The Tim & April Show (The New Evangelicals)

Episode 79: Debunking Allie Beth Stuckey's ICE Propaganda
Date: January 16, 2026

Episode Overview

In Episode 79, Tim Whitaker and April Ajoy critically analyze right-wing commentator Allie Beth Stuckey's monologue on the recent shooting of anti-ICE activist Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The hosts dissect Stuckey’s narrative, contextualize the broader issues of Christian Nationalism, ICE’s tactics, and the misuse of faith to justify injustice, while also offering facts, empathy, and practical resources for listeners navigating faith, politics, and culture.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

• The Power of Narrative & Propaganda
  How right-wing Christian Nationalist voices—specifically Allie Beth Stuckey—shape narratives around ICE, immigration, and protest, spinning or dismissing video evidence and encouraging followers to distrust mainstream accounts.

• Debunking the ICE Shooting Narrative
  A deep dive into what transpired in Minneapolis, using video evidence and fact-checking to separate truth from manufactured right-wing outrage, and calling out the immoral empathy gap promoted by Stuckey.

• Faith and Moral Responsibility
  Challenging the misuse of Christianity to support violence and oppression, countering with the teachings of Jesus about loving neighbors and the marginalized.

• Projection and Double Standards
  Exposing how right-wing commentators project their tactics onto progressives and wield collective punishment and selective empathy to uphold harmful ideologies.

Episode Breakdown

Setting the Stage: Why This Matters

[00:30–05:10]

• Context: Tim and April regularly take apart Christian Nationalist media to help audiences “understand the world of Christian nationalism, how it’s affecting our neighbors.”
• Current Events: Heartfelt concern expressed for Iranian and Palestinian people and commentary on overwhelming world crises, tied to the Steve Bannon quote:
  “Flood the zone with crap.” — Tim [05:09]
• Motive for the Episode: A focus on “debunking what they’re saying so you can know that you’re not crazy. You DID see what you saw.” — April [03:42]

Who Is Allie Beth Stuckey?

[06:32–09:22]

• Stuckey is described as a right-wing commentator popular with “white evangelical suburbia mom[s]” and a skilled communicator engaging in palatable racism and xenophobia.
• Background shared: Tim debated her on Jubilee, and April was preemptively blocked by Stuckey.
• Why Respond to Her:
  “She has a huge following...her videos are used by everyday people...to go after the left or progressives.” — April [08:15]
• Stuckey’s book “Toxic Empathy” is highlighted.
• “She does a lot of damage… She is one of the biggest influences of Christian nationalists in this country.” — April [09:06]

Breaking Down the Propaganda

[09:58–22:14]

Stuckey's Version of Events

• Stuckey frames Renee as an “anti-ICE activist” who allegedly drove into the ICE agent, using loaded and dismissive language.
• She constructs a caricature of progressive reaction by narrating what she claims “your progressive mother-in-law, your progressive uncle… are hearing.”
• Hosts’ Rebuttal:
  • April & Tim call out the misrepresentation:
    “There’s no proof the vehicle hit him...no proof that vehicle actually touched him.” — April [10:17, 10:54]
  • Tim highlights classic right-wing tactics:
    “The audience is primed to disbelieve video evidence and then have it interpreted to them by people in authority.” [02:20]

Receipts: The Actual Atrocities

[14:05–15:44]

• Tim plays real news clips:
  • ICE arresting people based on their accent.
  • Children crying for their deported parents and ICE using a 5-year-old as bait.
• “It is not hyperbolic to say that ICE is terrorizing families, including children.” — April [15:26]

Parallels to History

[16:40–18:07]

• Tim & April acknowledge valid parallels with pre-Holocaust Germany (not the Holocaust itself), echoing historian Jamar Tisby's phrase:
  “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” — Tim [16:55]
• “As a queer woman, [Renee] felt fidelity to everyone who fell outside of the norm...wanted to do her part to stop [the harm].” — paraphrased from Tim [18:07]

Dissecting Stuckey’s Emotional Framing

[20:36–24:36]

• Stuckey’s monologue ends with pathos: the tragedy of Renee for her son, framing her as a martyr and progressive “victim.”
• April retorts: “We don’t need someone to tell us ICE murdered Renee Goode. I watched the video from every angle.” [22:25]
• Stuckey conveniently omits that Renee was a Christian and the ICE agent’s callous remarks after the shooting.
  “She was just standing up for what her faith taught her to.” — April [23:58]
• “So much of what MAGA commentators do is project...she is projecting onto progressives what she force feeds into her own audience.” — April [24:39]

Gatekeeping, Projection, and Double Standards

[24:58–29:16]

• Tim explains how conservative audiences are taught to only trust approved narratives.
• Stuckey explicitly says: “If you believed everything I just said...you would be outraged—but that's not the point. It's not about facts, it's about a larger narrative...proving Trump is bad.”
• Tim & April point out the projection:
  “We do not have to prove Trump is bad. Just listen to Trump talk.” — April [27:11]
• The hypocrisy of claiming moral authority while supporting a serially discredited, morally bankrupt leader.

ICE Enforcement: Facts, Fiction, and Harm

[36:36–44:46]

• Stuckey jumps to the claim that all progressive outrage = “Open borders” and lawlessness.
  “We’re not binary thinkers...we could hold space for both.” — Tim [37:06]
• April: “I don't know a single person that's arguing to get rid of borders and just let everybody in.”
• Fact-check:
  “65% of people taken by ICE had no convictions. 93% no violent convictions.” (Cato Institute, per Tim [39:55])
• Tim plays clips: ICE racially profiling target workers, detaining U.S. citizens, then dropping them at random locations.
• “Ali is a bold-faced liar...ICE is not protecting communities. They're only making them worse.” — Tim [43:17]

Christian Nationalism and Toxic Empathy

[45:36–53:11]

• April theorizes about collective punishment and theology:
  “...theology trickles out into policy.”
• Tim asserts that the real driver is “pure xenophobia and racism,” noting right-wing would never apply collective guilt to white shooters or MAGA insurrectionists.
• Stuckey’s toxic empathy is extended to ICE agent Ross, never to the victims:
  “She has...toxic empathy for ICE.” — April [39:59]
• April: “They voted for a rapist... and said ‘Give us Barabbas. I will take power over my integrity.’” [30:46]
• “It's the modern version of ‘what were they thinking?’” — Tim on how history will view this era [32:16]

The Christian Response: What Would Jesus Do?

[55:36–59:39]

• April: “It’s wild they can claim to follow Jesus, who said ‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me…’”
• Tim: “...they have the gall to claim that not only are they Christians, they are the true Christians. Anyone outside...is just heretical or Marxist or woke.”
• Discussing the Good Samaritan story as directly counter to Christian Nationalist empathy.
• Notable moment:
  “Jesus put no fine print when he said ‘love thy neighbor.’” — April [57:58]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We thought it might be helpful to debunk what they’re saying so you know you’re not crazy. You DID see what you saw.” — April [04:00]
• “This person has millions of followers. If they respond to us, they’re platforming us.” — Tim [09:22]
• “Ali is correct when she says that people are being arrested because of what they sound like.” — Tim [13:22]
• “There’s literally nothing in it for your Christian friends to be hounding you to become a Christian...” — [Relatable video segment, 61:11]
• “We all know...‘rules for thee and not for me.’ We have borders that we can enforce, but we have no problem invading the borders of other countries if it serves our national interests.” — Tim [56:21]
• “Anyone outside of MAGA at all, they’ve lost any ground that they had by who they support.” — April [31:52]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30–05:10 — Introduction and Episode Framing
• 09:58–22:14 — Play-by-play of Stuckey’s monologue and hosts’ real-time fact-check, including audio evidence of ICE abuses
• 22:14–24:36 — In-depth discussion on Stuckey’s framing and what's omitted
• 27:06 — “Importance of facts and data” (hosts' critique of selective fact-claiming)
• 36:36–44:46 — ICE’s real-world conduct and debunking “open borders” straw man
• 53:03 — Instagram-worthy rant by April: “They knew who he was and they said, ‘give us Barabbas…’”
• 55:36–59:39 — “What Would Jesus Do?” — discussing biblical response to ‘the stranger’

Conclusion & Tone

Throughout, Tim and April maintain a conversational, often exasperated but compassionate tone—punctuated by biting sarcasm and heartfelt conviction. They oscillate between sharp analysis, personal anecdotes, and vulnerability about the grief and gaslighting experienced by progressives and Christians seeking empathy, justice, and truth.

They close by underscoring the path forward: remaining rooted in the radical call of Jesus to love and advocate for the marginalized, and not succumbing to propaganda or despair.

Final Quote

“Jesus put no fine print when he said, ‘love thy neighbor.’”
— April [57:58]

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