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As the ACLJ celebrates its 35th anniversary, this episode reflects on the organization’s legacy of fighting for justice and its future path. We also shine a spotlight on the heartbreaking flooding in Texas, which has garnered international attention. The discussion touches on global reactions, giving listeners a broader perspective on how American politics reach global audiences. We wrap up with an engaging Q&A session, where listeners call in to share their views and seek advice on these complex issues.
SPEAKER 06 :
we got breaking news a major lawsuit coming against president trump’s big beautiful bill keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is seculo we want to hear from you share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110 And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome to Sekulow. We’ve got a packed show for you today with some breaking news that we’re about to break down. Will Haines is joining me in studio as well as my brother, Jordan Sekulow. And we’re going to have some special guests coming up a little bit later. So stay tuned for that. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-425-7000. 1-800-684-3110. That’s 1-800-684-3110. And this is a big one that has to do with one of our standard issues here at the ACLJ, our fight against Planned Parenthood that has been going on for decades and decades. And of course, there has always been the conversation of what it would look like if the government defunded Planned Parenthood, stopped funding Planned Parenthood. It’s been a campaign promise, I feel like, from multiple different presidents. One of the ones that has been one of the more difficult ones to actually get done. But now, thanks to the big, beautiful bill, whether you like it or not, I think everyone can kind of have an agree to disagree moments in every kind of bill like this. This is one of those positives, is that as Planned Parenthood, at least for the next year or so, has been or will be defunded. But now Planned Parenthood has responded. And Jordan, I’m going to let you talk about this because Planned Parenthood has responded in the court.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it’s interesting. They say that they’re going to be suing the Trump administration, of course, and going to court. But that it’s an unlawful and targeted attack. Here’s the thing I think that we’ve got to kind of remind people about the victories and how they’ve kind of built upon one another. So first you overturn Roe vs. Wade. That means that there is no federal right to an abortion, which means states can legislate on abortion. So it doesn’t mean there’s no abortion, but it sends it back to the states. And we’ve seen it as basically a divide in the country, pretty even among partisan lines to some extent, some states more extreme, some states less extreme. Then you had a Supreme Court case just last week come out and say that states don’t have to fund abortion providers through their Medicaid funding, which that’s the vast majority of Medicaid funding actually goes from the federal government to states to administer. And what this does is says through this funding bill and through this legislation, the states won’t even have to make that decision because no money for this set period of time. And then Congress will have to come back. But for this set period of time, no money can flow through Medicaid to any abortion provider. So this is why for Planned Parenthood, you know, we’ve talked about that’s the four or $500 million a year that we’ve talked about being up against when we take on these kinds of groups, but those victories upon victories and battling it out for years, they build up upon it.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
We’re going to break it down a lot more coming up in the next segment. And phone lines are going to be open for you because I know you have some questions. Obviously, we’re still following since we’ve been off the air for the last couple of days last week during the holiday. Of course, we have been focusing on what’s going on in Texas as well. I saw Ted Cruz this morning making his statements as the rescue operations continue. But we at least know so many unaccounted for, so many have tragically been lost in those floodings. So, again, our prayers are with them. I was in the U.K. over the weekend, and the number one story – was the texas floods so remember there are people around the world who are thinking about praying for the american people i think that’s always important to know uh that it isn’t something that’s even localized i mean we were driving around late at night and they were playing live news conferences from um whether it was president trump or whoever it may be christy no i’m all talking about what was going on uh in Texas so of course our hearts are with them but you know there’s not a whole lot that we can cover more than that just to say that you know we’re praying for them if there’s any way we can help of course we will but with that phone lines are open for you as the ACLJ celebrates our 35th anniversary throughout the month of July this is a big time it is ACLJ 35 and with that to help continue and make sure we have the resources to continue on for another 35 years. And when you hear something like Planned Parenthood has been defunded, understand how much the ACLJ has been involved in that fight. And we can’t do it without you. So as we launch our 35 years of justice drive, and today’s really the big kickoff day. We talked about it last week, but we knew that was a holiday week. This is the day things get started. So donate today and you will have your gifts doubled. If you’re watching right now, you can scan the QR code or go to aclj.org slash 35 to give now. And if you can become an ACLJ champion, your first gift will be doubled still. And again, that’s not doubled from you. That’s matched from another donor. And as a monthly donor, you’ll help support us year round and keep us in the fight for another 35 years. We’ll be right back. We’re going to break this all down and more coming right up. Welcome back to Secular. A lot of you are just joining us right now. We can tell by the numbers watching on YouTube and on Rumble. And if you are on one of those platforms like YouTube, I encourage you to hit that thumbs up. That really helps us out. And if you haven’t subscribed, hit that subscribe. As we celebrate the ACLJ’s 35th, you can be part of even the over half a million people who join us on YouTube just as subscribers. Millions of you join us on YouTube, but we know only about half of you subscribe. So go ahead and hit that subscribe button. I think we need to restate what’s going on as we start screening some phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. We still got a couple lines open. It’s a great time to call in. But Will, why don’t you break down a bit of what has been going on at Planned Parenthood as Planned Parenthood has essentially said, no, we deserve… You can’t cut our funding.
SPEAKER 07 :
It’s our right to have the government fund us. That’s right. So Planned Parenthood has said to President Trump, we’ll see you in court. They’re going to file a lawsuit arguing that the defunding of Planned Parenthood through the Big Beautiful Bill is unlawful, as they call it, a targeted attack. uh it’s going to be interesting jordan to see what claims they make in this lawsuit especially in light of the supreme court decision just about a week and a half ago which paved the way saying that planned parenthood couldn’t sue states for excluding them from the medicaid program that’s exactly what this kind of does on a federal scale is that Federal dollars through Medicaid can’t be going to Planned Parenthood. At the same time, Planned Parenthood is calling this a backdoor abortion plan, which I think reveals a little bit of the whole game. Yeah, they’re finally agreeing with us, but they’re now arguing that that’s why you can’t defund them. So what do you think they’re going to even try to argue in light of what the Supreme Court said at the state level? How are they going to try to wiggle their way out of that and say, well, federal level, this is clearly illegal.
SPEAKER 03 :
and targeted yes so I think the argument is it’s a targeted you know focus on Planned Parenthood because they do also provide abortions so they’re going to have to make that argument in court which they don’t want to make in public which is that none of this money is supposed to go not a single dime to go towards any abortion at all, any kind of abortion procedure, any facility at all that would actually do the abortion, so you’ve got to have some separation there. But when they’re fundraising and when they’re speaking to the press, it’s all about they’re defunding Planned Parenthood as a backdoor abortion ban. So what are they saying? Well, if you don’t give Planned Parenthood money, you are defunding the abortion industry. And for so long, the argument… that they would make to the American people and in Congress was, don’t worry if you oppose abortion, it’s okay because that money’s not going there. They’ve now switched their argument to, if you take away our money, you’re taking away abortion. Now some of that is where the debate has changed, but it’s also the real clear admission of what we’ve been saying for three decades. which is that every dime that goes to Planned Parenthood is another dime towards abortion, and it’s half a billion dollars a year. And so that’s why they’re having to immediately take this kind of action. And I have to actually applaud the House Republicans who took this vote and the Senate Republicans who took this vote under some significant pressure because we’ve seen the backlash against the pro-life movement in the states.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it’s not the most popular thing in a lot of states. And maybe you can even break that down of why this has always been One of those campaign promises that never can seem to be kept.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think it’s… A lot of people don’t like the idea that their money and their taxpayer dollars would go to provide abortion services. But then when we actually saw Roe vs. Wade get overturned, and these were no longer ideas or theories that we would like to do, but they were actual, real… We could actually… basically defund Planned Parenthood for real and see the impacts of that. There was a panic. And I think that the PR campaign run by the abortion industry was a lot more organized because they are trying to save a business. Whereas we’re activists and interest groups, they are saving a over billion dollar a year business and their business is abortion. They don’t make money off of giving out birth control. They make money off of abortion procedures, whether that’s being refunded by Medicaid, like $500 or $600 a time, or being paid out of pocket.
SPEAKER 05 :
Look, I don’t want to put any other organization like ours on blast, but also understand this. We’ve been fighting for this for 35 years. And when Roe vs. Wade got overturned, we were very excited. When these things happen, we’re very excited. These are positive movements. Now, of course, you have to be able to fight back. But you know what? A lot of other organizations, again, name names, call names, they saw this as a panic moment for them as well. Because… pro-life movement has been something they’ve been able to fundraise on for years and years and years. And what happens if there’s no abortion? Then all of a sudden there’s no campaigns. What are they going to do? Well, we said, I sat in a room with our team and said, listen, we know this issue is going to be changing. How do we make sure that you are staying informed? Because it doesn’t go away. Now, It has been hard to convince people, to explain to people that just because Roe versus Wade was overturned doesn’t mean abortion doesn’t exist. In fact, it does in maybe even a more extreme sense in different areas, different states. But that has been a learning curve that we’ve had to tell you and tell our audience and really learn ourselves of what the next chapter of this fight does look like. This is part of that. This is part of that in terms of defunding Planned Parenthood, getting involved in different ways and doing, whether it’s our Massachusetts campaign, ways that you can go to those states that are never going to probably vote for a pro-life amendment that are maybe going to make it even easier. Maybe they’re going to use your taxpayer dollars to bring people in. How can we help in that sense? And that’s why the ACLJ at ACLJ 35 right now, our 35th anniversary, it is about evolving. It is also about looking at how those issues that are always going to be core to us, but what do they look like for the next 35 years? What do they look like for the next generation that is going to be fed another group of lies? What’s going to happen when there’s another democratic president, which will happen in our life likely. If we’re just going to look at time, okay, it’s flip-flopped our entire life. It has flip-flopped. So likely that will happen again. And what does that look like? You have to play the long game here.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and I’ll go to you, Jordan.
SPEAKER 03 :
I just think we need a revitalized pro-life movement, right? So we had the first phase of the pro-life movement was, can we ever overturn Roe versus Wade? Can we get to the point where we’ve educated people enough on the issue legally and publicly to where we’re no longer going to have abortion without any restrictions at all? You know, it was completely unregulated. You couldn’t even treat it like a like a ambulatory care center. It didn’t have to meet those kind of standards, yet they were doing invasive operations. And we saw the horrors that came out of a lot of the exposure that Planned Parenthood received because of the way of new media access, because you got to cut through the mainstream media who was so in the pocket of Planned Parenthood. And then… We saw the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We had Dobbs. And that’s when you need round two. I said the fight was going to get harder because now we have to take it to states and educate people who in the past it was easy to say you’re pro-life and basically say, oh, I’d love to take this action. Let’s do this action. But you know either it wasn’t going to get through Congress to a president’s desk or it was going to be overturned by a court very early. And so it was a lot easier. It was a lot of traffic. to to say you’re part of the cause when you weren’t actually inflicting any pain on the abortion industry and now that we are now that we are we have to have a revitalized movement in our country which understands this fight is just beginning it’s the new round it’s a new round and they’ve got it they’ve still got a billion dollars in the bank and again i mean i saw people who were the most pro-life activists
SPEAKER 05 :
turn on it and say, you know, I was all for making abortion illegal until this happened. And now maybe I was wrong the whole time. And again, those people are fair weather and clearly are being controlled also by a pocketbook. They’re not being controlled about actually convictions or issues or how they feel. And if that’s sad, But that’s not what we do here. We go for the win. And I think the ACLJ has always done that. We’re not just going to go for a case that we know we’re going to lose and then we’re going to put up a bunch of money. We’re going to fundraise from you. We’re going to ask you for a bunch of money when we know good and well that we’re going to lose because you’re in a court that’s not going to or you’re not going to do this. There’s all these different variables because we have smart people. It’s not what we do here. We go for the win. We go for the win, whether it’s good for fundraising or not. But that is why it’s so important that we’re here. And we’re here because you bring us here. And of course, that is ACLJ supporters and ACLJ champions.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and Jordan, I want to bring up one other thing as well, because what Planned Parenthood is arguing here is that we are entitled to federal dollars. You cannot take away federal monies from Planned Parenthood. At the same time, And they’re going to say it’s discriminatory and all these things in their lawsuit, even though we have that win out of the Supreme Court. We know we’ll have to engage that when it’s filed, that the ACLJ will be writing a brief as well. But we also look at what we’re fighting right now in Massachusetts. where pregnancy resource centers that get no federal dollars are being targeted by the Commonwealth and an abortion activist group that were running ads with taxpayer dollars to discriminate against them trying to provide care, not taking federal money, and yet we’re having to fight that in court at the same time. I think it’s a very jarring contrast of Planned Parenthood saying, we are entitled to federal dollars, but in Massachusetts, the government can run,
SPEAKER 03 :
an attack ad against a pregnancy resource center that’s pro-life yeah the worst kind of precedent you could set in america is that we elect our leaders at all these different levels and when they ultimately get to the level where they’ve appointed justices to the supreme court who decide that there’s no federal right to this and even if there was Is there a federal right to funding it? I mean, that’s a totally different argument itself. And the issue was always, no, you can’t actually force anyone to fund abortion. So Planned Parenthood used these accounting, they call it the backdoor abortion ban, because they don’t want to admit that actually it’s just an accounting practice. So the same facility that is providing abortion is also taking in the federal dollars and saying, well, this part of the facility doesn’t provide abortions. No one is entitled to our taxpayer dollars. Every corporation that gets a grant, whether it’s a military company doing the newest plane or jet, they have to bid for it. They have to have the best. And we know there are other options that are better than Planned Parenthood. Drive by a Planned Parenthood and look at some other community health centers, and you’d rather go to the other community health center than a Planned Parenthood. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. We’ll try to take some calls coming up in the next segment because we have a packed back half as well. So again, 1-800-684-3110. Two lines are open. Of course, become an ACLJ supporter or champion. When you become a champion, you get bumped to the front of the line, and that means, Jim, you’re coming up first. Welcome back to Sekulow. I do want to take some phone calls coming up in this segment because there’s a lot of you that have been on hold for a while, and we got a lot going on in the back half of the broadcast. So let’s go to Jim, who is an ACLJ champion. First, I want to say thank you. And for those that don’t know, ACLJ champions are people that give on a monthly basis, recurring, automatically, and we really appreciate it. It helps create an incredible baseline for the organization as a whole. So Jim from California, you’re up first. Welcome.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I’m happy to help you guys. What you guys do is fantastic. What I love about the big beautiful bill is when the president tried to overturn Obamacare in his first term, John Roberts had the deciding vote at SCOTUS. It was a bill passed by Congress, signed by the president, so therefore it was a law. Congress is their taxing authority. This is, in my opinion, it’s the same situation. It was a bill. It’s going to the president’s desk, passed by both houses. Once the president signs it, it should remain to withstand the constitutional challenges that Planned Parenthood, who are scrambling at this point, will eventually lose.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I’ll let Jordan comment on this because I think that people who have issues with the big beautiful bill or have issues with certain clauses and things that are in it it’s not whether about whether this is legal uh you know clearly it passed no i think it’s just whether it’s something that’s the correct decision yes i think that listen i think that they will fight it out in court because they have to because it’s so much funding and it’s so important to their bottom line but the end of the day
SPEAKER 03 :
the Democrats wouldn’t have been working so hard who are in the pocket of the abortion industry would not have been working so hard to even pressure Republicans in kind of closer swing districts, because they’re always worried about the next election cycle to support this or water it down because of the fact that they know that it’s a much tougher road in court. Listen, I think that Jim, you know, a decade ago, maybe a little bit longer, uh, This would have been a much tougher haul if we had gotten this law done without the overturning of Roe versus Wade and without the Medicaid ruling on the Supreme Court. But we now really have precedent to go on that this is new territory. It’s why I said revitalized effort. We have to look at all this through new prisms now and a new set of Supreme Court precedent. Realizing that, yes, at any moment can it slip away like you were talking about, Logan? Yes, it can. But we have to remember now we’re on the winning side of this in court. So we need to start winning this more politically. We get these political wins. Let’s make sure we defend them and back up the people who voted this in. So make sure that if you’ve got a member of Congress who is in a tough district, that you’re going to back them up on taking these votes because that’s ultimately what it comes down to is continuing to elect bold enough members of Congress who who will get this to a president’s desk, who we know is very bold on these issues and is not going to back down if you get it to their desk. And there’s nothing better. Executive orders are wonderful. You can do a lot of things to that temporarily, but there’s nothing better than actual legislation. It’s much tougher to challenge in court. And even when they do, it’s an uphill battle. And I think this is a loser for Planned Parenthood saying that they are entitled to money. No one should be entitled to our taxpayer dollars. And that should be reviewed all of the time. That should be a continuous review by the federal government.
SPEAKER 07 :
government and jordan i think another angle to this is another big win we had at the supreme court uh where we represented with the state of west virginia with the nationwide injunctions ruling because if you were to think if this bill passed two and a half weeks ago before that what is the first thing planned parenthood would do file no matter what the brief says they Find the right judge who would put a nationwide injunction on that portion of the bill so that, and like we said, it’s only a year at this point because of the parliamentarian had to rule. It was 10 years. They had to bring it down to one because of other spending cuts. And we know that reconciliation, you have to fit within these parameters. So if it’s a year and an injunction gets placed on it, then you’re funding them for the year before it even gets to the merit stage of the case in most places. So I think that that’s another victory that we had a big hand in. Our language was used in the decision by Justice Barrett. And without something like that, that’s an easy thing that in the past Planned Parenthood would find the right judge, get an injunction against it, and therefore continue to receive these taxpayer dollars basically until it doesn’t matter anymore.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is where politics becomes so important. with the legal effort. So you fight the legal battles so you get to these moments politically so you can pass this legislation much more confidently. Now let’s make sure you say, you know, it lasts a year. So let’s make sure we defend this in court so it does go into effect. And I think that because of that win on the injunctions issue, it becomes much tougher for them to get these full hold stops. And then second, let’s make sure we have this marked on the calendar and to make sure… Why are midterm elections important? Well, if you care about life and you care about this issue and you don’t want your taxpayer dollars going to the number one takers of unborn children’s life, which is Planned Parenthood by far, then let’s make sure. And by the way, this defunds the entire abortion industry. Planned Parenthood is the number one, but it’s not like they can change their name and they suddenly will get this money. If you care about this issue, let’s make sure we keep these majorities. They’re slim. Let’s make sure we keep these majorities, and then we can pass it for another year and another year.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, we got a lot of calls about that, worrying about the one-year thing. We’ll get to those a little bit later in the broadcast. I do want to take, let’s take Kelly in California. Kelly, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, thank you. I think you’ve kind of already touched on this since I’ve been on hold. But I’ve just never understood why Planned Parenthood has been so entitled to our taxpayer dollars when organizations like Life Network have to completely do it all on their own without any assistance. And it always seemed to me like when Planned Parenthood was getting all this funding, you know, 50% maybe should go to organizations like Life Network.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I think when Planned Parenthood started getting their funding, it was not really a political issue. It was something people didn’t talk about. They were talking about the 1960s and 70s. You weren’t talking about anything involving sex or abortion anywhere.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean, this really wasn’t an issue that became, especially an evangelical issue.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, it took a long time for people and then it took what happened in the 80s to actually talk about it at your church and then to talk about your community to have discussions about it where it became a normal political topic that presidential candidates were asked about directly. So you have to remember the time period also has racist roots. So a lot of this family planning that we were talking about was done in where? Inner cities, population control of specific groups, and at the time it was mostly targeted African Americans. If you still look today and look at where Planned Parenthood facilities are and look at the demographics of who lives in the area, You will see time and time again.
SPEAKER 05 :
The R1 here in Nashville that existed for a very long time, it was so ridiculous where it was located that it was essentially made for an inner city area to be walkable. It was so depraved because it was so abundantly clear. This was not what they sold it as. Like you said, the origins are in eugenics. The origins are in race control. Racial population control.
SPEAKER 03 :
yeah exactly and sadly that they want to export to the world so that’s why they’re so they’re so big on their international funding is they want to export that to places in countries in africa they want to say keep your population low keep this low i mean it the roots of it are so obvious when you just look at a map of their locations
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, absolutely. Look, we got one minute left in this segment. Some of you lose us for after the first half hour if you’re watching on or listening on terrestrial radio. But we are broadcasting live each and every day because of people like you who support this broadcast. And that is from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. You can work your way back. We are live Monday through Friday. And of course, we post a lot of other great content on ACLJ.org through the ACLJ app, through Rumble, through YouTube. However you get media, we are there, Instagram. But I would encourage you right now for the second half hour coming up, support the work of the ACLJ, do it today. We are in the very, today’s really the big kickoff of us celebrating 35 years, 35 years of justice. Jordan and I helped found this organization on our kitchen table when we were just kids. with our parents. And we want to see it go on and on for the next 35 plus years. We can’t do that without you. So let’s celebrate our victories while continuing to look to the future of what can get done. And we’ve seen amazing work. We’ll be right back. Second half hour coming up. Really short break.
SPEAKER 06 :
Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. And now your host, Logan Secular.
SPEAKER 05 :
For those just watching right now, we’re going to restate what we’re talking about here. And there is a lot going on in the news. And look, there’s a lot of people who have called in sharing their love, their prayers for everyone in Texas. Of course, we don’t want to forget that those search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, that the recovery effort is still ongoing. It’s tragic. It is horrible. And the big questions will be asked, I’m sure, a little bit later of what can be done. I saw it with Ted Cruz saying, look, you always look back and go, okay, what can we do to do this better in texas they’re used to hurricanes they’re used to these kind of things what can they now do about this sort of flash flooding situation but it’s heartbreaking again i was in the uk over the weekend number one story uh on the news was this number one story was going on in texas and look much like the topic we’re talking about today american politics i think we need to understand uh reaches all ends of the world jordan can tell you this he was just over there Every time we turned on the news, because you kind of want to see what’s going on locally, what people are talking about. Sure, they have their prime minister, who is currently not the most beloved. who, again, talks about having a good relationship with President Trump. And there is an interesting connection there. And then there is a far left party being formed, Jeremy Corbyn, and a far right party being formed by Nigel Farage. So they’re about to have this sort of another split moment. But what were people doing? They were focusing on President Trump and what’s happening in America. And what was happening in Israel and Gaza. I’d say those were the two top issues. But we saw all their hearts turn to Texas. And I thought that was very moving to see. Because I don’t feel like if this had happened in London, happened somewhere else in our world, that likely it would dominate our news. But it does there. Because as goes America, so does the rest of the world.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, you think about these kind of tragedies, they’re happening every day all over the world, unfortunately, because we’re one of those countries where it’s rare that it happens. In a lot of places, unfortunately, this is kind of common that if you live near any kind of bodies of water, that these kind of things happen, they don’t have the technology. That’s why the shock is there, too. I mean, it’s the loss of life, number one. Children are involved here, so there’s that second part. A lot of people are taking their kids to camp right now. My daughter was going to the lake with her friend on July 4th weekend, and you start thinking about these stories, and
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, I was on a train with a couple from Atlanta and they said, you know, we’re here because our kids are at sleepaway camp. Right. You know, like we came to London to, they came to see Oasis also, but they were there knowing that. And we were talking about how, you know, this isn’t something you expect.
SPEAKER 03 :
But on the other hand. I think we want the United States to be that country, right? Don’t you want to go around the world and see that your country is number one? That’s why I get the isolationist kind of feel in the United States. We don’t want to be the world’s policeman. At the same time, you want to be the leader of the world because coming up behind you is definitely China. I mean, I saw yesterday, today from the Ford Motor Company CEO who said, we need to learn from the Chinese on cars. Oh, I’ve heard about some of it. And I’m not saying that the vehicles aren’t well built and they don’t have great technology. A lot of it is stolen. And a lot of it’s used, you know, they use cheap labor on the borderline of slave labor to build it. So, of course, the prices are lower.
SPEAKER 05 :
They have some wild cars.
SPEAKER 03 :
The rest of the world is going to use their vehicles to a greater extent than even the U.S. And then we’re right on the line. Right now we don’t allow them in. But how long do those negotiates go? So don’t you want to be the country? Because right now it’s not China. They’re not focused on Chinese domestic issues. Don’t you want to be the country that everyone else is watching? Because that means you’re the most powerful country in the world.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that was the conversation I was having. It was a lot about President Trump and it was a lot about what was happening because they have a lot of the same issues there. And they’re trying to kind of look to America to see if those issues are going to permeate over here. By the way, if you’re on the left or on the right, they’re looking at the far left is going. I mean, they were legitimately saying some of the stuff that’s happening. We are worried is going to work its way over to the UK. And of course, a lot of the conservatives are like, we better. I hope so. So it was really an interesting and kind of an enlightening experience to have these conversations with just people, just people that we happen to connect with. And American politics and American life was on the tip of their tongue. And they knew everything. Whether it was podcasters here in Nashville that they watch every day. Or, you know, Joe Rogan or all these people that are. They do love Nashville. That’s what I got for my month away. Everyone wants to come to Nashville, which I understand. It’s a great place. phone lines are open for you and we’re going to take some more calls coming up at 1-800-684-3110 and continue to support the work of the aclj as we head into this break you’re going to hear it a lot this month you know what we’re celebrating big and we should because it is 35 years of the american center for law and justice 35 years since we started this and it is now time to not only celebrate but plan for the future So right now, scan that QR code, go to aclj.org. We’d like to hear from all of you too. Call in at 1-800-684-3110. Welcome back to Seculo. Secretary Mike Pompeo is joining us live right now. Secretary Pompeo, there’s been a lot of talk in Israel. I just got back late last night from a trip to the UK. It’s clearly on the mind of the whole world talking about Israel and Iran. Honestly, I was very… moved to see the Texas story was actually probably the number one story that was going on to hear the people’s prayers and support but right behind that is the relationship between the United States at that point the UK and what is going on in Israel and we know that Prime Minister Netanyahu will be in DC this week some people are calling that the victory lap because of what happened in Iran there did seem to be some relief with that though there were some posters saying stop you know bombing in Iran there were a lot of people that felt pretty good about that operation. And of course, there has been the discussion of a ceasefire. Will that ceasefire actually happen? Will we see a return of any hostages? Or are they just going to make this sort of a celebratory moment for Israel and America? But I wanted to hear from you. Do you think that ceasefire is back on the table or where are we at?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it’s great to be with you again today. Look, I think the ceasefire is a possibility. This is certainly not a victory lap. I know Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump don’t consider it as such. There’s still a great deal of work to do. And as long as those hostages are held, it is certainly not the moment to claim victory. It’s still going to be incredibly difficult. Hamas is still hanging on and they’re hanging on to those hostages for a reason, because that’s the one thing that keeps them in power, gives them leverage. And so I expect there will still be differences. Maybe they can get to a moment of ceasefire. But really, we should all just step back and think that how much things have changed, whether it’s Hamas, whether it’s Hezbollah, whether it’s the Houthis, all powered by Iran. They have been greatly weakened as the result of the Amazing work that the Israelis did and the boldness of President Trump in taking the strikes against Iran. There is real opportunity in front of us and in front of the Iranian people. And I hope that we will all collectively find a way to seize this moment to get a really good outcome. More nations joining the Abraham Accords and recognizing Israel’s fundamental right to exist as the Jewish homeland.
SPEAKER 07 :
Mr. Secretary, you wrote a piece just about a week ago in the Wall Street Journal, or you were at least quoted in this, about how we’re talking about that Iran’s threat isn’t just around specifically Iran. the proxies we know, the Houthis within the Gaza Strip with Hamas and in North and Lebanon, but that their proxies and spies and network are all around the world, including in Latin America and South America, and that this is a big problem while they may be on their best behavior after their nuclear program being attacked, that that threat still remains and that we should be clear-eyed about that. I just want to get your thoughts on that.
SPEAKER 04 :
We should not forget that the Iranians have known that their real capabilities to defend themselves were not much. So they use these proxy forces, the ones we are so familiar with in the Middle East, but also their global network. I read a story that there are claims now that the Swiss believe that the Iranians killed a couple of their diplomats. know they’ve conducted assassination efforts around the world some successful in europe they tried to kill the saudi ambassador here in washington dc years back this is a theocratic jihadist network that they have built out to give them a real leverage where nations won’t take action against them because they’re afraid that their own homeland might be attacked and And I know our FBI, our intelligence agencies are working hard to protect us here in our country. I hope every nation recognizes that this Islamic Republic of Iran under the Ayatollahs is one that is intent still on destroying the West. And so in spite of the fact their nuclear program has been materially set back, there’s still real risk that remains.
SPEAKER 07 :
Mr. Secretary, one of the big things that’s going on in the media talking about Syria, and we know the leadership of Syria has a bad past, not necessarily the people you would think would normally be negotiating with the United States or even with Israel. But we’re seeing some reports that the U.S. is trying to broker a deal to end the conflict along the Israel and Syria border. One area you know a lot about, mainly because you were the first diplomat, I believe, to ever go to the Golan Heights from the United States. The United States, under your leadership, recognized that as a part of Israel, a territory that Syria tried to claim. But… What we’re seeing now is a step forward where there could be some negotiation. I want really a clear-eyed assessment of, as people talk about this potentially happening, how do you see this going? Is this something that a leader in Syria with the past that that leader has could surprise everyone and be willing to even maybe one day join something like the Abraham Accords? I know you have a lot of expertise, and I think it’d be great for our audience to hear this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Goodness, I do have a lot of practitioner’s wounds and experience associated with this. That is for sure. Look, we all know the Bible a little bit, right? The road to Damascus is where lots of conversions happen. So this is the place where miracles can be worked. And so, you know, I’m optimistic. The new leadership post-Assad in Syria has a devilish time. to figure out how to consolidate and actually lead all of Syria not just Damascus whether it’s the Kurds in the east the Turkish influence in the north a complicated problem set and coming to an accommodation with Israel would be enormously valuable to that new leader so maybe he will find a way maybe he will find a path that says I’m going to protect Christians in Syria I’m going to protect the Druze, the minority religions in my country, and actually build a Syria. And when I do that, I want to have the Israelis as my partner, not my adversary. And so all the incentives do align for him to find a path forward. His history suggests that that will be difficult. And frankly, Syria’s history suggests that will be difficult. But boy, what a remarkable outcome for all of the Syrian people, for Israel, for the Gulf Arab states who are working on this project too, if we could find a pathway to actually build a coherent Syria that wasn’t an extremist, that wasn’t radical, that wasn’t Islamist, that was just trying to take care of its own people, this would be an extraordinary turn of events in global history.
SPEAKER 05 :
Secretary Pompeo, as we head into our last segment here, we’re going to take some phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. Today, we’re kind of kicking off officially the ACLJ 35th anniversary. We call it ACLJ 35, as we have been fighting for all of these values and all of these issues for so long. You’ve seen it firsthand. I wanted to give you a minute to just explain to our audience what you’ve seen with the work of the ACLJ over your work, either with us, but also individually. even before working with us directly, seeing the impact that this organization has had over the last few decades as we have been so involved on some of the top issues. And there are some of the issues that now we’re seeing as the headlines.
SPEAKER 04 :
My goodness, the ACLGA was a blessing to me when I was a member of Congress back in 2010, 2011, 2012. I got to know you all and your team working on the things that mattered most to my constituents, protecting the lives of the unborn, making sure that the elderly were taken care of as well, that we didn’t have crazy euthanasia laws here in the United States, things that I was involved with that you all were leading on. These issues with respect to Israel were top and center for the ACLJ. The litigation against the radical left at the ICC, all of these things mattered to me as a representative for South Central Kansas. And the ACLJ was both helpful in me understanding and being informed, but also then was a thought leader in helping me and my team successfully try to navigate these issues as a member of Congress. The work you’ve done has been important for all across our country and continues to this day. 35 years is hard to believe it’s been that long, but a glorious 35 years it has certainly been.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you, Secretary Pompeo, for joining us. Thank you for your support over the years and, of course, being a valuable member of our team over the last few years as well. It’s been really amazing to have you as part of our broadcast team as well as writing some great pieces you can go see at ACLJ.org. You know, one of the things we do is give you those opportunities, give people the opportunity to write incredible content. And we put that content, by the way, available on our website absolutely for free. None of it’s behind a paywall. And I know I harp on that. But there’s very few places now that do that. How often are you on an article? You scroll down once and all of a sudden it says, log in. It says, give us your money. It’s only 50 cents, whatever it is, whether it’s a newspaper, whether it’s a magazine, whether it’s a conservative pundits, there’s all of these places that are just asking you for money to see their content. We do is say, Hey, We want to make sure our content is seen by the most amount of people as possible. Now, to do that, we have to be funded. We have to be funded by people like you who listen to this show, who understand the incredible work the ACLJ team does legally and in the media. But we don’t want to put our content behind a paywall. We want to make sure you can share an article with your friend. You can share this broadcast with your friend, show them a video, and they don’t have to lock in or steal your login like it’s some sort of streaming service. You know, it’s just available for you. And we want to be able to do that for almost all of our content. So I encourage you to make sure that stays a reality to support the work of the ACLJ financially. And again, it’s our big 35th. And with that, all donations are doubled right now. That’s right. They’re matched. So you can become a monthly donor as an ACLJ champion or give a one-time donation. Either way, the first one will be doubled, matched by another incredible ACLJ supporter, ready to unlock their pledge. So right now, they have pledged to double whatever donation comes in at ACLJ.org slash 35. So that could be $10, that could be $1,000. Whatever it is, it could be more than that. The impact on the world is at stake, and we need your support to continue on for another 35 incredible years. We’ll be right back with your calls and comments in just a moment. Welcome back to Seculo. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. We’re going to take as many calls as we can right now. I actually want to kick this off with Jeff, who’s an ACLJ champion. Jeff, from California, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hi, Jordan. This is Jeff Hennigan. And, you know, I just spent time in Ireland. My wife is Irish. So, you know, the press reports over there consistently are about the number of Gazans killed or starved by Israel’s, you know, military occupation, their actions. And it’s, you know, if you can believe the reports, it’s no wonder the Europeans are, you know, four square against Israel. I mean, if children are being starved, I mean, that’s the report they get every day from between 25 and 150 people. So I’m asking about the reality of that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, Jeff, we all know what some of the reality is, but you are right in the fact that that is one issue in Europe that seems to be certainly leaning one way dramatically.
SPEAKER 03 :
And they’re preaching to a population, too. They’re preaching to a population they’re actually scared of. And because they’re scared of that population… taking to the streets and causing violence. I mean, the terrorism that we saw under ISIS was, you know, we experienced it here in the United States. It was nonstop in Europe. And still, around holiday seasons, especially Christian holidays, the amount of security that goes up around Christian areas, even to this day, even just during summer holidays and travel. In France, it’s the French military on the streets. It’s not police. It’s not SWAT team. It’s actually military… with full-on machine guns protecting Christian areas of the city because they know that those are targeted areas for terrorism. At the other hand, remember, why did the war start? Because of what happened on October 7th. And when wars start, it’s not pretty. Now, if you only show one side of it, it’s even worse because it makes the other side look like they’re horrendous. But remember, there’s a reason why this conflict started and it’s well documented. We could all watch what happened on October 7th and a country that’s in a more powerful position has to respond to protected citizens and send a message to the world.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and Jeff, I want you to hear this headline from a British newspaper, The Guardian. Rights groups warn Gaza Humanitarian Foundation it may be liable for international law violations. So that’s what they’re hearing in Britain. That’s what they’re seeing in the UK. If they see the headline and don’t read the article, oh, the people that are feeding the people of Gaza that are getting humanitarian aid in, they may be liable for international law violations. What is that? What are they doing? Listen to this quote. This is from the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, another signatory to this group that called on them to cease their operations, sending humanitarian aid, food into the people of Gaza, said it’s immoral and inhumane when those committing the genocide take responsibility to feed those whom they have starved. So Israel can’t win in Europe or with the Palestinians. If you give them the food, you’re committing a war crime?
SPEAKER 05 :
But you’re still in war. Yeah, it’s absurd. But sadly, it is the case, and it does seem like that. Hey, Jeff, I appreciate it. We’re going to have to take some more calls because some of you have been on hold for a long time. We only got five minutes. Mary Ellen, Illinois, go ahead.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, hello. I’d just like to be sure that I understand this correctly. When the House passed the bill, the big, beautiful bill to the Senate, we didn’t have any time frame on the defunding Planned Parenthood. Then I find out, oh, it’s 10 years. Now it’s down to only one year. Right. Our Republicans, I presume, were the ones negotiating this. And it’s like, I remember reading many years ago a book called Planned Bullyhood. What these politicians, or the Planned Parenthood does, is they give money to every candidate, or try to give it to every candidate. So it’s like, well, why would the Republicans be advocating for less than forever?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think, listen, one, there’s parliamentarian rules. There’s a lot of politics at play here. We kind of take for granted, I think, that the vast majority of kind of nationally known Republicans have a pro-life, they take a pro-life stand. But that’s not the case across the board. There’s still some holdouts in the Senate and even more so sometimes in the House. And there’s elections coming up again. And so they put the pressure on to say, you know what? If you take this vote, we’re going to make abortion an issue in your race. And if we make abortion issue in your race right now in a swing district, that hasn’t turned out so well. So again, politics plays a role here.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Thank you, Mary Ellen, for calling in. Jeff in Ohio, you’re up next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, yes. Will the defunding of Planned Parenthood have any effect whatsoever on the production of abortifacient pills?
SPEAKER 05 :
On the production? I don’t believe so. I don’t think they were necessarily the ones producing them as much as they were distributing them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Getting them for nothing and getting them in a way that was not even overseen correctly medically, that becomes, again, that changes. Distribution changes. But will it still be available in the states that allow it? Yes, it will still be available. Remember, abortion will still be legal. It’s that the number one provider of abortion and other providers of abortion won’t be getting a taxpayer bailout for their industry anymore.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s what the next caller kind of wanted to talk about. Let’s go to Bob, who’s calling on line three. Bob, go ahead.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey, guys. I think Planned Parenthood is so basically, fundamentally, blatantly unserious. They’re going into court without asking for equal funding for abortion. pregnancy crisis centers. And I don’t think they, unserious people should be heard in court.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean, Bob, of course, that has been the argument all along, which is they think of crisis pregnancy centers, or we call now pregnancy resource centers, as the big villain.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it’s because it’s competition. I mean, remember, I always talk about Planned Parenthood as a business because they’re a billion-dollar-a-year entity. So make sure you realize when you have a billion-dollar-a-year entity and you threaten that billion-dollar-a-year entity at all, and you’re a much smaller entity, They’re going to come after you in any way they can. And so while they’re kind of swimming upstream right now trying to save their federal funding, at the same time they’re trying to villainize anyone who in the states may deflect from one of their $500 abortion procedures. They don’t care if the money is coming from a reimbursement from Medicaid or it’s coming out of someone’s pocket. Either way, that’s $500 or $600 they’re not getting. Yep.
SPEAKER 05 :
Michael, I want to go to you real quick. I know we’re running out of time here, but I know you have a word for what’s going on in Texas, and I appreciate that. It’d be a good way for us to wrap up. Michael in Florida, go ahead.
SPEAKER 10 :
Gentlemen, as a parent who lost his first child in a tragic drowning accident, he was actually at the daycare center. My heart certainly goes out to actually everyone, especially including the parents of the Texas victims. But the one thing I’d really like for all of us to remember, and that is this. God makes space for both grief and relief.
SPEAKER 05 :
Michael, thank you so much for calling with that word. Of course, our prayers are to everyone in Texas. And again, as I said, this is a worldwide moment where people are all concerned about what’s going on and want to make sure that hopefully there can be more rescues and it’s just a tragedy. But you’re right. Maybe we can all join together in that moment. It can be a nonpartisan issue. We appreciate, though, you calling, Michael. I appreciate everyone that called in today, our guests today. And we will continue on this week. And I’m going to ask you as we kick off this 35th anniversary of the ACLJ at ACLJ 35, that you consider prayerfully to support the work that we’re doing here. Can’t do it without you. And of course, your gifts are doubled right now. If you go to ACLJ.org slash 35, scan that QR code if you’re watching, and we’ll talk to you tomorrow.
