(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of Faith & Reason, John Henry-Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss this week’s U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Tulsi Gabbard being placed on a ‘secret terror watch list’ after criticizing Kamala, RFK Jr. recalling the story of meeting then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla and America’s “glory days,” Russell Brand’s Christian faith and gravitating toward Catholicism, and more.

The panel first analyzed this week’s presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. Westen first noted how he was stunned that Kamala spoke coherently.  “Well, it’s one of the first times I’ve heard her speaking so well. It was amazing,” the host said. He then highlighted the bias of ABC’s moderators and how the vice president might have been “prepped” with the debate questions in advance. Noting that ABC News falls under the purview of one of Disney’s top executives, Dana Walden, who is longtime friends with Harris and her husband, Westen said she may have studied the questions before the debate.

Fr. Murr thought Trump performed well at the debate but took too much of Harris’ bait, noting how he went down a few rabbit holes in his responses. “However, in substance, it was very good what he said, it was very clear,” Murr said. The priest, like Westen, was also surprised that Kamala spoke so well. “I have to say it, (I was) surprised that she was able to string sentences together and to actually say something, something substantial … I think she made some good points.” Murr added that Trump did a great job “Trumping” her with questions of why she and President Biden haven’t done more over the last 3 1/2 years.

Wright noted that the debate was a “carefully curated” spectacle and expressed shock that the attempted assassination of Trump was not mentioned. “I think it remarkable, first of all, that there was really no time given to the fact that very recently someone attempted to shoot President Trump dead. This is surely an event that could benefit the opposition, being completely excised from the historical memory,” Wright said.

The journalist agreed with Westen and Murr on how shocking it was that Harris appeared “normal” on the debate stage. “As to whether she’s been prepared and the questions have been given to her in advance, it does seem likely, given that the entire media, (the) political system has been organized in order to criminalize and smear Donald Trump for years now,” Wright said.  “And it’s important to remember that this debate takes place within that context. The appearance of normality is simply an appearance. However, it’s been contrived, and it cannot override the fact that the entire American system has been so deeply weaponized against what it sees as an illegitimate challenge to its own again, which is in the person of President Trump.”

Westen chimed in that the biggest takeaway of the debate for him was the candidate’s abortion stances. He underscored that Kamala refused to answer questions on her stance and only laughed when Trump pushed her, asking if abortions in the seventh, eighth or ninth month of pregnancy are acceptable. “She would not respond because everybody knows she is the biggest abortion radical. She already vetoed bans on partial-birth abortion,” the host said. He added that Trump when pressed by the moderators if he would veto an abortion ban, wouldn’t answer, even though his running mate, J.D. Vance, had said he would veto a federal ban last month. “He actually clarifies in this debate interview that, yeah, he never talked to Vance about that. Vance wasn’t speaking it right, and he didn’t respond. Very, very interesting.”

Wright said it’s significant that Trump hasn’t been held to his previous position on leaving the abortion issue completely up to the states and not signing a national ban. “I think that it shows that his heart still remains, I think, more firmly in the right place than we ourselves may have imagined even as recently as last week,” he said. Fr. Murr agreed, saying, “I really believe that in his heart, he holds a very special place for the unborn, for human life, in general. And I believe that his silence or his hemming and hawing on the issue is more a political strategy than giving away his own deep beliefs.” The priest added that this might not be completely honest, but Trump is simply trying to win an election, so he cuts him a little slack. “I think he’s going to surprise us if he wins in a good sense, I really believe that,” Murr added.

Later in the episode, the panel turned to Russell Brand’s recent interview with Tucker Carlson in which they discussed the global elites, censorship, and perhaps most importantly, the importance of the Christian faith. The panel played a few clips of Brand talking about his conversion to the faith.

“I wish I hadn’t thought that I was too clever for the religion of my grandmothers or that I was too smart. I thought somehow that I knew what was in the Bible even without reading it. Reading it is blowing my mind on a daily basis. I can’t believe the profundity, the depth, the incredible beauty, the deep truth available to all of us,” Brand said.

In another part of the interview, Brand discussed how we need to die to ourselves and embrace Christ. “The old man has to die, the Adam has to die. That Christ may be reborn. There’s an argument indeed for saying that if we don’t make our body a temple for his dwelling, it will be a dwelling place for the enemy.”

Finally, the panel watched a clip of Brand describing the deep Catholic faith of his wife, father-in-law, and a friend. Westen emphasized that this must be where all this wisdom comes from.

“We’ve seen Russell Brand over the last number of months, even year, you know, praying the rosary, wearing a crucifix. He really is going deeply into faith and into the faith. So, it’s been a beautiful journey, beautiful to see. And it’s great because Tucker is sort of right alongside with him,” the host said.

Fr. Murr said it’s very encouraging to see Brand moving toward the faith and that he would not be surprised to see Brand and other prominent conservative figures like Tucker and Jordan Peterson all become Catholic soon. “I would be overjoyed, but it would not be completely shocking or surprising. They’re on the right path.”

For more discussion on this week’s presidential debate, Trump’s encouraging non-response to a question about an abortion ban, Russell Brand’s moving toward the Catholic faith, and much more, tune in to this week’s episode of Faith & Reason.

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