September 24, 2026 - Judge Orders White House To Restore Access

Last night I interviewed Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in front of a sold-out crowd at the Free Library of Philadelphia. His memoir, "Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country," came out this week. The title comes from the last line of the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the book is built around that idea.

Politico's Playbook reported that the night before, he got a standing ovation at George Washington University's Betts Theatre, where Maryland Gov. Wes Moore interviewed him. But of course, they never threw snowballs at Santa at GW. Nevertheless, I can report that the Kentuckian was just as warmly received in the City of Brotherly Love.

In my first question, I told Governor Beshear that the audience had come to learn the recipe. They wanted to know the secret sauce that enabled him, as a Democrat, to win three statewide races in a ruby red state in the same era that Donald Trump carried Kentucky three times by an average of 29 points.

I'll play his full answer on radio today, but in a word, it's authenticity. His plainspeak has enabled him to defend positions you might not think popular in a culturally conservative area, such as abortion rights and protections for transgender Kentuckians. Plus, his moral compass is his faith. He's the grandson and great-grandson of two Baptist lay preachers. When I asked whether that inoculated him in Kentucky in a way that might not translate to a wider, more secular audience, he disagreed, making clear that he was not seeking to impose his faith on anyone, but rather, seeking to explain his own guiding principles.

That raised a most interesting exchange. I told him that on yesterday's radio program, with the looming interview much on my mind, I found myself reading a commercial from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. I shared with him the heart of the copy:

"RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS NOT RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGE. THE FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION WORKS TO KEEP STATE AND CHURCH SEPARATE BECAUSE THAT SEPARATION PROTECTS BELIEVERS, NONBELIEVERS AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN. IT ALSO ENSURES FREETHINKERS, ATHEISTS, AGNOSTICS AND NONRELIGIOUS AMERICANS ARE NOT LEFT OUT OF THE AMERICAN STORY."

Andy Beshear said he was just fine with that. If he runs for president and critics argue that he's too guided by his faith, he might point to that exchange. I'll play the tape on radio today.

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