The World and Everything in It: November 7, 2024

PREROLL: Hey, good morning, it’s Nick Eicher. We’re still trying to figure out the broader impact of Election Day, so I called up David Bahnsen to find out how he thinks the markets will respond to the return of Donald Trump to the White House. He’ll join us in about 15 minutes to let us know

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Republicans take the Senate, but the House is still too close to call. What’s behind the power shift in Congress?

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also today, WORLD Tour…our weekly international news roundup.

And, a historical look at concession speeches from the past:

ROMNEY: I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory. His supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations…

We’ll end today’s program with commentary from Cal Thomas on nations and God’s kingdom…plus listener prayers and scripture readings on the same theme.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, November 7th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

REICHARD: Time now for the news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Harris concedes, Dems soul searching » VicePresident Kamala Harris conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump on Wednesday, first with a phone call … and later in a speech on the campus of Howard University in Washington. 

HARRIS:  Folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. But we must accept the results of this election.

Harris urged supporters to keep working to elect Democratic candidates and advance the party’s causes.

But Democratic strategist Nathan Daschle says it’s time for the party to do some soul searching. 

DASCHLE:  It really wasn't just a loss for Democrats. It was a beat down. If this were a boxing match, it wouldn't have been decided on points. It would have been a knockout.

Daschle said Republicans did well in unexpected places and in urban areas with black and Latino voters … and that Democrats need to figure out why.

He added that, in his view, the election pivoted primarily on two issues: the economy and immigration. 

DASCHLE:  And I'll be honest with you as a Democrat, I don't know what our message was on immigration or on the economy. We spend a lot of time talking about democracy, but I think we were only talking to ourselves.

Voter response, messaging »  Most voters seem to agree with Daschle’s assessment, including this resident of a Texas border county, who voted for Trump: 

TX VOTER:  I mean, especially with immigration and everything like that that's going on. I feel that Donald Trump has a better opportunity to fix those issues.

And another in Philadelphia: 

PA VOTER: I think he ran our country more of like a business, so I'm excited to see what he does this time around.

Trump so far has secured 295 electoral votes … more than enough to win the White House.

Some votes still have not been counted in Arizona and Nevada. Trump is likely to carry those states as well.

Senate races » Two big Senate races will be decided in those states.

Republicans have claimed the majority, with 52 seats of the 100 total.

Ballot counting is almost complete in Michigan … where Democrat Elissa Slotkin leads Republican Mike Rogers by just 0.3 percent with 99 percent of the votes counted. 

SLOTKIN: There are still ballots being processed, but as things stand right now, we are very confident that when the votes are counted, we will be the Senator elect for the state of Michigan.

Meantime in Pennsylvania, Republican Bob McCormik leads incumbent Sen. Bob Casey by 0.4 percent … with 98 percent of the votes counted there.

However, Republican Eric Hovde lost a tight race in Wisconsin to incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

GOP may have upper hand in the House » Control of the House might not be decided until next week. But Republicans seem to have the upper-hand in the still very tight battle … to project their slim majority.

So far, the GOP has a net gain of one seat … but dozens of races remain undecided.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, though, says she’s confident:

STEFANIK: If you look at President Trump’s performance in carrying Senate candidates over the line, there is no modern-day candidate of either party who turns out voters more effectively than Donald Trump.

But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also said in a statement that “the House remains very much in play.”

Iran currency plummets on news of Trump win » Iran’s currency fell to an all-time low Wednesday … after Donald Trump clinched the U.S. presidency again. The rial traded on Wednesday at 703,000 rials to the dollar.

Iran’s economy has struggled for years under crippling international sanctions over its nuclear program. Trump ramped up those sanctions during his presidency.

Israel latest » Meanwhile Israel continues to take heat over its decision to cut ties with the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

Philippe Lazzarini heads the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees: 

LAZZARINI: For the past year, UNRWA has been a lifeline for the people of Gaza. It is the only pillar of their lives left standing.

But Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says UNRWA has become a front for Hamas, infiltrated by terrorist agents. 

DANON:  Without UNRWA, aid workers could be trusted. Without UNRWA, Gaza's children might learn peace, not hate. It is time to move on and build a new path. 

Israel also charges that some UNRWA workers actually participated in the October 7 terror attacks against Israel last year.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the Congressional balance of power is about to change after Tuesday’s election, but by how much?

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday the 7th of November.

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Up first…control of Congress.

Yesterday morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke with reporters about Election results.

MCCONNELL: I've been the majority leader, I've been the minority leader, the majority is a lot better. And I think that we haven't got all the results and we certainly already know we're going to be in the majority. We’re hopeful that might actually grow some.

Republicans crossed the 51-seat threshold on Tuesday…and stand to bolster their majority as the remaining races are called.

BROWN: On the House side, it’s not so clear. More than a dozen races have not yet been called, and neither side has secured the majority.

Here now with more is Washington Bureau reporter Leo Briceno.

LEO BRICENO: The results are in. The balance of power in Congress is still out.

Parts of the picture have already come into focus, starting with Republican control of the Senate.

The first clue was Republican governor Jim Justice’s Senate win in West Virginia.

CHUCK HORST: I think it was a shoe in. I think it was called pretty early. No, not at all surprised.

That’s West Virginia state delegate Chuck Horst. When moderate Democrat Joe Manchin announced his retirement and Justice threw his hat in the ring, Horst and others expected an easy win.

CHUCK HORST: You know the state’s pretty red right now and the people of West Virginia are pretty conservative and it seems that the Democrats—even the ones in West Virginia, some of them not all of them—are pretty far left like we’re seeing in Washington, D.C. and the people of west Virginia are simply not there.

Another key race was in Ohio, where Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown lost his race to Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.

BERNIE MORENO: You know, my opponent talked a lot about helping the working men and I will agree with him on the need to help working Americans. But the difference is talk without action is nothing.

Republicans were worried about a Senate race in Nebraska, where Independent Dan Osborne ran a challenging campaign against incumbent Deb Fischer. In the end, Fischer held onto her seat by almost 8 percentage points.

While Republicans have secured the majority, it’s surprising that GOP Senate candidates did not perform as well as Trump did in battleground states. Jim Curry teaches political science at the University of Utah.

CURRY: As a whole, I think it's like a good, not, kind of disappointing night for Senate Republicans then given how well Trump did, given the fact that Trump is going to win statewide in all likelihood in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona and Nevada. And they may only pick up one of those Senate seats at most. That’s kind of a disappointment yet again for Senate Republicans where they didn’t maximize their chances and they didn’t even live up to what the top of their ticket was capable of doing in those same states.

On Wednesday, Republican candidates in Michigan and Wisconsin lost their races…in states Trump narrowly won.

Turning to the House of Representatives, Curry thinks Republicans have an edge in the roughly 20 competitive races yet-to-be called.

CURRY: I'm working out the assumption that Republicans will retain control of the House that it's going to stay very narrow. They may actually lose their margins, they actually go down.

The main holdups are races in Arizona and California.

While the race for the House isn’t over, the effects are already hitting the GOP caucus. Next week, Republicans will have to decide whether they want current House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana to remain party leader…or select someone new. The GOP will hold internal elections the day after they get back to Washington on November 12.

POSTELL: Republicans don't treat their leaders who lose elections very well. And there's a bit of a narrative starting to form around underperformance in down ballot races relative to Trump.

That’s Joe Postell, professor of political science at Hillsdale College. If Republicans lose the majority, Johnson would face long odds at remaining party leader. And if Republicans keep the majority but it shrinks, that could hurt Johnson’s odds of re-taking the gavel.

Then again, Johnson might have the support of the president-elect.

POSTELL I think there was something symbolic about the Trump speech where he had Mike Johnson on the stage, and there was a line in his speech where he referred to Mike Johnson as, sort of a quasi-endorsement, you know, this is is our leader in the House.

Back on the Senate side, Republicans face the prospect of electing new leadership for the first time in 17 years.

Three Republicans are quietly campaigning to succeed Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. Texas Senator John Cornyn, South Dakota Senator John Thune, and Florida Senator Rick Scott are all in the race.

Thune and Cornyn, like McConnell, are old school Republicans—very much institutionalists. Rick Scott leans anti-establishment, and is demanding new rules in the Senate to increase individual member participation and transparency. Of the three, he’s been the most vocal supporter of Trump.

RICK SCOTT: So two years ago, I challenged Mitch McConnell because I know there has to be a change…We need a Republican Party to start solving the problems of this country. And we have a significant number of problems.

Once the Senate is seated in January, top on the agenda will be vetting and voting on the president’s cabinet nominees. Utah professor Curry says if President-elect Trump decides to nominate figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Elon Musk, the Senate’s approval won’t be guaranteed.

CURRY: The real question is with more controversial figures that Trump may want. And I think it's still sort of completely up in the air about what he's actually going to do. But if they're people that are truly controversial, the real question comes down to are these people that Senate Republicans are comfortable with?

Amid the possibility of an extremely tight majority in the House and a fairly small majority in the Senate, Postell thinks it will be up to Trump to use what he knows about the art of the deal to get his agenda done.

POSTELL: I think he sort of started to learn about how the political system works. And that presidents need to be involved in brokering deals in Congress, especially when you've got the majority in your party in both chambers. I think he's learned something about that…. obviously he can't go it alone on everything.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leo Briceno.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: financial markets and the 2024 election.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs yesterday. Optimism over election results seemed to be behind the biggest post-election jump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in more than a century.

NICK EICHER: Let’s talk now with financial analyst and adviser David Bahnsen … you know David as our regular on the Monday Moneybeat … but we did want to check in with him to get his read on the economic effect of Election Day. David, talk about not just Wall Street … but the economy generally … what’s the reaction to the Trump-Vance victory?

DAVID BAHNSEN: Let me give listeners some context. When it was clear in 2016 at whatever point in the evening that Trump was going to beat Hillary, the futures at one point, dropped about 1000 points and Carl Icahn famously came in and was buying a significant amount of overnight market action. You know, when I say significant amount something with two or three commas in it, and then when I woke up the next morning, the market was up 500 points. And so there was this immediate reaction that a Trump win was going to be destabilizing, and then markets immediately settled and did what they always do, which is rationalize expectations of the future, which in that case was largely about some form of tax cuts and some form of pro growth supply side type agenda.

And in this case, I wasn't surprised that futures rallied. Some of the stuff is sillier with crypto and other speculative things, but then bond yields went up a lot. So bond prices fell quite a bit, but that's a more bullish indicator in that it's saying, well, they think there's going to be a more growth agenda. It could also be that they think there'll be more government spending, but that's hard to believe that the market would have thought.

I think Trump's a big spender, but I don't think that the market believes he's any bigger of a spender than Harris would have been. So I think it's largely the bond market pricing in expectations for more growth, which is a good thing, but then in the morning, the futures were the same. There wasn't any reversal. There weren't any speculators that got whipsawed around. So and then, as we're recording here now, with the markets open, because futures and overnight action are always fallible, but no, the market is indeed up right at that 1200, 1300 point level in the Dow.

So look, at worst case, if Trump doesn't get any new tax cuts passed, there is a very high likelihood that all of the old tax cuts that were supposed to expire at the end of 2025 are now going to be extended. And I do believe a few 100 points or more of this rally is not merely the presidency. It's the Senate, which everyone knew the Senate was going to be 51. I thought there was a really good chance of 52. I think this thing could be 55. I can't even believe I'm saying it. There isn't a single political pundit who thought that the Republicans could win Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin Senate seats. I don't know that they will, but the fact that that's even close, when the polls were 7-8-9, points, the other way. That's crazy. So, yeah, that's a lot of what we're pricing in here in markets right now.

EICHER: We’ve discussed tariffs and how they work and as a policy tool that’s very much identified with not only the first Trump presidency but with his candidacy this time around, lots of talk about tariffs and protectionism. I’m a little surprised there wasn’t a negative market reaction at all.

BAHNSEN: In the few weeks before the election, I did interviews at length with a real, I think, substantive, thoughtful set of questions about Trump and tariffs from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg, now this morning, I've talked to NBC, CNBC, Washington Post, none of them brought up tariffs, and it could just be that they're processing things in a certain order. I mean, I do think that there's a lot more bigger political stories to take in, but because of the robust, bullish market response, you would think some of the media outlets would say, Well, wait a second, what's the deal here with tariffs?

Look, a lot of people that are so happy that Trump has won don't want to hear anything critical here today. Let's be really clear about something that doesn't make any sense. He says it's going to raise a ton of revenue, and he says it's going to bring all the jobs back to the States. But how can it do both? If it's raising a ton of revenue, it means that we continue importing from foreign manufacturers, and if it brings a ton of jobs back, it means we stop importing from foreign manufacturers, but the tariffs are generating any revenue.

So it can't be both, and I believe it's that he is planning to use it as a blunt instrument in negotiation. And people can debate whether or not that will be effective. But one thing he has going for him now in negotiation, because I really hope he doesn't try this with Europe or Japan or South Korea or Canada or Mexico or other allies of the United States. But with China, China's economy is nowhere near the position of strength and leverage it was in 2016, 2017, 2018, so he's holding different cards now than he was then. We will see how that plays out.

EICHER: And finally, David, we’re going to have to wait and see a bit about the economic team Trump gathers around him, but one we know is going to be around the White House quite a bit will be Elon Musk. I don’t think that’s a hard prediction. But talk about what effect he might have.

BAHNSEN: Well, there's a kind of no controversy about the fact that he's a genius. There are a lot of brilliant geniuses that weren't necessarily self made to the degree he is. You know, this is someone who had made about 30 million bucks in a company, rolled it all into PayPal, made about 120 million in Paypal, and rolled all of that into what became Tesla. And people don't do that with their own money. They usually, because they've gotten to that position, are now in a position where they can access capital markets and use other people's money to leverage their next big deal.

Musk is a risk taker, and he's obviously a brilliant person. Now, it's not the same thing trying to get stuff done in Washington that it is in the private sector. The incentive structures are different. This is one of the reasons why, philosophically, people like me are so opposed to more power being concentrated in Washington. Because there isn't a profit motive, there isn't the same level of knowledge and time and place circumstances that you have in markets. So how Musk will do where there's a bureaucracy, where there's separation of powers, there's a lot of complexity. He's also not going to have an official government position. So, you know, I don't know how handcuffed he'll be. All things been equal I like that he's got a seat at the table, and I don't expect anything negative to come from it. How positive it'll be. We'll have to see.

EICHER: All right, David Bahnsen, founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group. Talk more on Monday!

BAHNSEN: Thanks so much, Nick.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Oduah.

ONIZE ODUAH: We start today with global leaders responding to president elect Donald Trump’s anticipated return to the U.S. presidency for a second term …

Here’s Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

SHIGERU ISHIBA: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

He says here that he looks forward to cooperating with Trump on elevating the Japan-U.S. alliance.

In Iran, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani says the election outcome will not heavily affect the country.

FATEMEH MOHAJERANI: [SPEAKING FARSI]

She says that major American policies with Iran are already fixed … and claimed the Irani government already acted in advance to brace for political changes.

And in Europe, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a Trump presidency could bring increased economic protectionism and lowered commitment to helping Ukraine.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sent his congratulations.

KEIR STARMER: As the closest of allies, the UK and U.S. will continue to work together to protect our shared values of freedom and democracy and having, having had dinner with President-elect Trump just a few weeks ago, I look forward to working with him in the years to come.

Meanwhile in Botswana, a new president took office this week after a smooth transition of power.

President Duma Boko replaces incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi ending the ruling party’s 58 years in power. Masisi conceded even before the final results were announced.

Boko—a 54-year-old lawyer and Harvard Law School graduate—ran for the top office back in 2014 and again in 2019.

After friendly handshakes and laughter with his predecessor, Boko accepted his new office.

DUMA BOKO: Thank you very much. I am humbled to sit here. I accept it with humility. I accept it with some trepidation knowing that it’s a very very big assignment.

The seamless power shift comes as other African countries have faced contentious political transitions.

In Mozambique, at least 10 people have died in post-election violence after a presidential candidate who came in second claimed he won the vote. South Africa temporarily shut its border with Mozambique due to security concerns.

Over in Pakistan, authorities in the country’s second-largest city shut down primary schools over record air pollution.

A toxic smog has blanketed Lahore since last month. The city’s air quality yesterday ranked more than four times the recommended limit set by the World Health Organization.

The class closures will last for a week and include children up to the age of 10. Authorities said they will determine over the weekend whether or not to extend the closure.

Authorities also banned motorized rickshaws and barbecue grills without filters.

Shahid Abbas is the chief meteorologist.

SHAHID ABBAS: [SPEAKING URDU]

He says that authorities can work more with nature to control pollution by regulating traffic control and rubber burning.

Authorities are also looking into creating artificial rainfall to combat the smog.

AUDIO: [RESCUE TEAMS]

We wrap up today in Spain where rescue workers are still searching for missing people after deadly floods in the eastern Valencia region.

Authorities have called the floods the worst in a generation after more than 217 people died. Nearly 90 others are still missing.

Firefighters pumped water out of flooded car parks and searched through rubble for more victims.

Joel Forster is the director of Evangelical Focus—a European Christian news service. His town of Paiporta is among the hardest-hit areas.

JOEL FORSTER: We have loads of water from many volunteers who are bringing drinking water, so this is working as well. Electricity is back in most of the town. We are encouraged by all your prayers, not only from Spain, where we are, but the rest of Europe and the world.

Nearly 15,000 emergency workers—including civil guards and police officers—are working in the region.

On Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an $11 billion aid package. It includes support for small and mid-sized businesses and households that have suffered deaths or damage. The government will also fund clearance efforts in local councils.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Oduah in Abuja, Nigeria.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, November 7th.

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

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a history of throwing in the towel.

It’s the norm today for presidential concession speeches to be delivered publicly, and primarily aimed at the candidate’s supporters.

Over the course of the last century or so from about the turn of the 20th Century up to 2016,  31 presidential candidates delivered those types of speeches.

REICHARD: Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris became the 32nd candidate to admit defeat. She delivered her address at her alma mater, Howard University.

HARRIS: The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America's promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up And as long as we keep fighting.

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has a history of past concession speeches and what makes them so important.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Before the televised concession speech, there was the concession telegram—not necessarily sweet, but at least short.

BAKER: You think you paid by the letter on those.

That’s political scientist Hunter Baker, a regular contributor to WORLD Opinions.

Baker says that throughout the history of presidential elections in the U.S., the losing candidates were gracious in the face of defeat. And there’s a reason for that.

BAKER: Many of these people who lose are still thinking about a potential political future. They’re also, if they are patriotic at all, which, generally speaking, I think that these people would be, they are hoping for the best for the country.

Structurally, these concessions begin with commendations. Mitt Romney, 2012.

ROMNEY: I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory. His supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations…

And that’s followed by well-wishes and a call to let bygones be bygones. Jimmy Carter, 1980.

CARTER: I urge all of you to join in with me in a sincere and fruitful effort to support my successor when he undertakes this great responsibility as President of the greatest nation on Earth.

No concession would be complete without acknowledgement of the efforts of disappointed supporters and reassurance that it was not all in vain. Hubert Humphrey, 1968.

HUMPHREY: I shall continue my personal commitment to the cause of human rights, of peace and to the betterment of man. If I have helped in this campaign to move these causes forward, I feel rewarded.

And they all typically follow this basic formula. George H.W. Bush, 1992.

BUSH: May God bless the United States of America. Thank you very, very much. Thank you so much. Thank you.

This model of hoping for the best and uniting behind the president-elect was on full display nearly two decades later. John McCain, 2008.

MCCAIN: (APPLAUSE) I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

The main purpose of a concession speech is not only as a courtesy to the president-elect, but it’s a way of acknowledging the democratic process and aiding in the peaceful transition of power.

Hunter Baker says that’s what sets American politics apart from elections in other countries.

BAKER: Peaceful transfer of power has been a special feature of American politics, probably in part because we are a two party nation, and it's these two basic parties that are always trading power back and forth. I think that it just goes back to that, that idea of candidates being committed to the preservation of the Republic generally and so that dictates this non bitter, non rancorous tone to concession speeches.

One of the best examples was in 1960.

Republican Richard Nixon had served for eight years as vice president to a popular President Dwight Eisenhower. So Nixon was seen as the favorite to hold off the challenger by the name of John F. Kennedy, at that time a U.S. senator.

It came down to a razor thin margin in two states that would have flipped the election to Nixon: Illinois and Texas. 9,000 votes in Illinois, less than 50,000 in Texas.

Nixon could have easily contested the results, but he didn’t.

BAKER: Richard Nixon was more concerned for the good of the country than for his own rights.

But this was at a crucial time for the United States—tension of the Cold War, and the election preceded the Cuban Missile Crisis by just a few years.

BAKER: Nixon knew that the United States could not appear to have a crisis of leadership. And so he was very gracious to concede that election and not not kick up a lot of drama when he really could have.

NIXON: Well, you know, I thought that we...I thought...I was going to say that I thought that we had the last rally of the campaign, but here we go again. [cheers and applause]

And so, Nixon conceded.

NIXON: Thank you very much. And I want to say that one of the...I want to say that one of the great features of America is that we have political contests. That they are very hard fought, as this one was hard fought, and once the decision is made we unite behind the man who is elected.

40 years later, another contested election, another concession.

After Americans cast their ballots on Tuesday, November 7th, 2000, the results out of Florida were undecided. After a series of recounts and a number of legal battles over 35 days past election day that culminated in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision declaring George W. Bush the winner.

BAKER: You have this very tense month where you're not sure who is going to end up in the White House? And there's all this, you know, suspicion and distrust about the way the votes are being counted and and whether or not the Supreme Court intervened in a valid way, all of these kind of questions and Gore at the end of that really makes the right choice, which is to approach it as a statesman.

GORE: Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States. And I promised him that I wouldn't call him back this time.

Baker says these speeches can tend to usher in a peaceful transition of power … and they’re one of the most important traditions of American politics when it comes to a presidential election.

BAKER: I think that it has been an American norm to hope for the success of the person who won the race and and I think, I think that all of that is aimed A) at protecting the system, but B) also at protecting the career of the person who lost.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, November 7th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas considers the nature of God’s kingdom and what it means for governments and nations of the world…including our own.

CAL THOMAS: Perhaps the greatest church-state moment ever recorded was when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate and Pilate asked him if he was a king…after all, he’d been called “King of the Jews.” Jesus replied, “yes, it is as you say, but my kingdom is not of this world.”

There is no way around that statement. It can’t be “yes, butted.” Jesus is king over a different kingdom. But scripture also says we are to pray for those in authority. It doesn’t make a distinction between the people you voted for and those you did not vote for.

Paul writes in Romans 13:1: “for all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.”

That’s another tough verse for many believers. What if someone is placed in authority who stands for things you don’t believe in? Again, it’s difficult to get around the word “all.”

Then there is the prophet Isaiah who wrote that God regards all nations as a drop in the bucket and less than nothing. Again, there is that word “all,” which must include the United States. Sobering, isn’t it?

When David was king over Israel, he wrote in Psalm 146: “do not put your trust in princes, in human beings who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the god of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.”

Does that mean we shouldn’t vote? No, because we are temporary citizens of this country and we long to live in a nation at peace, with liberty, justice and economic prosperity for all. It does mean though, that we should keep the right perspective.

In 2016, a prominent evangelist said about Donald Trump’s victory: “God showed up.” I wondered what God was doing when democrats were elected?

We can’t try to fit the will of God into the will of man, for his purposes are higher than ours, and his ways are not our ways.

The first commandment should remind us that God demands we set no gods before him. Politics, for some, has become a kind of god. It’s a false god, because like those Canaanite idols the ancient Israelies worshiped, politics can’t solve our innermost problems, which are not economic and political, but moral and spiritual.

I’m Cal Thomas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: We end now as we have each day this week, with your prayers and Scripture readings. This time, building on one phrase from the Lord’s Prayer when Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God’s kingdom would come and His will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

AMANDA: Daniel 2:20 and 21 say: “Praise be to the name of God. Forever and ever. Wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons. He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”

DAN WYCKOFF: Father, You are kind to remind us that rain falls to the right and to the left, and that the sun shines on both sides of every aisle. I am hopeful Lord Jesus of how you are working in the world. Thank you that even though we would not have chosen you as our King, you have chosen us as your people. Thank you for ruling us wisely, kindly, and patiently. Please teach us to better reflect your character, starting with me, and starting today. In Jesus name. Amen.

INGRID ADDISON: This is a reading from Isaiah 9:6-7: “For unto us, a child is born. To us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness. From that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

DANIEL DILLARD: Psalm 47:7-8 says: “God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with the psalm. God reigns over the nations. God sits on His holy throne.” No matter the results, God is in control.

KAREN TAVARES: Oh Father, give your people wisdom. May we be led, Father, by your word. That no matter the outcome of this election, Christ, the King of Kings, reigns supreme. He is on the throne. May your people in this nation and throughout the world have humbled hearts, hearts guarded by your peace, knowing that we can trust that your plans are good and will be fulfilled. For yours is the kingdom and the glory and the power. Amen.

PAUL BARTMAN: Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for out of your immense love, you have sent your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to inaugurate your eternal Kingdom, who has taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Come Holy Spirit and teach us to properly order our loves, that our love of Your Majesty comes before our love of country and our countrymen. Amen.

CHRISTINA HUSSEY: Lord, we pray that You would just continue to keep our hearts full and encouraged, that we would spend time with you and rejoice in you always. That our reasonableness would be known to everyone due to the time that we spend regularly with you. We know, Father, that you are at hand and that we should not be anxious about anything, but we should bring everything to you, Father, in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, despite our circumstances, we should let our requests be made known to you. And that your peace, Father, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Jesus Christ.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow on Culture Friday: voters in ten states considered abortion measures on election day. Katie McCoy will be here to talk about how the pro-life cause fared.

And, we review a new movie based on Barbara Robinson’s classic children’s novel: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

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

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