← Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Ep 1145 | Phil Robertson’s Tragic Diagnosis & His Lasting Gospel Legacy | Guests: Al & Jase Robertson
00:43:45
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- [00:01]
Ali Stuckey
Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame has sadly been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's and a blood disease. And today, two of his sons, Al and Jace, are here to give us an update on how he's doing and also to talk about his legacy. The times that he has shared the gospel with, specifically President Trump, how that went, but also just his legacy of boldness, of telling the truth, of bringing people to repentance, as well as has the love and hospitality that their mom has shown. And so you're really going to enjoy this. I was really uplifted by this. But also, you'll be given some specific prayer requests for their family. We'll also be talking about the reboot of Duck Dynasty with the new generations of the Robertson family. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Good ranchers. Go to good ranchers.com code Ali that's good ranchers.com code Ally Foreign thanks so much for taking the time to join us. I so appreciate y'all and just truly love yalls show so much. First, I want to talk about Phil's diagnoses. We haven't been seeing as much or hearing as much from him lately. So, Jace, could you tell us what's going on?
- [01:24]
Jace Robertson
Yeah. It's a very difficult question to answer because, you know, we're kind of the. In the bowels of the new normal, and we realize that families across the globe have this same problem. Your parents get old, and things start going south physically. And basically, the diagnosis that was given to us is he has some kind of blood disorder. And they likened it to blood cancer where it kind of attacks his bones. And so he's had multiple back fractures and even one in his tailbone. And so he'll have to go do these procedures because they're not really correctable. Yeah, they just do a procedure that makes it stop hurting, which is, from my understanding, kind of giving you the redneck version of what I was told is they're basically just putting cement in his back. But your back is not designed to have cement in it, especially for sections.
- [02:31]
Al Robertson
That don't have semen.
- [02:33]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, it's supposed to be flexible. And so, you know, you kind of have to. Meanwhile, you have another diagnosis, which they said he has the. The early stages of Alzheimer's. And. And they're like, it's a form of it. I'm not sure they exactly know what he has, but it's a form of Alzheimer's. And so they're kind of working against each other because every time he has to go under for a procedure. And they say sometimes that going under anesthesia progresses these kind of mental states. It's like it's harder for him to come back to reality. And so, you know, he. Having said all that, we. It's kind of been stages over the last few months where you what we call new normals. And we used to say that with my daughter, who was born with a cranial facial issue. And my wife said that one time, she said, well, this is just the new normal because every time something would happen, it would create other problems. And so that's kind of where we are because over overall, when people say, well, how's Phil doing? You know, it's hard to explain that in a one sentence. Overall, not great. Because he's. He. He looks. What's the best word to use?
- [04:00]
Al Robertson
Emaciated.
- [04:01]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, he just doesn't look well. It's kind of shocking when people come visit him. He. He's. He's lost so much weight.
- [04:09]
Al Robertson
Yeah, he's gotten real thin.
- [04:10]
Jace Robertson
We've tried to do everything imaginable in the world to put him. And it's not that he's not eating. He is just literally his body is not putting on weight.
- [04:23]
Al Robertson
So just not reacting. And you know, my answer, Ally, is when people ask me, I said, well, it's day to day, literally, because we see him a lot. And so one day he may be a little bit stronger mentally and physically than another day. And so you kind of just. It's like that. You walk into it not sure what to expect. And, you know, our podcast audience obviously loves dad, and it was his podcast to begin with. Jason. I just kind of tagged along at the beginning.
- [04:51]
Jace Robertson
I was a guest that never left.
- [04:52]
Al Robertson
Yeah, Jace was the guest we never got rid of. And so, you know, we started noticing it on the podcast. Jason, I. Probably before anybody else, but even now that our audience knows, they could kind of look back and see. And so the. Those signs were there, I think, early on on the Alzheimer's side. But Jace is right. This physical thing has just basically fast forwarded probably his decline into that. But I will say this. My dad taught Jason and our brothers and our family and anybody that would listen that his life was in preparation of the great resurrection. And so he said, for years, the resurrection looms larger. And he's living that even now. I mean, like, the idea is, is that we're not like super depressed about it or like just devastated by it. We. We hate it. It's hard to watch. It's hard to be a part of A man that's always been so strong in your life. At the same time, we realize that the spiritual batter goes forward. So that's just kind of how we've approached it. That's why we're still doing the podcast and still talking about Jesus.
- [05:56]
Jace Robertson
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- [06:01]
Ali Stuckey
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- [07:25]
Jace Robertson
And I'll just kind of piggyback on that when we went public with this because obviously something was going on. And for people like me, I don't do social media. I basically live in a cave. And so I think I forget sometimes that there's a lot of people who watch our family. And I just started noticing everywhere I went, like grocery store, it's how's your dad? And it is compounded that times a thousand when we went public with it. And so I realized, okay, we need to go public with this. And so we did. But I will say in that moment was the first time I would say in six months that I felt like his spirit became better.
- [08:13]
Al Robertson
Yeah.
- [08:13]
Jace Robertson
And I just really believe, you know, more now than ever the power of prayer. And you get as many people praying for my dad. And we're very grateful for that because in all this kind of sadness and debilitating illness that he has that there's no cure. You know, we. I had a thousand people reach out to me and say, well, try this and try that. But we have a team of doctors working round the clock and doing all this. But I noticed when I went down there, because I had actually called my kids and said, look, if you want to see Papa Phil, you need to do it right now. Because I was thinking that he only had a few days to live. This was, I guess, right before we went public. And when we went public with it, I was amazed because I took my son down there, and he was like, well, he's doing a lot better than I. I thought. And I said, well, it's news to me. This is the best I've seen him in months. And so I just chalked it up to answered prayer. And since then, I will say that most days, despite whatever, if he's in pain or if he's just checked out mentally, there's something. There's a spirit about him that's at peace. And it's really helped us the past few weeks dealing with what we're having to deal with on a day.
- [09:38]
Al Robertson
Yeah. And we attribute that. You know, Al, you'll appreciate this. One of the things I said on the podcast the day we talked about it and kind of went public with everything with dad is I remember being so moved because I was the Reagan was the first president I ever voted for. And, you know, Reagan got to a point in his life journey where he had Alzheimer's, and so basically he had to step back from the public eye. And when he did that, he wrote a letter, and then he read the letter. And when you go out and visit the Reagan library, the last thing you do before you go out and visit where his tomb is is him reading that letter. And I just remember sitting there in tears, so appreciative that he explained why he was leaving the stage. And I told our audience, I said, you know, dad didn't write a letter because this happened pretty fast. But you know what? He doesn't have to, because there are living letters that keep going forward. It starts with us, me, Jace, his sons, his daughter. And it continues into everybody he's impacted for the kingdom. And so there are all these living letters out there that are pointing back to Jesus because it's really never about us. And so, in a sense, I have that sort of same piece about his goal and our goal and what we're doing.
- [10:54]
Ali Stuckey
Thank you all so much for sharing that. How's your mom doing?
- [10:58]
Jace Robertson
Well, that's another developing story. You know, we.
- [11:03]
Al Robertson
How many podcasts you got going today.
- [11:05]
Jace Robertson
Out of that, you know, she. She keeps falling. And, you know, despite all the struggles we've had, we've. We've always used humor as, I guess, a way to cope. There's no doubt about that. And. And a lot of people take that wrong because we, you know, we laugh together, even about things that are not funny. But I think it's because we all know, you know, we have each other's back, we love each other, and it's a way to soothe this. I preface what I'm going to say because so for some reason, you know, when you have these problems in your family, I'm sure families identify with this. People get declared the spokesman for dealing with the parents who can become difficult. And so Willie and me have actually been declared. We have to go talk to my mom and dad when they don't want to do things that need to be done. And so yesterday, Willie and I had to go out there because my mom had a fall. And this is a common thing. She cannot stay upright. And my dad, if he's in his right mind, will make a joke every time. He's like, she's too top heavy. He's like, trying to correct the problem now from this. And, you know, we laugh, but, I mean, my mom fell. I guess that's been a week ago, about a week and a half, and she severely cut her leg. In fact, I was getting up on stage, fixing to speak in Kentucky at an event, and we have multiple people that basically stay with them 24 7. And sent me a picture, said, we're taking your mom to the hospital. But he. He sent me a picture of her wound, and it was horrific. And because I was, which, you know, in the moment, I'm literally getting up on stage and because I thought it was life threatening, because it just looks so terrible on her leg at was. It was to the bone on her leg, right at her kneecap. And fortunately, you know, they got her fixed up. I mean, she has multiple stitches and she's in a brace. But so for a small period of time, we said, look, we need to keep y'all up here with us and so we can keep an eye, because my dad is day to day and my mom, she can't walk. And so we were like. And we're feeding them and their food snobs. Which is funny because in my family.
- [13:46]
Al Robertson
They taught us to be.
- [13:47]
Jace Robertson
We're all food snob. I mean, they want the best of the best of the best. And what's that? And what that has evolved to is basically their immediate family cooking for them the greatest meals that we can prepare.
- [14:02]
Al Robertson
Multiple times a day, if possible.
- [14:04]
Jace Robertson
So we're like, look, you are so far away from us, you can't walk. You know, and so they didn't want to do that. And, you know, because they're just not. They're at an age where they're not thinking rationally, and it's asking a lot for other people. And so Willie and I had to go out there because my mom was the problem, and it was a difficult conversation. And so. Because she just. She. She wants to be at her home. And I get it.
- [14:35]
Al Robertson
You know, they've lived there 50 years.
- [14:36]
Jace Robertson
We're like, you can go back, but let's heal up.
- [14:39]
Al Robertson
Yeah.
- [14:40]
Jace Robertson
And my dad was like, well, I got all my stuff. And we're like, we will put an armed guard at your house that will, you know, look over your. Your dogs and your gun, which we actually did. I'm not making that up. So if anybody, you know, we have.
- [14:56]
Al Robertson
An armed redneck nearby and wants to.
- [15:00]
Jace Robertson
Go check out their stuff, you know, but, you know, they're at an age where I'm saying they're not thinking about all these things, but after an hour of a difficult conversation, we. We had a good laugh about it. And because I'm like, Willie's, like, stayed in the obvious, hey, you can't walk. You know, Phil doesn't know where he is on, you know, on a given day, which my dad laughs about it. He's acknowledging that. And so that's kind of where we're at. But she's doing better. I mean, I thought it was a lot more severe. Yeah, I mean, it was a severe injury, but she really seems to be doing well.
- [15:41]
Al Robertson
And the most fun thing with them, Al, is they. They have transitioned that humor to us. I think that's why we had a successful show on national television last night. We. I took. Went over and cooked hamburgers for him. It was our night to cook. And so Mom's eating her hamburger, and she's finishing it up, and dad doesn't eat as much, so he only ate half of his. And he looked over at mom's plate, and he said, Ms. K, you had quite the appetite. And. And so. And I looked at mom, and she said, that's what we're here for. And she put her hands up like that, and I. I got so tickled, because that's the way they've always been. So it's like, nothing will change that interaction and that dynamic, which is.
- [16:22]
Ali Stuckey
They haven't lost that.
- [16:23]
Al Robertson
They haven't lost it.
- [16:24]
Jace Robertson
Yeah. I'll share this story that happened because I was given the bad. But, yeah, you know, my mom, they're not getting, you know, as fed as much in the Word. I mean, these people are, you know, my parents, they are warriors for the Lord. I mean, they have brought tens of thousands of people to the Lord.
- [16:43]
Al Robertson
Dad's worn out more Bibles than, you know, I've owned.
- [16:46]
Jace Robertson
Yeah. And my mom is the best of us as far as her hospitality and treating every person on the planet like they're the most spectacular person. She's done this our whole life. I mean, like, we'll go to a football game or, you know, we took onto the Saints game because she's a big Saints fan, and she basically hung out with all the people that were selling the concession products. You know, just talking about food.
- [17:12]
Al Robertson
We'd be in the Trump Hotel in New York City. And she comes over, knocks on my door, and says, I want you to meet Elisa. She's my new best friend. And she's like the lady cleaning the rooms. I mean, that's. That's Mom.
- [17:24]
Jace Robertson
He's always had that quality, which is, to me, a Jesus quality. And them together is why I think they've made such a big impact. But, you know, I was getting a little frustrated because it is frustrating, and because you're trying to get them to realize the new normal is that you just being here, talking with our kids and your grandkids, and this is life. If you can just look at this. Because my dad's a quarterback, famously, and he doesn't like being on the sidelines. And my mom, I say this affectionately. She's the diva of her family also. She loves attention, and so it's hard for them to be in a house, in a room, you know, sitting. And so she. She mentioned. She said, well, maybe you can just give me a sermon or something. She. She said it frustratingly, and I just thought, well, okay, I'll give you one. And she was like, well, go ahead.
- [18:23]
Al Robertson
Jason preached at the drop of a hat. Ali.
- [18:25]
Jace Robertson
I will. I was. I was doing some study about the afterlife because we had talked about that on a previous podcast, and I said, you know, there's. You remember that when Jesus was on the cross and he told the thief next to him, today you'll be with me in paradise. And I said, there's been books written, and everybody wonders, what is this paradise you speak? What is it like and you probably won't find, you know, five people who can agree on exactly what he meant by that. And so that's how I opened the line, which I noticed both of their heads just snapped to me and they were glued to me. And I said, but I think we're missing the key point of that phrase. What Jesus said is that he said, today you'll be with me in paradise. And I said, just think of what paradise is as far as it relates to the Bible. It's all about relationship, God wanting to dwell with people. And I, and I just went on from there, quoted a lot of other verses. I talked for almost an hour about, about, you know, we get to experience life with the eternal Son. You know, we have a spirit on the earth and we will do this forever. And I really, you know, it impacted them because they've been talking about it ever since. But then I realized that, you know, it's hard for human beings to deal with struggles and death. I mean, they're, they're literally, you know, at the end of their life and they realize that and that's okay. We're fine with that.
- [20:01]
Al Robertson
What's your line, Jace? It's not the, it's not the destination, but it's who you go on the journey with.
- [20:06]
Jace Robertson
Exactly. I use that illustration. I said, if I, you know, because my mom always wants to go anywhere. Are you ready to go? Yeah. And then she always says, well, where are we?
- [20:15]
Al Robertson
And where are we going?
- [20:15]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, who's going? And then it's like, where we're going is irrelevant. It's like, let's line out. Who's going? And so I thought it was a wonderful moment. I mean, I felt like the spirit kind of moved me in there in a frustrating conversation we were having to. And I think they needed that, you know, in the, in the moment.
- [20:37]
Ali Stuckey
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- [22:57]
Al Robertson
Well, there's several, but one, one I want to share is the first time I ever heard him do it publicly other than our church, you know, obviously teaching a class. I was very young and the business was very new, and dad used to go and speak at a lot of Ducks Unlimited banquets, raising funds for them. But it was kind of getting his name out there and getting our duck call business out there. But these are usually events where there's a lot of alcoh and so it's just not the best. But, you know, sometimes he would share, still share, try to share Jesus. But it always didn't go over so great. But we were in New Orleans one time in the Superdome and we had a booth there. And Jason, don't remember if you were there or not, but dad gets up, and there's about 400 people. Most of them are Cajuns, you know, from South Louisiana. And Anheuser Busch was the sponsor of the event.
- [23:43]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, it wasn't a church event.
- [23:44]
Al Robertson
It wasn't a church event. And so there's a big, huge sign hanging above dad that said, anheuser Busch, King of Beers. I'll never forget it. And dad gets up and he does his duck call demonstration. Of course, all the people out there are drinking their, you know, Budweisers and loving it and all that feel he good on the duck call, you know, and they're talking, and then all of a sudden, he reaches into his bag and he pulls out his Bible. And it just got deathly quiet. And he looks up at that sign and he says, you know, Anheuser Bush. He really is the king of beers. Back in the day, boys, I used to drink a mini. A Budweiser, but that led me down a bad road.
- [24:19]
Ali Stuckey
So everybody's look completely.
- [24:21]
Al Robertson
Yeah, everybody's looking like, what's he doing? And he said, he held up his Bible and he says, he may be the king of Beers, but let me tell you a little something about the King of Kings. And then he just shared the gospel with this group, and they were so shocked, of course, they hid their beer behind their leg, you know, under their chairs. Because all of a sudden, we don't broke out into a church meeting here in the Superdome. And he shared the gospel. And I just remember him walking off stage and it was kind of a. Kind of a moderate applause. They weren't sure how to react. And a guy was standing there that sold duck calls, and he said, phil, you can't mix up your religion and your business. You'll. You'll lose them both. And I remember him saying to this guy, he said, you know, did you not hear what I was talking about? Dead men coming out of the ground, sins being removed. He was like, without Christ, there would be no business. And so I think that set the culture for not only our company, but our family. And so everything we do, you're right, is a fruit that comes from being a part of him.
- [25:19]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, I would echo that. He has a talent about saying very blunt things that people seem to not be that offended about. Right. It's. There's something. And I think maybe it comes from his past, which was so broken and he sort transparent about and vulnerable about. I mean, they made a movie about it, and he was fine with it. But you brought up Trump because, I mean, I got to Hear that? And you know, the tone of the conversation. Of course they wanted our support, but. And he was asking more about what can we do, you know, as. As political government officials to help, like, you people. And my dad gave him zero things. He said, here. Here's what you need to do. He said, now, I know I don't have to ask you whether you're a sinner or not. We know, you know, what you've done. And it was kind of a. But it was a. It wasn't tense at all, right. And he talked about Trump. Appreciate it, Stan. And death. And he's like, hey, you're not getting any younger, and there's people after you. He was actually kind of predicting, actually, the prophecy about this was back in 16.
- [26:37]
Al Robertson
So.
- [26:37]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, exactly. He was like, hey, somebody, you know, they're gonna try to kill you and all that. So it was. It was actually really profound, when I think back on that. And he shared the. The story of Jesus and he. He wrote it down, and he had the. What's the phrase he always uses for the symbols?
- [26:56]
Al Robertson
Hieroglyphics.
- [26:57]
Jace Robertson
Hieroglyphics. Like the arrow pointing down in the cross in the tomb, and the arrow, you know, coming back, and the arrow coming back down as Jesus coming down. And so you can kind of figure out what that means about Jesus came to earth, he died, He's. He's raised. He went to the right hand, where he's at right now, and he's coming back. And so he handed the paper to President Trump, and he's like, you need to move on, that this needs to be the core of everything you do. It was very profound. So I say all that to say this one tidbit of the story. So later on, he came to Monroe, and I forgot exactly what was going on. But my family got involved, and I think Willie entered.
- [27:44]
Al Robertson
It was when he was running in 2020, when he lost, it was that. Okay, so that campaign.
- [27:49]
Jace Robertson
So we're now fast forwarding four years. Well, my dad was there. I think my d. Let a prayer at the event. We were all there. My whole family went. And this place. You could not stick another person in the Monroe Civic Center. Well, while Willie, I think, was introducing him, my dad was standing behind him, and President Trump pulled out of his pocket that same gospel presentation that my dad had given to him four years before. And he's like, I still. I want you to know, I still have this. It's beautiful. I hadn't forgotten. So I thought that made the story more powerful.
- [28:28]
Ali Stuckey
Yes.
- [28:29]
Jace Robertson
In that you know, you can say what you want to about the gospel, but people don't just ignore it.
- [28:36]
Al Robertson
Yeah.
- [28:37]
Jace Robertson
And I thought that was a very proud moment.
- [28:42]
Al Robertson
Yeah. Of course, in dad fashion, when he shook his hand, he had written a few more verses down. And when he shook trust and he had him that it was one of those handshakes where you got a little something in your hand and it was a few more verses just to consider.
- [28:54]
Jace Robertson
Oh, yeah, that was true. Well, you know, fast forward to him, you know, surviving the assassination attempt. That's why it didn't shock me that all of a sudden, you know, he started talking about God more. He.
- [29:09]
Al Robertson
But he felt like God had raised him up for this.
- [29:11]
Jace Robertson
Yeah. And I thought, well, it makes sense to me from where I'm looking at the sidelines of this encounter with my dad and understanding the gospel and really what. What people like us, you know, that he first phrased are all about. And I think he found his way, you know, with relationship with God in some capacity.
- [29:33]
Al Robertson
Ally, to your point, my dad has always had the same passion when he shares Jesus, as if just some guy that somebody brought that nobody could do anything with, that they would say, well, you know what? This guy, he's got nowhere else to turn. Let's get him to feel. I heard that my whole life he had just the same passion with that guy sitting in his living room next to dad's chair as he did speaking to the president United States. With him, it is. It doesn't matter the stature of the person. Everybody has an opportunity. And so I think he showed that passion all the way.
- [30:04]
Jace Robertson
Yeah. And if you think about it, that my dad's probably one of the few people that ever had a conversation with the president and didn't ask for anything.
- [30:13]
Al Robertson
Nothing, nothing.
- [30:15]
Jace Robertson
He never said, oh, yeah, oh, by the way, why don't you get these game wardens off my back on the.
- [30:22]
Al Robertson
You know, why don't you talk to Canada and get some more ducks down there, whatever, you know.
- [30:26]
Ali Stuckey
Right. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. I. I think that's probably part of why Trump respected him and probably responded as graciously as he did. 1. I think Trump, like, is an amenable person, but also I think there's something about Phil, which I think this is probably true of Jesus, that, like, there's a meekness and humility about their appearance, but also confidence. And not a lot of people, like, have that exact kind of balance. But I think that is part of what makes him so, like, why people receive him so well. And while they will Listen. Why they will listen to the harsh truths. Because even if it is harsh or even if it is blunt, it doesn't come across as judgment. It comes across as concern. I think we could all learn something from that, because I think that's. You know, we all want to be full of grace and truth like Jesus was. And it's hard to do.
- [31:22]
Al Robertson
Yeah. And yet be loving. And you're right. People would come in, dad say, all right, tell me a story. I know you've been messing up. I mean, like, that would be the lead. And they'd be like, well, yeah, Mr. Phil. You know, they just start into it, but it was like, they didn't take offense. Like.
- [31:37]
Jace Robertson
Like.
- [31:37]
Al Robertson
I don't know. I guess you. If you thought about. You took it into your pastor, and they may be offended by this, but somehow dad just being who he was, and maybe it was the whole package, the beard and the hunting and his own story, it just always came across. We always compare it to John the Baptist, you know, because John the Baptist was pretty rough around the edges, and he was pretty harsh at times. But you know what? He was who he was, and everybody seemed to appreciate that and respect that.
- [32:05]
Jace Robertson
Well, that. That's. What's been so different now, is my. I've seen my dad do things here in the last year.
- [32:14]
Al Robertson
Yeah.
- [32:15]
Jace Robertson
In a soft kind of way that we've never seen, which my wife had an interesting conversation about this because. Because we. I kind of went through that upset stage, which really, my upset stage was during duck season because, you know, you have to remember, we. We have duck hunted. And I'm saying, my dad and I, we hunt every day of the duck season. 60 days. And we've done that since I was eight years old. And so this year, we're going on almost 50 years. Yeah. This year, you know, he went opening day, and he was miserable. And it wasn't that we didn't have a lot of ducks. It was the best day we had all year. But he didn't participate, and he didn't say much. And I was like. After the hunt, I was like, we got off on the bank. I was like, phil, what's wrong? And he's like, I just can't do it. You know, he just. He felt bad in the moment. You know, I wasn't really sure what the problem was, but so then the rest of the season, you know, was just so hollow because I literally, on several occasions, would, like, go to speak to, you know, my dad. Because if you've been hunting with somebody that long you forget that they're not there. So that was kind of when I went there through the sad part. And so at that time, you know, my dad was, you know, he, he told like my wife he loved her. Well, he, he's never done that. It's not that he doesn't love her.
- [33:41]
Ali Stuckey
Yeah.
- [33:41]
Jace Robertson
But he's just not a touchy feely guy and you know, and she, it like meant the world to her. And I was like, well, it, it disturbs me. And she's like, what do you mean? What are you talking about? I was like, he's just not mentally right.
- [33:57]
Ali Stuckey
It's different.
- [33:58]
Jace Robertson
And she, she got so up upset with me about it, but I was like. But now I kind of, I think I realized that too. It's him more you know, being a little softer in this kind of new normal.
- [34:10]
Ali Stuckey
Yeah.
- [34:10]
Jace Robertson
Situation that, that's that.
- [34:12]
Al Robertson
And it's kind of been a process even before with. He's going through now because when we found Phyllis, who's dad's daughter actually, she found us, he showed a tenderness and compassion to her that I had never seen it him that I didn't know he was capable of. And a friend of ours told us, she said, now look, you boys, you got raised in a certain home. He's going to be different towards her. And I thought, you don't know my dad, you know. And she was exactly right. And I have daughters. Jace has a daughter, you're a daughter, Ally. Which by the way, I know your dad. We've become fast friends since he was on our podcast. You and he were on our podcast. But it's, you know, it was something special and unique. And so, you know, God, through his later years now has given him a tenderness. He. He told me the first time we visited him when he came, moved into town, he looked up at me. So now keep visiting me, don't stop visiting me. And I mean, it touched me because I thought he never said that.
- [35:08]
Jace Robertson
He doesn't normally say that.
- [35:10]
Al Robertson
I mean, he would never say that. So you know what? Every time I'm in town, because at least I travel, I've been right over there visiting, talking to him because I thought, you know what? He let me know it matters to him at this point, his life.
- [35:25]
Ali Stuckey
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- [36:24]
Jace Robertson
It'S so funny we had brought up Trump. I thought of a funny story. I don't know if we've ever shared this. Maybe we have. I don't think so, but breaking news, maybe breaking news. So one time the President, while he's president, actually calls my dad.
- [36:38]
Al Robertson
I was there, but.
- [36:39]
Jace Robertson
But my dad was getting up to speak at an event. And so my dad, we've already described how he is. He's like, who is it? It's like it's the President of the United States. He said, tell him I'll call him back. I'm fixed to preach Jesus. Which was shocking to everyone because who minds waiting five minutes? He was talking to the press. I mean, I would have like turned that into my icebreaker in the speech, but he didn't do it. And of course then everybody was like, well, how are you going to call him back? And he's like, yeah, that's a good point. How does that even happen?
- [37:16]
Al Robertson
Trump called him back the next day and had a great conversation. We were in the car and really just congratulated dad for his book and just talked about what an influence he was on the country. And you know, again, I think still just remembering the impact that who dad was and the way he was. So, you know, it was pretty powerful.
- [37:36]
Ali Stuckey
Yeah, yeah.
- [37:37]
Jace Robertson
But who's not offended? And the President wasn't offended. No, he was like, well, because he, he understood. But I was getting back to that gospel presentation. I think he understood. Now I'm just speculating. This is what my dad's all about.
- [37:52]
Al Robertson
Yeah.
- [37:52]
Jace Robertson
You know, and it's really, I don't care who you are. This is a life threatening situation I'm in. This is an emergency. I fix to share Jesus with these people. So call me back.
- [38:02]
Ali Stuckey
Yeah, yeah. Wow. I'm curious about, we only have a few minutes left. I'm curious about the revamping of Duck Dynasty, the TV show. Like who's gonna be a part of it and is it gonna Be strange without Phil, or was that always part of the plan? And what's that gonna be like?
- [38:21]
Jace Robertson
Well, I can comment on that because I wasn't sure myself. And I felt like the first time Duck Dynasty happened, everybody was talking about this. Of course, me and my dad were saying, this will never work. Because they were saying, let's make a show about your family. But we're not going to shoot any ducks because.
- [38:44]
Al Robertson
Because all we'd ever done was hunting shows and hunting.
- [38:47]
Jace Robertson
Yeah, to put it in context, we had done actual hunting videos. And so where, you know, ducks were, like, shown, like, real life hunting. I was like, who would watch that? Nobody we know. I mean, we do hunting shows. We don't.
- [39:02]
Al Robertson
Family shows.
- [39:03]
Jace Robertson
That's not going to work. But so I. You know, the day they showed up, I thought, well, they're doing it well. So I had heard that there might be a version of Duck Dynasty coming back, and I didn't believe it until I saw it. But then when I saw the camera show up, I thought, well, they're back, because it's a mighty throng of them. And so basically what's happened is because the number one question we get before my dad and before now, oh, yeah, Is Doug Dynasty? I heard it's coming back.
- [39:36]
Al Robertson
And another one is Si still alive? Because he's been. He's been dead, like, four times.
- [39:41]
Jace Robertson
That's another. But, well, I just. There's another recent post saying he's still kicking but gone on to be with the Lord. And so I was like, hey, Jack, not yet.
- [39:51]
Al Robertson
But.
- [39:52]
Jace Robertson
So that's not true, wherever that's coming from. But so what I was going to say, long story. To say. The question is, people say, well, when are y'all going to come back on tv? But what they fail to realize is, you know, Duck Dynasty, as much as you realize it's a TV show and they. The TV people playing a lot of what we did, that was our life. Everything you saw was actually happening. I worked at Duck Command. Like, when the cameras would leave, I would be building duck calls. It wasn't. But so. Well, since then, we all have our own families that are huge, and so.
- [40:26]
Al Robertson
We can't even all meet.
- [40:27]
Jace Robertson
I mean, I'm not Bill. I'm technically an employee of Duck Commander. They send me a check, but they're doing that so my face can be on their packaging, you know, But I'm not in the room building duck calls anymore. So most of Willie's kids, I think all of them in some capacity are working here.
- [40:48]
Al Robertson
Right.
- [40:49]
Jace Robertson
And So I think they are doing podcasts. Yeah. The TV people got wind of that, and they're like, well, it's a whole. Then they're having to deal with people like me, Willie's kids, because I'm officially. I, you know, I get to tell them what to do and whatever. And so it's kind of a reboot on that. It's like the next generation. And all the family, I think, will make a cameo appearance in some compare. I haven't been filmed yet, but they. I had a meeting with them, so.
- [41:17]
Al Robertson
I will still appear.
- [41:18]
Jace Robertson
I'll appear.
- [41:19]
Al Robertson
I know mom's been on an episode size been on.
- [41:21]
Jace Robertson
And actually, you said my dad. I don't. I guess I can say this. I. I think you will see my dad at some point somewhere. Yeah.
- [41:30]
Al Robertson
So where's Waldo to find him. Yeah.
- [41:33]
Ali Stuckey
Yeah. Okay.
- [41:34]
Jace Robertson
But like, in all TV shows, we have no control over the edit, so.
- [41:39]
Ali Stuckey
Right, right. Well, thank you all so much for this. And I could listen to y'all talk all day, but I just appreciate the remembrance of, you know, just the legacy that your dad is still leaving but has left and how y'all are really his missives, and that's a really beautiful thing and something that, gosh, I aspire to as a parent. So thank y'all for that and just how y'all honor him so much. There's so many people in this audience and obviously Yalls audience, but this audience, too, who have been impacted. I have friends who have heard the gospel for the first time from Phil. So I just appreciate him and your mom so much because, like you said, hospitality, that is a huge Jesus trait that, you know, I inspire.
- [42:23]
Al Robertson
I want to say to your audience that. And I know they love you. You're one of our favorite people in media. You're amazing because not only are you there with cutting edge what's going on politically and culturally, but also you're a Bible warrior like we are, and of course, I follow you on social media. I love your mom and dad. They become friends of mine, so. So what you're doing is making an impact on the kingdom. So thank you for that. We're honored to be on your podcast.
- [42:47]
Ali Stuckey
Well, thank you so much. I appreciate that. And thanks for taking the time to come on.
- [42:52]
Al Robertson
Absolutely.
- [42:53]
Jace Robertson
No problem.