Culture Friday: Spared from judgment

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday the 8th of November, 2024.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

It’s time for Culture Friday, and joining us now is author and speaker Katie McCoy.

Good morning, Katie!

KATIE MCCOY: Good morning, Nick and Myrna.

EICHER: Well, we’ve offered election analysis all week, but I’ve been curious to get yours, Katie. What do you say?

MCCOY: Okay, Nick, I’ve got three words for you: We were spared. We were spared what would have been a judgment on us as a nation. I know that both candidates had significant flaws; it’s not as though there are no issues for Christians to be concerned about with President Trump. But honestly, when you look at the policies and priorities of a Harris administration, we would have rightly incurred God’s judgment, and so I really believe we were spared.

I understand this perspective may step on a lot of toes. There are brothers and sisters of different political beliefs who feel we are under God’s judgment now, having a President-elect Trump. But I would ask them to consider, especially on the advocacy of so-called gender-affirming care. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that Richard/Rachel Levine will no longer be on the government payroll. That man has been promoting surgeries and hormone therapies for vulnerable, confused children, funded by taxpayer dollars. So, focusing solely on overt moral issues—not even touching on economic or foreign policy—I truly believe we were spared from what could have happened.

EICHER: You alluded to it, Katie, that not everyone is going to agree … and I’ve heard more than a few people say, you know what, what we got on Tuesday night, that was God’s judgment, Christians who are really conflicted on President Trump.

And the story on ballot measures was a little difficult—majority support for abortion in Florida, but it needed and didn’t get a supermajority—so pro-life Floridians spared for now.

Obviously, we’ve talked about this one, too … your being a former St. Louisan … my being a off-again, on-again St. Louisan … that the same folks who voted for Trump in Missouri voted also for the no-limits, no-parental involvement, abortion amendment that will wind up creating a legal avenue for transgender rights. That was a 50-percent-plus one, and it passed.

So it puts me in mind of the H.L. Mencken quote … I know I’m not getting it exact: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good.”

MCCOY: I think, regardless of who won the election—and this is true for President-elect Trump as much as it would have been for President-elect Harris—the mission of the church does not change. Especially when we consider some of the ballot measures from this election, we have our marching orders. Clearly, we have not yet influenced the hearts and minds of our American citizenship on abortion, and there is much more work to do.

Praise God for what happened in Florida, but other stories around the states reveal the work ahead. President-elect Trump is waffly at best on the issue of life. It will be interesting, Nick, to see how this new coalition of Republican voters prioritizes abortion and other social issues historically aligned with conservatism. While the future is uncertain, I maintain that a Harris presidency would have been absolutely devastating, especially regarding issues like free speech and freedom of worship—issues where we saw early signs of restriction under President Biden.

EICHER: Let’s talk a little more on that, that new coalition of Republican voters—and I think you’re clearly right on that—but what will it mean for the pro-life argument? Is there going to need to be a new approach?

MCCOY: One thing we may have taken for granted is that pro-life initiatives are only partly legislative. Legislative action is essential, but we must remember that abortion won’t be eliminated from our country until the demand for it is eradicated—and this goes beyond legislation. Judicial appointments under Trump’s administration may prevent the kind of abortion advocacy we’ve seen in the past, which is a mercy, but laws alone are not enough.

Our pro-life advocacy must expand to include policies that address the reasons women seek abortions. For example, Planned Parenthood’s research arm, the Guttmacher Institute, reports that financial constraints are the top reason for abortion. Shouldn’t we, in the name of helping abortion-vulnerable women, advocate for policies that promote economic growth, secure jobs, and avoid price controls that create food insecurity?

After this election, let’s not think that because we have President Trump instead of President Harris, we can deprioritize pro-life issues. On the contrary, we need to expand our advocacy to include economic and social policies that benefit more people. Such a holistic approach to pro-life and anti-abortion advocacy is vital, regardless of who is in the White House.

BROWN: So Kamala Harris ran an almost exclusively “culture war” campaign … even The New York Times acknowledged as much in a piece a few days ago, and, obviously, it didn’t work.

It also got the attention of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough. Let’s listen to some of this.

SCARBOROUGH: Democrats should be smarter on the women’s athletic thing. 85 percent of Americans oppose men transitioning after puberty, competing against women. And I’m not just saying this the day after the election. I’ve been saying this for years. This is not a hard call.

It’s an interesting take, but I don’t think Harris really made it a trans campaign. She wanted it to be an abortion campaign, it seemed to me.

MCCOY: Harris’s campaign seemed almost exclusively about abortion. Other than her promise to end so-called price gouging through grocery store price controls, her primary discernible policy was a nationwide mandate to institutionalize abortion. As a conservative Christian woman, I find it insulting to suggest that liberal women are only concerned with abortion. Women—especially mothers—care about many issues beyond a supposed right to terminate a pregnancy.

Moreover, Harris’s campaign missed the mark on critical issues Americans are genuinely concerned about. Since moving from Texas to Georgia, I’ve seen firsthand the real challenges related to illegal immigration and safety at the border. Some on the left dismiss the severity of crimes committed by illegal immigrants by pointing out that most crimes are committed by citizens anyway, as if that lessens the fear or severity.

Back in the summer, when President Trump wavered on abortion, I remember telling a friend, “Don’t underestimate how women will vote on their safety.” This election showed that women’s self-interest—distinct from selfishness—is more significant than just abortion. The ideological left seems to offer little beyond these culture-war issues, often disconnected from people’s real concerns.

Hopefully, this election will encourage both parties to do some soul-searching and reconsider how they serve the American people. Perhaps they will see there is much more that unites us than divides us and stop categorizing us by race, gender, and class.

BROWN: Author and speaker Katie McCoy. Enjoyed the conversation, thanks!

MCCOY: Thank you.

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