Sekulow

Guest (Male): We got breaking news. President Trump addresses the FIFA controversy from the Oval Office.
Guest (Male): Keeping you informed and engaged. Now, more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Sekulow. I am back, Will.
Guest (Male): Yeah, people asked where you were, Logan.
Guest (Male): I am better than ever.
Guest (Male): Logan, go.
Guest (Male): Where did I go? I have been world traveling to Orlando, Florida, where you get to go around the world, Will, at Epcot Center.
Guest (Male): I have heard of this.
Guest (Male): Yes, I have heard of this.
Guest (Male): You get to see the world.
Guest (Male): Now listen, speaking of the world, we are discussing the World Cup. We are discussing the fact that President Trump has now gotten himself in a bit of more controversy with appealing directly to FIFA. Now, we do know President Trump is the FIFA Peace Award winner. Remember that?
Guest (Male): That is right. He did get the FIFA World Peace Prize.
Guest (Male): Right. He got the World Peace, which everyone knows is a thing.
Guest (Male): Very established thing. President Trump did that and look, we all were watching that USA game. All of us said that should not be a red card for those of us that watch soccer regularly and for those of us that do not watch soccer regularly, we all at least said that should not be a red card with no justification or basis on any other game we have ever watched before.
Guest (Male): But we all felt that way. We all feel that FIFA has a bit of a stigma to them as well, including, you know, just being known as being kind of a corrupt organization. Now, I do not necessarily agree with that or say that or I am not, I do not know enough about the facts. But you hear those kind of conversations happening.
Guest (Male): Well, and there is documented facts surrounding that. Even the bidding process. How even the the Cutter World Cup was notoriously. I think people went to went to prison because of corruption involved with that bidding process.
Guest (Male): I am just saying, I do not know enough of the details.
Guest (Male): It is not an outlandish statement to say it is a corrupt organization. They have some corruption.
Guest (Male): Now look, I am a fan. I have been watching a lot. I watched, you know, all the games yesterday. And President Trump did make a call, and he just addressed this from the Oval Office. This is how far up this controversy is getting. He addressed from the Oval Office.
Guest (Male): This decision that was made to overturn the red card and let one of our top players play in today's match. Now again, that is happening this evening. It is going to be a big deal, whether the US can proceed into the next round. I think it will be the furthest they have made it into the World Cup. Or pretty close.
Guest (Male): For a very long time.
Guest (Male): For a very long time. Yes, yeah.
Guest (Male): So again, this happened. There was pushback. A lot of people were excited and then they found out President Trump got involved. Of course you have the political world going, oh no, what do I do here? Because I want our team to win. I want our team to succeed. And I agree with this, but President Trump gets directly involved. And he did talk about this from the Oval Office.
Guest (Male): That is right. This was just moments ago before we went live here on the broadcast. Here is President Trump addressing this in the Oval Office. Bite one.
President Donald Trump: So I saw the play and I am a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. And I understand sports really well. Really well. And that was not a foul. That was not even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who is highly respected. And by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold.
Guest (Male): So right there, he is talking about he made a call, said, hey, I did not, I did not tell him to overturn. I said, hey, can you look at it? Could you do a review for your good buddy here in the United States?
Guest (Male): Hey, could you do a review?
Guest (Male): The irony that we are starting to see now is one, the left that has uh there was even headlines uh that said, you know, the the Democrats are are conflicted about US success. It says Democrats grapple uncomfortably with World Cup success. That is uh from Politico. So they did not want the US to be doing well in the first place because it is politically unsavory for them.
Guest (Male): Well, it is even that whole the whole cultural success that is happening on the World Cup. It is not even just to do with the team. The team itself, I think is doing well. We will see how things go. I think it is still going to be very uphill battle. But that is kind of beside the point. The good PR that has come out of the World Cup about America has been well beyond what people expected.
Guest (Male): Because, like we have told you, you go to Europe, you go to the UK. You turn on the news, guess what they are talking about? Donald Trump, just like here. Sure, they may be talking about their own world leaders as well. But Donald Trump gets, you know, front page above the folds.
Guest (Male): And they have been told how bad America is right now. Well, we just saw historic 4th of July. We just saw the 250th. Hopefully you all had a great 250 celebrated well. Stayed safe. Hopefully you all still got all your fingers. But either way, even if you do not, hopefully you had a good weekend celebrating our country, our independence. And we are now selling seeing this celebratory nature.
Guest (Male): We have got a really special offer we are going to give you coming up in the next segment. I am excited about it. You have been asking for something like this. We will be right back.
Guest (Male): This week our great nation celebrated its 250th birthday. This is our Independence Week. Freedom is precious, but it is not free. It can never be taken for granted. The ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the American dream, can be lost in a generation if we do not fight to secure it. Our liberty was declared 250 years ago. And for more than 35 of those, the ACLJ has been here, fighting against those that seek to challenge, undermine and even strip us of our God-given rights. Freedom must be protected always. And that is why we need you right now. When you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. But that is not all. The first 100 members to give $250 or more will receive an America 250 cooler bag and a limited edition ACLJ America 250 challenge coin. It is our thanks to you to help celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA.
Guest (Male): We have witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and standing up for the religious liberty of our kids and seniors. But even with the many historic wins we have achieved, the battle is far from over. The attacks on our constitutionally protected rights persist. Countless unborn babies remain in jeopardy, and across the globe, innocent Christians are being targeted and killed across this country and around the world. This fight is not just the ACLJ's, it is all of ours. It belongs to every American who wants to preserve the values and beliefs on which this nation was founded. None of the victories we have won would have been possible without the unwavering support of ACLJ members and ACLJ champions. It has been an honor to fight for you all these years. Join us in fighting for freedom. Have your donation doubled at ACLJ.org/freedom.
Guest (Male): Welcome back to Sekulow. Look, I am also excited to share with you some pretty cool things that the ACLJ has been doing for years. You have asked us to do special items, merchandise if you will, swag. And I have always kind of pushed back against it. I did not know if there was really a demand for it, but you know what, the team this time said, we really want you to do something special for the month of July. Logan, it is America's 250th. We are celebrating right now. It is a very hot summer.
Guest (Male): People need ways to to enjoy the outside, to get out. And this Independence Day was so special. Hopefully again, you had a great one over the weekend. Uh whether we we had friends and family over, just were, you know, hanging out, shooting off fireworks, enjoying each other's company, spending time. And and I know that some people went out to the big giant celebrations. Some of you had backyard celebrations. Some of you had indoor celebrations because it was pouring rain or 150 degrees. But look, it is quite an extraordinary accomplishment that the ACLJ is ready to celebrate. So, in honor of that, we are launching ACLJ Independence Week. It is a very special week where we are focusing on, of course, our rights, and we want to preserve life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Let us go for another 250 years, Will, what do you think? We should we I think we can do it.
Guest (Male): I am here for it.
Guest (Male): But with that, of course, all your donations are doubled right now. But if you have your gift doubled and you specifically go to ACLJ.org/USA. Today, we have a very exclusive offer for anyone who makes a gift of is it $250?
Guest (Male): $250 or more.
Guest (Male): $250 or more, which we know that is a stretch for people, but if it is $250 or more, you not only do we get your gift doubled, but you are going to receive an America 250 ACLJ exclusive limited edition challenge coin. And a very cool ACLJ cooler bag. We have videos you will see about this. Again, these are very limited. We are only going to do it for the first 250 people that donate right now.
Guest (Male): So I want you to be part of that. Is that the number right? Or it is 100?
Guest (Male): I think it is 100.
Guest (Male): 100. First 100 people to donate 250. And look, if this kind of thing works and you guys like it, again, you have to do it from that specific link. ACLJ.org/USA. If you guys like it, maybe it will inspire us to do more because I know you have always asked for something like this. But we are still continuing on our discussion about not only American patriotism, which has shown really there has been a big spotlight on it because of the World Cup. But now there is a spotlight on the game today. The match today, as President Trump has directly gotten himself involved in this, saying, you know, I know sports, I saw that foul and that foul should not have been a red card. Of course, a red card, if you do not know, not only removes that player from the game, brings it down to 10 players. It also typically keeps the player from playing. They are suspended for the next game.
Guest (Male): Obviously, we are in a very highly contested World Cup here in American soil. You have been having it in Canada, the USA, Mexico. Mexico eliminated last night and the USA still in it right now. So we are going to talk about that. Whether President Trump should have gotten involved, will he get involved even more? Are you cool with that? The fact that there is this sort of connection with sports. I mean, we know President Trump. We had UFC Freedom 250 there just a few weeks ago. We know how involved he has been with the UFC and for the that kind of patriotic celebration. But this is different. This is on the world stage. It is going to bring a lot more attention. I want to hear from you. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. 1-800-684-3110. We are also going to be joined a little bit later by Jeff Ballabahn from ACLJ Jerusalem, who is going to be joining us, giving us an update as they did a big celebration of America in Jerusalem.
Guest (Male): Well, and and one other thing I want to bring up is that when you see uh this conversation, it is not just about that President Trump, you know, decided to make a call to the FIFA and say, hey, can you look into this? There was not actually an appeals process uh because of the rules of the World Cup. So, that is what makes it a little.
Guest (Male): Exactly. It was not like USA men's soccer could go themselves and file an appeal of this red card. Uh but it it is a broader conversation, right? Because you are starting to see um the the chatter around of all the people that have been trying to put negative vibes on America, whether it be from the the World Cup or for the 250th celebration. You saw Chuck Todd saying, you know, it is just such a shame that we have to be celebrating the 250th with Trump as our president. You see uh all of the stuff I talked about last week with the fireworks display with the Washington Post exclusive about pollution from the the air quality, how bad it was going to be. By the way, update on that.
Guest (Male): CNN, they could not let Washington Post get all the credit. They put out on July 5th, so yesterday. Residents of Washington, DC, briefly experienced the worst air quality of any major city in the world, according to a company that ranks pollution globally. As the capital reckoned with the aftermath of a massive 40-minute 4th of July fireworks show. This goes all back to that.
Guest (Male): Whether it is.
Guest (Male): It was 40 minutes?
Guest (Male): Yeah. That is a lot of fireworks.
Guest (Male): Logan, it set the world record for biggest pyrotechnic display in history. It topped one that happened I forget exactly Singapore, I believe, with more fireworks. It was 850,000 fireworks. Like incredible. And at the same time that.
Guest (Male): I was nervous about that 20 shot that my kids lit in the backyard.
Guest (Male): Well, I mean, I do not know that they are professionally trained pyrotechnic artists, so I would have been nervous for you.
Guest (Male): Yeah, by my fingers.
Guest (Male): But uh but with all this, the fact that they are like, oh, it briefly experienced the worst air pollution in the world. It goes back to the conversation that we had last week of and I know we had a caller that said I was being flippant about it.
Guest (Male): We can not have nice things.
Guest (Male): It is what it feels like because also at the same time, they are saying DC had this pollution issue. What about marginalized communities in Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee, Florida, that experience fireworks shows, extended ones, every single night of the year? They are not writing those stories.
Guest (Male): It is probably 40 minutes of collective fireworks every night.
Guest (Male): Because they agree with the politics of that company doing it. They are not doing those expose. They they clearly have a fireworks beat writer over at the Washington Post, but they are not getting into it. Why? Because they are being blinded by politics at a moment when the United States can look unified, can be strong together because people are enjoying our nation as we host the World Cup. We are seeing success in places we have not seen normally success to this level in the sporting world. People are recognizing that, oh, this is a good thing. And yet you are seeing it every turn. The people on the left and the media organizations that back them up just trying their hardest to tear it down.
Guest (Male): There was a Washington Post headline this morning, as tomorrow begins the NATO Summit in Turkey. It says, as America celebrates the 250th birthday, will Trump declare independence from NATO? Like trying to be cute with the headlines about something that just should be a unifying thing. Right. The other flip side of that, there is a lot of people like, one can dream.
Guest (Male): All time.
Guest (Male): So it it just it is one of these frustrating situations where they they do not want us to be happy. They do not want us to be unified. They want to say, if the US continues to have success in the World Cup, there is an asterisk by it.
Guest (Male): And by the way, again, I want to put success in the World Cup in a very different way because is there a chance the US loses tonight? I do not want to put that out there because obviously I am cheering for our home country here. But yeah, I mean they are playing a very difficult team. We are in the World Cup. The US has just now started to really start to be one of the thriving nations for this sport.
Guest (Male): If we get eliminated tonight, do I think that all of a sudden, the goodwill that comes from the World Cup for the next two weeks is going to go away? No. Because you have all these nations flooding in and creating an atmosphere that not only is bringing international culture to us, which is great. But it is also showing the warmth that is coming out of so many areas of this country. You you hear some good talk out of LA. You hear some good talk out of New York, but where you are hearing the good uh talk really coming from is when these people are traveling all throughout uh the rural areas, through the South. Again, when you think about Europe, you are thinking about it in in a way that is so small comparatively to what we have here. That people can not imagine Europe the way they even treat themselves. It is odd. I have I have been in in London before and people are like, oh, this concert is 35 minutes away. It is a whole another market. You know, it is 20 miles away. And you are like, okay, well if that was here, that would be your local hometown arena show, but the way that it is just set up is very different.
Guest (Male): So now they are traveling across this country. They are seeing the good that has come through the United States of America, that they are that it does not meet up to the force fed lies that have come out of their version of the mainstream media, which is largely controlled often by the same players. And that has been positive. And I think what they are going to see is tonight, win or lose, that good vibe continues going because you are seeing that in games that have Morocco. You are seeing it in Norway. You are seeing these sort of almost American-style party elements being, you know, successfully celebrated inside America, but in an international stage. And I think there has been nothing but positivity that has come out of this World Cup. I have been excited about it for years. And remember, the next World Cup, uh I believe is is also hosted in three different countries throughout Europe. And then beyond that, it is going to be hosted, I believe in Saudi Arabia, which they are already beginning to do. So again, we are talking about 2030 is going to be a very different World Cup.
Guest (Male): Uh, as you are going to try to see a similar messaging, by the way, that is going to come from Saudi Arabia. They are going to try, as they have tried for many years now for Riyadh season, man. They are going to see this be a big push towards the next World Cup. I think World Cup 2030 is in uh Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, but then the one following that 34. Uh again, I think they are already prepping for it because they do not have necessarily that infrastructure ready to go. Uh is at least rumored to be uh in Saudi Arabia. They are all looking at us. Eyes are on America right now.
Guest (Male): I want to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. We are going to head over to ACLJ Jerusalem in a little bit. But again, this special offer right now during one of our great months where all your donations are matched right now. So whether you can give that 250 or not, please consider giving during this week. Uh it is a great time. Your donations are doubled. But right now, if you give, and a lot of you have asked for this, over $250 directly at ACLJ.org/USA, you have got to go there. You are going to get that special offer. We will dive into that when we get back.
Guest (Male): We have witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and standing up for the religious liberty of our kids and seniors. But even with the many historic wins we have achieved, the battle is far from over. The attacks on our constitutionally protected rights persist. Countless unborn babies remain in jeopardy, and across the globe, innocent Christians are being targeted and killed across this country and around the world. This fight is not just the ACLJ's, it is all of ours. It belongs to every American who wants to preserve the values and beliefs on which this nation was founded. None of the victories we have won would have been possible without the unwavering support of ACLJ members and ACLJ champions. It has been an honor to fight for you all these years. Join us in fighting for freedom. Have your donation doubled at ACLJ.org/freedom.
Guest (Male): This week our great nation celebrated its 250th birthday. This is our Independence Week. Freedom is precious, but it is not free. It can never be taken for granted. The ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the American dream, can be lost in a generation if we do not fight to secure it. Our liberty was declared 250 years ago. And for more than 35 of those, the ACLJ has been here, fighting against those that seek to challenge, undermine and even strip us of our God-given rights. Freedom must be protected always. And that is why we need you right now. When you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. But that is not all. The first 100 members to give $250 or more will receive an America 250 cooler bag and a limited edition ACLJ America 250 challenge coin. It is our thanks to you to help celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA.
Guest (Male): All right, we are back everybody. Welcome back by the way. Hope you all had a great Independence Day. Hope you had a great weekend celebrating this country. And of course, today, I feel like the festivities keep going as America performs and plays in the World Cup today. And of course, it could not be America without a little bit of political controversy as President Trump stepped in on the infamous red card that happened during the game, which would have prevented one of our top players, Balogun, from playing in today's game.
Guest (Male): Right.
Guest (Male): Because that is how the rules are. You get suspended after a red card. And uh we will see what happens because President Trump stepped in. They reviewed it and said, you know what? President Trump, we think you are right. Now look, I think if we are being objective, I think those of us who who follow uh the beautiful game, uh do go, yeah, I do not think that was worthy of a red card. But I think we have seen some really bad officiating throughout this entire World Cup, and it feels like the officials are are trying to be characters themselves within. It feels very much almost like the UFC where you can point to one individual ref. You can now point to that guy.
Guest (Male): And or it feels a lot like the SEC football. Like it is like, ah.
Guest (Male): You find that one guy.
Guest (Male): You got Williamson over there.
Guest (Male): Exactly. Yeah. It is very similar.
Guest (Male): Paid by Alabama.
Guest (Male): That is the closest thing. If you have tried to like picture what it is like to be uh playing in the World Cup or to to go to a World Cup game or go to a game, even an English Premier League team, uh it is very similar in vibe to Southern College football. Uh where it is a community event. You are representing your area, not just a school, or not just that you are you are die-hard, been with it since you were a baby type of person. You know all the chants, you know all that. It has a very similar emotion, very similar fan base that is just as passionate. So you take that and you broaden it out to the world stage. Now that is what we are seeing here. But we are also seeing this great positivity that has come from this. And I have been so thrilled to see that throughout the last few weeks as the World Cup has taken shape.
Guest (Male): And now we are starting to get into the heated eight times, and of course, it could not not get a little political. I want to hear from a call. Let us go to Anne, who is calling from Pennsylvania watching on Facebook. Anne, go ahead.
Guest (Female): Hey guys. Oh my God, you guys are awesome. You always get me the the the noodles in my brain. You get them fired up. Um, so I just wanted to say that, you know, there is so much division going on, but it is really not going on. The media is portraying it as going on. The problem is is even people, uh, influencers on our side of the party, are getting involved in this negativity and fear-mongering. Oh, the nation is over and this and that.
Guest (Female): So this, I wanted to say that this red flag should not have existed. And Trump stepping in is actually a really good thing. Uh, where was he when the Knicks played and they ended up winning the championship? Where what hap this is 250 years of America celebrating her birthday. And all these amazing things. And I sadly did not really see that much coverage of the fireworks display. I know it was crappy, it was really hot, and but there were a lot of fireworks displays going on. And I am just so grateful that we have people like you guys, the ACLJ, bringing it together, talking about positive things. It is okay. Bad things are going to happen. We have to point bad things out.
Guest (Female): But as commentators, as the media, we have a duty. We have a responsibility to point them out in a realistic way, to not point it not hyperbolically point them out. And also not lie, which is what the left-wing media does is lie. And they lied about America. So these people in these different countries that, like you said, came into America, got to see what America for what America really is. And that is a blessing in disguise. Trump won a huge massive victory in 24. Popular vote, Electoral College vote. But yet we have the people, some certain people on the right have to question everything that he does or does not do. Oh, the timing of the war, and what should happen, and how this should not happen, and how how is he dealing with it and his fake war experts that that come on these shows.
Guest (Female): Instead of letting the Trump, letting the President do his job, right? Bring the country together, which is what he is doing. And God forbid, people applaud all the good things. Do not we all see people for the good? We do not look at we do not look at a person, right? The ACLJ does not do that. We do not look at people, I do not look at people, I look at their good points.
Guest (Male): Right.
Guest (Female): You know what I mean? I love you guys.
Guest (Male): And I I love you. Thank you for your call. Once again, yeah, it is wonderful that also the men's soccer team is playing tonight. That almost we can continue the celebration of Independence Day. It gives us that that freedom, if you will, to enjoy it. Uh and and I think when you look at what you even brought up, the people that have come here that have been like, oh, this is great. These people are kind. They are they are getting outside of the New York, Las Vegas, Disney World, LA bubble that most of European travelers are going to one of those spots.
Guest (Male): They are seeing the rest of America. They are not just seeing the tourist spots. Uh and and yeah, they are like, oh, this is not what CNN International or the BBC tells us. This is completely different. It to them watching those networks abroad may think, oh, wait a second. How did did that person win an election? No one likes him in in the country. There there is such a uh a twisted worldview in the world when it comes to foreign media as well as American media that they are not telling the true story. They are not telling the story of this nation.
Guest (Male): And that is why even in this Independence Week, we are going to bring up things and and talk about things that make this country great. Why we strive for a more perfect union. We understand that we are not perfect. We are not going to stand here and say every single thing we do is perfect. But what is it? It is striving towards a more perfect union with a foundation that is solid, that is strong. Do not let the media or the radical leftists that are now getting nominations to go serve in the House of Representatives in the greatest country on Earth. They are elected officials and they are wanting to tear down the foundations of that. And we are going to get into that with video presentations this week and and many ways to continue this celebration.
Guest (Male): There is no reason not to, Logan, to really live in this moment. This 250th anniversary because if you are hearing negativity, turn it off, turn on this show and we are going to give you some positivity at this time.
Guest (Male): That is right. Look, the ACLJ team has put together some really great video presentations. We will we are going to play some of those in the back half of the show. Uh specifically one they did with the National Archives. I think you are going to find very interesting. I know we told you we are going to go to ACLJ Jerusalem, but as things happen, that is going to be put off for another day. We are live show. That is what makes this show fun. But instead of that, we are going to hear from you and see some of these special videos at 1-800-684-3110. I did want to take another minute as we are wrapping up this first half hour. We are just starting one of our big celebratory weeks, celebratory months, where we ask for your donation.
Guest (Male): But today, it is a little bit different. And for the first 100 people that donate specifically at ACLJ.org/USA. If you give over $250 in honor of 250. Look, come back to me. I will show it to you. I am going to do this, you know, whatnot style. Look, here is the ACLJ cooler bag. It is actually very cool, very well done, high quality, Will, you know, I am looking at it. Very good seams. I am looking at the seams. They look nice. But of course, it is ACLJ America 250, very nice and as well as the challenge coin here, which again, is a very it is not a random, you know, we did not just get these overstock somewhere. These are specifically ACLJ branded. We do not do a lot of merchandise. We do not do a lot of items very much.
Guest (Male): You have asked for it for a very long time. Uh and I have never done it. This is the opportunity. If you give $250 or more, the first 100 people to do that, which I think we can get through today everybody. This could end today. You get the challenge coin and you get the cooler bag, and that will be shipped directly to you. That is at ACLJ.org/USA. I know we are having some fun with it, but look, it is the first time Will and I have had to come on here and do something like this, so give us a little grace here. ACLJ.org/USA or scan the QR code you see in front of you. Again, one person said they think I could fit in that cooler bag. I do not think I do not know if that is a threat, but it is also it is also not accurate. I am just going to make sure you know, this is uh you know, you can pack some a lot of hoagies. I think this is you could have a whole party of hoagies in there.
Guest (Male): All right. Yeah, we will be right back.
Guest (Male): This week, our great nation celebrated her 250th birthday. This is our Independence Week. Freedom is precious. Freedom must be protected always. That is why we need you. Right now, when you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. To help us celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA today.