Trump's Press Conference Was Just Weird

January 11, 2017

WRITER

Many Americans embrace the idea of a businessman --- not a politician --- as president of the United States. But can you imagine George Washington standing up at a press conference and talking about his holdings?

Co-host Pat Gray gave his best voice impression of America's first president.

"Martha and I have incredible holdings, as you know. We've got a massive business, as you know," Pat said jokingly. "Martha and I have been running this --- we own most of Virginia, as I think you know. My holdings, inflation adjusted, would be around a billion dollars. I'm the richest president there's ever been."

That's exactly what President-elect Trump did at a presser to address the unsubstantiated dossier on his connections to Russia, unethically published by BuzzFeed on Tuesday.

"You know, you're not the CEO of America. You don't run America," Glenn said.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: It does not fill me with confidence. It did not fill me with confidence.

JEFFY: Well, him running the business and the country didn't fill me. So I'm glad he's giving up one of them.

PAT: Yeah. Because there's no way you could do both.

JEFFY: No. Well, he said he could. He could.

PAT: He says he can. But...

GLENN: Also, you know, you're not the CEO of America. You don't run America. I could run both.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: The president doesn't run both. He doesn't run the country. That's the problem.

STU: Yeah. We need to stop thinking about it that way.

GLENN: Right. And if we as conservatives allow others to believe that's what happens, well, then this is -- I don't mean to use this -- I want to use this word the way it was used in the 1920s: That's fascism. That is a government helping companies run the company. They collude openly with privately held companies, and they go and say, "You guys -- we are going to go this way as a country, so you should develop as much as you can of these things." And they work together. That was the idea behind fascism. Fascism wasn't always a dirty word.

It was a CEO -- it was the country run as a company by a leader. That's not what we are.

PAT: Can you imagine George Washington standing up at a press conference and talking about his holdings?

Martha and I have incredible holdings, as you know. We've got a massive business, as you know. Martha and I have been running this -- we own most of Virginia, as I think you know. My holdings, inflation adjusted, would be around a billion dollars. I'm the richest president there's ever been.

I mean, it's just the weirdest thing to sit and listen to.

GLENN: No. No.

STU: And that is true. Weird.

PAT: And it's true. Washington was by far the richest president we've ever had.

GLENN: And by far, one of the most humble presidents we've ever had.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: He would not be saying, "And I've got dealings in the slave trade from -- at all points of the compass, and it's a beautiful, beautiful -- my sons are going to be at the portico. It's beautiful. And we're going to be -- because I can. I could with the -- and expansion and the slaves."

PAT: And as you know --

GLENN: And it's wonderful.

PAT: -- I could be king if I wanted to. I've been offered that. And I've said no. I've said, no, I'm not going to be king. And don't bring that up to me again. But, as you know, I could be king if I wanted to.

GLENN: Look, they were putting together the Constitution, and they couldn't get it done, and so they came to me. And they said, "George." And I said -- I was there in my beautiful lobby of my house. It's more of a lobby than an entranceway.

PAT: It's more of a mansion, of course, than a house, an estate, if you will.

GLENN: It's beautiful. It's wonderful. My son -- my daughter was upstairs. And she's wonderful. She has some beautiful friends. And she was with us out on a vacation a few weeks ago. In fact, let me bring her up. She can talk -- she's beautiful. Here she is.

What the hell did you just say?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: That's what he just did on that press conference. I don't know what the hell he -- I want to know what your stance is with Russia.

PAT: Yeah.

STU: Well, one question about Russia did say that he believes -- Donald Trump believes Russians were responsible for the hacking. That's a pretty big headline.

GLENN: That's a big headline.

PAT: Yeah, that is. Because that's the opposite of what he's been saying, right?

GLENN: Yes.

STU: Yeah. He says he thinks. So it doesn't mean he's sure. But he believes the -- the intelligence briefing, I guess, he received indicates that, yes, that is probably the source of these hacks. That is a big deal. And he has not talked about that at all.

GLENN: Nor will he again, probably.

STU: During our -- our interlude into the George Washington press conference, you have not missed anything from Donald Trump.

His attorney is still standing up there, I guess explaining all the conflict of interest laws and how he's getting around those and not bringing --

PAT: And nobody is asking about that. I don't know that we even care about that.

GLENN: We should.

PAT: I mean, we do. But that's not the current issue.

GLENN: Okay. If I said to you -- if it's to you, "Look, I'm not going to run -- Pat, I am going to completely focus -- I am going to completely focus on other things, and -- and my -- my son will be doing everything on my primary business that I've -- identify staked my entire life on and is my life fortune. My sons are going to do that. But I promise you for the next four to eight years, not a word." I've got a whole bucket coming his way. I mean, that's -- he's asking us to do the impossible. His -- and not because it's nefarious. His son comes to -- there's a crisis. Let's say the world goes into a crisis. And his -- his son is looking at their financial empire starting to crumble. You don't think the son goes to dad and says, "Dad, I got to have your help on this."

STU: It's ridiculous.

GLENN: It's ridiculous.

STU: Jared Kushner is a good example of this. It's his son-in-law. He's going to be named an official, senior adviser to the president of the United States.

And everyone is like, "Wow, we have to see what's going to go on with these nepotism laws." Because he would be affected by these things. He has to divest all of his interests. It's a big deal for Jared Kushner to go through this.

However, what -- you're telling me that you're going to enforce these laws. And then instead of him being a senior adviser, they're just going to talk about it around dinner. Like, they're going to call and text each other these things anyway. All of this is going to go on. It's better that we know.

GLENN: Didn't we learn this from Hillary Clinton? You just don't -- you use the HRC email, you don't use @state.

STU: Right. But there's nothing to prevent them from talking to each other. It's just that his title of senior adviser --

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: Correct. All they're doing is circumventing the law.

STU: But it's a ridiculous standard.

GLENN: It's ridiculous. I know.

STU: Of course, he's going to talk to his son-in-law.

GLENN: I know. But isn't it the same that we just saw, just a different -- I mean, they were doing the same thing, they just said, oh, you know what, just don't use the server. Use this server, and we'll be okay.

Okay. So that's what they did to get around it. And everybody yawned. Now he's just saying to his son-in-law, you know what, we can't talk about it here. More soup, son.

And they're going to talk about it then.

STU: You're not going to prevent a person from talking to his family members about important things in their lives when they're trusted confidants.

GLENN: No. And especially a family that is business. That is their family relationship.

STU: And that's not being critical of Donald Trump.

GLENN: No.

STU: I mean, Jared Kushner, while a big Democrat and much more liberal than anybody probably in the audience, has been a trusted adviser of Trump throughout the entire process. And that's not going to be a huge surprise that they're together. He's a big businessman and well versed in his own right. And, of course, they're going to be together. But I don't know that I've ever seen anything like this in this press conference, however, where you're getting someone, essentially a spokesperson for the president of the United States. In the -- giving us an intermission.

GLENN: Yeah. Never seen it.

STU: We're getting an intermission of this, where she explains all of this.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: It is kind of an interesting turn.

GLENN: It's also really interesting to me that this is where they're turning. And I guess, you know, they want to turn the news cycle.

But everybody wants to know about Russia. The big news out of this is, quite honestly, I think, that Donald Trump came out blaming the US spy agencies for planting this story about him.

That is remarkable. Because let's just take it at face value, that that's true. They were sending you a message.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Don't screw with us. It's not going to get better. If that were true and the spooks are evil spooks that are sitting behind their desk, and they're like, "We taught him a lesson," and he came out and he said, "That was very wrong, the spy agencies, you know, we're going to see how that shapes up," you don't think that that big evil spook that's in the movie isn't going, "That rat bastard. Now it's war!"

I mean, that's crazy. It's crazy. Some battles you fight behind the curtain.

Critical theory destroys truth and justice

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Critical theory once stood out as the absurd progressive notion that it is. Now, its maxims are becoming an integral part of ordinary political discourse. The more you repeat a lie, the more you will believe it, and this is the very dangerous place in which we find ourselves today.

Take this critical theory maxim as an example: If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice. It's a necessary evil, if you will, the necessity of “controlled injustice.”

By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we’ll save the republic. We’ll be acting in a noble way.

This definition of justice is defined by the “oppressed,” not the “oppressor.” It is the greatest happiness for the greatest number. To achieve this justice, however, we need to endorse acts on occasion that, while seemingly unjust, serve a higher purpose. It will ensure the stability and the unity of our republic, and this may manifest in ways that seem contradictory to our values. But these are the necessary shadows to cast light on “true justice.”

And isn’t that what we are all after, anyway?

Here’s another critical theory maxim: Sometimes we find the truth through fabrication. Our pursuit of truth sometimes requires a strategic use of falsehoods. The truth is a construct that has been shaped and tailored to promote the well-being of the collective.

We sometimes need to accept and propagate lies designed by "the system” — not the old system, but the system that we’re now using to replace the old to get more justice through injustice and more truth through fabrication.

We’re engaging in a higher form of honesty. When we fabricate, it’s for the right reason. We are reaching up to the heavens fighting for a higher sort of honesty. To fortify the truth, we occasionally must weave a tapestry of lies. Each thread, essential for the greater picture, will ultimately define our understanding and ensure our unity under this infallible wisdom.

The election is coming up. Does this maxim sound familiar? Many think it is imperative that we secure our republic through election control to maintain our republic. Sometimes, we might need to take actions that by traditional standards might be questionable.

The act of securing elections requires cheating. It's not mere deception. It is a noble act of safeguarding our way of life. We're on the verge of losing this democracy, and without deception, we will lose it.

To ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of those we know will destroy it, we may have to make a few fabrications. We're fabricating stories to be able to control or secure the republic through our elections. By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we'll save the republic. Therefore, we'll be acting in a noble way. Stealing an election from those who wish to harm our society is truly an act of valor and an essential measure to protect our values and ensure the continuation of our just society.

If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice.

I know it's a paradox of honor through dishonor. But in this context, by embracing the dishonor, we achieve the highest form of honor, ensuring the stability and the continuation of our great republic.

Let this be heard, far and wide, as a great call to patriotic action. As we advance, let each of us, citizens of this great and honorable republic, consider these principles. Not as abstract or paradoxical but as practical guides to daily life. Embrace the necessity of controlled injustice, the utility of lies, the duty to secure our electoral process, and the honor and apparent dishonor. These are not merely strategies for survival. They are prerequisites for our prosperity.

We all have to remember that justice is what our leaders define, that truth is what our party tells us. Our republic stands strong on the values of injustice for justice, honor through dishonor, and the fabrication of truths. To deviate from this path is to jeopardize the very fabric of our society. Strength through unity; unity through strength.

We've heard this nonsense for so long. But now, this nonsense is becoming an instituted reality, and we are entering perilous times. Don't be fooled by the narratives you will hear during the march to November. Never let someone convince you that the ends justify the means, that a little bit of injustice is needed to achieve a broader, collective vision of justice, that truth sometimes requires fabricated lies and narratives. If we do, justice will cease to be justice, truth will cease to be truth, and our republic will be lost.

Top 5 MOST EVIL taxes the government extorts from you

David McNew / Staff | Getty Images

"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." -Ben Franklin

The injustice of taxation has been a core issue for Americans since the very beginning of our country, and it's a problem we have yet to resolve. This belief was recently reignited in many Americans earlier this month on tax day when the numbers were crunched and it was discovered that the government was somehow owed even more hard-earned money. As Glenn recently discussed on his show, it's getting to be impossible for most Americans to afford to live comfortably, inflation is rising, and our politicians keep getting richer.

The taxpayer's burden is heavier than ever.

The government is not above some real low blows either. While taxes are a necessary evil, some taxes stretch the definition of "necessary" and emphasize the "evil." Here are the top five most despicable taxes that are designed to line the IRS coffers at your expense:

Income Tax

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

"It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income." -Ben Franklin

On February 24th, 2024 we hit a very unfortunate milestone, the 101st anniversary of the 16th Amendment, which authorized federal income tax. Where does the government get the right to steal directly out of your paycheck?

Death Taxes

Dan Mullan / Staff | Getty Images

"Now my advice for those who die, Declare the pennies on your eyes" -George Harrison

Not even in death can you escape the cold pursuit of the tax collector. It's not good enough that you have to pay taxes on everything you buy and every penny you make your entire life. Now the feds want a nice slice, based on the entire value of your estate, that can be as much as 40 percent. Then the state government gets to stick their slimy fingers all over whatever remains before your family is left with the crumbs. It's practically grave-robbery.

Payroll

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

"The power to tax is the power to destroy." -John Marshall

What's that? The nice chunk of your paycheck the government nabs before you can even get it to the bank wasn't enough? What if the government taxed your employer just for paying you? In essence, you make less than what your agreed pay rate is and it costs your employer more! Absolutely abominable.

Social Security

VALERIE MACON / Contributor | Getty Images

"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." -Ronald Reagan

Everyone knows the collapse of Social Security is imminent. It has limped along for years, only sustained by a torrent of tax dollars and the desperate actions of politicians. For decades, people have unwillingly forked over money into the system they will never see again.

FICA

Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Images

"What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue." -Thomas Paine

FICA is the payroll equivalent of Social Security. Your employer has to match however much you pay. It means it costs your employer even more to pay you—again, you'll NEVER see that money. At this point, are you even working for yourself, or are you just here to generate money for the government to frivolously throw away?

5 DISTURBING ways World War III will be different from previous wars

Oleg Nikishin / Stringer | Getty Images

Has World War III begun?

Over the weekend, Iran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel involving over 300 missiles and drones. This marked the first direct attack on Israel originating from Iranian territory. Fortunately, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of missiles and drones were successfully neutralized by Israeli defense systems. Iran claimed that the operation against Israel had concluded and that no further offensive was planned, although the possibility of another attack is still present.

This has left many people, including Glenn, wondering the same thing: did we just witness the start of World War III?

Glenn recently had a World War II Air Force Veteran as a guest on his TV special, who told stories of the horrors he and his brothers-in-arms faced in the skies over war-torn Europe. This was a timely reminder of the terrors of war and a warning that our future, if it leads to another world war, is a dark one.

But, if Glenn's coverage of the Iranian attack revealed one thing, it's that World War III will look nothing like the world wars of the twentieth century. Long gone are the days of John "Lucky" Luckadoo and his "Bloody Hundredth" bravely flying their B-17s into battle. Over the weekend, we saw hundreds of autonomous drones and missiles clashing with extreme speed and precision over several different fronts (including space) simultaneously. This ain't your grandfather's war.

From EMP strikes to cyber attacks, here are FIVE ways the face of war has changed:

EMP attacks

New York Daily News Archive / Contributor | Getty Images

The entire modern world, on every level, is completely dependent on electricity. From your home refrigerator to international trade, the world would come to a grinding halt without power. And as Glenn has pointed out, it wouldn't even be that hard to pull off. All it would take is 3 strategically placed, high-altitude nuclear detonations and the entire continental U.S. would be without power for months if not years. This would cause mass panic across the country, which would be devastating enough on its own, but the chaos could be a perfect opportunity for a U.S. land invasion.

Nuclear strikes

Galerie Bilderwelt / Contributor | Getty Images

Nuclear war is nothing new. Many of us grew up during the Cold War, built fallout shelters, and learned to duck and cover. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall fell and so did the preparedness of the average American to weather a nuclear attack. As technology has advanced, more of our adversaries than ever have U.S. cities within their crosshairs, and as Glenn has pointed out, these adversaries are not exactly shy about that fact. Unfortunately, the possibility of an atomic apocalypse is as real as ever.

Immigration warfare

Nick Ut / Contributor | Getty Images

The strategy of strangling an opposing nation's economy to gain the upper hand is a wartime tactic as old as time. That's why the Border Crisis is so alarming. What better way to damage an opponent's economy than by overburdening it with millions of undocumented immigrants? As Glenn has covered, these immigrants are not making the trek unaided. There is a wide selection of organizations that facilitate this growing disaster. These organizations are receiving backing from around the globe, such as the WEF, the UN, and U.S. Democrats! Americans are already feeling the effects of the border crisis. Imagine how this tactic could be exploited in war.

Cyber shutdowns

Bill Hinton / Contributor | Getty Images

Cyber attacks will be a major tactic in future wars. We've already experienced relatively minor cyber strikes from Russia, China, and North Korea, and it is a very real possibility that one of our adversaries inflicts a larger attack with devastating consequences on the United States. In fact, the WEF has already predicted a "catastrophic" cyber attack is imminent, and Glenn suggests that it is time to start preparing ourselves. A cyber attack could be every bit as devastating as an EMP, and in a world run by computers, nothing is safe.

Biological assault

WPA Pool / Pool | Getty Images

Don't trust the "experts." That was the takeaway many of us had from the pandemic, but something less talked about is the revelation that China has manufactured viruses that are capable of spreading across the globe. We now know that the lab leak hypothesis is true and that the Wuhan lab manufactured the virus that infected the entire world. That was only ONE virus from ONE lab. Imagine what else the enemies of America might be cooking up.

The government is WAGING WAR against these 3 basic needs

NICHOLAS KAMM / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has launched a full-on assault against our basic needs, and people are starting to take notice.

As long-time followers of Glenn are probably aware, our right to food, water, and power is under siege. The government no longer cares about our general welfare. Instead, our money lines the pockets of our politicians, funds overseas wars, or goes towards some woke-ESG-climate-Great Reset bullcrap. And when they do care, it's not in a way that benefits the American people.

From cracking down on meat production to blocking affordable power, this is how the government is attacking your basic needs:

Food

Fiona Goodall / Stringer | Getty Images

Glenn had Rep. Thomas Massie on his show where he sounded the alarm about the attack on our food. The government has been waging war against our food since the thirties when Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. They started by setting strict limits on how many crops a farmer could grow in a season and punishing anyone who grew more—even if it was intended for personal use, not for sale on the market. This sort of autocratic behavior has continued into the modern day and has only gotten more draconian. Today, not only are you forced to buy meat that a USDA-approved facility has processed, but the elites want meat in general off the menu. Cow farts are too dangerous to the environment, so the WEF wants you to eat climate-friendly alternatives—like bugs.

Water

ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / Contributor | Getty Images

As Glenn discussed during a recent Glenn TV special, the government has been encroaching on our water for years. It all started when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the government the ability to regulate large bodies of water. As the name suggests, the act was primarily intended to keep large waterways clear of pollution, but over time it has allowed the feds to assume more and more control over the country's water supply. Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to include even more water and was only stopped by the Supreme Court.

Electricity