Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1145 | Phil Robertson’s Tragic Diagnosis & His Lasting Gospel Legacy | Guests: Al & Jase Robertson

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

Today, we sit down with Al and Jase Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" to discuss Phil's recent diagnoses and how their family has been adjusting to their new normal. They tell us about how effectively their... dad has been able to share the gospel with those around him, including President Trump. They also share some anecdotes about Phil's evangelism, including the time he declined a call from President Trump! They also give us a peek into the "Duck Dynasty" reboot and what’s ahead for the Robertsons. Listen to Unashamed with the Robertson Family: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unashamed-with-the-robertson-family/id1460147025 Buy Allie's new book, "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": https://a.co/d/4COtBxy --- Timecodes: (01:25) Update on Phil’s diagnosis (11:00) Update on Kay Robertson (22:05) Phil sharing the Gospel (30:32) Phil’s “new normal”  (36:28) President Trump calls Phil (38:08) Future of Duck Dynasty ---   Today's Sponsors: We Heart Nutrition — Get 20% off women's vitamins with We Heart Nutrition, where 10% of every purchase supports pregnancy care centers; use code ALLIE at https://www.WeHeartNutrition.com. CrowdHealth — get your first 3 months for just $99/month. Use promo code 'ALLIE' when you sign up at JoinCrowdHealth.com. Pre-Born — Will you help rescue babies' lives? Donate by calling #250 & say keyword 'BABY' or go to Preborn.com/ALLIE. --- Related Episodes: Ep 1009 | Willie Robertson on Sharing the Gospel | Guest: Willie Robertson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1009-willie-robertson-on-sharing-the-gospel-guest/id1359249098?i=1000657074826 Ep 592 | Sharing the Gospel with Trump | Guests: Phil & Al Robertson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-592-sharing-the-gospel-with-trump-guests-phil/id1359249098?i=1000555866907 Ep 95 | Phil Robertson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-95-phil-robertson/id1359249098?i=1000434215642 BONUS: God’s Love vs. Worldly Love with Allie & Phil Robertson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonus-gods-love-vs-worldly-love-with-allie-phil-robertson/id1359249098?i=1000555299869 ---   Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

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Starting point is 00:00:46 That's fellowship homelones.com slash alley, term supply, see site for details, fellowship home loans, mortgage lending by the book, nationwide mortgage bankers, DBA Fellowship Home Loans, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS, number 819382. Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame has sadly been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's and a blood disease. And today, two of his sons, Al and Jace, are here to give us an update on how he's doing. And also to talk about his legacy, the times that he has shared the gospel with specifically President Trump, how that went, but also just his legacy of boldness, of telling the truth, of bringing people to. to repentance as well as the love and hospitality that their mom has shown. And so you're really
Starting point is 00:01:36 going to enjoy this. I was really uplifted by this, but also you'll be given some specific prayer request for their family. We'll also be talking about the reboot of Duck Dynasty with the new generations of the Robertson family. This episode is brought to by our friends at Good Ranchers. Go to Good Ranchers.com code alley. That's goodranchers.com code alley. Al Jase, thanks so much for taking the time to join us. I so appreciate y'all and just truly love y'all's show so much. First I want to talk about Phil's diagnoses. We haven't been seeing as much or hearing as much from him lately.
Starting point is 00:02:21 So, Jase, could you tell us what's going on? Yeah, it's a very difficult question to answer because, you know, we're kind of in the bowels of the new normal. And we realize that families across the globe have this same problem. Your parents get old and things start going south physically. And basically the diagnosis that was given to us is he has some kind of blood disorder and they likened it to blood cancer where it kind of attacks his bones. And so he's had multiple back fractures and even one in his tail. tailbone. And so he'll have to go do these procedures because they're not really correctable.
Starting point is 00:03:12 Yeah. They just do a procedure that makes it stop hurting, which is from my understanding, kind of giving you the redneck version of what I was told is they're basically just putting cement in his back. But your back is not designed to have cement in it. Especially for sections that don't have cement. Yeah, it's supposed to be flexible. And so, you know, you kind of have to, meanwhile, you have another diagnosis, which they said he has the early stages of Alzheimer's. And they're like, it's a form of it. I'm not sure they exactly know what he has, but it's a form of Alzheimer's. And so they're kind of working against each other because every time he has to go under for a procedure,
Starting point is 00:04:03 and they say sometimes that going under anesthesia progresses these kind of mental states, it's like it's harder for him to come back to reality. And so, you know, having said all that, it's kind of been stages over the last few months where we call new normals. And we used to say that with my daughter, who was born with a. facial issue. And my wife said that one time. She said, well, this is just the new normal because every time something would happen,
Starting point is 00:04:41 it would create other problems. And so that's kind of where we are. Because overall when people say, well, how's Phil doing? You know, it's hard to explain that in a one sentence. Overall, not great because he looks. What's the best word to use? He emaciated. Yeah, he just doesn't look well.
Starting point is 00:05:03 It's kind of shocking when people come visit him. He's lost so much weight. Yeah, he's gotten with him. We've tried to do everything imaginable in the world to put weight on him. And it's not that he's not eating. He is just literally his body is not putting on weight. Yeah, just not reacting. And, you know, my answer, Alie, is when people ask me, I said, well, it's day to day, literally, because we see him a lot.
Starting point is 00:05:32 And so one day he may be a little bit stronger mentally and physically than another day. And so you kind of just, it's like that. You walk into it, not sure what to expect. And, you know, our podcast audience obviously loves dad. And it was his podcast to begin with Jason and I just kind of tagged along at the beginning. I was a guest that never left. Yeah, Jason was the guest we never got rid of. And so, you know, we started noticing it on the podcast.
Starting point is 00:05:58 Jason and I probably before anybody else. But even now that our audience knows, they could kind of look back and see. And so those signs were there, I think, early on the Alzheimer's side. But Jason's right, this physical thing has just basically fast forwarded probably his decline into that. But I will say this, my dad taught Jason and our brothers of our family and anybody that would listen, that his life was in preparation of the Great Resurrection. And so he said for years, the resurrection looms larger. And he's living that even now. I mean, like, the idea is that we're not like super depressed about it or like just
Starting point is 00:06:41 devastated by it. We hate it. It's hard to watch. It's hard to be a part of a man that's always been so strong in your life. But at the same time, we realize that the spiritual batter goes forward. So that's just kind of how we've approached it. That's why we're still doing a podcast and still talking about Jesus. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:57 Yeah. First sponsor is WeHeart Nutrition. I used to start ads by saying this is a women's supplement company, but it's not just a women's supplement company anymore. It is a women's and men's supplement company, but it is the same Christian family-owned company bringing you incredible supplements in the most bioavailable form. I've talked about how this has been a game changer for my health. I'm just healthier. I feel better. My immune system works better.
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Starting point is 00:08:15 When you check out, use code Alley, you'll get 20% off. Weheartnutrition.com, code Alley. And I'll just kind of piggyback on that. When we went public with this, because obviously something was going on, and for people like me, I don't do something. social media. I basically live in a cave. And so I think I forget sometimes that there's a lot of people who watch our family. And I just started to notice everywhere I went like grocery store.
Starting point is 00:08:50 It's, how's your dad? And it is compounded that times a thousand when we went public with it. And so I realized, okay, we need to go public with this. And so we did. But I will say, in that moment was the first time, I would say, in six months that I felt like his spirit became better. And I just really believe, you know, more now than ever, the power of prayer. And you get as many people praying for my dad. And we're very grateful for that. Because in all this kind of sadness and debilitating illness that he has, that there's no cure.
Starting point is 00:09:33 I've had a thousand people reach out to him and say, well, try this and try that. But we have a team of doctors working around the clock and doing all this. But I noticed when I went down there because I had actually called my kids and said, look, if you want to see Papal Phil, you need to do it right now. Because I was thinking that he only had a few days to live. This was, I guess, right before we went public. and when we went public with it, I was amazed because I took my son down there, and he was like, well, he's doing a lot better than I thought. And I said, well, it's news to me.
Starting point is 00:10:12 This is the best I've seen him in months. And so I just chalked it up to answer prayer. And I sense that, I will say that most days, despite whatever, if he's in pain or if he's just checked out mentally, there's something. There's a spirit about him that's at peace. It's really helped us the past few weeks dealing with what we're having to deal with on a daily. Yeah, and we attribute that. You know, Adler, you'll appreciate this. One of the things I stood on the podcast the day we talked about it and kind of went public with everything with dad is I remember being so moved because I was,
Starting point is 00:10:50 Reagan was the first president I ever voted for. And, you know, Reagan got to a point in his life journey where he had Alzheimer's. And so basically he had to step back from the public eye. And when he did that, he wrote a letter. And then he read the letter. And when you go out and visit the Reagan Library, the last thing you do before you go out and visit where his tomb is, is him reading that letter. And I just remember sitting there in tears so appreciative that he explained why he was leaving the stage. And I told our audience, I said, you know, Dad didn't write a letter because this happened pretty fast.
Starting point is 00:11:27 But you know what? he doesn't have to because there are living letters that keep going forward. It starts with us, me, Jays, his sons, his daughter, and it continues into everybody he's impacted for the kingdom. And so there are all these living letters out there that are pointing back to Jesus because it's really never about us. And so in a sense, I have that sort of same piece about his goal and our goal and what we're doing. Yeah. Thank you all so much for sharing that. How's your mom doing? Well, that's another developing story. How many podcasts you got going today?
Starting point is 00:12:05 You know, she keeps falling. And, you know, despite all the struggles we've had, we've always used humor as, I guess, a way to cope. There's no doubt about that. And a lot of people take that wrong because we, you know, we laugh together, even about things that are not funny. But I think it's because we all know, you know, we have each other's back and we love each other. And it's a way to sue this. I preface what I'm going to say because so for some reason, you know, when you have these problems in your family, I'm sure families identify with this. People get declared the spokesman for dealing with the parents who can become difficult.
Starting point is 00:12:54 And so Willie and me have actually been declared, we have to go talk to my mom and dad when they don't want to do things that need to be done. And so yesterday, Willie and I had to go out there because my mom had a fall. And this is a common thing. She cannot stay upright. And my dad, if he's in his right mind, will make a job. joke every time. He's like, she's too top-heavy. He's like trying to correct the problem now from this. And, you know, we laugh. But I mean, my mom fell, I guess that's been a week ago. About a week ago. And she severely cut her leg. In fact, I was getting up on stage,
Starting point is 00:13:45 fixing to speak in Kentucky at an event. And we have multiple people that basically stay with them 24-7 and sent me a picture. So we're taking your mom to the hospital, but he sent me a picture of her wound, and it was horrific. And because I was, which, you know, in the moment, I'm literally getting up on stage. And because I thought it was life-threatening
Starting point is 00:14:09 because it just looked so terrible on her leg. It was, it was to the bone on her leg right at her kneecap. And fortunately, you know, they got her fixed. I mean, she has multiple stitches and she's in a brace. But so for a small period of time, we said, look, we need to keep y'all up here with us. And so we can keep it out because my dad is day to day. And my mom, she can't walk.
Starting point is 00:14:39 And so we were like, and we're feeding them and they're food snobs, which is funny because in my family. They taught us to be. We're all food snob. I mean, they want the best of the best of the best. And what's that and what that has evolved to is basically their immediate family cooking for them, the greatest meals that we can prepare. Multiple times a day, if possible. So we're like, look, y'all are so far away from us, you can't walk, you know, and so they didn't want to do that. And, you know, because they're just not, they're at an age where they're not thinking rationally.
Starting point is 00:15:16 And it's asking a lot for other people. And so Willie and I had to go out there because my mom was the problem. And it was a difficult conversation. And so because she just, she wants to be at her home. And I get it. They've lived there 50 years. We're like, you can go back, but let's heal up. And my dad was like, well, I got all my stuff.
Starting point is 00:15:42 And we're like, we will put an armed guard at your house that will, you know, look over your your dogs and your gun which we actually did i'm not making that up so if anybody you know we have an arm redneck near five it's wind of it and wants to go check out their stuff you know but you know they're at an age where i'm saying they're not thinking about all these things but uh after an hour of a difficult conversation we we had a good laugh about it and uh because i'm like Willie's like stayed in the obvious. Hey, you can't walk. And you know, Phil doesn't know where he is on, you know, on a given day, which my dad laughs about it. He's acknowledging that. And so that's kind of where we're at. But she's
Starting point is 00:16:30 doing better. I mean, I thought it was a lot more severe. Yeah. I mean, it was a severe injury. But she's really, uh, seems to be doing well. Well, and the most fun thing with them, Mallet is they have transitioned that humor to us. I think it's why we had a successful show on national television. Last night, I went over and cooked hamburgers for them. It was our night to cook. And so mom's eating her hamburger. And she's finishing it up.
Starting point is 00:16:59 And dad doesn't eat as much. So he only ate half of years. And he looked over at mom's plate and he said, Ms. Kay, you had quite the appetite. And so I looked at mom and she said, that's what we're here for. And she put her hands up like that. And I got so tickled because that's the way they've always been.
Starting point is 00:17:17 So it's like nothing will change that interaction and that dynamic, which is they haven't lost that. They haven't lost it. Yeah, I'll share this story that happened because I was given the bad. But, you know, my mom, they're not getting, you know, is fed as much in the word. I mean, these people are, you know, my parents, they are warriors for the Lord. They have brought tens of thousands of people to the Lord. Dad's worn out more Bibles than I've owned. Yeah, and my mom is the best of us as far as her hospitality
Starting point is 00:17:50 and treating every person on the planet. Like they're the most spectacular person. She's done this our whole life. I mean, like, we'll go to a football game or we took them to the Saints game because she's a big Saints fan. And she basically hung out with all the people that were selling the concession products. you know, just talking about food.
Starting point is 00:18:12 We'd be in the Trump Hotel in New York City and she comes over and knocks on my door and says, I want you to meet Elisa. She's my new best friend and she's like the lady clean the rooms. I mean, that's mom. He's always had that quality, which is to me a Jesus quality. And them together is why I think they've made such a big impact. But, you know, I was getting a little frustrated because it is frustrating because you're trying to get them to realize the new normal is that you just be in here talking with our kids and your grandkids.
Starting point is 00:18:47 And this is life. If you can just look at this, because my dad's a quarterback famously, and he doesn't like being on the sidelines. And my mom, I say this affectionately. She's the diva of her family also. She loves attention. And so it's hard for them to be in a house, in a room, you know, sitting. And so she mentioned, she said, well, maybe you can just give me a sermon or something.
Starting point is 00:19:13 She said it frustratingly. And I just thought, well, okay, I'll give you one. And she was like, well, go ahead. Jason preached at the drive of a hat, Allie. I will. I was doing some study about the afterlife because we had talked about that on a previous podcast, Allie. And I said, you know, there's, you remember that when Jesus was. on the cross and he told the thief next to him, today you'll be with me in paradise. And I said,
Starting point is 00:19:45 there's been books written and everybody wonders, what is this paradise you speak? What is it like? And you probably won't find, you know, five people who can agree on exactly what he meant by that. And so that's how I opened the line, which I noticed both of their heads just snapped to me and they were glued to me. And I said, but I think we're missing the key. point of that phrase what Jesus said is that he said today you'll be with me in paradise and I said just think of what paradise is as far as it relates to the Bible it's all about relationship God wanting to dwell with people and I and I just went on from there quoted a lot of other verses I talked for almost an hour about about you know we get to experience life with the
Starting point is 00:20:36 eternal son you know we have his spirit on the earth and we will do this forever and uh i really you know it impacted them because they've been talking about it ever since but then i realized that you know it's hard for human beings to deal with struggles and death i mean they're they're literally you know at the end of their life and uh they realize that and that's okay we're fine with that what's your line jays it's not the uh it's not the destination but it's who you go on the journey with exactly i that illustration I said if I you know because my mom always wants to go anywhere are you ready to go yeah and then she always says well where are we going yeah who's going and then it's like where we're going's irrelevant it's like let's line out who's going and uh so I thought it was a wonderful moment I mean I felt like the spirit
Starting point is 00:21:24 kind of moved me in there in a frustrating conversation we were having to uh and I think they needed that you know in the in the moment second sponsor is crowd health crowd health is platform that offers an alternative to traditional health insurance by utilizing a community-driven crowdfunding model to manage health care expenses. So I don't have to tell you how complicated and burdensome the health insurance world can be. It's expensive. It's frustrating. Claim denials are becoming more and more common. In fact, one in five Obamacare claims were denied last year. That's totally unacceptable. I mean, when you're going through a health emergency, the last thing that you want to do. The last thing that you need to do is to argue with your health insurance company. And so
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Starting point is 00:22:59 A few years ago when Phil was on my show, he told a story about sharing the gospel with President Trump. And I'm sure you guys know a lot of of stories that the public doesn't know about your dad just sharing the gospel. Like, you know, Al, you just said, Jace can preach at the drop of the hat. I feel like Phil, just from what I know, I mean, he'll share the gospel with anyone at the drop of the hat. And he'll do it. I think in the clearest way that I've heard, like I've said that multiple times privately and publicly, I think Phil Robertson is one of the clearest explainers of the gospel and the most simple but profound terms that I've heard. And I've heard a lot of really good preachers and I value, you know,
Starting point is 00:23:47 the articulateness of a lot of people. But he's just really clear. So I was wondering if like any instances come to your mind of watching your dad share the gospel with someone. Well, there's several. But one I want to share is the first time I ever heard him do it publicly other than our church, you know, obviously teaching a class. I was very young and the business was very new. And dad, used to go and speak at a lot of Ducks Unlimited banquets, raising funds for them. But it was kind of getting his name out there and getting our duck call business out there. But these are usually events where there's a lot of alcohol.
Starting point is 00:24:21 And so it's just not the best. But, you know, sometimes he would share, still try to share Jesus, but it always didn't go over so great. But we were in New Orleans one time in the Superdome. And we had a booth there. And Jason, I don't know if you were there or not. But Dad gets up and there's about 400 people. Most of them are Cajuns, you know, from South Louisiana.
Starting point is 00:24:39 and Anheuser-Busch was the sponsor of the event. It wasn't a church event. Wasn't a church event. And so there's a big huge sign hanging above dad that said Anheuser-Busch, King of Beers. I'll never forget it. And Dad gets up and he does his duck call demonstration. Of course, all the people out there are drinking their, you know, Budwisers and loving it and all that feel. He's good on a duck call, you know, and they're talking.
Starting point is 00:25:00 And then all of a sudden he reaches into his bag and he pulls out his Bible. And it just got deathly quiet. And he looks up at that sign and he says, you know, Anizer Bush, he really is the king of beers. Back in the day, boys, I used to drink a mini of Budweiser, but that led me down a bad road. I can picture that completely. Everybody's looking like, what's he doing? And he said, he held up his Bible and he says, he may be the king of beers, but let me
Starting point is 00:25:27 tell you a little something about the king of kings. And then he just shared the gospel with this group. And they were so shocked. Of course, they hid their beer behind their leg, you know, under their chairs because all of a So we don't broke out into a church meeting here in the Superdome. And he shared the gospel. And I just remember him walking off stage. And it was kind of a moderate applause.
Starting point is 00:25:48 They weren't sure how to react. And a guy was standing there that sold duck calls. And he said, Phil, you can't mix up your religion and your business. You'll lose them both. And I remember him saying to this guy, said, did you not hear what I was talking about? Dead men coming out of the ground, sins being removed? He was like, without Christ, there would be no business. And so I think that set the culture for not only our company, but our family.
Starting point is 00:26:14 And so everything we do, you're right, is a fruit that comes from being a part of him. Yeah, I would echo that. He has a talent about saying very blunt things that people seem to not be that offended about it. Right. And I think maybe it comes from his past, which was so broken and he's so transparent about and vulnerable about him. and they made a movie about it, and he was fine with it. But you brought up Trump because, I mean, I got to hear that. And, you know, the tone of the conversation, of course, they wanted our support. But then he was asking more about what can we do, you know, as political government officials to help, like, you people.
Starting point is 00:27:03 And my dad gave him zero things. He said, here's what you need to do. He said, now, I know, I don't have to ask you whether you're a sinner or not. We know, we know what you've done. And it was kind of a, but it was a, it wasn't tense at all. Right. And he talked about sin and death. And he's like, hey, you're not getting any younger.
Starting point is 00:27:30 And there's people after you. He was actually kind of predicting actually the prophecy about. This was back at 16, so yeah. Exactly. He was like, hey, somebody, you know, they're going to try to kill you and all this. So it was actually really profound when I think back on that. And he shared the story of Jesus, and he wrote it down. And he had the, what's the phrase he always uses for the symbols?
Starting point is 00:27:56 Hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics, like the arrow pointing down in the cross and the tomb and the arrow, you know, coming back. And the arrow coming back down as Jesus coming down. And so you can kind of figure out what that means about Jesus came to earth. He died. He's raised. He went to the right hand where he's at right now and he's coming back. And so he handed the paper to President Trump.
Starting point is 00:28:21 And he's like, you need to move on that. This needs to be the core of everything you do. It was very profound. So I say all that to say this one tidbit of the story. story. So later on, he came to Monroe, and I forgot exactly what was going on, but my family got involved, and I think Willie entered. It was when he was running in 2020 when he lost. It was that campaign. So we're now fast forward in four years. Well, my dad was there. I think my dad led a prayer at the event. We were all there. My whole family went, and this place you could not stick another
Starting point is 00:28:58 person in the Monroe Civic Center. Well, while Willie, I think, was introducing him, My dad was standing behind him, and President Trump pulled out of his pocket that same gospel presentation that my dad had given to him four years before. And he's like, I want you to know I still have this. I hadn't forgotten. It's beautiful. I hadn't forgotten. So I thought that made the story more powerful in that, you know, you can say what you want to about the gospel. but people don't just ignore it.
Starting point is 00:29:36 Yeah. And I thought that was a very proud moment. Yeah, and of course, in dad fashion, when he shook his hand, he had written a few more verses down. And when he shook Trump's hand, he had him that, you know, it was one of those handshakes where you got a little something in your hand. Yeah. And it was a few more verses just to consider. Oh, yeah, that was true. I love that.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Well, you know, fast forward to him, you know, surviving the assassination attempt. attempt. That's why it didn't shock me that all of a sudden, you know, he started talking about God more. But he felt like God had raised him up for this. Yeah. And I thought, well, it makes sense to me from where I'm looking at the sidelines of this encounter with my dad and understanding the gospel and really what people like us, you know, that he first phrased are all about. and I think he found his way, you know, with a relationship with God in some capacity. Allie, to your point, my dad has always had the same passion when he shares Jesus as if just some guy that somebody brought that nobody could do anything with that they would say,
Starting point is 00:30:43 well, you know what, this guy, he's got nowhere else to turn, let's get him to fill. I heard that my whole wife. He had just the same passion with that guy sitting in his living room next to Dad's chair as he did speaking to the President of the United States. With him, it doesn't matter. The stature of the person, everybody has an opportunity. So I think he showed that passion all the way. Yeah, and if you think about it, my dad's probably one of the few people that ever had a conversation with the president and didn't ask for anything.
Starting point is 00:31:13 Nothing. Nothing. He never said, oh, by the way, why don't you get these game wardens off my back on the, you know. Why don't you talk to Canada and get some more ducks down there, whatever, you know. Right. Oh my goodness. Yeah, I think that's probably part of why Trump respected him and probably responded as graciously as he did. One, I think Trump like is an amenable person, but also I think there's something about Phil, which I think this is probably true of Jesus, that like there's a meekness and humility about their appearance, but also a confidence. And not a lot of people like have that exact kind of balance. But I think that is part of. what makes him so like why people receive him so well and while they will listen why they will listen to the harsh truths because even if it is harsh or even if it is blunt it doesn't come across as judgment it comes across as concern i think we could all learn something from that because i think
Starting point is 00:32:16 that's you know we all want to be full of grace and truth like jesus was and it's hard to do yeah and yet be loving. And you're right. People would come in. Dad say, all right, tell me a story. I know you've been messing up. I mean, like, that would be the lead. And they'd be like, well, yeah, Mr. Phil. You know, they'd just start into it. But it was like they didn't take offense. Like, I don't know, I guess you, if you thought about it, you took it into your pastor and they may be offended by this, but somehow, dad, just being who he was and maybe it was the whole package that the beard and the hunting and his own story, it just always came across. I was. I was. I We always compare it to John the Baptist, you know, because John the Baptist was pretty rough around the edges.
Starting point is 00:32:57 And he was pretty harsh at times. But you know what? He was who he was. And everybody seemed to appreciate that and respect that. Well, that's what's been so different now is my, I've seen my dad do things here in the last year. Yeah. In a soft kind of way that we've never seen, which my wife had an interesting conversation. about this because because we I kind of went through that upset stage which really my upset stage was during duck season because you know you have to remember we we have duck hunted and I'm saying my dad and I we hunt every day of the duck season 60 days and we've done that since I was eight years old and so this year we're going on almost 50 years yeah this year you know he went opening day and he was miserable and it wasn't that we didn't have a lot of ducks it was the best thing
Starting point is 00:33:52 we had all year but he didn't participate and he didn't say much and uh i was like after the hunt i was like we got off on the bang i was like phil what's wrong and he's like i just can't do it you know um he just he felt bad in the moment you know i wasn't really sure what the problem was yeah but uh so then the rest of the season you know was just so hollow because i literally on several occasions would like go to speak to you know my dad because if you've been hunting with somebody that long you forget that they're not there so that was kind of when I went through the sad part and so at that time you know my dad was you know he he told like my wife he loved her well he's never done that it's not that he doesn't love her yeah but he's just not a touchy-feely guy and you know and she it like
Starting point is 00:34:46 meant the world to her and I was like well it it disturbs me and she's like what do you mean what are you talking about I was like he's just not mentally right it's different she she got so upset with me about it but I was like but now I kind of I think I realize that too it's him more you know being a little softer in this kind of new normal situation that that's that and it's kind of been a process even before with he's going through now because when we found Phyllis, who's dad's daughter, actually she found us, he showed a tenderness and compassion to her that I had never seen him. I didn't know he's capable of. And a friend of ours told us, she said, no, look, you boys, you got raised in a certain home, he's going to be different towards her. And I thought, you don't know my dad, you know,
Starting point is 00:35:35 and she was exactly right. And I have daughters. Jay says a daughter. You're a daughter, Allie, which, by the way, I know your dad. We've become fast friends since he was on our podcast. You and he were on our podcast. But it's, you know, it was something special and unique. And so, you know, God through his later years now
Starting point is 00:35:55 is getting him a tenderness. He told me the first time we visited him when he came, moved into town, he looked up at me, said, now keep visiting me. Don't stop visiting me. And I mean, it touched me because I thought, he's never said that. He doesn't normally say that. I mean, he would never say that.
Starting point is 00:36:11 So you know what? Every time I'm in town, because at least not travel at, I've been right over there visiting talking to him because I thought, you know what? He let me know. It matters to him at this point in his life. Last sponsor is pre-born. There are pregnant women right now who are in crisis who are considering aborting their baby. But instead of walking into a Planned Parenthood, we want them to walk into a pre-born. This is a network of clinics across the country that provide women with the resources that they need.
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Starting point is 00:37:30 but it's breaking news uh maybe breaking news so one time the president while he's president actually calls my dad i was there but my dad was getting up to speak at an event and so my dad we've already described how he is he's like who is it it's like it's the president of the united states he said tell him i'll call him back i'm fixed to preach jesus which was shocking to everyone because who mine's waiting five minutes he was talking to the press i mean i would have like turned that into my icebreaker in the speech but he didn't do it and of course then everybody was like well how are you going to call him back and he's like yeah that's a good point How does that even happen?
Starting point is 00:38:16 Trump called him back the next day and had a great conversation. We were in the car and really just congratulated Dad for his book and just talked about what an influence he was on the country. And, you know, again, I think still just remembering the impact that who Dad was and the way he was. So, you know, it was pretty powerful. Yeah. Yeah. But who's not offended? And the president wasn't offended.
Starting point is 00:38:40 No. He was like, because he understood. but I was getting back to that gospel presentation. I think he understood. Now, I'm just speculating. This is what my dad's all about. Yeah. You know, and it's really, I don't care who you are.
Starting point is 00:38:55 This is a life-threatening situation I'm in. This is an emergency. I've fixed to share Jesus with these people, so call me back. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I'm curious about, we only have a few minutes left. I'm curious about the revamping of Duck Dynasty, the TV show.
Starting point is 00:39:12 Like, who's going to be? a part of it and is it going to be strange without Phil or was that always part of the plan? And what's that going to be like? Well, I can comment on that because I wasn't sure myself. And I felt like the first time Duck Dynasty happened, everybody was talking about this. Of course, me and my dad were saying, this will never work. Because they were saying, let's make a show about your family, but we're not going to shoot any ducks. Because all we'd ever done was hunting shows and hunting videos. Yeah, to put it in context, we had done actual hunting videos.
Starting point is 00:39:51 And so where, you know, ducks were like shown like real life hunting. I was like, who would watch that? Nobody we know. I mean, we do hunting shows. We don't family shows. So that's not going to work. But so I, you know, the day they showed up, I thought, well, they're doing it. Well, so I had heard that there might be a version of Duck Dynasty coming back.
Starting point is 00:40:16 And I didn't believe it until I saw it. But then when I saw the camera show up, I thought, well, they're back because it's a mighty throng of them. And so basically what's happened is because the number one question we get before my dad and before now, oh, yeah, is Duck Dynasty? I heard it's coming back. And another one is size still alive because he's. He's been dead like four times. That's another room. We just had him on the podcast.
Starting point is 00:40:42 Well, I just, there's another recent post saying, he's still kicking, but. He's gone on to be with the Lord. And so I was like, hey, Jack, not yet. But, uh, so that's not true, wherever that's coming from. But, uh, so what I was going to say, long story to say, the question is people say, well, when are y'all going to come back on TV? But what they fail to realize is, you know, Duck Dynasty, as much as you realize
Starting point is 00:41:06 it's a TV show and they, the TV, the TV, people plan a lot of what we did that was our life everything you saw was real i worked at the duck command like when the cameras would leave i would be building duck calls it wasn't so well since then we all have our own families that are huge and so we can't even all meet to me i'm not built i'm technically an employee of duck duck commander they send me a check but they're doing that so my face can be on their packaging, you know, but I'm not in the room building duck calls anymore. So most of Willie's kids, I think all of them in some capacity. Work in working here. Right. And so I think they are doing pie. Yeah, the TV people got wind of that and they're like, well, it's a whole
Starting point is 00:41:55 and they're having to deal with people like me, Willie's kids, because I'm officially, I, you know, I get to tell them what to do and whatever. And so it's kind of a reboot on that. It's like, like the next generation and all the family i think may will make a cameo appearance in some i haven't been filmed yet but they i had a meeting with them so uh i will still appear i'll appear i know mom's been on episode size been and actually you said my dad uh i don't i guess i can say this i think you will see my dad at some point yeah somewhere yeah so where's waldo to find him yeah okay but like in all tv shows we have no control over the edit.
Starting point is 00:42:38 Right, right. Well, thank you all so much for this. And I could listen to y'all talk all day, but I just appreciate the remembrance of, you know, just the legacy that your dad is still leaving, but has left in how y'all are really his missives. And that's a really beautiful thing and something that, gosh, I aspire to as a parent. So thank you all for that and just how y'all honor him so much. There's so many people in this audience, and obviously y'all's audience, but this audience, too, who have been impacted. I have friends who have heard the gospel for the first time from Phil, so I just appreciate him and your mom so much.
Starting point is 00:43:16 Because like you said, hospitality, that is a huge Jesus trait that, you know, I aspire to everybody too. I want to say to your audience that, and I know they love you, you're one of our favorite people in media. You're amazing because not only are you there with cutting edge what's going on politically and culturally, but also you're a Bible warrior. like we are. And of course, I follow you on social media. I love your mom and dad. They become friends of mine. So what you're doing is making an impact on the kingdom. So thank you for that. We're honored to be on your podcast. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate that. And thanks for taking the time to come on. Absolutely. No problem.

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