The Michael Knowles Show - Ep. 162 - Donald Trump Doesn’t Kneel

00:00:00.000 This Men's Mental Health Month, CAMH is confronting a silent crisis.

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00:00:31.100 I cannot believe that the culture would do this to me right before my wedding.

00:00:36.040 It's right before my wedding and the culture is trying to kill me with all this winning.

00:00:40.240 Not only, you saw it made me sick and tired last week.

00:00:43.140 I was congested.

00:00:44.420 I was tired.

00:00:45.260 I was sick.

00:00:45.820 Now it might kill me all of the winning.

00:00:48.000 As little rocket man runs his mouth,

00:00:50.200 the United States sends a clear message and backs it up with action.

00:00:53.760 What a welcome change.

00:00:55.020 Meanwhile, Donald Trump triggers the left into attacking the American flag again.

00:01:00.040 I don't know why they keep doing this, but great.

00:01:02.620 Bring it on.

00:01:03.300 We will analyze the virtues of common sense.

00:01:06.000 Then Patrick Coffin joins the show to give me and the world advice on marriage.

00:01:11.060 We could all use that.

00:01:12.220 You know, there's a lot of confusion these days.

00:01:13.740 Finally, the mailbag.

00:01:14.840 I'm Michael Knowles and this is The Michael Knowles Show.

00:01:16.820 A lot to get to today.

00:01:25.360 A lot of these.

00:01:28.640 Ooh, those tears are good.

00:01:30.260 Before we get into what's going on on culture and the politics

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00:03:45.760 So Donald Trump is spiking the football.

00:03:48.740 You see that pun?

00:03:49.860 You like that?

00:03:50.300 Donald Trump is spiking the football because the NFL announced yesterday that they would

00:03:55.020 no longer allow these players to kneel down and that this had always been the rule, but

00:04:01.280 now they weren't enforcing it for the last two years.

00:04:03.760 And so they will not allow players to protest the American flag on the field at the NFL.

00:04:08.940 Here is Donald Trump's reaction.

00:04:10.960 The NFL has put, the owners have voted unanimously to approve a new national anthem rule that says,

00:04:16.340 if you're not going to stand, stay in the locker room.

00:04:18.220 If you go to the field, you have to stand.

00:04:20.300 If you have a protest, your team's going to get fined.

00:04:22.820 This is the first time you're hearing this.

00:04:24.480 What's your reaction, Mr. President?

00:04:25.700 Well, I think that's good.

00:04:26.600 I don't think people should be staying in locker rooms, but still, I think it's good.

00:04:29.640 You have to stand proudly for the national anthem.

00:04:33.180 Well, you shouldn't be playing.

00:04:34.240 You shouldn't be there.

00:04:35.100 Maybe you shouldn't be in the country.

00:04:37.140 You have to stand proudly for the national anthem.

00:04:40.120 And the NFL owners did the right thing if that's what they've done.

00:04:43.120 If that is the story, do you feel like you pushed this story forward and you pushed this to a conclusion?

00:04:48.440 I think the people pushed it forward.

00:04:50.060 This was not me.

00:04:50.960 I brought it out.

00:04:52.140 I think the people pushed it forward.

00:04:54.560 This country's very smart.

00:04:56.000 We have very smart people.

00:04:57.120 And, you know, that's something ideally could have been taken care of when it first started.

00:05:02.680 It would have been a lot easier.

00:05:03.820 But if they did that, they're doing the right thing.

00:05:07.780 Absolutely right.

00:05:09.080 Absolutely right.

00:05:09.980 Everything he just said is absolutely right.

00:05:12.620 They shouldn't be in the country if they hate it so much.

00:05:14.960 If they hate the country so much, they should not be here.

00:05:18.300 The country gives them a lot of privileges, a lot of opportunities.

00:05:21.560 It defends their liberties.

00:05:22.560 It defends their life.

00:05:23.840 It's a lovely place.

00:05:25.540 Everybody's trying to come here.

00:05:26.700 And if you hate it, if you want to disrespect it and you complain about it and whine about it all the time, leave.

00:05:32.240 Leave. 0.99

00:05:32.740 Go away.

00:05:33.380 We don't want you here. 0.99

00:05:34.520 If you hate the country, go somewhere else.

00:05:37.100 That's fine.

00:05:37.640 Other or other places.

00:05:38.820 It's kind of harder to sneak into those other places because every other country enforces its own immigration laws, unlike the United States.

00:05:44.480 But get out of here. 0.84

00:05:45.460 He's absolutely right.

00:05:46.400 Also, I'd like to point out here, people say Trump is a narcissist.

00:05:50.980 This is one of the memes. 0.99

00:05:52.440 Donald, he's a big narcissist. 0.83

00:05:54.220 He only wants is about himself and this and that. 0.81

00:05:56.740 I don't see that here.

00:05:57.840 What Donald, what Barack Obama would have said if it were some, some issue that he had participated in.

00:06:03.540 He'd say, well, listen, I want a million Barack's and Michelle's.

00:06:07.800 All the future leaders of America are going to be a million Barack's and Michelle's.

00:06:11.100 He just sees everybody in the light of himself.

00:06:15.240 He's just looking in a mirror all day long.

00:06:17.680 But Brian Kilmeade asks Donald Trump, says, Mr. President, do you take credit for this?

00:06:22.700 He says, you know, yeah, I don't think so.

00:06:24.760 I think it's the people.

00:06:25.900 And he's, and Trump is right about that, by the way.

00:06:28.000 This is not about Donald Trump.

00:06:29.380 The New York Times is so angry, they ran a big headline today about how the NFL kneels to Donald Trump.

00:06:35.860 The NFL didn't kneel to Donald Trump.

00:06:38.040 The NFL kneeled to the American people who stopped watching their programming.

00:06:41.220 The NFL realized if it wanted to stay on TV and have people keep buying their products,

00:06:45.640 they would have to stop spitting in the face of people's country, which they love.

00:06:49.600 This actually didn't have a lot to do with Donald Trump.

00:06:52.320 What Donald Trump largely is, we talked about yesterday on the show, how Donald Trump is a people person.

00:06:57.740 He's living in reality, and he sees the present pretty well, so it looks like he's seeing the future,

00:07:03.540 because everyone else is living in the past.

00:07:05.120 And what he does is he sees what people are saying, and then Donald Trump is this big, gigantic microphone.

00:07:10.640 He is just a huge microphone for what's going on in the culture, and that's why it resonates.

00:07:16.040 That's why when he says it, people say, oh, he's saying what we're all thinking.

00:07:19.300 That's why he gets 50,000 people to go to his rallies.

00:07:21.880 That's why he goes there, and he's tapping into the zeitgeist.

00:07:25.000 He's tapping into what's going on in the culture and amplifying it, but it didn't originate with him.

00:07:30.780 And so, look, that's good.

00:07:33.040 I'm glad that the NFL wants to keep its money and stop, you know, giving the one-finger salute to its audience.

00:07:39.120 But now we have some skittish conservatives who are up in arms about this.

00:07:43.520 So the left is crying about free speech.

00:07:45.800 The left only cares about free speech, by the way, when it suits their purposes.

00:07:49.740 So they don't care about free speech at universities.

00:07:52.060 They don't care about free speech defended by the government.

00:07:56.000 All they care about is free speech for millionaire athletes during one particular sort of athletic broadcast.

00:08:03.400 That's the only time they care about it.

00:08:04.900 But now some conservatives are up in arms about this.

00:08:07.720 David French, whom I like personally, but he's lost it with this op-ed.

00:08:12.220 He wrote an op-ed in the New York Times.

00:08:14.040 The op-ed is called Conservatives Fail the NFL's Free Speech Test.

00:08:18.020 And this line of thinking is so wrong and detrimental to the conservative cause and to the defense of free speech.

00:08:26.900 And really, I'm mostly just peeved at David right now because he published it in the New York Times.

00:08:32.220 What are you doing?

00:08:33.300 You write for a great publication called the National Review.

00:08:35.860 You write there.

00:08:36.880 Don't put it in the New York Times, for goodness sakes.

00:08:39.880 So here's what he wrote.

00:08:41.100 Here is his argument, and I'll explain why it's wrong.

00:08:43.820 French says, quote,

00:08:44.560 And then he goes on a little bit and he says that, you know,

00:09:05.160 conservatives are saying that it's different when it's about the flag.

00:09:08.180 French writes, quote,

00:09:09.240 But this is different, they say.

00:09:10.600 This isn't about politics.

00:09:11.900 It's about the flag.

00:09:13.060 I agree.

00:09:13.700 It is different.

00:09:14.720 Because it's about the flag, the censorship is even worse.

00:09:20.760 Where to begin?

00:09:21.720 Where to begin with this?

00:09:22.620 So what David is saying is that conservatives talk a good game on free speech,

00:09:27.100 but also we don't want our national athletes to spit on their country.

00:09:33.680 And he says that this is a contradiction.

00:09:35.980 This is, of course it's not.

00:09:37.060 We're criticizing the content of the speech,

00:09:39.000 but we're also criticizing this particular speech,

00:09:41.820 an attack on the flag, because it is nonsensical.

00:09:45.200 Because you're using the rights defended, enshrined in our constitution,

00:09:50.660 protected by our communities and our governments and our law enforcement,

00:09:54.860 that you're using those rights to attack those rights,

00:09:57.720 to attack the source of those rights, which is the country,

00:09:59.980 the star-spangled banner, the flag, which is a symbol of the country.

00:10:03.040 It doesn't make any sense.

00:10:04.840 G.K. Chesterton talked about this.

00:10:06.420 He said there is a thought that stops thought,

00:10:08.560 and that's the only thought that ought to be stopped.

00:10:10.520 So as a matter of free speech, the players, they can protest the flag all they want.

00:10:16.960 They just can't do it during the broadcast.

00:10:19.400 They can't do it on the NFL's dime,

00:10:21.920 and they can't do it because the NFL will disappear.

00:10:24.100 People will just stop watching it.

00:10:25.580 Do the NFL owners have any free speech?

00:10:27.540 Do they have any rights to air what they want to air during their broadcast?

00:10:32.000 Do they have any, can they tell the employee, 0.98

00:10:34.340 hey, you can't use our product to showboat your anti-American trash? 0.98

00:10:39.200 This, this is what it would be like. 0.98

00:10:40.600 I wonder if David will write another column in the New York Times about this one.

00:10:44.000 If actors in Hollywood movies, they're filming the movie, you know,

00:10:48.520 Stella, Stella, I hate Donald Trump.

00:10:51.960 Get him out of office.

00:10:52.860 He says, Stella, Stella, you say, cut.

00:10:54.420 What was that?

00:10:55.440 You say, what if a Hollywood actor inserted his own political views in a Hollywood movie

00:11:00.440 and said, you have to put that in the final movie or you're abridging my free speech?

00:11:04.840 You're censoring me.

00:11:05.800 If you're going to say, no, we're not.

00:11:07.200 We're this movie studio.

00:11:08.300 We're making a product.

00:11:09.640 There are writers, there are directors, there's the studio, the distributors.

00:11:12.620 We have a product and we don't want you to, we're hiring you to do a job.

00:11:16.820 We're hiring you to say the lines on the page.

00:11:18.780 We're not hiring you to run your mouth about anti-American nonsense.

00:11:22.900 And they say, well, that's my free speech.

00:11:24.460 It's the same thing with the NFL.

00:11:26.080 These guys, these millionaire athletes who get paid to run around on grass and throw a

00:11:32.180 ball back and forth and enjoy the wonderful prosperity that this country has to offer,

00:11:37.860 that we take a time off, you know, once a week and just watch grown men run around and

00:11:41.800 play a game together.

00:11:42.660 They are hired to do a job, which is to run around and throw that ball.

00:11:46.940 They are not hired to voice their political views.

00:11:49.440 They can go to Twitter later and say, I hate America.

00:11:52.260 And that's what they're saying, by the way, when you protest the American flag, you're saying,

00:11:55.900 I hate America, but I protest America.

00:11:58.740 So they can, that's fine.

00:11:59.660 Take it to Twitter, do whatever you want, but you can't do it on our dime.

00:12:02.940 There's nothing contradictory about that.

00:12:05.100 And by the way, there's nothing contradictory about disagreeing with the content of the speech,

00:12:09.900 particularly when the content of the speech undercuts free speech itself.

00:12:13.840 There is a thought that stops thought.

00:12:15.620 That's the only thought that ought to be stopped.

00:12:17.860 And I wish conservatives would, would stop.

00:12:21.680 I don't know if they're being obtuse or pretending, or they honestly don't see that distinction,

00:12:26.720 but there is a thought that stops thought that's categorically different.

00:12:30.620 And by the way, the NFL has a right to make its TV shows and which is what it is.

00:12:36.340 That's what a football game is.

00:12:37.140 This is a TV broadcast paid for by advertisers under the NFL and Hollywood movie makers have

00:12:43.000 the right to make their movies and employees don't have the right to take over, hold that

00:12:48.500 entire production hostage and air their anti-American dribble.

00:12:51.520 That has nothing to do with free speech at all. 0.97

00:12:53.640 And it's a ridiculous argument.

00:12:55.260 Before we get to Patrick, I've got a really good guest. 0.80

00:12:57.580 He's going to give me advice on marriage.

00:12:59.020 I could use it.

00:12:59.940 Before we get to him, I do want to talk about Trump canceling the Korea summit,

00:13:04.480 the summit with Kim Jong-un.

00:13:06.420 And so, you know, we've seen, they've been building this up for a long time saying, oh,

00:13:10.020 maybe, you know, Trump will get the Nobel Peace Prize.

00:13:12.840 They're all saying Trump really wants that Nobel Peace Prize.

00:13:15.400 Oh, but will Kim do it? 0.99

00:13:16.500 They cast a little coin at one of the White House gift shops or something.

00:13:20.480 Okay.

00:13:21.660 Now it's over.

00:13:22.960 Now it's over.

00:13:23.560 Here is the letter that Donald Trump sent to Kim Jong-un.

00:13:26.160 I will explain why, why this really should give us a lot of confidence in the guy and

00:13:32.640 in Pompeo and in John Bolton and the foreign policy advisors around him, because this move

00:13:38.440 was perfectly done.

00:13:39.720 Here's the letter quote.

00:13:41.260 Dear Mr. Chairman, we greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to

00:13:46.000 our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which

00:13:50.680 was scheduled to take place on June 12th in Singapore.

00:13:52.640 We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally

00:13:58.180 irrelevant.

00:14:00.480 Dig, you know, you, you asked for it guys, but hey, we don't need to talk about that.

00:14:05.000 Letter goes on.

00:14:05.940 I was very much looking forward to being there with you.

00:14:08.780 Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent

00:14:13.840 statement, I feel it is inappropriate at this time to have this long planned meeting.

00:14:18.400 Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit for the

00:14:22.500 good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world will not take place.

00:14:26.480 You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I

00:14:32.200 pray to God they will never have to be used.

00:14:37.040 It goes on.

00:14:38.240 I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately it is only

00:14:43.040 that dialogue that matters.

00:14:44.320 Someday I look very much forward to meeting you in the meantime.

00:14:47.660 I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families.

00:14:51.460 That was a beautiful gesture and very much appreciated.

00:14:54.040 If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate

00:14:58.420 to call me or write.

00:14:59.600 The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace

00:15:03.040 and great prosperity and wealth.

00:15:04.560 This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.

00:15:07.240 Sincerely yours, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America.

00:15:12.880 Masterful.

00:15:13.680 Absolutely masterful.

00:15:15.540 Whoever wrote the letter, I don't, you know, presidents tend not to write these things

00:15:19.980 themselves, and it's a no slight to President Covfefe, but whoever wrote it, whether it's

00:15:23.940 Stephen Miller or somebody, Pompeo or something, really superb.

00:15:28.200 Because it has that Trumpiness.

00:15:29.340 It does have all of that, you know, he gets in there.

00:15:31.520 Because Kim Jong-un is raising a ruckus now.

00:15:33.540 And basically what he tried to do is move the goalposts.

00:15:37.320 Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-un, we're, you know, they're in dialogue about this meeting.

00:15:42.140 And Kim Jong-un thought he could turn up the heat on Donald Trump, on the frog, on America

00:15:46.820 frog, turn up the heat so we were going to get a bad deal out of it.

00:15:50.120 And Trump said no.

00:15:51.220 He had the willingness to step back.

00:15:53.420 This is a total contrast to Barack Obama.

00:15:57.840 Total contrast.

00:15:58.940 Barack Obama with the Iran deal was so desperate for that deal to happen.

00:16:03.380 He so wanted his second nuclear peace, nuclear Nobel Peace Prize.

00:16:08.040 He wanted to earn one of them.

00:16:09.200 He was so desperate he would take any deal, even if the deal didn't give us anything.

00:16:14.660 He was, he, they, Iran kept changing the terms of the deal.

00:16:17.660 They said, hey, let all of our money free up in the banks. 0.85

00:16:20.600 Okay.

00:16:21.080 Hey, fly over a plane of cash and drop it off.

00:16:24.260 Okay.

00:16:24.660 Yes, sir.

00:16:25.080 Whatever you want.

00:16:26.060 Iran captures American sailors, holds them hostage, takes humiliating pictures of them,

00:16:31.280 broadcast them to the world.

00:16:32.220 What does Obama do?

00:16:33.200 What did John Kerry do?

00:16:34.200 They said, oh, okay, I'm sorry.

00:16:35.480 I'm okay.

00:16:36.320 Thank you.

00:16:36.740 Thank you for not releasing more video of our sailors being humiliated. 0.87

00:16:40.840 I mean, absolutely pathetic because they couldn't accept a deal falling apart. 0.97

00:16:46.520 Donald Trump's not like that. 0.97

00:16:47.600 The way you negotiate, the only way a negotiation works is if you're actually willing to walk

00:16:52.040 away.

00:16:52.480 If you're not willing to walk away, that isn't a negotiation.

00:16:55.760 So what do we get now out of all this?

00:16:57.300 The meeting is off.

00:16:58.020 The left is loving this, right?

00:16:59.580 They say, Trump's not going to get that Nobel Peace Prize.

00:17:02.440 Turns out Trump didn't give a darn about that Nobel Peace Prize, did he?

00:17:06.420 He didn't.

00:17:07.060 He didn't care at all.

00:17:08.340 He just wants the thing to happen.

00:17:09.860 Someone asked him about the Peace Prize.

00:17:11.060 He said, yeah, that'd be fine.

00:17:12.380 A lot of people say I deserve one, but I just want the thing to happen.

00:17:16.020 I want to accomplish the reality, not just the appearance of the thing, which the left

00:17:19.980 loves.

00:17:20.420 I want the essence of the thing, which is a lasting peace and denuclearization of Korea. 0.98

00:17:25.400 But just look at what we've gotten out of this.

00:17:28.060 So we got this crazy, you know, back and forth media circus over this meeting.

00:17:32.980 Now it's over.

00:17:33.860 Okay, let's say it's actually over.

00:17:35.280 I guess it could still turn on.

00:17:37.100 If it's actually over, we got three American hostages released, one of whom who's been held

00:17:42.140 for three years by North Korea.

00:17:43.680 And North Korea demolished one of its nuclear test sites today in Punggiri, I think is vaguely

00:17:52.080 how you pronounce it.

00:17:52.980 But they actually demolished one of their nuclear testing sites.

00:17:55.960 There was a series of huge explosions.

00:17:57.960 Foreign journalists looked on.

00:17:59.260 We can actually see it.

00:18:00.140 This actually happened.

00:18:01.480 So we got two pretty big concessions out of it.

00:18:04.980 And Donald Trump walked away because the worst thing that could happen would have been that

00:18:08.720 the Obama policy.

00:18:10.240 Obama did this in Cuba too.

00:18:11.760 He went down and he said, hey, Castros, I know that we've been fighting you for years.

00:18:15.640 You almost destroyed us with nuclear weapons 50 years ago. 0.84

00:18:18.480 You brutalize your own people. 1.00

00:18:20.040 You're just monster thug mafia pinko monsters. 1.00

00:18:24.640 But we'll give you whatever you want so that we have the appearance of a deal. 0.99

00:18:28.400 So we have the appearance of peace.

00:18:29.840 So we gave the Castros everything.

00:18:31.880 We got nothing in return.

00:18:33.340 And that's an Obama deal.

00:18:35.780 Trump said no.

00:18:36.560 The worst thing that could have happened is if we legitimized Kim, we allowed them to 1.00

00:18:40.300 maintain their weapons.

00:18:41.760 We could have ended up worse off than we were before.

00:18:45.980 Now, because Trump was willing to walk away, we ended up way better off.

00:18:50.820 We get those hostages back and we get a nuclear site demolished.

00:18:57.520 And maybe there will be an opportunity in the future.

00:18:59.840 And Trump still, he doesn't back down at all.

00:19:02.820 He says, you know, you threaten your nuclear weapons.

00:19:05.500 Just remember, we could blow you off the map in a second.

00:19:10.480 In a New York minute, we could blow you off of the face of the earth.

00:19:15.080 That's important language.

00:19:16.520 You know, there's, he has no fear of looking like a failure here.

00:19:19.620 He's just doing the thing.

00:19:20.860 It's really beautiful.

00:19:21.660 Okay.

00:19:21.960 We got to get to Patrick.

00:19:22.860 We're running a little late.

00:19:23.560 Patrick Coffin, for nearly eight years, hosted the top rated Catholic radio show in the country,

00:19:29.520 Catholic Answers Live and the podcast Catholic Answers Focus.

00:19:32.680 He's the author of the contraception, deception, Catholic teaching on birth control, as well as 0.50

00:19:37.800 sex au naturel, what it is and why it's good for your marriage.

00:19:41.660 And currently, he's the host of the Patrick Coffin Show.

00:19:44.940 Patrick does a lot of things.

00:19:46.380 He's very, very busy.

00:19:47.780 Patrick, thank you for being here.

00:19:49.480 Thanks for having me.

00:19:50.420 You know, I really wanted to turn the Catholicism up to 11 as I prepare to wed. 0.97

00:19:55.220 I'm getting on a flight tomorrow to New York to begin my bachelor party.

00:19:59.180 So I guess that could, that could end up being my last show ever, I suppose, you know, depending

00:20:03.080 on how the bachelor party goes.

00:20:04.660 Up to 11.

00:20:05.780 Don't, don't, don't look at it.

00:20:06.980 Don't, don't touch it.

00:20:07.800 Don't even look at it.

00:20:08.760 No.

00:20:09.300 11.

00:20:10.520 11.

00:20:11.100 It goes to 11.

00:20:12.720 Spinal tap.

00:20:13.480 So I have my first question.

00:20:15.740 You are married.

00:20:17.520 Should I run away now?

00:20:18.760 Should I leave a Michael shaped hole in the wall somewhere?

00:20:20.920 You know, do you have any advice for me and the rest of the world on marriage?

00:20:25.140 I'm so glad you put it that way.

00:20:27.480 Don't do it.

00:20:29.720 No, Michael.

00:20:30.380 My, my favorite quote on marriage comes from our mutual literary mentor, GK Chesterton,

00:20:35.620 who said, marriage is a duel to the death that no man of honor should decline.

00:20:40.820 That or similar words.

00:20:42.200 So, yeah, you, my friend, are about to embark on the highest adventure imaginable, and that

00:20:48.160 is the union of two sinners, each of which represent a mirror.

00:20:51.860 I mean, your, your fiancee, soon to be your wife, God willing, will be your introduction

00:20:57.940 to you.

00:20:58.820 The real you.

00:20:59.440 It's just like two giant, you know, two-sided mirrors.

00:21:02.400 And likewise to her, you're, you're in for, um, I call, I call them the three rings.

00:21:06.960 You, there's a lot of talk of the engagement ring and the wedding ring.

00:21:09.780 Well, there's the suffering too.

00:21:11.420 Marriage can be hard.

00:21:13.140 You know, uh, marriage is, um, it's the ultimate form of friendship between two sexually attracted

00:21:19.360 people.

00:21:19.800 And when people ask me, let's say if they're, they're dating and they're, they want some

00:21:24.880 advice on whether or not they're compatible, I say, so are you, are you a boy?

00:21:28.500 Yeah.

00:21:28.940 You a girl?

00:21:29.660 Yeah.

00:21:30.240 Okay.

00:21:30.700 You're not compatible.

00:21:31.800 So just go, go from there.

00:21:34.440 But, uh, no, it's also, um, through the action of Christ, it's raised to the dignity of

00:21:39.500 a sacrament.

00:21:40.060 So you're also getting that third party in there.

00:21:42.560 You know, uh, Bishop Sheen's wonderful 1951 book, three to get married tells the tale

00:21:47.920 very, very well of the, the sacramental grace that you bestow on, uh, on your wife and she

00:21:53.920 to you.

00:21:54.400 So you kind of, you are the sacrament together.

00:21:57.220 So congratulations.

00:21:58.340 It's, uh, it's all, they never tell you, it's a lot of fun.

00:22:01.300 It's a lot of fun.

00:22:02.380 I am, I am looking forward to it certainly.

00:22:04.620 And, you know, I keep saying, I've been having a lot of fun in the run-up to the wedding.

00:22:07.600 So I've been telling sweet little Elisa things like, you know, Hey, I think you're going

00:22:11.000 to make a great starter wife or, you know, I can't, I can't wait for my first wedding.

00:22:14.720 I can't, you know, I hope maybe it'll be less stressful on my second one.

00:22:17.660 And she does remind me, she says, you know, you're Catholic pal, which means you are stuck

00:22:22.160 with me for all of eternity.

00:22:24.080 There's no, but there's, there's a lot of, uh, uh, confusion about marriage these days.

00:22:28.420 I love that you bring up the suffering, which is, I think the most Catholic answer you could 1.00

00:22:33.120 give and very, uh, profound.

00:22:36.180 Now we're very confused about marriage.

00:22:38.300 There are new definitions of marriage.

00:22:39.940 Certainly by the logic of that Obergefell decision, uh, it seems that there's no reason to preclude

00:22:46.200 polygamous, uh, marriages anymore.

00:22:48.520 Uh, the, it, the nature of the whole thing keeps changing even within one man and one woman.

00:22:54.460 The nature of the institution is quite different now, uh, over the last 50, 60, 100 years, people

00:22:59.740 are getting married later.

00:23:00.700 There are different financial arrangements. 0.98

00:23:03.080 Feminism has reared its ugly pink hat plaid head. 1.00

00:23:06.980 Uh, you know, there are a lot of things that have affected marriage. 0.93

00:23:10.480 Um, is there any hope to bringing a consensus back to marriage or are we all going in our

00:23:16.780 own directions?

00:23:17.400 I think there's a lot more hope than there is despair.

00:23:21.440 And the reason I say that is, um, there's a, a common myth that's floated around.

00:23:27.060 I've actually heard bishops repeat the myth and it's the 50, 50, uh, divorce rate.

00:23:32.540 So, you know, marriage rates 50%, it's not true.

00:23:35.360 That comes from a misunderstood, uh, garbled interpretation of a 1990 Lewis Harris poll.

00:23:42.360 And it failed to distinguish between people who had been married once and never divorced

00:23:46.440 and people who had been multiply divorced in marriage and, and, and remarried.

00:23:51.080 So imagine you're at a, you're at a, you're at a dinner party and, uh, there's 12 couples

00:23:54.840 there.

00:23:55.380 And one of the couples is, uh, Liz Taylor and one of her husbands.

00:23:59.520 So how do you reckon the divorce rate at the table?

00:24:01.540 Well, it depends.

00:24:03.260 Uh, there's a researcher named Shanti Feldon who, um, has a book on this.

00:24:07.200 And she says that for people just starting, have never been married before the divorce

00:24:11.700 rates under 30%.

00:24:12.920 Now it depends on, on where in the world that you, you know, cite that she's mostly dealing

00:24:18.020 with American demographics.

00:24:19.900 Um, but I think you're right about, um, the Obergefell Hodges decision, uh, 2015.

00:24:25.600 That was, that was a big seismic shift change in our culture.

00:24:30.620 And one of the interesting ironies to me, having debated it before, during, and after

00:24:36.260 that decision is rather than, um, a get into a conversation about homosexual behavior or

00:24:43.220 B be on the defensive and talk about real marriage or traditional marriage, ask the person who's 0.94

00:24:48.940 advocating for the redefinition of marriage, what his or her definition of marriage is like

00:24:53.880 finish this sentence.

00:24:54.660 Marriage is, and what you'll find is invariably their definition of marriage never mentions

00:25:01.460 sex.

00:25:02.820 Huh. 0.84

00:25:03.600 Oursy.

00:25:04.200 Sounds like a boring marriage. 0.97

00:25:05.900 Yeah.

00:25:06.440 Yeah.

00:25:06.640 Cause a lot of scrabble, a lot of violent backgammon apparently.

00:25:09.940 So yeah, their definition of marriage tends to be some combination of, well, it's a, it's

00:25:15.060 a warm, emotional, lifelong commitment between two people.

00:25:18.140 And you say, well, hold on a second.

00:25:19.380 Why two?

00:25:21.080 On your definition, why would you limit marriage to monogamy?

00:25:26.060 What's wrong with polygamy? 0.97

00:25:27.220 And this is where it becomes the thin edge of the wedge.

00:25:30.680 So I always encourage people who'd like to see marriage, uh, defined as it's been publicly

00:25:35.620 defined for 4,000 years.

00:25:37.260 This, this definition, by the way, predates Judaism.

00:25:39.520 This is not a Bible based only, you know, Jesus pointy hat, Pope document, uh, kind of

00:25:45.780 definition.

00:25:46.180 This belongs to human nature.

00:25:47.980 That marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman till death, open to the adventure 0.80

00:25:53.500 of parenthood.

00:25:54.280 That's what marriage is. 0.94

00:25:56.180 Now, if you want to have a zebra, okay, you can argue for zebras, but it's not a thoroughbred.

00:26:00.960 Right.

00:26:01.600 That's a good way to put it.

00:26:03.680 Yeah.

00:26:04.120 Different in kind, uh, not just in, uh, in degree.

00:26:07.400 Well, they, they found to, sometimes people will say, they'll say, well, what about in,

00:26:11.500 in the old Testament, a, uh, you know, men had multiple wives and you say, okay, sure.

00:26:17.240 So I'll even, I'll even grant that over the course of history, union, uh, marriage has been

00:26:22.420 the union of a husband and wives, at least one wife.

00:26:26.800 And, you know, sometimes multiple wives, it is, that's still pretty strict.

00:26:31.980 And that still includes the complementarity of the sexes.

00:26:35.040 I love, you know, in that decision, in the big Supreme court decision that changed the

00:26:39.040 definition of marriage, justice Kennedy wrote, he said that, uh, the constitution offered

00:26:43.900 us a right to intimacy, which I, I never found that.

00:26:47.400 And then maybe it's, it's somewhere in article five or something.

00:26:50.300 No, it should have come out earlier.

00:26:51.680 I wish I'd known that.

00:26:53.240 But he, I loved in Scalia's dissent, the late, great, uh, justice Scalia, he said, uh, okay,

00:26:59.100 even if you find a right to intimacy, surely marriage constricts rather than expands the

00:27:06.420 opportunities for intimacy, ask the nearest hippie. 0.99

00:27:09.440 And it seems to be some of the illogic of their argument.

00:27:13.000 Yeah.

00:27:13.460 Yeah.

00:27:13.780 Yeah.

00:27:14.000 A hundred percent.

00:27:14.860 So yeah, that's, that's good.

00:27:16.380 So I, so that, that part is all very confused out of this confused culture, because we can't

00:27:21.500 let more than 11 minutes go on this show without discussing Donald Trump.

00:27:25.560 Uh, but I'd like your perspective on it as a Catholic because, uh, evangelical, so out 0.99

00:27:30.440 of this confused culture, we elected Donald Trump, you know, and he's done a pretty good

00:27:34.900 job so far.

00:27:36.240 Uh, evangelical Christians, fundamentalist Christians, that kind of variety of American

00:27:41.080 Christianity, they're getting a lot of flack because they've largely supported Donald

00:27:45.440 Trump and, uh, Catholics like me who have supported Donald Trump, uh, I don't know, we get a little

00:27:51.240 less flack.

00:27:52.000 And I wonder if that's because the Catholic faith is different, uh, and makes different 1.00

00:27:56.440 claims than fundamentalist varieties and evangelical varieties.

00:28:00.180 Why are the evangelicals getting it so hard?

00:28:02.560 And, and is it okay for a believing Christian who goes to church to support Donald Trump?

00:28:09.040 Well, that is an excellent question.

00:28:11.360 Um, I don't want to give you a glib answer.

00:28:13.560 So this show is all glib.

00:28:14.740 It's fine.

00:28:15.300 It's all, you can give a, yeah, all glib stuff.

00:28:17.160 You can ruminate for 14 minutes.

00:28:18.060 No, I think you're, I think it's a very interesting question for a couple of reasons.

00:28:21.760 My answer would be something like this.

00:28:24.440 Uh, America in its founding documents is quasi Protestant.

00:28:28.780 It's secular, but there's a kind of a Christian soul to it.

00:28:31.700 If you read the works of, uh, uh, de Tocqueville and Chesterton's, uh, ruminations about traveling

00:28:37.440 here in America, uh, the Catholic faith is a kind of an exotic bird to most American Protestants.

00:28:44.280 They just don't get that someone can be a citizen of one country, uh, and not have a

00:28:50.600 political leader in Rome.

00:28:51.840 And this is where John F. Kennedy made his, I think, disaster, maybe disastrous is overstating

00:28:57.100 it, but his 1960 speech to the ministers in Houston, where he basically promised to be

00:29:01.960 a bad Catholic. 0.83

00:29:03.100 Right, right.

00:29:03.840 His faith would not inform his political decision decisions.

00:29:06.840 Well, uh, Catholics who are disciples of Jesus Christ do not believe that God especially

00:29:13.180 gave the USA the promise of the Holy Spirit.

00:29:17.120 You know, this country was not formed without original sin.

00:29:20.020 It's not going to be preserved forever.

00:29:21.740 Jesus promised the Spirit to his church.

00:29:23.400 And so Catholic citizens of all variety of political systems can coexist and flourish under

00:29:30.940 communism, under, uh, Republic, under representative government, under, you know, Canadian, um, or

00:29:36.820 English jurisprudence.

00:29:38.440 So we're, we're not as wedded to one way of being a citizen in a, in the social political

00:29:44.600 order.

00:29:45.040 And I think, um, therefore, uh, Catholics are, we're not wedded so much to who's in

00:29:53.600 that office because we don't put our trust in, in princes and, and so on.

00:29:57.180 Ultimately, I think, yeah, I think our, our, our point of loyalty, uh, is higher than the

00:30:03.260 person who sits in the White House.

00:30:05.300 I think you're exactly right.

00:30:06.860 I think that's it.

00:30:07.580 There is among certain varieties of Christianity in America.

00:30:11.100 I think people, uh, endow the White House and the Oval Office with this quasi-religious,

00:30:18.240 uh, clerical, uh, status, which I don't even know if Catholics afford that status to the

00:30:23.820 Pope, you know, I mean, it really has a special, uh, religious honor to it.

00:30:28.780 And Catholics, we just say, you know, yeah, okay, this guy's in office.

00:30:31.580 He's doing good things.

00:30:32.640 He says some funny things sometimes, and there will be another guy after him and another guy

00:30:37.940 after him, and eventually it'll all go away because to quote John Maynard Keynes, which

00:30:42.200 I do infrequently, but I like this one quote, in the long run, we're all dead.

00:30:46.780 Yeah.

00:30:47.480 Until we get eternal life.

00:30:49.200 That's right.

00:30:49.580 Then another guy will return and put a big bow on everything.

00:30:52.760 It's funny how, how, uh, worldview comes through in art sometimes.

00:30:55.780 You've probably seen this, uh, in various meme forms, forms online.

00:31:00.020 Um, it's a very Protestant-y kind of a thing.

00:31:02.760 All due respect to my separated brethren out there listening and watching.

00:31:05.760 But, uh, it's a picture of, I first saw it with President Bush and he's at the White

00:31:10.700 House and he's in prayer, okay?

00:31:12.400 So the Bible's on the, on the Oval Office desk and he's in prayer and above him, there's

00:31:17.220 Jesus, like the, the Mormon missionary Jesus with his hand on Bush's shoulder. 0.51

00:31:20.800 And there's Abraham Lincoln and there's, uh, George Washington.

00:31:24.140 Wait a second.

00:31:24.780 That's the community of the saints.

00:31:26.300 I thought you didn't believe in that.

00:31:27.960 Yeah, that's right.

00:31:28.960 Yeah.

00:31:29.140 What happened?

00:31:30.980 Yeah.

00:31:31.540 The cloud of witnesses, they don't have to be presidents.

00:31:33.720 Anyway.

00:31:34.080 That's exactly right.

00:31:35.920 I think it gets to the point that, uh, every, everybody's got to serve somebody.

00:31:39.820 And I find when people reject aspects of faith, natural aspects of faith, they just

00:31:44.320 get really superstitious.

00:31:45.480 So they say, oh, how could you ever pray to the saints?

00:31:48.480 But then there's this deification of, uh, Abraham Lincoln or, or George Washington or

00:31:53.080 something.

00:31:53.700 Very good men, you know, probably, probably they are saints, but you've got to believe in the

00:31:57.740 saints first.

00:31:58.200 Uh, before I let you go, I've got a couple more minutes.

00:32:01.060 I, I want to ask you about a really important question.

00:32:05.520 You smoke the occasional cigar.

00:32:07.640 You have the occasional glass of scotch.

00:32:09.940 I do.

00:32:10.660 I buy both.

00:32:11.420 I've, I've been known to do that a bit myself.

00:32:14.200 I notice conservative guys tend to flock to those two passions and pursuits and especially

00:32:21.060 the Catholics, especially the, uh, why is that?

00:32:25.440 What is it about the conservative character and the Christian character, the Catholic character?

00:32:30.040 Because a lot, you know, certain Protestant groups, they say no drinking.

00:32:33.160 You can't drink.

00:32:33.820 You know, they're a little more teetotaling.

00:32:35.580 Some of my waspy ancestors were like that. 1.00

00:32:37.860 The Catholic side, you know, they pour a lot of wine.

00:32:39.860 What is it about the conservatives and the Catholics that make us, uh, like to have a 0.99

00:32:44.320 good time every now and again?

00:32:46.160 Excellent question.

00:32:47.420 Uh, I heard a ribble joke from a former Southern Baptist and I'll share it with you.

00:32:51.480 Uh, it's, it's the observation that strict Southern Baptists are not permitted to have 0.56

00:32:55.260 sex standing up, not even in marriage.

00:32:57.640 Do you know why?

00:32:58.220 No.

00:32:58.620 Might lead to dancing. 0.92

00:33:01.120 So, uh, the Catholic worldview, uh, is very much focused on, uh, John 10 verse 10.

00:33:07.600 I came that you would have life and have it abundantly.

00:33:11.240 Uh, the, the scene at the wedding at Cana makes no sense whatsoever if what they're drinking

00:33:16.100 is grape juice.

00:33:17.140 Right.

00:33:17.840 Because there's, there's a implication there.

00:33:19.720 Uh, and also one of the Proverbs says, uh, you know, wine makes you happy.

00:33:22.900 One, you know, gladdens the heart.

00:33:24.720 I can attest.

00:33:25.380 Uh, so I can, I've, I've experimented.

00:33:28.740 So that's, that's to the, for the whiskey and the adult beverages in moderation, of course.

00:33:33.540 Now for the cigar smoking, I believe there is a, uh, almost biblical, uh, precedent for

00:33:40.280 this.

00:33:41.180 And it runs like this under the old dispensation, God commanded the Hebrews to incense the temple 0.99

00:33:47.980 as part of the Jewish liturgy.

00:33:49.460 How much more in the new dispensation, the new covenant, should we incense the temple of

00:33:54.260 the body, the Holy Spirit temple of the body?

00:33:56.720 That is so true.

00:33:57.940 I have frequently said this.

00:33:59.280 The body is a temple and the temple needs incense.

00:34:02.580 It's my little Cuban thurible.

00:34:04.100 You know, I have to, I, I think it was, uh, yeah, it's going to be when I retire, when

00:34:10.520 Ben retires me finally and fires me, that's going to be my new line of, uh, that's going

00:34:14.460 to be my new line of work making thurible cigars.

00:34:17.200 The GK Chesterton, who I think we've only referenced 150 times in the last six minutes,

00:34:22.940 Chesterton said the Catholic church is like a thick steak, a glass of red wine and a good

00:34:28.340 cigar.

00:34:28.900 And even in that first, uh, miracle at Cana, it's, uh, it's turning the water of ritual

00:34:35.320 into the wine of celebration.

00:34:37.340 And, uh, it's, and it's also obviously prefiguring the water and the blood, the, the Christ's

00:34:43.540 blood that flows on the cross.

00:34:45.380 But there, there is, uh, such a joy that comes out of that, right?

00:34:49.360 It's, Hey guys, this is the good news.

00:34:52.320 This isn't the dour news.

00:34:54.320 So, right.

00:34:55.480 And you're about to participate in that, in that, uh, great mystery, that great, uh,

00:34:59.660 sacrament of matrimony.

00:35:00.760 And it's called matrimony, uh, I think for a profound reason, uh, matrimony makes mothers 0.99

00:35:06.500 mater is Latin for mother.

00:35:07.900 And hence that connection with fertility and fecundity and union.

00:35:12.460 Um, and the wedding of Cana miracle is very interesting to me because he doesn't heal anybody

00:35:16.580 by it.

00:35:17.100 He just does it because it's a, like a, a supercharged, supernatural injection of joy into an already

00:35:24.260 happy moment.

00:35:25.000 And, uh, it's just one more reason to love being Catholic.

00:35:28.300 That's so true.

00:35:29.120 Yeah.

00:35:29.560 Yeah.

00:35:30.140 That's really good.

00:35:30.860 And at my wedding, I'm certainly following in the footsteps of that, uh, first miracle.

00:35:35.060 I suppose I'm going to have to lean in to that, uh, free flowing red wine and, uh, take one

00:35:40.200 for the, take, take one for the team, you know?

00:35:42.100 Uh, well, Patrick, that is, this is, I'm, there's no way I'm going to run for the door.

00:35:46.280 Sweet little Elisa might run and leave a sweet little Elisa shaped hole in the wall, but I'm 0.96

00:35:50.100 very excited to get married and I appreciate it.

00:35:52.000 When I get back, we'll have to do a cigar and scotch back on the West coast, your lips

00:35:56.480 to God's ears.

00:35:57.020 That would be great.

00:35:57.700 Right.

00:35:57.880 And keep in touch.

00:35:58.720 Folks want to keep in touch.

00:36:00.260 Coffin nation.com launching a membership site.

00:36:02.500 And, um, I appreciate your time.

00:36:04.560 Absolutely.

00:36:05.020 And where can people find you on Twitter and Facebook and all that?

00:36:08.780 Yeah, very good.

00:36:09.440 It's well, the public page is Patrick Coffin author and podcaster, demigod, something.

00:36:15.420 Um, and, uh, Patrick underscore coffin at Twitter and, um, coffin nation.com is a good

00:36:21.020 spot to, to start.

00:36:22.140 Well, I got to say, I've always loved your programs on the radio, on podcast.

00:36:25.360 It's really helped me think through faith and Christianity and, you know, and issues

00:36:31.000 even, uh, even more banal than all that.

00:36:34.180 And, you know, more, uh, more, uh, political and cultural and all that.

00:36:37.820 I've always enjoyed your, your programs and writing.

00:36:40.020 So I urge you to read Patrick's books and check out his shows.

00:36:43.160 All right.

00:36:43.340 We got to move on.

00:36:43.980 Thank you, Patrick.

00:36:45.140 All right.

00:36:45.440 Thanks a lot.

00:36:46.040 Take care.

00:36:46.920 We will move on to the mailbag, but I got to say goodbye.

00:36:49.600 I'm sorry, guys.

00:36:50.680 I got a good mailbag today and we're going to have to fly through it because I got to

00:36:53.740 go catch a flight.

00:36:54.680 You know, I, I'm hanging out with Allie Stuckey later today. 0.99

00:36:57.780 She's coming by and I wonder how long she's going to excoriate me for how popish this show

00:37:03.620 was today for talking to Patrick Coffin.

00:37:05.900 And I'm going to get a, I'm going to get a good talking to from my Protestant friend.

00:37:10.200 If you're on Facebook or YouTube, go to Daily Wire.

00:37:13.680 If you're on Daily Wire, thank you very much.

00:37:14.960 You help us keep the lights on.

00:37:16.200 You keep Coffefe in my cup.

00:37:18.400 Go to dailywire.com.

00:37:20.200 You get me, the Andrew Klavan show, the Ben Shapiro show, $10 a month, $100 for an annual

00:37:24.160 membership.

00:37:25.260 None of that matters because when those NFL players, when they can't kneel, when little

00:37:30.640 rocket man just starts getting a one-way ticket straight to the moon, we blast him off the

00:37:35.220 face of the earth, these leftist tears are going to flow.

00:37:38.040 And I won't be with you for, you know, my honeymoon.

00:37:41.640 I'm not going to be around.

00:37:43.140 I am obviously bringing this to the beach with me, not to, to save me from the ocean,

00:37:47.380 but to save me from all the leftist tears.

00:37:48.880 You should too.

00:37:49.420 It's the only FDA approved device.

00:37:51.160 Go to dailywire.com.

00:37:52.260 We'll be right back with the mailbag.

00:37:53.320 Not a lot of time left, but we're going to fly through.

00:38:06.400 We're going to do as much as we can from Mark.

00:38:09.960 Dear Michael J. Knowles, or current resident of the Ben Shapiro broom closet, congratulations

00:38:15.860 on your upcoming nuptials.

00:38:17.400 My brother is getting married this Saturday and I'm delivering the best man speech.

00:38:21.380 If you have a younger brother, if you had one, or is there anything that you would want

00:38:25.100 him to say as your best man?

00:38:26.700 And is there anything you would not want him to say?

00:38:28.620 All the best.

00:38:29.320 Mark Levin.

00:38:30.360 Is that the real Mark Levin?

00:38:31.560 I don't know if you're getting me.

00:38:32.480 Okay.

00:38:33.200 That's a Mark Levin.

00:38:34.020 Um, yes, I have strong opinions about this.

00:38:37.980 I have very strong opinions about speeches at weddings because they're all terrible and

00:38:43.460 there are too many of them and there are terrible statistically 100% of the time.

00:38:49.180 So yes, here's the main thing.

00:38:51.580 I've helped people write speeches for weddings before and here's what I do.

00:38:56.220 They hand me a little piece of paper like this and I read through their speech and I cross

00:39:00.480 out every instance of the first person singular pronoun.

00:39:04.020 Cause this is what it always goes.

00:39:05.300 The, the best man now, sometimes made of honor gives a speech because you know, the glory

00:39:10.880 of Europe is extinguished forever in the age of chivalry is dead.

00:39:13.700 So the best man, well, let's say he gets up there and I'll say, you know, I couldn't

00:39:17.480 be happier for Johnny.

00:39:19.340 I remember when Johnny and I were doing something that I like to do with me and then he and

00:39:24.020 I did this and it was really funny for me.

00:39:26.300 And then, then frequent.

00:39:28.080 So, okay.

00:39:28.760 The first bit is don't talk about yourself.

00:39:30.680 If you're giving the speech, talk about the couple, talk about the bride and the groom.

00:39:34.020 The next one is, and this should be a basic one, but this happens all the time.

00:39:39.220 If you're giving a speech about, uh, the bride or the groom, do not reference other people

00:39:44.940 with whom they have had sex.

00:39:46.200 I know that seems that you would think that would be basic etiquette.

00:39:52.840 I have been to many weddings, many weddings where the, the best man or the maid of honor

00:39:58.540 will talk about like past boyfriends and, oh, you should have seen the guy she was bringing

00:40:03.900 home.

00:40:04.280 You know, I don't want to think about that on the wedding day.

00:40:07.200 What's the matter with you?

00:40:07.860 So get that one out of there.

00:40:09.580 Uh, remember, it's not about you. 0.56

00:40:11.320 Uh, don't talk about the bride and groom having sex with other people and keep it short.

00:40:16.480 Keep it really short.

00:40:17.360 This is not, this is supposed to be a toast and okay.

00:40:20.520 And then I've been to somewhere, the bride and the groom speak.

00:40:22.760 Don't do that.

00:40:23.860 Don't do your look.

00:40:25.160 It's a, people want to see you as like a little figure on a cake.

00:40:28.980 They want you to be beautiful and nice.

00:40:30.900 You don't need to talk.

00:40:32.060 The minute you open your mouth, you're going to shatter that fantasy.

00:40:34.460 This is a day of people doing nice things for you.

00:40:37.280 You don't need to speak.

00:40:38.600 And then all of this, I mean, all these speeches now, the this father and the that father, traditionally

00:40:42.740 speaking, it's the father of the bride and the best man.

00:40:45.800 Boom.

00:40:46.140 That's it.

00:40:47.140 One and done.

00:40:47.720 Get out of here.

00:40:48.580 Uh, now like, you know, everybody has to go.

00:40:50.560 It's like the roast.

00:40:51.360 It's like a Dean Martin roast or something.

00:40:53.180 None of that.

00:40:53.880 Keep it short.

00:40:54.360 Keep it sweet.

00:40:55.260 And, you know, focus on the stuff that matters.

00:40:57.380 You're there with your friends.

00:40:58.260 You're celebrating.

00:40:58.980 That you've had a sacrament together.

00:41:00.680 Uh, do that.

00:41:01.480 Don't, don't put on a, don't put on a variety act up there.

00:41:04.380 Okay.

00:41:04.720 Next question from Marcus.

00:41:06.300 Dear Michelangelo Di Trollo.

00:41:08.080 Michelangelo Di Trollo.

00:41:09.060 Dimmi, dimmi, caro.

00:41:10.320 I've noticed that you don't end your shows with stuff I like.

00:41:13.680 Is this because in Catholicism, if you like something, that it's probably a sin? 1.00

00:41:19.960 Good observation.

00:41:21.380 In all seriousness, stuff I like can help your audience get to know you.

00:41:25.520 For example, do you prefer fiction to nonfiction?

00:41:28.000 Do you enjoy any music from the 1900s that isn't in a musical or movie score?

00:41:31.880 Looking at you, Shapiro.

00:41:33.420 Do you enjoy movies with leftist messages despite their messaging?

00:41:38.020 Yeah, I don't really do stuff I like.

00:41:39.780 Although I got it.

00:41:40.400 I have to push back a little on the Catholic thing because we do go into suffering and we 0.89

00:41:43.880 do, you know, mea culpa, mea culpa.

00:41:45.240 But I believe it was Puritanism, which was defined as the heart-stopping fear that somewhere

00:41:52.140 someone is having a good time.

00:41:54.320 You know, the Catholic Church, they pour out the wine pretty freely at least.

00:41:57.840 There's something there.

00:41:58.860 Okay.

00:41:59.140 What did you ask?

00:42:00.340 So do I enjoy, do I prefer fiction to nonfiction?

00:42:03.420 No, I prefer nonfiction.

00:42:04.320 I almost exclusively read nonfiction, which is tough because one of my very good friends

00:42:09.680 is a famed novelist.

00:42:11.480 So I really like Drew's books.

00:42:13.020 Drew's books are really good.

00:42:14.020 But I just don't read fiction that much, and I should because fiction is better than nonfiction

00:42:17.940 and it tells you more about the human condition.

00:42:20.180 I just don't get around to doing it too much because I'm too busy reading all these fun books

00:42:25.780 for people that I talk to on the show.

00:42:27.360 So do you enjoy any music from the 1900s, 20th century that isn't in a musical or movie

00:42:33.120 score?

00:42:33.480 Oh, yeah, totally.

00:42:35.320 I like a lot of popular music in small doses.

00:42:39.540 Most of the time, I usually just listen to classical or occasionally jazz.

00:42:44.100 Like I never listen to the rock station in the car or anything like that.

00:42:48.240 I don't run playlists.

00:42:49.340 Usually books are classical.

00:42:51.260 But yeah, if I'm hanging out or about to go out or, you know, having a little after dinner

00:42:55.740 or drink or something, yeah, I like music even up to like the 1980s.

00:43:01.520 It's pretty modern, man.

00:43:02.700 That's like the most modern conservative guys get.

00:43:05.940 How many more questions did you?

00:43:07.300 All right.

00:43:07.620 Well, I lost my place, so no one's out of here.

00:43:10.240 From Corey, dear Michael, I've found as I've taken more responsibility in my life and dug

00:43:14.860 more into what it means to be conservative and conservative values, I've found myself growing

00:43:19.320 stronger in my Christian faith as I saw a clear correlation.

00:43:22.720 Why is it that some conservatives try to separate themselves from the Christian faith that is

00:43:27.300 part of the pillar of conservatism?

00:43:29.300 Thanks, Corey.

00:43:30.120 It's because they don't recognize it.

00:43:32.340 It's because they don't.

00:43:33.640 We can extend this a little bit, too, to Jews, non-religious Jews.

00:43:38.400 They don't see how all of these thoughts come back as early as Genesis, right?

00:43:44.380 They just don't recognize it, I think.

00:43:46.060 I don't think that they are actively disagreeing with true religion and the religious basis

00:43:52.680 of these thoughts.

00:43:53.480 I just think they haven't thought through it, really.

00:43:56.240 It has frequently been said, I forget whose quote this is, maybe it's Chesterton.

00:44:00.320 All the quotes are Chesterton, is that no one has ever tried the Christian faith and found

00:44:05.060 it lacking or assailed the Christian faith successfully.

00:44:09.540 They just assail a caricature.

00:44:11.280 They try the Christian faith and they find it hard and they don't want to keep doing it 0.99

00:44:15.200 or something, you know.

00:44:16.540 That is, I think, the real issue.

00:44:19.060 So if people say, I want low taxes, but I don't care about all that abortion stuff. 0.98

00:44:23.960 I heard this.

00:44:24.820 Ann Coulter once said to me, I was with a group of college students, and she said, when you

00:44:29.260 have two candidates, even if you personally don't care about abortion, when you have two

00:44:33.100 candidates who promise to lower your taxes, one is pro-life, one supports abortion, vote

00:44:38.100 for the candidate who is pro-life.

00:44:40.060 He will lower your taxes more.

00:44:41.860 And what she's saying is, the candidate who, the lower taxes comes from a defense of liberty,

00:44:49.360 an appreciation of liberty and life and one's role in the world.

00:44:53.340 And that comes from natural rights, which comes from natural law, which comes from the natural

00:44:57.520 law giver, which comes from the Christian tradition, which comes from, which then leads

00:45:02.200 on to bioethical thought, the human dignity, how we ought to protect life from the very beginning.

00:45:07.760 Life either has value or it doesn't.

00:45:09.860 Life is either sacred or it's not sacred.

00:45:12.980 Innocent life.

00:45:14.340 And so there's a coherence to that one guy's thought, the pro-life cut your taxes guy, that

00:45:19.360 there isn't for the pro-choice cut your taxes guy.

00:45:22.940 Excuse me.

00:45:24.360 So there are plenty of conservatives who say, oh, I'm an atheist, or I don't think about

00:45:27.860 religion, or I'm spiritual but not religious.

00:45:30.260 And I'm glad.

00:45:30.820 Great.

00:45:31.160 Be a conservative.

00:45:31.860 That's fabulous.

00:45:32.580 I'm thrilled to have you.

00:45:34.560 But when you start thinking a little bit about it, I think that that atheism is going to

00:45:39.280 wear away.

00:45:40.140 Do we have time for one or two more?

00:45:43.000 All right.

00:45:43.560 We got time for one more.

00:45:44.700 One.

00:45:45.000 That's it.

00:45:45.340 Just one more.

00:45:46.200 From Jonathan.

00:45:47.120 Ah, it's too bad.

00:45:47.700 I had really good questions in here today.

00:45:49.140 Well, maybe I'll do like a Facebook live from the beach or something.

00:45:52.980 From Jonathan.

00:45:53.820 Hello.

00:45:54.280 I am going to be a junior in college this coming academic year, but I'm unsure about keeping

00:45:57.820 my major in business administration, and I'm unsure of what I want to do when I graduate

00:46:01.840 college.

00:46:02.660 I have many paths to choose, but I know that only one of them can be chosen.

00:46:07.520 Are there any tips you have for matters like this?

00:46:10.940 Don't become an actor.

00:46:13.460 That's my main advice.

00:46:15.100 That's my professional advice to everybody.

00:46:16.960 What should I do?

00:46:17.920 Don't be an actor.

00:46:18.840 That's my main advice.

00:46:20.640 Okay.

00:46:21.100 You're in an interesting position.

00:46:22.920 So I don't, you know, regardless of what the major is, I don't know that your major is

00:46:28.020 going to determine what you do.

00:46:29.220 So I'll just use my own life as an example.

00:46:32.520 I studied history and Italian literature.

00:46:34.960 I've trained at very serious acting conservatories for a long time.

00:46:40.840 I moved to New York.

00:46:42.000 I worked in politics and in theater.

00:46:44.100 Theater in New York, film, television.

00:46:46.960 Moved to LA, was still working in both of those things.

00:46:49.340 Then I ended up not writing a book.

00:46:50.740 Now I have a show.

00:46:51.760 Now your career can take pretty weird paths.

00:46:54.840 Does any of that have to do with my Italian literature degree or my history degree or

00:47:00.720 my theses I wrote in college?

00:47:02.520 I don't know.

00:47:03.260 Maybe, maybe not.

00:47:05.800 You should not go into a lot of debt to just, just cuz.

00:47:12.440 You shouldn't go to law school just cuz, you know, because that's the next thing to do.

00:47:16.860 You should go to law school because you want to be a lawyer.

00:47:18.500 You should go to medical school because you want to be a doctor.

00:47:20.220 Uh, but if you can't plan these things out perfectly, so I don't, I wouldn't worry that

00:47:24.700 you have to plan everything out when you're a junior.

00:47:27.200 Just work.

00:47:28.580 God can't drive a parked car, so just work. 0.98

00:47:31.560 Be doing.

00:47:32.240 Don't be thinking about what you're gonna do.

00:47:34.480 Be doing it.

00:47:35.140 I've, I've been, uh, doing show business stuff and working in politics for as long as I can

00:47:41.580 remember, certainly since I was 18.

00:47:43.140 And just doing it.

00:47:44.160 Do it through college.

00:47:45.180 Just keep doing.

00:47:46.180 And the more you do, you're gonna be able to figure out, hmm, maybe I'm good at this.

00:47:49.800 I'm better at this.

00:47:50.680 I should try to do, uh, this a little bit more.

00:47:53.600 Okay, maybe I'll take this class then because of that.

00:47:55.580 But you're gonna figure it out by doing.

00:47:57.060 You're not gonna figure it out by philosophizing and thinking and abstracting everything.

00:48:01.280 You're a conservative.

00:48:02.240 Don't live in abstraction.

00:48:03.340 Don't live in theory.

00:48:04.260 Live in practice.

00:48:05.280 Okay, that's our show.

00:48:06.460 I gotta go catch a flight.

00:48:07.960 Uh, well, I gotta hang out with Allie Stuckey and get yelled at first. 0.73

00:48:10.140 But then I gotta catch a flight.

00:48:11.520 So I will see you guys.

00:48:12.600 I'll be broadcasting all next week from New York.

00:48:14.540 Tune in for that.

00:48:15.820 Have a good Memorial Day weekend.

00:48:17.180 Don't do anything that I wouldn't do, but it'll be my bachelor party.

00:48:20.020 So that will give you, I'll give you a pretty wide breadth.

00:48:23.600 In the meantime, I'm Michael Knowles.

00:48:24.880 This is The Michael Knowles Show.

00:48:25.920 I'll see you next week.

00:48:26.600 The Michael Knowles Show is produced by Senia Villareal.

00:48:34.600 Executive producer, Jeremy Boring.

00:48:36.680 Senior producer, Jonathan Hay.

00:48:38.520 Our supervising producer, Mathis Glover.

00:48:41.100 And our technical producer is Austin Stevens.

00:48:43.740 Edited by Jim Nickel.

00:48:45.260 Audio is mixed by Mike Coromina.

00:48:47.540 Hair and makeup is by Jesua Olvera.

00:48:50.120 The Michael Knowles Show is a Daily Wire Forward Publishing production.

00:48:53.300 Copyright Forward Publishing 2018.

The Michael Knowles Show - May 24, 2018

Ep. 162 - Donald Trump Doesn’t Kneel

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