Todd Starnes says Chick Fil A is condoning same sex marriage

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Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Tuesday, December 16th. And while there is so much evil going on in the world and so many, fights that conservatives are rightly standing up for, it is discouraging I think a little bit when the corporations and individuals and even government officials who are supposed to be on our side. waffle. And that definitely describes Chick Fil? A, which I've always described as God's chicken. I love Chick Fil A. And it's very sad to see this headline coming from the Washington stand. Chick Fil A waffles on wokeness with same sex marriage, Marriage Post and DEI Focus. So it goes on to say while most of corporate America wisely took the temperature of angry consumers and backed away from woke politics, one shocking holdout remains. Chick Fil? A, the beloved fast food franchise who's best known for its Christian ownership and family centric policies, is quietly still condoning a message that is radically at odds with the biblical values that most people associate them with, including, including same sex marriage. So to the shock of fans, last week a Utah franchise posted a gushing set of photos of two men in each other's arms from their official account with the headline congratulations to the happy couple. Dougie and Toby recently got married and we are beyond happy for them and included a ring emoji. So a lot of, commentary and backlash on this particular Chick Fil A. And most of the chains are run by local operations. But the fact that any location felt comfortable doing this, knowing what the brand stands for raises a lot of questions. So let's welcome in, Todd Starnes, who is a radio host, a newsmax, a TV host, has a lot of books out and a lot going on. So Todd, you know, this was just very disappointing and I don't Think, at least as of now, that I've seen we've heard anything, ah, from Chick Fil A Corporate. So what does that indicate to you?

Todd Starnes: Well, we have heard from Chick Fil A Corporate and they have decided to double down. Yesterday, the Washington Stand published a follow up story where a number of their readers actually reached out to Chick Fil A to raise questions. And these are really legitimate questions. I think a lot of Christians put it all on the line for Chick Fil a back in 2012. ironically, my story about Chick Fil A actually led to Governor Huckabee launching the nationwide campaign to stand in solidarity with the restaurant. And, it really became a national movement. And Governor Huckabee now says that was probably one of the worst decisions and one of the biggest regrets he's ever made. which is really saying a lot for the governor. But anyway, Chick Fil A came out and they responded to these concerned folks and they are doubling down and saying they embrace all people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. they also go on to affirm, their division of diversity, equity and inclusion. They actually have a DEI division at Chick Fil A to provide a welcoming and inclusive place for all of their diners and their staff. So, this is, I think, really a shock for a lot of Christian families. Jenna, not, terribly surprised though, because when, you know, and we've seen this not only in the restaurant world, of the business world, but also in the Christian world where the sons of, rock solid conservative, pastors, Bible believing pastors have gone woke. I think we're certainly seeing that now at Chick Fil A. Yeah, and this.

Jenna Ellis: Just, you know, that response from, corporate is really, frustrating that they would double down like that and stand by the DEI comments and include, you know, all of the lgbtq, diversity and inclusivity. this doesn't, for one, Todd, this doesn't at all fall in line with their brand and the, their obvious mainline base, which is Christian families. obviously, you know, other people go to Chick Fil A as well, but that's, you know, as you rightly pointed out, it was Christians who stood by them, and have stood by them. And so, you know, this seems to be as, as confounding as some of the other brands in the past that have done things, seemingly for their bottom line, perhaps. But it m Majorly backfires. I mean, I'm thinking right away of the Bud Light controversy and that completely backfired on them. when John Deere went dei. And there doesn't really seem to be that clear of a motivation of why there's so much pressure on these corporations, to, to go down the diversity route, especially one like Chick Fil A. I mean, it would be the same thing as, as Hobby Lobby. I mean, these, these companies have already taken a stand in the past, for a Christian message. So why would Chick Fil A, go down this route?

Todd Starnes: Well, I think there's been changes in leadership, there's been changes in culture. And that was really. That was there all along, actually. And Chick Fil A, I remember in our covering the story, if you go back, Chick Fil A did not really ever say anything as all of these Christians were coming out and supporting their restaurants. They did not say a word. It's interesting, a couple of years after that, I was giving a speech and one of the local franchise owner operators found out I was coming and they wanted to make me an honorary Chick Fil a employee of the day and had like, a little name badge made the whole nine years, had a uniform. And when corporate found out, they would not allow me to, you know, they would not allow the restaurant to, let me work at their facility because they said it would, you know, it was too political. So we've sort of known this and, you know, I've been pretty quiet about it until, Well, over the past couple of years I've been doing some writing about Chick Fil A and how they have gone, woke up. And that's really unfortunate. And, you know, my recommendation, you know, for one thing, it's. I mean, it's good. Their product is pretty good, but it's also very expensive. And I can tell you that, you know, I'm. I'm now getting my chicken over at Bojangles.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And I think that, you know, there's really no incentive now, for Christians to support Chick Fil A in the same way that we once did, if that's not, being reciprocated. And in fact, Chick Fil a is going against what Christians have believed it always stood for. And, and this leadership came and we could. Their founder, Truett Cathy, passed away in, I think it was about 2014. And so, you know, I mean, he hasn't been part of the company for, over a decade, at least. And so when they've changed leadership, how did that happen? That it didn't. Chick Fil A didn't carry on his legacy because, you know, this certainly wouldn't be something that would happen under his watch.

Todd Starnes: Well and the Sons actually did a pretty good job. But that's when it actually started. Dan Cathy, infamously, you might recall this during a Christian gathering, when all of the you know, the repent of your whiteness thing, everybody was, you know, we were all confessing our sins of being white. And Dan Cathy actually got down and washed the feet of. I believe it was Lecrae on stage. And to me that was the, that was the moment that Chick Fil a crossed the Rubicon. And look, this is happening. I think, look the average afr, I think even the non regular AFR listener, they're all tuned into this. But they all, I think just about all the AFR folks go to good solid Bible believing churches. But a lot of these, a lot of these megachurches around the country, they bought into all of this wokeness and it really is impacting a lot of, a lot of Christian business owners. And I think that's what really happened with Chick Fil a. It's. I think the wokeness came from whatever churches they were going to in the Atlanta area and spread from there.

Jenna Ellis: Wow, that is a really sad commentary and I think a correct commentary Todd Starnes on the state of the American church. And you know when you look at the difference between kind of the, the old guard Christians and, and those of us who are still you know, carrying the standard for sound doctrine, for what the church should be and you compare that to a lot of these woke mega churches.

Todd: This shows how ineffective a lot of churches are

it's really sad to see how in the family, you know, from those generations there's such a difference. And you know we've been talking especially yesterday in the headlines with this, this just horrible tragedy with Rob Reiner and his wife being stabbed to death by their own son. allegedly is what. What the headlines are are reporting. to think that these types of things happen in especially the United States, when we have for so long as a society emphasized the. The church and the family as the epicenter of society. this just shows how ineffective a lot of churches are. And the DEI stuff may not seem as shocking comparatively to you know, some of these other headlines with with murders happening. But it still shows I think an overall crumbling of a worldview in a society that's built on Christ and the truth of the word of God.

Todd Starnes: And I think that's a fair assessment there. And one slight correction to what I shared with you. It wasn't that he washed Lecrae's feet, he shined his shoes, and they were at Passion City Church in Atlanta with Louie Giglio on stage. And, the, you know, the whole conversation was about fighting racism and repenting for our racist past. And it caused all sorts of chaos and controversy at the time. So I think we, you know, I think people, you know, within the body of Christ need to wake up and understand that a lot of beloved institutions have been infected with this sort of wokeness. It may not be all that evident, as was the case of Chick Fil A, which is now sort of all out in the open, if you will. And I think people just need to really, you know, do we need a boycott Chick Fil A? Well, I'm not calling on anybod to boycott anybody. But, you know, if you've got a. If, if you are eating your chicken sandwich based on that company's, you know, belief system, then you really may want to rethink eating at Chick Fil A.

Jenna Ellis: Right? And I think that's, the, the bottom line here in terms of understanding what's really going on. If there has been a depth of loyalty, which, you know, a lot, especially in the South. I mean, a lot of, of Christians there have supported Chick Fil A over the years because of their Christian viewpoint, the same as. As well. And, you know, there, there are a precious few, other corporations I, mentioned Hobby Lobby, you know, those that have in the past specifically, been openly Christian. And so to understand that now Chick Fil A is not one of them, then we can base our decision being more informed as to what their company, is actually doing. And it's really sad as well. Todd starts to see that with so many loyal customers writing in and with many. So such backlash, with your reporting as well. And I know there have been, you know, a lot of other Christians, including my good friend Meg Basham from the Daily Wire that's been posting about this. it would seem like Chick Fil A would at the very least recognize their customer base. But it seems like, their priorities now are wokeness and this worldview over even their bottom line, which again, just like Bud Light and, you know, some of those other companies. That's what really shocks me. It's not necessarily going down the DEI route like so many others, but that when they get such severe backlash, they double down.

Todd Starnes: Well, they do. And I think, look, and Chick Fil A will be quick to tell you they told Mike Huckabee this Chick Fil A will say, we didn't ask any of you to stand up for us. We didn't ask you to do that. And you know, it's a fair, it's a fair point when you step back and think about it. Wow, they're right. Nope. You know, we, we did that because we felt like it was the Christian thing to do. so, you know, I think now everybody knows the playing field. Everybody knows that at Chick Fil? A it's really not about their value system. It's about the bottom line. And they have replaced those traditional values with this woke theology of diversity, equity and inclusion. And that's their right to do. It's America. It's a free country. If that's, you know, how you like to, flavor your chicken, then so be it. But, but I think a lot of Christians are going to be going somewhere else and they're going to be spending their money elsewhere as a result of Chick Fil A's decisions here.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. Well, I really appreciate your reporting on this, Todd Starnes and dropping by as well to to give us the response from a Chick Fil A corporate and keeping us posted on this. It's good to be informed on, everything that is going on here so that we can, as Christians make the best decision for ourselves and our family. So, follow Todd Starnes on X and also, get a lot of his great books on, his website, Todd Starnes.com wherever books are sold. And we will be right back with more here on Jenna Ellis in the morning.

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Jenna Ellis: Erica Kirk met with Candace Owens over Charlie Kirk controversy

welcome back to Jenna Ellis in. The Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, if you have been paying attention to, all of, of the drama and I, I can only classify it as drama between tp, USA and Candace Owens. The latest update is that yesterday, which I think was the original day anyway, that, TPO said invited Candace to come and be part of a live stream to sort of debunk some of the, conspiracy theories that she's been floating around. She had said she was not available for that yet somehow was available in Nashville for Erica Kirk to fly there and they met in person. And then yesterday, kind of later last night, both of the ladies posted, kind of similar messages. So Erica Kirk said had a very productive conversation with real Candace. Oh, more to come from both of us. Looking forward to AM Fest this week. Time to get back to work. Meanwhile, Candace posted a little bit longer. Erica and I had an extremely productive four and a half hour meeting that I think we both feel should have taken place a lot earlier than it did. We agreed much more than I had anticipated. Of course, we also disagreed on various points and people as well. Most importantly, we were able to share intel and clarify intent. I will of course have a full rundown for you all tomorrow as I'm currently exhausted. But I wanted to quickly let you guys know that absolutely nothing was held back and the immediate result was that tensions were thawed. So a couple of quick thoughts on this. first of all, this is, in my opinion, ridiculous that Erica Kirk even needs to recognize Candace. The fact that she's talking about sharing intel as if she's some sort of actual like, private investigator that's been world renowned and is on the case is utterly ridiculous at best. She is a tangential, former friend of Charlie Kirk's that is interested in, perhaps in justice, for Charlie. I think she's a lot more interested in just the clicks and the views of her podcast. But even if we extend the most grace possible to her and say she's interested in justice for Charlie, that's all of us who, who knew Charlie personally like I did or, or many of you, who are listening to this program right now listen to Charlie, ah, knew of him at least, and want justice for him. We all do. But we're all not sitting here, believing that somehow we hold the keys to help the FBI. So it's utterly ridiculous that Erica even needs to recognize Candace or be focused on this other just pestering voice out there while she has so much work to do to continue, her late husband's legacy to take over for Turning Point, which I think is remarkable that she's doing while in the midst of grieving and having two very young children. so Erica is. Though, if she's going to acknowledge this at all, I think she's wise to try to reconcile it privately. And yet this really isn't private because it's all incredibly public and you're dealing with somebody like a Candace Owens, who, again, in my opinion, I don't think is coming to the table in good faith and is causing so much unnecessary drama. And the thing that bothers me from both of these posts is it's kind of like more to come, you know, wait and see, you know, for season two, episode three of the drama of Turning Point. And. But I just don't buy into the continued unnecessary drama of something that is a real and very serious matter, which is the death of Charlie Kirk. The. And everything that goes into the assassination. wanting the answers, but we're all awaiting, the trial or the plea or however that is resolved with, the alleged killer that, is awaiting trial in Utah, which, by the way, this is not the FBI, that and the federal government that is prosecuting the case. It's the state of Utah the FBI came in to assist. But, but it's Utah that is the primary law enforcement and also, is the, the primary prosecutors of the case. And we all need to, pray for justice. And I'm very disgusted, frankly, with all of the drama, that is going on and the emphasis from so many people across social media, conservative politics and everything that are talking more about the beef between Candace and TP USA than they are about the fact that Charlie was assassinated and focusing on, revival that at least seemed to be occurring right after his assassination.

So, uh, let's welcome in Auron MacIntyre

So, let's welcome in Oren McIntyre, who's a host at the Blaze, and has had some really good commentary on this as well. Because, Oren, I just, you know, I, I just feel like it's so. It's all so unnecessary on so many levels. And do we have Oren? I'm, not hearing Oren. Ah, yes. There we go. All right, thanks. Wasn't hearing my producers either, so.

Oren Lieberman: Erica Kirk losing her husband to an assassination is difficult

All right. so, yes, Oren, so what's your take on all of this?

Auron MacIntyre: Well, like you, I think it's ridiculous that Erica Kirk has to deal with this. Obviously, this is a horrible public tragedy that she's going through. It's difficult enough to lose a spouse in any circumstance, and to lose one to an assassination is particularly horrific. But on top of that, she has to figure out how to deal with the public fallout. She has to figure out to carry on this man's legacy and honor him. She has to figure out how to be a mother now with two children who do not have a father. And the fact that on top of all of that, she has to deal with the idea that somehow she might have been complicit or interested in her husband's death. She has to send off all these different conspiracy theories. It's very difficult. I ultimately would not have advised her to enter into a discussion with Candace Owens, but it seems like both of them have said it was ultimately productive and might lead to some kind of resolution. So if that's the case, then hopefully it was actually productive and something good came out of it.

Jenna Ellis: We can only hope, because, I have less of a positive view of this potential outcome, and I may be wrong. And I'm hoping and praying that we can kind of all set this aside and there is a resolution. But because there has been so much attention and focus on Candace Owens, I mean, she's. She's getting, you know, millions of views for each podcast. It really doesn't seem like it's in her own selfish best interest to resolve this, but rather to extend the drama to kind of slow roll out the Meeting and NewSong York Post even Oren wrote a piece, published just this morning that's titled Inside Candace Owens Sadistic and Dangerous World. Monetizing baseless conspiracies goes on to say, Candace Owens attacks on Erica Kirk are fueled by her own jealousy and bitterness at being pushed out of Turning Point USA sources claim to the Post. And so, you know, it goes on to talk about, for those who have crossed her path. Owens disregard for the truth, pursuit of attention, and reckless behavior are all calculated, from just my personal interactions, with Candace and what I saw with her at the Daily Wire, before she was ultimately let go. I think, you know, wisely of Jeremy Boring and everyone at Daily Wire. M. It does seem like that's the only focus. And it's not so much justice for Charlie and focusing on him. It's more about attention on herself. So if that is the case, one, I think Christians need to be very discerning in not just gravitating toward the drama, but actually recognizing some of these nefarious motivations. But then also, this type of resolution, wouldn't satisfy a, you know, somebody who is, or, any type of positive resolution isn't going to satisfy somebody who is so focused just on monetizing their brand.

Auron MacIntyre: Well, and hopefully that's what becomes apparent to her audience if that's the case. You know, if you go through all of this, if you have this discussion, if you end up making these statements that resolutions were met and that understandings were achieved, and then you turn around and return to the drama and the drip feed and the constant, excuse me, constant beating of that drum, hopefully it becomes quickly apparent to the public that you have bad faith. Ultimately it's clear that Candace has some level of hardcore audience that's going to follow her and the drama that she's generating no matter what. So maybe her incentive is ultimately to feed into that, but that will ultimately lose credibility on some level. But it is undeniably the fact that this kind of drama always has a home, it always has an audience. And I don't know if people can ultimately avoid that fact.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And I think that, that Oren speaks to kind of a broader problem with a lot of these influencers. And we saw this during the rise of the COVID drama and conspiracies as well because there was so much that obviously needed to be talked about, needed to be uncovered and rightly shared. And I'm not discounting, you know, any of that. I was totally against, the vaccine mandates, you know, totally, you know, for transparency in terms of, you know, what, the COVID shots were ultimately problematic, health wise, all of that. But it also created, I think, this, this sense that independent podcasters and these influencers could go down any sort of kind of Alex Jones conspiracy theory route and get so many views and would rapidly, easily be believed and mainline some of these conspiracies in a way that I think has prompted more drama overall and more people to gravitate toward these conspiracy theories than is ultimately helpful for, truth based, fact based, discerning Christians. And I think we really need to be careful of that.

Auron MacIntyre: Well, I think that's certainly true, but there's a, ah, you know, there's kind of a cost that was attached to everything that happened with COVID Right. We had really an epistemological crisis because every one of the institutions that was there to create the narrative, to create truth, to have this consensus fact around, different scientific understandings that all got shattered. And when that happened, people stopped believing the official narrative with very good reason. You know, at some point, if you keep lying, there has to be a consequence. And so Candace Owens, for better or for worse, is that consequence. It's the old Genghis Khan quote. If you hadn't sinned so badly, the Lord wouldn't have sent me to punish you. It's one of those scenarios where people kept playing fast and loose with official narratives and truth from places that people are supposed to respect. And when that happens, the natural consequence is that they no longer look to those institutions for truth. You lose the ability to control the narrative, fence the narrative. Now, in many cases that's great because you were lying about COVID and so many other things. But on the other side of that, people can lie about assassinations and many other things. And it seems just as valid because we've broken our ability to share a truth as a society. There are dire consequences to lying to the public. And while I think Candace Owens is heinous for taking advantage of that fact, it really was inevitable. And the people in charge deserve everything they're getting as they suffer the consequences of their constant lies to the American people.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I totally agree with that. And I think the, the healthy skepticism of the mainline narrative and just kind of a blind trust of government, either way, you know, regardless of who is in power. I mean, I'm certainly not, one that has ever thought that, you know, you can't, for example, criticize Donald Trump if you're maga, or you can't, you know, criticize those in power or you know, any of the petty tyrants if you, if you're a Democrat, you know, or whatever it is. We should all be able to have a healthy skepticism, look at the facts for ourselves, and also decide for ourselves on things like, for example, an experimental drug injection. I mean that, that was something that became so clear, during the whole Covid narrative. But now it seems like everything that is some, that is, that is official, from a government source or agency now is always questioned and never believed just because it's coming from that agency. So this is, I think, ah, an unfortunate reality of where we're at with justice for Charlie because, it seems like there's a huge segment on the right that is not going to believe the officials, report and is not going to believe that, you know, this young man, and I won't say his name, I never like to repeat that on air, give him any more credibility or anything, than he deserves. but that he is actually guilty of this. If he's found guilty, during the process, at trial, or if he pleads guilty. There is a certain segment on the right that will never believe that just because it's coming from official law enforcement, the FBI, and Utah. And I think there's a real danger to justice in that as well.

Auron MacIntyre: Again, absolutely correct, but also entirely predictable. Right. Like there's just this scenario where how many times can you lie to people on the right, to conservatives, and expect them to believe you? And unfortunately, when you, when you again shatter that epistemological basis, there are consequences. Many of them are good. We don't no longer just believe something because the CDC or the World Health Organization tells us that. But at the same time, we also don't just believe things because the FBI tells us that. And we have every reason to be very skeptical about the FBI. I mean, think about the number of agents that were planted in January 6th. But at the same time, that doesn't mean everything the FBI says is a lie. And that means that we have this crisis going on where even when the FBI is telling the truth, it's difficult to believe them because they've lied so many times over and over again that when the calm, reasonable, official narrative finally does come out on an issue, everyone is still scratching their heads. Again, not a situation that I would have manufactured, one I certainly lament, but one that is totally understandable. We should decry the efforts of people like Candace Owens to take advantage of this. But we shouldn't be too surprised about the situation we find ourselves in. This is the natural consequence of what the government has been doing for a very long time.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I completely agree with you that this is the natural consequence. And it's unfortunate that now we have this, this, I think over skepticism, there's a healthy skepticism of government and of, the whole official narrative. there's a healthy distance from, you know, being able to question those in authority or be able to rightly criticize. But then we go so overboard as to disbelieve everything and live totally in conspiracy theory land. That's not healthy either. I think the opposite extremes of either totally believing every narrative or totally disbelieving every narrative, those are not in the, the main line of just simply being discerning.

Oren McIntyre: You have to put trust in your messengers

And so just from a Christian perspective, Oren, how would you encourage people to kind of, maintain a balance between not falling, you know, off as to one extreme or the other, but actually being discerning? Because that's what the Bible calls us to you.

Auron MacIntyre: Well, I think you have to put trust in your messengers. And I think fortunately at this point Candace Owens has proved to be untrustworthy. You know, for, for some of us who remember how Candace Owens got started in this game, there's a app that she was supposed to be working on called Social Autopsy who, which was designed from the beginning to dox right wingers to docs conservatives on the Internet that Candace, who at the time was a woke liberal, did not like. That's how she actually began public life. And it wasn't until the left turned on her that she eventually found the conservative movement and then conveniently moved from one space to another being the based black conservative for certain boomer narratives, then being the MAGA conservative, then being the, I guess Kanye west conservative and then moving to where she is now. It's been a very opportunistic ride where Candace has always maximize the cliques in the audience at every moment, always leveraged her identity and her position for her own benefit. We shouldn't be surprised that this is another phase in this. So it's totally reasonable. I don't, I don't hate people for questioning the narrative on Charlie Kirk's assassination to some degree. But you need to look at the messengers. There are healthy questions of, you know, why don't we know more? Why isn't the Trump administration doing more? Why are we hearing more about motivations and all of these different things that are wrapped up in what's going on. But at the same time you need to remember who's asking those questions and why. So if there's somebody like Candace Owens who has a, I think pretty solid history of chasing the clicks and the views and the attention, you should probably measure what she's saying and what questions she's asking.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, really well said. Well, we got to take a break here, but Orin McIntyre, appreciate it and I think that's really good advice is that you know, we need to look at who is asking the questions and are they asking questions or are they trying to say, hey, I'm just asking questions. But actually driving a narrative with accusations, that are perhaps unfounded and what is their history and trajectory? you can't just look at somebody at one moment in time and, and then absolutely trust, you know, what they say from that point on. Look at the, the span of the, their entire work. and you know, if they've flip flopped on a lot of things, maybe have some healthy skepticism there. So, you know, it's Always really good to just be discerning. And Orin, really appreciate it. And you can follow him at Oren McIntyre on X. We will be right back with more. Foreign.

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social about Robin Reiner's death

welcome back to Jenna Ellis in. The Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, in the midst of Rob Reiner and his wife Myshel's just horrible, horrible murders, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social. And this was the post. A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but one once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away together with his wife Myshel, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as Trump Derangent Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as tds. He was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump. With his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness. And with the golden age of America upon us, perhaps like never before, May Robin Myshel rest in peace, exclamation point. So this was posted less than 24 hours after the murders and received a lot of backlash from actually conservatives and Trump supporters, many very prominent conservative voices, including me, frankly I thought this was very inappropriate and despicable. And, and there were a lot of calls for the White House to take this down because some of the official accounts actually reposted it. And then some other supporters of Trump's just said, well, you know, Trump is Trump and I'm giving him a pass, you know, for various reasons and ultimately it doesn't really matter. So there was a lot of back and forth, on social media yesterday. And Bryland Hollyhand, who is a political activist and a young voice of reason, host of the Bryland Hollyhan show, posted a response and said we can't call out the left for celebrating Charlie's assassination, but then laugh at this because it's a, quote, mean tweet, taking a victory lap when a critic is killed. That's how you lose Gen Z and independence. We can't sit on a pedestal and condemn the left, but then normalize this. So let's welcome in Brian Hollyhand. And I think you have a point here that this isn't just, you know, hey, let Trump be Trump or hey, let's you know, be outraged at this one thing but then kind of move on. I think that there's been enough, at least display that I've seen of many, people who've said, you know, I voted for Trump three times. But, you know, this just kind of was the final straw. I think different people have kind of different, perhaps breaking points here. But, the midterms are rapidly going to be upon us and this type of behavior may genuinely have an impact on Gen Z and independence. So how do you see this? Brylan?

Brilyn Hollyhand: Yeah, Jenna, good morning to you.

Brilyn Hollyhand: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Brilyn Hollyhand: You know, I'd love to be on this morning to talk about the great accomplishments and the success of the golden age, as the President pointed out in the post. But instead of that, he's just, he's detracting from that narrative and attracting from the ability to just talk about the winds because he keeps putting stupid posts like this out. And you're exactly right. It's basically an election year and just a few days we'll be hitting 2026 and start the ground game to win back Gen Z into our party, to make sure that Gen Z voting for The GOP in 2024 wasn't just an anomaly, an accident, a one time shift. But if they were a part of our base going forward, we would not be sitting as the majority in Congress and the White House today if it was not for Gen Z. And keeping their support alongside the independents, as you just mentioned, is pivotal for the future of the Republican Party as a whole. And posts like this just genuinely are, the big things that kind of make a bad taste in Gen Z's mouth. And I actually wasn't going to say anything. I saw the post earlier in the morning, kept on going with my busy day yesterday. But the amount of texts that I had from friends that paid no attention to politics at all that I sit next to in my college classes every single day. I'm a freshman at Auburn. These people were blowing my phone up saying, I can't believe this, like I voted for the guy. You always tell me he's so nice and personable in person. And then you post stuff like this, what's going on? And finally, after the probably 12th, 13th text, I was like, you know what? I'm going to say something. Because so many young people are upset about this. And I think that's the big narrative here. We're allowed to say something here, Jenna. We're not a part of a cult. You saw the big move when the left laughed at Charlie Kirk's assassination. Did Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Kamala Harris, anybody call out the Left for laughing at the cowardly assassination of our friends? No, not a single one. But when an idiotic post like this goes up, your entire social media feed is filled of conservatives with conviction right now standing up and saying, actually, let's have some course correction here. This isn't the end of the world. This isn't making me take my Republican Party card away. But I'm saying that this is another notch in the belt of young people saying, actually, we don't love this entirely. Yes, we love the accomplishments. Yes, we love the peace deal. Yes, we love the, effects of some of the tariffs and how it's going to hopefully improve the economy, but no, necessarily, we don't love all of the commentary. And you know me, Jenna. I will be the first person to tell the media and some of the pansies on the right to unclutch their pearls and take a chill pill when it comes to some of the president's mean tweets. Sometimes you just got to laugh through it. Yes, maybe they're insensitive, okay? But sometimes they're just funny. Commentary like this takes it to a whole new level. This right here is what will lose Gen Z, not only in the midterms, but I think in 2028. Jenna. and we have to course correct now before we're sitting on the other side of the election going, how did we lose such an important phrase.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I think you're really wise to point this out because, you know, there is a difference, I think, between, you know, some of, the. The banter and the commentary that, you know, Trump is. Is known for, versus something like this, that, that very unnecessarily and just stupidly lost the moral high ground for conservatives when talking about Charlie Kirk's assassination and how the left was normalizing political violence and how they were celebrating, Charlie's death. And that was so heinous. And then you have President Trump in the midst of. Of, the. The murders and the untimely deaths of two of his political opponents instead of modeling the behavior of, you know, he didn't have to go and laud them and post this, you know, beautiful eulogy, but he didn't have to go and, and basically post something that came across as very gleeful and, and point toward himself and. And essentially be something that. That strong conservatives need to rightly condemn instead of modeling leadership and show. This is where I think it crossed the line because it's just so unnecessary. And it's. And it's pointing out that basically Trump is almost the equivalent of the left. I mean, he wasn't glorifying it at all in the same way, that the left was with Charlie Kirk's assassination. But at the same time, I think you're right to say that it crossed a line.

Bryon: Gen Z voters loved Trump's policies last November

So where do you think the difference or the line is with Gen Z right now between being able to support the policies of Trump, which I think conservatives all do, and that's great, while being able to perhaps distance and rightfully critique and criticize the personality?

Brilyn Hollyhand: You know, I think a lot of people that went out to the ballot box last November maybe didn't love every single thing about Trump's personality. And guess what, Jenna?

Brilyn Hollyhand: That's okay.

Brilyn Hollyhand: They loved his policies. They love that he could stand behind a podium, speak for three hours, stay awake for three hours, unlike some of the candidates on the left, and actually explained how he was going to improve America. They might not love the spray tan, they might not love the hairstyle, they might not love the mean tweets, but they love the policies that he could put forth. Those groups of people were disenfranchised Democrats, Gen Z voters and independents. And them joining our base is how we got enough to steamroll Kamala Harris in every single swing state. But this right here is what starts to pick apart that narrative where the left and the media continue every single day to say, trump's a mean person, Trump hates people, Trump's full of himself. And then a post like this comes out, and how am I supposed to answer questions on a college campus? And somebody says, well, you just told this story about how gracious Trump was to you and how kind he is behind the scenes, yet publicly he's saying comments like this. This makes Gen Z question every single thing they hear about Trump. What I want to point out, a lot of people are. I mean, I'm just going to read an example of a message that I got this morning. Brylon, huge fan. But I hate your recent post.

Brilyn Hollyhand: You're wrong.

Brilyn Hollyhand: Trump can say whatever he wants. Rob Reiner's rhetoric leads to Trump and Charlie's assassinations. Okay, let's talk through this. That's right. The rhetoric of, Rob Reiner was disgusting. Did I ever say that I agree with a single post of Rob Reiner? No. He was embarrassingly rude to Rush Limbaugh's family the day after his death. He was gracious after Charlie's assassination and offered sympathy and prayers to our side. But the commentary that, he's posted on Twitter, the jump that he's made about the president for decades now is disgusting. Did I ever endorse his politics? No. That's right. His rhetoric led to Charlie's assassination. But we can't stoop to the left level while we're also calling him out. Jenna, this ideology that we've seen on our social media feeds just the past 12 hours, that, he did it, so it's okay for us to do it, is the ideology of a toddler. Jenna, think about it. Oh, because Rob was a meanie, we can be a meanie back.

Brilyn Hollyhand: No.

Brilyn Hollyhand: Two wrongs don't make a right. And I think that's what conservatives with conviction need to stand up in this moment and say, this isn't some big banking the bank principle. This isn't going to make me immediately leave the party. But I'm just pointing out that if we continue to go down this road, I'm somebody that's a friend of the president. Imagine young people that we had to beg to come over to our side. They're going to be the first ones to step away.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, really well said. And, we should never be borrowing the left standards, Standards for our own conduct. And that's something that I'm increasingly seeing, with some of these responses as well, Bryon, that, that say, well, you know, if the situation had been reversed, you know, Rob Reiner would have posted something nasty about Trump. Well, that's not our standard. And it's also, I think, a dangerous, false dichotomy to suggest that if we are gracious and kind and principled, then somehow we are weak and feckless and don't want to engage in a strong fight. think that we have seen a completely different example of that in people like Marco Rubio, in people, you know, like Pete Hegseth and people like Ron DeSantis, where they can be, extremely, tough fighters, but they can have the type of leadership, that is respectable and respectful, that I think we've lost, to a large degree in the Trump era. And you're absolutely right as well, Bryland, that, you know, as somebody who also knows Trump, you know, very personally, it's really sad to see this side come out instead of the genuinely kind and, you know, funny and gracious person that he can be and that he is, instead of giving his critics, just, ah, the ability to really easily criticize him instead of pointing to his accomplishments. And I wish that he would frame it so that they have to talk about the great job that he's doing instead of the stupid things that he's saying.

Brilyn Hollyhand: Yeah, you're spot on, Jenna. And I think that this course correction isn't something that is no exaggeration. It's not something that young people are freaking out about. It's an opportunity, like I said earlier, for us not to be in a cult, for us to speak our mind, for us to push back a little bit and for us to say, hey, if we're going to vote and endorse and support and go toe to toe on the front lines of this fight on college campuses, we would like for you to make it a little bit easier and maybe not put out some idiotic intensive posts. Jenna, at the end of the day, nobody was expecting the commander in chief to eulogize a Hollywood filmmaker, especially one that was critical of him for his entire life. Like nobody expected any acknowledgement, period. It would not have been weird in any way for him to not make any commentary. So this is one of those things that you're taught in kindergarten. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Apparently that message didn't make any it to the Oval Office. But we live and we learn.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, we. Well, really well said Brylan. And I, I stand with you in support of that and I'm really grateful that there are young voices like you that are reasoned and that are pushing back against, you know, some of these, the, these false assessments of this particular post. And I know that you really want to ultimately win the midterms and have, have these types of agenda and policy successes. So we need to keep our eyes kind of on that prize and rightly critique when we need to and then continue to hopefully advance conservative policy. So really appreciate it. And you can follow Bryn Hollyhand on X. You can go to Bryland Hollyhan.comm and as always you can reach me and my team, jenna@afr.net. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: PreBorn's whole mission is to rescue babies from abortion and lead their families to Christ. Last year PreBorn's network of clinics saw 8,900 mothers come to Christ. Please join us in this life saving mission. To donate, go to preborn.com afr.

https://washingtonstand.com/article/chickfila-waffles-on-wokeness-with-samesex-marriage-post-and-dei-focus

https://x.com/erinnfl/status/2000744646490644753?s=42

https://www.axios.com/2025/12/15/rob-reiner-trump-death-tds-charlie-kirk