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Join us as we unpack the latest developments in Washington and the Middle East. President Trump embarks on a strategic trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, amidst criticism for bypassing traditional ally Israel. This episode examines the significant policy decisions, economic opportunities, and the broader impact of these diplomatic engagements. Guest analysts discuss how these moves align with America’s national interests, especially concerning religious freedoms, the emerging ‘Big Grift’ legislation, and ongoing tensions with Iran. Stay tuned for a thorough analysis of the balancing act between diplomacy and domestic politics.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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My administration is pursuing peaceful engagement, offering a strong and steady hand of friendship to all that will take it in good faith. Together, we have made unprecedented strides and tremendous progress, and we’re still just at the dawn of the bright new day that awaits for the people of the Middle East, the great, great people of the Middle East.
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That was President Donald Trump speaking earlier today in Saudi Arabia. Welcome to this May 13th edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in. Well, coming up, Dr. A.J. Nolte, associate professor and director of the Institute for Israel Studies at Regent University, joins me to discuss the policy implications of President Trump’s first trip to the Middle East in his second term.
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Republicans may even name their legislation one beautiful bill. That’s ridiculous. I suggest Republicans pick a different name, a more honest name. They should call their bill the Big Grift. Because that’s what their bill is. Greedy Republicans in favor of tycoons. The Big Grift. Billionaires win. American families lose.
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That was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier today on the Senate floor. For me, that is a solid indication that it must be a good bill. We’ll get an update on the efforts to cut government waste and lower taxes in the reconciliation bill from Indiana Congressman Marlon Stutzman. Planned Parenthood just released its annual report and it’s breaking records again. Over 402,000 abortions performed last year and nearly $800 million in taxpayer funding. Will that continue or will Congress finally stop forcing taxpayers to subsidize the abortion industry? Montana Senator Steve Daines will weigh in. And later in the program, FRC’s Vice President for Policy joins us from Kenya. What’s he doing in Africa? Well, he’ll share that with us when he checks in. And don’t miss the final episode of God in Government. Session 13 is putting it all into practice. It’s a call to action. Using the insight and tools gained from the course to pray, vote, and stand. Course is available exclusively on the StandFirm app. If you don’t have the app, well, text the word course to 67742. That’s course to 67742, and I’ll send you a link. Well, earlier this morning, President Donald Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia for the first stop of his Middle East trip. The Saudis have reaffirmed their commitment to investing $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. During his speech that followed that in Riyadh, President Trump called on other, quote unquote, responsible nations of this region to seize the moment and make deals to craft a new future for the Middle East. Well, here at home, the Congress is investing all of their time and energy in advancing the president’s one big, beautiful bill. Joining me now to talk about this, Congressman Marlon Stutzman, a member of the House Budget Committee. He represents Indiana’s third congressional district. Congressman Stutzman, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to see you. Tony, great to be with you this afternoon. Well, let me first get your response to to the president’s remarks in Saudi Arabia.
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Well, you know, first of all, we have the strongest negotiator, the strongest diplomat in President Trump from the United States since Ronald Reagan. And the fact that he has been the leader on the Abraham Accords in his first term, it has definitely is proving out to work like we had hoped and that there would be more peace in the Middle East than what there has been. One of the lines that he mentioned today that I thought was really kind of hit the nail on the head was when he said, we want commerce over chaos. And so far, we’re seeing some success with that. And of course, not that we are, we want to see peace throughout the Middle East for every country there. But with our ally Israel, they’ve obviously been the target from a lot of the countries around the Middle East. And the more stability that we have in the Middle East, the more we know that our ally Israel is going to be more secure. So I think these are all positive signs. And of course, it’s the strong leadership of President Trump.
SPEAKER 05 :
In his remarks, he I think kind of made references back to the Bush administration and those that have undertaken nation building in the Middle East. Which, personally, I was very vocal about. I don’t think it was a good idea. I don’t think the seeds of democracy take root very well in the soil of the Middle East. It has a different view. But the president, as he was articulating today in Saudi Arabia, suggests that economic principles will fill that void and bring about peace. DOES THAT WORK WITH A SOCIETY THAT’S DRIVEN BY A TOTALLY DIFFERENT IDEOLOGY?
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WELL, I THINK IT DOES TO AN EXTENT. I VISITED SAUDI ARABIA BACK IN 2014, AND IT WAS BACK WHEN, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT WE EVER ARE GOING TO FORGET 9-11, BUT THERE WAS STILL, THAT WAS MUCH CLOSER IN OUR REARVIEW MIRROR THAN TODAY, AND WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FIND INTERESTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST is that they don’t want to do business with China. We heard that repeatedly, even in 2014 in Saudi Arabia, that they were looking to the United States to do business. And of course, we said, look, you know, we’re open to commerce, but you can’t be allowing there to be any sort of jihadi camps training to attack the united states or any of our allies for that matter and but i think you know over time we’re seeing that the abraham accords have have been working uae uh of course qatar saudi arabia they’re making money and i think that you know that kind of goes back to the commerce over chaos line is and i hope this is the case and i think there’s probably you know the the part of all of human nature that likes to have things and is materialistic that it’s more fulfilling to be making and building rather than to be attacking and killing. And so I hope that that’s part of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Agreed. And you mentioned the UAE. I visited the UAE about six years ago, met with the crown prince there. One of the differences about the UAE is that they’re one of the few that aggressively pursues religious freedom. Now it’s for expats that can do that, but they’re more open to religious freedom. Like Saudi Arabia doesn’t have a single church. And if we’re going to talk about freedom, economic development, I think religious freedom, and this is not based upon just personal preference. There is a lot of studies that have shown that where religious freedom exists, there’s economic opportunity, there’s stability. I’m not hearing that as a part of the conversation.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, that was one of the things that we did recognize in Saudi Arabia. You know, we were not taken, you know, as Christians, we were not taken to Mecca or Medina, the Muslim holy cities. And so I think there’s still a long way to go, even with Saudi Arabia. As an American Christian, I am going to always fight for religious freedom, because if you believe in your beliefs, you shouldn’t have any problem if somebody else believes differently than you. Let’s have that marketplace of free thought and ideas. And even when it comes to our spiritual lives, that I’m willing to sit down and talk about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with anyone of any faith, And I’m not going to be offended if they don’t believe exactly how I believe, but as long as we can have an open dialogue, I think that’s important. So I hope that that is the direction they go. Of course, Qatar and UAE are somewhat different. I think that the Saudis, of course, feel very like they are the protectors of Islam. But I’m hoping that President Trump just continues to push for free markets and free ideas and freedom of religion.
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Congressman Stutzman continued kind of on that line. The president today announcing lifting of sanctions over Syria. Now, you recently traveled to Syria and met with the new president, Ahmad al-Sharra. And give us a little insight there. This is a guy who is connected to ISIS, al-Qaeda. He’s now the de facto ruler of Syria. Yeah. Right.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I did. I went with a group called the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity. And we were in Damascus and other parts of Syria over the Easter weekend, which, of course, was a neat experience just to be in Damascus and to walk the road that Saul walked and where Christ met him on the road to Damascus. And then obviously met with Ananias in Damascus and changed his perspective and viewpoint and became a Christian and fighting for Christianity and leading Christianity. And so here you have Damascus as one of the holy cities of Christianity. And I we met with the the interim president, President Alshara, to talk about what is his vision. And we talked a lot about freedom, human rights, women’s rights, religious rights. Syria is very diverse. There are a lot of Christians in Syria. And, you know, again, we have to keep a close eye on this on this guy. He is the the leader in Syria. He’s the one that kind of caught the bus. Is he the guy that we would have chosen? I don’t believe so at all, but he is now the leader. Thankfully, Assad is gone. What the Syrian people experienced with Assad is just incredibly sad that you would have millions of people killed, but also maimed and tortured and brutalized in the prison. But hopefully we can see Syria move the right direction. He talked about keeping Syria unified and free. He also talked about building a relationship with Israel, which I told him was really important for us as Americans. And also that Syria become a place for trade and commerce and tourism. I told him a lot of Christians would love to visit Jerusalem and then Damascus if that were an opportunity. So the jury’s out. We’ll watch and see. But I think letting them start to rebuild the country will be a start. And again, with President Trump at the helm, if he makes a mistake, I think that they would be pushed right back to where they were before.
SPEAKER 05 :
What does it look like for them to recognize Israel? What does that look like?
SPEAKER 12 :
So as I visited with him for about an hour and 15 minutes there in his office at the palace that Assad had built, I said, you know, look, the relationship with Israel is critical for the United States, and it’s just not one that’s going to ever change in our society. What do you believe Syria’s relationship looks like with Israel? You know, some in the Middle East won’t even recognize Israel by saying the name Israel. You know, they’ll say Zionist or, you know, they’ll find another way to describe Israel. But he said the word Israel twice. He also talked about forgiveness, that things have to be put in the past. There was two things that were really almost non-negotiables for him was that he said Israel had a plan to divide the country into three parts. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that’s what he said, and that he wanted to keep Israel unified and not divided up. And then also the Golan Heights, of course, Israel had encroached, taken some of the land there, which I don’t blame them because you don’t know who the next leader is going to be in Syria. You don’t want another problem over there that’s going to be sending rockets into Israel. And then also that Israel had bombed a couple of the military assets that were on the Syrian side. But it was more about keeping Syria unified. And as he talked about trade and commerce with Qatar and with UAE and Saudi Arabia, It seemed like he was very open to normalizing relationships with Israel. And that’s what I hope and that’s what I pray that will happen, because it would be, you know, we pray for peace in the Middle East and there may be a chance here. These opportunities don’t come often, of course, with the change in dictatorship.
SPEAKER 05 :
Agreed. We should pursue peace, but with eyes wide open. 30 seconds left. Do you think he’s a reformed jihadist?
SPEAKER 12 :
I think, you know, we’ll have to wait and see. I hope so. You know, he’s saying the right things. He’s doing the right things. I think a couple of steps that he could take. There have been some of Syrians that have been murdered in up around the coastal region and also in the Druze community. If he’s open to international investigations, I think that says that he would be open to something like that. He’s going to have to really be vulnerable to the West. And he did have an offer from the Russians. He’s not interested in taking it. So I think that’s also
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another positive sign all right congressman marlin stutzman always great to see you thanks for joining us good to see you all right folks stick with us we’re back with more after this
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In a time when Washington seems clouded by compromise, a bold group of lawmakers are standing firm in defense of the values which our nation was built upon. At FRC Actions 100% Awards, 171 members of Congress were honored for voting 100% in line with policies that promote faith, family, and freedom.
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Faith and family made our country, it’s the foundation that made our country not only great, but good.
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The values that make America, faith, family, hard work, personal responsibility. I mean, that to me is the heart of FRC and grateful for everything that they do.
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It’s very important for us to have organizations such as FRC. First of all, I think it keeps us grounded. In addition to which, the issues that you champion are issues that we should all be championing.
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FRC is very, very good at honing in on those things that really affect Christians’ lives. Also, working with members of Congress, too, to make sure that those values are instilled in the legislation that we create.
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Having the Family Research Council to guide us is critically important to being able to do the right thing consistently.
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These lawmakers have drawn the line, not just in policy, but in principle. This is more than politics. This is conviction in action. Visit frcaction.org for more information on how you too can make a difference.
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Jennifer, it’s so exciting to be here with you today talking about our new book, Embracing God’s Design. Who is actually going to benefit from reading this book in your view?
SPEAKER 18 :
There’s so many different audiences that can benefit. The first one are counselors themselves, because we have some material in there where we really address the gender dysphoria diagnosis and what is wrong with it. We have information for people who are wanting to go back to embracing God’s design for their life.
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This is really magical to have the therapist and the individual who suffered come together and write about why this is happening and why we’re seeing this.
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And we brought all of that experience to the table. We want to see people walking in the fullness of who God has called them to be and not a false identity.
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Pre-order today at embracethedesign.com. Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
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All right, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. Yesterday, Planned Parenthood released its annual report for 2024, showing that the organization performed over 402,000 abortions this past year, presenting itself as a force for hope. The organization report showed that it received just over $792 million from taxpayers. Now, Republicans are teed up in the reconciliation bill to defund organizations that promote abortion. Will that happen? Is this the moment? Here to discuss this, U.S. Senator Steve Daines from Montana. He serves on four Senate committees, including the Finance Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Daines, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. Good to join you, Tony. I should also state that you also launched the pro-life caucus in the Senate. So you started that over in the Senate. So let’s start with the Planned Parenthood report. Your reaction to the fact that they’re setting new records?
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Yeah, that was a very sad fact that was reported by Planned Parenthood. It’s a record level of abortions over, looking at the report, over 400,000 abortions, Tony. It’s over a thousand abortions a day provided by Planned Parenthood. So these are just continued troubling stats when you’ve always had concerns about Planned Parenthood, but they are now crowing about the fact it was a record number of abortions performed through Planned Parenthood last year.
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And it’s being subsidized by taxpayers. I know the money does not go directly to abortion because of the Hyde Amendment. But as we’ve talked about many times, money is fungible. It can cover the overhead of this entity. In fact, we’ve seen they’ve literally spent millions of dollars in their political pursuits. How can we justify government money going to Planned Parenthood?
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Look, if it weren’t for the federal taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood, they’d have a hard time surviving. But one of the ways the backdoor into Planned Parenthood is through Medicaid reimbursements. So that’s one of the primary ways that they make their money there at Planned Parenthood. And that’s why we’re going to have a fight, are having a fight, a battle here on Capitol Hill, that we should be able to defund organizations that use taxpayer dollars for elective abortions. That’s exactly what Planned Parenthood is.
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You know, I also think we should go further. Now, I know this, what I’m about to say cannot be included in reconciliation, which the defunding of abortion entities can be. But any organization that gets federal funds should not be able to engage in spending political money. I mean, you should have a choice. I know everybody has a free speech right, but you don’t have a free speech right to take government money and use it for your political purposes.
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Well, there’s certainly – when I start to think about the Hyde protections, they’re already, in my opinion, breaking that federal law. And on top of that, adding insult to injury is the fact that those dollars can be moved around here for advocacy, certainly for a group like Planned Parenthood. But again, we need to be very clear in our principle as Republicans, pro-life Republicans, that we cannot allow taxpayer dollars to be used for elective abortions. So –
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I’m going to get your sense of how that’s going to fare in the Senate, in the House. Even there’s a there’s a few Republicans from blue states who are raising questions about this. The speaker moving forward with it. It’s in the language. How do you think that will fare in the Senate?
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Well, look, first, I’m very thankful for the strong pro-life leadership of Speaker Johnson. He is a godsend to our country. There’s one leader that can unite and pull that house together with the thinnest of margins. He’s got the toughest job every day when he walks into the office. That’s Mike Johnson. I’m grateful for his leadership. And I’m glad to see at this moment it’s going to be in the House bill. We’ll see when they finally end up with the product. They’ve got to get a vote, certainly on the House floor. The margins are very, very thin, just a handful of votes. And then it’ll come over here to the Senate. So let’s first and foremost, let’s hope and pray it survives the House, Mark. And then we’ll live to play the next round here in the Senate in relation to protecting and preserving those provisions that will be in the House bill.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you’re going to herd all those Senate cats and keep them all in line.
SPEAKER 04 :
And we’ll do our very best on those Senate cats. Again, the margins on both sides are thin. The Speaker Johnson’s got about a four-seat margin. That’s not a lot of room for error. On the Senate side, we can’t lose more than three. If we get 50 Republicans supporting us, then J.D. Vance breaks the tie. We’ve got it. So that’ll be the trick over on the Senate side. The magic numbers are 218 in the House, 50 plus one in the Senate.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. I mean, you’re looking both sides. You got about three votes to play with. Let me shift gears, Senator. Let’s talk about the Middle East. President Trump in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia today, talking about economic deals that paving kind of the way for peace in the Middle East through economic transactions. Your response?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, look, I’m thankful for President Trump’s strong leadership. I was in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, had a chance to kind of preview some of the things that are being discussed right now with President Trump and his team. There’s going to be some $600 billion of deals done with U.S. companies, with the Saudis. But keep in mind the Saudis are looking to grow beyond being a regional power. They want to be a global power. And this is a very important ally we have in the Middle East because obviously the key to unlocking a lot of the challenges we face in Israel is would be at some point the normalization of relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That was on its way up until October 7th, the horrible terror attack when Hamas and frankly Iran disrupted that. But this would be the next place we can go building on the Abraham Accords success of Trump 45 administration with certainly this current administration. Keep in mind, The first visit President Trump made overseas when he was – during his first presidency was to Saudi Arabia. The first state visit for a second administration is to Saudi Arabia. Had it not been for the pope’s passing, it would have been his very first international trip.
SPEAKER 05 :
We’ve just got about a minute left, and you probably can’t unpack all this. But Saudi Arabia – we’re talking about economic development – You know, one of the things that we’ve seen, and I was just talking about this with Marlon Stutzman, is religious freedom. There’s an abundance of studies that show that if you want economic opportunity, you want security, stability, religious freedom. That’s something that’s lacking in Saudi Arabia. Has that been a part of the conversation?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it’s going to be an important step they will move forward with as they seek to move from regional power to global power. The crown prince, the prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman, is taking important steps forward here in terms of getting women. They’re driving now in Saudi Arabia. They’re in the workplace in Saudi Arabia. He’s starting to loosen up some of the restrictions they’ve seen in Saudi Arabia over many, many years. But there’ll be another important step, and that’ll be religious freedom, certainly, for Christians, as an example, there in Saudi Arabia. Some tremendous Christian archaeology in Saudi Arabia could be a great destination for Christian tourism. They open up some of these sites.
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All right, Senator, we’ve got to leave it there. Thanks for joining us. Talk to you soon. Don’t go away, folks. We’re back after this.
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At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect. That’s why FRC President Tony Perkins went to Capitol Hill to testify on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Islamist terror groups target Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria with brutal violence. Representative Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said 55,000 people have been killed and 21,000 abducted in the last five years alone. The congressman also stressed that 89% of Christians in the world who are martyred are from Nigeria.
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Yet the government of Nigeria has failed to make progress against religiously motivated persecution of Christians despite religious freedom being enshrined as an essential human right in their constitution.
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Tony Perkins called for the United States to send an unmistakable message.
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This is systematic religious violence. Nigeria must be redesignated a country of particular concern. The Biden administration’s removal of this designation was a reckless mistake that emboldened the very terrorists who are slaughtering Christians.
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Redesignating Nigeria will enable the U.S. government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians.
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These are not just numbers. These are fathers, they’re mothers, they’re children, they’re families.
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Bishop Wilfred Anagabe risked his life to speak out, sharing firsthand accounts of the danger faced in his church district in central Nigeria.
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We live in fear because at any point it can be our turn to be killed. But to remain silent is to die twice. So I have chosen to speak.
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FRC is calling on President Trump to act now to promote religious freedom around the globe and speak up on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in. All right. This week, the second Pan-African Conference on Family Values is bringing together delegates from across Africa and around the world in a unified call to protect the family unit and uphold family values. Now, the effort in many respects is driven by the need to protect their countries from the pressures of the Western world. that have been exporting policies and ideologies that are hostile to biblical values. FRC’s Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, Travis Weber, joins me from Niobri, Kenya, where he spoke at the conference. Travis, welcome to Washington Watch from Kenya.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you, Tony. It’s great to be with you.
SPEAKER 05 :
First off, tell our viewers a little bit more about this conference, which FRC is actually a co-sponsor of.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, we are. So the conference, as you said, is bringing together those who wish to defend the family from around Africa and with assistance from around the world. But really, this is African-led. So these are Christians and others from countries around the continent of Africa, heavily represented by sub-Saharan Africa. We’re here in Nairobi, Kenya, with representation from a number of countries to the south of us and even some from North Africa. But These are African leaders, political leaders, church leaders, activists, and many of them are Christians who see the assault on their biblical faith, on their biblical values in society, the assault on the family, the assault on the families God decided. So they’re seeing that, and they’re seeing the West get behind this assault, and that’s what’s really disturbing to them. So when we show up and say, we’re from the West, but we’re with you, we’re not gonna join the assault on your families, They’re ready to hear that, and that’s a welcome message.
SPEAKER 05 :
I was up on the Hill earlier today at the Values Action Team meeting in the Senate, actually was talking with Valerie Huber, who I know you’ve been communicating with since you’ve been there in Africa. But for the benefit of our viewers and listeners, as Valerie is one who is engaged in these value issues, life issue in particular around the globe, explain why it’s important that we are engaged because many of these policies that are pushed out from our State Department by left-leaning individuals comes back through the United Nations and pressures put on the United States to change its policy. So this is somewhat helping out these countries, but it’s also a defensive posture for policy here in the United States.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, Tony, this is circular two ways. One, as you mentioned, and the second is we’re in a global world. That means there are people from all the countries represented here living in the United States, and those people share the values of the people in their home countries. It’s only when Sadly, sad to say, modern Western culture and social media, pop culture, entertainment get to them that their values start to erode. So it’s important because of that connection. But as you said, it’s important because it comes back to us. Every time the United Nations and the global apparatus is given another way to strengthen its global power, that power is used against African countries, Latin American countries and others, but it’s used against us to pressure us. And it might not be seen and close to home for many people, but every time there’s a statement from a U.N. bureaucrat in New York or Geneva about the United States needing to do more to get in line with Global norms, international law, and you could just fill in the blank with whatever the bar is set at in terms of their language and the pressure campaign. But that same bar is being used globally, whether it’s against the United States or against Africans who are defending family. The family is the core of where this assault is.
SPEAKER 05 :
So by building these alliances with African countries and Central and South America countries that are also conservative when it comes to the family, we’re building a kind of a bulwark where when, for instance, the World Health Organization, WHO, when they’re pushing one of these global policies, we can go to these other countries and even provide a backstop when we have a bad administration here.
SPEAKER 10 :
that’s right you know tony that issue came up today the who because it’s going to be the world health assembly in a few weeks in geneva they’re going to vote on the pandemic agreement so speakers spoke today about the threat that this is to national sovereignty the family and life and that education campaign that campaign of linking arms in solidarity with those defending the family around the world is one that will help all of us it’ll it’ll help everyone rise higher above the out of the water out of the mire that is assaulting the family in large part from the west but the assault is going global and so when the global institutions are weakened it helps everyone who wishes to stand against them in the name of the family wherever they are so would you say travis uh we got about two minutes left this is helping our neighbor It absolutely is. Because, Tony, the winds of Christianity are changing. Where Christians are in the world, the movement is in Africa. It has been in Latin America. We need to pray for revival in the West. But let’s just say the numbers continue going as they are. The West needs African Christians to reside in our own lands and help our own lands. Now, people are called where they are to live by the Lord, and everyone makes a choice. But I’m just making the point that This is a matter of Christianity globally, and it’s a matter of defense of Christian values and biblical values globally. So we’re going to help our neighbor by linking arms with believers who are standing with us on Genesis 1 and 2 and the values God has instituted since the beginning, wherever they are around the world, for every nation. As we enter a time of a national sovereignty reset under President Trump, this is going to help every nation because the Lord intends us to be a blessing to every nation.
SPEAKER 05 :
Travis, you just have about 45 seconds left. You spoke today. What did you share with the audience?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, Tony, I shared a message that we stand with the Africans who share our values at Family Research Council. And the themes here are faith, family, freedom, life, family, religious freedom. I also shared, I apologize and repented on behalf of our country for what we’ve done to these countries. It’s shameful and it’s wrong. And we need to apologize for it. And so that was well-received. And I think it’s just an experience of blinking arms with our relievers as we strengthen each other during these hostile days in which we’re living. So it was a blessing to be with them. It’s a blessing for us to serve them and encourage them with what God has given us. And I look forward to more of it in the future.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, Travis Weber, thanks so much for taking time to join us. And I look forward to you being back here in D.C.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, folks, don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead. Dr. A.J. Nolte joins me. So don’t go away.
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Family Research Council is committed to advancing faith, family, and freedom from the East Coast to the West. So FRC is going to Southern California for this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th at Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills. Join us for this powerful gathering of Christians desiring cultural renewal and spiritual revival. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit brings together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Together, we will seek God’s guidance for our nation and engage in meaningful discussions on the intersection of faith, government, and culture. If the spiritual foundations and the cultural walls of our nation are to be rebuilt, we all have a role to play. May we each find our place on the wall as we build for biblical truth. Register now at PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
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What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with biblical truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates, from the Ten Commandments in classrooms to the immigration crisis of America. we’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to 67742.
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How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture. and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. All right. As the Congress moves forward with the reconciliation bill, this is the government funding bill. We have a chance for the first time to end taxpayer funding of abortion providers and so-called gender transition procedures. It’s in the reconciliation bill. But there are some that are on the fence. So they need to hear from you. As I’ve said before, our republic was made for participants, not spectators. So this is where I need you to lean in. I mean, we’re doing a lot of the groundwork. I was up on Capitol Hill earlier today talking with members of Congress at meetings. But I need you to weigh in. So text the word Congress. Congress to 67742. Congress to 67742. And I’ll send you a link so that you can communicate with your member of Congress. Again, that’s Congress to 67742 to ensure that organizations like Planned Parenthood, which received almost $800 million from the government last year, will not receive anything. All right. So text Congress to 67742. Our word for today comes from Ezra 311. As the returning exiles laid the foundation of the temple in Jerusalem, quote, and they sang responsibly, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, end quote. The people rejoiced with loud praise, not because the temple was finished, but simply because the foundation had been laid. They sang, worshiped, and gave thanks to the Lord for his first step in the restoration of his house. This moment reminds us of the importance of celebrating the early steps of God’s work in our lives. Too often we withhold our praise, waiting until everything is complete or perfect. But if we wait for the finished product… well, we may miss countless opportunities to acknowledge God’s faithfulness along the way. As the prophet Zechariah wrote, for who has despised the day of small things? Don’t overlook the small victories. Rejoice in them. Every step forward, no matter how small, is evidence of God’s hand at work. So give him thanks today. To join us on our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Well, on the first day of his Middle East trip, President Donald Trump has already secured a $600 billion investment pledge with Saudi Arabia. Now, the trip is drawing no scrutiny over one glaring omission, Israel, America’s closest ally in the region, is not on the itinerary. Now, recent moves by the Trump administration have led some Middle East experts to question the current strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance. Joining me now to unpack this is Dr. A.J. Nolte, associate professor and director of the Institute for Israel Studies at Regent University. Dr. Nolte, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Tony, it’s always great to be here. Thanks for having me. So let’s just start with this. Let’s start with the president’s deal with Saudi Arabia. He teased this trip a couple of weeks ago saying, are there going to be some big announcements? And it was pretty clear that it was going to focus on economic activity. What do we make of the deal the president announced today?
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I think this has as much to do with some of the recent post quote unquote Liberation Day tariff politics as it does with anything else in the sense that I think the president wants to show that America is still a strong place for investment. People still want to bring capital here. He wants to be able to show these successful international economic deals. And the Gulf is a good place to go for that. He’s had very successful trips to Saudi Arabia. He had a very successful trip to Saudi Arabia. early in his first administration. Who among us can forget the famous iconic image of President Trump and MBS touching the orb together to open the counterterrorism center? And so I think he’s building on that and he’s going really looking for wins and looking for wins that will reassure markets and reassure investors. So I do think there are some security components to it, but I suspect that a lot more of that focus is sort of getting some big investment deals and showing that he’s bringing capital into the United States.
SPEAKER 05 :
So is that why Israel is not on the itinerary? I mean, he’s going to Saudi Arabia, he’s going to Qatar, he’s going to the UAE, but not Israel, America’s closest ally in the region. And that has some kind of scratching their head.
SPEAKER 14 :
I think that is the reason why he’s not going to Israel, because you’re looking at these sort of gulf economic deals. I do think that it could be that there are some folks in his orbit that don’t understand the economic power of Israel. In other words, and we’ll talk about this, I think, as we move forward, there’s some people that tend to think the U.S.-Israel relationship is more one-sided than it is, that are really in Trump’s orbit. And I would love to see Trump really thinking about Israel as an economic partner, understanding that by my count, over 30 states have trade offices in Israel. And my own home state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, has received $12 billion in FDI just in one state from Israel since 1995. So I think he just doesn’t think about Israel in financial terms as a as an investor country in the United States. And so it might be worth, you know, folks close to his orbit trying to change that perception. I think that could be beneficial.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I think that’s a great point. In fact, when I was in Israel a couple of weeks ago with Ambassador Mike Huckabee, in his first speech that he made to the JNS symposium summit that was being held in Jerusalem, he made that point. He said, many see this as one-sided. It’s not one-sided. It’s a two-way street. We receive a lot from Israel. the technology that they export. I’ve been in their drone manufacturing plant. They do a lot of stuff that we actually rely on, even for national security.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. And one thing people sometimes forget is that a lot of that military aid that goes to Israel is also, we sometimes use the IDF for research and development. Their procurement system, you know, no offense to our friends in the DOD, but Israel, sometimes their procurement system’s a little bit faster. They can test and live test faster than we can. And so it’s not just, you know, they’re a client of ours and we’re buying bullets, which you sometimes hear from some folks, but actually they play a valuable role in our national security apparatus that we’re not necessarily as well equipped to do in a couple of areas.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that’s true. They’re always putting our material to the test because they’re using it more frequently than we are. But one of the issues that has caused some consternation, I think the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been very circumspect on this. He hasn’t raised it. But I have actually spoken to some members of the Knesset there. I’ve talked to other contacts in Israel. They’re a bit concerned about the direct negotiations with Iran and the – The thinking that the Trump administration is putting forth that a deal could be arrived at with this ideologically driven regime.
SPEAKER 14 :
I’ll give you the optimistic and the pessimistic case on this one, Tony. The optimistic case is after the Iraq study group came out, and this was back in 2000, gosh, late 2000s, early 2010s, I had an opportunity to interview the late Ed Meese, who was a member, very conservative, And they advocated for direct talks with Iran. And his response is, well, Reagan negotiated directly with the Soviet Union. And so sometimes you have to have those direct peer-to-peer talks, especially on arms control issues, to be effective. So that’s the optimistic case. The pessimistic case is when I see headlines that say that the Obama team is praising Trump and the Trump administration for their approach, because the Obama team gave us the JCPOA, which was a disaster. uh on so many levels and so you know i think that there are reasons for concern um and there are you know president trump’s instincts about jcpoa were very good he said it was a terrible deal and he eventually tore it up and so you know my hope is that he will remember those successful lessons from the past administration and realize that you know to a certain extent these folks are not going to negotiate in good faith um and i think Marco Rubio has been very right about no enrichment is a hard line for a civilian nuclear program. And so hopefully the Trump administration will stick to that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Is there a difference in the foreign policy approach to the Middle East in Trump two versus Trump one?
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. So here’s the way that I would portray it. Trump won, had a very consistent pro-Israel orientation, was very consistently hawkish on Iran, and sort of represented some of the best instincts on the Middle East that we’ve seen. And then if you look at sort of Obama and Biden, it was consistently the opposite. They were consistently dovish on Iran. They were consistently pushing Israel in ways that were undermining Israel’s interests. And I would say not really representative of America’s national security interests either. What we’ve seen thus far in Trump too is actually an inconsistency where it appears as though there are multiple different factions within the administration that have slightly different approaches to Middle East policy. And the president is sort of hedging and letting both of them sort of play things out a little bit to see whose assessment is best. I think the instincts that he has from Trump 1 are kind of still there. But his coalition has changed a little bit. And that means that there are different factions with different approaches. And I see him trying not to lean too hard one direction or the other.
SPEAKER 05 :
So what do you make of the departure of Mike Waltz, who was the national security director?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, it’s an interesting move because Waltz, I think, was in the Hawk camp. But, you know, then he’s replaced as temporary national security advisor by Marco Rubio, who I think has four or five jobs now in the administration, who is also kind of similarly situated. I mean, Marco Rubio’s record is very longstanding on this issue. And so what I think that did was it didn’t so much change the balance of power as it did clearly establish polarity in the administration, with J.D. Vance representing what I would call the more non-interventionist slash restrainer camp, both in the Middle East and beyond, and Marco Rubio representing a fusion of MAGA with more traditional Republican policy. What’s interesting is in the Meet the Press interview that Trump did about a week and a half ago now, When asked about successors, those were the two men that he mentioned. So I think he’s partially also got an eye toward what happens, what his legacy is. And so there’s been a little bit of a clarification now of those are the two different poles within within the administration.
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Dr. Nolte, I am what I call a rational isolationist. I don’t like to get involved. As a veteran of the Marine Corps, I don’t think we should be the world’s policeman. I don’t think we should be getting involved in all these different conflicts. The price is high. I do think there is a role that comes with leadership, and we are a leader of the free world, so I do think there’s some element of leadership there. But I also think as an evangelical, I approach this from Bible believing evangelical that that Israel falls into a different camp and that we have to have, I think, a very clear biblical alignment with the Jewish people. That’s not to say that we agree with everything that they do. But I think we need to be much more careful about our foreign policy approach to Israel.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, so my read is, I probably would be a little bit more of a hawk, which isn’t surprising to people who’ve heard me on Washington Watch before, but I certainly agree in terms of Israel, this is a vital interest for the United States for several reasons. One, because the Middle East is an area that is strategically important. because of hydrocarbons, which is why he’s in the Gulf, because of free navigation of the seas, which is why the issue with the Houthis is so important, and because it’s an area that has become a center point global commerce, which is important to us, also because of the biblical foundations. And finally, because if you look at American history, as we’re coming up on the 250th anniversary, so much of our founding DNA is actually related to the Hebrew roots, the biblical roots of American civilization, that in other words, it really is a family issue. It’s an issue of our national identity that links into our support for Israel as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
I want to shift to one of the countries that President Trump is going to visit next, the country of Qatar. They have, well, let’s put it this way. They would not make the role of a Sunday school class. They have some real issues. I mean, they’re linked to the funding of Hamas. Many of the Hamas leaders have been given sanctuary in Qatar. I’m a bit concerned about a cozy relationship with that country.
SPEAKER 14 :
I am more than a bit concerned, Tony. I’ll give you a couple of additional data points. Number one, ISGAP, which is the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism program in Oxford, has done studies of Qatar and has basically estimated that they’ve spent about $1 billion in funding anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bias on U.S. campuses. That’s a billion with a B. Second is, in addition to what you mentioned about them supporting Hamas and every other Muslim Brotherhood-aligned organ they could think of, Al Jazeera Arabic has basically been the platform and spokesperson for Hamas since the conflict started. Additionally, Qatar has also aligned itself in the past with Erdogan and opposed to the other Gulf countries to the point where they almost, you know, they blockaded Qatar for a long time because they were so antithetical to the interests of even our Gulf allies. So Qatar is a very dangerous country in many ways. They will try to have their cake and eat it too. And I would be very cautious about trusting them. And one of the biggest concerns that I have about the Trump administration is there’s a lot of folks with ties and investments and things like that in Qatar. Now, I understand business is business, But keep in mind that business and politics are separate and that somebody who might be a good business partner when you’re investing isn’t necessarily a loyal ally with the United States. I think we’ve learned this lesson painfully about China in the past decade, and we need to not forget that lesson as we engage with Qatar.
SPEAKER 05 :
We just have about 45 seconds left, Dr. Nolte. What about this $400 million 747 that they want to gift to President Trump?
SPEAKER 14 :
My advice to the president would be to say thanks, but no thanks. It’s just too much entanglement. It’s too complicated. It raises too many questions. Lord, you know, we’re, I think, probably all listening to this program, you know, hopeful for an outcome that President Trump would like in the midterms, but imagine Democrats with the House oversight gavel investigating this whole thing, and you could actually lose ground to them on national security. So I just, I wouldn’t touch it. I would say, you know, thanks, appreciate the gesture, but, you know, I think we’re going to pass for now.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. Even if it’s legal, it doesn’t make it right. And I think it is not above the perception of it. It’s just it’s just it’s bad.
SPEAKER 14 :
As the Bible says, not all things that are lawful are beneficial.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. All right. Dr. Nolte, thanks so much for joining us. Always great to talk with you.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thanks. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, folks, a lot to pray about. So I encourage you to pray, pray for our nation, pray for our president, pray for our Congress and pray for the peace of Israel as well. All right. Until next time, I leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared and when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
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Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
