Pastor Plek's Podcast
Pastor Plek's Podcast
Biden and Trump Debate Fall Out
306: Can Joe Biden's frail TV appearance shake the foundation of the Democratic Party? Pastor Plek explores this burning question as he dissects the most recent debate with insights from Marlin Sparks of Victory Family Church and the ever-outspoken Machine Gun Nick. Listen as they examine the contrasting experiences of viewing versus listening to Joe Biden, who sounded assertive on the radio but appeared visibly aged on television. We break down the potential ripple effects for the Democrats and contemplate formidable replacements, including Michelle Obama.
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and welcome back to pastor plex podcast. I'm your host, chris pleckenpole, so glad all of you are joining us. And with us in studio is none other from perryton, texas, marlin sparks. Welcome. Hey, you know. Pastoring out there, it's victory life right victory, family victory family church, so excited for you guys to be joining all the way from perry.
Speaker 3:That's all the way. It's a long way. How many?
Speaker 1:hours to drive, was that?
Speaker 3:about eight eight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just for this podcast. So I'm just, I'm just so honored to miss it and then also joining me on my right is none other than machine gun Nick. Welcome back, machine gun, nick Howdy.
Speaker 1:So one of the things I did on Sunday, which was just sort of a fun mic drop moment, is I at least first service for those of you who were here during meet and greet time I was like, hey, stand up, look at one of your neighbors and then tell them what you thought about the debate last night or on Thursday, and then I walked off and that was sort of a fun moment and everyone sort of stared at their shoes awkwardly. But I want to kind of get your guys' view of how you think the debate went. Did you get and first off, did you actually get to hear the debate? See the debate, experience the debate?
Speaker 2:so I always call it third hand off of like social media okay, so you got like all the yeah the riffs.
Speaker 1:Yes, uh, did you get the donald trump commercial riff of the port of of? Uh, biden's like talking 90 seconds of just pure muttering. Yes, okay, all right, marlon, did you get a chance to watch it? Every bit of it? Okay, and I, so I was. I watched.
Speaker 1:We had backer Bible club going on at the same time, so I kind of scooted in and watched a little bit, and then I had to go speak at Hill Country Bible Church's boot camp for their students, and then I listened to it on the radio. Now, just boot camp for their students. And then I listened to it on the radio. Now, here's what's why when I was listening to on the radio, biden sounded old but he sounded coherent, so I couldn't see him, uh, and so it's like he sounded like an old guy, which I thought was fine, but his responses seemed like measured and like had a point and and I only heard, like you know I guess, a 15 minute section and I was like man, he's, he's hanging in there he responded to Trump in a coherent fashion, which is sort of funny.
Speaker 1:I think the fact that I was like sort of surprised and like good for you, joe, that you were able to function up there. I guess that's not a good sign, uh, but uh, I think for most everybody else took it as they saw him and so the response was like he looked, he was a deer in the headlights pretty much the whole time. Is that sort of what you took from that? Absolutely yeah, what was your like? He's what? 81? Is that what he is? Let me check, is that?
Speaker 3:right, yeah, hold on.
Speaker 1:It might be Biden age real quick. It's like, how old is he? Yeah, he's 81. So he's 81 years old. He's been in politics, I think, since 72 or something, and so he has been here for a while. So when you look at the way that he came off, did it look like dementia had set in, or what was your sort of thought on that?
Speaker 3:I thought it was. I thought he started strong too, and they said just the opposite. You know, right said started started, bad ended strong. I thought it just the opposite yeah he started pretty strong and faded away right right.
Speaker 1:I didn't, because I, when I was listening to him, I was like I mean, his policies were not what ones I would agree with, but he was able to coherently argue them and then, like he and Trump, looked like they were.
Speaker 2:You know, again, he sounded old but didn't look like he was well, there didn't sound like he was a deer in the headlights I saw a clip where that shows donald trump walking off stage after it ends, yeah, and like, um biden's wife and somebody else having to like, come get him and like, and he was just seemed entirely frail, like he was about, he was just done afterwards. Yeah, you know, and I don't know how many people saw that clip, but like, or if you saw it at the end, or they they got it, they cut it before you could see that right if you watched it, but it it was really really bad.
Speaker 1:So so the I mean pretty much the consensus is is that it's not that he didn't he argued wrong points? Because I don't think, I don't. I think he stayed on his policies. I don't think there was anything. You were sitting there going like Joe Biden has switched or changed. It just was like he was, like he has. Just he looked frail, old and like literally on the verge of death, whereas Donald Trump, who's only like four years younger than him, looked more functional and so you're like you like.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. So it's interesting to me that and I know this is the part, maybe, that I'm too pragmatic it seems to me that if you're the Democrats, why would you? Because everyone's been talking they need to pull him. They're going to pull, he needs to resign. You're hearing lots of calls from the Democrats they need to quit, but if you are a Democrat, who are you going to replace him with? The only person I could see would be Michelle Obama. What do you think?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I mean, yeah, the only reasonable choice for them would be I would just have to.
Speaker 1:So I mean in the polling data that came out today, which is July 3rd. She's never held a political seat at all, neither had Donald Trump to be fair before he became president.
Speaker 2:Right, but he ran billion-dollar industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but she's got her husband in the back pocket. He would be president.
Speaker 2:Texas politics. We've seen this before. Remember vote for Maul, you get Paul. Yeah, yeah, he's. He would be president. Yeah, texas politics. We've seen this before. Remember, vote for maul, you get paul. Yeah, yeah, after he got ousted, right, what was that guy? That was like forever that was the governor forever.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but he would be, oh, I mean, we would have another situation like that obama presidency that's what it would be, he would run the show and they loved him.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and I think he, I think mich. At this point the polling shows that she would win. Now if she got up there and said something dumb, then she wouldn't and I think they would not go with Kamala Harris, because I don't think Kamala Harris has the ability to. She is like a younger version of the current Joe Biden. It's kind of a wild thing to kind of listen to her talk.
Speaker 3:That's where you're going to get your riff is who's going to be her vice presidential candidate. That's where the infighting begins, and I mean, kamala would have a meltdown like no other, and it is right now because her name is not being mentioned. Right, yeah, and I think that's why you have within the Democrat party right now.
Speaker 1:I think they're struggling to really pull it together. But if Michelle somehow was able to overcome the you know use, if Brock, through his political savvy, was able to get Joe to step down and I think really it's not even Joe, it's Jill Biden at this- point that's probably propping him up, no question about it.
Speaker 3:What do?
Speaker 1:you think is the reason for that, marlon? Why is the just? Just from a just a psychological perspective, why would Jill Biden want to be propped up? Just lust for power, power and wealth, like she wants to live in the white house just loves the power I'm telling you right now, you know yeah it just is.
Speaker 3:And her family said she. They said just this morning she and her family are meeting with him saying absolutely do not get out of this race, right?
Speaker 1:and she's eight years younger than him, so she's 73, so she's not exactly super young, but she's not, you know, old either, so it's it's kind of a wild sort of deal. So jill wants to keep it and joe, I think, is he's. He's like whatever his handlers tell him to do and to be fair, like and this is where I'm just gonna be honest with you and I would love to hear your perspective with this here's a question if, if the Republican presidential candidate was an empty suit, kind of how Joe Biden is, would you still vote for him? Ouch?
Speaker 3:Hey, that's a—.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean imagine, if the roles reversed Right question roles reversed right? Uh, you have, and it is barack obama who's on the other side, and you've got um the the joe biden republican guy who is, you know, going for christian like, stands for christian values, is probably going to do whatever the handlers tell him to do. What would you?
Speaker 2:do not vote really you would not vote. Well, I mean. If I mean, if I have somebody who has to be handled, or Barack Obama are my picks? I don't have a pick, then you're handing it over to the other side.
Speaker 1:That's why I don't know. Well, I guess I'll vote for me.
Speaker 2:Maybe I can get 30 votes so.
Speaker 1:I guess this is the dilemma I think because I would pretty much say you're a pretty stout, conservative, red state person, right.
Speaker 1:I don't think there's any 100% Like there's not a part of you that's like. I don't know. Maybe the Democrats this time, no so even you. But if you had a Joe Biden-esque person in your camp, you would just not vote. That, I think, is exactly what the Democrats are afraid of that there are the Democrat version of Machine Gun Nick out there saying I am just not going to vote because it's just, I can't even hold my nose and vote for Joe Biden because it's that bad, whereas for me I would still vote for the empty suit.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of, a lot of polling on the street, just on the street poll, right. So what about? Would you ever ever consider voting for trump? Haha, we that. Yeah, the hatred for him is so intense. But what about this guy? I probably won't vote, and that's, of course, to the to the republican advantage, right. But yeah, there is a lot of that right now. I mean, mean, how could I? How could I?
Speaker 1:But there's so much at stake with the president, there is Think of the things at stake of the president, like Supreme Court nominations. But Trump got three. He flipped the Supreme Court and like him or hate him, right, let's just say you're a conservative person that Christian values, you know. I just can't standald trump because he is a hypocrite. He is, you know, he abusive to women, all the things you just like. Yeah, he still got you three supreme court people and like now, what do you do?
Speaker 1:saved our bacon yeah, right, so like I mean roe v wade overturned Something that was 49 years, was that what? It was 49 years that Roe v Wade was the law that abortions could not be restricted by states, and now, all of a sudden, that is gone and so all the states are forming their own laws, which is constitutional, by the way.
Speaker 1:Sure, but is it right, and that's another question that's sort, by the way, sure, but is it right, and that's another question like that's? That's sort of the wild part of it, right uh, because I think, if you're like, is it ever right to kill someone? And then that's, that's where you're like. Well, you know, there, that's the part that christians would debate, right? No, it's not right.
Speaker 2:However, the Constitution says that that power doesn't lie in the federal government. It lies by the state. So that's where your state and local leaders can decide Right, and that's why you have Texas, who's basically no abortion.
Speaker 1:But there is national law. Don't murder, right, right, okay. So why can't it be national law? I'm not saying that's the president's job isn't to do that, right, right, okay. So why can't it be national law? And I'm not saying that's the president's job isn't to do that, right. His job is to sign a law into Right into a law, sign a bill into a law, right.
Speaker 1:And what Trump said, I think, in the debate, was that if a law came across his desk to ban abortion, he wouldn't sign it. And so that was sort of like, as a Christian, you go, listen, is that better than Roe v Wade being? Yes, but it's like man that's not exactly upholding and caring for the most marginalized and weakest. Anyway, that's just sort of a thought on that Right, because it's a difficult thing to sort of weigh and and I think that's one of the things that's a struggle as any sort of uh, christian and Marlon, you've you've been around a couple of years. You've seen presidents come and go, um, what like? At what point do you sort of draw the line I can't vote for that guy, um, based on a position somewhere. But they have like is there anything where you would not vote because you're like both these guys are terrible options. What would there?
Speaker 3:be anything, or just you take what you get, I would vote. Uh, you know, if any believer, any christian, it's gonna vote down the line of biblical worldview. Right, all right, simple as that. Yep, just follow the word just follow the bible.
Speaker 3:Yeah and uh, if you're going outside of that, you know, I mean you're going to vote the one that's going to be as close to the biblical worldview as you can get and not go by man's opinion. Yeah, don't go by your own opinion. Yeah, you know, go by man's opinion, go by your own opinion.
Speaker 1:Go by your own opinion. My earliest memories really is like the 84 election with Ronald Reagan. Take me back to 76 with Carter, who was a born-again believer, right Democrat, born-again believer. This is before, though that's before gay marriage was a thing. More of your standard Democrat that I think most Southerners were, and so what was the view back then for Christians?
Speaker 3:You know, I mean, that was really a time period when born again was being thrown around like you know candy. Oh really, you know, I mean everybody's talking born again this born again, that I'm born again, they're born again and really I mean no fruit whatsoever of that, oh wow, and a lot of different. Uh, politicians were riding the coattail of that, right, because there was a strong. There was a strong, uh, I guess, move of the spirit of god or whatever back because that's the jesus freak movement or whatever, like you know right, that's exactly right.
Speaker 3:yeah, see, so there was a. There was people courting the born again favor really strong, and and courting the favor of the churches, or you know this one. You know this administration is not matter of fact. They're so anti the born again, anti-evangelical, anti-churchurch Right it's unbelievable. They're screaming, you know, taking taxation away and everything else from the churches and 501-3C. It's just amazing to see them just look in the face of God and laugh and you say, well, donald Trump's not much better. Well, policy-wise, absolutely Right, right right, because the one thing.
Speaker 1:so going back to jimmy carter because this is the thing is fat, I mean it's kind of a tout is the worst president ever.
Speaker 2:I think 100 like everyone's like he's the worst. But then we had obama.
Speaker 1:But then we have biden, sure, but I think, I think that's the problem is that, uh, as one that was born in his, uh, in his presidential tenure, like I, I don't have a full grasp of how bad exactly it was, but it seemed to me that under Carter, gas prices were insane. Was that what gas rationing was happening?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and interest rates? Holy cow, we're like. Oh no, they're like 7%, 8%.
Speaker 1:They're like 20%.
Speaker 2:That's why the 80s was like 10s right To buy a house was like 10% all throughout the 80s. Oh, yeah, yeah, it was insane and we're over here like 6%, 7%.
Speaker 3:Yeah, throwing a fit about 6%, 7%, 8%. Well you know we don't need it. That's the difference.
Speaker 2:I remember that very well, right, well, the price of a house did go up drastically. Yeah, versus the price, versus the amount that that a person makes, you know pay raises. It's from 76 to now.
Speaker 1:Uh, did not go up with efficiency, which went up 200 and, like you, look at what people earn, it did not go up with efficiency yeah, yeah, just just some economics for you, yeah yeah, I think in 81 it was 18.63 percent, so like it was in during during carter it climbed to 12.9 percent and then with reagan event. You know he turned around about a year into his or I guess, two years almost two years into his presidency and that's when. That's when the, the, the yuppies, young professional, the member, the 80s became like this that's when I was doing coke and making money hand over fist and true.
Speaker 1:that is just a why I mean okay. So anyway, the reason I bring that up is it's like when I think about a guy that touted himself as a christian, like I think j Carter, like that was his, he had the bona fides, he taught Sunday school, he did all the things. He was Baptist, you know, and again I don't know how Baptist it was back then, but sort of an interesting, sort of kind of mindset.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I bring that up just because is Carter and again, this is just your opinion from you know a guy that just was alive and functional at that time. But like, do you think it's worse now, or is it just more polarized now?
Speaker 3:I think. I think it's worse now.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I think it's like even with all the gas ration, I mean like I think about stuff like that. I'm like that's right, but then again we had the covet insanity, so like I guess the things don't the more things change more than say the same right. I think so as a christian. I'm looking at that going like back then in the 70s. I think a christian could probably get behind a democrat, because I don't think there were. Was it full-on? That was all.
Speaker 3:Democrats were pro-choice back then was that, yeah, okay, so that was pretty much standard. Definitely, I mean definitely against gay marriage everybody. Yeah, everybody was against gay marriage, everybody against gay marriage.
Speaker 1:But pro-choice was it was that as a democrat leading thing correct from even back then and so and that and so that was during his. Uh gosh, what year was roe v wade? Um 73. So that was just. That was actually during nixon's time. So you got roe v wade comes about during nixon's time. Of course, that was a supreme court decision, not a legislative process, which is what we all would say would be a more american way of doing law. Anyway, the reason why I bring that up in the midst of this debate is I'm just curious about, like as the empty suit. You've got someone who is, I mean, he has towed the line to democratic policy. He's whenever it's like, hey, we need to, we need to. Rainbow flags, the white house. Rainbow flags, the white house we need to do.
Speaker 1:Support trans, supporting trans, no, even when it goes against um like would be politically wise, I think, for biden. He toes the party line and I think that's why I asked you if, like, if you, if you had an empty suit, who would tow the party line? As far as being conservative you're like, I still wouldn't vote for him I think I don't think the republican party would push that person.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, I mean you got a scrap just to get that. Unlike the democratic Party and this is the difference is the Democratic Party, the party nominates the candidate, right? Yep, they don't have to win by popular vote. The Republican Party is the opposite. You've got to hold that public, that majority vote. You see, like that's how they run their convention?
Speaker 1:No, they still do. They have the Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention, Right, but you've got to get the votes.
Speaker 2:They still have to vote Right, but yeah, exactly, we've got to go out there and vote and say, hey, we want Trump. He gets 50% of that vote. Of course, no one else is going to beat him. Where on On the Democratic side they actually that's not really how they do it. The party convenes and is like this is the candidate. Yeah, and that's been like that forever.
Speaker 1:So I think the reason why they what commentator is saying the reason why they pushed the debate to this early for the first one, is that whenever the Democratic National Convention happens this year which is going to be I'm not sure when it's going to be, but it's like this coming up, it would they wanted it, because it's before they make the full-on decision that you're our guy. So they still have to decide that, even though, throughout all the primaries, biden won and, to be fair, trump won, trump still has to go before the rat of Republican National Committee and they say, even though you got all the primaries, they say, like we have given you the you know you're the coordinated king of the Republicans or the coordinated?
Speaker 1:king of Democrats. So I still think that has to happen. Um, still so. I think that that's to your point, though it's going to be a part of the process that whenever they decide in August which is when they decide we're a month out, we're a month out from August they have a month to get their stuff together to figure out who they're going to nominate at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago. So this could be Michelle Obama's chance, or they're weighing the polls. He just met with all the governors of the nation to kind of kind of like, give them talking points of like. This is why you should tell your supporters to vote for me, and in the meantime, I think he's probably listening to his inner inner circle of jill biden all the rest of the people saying, hey, you're sticking in this thing until we tell you you're not, and so I think that's kind of what they're doing. And you're like if you were a Democrat, you would be like no way, no way.
Speaker 2:I still want to believe in the system, even though it's hard to comprehend that possibly the president is just a face and other people are making decisions behind the curtain kind of deal. But after this presidency it's kind of hard.
Speaker 1:Well, I would say it depends on the president. Let's go back to reagan. I think you do. You remember reagan in his latter years? It was just like this in 1987, 88, with the iron contra fair. He couldn't remember anything. When he's being asked, it was like ronald reagan. And this is where I know there's some reaganites who would, like you know, like roll over in their grave and get angry when they hear this. But I remember this, me listening to the radio and going oh man, Ronald Reagan doesn't remember where he is, doesn't know what's going on. And they're asking him like did you whatever? And he's like I can't remember. That was the classic answer. And what could you say to that? He can't remember, he's not lying.
Speaker 1:Right and everyone's just sort of like just get us to the election in 1988 and somehow george bush won off of the coattails of how strong the 80s were economically, even though we in 87 we had the uh, black friday where we had a we had a pretty big crash, but but like I think that's, that's essentially it.
Speaker 2:So, people, still, but it was 88, then 88 or 89. The wall fell. It was 89, right, the Berlin Wall. Yeah, I mean that was the collapse of communism. That would have been a major big deal. Yeah, that was 1989, but it was after his presidency. Right, so he did Bush was president.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Bush is president. Yeah, so Bush is president, but remember when Reagan says you know, mr Gorbachev tear down that wall. Tear down the wall. That was kind of a. That happened in 87. So June 12th 87, mr Gorbachev tear down this wall and then two years later, it happened Boom.
Speaker 1:That's wild, but I think the decline from 87, mr Gorbachev tear down this wall and then, two years later, it happened. That's wild, but I think the decline from 87 to 88 was pretty extreme and he just looked like a frail old man by the time he left office. It is so anyway.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I said his wife stepped in really hard and opposite of what Jill's doing right now. Right, nancy stepped in and said this is it. That's enough. Guys, get some handlers, get some help right get some people surrounding him and let's get this thing, let's try to float through this thing till the end, right, you know?
Speaker 1:and and but is jill doing? Because I would think that jill's sort of doing that right. I would think that she's like hey, I want to protect it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that, oh, that part, because I think she has the reason why there's a gaggle around him.
Speaker 1:is that nobody wants to watch him actually walk anywhere?
Speaker 3:Oh, that's right, Taking him to the helicopter, right to the helicopter. There's a gaggle to the helicopter.
Speaker 1:There's a gaggle to the press conference.
Speaker 2:There's a gaggle to everywhere he goes, Because from the helicopter to the Oval Office he might get lost Seriously.
Speaker 3:Hey, you watch people. I mean, you will not see him ever anywhere that somebody's not touching him going this way, this way or that way. It's just amazing and he'll just stand there and just start to go that way or still. You know, that's just, that's just. It's.
Speaker 1:That's hard to watch yeah, it's hard, and you know they're crying spousal abuse and that's elderly abuse, and everything else, and I think there's a they.
Speaker 2:I think they have a point there, there's, there's, there's this, that that's hard to watch him do that, but then you know we have the border crisis that's pretty hard to watch yeah, everything's obviously right.
Speaker 3:Military age males hard to watch. Border afghanistan was hard to watch, oh that was maybe the worst.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I wasn't alive during the Vietnam pullout, but I think that that was the worst end of operations I've ever seen. And who decided it was a good idea just to hand over all the weapons, the drones, the helicopters, the trucks? I'm pretty sure they got a few tanks off of us, you know.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:It just I cannot conceive that. And then I think the biggest outrage from the veteran community during the entire debate is when he lied about I've lost no veterans since I've been president. He lost 13 Marines and sailors the week he pulled out of Afghanistan.
Speaker 3:Afghanistan was all. It was as close to a 9-11 feeling as you probably get. I mean, everybody felt, when the tires fell and all of that, how everything just started crashing in on your head. To me, afghanistan that wasn't. I mean, it's far apart in similarities but at the same time there's a sinking feeling going what are you doing? What are we doing? What are they doing? And everybody's just watching this confusion. And then the generals get on there later and said, well, we told them not to do it, it wasn't our call wasn't our call wasn't our call, so yeah I I think to to this.
Speaker 1:I kind of I'm really I know I'm jumping back to reagan stuff like there is. There is indication that reagan was not doing well all the way back to like uh 84, um, you know he had moments of lacking clarity. But then also in 87, when he was prepared, he crushed it and remember the social media, the constant cameras.
Speaker 1:I mean there were cameras. He's the president, so there's cameras all the time. It just wasn't the same as it is today and we call Reagan the greatest Republican president maybe ever. He's the GOAT, maybe ever, but like it's wild. That's why I'm saying, if you're a Democrat, sticking to your proverbial guns with an impaired person actually is not the worst idea, because he's going to stick to your party line, because what Reagan did, he didn't cross party lines. Nobody messed with Reagan because he always did what was expected. Now he might not have been as awesome as he was from 80 to 84, but 84 to 88, he towed the line. Anyway, that's why I'm bringing that up.
Speaker 1:I think if you're a Democrat, I think you ride it out, because you're going to have the 24-hour news cycle is going to spin and you're going to have something else be crazy important. Joe Biden will speak into it and they'll be like ah, think we're fine because you you don't have any. Um, there's no surprises with joe biden other than he might look old. That is the only surprise you have, because they have. We've seen enough body doubles of biden to see him like you know. I mean like he looks fine, you know he has to probably practice looking frail, but you know the guy with the earbes, no earlobes.
Speaker 2:Right, but if we want to keep a nation, we probably shouldn't vote for Joe Biden.
Speaker 1:Sure, but I guess what I'm saying if you're a.
Speaker 1:Democrat, it's a viable option to vote for an empty suit. And again, if Michelle Obama steps up, then I think that's a credible option, and I don't know. If she Obama steps up, then I think that's a credible option, and I don't know if she'll withhold scrutiny, but she's almost as popular as Oprah and so I feel like that's the power you have going for you is that you have somebody that's sort of an outsider, insider. She has Barack Obama in her hip pocket. It's another four years of Barack and she's got the popularity to oust.
Speaker 2:Trump. Well, the other argument is biden was another four years of barack. Sure, like that. He's part of the, the puppet mastery right yeah, yeah, yeah right no, by no means do I have any. You know firsthand knowledge of that. It's speculative, sure, best. But that is that's the thing. I don't know. I don't think she'd do good Right.
Speaker 1:I think at some point it'd be great to have viable. This goes back to if you have viable people who are competent to run the country, why not let them? Whenever you get to a bureaucratic state that has no accountability which is kind of what you're in when the guy that you elected is impaired, and so it boasts well for the party in power. When your incumbent is impaired, because there's no surprise, he's not going to flip a switch, he's not going to get afraid or have a moment of emotional barrier that he can't function in something other than he is physically unable to perform.
Speaker 1:So anyway that all that to say. I think that's about it. That's why I think that this is such an interesting conversation to sort of watch. Um, the, uh, the, the, the presidential debate come forward and then, as a Christian, I love the way you want somebody in there that can actually stand up for the country.
Speaker 1:Go toe-toe with world leaders and you would want that because it's not like the handler is going to be able to step up and talk to Vladimir Putin. It's not like the other handler is going to be like hi, I'm the bureaucrat that wrote the speech. President Xi Jinping, I think you're an idiot and I think you're screwing us over when it comes to trade. Nobody's going to listen to that guy. They're going to look at Joe Biden or whoever it is. See, he's a complete empty space cadet. And they're going to be like let's run him over, because what are they going to do? They don't have the political power to withstand.
Speaker 2:So I think that's why, you would want somebody, even if you disagree with them, which goes back to a realist stance of of international relations, where we have something, everybody wants it. They're all trying to take it away from us right, yeah, the big.
Speaker 3:The comical thing to me was what if? What if russia does this? What if iran does this? And you get this look in the camera, don't? And they do, and nothing happens, right? If Trump would have said don't, that'd be a greasy spot. Oh yeah, and everybody knew it, and they knew it.
Speaker 1:And whenever you know remember Kim. Jong-il Right, he's like hey, rocket, man.
Speaker 2:I mean like the fact that he would call him Rocket man. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:I can't believe this is happening.
Speaker 3:They're cringing and I'm loving it. I I can't believe this is happening. They're cringing and I'm loving it. Come on I love that You've got to show the tough. Come on, rocket man. What.
Speaker 2:And the whole time Trump's calling him Rocket man, and if you watch the left they're like oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:You are going to trigger the World War III. And then he's like he just ignores that right. They're like oh my gosh, you are, you are, you are gonna trigger the world war three, right he's like he just ignores that right.
Speaker 2:And then, as soon as he flipped the script and actually sat down with the guy right with rocket man, the left switched their bill. They're, they're flipped, they're out and they're like how can you sit down and have peace talks with him? He's a civil rights up, the and Trump's like how's he going to win this? Like where's the winning?
Speaker 1:But I think that's why you want a competent, functional person.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Not for domestic policy, because whatever your domestic policy, it's going to be the status quo. It's for the international policy of having to navigate the strength and protection, because one of the things that a president is is the commander-in-chief and so he is responsible for defending the country from all enemies, really foreign and domestic opposite. But that's where when you think about China, you think about Iran, you think about Russia, you think about all the conglomerates that are looking to take america down, and you're like man. Who do you want to go and do battle? And that's where I'm like man. I think at some point even the democrats at this point are going to say like I need somebody functional enough to go in and step and go toe-to-toe yep, well, and the other?
Speaker 2:my other point on that is is I think, domestically too, you have to be careful. And who's running the show? Because even though outside we could be, we could be strong, but if we're weak on the inside, there's our, our weak on the inside.
Speaker 1:What do you mean? Like?
Speaker 2:like, um, economically speaking, sure, right like 10 000 jobs lost. The first freaking year biden was in office when he pulled the pipeline that was the Keystone Pipeline, right yeah. And there's been other job losses since then, and especially talking about— Not that I don't criticize Joe Biden.
Speaker 1:The unemployment is a historically low rate under him. Yeah, it is so overall he's got—that wouldn't be your argument. In fact, the reason why— this is what's sort of wild Just only reason. I know this because I'm watching the Fed's interest rates the reason why the Feds have not cut rates is our job, Our employment history is too strong.
Speaker 2:That's a way. So we're making too much money for them to cut the rates. Yeah, yeah Well, the Fed's unconstitutional anyways, don't get me started.
Speaker 1:That's unconstitutional anyways, don't get me started on that. Fair enough, not that I'm saying that Joe Biden is awesome by any stretch, but the unemployment is at its lowest, wow yeah. It's like even lower than it was under Trump.
Speaker 2:Yep, maybe that was Trump's policy.
Speaker 1:Well, or you know.
Speaker 2:What we're feeling in other areas the interest rate's high. Back to energy, energy, energy jobs are probably at an all-time low being that tough being that they don't.
Speaker 1:They can't pump or make, we can't get more right the xl pipeline to me that that needs to be opened up and that does make fuel prices lower especially as opex, you know, shuts down supply to kind of prop up prices.
Speaker 2:If you didn't want a war in the ukraine, we wouldn't have done this with the oil, because then russia would never gotten the money from europe and europe wouldn't be sufficient on russia, because trump had made the deal where at least england was buying oil from us, or buying, uh you know, petro from us, as they call it over there. Right, but that's gasoline. But yeah, what I'm saying is is that a lot of those things that happened that made Russia strong enough to go into Ukraine couldn't, would not have happened under under Trump or another president. That wouldn't have hit the energy as hard.
Speaker 1:I don't think the world is as crazy with Donald Trump as president as it is with Joe Biden as president. It is with joe biden as president I think, they just go. He, he is again. He is unable to speak. Donald trump's on the phone with putin. Donald trump's on the phone with rocket man.
Speaker 2:Donald trump's on the phone probably even with hamas right, right like he's like I will destroy you, yeah that's right, and you know he has no israeli. The israeli army will have the. The uh, or defense force, will have the, the bombs they need to take you out, right oh yeah, yeah, that makes a difference, right, um, yeah, anyway, okay so truth it.
Speaker 1:So I think what we can say is that I think that's why this is such a fascinating sort of like story is, um, whether your guy is functional cognitive. It's helpful in the international diplomacy for a guy to be functional cognitive and people to respect him, because that's an important factor.
Speaker 1:And that's all I'd say Like at this point, even if your policies, you like the policies you're going to get, having someone that's competent, that can handle that sort of stuff, is sort of paramount. So we'll see. My, my bet is that they're just gonna go with joe biden, run them all the way through. That would be my me too. I, I don't think. I just think it's too big, it's too late, it's too big of a hurdle. Michelle obama's not coming out and even if she did, it's such a short window of time and maybe that's when you get her on the short burst of energy. Right now, she's crushing him in the polls 50% to 38%, 50% is Michelle, 38% is Trump.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that stands.
Speaker 2:We haven't seen her talk about issues as long as she doesn't say anything, she wins.
Speaker 1:I think that's where, all of a sudden, all the mics go to her. All the mics, all that attention, it's such an unknown. Do the Democrats go to a fully unknown? Even if you have Barack Obama in your back pocket, I don't think you can push her forward and say like but does the rest of this presidential campaign kill Biden?
Speaker 2:He's already over the edge. Not that I like the guy, but I kind of feel bad for him. He should be in retirement.
Speaker 1:Right, but even if he retired, the person that comes is Kamala Harris and you're just like no, there's no Democrat out there that every time she talks, they say no.
Speaker 2:Do you remember?
Speaker 1:dan quayle yeah, oh, all right, it feels like okay, you know, it feels like the uh democratic equivalent dan quayle like every time dan quayle's like potato, like, like spelling words, like the jokes. Back in what? Was it 19, the late 80s early 90s was just just so bad. Dan Quayle was just the ultimate joke, and I think that's what you're seeing, didn't?
Speaker 2:he shoot somebody in a hunting accident.
Speaker 1:No, that was Bush's. That was the other Bush. Yeah, that was George W Bush. He didn't shoot him, he got shot on what's his name.
Speaker 2:Chaney. Thank you, dick Chaney, thank you.
Speaker 1:I thought, maybe they he got shot on.
Speaker 2:What's his name? Chaney. Thank you, dick Chaney. Thank you. Thank you. I thought maybe they were quail hunting. That's what, hey, listen.
Speaker 1:I know that we've got a lot of people want to weigh in on this. Please text in and we'll be talking closer to November. We'll keep talking about this 737-231-0605. Thanks for listening, thanks for watching, thanks for giving your opinions. Go to pastorplekcom. Let us know what you think. We'd love to hear from you, from our house to yours. Have an awesome week of worship.