Media outrage sells certainty. It presents clear villains, clear heroes and constant conflict. What it rarely offers is truth. For Christians, that distinction matters, because misplaced trust does more than misinform—it quietly redirects faith away from Christ and toward spectacle.
Comedian and podcast host John Crist recently offered an unfiltered look at this reality after attending a Nashville gathering hosted by Tucker Carlson. Speaking on his Net Positive podcast, Crist described a setting that sharply contradicted the divisions audiences are conditioned to expect.
Among those present, Crist said, were Carlson, Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor Greene, members of Turning Point USA, entertainers and comedians.
“I hate to say this out loud… everybody friends,” Crist said. “Everybody friends.”
Podcast host and comedian John Crist says he went to Tucker Carlson's Nashville party, where there was a wide variety of people including Candace Owens, claims "everybody friends" behind the scenes.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 16, 2025
"There was Turning Point people there. And Candace Owens was there, Marjorie… pic.twitter.com/ItH1vYxlCj
Crist’s observation was not praise. It was exposure. Figures portrayed online as locked in constant ideological warfare were casually interacting in the same space, undercutting the credibility of the narratives audiences consume daily.
“You’d think they should be fist-fighting in the center of this party,” Crist said. “Yeah, everybody: ‘You want a drink?’”
Crist explained that the experience forced him to confront how often public conflict is exaggerated—or outright manufactured—for attention, engagement and influence.
The dynamic, he said, mirrors what has long existed in Washington, D.C., where political opponents project hostility while maintaining private familiarity.
“We saw the Democratic majority leader and the Republican, they’re at dinner,” Crist said. “I go, yeah, everybody friends.”
Crist reduced the phenomenon to its most straightforward explanation.
“They’re entertaining,” he said. “That’s how they are. That’s what their thing is.”
“I think just a lot of it is business,” he added.
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That admission cuts across ideological lines. Conservative media, progressive media and everything in between operate on incentives that reward outrage and division. What appears authentic is often strategic. What feels urgent is usually curated.
The implication is unavoidable. Scripture never instructs believers to anchor their worldview to media ecosystems or political personalities. It warns against deception and calls for discernment. Trusting media—whether secular or conservative—to deliver truth without distortion is a losing proposition.
Crist’s remarks do not expose a single party or platform. They expose the system itself. What is marketed as reality is often performance, and what is framed as conviction is frequently commerce.
Faith grounded in media narratives will always be unstable. Faith grounded in Jesus Christ is not. Discernment begins when believers recognize the difference and refuse to confuse spectacle for truth.
The media will continue to manufacture conflict. Christ does not.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
