Better in their words…

WORLD NEWS AND COMMENTARY

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Yesterday, the New York Times ran a handful of stories about Charlie Kirk’s record-setting Memorial just outside Phoenix, Arizona. One story —the least arrogant— was headlined, “At Kirk Service, an Extraordinary Fusion of Government and Christianity.” The subheadline added, “The memorial reflected the degree to which conservative Christianity had melded with Republican politics in the Trump era.”

What a difference one election makes. If anyone on the right was shocked that Charlie Kirk’s record-shattering memorial service —attended by nearly every significant American political leader— was suffused throughout with prayer, worship, and Gospel messages, there was no evidence of any surprise or discomfort.

Indeed, some conservatives even complained bitterly that the government speakers were insufficiently or inauthentically religious. What do I always tell you? Some people would complain if they were hung with a brand new rope. It’s too scratchy!

Personally, I was grateful. President Cabbage Patch gave the nation trannies flashing their silicone gynecomastia on the White House lawn. He “proudly” declared Easter as the “trans day of remembrance,” and he dispatched undercover FBI agents into Catholic masses to surveil “domestic terrorists.” Biden’s message of salvation ran straight through ActBlue (* now under investigation).

In January, 2021, Satan’s throne was hauled from Davos, Switzerland and installed at Pennsylvania Avenue. Now it’s been unceremoniously thrown in the dumpster behind the Circle-K.

Sane people might have expected that someone, somewhere would mention the slight improvement in the national tone since Biden. But, as usual, it falls to us to notice the shocking, unexpected resurgence of the faith that single-handedly constructed Western Civilization.

The memorial started hours before the appointed time with uplifting worship services and concert-quality praise music. Then, the series of speakers paying respects to the assassinated college debater lasted nearly five more hours. Corporate media —and, I am sorry to report, some misguided conservatives— cherry-picked a handful of discordant, secular sound bites to highlight as “evidence” the dark underbelly of fascism.

🔥 It wasn’t difficult to locate the event’s emotional crescendo. It happened when Charlie Kirk’s bereft widow forgave the assassin who murdered her husband and made fatherless her children, a lifelong burden that nothing in this life can ever erase.

CLIP: Erika Kirk—“That man. That young man. I forgive him.”

Massive applause following Erika’s heartbreaking concession, a tear-jerking surrender of rightful rage that proved the truth of her faith— because how else could a human being achieve this kind of superhuman grace? But of course, it also immediately triggered hard-hearted ‘progressives,’ who instantly detected the cruel, withered hand of a mustachioed dictator (who, as you know, was always going around forgiving his enemies):

On the other hand, like many of us, President Trump was not yet ready to forgive. “Charlie did not hate his opponents—he wanted the best for them,” the President began. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents,” he said ruefully. “And I don’t want the best for them.” He chuckled, apologizing to Erika —“I’m sorry, Erica”— and admitted that Charlie wouldn’t approve: “Charlie’s angry looking down—he’s angry at me now. He wasn’t interested in demonizing anyone.”

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Trump’s remarks weren’t unchristian.In a wry, self-deprecating way, he was pointing out his own understandable and very human impulse toward anger, while acknowledging that Charlie was a better man than him— a pitch-perfect note for a loving eulogy.

Furthermore, Trump is the personal representative of the state, which is Biblically required to punish crime and maintain order.

Complainers can go sell their hypocrisy somewhere else.

Beyond that, it baffles me how any Christian can complain about the event. Consider one minute of Marco Rubio’s short eulogy, in which he explained the Gospel better than a hardened street preacher at the start of Mardi Gras:

CLIP: Marco Rubio summarizes the Bible in 90 seconds or less (1:23).

Was that not enough? Beyond that singular moment, Rubio’s clarion cry was also piled on top of dozens of similar sentiments, including by the President himself, with praise music, an entire worship service, and more.

Folks, I don’t want to call anyone out or throw stones here, but anybody on our side criticizing the memorial for being irreligious is not really on our side.

🔥 Erika’s astonishing, unbelievable, and even horrifying grace in forgiveness proved the awesome power and truth of the Gospel. It also carved into granite the irreconcilable differences between conservatives and crazy leftists who couldn’t —still can’t— forgive Charlie Kirk for simply saying stuff they disagree with. You never saw such a pack of stingy forgivers.

Erika’s impassioned forgiveness was yesterday’s emotional climax. But President Trump’s eulogy stole the show. I have covered too many Trump speeches to count, and this was his best. It’s not even close.

Trump’s speech honoring Charlie Kirk was a rhetorical masterpiece, packed with emotional highs and lows, jammed with logic and reason, and infused with a muscular, unapologetic optimism for turning tragedy into positive action. I suggest watching the whole thing.

There was simply too much to quote and keep today’s post to a manageable size. I’ll tease out one or two points, though. President Trump reminded us that Kirk’s killer was no one-off. It wasn’t just one crazed lunatic. The reasonCharlie was forced to buy security was because he was constantly under threat from legions of deranged leftists.

“On campuses all over the country,” Trump recollected, “his quest for open dialogue was met with menacing hate. There were bomb threats, pulled fire alarms, and countless rage-filled radicals who tried to shout him down.” The violent threat against Charlie Kirk had been escalating for years, all while Democrats nodded along in mute approval. “Antifa terrorists shattered windows, threw rocks, and tried to storm the buildings where Charlie was speaking,” Trump reported. “Often dozens of police were needed to prevent left-wing violence.”

It’s important because, as President Trump said, “The gun was pointed at him (Charlie), but the bullet was aimed at all of us.”

“The very people who call you a ‘hater’ for using the wrong pronoun were filled with glee at the killing of a father with two beautiful young children,” the President correctly reminded us. “The same commentators who this week are screaming ‘fascism’ over a cancelled late-night TV show last week implied Charlie deserved what happened to him.”

Trump put into words what we’ve all been thinking: “One part of our political community believes they have a monopoly on truth, goodness, and virtue—and concludes they also have a monopoly on power, thought, and speech. That’s not happening anymore.”

“If speech is violence,” Trump concluded, “then some are bound to conclude that violence is justified to stop speech. We will not let that be justified.”

Charlie Kirk’s assassination wasn’t a tragedy. It was a wake-up call. And, hopefully, a new Turning Point.

🔥 I’ll finish with this. I will feel I have succeeded in life if my funeral attracts a thousandth of the attention Charlie Kirk got yesterday —not even counting all the worldwide vigils and remembrances. Yesterday’s memorial was a wonderful, reverent, amazing, and inspiring outpouring of love and respect that celebrated and elevated Charlie’s life and his deeply held religious beliefs, while also leaving plenty of room for our secular friends.

Returning to my original theme, what most astonished me was some conservatives’ complete lack of gratitude for the work that God has already done in turning our imperfect nation around and hauling it back from the brink of the abyss. People demanding that everything be perfect before being grateful for what we have received exhibit the most unchristian take of all.

None are righteous, Scripture clearly says. No, not one.

Goodbye, Charlie. We who remain will honor your work, especially in the upcoming days and weeks and years, as the imminence and energy of the tragedy subsides and the hard work begins. After that, my brother, we will worship together in eternity.

💉💉💉

Talk about a political nuclear strike. Whatever the media might’ve minted from out-of-context clips from Charlie Kirk’s memorial is about to be blown right out of the newspond today. USA Today ran one (of many) stories yesterday, headlined “Trump reveals autism announcement during Charlie Kirk memorial: ‘We found an answer.’” Call it the experts’ great unbafflement.

Indeed, during his eulogy for Charlie, the President teased, “tomorrow we’re going to have one of the biggest announcements—medically—in the history of our country.” It’s autism; both preventing the cause and even providing a potential treatment. “How it happens —so we won’t let it happen anymore— and how to get at least somewhat better when you have it,” Trump promised.

In classic Trumpian media-management strategy, they aren’t saying what “it” is. Widespread rumors from a September 12th Wall Street Journal article suggested “it” will be Tylenol use during pregnancy(acetaminophen/paracetamol). This rumor triggered a massive wave of pre-bunking, as corporate media corralled its pet experts to sneer at and wave away all the many studies reporting links between the widely used painkiller and higher autism rates.

But the White House has stubbornly declined to confirm that rumor. And so we don’t know for sure. Meanwhile, the dramatically mounting mystery compels every major media platform’s attendance in the Oval Office this afternoon when Trump finally reveals the cause at 4 pm Eastern time (or possibly at a 1pm briefing by the Press Secretary). Trump made them focus on it.

Oh, how I hope the announcement will be anything besides acetaminophen— only because of how hilarious it would be for the media to have chased its pre-bunking tail for ten days.

Whatever Trump’s team identifies —regardless of what it is or how strong the evidence— will trigger a tsunami of predictable outrage and furious denials from the usual suspects. It could easily consume the week’s news cycle, despite there being a lot happening just now, both at home and around the world.

I won’t even try to predict what they’ll say about the cause; it’s pointless, since we’ll know today anyway. But I’m pretty sure we’ll have a whole lot to discuss tomorrow.

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Following his 4 pm address, President Trump will immediately relocate to New York City, so he can join tomorrow’s meeting of the entire U.N. General Assembly. I’ll probably regret making this prediction, but all my hunch neurons are firing like sparks in a fireworks factory. I think President Trump has a big move planned. Maybe gigantic. Two days ago, Reuters ran a short story headlined, “Trump to return to the United Nations as Gaza, Ukraine conflicts rage.”

CLIP: “What is your goal for attending the meeting?” “World peace” (0:05).

Tellingly, they gave President Trump the headline slot. Following opening remarks from this year’s organizer, Brazil, the American president will take the podium and deliver what everyone expects to be a major address. But the ‘major’ details have not been disclosed.

Wild speculation in foreign-policy circles is running amok.

The only tangible evidence I can offer you is the shortest imaginable exchange between a reporter and the President at a recent presser about the Gold Card program. The reporter inquired about Trump’s semi-mysterious trip to kick off this week’s UN General Assembly meeting (which includes all nations).

“What is your goal for attending the meeting?” the reporter queried.

Trump paused, thought for a moment, then looked up and responded with two words: “World peace.”

The room, normally raucous, fell silent for a distinct moment. World peace?? What did he mean? Then the moment passed and the presser resumed, turning to the next topic.

🚀 I would bet … um, maybe not Michelle’s Tahoe this time … my iPhone 12that whatever he says will be another shocking surprise. Something big, bold, and classic Trump 2.0. It’s possible he was just using typical Trump hyperbole when he said “world peace,” but … I don’t think so. There was something about how he said it. Watch the short clip and tell me what you think.

Over the last seven months, Trump has inarguably ended six difficult foreign conflicts. Arguably, it was seven (Israel-Iran). These are conflicts that the vaunted United Nations was unable to conclude, despite its vast budget and oceans of resources. At least one conflict that Trump ended had been raging for 30 years with constant UN interference, sorry, assistance. What do we even need a UN for?

The geopolitical possibilities are incalculable. Biden brought the globe to the brink of World War III, and everyone knows it. The Ukraine proxy war is currently stymied. Israel is fighting on at least five fronts. Charlie Kirk was just assassinated— and the world responded with love and affection.

President Trump enjoys another unparalleled historic opportunity. If I can see that, there is no doubt he can see it far better than I can.

I tried but was unable to find any adequate historical parallel. Our world is currently desperate for order and rationality and is exhausted by constant conflict in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. We have a new American President, who stands in full economic control of the globe and has his hands firmly planted on the tariff dashboard. And that President has proved he is willing to shatter any norm, any custom, and tread heavily on any entrenched interest.

And he just loves springing big, disruptive plans and causing strategic chaos.

Even according to corporate media, Trump has all the leaders eating out of his second-term hands; they fear offending him and are primed only to placate President Trump.

Under these circumstances, what couldn’t he ask them for?

🚀 One historical analogy sprang to mind. Maybe during his first term, Trump was most like General Julius Caesar on campaign in Gaul— unpredictable, controversial, mocked by the elites— and battling barbarians in the wilderness. But in his second term, Trump is like Caesar after he crossed the Rubicon, and is riding into the UN’s Senatorial Chamber with the full strength of his armies behind him.

America is no longer like it was under Biden. Biden’s military couldn’t even build a loading dock off the shore in Gaza with no resistance. Never mind the Afghanistan disaster.

But the world’s tremulous leaders have carefully watched President Trump surgically excise Iran’s nuclear program with stealth bombers that flew direct from the U.S. mainland— an operation so clean it felt more like a scalpel than a sledgehammer. He silenced the Houthis and reopened the Strait after just two short days of pummeling from the air. He’s blowing up fentanyl boats right off Venezuela’s coasts, practically daring the communists to do something about it.

Those effortless, over-before-you-heard-the-alarm operations reminded the world that America under Trump can project lethal force with terrifying precision, without messy occupations or decade-long quagmires.

I’ll bet we can build a dock now.

If the first seven months were the scalpel, what happens when Trump reaches for the broadsword? President Trump hasn’t yet flexed America’s full economic or military muscle, but everyone in the UN chamber knows he could do it and more importantly, that he will. I’m not sure any American president ever strode into the United Nations General Assembly holding as many cards as Trump has in his deck right now: economic dominance, tariff supremacy, conflict-ending credibility, and the sheer audacity to use them all at once. Other presidents came asking. Trump walks in dealing.

I am just a lawyer, not a diplomat or a foreign policy expert. But even I could imagine something like a “Peace for Trade” deal, with Trump demanding the majority of UN countries synchronize together with punishing tariffs against any nation that fuels conflict, and also provide collective preferred trading arrangements for countries that pursue ceasefires.

It would be like Trump’s tariff dashboard, but on a global scale. It could be like a de facto global peace cartel, using trade rather than troops as the enforcement arm through economic incentives.

If he pulled it off —and Trump’s the only one who could— people would ask why it was never done before. Or, maybe it’s nothing. Maybe I am seeing ghosts.

Who knows. We could speculate. But what’s the point, when we’ll hear it for ourselves tomorrow morning?

So, my only prediction is: whatever Trump says, it will not be just another scripted, soporific speech ghost-written by the State Department. Get ready for something new.

Have a marvelous Monday! Prepare for a week packed with world-changing news. Never fear, C&C will break it all down into its essential components, shred the fake media narratives, and mock the unmockable. As usual.

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