Point of View January 20, 2025 – Hour 1 : Presidential Inauguration 2025, March For Life

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Penna Dexter. Thank you very much for joining us ladies and gentlemen. Liberty MacArthur is my co-host. I'm Penna Dexter and we're so glad to be with you. It's kind of a special day. We actually have a new president.

[00:00:31] Donald Trump was sworn in today as the 47th president of the United States and this happened on the Capitol Rotunda to sort of a skinny down group. And since everybody had to move inside because of the weather, but he spoke to that audience and here's how he began.

[00:00:52] The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.

[00:01:11] We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first.

[00:01:33] A little bit later in the speech, the new president, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump, spoke about some of the opposition he faced on the way. Back to the White House. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin's bullet ripped through my ear.

[00:02:05] But I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Pena Dexter again. And Liberty McCarter is in the studio with me. And we have the privilege today of talking about what just happened.

[00:02:30] And Liberty, I know you and I were both watching as much of it as we could as we got ready for this broadcast today. But I liked and I played that specific bite out of the beginning of Donald Trump's speech because there's something sort of an aspiration that I have for this administration. And that that is that God would be sort of orchestrating and spearheading events that take place and that this could be a very momentous administration.

[00:02:59] Absolutely. I think there was certainly a tone of optimism and more so than the first time Trump took office. I think there is more optimism just nationally. And obviously, he's still unpopular with many Americans. But I think Americans are so ready for a change. A lot of people are very just excited or at least hopeful about some of the changes he promises to make. And I am praying like you for the administration.

[00:03:28] And I think as Christians, this is a time for us to be in prayer for the administration and to take advantage of an opportunity to really speak biblical truth and values back into the culture. I think we may be entering a time where people are more receptive to hearing that than they have been in the past. We are going to be joined a little bit later by Bill Federer, and he's a presidential historian. He's an historian and knows so much about American history. And he has also written a lot.

[00:03:56] And I think he has a new book about the presidents. So it will be fun to talk to him and get kind of his take as he as he looks at what happens here and maybe even just some information that we don't know, because he usually throws some of that in. I don't know if you know Bill Federer. So that will be fun a little bit later in the program.

[00:04:15] We're also going to bring in the sanctity of human life because I know it's important to so many of our listeners, because there's another big event going on in Washington, D.C. later in the week on Friday is the March for Life. So the new president of the March for Life will join us in today's program. It won't be all inauguration all the time. But it is a momentous opportunity, liberty, because I think – oh, and this is one thing I guess we could ask Bill Federer is about what George Washington said about the populace.

[00:04:45] And if you're going to have a constitutional government, it's only suited for people who have some sort of a moral sense. Yes. And sometimes, you know, you kind of wonder about the country. But do you think it's – do you think people are moving back in that direction? I think so, because I think people – you know, one of the terms that President Trump used in his inauguration speech was a revolution of common sense.

[00:05:09] And I think people are reacting against some of the progressive extremism that we've seen in recent years. And there is a draw back toward traditional values and family values and even the common sense of there being two sexes, male and female. And that was something President Trump mentioned as well. But here's where we have to take the lead as Christians is, you know, people are drawn to those biblical values, I think, because we are made in God's image.

[00:05:36] But if we move toward that devoid of the full truth of the Bible and the gospel and Jesus being the reason for that change, then it's going to be empty. And we're not going to see the true cultural reformation that we need to change. And that's where we can take the lead. I think we can. It was – there was another speech that the president made, actually the president-elect at that time. It was sort of a pre-inaugural speech. And this was one line out of it.

[00:06:03] But he said, and someday, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, 50 years from now, some of these young people are going to say, I remember Donald Trump. He did a good job. He sent us on his way. He sent us. He gave us a path. And so, you know, I thought, you know, a president just coming into office, of course, it's very unusual because he's had this four-year lapse in between. But he's coming in. He's thinking about what his impact is going to be on the next generation.

[00:06:33] And I share that sentiment. I'm very concerned about the next generation. And I am concerned about the things you and I were just discussing, that there's no real kind of moral compass in the country. And we need to get it back. And we do. We don't have a Christian consensus. But do you think we can get it back? Well, I think people are searching.

[00:06:56] And people who work with young adults that are in youth groups that I talk to or that I speak with on the Know Why podcast, they actually are very optimistic because they see the younger generation being curious about Jesus. At the same time, you have the younger generation and even young adults like millennials and my peers saying they don't believe in moral absolute truth anymore.

[00:07:17] And so that's where we can come in and answer their questions about Jesus, answer their questions about God and these traditional values that more people are looking at with curiosity. But then we also have to bring in the truth component and say, you know, if you are drawn to this, it's because it is the truth. Wow. Amen. Well, I think this is a time of opportunity.

[00:07:38] I hope that the listeners of Point of View and we at Point of View can take advantage of it and continue to bring truth to those who are listening to us and to help them to act in positive ways. And so, you know, I think that's what we'll be about. We hope that you will stick with us for the rest of today's show and always check in with Point of View and make sure that you are getting the truth. We'll talk a little bit later in the show.

[00:08:07] Next up, we're going to talk about kind of take a break from the inaugural festivities to talk about another march, the March for Life coming up at the end of the week. And today also, of course, Martin Luther King Day. So there's a lot going on. And if we have cognitive dissonance, you can't blame us. But we're going to move forward the best we can on today's program because a lot of you were probably watching and listening. But now we're going to try to make some sense out of it.

[00:08:37] And next up, we'll also talk about the March for Life. So stick with us. Liberty and I are here in the studio and we'll be back for more important Point of View. This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. Today, the U.S. is getting a new president. Soon, Canada will be getting a new prime minister.

[00:09:06] The new prime minister may be Pierre Paliyev. He was recently asked what steps he would take to fix the damages done from inflation. Here is his answer. He said, first and foremost, stop the overspending. Inflation, high taxes, deficits, high interest rates are all symptoms. The disease is overspending. When governments spend too much money, there's only three ways to get it. One is to raise your taxes. The other is to borrow, which means that they'll tax you more later on. And the third way is to print money.

[00:09:34] Now, printing money seems like a painless way to pay for things. He then explained, if you have 10 apples and $10 in the economy, it's a buck an apple. If you double the number of dollars in the economy to 20, you still have 10 apples. You're not twice as rich. It's just that each apple costs twice as much. And that is a tax on the working people because it chews up the purchasing power of your paycheck only to pay for government's excessive government spending.

[00:09:59] And it balloons the asset values of the billionaires so that it's a real transfer from the have-nots to those who have yachts. Inflation is the worst and most immoral tax. It always results from government creating cash. His answer was both clear and correct. When government spends more than it takes in, the usual answer is to print more money. It really isn't that complicated. We just need more people in leadership like him.

[00:10:24] We need more politicians who understand why we have inflation and can explain the problem to the citizens. I must applaud his clear explanation and common-sense solution. We need more Canadian and American leaders like him. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view. For a free booklet on a biblical view of genetic engineering, go to viewpoints.info slash genetic engineering.

[00:10:54] Viewpoints.info slash genetic engineering. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Welcome back to Point of View. I'm Penna Dexter. Liberty McCartner and I are here in the studio. Of course, it's Inauguration Day, but we also have this is just such an important week for so many things. One of those is that this Friday, Liberty, is the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

[00:11:23] Obviously very cold there because they took the inauguration ceremonies inside the Capitol. But usually the March for Life is young people, and they're probably, unless there's a blizzard or something, they're probably going to be out there on Friday in great numbers. And with us to discuss this is Jenny Lichter. She is the president of the March for Life. She's taking over that job from Jeannie Mancini.

[00:11:49] And, Jamie, thank you so much for, Jenny, thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for the invitation. I'm always happy to talk about the March. Well, we're glad that you're here. Liberty McCartner is also in studio. And what we're wondering, I guess, you know, first off is what led you to jump into the role as president of the March for Life? Great question.

[00:12:15] You know, looking back on the arc of my career, I can see with eyes opened by grace just the way that the Lord was leading me to this role over the course of many years. Although at the time, I didn't have any idea. So when I first moved to Washington 20 years ago, fresh out of college, my entry-level D.C. job was as a research assistant on pro-life and religious freedom policy at the Family Research Council, which is a big and well-established evangelical think tank here in Washington.

[00:12:43] So that was my first case of doing pro-life policy work and just getting sort of an up-close look at a lot of the tough and important issues that the pro-life movement was really grappling with. And then over the years since then, I went to law school. I had a chance to do some pro-life legal work in my various legal roles. I had the opportunity to work in the first Trump administration. As you said, today is a momentous day in our nation because of the inauguration of a new president, a new old president.

[00:13:10] I worked in the White House for a couple of years for President Trump, and I worked on pro-life policy, among other things. And in my most recent job, when I was a lawyer at Catholic University, I founded the university's pro-life project, which was really focused on supporting moms in the university community, whether they were unwed undergraduate mothers or married faculty members and everyone in between. So there's all these little pieces that led me to this point to taking on leadership of the March for Life.

[00:13:40] In addition to the fact that I'm a mom myself, I have three little kids, and just the wellness of mothers and of their babies is very, very close to my heart, both personally as well as professionally. Well, I love hearing your heart for life and for mothers, Jenny. This is Liberty. And I'm curious with your background, especially since you did serve under the first Trump administration, where do you see the nation headed when it comes to pro-life legislation?

[00:14:08] I know that pro-lifers were so happy with many of the things that happened under the first Trump administration. And many of us have been disappointed to see kind of what looks like a walk back from the GOP, from the pro-life issue. But how do you see it just with your background in D.C. and working with the Trump administration in the past? What does the future of life look like from your perspective?

[00:14:35] Well, I think the pro-life movement has a lot of reasons for optimism, actually, right now. And I think we've seen that on a few fronts. So after a tough couple of years after Dobbs, where we saw at the state level a number of losses, really a series of losses in state ballot initiatives, right, where the voters, sometimes even in seemingly pro-life states, were choosing to enshrine abortion in their constitutions or to reject pro-life protections.

[00:15:01] And that was tough to see, but I think probably not surprising in the wake of such a huge cultural and legal change that the Dobbs decision brought to our country. But we saw this past election day not only a rejection by the American people of Kamala Harris's just extreme and gruesome pro-abortion presidential campaign. She really ran on abortion. You know, she made she went all in and made it her core issue. And the American people said, no, thanks. You know, that's not what we want.

[00:15:28] Reelected a president who has a really strong record of governing as a pro-life president. And also saw we saw in that November election as well some great wins in states like Florida, where Governor DeSantis was a terrific pro-life hero in helping Florida voters kind of see through the noise and see through the lies that the pro-abortion lobby and the media had been had been perpetuating about what was on their ballot there. We saw a great pro-life victory in Florida.

[00:15:54] So I do think that we're starting to see the tide turn a little bit after those post-Dobbs convulsions as people were sort of working through what that meant and really seeing the American people start to realize, wait a minute, we're being asked to adopt this extreme no-limits pro-abortion agenda. And that's not who we are. That's not what we want. And I hope and I believe that President Trump will, you know, build on his strong pro-life policy record from his first administration

[00:16:20] and that we'll see some good wins put on the board for life at the federal level as well as continuing wins in the states going forward. So we have all this activity in the states, Jenny, and, you know, states like Texas, for instance, abortion is basically illegal.

[00:16:40] But the pro-life left has gotten around this issue by drastically increasing the number of medical abortions that are taking place and sometimes in ways that are illegal because of things being sent in across state lines. So, I mean, it's a huge issue right now.

[00:17:00] And I just want you to weigh in on, you know, what you're hopeful about with regard to this administration on that particular facet of abortion. I think you're exactly right that chemical abortions are one of the biggest challenges right now for the pro-life movement and for women. You know, setting aside the goals of protecting life, chemical abortions, unregulated, unfettered access to chemical abortions with no oversight by a doctor,

[00:17:27] it's so dangerous. It's just incredibly dangerous for women. And it just makes me so angry to see the way that American women have been lied to by doctors and by the left, that this is safe and easy, just take it at home, no problems, nothing to worry about. When we see over and over again in news reporting that women have been so badly harmed, physically harmed, this is even setting aside the mental and emotional harms, of course, but physically harmed by taking the abortion pill,

[00:17:53] my hope is that there will be some openness in the administration to recognizing that. You know, we have an unconventional nominee for the Health and Human Services Department secretary position, but he is a person, RFK Jr. is a person who seems open to hearing, to taking a close look at medical consensus and maybe just taking a bit of a skeptical eye to it and looking at how the American people, patients really are being harmed.

[00:18:20] So I hope that there will be some openness there to have a conversation about the harms of the chemical abortion regime and to put in place some parameters that will protect women much better than they've been protected in the last few years. Our guest is Jenny Bradley Lichter. She's the newly appointed president of March for Life. Jenny, tell us about what the March, what's planned for the March on Friday in D.C.? It's going to be such a great day this year.

[00:18:45] And it is going to be chilly, as you said at the top, but do not be afraid for anyone who's thinking of coming. It's going to warm up here quite a bit by the end of the week. We have a great lineup of speakers planned, some from the political realm. We're excited to be hosting Governor DeSantis, which will be terrific, as well as the first time in the history of the March for Life that the Speaker of the House of Representatives

[00:19:08] and the Senate Majority Leader will both be speaking at the March, which I think, again, is just a great sign of the strength, I think, of the pro-life movement right now. And then we have some terrific speakers sort of from the cultural side of the pro-life movement, headlined by a woman named Bethany Hamilton, who is a professional surfer and a mom. She's famous for having survived a shark attack as a teenager. I don't know if that rings a bell at all. But she's going to come, and we have gotten just so much excitement from young people.

[00:19:37] As you said, the March for Life is really majority young people, which is awesome, and which is part of what makes it such an incredibly energetic day. The young people in particular have just given us so much great feedback about how excited they are about Bethany Hamilton. There will be some great music. And, of course, just the crowd itself, I think, is always one of the highlights of the March for Life. It's such a unifying day for the movement. And I, as someone who's been marching since, well, for about 24 years now since I was a teenager,

[00:20:02] I always come away from the March for Life feeling reinvigorated and rejuvenated and recommitted to the pro-life cause. And how could you not, after being surrounded by 50,000 or more other pro-life people who are standing up for life, even when it's cold outside on that day in Washington, D.C., and just taking a lot of courage and conviction from each other while we're also witnessing to the nation that, you know, the pro-life movement is still here, and we've been marching for life every year for over 50 years, and there's no other movement in the world who can say that.

[00:20:32] So it's a really powerful, powerful day, and I hope, I know that anyone who comes and joins us on Friday will come away just with a whole new level of energy and enthusiasm and commitment to the cause of life. Well, Jenny, it's been great talking to you. In just a few seconds that we have left, give us just a word of hope that you have for the pro-life movement in the next generation. Well, like I said, I see so many reasons for hope, and really chief among them is that we know we're fighting for a truly righteous cause,

[00:21:03] and I think we can take a lot of peace and confidence from that. We know that Christ has won the victory and that the cause of life wins in the end, and with the young people who show up at the March for Life year after year leading the way, life will win in the United States. You know, we just need to kind of get ourselves there. That's a very good word to end the segment on. Thank you so much for joining us, Jenny. We'll have you back, and congratulations on your new role as president of the March for Life.

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[00:22:00] Spurgeon stood against him, warning of socialism's dangers. Spurgeon understood Christianity is not just religious truth. It is truth for all of life. Where do you find men with that kind of wisdom to stand against darkness today? Get the light you need on today's most pressing issues delivered to your inbox when you sign up for the Viewpoints commentary at pointofview.net slash signup.

[00:22:27] Every weekday in less than two minutes, you'll learn how to be a person of light to stand against darkness in our time. It's free, so visit pointofview.net slash signup right now. Pointofview.net slash signup. Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:57] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again is Panna Dexter. Welcome back to Point of View. Liberty McGarter is in the studio with me, and both of us watched the festivities today in Washington, D.C., the inauguration, and I thought it was interesting.

[00:23:28] Well, one of the things I really, Liberty, love to watch is the clothes that the First Ladies wear. And so, you know, Jill Biden, they had the tea at the White House. That was the first time that I saw them. And she had this really bright royal blue coat with probably a matching dress underneath. It's so cold that they have to get those kinds of coat outfits. And then Melania comes out, and she was so dignified.

[00:23:56] Her outfit was so down to business, I thought. And then she had this hat that, I mean, I couldn't even see her eyes. But it did kind of probably help her in that, you know, horrible cold weather there. And Jill Biden actually looked very cold. I mean, she just looked cold. And I know what happens to you. Your face kind of gets red. And so there they were. But it was fun to see their outfits.

[00:24:23] And then later at the inauguration, the whole Trump family, as they all came in, of course, each one of them was just elegantly dressed in suits and different things for the cool weather. And that was fun to watch. But I think the main thing I took away from it was this first lady is coming in. And this president, who looked very serious, President Trump looked very serious the whole time because he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

[00:24:52] And he's back in the office. And there's so much to be done in the country, probably more definitive actions that he can take this time. And, you know, some of it will be done today. And we may be able to report on some of it before the end of the program today. But what did you feel about that? Did you, you know, you can mention the clothes.

[00:25:16] But did you see sort of a change in Trump from last time? You know, I did. And I hadn't really put my finger on it until you articulated it. But I do think there was a gravity about the ceremony. But not, you know, in the, because I read his 2017 inaugural address just to kind of compare. There were a lot of similar themes, putting America first, things like that.

[00:25:46] But I feel like it was a bit darker. So the tone for this ceremony, the festivities today that I've seen so far were very hopeful and optimistic. And there, it's a bigger tent now, too. I think you have more people than last time feeling optimism about the future of the nation. But there was also just a gravity and a decorum that we saw from Trump, which we don't always see. But it was very appropriate.

[00:26:12] And then speaking, you know, in terms of fashion, I do think we need to come back with nice stately hats. We need to see more hats in society. So maybe Melania can bring that back. I really did enjoy your hat today. Well, the other hat was Ivanka Trump's hat, which was a small. Well, of course, Melania's had this big brim. And it was funny because when Trump came into the rotunda and was ready to stand by Melania, you know, waiting to go up to take the oath of office,

[00:26:40] he tried to kiss her on the cheek and she put her cheek out there for it. But he couldn't get to it because the brim of a hat was so wide. I actually saw a headline I was watching and the Wall Street Journal says, you know, Melania's hat blocks Trump. You know, maybe we needed more hats during COVID if we didn't want people to get too close. Yeah, we wouldn't have need masks. Wear a hat and look beautiful and more stylish.

[00:27:04] Well, you know, there may be, I see in the future of fashion, probably a lot of hats out there for us to, I don't like to wear hats, but they are beautiful. Yeah, you know, it's a look, it's a look. But yeah, I definitely thought there was just kind of a sense of optimism, a lot of energy in the crowd that was able to watch from the rotunda of the Capitol inside.

[00:27:32] And just, you know, still the themes of America first and addressing some of the problems that the nation has faced. But just very hopeful, you know, a serious but hopeful tone, I thought, from the address. I thought so, too. Going back to the actual swearing in, of course, the first one sworn in was the Vice President, J.D. Vance. And Justice Kavanaugh did that one.

[00:28:00] And Justice Roberts swore Trump in. And Usha, the wife of J.D. Vance, is holding their daughter. Yes, I thought that was very sweet. It was sweet. And did you notice that she had three Band-Aids on three fingers? You know. And they were those kind of Band-Aids that aren't skin colored. They're the kind that I have at home for my grandkids with all kinds of, I don't know, maybe princesses. There's some Disney princess Band-Aids. I did. You know what? I don't know if that was intentional or not. It makes you think. I have little ones.

[00:28:31] Yep, that's, you know, that's the parent life right there when you've got toddlers. And so I think that that might be, you know, very relatable for a lot of people. And it's encouraging to see, you know, a young family and younger members of the family included. Hopefully that's a sign of things going forward of, you know, promoting families and celebrating children in our culture.

[00:28:52] Well, in the break, you and I were talking about, you know, the population dearth and of growth and all of that and the need to encourage marriage and child rearing. And J.D. Vance is very much about that. So that is encouraging to think about it. There are policies that you can propose. Europe, European countries have tried to do some of them. Japan has tried.

[00:29:17] Maybe we can be a little bit more creative about it and do some things that might actually work in the United States. And I'm hoping so. Yes, I would love to see that. And I think that's part of the pro-life movement and future as well. You know, we were talking about the March for Life in the last segment. But we really, if we want to be pro-life, then that means celebrating the whole family, you know, bringing children into the world, giving them life,

[00:29:43] but then celebrating all members of the family for the rest of their lives. And so, you know, we need to be seeing more children in the public eye. We need to be seeing young families celebrated. Usha is also a very successful woman, too. And I love seeing women who are in the spotlight and have these positions to also be seen as mothers and still celebrating their family life as well.

[00:30:08] And like you said when we were talking, you know, that is an area where the church needs to lead. We have to be the leaders in celebrating marriage and family and children and the beautiful thing that that is. And hopefully that we'll see more of that in our culture. Yes, that I would say that is a definite prayer point for us. And we can talk a lot about that over the coming months here on Point of View. There's plenty of great people that can join us.

[00:30:37] So the speech, you know, he started with the Golden Age of America begins right now. And thank you so much, Megan, for getting those sound bites. And he said, my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. And then he kind of went into some some changes he's going to make right away. Things that may happen today. And we'll look during the top of the hour break to see, you know, if there are any.

[00:31:05] Has there been business transacted yet? I think there's some kind of a lunch they have after everything. And then we'll see. But he did say one of the things he'll do is change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. He said he'd take back the Panama Canal. He said he would plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars. I mean, there's a lot there. Very ambitious. Yes.

[00:31:31] I you know, there were some things that like that that I thought, wow, OK. Hey, I'll be interested to see, you know, how that pans out. There were there were a lot of, you know, but Trump has he's always been very grandiose in the promises that he makes.

[00:31:47] But I do I do think it's interesting that a lot of the actions that, you know, I think he'll start taking today with regards to, you know, immigration, even the what he said about, you know, the United States government declaring that there are only two genders. There's these are things that are actually supported by the majority of Americans. And there was yesterday or the day before a story from The New York Times on how 87 percent of Americans support those policies.

[00:32:17] They're very divided on Trump himself. He's, you know, about half and half in terms of, you know, people who approve of him and his popularity. But I think you're seeing more people say, well, OK, I don't really like Trump, but I do see that we need more common sense. You know, we need something somebody to deal with immigration. We need to see, you know, children stop being harmed because of this, you know, progressive ideology when it comes to transgenderism. So those are some of the things he touched on as well.

[00:32:46] And he knew that he was going to get support from those. Yes. And I think also on the green agenda, there are some areas where he's going to make some changes from what President Biden did. Some of these things were done by executive order so they can be very easily and quickly switched back. Other things are going to have to be done by Congress.

[00:33:06] But I think our economy stands to gain if the EV mandate, the electrical vehicle mandate and the Green New Deal are deemphasized under this administration. It'll probably make a huge difference. And plus, he also used the terms drill, baby drill. So, you know, I think just just by virtue of those areas. So Americans won't be forced into expensive agendas for their homes and their cars will be great.

[00:33:35] Well, ladies and gentlemen, next up, Bill Federer is going to join us. He's a presidential historian. So we can get his take on this special inauguration day. Stay with us. You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth. Well, I previewed Bill Federer.

[00:34:04] He'll be on at the top of the hour. We've got another segment before that. And I'm glad because we have a lot to still discuss before we bring our guests in. Liberty McArthur is with me in the studio. I'm Penna Dexter. And one thing. Well, there were like three glitches that I saw today. One had to do with moving the festivities inside. Of course, it had to shrink down who was allowed in the rotunda.

[00:34:33] There were about 800 in there. And then it looked very crowded. And then there was some overflow. So that was another, I think about 1,500 people actually got to kind of partake. And that was less than it would have been if it was outside. I remember 20 years ago when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated for his second term. My parents got to go to D.C. for that. And it was the same thing in 1985. It was freezing cold. And they ended up moving inside.

[00:35:02] And I remember my mom being disappointed that it couldn't be on the steps. And I said, but, Mom, you would have been freezing. She goes, no, I don't mind the cold. I would have loved to be out there on the steps. But they did enjoy their time there and going to a couple of the balls, the inaugural balls and things like that. And a lot of that is tonight. So that will be fun. But one of the glitches, though, having to do with that was the half-staff piece of the whole event.

[00:35:31] Because flags were at half-staff because of the death of former President Jimmy Carter. But there was this desire on the part of the Trump people and Trump himself to celebrate a new president, to have the flags at full-staff. Well, they weren't at full-staff at the White House. And I remember some of the news surrounding it saying, well, it will be when they get to the Capitol. This is the White House. Biden's probably not going to raise them up. But they weren't.

[00:36:00] They were at half-staff because it was so cold they couldn't. I guess the cords were frozen and they couldn't raise the flags. Crazy, huh? Yeah, just historic cold. You know, when I was looking at some of the weather from past inauguration ceremonies, which is just interesting, it looks like President Reagan's first inaugural ceremony was the hottest on record in recent history. And his second was the coldest on record in recent history until today. So just a little fun tidbit. That is fun.

[00:36:30] I wonder if that says anything. Secondly, a second glitch that I saw was it was the actual swearing-in of the president. And, you know, the family – well, I knew that Melania would be there. I didn't know if the whole family would like J.D. Vance's family was because there's a lot of Trump family there. And so it was Melania. But then they all started kind of coming up. But it was already started. Justice Roberts had already started the actual swearing-in.

[00:36:58] And they were just kind of gathering up at the front. So I'm sure that was – there was some kind of a miscue there. They weren't all there. But – and also that Trump didn't totally – I guess he didn't get his hand on the Bible. And I don't know if it had to do with the confusion or what. Let's hope so. Let's hope so. Let's hope that's all it was. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, you've got a big event like that. And then details switched at the last minute. Everybody moved around.

[00:37:23] So watching – there were certainly a few things where you kind of saw people look around like, wait, who's moving now? You know, where am I going? All in all, you know, I think it was good. But saw some of those moments. And as somebody who's, you know, worked in events and everything in the past, you certainly sympathize with the people who are supposed to be giving the cues. That's a lot of pressure for, you know, to be trying to make the inaugurational festivities flow smoothly.

[00:37:51] So you can imagine maybe some of the stress that they were under. Yes. And talk about stress. Carrie Underwood, who was, you know, very widely anticipated for she was going to sing America the Beautiful. And the audio for the music didn't come and didn't come and didn't come. And she just – I think it was her decision. I'm not sure. But she took the bull by the horns and started singing a cappella and asked everyone to join her. Yeah. And the whole room was singing America the Beautiful.

[00:38:19] And it was beautiful. I thought that was actually so cool. Well, obviously, she's such a pro. And I saw some footage after from a different angle than I had been watching live where I think somebody came up to her, which it was obvious at that point. It had been several seconds like, okay, there's some tech issue here. And somebody kind of popped over, popped their head up to tell her something. And she mouths, I can just sing it. And then she just says, okay, people, you know, if you know the words, join in.

[00:38:49] And she just starts belting it out a cappella. So the show must go on. She did a great job. And then behind her were all the former presidents. And that was kind of a cool shot from the vantage point that I was watching because you have this group of, you know, past Democratic and Republican lawmakers. And they're all singing America the Beautiful and led by Carrie Underwood. It was kind of a cool, cool moment. That is, you know, they're all Americans.

[00:39:15] As divided as we are, as different our stances are on the issues, that is a time when people come together. And, I mean, I was thinking, you know, at the very beginning of the morning when they did a tea at the White House and the current president at that time was to welcome, he and his wife, and welcome the new president. And, you know, how do they do that graciously? Also the vice president who just lost the race too.

[00:39:44] So, but they, and then they ride over together to the Capitol and all of those things had to happen. And, you know, we're always, we're always being admonished that we're too, we're too partisan now. I don't see how you can not be partisan when the positions on the issues are so widely divergent. I don't think you can, but you still can be a gracious and exhibit that's a human being, whether you agree on any issue or not. Right.

[00:40:13] It's a human being and should be treated accordingly. Yes. And, you know, I do enjoy Inauguration Day and watching the ceremony every year or every time it happens, regardless of who wins, just because it's a reminder that we are so blessed in the United States to have that peaceful transfer of power. And I had seen a new segment, a senator was speaking a few hours beforehand, just saying it's a miracle, really,

[00:40:38] that in our long history as a nation, short compared to many, you know, around the world, but in our history, that we have had this every four years, this peaceful transition. And yes, you have the previous president and the incoming president in those moments, and you see them, you know, waving them off, sending them off on Air Force One one last time and just kind of those traditions.

[00:41:03] But I think that that matters because it does show that we can come together and have that civility when it matters. And that should be that should be an encouragement and an admonition for the rest of us. Yes, I think so, too. And wow, I agree with you. I really enjoy sort of the pomp and a ceremony. And, you know, everybody's got to be on their best behavior then. And so, you know, that's good.

[00:41:30] I wanted to mention one other issue in the speech before we go to our top of the hour break. And that was the COVID mandate and the effect it had, especially on the military. And it was I did not know President Trump was going to say reinstate all military expelled because of the COVID vaccine mandate. But he did. He said that and he said they would receive full back pay.

[00:41:58] Now, Congress probably has to approve this. But that's what he's standing for doing. I think that is that's huge. And the fact that he is all about strengthening our military. He's not one that wants to be involved in wars. But I think he understands that it's important to have a strong military. In fact, that's probably how you avoid getting involved in wars sometimes. Yeah.

[00:42:26] And we've heard from from Kelly over the last four years just the religious liberty battles that have caused, you know, so many of those military members to have to quit their jobs or to be forced out. And so you need encouragement in the military right now. And hopefully that's just the start of it. A very special day.

[00:42:46] And Trump said sort of near the end of his speech, our triumph over challenges is going to be what he's emphasizing. And we are one glorious nation under God. I will fight and win for you. I think he is all about fighting and winning for us. We're wishing him and hoping for him and praying for him the very best.

[00:43:11] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority. They say men can be women and women men. People are prosecuted differently or not at all depending on their politics. Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens. It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing. You feel like giving up. But we can't. We shouldn't. We must not.

[00:43:38] As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II, never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. And that's what we say to you today. This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join Point of View in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:44:03] We can't do it alone, but together, with God's help, we will overcome the darkness. Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. Pointofview.net and 800-347-5151. Point of View will continue after this.