Trump Targets Trans People

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amanpour – "Trump Targets Trans People"

Host: Bianna Golodryga (CNN Podcasts, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour)
Date: December 19, 2025

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Main Theme

This episode examines the political and legal targeting of transgender Americans following Donald Trump’s return to office, exploring the impact on trans communities and the broader implications for civil rights. It continues with a rich conversation with art duo Gilbert and George on their creative philosophy and personal history, and concludes with an analysis of the growth of Christian nationalism and its implications for American democracy and antisemitism.

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Section 1: Trump’s Policies and the Targeting of Transgender Americans

Guest: Chase Strangio, Activist and Lawyer

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Scope and Motivation for Anti-Trans Policies (03:03)

  • Trans people are a small, disproportionately targeted population.
  • Trump’s administration uses trans issues to consolidate executive power, expand regressive gender norms, and distract from socioeconomic failures.
  • Targeting trans rights is viewed as an initial step towards undermining bodily autonomy and the rights of all people.
  • Chase Strangio: “We really are the canaries in a coal mine for an unchecked executive that is seeking to erode civil rights for everyone.” [03:18]

• Trans Identity and Misinformation (04:32)

  • Strangio explains trans people as those whose gender differs from their assigned sex at birth.
  • Mass misinformation distorts public perception, particularly concerning youth medical care and sports participation.
  • The narrative weaponizes fear, though trans people’s actual impact on others is minimal.
  • Chase Strangio: “We are just people going about our lives, and … us existing in our bodies … does not affect other people.” [05:34]

• Impact of Federal Executive Actions (06:00, 07:09)

  • Trump’s executive order declares “there are only two genders, male and female.”
  • Material consequences include denial of health care, increase in mental health crises, and legal identification mismatches.
  • These policies invade personal autonomy and lay groundwork for broader rollbacks, e.g., birth control access or family formation.
  • Chase Strangio: “When the President forces people to carry identification that does not match who we are, there are material consequences to that.” [07:19]

• Visibility vs. Protection (09:10)

  • Hypervisibility of trans individuals, especially without legal protection, can be a trap—making the community a political target.
  • Strangio cites Representative Sarah McBride’s observation that Republicans “think about transgender people more than transgender people think about transgender people.”
  • Calls for real material support: access to healthcare, housing, and jobs—needs common to everyone.
  • Chase Strangio: “Visibility is not providing the material support you need for survival, and in fact, it’s eroding your survival opportunities.” [09:34]

• Disinformation and the Art of Persuasion (10:51)

  • Strangio disagrees that the trans rights movement has “lost the art of persuasion,” citing instead an unprecedented wave of toxic misinformation.
  • Reaffirms the need for dialogue based on empathy and common humanity.
  • Chase Strangio: “We have to return to a time of care, empathy, and just basic respect for our fellow human beings.” [11:08]

• Trans Athletes and Political Rhetoric (11:51, 12:16)

  • Rhetoric overstates the presence and impact of trans athletes (NCAA data: fewer than 10 out of 510,000 athletes are trans).
  • Legislative attacks far outstrip actual numbers, demonstrating fearmongering rather than fact-based policy.
  • Chase Strangio: “In some states, there are more bills targeting trans athletes than there are trans athletes.” [12:50]

• Message to Trans Youth (13:50)

  • Empathetic encouragement to trans youth: “You are a beautiful and important part of the American promise.”
  • Stresses resilience and the importance of community support during challenging times.
  • Chase Strangio: “We want them to see Representative McBride and know that they, too, have the possibility to become a member of Congress.” [14:11]

• Navigating Constructive Conversation and Backlash (15:25)

  • Ban on trans military service and limits in sports are strategic weaponizations.
  • Emphasis on telling the truthful history and balancing fairness with inclusion—without categorical bans.
  • Discrimination should not be advanced under the guise of fairness in sports or public spaces.

• Trans Military Ban and Its Impact (16:42)

  • Trump’s executive order bans all trans people from military service, painting their existence as “incompatible with an honorable life.”
  • Harmful both in substance and rhetoric, excluding many from service benefits and denying their dignity.
  • Chase Strangio: “The order claimed that transgender existence is inherently incompatible with an honorable life of service.” [17:23]

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Notable Quotes

• “We are being sold a story of transgender people as a group to fear when the reality is that we are a group that is almost nowhere impacting other people's lives and we're just trying to live our own lives.”
  — Chase Strangio [00:08, 12:16]

• “Trans people are people who live as a sex different than the one that we were assigned at birth.”
  — Chase Strangio [04:32]

• “Visibility is not providing the material support you need for survival, and in fact, it’s eroding your survival opportunities.”
  — Chase Strangio [09:34]

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Section 2: Artistic Expression, Identity, and Eccentricity

Guests: Gilbert and George (Artists)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Art as Partnership and Identity (20:21)

  • Gilbert and George create as a single artistic entity, emphasizing their synergy: “What George doesn’t do, I do. And what I don’t want to do, George does.” [20:40]
  • Their new exhibition, “Paradisical,” explores themes of paradise for both believers and non-believers, respecting both the hereafter and the here-and-now.

• Role of Art in Free Societies (23:57)

  • Channel cultural power: “The Western world … was created through culture, not through the policeman … The music, the painting, the art … created a safe and free world.” [23:57]
  • Strive for “art for all”: free exhibitions and art that resonates with life, death, hope, and fear.

• Personal and Social Eccentricity (29:05, 30:29)

  • Openly conservative in political stance, choosing to be both “weird and normal at the same time.”
  • Reject traditional “weird” artist stereotypes while also refusing to blend in completely.

• Art Engaged with the Local (31:12)

  • Derive inspiration from London's East End, Spitalfields: “Spitalfields is the center of the world … all the cultures … end up here.” [31:23]

• Living Sculpture and Partnership (33:59, 34:07)

  • Life and art merged: walking the streets, being the art, and building a personal and professional partnership.
  • Their relationship and collaboration began in the late 1960s, as homosexuality was being decriminalized in Britain.

• Accessibility and Provocation (27:04, 37:17)

  • Art should be accessible to all, including marginalized people (“the drug addict, whatever”).
  • Willing to use provocative language and imagery to confront uncomfortable realities (e.g., “Date Rape” piece).

Memorable Moments

• “We wanted art that would address anyone wherever they lived in the world.” — Gilbert [25:24]
• “We are living sculptures which could be somewhat egotistical. Or it could be this unbelievable dynamic … you are depicted.” — Interviewer [23:34]
• “But to be weird and normal at the same time is a good balance, we think.” — Gilbert [30:29]

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Section 3: Christian Nationalism, Republican Politics, and Antisemitism

Guest: Tom Jelten, Reporter (interviewed by Michelle Martin)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Evolution of the Christian Right (40:00)

  • From policy issue-focused moral majority to a nationalist, power-centric Christian Right.
  • New Christian nationalists seek overt Christian control at all governmental levels.

• Perception of Persecution and Siege Mentality (41:44)

  • Many adherents feel beleaguered and under siege, shifting from seeing themselves as a “moral majority” to an embattled minority.
  • This siege mentality leads to uncompromising, exclusionary attitudes.

• Rise of Open Antisemitism (44:59, 45:31)

  • Originally the movement included Jewish nationalists, but Christian nationalist emphasis has grown more exclusive.
  • Openly antisemitic rhetoric is increasing among some pastors and key figures.
  • Tom Jelten: "That alliance has now really eroded." [46:59]

• Shift from Philosemitism to Supersessionism (47:46)

  • Historically, evangelical Christians supported Israel and viewed Jews as biblically significant.
  • Now, Christian nationalists insist Christianity has superseded Judaism, erasing the idea of Jewish “chosenness,” and “public space should be exclusively Christian.” [51:55]

• Threat to American Ideals (52:45)

  • There’s a departure from the “creedal” idea of American identity towards an ethno-nationalist stance—espoused by figures like J.D. Vance.
  • This shift challenges foundational democratic principles around inclusion, equality, and citizenship based on shared values rather than bloodline.
  • Tom Jelten: “This is a really, really a fundamental change … that kind of calls into question a lot of democratic principles.” [53:05]

Notable Quotes

• “Christian nationalists … believe that America was founded as a Christian nation and should be a Christian nation. And so there is sort of less interest in reaching out to non-Christians.”
  — Tom Jelten [00:46, 43:30]
• “Public space should be exclusively Christian.” — From Stephen Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism, quoted by Tom Jelten [51:55]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Framing: 00:04–01:53
• Chase Strangio Interview (Trans Rights): 03:03–18:24
• Gilbert and George (Art & Identity): 20:18–38:02
• Tom Jelten (Christian Nationalism): 39:37–53:33

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Overall Tone

The episode blends urgency and empathy regarding trans rights, an engaging and whimsical discussion on art and life with Gilbert and George, and serious, analytical reflection on the threats posed by rising Christian nationalism and antisemitism. The speakers maintain frankness and clarity throughout, with moments of personal vulnerability and celebration of resilience.

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Summary prepared for listeners seeking an in-depth understanding of the episode’s key content and arguments.

Transcript

[Bianna Golodryga]

Hello everyone and welcome to Amanpour. Here's what's coming up.

[Chase Strangio]

We are being sold a story of transgender people as a group to fear when the reality is is that we are a group that is almost nowhere impacting other people's lives and we're just trying to live our own lives.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Trump targets trans people. I speak to activist Chase Strangio about pushing back against the President.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Then we're trying to explain, express ourselves as human beings like everybody else. We don't want to be different, but the journey is ours.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Partners in art and in life, the inimitable Gilbert and George give us an up close look at their weird and wonderful world.

[Tom Jelten]

Plus, they believe that America was founded as a Christian nation and should be a Christian nation. And so there is sort of less interest in reaching out to, to non.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Christians, anti Semitism, Christian nationalism and the Republican party. Reporter Tom Jelten tells Michelle Martin about this dangerous intersection of religion and politics. Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodriga in New York, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour. Donald Trump came back into office nearly a year ago determined to change the face of America, undoing a slew of Biden's policies and approaches to issues including trans rights. The US President has made no secret of his lack of sympathy for trans people, vilifying the small population and calling into question their very existence.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Transgender for all is a great, great.

[Tom Jelten]

Thing for the Democrats to be talking about.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Transgender for every member in your family.

[Tom Jelten]

If they're not feeling well that night, let's just change their sex.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Many red states are following suit, passing more and more anti trans bills, attempting to restrict their legal and medical rights. LGBTQ activists and allies are deeply concerned about a White House so laser focused on targeting this group, especially, especially given trans people, particularly trans youth, are at heightened risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts. Chase Strangio is a well known lawyer and activist, the first openly trans person to argue in the Supreme Court. And he joins me now from New York. Chase, thank you for taking the time to join us. As I mentioned there in that introduction, trans people make up such a small share of the population, yet they're facing hundreds of of targeted bills nationwide. Why have trans people and this issue become such a central political and legal battleground in your view?

[Chase Strangio]

Well, I think you're absolutely right to highlight the fact that we are such an unbelievably small population that has been the subject of an outsized fixation by every branch of the federal government now as well as state governments. And I think the reason for that is twofold. The first is that what we see is. Is an effort, particularly from the Trump administration, to use this fixation on trans people and the sense that trans people don't have allies outside our community to try to expand their own power and authority, that we really are the canaries in a coal mine for an unchecked executive that is seeking to erode civil rights for everyone. And then I think the second reason is because there is a lot of misunderstanding about who trans people are, and we're seen as a population that is easy to target as a way to try to reinforce regressive gender norms for everyone. We're living in a time when we're seeing efforts to roll back bodily autonomy for all women to try to entrench gender roles that look more like the 1950s than 2025. And targeting trans people is an entry point for that type of overall regressive enforcement of gender roles writ large.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And you just noted that there seems to be a lack of understanding, confusion about who exactly trans people are. If you were to be asked that question now and asked to explain who trans people are to our audiences, what is your response?

[Chase Strangio]

I mean, quite. You know, sort of simply, trans people are people who live as a sex different than the one that we were assigned at birth. And I think when we talk about what it means to be trans in this country, the most important thing for people to understand is that they have been fed a very large amount of misinformation about our community, whether it's about the way in which transgender young people access medical care. That is a very small percentage, even within the small percentage of transgender people. And that care is being consented to by their parents and recommended by doctors. Whether it's about participation in sports, we're talking about an exceedingly small number of people who ever participate in sports, and yet we're seeing hundreds of millions of dollars in ad spending making people scared of trans people. So, really, I think what people need to understand is that we are just people going about our lives, and that actually us existing in our bodies, us going to school, us going to our jobs, does not affect other people, but we are being targeted so that people are driven by fear, so that they get in line with this larger project that we're seeing from the federal government in particular, to erode our rights across the board.

[Bianna Golodryga]

I want to play a moment from President Trump's inaugural address as he speaks to this issue. Let's play it for our viewers.

[Tom Jelten]

As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And on his first day in office, he signed an executive order to that effect. What do you think is driving this focus from the commander in Chief on down?

[Chase Strangio]

I really think it's an effort to use fear to distract people from the realities of a presidency that is enhancing the wealth and power of billionaires, that is making the cost of living more expensive in this country, that is increasing the price of everyone's health care, that is making people less safe, less secure, and less free. And what the President is doing and what this administration is doing is using the maligning of transgender people as both a distraction and an opportunity to expand his power to continue to make this country less hospitable for everyone.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And how does that impact your day to day life when the government essentially is mandating your gender choice?

[Chase Strangio]

I mean, first, for transgender people, there are serious material consequences to what the President is doing. The President is coercing hospitals, coercing states to try to cut off healthcare that people need. There is a serious consequence to that. People's anxiety, depression, and risk of suicidal ideation increases when the President forces people to carry identification that does not match who we are. There are material consequences to that. So all of these policies have serious impacts for the transgender community. And I think it's very important that people realize these policies have serious impacts for you too, because what we're doing is ceding to our government the ability to control our choices, to erode our bodily autonomy, to make it easier to have restrictions on access to birth control, to have restrictions on how we inhabit our bodies and the choices we make in terms of family formation and otherwise. And so this is, of course, a targeting of transgender people with impacts far beyond the transgender community, who again, represent an exceedingly small population.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And yet it's a population that, for, I would say, noble reasons, many in the progressive movement over the last few decades have really shone a light on and really tried to integrate into the society and into more everyday conversations. And you say, though, that visibility without protection can be a trap. Just talk us through that. And how what many described as identity politics became sort of a negative for Democrats going into the last election. And where that leaves the trans community, given all of the attention that they've received without any of the legal rights that you say, makes you feel as if you're placed in a very unstable and unsafe reality.

[Chase Strangio]

Well, so I would point first to remarks made by Representative Sarah McBride after the House passed a felony ban on medical care for transgender adolescents. And what Representative McBride said is that the Republican Party is seemingly fixated on transgender people. They think about transgender people more than transgender people think about transgender people. And so what that means is that when you're hypervisible, particularly when that hypervisibility is being used to weaponize your existence and make you a target, that visibility is not providing the material support you need for survival, and in fact, it's eroding your survival opportunities. So we need far more than visibility. We don't want to just have support in name or sort of hyper visible moments. What we really need is for this country to ensure that everyone, transgender people and not, are able to have access to healthcare, to housing, to safe job opportunities. And that's something that I think everyone is concerned about. As we enter the holiday season, we want people to be able to care for their families, to have an opportunity to rest with their families and not worry about their healthcare premiums going into the new year. That is something that transgender people also care. So it's not about us being visible. It's us being included in the basic promise of this country and being respected and treated like the human beings that we are.

[Bianna Golodryga]

You mentioned Democratic Representative Sara McBride. She also said the movement has lost the art of persuasion as disinformation has surged. Would you agree with that Take?

[Chase Strangio]

I don't agree necessarily that the movement has lost the art of persuasion. I think we're living in a moment of incredible misinformation, toxic discourse online and in our communities across the board, not just when it comes to how we think and talk about transgender people and our rights. I think in general, we have to return to a time of care, empathy, and just basic respect for our fellow human beings. And so I think my experience within advocacy for transgender people is that every time we enter a space, we're met with efforts to categorically ban us, whether it's from the restroom, from the sports team, from accessing our medical treatment. So ultimately, this is a project that we all need to be a part of to ensure that everyone is able to access the basic goods that they need to survive. And the persuasion aspect of that is returning to a point when we see our common humanity and we've heard enormous.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Political rhetoric, advertisements made. The president has spoken about this, but not just the president, a number of politicians about trans athletes in particular. Yet NCAA data shows that fewer than 10 of 510,000 athletes are transgender. What does that gap between reality and rhetoric tell you about how this issue is being used politically?

[Chase Strangio]

I Think what this tells us is that we are being sold a story of transgender people as a group to fear, when the reality is, is that we are a group that is almost nowhere impacting other people's lives, and we're just trying to live our own lives. There are fewer than 10 NCAA athletes and yet are transgender, and yet we see hundreds of millions of dollars targeting transgender people, making people afraid of trans participation in sports. And the reality is that in some states, there are more bills targeting trans athletes than there are trans athletes. That is a huge gap between the story we're being told and the reality on the ground. And a similar story is true with respect to access to medical care for transgender people. You have about 2,000 young people receiving puberty blockers in this country to treat gender dysphoria, and yet you have this sense, this outsized fixation of a problem that is really about families making decisions, informed decisions for their children, parents who know their children best. So I think what we're seeing, if you take a step back and look at the facts, is that we are being sold a set of lies about the trans community with a huge amount of money being put into those lies, and that is impacting what people experience of trans life when really we're just a small population trying to survive.

[Bianna Golodryga]

So what do you say, then, to members of the trans community, especially younger members, who are witnessing all of this and experiencing it firsthand?

[Chase Strangio]

You know, I think that when I talk to trans young people, it's so painful because what they're experiencing is a country that's telling them that they don't belong. But the message that I want to tell those young people and that I want others to join me in telling those young people is that they are a beautiful and important part of the American promise that we are going to fight for them because we want them to survive into adulthood. We want them to contribute to our legal profession, to our medical profession. We want them to see Representative McBride and know that they, too, have the possibility to become a member of Congress. And so that is what we want to be telling transgender young people, that we believe in them and that this is just a moment of fear mongering and scapegoating. And we will get to the other side.

[Bianna Golodryga]

We mentioned the politics of this. As, you know, a lot of concern, you know, has stemmed mostly from the Republican Party, but there are even members of the Democratic Party that have said, perhaps the country, the party, went too far, and in a sense, conversations about who should be allowed to play what sports and Identifying, identifying bathrooms doesn't help ultimately the trans community right now, and it didn't help the Democratic Party either. How do you go about. And how do you suggest that constructive conversations and maybe even debates around this matter are acceptable while also drawing guardrails and limitations about how far they can go?

[Chase Strangio]

Well, I think we have to be accurate in the stories that we tell, in the history that we tell, because what happened in this country over the last 15 years is that as soon as the Supreme Court allowed marriage equality to be the law of the land, the next step for our opponents was to target our efforts to pass non discrimination legislation. And as soon as we, as the LGBT movement, tried to ensure that we could be protected in housing and in our workplaces, our opponents weaponized our existence to make people afraid of us by using the bathroom and the sports team to erode basic civil rights protections. And so we have to understand that this is a strategic, strategic ploy to make people afraid and that we are not pushing this narrative of sports or restrooms as an effort to try to alienate others. We are trying to ensure that people can go to work without being fired, that they can rent an apartment without being kicked out of that apartment. And so as we move forward, we have to tell a truthful story about how we got to where we are, and we can have conversations about what it looks like to ensure that we can balance fairness and equality in sports. But the answer to that question is not categorically banning young people from participating in sports with their friends.

[Bianna Golodryga]

We should note, you argued U. S V. Scormetti. The Supreme Court ultimately let Tennessee's ban stand, but as it relates to executive orders from this particular administration, also on day one of President Trump's new term, he signed an executive order banning all trans people from the military service. You weren't serving in the military at the time, and this doesn't apply to you directly, but I wonder you view this and how those in the trans community view this for those that did want to serve or do serve, who feel now that they can't and are excluded.

[Chase Strangio]

Yeah, I mean, this was an executive order that was so damaging both in impact and in rhetoric. The order claimed that transgender existence is inherently incompatible with an honorable life of service. And you have tens of thousands of people who have openly and honorably served the United States through the military who are then being denied their benefits, who are being discharged from service simply because of who you are. And I come from a military family. My brother served in the United States Army. And the thing I learned from my family is that our armed services benefit from accepting any who are able to meet the the fitness and other standards of service. And what we have here is absolutely counter to that and is harming the people who have served who have relied on the benefits of their service. And then what's more is having the rhetoric of casting us as transgender people as inherently dishonorable.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Chase Strango, we really appreciate the time. Thank you so much for joining the program.

[Chase Strangio]

Thanks for having me.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And later in the show, we take a trip to the wonderful world of Gilbert and George, the eccentric duo partners in life and in art. The holidays are here and I'm spending them with CNN podcasts. They keep me informed while also keeping my spirits bright. Hey there. It's a good day to look at the bright side, isn't it? They've been feeding community Christmas trees to.

[Chase Strangio]

Their herd of about 35 hungry goats.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And some alpacas and sheep since 2016. And while I'm stuck in holiday traffic driving to the in laws, I have plenty of time to catch up on the year.

[Michelle Martin]

I'm Audie Cornish and this is the assignment and I really wanted to do an episode looking back at the big pop culture moments, but honestly, those are getting weirder and like, harder to pin down.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And later, while I'm relaxing by the.

[Chase Strangio]

Fire enjoying a well deserved cup of.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Cocoa, I can also enjoy some good conversation.

[Chase Strangio]

So whether you are wrapping presents, shopping.

[Bianna Golodryga]

For holiday gifts, let CNN podcast be your companion this season. Follow the assignment and CNN five Things wherever you get your podcasts. It seems that people cannot get enough of the wonderfully eccentric artists Gilbert and George. Yet two people, one artist. A new exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery is displaying their unique work, which is thought to be some of the UK's most progressive and contemporary. The duo, who are romantic partners as well, take pride in the unusual way they interact with the world as Christiane sobbed close when she sat down with them in their permanent exhibition space in East London.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Gilbert and George, welcome to our program.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Thank you very much.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

One artist, two people. I think people are fascinated by that. Tell me how it works. Because you are Gilbert and George and you create as one, is that right?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes, but it's the most usual arrangement in the world, including the animal kingdom.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

We're all in twos, and what George doesn't do, I do. And what I don't want to do, George does.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Are there any examples that you can bring to mind? I mean, face it, we're in this unbelievable new exhibition of yours. Can you Tell me how to pronounce it. Paradisical or Paradisical.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Paradisical. Come from paradise. Yeah.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Of course we realized that most people think of paradise as the after party. So we thought we would use these pictures to launch the whole enterprise to begin with it. And it's very interesting. When we were creating these pictures, we were very conscious that we wanted to address the people who are great believers in the hereafter and the people who don't, the people who believe in the here and now. So we try to be equally respectful to those two communities.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

We are here and now ourselves. Yes.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

And I mean, you're speaking somewhat religiously. Does religion come into it?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Religion is there. We are part of the free world, very proudly so. And that was sort of invented a long time ago with the Christian, Judeo Christian background. So you could say that we as artists are Greco, Romano Judeo, Christian secularists, but non believers.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

That's very important.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

That's like having your cake and eating it too. So tell me about paradisical. The paradisical. This is just amazing, the amount of color. This is a brand new gallery museum and it's right near your home where you've lived, I think, what, 50 odd.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Years, half a century.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

So tell me about it. What was the idea as living artists, that is living artists, to build this space.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Now it's very simple because new museums, they don't have the space anymore and it is limited what they can show. And we as artists, they're what you call. We started out with the idea that we wanted to be seen. And that's why the only way to be seen is you build your own little museum.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Okay, that is. So the museums weren't big enough for you, is that what you're saying?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

No, they are too full, the National Gallery, they are too full up with other artists, really.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

And we're also very conscious that we're part of a generation of artists who came about believing that they go to their studio every day, work away day after day, and one day someone will knock at the door and propose an exhibition for them. We never believed in that. We always thought it's up to us to speak through our art and that the art should reach people. Art for all was one of our earliest slogans.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

That's why at the beginning we were able to make art walking the streets of London. Okay, that's what I want to understand.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

What does that mean?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

We were the art. We made ourselves the subject of our art. And quite exciting.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

We are living sculptures which could be somewhat egotistical. Or it could be this unbelievable dynamic that you guys have created in every single picture you are depicted.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Correct?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes. Because it's our world, our journey. It is a journey towards the end, and we are doing it, and we are showing ourselves and what surrounds us.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

It's the power of culture. Dickens wrote all of the Dickens books. He didn't let anyone else write others. Vincent van Gogh painted all of his pictures. So when you go to museums, somebody is at this very moment, probably in a different time zone, and they're looking at a gnarled tree and some blossom in the background. That is Van Gogh speaking to them from the grave. The Western world, the Western triumph, where we are all safe and free, unlike most of the territories in the world, was created through culture, not through the policeman. And not from the vicar. Not the vicar. The music, the painting, the art, the theatre, the ballet, the opera that created a safe and free world. How privileged we are.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

It's extraordinary, this journey that we did ourselves. They invented. We invented the form, even the living sculpture form. And we invented in a form of art for all, that everybody could be involved in it. And it's just fantastic.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

When you say art for all, do you mean sort of. For instance, I understand this exhibition, this gallery, will be free for people to come.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Is that what you mean by art.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

For Partly that, but it's also our intention. When we were baby students at St. Martin School of Art, we realized that all of the fellow students and the teachers believed that art was another form in life. It wasn't part of life. It was to do with shapes, colors, angle, surfaces. They didn't think it had anything to do with death or hope or life, fear or death or hope or any of those things. They thought it was to do with form. So you could take those artworks out of the college onto the street and it would have no meaning. We wanted art that would address anyone wherever they lived in the world.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

So tell me the meaning of this, then, because most of the art that I've seen of yours anyway is all about living things and mostly nature, or am I wrong?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Nature is the people and people, but.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Mostly the people of you and dirty street and dirty skies and sun and everybody else and us turning into what we call the humanity of human beings. We're trying to express ourselves as human beings like everybody else. We don't want to be different, but the journey is ours.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

As we speak, somebody's having a funeral somewhere in London or somewhere else. And the person who's being buried is going to be promised eternal Life by the vicar. As we speak, people are being promised life everlasting. And these pictures are about that subject. And it also addressed the belief that here and now is it we're trying to deal with equal courtesy to those two groups of people.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

It feels like walking into the Garden of Eden. But where is she? She's not there.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

It's not the Garden of Eden, it's not the garden of Sodom.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Where are we going to go talking about Sodom? You do use some pretty outrageous words, at least many people might think they are on many of your paintings. You know, irreligious words if you like, some profanities.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Why?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Oh, because it's normal. It's totally normal. Everybody's using it, we are just using, using it as part of art. But out there is all the time, day and night behind me.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

I mean, this is one of my favorite ones actually.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

It is the best one.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

But I'm somewhat offended by the name date rape.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Date rape is a very, very important picture for us because we know when we read our newspaper in the morning and when we watch television news at 6 o' clock every day that there's a lot of very bad behavior in the human world. And when we occasionally get exhausted during the day and watch a nature program in the afternoon, we see there's a lot of bad behavior in the animal world. And we wanted with this picture to explore what is it in the plant world.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

They must do extraordinary stuff.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

The fruit and the flowers and the buds. We don't know about bad behaviour there, do we? And this picture suggests that maybe there are possibilities.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

I'm sure they do.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

They're flinging their seeds all over, aren't they? They're calling out to the bumblebees to help them. It's extraordinary. Maybe it's another world we don't know about.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

One day we will know the language of trees and flowers and the very word rape.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

You can hardly open a newspaper anywhere in the world without finding that word.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Even the Bible, non stop. And not what about animals, what you call flowers, not about humans, but us.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

You have called yourselves conservative and at one point you said, maybe we've written our death warrant or signed our death warrant in the artistic world. Do you believe that? I mean, is it, is it that weird to be conservative artists?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

I think, I think in art world, I'm not sure about all over the world, but I think in Britain for many, many years, it was a bad thing to say that you were conservative. It was as though you were weird or something. We Always vote Conservative because we like to vote for the winning party. And for quite a few years we've been on the winner.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

And when there were Labour governments, we.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Think Conservative is more normal. We think the other side is more foreign, it's more revolutionary or it's more communist or more atheist or something. Weir Conservative means normal, average.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

That's why everybody. Oh my God, they have these beautiful shoes and they behave like fantastic people. But behind the scene we did amazing stuff. But.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

And you do. I mean, part of your, you know, living sculpture is this clothing that you.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Are able to go through airports very easily.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Very rarely search in airports.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Because of the way you dress.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Because you looked like upstanding citizens.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

And you can get a table, table at any restaurant in the world because.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Of the way you dress or because they know that you're a very important.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Artist you can go into. We went by chance a few years ago, we were in Lisbon, where we'd never been before. And somebody at the hotel said, you must try the restaurant at the other hotel. And we went and it was an extremely grand place. And we found the restaurant which was also very grand. And at the restaurant door there was a very sophisticated, snooty head waiter with a leather bound wine list under his arm. And I said, good evening, do you have a table for us? And he said, we always have a table for great artists. This way, gentlemen.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Well, they recognized you there. Would you call yourself eccentric?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Certainly not normal. Weird. We don't want to be weird because traditionally all the artists were weird, you know, with sandals and tobacco pipes and things. And we don't want to be normal because who wants to be like everyone else? But to be weird and normal at the same time is a good balance, we think.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Normal, weird. I'm gonna pocket that one. That's good. Can I ask you because again, you've lived in this neighbourhood, the East End of London, Very, very, very rich culturally. Whether it's Brick Lane or Spitalfields, where we are now. Rich culture of the city of London. You have gotten your inspiration a lot from this part of London. Right, that's what I understand. In what way?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Because we think the center of the world is Spitalfields. We always there that everything is not important. Spitalfields is the center of the world.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Yeah, but why?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Because everything is there. All the cultures of all over the world, they're all there, all end up here. They have been starting from, I don't know, when the French were chucked out of France and then we have the Bangladeshes. Then we have the artistic people like that. And now you have the most sophisticated.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Here we live on a French street built on a Roman cemetery. Brick lane is where Oscar Wilde used to buy his drugs. We live a 10 minute walk from the house of the founder of the free press, John Wilkes. We also have a 10 minute walk from the tomb of the Moose. Famous least read book. Pilgrim's Progress.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

The most famous least read book?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes, I think so.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

And William Blake.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

William Blake is in the same cemetery. It's also the dissident cemetery. Not the regular cemetery. Dissident. So we're living not in the East End, not in Spitalfields, but in an amazing world of culture and history and past. We believe in the past, present and future rolled into one.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

You are of Italian heritage, is that correct?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

I come from the mountains.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Does that whole melting pot aspect of this part of London mean a lot to you?

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Very simply, when I was. I come from the Dolomites. We have this special mountain. But when I was young, I always wanted to be an artist. So started out in one art school in Italy, then Germany, then Austria, then Germany and ended up in England. And artist called art at.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Art school in the Charing Cross Road on the top floor.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Where all the eccentric artists used to be.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

What drew you to each other?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

I think we have a very similar sense of purpose. A very overdeveloped sense of purpose.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Maybe George took pity on me because I couldn't speak English.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Certainly not.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

You couldn't speak English.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

At the time the school that we were at, St. Martin's School of Art was so famous in that brief period there were camera crews from all over the world filming in the studio. We were amazed again we produced some.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Of the great artists and fashion designers.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

We felt we were at the center of the universe, as we did.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

That's why I wanted to be there. That's exactly why. No other reason. On the top floor, St. Martin School.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Wild.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Where I met George. And after leaving St Martin School of Art. But what did there? Nothing. So we started to walk the streets of London every night together. And then we created that we could be the art. The living sculptor. And that was it. That was our invention, that we are still doing it.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

And not only are you doing that and did you do that as a professional partnership, but you are also a romantic life partnership as well.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Yes.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

That's why we found a certain truth, beauty and power. When we were walking the streets of London and we came across a second hand shop. And it was filled with the detriments of human life. All of the things that you don't want when you leave a flat that you leave behind. That's all they sold. And in that shop there was a pile of old gramophone records. And the top one had the title Underneath the Arches. And we knew what that meant because we were living in the East End. Where people were living underneath the arches.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Homeless people.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Damaged. Yes, people damaged by the First World War. Elderly ones. Lots of people damaged by the Second World War. A lot of people damaged by the sex laws. Pre decriminalization.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Well, yes, I was going to say you met in 1967 when homosexuality was decriminalized. What was it like living in a so called illegal state before that? And then having, you know, and then, I guess having the world open to you?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

It didn't matter in that way. Because I remember from all of us being decriminalizing ourselves for some years. But the good thing was we took the gramophone record home, found a friend who could play it. And we were amazed by, as I was saying, the truth, beauty and power of the words. Because it matched how we felt life should be in general. And the words were the writs. I never siphon the Carlton they can keep. There's only one place that I know and that is where I sleep Underneath the arches I dream my dreams away Underneath the arches on cobblestones we lay Every night you'll find me Tired out and warm Happy when the daylight comes creeping heralding the door Sleeping when it's raining and sleeping when it's fire. Pavement is my pillow no matter where we stray Underneath the arches I dream my dreams away that was it. That was the key that helped us. You never changed from.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

I don't even know how to top that. I don't know how to come back. But I do know that you guys are completely in sync. I mean, you finish each other's sentences. You burst into song at exactly the same time.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Only when we're being interviewed.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Okay, not at home. How do you behave at home?

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

It's also very interesting. That group of people, all these people living under the arches have gone. They've all died. It's been replaced by another group. Similarly disenfranchised, similarly enchanting in a strange way. And they're a young group of drug addicts. And they also have a feeling for life that we understand. The tramps felt they understood us. They never went to an exhibition, but they felt they were on our side. And so did the young drug addicts.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Who do you want then to come here? Who do you want to come here, everybody.

[George (of Gilbert and George)]

Art for all. Everybody who wants to. That's it. It's open. The drug addict, whatever.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

We were very moved. We were walking Whitechapel last week and along the pavement in the other direction came a young drug addict with torn trousers and some horrible blood coming out of his ear. He looked very run down and bad. And as he came along. And then he recognized us and made a comment on our ark as he fled along. He came along all staggering along with poor chap. And then he said, I like the shit ones best. We laughed and then we went. Then we went home and cried. Where is he now? Where is he now? Where's his mother? Amazing.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

Gilbert and George, thank you very much.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

You were very kind. Thank you. You were very good.

[Bianna Golodryga]

Coming up after the break, the dangerous intersection of Christian nationalism and anti Semitism and what America's Republican Party can do to stomp it out. I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast Terms of Service. As we gear up for the holidays, I have a feeling that many people will have tech gadgets on their wish list. Getting a new device means having to figure out how to dispose of the old one. I wanted to understand the best and most responsible way to get rid of our old gadgets, and that's why I have Christine Dotz Romero here with me today. She's the co founder and executive director of the Lower east side Ecology center, which operates E waste recycling programs here in New York City. Well, you know, the biggest problem with.

[Interviewer with Gilbert and George]

E Waste is really that it has.

[Bianna Golodryga]

So much toxic materials in it. Listen to CNN's terms of service wherever you get your podcast. And now to the United States and the intersection of religion and politics. Reporter Tom Jelten is shining a light on the dangerous rise of anti Semitism in the Christian nationalism movement and the Republican Party. It's the focus of his cover story for Moment magazine and he sits down with Michelle Martin to discuss us.

[Michelle Martin]

Thanks, Bianna. Tom Gilton, thank you so much for talking with us.

[Tom Jelten]

Great to be with you, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So, Tom, you're a veteran journalist. You've spent a lot of years covering lots of different things, international affairs, religion and politics. In a recent cover story for a Moment magazine, you dig into what you call the new Christian right. When you describe the new Christian right, what specifically are you talking about?

[Tom Jelten]

We're familiar with the Christian right and the role that that evangelical Christians in particular have played in American politics for the last 40 years or so. And what I'm saying in this article is that we have a new Christian Right. It's not the same as the old Christian right. I mean, you remember, Michelle, the Moral majority in the 80s, and of course, the important support that evangelical Christians gave to Donald Trump in his 2016 and again 2020 and 2024. But we' kind of a transformation of Christian conservatism in the last few years. And what I say is it's taken on a much more of a nationalistic tone. Whereas in the past conservative Christians were really focused on a number of policy issues. Abortion, same sex marriage, school choice, now Christian conservatives are more interested in actually taking power and bringing government sort of under Christian control at the local level, the state level, the national level. And so this is a really. It's a different phenomenon. And what I've tried to do is sort of describe how that evolved, what it means and where it's going.

[Michelle Martin]

You know, you referenced the Moral Majority.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Yeah.

[Michelle Martin]

Is the idea for this new Christian movement that they are the majority, but that their views are not being reflected in public policy per se, say. Or do they have the sense that they are an embattled minority and therefore they need to claim power in order to sort of protect themselves, or is it something else?

[Tom Jelten]

No, I think, Michelle, I think that the Christian nationalists that I'm writing about feel that they are beleaguered. You know, there is a prominent Christian writer by the name of Aaron Wren who has laid out sort of three worldviews that have prevailed in the last 30 years. And those worldviews have to do with the attitude towards Christians in society from the. He saw a positive world in the 80s and the 90s where sort of Christians felt that the world saw them in positive terms. And then the next phase was kind of a neutral world where they weren't seen in either positive or negative way. And now he says, he writes, and this is very important, he sees that the world is negative towards Christians. So the Christians that sort of follow this line of thinking see themselves as being under siege and needing to kind of create their own institutions, take a much more active and kind of fight approach to defending their interests. And that means that, you know, it's harder for them to sort of compromise because they see themselves as being beleaguered and needing to stand up for themselves against their enemies. And they see their enemies on every side.

[Michelle Martin]

You attended a conference in Washington a couple of months ago.

[Tom Jelten]

Yeah.

[Michelle Martin]

What struck you about being in that room? What did you notice?

[Tom Jelten]

Well, Michelle, this was national conservatism, and interestingly enough, it's a movement that was begun by two Conservative Jews who saw themselves as Jewish nationalists, certainly with respect to Israel. But the kind of unifying theme was that nationalism is a good thing, that countries need to have a kind of a core central or religious or cultural identity in order for them to be cohesive as a nation. And even though the founders, as I say, were Jewish, they actually reached out to Christian nationalists to make it clear that they were welcome in this world because nationalism, in their view, is a good thing. And what's happened, however, is that as Christian nationalists have become more important, they have sort of emphasized their own Christian identity to the exclusion of others. Hardcore Christian nationalists are actually rejecting the notion of a Judeo Christian, Christian tradition. They believe that America was founded as a Christian nation and should be a Christian nation. And so there is a sort of less interest in reaching out to non Christians. And I think one of the things that I saw at this conference is there was a sense among the Jewish supporters of this movement that maybe Christian nationalism was a little bit more of a threat to them than they had originally anticipated.

[Michelle Martin]

That's one of the ironies of your piece. For a movement that sort of had its roots in these two Jewish thinkers. One of the things that you wrote about is how openly anti Semitic ideas are circulating. In the piece you wrote, you quote a pastor writing, the Jews killed the Lord Jesus, anti Semitism be damned. He goes on to write, the vast majority of Jews in America are Marxists who support the Democratic agenda. Did you get a sense in your reporting of how widespread or how fundamental those ideas really are to the movement?

[Tom Jelten]

Well, one thing I noticed, Michelle, is that this conference, National Conservatism, has been around for a few years. And in the beginning, Tucker Carlson was one of the sort of featured speakers. He's been absent for the last couple of years because he has moved much more in a direction. I won't say anti Semitic, but sort of what anti Semitic adjacent maybe is the word. And characters like Nick Fuentes, who is conservative, considers himself a hardcore Christian nationalist. And you mentioned some of these pastors who are hardcore Christian nationalists who are now very open in their own antisemitic views. And as these views came to be more important within the Christian nationalist movement, some of the original Jewish supporters, as I say, became more alarmed. Yoram Hazoni, who was the founder of the National Conservatism movement at this conference in September, stood up and said, you know, a year ago, I wasn't worried about antisemitism on the right. I thought antisemitism was really a phenomenon on the Left. I was mistaken, he said. And another prominent Jewish supporter of the movement, Josh Hammer, told me that the concerns about antisemitism on the right are a five alarm fire. And what's interesting about this, Michelle, is that a lot of these sort of conservative Jews saw conservative Christians up until now as co breakers, belligerents. They saw them as kind of political allies in the fight against wokeism, in the fight against political Islam, in the fight against globalism. So you know, even though they, they came from different religious traditions, they saw themselves as being sort of politically on the same side. That alliance has now really eroded.

[Michelle Martin]

Now one of the reasons this is interesting that historically evangelical Christians in the US were often strongly pro Islamic Israel and even sort of seeing Jews as God's chosen people and Israel as having a special biblical status. Now that's well attested, you know, for theological reasons. Okay, but this worldview that you're documenting here really breaks from that tradition. Why do you think that is?

[Tom Jelten]

That's a fundamental point, Michelle. I mean, conservative Christians for a long time were actually sort of philosemitic. I mean, they actually loved Israel. And there was, I mean, we can sort of get theological about this. They were part of what, what's called the dispensationalist tradition. They believed that God did sort of promise Abraham and his descendants the land of Israel for generations to come. Conservative Christians accepted that covenant. There was a movement, Christians United for Israel. You'd see people like Mike Huckabee, the current ambassador to Israel, came out of that tradition. So as you say, for a long time conservative Christians really were super pro Israel. What has now happened within the Christian nationalist movement is that old tradition has really weakened. And now Christian nationalists say that Christianity has superseded Judaism as God's chosen faith. So they reject, they fundamentally reject that idea that Jews have some sort of biblical claim to the land. Now that is not necessarily antisemitic. In fact, that would be so sort of overlap with a kind of an anti Zionist view of Israel, that Israel is just another country. But once you begin to see Jews as just another people without any sort of biblical significance, political biblical claim to their land, that kind of opens the door to some of the more explicit antisemitism that we have seen.

[Michelle Martin]

I do want to push against some one of the arguments, the argument that a critique of Israel is of necessity anti Semitic. I mean, there are plenty of Jewish groups, absolutely Jewish citizens who have deep concerns and profound critiques of the way Israel has conducted itself in a number of spheres, particularly in the wake of the Gaza war. So is the argument here, and the argument even that Israel should be treated like any other country, is that inherently anti Semitic? What's the line here?

[Tom Jelten]

It's not? No, not at all. In fact, as I said, I would argue that kind of an anti Zionist position is not per se an anti Semitic position. But what is, I think, alarming is that among these Christian nationalists there is really a determination. It's kind of Christians, there's kind of Christian supremacy. Supremacy is what is alarming. The idea that, you know, that Christians should be in a supremacist position and the idea that Christianity is, you know, should be favored over Judaism. So that's kind of the reflection. That's where it gets. Gets taken into a more alarming direction. One of the things that I found in talking to a lot of these Christian nationalists is their rejection of the idea of a Judeo Christian tradition. I was told that a number of these Christian nationalists believe that the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Romans was actually an act of God, a punishment to the Jewish people for having rejected Christ. Now, when you have sort of a viewpoint like that, then distancing yourself from Israel becomes a sort of a mindset, more problematic position to take.

[Michelle Martin]

In the piece, you quote somebody named Stephen Wolf, who is a political theorist and author of the Case for Christian Nationalism. You say, this is a book that's become influential in Christian nationalist circles. And he writes, quote, non Christians living among us are entitled to justice, peace and safety, but they are not entitled to political equality. Ellipses there. Public space should be exclusively Christian. How widespread is this belief?

[Tom Jelten]

Well, let's put that in a broader context, Michelle. For a long time, sort of the notion of what it means to be American and what America stands for has been defined in kind of ideological terms. There's a sort of a creed that is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights. Rights, the Constitution, and essentially anyone, any immigrant, let's say, regardless of their ethnic background, their religious background, any immigrant who fully commits to the American idea, the idea of the American creed, can legitimately claim to be American. What we have seen in the last few years is a move toward more of a kind of an ethno nationalist approach. Where.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Where.

[Tom Jelten]

And J.D. vance expressed this pretty clearly in a speech at the Claremont Institute where he said he rejected that idea of a creedal identity to America. He instead is emphasizing that America is a homeland for people with ties here. And he explicitly rejected the idea that anybody can become an American simply by sort of believing in the American idea. This is a really, really a fundamental change and one that kind of calls into question a lot of the kind of democratic principles that have been the foundation of the American identity for a long time.

[Michelle Martin]

Tom Chelten, thank you so much for speaking with us.

[Tom Jelten]

Always good to see you, Michelle.

[Bianna Golodryga]

And that is it for now. If you ever miss our show, you can find the latest episode shortly after it airs on our podcast. And remember, you can always catch us online on our website and all over social media. Thanks for watching and goodbye from New York.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

Bring in the New year with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. Welcome to Times Square.

[Tom Jelten]

We have a great show planned tonight. I thought you would have been fired by now. Effing up, everybody.

[Gilbert (of Gilbert and George)]

It's New Year's Eve live coverage stuck today on cnn.

[Tom Jelten]

And watch on the CNN app.