The month of June has been hijacked by the anti Christian culture
>> Jeff Chamblee: The month of June has been hijacked by the anti Christian culture to show their pride in something God calls an abomination. When you support afr, you help us continue to stand for godly values and provide the resources for you to stay in the know about the enemy's tactics. To say thank you for your gift this month, we'll give you the booklet Inside the LGBTQ push of the 1990s. To help strengthen your convictions, just go to afr.netoffers afr.net offers welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on this Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Thank you for listening to AFR. And, joining me in studio today is Ed Battagliano. Good morning, Brother Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: And Wesley Wildmon.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And good morning.
>> Tim Wildmon: And Chris Woodward.
>> Chris Woodward: Hello.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, we thank you again for listening a lot to talk about a lot in the news. Good thing, because this show would not exist. Do we have news? I guess we could. Gardening tips or.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I mean it. If we didn't have issues. What? We couldn't have today's issues.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Gotta be some issues somewhere.
>> Tim Wildmon: That would be a good promo for our show.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: In fact, we could clip that up.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. If we didn't have issues, we wouldn't have today's issues.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Talk about now.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, you could have tomorrow's issues, but you'd have to wait until tomorrow to, you know, to deal with it.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I just know that, this is, the best we're going to be able to do today. And we are.
>> Tim Wildmon: Have a good day, everybody.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Hey, we're not. One thing we can promise you, we're not going to go over our personal issues. Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. I personally have issues, but that's all right.
>> Tim Wildmon: You want to review those now? Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Pull up the couch or get the.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, Jenna, Ellis will be joining us at the bottom of the hour. Jenna is a host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, right here each weekday on American Family. Rad. And she's a constitutional lawyer and she's going to. We're, going to review a couple things that have been in the news that are big news stories. namely the, the, Supreme Court sided with President Trump and his administration 6 to 3, that if you're here illegally in the US and you are deported, you don't necessarily get to choose where you're Sent to, you know, you may be sent to a. If you're a criminal, especially maybe sent to, like, El Salvador or something like that. So, that was a big ruling, and that came down a couple days ago. We'll talk to Jenna about that. And also going to ask her the big news story, which we are so thankful for. It's heartening to see where these, children in Florida were rescued and they were being trafficked. Right.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So we're going to talk to her about that. She's, very familiar with that, too. There was. How many children were there?
>> Chris Woodward: 60 missing children have been rescued.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And didn't we, Do we mentioned sometime, I don't know, about this week or last week that there's like, 340,000 children on a. Unaccounted for approximately. Across. Across the border.
>> Tim Wildmon: You mean. You mean it crossed the border over.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The four years of the Biden administration?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And the federal government doesn't know where they are.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay. So that obviously goes against the whole, ah, narrative of these are families coming over.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Because, you know, there was that image of the.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Being parents being ripped away from their kids, but in many cases. And how many of them. How many are missing?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, that's. I don't. I don't remember who gave the statist, but I remember reading it or hearing it, that there were 340,000.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Children in this country who had crossed the border. And the government doesn't know where they are, where they went.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah. And the point I was making is that if they came over with their parents.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Their parents would know where they are.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Wesley Wildmon: You know, so m. That's a. That's a big problem.
Reports out today that US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities did not damage
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, what's the first news story, Chris?
>> Chris Woodward: Well, liberal news outlets.
>> Tim Wildmon: All of them.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. Many of them. Cnn, msnbc, New York Times, AB they're all reporting that US Military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. This is according to what liberal news outlets are describing as an early US Intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on them. briefed on it. The assessment, which had not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's intelligence arm. So, long story short, there are reports out today that the US Strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend did not do as much damage as President Trump told us it did.
>> Tim Wildmon: How do they know?
>> Chris Woodward: That's a good question. That's a good question. Trump says, why I'm here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There's supposedly some leaks.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes, say that, yeah, it's leaks, that have been briefed on this report that confirmed or spoke to CNN and other news outlets on anonymity or asked not to be identified. so that story is out there, to go with this story is some audio from the President himself, who says the leaked document does not or did not paint an accurate picture.
>> Donald Trump: Clip 2 I believe it was total obliteration. I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast. Well, the intelligence was. Was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don't know. It could have been very severe. That's what the intelligence says. So I guess that's correct. But I think we could take that. We don't know. It was very sick here. It was obliteration.
>> Chris Woodward: Trump also doubts that anything at Fort O and these other locations was saved.
>> Donald Trump: Clip 3 I believe it was total obliteration. I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast. If it would have taken two weeks, maybe, but it's very hard to remove that kind of material. I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that with the war.
>> Chris Woodward: Now two Trumps. One thing that works for Trump here with this situation is, yeah, it's possible, and perhaps even likely that we did not do as much damage as we were told. But we do also know that many of them, many of these news outlets reporting this hate Trump and find anything they can do to be anti Trump.
>> Tim Wildmon: You sure about that?
>> Chris Woodward: I am more 1000.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're making a big presumption right there, huh?
>> Chris Woodward: so I, you know, I reported as a news person, this outlet says this, based on this information, he says it's not true. But, I mean, take it with a grain of salt. If CNN says what Trump's telling you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Is not, maybe Chris should from now on, say the mainstream media is allegedly anti Trump.
>> Chris Woodward: There you go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Benefit of the doubt.
>> Wesley Wildmon: So then would they be happy if they would have done more damage?
>> Tim Wildmon: No, that's a good question. They want, if they could have their way, they would say President Trump flew the planes over there and he miss.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's. He hit Pakistan.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yes. But you see the point I'm asking, though.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: are they.
>> Tim Wildmon: Are you, like, elated that maybe the damage wasn't done that was first reported?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, and was that because he would.
>> Tim Wildmon: Listen, I've seen other reports that it was worse than that. Our damage that we did to the bombings of the B2s was even more devastating than we really thought. So.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and Israel, Israel is saying that, that Trump's strikes set Iran's nuclear program back by years.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, there you go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And if Israel says it right, then.
>> Tim Wildmon: They'Re the ones with the most at.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Stake here and perhaps the best intelligence agency.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In the world. As opposed to leaks from anonymous sources who might have an ax to grind or who might want to make Trump. Look, if I were President Trump, I.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wouldn'T even answer them on that. I would just say that's, you.
>> Chris Woodward: Know, here's one example of why you can take it with a grain of salt what a news outlet says. for example, this is the headline from the Daily Beast. Trump rages through night over leak of Humiliating Iran Flop. I already know what you feel about, you know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, they bait Trump, too, and he falls for it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: yeah. You mean in terms of. He'll respond. He, he will respond.
>> Tim Wildmon: He will, yeah. They bait him and they say, hey, you didn't, you didn't, you didn't take them out like you said you did?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Oh, yeah, I did.
>> Tim Wildmon: Obliterated them. It was the greatest, best ever in the world history. I.
Ed: The left wing media is gleeful at anything that hurts President Trump
He can't help himself.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, the fact of the matter is nobody can know for sure because Iran's not going to let the International Atomic Energy Commission come and check it out, right?
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So they're the ones who started off talking about Iran, saying, ah, they hardly scratched the surface. There's nothing. You remember the video of the guy, driving down the highway saying, there's nothing. It didn't, it didn't even touch, you know, there's a little smoke in the distance. That's it. Well, utter failure. And that's when people started comparing them to Bag Baghdad Bob.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, listen, we don't know the full story here yet. I just know looking at the satellite imagery and look, and hearing this, hearing how powerful these weapons were and Israel's comments that they did the job. I mean, what more do you really need to know? And, and, and as you say, how will we know the full extent of this till maybe a month from now or two months from now when more investigation can be done? But it's like the left wing media in this country is, like, gleeful at anything that may, hurt President Trump in the polls or internationally or anything. They just, you know, the Trump derangement syndrome. It Is real. Okay. They, so they.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: They can't, they can't. you know, he could, like, he could, he could walk on what somebody.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, he could, he could, what he could do is deport illegal immigrants who are criminals and they be disappointed about that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And try to get the criminals released.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Released and brought back.
>> Tim Wildmon: They're doing that too. But he, somebody said that goes.
>> Wesley Wildmon: To the point of an example of.
>> Tim Wildmon: A real life example of somebody said he could walk on water and the media would say, look, Trump can't swim.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean that's how bad it is.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's.
>> Tim Wildmon: So listen, as I say, Trump falls for it sometimes, him, and especially when he's tired looking and then he gets angry and upset and he just lashes out. So I don't, you know, I understand how that, that his feeling is on that. But let me ask you this. Another indication too, of, of, of the effectiveness of the operate. what's it called? Operation what?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Over Night Hammer. What was that? Midnight Hammer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, Midnight Hammer. I remember the midnight special with Wolfman Jack. Do you remember that, Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: The midnight special with Wolf and Jack.
>> Tim Wildmon: Don't you remember?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, I do, I do, I do remember.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's like. But what the world are y' all talking about anyway? Wolfman, the Wolf Man. but this was called Operation Midnight Hammer. Okay.
The cease fire between Iran and Israel is still holding, but it's fragile
So, another indication of the effectiveness of it is the truce or the what do you call it?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Cease fire.
>> Tim Wildmon: Cease fire. Has that held now for 2448 hours?
>> Chris Woodward: It's still holding, but we're kind of on the edge of our seat to see whether or not, I mean, it's definitely fragile. That's the term we use in our headline today. Fragile.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and let me just add another thing too to this discussion. Trump has said, he said, I think it was yesterday, he said we'll do it again.
>> Ed Vitagliano: If they start to rebuild the nuclear program, we'll just bomb it again. And they're not going to wait for them to build it, whatever it is, you know, a mile underground or it's not quite that, that far.
>> Tim Wildmon: I want to see, I want, I just want to see if, if Iran sends weapons, again tries, to attack Israel again. If they try to attack Israel again, which I don't think they're going to do. Okay. Because of the effort that they put into that bombing of the US Military base of the day in Qatar or Qatar, like President Trump and some of the others. Maybe the Qatar officials said they Iran sent four or five drone Missiles over there to our military base and called ahead and said, hey, it's on the way. It's a DoorDash 12, you know.
>> Wesley Wildmon: 12 hour heads up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: see him coming on your ring.
>> Tim Wildmon: Drone dash is on the way and be delivered in two hours. Drone 12, was 12 hour warning.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, 12 hour heads up.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's a slow drone right there. To go from Iran to Qatar and.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Take what they were wanting to happen is nothing to happen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Batteries.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Chris Woodward: Well, as those missiles were coming down, one of the news outlets we had on in the newsroom said Iran hopes this is. This, de. Escalates the situation. You just shot missiles.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I know, I know, but what I'm saying is I think had they had anything better that they could have done or more that they could have done.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Iran at the time, they would have. And this tells me if Iran does not, send weapons or, By the way, we haven't even talked about their. They've got, They've got a real crisis in their government over there in Iran.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And their leadership, because so many of their top lieutenants have been taken out by the Israelis and nuclear scientists, and it's really destabilized that country and there's some of their infrastructure. So I don't know. We don't know what's going to happen exactly. Over there in Iran they got what, they got 90 million people, something like that. What is that? look up population of Iran and see what it says. See, Brother Tim's halfway right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They have 92,400,000.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, brother Tim, a little bit.
>> Chris Woodward: Plus Wesley will buy you lunch.
>> Tim Wildmon: My, my missile hit real close right there.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Am I right? so anyway, it's a big country, and a lot of people, and you hear reports about, you know, Christianity growing inside Iran, which we pray for. And you hear also reports about, the people there. the average person over there doesn't want this Ayatollah, Islamic, regime ruling over them. They want more freedom or Westernization. So. But how do you. But the problem is the mullahs and the ayatollahs, they've got control of the police and the military.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: They like any.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They have to turn against the mullahs.
>> Tim Wildmon: It could happen. It happened in history. You know, we'll see what happened with.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The overthrow of the Shah of Iran in reverse. In reverse. because the Shah had a, Had a pretty solid, police, nationalized police force that were a, ah, terror to the people.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There's a lot of oppression, a lot of corruption. there was an attempt, but he.
>> Tim Wildmon: Was, he was our dictator.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But he was. He was our dictator. That's exactly that. You kind of say that with tongue in cheek, but it's absolutely true. We're opposed to dictators unless they are friendly to us.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That has happened all over Latin America. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Sometimes you go to work.
>> Tim Wildmon: Some people say we should have left Saddam Hussein in charge, you know, in Iraq.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Some people say the devil. It's bet the devil. You know better than the devil. You don't.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, so it could, it could flip again and they could go back to freedom. and that's, that's my prayer.
>> Wesley Wildmon: But you don't support any devil.
I support. No more than a point. Theologically, uh, we support no devils
>> Tim Wildmon: I support.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Support, no doubt. No more than a point. Theologically, we support no devils.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that was metaphorically.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: not theologically.
>> Chris Woodward: Right.
President Trump has said NATO members need to pay more on defense
There is another Trump story here that we actually have on our website as well, afn.net and it could very well be a victory for President Trump for something he pushed for during his first term in office eight years ago. You know, Trump has said for years that NATO members need to pay more. They need to pay more. they need, you know, the U.S. is responsible for a lot of NATO. Other members need to start paying up and helping cover the cost. Here in a story on our website, afn.net, NATO members are poised to enact one of Trump's chief priorities for NATO, a pledge by its member countries to increase, sometimes significantly, how much they spend on their defense. I have some audio, from the, president himself here, Donald Trump.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is he at G7 now?
>> Chris Woodward: He's at the NATO summit. He's been meeting with NATO members.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, G7.
>> Chris Woodward: He left. He left G7 early to, deal with Iran.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so, so what we're about to hear is President Trump commenting at the NATO meeting.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: okay, go ahead.
>> Chris Woodward: About how they're going to pay more.
>> Tim Wildmon: Clip one.
>> Donald Trump: We're with them all the way. I mean, if you take a look at the numbers, we're with them, and they're very big things to announce that. I don't know if you've taken the vote or you're going to take the vote, but I've been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years, and they're going up to 5%, and that's a big. From 2%. And a lot of people didn't even pay the 2%. So I think it's going to be very big news. NATO is going to become very strong with us and I appreciate doing it.
>> Chris Woodward: Now, I don't know which NATO countries but it says most NATO countries with the exception of Spain are preparing to mention.
>> Tim Wildmon: Let me, I know most people understand this issue, but let me just dumb it down a little bit here. So NATO was created after World.
>> Ed Vitagliano: War, after World War II.
>> Tim Wildmon: World War II. It's called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. NATO and what it was created for was to be a, a deterrent against the Soviet Union, the former Soviet Union, which doesn't exist anymore. So thus we ended into what's called the Cold War between basically the United States and which is a part of NATO and than the Soviet Union. And we all know that story. So in this. But since then, the United States of America has been, we've been carrying all the water m. So to speak, the cost and everything for maintaining our military presence in Europe.
>> Tim Wildmon: So especially Western, what's formerly called Western, it's called Western Europe today. So President Trump has been trying to get these countries, albeit they're smaller, to pay a certain percentage of their budget to go to their military so that they will be it would be a true partnership instead of getting to ride free off the back of the United States. Is that basically, basically got it right here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And you know, part of the, by the way NATO, the NATO countries that you mentioned in Western Europe were a counterweight to the countries that the Soviet Union kept after World War II. They, they drove the Nazis back into Germany and were approaching Berlin from the east. And then all those countries they took back from took out of Nazi Germany's hands. The Soviet Union kept them and thus.
>> Tim Wildmon: They became the Soviet Union.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, the Soviet Union was banded, was separate. But then the, these countries like Poland, East Germany, Hungary, all these, they became what was known as the Warsaw Pact.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So you had the U. S against the Soviet balancing against the Soviet Union, NATO, Western European countries, balance against Eastern European countries. And I think that'll that NATO has become more willing to up their expenditures to 5% again the exception of Spain. And I'm not sure if everyone's going up to 5% but because of what Russia did in attacking Ukraine. Right. I think NATO realizes they've got to up their game so that if something else happens they would be ready.
Chris: President Trump will be 79 in June, I think
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. You're listening to today's issues on the American Family radio network. So President Trump is in. Where are they having this meeting?
>> Chris Woodward: it's in Western Europe. Where? Brussels. The Netherlands. That part of the world.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Anyway, he's over there for the NATO. was that a couple days and then he's back here?
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: President Trump, 70. He'll be 79 in June, I think.
>> Chris Woodward: Do you know that he just had a birthday on the 14th?
>> Ed Vitagliano: He's 70.
>> Tim Wildmon: This is June. Okay. He's 70. He's 79. Look it up. I think I'm right about that. I was right about 90 million Iranians.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Let's see. You might be just good at a. At numbers. President Trump is.
>> Wesley Wildmon: This math teacher would have disagreed with that.
>> Tim Wildmon: See if I'm not right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think he's 79 years old. June 14th is his birthday memory, and.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Guessing is what he's good at.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You didn't send your card.
>> Tim Wildmon: what are you talking about?
>> Ed Vitagliano: His birthday card.
>> Tim Wildmon: President Trump, June 14th. I did.
>> Ed Vitagliano: he's 79 years old. Just turned 79.
>> Chris Woodward: He shares a birthday with Flag Day.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's true.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right. They have a military parade on his birthday.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because it was also the 250th, anniversary of the creation of.
>> Chris Woodward: I. I already look 79 with my gray hair. So if Donald Trump lives for, like, another two or three decades, I'm going to start drinking Diet Coke and eating French fries because there's apparently something to that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It is no better time to start doing that than now.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chris, let me ask you this. this is no comment on President Trump's, mental ability to do his job, because I think he's doing just fine. Okay. but he's starting to look his age. Okay. A little bit in terms of. I mean, he's 79 years old.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Most people been retired.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Like 10 years or something like that. And he is like a freak of nature. We've mentioned that before. And as Chris mentioned, Wesley, he gets by on Big Max. He has. He has a Big Mac fry. And what does he like to drink?
>> Wesley Wildmon: His Coke.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He's got a Diet Coke.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Coke or Diet Coke.
>> Chris Woodward: It's a Coke product.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He's got a Diet Coke button in the Oval Office.
>> Tim Wildmon: But I'm saying that his shoulders are more slumped than they were. I'm just. This happens to everybody. I'm m not being critical. I'm just saying that he's a little bit slower in his walk. And, you know what? So saying Father Time waits on no man. So he's waited a long time on Donald Trump. I'm just saying I hope he holds up physically and mentally to the challenge that he has.
>> Wesley Wildmon: But, and that's a real concern. I mean, it could happen pretty quick.
>> Tim Wildmon: And you have vice presidents, right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, yeah. Big could happen pretty quick with it with someone of his age. But in the meantime.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We're going to keep.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm not saying it's anywhere near that wouldn't surprise me. But yeah, I'm just saying that you just start wondering, okay, how much longer is this fellow going to be able to hold up to the daily pressures.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Especially at the level he's doing it as well. Just kind of like you start anticipating.
President Obama aged in eight years, even for a relatively young guy
>> Ed Vitagliano: the strain even for young guys. Remember Barack Obama?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: President Obama. He aged in those eight years.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And that's for a relatively young guy.
>> Chris Woodward: George W. Bush had brown hair when he entered office. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. We'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.
Over 60% of abortions happen through the abortion pill
>> Ed Vitagliano: This June 24th marks three years since Roe versus Wade was overturned. But here's what you may not know. Abortion numbers have surged to a 10 year high. The battleground has shifted from the courtroom to our homes. Today, over 60% of abortions happen through the abortion pill. Taken in silence, often alone. Preborn network clinics are standing in the gap, meeting women in their most desperate hour. And here's what they're Young mothers, terrified and misled, are delivering their babies and tiny, perfectly formed onto bathroom floors. These precious babies, once called just tissue, now lie lifeless. 11% of these women who take the abortion pill will suffer serious health complications. Countless others carry emotional scars for a lifetime. When you give to preborn, you're not just saving a baby, you're saving a mother, too. You're giving her hope, financial support and the truth. PreBorn has already rescued over 350,000 babies. But there are so many more who need our help. Your tax deductible gift makes this mission possible. To donate now, dial £250 and say the keyword baby. That's £250, baby. Or go to preborn.com afr that's preborn.com afr.
>> Jeff Chamblee: This is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsafr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the archive@afr.net now back to more of today's Issues.
King Chris: I think we should have one federal holiday each month
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed, Wesley and King Chris. today's Wednesday, June 25, 2025. 2025 is almost halfway over. that's Hard to believe.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's just blowing. Blowing my mind. You know what June 25th is?
>> Tim Wildmon: What is it, Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know. I was hoping you knew.
>> Chris Woodward: Six months to Christmas.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chris. Hey, Chris. Got it. Is that the right answer?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Bingo.
>> Chris Woodward: I made it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Mom, it's today. Is today some kind of holiday or something? Federal holidays. President Trump said the other day, we got too many. Federal holiday. Get rid of some of them. You're right about that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I bet he didn't give a list of the ones.
>> Tim Wildmon: but,
>> Ed Vitagliano: But I think we should have one federal holiday each month.
>> Tim Wildmon: We do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think AFA should have an official holiday with the federal holidays. Can you imagine if we did that? We. We'd be. Our. Our employees would be out half the year.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, well, the federal government employees, they, they. They get every federal holiday.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, they sure do.
>> Chris Woodward: You guys ruined my every year by making me work, let me tell you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh. How do you commemorate Arbor Day, Chris?
>> Chris Woodward: Plant a tree.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Plant a tree.
>> Chris Woodward: And then I read about the Great Society.
>> Tim Wildmon: You got all day, and you plant one lousy tree. Huh? Huh?
>> Chris Woodward: You know what?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Can I just say something that'll probably get your trouble at home?
>> Tim Wildmon: Would you bless us?
>> Ed Vitagliano: My wife always loved Arbor Day. And she would. She signed the Arbor Day foundation, and she would order trees, and she would just plant them wherever, willy nilly, around the yard. And I'd have to eventually go and dig them up because they'd be too close to the house or to the foundation. And I would say, please stop. Just, just, you know, let's just plant them in a place where they, you know, can provide shade, but don't get so tall that in a strong breeze they collapse on your house. She doesn't listen to me.
>> Tim Wildmon: M. No. Well, I think this is where you use the expression, I know your heart's in the right place.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that's exactly right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Trees ain't.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that is exactly right.
>> Tim Wildmon: All.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, anyway, bushes, trees, it wouldn't matter. She'd plant them right next to the.
>> Wesley Wildmon: House, and then you have to mow around them.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And. And then,
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, this, I think, probably need to stop right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: She planted four bushes right next to the house, and I was worried about the roots. And one Saturday morning. So I'm digging them up.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I thought, I can get this done before lunch. And they were so deep, it took me two or three days to get those things up.
>> Tim Wildmon: You didn't have, like, Bush Bumper. Bumper Buster.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Now, what you needed was to back your vehicle in there and tie it.
>> Tim Wildmon: To it and a bush bunker buster is what I was trying to say.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Because those kind of things always go well for the Tagliano family.
>> Tim Wildmon: What's that?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Ah, tying it. Tying a bush to my bumper and then trying to pull it out.
>> Chris Woodward: I'm looking at a list of federal holidays and there's only 11.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Really?
>> Chris Woodward: New Year's Day, one for every month, is that said Pretty much. New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's birthday, slash, President's Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth. That's the new one that came into effect when President Biden was in office. Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Now, Juneteenth, as I mentioned, is our newest holiday, but that involves something that happened at the end of the Civil War. So it does go back.
>> Tim Wildmon: If we add any more federal holidays, we need to take one away. That would be my spending program.
>> Chris Woodward: The odds are the federal government is not giving up Labor Day because that is a nod back to the unions that helped put many people in power over the years.
American Family Radio welcomes Jenna Ellis to discuss today's featured news stories
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. Well, some, a, ah, big court decision happened a couple of days ago. We're going to talk about that, regarding, deportation of people here who are in the United States illegally. Joining us now to talk about that and other issues is Jenna Ellis. Jenna is host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, heard on, every weekday morning from 7, 8 Central Time, right here on American Family Radio. Hey, good morning, Jenna.
>> Jenna Ellis: Good morning. And I think we should make today a holiday. And I'll just go home right now, say bye, and be like, it's, It's. It's the 25th. You know, that's gotta be something.
>> Tim Wildmon: I know. What is today? 2020, 2025.
60 missing Florida children are rescued in a covert human trafficking operation
Hey, some good news, great news, actually, out of the, state of Florida regarding these children. Tell us about that.
>> Jenna Ellis: Oh, yeah. In the state of Florida. So this is great. And I just absolutely love our attorney general, James Uthme, who actually joined me on the program, recently to talk about how he doesn't care that a federal judge is holding him in contempt for actually enforcing Florida and federal, immigration law. And so now the headline is 60 missing kids are dramatically rescued in a covert human trafficking operation. And this is across multiple counties in Florida. And the kids, aged 9 to 17 years old, were all recovered from the Tampa Bay area in an operation led by, the U.S. marshal's office for the Middle District of Florida. And this is yet another win for the free state of Florida. That just shows our leadership. And I say our. Because, as listeners know, I'm a resident of Florida. This is my leadership. they just do what is right. I mean, this is in tandem with Governor DeSantis and Senator Jay Collins from Florida. go. Sending, going. Actually, Senator Collins went to Israel, and, they chartered flights and got over 1500 US citizens, including Floridians, out of Israel during, the Iran Israel conflict. And these are things that they don't necessarily have to do. But when you have good leadership, who knows the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, they step up and use their power, to actually effectively help people. And this is exactly what the Bible talks about when it says, that with good leadership, that people rejoice, and with evil leadership, the people groan.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, Jenna, this was the result, by the way. This is a great thing that, as you mentioned, that Florida was able to do. And Attorney General Uthmeyer. Is that how you pronounce it?
>> Jenna Ellis: I think so. I've heard it several ways. That's how I pronounce it. So we'll go with that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So a great thing to wake up to, to hear, to read about. But this is also horrifying because we're finding out that some of these children are girls who are pregnant. I mean, very, very young ages. And this is, as far as I could tell, the result of four years of the Biden administration's disastrous, catastrophic policy on just letting people flood into this country. Because from what I've read, there are hundreds of thousands of children that cross that border, and nobody knows where they are, don't know if they were trafficked, don't know if they wound up with parents or with family members or where they are. This was a disaster along the southern border, and 60 kids, praise God for that. But how many are still missing? speak to the catastrophe that was the Biden administration's policy on the border.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, you're so right, Ed. And this just proves why the disastrous effects of one administration can linger and can continue on and affect so many people. so you not only have this instance, but you also have, you know, people who have committed violent crimes who have come over the border or have reentered multiple times with, the Biden administration. And this just goes back to the whole point that worldview matters. What you believe about nations and borders and the legitimacy of government matters, because with the Biden administration and Kamala Harris, who's then V.P. you know, and of course lost this last election. I mean their whole globalist view of saying, well, diversity matters and we want to have multiculturalism, we don't want to have borders, we just want to thrive on dei. These are the disastrous results because people who come in from other countries that are not Christian, that do not share our values, they don't assimilate here, they just bring in their worldview and their disastrous policies onto our shores. And for a government like the Biden administration to not appreciate that and not protect American citizens first, that is absolutely, contrary to this oath of office. And that was something that for a long time some Republicans were saying that, that he should be impeached over. And I, I mean, I think that there's a good case for that. But at the same time this is why policy matters and elections matter so much.
There is a constitutional question about whether President Trump has unilateral military authority
>> Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this, changing the subject a little bit here, but still a constitutional question you posted on X, I think, or about about whether President Trump or any president has the right to a, military decision like we saw take place with the bombing of the nuclear sites there in Iran. So President Trump authorized these B2s to fly around the world and drop bombs, massive M bombs and then, you know, come home. But some were, some are saying, by the way, the impeachment, idea that, that, that was, that was a lead, that was a lead balloon. Yeah, right there. But that the Democrats, some of the Democrats tried to float. But the question is, where do we draw the line, Jenna, on when, when a Congress needs to be involved in war efforts and when the President as Commander in Chief has unilateral authority.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And this is a great question and one that even some conservatives are asking. And I actually did an entire segment on my show yesterday for listeners. You can go to afr.net and you can click on the, ah, previous episodes. And I did a whole segment on this talking about the difference between declaring war and conducting a preemptive strike. Because article one, of the U.S. constitution says specifically that Congress holds the power to declare war, which is a formal sustained state of conflict. But the Commander in Chief under Article 2 can use military force to protect national interests and including preemptive self defense. And so this is why, the War Powers act, back in the 70s was passed by Congress because there is this natural tension between a formal declaration of a sustained war versus military action that a president can take unilaterally. he does have to inform Congress. And that was done in this case, Trump abided by that law of informing, but he doesn't have to get consent, from Congress. And the courts generally have treated these type of issues as a political question and saying, well, if Congress doesn't like what the executive's doing, that's for the two branches to resolve politically. It's not necessarily a legal matter to adjudicate. So they've, the courts have historically largely, sidestepped these issues when some military members, for example, would sue under like an unauthorized war, ah, or an unauthorized action. And so they've basically stayed out of it. But the way that I read the Constitution and most of I think that the conservative, attorneys and Constitutionalists would say there is a distinction between a formal declaration that we are at war and this is going to be sustained versus the War Powers act, which says that as long as it, you know, a specific time frame under 90 days of conflict, and it's for a specific strategic national interest or national, security interest, the President can take, has that authority because he can just obviously move more quickly to address something than Congress deliberating and having a formal declaration.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And by the way, the last time Congress formally declared war was World War II. So the Korean, we call it the Korean War, but it technically was not the result of a declaration of war. Vietnam, all the things in the Middle east, you know, Grenada, the use of military force has gone on, a number of times since the last formal declaration of war. Let me just ask you this, Jenna. Do you think part of the reason why the President has, seems to have expanded powers to direct the military in warlike efforts, is because, I mean, I don't know. This is true, this is just my take on it, but when the founders, established the country, the, the Constitution, that was back when Congress had to formally declare a war because Congress had to authorize the funds to execute the war effort. But now we have a standing Army, Air Force, Navy, you know, we have, you know, the Coast Guard. All, all of that is already funded. And the President, as the Commander in Chief, simply decides with, you know, letting Congress know, we are going to use these war assets that you, Congress, have already paid for. We're going to use it in this way. Do you think that explains some of the reasons why Presidents have used the military without a formal declaration?
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I think that's right. And I also think we live in a very different live, response time environment in 2025 than we did in, you know, 1787 when the Constitution, was ratified. And so it's not that the principle changes or that the Constitution is a living document, but the application of the powers that are given to the Commander in chief naturally, will look differently today than they did back then. I mean, it's the same thing as saying, you know, the argument that well, the founders, you know, the First Amendment doesn't apply to your text messages or your social media posts. Well, yeah, it does. It just, the founders didn't contemplate the specific use or medium of technology with respect to the First Amendment. But it's all about free speech and government restraint on it. It doesn't depend on the medium. The same analogy is true for war powers and the responsiveness that is necessary from a US President today. When you have these long range missiles that you have to make a decision in 30 seconds sometimes, that's, that's, you can't possibly convene Congress and decide, well, you know, what do we think about this? You know, you have to be able, to turn on a dime and that's why we have some of these standing militaries. And so, this, this all just goes to the fundamental rationale that the Constitution is all about powers that are limited. But the principle is really what we need to pay attention to as well.
>> Wesley Wildmon: This is Wesley here. I'm reading an article from Yahoo News, from yesterday and it says that U.S. president Barack Obama dropped more than 26,000 bombs on seven countries. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Yemen. Yemen in 2016 alone. so for any did it to my understanding, the way that you just described Trump, Trump did our, did the bombings, in Iran at the nuclear site. So what, what, what is the, with the, the other side?
>> Tim Wildmon: Are you noticing a double standard? I'm getting it.
>> Wesley Wildmon: I was going to get your comment.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was kind of picking up on this.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, Yeah. I mean it's just, it's, it's like, it's just the letter after their name most of the time. Right. I mean that just like with the, the impeachments of President Trump, the Democrats were saying, well, this is, is all political. We don't need a legal basis. There has to be a trial. And then as soon as Republicans impeached Homeland, Secretary, then Mayorkas, it was, we're not going to have a trial. That's, that's purely political. They don't have a legal basis. And it's like you can't argue Both things. But they do. And they, and they do because they are unmoored from principle. They just want the outcome in the moment. And this is why conservatives have to remain principled and demand that we are a nation of rules, not a nation of outcomes and preferences, like the Democrats.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. You know, with President Trump, there is this Trump derangement syndrome, as it's been called. And you know, once you completely, you lose your objectivity and you're just. And then you're say you're a journalist or you're a reporter or you're an analyst and you, but everything you do, you've lost. You've lost. You basically lost your mind. Okay. To do the capability of doing your job correctly. So, listen, you know, people.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Their numbers end up going down when.
>> Tim Wildmon: You have no credibility at all. You can't even give credit to somebody for something. So obviously. Right, good. That, that's. So then when you criticize or critical of something that they do, you go, well, you're critical every day, all day of everything they do, so it doesn't matter. So I don't listen to you anymore. And they think that's what's happened with the liberal media.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration in terms of deportation
Let me ask you about one more. the Supreme Court, was it two days ago, Jenna? Six, three. They ruled in favor of the Trump administration in terms of the deportation.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yes. And so this is also a really great, story that, yeah, again, the Supreme Court is deferring to the Constitution, which is a very good thing. And they are allowing, at least for now, for Trump to continue to implement his policy, related to mass deportations and, his policy on immigration because, that is within his policy purview. And so, they declined to temporarily, restrain, that. And so they overturned a WOKE federal judge to the contrary. And so this is a great thing for the US and, again, why elections matter. Because if we had a different composition on the Supreme Court, I think we would see different outcomes because we know that the very, very, very left leaning, judges on the bench, those three women, they prefer outcomes most of the time to any sort of semblance of principle. but this case was decided on principle in the Constitution. So that's a very good thing.
>> Tim Wildmon: but they basically rule that, the ICE or deport the agencies and responsible for deportation can, if you're arrested and you're deported, you can go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: To anywhere, wherever we send them.
>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And, and so hopefully this will, encourage, perhaps some people who are in the United States Illegally to choose where they want to deport themselves. Yes. Instead of having Tom Homan decide for them.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right, thank you, Jana. Appreciate it very much.
>> Jenna Ellis: Thanks, guys. Great to talk with you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Bye. Bye.
Jenna Ellis: Listen to podcasts while your grass is cut
That's Jenna Ellis joining us there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning. By the way, folks, that's heard weekdays at 7am Central Time on AFR. She also hosts the On Demand podcast. You can find not only Jenna's podcast, but, a, host of podcasts@afr.net afr.net There's a little menu at the top says podcast. You click on it, you'll see all the podcasts that are available. Just tons of solid.
>> Tim Wildmon: Listen to podcast.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I do, I listen to a lot of podcasts. Ours, others. podcasts. it's, it's kind of like going back and keeping, your education going. because there's all sorts of great categories of podcasts.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That, you can listen to and boy, you just continue to learn. And, Wesley, listen to you listen.
>> Wesley Wildmon: To podcast and, the long form podcast. So, you know, an hour, hour and a half.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wow.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And so, well, and you. The reason for that is you can do it at your own convenience and you can do multiple things at the same time.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Now, my wife doesn't believe I could do multiple things at the same time, but I prove it. I can mow the yard and put my earbuds in and listen to a.
>> Tim Wildmon: Podcast at the same time and grow as a person. While your grass is cut.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Grass goes down, you go up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I go, your knowledge goes up. Yeah.
>> Chris Woodward: hey, be sure to drink plenty of water today if you are going to cut your grass. And I say that because it's going.
>> Tim Wildmon: To be segue right there.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, but you hijacked it. Don't emphasize it. Let it soak.
Over 170 million Americans are roasting today under a giant heat dome
>> Chris Woodward: So I mean to, just to put, just to put things in, like a perspective on how many people are dealing with a heat wave right now. There's approximately 340 million people in the United States. Over 170 million Americans are roasting today under a giant heat dome.
>> Tim Wildmon: it's not just a heat wave. It's a heat dome Thunderdome or something. It just sounds more ominous, doesn't it? Come riding down the interstate.
>> Chris Woodward: We don't need another hero.
>> Wesley Wildmon: it feels like a sauna for.
>> Chris Woodward: People that have never been blessed with the opportunity to visit us in the deep South. Pretty much when you step outside, it feels like you're in a giant body of hot water. Ah, there's no hot water. You're literally like. Like it's boiling outside.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, now they're experiencing it in the.
>> Chris Woodward: Northeast, far north as, like Quebec City.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, this is the first time they said in decades that they've had this kind of heat. By the way, I.
>> Tim Wildmon: What is it? How oppressive? I mean, how Northeast? 95 degrees?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, it's in the hundreds.
>> Chris Woodward: Over 100 degrees in some parts of the US and even.
>> Tim Wildmon: I interrupt you. Go ahead.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, no, I was going to say, you remember how this last winter I told you that I was tired of cold weather?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I look forward to the summer. I don't care how hot it gets. I changed my mind.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, go ahead.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, I was going to say with the heat wave here, what part? When you say northeast, how, how far and how high?
>> Chris Woodward: I mean, pretty much the Midwest, through the northeastern part of the U.S. new England, and even into, Canada. now in Quebec City, it's not going to be 100 degrees. Like right now it's 71 in Quebec City. but I mean, that's still getting pretty warm.
>> Wesley Wildmon: So this afternoon when I get home for me and my kids say, can we go fish? And I'm gonna say, can we wait till 7 or 8, maybe?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and by the way, that does. That does affect heat, does affect fishing. Well, heats up as well.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That may be true. I'm not that. I'm not that good at knowing the, that type of thing as it relates to fishing. What I was referring to is that it. The 10 degrees cooler and the sun being behind the clouds or behind the trees makes a difference for me.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely. No, you're right.
>> Chris Woodward: I went to Washington, D.C. i just. In July, and it was.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think I want to take this opportunity as a Southerner to look north to our friends in the. In the north and the Northeast and say. Because you're always making fun of us during winter. No, no, no. You're always making fun of us during winter. You bunch of weenies down there. It gets down to 30, and you like, you know, shelter in place.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Inch of snow.
>> Tim Wildmon: Snow. And you call out the National Guard. I mean, cancel our turn.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I like this where this is going now.
>> Tim Wildmon: And now it's our turn to say, you know what? You need to suck it up, buttercup.
We're experiencing a heat wave in America, and everybody's freaking out
Okay. All right. Because, you got a little heat wave going on. I put heat wave in quotations, and everybody's freaking out, saying, stay in and do this and do that.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Drink your water. Put sunscreen on.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah. Well, welcome to our world.
>> Chris Woodward: Every summer I. I visited, my dad and stepmom took me to Washington, D.C. and the early to mid-90s, and it was the first time I'd ever been there. We went to Mount Vernon, like a lot of people do when you're in D.C. I have no idea how the founding fathers, did it without air conditioning. Because I toured Mount Vernon in, like, mid July, and it was awful. no.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, you need to. We all need to be thankful we were born during the air.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Amen.
>> Tim Wildmon: The air conditioning age. Am I right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: You see pictures of people in the, you know, the early 90s, 1900s, sitting outside.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, there's no wonder now. People used to sit on the porch all the time.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Ah.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And. And cold water. Like, how, will we do without ice water or cold water or refrigerator?
>> Ed Vitagliano: They used to. My dad tells stories about how they used to have the. The truck come by his neighborhood in Boston, the Boston area, to deliver ice for the ice box.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Put ice in the bottom of the with to keep your food cool.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Now you deliver ice, everybody starts running. You know, it's a different world we.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Live in and a different ice. But yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that wasn't the ice you were talking about?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no. But that's good. I like it.
>> Tim Wildmon: My bad. M. We'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.
>> Broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The American Family association or American Family Radio.
