Matters. Bill weir is standing by in hawaii as we unpack that devastation. Also, a top american pastor who says that Teachings Of Jesus are apparently too woke, yes, you heard me say that, for trump supporting evangelicals. And the Riverboat Captain in that Alabama Brawl is speaking out for the first time right here tonight. By the way, if you havent noticed, it is the summer of women from the beehive to barbie and the swifties. But first, everyone, look, jack smith has already made his new years plans. Its not going to be swinging sweet caroline. He will be getting ready for trial. His office is now declaring that they want to see the Election Enteri Case on january 2nd. That date, if you look at the calendar, might seem glare ringly obvious. Its a few days before the third anniversary of the attack on the capitol and, yes, less than two weeks before the iowa caucus. And also, of course, the day after new years day. So he, obviously, came to play. Its also very legal and public clashes as well at the beginning of the 2024 president ial race year, and also means that the case that some people consider the most consequential test of our democracy might be the first one to go to trial, even if that was the last criminal case to be indicted. More on that in a moment. Tonight, have you seen this interesting, ill call it, new trend . Youll recall one of team trumps defenses so far has been jack smith cant get into his head. He is not a mind reader. He cant prove mindset. They cant prove that trump didnt believe his own lies. And someone must have actually maybe had a conversation with trump. Maybe explaining a little bit more about what mens rea means, the idea of the criminal intent and mental intent to actually perform the crime, not necessarily what you believe. Listen to why this conversation is likely to have happened. Trump is sort of couching his normal language and his normal misstatements and lies. Now, we added captions so you can follow along with these phrases. Im telling them in my opinion the election was rigged, and this thing that i i did something i didnt do anything wrong. I believe i won that election by many, many votes. Many, many Hundreds Of Thousands of votes. Thats what i think. And i expressed that on the phone call and i said i dont know what the number was like, 11,000 or something. I said, what i need is 11,000 votes. I won this thing by Hundreds Of Thousands of votes. Thats my opinion. Its a strong opinion. I think its borne out by the facts. Well see that. Now, thats interesting. I believe my opinion. I think. Why its interesting . Well, because, you know, you have, obviously, been watching him in the past. Trump doesnt normally couch his language in this way. Just take one speech, the one, well, from january 6th. They rigged an election. They rigged it like they have never rigged an election before. I won them both. The second won, i won bigger than the first. The states got defrauded. Our election was so corrupt that in the history of the country we have amassed overwhelming evidence about a fake election. They cheated like hell. Make no mistake. This election was stolen from you, from me, and from the country. We won in a landslide. This was a landslide. This is the most corrupt election in the history maybe of the world. I dont remember hearing that day or in the days that follow and as recently about the opinion, in my opinion, and i believe, and you must be wondering, why is that . Maybe it has a lawyers hand all over it. And you know the lies have, well, they have legal risks now and complications considering, well, this was Thedy Claimer from the network on which he appeared. Folks, a note. News max accepted the Election Results as legal and final. Lawyers are everywhere. They are also here tonight. I with want to begin now with cnn senior crime and justice reporter katelyn polantz. You worked 24 7, have been getting us the information we need. Thank you for being so diligent and persistent. What do we need fknow tonight, not just the fact that jack smith wants this to happen january 2nd, which trump is not happy about, i should mention, but how long does he anticipate that taking, because, of course, there is this little november election date. Yeah. So the trial date or the trial schedule that the Justice Department wants would be Jury Selection in december. So four months from now. Thats not a long time from now. And then the trial in january. January 2nd would be the day it starts. They are saying their case to present it what take four to six weeks. Four to six weeks. Donald trump may have to be sitting physically in a courtroom in front of a jury as the federal criminal defendant. You mentioned just a few moments ago about how donald trump, this is the third indictment against trump, and potential could be one of the first to go to trial if the judge agrees with this timeline. We already know that she wants things to be moving here, just from what weve seen so far without seeing her in person yet. And the Justice Department is actually arguing that that is this one really should go to trial so quickly why . Because its a public importance that deserves a prompt resolution. And particularly they say its because this is a former president charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate Election Results in 2020. That idea this is happening in the election year, they are actually making a bit of the argument to say thats a reason why we should do this trial, to have the public see how it concludes pretty quickly. Now, donald trump and his team, they are quite clearly going to be asking not for that date, much later than that. Trump is already saying it should be held after the election. They asked for after the election in their florida federal case related to documents. And they are saying that there is a lot of matters here that have never been tested in the court before that they need judges to look at. Doesnt mean they could be appealed and take a long time, but they are matters of potentially great significance. Its going to be a needle in a thread if you are jack smith to say this is not under any political considerations, and yet we know full well this looming trial date and, of course, the loom election date, and trump trying to say i cant get a fair trial here and maybe wanting to push that further. So good to see you. Thank you for your reporting, as always. Republican governor of virginia, bob mcdonald. He was prosecuted, actually, by jack smith back in 2014 on federal corruption charges. There is only to have that conviction, by the way, vacated it in a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court back in 2016. Governor, thank you for being here. I have to tell you, i had been thinking about you and your case as there has been a lot of criticism of one jack smith and your name comes up in a long list of people that jack smith has prosecute the. I have been wondering, given the fact there is all that talk about the weaponization of the government and the idea of him being a partisan prosecutor, thats the accusation being leveled against him, what did you think, what did you make of it when jack smith was named the Special Counsel overseeing this investigation . First of all, thank you for having me on. Its a very important topic for the public to think about. Are you know, jack smith is a smart guy. Harvard educated. The prosecutor, complicated work. Former u. S. Attorney. When i walked away in my case, i thought he was overzealous and stretching the bounds of the law. Thats what john roberts said in the final opinion. I think he didnt use good judgment. And thats why it was unanimously vacated. When Clarence Thomas and Ruth Ginsburg agree, youve got to admit there is something that is unanimously wrong. So i guess hold on. I dont want to cut you off. Just to clarify, and, obviously, you are aware of all the details of your case. For the audiences perspective, one the reasons the Supreme Court overturned unanimously had to do with Jury Instructions about the notion of official conduct. They felt that he was boundless was the word they used in the Jury Instructions. Is that the same thing as why you believe he was overzealous or this was a notion of the novelty of a case like yours . What the Jury Instructions youre a former prosecutor like i am. When you get the Jury Instructions wrong, you got the law wrong. When the theory of the case collapsed and they had a chance to retry the case, they dropped it. They had the law wrong. In my case, i had the five former White House Council from reagan to obama, 83 former attorneys general, democrats and republicans, all filed briefs this case, yet mr. Smith and the Attorney General of the United States persisted in going after me and, of course, the opinion said what you are doing is criminalizing things, political figures do virtually every day in the country. I dont think jack smith, to answer your question, i didnt see him to be partisan because, if you look at the record during the time he was head of the Public Integrity section, it was not just my case and the conservative nonprofits that he went after, but also jack, john edwards, bob menendez. I think in high pro profile cae stretched the law. Prosecutors have a unique duty. They are supposed to seek truth and justice, not merely convict. And i think he is just falling short on the judgment on that. So you dont think he is partisan. You think he stretched the law. I wonder, do you believe that jack smith is fair in his approach to even this case . Obviously, its distinct in yours. Do you think that he has the ability to be fair and has he exercised a different level of judgment in the indictment you have seen . I hate trying cases in the press, as you know. You dont get all the facts. We know what the law is. Here is my view on the two cases. I think in the florida case, if he can actually prove and has evidence that is believable on the allegations leading to the charges in florida, i think the president s Got Serious Criminal Culpability if he has the evidence. I think differently though in the january 6th cases because he didnt charge an Insurrection Offense if per se. Its the conspiracies, the theories that are i think are novel. Even if he proves the underlying facts in the indictment, i am not sure a jury will quick the president on conspiracy charges. I look at that differently. Thats my honest assessment of the cases as i see it. I can appreciate the idea of not wanting to try this case in the court of public opinion. You know the merit of having this adjudicated before the jury, having the parameters of a judge set the actual pace, the tone, the evidentiary burdens, all these things, and yet we know that the former president is attempting to, in many ways, try this case or present the evidence in a court of public opinion. Obviously, he is running for reelection. He knows the consequences of this. What do you make of the timing here . Because i dont know if you realize this, but the Special Counsel team actually cited your case in their briefing in support of their trial date of january 2nd because they say, look, that was a Rocket Docket sort of case. It can be done in a shorter window than others maybe believe. What do you make of the tlienl that jack smith is laying out and the ability to get this case either tried and done before an election . Youre right about that. My case was, from indictment to trial, about six months. You know, when an investigation has gone on two years and the defendant has four and a half, five months to get ready, i think there is a little sense among the public that maybe thats not fair. But i think, you know, in an election year, when the president is going to have trials in january, march, and may, he is going to be in a courtroom the entire primary season. And i think some people look at that, especially republicans, and say that that doesnt seem that doesnt seem quite fair. Is he going to be able to mount a defense and campaign at the same time or the charges being brought to stop him from winning an election . I dont know whats in jack smiths heart on that one. I mean, i have not seen any evidence i am not sure you are aware of any. I am eager to hear it if its available or there. That there is some effort to try to undermine his explicit candidacy as the president of the United States, as if that was the motivation. One looks at this possibly on the other side of the coin, governor, and say, well, yes, its true that these will be a matter of perhaps legal inconvenience, but if you have done those actions as alleged, then should the fact that youre a candidate be any way in the decision to go forward with the cases . You make a good point. Our whole premise of the american Justice System that we all learned our first year in law school is the rule of law. And we treat everybody the law has no respect or person, whether you are president or whether youre homeless, you get the same Due Process Rights in a courtroom. And so speedy trial laws are out there. It just seems again, i am looking at it from a republican. If i was solely political, i would say they are putting him out of business. So he cant campaign because they dont want him to win. But on the other hand, knowing the Justice System, i would say this is the way my case went as well, six months to trial and then two and a half years of appeal. I think the problem is that the governments got all the cards, laura, as you know. All the money, all the investigators, all the stripes, and having a defendant being ready for trial. Now, the president has a lot of resources. Three and a half years, 28 million, you know, i get unanimously reversed. Its tough with the federal government and all the resources that they have, and i dont see how he can mount a legitimate campaign when he is in court six months. Thats Public Perception, something is not right here. Its important from your perspective. There is the Public Perception and then the actually reality of what is it like for the average defendant. And the notion of 28 million available to fight a case is unbelievable. Its a pie in the sky notion. As a republican so many freaked out i pled guilty, as you know, 95 , they dont have the resources to fight whether the charges are legitimate or not, and thats tough. For many reasons, people call it a legal system, not a Justice System. Thats a conversation for another day. As a republican, let me ask you this. Obviously, donald trump is presumed at this point based on polling to be the frontrunner to get the rnc nomination. Would you vote for donald trump next year if he clinches that nomination . If he gets the nomination . Yes. He is not my first choice. I dont like the tone. I dont like the arrogance. I dont like the namecalling. I dont like the bullying. I think we have better standard bearers. I would love to see glenn youngkin, he knows how to get things done. Thats who i want to see as a republican leader. I like the policies that donald trump governed with, we and his team. I thought they were better for america. I think weve got two of the most flawed candidates. I left with the question, cant we do better in america with people who care and will unite the country and bring people together. Not divide us. Governor bob mcdonald, interesting perspective and unique coming from you as well. Thank you so much. Appreciate being on, lawyer a thank you. Tonight weve got the first tv interview with the Riverboat Captain from this massive brawl. Hear what he saw. Plus, joe manchin, a key vote in the senate and some would say a thorn in the side of the democrats the last several years is a step closer to leaving the democratic party. We will talk about the impact on the biden agenda. And more on the breaking news out of hawaii. Look at this devastation. And the death toll is rising. Our bill weir is on the ground. So stand by. Its the Inspire Implant. Hes not strugglgling with cpap anymore. All that resest is working wonders for him. Inspire. Learn more andnd view Important Safety Information at inspiresleep. Com. Family is just very important. 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There is really just devastating news tonight out of fire ravaged hugh highway. The death toll is rising to now 53 people. That number is expected to grow. The Island Of Maui is now a federal disaster area, and the governor saying this just a few moments ago. What we saw was the utter devastation of lahaina. We walked from end to end today, as a team. Mayor bissen for the county. Senator schatz at the federal level and myself, plus our teams, and what we saw was likely the largest Natural Disaster in hawaii state history. The images speak to how catastrophic the damage is. Look at this. Look at the before image and then the after image of a beach resort in lahaina. And this is the before and after of an outlet in maui. Now its nothing more than a heap of ash. I want to bring in cnns bill weir on the line in maui. Bill, i mean, i am seeing you in facetime. This is unbelievable to think about you just got there. We are looking at the images. You are on the ground. How bad is it . Reporter its worse than i had anticipated, laura. I had anticipated it to be bad. I cover the paradise fire, the camp fire, which is the deadliest in u. S. History, and was hearing similar stories of whats happening here, and the harbor is everything i feared and worse. Its completely devastated. The front street buildings, all the iconic tour spots, so popular with people who come to this west side of miami, or of maui, are completely razed to the ground. It looks like a world war ii Disaster Film almost. As if a bomb went off in the center of town. It came through so fast. I am hearing tales of folks who were just pinned. They had nowhere to go. If they got in their car and got on to the highway, it was bumpertobumper traffic with a wall of fire on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. One woman stood in the ocean for eight hours before she came out, before the flames had passed for her to come out of the ocean. Others, think about while this is happening, its 60, 70mileperhour winds, the surf is pounding. If you could get to a boat, you couldnt get out of the harbor in this weather. People trying to swim. You have to think about all of the chemicals in the water, the fuel spills in that harbor for people trying to escape. So the folks who you talk to around here are bracing themselves for a death toll that is going to go higher, unfortunately, now. Its already the second deadliest fire in u. S. History. In abisland in the middle of the South Pacific, its just inconceivable. For people used to hurricane warnings, tsunami warnings, volcanic eruptions, the idea that a widespread could move this quickly and devastate a Community Like this in the South Pacific is something people are coming to grips with. Bill, these stories are heartbreaking. We are watching and looking at the images as you are talking right now, and, you know, when you have a hurricane in places like florida, or on the coast of the United States, when you have got, you know, obviously, you know, Border Ring States and beyond, it can be difficult to get people aid, the resources they need, to get them out of harms way. This happening in maui now in what was a paradise location. Was there any notice . Did people have any time . How much lead time did they have when they realized just the danger they were in . Reporter it was minutes. It was minutes people had to decide. They would see embers blowing. The prudent ones who took this seriously and jumped in their cars, i spoke to a gentleman who owns Art Galleries in beach towns around the world. You probably have seen them. They have whale murals on the side. He jumped on his harleydavidson and was able then to get around lines of traffic. He says he thinks that might have saved him because he was more nimble on a motorcycle than bumpertobumper in a car. Yeah, no. Its just i hear story after story about how fast it moved, because the winds, they had never seen before. They are used to 30, 40mileanhour trade winds in the islands here, but this was they one local farmer here that im actually using his wifi signal, which is why i can talk to you, i am not near the devastation. This is the only place we could get a signal. So many of the cell towers are burned down. There is a lack of communication. People are worried, cant get Proof Of Life for people. Thats scary as you wait for the confirmation that your loved one is okay out there, as well. But he was telling me the stories of the wind. As a kite surfer, he knows when the palm tree leaves are vertical like that, 70, 80mileanhour range. When they snap off, its over that. And all of this dry tinder and fuel around us with the blowtorch winds, people didnt have a chance. They didnt have a chance to get out. The mommy in me thinking about all the people trying to keep their children calm, trying to make sure their children are accounted for, their loved ones are safe, the fact that people had minutes is just so unbelievable to think about. Bill weir, thank you for being on the ground. Keep us posted, please. Reporter you bet. Cnns impact, your world team has vetted organizations that are now aiding in recovery efforts, and you can find out how you can help Hawaii Wildfire Victims at cnn. Com impact or you can text hawaii to 707070. Up next, everyone, the Riverboat Captain in that Alabama Brawl is speaking out on television for the very first time about what he saw and why he says it was racially motivated. Dont miss this conversation. The longlasting scent of gain flings made it smell like dave was in his happy place. The masge chair at the mall. But. He wasnt. Gain flings th oxi boost and febreze. Chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. With up to 13 camera views. And the z71 offroad package. You ok . Yeah. Any truck can help you make a living. This one helps you build a life. Chevy silverado. Wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. Its to die for. And its all right here. Streaming was never this easy, you know. This is the way. You really went all out didnt you . Um, its called commitment. Could you turn down the volume . Here, you can try. Get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. In moments, Riverboat Captain in that massive Alabama Brawl is speaking out for the first time. He joins me live. First, in the investigation, police are now charging another person. This time mary todd with third three assault, making her the fourth person now facing charges. The 21yearold turned herself in today. Expected to make her First Court Appearance tomorrow morning. Earlier this week, police also charged three men with thirddegree assault. That now viral and massive brawl broke out after riverboat cocaptain, damion picket in the white shirt, asked a private pontoon boat to move. Said his boat could park. Picket, a black man, with a 16yearold white young man were victims in the fight. Tonight the captain of that riverboat is speaking out about what happened that day. Captain jim kittrell joins me now. Thank you for joining us today. First of all, we have all been watching, we have seen this video. Everyone has been talking about this. We see where the video picks up, but tell us what you saw happen. Well, what everybody hadnt seen yet is what happened to make all this other things happen. And that was we were doing our five to seven cruise last saturday. Come into the dock. I noticed there was a lot of boats at the dock. I noticed one of the pontoons is too far back for me to align my exit ramp with the my exit gate with the exit ramp. So i said, okay. So i blow my horn a few times. Nothing happens. So i did that another time. Nothing happens. So i got on the p. A. And said, folks in the pontoon boat there, could you please move your boat up a few feet so i can pull into the dock . Nothing happened. No response at all. I did that maybe five, six times. Still hadnt moved. So i said, okay. So i said, listen now, i have to get these people to the dock. I have 200 passengers on here. I need you to move the boat forward. Noreaster still nothing. I said, okay. Well, im going to have to call the police. And the police are going to come down here. If you have alcohol on your boat, whatever, its going to be a bad day. Lets move the boat up and avoid that. Still nothing. This is all over the prjs a. System . You are saying this to them. They are within earshot. You call the police. They dont respond when you have the cocaptain get off and he is confronted . Well, not yet. After i called police, i went back on the p. A. One more time and i said, okay, i have called the police. They are on their way. Well, the passengers and crusade they they are shooting flipping you off there, captain. I said, okay. So i knew that i wasnt going to get any cooperation. Well, then they just left. Everybody on the boat left. Off the dock. Theyre gone. As far as i know, they are gone, gone. I didnt know. So i said, okay, what do i do now . About that time a friend of mine, who is a captain of the sipping cycle, weighs at the scene, too, he was doing cruises, and he said, what are you going to do . He said i tried to get them to move and they refused to move. I said, well, do you think you could come over here . Let me put deck hands on your boat and let them move the boat for me. Thats a common practice in the boat world. Sometimes you have to move a boat here and there to fit in. Happens like on fuel docks, whatever. You have to move the boat sometimes. Its not un its not unheard of to do Something Like that. So then when that happened, we then see that, obviously, they these men were approached. They came back on the scene. You thought they had gron. Then this violence escalates. You know, watching this, people immediately thought, because of the racial dynamic in particular, obviously, here, they saw a group of white men attacking a singular black man, who was struck looks like first. Did you believe that race played an impact in a role on this entire thing . Well, initially, now, damion, who is he is actually my first mate. And i he was struck . He has been on the boat yes, he is the one that was struck. He has been a dear friend of mine for a long time. And when they when the first guy hit him, i said oh, my god, and he threw his hat up. I said, no, no, we got problems. Then another guy got involved. Three or more guys came running down the dock. I said, thank god they are going to stop this. They didnt stop it. They jumped in as well. And the other guy on the dock, daniel, he is 16 years old, a deckhand candidate, and he did his best trying he tried to help as best he could. He got punched fairly early there. So have you talked to damion . Yeah, i saw have you talked to him . How is he holding up . Oh, yeah. I mean, i took him to the hospital that night. We have been he is doing well. He still is having some headaches and stuff. But he is doing well. But you know, i saw it like Everybody Else saw it. Looks like white people attacking a black man. I thought that. I felt that. I felt that was the case, what everybody is thinking, but, you know, i dont know the hearts of those men. I have no idea whats in their hearts. Now, i do know the hearts of my crew. And my crew was, like, frustrated, because they couldnt get to the dock, and protective. So i know that was thats what was going through their mind because thats what was going through mine. Had you had any other experiences before with this same group of people . Well, i dont know about the same group of people. This is a group that comes up from down river, from selma. They come up every year and they park the boats and they go have fun downtown. And we have a couple of years ago, we came back from the cruise to get the our golf cart that we used to get people up the hill that are handicapped or elderly. We get back and the golf cart is gone. Eventually, we get a call from the hotel and they say your golf cart is in our lobby. We get the golf cart. We see the video. Find out who it is. We call the police. The police we all get together with the guy that stole it. You know, the police say, you know, its a prank. And i call my boss, because the boat belongs to the city. Its city property. He wanted me to press charges. But the police said, hey man, you know, just a little prank. I said, okay. Well, captain, there has been a very different response to this. This is not feeling like a prank. There are criminal charges. People turning themselves in. Arrest warrants issued. As you say, really we have been all watching this unfold. What struck me is that you thought that the people coming in were being to help. We saw what ultimately occurred. Captain, thank you for sharing this story for us and telling us what we were not seeing. I know there is more to it. We want to hear from you again. Thank you so much. You sure. And trust the process. The process will work its way out. It will comall come out in the. Trust the process. Very prescient words. Thank you so much. Thank you. Up next, senator joe manchins gambit. Will he throw a wrench in the democratic partys plans and potentially maybe the president ial race by becoming an independent . You would think very serious about that. I have been thinking about that for quite some time. Plus, the Teachings Of Jesus described by some christians as liberal Talking Points. Ill tell you who is saying that next. 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And with the new Cosigner Option, aarons folks were able to help him out with a new ride. no way. yes way. With thousands of cars under 20,000 and our Cosigner Option well drive you happy, at carvana. Well, tonight senator joe manchin says he is a step closer to leaving the democratic party. Take a look at the evolution, shall we say, just over the past decade. A spokesman that he says that he is not in 2010 switching parties. In 2016, manchin says he hasnt spent a day considering a party switch. Then in 2021, he says he never even considered it. Later that year, he would twitch if he ever becomes an embarrassment to the party. Last year, bottom line, he is a West Virginia democrat. Late last year, no intentions. This year, quote, i identify as an american. Last month, well see what happens. And today im thinking seriously. Whats the best for me, i have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad. The d brand and our brand. Its not the democrats in West Virginia. Its the democrats in washington or the washington policies, the democrats, you heard me say a million times, i am not a washington democrat. I want to bring in cnn media analyst sara fisher and former Senior Advisor to the biden 2020 campaign. Obviously, joe manchin is not maybe the favorite darling of all democrats who are looking at him and at different times as a thorn in their side. He has said that he is steadfast for West Virginia, not just a party. How do you take it . Well, i take this as joe manchin realizes he might have a difficult gop challenger in 2024. Also, look, you all mentioned it in the package. He has not always been helpful to the party. He has sometimes been a thorn in the side when it comes to voting rights. So if he decides he doesnt want to be a part of the democratic party, i am open to someone who wants to be a true democrat running and taking that seat. Often people talk about West Virginia. You couldnt have a successful democrat be elected other than joe manchin, whether thats true or not. He certainly is trying to play the field mediawise. He is well aware of the attention he receives. He is aware of the no labels conversation before. Is he capitalizing on the uncertainty . I think so. And its important to remember that was a West Virginia local radio out let he did that interview with. He wasnt coming on a national network. This state is a state that voted 40 for donald trump in the 2020 election. Its a different state than it used to be. So for him he needs to make sure, one, he catering to the local media, and, two, catering to the National Media that could potentially support him if he were to make this switch. The other thing to note on the media side, the parties dont have the power they used to. The dnc, the rnc, they dont have the power they used to. I think he recognizes that. You know who has the power and runs the world . Girls. You guys missed your cue. Are you serious, ladies . Who runs the world . Girls, okay, were going there right now because enough about joe manchin and politics. Lets talk about the summer of women right now. Look at these numbers. You guys, youve got beyonces renaissance World Tour On The Verge of bringing in more than half a billion dollars. Thats a b for beyonce. Half a billion dollars. Alongside barbie, taylor swift as well. This has become a fphenomenal moment. Each of them carries such great influence and weight, and they are wielding it. You were at the Concert On Sunday . I was in the rain. In the rain. I told everyone, a virgo that beyonce is, will not stop the show because of rain. But it was a magical experience, and let me just play a little history here. 20 years ago this summer, beyonce released her first solo single, crazy in love, that actually took over summer of 2003. 20 years later, it is the soundtrack of the year, and the content everyone is going to. You mentioned barbie, taylor swift. Barbies influence, we have seen it not just in the media, but the stores. Barbie core pink. The Renaissance Metallic and sequins. All local economies talking about the boost to local businesses, to hospitality industry. Its the summer of women. If we continue this trend, maybe one day we will have the summer of women where a woman will be president. From the she demic, right, we heard about, a shecession and the impact. Now really being spearheaded in terms of recovery. The airbnb industry, i understand, all sorts of facets around this sector because of what they are doing. They are transcending the musical space for so many reasons. In a world where we have a lot of influencers for the sake of influencing it, they are wielding it and know their power. Absolutely. By the way, the common woman knows her power, too. Come oufgt pandemic, yes, going back to work. There is remote work. Thats empowering for women who use Disposable Income to see concerts, movies, and driving the economy in a new way. By the way, this is forcing the establishment, the established corporations, to rethink how they are putting out entertainment, movies and music. Disney is taking a look at the success of barbie, warner bros. Discovery thinking we need to rethink our superhero strategy. Its not all Big Blockbuster Franchises Of Action and adventure that lures people to theater anymore. Ticketmaster, they recognize this getting people out to the concerts and fueling the recovery. It will force a huge shift. I dont think its going away. Remember beyonce recently talking about a man killed and what seems to be a hate crime for voguing to her music at a gas station in new york. Taylor swift Taking Agency over her Record Collection and her repertoire. People are paying attention. Obviously, the numbers track that as well. Ladies, thank you so much. Well, here is a question i didnt think would be on the bingo card, i mean, ever, is jesus too woke for Evangelical Christians . Some congregations are telling their pastors the teaches of jesus are in their words weak. Christian leader Russell Moore is my guest. He will explain whats happening next. Im lynette. This is my husband, arthur. Yeah, you wouldnt believe were in our 70s, huh . lynette and arthur laugh i have recommended Consumer Cellular to so many people. She was the one to convince me to come over to h side. Arthur Laughs thats right [announcer] come over to Consumer Cellular and start saving. Get unlimited talk and text with a flexible data plan, starting at just 20 a month. The coverage has been excellent. You know, it gives us exactly what we want. You should go with Consumer Cellular [announcer] switch today. Call or go online. The first time you connected your Godaddy Website and your store was also the first time you realized. Well, we can do anything. 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Naughty girl. Hi sweetie ah scream here comes the choochoo train of love inspire. Sleep apnea innovation. Learn more and view Important Safety Information at inspiresleep. Com. Well, as you make madrid, politics is not staying out of even the church pews these days. Evangelical christian reader russell more or feeling in a recent interview with npr that many pastors are expressing concern about the role that politics is having on some of their congregants, with some now calling jesuss teachings week. Russell moore, editor chief of Christianity Today joins me now. Hes also author of the new book losing our religion. Russell, im glad youre here. I have heard the term woke a lot these days. Either people condemning it or praising, it i never thought i would see week being used as the new condemnation of the Teachings Of Jesus in congregations. Why . Pastors are under a lot right now, and i started hearing from several of them about having situations where they would say in a sermon, turn the other cheek or something along those lines, to have someone come up after and say where are you getting these weak Talking Points . We need to fight. Talking points . The pastor says theyre literally just quoting jesus christ, the congregant would say well that used to work but it wont work now. As though the root of the spirit and the way of jesus was preserved for another time. I think that is really showing us what is happening all around america live. There are a lot of pastors bracing for how far is this going to go . This sense of division and opposition to one another, even sometimes the spirit of cruelty. Its just not the way jesus where do you think that they believe this is coming from . We talk a lot a lot bout political and vices rhetoric, but people think about that in the political space. It is that now infiltrating into the space . I think we are in such a tribalist moment that peoples political identities have become all encompassing and we start to try to prove our loyalty to whatever our own private by hating the other group all the more. It is just not the way of jesus christ, who is to transform us both in our relationship with god, our relationship with one another, and even with people who disagree with us. And one of the things that is really hopeful to me is that i am seeing a lot of my fellow Evangelical Christians who are exhausted with. This youre hopeful about that . Because they are saying i dont want to go through this again, we have seen all the division, weve seen the cruelty and the hatred and there has to be a better way. I was just talking to some young government officials tonight who are saying how do, we as christians, make sure that we dont become power hungry, and we dont become cruel . How do we actually follow jesus . So i think there is hope and signs for renewal, but that means being really honest about what the crisis. Lets be honest about what you think the crisis might be attributed to, or people are talking about the very issue. Youre talking about the, way and the political avenues here in particular, do you think that this is being flamed by particular actors in politics . Donald trump has been somebody who has been criticized for a very long time about a kind of otherism and the idea of vilifying people in ways that people latched onto. Are you seeing his influence in these conversation . Ive been clear about what i think about donald trump, but i dont think he is the originator of this. I think this has been brewing in american life, including in church, live for a while. Why . It means i dont think that we can just outlast anyone political figure. I think were in a moment where we are being driven by the olympic system. Or being driven by fear and anger and a sense of theatrical outrage and there is a different way. I believe that as somebody who believes the bible, believes jesus is alive, and believes the spirit actually can lead us towards loving, even people who disagree with us. Allow me a level of political cynicism here for a moment, because were in washington d. C. And why not. You know how much politicians and candidates will often lean on the evangelical community and talk about independent voters, democrats, republicans, a suburban women, college educated, rural, evangelical there is a whole category knowing there is a big relationship and getting out of the vote and beyond. Is that changing now, given what you are saying . Are you finding candidates still relying on the come out and get people to vote . Politicians definitely rely on that, but all evangelicals are not the same thing and i think we are in american moment where people think of evangelicals as simply a political constituents. They come out in time of the iowa caucuses, but there is actually a deep, Rich Heritage of people who really are committed to christ, one another, renewal, and i have hope for that being reborn. Do you see her think about further issues. As you well know, abortion has been a huge issue on the polls and for other reasons, conversations all across this country. In fact, the globe. Knowing that this has been such an issue and knowing that it continues to be on the ballot, perhaps, at times an invisible ink in the form of Ballot Referendums and beyond. What are you seeing in communities and among the evangelicals in particular about how they are addressing this in politics . Well, i am a committed prolife christian, but i think we have to persuade people who dont agree with us. And that means explaining why we believe in protection for vulnerable human beings and their mothers and to care for women and children in crisis. We have to not to simply deal with the legal front, although i think we should do that, on the political front, but also in terms of hearts and minds. A fascinating conversation, im looking forward to reading your book is called losing our religion and all to call for evangelical america. Its fascinating to think about. Is there no sacred space . Politics infuses every and little thing, and every big thing as, well thank you for tonight. Thank. You really important, russell, more thank you everyone. Thats it for me everyone, sarah sidner and her illustrious, beautiful volume hair picks it up right now for cnn tonight. Laura, you forgot to ask the one big question. What would jesus do . Where is my brain tonight . Sara sidner. I took off the apple watch and i forgot everything. Good evening to you, im sara sid