Could China’s demands derail President Trump’s first meeting with Xi Jinping? China warns that tensions over Taiwan could jeopardize China’s relationship with the United States. The Sekulow team discusses the Beijing Summit, the Trump Administration’s foreign policy with China, the ACLJ’s legal work – and much more.
SPEAKER 07 :
We got a major update from China as Xi Jinping confronts President Trump about Taiwan.
SPEAKER 05 :
Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekiro. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome to Sekulow. We do have a very packed show today. We’re going to continue to talk about what’s going on in China right now. President Trump is there, along with members of the tech community, Tim Cook, Elon Musk. A lot of those people are there right now. And President Trump spoke. We know there’s also been an ongoing conversation between President Trump, Xi Jinping, and its relationship. One of the big things that came up was… what it looks like with our future relationship with Taiwan and what we consider to be, I guess, the freedom of Taiwan and their own independence. This has been a big, big issue before. And it came up very clearly. Now, I think maybe, Will, we should even give people a little brief background of what we’re talking about here, because I think if you’re not paying attention on the world stage, you may not understand the sort of contentious, ongoing, but somehow also related interest that exists between Taiwan as part of China, not as part of an independent source, and then their want for independence and their claim of independence.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s right. So the the Chinese government, at some point, they believe in reunification is what they call it, where Taiwan will be a part once again of China. The United States for a long time has had this doctrine called strategic ambiguity. where we don’t take a direct position for the people of Taiwan, whether or not we support them in an independence bid, But also, we don’t directly say whether or not we would defend Taiwan if there was hostilities from mainland China. So we stay in this kind of bubble zone of strategic ambiguity, unable to keep the peace, so to speak. We know that China’s goal is to reunify with Taiwan. Most people in the United States see an independent Taiwan as a better thing than reunification. We will have Mike Pompeo, who has been very outspoken on this issue in a few segments from now. But when we know that this is a contentious issue, we know that this is something that Xi Jinping himself would like to see under his leadership. This reunification at this bilateral summit, at this summit where President Trump is there and they spoke for over two and a half hours. And a lot of it is about trade and economics. We do see this where the leader of China has said that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to, quote, an extremely dangerous situation. If it’s handled well, the two countries can maintain overall stability. But he says that Taiwan independence and cross-strait peace, so peace within that region, are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S., So right there, strong words, something very contentious that normally you don’t see in these kind of diplomatic fanfare type of events.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I think that that was just the kind of message that China continues to send, by the way, not necessarily in these meetings. I think that’s what made it unique is he said it directly to the president of the United States in a meeting that is really focused on the economy. Then he said, you know, this would spiral into a clash or at least a collision and maybe a clash. But I do want to point back to what we were talking about earlier in the week, because President Xi did say as well that the relationship between China and the U.S. is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. I would add economically. It’s not necessarily for national security purposes, though your economy has to be solid to have good national security. So it does relate to that. And that’s certainly the truth, whether we like it or not. Yeah. It is the truth. And whether the Chinese like it, whether the United States like it, we are in bed with each other when it comes to the economy.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Look, we’ve talked about that yesterday. It’s sort of, again, you may not like it, but it’s just what is accurate. Yes. So we can have that discussion of what that looks like for a future relationship with China. What do you think President Trump needs to do? We also know Xi Jinping has been invited to come to the White House very soon. September. So, all right, we’ll be back in just a minute. Give me a call at 1-800-684-3110. We’ve got Mike Pompeo joining us, another special guest later on in the broadcast. Welcome back to Tequila. We do have some phone lines open for you. 1-800-684-3110. Covering the big summit in China, what we’re learning from it, and again, the sort of red line, if you will, that China has sort of thrown down to the Trump administration and the United States of America and our relationship with Taiwan. Now, President Trump said it was a good meeting, they had a good talk. Didn’t know if it was too substantive of… There was talk about the war in Iran also, what they could do. They both agreed that there shouldn’t be nukes available, nuclear warfare available for Iran, but also not necessarily making a plan towards any kind of movement with their relationship with Iran, though President Trump did at least infer that he would like them to get involved as sort of a middleman.
SPEAKER 08 :
China is the strong enough country in dealing with Iran. And Iran is very reliant on China. And China likes the cheap oil and gas. And so, hey, get in there and tell these guys, knock it off with the Strait of Hormuz. Start there, at least. At least get that open. And I think, again, China’s not the type that’s going to be in a public setting and say… Oh, U.S. asks us to do this? We’re definitely going to do this. That’s not how it’s going to work. If they do it, they’re going to do it in the name of China because it benefits the PRC. And so I think, again, it underscored the… The setting for this meeting was business, financial relationship. I think that the Taiwan thing was a test from Xi to President Trump. And I think that honestly, right now, the top of the minds of if you’re a US leader is not trying to reform China right now. It is kind of trying to keep that status quo and ambiguity and maintain maybe an even stronger financial relationship because it has been damaged over the last eight years.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, and I think it’ll be interesting to hear from Secretary Pompeo in the next segment because he comes from a different kind of vein than even the president of this foreign policy background. When you think of the long-term position and how many think tanks spend their entire existence on the Taiwan issue, and it’s a very academic issue. Very. within the United States when it comes to foreign policy. There are very good reasons to support the independence of Taiwan. There is a reason also why the United States has opted for this strategic ambiguity historically and not taken this outright position. Now, What is interesting in what it does separate, I think, the current president of the United States, President Trump, from more traditional foreign policy leaders is that I don’t know that he… top of mind cares as much about taiwan what does he care about he cares about economic security for the united states economic uh success for the united states and i think that is what he is there to do not these side issues but it is very important for china and that may not be a bad thing right now as president trump is looking towards what the future looks like going okay i have two years left or so and as the president united states how much really can i get done exactly
SPEAKER 07 :
And is Taiwan top of mind? Should it be my top 10 things when I’m dealing with China and dealing with the AI summit that’s here?
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s always there. No, it doesn’t have to be number one or two when you’ve got an active conflict that’s kind of in ceasefire. But if you read the news recently, both the Saudis and the UAE were carrying out strikes directly on Iran. I mean, that’s showing you that new alliance coming together. And that kind of leaking out in the media in a kind of calm way that we have now got this new alliance against Iran. And so if you’ve got Israel, the Saudis, the UAE, Qatar also willing to take strikes out on Iran, you’re building this brand new alliance for security for our interest, not only because of Israel, but U.S. interest in the Middle East as well. And so if you can get China pressuring Iran on the other side, again… Make it all about economics, it is, to make sure to tell the Iranians you better not be firing on our ships anymore because they have.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I want to take a call. A lot of you are starting to call in about this. And look, I find it pretty interesting that you guys care enough about this. I was kind of concerned or curious if you even were fully aware of what’s happening in China and Taiwan and that relationship. Let’s go to Rich in North Carolina on Line 1.
SPEAKER 02 :
I think the issue with China and Taiwan very much parallels the issue of the right and the left in this country. If you capitulate on Taiwan, what then? What changes? They’re not going to stop stealing intellectual property. The playbook for the Chinese remain the same, very much as the left. The goalpost has been moving as we capitulate and as we compromise, but the playbook never changes. So the best thing that can happen is status quo. As recently been said of the left, China loves the game when they win. And the same thing happens on the left. So I think the best thing that could possibly happen is nothing in regards to the Taiwan issue, although the Chinese are going to push it to the brink.
SPEAKER 09 :
Rich I think one there’s a lot of people that agree with you on that I think where I would look at it as well is that that has kind of been the American foreign policy for so long of just keeping things status quo and what you see here in this administration is someone that disrupts the status quo so I don’t know that even that uh, will in one way or the other remain the same, that it will keep the status quo. Um, but I think also what you’ve seen throughout, uh, foreign policy in the United States, whether it be Republicans and Democrats, you look at the Iran issue. It was the same foreign policy, uh, for so long. And finally you had president Trump say enough and attacked Iran. Um, but you saw that they were still able to exert their influence. The same is with China. When it’s fixated on just the Taiwan issue as kind of the bellwether for the entire policy, what you start to see is what we talked about earlier this week. You see them being able to have the creep of Chinese influence within the United States, whether it be the farmland issue, whether it be the spy balloons under Joe Biden’s presidency, whether it be the secret police stations, the Confucius Institute, or even elected officials now turning themselves in as Chinese spies that we saw earlier this week, is that if you too much focus on the academic of the foreign policy, which I do think to some degree, Taiwan, there is very practical issues with it, but it is kind of the quintessential think tank issue is, When it is too much focus on that, you start to forget and not see all the other things that are going on. And that has led to the detriment of our national security in real ways, not just hypothetical long white paper issues, but in real issues where you have mayors of U.S. cities in California that it turns out. weren’t just mayors of U.S. cities, but also spies for the Chinese Communist Party.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and at the same time, President Trump and Xi Jinping both made toasts, you know, heralding the importance of their relationship and the sort of great relationship they have with each other at the state banquet that was in Beijing. Now, that’s not uncommon. I didn’t expect that. We know they don’t have a poor relationship in that way. And during the speech, he invited, as I said, Xi to visit the White House This would be in September of this year. And the sit-down lasted two and a half hours. Now, of course, you’ve got to remember, they have to translate it. There’s definitely moments that slow that down a little bit. But they discussed a lot of different things, even including fentanyl, including the Strait of Hormuz, discussing oil, the war in Iran. So they went through a lot of top, top issues together to really find if there is some place to meet. Now, look. I think we do have to obviously keep in mind what the last five or six years have also meant in our relationship with China. And as a lot of our viewers and comments have said, we have to be very careful in this because we know things can get out of hand very quickly. And China is not too willing to take the blame when stuff goes wrong.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, I think this is what we’ve seen in the past is that we’re trying to move past the COVID years. Yeah, this is trying to be friendly. And trying to reset a positive financial relationship that benefits Americans and American consumers and keeps our relationship with China stable. peaceful, relatively peaceful, even though it’s spying and things like that. Constantly competitive, but peaceful to stabilize the economic relationship. I do want to mention too, Logan, the ACLJ has filed at the U.S. Supreme Court our amicus brief there in support of Virginia voters This was that attempt by the Virginia legislature to cut out four Republican congressional seats and bypass their state constitutionally mandated procedures. And for that process, that case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court and they lost. So now they’re looking, the radical left attorney general in Virginia is looking for the U.S. Supreme Court to come and bail the Democrats out so they can try and add these seats even though they did not follow their own rules which is why they lost at the Virginia Supreme Court. We believe this the U.S. Supreme Court does not need to hear this case because it was very clear by the Virginia Supreme Court and I just wanted to underscore to people we filed in that case on behalf of you and the ACLJ because we stand up for election integrity to protect your votes and one of the ways we do that is by making sure that states follow the rules other states may have different rules on how they can redraw their districts they have to follow them to go into court those states have been successful virginia didn’t follow the rules so they should not be able to rewrite the congressional districts uh only for a period a minimum period of time logan this is only going to last like uh yeah if they didn’t want it to look political they could have at least left that part out right And knock out four Republican seats in a state that Democrats only win when they do win by about 51 percent of the vote. Republicans can also win there, too. So we were filed there at the U.S. Supreme Court to protect not just Virginia’s right to vote, but really everyone’s right to vote and be represented by by the Republicans.
SPEAKER 07 :
representatives in the House that actually share their values. And you can get involved in it right now. Sign the new petition right now. ACLJ.org slash sign on election integrity. You can do it right now. ACLJ.org. Sign that petition. We’ll be right back with Mike Pompeo. Welcome back, Sekulow. Phone lines are open for you. We’d love to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. Got a packed first half hour. Then we’re going to head into a very packed second half hour. Got some special guests coming on. It’s going to be a pretty interesting back half. You’re not going to want to miss that. You can find that always on ACLJ.org, wherever you get your podcasts, YouTube, Rumble. We’re live 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. Wherever you stream live podcasts, we are pretty much there. Secretary Pompeo is joining us right now. And, of course, our eyes are on what’s going on in China, Will.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s right. And Mr. Secretary, this is obviously a great day to have you on because of what is happening in this summit in Beijing, a place that you have been as U.S. Secretary of State. And when we see this summit, normally these are very orchestrated events. There’s a lot of work obviously that the State Department did before this summit took place and then obviously the ongoing things. So I don’t think it came as a surprise to the administration that the president of China issued these warnings on Taiwan. But at the end of the day, a lot of times you don’t see it get um as as in your face kind of warning in these type of summits because they try to have this kind of air of diplomacy what what’s your take on how direct that xi jinping was about the issue of taiwan as well as give kind of an overview for our audience of why it is actually an important issue for the united states
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, you bet. So, look, let’s take the second one first. Taiwan is important for multiple reasons. One, it’s a sovereign, independent nation. The United States protects its sovereignty. President Trump made that a central part of his campaign, right? Stopping immigration, illegal immigration across our southern border because we’re, in fact, a sovereign country. Taiwan is certainly that as well. And lots of history there with the Chinese claiming it’s been part of them. It’s just balder all just silly. But it’s important to the United States because we want to be on the right side, helping other nations protect their sovereignty. Second, it’s a democratically elected country that is an important trade partner. Indeed, when we talk about AI and all this amazing technology, you can’t separate that from Taiwan. Taiwan is absolutely central to the United States maintaining its lead in the most complex, important technologies of the next five and 10 years. And so we can’t allow that to fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. And then third, if the Chinese are able to take that, they won’t stop there. They’ll continue their effort. So that’s the reason it matters. Second, I’m unsurprised by the fact that the Chinese opened with this in every single engagement I had with every single Chinese counterpart during my four years at the CIA and at the State Department. This was issue one, issue two, issue three for them. It was pretty brazen the way that he said this and I think that’s because President Trump has demonstrated his willingness to continue to support Taiwan and he wants to try to push back against him. President Trump has delivered a significant number of defensive weapon systems to Taiwan and Xi Jinping sees that and says this is a different cat, this is a different character than previous presidents and I want to do my level best to preserve my space so that against the next president who might be prepared to appease me, I can have more success at getting what I ultimately want.
SPEAKER 09 :
This is an interesting week among other things that we see this summit taking place because earlier in the week we saw that a mayor of a city in California came to a plea agreement with the U.S. government for being an agent of the Chinese Communist Party, an elected official here in the United States. We’ve talked with you for years about the influence that the government of China has in this country, whether it be the farmland issue where they’re buying up so much land in the United States, whether it be the spy balloons that happened during the previous administration, whether it be the Confucius Institute. The influence of the CCP in the United States is broad and very much something that is at the top of their list of things to do. When you consider the context of what’s going on here, we have issues like the war in Iran. We have the trade issues, the AI issues. And we also know how much influence that the CCP tries to have in the United States. How do you feel about the relationship between the President of the United States and the President of China right now during this summit? Is it something that we could see some breakthroughs or even some good agreements come out of?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, look, I’m always hopeful that there’ll be some breakthrough, but I am not optimistic that there’ll be anything that’s super important. Some of the commercial things he’s taken some very capable American business leaders there. I think those things may well prove to be good for American businesses to the extent that’s true while protecting our national security. I think that’s fantastic. But I saw this and you’re exactly right. I saw this and we’ve all seen this for decades. The Chinese Communist Party will tell anyone anything at any time and be lying through their teeth. and be untroubled. Your list was a good one. I hadn’t thought about the spy balloons in a little bit, but we should also not forget that they foisted a virus on the world. It escaped from their lab and then they put it on an airplane and sent it all across the globe, killing millions of people with zero remorse. not too long ago. This is a regime that has no respect for human dignity. It’s a regime that wants very much to become the global hegemon, not bipolar. They don’t want to share this. They want it for themselves. And I think Xi Jinping is now trying to figure out how he can manage this relationship through these last two years of the Trump administration in hopes that he will find a more placid, weaker United States from the next leader of our country.
SPEAKER 09 :
I want to change topics just briefly here at the end. And you have a new article up at ACLJ.org called Why Are Progressives Appeasing Anti-Semites? And this is published at our website. You can go check it out, ACLJ.org. But at the same time, this was published and written. Before what we saw happen even this week, we saw this horrific report of what Hamas was doing to both hostages and victims of October 7th. You saw at the same time the New York Times throw all journalistic ethics out the window and try to combat Hamas. the true narrative with blood libel of their own. What is your kind of take on this, what we’ve seen from the New York Times, but also how we can push back on this in this very important piece you wrote about progressives appeasing the entire anti-Semitic league that is going on at this time?
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, you asked the right question. You know, if Nicholas Kristof stays at The New York Times, I think that says a lot about what we already suspected at The New York Times. What he did was indecent, completely nonfactual and suggests a complete misunderstanding of evil in the world, who the bad actors are. As I wrote about, what happens with the progressive left and why they appease anti-Semites is because this is a holistic understanding of the world, right? Whether it’s DEI, wokeism, anti-Semitism, they are fellow travelers. Communism, big government destroying successful, creative, innovative, hardworking people. These are all of a piece. And so they’re not about to go after their anti-Semitic brothers and sisters because they’re part of the movement. They’re part of the movement of the left. And so it is a collection. And while not every leftist is anti-Semitic, they are unwilling, at least to date, they have been unwilling to say, no, that’s not part of who we are. It’s not part of our democratic party. These anti-Semites are then at very least tolerated, if not promoted. And that is a really dangerous thing. But if you ask the question of why have they permitted this, it’s because it’s part of their political movement. It helps them win elections and then helps them make a set of arguments that are very, very connected to their ultimate objective as well.
SPEAKER 07 :
Secretary Pompeo, thank you so much for joining us today. We always appreciate your guidance and thoughts. And of course, if you want to continue supporting the work of the ACLJ, it’s a great way to do it. We have a whole second half hour coming up right after this. Don’t go anywhere. It’s our shortest break. If you’re watching online, whether it’s on YouTube, Rumble, whatever it may be, we have a packed… second half of the show but i want you to join us each and every day live but if you can’t you can always find us archived later on aclj.org find us on youtube rumble wherever it may be and we’ll be right back with more on secular we just you can hear from you too phone lines are open 1-800-684-3110 we’ll be right back keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is secular
SPEAKER 05 :
And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome to Sekulow. Jordan Sekulow in studio as well. Will Haynes. And we have a very special guest coming up in the next segment. You’re not going to miss that. But right now, we are going to take your calls and comments at 1-800-684-3110. We are talking mainly… about the current situation in China, the China summit that is happening, and how that relates on the world stage on such a bigger scale than just an AI summit. Look, it’s important. I think we have to be there for these kind of things, because if not, you’re going to have AI running wild in a very different way if we are not at least involved in the conversations of our relationship with how it works and with China and with other countries that may be treated a little bit differently in terms of technology and how technology and the economy can go hand in hand.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s right. And this is a very important week. We’ve seen, obviously, the pageantry that comes with it. You saw the military band playing YMCA for President Trump as he went down the airplane as he got off Air Force One. But beyond all that pageantry, you’re also seeing tough talk. You’re seeing this issue of Taiwan being put at the forefront of this and making all the headlines. I also think that it’s, as Secretary Pompeo said, that the president of China is having to do that in order to posture himself knowing that this is a different president with a different foreign policy than has been the norm in the United States for the past decades.
SPEAKER 07 :
And if you have a question or comment related to this, by the way, I know that this is a issue that is not necessarily always on the top of mind, especially when there’s so much happening in America, whether that is issues that we have domestically or even in the wars and everything, that maybe China isn’t the first thing you’re thinking of and how our relationship is with them. I’d love to hear from you. We can answer some of those questions. 1-800-684-3110. 1-800-684-3110. In the last segment of the show, I will take as many calls as I can. The last segment, by the way, is only about 15 minutes away. So if you call right now, you’re not gonna be able to hold that long. Give us a call. Be a part of the conversation. If you’re watching on YouTube, you can always call in as well. You can get your comments in there because we are… Dealing with a different world. And I think we have to be very well aware of that in the next segment of the show. Also, in speaking of a different world, I think we need to address when America has big moments happening. And right now we are also on the precipice of another big world event happening in America. And that is the World Cup, which will be here for the first time since the 90s that we will have the World Cup. Here in the United States of America, and so much has changed since then, we’re going to discuss that with soccer star Silas. He played in many different World Cups, great coaching career, has a new book out. We’re going to discuss that a little bit later in the show again. I know it’s a pivot a bit, but I think it also all ties in because the world will be here. The world will be noticing what’s going on in America, and I think we need to make sure that we are smart about the way we deal with the world over the next few months. I know there were certain teams that even discussed whether they could play or not play, and the current conflicts that we have, and who’s going to get cheered, who’s going to get booed, what’s good. I think it will be a very interesting discussion, so you’re not going to want to miss that. But we are going to continue on the discussion as well, Will, about China and about this relationship. That’s right.
SPEAKER 09 :
And as you said, if you have thoughts on this, if you have questions on it, call us 1-800-684-3110. We’ll be taking all of those in the final segment of the broadcast. Make sure to get in line now, 1-800-684-3110. And I want to ask, do you think that this is going to be a success for the president? Is this something you see positive coming out of this summit?
SPEAKER 07 :
Jordan, I did want you to give me about a minute. Just give that update again because we do have the petition up.
SPEAKER 08 :
ACLJ has filed at the U.S. Supreme Court defending election integrity in Virginia. The Democrats there tried to pass a new electoral map. It violated Virginia’s own rules in their state constitution and the Commonwealth’s constitution and their procedural rules in their state code. And so the Virginia Supreme Court… said this interim new congressional map cannot move forward. You have to use the existing map. What the Democrats are trying to do is take out four Republican seats in Virginia, which is very much a purple state. It goes back between Republican and Democrat governors back and forth. And so we are asking the Supreme Court, no need to hear this case. This has been settled. But as just a reminder, the ACLJ really for the last decade, Logan, has really been on the forefront of election integrity. And we did two cases on behalf of President Trump right from in here when COVID was hit at the U.S. Supreme Court on these kind of very issues. And we are still out there making sure defending your your electoral integrity for the country and our elections.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. And you can be a part of it as well. We have a new petition up right now. ACLJ.org slash sign. or scan the QR code you see right now. It’ll take you straight to that link. Sign up, be a part of it. We’ll be right back with more on Sekulow. We are going to take your phone calls in the next segment at 1-800-684-3110. I always like to provide you with a very eclectic show, a different show. We’re talking about world events, politics, whatever may be going on in the world. And of course, the world of faith as well, because that plays such a huge part in our relationship with you, our audience. And this guest was in town. I thought this would be a really great one. Celis, who, again, has a brand new book, Beyond Success, One Athlete’s Outstanding Pursuit of Goals, God, and Glory. multiple-time World Cup player, a great managing and coaching career here in the United States, or not in the United States, around the world, but now you’re here in the United States to talk about this. But also, as I was saying earlier, the World Cup is here this year. It has been quite a few years since America has hosted a World Cup, and I think you’ve seen a growth in even the relationship with the United States audience and with soccer in general in that last year. what, 25 plus years that it’s been, you’ve seen the next generation grow up with this sport in America in a way they have not before.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I think Americans, I had been in 2003, four and five, and I had an invitation to play for Dallas Burns, but was not like nowadays. It’s quite different. But a lot of Brazilian players coming to here. In fact, we have a friend, his name is Guilherme. He’s playing for Houston and he’s doing very well. I’m not talking about Messi. Messi is for another planet.
SPEAKER 07 :
I took my son to see Messi play here when he was here in Nashville and it went from like a pretty good attendance to that one was we were stuck in traffic for hours and hours as everyone came to town to see him.
SPEAKER 01 :
I used to play with another Argentinian good player, Diego Maradona. I have his jersey and I play against and also together. But I think the world is enthusiastic about this World Cup divided into three countries. But anyway, it will be great.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’ll be close. And Jordan’s been to the World Cup many times. I’ve been many times. But your journey is something I want people to know about too. And that’s why you have this new book out that really explains not only your career, but also this path you’ve had with faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, yeah. I think it’s good to be a soccer player that reaches that level, playing World Cups, it’s good. But beyond success, it’s much more than that. And regardless the career people do, they can find through the book principles and values to apply in their lives.
SPEAKER 09 :
And when you look at this, once again, the book for those of you watching is called Beyond Success. And it details both that career side, but as well, your faith journey. And once called the most well-known Christian in Brazil. But tell us a little bit about that, how the maybe even some of the The conflict of, especially in Brazil, a nation that celebrates soccer, football in a much different way than we do here in the United States. Obviously, the rich history of the sport in Brazil, maybe even the conflict internally of having that faith journey while being in a sport that creates superstars, that creates international icons in a place like Brazil.
SPEAKER 01 :
yeah yeah there is also a joke that uh uh two guys talking and one asking what is the first sport in brazil and he said uh volleyball and the second one the second one it’s the basketball The 31, 31 is Formula One. And what about soccer? He said, no, soccer is not sports here. It’s like religion. So it’s moved like this. But for me, answer your question, the faith helps me to understand not only my relationship with Jesus, but also how to be a good father, because the soccer career, it’s about 18 to 20 years. So after that, you have a life to live and how to do with this. And there is statistics also said that 78%, almost four, out of five are bankrupt, divorced and employed two years after they leave their career. It’s not good. So we will have also a ministry that try to help the former players to live better when they retire.
SPEAKER 07 :
Why do you think that is? You think it’s just when it all is over, it’s just a different world they’re living in, the training is different, the travel is different, and it just becomes a little bit more heavier to deal with?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I think the fame, it’s also, they can face in many ways. And soccer players used to, I used to say that being someone and having money is good, but in a way you have structure. to maintain that. But you have money and you’ll be famous, but you have no structure. It’s a danger. And we have one, for example, I don’t say his name, but he’s in jail. He’s a millionaire. His son is playing. He’s 17 years old. He’s playing for a big club in Brazil, but he’s in jail. So it’s not good, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that there are some definitely lessons that you can take because I think, look, a lot of people are not going to play in the World Cup. A lot of people are not going to be professional soccer players here in the United States necessarily. I’m sure there will be, but a lot of our listeners, maybe they won’t have that opportunity. But the book itself is for everyone, for people who want to, of course, they want to hear your journey, but it’s life lessons that go beyond.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think that when you can put your order of priorities in a good way, like me, God first, then my wife, I’m married for 38 years old, then my kids, my grandsons, I have two and the 31 is coming. Congratulations. So the healthy and the gift that God gave to us to help most people that cannot give back to you, and then the work. The job is not in the last place, but it is in his place and I work a lot during my life. But I think if you can help people to put in order the priorities for their life, I think they will live better, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
And your career then shifted also to broadcasting. You’ve been doing that for some time and working with ESPN Brazil and other outlets talking about the game, being part of that. How did that happen? Was that always something that was in the back of your head? Hey, I’d like to be on camera talking now.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I have to study now more than I was in school because we have to know about coaches, referees, players from other countries. Yeah, all over the world. Yeah, we do England, German, also USA, Argentina, leagues. So you had to study a lot. And you have a… 30 seconds to answer about this thing.
SPEAKER 07 :
And you can’t get it wrong.
SPEAKER 01 :
The fans will let you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it’s another world and I am working for ESPN seven years and I’m learning a lot and I love to work on this. So I’m happy. It’s another door that got opened for me, different, but in sports. Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, and I think a question maybe for the American audience as we look forward to hosting other countries around the world that come here for the World Cup, not just players, but as well people that are coming to visit.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
How can, especially as your story is one of faith and soccer combined, how can our audience welcome people but also share that love of Christ in the United States as we look forward to this massive event that many people do idolize? They do look at soccer, as you said, like a religion. What can we do to be a good host here in the United States?
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, I think that when you reach this kind of level, but you maintain a humble position and thinking more on others than on yourself. I think America is a Christian country also, so they value, they put value in this kind of thing. When you be… father, when you be a good husband. I think this is the way to go, right?
SPEAKER 07 :
Great, thank you. The book is available. You can order it right now. You can find it on Amazon, however you get your books. I want to make sure people have the opportunity to do that. If you want to search it, look for Beyond Success, One Athlete’s Outstanding Pursuit of God’s Goals, God, and Glory. It is available now. we’ll make sure and I’m going to tell our team if they’re watching right now our social team just make sure we tag it put it in our description make sure people have an easy way to get to it because I think it’s a great time and if you have kids also who are maybe soccer players or fans or they just want to get into the spirit of what’s happening around the world right now but then of course with the World Cup coming up I think this is a great time to do it thank you so much for coming by you’re welcome thank you and spending time with us how rare it is to have someone from the World Cup team in Brazil Logan less than 500 men in history have played for Brazil at the World Cup Yeah. And of course, a legendary club. So a legendary team to be a part of. So amazing. Thank you so much for stopping by. We will be taking your calls and comments in the next segment. So I’ve seen a lot of World Cup talk and I’ve seen a lot of talk about you see this here on the in the comments. And that’s great. You can pick up the book again. It is beyond success. And we’ll make sure we put the links up. A really fascinating journey, a fascinating life. From what I can tell. So we look forward to that. Again, phone lines are open for you. Let’s take them. Next segment is the last segment. So if you want to be on the air, this is a great time to do it. 1-800-684-3110. 1-800-684-3110. We’ll be right back with your calls and comments on Seculo. All right. Welcome back to Secula. We are going to take your calls and comments, and there’s still a few lines open if you want to be a part of the show. And thanks for watching today. I know it’s been a very eclectic show. We’ve gone all around the world. We’ve talked about a lot of different topics, whether that’s China, Iran. We had the World Cup covered. We had Secretary Pompeo. We cover a lot of ground here on this show. You give us an hour a day, we’re going to pack it. So make sure you learn a lot and you, of course, hopefully are entertained a little bit as well. I see a lot of conversations in our chat right now of just people talking about the World Cup and talking about soccer and growing up with it, whether they had it, whether they didn’t have it. A lot of our audience, maybe they’re older, they just had soccer towards maybe the end of their childhood. And now, of course, you have a whole other generation on it. But we are going to continue our conversations about President Trump. Let’s visit to China. We have a call right now. Gary in California, who’s an ACLJ champion. If you’re an ACLJ champion, I’ll let you go first. Now, Gary still had to hold a little bit because we had so many guests. I appreciate your hold, Gary. It’s not what I like to do for our champions, but thank you so much. You’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Logan, Jordan, Will, love you guys, and I’m thrilled to meet and share. My name is Dr. Gary, and I’m eternally grateful to be a lifelong ACLJ champion, longtime Judeo-Christian advocate in support of all ACLG global religious and civil liberty initiatives. God bless you guys in all that you do. My question today is about your thoughts on the possibility of China buying affordable oil from the USA, no longer dependent upon Iran. since President Trump repeatedly says we are now once again a net exporter with massive U.S. domestic reserves, especially in view of our recent supplement to the U.S. stockpile of reserves acquired from Venezuela in order to stabilize global economic trade.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, Gary, the Chinese government does buy import crude oil from the United States. Also, I mean, we just had someone from Brazil on. Brazil is also a big exporter of crude oil to China. You also have to remember China is a very, very large country. Nation with very large demand for oil. So they are getting it from a lot of places. But I do like that thought. I do like, obviously, the thought of finding more ways to get money from the Chinese instead of us just buying everything from them. Right, Jordan?
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s been an issue. It’s an issue we talked about earlier in the week with the manufacturing. Because their manufacturing has gotten so good with high-tech goods, when you go to China to get your goods and you think, oh, this is going to cost less, that’s not the country you go to. That’s where actually a lot of high-end tech goods are coming out now. Your most expensive tech goods that you’re buying in the U.S. are usually those made in China. The less expensive are made in other Asian countries. Yeah, China then goes to another country to get it done. Right, and they’re car manufacturing. Again, the U.S. strategically will have to make a decision at the point of whether or not we let those cars into our system. But right now, our cars played a huge role in China. So that’s all going to be issues. I think the more… Short term, the economic ties create peace and an opportunity to really influence the world together on some of these big issues like the Strait of Hormuz being closed by Iran. Iran was firing on Chinese vessels. I mean, that’s something the Chinese are not going to accept. So if the US and China can come into Iran together and say, better stop this. Here’s why from the Chinese perspective. Here’s why from the US perspective. That is a way to kind of end a stalemate. And again, could have some positives out of the relationship like Will was talking about. Instead of just kind of this, unfortunately, we have to rely on China for all these goods and they threaten us and they rely on us for the money. We got to get to a better place there. And no one wants a war in China. Let’s be clear. It’s a nation of 1.9 billion people. And it would be detrimental to the entire world.
SPEAKER 07 :
Not good. It’s actually a breath of fresh air that we see.
SPEAKER 08 :
We’re not in a Cold War setting with China. It certainly can be an adversarial relationship at times, but that economic ties, they are so reliant on us. Without us, they’re not the China of 2026 that they are today.
SPEAKER 07 :
And obviously we had a contentious relationship over the last few years. But I also look at what was their relationship like with the Biden administration? Because I don’t feel like you had at least these kind of conversations that were going on. You didn’t see them as public.
SPEAKER 08 :
I don’t think he was making those kind of visits and trips.
SPEAKER 09 :
You also saw the way that China was able to flex more on the United States. We brought up the spy balloons. We brought up the things that China did. And some of them I almost wonder if they were doing just to see how much they could get away with under Biden. That was one of the big complaints before President Biden was elected was the weakness he would have on the world stage. When you bring in the JV team of Obama’s foreign policy, And make them the varsity players. You ended up with a very weak foreign policy. That is what we saw for four years under the Biden administration and Jake Sullivan and all of the nonsense that we had to deal with under that administration. You saw China exert more. Pressure on the United States, but also showcasing different ways and kind of experimenting. How much can we get away with? I think a lot of that is gone now that you have a different administration in that was always saying we’re going to be tough on China.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and I think it’s actually nice to see the president being able to go over, not feel like there’s a major security risk to go over, that there wouldn’t be some big issues like there have been with his other potential foreign visits over the years. And look, China is obviously very different in the way even they handle their own population. But in terms of how contentious it’s been, for President Trump, for anyone in this administration to even travel to any foreign country.
SPEAKER 09 :
That is something that I’m actually seeing a lot in the chat of people commenting on that they’re kind of surprised the president would go to China right now. One, we obviously don’t trust China greatly.
SPEAKER 07 :
We’re in a war with kind of their partnership.
SPEAKER 09 :
Exactly. Here’s the one thing. They did delay this summit. It was supposed to happen about two months ago in the very beginning of the Iran conflict. When we first started that Operation Epic Fury, they announced they were delaying this. Clearly, we are in a ceasefire of sorts, even though it may be on life support, as the president said. But we are in the ceasefire. They obviously felt safe doing it. I don’t believe, no matter what people may think, that the last thing that China wants is for some horrific security failure. They like to showcase how strong they are. and how they can keep everyone in line. I don’t think that one, obviously the United States government and our State Department and our intelligence agencies felt comfortable with this, so it’s not just on taking the word for it of the Chinese. But I don’t think that the Chinese government, no matter how much they want to dominate the United States, They want an international incident that leads to an actual world war if something were to happen to our president while over there.
SPEAKER 07 :
They still need tourism. They still need to trade with the United States. They have Disneyland there. We got to remember that the American businesses have a pretty strong relationship with China. I mean, President Trump also is going to be on Hannity tonight. I saw that live from Beijing. I don’t know if it’s live from Beijing or from China, but it will be happening. At least either they… I don’t know if they recorded it earlier. I assume. Time changes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Much more significant time changes.
SPEAKER 07 :
But even that that’s happening, that our news media is getting involved, having interviews with our world leaders in not only other countries, but in China. I think it’s very interesting, and it’s a bit calming. I hate to say that, but a bit calming compared to, I feel like how things have been stateside. Right. And how things have been over the last few weeks, whether that’s the correspondence dinner and everything that unfolded after that. That being said, though, look, Jordan, I think we should wrap up with this, because the work of the ACLJ continues. We’ve only got 45 seconds, but let me take it.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s right. So the ACLJ, we have filed at the U.S. Supreme Court that case out of Virginia where Virginia Democrats trying to bypass their own state constitution and laws and rules. They were struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. They wanted to remove four Republican leading congressional districts in Virginia and only leave one. This is a state that is purple, by the way. It’s not some deep blue state. And they didn’t follow their own rules. The Virginia Supreme Court said, no, can’t do this. You’ve got to go back to the original electoral map. Now they’re trying to take it to the U.S. Supreme Court to save their, again, their election rigging to get rid of any Republican representation. And we’re fighting back.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s right. You can be a part of it right now. Sign the petition at ACLJ.org slash sign today.
