(lively instrumental music)
- Car maker GM is closingplants and cutting jobs.
Welcome to Faith Nation,I'm Jenna Browder.
- I'm John Jessup.
Well, in a surprising move,
General Motors isannouncing massive layoffs
and plant closers in North America.
- And in true Trump form,the President took to Twitter
late this afternoon toexpress his displeasure
with the decision, tweeting,
"Very disappointed with GM.
"We are now looking atcutting all GM subsidies."
CBN White Housecorrespondent, Ben Kennedy,
joins us from the NorthLawn with more, Ben?
- Well, Jenna and John, earlier this year,
General Motors warned PresidentTrump's trade policies
would result in job lossesright here in the US,
but now GM says thelayoffs have nothing to do
with increased tariffs, but simply
that some cars are just not selling.
As a result, the autogiant is halting production
at five plants in Michigan,Maryland, Ohia, and even Canada.
They also plan to cutaround 15% of its workforce,
which equates to more than 14,000 jobs.
8,000 other cuts expectedto be white collar workers.
Now the White House responded to this news
during a press briefing, whichI attended, a short time ago.
- There's great disappointment there.
There's disappointmentthat it seems like GM
would rather build itsselector cars in China
rather than in the United States.
- I just spoke with Steve Moore
who was one of PresidentTrump's top economic advisors
during his campaign for his take
on the GM decision, take a listen.
- Certainly sad news forthe families and the workers
that are gonna be affected.
The latest estimate is somewhere
around more than 10,000 workers
and so, you know, that's always sad news
for people who are goingto lose their jobs,
but we should also keep this
in a broad, national perspective.
The good news is, althoughsometimes we see plant closings,
and that's the natural course of events
in a market-based economy.
You know, since Donald Trump was elected,
we've created nearly onemillion manufacturing,
construction jobs, so we're not losing
these blue collar jobs,we're gaining them.
So for every plant likethis that is closing,
we're seeing 10 or 20 new plants
being opened up all over the country.
- So, Steve, you're talkingabout a pretty strong economy.
Do announcements likethis contradict that?
- Well, we don't liketo see this, of course,
and you know,
the auto industry is veryimportant to Donald Trump.
Those auto workers were Trump voters,
so he cares a lot aboutthem and their families,
so I hate to see headlineslike this of a plant closing.
But again, for every plant that's closed
from the country these days,
we're seeing, literally, dozens opened up.
I mean, everywhere yougo across the country,
you're seeing a lot ofthese blue collar jobs
coming back, whether it'sin the mining industry,
or whether it's in construction
or whether it's in manufacturing.
And so, in fact, a lotof these employers say
they can't find enough workers
to work on the lines andworking in these plants,
so bad news, certainly,for Ohio and Michigan
that will be affected,
but the rest of the country is seeing
a lot of robust job growth.
In fact, even Ohio and Michigan have seen,
you know, a lot of job growth.
The unemployment rate is verylow in both of those states,
so the good news is those workers
will be able to find new jobs.
- GM says, look, this is just business.
We're moving away fromSedans, smaller cars,
moving towards trucks and electric.
President Trump, he's a business guy.
Why does he take this so personally?
- He takes it personally causehe cares about those workers.
Those are the workers who voted for him.
Those are the workerswho went to his rallies.
We all know the reason that Donald Trump
won this election insuch a surprising fashion
is he crashed through whatwe call that Blue Wall
of states like Michigan,Ohio, and Pennsylvania,
and so, every meeting I'veever been in with Donald Trump,
he always mentions the autoworkers and the steel workers
and the coal miners.
He cares very personallyabout the economic wellbeing
of those voters, as well he should.
- Steve, a lot of questions about
where the market is going.
Have we peaked?
- (laughs) Boy, uh,
you know, I'm still verybullish on the US economy.
We are seeing some weaknessnow in the housing sector
of the economy thatconcerns me a little bit.
Interest rates are rising,
so that makes new housing moreexpensive to get a mortgage.
But the other sectors of theeconomy look really strong,
I think.
- He is not buying this idea
that we are headed for a recession,
pointing to the sevenmillion jobs open today
that still need to be filled.
As for the GM plants, theyare cited as shut down
by the end of next year.
The auto company expects to save
some six billion dollarsby the end of 2020.
That's the latest from the White House.
Ben Kennedy, CBN News.
- Thanks, Ben.
Well, as you just heard Benreport about the GM layoffs,
trade and the economy andthe upcoming G20 Summit,
they were all among the topics
at a wide-ranging WhiteHouse press briefing today.
The first in nearly two months
and the first since theWhite House issued new rules
for reporters after thattesty post-midterm election
exchange between thePresident and the press.
No fireworks today, though.
- And if I can ask a followup.
The President doesn't believe the warnings
in the Climate Report.
The President doesn't believe the CIA
when it comes to Jamal Khashoggi.
The President doesn't believe--
- That's not accurate.- When it comes to
Russia and Italy.
Why doesn't he have faith in his advisors?
- That's not true.
The President has a great deal of faith
in the intelligence community
and certainly the team thathe has assembled around him.
However, I've addressedthe Climate Report.
There's really nothingelse to add on that front.
- At the press briefing today,
Trump's National SecurityAdvisor, John Bolton,
also announced the President will meet
with Russian President Vladmir Putin
and China's Premier Xi Jinping
at the G20 Summit later this week.
- The number of migrants atour southern border is surging
with experts predicting the caravan
could grow to more than9,000 in the coming days.
Amber Strong brings us a look
at the Trump administration's response
to recent protests in Tijuana.
- The use of tear gas against migrants
rushing the border Sundayis raising questions.
President Trump defended USBorder Control's decision
to use the gas against protestors,
and it's becoming clear it'snot the first administration
to do so.
- So we're being rushedby some very tough people
and they use tear gas andhere's the bottom line,
nobody's coming into our country
unless they come in legally.
- [Amber] About 8,500 migrantsare waiting in Tijuana
while the US processestheir requests for asylum.
According to the Departmentof Homeland Security,
approximately 1,000 triedto rush the fencing,
throwing rocks and bottles at agents.
Tear gas, while useddomestically by police,
has also been used by Border Patrol agents
under past administrations, too.
- Five years ago, under theObama administration in 2013,
a similar migrant rush of the border
at the San Ysidro's crossing, same place,
with the same results.
The Border Patrol used tear gas,
they used pepper spray and pepper balls,
and they also even useda taser at one point
against a group of hundreds of migrants,
including women, children and old people.
- [Amber] CBN Newscontributor Chuck Holton,
who has reported exclusivelyfrom inside the caravan,
says the actions of somemake the asylum process
harder for others.
- These migrants who aretrying to come in legally,
by coming to the port of entry,
are having to stand inincredibly long lines.
We're talking about maybeup to eight or 10 days,
camping on the sidewalk on the bridge,
in line, waiting for thatpreliminary interview
and that's becausethere are so many people
that are crossing the border illegally
that they're jumping theline in front of those people
doing it right the right way.
- [Amber] So, instead of 10 days,
Holton says the wait there in Tijuana
could increase to aboutthree to four months,
taking a toll on the cityand the migrants themselves,
leaving some of thePresident's biggest defenders
calling for compassion.
- We treat these people,these economic refugees,
as if they're zombiesfrom The Walking Dead.
We are a nation of immigrants.
These are desperate people.
They walked 2,000 miles, why?
Because they wanna rape your daughter
or still your lunch?
No, because they want a job!
- [Amber] Question is, how to go about it?
Amber Strong, CBN News, Washington.
- Well, for all things politics
we now turn to CBNWashington correspondent,
Jennifer Wishon and ChiefPolitical Analyst, David Brody.
Thank you both for being here.
Well, we all have seen the Geraldo clip
where he talks about getting emotional,
saying he felt like he was choking on gas,
watching what was happeningwith the asylum seekers.
Does he have a point?
Are Americans putting politicsover people, Jennifer?
- I think it's importantfor Americans to remember
that these are people.
These are people and if you'veever been to Central America,
you know that the conditions are dire.
I can't, I would be inthe caravan, honestly,
if I lived in some partsof Central America.
However, we have to, you know,
and lets be clear.
Democrats are always better
at making the emotional argument.
However, I think it'simportant for Americans
to remember that Congress setsthe laws of the United States
and it's the executives'job to enforce them
and so what we're seeing is,
we're seeing Congress kickthis can down the road,
down the road, down theroad, down the road.
We're down the road andthis has become a crisis
and the President ishaving to deal with it.
- That's exactly right, Jennifer,
and you stole my thunder!
Not the first time, in a good way.
But it's all about Congress
and that's why Donald Trumpand presidents before him,
both Clinton and Barack Obama,do your job, Congress, hello.
And they haven't.
So you've got a million, almost,
as we talked about yesterday,
you have about a million folksin a backlog at the border,
so why are a lot of these folks
going through illegal ports of entry
or in other words, they'recrossing the border illegally,
because they don't wanna wait.
Well, here's the thing.
Regarding the Geraldostatement real quick,
we see the tear gas and thefamilies and the children
and the mothers, but what you don't see,
are the children and the mothers
that are actually on line waiting to do it
the legal way, the right way,
that are waiting thefour, five, six months
to get into this country.
That story, you're really notseeing as much, if at all.
- Fair process for everyone,the same treatment.
Ahead of the midterms, thiswas, of course, a big issue
that President Trump and alot of Republicans ran on.
David, do you think,
how heavily do you think itdid weigh on the midterms?
- I think it weighed to a degree.
I think it helped at the margins.
If you look at the, numberone issue was healthcare,
number two is immigration.
23% of folks believes that immigration
was their number one issue
or said it was their number one issue.
Out of that, 78% went for Republicans.
But on healthcare, whichwas the number one issue,
about 74% went for Democrats.
So I mean, you know, at some point,
you're looking at acouple percentage points,
potentially, as a swing,
and therefore, did it make a difference?
Okay yes, but with abig, ol' asterisk to say
maybe not as much as peopleare making it out to be.
- But I do think it's Justice Kavanaugh
who fired up Republicans, gotthem engaged in the midterms
and I think it was the caravanthat kind of carried them
to the polls, if you will.
- Speaking of the polls,
with GM laying off 15,000 employees,
and the recent instabilityin the stock market,
Jennifer, how bad isthis for President Trump,
given that he was reallybased his success so far
in the White House on the economy?
- Well, it's not good.
It's certainly not good.
I mean, he tells us all the time,
this is gonna be an issue,certainly, in 2020 either way.
But I think if you, you know,
let's dial it back and remember
that the US taxpayers investedbillions upon billions in GM
about a decade ago.
They lost billions on that, you know,
by design, they lostbillions on that investment.
And so, you know, I think thisis not good for GM as well.
It's bad for the American worker,
it's also back for GM,
but I'll also say, if youlook at American manufacturing
jobs in America, the graph goes like this
since President Trump took office
so this is not a goodstory for President Trump.
It's not a good story for the people
who are losing their jobs, however,
US manufacturing is certainly more robust
than we've seen it probablyin the past 15, 20 years.
- And I think there's two sides to this.
In 2020, look, two of theplants could be closing.
Remember, could be closing, notdefinitely gonna be closing.
Michigan and Ohio.
Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes
so that's a concern,
but I thought what was really interesting
what Donald Trump toldGM CEO yesterday, said,
"You have messed with the wrong person."
And we know Donald Trumpisn't playing around
or as we say in NewYork, he ain't playin'.
We say a few other things,but I'll say that one here.
But the point is is that,
I agree with Donald Trump on this.
I think they have messedwith the wrong person.
That's a phone call to coupleof his business buddies
to say, okay GM messed me up.
Now I need you to ponyup a little bit more
in terms of jobs and all of that.
So we'll see how this plays out.
- Well, Sarah Sanders, sheheld her first press conference
this afternoon in two months.
This is post Jim Acostaand that whole dust up.
Do you think we're in a new age
when it comes to theWhite House press corps,
Jennifer?
- I do.
Now we have rules thatwe didn't have before
in terms of how manyquestions you can ask.
I think that it's definitely a new era,
but it's been a new era sincePresident Trump took office.
And let's be honest, thisis the most important fact,
I think, when we talk aboutthe press and this president.
This president is the mostaccessible president in history.
We see him all the time.
We walked to Marine One.
And he talks for 15 minutes and makes news
and this happens on a weekly basis.
And so, I think that thathas always been the case.
The President promised to turnthe press shop upside down.
He did, he also boldly points out
the things that conservativeshave been concerned about
for decades, which is that they don't feel
like the media gives them a fair shake.
The media treats them as bigots.
The media treats them as backwards idiots
and he points that out on a daily basis
and so, this is the new reality.
- I 100% agree.
And you know, mainstreammedia, it's time to grow up.
Look, do your job.
In other words, do youreally need a Sarah Sanders
briefing every day to do your job?
Go ahead and do your job,
and it's called shoe leather journalism.
It's called, oh, I don't know.
Maybe call a source that's been very leaky
out of this White House,so that's not a problem,
and as Jennifer said, the most accessible,
better be careful when we say successful.
That's another show foranother deplorable audience
but not here, but justaccessible and it's all true.
You put it all together.
Is Sarah Sanders the beall and end all of this?
Look, I believe that ifyou took the cameras away
from the Jim Acostas of the world,
I'm talking about the nightly news cameras
where they're just focusingon what the reporter asks
and also if you took that camera away,
and just focus on Sarah Sanders,
I think that would do more damage to them
than anything else we've seen so far.
- Say goodbye to the grand standing.
- Absolutely.
- All right, David andJennifer, thank you.
- Well, the next government shut down
may be right around the corner.
- CBN Congressionalcorrespondent, Abigail Robertson,
joins us now from Capitol Hill.
Abigail, the countdown is on
with only 10 days to go for Congress
to come to a decision on ayear-end spending package.
Are we headed for anothergovernment shutdown?
- Well, Jenna, we very well could be.
Before Thanksgiving,lawmakers felt pretty good
that they would get thesespending bills passed
by December 7th, before we reach
that partial government shutdown deadline,
but now, some RepublicanSenators, like Lindsey Graham,
are saying that since the caravan
has hit the southern border,that it is a different world
than before they left D.C. andthey now wanna fight harder
to get the President thefive billion dollars he wants
for the border wall.
So that could be a possible hangup
that could cause ashutdown, but Democrats say
if we do see that, thatRepublicans are still in charge
of the House, the Senateand the White House,
so if we're heading to a partial shutdown,
it is the Republicans' fault.
- And Abi, I understandtoday that freshmen Democrats
met behind closed doorsto discuss leadership
within their caucus.
Do you know anything about that
and Nancy Pelosi's bigto become Speaker again
during the next session of Congress?
- Well, I know that the vote is tomorrow
on who Democrats inthe House will nominate
to be their next Speaker.
Right now, I think Nancy Pelosiis the only person running
so she is likely to win the nomination
but then there still couldbe somebody who comes forward
and opposes her in thebeginning of January
when they vote on the House Floor,
but as of now, while there is opposition,
there's no one that has comeforward to run against her.
- And Abigail, just about 30 seconds left,
but the President, he'sbeen pushing this bipartisan
Criminal Justice Reform Bill.
A version of that hasalready passed in the House.
Where does it stand in the Senate?
- Well, today on the Hill,
Vice President MikePence and Jared Kushner
were meeting with Senate Repubicans
to push for this CriminalJustice Reform Bill,
but leader McConnellsaid that he has agreed
to whip the Bill and seewhere the Republican Senators
stand not just on thesubstance of the Bill,
but if they wanna see itpassed by the end of this year.
But he made it clear today
that it is not in thistop three priorities
that he still needs tofund the government,
get the Farm Bill passed andwork on a few other things
ahead of this CriminalJustice Reform Bill,
but he has agreed to feelout the Republican Senators
and see if they wanna go forward.
If it does come to the Senate Floor,
it is looking like it will pass
without 80 votes, overwhelming support.
There is a small oppositionled by Senator Tom Cotton
who thinks that he doesn't wanna see
prison sentences shortened,
but he wants to work,instead, on prison reform
and what happens gettingprisoners back on their feet
after they leave, so he isvery opposed to this Bill,
but we'll see if they makeit in the next 10 days.
- All right, thanks, Abi.
We'll be right back after this break.
(Narrator speaking foreign language)
- [Woman] This is our nature as a country.
- [Narrator] To make theworld a better place.
- Literally, we felt the earth shaking.
- [Narrator] The ChristianBroadcasting Network presents
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- This film needs to be seen by everyone.
- I was in tears.
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- I'm so grateful that this film was made.
- [Narrator] To Life can be yours
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- [Man] We know that every minute counts
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- It'll bless Israel.
It'll also bless allthe friends of Israel.
- [Narrator] Discover the untold story
of how Israeli volunteersare making the world
a better place.
Call 1-800-700-700
or log on to cbn.comto get your copy today.
- Well, Christian andconservative college students
are increasingly reporting being silenced
on college campuses.
These stats reveal,
new stats reveal, rather, thatit's causing a growing number
to keep their religiousand political thoughts
to themselves.
- Senior WashingtonCorrespondent, Jennifer Wishon,
reports on this growing trend.
- If you're a college studentand think you'll be seen
as a bigot, less intelligent,
or punished for sharingyour beliefs or opinions,
it's not surprising more and more students
are self-censoring theirconstitutionally protected speed.
An annual survey by Yale'sWilliam F. Buckley Program
finds a majority feel intimidated
sharing their ideas, opinions or beliefs
when they're differentfrom their professors'.
Even more feel intimidatedin those views differ
from classmates.
- I have talked to studentswho say, you know what,
we talk about politics in our dorm room
with the door locked
because we're scared ofpeople telling on us.
- [Jennifer] Nicki Neily of Speech First
keeps track of thesefree speech restrictions
on college campuses.
- If you think that you'regonna get in trouble
because your views are considered bigoted,
hateful, defamatory, I mean, you know,
of course you're notgonna talk about them.
- [Jennifer] The survey also finds
nearly 60% of students wants speakers
who have a history ofusing so-called hate speech
banned from campus
and 1/3 believe physicalviolence is justified
to stop someone from making hateful
or racially-charged statements.
The problem is determiningwhat's offensive
can be different for everyone.
Students at some schoolscan even face punishment
for private conversations.
- There are portals on university websites
where you can go in, you can type down,
I heard Joe say, usethis term in a classroom,
walking down the hallway,I found it offensive,
and I think it should be investigated,
and then that student iscalled in for a hearing.
So why is this happening now?
Neily suggests it's a newgeneration of students
created by helicopter parenting,
bubble wrapping kids andtrophies for everyone.
So if you have grown upthinking that you're right
and the first timeyou're told you're wrong
or that you're beingchallenged on your views
is when you're 18, ofcourse there's gonna be
an existential crisis on campus.
- Some schools like theUniversity of Chicago
are taking a stand forthe First Amendment.
In this letter to the class of 2020,
the Dean of Students writes,
"Our commitment to academic freedom
"means that we do not supportso-called trigger warnings,
"we do not cancel invited speakers
"because their topicsmight prove controversial
"and we do not condone the creation
"of intellectual safe spaces.
"Diversity of opinion andbackground," he continues,
"is a fundamental strengthof our community."
More than 50 colleges and universities
have made similar statements
and Neily suggests students find out
where schools stand on speech
before deciding where to attend.
Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.
- Well, Dr. DonaldSweeting is the president
of Colorado Christian University
and he joins us now for more.
Dr. Sweeting, thanksso much for being here.
- Great to be here with you.
This issue of supression ofspeech on college campuses,
how much of an issue is that?
- Well, I think it's huge
and it's coupled witha lot of other things.
The atmosphere on universitycampuses is changing radically
as we disinvite speakers,as we have safe spaces,
as we really shut down debate
and that's the one placewhere you should be able
to debate and discuss ideas,
so I tell people, this is the best time
to be the president ofa Christian university.
This is a crazy time to be the president
of a university in the United States
because of so muchinsanity that we're seeing
in the university world.
- Certainly a lot of insanity.
Now, you're in Colorado,
which just elected itsfirst openly gay governor.
Christians, of course, can be tolerant,
but are others asculture-tolerant as Christians?
- Well, this is where,
authors write about the newintolerance of tolerance
or the illiberalliberalism, where liberalism
is becoming, is shutting speech down
and it's being what itwas not created to be.
That's why we're having this discussion
about what's happening onuniversity campuses, right?
- On the topic of religious freedom,
Colorado Christian has been outspoken
and supported JackPhillips, the man who was,
who refused to make a weddingcake for a gay couple.
Talk about the school'sinvolvement in that case.
- Yeah, Jack's a friend of ours
and he's in the same town we're in,
so this has been very close to home.
He's a committed believer.
Jack serves anybody who walks in his shop,
that's what most people don't understand.
He'll bake a cake for anybody,
but what they asked him to do
was to message the cakeaccording to things
that he doesn't believe in.
So he said, I don't make Halloween cakes.
I don't make cakes that celebrate divorce
or talk about violence against people
and because I'm a Christian,a committed Christian,
and I believe in marriageas God designed in,
I don't make cakes thatcelebrate homosexual marriage.
- On another topic,
recreational marijuanais now legal in Colorado.
Colorado Christian did a study recently
that found that for about every dollar
gained in tax revenue,Colorandans spent more than $4
to mitigate some of the adverse effects.
Do you think Colorado is on
somewhat of a downward moral spiral?
- Well, I lived in Colorado.
Then I moved to Florida for six years,
and I just came back two years ago
and I was so saddened'cause I love our state,
but it seemed like thedowntown was like Amsterdam,
where you know, burned out,
with a lot of people just looking lost.
So we have celebrated somethingand promoted something
that's making a lot of money,
positive side for some,
but the science and the studies are going
in the opposite directionsaying this is bad.
It's bad for the state.
It's bad for the students of Colorado,
the kids of Colorado,it's bad for safe driving,
it's bad in so many ways, but this clash,
the science going thisway, money going this way.
Right now, money's winning.
- Real quick question, we're short on time
but I really feel it'simportant that we ask,
what can individual Christians do
to take a stand for religious freedom
in their own cities, intheir own communities?
- That's a great question
and you gotta realizethat this is an issue
that's coming to your state.
It's not just California,it's not just Colorado,
but it's coming to youso please be informed
about religious liberty.
Persuade young people.
Teach them about the Constitution,
why we have a Constitution, what it means.
Teach them virtue.
Encourage your pastors to wake up on this.
They cannot be passiveon religious liberty.
This is a Pauline moment.
And by that, I mean where Paul said,
"I appeal to Caesar."
We have to do that.
We can't be passive, and so many pastors,
I know that they don't want politics
to be our first issuebut they have pulled out,
gone to the other extreme of silence
and that can't happen.
And then I guess finally, I'd say,
you know, when schools like our school
is in the news because of this,
support those who take stand
and pray for a great awakening
because that's whatChristians, I think, can,
that's our hope.
We know in the past, the HolySpirit has been poured out
on people and in eras likethe First Great Awakening
and second, and it's been a game changer
and quite frankly, we need a game changer.
- That's right.
Dr. Sweeting, thank youso much for your time
and your insights.- Thank you.
Great to be with you.
We'll be right back.
(Announcer speaking foreign language)
- [Woman] This is our nature as a country.
- [Announcer] To makethe world a better place.
- Literally, we felt the Earth shaking.
- [Announcer] The ChristianBroadcasting Network presents
To Life, How Israeli VolunteersAre Changing The World.
- This film needs to be seen by everyone.
- I was in tears.
- [Announcer] Now you can ownthe inspiring documentary,
To Life, on DVD.
- There is blood on our handsif we know and we walk away.
- I'm so grateful that this film was made.
- [Announcer] To Lifecan be yours for a gift
of $10 or more.
Call 1-800-700-7000
or log on to cbn.com.
- [Man] We know that everyminute counts to save life.
- It'll bless Israel.
It'll also bless allthe friends of Israel.
- [Announcer] Discover the untold story
of how Israeli volunteersare making the world
a better place.
Call 1-800-700-7000
or log on to cbn.comto get your copy today.
- Well, you've heard of Black Friday
and Cyber Monday, butwhat about Giving Tuesday?
- Well, Giving Tuesday is aglobal day of charitable giving.
But what makes people wanna give?
According to a new Barna Group survey,
when it comes to Christians,62% say their giving
can make a difference.
45% heard a moving storythat led them to give
and 34% have a relationship with
or know the person behindthe mission or charity
to which they give.
- It's biblical.
It's greater to give than to receive.
- That's right.
Although some peoplelike the inverse but--
- Who doesn't like a gift?
- Well, that's gonna do itfor today's Faith Nation.
- Have a great evening.
(lively instrumental music)
