it wasn't a promotion. She's now Marco Rubio's secretary. But regardless, this certainly could have put Homeland Security in a very, very tight spot. Had this information come out when she was the DHS secretary.

May I just ask your question here? And I just, I don't mean anything by it, but get. Can we just not have normal people like Working at our government just like regular folks, just boring. Is that possible? I'm trying to understand the gay part of this, though.

That doesn't make any sense.

So, anyway, well we'll keep reading. Maybe I don't want to know. Maybe that's it. Maybe it's just best that we not know. But again, this does create, it does create.

A black male type situation. And that's why I'm just. Shocked, Shocked. That um Yeah.

Well, no, they're saying alleged, but Christy Noam, according to the New York Post and the reporting of the Post. Mrs. Gnome is devastated. and the family was blindsided.

So it's not like Honey, is that you and the photos? I think that conversation's already been had.

So we'll keep you updated on any developments there, but that's just it's a terrible thing. It's an awful thing. But who in their right mind? I want to know who is responsible for doing the background checks. I mean, that's what we need to and by the way, what else did they miss?

I mean, if if they miss. A grown man wearing boobies and hot pink tightpants. What else did they miss, ladies and gentlemen?

Alright, gotta take a break here. Go throw up. Oh. Regroup 901-260-5926. Ugh, geez, you know, it's only Tuesday.

It's only Tuesday, people. And by the way, could they not have waited until after Easter to drop this story? Really? Come on. All right, I gotta take a break.

We'll be right back, everybody. Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's common sense conservative commentary from Todd Starr. True. I love Love is American. Oh, I think it's a good idea.

I forgot, ladies and gentlemen, happy trans visibility day to you. Those of you that are celebrating I can't see you. Where are you? No, in all seriousness, ladies and gentlemen, and we do take the trans issue very seriously. And Dylan, I'm telling you that at least in my neighborhood, we are a very progressive neighborhood.

And people, I think, across the entire all of Germantown, Tennessee, I think is celebrating Trans Visibility Day. I know you seem shocked by that. I'm a little shocked because I also live. In Germantown.

So you haven't seen that? I mean, it's, it's, I mean, everywhere, like this morning as I was driving in, I saw maybe 75 Trans Ams. I have never seen so many Trans Ams in my life. Popular car. Yeah.

So happy Trans Am Visibility Day. Happy, happy. It's a good day. I don't think that's what I'm saying. I'm sorry, what?

Helen's telling us that that's not exactly what Transvisibility Day is all about. That's what we celebrate. I thought it was, right? We can have our own day. Exactly.

That's.

Well Mm. God bless Burt Reynolds. I thought I saw him driving around today.

Okay. May maybe I was mistaken. Anyway, yeah, it is what Trans Visibility Day. And I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do. I mean, what does that actually what does that actually mean?

I will say this from New Hampshire. Our friends over at Libs of TikTok, they got a scoop. There's I think she's a woman. She's a teacher at Timberlane High School. And her name is Dr.

Jennifer Pellerin. I think she may have been Jim at birth. I don't know. I can't tell. And, you know, that's inappropriate for me to say that.

So I don't know. L uh Pronouns unclear. How about that? We'll just leave it there. Anyway, Dr.

Pelerin, a teacher at Timberlane High School in New Hampshire. Send a message to the staff asking them to show support for Trans Day of Visibility. Run, run. She's encouraging teachers to put up trans posters in their classroom. You know, this is why I could not be a school teacher, Dylan, because there would be like Burt Reynolds and Sally.

Oh, what was her name? Sally Oh, Jesus Louis, somebody will call in on the Smoky and the Bandit movies. I can't remember her name. Anyway, somebody will call in to remind us. But I would have those posters plastered all over the room.

We'd watch Smokey and the Bandit. All right, kids. One of the best lines in that movie is when Sheriff oh, Jeezalou, Jackie Gleason played the sheriff. He played a great Southern sheriff, even though he was not Southern. And he told his son, who was the deputy, and his son was retarded not in the literal sense, but he was just, you know, a moron.

And he said, Junior, you'll always be my little tick terd. Best line of the movie. You should bring that back.

So don't call any of us that. I mean, that's fine. Congressman, you're a lion tick-turd. Sir. Sir.

I almost said that a few times last night on Newsmax. They're getting on my nerves.

So anyway, if anybody remembers who was it, it was um anyway, it's uh Sally No, not Struthers. That was, I would, that was all in the family. Anyway, somebody will call in and remind us of that.

So, Professor Dr. Pelerin telling all the high school teachers. that they need to be wearing ally stickers. And they need to be displaying some sort of a poster in their classroom. And then she provides them all.

By the way, I thought we had stopped all of this. Right. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say something here. The Trump administration is on Dangerous ground here. Because They're not following through with the President's directives.

Now, first of all, the Department of Education has not been dismantled, it has not been defunded, and they are not putting a stop to this. Remember, they c the President issued an executive order. He gave the order. It is up to Linda McMahon to enforce the order. How many stories have we shared with you just in the past couple of weeks of transgenderism creeping back onto these school campuses?

Now, at some point, ladies and gentlemen, at some point, the Department of Education is. going to have to do something here. Otherwise, people are going to wake up to this. And I think they look, we pay attention to all of this. Because I don't want my president to get impeached.

And that's what's going to happen if these Republicans and the administration screw around and do not follow through on the President's agenda. That's what's going to happen.

So it's very simple. And there should be no more second chances. None. You're advancing this transgender nonsense. You're letting boys into girls' locker rooms.

You're letting boys compete against girls. You lose your funding, and that's it. For the entire year, no more funding for you. But that's just me. That's no, I know, I'm not getting upset.

I'm in a good mood today. I'm just telling you, this kind of stuff aggravates me because they're still getting federal tax dollars. All right, let's go to Newburn, North Carolina. Natalie is on the line. Natalie, help me out here.

My brain is just not where it should be at today. Yes, it is. You're doing great. Yeah. It's Bart Reynolds.

It's Bart Reynolds. Who is he? Sally Fields. Sally Fields. Yes.

Thank you for that. You know, Natalie, I kept thinking Sally Struthers, and I'm like, no, that's Archie Bunker. Yeah. Yeah. But no, we listen to you almost every day here in New Bern and when we're in Ohio.

That's our main home. We listen to you up there also, and you're doing a phenomenal job.

Well, thank you for that. You know what I want to do, Natalie? I've got a new book coming out in May or maybe June, and I want to get you a copy of that. Is that okay? I want to be able to send it to you.

Is that all right? Sure, that'd be great. Wonderful. Thank you for helping us out here on the show. Ladies, so Natalie was my lifeline today.

Sally Fields. I knew it was. Yeah, there you go. By the way, the new book is called, Don't Go Anywhere, Natalie. We're going to get all your info.

The new book is called The Golden Age, How Trump Saved America. And the endorsements are just flowing in on this thing. People are really loving the book. And we've got some advanced readers out there. We're getting a lot of positive feedback.

It'll be in bookstores in May. You will need to pre-order it today, though. And you can do that by going to Barnes Noble, Books a Million, wherever you get your books. And we want you to make sure you get yourself. A copy of this.

It's going to be a big book for me. And I think there's an important message. In the book that I want you to read, again. The Golden Age: How Trump Saved. America All right, let's go back to the four.

That was Dylan. You know, we had the best listeners. I knew they would know. They know more things than me. I've never heard of these people that you're trying to figure out.

That was the golden age. Yeah. I'm saying Gen X, we just had the best freaking movies. Yeah. We had the best music.

We have too many movies now, and most of them are not good. Most of them are remakes. Yeah. I'm like, don't be touching, you know. Don't be touching my 80s movies.

Please. Mm-hmm. You're gonna make it woke and you are. But I kind of like you know, I was born in 67, so I kind of my gap is like 70s to 80s. And honestly, I j there was some those were some incredible years.

Yeah. I love the 80s movies, and Godfather can't go wrong with that. Never. Best movie ever. Yeah.

Best movie ever. All right, let's go to Jerry in Iowa. Jerry, what is on your mind today? Brothers Todd and Dylan, I'm just still amazed that.

So you let's let's just be honest. You're one of the A-list talents. You're real good at your job, but you're still a normal Christian, and that you invite. uh listeners like me and Claire out in the cheap seats to uh participate and all of us get to call in. You do a lot of caller time.

And it just still makes me feel connected. And I know that a lot of people feel that, like we're not cut out just because we're not we have other jobs and everything.

So I really appreciate that. It feels like America.

So the reason why I called is You had a listener survey question earlier, and I think it was. Should or should would or will one of those Christians become more politically active. And since I heard Franklin, I'm going to say, share the gospel and become politically more active, both of those. And my experience is that. most Christians will not share their faith.

No matter directly, you know, they'll I call it mow the lawn for Jesus. People are supposed to drive by and see a great lawn and go, oh, yeah, there must be a God. And most Christ conservatives will not speak out on self-government. For example, here in Iowa, in the Cedar Valley, in Jeff's neighborhood, it's like an hour from me, there's a cluster of cities. where Islamic growth and I researched this Islamic growth from two thousand to twenty ten was linear.

But from twenty ten to twenty six, it's becoming exponential. And I went and attended a Care Muslim Brotherhood thing at the Area College where they invited them in. and they're scooping up vacation Bible school kids. to go to their new Islamic center Like, you know, a lot of secular kids won't even go to I mean, they'll never go to church, but they'll go to BBS.

Well, the Muslims are are trying to get them now.

So, no, I don't think Christians they're not speaking up on that. They and they don't you cannot get people to share the gospel or or point out the Islamic invasion 'cause it it's like it's not their gift, it's not their calling. Like Like Peter, like, do you know Jesus? Oh, no, I've never knew the guy myself, never seen him. Don't know what you're talking about.

Well, look, here's the challenge I have in all of this, and we are going to have to stand up and fight eventually. That's where it's all going to come to, and that's where all of this is heading towards. Michael Youssef was on the show, and he said there's a difference between Muslims and Islamists. There are many others who say there is no difference between Muslims and Islamists.

So the question is. And I think most people in Congress and most people in elected office would agree with doctor Youssef that there are Muslims that are okay that are not going to blow you up, and then there are the Islamists who want to blow all of us up. The question is, how do we tell the difference? And number two, what do we do about it? Because.

Jerry, I see a situation where Christians do nothing. They allow the Islamists to come in, take over, take control. They are going to crack down on they'll be forcing the women to wear the hijabs. And I think the Christian women of America would willingly do that. Fearing the alternative.

So I'm just wondering, are we going to stand up? And if so, what exactly does that look like? Because I think ten, five, ten years from now, we're going to be looking at a very different version of America.

Well, my understanding is it's only 3% of the population that can cause a revolution, or whether it's Marxist, Islamic, or Christian revival. Most people sit it out. They just want to wait around and see who wins. They might have a feeling about it. But Muslims and Islamists, I think they're all complicit.

I think they smile on the inside when an infidel gets what they deserve.

Now, they themselves might not blow something up or chop somebody's head off, but they're kind of, you know, like Islam's going to take over the world.

So I really don't see a difference between the two. There was an attempted beheading in Des Moines, by the way. Steve Dace did a whole hour-long show where he interviewed her. She survived. Cops happened to be in the area.

But the whole family was for it. She didn't want to wear her hijab. She wanted to keep going to school after. Eighth grade, and they'll just all agree that, you know, Buff Young 25-year-old is going to do the deed, but they were all complicit in it.

So, will Christians ever speak, share the gospel, which is God and country in that order? I mean, you know, I don't know. You just, they don't want to sit around and pray and wait for somebody else to do the gospel. I don't think they're going to do it. I don't think they're going to do it, Jerry.

I really don't. The churches in America are basically entertainment complexes. I mean, that's what they've become. They've got juice bars, they've got coffee shops, they're roasting their own beans, they've got athletic centers, they've got the American Idol cover bands, and they've got a feel-good sermon. And, you know, that's, I think ultimately, that is going to lead to the complete and utter destruction of America if we don't turn that around.

Jerry, I've got to run, but thank you for that. And I want to give you an example of what I'm talking about here.

So, yesterday, they announced. They announced the FBI did that the attack on the synagogue, that massive synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, remember where the guy drove the truck into the synagogue? It turns out that the suspect, Ayman Mohammed Ghazali, was motivated and inspired by Hezbollah militant ideology. He wanted to kill as many Jews as possible. That's what the FBI is saying.

Dozens of law enforcement officers were hurt in the incident, but nobody inside the synagogue was injured. Three days before the attack, Ghazali started looking at web pages for local synagogues. He tried to buy a gun. They were people refused to sell the guy a gun. He went to a gun store and bought an AR AR-style rifle, I'm reading from the ABC reporting here, along with 10 rifle magazines and 300 rounds of ammo.

He also searched for phrases including largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan and Israelis near me.

So we know that this was an act of Islamic terrorism. Do you know, to date, ladies and gentlemen, three thousand mosques in America. Not a single one condemned that attack.

Something to think about, not a one. 901-260-5926, our number. That's 901-2600. 260-5926. This is the Todd Stern Show.

All right, welcome back, everybody. This is the Tom Stearns Radio Show.

So, this is good news. A number of NFL stars are now posting their support for Jaden Ivey after he was released for opposing gay pride celebrations. Des Bryant, Cam Cur uh Curl, uh Tucker Kraft. Trayvion Henderson, among others, that are showing their support. You know what's funny, Dylan, there was a basketball player for Dallas, the Dallas Mavericks.

They were doing the post game press conference and the guy was wearing like a Christian T shirt. And the and the guy said he didn't even a reporter called him out on it. And so what what does that mean? It was something about faith. And you could tell the poor guy was just like, uh-oh, am I about to get fired?

And he said, Yeah, this is what it says. But I'm not going to tell you what it means because I don't want to get fired. Yeah, he said, faith is not for the weak. That's what was on the shirt. And he didn't want to expand.

Obviously, he didn't want to get. Get canned. I mean, is that the kind of country? It's ridiculous. It's just ridiculous.

And then some of the. The coverage from the sports reporters, and we're going to play some of this a little bit later on. It's just outrageous. They're trying to portray him as some sort of a mental case, you know, and he's just a Christian guy. I mean, come on, folks.

All right, 901-260-5926. Our telephone number. By the way, coming up tonight, five o'clock on the Todd Stern Show on Newsmax, Ben Ferguson joins us. Also, Todd's hot conservative babes, Kim Smythe Hill, and Mary Walter will join us. By the way, a new study finds 70% of Americans are not getting full benefits they deserve.

But we've got a solution to that.

Social Security expert Michael Allen has uncovered five key strategies to increase your Social Security benefits by as much as $188,000 over a lifetime. And it's all in a free special report. Courtesy of Newsmax. I want you to write this number down so you can get this free report from Newsmax: 800-999-9690. Again, that number 800-999-9690.

We're going to text you all the info and you're going to be able to find out how you could possibly get more Social Security benefits. That number again, 800-999-9690. Text and data rates may apply. All right, welcome back, everybody. This is the Todd Sterns Radio Show.

Happy to have you with us today. Our telephone number, by the way, 901-260-5926. Again, that number, 901-260-5926. All right, we are still. In a holding pattern here, trying to figure out what's going to happen in the Senate.

Jon Thune is now playing hardball, folks. He knows that there's pretty much no way that he is going to lose control or lose power in the Senate.

So that's one of the reasons why Jon Thune is standing up. To the president. And again, you're watching as Senate leadership, they're blaming the parliamentarian, who, by the way, could have been fired. And if you remember, early on, when just right after the Republicans took control, There was an effort to fire the parliamentarian. But again, citing tradition, Jon Thun said we're not going to do that.

This parliamentarian is pro Biden.

So you kind of get an idea, a flavor of what's going on in the Senate. The bigger question, though, is how will this impact The midterm elections. To answer that question, I want to bring in our chief Republican political strategist, Josh Jones. Josh, good to see you today. Good to see you, Todd.

Hope you're well. You're doing well. All right.

What say you about the latest here? Senate in recess, two week vacation, and nothing's getting done. To your point, nothing's getting done. I mean, we are in the midterm year. We're in April, basically, as of tomorrow, and the Senate's gone for two weeks and not pushing forward any major piece of legislation for the president's agenda.

I mean, we have the Save America Act, we have DHS, among a number of other things, and the Senate chose to take two weeks off. That's not to say there's not things going on in their districts and states that they need to go attend to, but we're in crunch time. This is the midterms. You have to push through the major pieces of legislation in order to energize GOP voters and have them come out to the polls in November.

So, it's very disappointing. You know, I think the other component of this is that Thune is not putting the Senate in recess. And to me, that could have been the out. You're in recess. The President's going to do what the President's going to do.

And typically, a President would make those recess appointments, but President Trump is not even allowed to do that. How is that playing out there among Republican voters? Look, I don't think it's too soon to tell, essentially. I feel like a lot of Republican voters, for the most part, most people are focused on paying their bills or making sure their kids get a good education. And they're not necessarily paying attention to the inside politics happening in D.C.

right now. But by the time November rolls around, they will be, or at least they'll be more tuned in because there'll be ag campaigns, there'll be politicians, et cetera, talking about it.

So I don't think necessarily that the leadership and some particular members in the Senate are seeing any blowback quite yet. And probably that's why they're feeling emboldened or feel like it's a non-issue. But I think eventually, once people start tuning in for the actual elections in November, they will start to see that blowback. Say, wait a second, we've gotten this whole year essentially, and what have you done for us? And that's the big question.

And I'm afraid that when we actually step back and we look, President Trump issued so many executive orders, but those orders were not codified. Many of the things that the American voters wanted to have happen, for example, dismantling the Department of Education, moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C., moving some of the other government agencies out of D.C., that really has not happened. And you wonder if the American people, if let's just you know, I don't think you're going to have Republicans just vote Democrat, but I do think you could have a situation where Republicans just stay home and they don't go out and vote on Election Day. Yeah, I mean, it's a real possibility. I mean, as someone who's in the space day in, day out, you know, that's a real concern is, look, these people are typically going to switch over to the Democratic side of the aisle because, I mean, they're crazy.

They've gone totally to the left. But at the same time, they don't have that motivation to come out to the polls. You're going to lose because unfortunately, for better or for worse, Democrats do have that motivation right now because they see this as their opportunity to rebuke Trump for better or worse. Whereas Republicans, if you're an average GOP voter, you're saying, okay, well, I'd like the president, but he's not on the ballot right now and the Congress isn't doing anything.

So why should I show up? And that's a real problem. Josh, I'm curious about the war. We are now watching clearly. There was an uptick in bombing on Iran last night.

We know that thousands of service members, hundreds of Marines are nearby on those ships waiting for what could be a possible ground invasion. And a lot of this could be President Trump just flexing his muscle. We may not see boots on the ground, but when you put that many, we're talking thousands of troops in that theater, you do wonder if, in fact, we could see boots on the ground. And if that happens, Josh. This is not going to be resolved by the time the midterms roll around, and I'm wondering.

How do you think that's going to play with the base of the Republican Party? Within the Republican Party, I mean, let's be honest, there is a divide when it comes to intervention. You have your more traditional conservatives who are more, let's call it the Bush camp, who are pro-intervention, or at least to a degree. And you have your America First, more isolationist meeting of the party who's saying, wait a second, what are we doing in the Middle East again? This isn't what we voted for.

So, I mean, that is a divide that the president and the party is going to have to come together on. To your point, maybe this is President Trump flexing his muscle and it's part of a negotiating tactic. Obviously, him, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Rubio are much more read in and briefed and informed than any of us are.

So I trust that they're making the best calls that they can based on the information that they've been given. But I mean, this is a real potential liability. Who knows? I mean, this thing could be over next week, or to your point, if we put boots on the ground, this could go on through the midterms.

So, really, based on what we know currently, it's kind of hard to tell. But I think a lot of people, at the end of the day, do put their faith in the president to put America first, part of that being our national security. And he has a lot more information than we do necessarily on this. And that's really where I stand on all of that: I trust the president. He knows, he has more intel than I've got.

And so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That being said, there are going to be consequences no matter what. And if you've got people, and I'm looking at the average price of a gallon of gas now at $4. Across the country, I think at $6 a gallon, if not higher, in Los Angeles. And over in California, there's going to be a price to pay politically for that, no matter how well things may be going over there in Iran.

Agreed. I mean, gas prices, for example, are one of those things that most people see every day. I mean, they're on their way to work or on their way to get their kids from school. It's a price that's in your face every single day.

So, and that's why the president back in 2024 campaigned so hard on it, and Republicans up and down the ballot. Look, it's one of those direct reflections of how the economy is doing. Because gas prices, obviously, part of the energy market, and not only does that affect filling up your tank, but it affects your energy bill, your utility bill, or if you're flying. It affects how expensive airfare is.

So, it has a huge trickle-down effect to even your grocery prices because you have to pay for the fuel for the distributors to transport it from the farms to the grocery stores.

So, I mean, it affects all parts of our economy, gas prices being the most prominent one.

So, I hope there's a quick resolution to what's happening in the Middle East so we can bring those prices back down. Because, look, it's a temporary thing that's not reflective of the actual market. It's just because of the strain of the harmoose, which is still a very valid issue for the president and the administration to address.

So, hopefully, there's a quick resolution there. All right.

Josh Jones, always good seeing you, my friend, and appreciate you. Taking a few minutes out of your busy day. Hope you and your family have a great Easter weekend. Use well taught things. All right, there you there you have it, folks.

Now look, I will say this. about the war. And again, I don't do I know for certain that we are going to have boots on the ground? No, I don't. But all I know is those boots are ready to go.

They are there. And we're talking about thousands of troops. And some of you may live near military bases, and maybe your local base has gotten the orders to. to head on over to the Middle East. and to ship out.

And that very well may happen. But if in fact we do have boots on the ground and that is being talked about, Within the halls of Congress and at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If, in fact, that really does happen. That is going to be a factor in the midterm elections, and especially if we start seeing an unfortunately high body count. Of American service members.

So just things to pay attention to. What's done is done, it can't be undone. And I don't see the president just announcing suddenly today, we've won the war and we're out. It's far from over. And we had a congressman on the show yesterday.

We're going to play this in the next hour of this program. Last night on Newsmax, we had Congressman Grothman from Wisconsin. And he made an interesting observation. He says: one of the big problems, you've got these senators like John Kennedy. He called out John Kennedy specifically.

And they're out there saying, Oh, we've won the war. When in fact, the war is not over, and he said that the Senate is sending mixed messages. I'm telling you, there is a lot of anger and hatred right now between the House and the Senate. But I think Grothman's got a point here that you've got these senators out there saying, oh, we're winning this thing, when in fact it's far from over. And we know that because of what happened last night.

All right, we've got to take a break. 901-260-5926. If the president says we've got to send in troops, boots on the ground, we've got to invade Iran. Will you support the President? Yes or no?

I mean, that's the big issue of the day. Will you support the President? 901-260-5926. This is the Todd Stern Show. All right, welcome back, everybody.

This is the Todd Sterns Radio Show. Happy to have you with us.

So, Houston, Texas, you guys have a big problem down there. I'm wondering about this Houston rodeo.

Now apparently this is a pretty big deal. I'm trying to think of what comparison in Memphis we would have to it. But you guys, my understanding is this is like an annual tradition and a lot of people it's a livestock show and a rodeo. Do you actually get to ride on the the steers? Or you know, I thought how does that all play out?

If so, Dylan, I am sending you over to, we're going to put you on assignment.

Okay. We can put the intern. Ian the intern. We could put Ian on the back of a bull. Would he ride a bull?

I don't know how long he would last on that, but I would be curious to see. We'll need to check the insurance policy on that. Yeah, true. But anyway, this is the Houston Livestock and Show and Rodeo, and it's sort of like they have exhibitors.

So I guess it sort of has the feel of. like a a county fair. Yeah. They also have an international wine competition, which seems slightly out of place. at Orodeo.

But what do I know? Maybe they're Heinfalutin now. Yeah, we're gonna.

So anyway, all you know what has been breaking loose at the rodeo is like, so you've got these big, huge crowds, and they're overwhelmingly black young people. They're kids, teenagers. And they're fighting. They're causing mayhem, it's insane, and they've been having to shut the thing down.

So, people have been really frustrated. um at least in the news coverage, that the young people are just They're acting like animals. Probably worse than, because the animals do not behave like that.

So, anyway, this one black guy called in to a radio station in Houston. And the guy is just going off. And it's he's raising excellent points and I want you to take a listen to what the guy had to say. Yeah, my name is Jonathan. I'm in Houston, Texas, and I am a black America conservative and I am sick and tired of I'll be glad when this rodeo get the hell out of town.

I'm sick and tired of these n Particularly females showing they all over the place at a Framley. Friendly event. This is out of control, and I'll be glad when somebody stands up and speaks on it. And also, The black this music that we are letting our children listen to that's coming across the radio. Is there anything that we can do about that?

This rap music is out of control, and it is a mantra, and it is spreading these demons all over the community. Thank you for taking my call. Bye. I love this guy. This guy Jonathan from Houston.

Hey, man. Thank you for saying that. If my mind could talk, it'll be Jonathan's voice saying that. And every every black man That live in these communes that's adult. That's an a mature adult.

Every black man living in the community agree with the same thing he just said. God dang, that was funny. Yeah, so that, you look what he said there, though, it's true. We have the same situation here in Memphis where we have these, we've got these mobs of young black kids. And they're causing mayhem.

And you've got the black men in the community. We're talking. You know, we're talking about businessmen, we're talking about, you know, dads, husbands. And they're out there saying this has got to stop. And the problem is that a lot of these young kids running around, they've got no dad in the picture.

Or maybe mom just doesn't care. And so therefore they're just running around running around like crazy. And I wanted you to hear this because the black community is just as upset and as outraged over the lawlessness as everybody else is.

Now Over the um Over the weekend You had these big no kings protests. And nobody knew what they were out there. Nobody knew what they were protesting. Not a single one nobody knew what they were protesting. Reporters would go out, and nobody had a clue.

They couldn't tell you, they just showed up.

Well in Memphis we had violence break out.

So, the police, you know, here in Tennessee, it's illegal to block a roadway. You're not allowed to do that. And so, when these people got a permit, they got a permit to protest, but the protest was supposed to be in a park.

Well, these Yahoos decided they're going to go and march in the streets. Police said you can't do that. 45 minutes, 45 minutes, ladies and gentlemen, 45 minutes, the police were begging the protesters to get out of the streets. They refused to do so. 45 minutes, it was back and forth.

Finally, the police moved in, and that's when all you know what broke loose. They had to haul out the pepper spray. People were arrested. And now the protesters are claiming that they've been victims of police brutality. And so, and by the way, it's all captured on film.

You can see it for yourself. Very clear, these people were breaking the law. And the mayor has come out, as well as the police chief. They're both Democrats. and they have now placed the officers involved in this on administrative leave, and these officers are now under investigation.

And we're just trying to figure out why, what's going on here. The police officers did their jobs. And what sort of a message is this sending to law enforcement when the mayor and your police chief are going to throw the officers under the bus? What does that tell you, ladies and gentlemen? I mean good grief for crying out loud.

Let's go to Tom in Houston. Tom, what's on your mind? Hello, John. I heard something and I know it needs to have national attention. And I hope you are aware, but if not, uh you're Crack staff of 500 people underneath you can get on it right away.

But uh in Pittsburgh. They are going to close The schools down for four days because the NFL draft is coming to town. Have you heard about this? You know, I think I had heard something about that in the mix. This is crazy.

And you're talking right now about these wild-eyed children and getting crazy. You know, it don't matter if it's. Midnight or 12:30 noon lunchtime, they're just getting stupid, crazy, and uh all over the place. And uh why? Because they're being instructed to do so by the examples of quote unquote adults.

You know, this has got to stop. We need to, you know, I say put them all in Catholic school with a bunch of nuns. They have to wear the uniforms. And then, you know, maybe two Fridays each year, they get a free day where they get to wear blue jeans. And pass out those yardsticks, Tom.

Start rapping some knuckles. That's what I say. Hey, Tom, it's a great call. I got to leave it there. Hang tight, everybody.

Hour three coming up. Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's America's conservative blowtorch. Trader. Love is American. Time.

Star. All right.

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Tom Starns Radio Show. An honor to have you with us. 901-260-5926 is our telephone number. That's 901-260.

Yeah. So, this is really getting out of hand. This MBA situation, and we've had a lot of new developments just in the past hour or so. Here's what I don't understand, Dylan.

So, if you're a basketball star and you beat your wife. You're going to get like a 30-game suspension, right? You're going to beat the living crap out of your wife or your ex. Yeah. You know, you get arrested, you get charged with, you know, just pick a crime.

You're okay. You're okay. You're still on the team. But if you don't support Pride Month, you're out of there. Crazy.

I mean, that's insane. It's surprising how many times we've actually seen that example play out, not only in the NBA, but also in the NFL. Like so many of the star players. they do something horrendous to their spouse. Like, eh.

Was it really that bad? You're like, yes, it is. But if you pledge allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem, oh my God, what's wrong with you?

So now there's a sports broadcaster in Chicago, talk sports talk show host. And man, have you noticed what's up with all these sports talk guys? They're all leftist. What's going on there? I don't know, is that a rule at ESPN now?

You got to be a far leftist? My word. Anyway, I want you to listen to this guy. He's talking about Jaden Ivey. Jaden Ivey was removed.

He was dismissed from the team because he had a problem with the fact that the NBA is promoting and celebrating and forcing people to celebrate. Gay pride events, and now he's being called homophobic. He's being called all sorts of names. Many of these sportscasters are suggesting that the guy is mentally ill. Take a listen to Cut 7.

Yeah, first you hope that Jayden Ivy. gets the professional help. and counseling that he would seem to need. And Billy Donovan even referenced. It's a very delicate balance you have to strike when talking about this from the bull's perspective.

But that honestly is the biggest thing here. You've got a 27-year-old young man who clearly has.

Some issues that he needs to confront and address and are unresolved in his life. Then from my perspective I don't think this is really about denying freedom of speech and denying freedom of religious expression. This is about upholding A certain standard of respect and professionalism and acceptance within the framework of a team. and the structure of an organization. This is a professional standard that he did not meet and a line that he crossed.

Lockeroons? Locker rooms are places of inclusion. There are places where you have different beliefs that you have to tolerate. You have to be. People that welcome all walks of life and all different races, creeds, and ethnic backgrounds.

That's the beauty of sports. Employees cannot expect to criticize their employer. and then have no repercussion. That's what's going on here. Whether it's the NBA, Odyssey, a radio station, wherever you work, a Fortune 500 company, you can't say what he said about your employer and expect there'd be no repercussion.

Now, They waived him rather than suspended him, and that may have to do. With his value to them.

Well, that's part of it. He was here for four, he played in four games. He wasn't here for four years. The criteria and the threshold might be different if a player means more to an organization. That's also just the way it goes.

He didn't mean as much to the bulls because he hadn't been here long enough to prove what his value was or to prove anything, frankly.

So it's a reasonable expectation, I believe, professionally. It's a privilege to play in the NBA. It's not a right. But with that privilege comes conditions that he did not meet. You cannot go scorched earth on the league and expect to have nothing happen.

It's a sad story. But he definitely wrote his own ending. All right.

There you go.

So, just so you're aware, this is what Christians are dealing with. And this is a younger guy, he's in his 20s and just trying to live out his faith. And he's, you know, he's going to end up losing all of this stuff. It's a mess. 901-260-5926 is our number.

That's 901-260-5926. So There's a Turning Point USA. You know, they had this whole faith division, Turning Point Faith. And they have a lot of preachers that are involved in this. I am not involved in it, and none of the pastors that I consider dear friends are involved with it either.

But as a result of TPUSA faith and all of that stuff, a lot of young people are just sort of popping up onto the scene now as what Christian influencers, Dylan? I guess is that a good way to describe it? Yeah, they're young people that are mostly using social media. to get the message of the gospel out.

So, and one of these guys, his name is Bryce Crawford. Are you familiar with this guy? Yes, I've seen his videos.

So, okay, he's a young guy, he's very young. And he wanted to do a sit-down with Kenneth Copeland, who's like one of these Prosperity gospel people. And Kenneth Copeland has a very long history. I I don't follow him. You know, it is, you know, if that's what you do and you want to give money to a program or a ministry or a televangelist like that, that's up to you.

So anyway, Kenneth Copeland is um worth uh a bazillion dollars. And he's got a massive ranch. And it used to be a Marine Corps air station, 33 acres. And he's got a lot of he's just got a lot of money. I mean.

A lot of money. And he asked people to send him money, and he was. He serves on President Trump's advisory board. He's got the jet, the private jets, you know, that kind of, it's that crowd. A side note.

Just a side note, when Franklin, when Billy Graham passed away, The Graham family asked me to attend the funeral, and I was honored. Yeah. And it was at the Billy Graham President, it's Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.

So Dylan, I'm flying down there. And they had these little jitneys, you know, these little tiny mini buses, and they picked people up. And I'm not going to tell you who all was in this jitney. But a very a lot of the people that you would consider to be Christian influencer type people were on this, and then there was me. I was the regular Joe.

And so they're taking us.

So we were leaving the funeral. I got there. I got there early and I took a cab to get to the library. But on the way back, they were going to drop us off of the airport. But first, they did a stop at the private jet airport.

And there must have been, I guess there were 35, 40 people. No, it was 40 there were 40 people on the bus. All of them got out and went to their private jets. There was one person left on the jitney, It was yours truly. And the driver says Where's your jet?

And I said, It's Delta. Yeah. And he took me, he just started laughing and shook his head and had to take me to the airport for the regular people.

Something about that doesn't feel, it just doesn't rub the right. It was so weird. It did. It was just a little off-putting because I'm thinking, these people are all preachers. What are they doing with private jets?

I'm like, what the heck? But I'm not judging. I'm just like, I had to stand in a TSA line. and get manhandled. Oh yeah, I got the extra security screening at that one.

You know who is behind me in the line, though? Bill Gaither. Oh, wow.

So they fly normal too. Eco. I like that. They pulled him aside for the special screening, too. Yeah.

He hit the high notes on Amazing Grace. Oh, lovely. Mm-hmm. Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah, Bryce Crawford.

So, anyway, I think there was like this whole thing where he wanted to sit down and do an interview with Kenneth Copeland. About, like, his prosperity gospel, right? That's what Kenneth Goebbels is known for. And I think the whole point of it was to sort of I don't want to say mock, but really sort of call out, you know, the whole prosperity gospel. And Someone sent this to me.

During the interview well the interview was was sponsored. And I want you to listen. You're going to be hearing the voice of Bryce Crawford. Hawking a Christian energy drink. Take a listen.

Sponsor for our episode is my company, Praise Energy, Energy with a Higher Purpose. We've been developing this company for over a year so that people know that the energy drinks and the hydration that are being put out are coming from a gospel-centered, faith-driven business where you know the heart behind the company, the people behind the company love Jesus and want to see everyone know Him as well. There's so many brands out there online that push different agendas and doctrines. And why support those businesses when you can support people who actually want to see the gospel go forth? Our energy drink has 100 milligrams of caffeine that comes from green tea extract, and we use monk fruit, organic cane sugar, and stevia to sweeten the drink to offer the cleanest sweetener possible.

Furthermore, every energy drink, electrolyte package, and all of our products are prayed over before it hits our website or even offered in stores. We even have a QR code feature where you can scan our drink and put in a prayer request. And within 24 hours, a physical person from our team will have prayed for your prayer. If you want to know when we go live and offer our Products for availability. Go to drinkpraise.com, sign up today so you could be the first to know when we launch.

Go to drinkpraise.com, sign up today so you know when we launch energy with a higher purpose.

So, um I I thought this was a joke. I it's it's a real thing. And I don't know. I drink Gatorade, so I don't know if that makes me a heathen. And I don't know if any.

I don't know. The leftist Gatorade agenda. I don't believe. I hope somebody prayed over my Gatorade, but I. And I appreciate that.

And I'm not mocking, I'm really not mocking him. But the question is: this guy is all upset because Kenneth Copeland. is out there Raking in millions of dollars. In the name of the Lord, And at the same time, this guy, Bryce Crawford, is going down to interview Kenneth Copeland. And I'm assuming to have a healthy debate about all of this, which I don't know when that's going to be released, but we'll I'm interested.

I'm going to watch it. But the whole interview with Kenneth Copeland to call out prosperity teaching. is being sponsored Buy a faith-based energy drink. I I just I don't get it. I just don't get it.

And it's just, you know, when you step back and I've been in this world, you know, I cover this world on a regular basis, and I get to see a lot of people for who they really are. And And I I don't begrudge anybody for wanting to make a buck. I don't. But if you're going to go out there and you're going to criticize somebody for making money off of Jesus, and you're turning around and you're making money off of Jesus. Yeah, I'm going to call you out on that because that just doesn't make it, that's weird to me.

Weird to me.

So Anyway, oh, and he's got his own merch. I mean, that's like Bryce Crawford, he's got like his own merch. Yeah, he's a full-on influencer. Yeah. It is weird.

It is weird. I don't get it. It is very ironic, though, that he is selling something and he is sponsoring himself. on a podcast about prosperity gospel.

Somebody sent me, and I thought it was a joke. I'm like, there's no way this guy, he's mocking. At first, I thought, oh, wow, what a clever way to mock, you know, the prosperity gospel thing, you know? I don't buy into the prosperity gospel thing. I don't, that's, but if that's your thing, that's your thing.

But I I just thought it was but But it's not. And I wonder if Kenneth Copeland, you know, in the interview, called him out on it. You know, I mean, it's crazy. I'm sure he was like, I wish I had that idea. I was thinking about doing a juice mark, like a Christian I wanted to like franchise for all the churches.

I I sketched out an idea. Yeah. Like every church in America, you know, because they had the all the churches have like the coffee houses and they have clever names. Yep. And so I wanted to come up with one that was a little bit healthier.

And it was going to be like freshly squeezed like You know, orange juice and all this other kind of stuff. And you could franchise it.

So your church, you know, we'd we'd package everything. It's kind of like Chick-fil-A for church, except this would be open on Sunday. And I had already come up with the name and everything, King of the Juice. Yeah. Write it.

Yeah. That's it. Marketing genius. I couldn't get investors. I couldn't.

I'm shocked. Anybody miss the old days when I don't know, you go to church. Ye hear the gospel presented? You open up the Bible, you study the Bible. You present the gospel message, people get saved.

You go to church training on Sunday night and you learn how to apply your faith to your life. Anybody remember those days? Are any churches actually doing that in America anymore? Or is it all just I don't know. Influencers.

Here's the problem. With all these influencers, I think. I don't think they're all that influential. 901-260-5926. Our telephone number.

That's 901-260-5926. This is the Tom Stearn Show. Yeah. I want to play something for you. This woman is running for.

for Congress in Florida's first congressional district. And I don't think she's got much of a chance, but maybe she does. I want you to listen to this. And I want you to try to figure out which political party she actually is a member of. Take a listen to Cut One.

Welcome to Florida's first congressional district, Jimmy Petronas. I'm going to give you a little tour today since you don't actually live here. You know, in case you want to visit sometime. Our home has a unique culture, a rich military history, and a food and music scene that's worth the visit. When you get here, you better slow down for the Three Mile Bridge speed trap.

It's pretty easy to miss. Most tourists do. But we'll forgive you this time. You have to spare some time for our district's vibrant art scene.

Well, that turned out pretty damn good. And in case you get hungry, we'll save you a plate because we treat strangers like our own. There are so many reasons to visit our district. But what really makes this place special is its people, especially the ones who step up to represent their hometown. Jimmy, your choices have left us with some serious challenges.

Cost of food, housing, Insurance, just to name a few. Hell, we're bigger than some numbers on a spreadsheet. And we deserve a full-time leader, not a part-time tourist. That's why I'm running for Congress. District 1, I want to represent you because I'm one of you.

It's gonna take all of us, y'all.

So dust yourself off. And find something orange. Jimmy, bless your heart. We hope you enjoyed your visit. But we'll take it from here.

I'm Gabe Valamont and I approve this message.

So, someone sent this to me last night, and when I'm listening to this. And I'm watching it. It's really a very well done. Campaign at, and she's running for the first congressional district there in Florida against Jimmy Petronas. And it took me a second because I thought she was a Republican.

My eyebrow raised when she started talking about the vibrant art scene, because that's not something typically that. Yeah. That Republicans talked about. But I'm sitting here going. Holy crap, this is a really good campaign ad.

And she may very well, look, this is a heavily Republican district. She's already run for office once before and lost.

So it, I mean, there would have to be something somewhat catastrophic happened in the midterm elections for her to win. But I'm telling you, that is a way if the Democrats are trying to get their messaging out there. That's one way to do it right there. All right, got to take a break. 901-260-5926.

I have a question. What is it going to take? For Republicans to win the midterms. What do they need to be doing here? We'll be right back.

Don, I'll tell you what the the Republicans need to do if they're going to win midterms. They need to get up off their asses and get out and vote. That's as blunt as that can be.

Well, thank you. That's Mark from the Villages using our shout-out function over on the Todd Stern Show app. And if you're not downloading, if you haven't downloaded the app, you got to listen to the show on the app. It sounds so good. You can do that by going to ToddSterns.com free of charge for you to download.

Let's go to the phone lines: 901-260-5926-Maria in Hendersonville, North Carolina. What a wonderful town. Hi, Maria. What's on your mind? Hi, Todd.

I was wanting to appeal to America to not fall for the Democrats who are presenting themselves as moderates And Center Lane. They're wanting to jump on the Christian bandwagon. It is only a baked. and switch Tactic just like that Governor Spam Burger in Virginia used. She got in with that, and then the very next day she went right back to her progressive policies.

It's deception. America, please don't fall for it. It's bait and switch. Like a fisherman, he puts that bait on the hook. gets you on the hook, reels you in and then will gut you and either throw your carcass in the trash or put you in the frying pan.

America don't fall for these Democrats and this moderate Date and switch tactic, please. Wow, I could not have said it any better, Maria. And you're right. What happened in Virginia is a great example of the bait and switch. You had Abigail Spanberger, and she campaigned as some sort of a moderate, center-ish, you know, yellow dog Democrat, and she's turned out to be lying about the whole thing, and she's a radical leftist.

And, well, you got what you voted for, Virginia. That's right. All right, Maria, thank you for that. Good, it's a good point she raises. By the way, have you seen Dylan?

Did you see the. The new Trump Presidential Library renderings. Oh yes. Wow. Looks wonderful.

That's it's spectacular. Spectacular.

So Whoopee Goldberg is all upset. And she says that the New Presidential Library proposed by President Trump looks like a male appendage. I will say this: it is huge. It is a huge skyscraper. And it is absolutely breathtaking.

And we've got the video over on our social media pages. I'd encourage you to go and check it out. Let us know what you think. I'm telling you, it is one of the most beautiful Jaw-dropping presidential libraries. In history, hands down, hands down.

So this is going to be built in downtown Miami. There's about two and a half acres or so that was donated to the president, and they're going to build this massive skyscraper. And it's emblazoned with uh with Trump's name. A massive American flag. The golden escalator is going to be in this thing.

Remember when Trump came down the golden escalator at. At the Trump Tower there in New York City to announce he was running. That's going to be there, including. an Air Force One. One of the Air Force Ones is going to be located.

They they've got a full size replica of the Oval Office and the Rose Garden and that ballroom that he's building where the the East Wing once stood. And they're doing replicas of those at what they're, you know, at the at the tower. And this thing could very well be one of the it reminded me of Freedom Tower in New York City, and has this huge spire on the top that's red, white, and blue. I've never seen anything so patriotic and absolutely so beautiful.

So Eric Trump announced this yesterday. He says Miami deserves this building. it will be a masterpiece the likes of which have never been seen in Florida or really anywhere. And I will say this: one of the other things that they've got, this really set off the limbs. A giant golden statue of President Trump.

With his fist raised, and that stands on the stage of an auditorium. The tower's front entrance shows the bottom half of the statue. It's going to be so enraging to the to the libtards. The Freedom Tower will be dwarfed by the Library Tower, which would go up on a parking lot that Governor DeSantis managed to get for the President. And it just, it is just absolutely beautiful.

There's also a giant. I mean giant American flag hanging down from the center of the Of to the tower. I can't get over the golden image of the president. That's That's brilliant. Yeah.

So, anyway, a lot of people are really upset about this. And they're like, oh, how could the president do something like this? People are hurting. And you know what? Every president has a library.

And I just want to remind you of that god-awful dystopian Death Star that Barack Hussein Obama is building in Chicago. I mean, that thing it looks like some sort of dystopian nightmare. And then you have this beautiful gold tower in downtown Miami. That is all about America. And I don't, nobody can figure out what Obama's doing.

I mean, it's hideous. Dylan, have you seen the Obama library? Yeah, does it even have windows? It doesn't look like it does. You know what?

I would be afraid to go in because I may not be able to get out. That's true. That would be my concern there. But one of the things I love about Trump's library is it's transparent.

So with all the windows, you can see right through it. It's almost the complete opposite, actually, of the. Exactly. Exactly. So I, you know, all these architects, they're going to be poo-pooing it.

You know, they're already, the New York Times did this big hit piece on President Trump's East Wing expansion of the ballroom. The roof is pitched too high. By the way, one of the complaints they had were there were fake windows you can't even see. How How uncouth was Well, it turned out that was the bathroom. That's why you don't want to be peeping in and watching people using the bathroom.

These people.

So anyway, well done to you, Mr. President. They're going to have to raise a lot of money, and I think they're going to be able to, they're not going to have any problem with it. I would go. I want to be there.

And I'm telling you, that is going to be a destination vacation. or American citizens. You know what? We may need to do a road trip down there once they get that thing built. And I've been to some presidential libraries.

Look, I thought Ronald Reagan's was spectacular. I've heard that Richard Nixon's is just really incredible out in California. Went to George W's at Southern Methodist and was okay. I mean, it was all right. That's where I got my uh hat, by the way.

My cowboy hat. It was vice. Nice. This is where you learned how to rodeo, huh?

Well, I think the store clerk was trying to rodeo me. She was selling me everything in that store. She was like Miss Texas.

So you can't just get the hat. You also have to get the boots and the whole nine yards. Yes. How to partner. Eeeehoo!

Cowboy Star. That was a lot of fun. That was a great trip, actually. But I'm just telling you right now, I mean, when you think about presidential libraries, would you rather go to the Death Star in Chicago or down to Miami? I'm thinking Miami, my friends.

All right, 901-260-5926. Our telephone number, that's 901-260-5926.

So we had a Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. She's from East Tennessee. She hopped on our Newsmax show last night. She's really fired up over the Senate, and I want you to hear what she had to say. All right.

Joining me now, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, a Republican from Tennessee. Congresswoman, good to see you. You know, one of the things that really bothered me, and maybe you can help me understand why I was bothered, people standing in long lines, and yet we saw members of the U.S. Senate being escorted around those lines. They had, I guess, exclusive access that the rest of us don't have.

That really sort of set me off, Congresswoman.

Well, it was set me off, too. I've never done that, Todd. You know, I drive back and forth from Tennessee to D.C., but. You know, it's funny you mentioned that because there is a bill in the Senate and they want me to carry it in the House. That says you can't jump line if you're a congressperson.

You gotta wait in line just like everybody else.

So I guess we're gonna fix that problem right now. I know there have been some of your colleagues in Tennessee, Congressman John Rose, also Congressman Tim Burchett, that are calling for John Thune to be replaced as Senate leader. Curious what you think about that.

Well, you got to lead to be a leader. And right now, what they sent over in the dead of night was putting zero dollars toward Department of Homeland Security, zero dollars for us. They must have thought we weren't going to read the bill. And I'm glad that Speaker Johnson got a righteous anger and said, you're not going to stuff this crap bill down our throat. We're going to work to send back full funding, as we've done three different times, send it back to the Senate.

Now the ball's in their court. They're going to have to do something good. And I don't get it. You know, they were on the floor at 2 a.m., five people doing unanimous consent, but. From some of the clips I've seen, after they did that, they headed to the airport.

So they must have thought they had pulled one over on us, Todd. It's a fair observation to make.

Meanwhile, the Save Act, you know, what's interesting, or Save America Act, what's interesting about Tennessee, for example, we have to show some form of identification when we go to vote, and Tennessee has one of the least problems among states with voter fraud. How important is it that we get this across the finish line?

Well, if you ask the average American, they think it's crazy that we don't have to show an ID to vote. If you have to show an ID to get on a plane, if you have to show an ID to do anything, why wouldn't you have to show one to vote? And this is how the Democrats have cheated time after time. You don't have to show a voter ID or proof of citizenship. And there's a lot more in the SAVE Act.

And in the Save America Act, they just put those two requirements, which are very common sense requirements. But we need to do that. And we wanted to attach at least the voter ID to what we sent over to the Senate. But they sent us such a sorry bill back that we're going to do that when we send something else over. And we're trying to see if we can get that through a second reconciliation if their parliamentarian doesn't strip it out like she did most everything last time.

I'd fire her before I'd fire Thu, and then I'd fire him. I want to switch real quick here to the conflict in Iran. The president now threatening to, quote, obliterate Iran's power plants. Tehran is saying the U.S. plan is unrealistic.

What do you say, and what are you hearing from your constituents about the war?

Well, the ones that have contacted me are saying you better stay until the job's done, finish it up, and do whatever you've got to do. And there's a mixed concerns about whether we go ahead and do that.

Some people want boots on the ground, some don't. But look, these people have tormented. us for over 50 years and nobody's lifted a finger to do anything about it.

Now they're attacking their neighboring states and they want us to they're going to pull together and so all I can tell you is people that I talk to want them to scour the earth with them. Do it, get it done once and for all before you come back home. All right, welcome back, everybody. This is the Todd Starns Radio Show.

So a lot of Republican lawmakers now calling for Senator John Thune to step aside. We're keeping an eye on this. Folks, it's not going to happen. It's just not going to happen. Anyway, we had a chance to talk to Congressman Buddy Carter from Georgia, now running for the Senate.

Let's take a listen.

Well, first of all, in the early morning hours Friday, the Senate tried to jam us, and they sent over a bill that was unacceptable and then left town.

Well, we did our job for the fourth time. We passed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and we passed it through a continuing resolution to get us through the next short period of time. And we've got to get this done.

Now, this is something that's very important. For the safety of Americans, keep in mind that the number one responsibility of the federal government is to protect our homeland, protect our citizens. We can only do that with a strong defense and with a strong Department of Homeland Security. When TSA is not getting paid, when ICE is not getting paid, you know, these are people who are under tremendous strain. TSA is already under a lot of stress.

And to add more stress to it when you're not getting paid for the work you're doing, that's unfair. It's not only unfair, but it's dangerous. When you have that much stress, you're susceptible to making more mistakes that normally you wouldn't make. And again, this is the Senate Democrats who are holding up funding for a vital service that we need now, perhaps more than ever. With the conflict in Iran, we need to make sure that we are guarding against terrorist attacks.

Yet, John Osoff and the Senate Democrats are putting illegal immigrants and terrorists. above the safety of the American people.

So, you've got several Republicans over on the House side saying it's time for new leadership in the Senate. Would you be one of those people? Do you believe it's time for Thune to step aside?

Well, that's really not for me to say. You know, they've got to work out their own problems over there. And I hope to be over there next year, and I plan to be over there next year as a senator from the state of Georgia. And then I'll have the opportunity to address that. But right now, I know that we've got to get on the same page, and we've got to get the Department of Homeland Security.

We've got to get them appropriated and funded so that they can continue to do their job and protect Americans and protect the safety of Americans. We were fighting against the wrong people here. We need to be fighting against the Democrats, the Democrats like John Ossoff and those who have voted against funding DHS. All right, but I got to interrupt here, Mr. Congressman, but you're dodging me, and I don't want you to dodge.

I mean, you've been on the program many times before. You're a straight shooter. The problem here is not just the Democrats. It's also the guy in charge, the leadership, and that guy is John Thune.

So why not come out and say whether or not the guy deserves to be in leadership?

Well, again, I can only control what I can control in the House. And I control my vote, and we have voted four times to fund Department of Homeland Security. But the Senate, they need to do away with the filibuster. I will tell you that. They need to do away with the filibuster.

They need to get the entire Department of Homeland Security funded. It all needs to be funded, not just part of it. I agree with the President. It's any bill that funds only part of it, a part of a public safety component is not a good bill. And this is something that has to get done.

We need to have all of Department of Homeland Security funded so that we can protect our citizens.

Well, let's talk about the Save America Act. Your party, again, holding that up in the Senate. 80% of Americans, and that includes a lot of Democrats, think that voters should have to show an ID to vote. But again, I get it. Democrats, you know, they refuse to do anything about this, as well as the majority leader in the Senate.

How do we get past that big hurdle?

Well, again, this is where the filibuster is a problem, and they need to at least do a talking filibuster so that we can make the Democrats at least earn what they're doing now, and that is blocking something that 80% of Americans want. And this is typical of John Ossoff and the Democrats, who are blocking something that 80% of American citizens want, and that is to have a photo ID when you vote. You have to have a photo ID for almost anything anymore. And get on an airplane. To go to a rally for John Ossoff, you have to have a photo ID.

To shovel snow in New York City, you got to have an ID. All of these things, it's just ludicrous. To think that they could put illegal immigrants and terrorists in front of the safety of American citizens. The right to vote is one of the most precious rights that we have in this country. We have veterans who have sacrificed and served in order to defend that right.

And for this Senate not to pass that, for the Senate Democrats to block it. This is something they're going to be held accountable for come November. We can make sure of that. All right, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Hey, head over to ToddSterns.com.

You'll be able to get all of our interviews free of charge. That's toddstearns.com. We'll see you tonight, 5 o'clock Eastern on Newsmax. Get out there and be good, everybody.