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5/15/2026 U.S.-Chinese Relations, SCOTUS Decisions, and Christians in Culture from a Biblical Perspective
May 15, 2026 · 59 min
On Biblical Worldview Friday, Washington Watch breaks down the Trump-Xi Summit, under the cloud of China’s persecution problem and threats to Taiwan. We also offer expert analysis on the recent SCOTUS decision on mifepristone, while considering the moral implications, and then review a survey on “How Americans feel About Religion in Government and Public Life.”
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video May 15, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
On Biblical Worldview Friday, Washington Watch breaks down the Trump-Xi Summit, under the cloud of China’s persecution problem and threats to Taiwan. We also offer expert analysis on the recent SCOTUS decision on mifepristone, while considering the moral implications, and then review a survey on “How Americans feel About Religion in Government and Public Life.” ...more Show the full description Show less On Biblical Worldview Friday, Washington Watch breaks down the Trump-Xi Summit, under the cloud of China’s persecution problem and threats to Taiwan. We also offer expert analysis on the recent SCOTUS decision on mifepristone, while considering the moral implications, and then review a survey on “How Americans feel About Religion in Government and Public Life.”
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In this video 0:00 Top Headlines: Trump-Xi Summit and SCOTUS Abortion Pill Ruling4:52 Trump-Xi Summit Recap and Taiwan Flashpoint11:01 National Security Analysis: Taiwan, Iran, and China22:14 SCOTUS Mifepristone Order: Legal Breakdown37:18 Reconciliation Funding and Biblical Worldview Insights
Top Headlines: Trump-Xi Summit and SCOTUS Abortion Pill Ruling 0:00 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council and host of Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in. Every day, we offer a biblical perspective on the news as well as insightful interviews with elected0:11 leaders, newsmakers, and culture experts. We have a great program planned for you today, but first, get up to speed on the top headlines with Washington Stan's news brief.0:26 Welcome to the Washington Stan news brief. I'm Casey Harper bringing you today's big stories. President Donald Trump arrived back in the US today after his diplomatic trip to China. President Trump and Chinese president0:37 Xi Jinping discussed US arms sales to Taiwan, the Iran war, economic issues, and more. The president debriefed reporters aboard Air Force 1 on his way back to the US today.0:49 So president Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan. He thinks they cannot have anything to do with, what they're doing. I mean, he's, you know, against1:00 very much what they're doing. We talked about Taiwan. We talked about Iran a lot, and I think we have a very good understanding about, on Taiwan. He does not not wanna see1:12 a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation, and I I heard him out. Are you gonna say 2 words? No. I didn't make I didn't make a comment on it.1:23
1:24 him out. I have a lot of respect for him.
1:26 It. On the economy, president Trump said he's considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil. He said that he'll make a decision on that 1 very soon. On the Iran issue, Trump also said
1:38 he was fine with the regime suspending its nuclear program for 20 years, but he said that there has to be real commitment from Iran. And president Trump said he also addressed political prisoners, the Hong Kong freedom
1:49 fighter Jimmy Lai and pastor Esrajyn Mengri of Zion Church.
1:54 I think he's giving very serious consideration to the pastor. The pastor is, said he's giving very serious consideration to that.
2:03 What did I do? I discussed it. I thought Jimmy Lyons It's a tougher 1.
2:10 What did
2:10 he say about it? I understand.
2:12 He said, for him, it's a great he told me I don't wanna mislead anybody. He said, Jimmy Lai is a tough 1 for him.
2:19 President Trump invited the Chinese president to the US in September. 1 other news, the US Supreme Court yesterday restored a Biden era rule that allows the abortion pill to be dispensed by mail, even in the states
2:31 with pro life laws. That rule, which president Trump could change today if he chose to, is being challenged by Louisiana, which argues that its pro life laws are being nullified since drugs are being illegally shipped
2:43 into the state. Yesterday's ruling isn't a final decision on this rule in question. It simply allows the pill to be distributed while the lower court considers the case. Now president Trump in his first term had
2:55 required an in person doctor's visit in order to receive the abortion pill, but president Biden changed that. Now the abortion pill makers Denko Laboratories and GenBioPro are the ones filing the suits
3:07 here. But justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. Justice Thomas pointed to the Comstock Act. That's a federal law that prohibits the distribution of the abortion pill but is simply not
3:18 enforced. Thomas argued, quote, applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot in any legally relevant sense
3:30 be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes. Well, we'll keep an eye on that case for you. That's 1 that could certainly return to the Supreme Court.
3:43 Now for our last story, the latest in the redistricting battles, Democratic US representative Steve Cohen announced today he will not seek reelection after his Tennessee district was redrawn by Republicans.
3:55 I don't wanna quit. I'm not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me. They were drawn to defeat me.
4:02 Cohen represents a majority black district in Memphis, but Republicans in Tennessee passed a new map splitting Shelby County, which includes Memphis, into 3 Republican leaning districts. This was made possible after a
4:13 recent US Supreme Court decision overruled part of the Voting Rights Act that states were using to draw districts based on race. Democrats have made similar moves in other states, and South Carolina's governor, a
4:24 Republican, just called a special session for Republicans to do the same in his state. Well, that's today's news. I'm Casey Harper. You can dive deeper at the Washington Stand, which is Family Research Council's outlet
4:36 for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. As for us, we're back next time with more stories that matter.
Trump-Xi Summit Recap and Taiwan Flashpoint
4:52 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:04 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:10 This has been an incredible visit. I think a lot of a lot of good has come of it. We've settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn't have been able to settle. And
5:22 the relationship is a very strong 1. We've, really done some wonderful things, I believe.
5:33 That was president Trump earlier today after concluding his summit with the president of China. Welcome to this May fifteenth edition of Washington Watch. I am your Friday
5:45 host, Jody Heise. Thank you so much for joining us, and certainly no lack of news out there. We'll try to break down the highlights of it. Coming up, we'll begin with Taiwan.
5:57 It certainly remains the biggest flashpoint that was discussed in the Trump Xi summit. Retired lieutenant colonel Bob McGinnis will be joining us shortly to discuss
6:09 China's threat towards Taiwan. Plus a little bit later, constitutional attorney Christopher Mills will be joining me to break down yesterday's Supreme Court decision
6:20 to continue allowing the mailing of the abortion drug mifepristone. All that and much, much more is coming your way today on Washington Watch.
6:37 President Trump is back from Beijing after a very closely watched and high stakes summit with the president of China, Xi Jinping. There's a lot of
6:49 different reporting and opinions, reactions from the meeting. Some are saying it was But
7:05 there are some but there are some critics pointing to the lack of public pressure from the United States on China's human rights abuses and the persecution of Christians and other religious
7:17 minorities. Well, joining us now to discuss and get us started on all of this is Washington stand reporter Casey Harper. Alright, Casey. There is a lot of reaction,
7:29 being stated out there. Kinda breakdown for us the facts. What did the 2 leaders discuss and what do you think came out of it?
7:37 Yeah. Thanks, Jody. I mean, you're right. There's a lot of opinions. I think right now, these opinions are a dime a dozen, and we won't really know the true fruit of this meeting for months to come down the road. And and
7:46 by the way, here here's 1 takeaway. President Trump invited, president Xi to come the US in September, so we'll see if that happens. That would be a big development. But you're right. They talked about trade
7:55 negotiations, new economic dialogue groups, no major announcements on, tariffs or technology disputes or and no no major commitments from China when it came to the US and Iran or just Middle East
8:07 tensions generally. And you're right. There was a lot of criticism from human rights groups say that Trump didn't do enough to confront, president Xi over many things. So the Chinese embassy going into these meetings
8:17 made clear that they didn't wanna be confronted on those, human rights abuses of which there are many against, the weaker Muslims, persecution of Christians, and political dissidents, and more. But we did get a readout
8:29 from the president on Air Force 1 on the flight home, regarding the political prisoners in particular, but including Zion Church pastor Ezra Jin.
8:39 I think he's giving very serious consideration to the pastor. The pastor is, said he's giving very serious consideration to that.
8:48 What about Jimmy Lyons? I discussed it. I thought Jimmy Lyons. It's a tougher 1. That's a
8:52 I did bring it up. It's a tougher 1. For him, it's a tougher 1. What did
8:55 he say about it?
8:56 I understand. He said, for him, it's a great he told me. I don't wanna mislead anybody. He said Jimmy Lai is a tough 1 for him. You know, he went through a lot. And right or wrong, it
9:07 went through a lot. So, he told me that would be a tough 1. He said he's gonna strongly consider the pastor.
9:15 So maybe some movement on the political prisoners there. But for me, Jody, what stood out the most was China's rhetoric and tone on the Taiwan issue. They really basically warned the US to not get sideways with them on
9:27 Taiwan as it could lead to a conflict between our 2 nations.
9:32 Yeah. We will discuss that a little bit later in the program, in fact, because you're right. That's a big deal. It was very high stakes meeting that took place. But, Casey, while that 1 was happening, there's also some
9:43 big news happening right here on the home front. Yesterday, Yesterday, the US Supreme Court issued a major, major ruling regarding the abortion drug mifepristone.
9:56 Kinda give us the bottom line of what that decision was all about.
10:00 Yeah. That's right. Back in the US, a major ruling out of supreme court, which ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone can continue to be mailed, given through the mail to patients, even in pro life states while
10:12 Louisiana's lawsuit challenging that policy works its way through the lower court. Now Louisiana is arguing that this 20 23 rule change at the FDA, which is a Biden era rule in response to the overturning
10:24 of Roe v Wade, did it did too much to weaken safety protections for women and basically gutted the pro life laws, in these states is really a challenge to state sovereignty. The lawsuit centers on whether mailing
10:35 abortion pills violates the federal law, including the Comstock Act, which justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito strongly, made made clear in their dissent that it it absolutely does, Jody.
10:49 Well, as always, Casey, thank you so much for these updates. We appreciate it a great deal. I do wanna turn our attention now and go further into president Trump's trip, to China.
National Security Analysis: Taiwan, Iran, and China
11:01 Specifically, I wanna try to get an analysis of what came out of it, from a national security perspective in Taiwan and so forth. And joining me now to discuss this is national
11:12 security analyst and retired US army lieutenant colonel Bob McGinnis. He served more than 23 years as a civilian strategist at the Pentagon following his retirement
11:24 from active duty. He currently is a senior fellow for national security here at the Family Research Council. He's also the author of many books, including Kings of the East,
11:36 China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order. Colonel McGinnis, as as always, welcome back to Washington Watch. I wanna begin with this question.
11:49 Broadly speaking, what do you think the 2 countries got out of this week's meeting?
11:56 Well, Jody, president Xi emphasized strategic rivalry and, you know, the risk of conflict vis a vis, obviously, Taiwan. And, of course, president Trump took a very
12:07 different tone. And, he really, you know, emphasized friendship and, you know, deals, trade deals, stability, and the like. I think that there wasn't a
12:19 lot of substance, but there was very clear messaging as your reporter indicated. You know, president Chi didn't hold anything back when he talked about Taiwan. And and
12:31 it's because it's a red line for the, Chinese Communist Party. The the regime depends upon, eventually breakaway
12:43 province of Taiwan because that's where Chiang Kai shek went in 19 49 after he lost to Mao Zedong and, established that that country. And
12:55 so there are a host of issues here, but I think it was really a global power struggle that is really beginning to emerge, what I call, a new cold war because there are
13:07 a host of issues that we are now trying to, you know, I suppose, govern, oversee to reduce the tensions on. And yet, we'll have to wait and see if
13:19 that's the 1 of the byproducts of this summit.
13:24 Yeah. There's no question Taiwan was a top priority for China as you broke down, in good reason. I don't think most Americans fully grasp why this is such an important
13:36 issue. Can you kind of break that down, unpack it for our viewers and listeners why this is such a major issue?
13:44 Well, a couple of key issues. First of all, Taiwan produces maybe 80, 90 percent of the world's advanced semiconductors. Those semiconductors are in your cell
13:56 phones. They really are the heart of artificial intelligence. They make up, the the brains of military systems that we depend upon, communication systems,
14:08 and the like. Like. And the second issue is that Taiwan is really the anchor for the what we call the first island chain, which is a defensive, line
14:20 between us, our West Coast, and China mainland. And so if that were to fall, clearly into Chinese hands, then it would alter the balance of
14:32 power in the entire Asian arena, and it would destabilize, perhaps, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and even possibly, Australia. So there's a lot of
14:43 credibility at stake with regard to what Taiwan ends up being.
14:49 Well, let me let me ask you this because I wanna get back to the top priority of the US, which probably is Iran. But 1 more question on this Taiwan issue because it seems to me that president Trump is in a a
15:01 pretty difficult situation because there's 14000000014 billion dollars of an arm arms package for Taiwan that's just simply waiting presidential approval, but that
15:13 was that took place back in December. So what would proper handling of that 14000000000 dollars look like at this point?
15:24 Well, the president has the authority, and, of course, Congress has to approve certain weapon platforms before we can sell them to, you know, allies across the world. You know, the president can hold it
15:36 up. Yeah. He can tell the state department, don't release it. The defense department just takes the orders from state in this regard. And if he does, that will send a very clear message that there was something
15:47 done behind the scenes at this summit. Because, up until now, it looked that was, going to happen. And I would also watch for the rhetoric that comes from state
15:59 department with regard to Taiwan. And any indication that we're backing out of our alliance, our our relationship with the people in Taiwan
16:11 would be a good indicator that Beijing has really pressed the president, on this issue. And, you know, the president doesn't wanna push along that's that red line that she drew on
16:23 the sand there at Tiananmen Square.
16:27 Yes. And the president Trump said that he did not comment on that 1 way or the other that we'll see what happens. Very, very delicate situation. Then on our side, 1 of the unavoidable issues, I'll put it that
16:39 way, is Iran. So what happened there? Do you do you see this summit in any way, shape, form, or fashion impacting the conflict with Iran?
16:50 Well, the president said on Air Force 1 coming back that, you know, you know, Chi agreed no nuke for, Iran, and that that was an
17:02 acceptable, response. And he wants an open straight because they get a lot of their oil out of, the Persian Gulf. So that was acceptable. But
17:14 what the president, I don't think, got the assurances that he wanted had to do with dual use technologies, continuation of purchases of energy from, Iran,
17:26 as well as, the support that he's given behind the scenes, you know, to kinetic operations inside Iran. You keep in mind, Afghanistan may
17:38 separate China, from Iran, but, we no longer have any control over what happens in Afghanistan. And I will tell you that Taliban would, you know, more than, you know,
17:50 be gleeful about transporting, any type of kinetic, materials, weapons from China into Iran and would love to
18:02 have that business. So, these are issues of some consequence. I didn't hear the president allude to that, but I know that's behind the the scenes what's happening.
18:14 Let me wrap up with just saying that's all we have time for is a yes, no answer. The relationship between the United States and China, has it been improved from this summit?
18:28 I think it's been stabilized. I don't think it's gotten worse or any better.
18:34 Thank you so much for joining us today, retired lieutenant colonel Bob McGinnis. Always great to have you on the program. Yesterday, we're going to dive deeper into the US Supreme Court's decision on mifepristone.
18:47 Much to cover on that issue. Stay with us.
18:50 We'll be right back.
18:52 Join us for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action at this year's pray vote stand summit at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Hear from Christian leaders, issue experts, and government
19:04 officials as we work together to build a foundation based on biblical truth. Early bird special tickets are on sale for 69 dollars when you register by June fifteenth. To register, visit pray
19:16 vote stand dot org. That's pray vote
19:22 Exodus chapter 9 verse 1 says, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me.
19:31 You see, America has freedom for a purpose.
19:31 The question is, are we for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In scripture,
19:44 deliverance and freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation under obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship.
19:57 God's demand to Pharaoh was not freedom for freedom sake, but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom is not
20:09 used to serve God will not endure. 1 of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, indeed, I tremble for my country
20:20 when I reflect that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever. See, the founders understood, we as a nation
20:33 would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that
20:45 same purpose to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people under his authority. In this 200 and fiftieth anniversary year, we
20:57 must ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation? Lord, we thank you for the godly
21:09 foundation and heritage of our states. Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you've granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a
21:21 purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to
21:32 us. We thank you, father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
21:55 Welcome back. I'm Jody Hice, your Friday host here on Washington Watch. Thank you so much for tuning in. For those of you who, watched or listened to the program
22:07 yesterday, you'll recall that in the middle of the program, news broke that the US Supreme Court had issued an order regarding Louisiana's case against the BidenShow more
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