122. One Nation Under Trump: The Birthday Bash No One Asked For

Summary

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Podcast Summary — The Tim & April Show Ep. 122

"One Nation Under Trump: The Birthday Bash No One Asked For"

Date: June 19, 2026
Hosts: Tim Whitaker & April Ajoy
Network: The New Evangelicals

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Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging episode, Tim and April unravel urgent intersections of faith, politics, and American cultural life, shining a light on Christian nationalism, systemic racism, and the excesses of Trump’s “Freedom 250” birthday celebration. They discuss the tragic police killing of a Black child, deconstruct the spectacle and grift of the White House UFC event, expose a viral moment of public bigotry on national TV, and dig into odd corners of contemporary purity culture. The tone is urgent, empathetic, sharp, and often laced with biting satire.

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Quick Navigational Index

• Juneteenth Reflection & Systemic Racism (04:17–20:57)
• Senatobia Police Shooting: Justice for Cohen Wiley (08:32–19:44)
• "Freedom 250" — Trump, UFC & Oligarchs on the White House Lawn (24:32–41:23)
• The Green Reflecting Pool Fiasco (41:58–46:51)
• Iran Aid Deal: “The Art of the (Worse) Deal” (45:55–49:56)
• Weird Christian Internet — “Gooning” & Shame Culture (53:09–61:30)
• Community, Super Chats, & Closing Banter (50:43–end)

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Juneteenth Reflection & Systemic Racism

(04:17–20:57)

Key Discussion Points

• Juneteenth & Its Meaning:
  April and Tim honor Juneteenth, emphasizing the importance of recognizing both celebration and the ongoing work for racial justice. They share historian Jamar Tisby’s recommendations:

  "Black people...should celebrate Juneteenth...carry on the original spirit of joy, jubilation, and rest. Take the day off...Reflect and rejuvenate. For white folks or non-Black people, we should be commemorating Juneteenth. Take responsibility for the history that made emancipation necessary. Do your own educational labor so Black people don't have to work on their own holiday. Reflect on how you can be on the right side of justice today."
  — Tim, quoting Jamar Tisby (05:00)

• Personal Reflections:
  "Sometimes you and I and people who wanna be better allies, we kind of get stuck with, like, what's the best way to approach this stuff that isn’t about us...I think Jamar’s wisdom...is really good." — Tim (05:47)

• April notes the work of other Black Christian leaders: Lisa Sharon Harper, Angela Parker, Melinda Hale, and the ongoing need to amplify Black voices.

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Senatobia Police Shooting: Justice for Cohen Wiley

(08:32–19:44)

Core Narrative

• Incident Recap:
  April introduces the heartbreaking killing of one-year-old Black child, Cohen Wiley, by police in Mississippi after a shoplifting accusation involving diapers:

  “A mother and her baby and a friend were leaving a Walmart… police were called over a shoplifting claim. They get in the car, drive away, police shoot at the car, and they killed a one-year-old baby... according to the Guardian, it was over a shoplifting call where... someone attempted to steal a box of diapers.”
  — April (08:48–09:38)

• Mother’s Testimony:
  The hosts play and discuss the video statement from Cohen's mother, who describes showing police her baby in the car before shots were fired, killing her son and wounding a friend.

  “By the time me and my baby got in the car... I raised my baby up trying to show them he was in the car... By the time I sat my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One... hit him in his rib cage.”
  — Mother of Cohen Wiley (13:32–15:12)

• Host Reaction:
  “There is nothing justifiable. I don’t care if she stole a hundred packs of diapers… Using lethal deadly force to protect property over people is unjustifiable.”
  — Tim (16:18)

  “And you should be de-escalating... even if they stole a pack of diapers, that does not justify lethal force.”
  — April (11:34)

• Ongoing Rage and Grief:
  “This is just a reality that Black people have day in and day out... you could be doing nothing, absolutely nothing wrong. And if police are nearby, there's always a chance that things could go badly.”
  — April (17:57)

• Historical Context:
  The hosts link this tragedy to historic patterns of state-sanctioned violence against Black people, noting the proximity to Juneteenth.

• Protest and State Response:
  Peaceful protests at the Walmart are met with police tear gas, reinforcing the cycle of state violence (19:44).

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"Freedom 250" — Trump, UFC & Oligarchs on the White House Lawn

(24:32–41:23)

Event Breakdown

• The Spectacle:
  “Our lord and savior, Donald Trump, making America great again, decided to celebrate his birthday and America by doing this...”
  — Tim, tongue-in-cheek, introducing the UFC on the White House lawn (24:32)

  They share photos and describe UFC fighters using White House rooms as locker rooms. April calls it “classless” and “tacky” (25:49, 28:45), and points out the hypocrisy compared to right-wing outrage at minor breaches of decorum under Democratic presidents.

• Grift and Exploitation:
  Tim exposes how the spectacle serves the billionaire class and shady industries:

  “Everything that has been happening...has been designed to suck up as much wealth from the middle and lower class as possible...There’s these things called prediction markets...and the crypto space...a big scheme to suck up money from the middle and lower class... One big creative way to get people on the outside to give money to people on the inside. And that's who sponsored UFC 250.”
  — Tim (29:28–32:00)

• Alleged Fight Fixing?
  April brings up now-denied Twitter screenshots of Eric Trump allegedly seeking insider information from UFC commentator Daniel Cormier, further highlighting perceptions of corruption (32:00–35:20).

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UFC, Trump, and Public Bigotry

• Viral Moment: Racism and Transphobia in the Spotlight After a fight, winner Josh Hokut uses his microphone time to thank Trump, invoke Jesus, and insult Michelle Obama with a racist, transphobic remark:

  “There's only one person more incredible than the Incredible Hulk, and that's my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ...Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
  — Josh Hokut (36:01–36:35)

  “What a perfect embodiment of Christian nationalism... In one little spiel, like, I want to thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and then two sentences later, says something incredibly racist and transphobic for no reason.”
  — April (36:43)

• Host Analysis:
  Tim and April emphasize the normalization of bigotry and the way moments like this are cheered by the event crowd:

  “He did this on the White House lawn. And to a round of applause.”
  — Tim (37:44)

  “They cannot stop talking about that beautiful couple.”
  — April, on MAGA’s obsession with the Obamas (39:20)

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The Green Reflecting Pool Fiasco

(41:58–46:51)

What Happened

• Trump orders the draining, painting, and refilling of the National Reflecting Pool for $14 million, in an attempt to make it look “clean and blue” for the birthday bash.
• Within days, the pool is filled with algae again. National Park workers are seen dumping peroxide (by hand) to try to kill the algae, leading to a bizarre half-blue, half-green “landing strip” appearance (43:26–44:51).
• April shares that now chunks of blue paint are peeling and floating in the water.

“And to be fair, the reflecting pool already had some problem with trying to keep it clean... There was an issue, but it was not this bad. No, we made it worse…So we spent $14 million for nothing? That’s what you’re telling me?” — April & Tim (44:08, 44:51)

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Iran Aid Deal: “The Art of the (Worse) Deal”

(45:55–49:56)

Substance

• Trump’s new deal with Iran:
  • Includes a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran — much greater aid than under prior deals.
  • The hosts note that right-wing media previously criticized Obama and Biden for much smaller payments.
  • April wryly observes: “What Trump does is he takes a deal... gets rid of it, says it’s bad, and then negotiates a worse deal for America, but then claims victory because he made a deal.” (49:32)

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Weird Christian Internet — “Gooning” & Shame Culture

(53:09–61:30)

The Segment

• Framing:
  Tim and April highlight a viral “Christian influencer” video, which dramatically (and humorously) warns against “gooning” (extended masturbation), advocating using a shame-based “rewired” app instead.

• Hosts’ Bafflement and Laughter:

  “Why is he so pressed?…He honestly probably needs to goon.” — April (54:31, 54:40)
  “Even he knows he’s being ridiculous.” — Tim (57:11)
  “What is goon?” — April, utterly confused (54:56)
  Tim explains the subculture and their bemusement grows as they watch another video — involving lotion, flashing lights, and app-based “recalibration.”

• Purity Culture Satire:
  Tim and April reflect on the toxic legacy and absurdity of Christian purity culture — noting this kind of obsessive shaming is “pretty common.”

  “This world is super obsessed with sex, but they do it in a way of trying to create shame...that only then makes people more curious.” — Tim (60:08)

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Super Chats, Community & Closing Banter

• The hosts thank their audience, dip into user reactions, and share their own mortification at the “gooning” segment (“April, your skin matches your hair!”).
• Promotions for April’s book, Star Spangled Jesus, and The New Evangelicals’ resources are mentioned.
• Tim closes:

  “We go live every Thursday, 12 o’clock Eastern, covering the news as two former Christian nationalists, helping you understand what’s going on.” (50:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Juneteenth & Justice

• “Using lethal deadly force to protect property over people is unjustifiable.”
  — Tim (16:49)

• “You could be doing nothing… and if police are nearby, there’s always a chance things could go badly.”
  — April (17:57)

Trump’s Birthday Bash

• “Donald Trump wanted to celebrate America by dropping a huge UFC octagon turd on the White House and calling it class.”
  — Tim (27:44)

• “Tacky is a good word for it. It just felt like it cheapened the Oval Office. I mean, but to be fair, it’s already been cheapened because Donald Trump’s been there twice.”
  — April (28:45)

The UFC Bigotry Moment

• “What a perfect embodiment of Christian nationalism…in one little spiel, ‘I want to thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ,’ and then two sentences later, says something incredibly racist and transphobic.”
  — April (36:43)

• “He did this on the White House lawn. And to a round of applause.”
  — Tim (37:44)

Satire & Absurdity

• “I want a goon so bad. I want a goon, but I’m gonna use the rewired app to help me.”
  — Tim, quoting viral video (54:14)

• “This world is super obsessed with sex, but they do it in a way of trying to create shame…”
  — Tim (60:08)

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Overall Tone & Takeaway

Tim & April deliver a bracing, often humorous but deeply concerned analysis of American faith and politics in 2026. Their candid discussions balance real grief and anger about injustice with clear explanations and cultural critique. Satire and vulnerability, especially in the closing “Weird Christian” segment, keep the show engaging and human.

Perfect for anyone looking to stay informed (and a little less alone) in America’s chaotic landscape.

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Listen live every Thursday at noon ET on YouTube and Substack.

Transcript

[April]

You're listening to a new evangelicals production. Teens share everything that may include the bacteria that can cause meningococcal disease known as meningitis. Even if your teen's been vaccinated in the past, they could still be missing meningitis vaccinations. Ask your teen's doctor or visit meningitis.com today. Sponsored by GSK.

[Host/Announcer]

And we're live from the living room as Doug eyes up the match. Say spread. He's reaching for the buffalo wing. Perfect. Hang on. What's this? Oh, he's gone for cat of Pepsi too. Incredible. What a finish. Sensational combination. Look at the delight on his face. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a pack of Pepsi. Zero sugar. For today's match, it's poetry in motion.

[April]

The Tim and April show, where we unravel faith, politics and cult.

[Host/Announcer]

Hi.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Hello.

[Tim]

Welcome in everybody. Tim and April show. We are live 12 o' clock Eastern on a Thursday, June 18th. Hi.

[April]

We are here. Hello. Yeah, I'm April of the Tim and April Show.

[Tim]

Yeah, yeah, if you couldn't tell.

[April]

Funny how that works.

[Tim]

Yeah, it's almost like we have names below our our video feeds over here. Anyway, friends, welcome in. That's what that is. If you are watching right now live on YouTube, we need you to hit the like button. There's just no way around this. This is a non negotiable thing that we're going to start heavily enforcing. So move your little finger and hit

[April]

finger and hit a little boop. And if you're watching on a desktop, take your little mouse.

[Tim]

Yes.

[April]

And click right on the little.

[Tim]

You can do it. I mean, the substack audience is going crazy. I mean, the hearts are flying. So YouTube audience, I think that you guys can do at least that well, if better. So hit the like button. Thank you so much.

[Host/Announcer]

Okay.

[Tim]

We have a very fun. Well, no, it's not. Sorry. Well, I thought about UFC 250. I was like, that's where the fun part came from.

[April]

And then our weird Christian.

[Tim]

Oh, my gosh. We have the craziest. I don't know how we find them. I don't know how we find them. They find us. They find us.

[April]

They do find us. So I just want to say the finale of Widow's Bay was this week.

[Tim]

No spoilers. I had just started the show.

[April]

I know.

[Tim]

Me and Sarah. I'm two episodes in. We're to it.

[April]

Maybe we can do a whole episode on our thoughts on Widow's Bay, once you finish.

[Susan]

Perfect.

[April]

It was so good.

[Melinda Hale]

Perfect.

[Tim]

No spoilers anywhere in the chat. Do not be that person. I am two episodes in. Me and Sarah. Love it. Although I hate scary anything. Okay. I hate scary anything. And I have been under the blankets for so much of this show. Even though it's not that scary. It's. It's more about like. Like the suspense.

[April]

No, there's some pretty scary moments, for sure.

[Tim]

No spoilers. I'm only two episodes in. So far, it's been pretty. Pretty mid. Pretty mid. There's no. Like, there's no. So far there's been no crazy jump scares where you're like, you know.

[April]

Is that what you find more, like, more terrifying is the jump scares than the, like, story, like, plot points?

[Tim]

Oh, definitely. Like, for me, it is the suspense of knowing that at any moment. Like Dwight Shoot says about bear attacks, that can happen when you least expect them. Same thing. Like, I hate the jump scare. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

[April]

Interesting.

[Tim]

Anyway, me and Sarah are watching it. We. I was. I mean, my blanket was up here. I had, like, open my eyes so I could just see a little bit, you know, but it was great. I'm really enjoying it so far, so it's super good.

[April]

Yeah, well, it was good and it's funny, so it's one of the best shows I've seen of, like, a whole. Like, the whole season is good.

[Tim]

Okay. I'm looking forward to it.

[April]

And it's. It's good. Yeah. So before. So we are going to talk about Freedom 250 and the UFC and the Green reflecting pool. Reflection pool.

[Tim]

Taxpayer money has made so much better. Wait till you see a picture of it. It's going to blow your mind. Yeah, we really are.

[April]

We're going to get into all that, but we do want to first acknowledge that tomorrow is Juneteenth.

[Tim]

Yes.

[April]

And which is the. The day that we use to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. It's a federal holiday now, thank goodness.

[Host/Announcer]

Thank you.

[April]

As it should be.

[Tim]

Yes.

[April]

And so. Yeah. Do you want to. I can't really read that because.

[Host/Announcer]

Sure.

[Tim]

So, you know, it's important that we understand, especially if you're white. How do we approach this holiday? Our good friend Jamar Tisby, who has been. He's a great friend of the show, a great personal friend to me. In April, he made this great little story series that talks about Juneteenth that I want to share it with you. Is this the right one there? It is. How black and white people should mark Juneteenth differently. So black people, he says, should celebrate Juneteenth. When enslaved people in Galveston first heard the news, they didn't go back to the fields they celebrated. Carry on the original spirit of joy, jubilation, and rest. Take the day off. Review this history. Rejoice and rejuvenate for white folks or non black people. Really, we should be commemorating Juneteenth. Take responsibility for the history that made emancipation necessary. Do your own educational labor so black people don't have to work on their own holiday. Reflect on how you can be on the right side of justice today. I love that from Jamar. It's really helpful, I think. Look, if we're being honest, April, sometimes you and I and people who wanna be better allies, we kind of get stuck with, like, what's the best way to approach this stuff that isn't about us and we don't want to come across if we're trying to take over a holiday. So what do we do? And I think Jamar's wisdom to folks who are non black is really good. So commemorating Juneteenth for tomorrow I think is a really good approach for all of us.

[April]

Yes, yes. Yeah, I think so as well. And amplify black voices always. Yes, but especially on Juneteenth, honestly, I

[Tim]

mean, tne Melinda Hale leads the organization, another great place. And tne produces this show, the New Evangelicals. And we'll get more into them later. Jamar Tisby is an amazing historian who does amazing work on the topic of white Christian nationalism and just race relations in general. In fact, we had him on, what, a couple weeks ago when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. And he gave such an amazing, powerful history of where this sits in context. Other folks of mine, Lisa Sharon Harper, friends of mine, Lisa Sharon Harper comes at the top of my head. Angela Parker. So many great voices doing amazing work that are all worth checking out for.

[Susan]

Sure.

[Tim]

For sure.

[April]

Yeah, absolutely. And I do think, like, the Civil Rights act that we that you just brought up, that got gutted by the Supreme Court. And actually, before we get into the ufc, we want to talk about this story. Very tragic evil, I'm sure. I'm sure you've heard about it because it's everywhere but in where was it? Was it Mississippi? I think it was. Yeah, it was Mississippi. A mother and her baby and a friend were leaving a Walmart and police were called over a shoplifting claim. And they get in the car, drive away, police shoot at the car, and they killed a.1 year old baby named Cohen Wiley. And this is a black family, a black mom. This is a black child, you know, and I think it's important that like we Juneteenth is something that we commemorate. But by, by no means was that the end of racism. And in fact they just found more creative ways to oppress black people in America. So I think, you know, this week, if you haven't like reading about systemic racism, that very much still exists. Mass incarceration of black people, police brutality. I mean the story truly is just so tragic. A one year old baby killed by police over, according to the Guardian, it was over a shoplifting call where they, the claim is that it was, they called the police to report allegedly that someone attempted to steal a box of diapers. Yep, that's what, that's what the guardian says.

[Tim]

Yep.

[April]

And so police show up to the scene, the, the mom and there was a friend with them. And then the mom and the baby, they get in the car. For the reports that I said it looked like the police were aware that there was a baby in the car and shot at the car. Anyway, they have not. Now I've seen some people post who the officer is online but I have not found any confirmation from like a reliable news source saying that. And the police have not identified the officer. But I do know that they announced that, that whoever it is was put on administrative leave. So there were no charges to any, either the mom or the friend for shoplifting. Can I just say, if you see somebody stealing diapers, and I know this is alleged, I don't think there's any proof that that is what happened because I've seen some, some people say that there was a receipt but I couldn't find confidence on that. Yeah, but either way, but even if you saw someone stealing diapers, no you didn't.

[Tim]

Right, Right. No you didn't.

[April]

Diapers.

[Tim]

Diapers. You don't see that with a child in. I mean if this story is true, you know, this mother, her child, their friend, is there someone, apparently the friend steals a pack of diapers. If you watch that happening with a one year old in tow, what you think, what sicing the police on them makes sense here? And what are the police officers thinking? We have to get this $10 pack of diapers back from the multi billion dollar company Walmart to recover their losses. I mean, and then you shoot, you shoot at a mother, her child and a friend who I believe was also a female in the car. You shoot and there's video of the car driving away. So the initial reports. And again, look, online, things fly around. It's hard to know fact from fiction. We're still getting details. Except for we know that this child has been killed, has been murdered by police. But you know, the fact that they are driving away on the video, the fact that police said that, no, they were driving towards us. That was their initial response. Which, by the way, we saw the same rhetoric with Renee Nicole Goode. Remember that story? Right. We all watched what happened. And police. And then the government. Kristi Noem. This was a terror attack. This person charged her vehicle into the police. When we have video footage of that not being the case. This is a very classic narrative that they use. And now we have a one year old who's been killed. As a parent of a four and six year old cannot imagine holding my child as they don't survive on the way to the hospital because the police shot into my vehicle because I was alleged to have stolen a pack of diapers. I know it doesn't get much more vile and evil than that.

[April]

And you should be de. Escalating, like at a. Even if it. Even if. And I know it's alleged, even if they stole a pack of diapers. That does not justify lethal force by

[Tim]

Dylan, who was there was. There was one. I think it was Dylann Roof, the mass shooter, who they recovered and gave him a Burger King meal after they arrested him. If we can arrest white mass shooters in this country without incident. Yeah, come on, guys. I mean, let's just put two and two together here. It is unbelievable. Should we play the video of the mother and her lawyer? They released the video. This is not. This wasn't leaked or anything. They released it themselves. That tells me that they want this story amplified. So I think we play the story from her, from her voice, so you can actually hear from her firsthand what's going on.

[April]

Yeah. And their attorney is Ben. Ben Crump, who. I don't know if you ever saw the movie Just Mercy, but that movie is based on Ben Crump's. He's a very. He's a great civil rights attorney. So the family. They've reserved that he is representing this family. And he's great. So I'm so glad that he is representing the family. And yeah, so this is him talking with the mother that he posted on his own Twitter account.

[Host/Announcer]

There you go.

[Tim]

We'll play in its entirety with no pauses. Marcus Keith Valencia. Wiley Valencia. Wylie lost her son to the negligence of law enforcement in Senatobia, Mississippi. Can you please tell what happened?

[April]

Hold on pause for a second.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Me, my son in another.

[Tim]

Go ahead.

[April]

Sorry, I'm totally. He's not the guy from Just Mercy. I confused him with Bryan Stevenson. Okay, my bad.

[Tim]

Thank you, really, for that.

[April]

He's still a great civil rights attorney.

[Tim]

Yeah, great. Thank you for the help.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

As we was leaving at the Walmart, they tried to stop her, but I kept walking because it had nothing to do with me. By the time me and my baby got in the car, she came. And then they. When we was backing up, they was running out the cone. I raised my baby up because they redrawed their gun. She had no tent. I raised my baby up trying to show them that he was in the car. So she was backing up and she hit a car as I was opening the door. So the dope flew back in. By the time I sat my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One of the shots hit him in his rib cage, and the other shots hit her, her arm and her thigh. And we left and went to Senatopia Hospital where he was pronounced dead. And they told me I wasn't gonna be able to see him until he get back from Jackson. She got airlifted and the police told me I couldn't leave at the hospital until she. Somewhere they had. I couldn't leave out. Could nobody come in. But I ended up walking out and the crowd was questioning them, asking them what happened. That was like she was shoplifting. But the passenger, it was me. They weren't talking about me. That was talking about the driver. But on the. Look, what's it called? Self checkout. They can see. It's cameras. They can see when we. When she got the diapers and worked out, they tried to say that she forcefully was trying to drive and hit them, but they was all on the right side and she was driving towards the left. They just. They just personally just shot in the car. Did they.

[Tim]

Did they try to charge you with anything?

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

No, they didn't charge. They ain't charged me with nothing. They just let me go and they didn't say nothing. They just kept telling the crowd that they were shoplifting, they were shoplifting. But I don't know if they found anything because.

[Melinda Hale]

Okay,

[Tim]

there you go. That's your story. There are we. We did see a couple different people on thread saying that, that, that, that the. The person who was accused of shoplifting provided a receipt. We could not find any hard news sources confirming that. Again, these details don't change anything about what actually happened and how unjust and evil it was to Be clear. But like, there are. There's a lot of information being out, thrown out there that like might not be fully verifiable. So we didn't want to share that stuff as hard evidence, which is why we wanted to share her video so you can hear what she had to say with her lawyer. But yeah, that situation, you know, someone in her party was accused of shoplifting. They left, they got into their car, they tried to drive away. Police opened fire and a one year old is dead because of that. And she was not charged with any crime. She was released. There is no reason. There is no. There's nothing justifiable. I don't care if she stole a hundred packs of diapers. I don't care if she was stealing a flat screen TV and a pack of diapers. I don't care. I do not care. Using lethal deadly force to protect property over people is unjustifiable.

[April]

Yeah, well, and there I think it was. Memphis news station did release some footage of. You can kind of see it from the distance of a car, of the. Of the car DCT driving away, as she said, turning to the left and police were on the right. And then they shot into the car. So the police say they're going to do a full investigation. I don't necessarily trust not holding my breath. They. And I think it's important. They've not released the name of the officer and they haven't released any body cam footage that I'm aware of as.

[Tim]

And they won't. They said that they will not until investigation is complete. That's the last I heard. So, yeah, I mean, there's not really much to say besides mourning and just feeling the weight of the fact that a child is not on this earth anymore because of police and especially a black child. Like, there's so many layers to. There's such a history in this country of black children, black bodies being targeted by police. And so it's just right on the heels of Juneteenth. It's just, it's a reminder of how much work we have to do as a country still.

[April]

Yeah, well. And I think it's also you and I will never know what it's like to be black in America and what it's like to have black children. And this is just a reality that black people have day in and day out. If they go to the store, like, and you could be doing nothing, absolutely nothing wrong. And if police are nearby, there's this. There's always a chance that things could go badly.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Right.

[Tim]

There's like a constant anxiety over what

[April]

happens for nothing you do for like completely out of your own control. Like there was. There's no justification for Cohen wy to be dead today. He should be alive. He deserves so much better. And I cannot imagine the immense grief that that mother feels, especially knowing I've seen some terrible people in their pro life trying to find ways to justify what the police did. And I just can't imagine being a mom who just lost their one year old.

[Guest/Commentator]

Yeah.

[April]

To this violence and also having to face this hateful rhetoric from the right.

[Tim]

Yep. Yeah, no, absolutely right. It's a cruel world. There's just no way around it, you know, and you think about Breonna Taylor, you think about George Floyd, you think about Ahmaud Arbery. All these people who should still be here. Right. But aren't because of either police brutality or because of blatantly racist people trying to police their neighborhoods. In Ahmaud Arbery's case, right, where the jury actually found them to be motivated by racial animosity, I mean, that was. They were actually convicted on that charge of actual racism. So, yeah, no, I'm right there with you all the way. So we will keep you all apprised on how this story develops. And you know, if we get any more data, information, etc. And we'll go, we'll have to go from there.

[April]

I also just want to say too, there obviously were protests that broke out at the Walmart where this happened in the day or two after the shooting and police showed up and tear gassed.

[Tim]

Yep.

[April]

The protesters.

[Tim]

Yep. The reports from a local Fox affiliate said that there was absolutely no violence. The protesters were peaceful and the police escalated by firing tear gas into the crowd to disperse them. But again, like, guys, we have so many examples of this. This happened in Delaney hall in New Jersey a few weeks ago. Right. We had these protesters who were here. Our Democratic governor in my state sent in state police. And what do they do? They attacked protesters. They, they arrested journalists, they fired tear gas into the crowd. This is, and I wish Jamar was here in this moment, he would tell you, this is the history of America. This is how America operates. America believes in violence. If the state gets to weaponize and use violence. Right. But once any kind of violence, especially property violence, is done from the side of the resistance. Oh, this is, this is bad. This is terrible. Law and order. But that state has no problem using violence when they deem it necessary to enforce the systems and hierarchies that have been put into place because of white supremacy over the course of this country. It's just a reality.

[April]

Yeah. And I think, especially in light of, you know, this being America's 250th birthday. Right. And you're seeing, especially from the Trump administration, we're going to talk about his Freedom 250 birthday bash here in a second. But there's all this, like, patriotic, you know, narrative being pushed of, like, America is the greatest nation. We've always been the greatest nation, and let's celebrate our founding and let's celebrate all of these things in American history. Yeah, right. But it is so important to know that our history is really bloody and very violent, and that violence that our country was pretty much built on never really went away. It's still very present. It's just reinvented, you know, how it's used and who it's used.

[Tim]

One of the most powerful things that Lisa, Sharon Harper told. Said to me in an interview was she said, you always have to ask, who benefits from this? Who benefits? And that's how, you know, like, where these things lie. And you look at the history of our country, even these terms like freedom, prosperity. Right. We're. We've been a free country for who. Who benefits from that rhetoric in that context, and who doesn't? And we can look through our history to see exactly who benefits. The only people that we routinely protect in this country is white, wealthy property owners. Those are. That. That is the person in America. Yeah, sorry, I meant to say men, too. Thank you. White, male, wealthy property owners, owners. Those. That's the only type of person that consistently America has always protected. Always. Yeah, up until the present moment.

[April]

So, yeah, exactly. I mean, and it's not just like we've done horrible things to black people, obviously through slavery and all the Jim Crow laws and up to this day with systemic racism and police brutality, but also what we did to indigenous people. Exactly why, you know, committed genocide against an entire race and threw them into reservations that still exist.

[Tim]

Japanese internment camps. Just look around. It's been there. It's been there. So.

[Melinda Hale]

Hey, everyone, this is Melinda Hale, the executive director of the New Evangelicals. Listen. Every day we hear from people who feel isolated, disillusioned, and hurt by a version of Christianity that has been hijacked by politics and nationalism. And yet they still long for a faith that is rooted in love, justice, and compassion. And that's why the New Evangelicals exist, because we believe there is a better path forward. We're creating resources, hosting conversations, and we're building communities for people who want to reclaim Christianity and stay rooted in the teachings of Jesus. But building a movement like this takes time, it takes energy, and it takes financial support. So if this podcast or our YouTube, our educational offerings or community space or any. Anything that we've created has impacted you, would you consider becoming a donor? Even a gift of $5 makes a huge difference for small organizations like this. Your support helps us to continue empowering people to put their faith into action by rejecting Christian nationalism and to live in a way that shows people how to truly love our neighbors. Together, I know that we could build something beautiful. So visit theneweevangelicals.com support to give today. You. You can find the link right in our show notes. Thank you for standing with us.

[Tim]

All right, so earlier this week, our lord and savior, Donald Trump, making America great again, decided to celebrate his birthday and America by doing this. When I think about America and Trump, I think about beauty and art and just our history.

[April]

Just real classy stuff.

[Tim]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what says class like this? Look at that class. A gigantic UFC event on the White House lawn with our White House in the back. I. April, I'm not sure if you knew this, but they actually used rooms in the White House as locker rooms. That is a room in the White House with a UFC mat and chairs and, you know, gear. They use it as a locker room. Now, look, I want to be clear. I'm not. I'm not one of these, like, you know, like, you know, decorum and, like, proper. I'm a very casual person. Okay? I'm. Whatever. But we all know that if this was President Biden's brilliant idea and this picture came out, you know, they would be all over him for desecrating the White House, desecrating our nation's history.

[April]

Barack Obama couldn't wear a tan suit without them saying he was classless.

[Tim]

April, not to one up you. He couldn't ask for Dijon mustard on a burger without them saying he was classless. Do you remember that?

[April]

Was it Dijon, or was it Poupon?

[Tim]

No, no, no.

[Guest/Commentator]

Nope.

[Tim]

He asked for Dijon mustard, and Sean Hannity turned it into Poupon.

[April]

They're so dumb. Stupid.

[Tim]

And here we are. Donald Trump gives us this.

[April]

And listen, I don't personally like the ufc. Just. It's just not my thing. Right. It's not my vibe. My biggest issue with this is the amount of federal government resources that went into this. When everyday American citizens are struggling.

[Tim]

Yes. So here's how the money breaks down. That I could have found the UFC essentially put out 60 to 80 million dollars to make this event happen. But you still have to assume, and this is also verifiable, our taxpayer money went into all the security and everything else that goes into anywhere the President goes. So we still paid for. For probably a million or so dollars, if not more, to make this secure. I mean, look, guys, Donald Trump has been assassinated or there's been like what, three or four assassination attempts in the past, like couple months against Trump. So they have to do all of that in an open air area. That's our taxpayer money making that happen, right? That, that, that's our resources, that's government time spent making this event happen. When we have. So we have issues that are so. I mean, gas is one small thing we could talk about, right? Health care. But no, guys, Trump wanted this. He wanted to celebrate America by dropping a huge UFC octagon turd on the White House and calling it class.

[April]

It feels very. Let them eat cake.

[Tim]

I have another one. Another. I have a couple of different shots. I thought, here's one of the billionaire class that was here. So Mark Zuckerberg's in the back here.

[April]

Dana White, Epstein class.

[Tim]

The Epstein class. I know. I think Elon Musk was. It was in attendance. This was for the rich and powerful. This is the oligarchy. The oligarchy wanted to have an event on the White House lawn. And I want to be. Look, I want to be fair. I'm actually. I used to be a huge UFC fan. I watched a lot of the fights back in the day.

[April]

I watched them as well.

[Tim]

Yeah, I watched. Sorry, I hit the wrong button. I watched Matt Hughes. I watched Anderson Silva and his Mixed martial arts is an art form. It is a skill. Those people put a lot of work into honing in their craft. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but whatever. But the way that this event was used in service of this idea of God and country and America and freedom was just so classless. It was so tacky. It was so tacky. Just gross. It's gross. I hated it.

[April]

Yeah, tacky is a good word for it. It just felt like. It just felt like it cheapened the Oval Office. I mean, but to be fair, it's already been cheapened because Donald Trump's been there twice, so.

[Tim]

Well, look, I don't want to get too far into the weeds here, but I think it's worth mentioning one more thing. And we don't talk about this a lot on the show. This isn't really our angle all the time. But you see this octagon ring and all the different sponsors that are on the mat and around, right? This one of the big ones. One of the big sponsors of this, besides Metta and Turning Point USA is on the mat somewhere. Is. Is the crypto space and the prediction market space. It's okay if I just take like two minutes and explain to people what's going on here?

[April]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tim]

Do you mind?

[April]

Yeah, do it. I'm going to pull something because I saw a story about this.

[Tim]

You do that while I opine for a minute. So one of the things that we don't realize, a lot of us don't realize, is that, is that everything that has been happening in the past couple years, especially under Trump, has been designed to suck up as much wealth from the middle and lower class as possible. So there's these, these. There's these things called prediction markets. Cal, she's a big one, and poly market. And essentially what they're telling you is that this isn't gambling. You're using your knowledge to make bets on certain predictions if they will or won't happen. And they try and make it seem like it's actually really fair. Because if you do research, you can make informed bets that you know are actually very safe and secure. But the reality is that 0.67% of all users on these apps and there's data for this get about. I think the number is something like 65 to 70% of all the earnings on these apps. It's a big scheme to suck up money from the middle and lower class. There's also the crypto space, and I don't want to get too in the weeds here, but essentially a very common tactic of the crypto space. First off, it's very unregulated, incredibly unregulated. And what they do is. And Trump did this. This is why we don't understand just how depraved Trump is. Trump released a coin, a crypto coin, maybe a year or so ago. I think he called it Trump Coin or something like that. And what they do is they go, look, guys, on this date, we're going to release this Trump coin. And so when it comes out, you should buy in early because that will raise the value of the coin, and then you can sell it later on and make a lot of money. What they don't tell you is that people on the inside are able to get access and buy up a lot of that coin before it goes public. So this crypto coin from Trump might have been worth, like, maybe 1 cent per coin. So you have someone on the inside who will buy maybe $2,000 of those coins, giving them a lot of coins. Once it goes public, people punt their money into it, the price gets inflated. The people on the inside become almost instant millionaires. They dump their crypto, they. They sell the coin, and then they crash the coin, making it absolutely worthless. So it's essentially one big creative way to get people on the outside to give money to people on the inside. And that's who sponsored UFC 250, that. That's what's going on here. So it really needs to be said that, like, this whole thing is such a grift on every level. All of us are just getting raked over the coals in every way possible, and we're desecrating the White House while doing it.

[April]

I agree. Did you also just happen to see the story about Eric Trump DMing one of the UFC guys?

[Tim]

Daniel Cormier. Daniel Cormier.

[April]

Cormier, yeah.

[Tim]

Yes, I do.

[April]

Eric Trump has denied it.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Thank you.

[April]

And then Daniel since deleted it and says claims he was hacked and that he didn't actually post it.

[Tim]

But I'm gonna grab it.

[April]

It smells fishy.

[Tim]

This is actually really worth. April, thank you for bringing this up. Let me see if I can grab it.

[April]

I have it pulled up here.

[Tim]

Yeah, I have it here, too. I found it online. Cause I read about this earlier, and again, this stuff I hate uneducated.

[April]

And again, both parties now deny this,

[Tim]

so this is hard to see. But Daniel Cormier says on Twitter, I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for bringing this to light. However, I refuse to stay silent. The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event. Daniel Cormier was a former light heavyweight champion, really big in the Johnny Jones era, whatever, and also is a commentator for UFC now. And so Eric Trump DM'd him and says, allegedly. Yeah, allegedly. But these are screenshots. I don't know how you fake these are.

[April]

So these did. He did. This is on Daniel's actual Twitter. Like Daniel screenshot and deleted. Yeah.

[Tim]

So Eric Trump messages. Daniel. Hey, Daniel, I'm going to be attending UFC250 tomorrow. Saw you were casting. Hope to see you there. And then Daniel says, yo, Eric, didn't expect a DM from you. Excited to meet you in the family. Much love, brother. And then he says, this is Eric. Anything you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow? Who you got Winning. You placing any bets? Nah, says Daniel. I'm actually not allowed to bet on the cards or anything. And then Eric says, are any of the fighters injured that you know of? And then Eric says. And then Daniel says, I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Why are you asking me this? But I think they're all in good shape. And then Eric says, I'll just cut to the chase. Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I've been eyeing the Lopes fight, and I think an upset wouldn't be too unrealistic. Why would we not believe this? As I just described a second ago, if the Trump family is willing to grip their entire audience, of course Eric Trump is going to do stuff like this.

[April]

I mean, it is not surprising in the least. I would not put it past Eric Trump to do. But it is interesting, though, because he. I mean, the Trumps obviously have a lot of power, so would not surprise me if.

[Tim]

No accountability.

[April]

Daniel got, I don't know, even blackmailed or who knows, but. Or threatened to deny it because he is saying he was. He is now claiming he was hacked and he did not post it.

[Tim]

Guys, Eric Trump's dad helped incite an insurrection in his president. Was BFF with a pedophile. And his president, of course, course Eric thinks he can do whatever he wants. Look who his dad is. Yeah, look at what his dad gets away with. Of course he could do this stuff. I would not be surprised at all, April, if Daniel was messaged by someone, maybe Dana White. Yo, what the F are you doing? Get that S out of here now. Or else you're going to. I'm going to tank your career. Okay, boss. Absolutely possible, likely, I would even say, although I have no proof of that. So anyway.

[April]

But it is suspicious.

[Tim]

So let's get to kind of like the major point about why we're even covering UFC 250. And this goes in line with what we were talking about earlier about racism. So, unfortunately, we are gonna play this clip. It's been all over the Internet. I did change. I sped it up and changed the voice because the company that runs these fights is super copyright hungry. And I don't wanna get. I don't wanna lose the stream, but this fighter, Josh Hotkett, he wins his fight, he gets up, you know, Joe Rogan's interviewing him. And here's the full clip, not just. Not just the viral part. Here's what he said live on national tv, on Paramount plus and in front of thousands of people.

[Guest/Commentator]

Hey, shout out to Trump for having the Balls to put some shit like this on. And if I'm gonna say anything, there's only one person more incredible than the Incredible Hulk, and that's my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Now listen, Alex Pereira, I want a shama on your mama. And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America? Ladies and gentlemen, John Tolkien.

[Host/Announcer]

Wow.

[Tim]

Wow.

[April]

Talk about, like, what a perfect embodiment of Christian nationalism.

[Tim]

Exactly.

[April]

In one little spiel, like, I want to thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. And then two sentences, two sentences later, says something incredibly racist and transphobic for no reason.

[Tim]

And he can. He says, the only person I think more powerful than the Hulk. Is that who he says? No.

[April]

The Incredible Hulk.

[Tim]

Yeah, yeah.

[April]

Like the Big Green.

[Guest/Commentator]

For having the ball down.

[Tim]

Hold on.

[Guest/Commentator]

If I'm gonna say anything, there's only one person more incredible than the Incredible Hulk, and that's my Lord.

[Host/Announcer]

Oh, no.

[Tim]

Incredible Hulk. Okay, yeah, I misheard, but I mean, maybe. Exactly right. You say you thank your lord and savior, Jesus Christ in one sentence, and then you make a blatantly transphobic and racist statement in the next and think that somehow you're hilarious. And again, guys, Michelle Obama is brilliant.

[April]

She. Harvard educated.

[Tim]

Yes. Like, brilliant. Okay? Classy, smart, beautiful. Beautiful. And this just. I mean, just. Just look at this dude. I mean, but he did this. He did this on the White House lawn. And to a round of applause. To a round of applause.

[April]

A former first lady.

[Tim]

Imagine. Here's the thing, right? Of course you're gonna have some Republicans who are like, this is despicable. Okay? You guys voted for this. You guys knew what you were voting for. You were voting for an administration that believes Trump pushed the birther conspiracy against President Obama. Okay? Trump shared a video where at the end of the video, it depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. You voted for this. And it happened on the White House lawn. And this man feels like the current cultural moment. He feels so emboldened to publicly say this in front of the whole world.

[April]

And they cheered.

[Tim]

They cheered.

[April]

It is still wild to me. Like, everything that the MAGA world does is projection. They started accusing liberals on the left of Trump derangement syndrome almost immediately, saying, we were obsessed with Donald Trump despite him being the president and actively harming people, when in reality, they have Obama derangements.

[Tim]

100%.

[April]

Obama has not been in office in a decade. Michelle Obama, 10 years.

[Tim]

Yeah.

[April]

And they still can't. They cannot stop talking about that beautiful couple.

[Tim]

I just want to really highlight. Michelle Obama was at Princeton University, okay? And at Harvard Law School. This is a highly educated, brilliant woman. And men like this dude who make a living punching other men in the head, shirtless, by the way. And, you know, being all over them is so insecure and pathetic. He has to take a shot that is really more a reflection of him and who he is. Insecure, ignorant, foolish, and racist. And doing it in the name of Christ. You would think.

[Host/Announcer]

You would think.

[April]

But no reason for it, too.

[Tim]

No, it's just. It's hatred, man.

[April]

Random and stupid. Yeah.

[Tim]

So stupid and dumb. So, anyway, we want to highlight that.

[April]

Do you want to play the. The weird clip of Trump as. After he says that?

[Tim]

I don't have it. Oh, my headphones aren't working right. I can't. It's cutting in and out.

[April]

Oh, well, I can just explain it.

[Tim]

Yeah, just explain it.

[April]

Go ahead. So there's, I guess, footage that's kind of going around that people are speculating. Right after whatever that guy's name was says that terrible thing about Michelle Obama. There's a. You can see Trump in the background, who was initially wearing some kind of necklace that represents that fighter, Josh.

[Tim]

After Josh won the fight, he went over the. The octagon cage and gave Trump a necklace that Trump was wearing when he was giving this speech.

[Melinda Hale]

Yeah.

[April]

And then after he says this thing, his little speech, you see Trump take off the necklace.

[Tim]

Yep.

[April]

And so people are speculating. Does that mean he didn't like what he said and didn't want to be associated or.

[Tim]

White House? The White House refuses to comment on this. The White House guys, again, can we just think about how easy, how low the bar is? We have to speculate over Trump taking off a fighter's necklace to see if he disapproved of it. Because he won't say anything publicly and

[April]

say no, should disapprove of it.

[Tim]

That would be what I'm saying.

[April]

A naturally decent human response.

[Tim]

But Trump is so depraved. We have to do a whole segment on what did that signify? Maybe he didn't like the comment when he could have just said, then immediately, he could have tweeted out on Truth Social, Josh Hoskin is a racist idiot. He could have said. He could have done what Trump does, and he did.

[April]

But, you know, the reason the White House won't make a statement on it is because they don't want to offend. They're very racist based that. Liked what the guy said.

[Tim]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Melinda Hale]

Right.

[April]

Oh.

[Tim]

Oh, exactly.

[April]

So infuriating that this is our president.

[Tim]

Oh, my therapist loves me. I'm a lifer at this point, you know. Yeah, because I have. It drives me nuts. Last thing we want to mention on this segment, then we'll move on to our last one is the reflecting pool. Have you seen this, April? Have you seen what's been going on?

[April]

Not really reflecting a bunch.

[Tim]

So if you all don't know, a couple weeks ago Trump was like the National Reflecting Pool. It's, it's ridiculous. It's dirty, it's leaking, it's not good. We're going to clean it out. We're going to paint it blue. It's going to reflect blue water and look clean because we're bad.

[April]

And Trump has talked about this a ton.

[Tim]

A ton. Trump was saying this over and over.

[April]

Project. Yeah.

[Tim]

And so. And so Trump spent $14 million of your taxpayer money to hire a company with a no bid contract, which is very uncommon for a situation like this, to drain the pool and paint it blue and then refill it. And that happened. And for like three days it looked really blue. And then this happened. This happened. It's green again. Now you might be thinking, I don't know, Tim, I see like a blue ring around the edge of the pool. You're right. Because hundreds of like, of national park workers were seen by hand dumping in. Was it peroxide or something to kill the algae? It only killed the.

[April]

They could only do it on the edge. So now you have. It's like blue around the edge and then just green in the middle. It's like a landing strip for algae.

[Tim]

I'm gonna say if I could find an image of the people pouring it in so you can just see what they're doing.

[April]

Yeah, I mean if you go to like threads and just search reflecting polar.

[Tim]

Oh my gosh. It's so funny watching them. Yeah, I'm looking up.

[April]

He just, I mean, and to be fair, the reflecting pool already had some problem with trying to keep it clean. And algae.

[Tim]

No, totally.

[April]

There was an issue, but it was not this bad. No, we made it worse.

[Tim]

Not at all. I mean it also not even that it didn't fix the problem. So we spent $14 million for nothing? That's what you're telling me? We spent $14 million for nothing? Oh, here it is. Is this a good one? This might be a good image. Sorry, I'm on Instagram trying to find it because I'm on my computer here. This is kind of a decent. Here, here's a little video I found.

[April]

I have a video to send to you as well.

[Host/Announcer]

Okay,

[Tim]

here we go.

[Host/Announcer]

Look at them.

[Tim]

Look at that bottom picture, the guy with. Those are like Walmart grade off the shelf bottles. For the reflection.

[April]

I just sent you a tweet in eCamm. I don't know if you can, can pull it, but apparently some of the blue paint, because he painted the whole bottom blue, that was the project. So that it would look like American flag blue, I guess, which honestly doesn't look that way, but apparently it's like some of the paint is peeling and there's just like big chunks of blue floating in the water.

[Tim]

There you go. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Wow. That's crazy.

[April]

This is from headquarters. Posted that on their Twitter account.

[Tim]

Guys, look at how Trump is really cleaning this up. Look at that job, man. My question is, where's Doge when you need them? Like, isn't this what Doge is built for?

[April]

Like, government waste?

[Tim]

We found some waste, fraud and abuse. Like, we found some. Elon.

[April]

Oh, my gosh.

[Tim]

Oh, my. Well, this is, this is like. Okay, it's not the same thing. It's a little bit different, but there's a. It's the same theme. You know, we, we finally signed a peace deal with Iran. Right. And the peace deal says essentially that we have to, as part of the deal, we have to give them $300 billion to help them rebuild the damage.

[April]

300 billion.

[Tim]

300 billion. That comes out of a fund. Yes, yes. I don't know if it's all from the U.S. we have to contribute to this $300 billion fund. Okay, yeah, fact check me on this.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

You're right.

[April]

Trump's $300 Billion problems on the Iran agreement includes $300 billion fund.

[Tim]

There you go.

[April]

And I, and I read too, that it's basically the exact same deal that Obama made with Iran that Trump got rid of.

[Host/Announcer]

Yes.

[Tim]

The Jacob Accords, I think it was called.

[April]

Yeah. Except now Trump is giving Iran more money.

[Tim]

Remember, remember a couple of years ago there was this big scandal on right wing media that I think it was the Biden administration gave Iran a pallet of cash, billions of dollars. And it was like, do you remember this at all? It was a huge scandal that we were paying Iran billions. When I think during Biden.

[April]

Oh, during Biden. I mean, I don't know.

[Tim]

Yeah, hold on, I'm looking this up now.

[April]

Because they were mad that we were giving Iran money.

[Tim]

Yes. So here it is. The Biden Iran cash scandal refers to heavy political backlash over the administration's 2023 prisoner swap and sanction waivers. Critics accused President Biden of providing 6 billion ransom payment to Iran. That was their money. That part of the deal that Biden made, they gave back. It wasn't like it was taxpayer money. Right wing media made a huge stinking deal about this that we're sponsoring terrorism. Now we're going to give Iran $300 billion to rebuild all the infrastructure that we helped destroy. That, by the way, cost us $100 billion to do so. We paid $100 billion to bomb Iran, and now we're paying them $300 billion to help rebuild what we bombed.

[April]

So just to fact check us a little, it looks like they're saying Iran could have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund that I guess according to J.D. vance, would be funded by Gulf nations.

[Tim]

That's what he says. I'll look it up. I have it here. It's on cnbc. Let's make sure that we're being factual here because there's a whole bulldog. Because I've been reading this and I want to make sure I'm being accurate here.

[April]

I mean, regardless of how you slice it, it is still a worse deal for us than the one before that Trump got rid of. Yes, it's a better deal for Iran.

[Tim]

That's nothing new. And by the way, there's no, there's no regime change. Right? Wasn't the reason we were going in there for regime change?

[April]

That's what they claimed.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Yeah.

[Tim]

Also, it looks like, according to Fortune, we have to unfreeze $100 billion of, of assets from Iran that we were holding. Okay, here is, Iran will receive 300 billion in an investment package coming from mainly international partners. 100 billion in Iranian assets will be unfrozen. So whether we're paying for it or not, no matter how you slice it out of the deal, Iran gets potentially 400 billion. I, I can't even, I don't to

[April]

say the art of the deal. Basically what Trump does is he takes a deal, right, that's already in place, gets rid of it, says it's bad, and then negotiates a worse deal for America, but then claims victory because he made a deal.

[Tim]

Yeah, yeah. Had to share that with all you. It's what a week? What a week? What a week.

[April]

What a week.

[Tim]

This is what happens when you, America,

[April]

America, God, shed his algae.

[Tim]

I knew there was a twist coming. April, you don't disappoint. All right, let's see any more. Oh, we got a couple more super chats to read. Let's read the super chats. Friends, again, thank you so much for Being here, we are live. If you're watching this video right now, hit the like button, please. Helps us out so much. If you're watching on substack with our friends over at Lincoln Square Media, hit the heart. Heart button. We do this every Thursday, 12 o' clock Eastern, covering the news as two former Christian nationalists, helping you understand what's going on. Okay, let's see. What's the last one we read here?

[Host/Announcer]

I think.

[Tim]

Was it Tandyman? Yeah, it was Tandyman. Yep. Okay. Stevie Clown. The pic of the UFC arena looked like the alien ship about to destroy the White House in Independence Day. That's hilarious. Thank you so much. Joseph Compton. I have a friend who has no health care because he can't afford it yet. They have money for this UFC fight on the front lawn of the White House. Angry emoji.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Ugh.

[April]

Our healthcare system's terrible.

[Tim]

Don't get me ranting about it because I'm gonna cinders 80. I bought April's book from Audible and started listening to it a few hours ago and it is very interesting. I wish more of my friends would read it. Thank you.

[April]

Thank you so much for getting my book. For those who don't know, it is called Star Spangled Jesus.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Boop.

[Tim]

System of an up. Hockeyt sucks. Jordan Stale didn't have to be racist or homophobic pos when he gave credit to Jesus after winning the con. Smith betting ruins sports.

[Host/Announcer]

Agreed.

[Tim]

A couple more here. A couple more. Let's see Joseph Compton again. Josh Hokut is modeling what he thinks an alpha male looks like. Yeah, that's true. Jared the weird worker. Sadly, Hokut just said publicly what many of them have been saying more privately. That is for sure true. Dulc Dogan fitting a prez prob with dimension to have a CT event. Yes, thank you for that. A couple more here. Sean Carpenter. The UFC has been political since 2020 and I used to be a big fan until Trump started showing up at the events. Keep the great work up. Love you all. Thank you so much.

[April]

Thank you.

[Tim]

And last one, Justine Bailey. Dumb work meetings. Just getting here. Happy Thursday, friends. Happy to have you, Justine. Thanks for making time. Happy Thursday.

[Susan]

Hey there. I am Susan and I live in Southern Illinois. I have been a T and E donor two different times now. One of the things that's most important to me is that Tim and the board are fully committed to transparency and honesty. They don't want donors to feel as if though we are being coerced, as often happens within church environments. I am grateful for Tim and all that he has accomplished. I look forward to the future and believe that fundraising is a necessary aspect for growth to allow tne to provide these resources where they are needed most.

[Tim]

Okay, so we just get into our final segment here. We got a doozy.

[April]

We got a doozy. Okay, It. It is a doozy. Weird Christian.

[Tim]

Oh, boy.

[April]

Maybe we just play it.

[Tim]

If you have children in the car, there is mentions. It's. It's sexual in nature. Just keep that in mind. But this is. This is true. This is weird. This is weird and real. Here we go. Oh, God. You ready, April?

[April]

Okay, so for those listening on podcast, there's. It's a split screen of the same person and the left side has an X and then it's got a green check mark. So he's going to go back and forth between the wrong thing and the right thing.

[Tim]

Yeah, he's with the green check mark. He's reading a Bible with the X. The red X. He is holding his hoodie and, like, grimacing. And once you hear the context, it will make more sense. Here we go. I know you want a goon. I'm going to give it. Not this time, devil. I'm not giving in. I'm so tired. I'm not reading my Bible today.

[Susan]

I'm tired.

[Tim]

But I know reading my Bible is best. I want a goon so bad. I want a goon, but I'm gonna use the rewired app to help me. Oh, my God.

[April]

Why is he so pressed? And why is he doing that?

[Tim]

That is. That man. That man is.

[April]

He honestly probably needs to goon.

[Tim]

Just a little press. Oh, my.

[April]

Dude, can I just take it easy, bro. Tim found this one and sent it to me and I literally texted you, and I was like, what does goon mean?

[Tim]

Someone in the chat said that too.

[April]

I've heard that word before, so. Thank you, Julie. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[Tim]

Yeah, it's another way of saying, you know, self pleasure. There's a whole.

[April]

When I. When I googled it, it was like, edging, like, lasting a long time.

[Tim]

So look again. Just. If they're kids, maybe just fast forward this part. I'm saying it maturely. Gooning culture is a culture where usually young men are going for like, maybe six to eight hours a day doing this. Yeah. Or longer. And it's a whole thing.

[April]

Is that what he means in this context, though?

[Tim]

No, I think it just means, you know, like a. Whatever someone thinks is a more normal amount of time to do that.

[April]

Who's got the time for that young 18 year old.

[Tim]

I don't know. I don't know who does. But it's. It's a very. It's a whole subculture of like, it's kind of adjacent to like, like the alt right red pill world adjacent. It's not the same thing, but it kind of lives in those spaces. There's actually a documentary on guning culture on YouTube you can watch. And one guy has a room with like four big screen TVs, an iPad, a phone, and a chair. And he'll just play, you know what the. On everything and just go for 8 to 12 hours a day. Yeah. So anyway, that's gooning culture. But the word goon really means what you all just saw.

[April]

What a weird word. And also, like how he opens. He's like, I know you want a goon. I don't know why, just the way he says it.

[Tim]

Wait, what did he say? I know you want a goon. And then he promotes, then he promotes his app. Of course, you know, is it.

[April]

Yeah, is it his app? Because he's got other videos that promote this.

[Tim]

He's on, on like the app store screenshots. He's on one of them. So I'm not sure if it's his app or if he's the big promoter of it, but as we were looking through this guy's Instagram account, we found another video that we also had to share that makes this one look pretty tame.

[April]

I say that in this last clip where he's like, I want to get him so bad. He looks like he's laughing, like he's about to laugh.

[Tim]

I. I think even he knows that he's being ridiculous. Let me see. I want to goon so bad. I want a goon. But I'm gonna use the rewired app. No, no. You know what? I think he is, like, just over playing into the stereotype of like, pleasure and looking happy. I don't think he's laughing.

[April]

I want to so bad, but he's. His hand is going up and down.

[Tim]

No, April, we all know. No, it's very uncomfortable. I feel awkward watching this with you, April. It's like,

[April]

listen, I've never felt so old and out of touch. Like I was like, what is this young person talking? What is a goon?

[Tim]

So there's one more shorter clip this guy did.

[April]

Is that lotion? That is like an undisputed closed lotion bottle.

[Tim]

So the, the thumbnail is the same guy. It says, don't goon tonight, kid. It's never worth it. And it's him sitting at a laptop with a bottle of lotion in his hand, putting it on his hand. And this is a short one, so you got to watch. You got to watch. But here's how this one goes. No, no.

[April]

So what is that?

[Tim]

Do we have to narrate this for the podcast audience?

[April]

Why is he flashing lights in his face?

[Tim]

Okay, so I'll tell you why. I know why it's so uncomfortable. No, it's.

[April]

I mean, why is he. Can you not get through that?

[Tim]

So for the podcast audience there, he pretends to put lotion in his hands and puts his hands underneath the desk and makes the face that looks very exaggerated of him feeling very pleasurable. And then it cuts. And then the next scene you see is him looking at his phone while getting flashed in the face with light. This app, rewired, apparently has a feature where it helps you reset your brain by flashing light in your face for, like. See how there's a timer on the back? A minute and 29 seconds. I think that there's a timer that counts down.

[April]

Does that actually help?

[Tim]

I don't know, but I think it's how they. It's how. I think it's how he recalibrates to,

[April]

like, not want to goon.

[Tim]

You're learning, April. See, you're picking it up. Exactly. See, there he is.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Yeah.

[April]

I mean, honestly, if he means goon in the way that you described it earlier, where it's like eight to ten hours, well, I. I think you should try to not do that. That just feels like a long time.

[Tim]

Yes.

[April]

I don't know.

[Tim]

Technically Weird Christian bleep. Yes. This is a Christian influencer promoting.

[April]

You know, at the beginning, he said, I will not read my Bible. Like, the Bible part of it.

[Tim]

Yes, exactly. Yeah. This is. No, this is absolutely. Guys, you know what? I think for some of you who didn't maybe didn't grow up in this world of purity culture, even though this is crazy, this is. This kind of approach is pretty common. I mean, we played a clip of Todd Was Todd White a few weeks ago of him talking about how God watches it with you. God's right there in the room as you climax. That's his words. This world is super obsessed with sex, but they do it in a way of trying to create shame around these things that only then make people more curious and then think about it even more.

[April]

And again, this dude's entire Instagram account

[Tim]

is connected to this stuff.

[April]

This is. He's like the video, like, the What. What he's doing is. Is sexual while trying to say not to do it.

[Tim]

April, April.

[Guest/Commentator]

If.

[Tim]

If there was a tiktoker who was doing that without the shame part, right wing media would be like, look at the depravity of these. Of these leftists doing these things on the. On the Internet. You know, like, I'm just saying, if you took what we just saw and put a secular, non non Christian, non shameful approach to it, it would be all over right wing media as part of the proof of our sexual degeneracy. But because this kid's doing it in a. In a way that is about shame and promoting an app to help you beat lust. It's. It's promotion.

[April]

I feel like. Remember that scene from Friends? I don't know if you ever watched Friends. I watched some of it, but there's that one where Phoebe. What does she even see? She sees. I don't know, but she just goes, my eyes, my eyes. I just need to like, oh, what have I seen?

[Tim]

I think we have to respond to this content. This comment. Oliver Brown says, okay, I gotta send you guys a video. Please don't. We don't want a video of anything.

[Host/Announcer]

No, thank you.

[April]

It's probably a different video.

[Tim]

No, it probably is. I'm making the joke of like, we don't want any videos. Don't send us anything, everyone. We don't want anything. We will find the weird Christian bleep ourselves, so. Oh, my God, that's so funny.

[April]

I think it's fine if they want to send it to us. Sometimes we get good ones that way.

[Tim]

What's her email?

[April]

I don't know. You could DM us on Tim and April's show. Instagram, perfect. We check those every once in a while. We're not the best at it, but we can see it there. Do we have an email?

[Tim]

Tim and April show at the New Evangelical Center.

[April]

Clearly we're not checking it.

[Tim]

If we do, I check it.

[Host/Announcer]

I have it.

[Tim]

I check it.

[April]

You do?

[Guest/Commentator]

Yeah.

[April]

Okay. All right, good. What is it?

[Tim]

Right here? It's the. It's Tim and April show at the New Evangelicals Dot com.

[April]

Okay, There you go.

[Tim]

You can email us one last super chat. Mortified. April is the best. April, your skin color matches your hair.

[Mother of Cohen Wiley]

Oh.

[Tim]

Oh, Friends, friends, friends.

[April]

Genuine reaction over here.

[Tim]

No, I mean, I feel it's. It's a hard one to watch that one.

[Guest/Commentator]

Really.

[Tim]

I was. In fact, I sent that over to Christian Nightmares, the Instagram account, and they shared it because it was so.

[April]

Yeah.

[Tim]

Intense.

[April]

Did that. Did you just see that organically?

[Tim]

Yes. It popped up in my. In my algorithm. It's like, oh. And I said, I sent it to you right away. I'm like, here we go. This is it. It's been settled.

[April]

It's a goon.

[Tim]

All right, friends, listen, thank you so much for being here, as always. We love doing this show, and you being here live really makes all of it so much fun. We are Tim and April. We go live every Thursday, 12 o' clock Eastern. Yes.

[April]

April, did we do all our super chats?

[Tim]

Yeah, that's all of them.

[April]

We did. Okay. Because I thought I saw another one that came through.

[Tim]

Oh, okay. Hold me accountable.

[April]

Oh, if you say we.

[Tim]

I missed two. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. Thank you, Becky. In Colorado, is there no way to become a member of the Tim and April Show? We don't have any kind of membership thing, but you can join tne Connect, the. The resource that the new evangelicals has that has great community and places to become a member of different kinds of things for free.

[Host/Announcer]

Right?

[Tim]

I think that's the best answer I can. Can give.

[Susan]

Yeah.

[April]

Are they talking about, like, on YouTube? Are there, like, memberships on YouTube?

[Tim]

We have no memberships of any kind. Everything we offer is paywall free and content free. Yeah, yeah. But thank you so much for watching.

[April]

You can just join us every Thursday.

[Tim]

Yeah, yeah, be a member there. Joseph Compton, Just. No, no, no, no. Why do they do this?

[April]

I have the same question.

[Tim]

And the Last one. India Moore's 175. Tim, I am concerned for your f. For your. For you page. Yeah, I mean, me too, girl. Me too. Oh, man. Anyway, all right, so, friends, we'll be back here next Thursday, 12 o' clock Eastern, as always, right here on YouTube and on subsec with our friends over at Lincoln Square Media. Thank you so much for being here. It means the world. Yeah, that's all I really got. Anything else for you, April?

[April]

No, still reeling from that video. So, yeah, it's a do bleach, guys. After this, I think.

[Tim]

Just like how they're bleaching. I'm not actually bleaching the reflecting pool. Reflecting pool.

[April]

Oh, good. Good segue.

[Tim]

All right, all right, all right. Well, that's it. That's all we got. I'm Tim.

[April]

I'm April.

[Tim]

We'll see you later on.

[April]

Bye.