The World and Everything in It: January 21, 2025

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Good morning!

President Trump’s inauguration yesterday drew big crowds to Washington, D.C. We’ll hear from a few of the people looking for a front row seat to history .

JOSH: We could go see him at the Capital One arena, but that only fits 20,000 people and it's gonna be packed.

LAUREN: There's 250,000 of us.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also today, Hamas released the first three hostages in the terms of the cease-fire. What’s next?

And we’ll hear from a lawyer who has argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court.

CLEMENT: You’re facing nine incredibly smart justices who are all asking questions, many of which aren’t designed to highlight the best features of your case.

And what the election results may mean for evangelicals and politics.

MAST: It’s Tuesday, January 21st. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

MAST: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Trump day one » In the Oval Office last night, President Trump, with pen in hand, sat down behind a desk stacked high with black folders, each bearing the presidential seal and each containing a different executive order.

AIDE:  Sir, this is a proclamation declaring a national emergency at the southern border of the United States. That's a big one. A lot of big ones, huh?

And the president’s pen kept moving as he signed more than 200 orders on Monday including one designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Numerous measures aimed at securing the border, and a number of orders rolling back Biden era environmental policies.

Trump acknowledged that some of the orders could face legal challenges, including this one:

AIDE:  This next order relates to the definition of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment of the United States.

TRUMP: That's a good one. Birthright.

He said he believes that order is on “solid” legal ground.

Trump also signed an order Monday pardoning almost all of those charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.

Trump inauguration » President Trump returns to the Oval Office after overcoming legal prosecutions and two assassination attempts.

He had this to say shortly after taking the oath of office:

TRUMP: I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.

Because of extreme cold weather, Trump delivered his inaugural address in the Capitol rotunda.

A poignant moment inside the Capitol, when a technical issue prevented music from playing, singer Carrie Underwood led those gathered inside the rotunda in song.

AUDIO (America the Beautiful): God shed His grace on thee …

The traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was also moved indoors to an arena in Washington. That was followed by several inaugural ball celebrations.

Confirmation vote(s) » Just hours after Trump’s inauguration senators handed the president his first confirmation victory, officially filling a crucial role in his administration.

AUDIO (vote count): On this vote, the yeas are 99, the nays are zero. The nomination of the great Sen. Marco Rubio from the state of Florida is confirmed.

After the vote, Secretary Rubio said he’s ready to get to work.

RUBIO:  We'll have a clear mission at the State Department, and we've got one of the most talented federal workforces in all of government to do it, so I'm excited about it.

Rubio’s confirmation wasn’t the only vote in the Senate last night. The upper chamber also delivered Trump’s first legislative win of his second term … approving the bipartisan Laken Riley Act last night.

AUDIO (Laken Riley Act vote count): On this vote, the yeas are 64. The nays are 35. 

That all but assured it will become law. The bill, among other things, requires the federal government to detain all non-U.S. nationals arrested for theft.

Biden pardons » President Biden, in his hours in office issued one last round of presidential pardons. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Biden on Monday morning signed preemptive pardons for a slew of officials and lawmakers who have not been charged with any crimes.

Those pardoned include members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riots … as well as former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley … who oversaw the US withdrawal of Afghanistan.

Also on the list … Dr. Anthony Fauci, who helped lead the federal government’s response to COVID-19 … under both Presidents Trump and Biden.

He also preemptively pardoned several members of his family.

In a statement Biden said the pardons are not an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, but rather … are intended to shield them from politically motivated prosecution.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Israel/Gaza latest » Tears of joy in Israel.

SOUND: [Hostages weeping]

Three young women held hostage by the terror group Hamas since the October 7th attacks were reunited with their loved ones Sunday.

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher were all released as part of that ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Yesterday Damari's mother thanked the Israeli military as well as former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump for her release.

DAMARI: I’m delighted to be able to tell you that Emily is in high spirits and on the road to recovery. As you would have seen last night, she’s an amazingly strong and resilient young woman.

And in Washington on Monday:

SOUND: [Applause]

Family members of hostages still being held by Hamas took the stage during Trump’s inauguration address at the Capitol.

TRUMP: We never stopped praying for you. And we're so glad that you're reunited with your friends and families. And God bless you all.

Trump added: We stand with Israel, we stand for peace, and we stand against the forces of terror.

Winter weather » A polar vortex is now holding much of the south in its icy grip.

Mark Chenard with the National Weather Service says a rare winter storm is dumping snow on parts of the Gulf Coast.

CHENARD: The highest amounts are looking is like maybe four to six inches from near Houston, just east of Houston towards, um, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Those would not be record amounts, but historic nonetheless. Snow is even possible in the Florida Panhandle.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: tens of thousands braved the cold to watch yesterday’s inauguration. We met a few of them. Plus, a conversation with a lawyer who’s argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 21st of January.

This is WORLD Radio and we’re so glad you’ve joined us today! Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

First up on The World and Everything in It: Watching history in Washington.

Wind chills nearing single digits forced the Inauguration indoors to the Capitol Rotunda. Here’s President Trump on Tuesday.

TRUMP: I looked, I said, oh, look at this beautiful. sunny day. And we blew it. we blew it. And then I went outside and we were freezing, you would have been very unhappy. The sun was very deceptive. I will tell you it is cold out.

BROWN: Secret Service set up security screening stations outside the Capital One Arena downtown to livestream the ceremony.

The number of people originally promised Inauguration tickets was more than ten times as many as the Arena could hold.

MAST: That left the majority of visitors out in the cold, looking for a place to watch President Trump take the oath of office for the second time.

Reporters from WORLD’s Washington Bureau spoke with several of those people, and Carolina Lumetta has the story.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: Visitors to Washington D.C. this weekend thought they came prepared, but the weather still surprised them.

JOSH: Cold. Way colder. We're not used to this in Florida at all. This is very new to us, but we dressed plenty warm, I think.

LAUREN: Double jackets seem illegal in Florida, but you have to do it here.

Josh and Lauren Nable flew in from Tallahassee on Friday. They had been promised tickets to the inauguration from their congressman, Neal Dunn, and were looking forward to watching from the Capitol Grounds. Until plans changed.

LAUREN: I was at the airport and then I got a call from Neal Dunn's office. He just let us know that, hey, we're so sorry, but the inauguration got moved inside and We don't have access to get you guys inside the Capitol, so we're like, "Ah, okay, well, we're just gonna go find a pub now and with a bunch of TVs and go celebrate with a bunch of other supporters."

I met the Nables walking around the nearby H Street Corridor, looking for a restaurant or anywhere that would live stream the ceremonies.

JOSH: I get it. And also safety concerns as well. We understand, we'd rather him be safe than be selfish and be like, "Oh, we wanna see him." And we could go see him at the Capital One arena, but that only fits 20,000 people and it's gonna be packed. -

LAUREN: There's 250,000 of us.

Ted Uroskie was one of those, trying to get a seat in the downtown arena.

TED UROSKIE: I got up at 3:30 trying to get in line

Uroskie and his family came from Norfolk, Virginia to watch the livestream of Trump’s address.

UROSKIE: Was not able to because I didn't have a ticket or a pass Only to find out that after we went back into line That it would they were just letting people have tickets when they got in through so.

Those who couldn’t get into the arena or a watch party pulled out their smartphones to watch Donald Trump take the oath of office.

KARIUKI: John Roberts is going to do it.

ATHERTON: So it’s gotta be the Chief Justice? Is that by law?

DUSNEY: I’d imagine.

ROBERTS: Repeat after me. I Donald John Trump do solemnly swear,

Luke Dusney from Georgia joined Jim Atherton and Laban Kariuki from Delawareto watch the speech on a street corner near the Capitol.

ROBERTS: That I will faithfully execute.

TRUMP: That I will faithfully execute,

ROBERTS: The office of the president of the United States [cannon shot].

DUSNEY: Must’ve already happened. Woohoo! This must be delayed.

KARIUKI: Yeah, the 21 gun salute. It's done!

President Trump styled his inaugural address much like a campaign rally or a state of the union. With former President Joe Biden sitting directly behind him, he said the country faces severe challenges.

TRUMP: I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success… But first we must be honest about the challenges we face. As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

Trump listed several day one promises: to declare national emergencies over energy and the border, to create an external revenue service, and to declare that the official position of the United States is that there are only two genders. He said his reelection launches America’s golden age.

TRUMP: With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense. First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border [applause] All illegal entry will immediately be halted.

Supporters were excited to hear Trump’s promise to send troops to the southern border, designate drug cartels as foreign terrorists, and deport immigrants who commit crimes. Here’s Laban Kuriuki, a naturalized citizen from Kenya.

KARIUKI: And he's not talking about let's kick everyone out but the murderers and the rapists and how can you defend that. Kick them out!

Josh Nable says Trump is carrying out the will of the voters who put him back in office.

NABLE: I mean we gave him a mandate to lead and I think a lot of the stuff that he's gonna do we're gonna agree with and if we don't agree with them we'll call them out on it but we're excited for a lot of things he's gonna be doing.

Within hours of the transition of power, the Customs and Border Patrol app used to schedule asylum appointments at the southern border shut down. And a pro-abortion webpage on the Health and Human Services website no longer loads.

President Trump has promised to sign as many as 200 executive orders over the next few days.

TRUMP: Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback, but as you see today, here I am, the American people have spoken… In America, the impossible is what we do best.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Carolina Lumetta in Washington, D.C.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It, the ceasefire in Israel.

SOUND: [HOSTAGES REUNITING WITH FAMILY]

On Sunday, three people held by Hamas for 469 days reunited with their families. The three women are the first of 33 hostages to be released over the next six weeks. In exchange, Israel is releasing almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and has agreed to stop trying to decimate Hamas, at least for now.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: The ceasefire deal is just one of a number of major issues the new administration will be dealing with in the coming weeks. Joining us now to talk about what’s ahead is Will Inboden. He served on the staff of the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, and now teaches at the University of Florida. He’s also a commentator for WORLD Opinions.

Will, Good morning

WILL INBODEN: Good morning, Lindsay. Great to be with you.

MAST: To start, tell us about this ceasefire deal. The first exchange: 90 Palestinian prisoners for these first three hostages…why is it so seemingly lopsided and are there other similar imbalances?

INBODEN: Yeah, I mean, the first thing we have to say is it is a very notable deal, But you're right. It's also very inequitable. The overall terms are something like Israel releasing over a thousand Palestinian militants in exchange for potentially just 33 Israeli hostages being released. But for Israel, which places a rightly tremendous value on the lives of each and every one of its citizens, it's still a cost worth paying. As we saw those images for the three young Israeli women who were released and reunited with their families, it's a very special occasion and only raises the hopes and expectations of more releases forthcoming because the hostages have endured just truly unspeakably horrific existence over the last 400 some days.

MAST: Hamas is claiming this as a win for them… but it looks like the terror group is at least depleted so is that true and what about Israel’s position with its other enemies like Iran and its proxy Hezbollah?

INBODEN: Yeah, Israel is really at a crossroads right now. I mean, you first, the conflict with Hamas and Gaza, it's in this uncertain phase where there is a six-week ceasefire. Israel has had some substantial battlefield gains, right? They've killed or otherwise liquidated or detained most of Hamas' leadership. And yet, it's not a complete win.

Hamas still has fighting capabilities. Its terrorist fighters are returning to some of their different garrisons and outposts in Gaza and potentially pose a renewed threat. Prime Minister Netanyahu has some tough choices to make about what if any sort of occupation or continued fighting he may want to do after the ceasefire of Hamas poses a continued threat.

Israel also had a substantial success in degrading Hezbollah to their north and even more virulent threat sponsored by Iran with some of this remarkable intelligence and military operations over the last few months. But Israel's biggest enemy remains the Islamic Republic of Iran itself, sponsors Hezbollah, sponsors Hamas and some of these other proxies targeting Israel. So these are some of the tough choices that Israel is facing in a very difficult neighborhood.

MAST: With yesterday's inauguration, both former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are claiming credit for the ceasefire. What do you think should go down in the history books and were there other factors at play?

INBODEN: Yeah, it's hard to miss some of the parallels with 1981 and an outgoing one-term Democratic president who leaves office very unpopular on the weekend and then hostage releases in the Middle East and a new Republican president coming in. I will say though, as a matter for the historical record, it's clear that in a pretty remarkable display of bipartisanship, the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration did cooperate pretty closely, including sending joint delegations over to the Middle East over the last couple of weeks. And despite their political differences, there was an agreement, a shared partnership here to get this deal done.

MAST: Turning our attention to a few other hot spots in the world…you just returned from a trip to Taiwan … can you tell us about what we can expect for U.S.-Taiwan relations going forward?

INBODEN: Yeah, it's a very interesting trip. I was part of a delegation of senior former U.S. policymakers sponsored by the Ronald Reagan Institute and I would say the overwhelming takeaway for me was Taiwan's anxiety. They are very anxious about continued pressure, the possibility even of an invasion or blockade or other aggression from China.

I will say, impressed at how much Taiwan is wanting to do for its own self-defense.

They have increased their defense spending by about 80 % over the last nine years. They're now spending two and a half percent of their GDP on their own military and showing their own willingness and resolve to sacrifice and to fight.

So there's real eagerness on the part of Taiwan to, I think, upgrade their partnership with the United States under a Trump administration. And I will say, I certainly hope the Trump administration will reciprocate that.

MAST: Can you also touch on the Russia-Ukraine war? On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised a quick end to the conflict once he was in office. What do you see happening on that front?

INBODEN: Yeah, Russia Ukraine is a really hard one to predict.

Ukraine still shows a lot of resolve to keep fighting for its country and Putin shows no interest whatsoever in negotiating or a compromise. But, you know, so Russia is kind of grinding forward in its counteroffensive, and tying these things together, I'll say I heard a lot of concern in Taiwan about Russia and Ukraine, because Taiwan worries if the West allows Russia to be completely, allows Russia to succeed in Ukraine, or allows Ukraine to completely fall, Taiwan...worries that that might be a signal that they are next, that Beijing could then turn its aggressions towards them. with Russia, Ukraine, I don't see any prospect in the near term of a resolution or ceasefire of some sort, but I hope I'd be wrong.

MAST: A lot of conflicts going on. Anything else we need to be aware of Will?

INBODEN: It is a dangerous, worrisome world, terrorism, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, but there are opportunities there for the United States. And I certainly hope and pray that President Trump and his pretty capable team can take advantage of those.

MAST: Springboarding from that, Will, I'm curious what you make of all of the world leaders who were at the inauguration yesterday. There were some spaces in that rotunda being taken up by people who were on the world stage and not necessarily American. What do you make of that?

INBODEN: Yeah, I think it's a reminder that for all the challenges we have here in the United States, sometimes it can be helpful to look at our country through the lens of others around the world and be reminded of everything that we do have to offer and a lot of ways what a model we are to the rest of the world. And I hope my fellow Americans can take some encouragement from that, even as we're realistic about the challenges we continue to face.

MAST: Will Inboden teaches at the University of Florida and served on the staff of the National Security Council under President George W. Bush. Thank you, Will.

INBODEN: Thank you, Lindsay. It's great to be with you.

MYRNA BROWN: When Nicole Paulino from Maryland went to renew her driver’s license, she got the surprise of her life. According to the DMV, Nicole was officially dead.

PAULINO: I got a little frightened. I'm not gonna lie, and surprised because I am alive. I'm here.

It all started with a typo—someone at a funeral home accidentally entered Nicole’s Social Security number while trying to report another person’s death. Then that error snowballed: her driver’s license renewal was denied, her health insurance canceled, and she couldn’t even get her asthma inhaler.

PAULINO: This really, really messes up my life.

After weeks of frustration, Nicole is officially alive again. Her advice? Double-check your paperwork—because it’s hard to live your best life when the system thinks you’ve already had your last.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 21st.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a profile of a celebrity in the legal world. Attorney Paul Clement has been practicing law for 33 years. He’s a founding partner at Clement & Murphy, a boutique appellate practice in Alexandria, Virginia.

MAST: But he’s perhaps best known as the man who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Legal correspondent Jenny Rough recently talked with Clement about his life’s work.

JENNY ROUGH: It’s hard to believe now, but Paul Clement almost didn’t become Paul Clement esquire—the licensed attorney.

PAUL CLEMENT: I actually came very close to not going into the law.

He was accepted to law school but decided to pursue a one-year Master’s program in economics overseas.

CLEMENT: So I had until about the first of the year to decide whether to give up my spot in law school and pursue a Ph.D. in econ, or to just do a Masters and then go to law school the following year.

He chose law.

Studying at Harvard sparked a specific interest in the Supreme Court.

CLEMENT: As soon as I got to law school and just started reading Supreme Court cases, which you do a lot of. It just seemed like, well, the Supreme Court, they get to decide the rule for everyone. Trials are really interesting. Court of appeals are interesting, but they get overruled by the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court is the one who sets the rules.

In 1993, Clement became a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia. Clement says Scalia preferred to talk things out rather than require his clerks to write lengthy memos.

CLEMENT: If you had an issue on a case that was bothering either you, or the judge, or the justice, you walked in, you talked about it, you hashed it through.

Clement quickly learned he couldn’t be afraid to mix things up with the legal giant.

CLEMENT: Which I think really helped me later in my practice, because once you’ve disagreed with Justice Scalia over a legal issue in chambers, like what’s left to be intimidating in the law, right?

In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Clement to become Solicitor General. At his confirmation hearing, he introduced his wife, Alexandra, and his sons.

CLEMENT: when I was studying law up at Harvard, Alex was across the Charles River at the business school earning her MBA. So every day that she allows me to practice law outside the home while she stays home with our three boys is a personal sacrifice and an indulgence of my interests, for which I’m eternally grateful.

His sons have since grown up, and Clement has moved on to private practice. But as the Solicitor General he represented the federal government at the Supreme Court. Still some people get confused about that role.

CLEMENT: When I was Solicitor General, I would joke, I’m not the person who puts warning labels on cigarettes. That’s somebody else.

His quick-witted side comes out in court, too.

For example, during last month’s oral argument in an environmental case, the discussion touched on what the legal test should be.

CLEMENT: If I could give you a 10-word test that took care of every hard case, they’d give me tenure at Harvard.
[Laughter]

JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN: I’m sure they’d give you that anyway!

[Laughter]

That’s Justice Elena Kagan who is—of course—the former Dean of Harvard!

Clement is known for his easygoing style when he appears before the justices. He makes his points forcefully, but he uses everyday language.

Clement says the justices’ questions don’t tend to take him by surprise.

CLEMENT: I think if you are caught completely off-guard, the only right answer is to say I don’t know, or that’s just not something we’ve considered. I’m not sure if I remember a moment where I was caught completely off-guard. Though by saying that out loud, it’ll probably happen to me in my next argument.

And what about not-so-funny moments?

Like during oral argument in the 2022 case, Kennedy versus Bremerton School District. Clement represented high school football coach Joe Kennedy who wanted to pray on the field after games. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor came up with this hypothetical.

JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR: Why can’t the school fire a coach who decides to put a Nazi swastika on their arm and go to the middle of the field and pray.

CLEMENT: If somebody wants to have sort of a Nazi emblem but it’s not religious.

SOTOMAYOR: Assume it’s religious.

CLEMENT: But if it’s not religious—

SOTOMAYOR: Assume it’s religious.

CLEMENT: I’m happy to assume it’s religious. If it’s religious, that might be one of the rare cases where you question the sincerity of the religious belief because I’m not really aware of that religion myself.

In 2023, the Catholic Information Center honored Clement for his advocacy work in the service of religious freedom. During his acceptance speech, Clement made this observation:

CLEMENT: If the Court confronts an idiosyncratic religious practice that doesn’t run counter to secular dogma, like the length of a Muslim prisoner’s beard, the religious adherent wins 9 to 0. But if the Court confronts a claim that interferes with the right to contraception or abortion, or some other secular dogma, the Court divides sharply and religion is blamed for the divisiveness.

That’s part of what makes the job difficult.

And it’s a job that requires long hours of preparation. Clement says he spends nights and weekends getting ready for every case.

CLEMENT: For a Supreme Court argument, you can’t prepare too much. I take it every bit as seriously and work every bit as hard as I did for my first argument. The central component, or a central component are to do moot courts.

Moot court is a practice session that simulates court proceedings. Clement does at least two per case.

And when it comes to the real moment, he still gets the jitters.

CLEMENT: I’m on record as saying if I ever stop getting nervous, I’ll just go and do something else. If you’re not nervous before arguing a case in the Supreme Court, then you’re not aware of what you’re doing. It’s a pretty awesome undertaking. You’re facing nine incredibly smart justices who are all asking questions, many of which aren’t designed to highlight the best features of your case.

After so much preparation, he sometimes feels the temptation to turn on a football game.

CLEMENT: It’s really not in your client’s best interest or the court’s best interest for you to just sort of kick off and watch the football instead of finishing your preparation. And those nerves are part of what keeps you going.

At the end of my interview, Clement’s assistant walked into the conference room and handed him a stack of papers for his next meeting, but he answered one more question: Does he prefer to represent the petitioner or the respondent?

CLEMENT: Oh, I think I like being the petitioner better because you get that rebuttal.

And with that, he had the last word.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jenny Rough in Alexandria, Virginia.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 21st. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. President Trump’s dramatic political comeback comes with a so-called “vibe shift” for the country. Here’s WORLD Opinions contributor Daniel Darling.

DANIEL DARLING: Over the last few months, tech CEO’s once fearful of alliance with Republicans, marched down to Mar-A-Lago to meet with the once and future president. Democrats, who once called Trump an enemy of Democracy, now signal new openness to working with him. Others are decrying the identity politics of the left as an electoral albatross. Some of this is to be expected in a popular vote victory.

One stubborn shibboleth that deserves to die is the tortured thesis that demonizes evangelicals for voting Republican and tying this preference to darker notions of white supremacy. This is a hard argument to make when you observe the multi-racial makeup of Trump’s electoral coalition. He won an astonishing 45% of Hispanic voters. Among black voters Trump drew numbers in swing states that Republicans haven’t seen in several generations. He also won a majority of native Americans, and made gains with Arab Americans and Asian Americans.

NBC analyst Chuck Todd declared of Trump: “He's put together the multi-ethnic working class coalition and it's a majority of the country, it's over 50 percent.” It turns out voters of all ethnic backgrounds rejected inflationary economic policies, radical transgender policies, and an out-of-control border.

However, this reality conflicts with the persistent narrative churned out by the anti-evangelical industrial complex. Consider Kristen DuMez, author of the bestselling jeremiad, Jesus and John Wayne. She warns darkly that the new administration will “embolden and empower the White Christian nationalist movement…in all likelihood,” she asserts, institutionalizing White Christian nationalism.

DeMuz’s sentiments are not unique. Though progressive Christians are statistically more political, many voices have loudly insisted that when conservative Christians bring their faith to the public square, it is an illegitimate power grab, a descent into idolatry, and a loss of mission. What’s more, for nearly a decade, even some evangelical leaders have advanced the slanderous charge that churchgoing evangelicals are inherently bigoted, racist, and anti-democratic.

Do politically active evangelicals have charlatans, idolators, and cranks in their midst? Yes. Do some take the name of Jesus in vain in their political activity? Yes. Like every cohort in human history, there are bad faith actors. Christians shouldn’t be afraid to hear criticism. Every generation needs sober voices warning the faithful. But the cottage industry of contempt that snickers at the saints is often more performative than prophetic. Genuine prophets speak to their own people, with tears, not taunts.

And this last election proves that many of the tired narratives about politically active evangelicals are stale and untrue. A multi-racial, multi-faith coalition rejected progressive identity politics.

Far from a danger, patriotic Christians are essential to the American project of ordered liberty. Some of America’s best leaders understood this. Listen to George Washington’s words, in his farewell address, “ of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” Presidents from John Adams to Harry Truman, from FDR to Ronald Reagan affirmed this.

Conservative Christians should engage with humility and purpose, understanding that this nation is the place God has called us to do a limited amount of good work in a fallen world. We engage because we love our neighbors. We seek the welfare of our cities. We steward the rare gift of citizenship. Does the arena of politics provide unique temptations and pitfalls? Yes. This is why we need the regular rhythms of church life, Scripture, and prayer.

But hopefully this election will offer a “vibe shift” from the tired anti-evangelical jeremiads who sell cheap cynicism to willing listeners. Let’s be less eager to cast aspersions on brothers and sisters in Christ for their political activity and be more willing to—in the words of Ephesians 4:3… “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

I’m Daniel Darling.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Tomorrow: President Trump started his term with a flurry of executive orders…we’ll consider a handful of them during Washington Wednesday.

And, 80 years ago this week, the Battle of the Bulge came to an end. We remember the sacrifice of so many to speed the end of the war.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Our thanks to Addie Offereins, Leo Briceno, and Harrison Watters for their assistance and reporting from the inauguration Monday.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” —Psalms 19:14

Go now in grace and peace.

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