The Christian Broadcasting Network

Browse Videos

Share Email

Faith Nation: October 18, 2018

Faith Nation: October 18, 2018 Read Transcript


(relaxing music)

- Welcome to FaithNation, I'm Jenna Browder.

- And I'm John Jessup.

- Well Secretary of State,Mike Pompeo was back

from his trip to the MiddleEast as crisis continues

over missing Washington Postcolumnist Jamal Khashoggi.

- That's right Jenna,it has been now 16 days

since Khashoggi enteredthe Saudi Consulate

in Istanbul, and he never came out.

- CBN's White House CorrespondentBen Kennedy joins us

from the North lawn,

where Secretary Pompeospoke earlier today, Ben.

- Well Jenna and John,Pompeo told reporters

that is made clear to SaudiArabia's king, crown prince,

and even foreign ministerof the seriousness

of this situation.

This as evidence increasingly points

to some Saudi involvementin the death of Khashoggi.

- We take this matter with respect

to Mr. Khashoggi very seriously.

- [Ben] Secretary ofState, Mike Pompeo back

from his fact finding mission,briefed the President today

about his meeting with Saudi leaders.

- They also assured me thatthey will conduct a complete,

thorough investigation

of all of the factssurrounding Mr. Khashoggi

and that they will doso in a timely fashion.

- [Ben] That investigation centers

on the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

It's there, evidenceappears to be mounting

that the Post journalist was murdered.

Various media outlets report

Turkish authorities have audio recordings

that indicate a scene of torture,death, and dismemberment.

There were also accusationsof a Saudi hit-squad

entering Turkey close tothe timing of the incident.

- When I traveled and metwith President Ergodan.

He talked to me aboutthe incident, he told me

that they were conductingtheir own investigation.

We had a chance to meet with some

of the team involved with that.

He assured me that theywould share their results

with the Saudis as well.

So we do believe thatbetween these two efforts,

a complete picture will emerge

for what actually transpired here.

- [Ben] In Khashoggi's final column,

he wrote that what theArab world needs most

is free expression.

President Trump said therecould be severe punishment

if the kingdom of Saudi Arabiais behind the disappearance.

But warns against a rush to judgment.

- I wanna find out whathappened, where is the fault,

and we will probably knowthat by the end of the week.

- Now President Trumpjust boarded Marine One,

a little behind me momentsago, where he said,

"It looks like Khashoggi is dead."

Pompeo told the president

Saudi Arabia should beallowed a few more days

to complete its investigationbefore the U.S. responds.

Economic sanctions would likely be brought

against those responsiblefor the suspected murder.

Also, we have learned todaythat the U.S. Treasury Secretary

Steve Mnuchin will not attendan investment conference

in Saudi Arabia.

It's also important to note that a number

of other scheduled guests have dropped out

of that gathering too.

Jenna, John.

- Well Varsha Koduvayur is with the

Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,

Varsha, thank you for being with us.

- My pleasure, thank you somuch for having me on today.

- Well Mike Pompeo, theSecretary of State said

that he's recommendingTrump allow the Saudis

a few more days to wrapup their investigation

before taking action.

Do you agree with that approach?

- I think my sense ofthis, my reading of this,

is that the Saudis, as we know so far,

have yet to offer any evidenceto back up their claim

that Jamal Khashoggi left the Consulate.

My understanding of givingthe Saudis a few more days

is so that the U.S. and SaudiArabia could work together,

and help the Saudis comeup with an explanation

that would be essentiallya face-saving mechanism

for them to admit culpability.

That is was maybe perhapsas we read reports,

that is was an interrogation gone wrong,

a botched interrogation,something of that sort

that would still putresponsibility for this

on the Saudis while notincriminating the crown prince,

Mohammed bin Salman.

- Is that a typical approach?

I know that this is probably atypical

where you don't a situationlike Jamal Khashoggi

being a prominent journalist.

But is that something thatadministrations have done

in the past?

- I can't speak to theU.S. side of things,

but what I can tell youis that, in Saudi Arabia

over the past two years, there are a lot

of sensitivities surrounding leadership

because there's been anunprecedented generational change.

Authorities are very careful

to manage the kingdom's reputation,

to manage the image ofits new crown prince,

Mohammed bin Salman,that gets disseminated

to international capitals and so on.

And with such an unprecedentedtransfer of power

in the works in Saudi Arabia.

My understanding is that Saudi authorities

are hard-pressed to finda way of saving face

in this situation.

- Varsha, can you talk a little bit

about the delicate balancethe administration is trying

to strike here.

Especially given its strategic partnership

with Saudi Arabia in regional issues

there in the Middle East?

- Certainly yes, theadministration is going to have

to find a balance in thissituation, as you put it.

But it's going to be very tricky.

Essentially what we mustdo is punish the Saudis,

but not in way

that would completelyrupture the relationship,

because at the end of the day,

the trade relationshipis still very important,

bilateral arms sales arestill very important.

And the U.S.-Saudi relationship is hinged

on two very important prongs,

which is using Saudi Arabiaas a regional counterweight

against Iran and relying on Saudi Arabia

to balance global oilmarkets, once oil sanctions

against Iran kick in come November.

So the administration should ideally act

as soon as possible.

And we've already seen alot of furor in Congress,

strong bipartisan action from Congress,

demanding that the presidentenact Human Rights Sanctions

under the Global MagnitskyAct, against figures

that are found responsible in this affair.

That would certainly send astrong message to the Saudis

that this transgression isnot going to be tolerated,

but it would punishthem, as I said, in a way

that would still keep thecore of the relationship

alive and intact.

Because there's no denying

that it's a very importantrelationship for both countries.

- Do you think we'll see some hesitancy

from the administration, kindalike we saw with Congress

really advancing the callfor sanctions against Russia

and having to put that in abigger package so the president

would sign off on it?

- I think the difficultyin this situation is

there is still so much that we don't know.

I mean when you look atthe facts on the ground,

none of them are reallyfacts, in the sense that

they are all allegations andleaks from Turkish media.

And Turkish governmentcontrolled media too,

let me add.

So we're not exactly hearing information

from a source that we can completely trust

or rely upon for it's voracity.

So I think this putsboth the administration

and Congress in a tightsituation, of again,

needing to send a strong message.

Particularly about the U.S.'scommitment to human rights,

the U.S.'s commitment tofreedom of expressions,

to freedom of the press, all of that.

While at the same time,making do with the information

that has come out from Turkish authorities

in this steady drip-feedof leaks and allegations.

- Great point on thatTurkish state-run media.

Along the topic of freedom of expression,

the Washington Post

published Jamal Khashoggi'sfinal op-ed overnight.

His editor wrote that thecolumn, which really focused

on the freedom ofexpression in the Arab world

perfectly captured hiscommitment and passion.

Some have described it as his own obituary

that he's written.

What's your take?

- It was a very heartbreaking opinion

for me to read, personally.

But he ended with a messagethat could not resonate more.

And I have it out here,and what he said was,

the Arab world needs a modern version

of transnational media.

That it can essentially relyupon, that its citizens can use

to understand global events.

And that's such a fittingresonating message.

Given that the entire mediaenvironment, if you will,

that we've seen in the past two weeks

since Khashoggi's disappearance,it's all been shaped

by disinformation campaigns carried out

by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

It's been shaped by leaks, it'sbeen shaped by allegations.

His final op-ed, it's a tragicnote to end his life with.

But he captures so perfectly the dilemma

that we all find ourselves in right now.

- Well definitely, even indeath, he's shining the light

on the issue.

Varsha Koduvayur, thankyou so much for joining us.

- My pleasure, thank you.

- And Chief Political Analyst David Brody

joins us now for more.

David now the president'ssaying it certainly looks like

Khashoggi is dead.

What do you make of that?

He's late to the game in saying this.

- Sure I mean he is abit late to the game.

This is a delicate balanceguys, I mean it really is.

And there's, news flash,there's politics involved

in all of this.

Look, to go into the mindof Trump for a moment,

he looks at everythinglooking at the leverage

that he can get and the relationships.

Look what happened with Putin, same thing.

Why is he gonna quote, disPutin on a national stage

when he needs something from him later on.

Same thing here withSaudi Arabia to a degree.

Look they have this armsdeal, we know about that.

All right so that's a majorrelationship right there.

Beyond that, there's one word called oil.

They control the oil productionas it relates to OPEC,

they're basically the defactoleading member of OPEC.

And so you put all of thattogether and in Trump's mind

he's thinkin', wait a minute,I gotta go careful on this

because I have relationships to deal with,

I need leverage, and I also need some sort

of final outcome, what is that gonna mean,

and I don't wanna shoot myself in the foot

before I have all of the facts.

- [Jenna] Yeah and alsokeeping pressure on Iran,

helping Israel, these areother factors as well.

- [David] That's rightthe location for sure,

all big factors.- Well you know,

we've been talking about this in the news

for the last couple of weeks.

I think we had just mentioned 16 days now.

It's of course a diplomatic affair,

but how much do you think this resonates

with voters as we lookahead to November 6?

- I don't think it reallyresonates at this point

much at all, and here's why.

Look he's, and look thisis a tragic situation,

and as it relates to not justwhat happened to Khashoggi,

but also as it relates to what that means

for freedom of the press and all of that.

So we can talk about all that.

But look, he's a Saudi citizen,

born in Saudi Arabia

but living here.- True

- So, this is a delicatebalance and I hate

to kinda go there, butI'm going to for a moment.

If he was a U.S. Marine andhis name wasn't Khashoggi

there would be no doubt

a different story.- It's a different story.

- Different story all together.

Because why?

Back to his prism, MakeAmerica Great Again,

if this is a U.S. citizen,a Marine let's say,

captured then he calculates the leverage

and relationships much differently

than in a situation like this.

- David let's talkabout the Supreme Court.

Don McGahn, he just left his position

with the White House as the counsel there.

What's the impact here, goinginto the midterm elections?

We have less than three weeks out.

- Well just Don McGahn byhimself, you line 10 people up

on the street, they don't knowwho Don McGahn is, at all.

But obviously the SupremeCourt's a big deal.

Look there was just a polldone, 54% of white women

in America thought that BrettKavanaugh was treated unfairly

and therefor if you extrapolatethat, most white women vote,

or the majority of whitewomen vote Republican.

Okay, so if you put those two together,

that bodes wellpotentially for Republicans

in midterm elections.

But we have to wait and see,

there are a lot more calculations,

we have to see if theminority vote gets out.

Because that's gonna be crucial,and of course the liberals

we know they're all jacked up ready to go.

- Sure, well speakingof the Supreme Court,

we know that that was amajor issue that drove a lot

of evangelicals to the polls in 2016.

They came out in full forceto support Donald Trump.

What is your sense now in 2018 especially

after the Kavanaugh hearing?

What is your sense aboutevangelicals going to the polls

in the midterms?- So that's the key,

what you just said there John

at the end, especially afterthe Kavanaugh hearings.

Because if you had put mebefore the Kavanaugh hearings

my sources were telling me,

as a matter of fact justgetting off with my sources,

three of them, all thisafternoon, all say the same thing,

which is pre-Kavanaugh, thedisengagement was there.

It wasn't there, the enthusiasmwasn't there compared

to 2016, it also wasn't there compared

to the last midterm elections, 2014.

After Kavanaugh, post-Kavanaugh,much different story.

The engagement isextremely high, I am told

and I'm just looking at some of my notes,

but direct mail, a lotof brochures at churches,

all that, they're beingtaken, it's just anecdotal,

but the point is thatthey're being swallowed up.

I mean it's a big-time energy boost.

Then the question becomes,can the energy boost

that happened in early October,sustain itself all the way

through November 6, that'sunknown, we don't know.

And that's why we doFaith Nation every day.

(laughing)

- That's true, do you have a sense?

- Do I have a sense?

Yeah I do, then again I'm not a big fan

of the prediction business,'cause I'm always wrong.

But no, I would say that Istill think it's a blue blip.

I will say this real quick.

On the House races,this is very important.

When it's a statewidecontest, in other words,

if there's a Senate race,that's good for Republicans

because that's statewide

and the Kavanaugh thing energizes voters.

When it's a state thatdoesn't have a Senate race,

that is not good for theRepublicans in those House races,

because you don't get asmany voters to come out.

- To cancel eachother out.- Mm hmm the engagement.

- To cancel, and that's the difference,

so let's watch for that on election night.

- David Brody, thank you very much.

- A pleasure, I'll be right here.

- Well in a bitterly divided landscape,

one group of Millennials is working

to bring together believersfrom both side of the aisle,

Amber Strong has the story from Atlanta.

- [Host] I wanna getinto it man, you know.

- [Amber] It might not beunusual to see a Republican

and a Democrat face offin front of microphones.

- [Host] You're listening tothe Church Politics Podcast.

- [Amber] But in this case,Republican James Lankford

and Democrat Chris Combs, sat down

to discuss their Christian faith.

And the man behind the conversation.

- Being a biblical Christiancan be lonely place.

- 37-year old Justin Giboney.

Giboney along with former WhiteHouse Staffer Michael Wear

host a podcast called Church Politics,

where they're tacklingtough Christian issues

and allowing politiciansno matter their party

a chance to share their faith.

The former Democratic delegatesays, he's seen the downside

of sharing biblical convictions.

- I've been in politicsfor almost a decade.

And so when I say that Imean, running campaigns,

doing campaign consulting.

- [Amber] In 2016 Giboneyran on a biblical platform,

promoting his pro-lifeand Christian beliefs.

- The Democratic party cannot afford

to be a party thatdisregards, disrespects,

or ignores it's faith-based communities.

- [Amber] That led to attacks from members

of his own party.

Who even tried to have him removed

from the Georgia delegation.

- I came to a point in urbanpolitics when I was thinking,

I enjoy doing this, butI'm getting pushed further

and further to the left on every issue.

- [Amber] And he's not alone.

In this divided society,

members of both partiesfeel pushed to the edges

and away from the middle.

While Giboney didn't getlove from some Democrats,

he also felt excludedfrom conservative circles

thanks to two words.

Social justice.

And you can see why witha quick look at YouTube.

Social justice warrior owned.

I'm glad I'm not a social justice warrior.

The Cult of Social JusticeWarriors, and so on.

- That word has been defiled, all right.

Social justice in somecircles has been defiled

to justify anything people wanna do.

- [Amber] His view ofsocial justice means calling

for an end to things likeabortion and police brutality.

While supporting criminal justice reform.

- If we're about family,then we have to make sure

that people aren't beingincarcerated unnecessarily

because it breaks up families.

- [Amber] So how do you cutthrough the fog of confusion?

By bringing leaders ofboth sides together,

which Giboney did tolaunch the AND Campaign.

- I would agree with itbiblically and theologically,

but my humanity as anAfrican-American was not uplifted.

- [Amber] Giboney started the movement

to help Christians realize,the answer doesn't only lie

within party lines.

- I'm excited about whatthey're seeking to do,

because they're seeking to bridge the gap

between righteousness and justice,

between biblical values and social equity.

And those two have dividedthe Christian community

for far too long.

As though God rides the backof donkeys or elephants.

- We wanna make sure

that Christians are kindatranscending the partisanship

we see today.

Be courageous, thank you.

- [Amber] So, Giboney will remain focused,

by spurring the conversationand providing platforms

where believers, left andright, get a seat at the table.

(choir singing)

Amber Strong, CBN Newsin Atlanta, Georgia.

- Up next, why PresidentTrump is threatening

to use military force atthe U.S.-Mexico border.

(relaxing music)

Thousands of Honduranmigrants are making their way

to the U.S.-Mexico borderdespite warnings to turn back.

- And those demands are comingfrom both their own country

and President Trump.

CBN's National SecurityCorrespondent Eric Rosales has more.

- Well John and Jenna, thecaravan of some 4,000 migrants

are continuing Northward,heading towards America,

with it's number growing along the way.

Now President Trump is threateningto use any means possible

including the U.S. military,to protect the border.

The latest location of thecaravan puts it just outside

of Chiquimula, Guatemala.

Marchers covered about30 miles on Wednesday

with an ultimate mission of making it

into the United States.

- We have the dumbestimmigration laws in the world,

the world laughs at us, butwe're getting 'em changed.

- [Eric] But until then,

the president is taking action of his own.

Tweeting, in additionto stopping all payments

to these countries, whichseems to have almost no control

over their population, I mustin the strongest of terms,

ask Mexico to stop thisonslaught, and if unable to do so,

I will call up the U.S. military

and close our Southern border.

Since 2015, the U.S. government has sent

more than $2.6 billion

in foreign assistance to theNorthern triangle countries,

of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

President Trump has repeatedlythreatened to cut off

that money unless themass migration stops.

CBN News has learnedMexico has sent another 500

federal police officers toawait the procession's arrival.

Mexico states anyone with travel documents

and a proper visa will be allowed to pass,

while others can potentiallyapply for refugee status.

Officials also cautionthose who try to cross

in an irregular manner couldbe detained and deported.

- Everybody wants to come in,and they come in illegally,

and they use children,

in many cases the childrenaren't theirs, they grab them

and they want to comein with the children.

- [Agent] You can clearlysee where these trails are,

they're not natural in this area.

- [Eric] Just this weekborder patrol agents

in the Rio Grand valleyreported they continue

to see large numbers of families

and unaccompanied children trying

to cross the border illegally.

- Counterfeit documents,modified documents,

that are being issued in certain countries

to make a family if you will,just establish parenthood

of a child, and then oncewe start interviewing,

we find out that it's all false claims.

- [Eric] Last year CBNNews rode along with agents

and witnessed the dangers they face.

- You never know who we'llencounter in the bush.

You could encounter asex offender, a murderer,

you know somebody whohas an active warrant.

You just never know until youtake them back to the station,

you roll their fingerprints

and you get that information back.

- Chief Padilla told me in 2017 alone,

officers arrested peoplefrom 70 different nations.

Just in the Rio Grand valley,some were known terrorists.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeohas already had a busy week

after going to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Well he's now headed to Panama City today,

and Mexico city on Friday.

He will meet with thePresidents of both countries

to talk about securityissues, like illegal movement

of cash, weapons, and drugsalong with illegal immigration.

Guys.

- Yeah a lot on Secretary Pompeo's plate.

Eric, the President sayshe's going to get the,

he will if he has to, getthe military involved.

Any signs yet on what that might entail,

and do you think it willactually get to that point?

- Well as of right now

I believe that it'sjust political rhetoric.

I did check with my Pentagonsources and they say

that no formal request hasbeen made for military use

over at the border.

So right now I believethat it was just rhetoric

from a frustrated president.

- Eric, we only haveabout 30 seconds left,

you said earlier the Mexicangovernment will send officers

to the border as the migrants arrive,

but have they done anything now?

- Well I just found out thatyeah, Mexico has sent hundreds

of officers in riot gear,

actually over near the Guatemalan border,

and then Guatemala has actuallysent over some officers

over on their side, afterPresident Trump threatened

to take away some of the money.

- Okay.- All right, Eric Rosales

thank you very much.

- Thank you.

- Well still ahead, a lookat the March for Life.

The latest theme that says being pro-life

is actually pro-science.

(relaxing music)

- [Narrator] Furnace break dow...

- Each year the March forLife comes up with a theme.

- That's right.- And today they took

to the U.S. capital toannounce their latest.

- And Jenna the new slogan ismeant to show being pro-life

is based in science.

Paul Strand brings us the story.

- Those who would pit science

against the pro-life cause

would find they don'treally have a logical leg

to stand on.

At least they would have foundthat out if they'd been here

on Capitol Hill for theMarch for Life's announcement

of it's 2019 theme.

- Unique from day one,pro-life is pro-science.

- [Paul] Jeanne Manciniheads up the March for Life.

- So many who are abortionadvocates erroneously try

to paint life and scienceas being in conflict

and it's just not true.

So we thought we'd revisitthe facts, biology 101.

- Science validates pro-life ethics

because it's simple biology.

Your life began atconception, at fertilization,

you are the same individual organism,

to use the biological term,now that you were when

you were a one-celled organism.

- [Paul] David Daleiden hasbeen sued by Planned Parenthood

after embarrassing undercovervideos his group took,

revealed the abortiongiant is in the business

of harvesting unborn baby parts for sale.

- Especially in the bodyparts procurement business

from the abortion doctors

to the middleman harvesting companies,

to the end user researchers.

That the body parts of our unborn brothers

and sisters are only valuable for sale

and for experimentation

because they're exactly like any

of us and indistinguishable.

And if we don't recognize that,that's what opens the door

to atrocities like Kermit Gosnell.

- [Paul] The March for Lifethis coming year will be

on the National Mall, January 18.

Paul Strand, CBN News, Capitol Hill.

- Thanks Paul.

- Yeah and the March for Life,

gosh they have a huge following,

and they've gotten a lot of support

from this administration.

- They sure have.

Well that's going to do itfor tonight's Faith Nation.

- Have a great evening.

EMBED THIS VIDEO

Related Podcasts


CBN.com | Do You Know Jesus? | Privacy Notice | Prayer Requests | Support CBN | Contact Us | Feedback
© 2012 Christian Broadcasting Network