Trump vs. His Own Court, Sheeran's Tour Unravels, Space Weapons
Trump attacks the Supreme Court after it rejects mail-in voting restrictions, but the fraud data tells a different story. Ed Sheeran's tour loses four opening acts over the Macklemore controversy. And the U.S. admits, for the first time, it has deployed weapons in space.
Weekday briefings are available in the podcast. Email delivery is not active yet; joining the list keeps your consent on file for future Gospel Briefing updates.
Chapters
- 00:00 The governing question and anchor story
- 01:44 Two supporting developments
- 02:49 Bible Copilot, Scripture, and closing
Reporting sources
Links used to verify the stories in this briefing.
- ABC News: Trump slams the Supreme Court for rejecting his push to restrict mail ballots
- ABC News: Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's attempt to restrict mail-in voting
- CBS News: Legal expert explains Supreme Court's decision to block Trump's mail-in voting rules
- CBS News: Blanche defends Trump's comments on Supreme Court after it rejects new mail-in voting restrictions
- CBS News: Trump admin. will comply with mail ballot ruling by Supreme Court, Blanche says
- PBS News: Election officials get mail-in voting clarity after Supreme Court decision
- PBS News: Analyzing the Supreme Court's mail-in voting decision and Trump's reaction
- PBS News: WATCH: Blanche justifies Trump bashing Supreme Court over mail ballots: 'He is very frustrated'
- CBS News: Ed Sheeran's supporting acts pull out of tour after Macklemore was dropped
- The Hill: Finneas withdraws from Ed Sheeran tour over Macklemore ouster
- The Hill: Ms. Rachel calls out Ed Sheeran after Macklemore dropped from tour following Palestine support
- NPR News: Ed Sheeran's tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore
- PBS News: More artists drop out of Ed Sheeran's tour in solidarity with rapper Macklemore
- BBC World: All support acts on Ed Sheeran's US tour quit after Macklemore dropped
- The Hill: Air Force Secretary confirms US deployed weapons in space
- NPR News: U.S. acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space
- BBC World: Warning of space arms race as US confirms weapons in Earth's orbit
Transcript
The president is at war with his own Supreme Court.
This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King.
Here's what we know. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to enforce stricter mail-in voting rules ahead of the midterms. President Trump called the ruling a "big loss" for Republicans and for Americans, and warned it will lead to cheating. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went on air to defend those comments.
Now here's the fact getting lost in the noise. A Brookings Institute analysis found just four cases of mail voter fraud for every ten million ballots cast across 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. Four in ten million. That is not a crisis. That is a rounding error.
Christians can want secure elections. That's a good instinct. But we are not free to inflate a threat the evidence does not support, and we are not free to treat a court ruling as betrayal because it did not go our way.
Proverbs twelve, verse seventeen. "Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit." Honest evidence. That's the standard Scripture places on anyone claiming fraud, whether in the Oval Office or at your Thanksgiving table. Keep Proverbs twelve open in Bible Copilot and follow along as we go.
Story two. Ed Sheeran's tour is unraveling.
Four supporting acts — Irish artists Aaron Rowe and Beoga, Danish band Lukas Graham, and Finneas, Billie Eilish's brother — walked off Tuesday. They quit in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, who was dropped after shouting "Free Palestine" onstage at MetLife Stadium and performing his protest song "Hind's Hall."
Patriots owner Robert Kraft pushed venues to bar Macklemore, citing what he called antisemitic rhetoric. Sheeran says the decision was the promoter's, not his.
Christians disagree about Israel and Gaza. Deeply. Faithfully. This show will not hand you a slogan. James chapter three warns that the tongue is a fire, and in an argument this raw, both silence and speech carry weight. Pray for wisdom today before you repeat what you have heard.
Story three. For the first time, the United States has publicly acknowledged deploying weapons in space.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday the U.S. has fielded, quote, "on-orbit space control weapons." He gave no details. This lands as the Trump administration pushes the Golden Dome missile defense system, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates could cost up to five hundred forty-two billion dollars over twenty years. A 1967 treaty declared space a global commons for peaceful purposes only. That era is quietly ending.
Psalm twenty, verse seven. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." The chariots got upgraded. The temptation did not.
This episode is presented by Bible Copilot. Open Bible Copilot and study the Verse of the Day first. Today it's Second Corinthians ten, verse five. You'll get a guided study through what Paul is saying, what it means, what it teaches about God, and how to apply it to a week like this one. Three questions each day are free. Start at mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel. That's mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel, or search Bible Copilot in the App Store.
Here's the verse. Second Corinthians ten, verse five. "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."
Every thought. Not just the ones about God. The ones about elections. About Gaza. About satellites overhead. Take them captive to Christ before fear takes you captive.
Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. The headlines will shift again tomorrow. Christ will not. I'll see you in the morning.