Email from American Values Plus, tune in to Family Talk.   Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Monday, November 18, 2024 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer COUNTDOWN TO TRUMP’S INAUGURATION: 63 DAYS A Cultural Icon If you watch NFL football, you may have noticed something unusual. Players on four different NFL teams did the same little hip swivel dance after big plays. It wasn’t anything obscene. In fact, you had to look closely to realize they were celebrating. What they were doing is called the “Trump dance.” Donald Trump often performed this dance at his rallies when “YMCA” was played over the loudspeakers. Now it’s being imitated on football fields and by sports teams all over the world. This is evidence of how Donald Trump has transcended politics to become a major cultural influence. And there’s some irony here. During the first Trump administration, the president got into a major dispute with the NFL because left-wing quarterback Colin Kaepernick was disrespecting our country by kneeling during the national anthem. Trump was furious and called him out. At the time, many NFL players rallied around Kaepernick. Now they are rallying around Donald Trump. Trump becoming a cultural icon has tremendous impact and is politically powerful. The Karl Rove GOP establishment and the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal do not understand the moment we are in. Nor do they understand the president-elect’s agenda. They desperately want to force Trump to return to the Romney/Ryan model, to retreat back into the “business as usual” version of the Republican Party. That’s not what the American people voted for. It’s worth remembering that the GOP establishment fought hard to put Ronald Reagan back in the box and to make him conform to the ways of Washington. That’s where the plea of conservatives to “Let Reagan be Reagan” came from. Reagan’s political instincts were far superior to those of the so-called “professional politicians.” So are Donald Trump’s. Doing Things Differently The DC Swamp is upset that Donald Trump is doing things differently and appointing people like Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to prominent positions. They all voted for Joe Biden four years ago. And they are three of the most important people who empowered Trump’s victorious alliance. Elon Musk almost single-handedly saved free speech until Trump could get back to the White House. He broke the left’s stranglehold on social media and exposed government efforts to censor the American people. Tulsi Gabbard is the antithesis of Liz Cheney. The Liz Cheney way is the way to destruction for the GOP and, not coincidentally, the United States. The Gabbard way of peace through strength that Trump has advocated, is the way to the future of the GOP and America. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is from one of perhaps three dynastic families of the Democrat Party, and he cast his lot with us at great personal cost. He is committed to reforming our broken health care system. Critics say, “He doesn’t have the credentials. Are these the most serious people we can find?” If you put someone with the “right credentials” in at the Department of Health and Human Services, you will get four more years of the status quo that no one likes. More money will be spent to accomplish less and less. The so-called “experts” have been running Washington for decades. And they have run America into the ground! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Donald Trump is breaking that cycle, and it’s long past time to try doing things differently. Gaetz vs. The Swamp A lot of people have questions about the selection of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general. We’ll see how his confirmation plays out. But here’s my question: Where were all of Gaetz’s critics when the Justice Department was being taken over by the radical left starting under Barack Obama and Eric Holder? Where were all of Gaetz’s critics when the Justice Department undermined Donald Trump? Where were all of Gaetz’s critics when the Biden/Harris Justice Department went after pro-life activists, Catholics, and parents? Where were they when the Justice Department tried to suppress free speech and waged lawfare against Donald Trump? Where were all these Republican senators who are saying off the record that they will not confirm Gaetz? Where were they? Half of the Republicans in the Senate have not said a word about the politicization of the Justice Department. Some seem more upset at Gaetz’s nomination than they are at the left’s weaponization of government. Faith Under Fire The Associated Press, one of the largest news outlets in the world, just did a big hit piece on Pete Hegseth over his tattoos. He has a Jerusalem cross and separately the Latin phrase “Deus Vult.” I’ve seen people on social media insisting the Jerusalem cross is a swastika. It looks nothing like a swastika! It was created back in the 11th century, during the Crusades, and represented the “Kingdom” of Jerusalem. Over time, it became a mainstream symbol of Christianity in the Middle East and among many Catholics. Evidently, there is a tradition among male members of the British royal family of getting a Jerusalem cross tattoo whenever a royal visits Jerusalem. Today, it is used as the official emblem of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the highest Catholic official in the Holy Land. The Latin phrase “Deus Vult” means “God wills it.” It was a rallying cry among Christians during the First Crusade. Both the Jerusalem cross and the phrase “Deus Vult” have transcended that history and have become global signs of Christian identity. Responding to the Associated Press’s hit piece, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance wrote, “They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm. This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry from the AP, and the entire organization should be ashamed of itself.” Vance is right. This is all part of the left’s effort to smear Christians as a threat to democracy. In fact, we are only a “threat” to the global secularists who are trying to dismantle Western Civilization. These are the same people who say if you love Jesus and love America, you’re a dangerous “Christian nationalist.” These are the same people who tell religious conservatives they are disqualified from serving in public office because, as the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein said to Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett, “The dogma lives loudly in you.” Feinstein meant Christianity and it is why she voted “no” on Barrett’s confirmation. These are the same people who led the FBI to investigate Catholic churches holding Latin masses as havens for extremists. By the way, these extreme leftists who want America subjected to a global government have a fifth column, i.e., “traitors,” within Christendom. In this battle for the soul of America, people like David French, Russell Moore, and Tim Alberta are doing everything they can to convince Christians to go AWOL and drop out of “politics.” They are the Judases of our age. Trump Is Serious Here’s one reason why Donald Trump needs people he can trust at the Pentagon: He is serious about reversing the damage caused by four years of insane open border policies. The first indication of Trump’s seriousness came with the appointment of Tom Holman as Border Czar. Holman said that the first illegal aliens to be deported will be the 1.3 million who have been through the system and ignored court deportation orders. A second indication came this morning. Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, posted a message to social media saying that the incoming Trump administration is “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets” for a “mass deportation program.” President-elect Trump responded to Fitton by posting, “TRUE!!” As I have noted before, the Pentagon initially resisted Trump’s efforts to deploy U.S. troops to secure the border, and I have no doubt he will face resistance again. Trump’s Picks Donald Trump announced more appointments in recent days to the incoming Trump/Vance administration. They are: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will serve as secretary of the Interior, and he will lead a new National Energy Council to spur U.S. domestic energy production. Former Rep. Doug Collins, who currently serves as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve, will be secretary of Veterans Affairs. CEO of Liberty Energy Chris Wright will serve as secretary of Energy. Wright’s company has been at the vanguard of fracking technology, and he has condemned the left’s climate change jihad against fossil fuels. Brendan Carr will serve as chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr is the most aggressive defender of free speech at the FCC. Tune In To Family Talk Please tune in to Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio show. On today’s broadcast, Dr. Dobson and I discuss the historic 2024 elections, the impact of men and women of faith, and how the policies of the new Trump/Vance administration can make a real difference for our values. Part two airs tomorrow. You can find station listings here. 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