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Real-Life Heroes Turned Movie Stars Share the Story That Became ‘The 15:17 to Paris’

Three young Americans were at the right place at the right time to thwart a terrorist and save a train full of people. Now, their story of real-life heroism is a movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos are playing themselves in the movie version of their trip on Aug. 21, 2015 on a train headed from Amsterdam to Paris.

The three 25-year-old friends recently chatted with Glenn about that fateful train trip and how Eastwood talked them into starring in the film.

“It was quick thinking, everyone else was running the other way, and they ran toward the problem and saved hundreds of lives,” Glenn said on today’s show.

Listen to their full interview here:

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: Do you know why you were born? Do you know why you're here?

You ever -- have you ever thought your whole life is leading toward one moment, and you never know when that moment is coming?

August 21st, 2015, three American friends, really average guys. They boarded a train from Amsterdam to Paris. They had no way of knowing that their lives were building to that moment. And they would be worldwide heroes, later in the day.

The three friends, Anthony Saddler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone, they were on a train, going to Paris. They took a lone gunman down who had 300 rounds of ammunition on board.

It was quick thinking. Everyone else was running the other way. And they ran toward the problem and saved hundreds of lives.

I spoke with them about that fateful day and how their story eventually caught the attention of Clint Eastwood. Alek, Anthony, Spencer, welcome to the program. How are you?

VOICE: I'm great. How about you?

GLENN: Very good.

All right. So I want to talk to you about one thing that, you know, I -- I had a problem with, with the story. And I just want to hear it from, quite honestly, Experience, I want to hear it from you, and then I want to hear the excuses from Alek and Anthony. At some point, you're on this train with this terrorist. And Alek says, go!

And then you go. He's got a gun. And I noticed, at least in the movie, Alek and Anthony, I'll give it to you, Anthony, you were asleep. But where the hell were you, Alek?

VOICE: I've been asking him the same thing for a few years now.

GLENN: Right.

VOICE: He asked me to go. And then he waits for me to make it to him.

GLENN: Look -- no, no, no. Just didn't wait to make it to -- then you're wrestling. And you're trying to hold on to the guy. And, I mean -- I mean, I know that you took the butt of the gun to his head after a while, Alek. But it was a little sloppy and slow.

(laughter)

VOICE: Thank you! America speaks, finally.

STU: Yes. Let's hear the rebuttal, please.

VOICE: All right. Yeah, let's do this.

VOICE: So, first of all, Spencer was on the aisle seat. So he had to go first. I wasn't going to, like, climb over him and then trip in the aisle and just get shot.

GLENN: Right. Right. Usually, that is -- then that phrase should have been, go. I'll meet you in about five minutes.

(laughter)

VOICE: Well, obviously, I was using him as a human shield.

GLENN: Right.

VOICE: I wasn't trying to get shot. And if he was dumb enough to go first, I mean, it's his own fault for getting shot, right?

VOICE: Natural selection.

(laughter)

GLENN: It's -- you know, it's -- it's an incredible story from -- from start to finish, with the three of you. Your friendship. But also the -- what happened on that day.

I was struck by the fact of how many people didn't do anything. I mean, really didn't do anything.

Some people were just paralyzed by fear. But -- but everybody else just ran. And there was no one that stepped to the plate.

VOICE: Kind of hard to ask people to do that, we know. We're all unarmed. And so nobody was really expecting that. So it's kind of a crazy situation to find yourselves in, that's for sure.

VOICE: Yeah, but, I mean, truthfully, we cannot even say that we would have done the same thing, if we hadn't had the confidence in ourselves, just based on the experiences that we had in life. And the skills that we had.

You know, the only thing that really gave me, you know, the confidence to run up at the guy and get up in his face was because I had been practicing Jiu-Jitsu for the last year. And all I said pretty much to myself was, man, if I could just get up in his face, I know I could do something.

You know, getting too close to him. He won't be able to be as effective. So I just -- that's what really gave me the boost.

VOICE: And also too, that I think our friendship -- I mean, we had been friends for so long. I think we knew we would kind of have each other backs. And we all kind of talked about similar situations before.

And we all knew we were kind of, of the same mindset.

GLENN: Do we -- what do we know about the terrorist that was the guy that you took down?

VOICE: Actually, he was later found out to be connected to the Brussels airport bombing and the Bataclan Theater Attack. He was from the same village in Morocco as those guys. And one of the first to come out of that terrorist cell. And so, I mean, he's being held in French custody right now. And he's become a much larger investigation. And hopefully we'll be able to get some more information and be able to relay that soon.

STU: One of the things I remember of when this happened -- because obviously a terrorist attack starts. You start hearing about how bad it could have been. And there's such a moment of pride as an American, to hear that it was three Americans who stopped this.

GLENN: And can I tell you something, when I first heard it, thought it was, okay. Three Americans. And because two of you have background in the service, you just assumed, okay. They're probably Navy SEALs. And I know a lot of Navy SEALs. And they're just going to snap your neck if you get out of line.

VOICE: You're a wannabe Navy SEAL.

GLENN: Right. You guys are not that. I mean, no offense, but you're --

VOICE: Oh, thanks. I'm still infantry.

GLENN: Right. I mean, you're not me. But you're -- but you were -- you were not drilled over and over and over and over again to kill.

I mean, Spencer, you were drilled to heal.

VOICE: Yeah. I mean, but it was -- it was truly a life or death situation. I mean, we had no options. You're on a moving train going 200 miles an hour. This guy has an automatic weapon. I mean, Option A, you sit there, wait till he shoots you. Or you get up and try to do something. And, I mean, that was -- the fight was a fight for survival. It was either he was going to kill us, or we were going to kill him. But luckily, we were just able to subdue him and choke him unconscious.

VOICE: I think that's the best thing about the movie. Because like you said, of course, people remember the headline. And they're like, of course, two off-duty servicemen, of course they would.

But the movie does a good job at showing that we're three ordinary guys that none of us have ever seen anything traumatic like that before.

And I think that that's wild to speak to more of the masses of people, because they'll be able to identify with one of us or all three of us and see just how ordinary we are. And that we were really faced with an extraordinary situation.

GLENN: So, Anthony, if you were -- if -- you know, when they ask -- when Spencer said, hey, come to Europe. And you guys thought that there was a chance something like this would happen. Would you have thought that you were the three guys that would have stood up and done what you did?

VOICE: No.

That would have -- that would have definitely been hard to pay. I would have never thought nothing like that would have happened. But I guess hindsight being 20/20, I guess me being the civilian that I didn't have formal training.

I couldn't have picked two better guys to go on the trip with. So I couldn't have imagined being in that situation with any other two people. That's for sure.

VOICE: That's one thing our families kind of joke about, is that, oh, it would be -- it would be us that did something like that. Not just because of like our training or, you know, anything like that. But just because we're always getting in trouble together and always --

VOICE: And something always happens when we hang out.

GLENN: Yeah. You should stop hanging out.

STU: And stop getting on trains. Please, planes.

GLENN: The other interesting thing is, off of that is in the -- you know, in the movie, it shows that you are troublemakers.

I mean, none of you excelled in school. You were always in trouble. And been most likely -- not your moms. Your moms come off as wonderful mothers.

VOICE: They are.

GLENN: But, you know, besides your moms, doesn't seem like anyone with any authority in your childhood expected anything like this from you guys.

VOICE: That's for sure.

(laughter)

VOICE: There's one thing in life, we never being, like, told what to do. So, I mean, we were difficult kids to raise. But we all are super thankful for the parents that we had, feel like they really shaped us.

VOICE: That's a good theme to draw from the movie too. It's just that, you know, even our success, our failures, they were all part of the bigger plan.

And I think people would be able to identify like that. Like, if they feel like they're on the wrong path, that could be something pushing you in a direction that, for all, you know, could be working in your favor in the future. So it's all part of the bigger plan.

STU: What was it like when you were approached with the idea of actually acting?

GLENN: No. Go before that.

First, what was it like, when Clint Eastwood said, hey, I want to make your story?

VOICE: Well, honestly, we were just extremely excited. Because we've all been -- I mean, we were raised on Clint Eastwood movies. So it was kind of a no-brainer for us. And even when we were talking to him about, how they're going to do the movie. Sully had just come out. So I watched sully. And once I saw how good of a job he did on that, especially, it was just kind of like, let's just let the man work. And let's do it. We were just -- we were just so excited. Because, I mean, you couldn't have picked anybody better to do it.

STU: Definitely. Clint Eastwood, he's legendary first as an actor. And now as a director.

But he made this choice. And in case people don't know, the movie stars -- the three guys you're hearing, the real people who are in the incident are the actors portraying themselves in a movie.

GLENN: Clint Eastwood, you know, didn't get Sully. He got Tom Hanks. So when he said to you, hey, guys, why don't you do it? What were your thoughts?

VOICE: I mean, we were just totally blown away and shocked. We never considered it a possibility because that's not the normal thing. And we also just really didn't want to risk the success of our story. Because we knew it was going to be forever, so we wanted it to be good.

And so, I mean, it's just something that totally came out of nowhere.

But how are you going to tell Clint Eastwood no playing yourself in your own film? It's just something we couldn't turn down. We just jumped at it.

VOICE: Nobody wanted to get that death stare from Clint Eastwood.

GLENN: No, I know. I understand that.

Spencer, you were -- you were wounded, seemingly in the movie pretty badly. I mean, at least painfully

VOICE: Just a flesh wound.

GLENN: Just a flesh wound. And then you went on and stuck your hands in a wounded man's throat to save his life. How long did that actually happen?

VOICE: On the fight took place probably tops two minutes. And then from the point when the attack started until when we got to the next train station, it was about 25 to 30 minutes.

GLENN: Holy cow.

VOICE: And so -- I was over with Mark. I would say it was, yeah, a solid 20 minutes, I had my hand in his neck.

GLENN: And he is -- and he is okay?

VOICE: He is good. And actually, that is another thing about this film. Is, you know, it's not only us playing ourselves. But Mark plays himself. His wife plays herself. We have Chris Norman, the British man who tied up the terrorist playing himself.

One of the same train employees. We had a lot of the same police. Had the same exact medical team that brought us up to train two years ago.

GLENN: Wow.

VOICE: And oftentimes, people, you know, think that we were the only ones that really did anything. But, I mean, without all those people contributing and doing what they did that day, we would have never been in the position to do anything ourselves and be successful at it.

So it's really awesome that they're going to be able to finally get the credit they deserve in such a big way.

GLENN: He did a good job of taking the television footage at the end with the president of France awarding you the legion of honor. Because he was, you know, mixing new footage with real footage. And I couldn't help, but wonder, are your parents the ones in that crowd in the new footage?

VOICE: No. They are -- they were actors portrayed. They were actors.

GLENN: No, no, no. I know that those -- I know the actors. But I mean the other people in the crowd. Did they include your parents at all in this, your moms?

VOICE: No. They weren't able to. But also, on the day of the actual ceremony, there's no footage of the crowd. It was just us.

GLENN: Right.

VOICE: And we have, you know, Judy Greer and Jen Fisher playing our moms throughout the movie. So it would probably throw off the audience at the end if they would have put our real parents in.

GLENN: What was it -- what was it like when, you know, this happened and then you're called to receive the -- you know, the legion of honor award and you're standing how many days, three days later, a week later?

VOICE: Three days after.

GLENN: Three days later.

VOICE: It happened on Friday. And we're receiving the medal on Monday.

So we're going from hostels and doing the cheap way all through Europe, to terrorist attack on Friday, until all of a sudden, in the Élysée with the French president on Monday. So it's -- it's a quick turnaround, that's for sure.

VOICE: Yeah. Staying in the ambassador's personal residence, like, we were sleeping in the same bed like Charles Lindbergh slept in when he crossed the Atlantic. And it was honestly just, like, the coolest experience.

VOICE: My room was called the Benjamin Franklin room, okay? That's where the president stays, when he comes to France.

We really got an upgrade.

GLENN: Wow. And more importantly, the French people were nice to you.

VOICE: We love the French people.

VOICE: Yeah, we love them.

I mean, I feel like that's a common misconception these days, actually. It's very cliche to say. But they're very nice people.

VOICE: But our experience is a little different.

VOICE: Yeah.

STU: You're saving their lives, of course, they're be nice to you.

GLENN: They're going to be nice to you. Trust me, they're not going to be nice to me.

VOICE: We'll be the ambassadors for you, don't worry.

GLENN: Yeah, my wife and I are taking our kids over to Europe this summer for the very first time.

And just last week, we planned a trip from Paris to Amsterdam and back, on that same train. I'm not sure I want to take it now.

VOICE: Same thing.

VOICE: It's a popular thing.

VOICE: Well, now you know what to do.

GLENN: Yes. And here's the role I'll play, go!

(laughter)

GLENN: God bless you guys, thank you so much. And it was -- it was -- it's really stirring -- your story is really stirring. And it was really a great moment, I think for all Americans to -- to watch the French say the truth about Americans. And sometimes, you know, the rest of the world doesn't -- doesn't see us like this. But I think that's -- we all at least want to be in that -- in situations like that. And you guys actually did it. So thank you so much, God bless.

VOICE: Thanks for having us. God bless you too, man.

(music)

GLENN: The new Clint Eastwood movie, 1517 to paris, opens up a week from today.

TV

Digital ID & Religious Persecution: New Globalist Plans to ENSLAVE You | Glenn TV | Ep 459

We’re at a crossroads — freedom or total control. We see it in the U.K., where people are thrown in jail for waving their flag or sharing a meme. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s push for digital IDs is just the latest piece of a control-freak puzzle that’s been coming together for years, with nudges from the U.N. and World Economic Forum. Award-winning journalist Alex Newman tells Glenn Beck that the survival of freedom depends on stopping this agenda before it's too late. But it’s not just the Brits who are slaves to global elites — Glenn Beck points out how governments worldwide are racing toward totalitarianism. He shares a jaw-dropping story from South Korea, where Reverend Son of Segero Church in Busan was arrested for calling out policies he saw as anti-biblical. His son Chance tells Glenn that just days before he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk promised to make Rev. Son’s stance against the South Korean regime an international human rights issue. Chance calls on Americans to pick up Charlie’s torch and remind the world what liberty looks like.

RADIO

Eric Trump EXPOSES the Left’s double standard on “weaponized justice”

Democrats are crying about “weaponization of justice” when it comes to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. But they cheered on the lawfare attacks against the Trump family. President Trump’s son Eric Trump joins Glenn Beck to call out the hypocrisy. Plus, he details the true extent of the persecution his family faced, which he wrote down in his new book, “Under Siege: My Family’s Fight to Save Our Nation.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Hello, Eric, how are you?

ERIC: Glenn, it's great to be on.

GLENN: It great to have you. Great to have you.

Your book. What your family has gone through is just the radically souped up version of what I think a lot of people feel they have gone through in their life.

But, man, they have -- they have tried to kill you guys. They have tried to put you in jail. They tried to destroy you every single step of the way.

Tell me about the motivation for putting that all down on paper.


ERIC: Yeah. Glenn, I think that's right. It went on number one, almost instantly, Under Siege. And it's been incredible. But I came up with -- you're right.

I was a guy who didn't have any constitutional protections. I was in the government. So guess who they came after?

They came after me. I was the most subpoenaed person in American history, all because I ran the Trump organization, which was effectively what my father spent his entire life doing. And they wanted to see us taken town. They wanted to see us destroyed.

I mean, look what they did. Right? Between two impeachments. They raided our home. They silenced us. They gag ordered us. There's more gag orders than I possibly could count. They took us off of Twitter. They took us off of Facebook. They took us off of Instagram.

You know, they made up the phony dossier that was paid for by Hillary Clinton. They made up Russia gate. Glenn, I was the guy getting the calls from the FBI saying, you know, Eric, I hear you have secret servers communicating with the Kremlin in the basement of Trump Tower. I mean, give me. Give me a break. They tried to take out our Supreme Court justices. I mean, they did everything.

They weaponized the media. They weaponized the DOJ. They weaponized the FBI. They charged my father 91 times. Ninety-one criminal counts. They fined the Trump organization almost $600 million can for not doing a damn thing wrong.

And all of this stuff has been overturned. They wanted to see us nonexistent.

They wanted to see our family broken. They wanted to see my father in jail. They probably wanted to see me in jail. Then I said on Sean Hannity one night. You know, they've done all of this to us. They put us under siege. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to kill my father.

And then you saw what happened in Butler. And then you saw what happened eight weeks later, you know, in West Palm. You saw what just happened to Charlie. I mean, I published his book. Literally, three days before Charlie Kirk's assassination.

I mean, you want to talk about another time they tried to put our movement under siege. They've done it to you. They've done it to every one of your listeners. They've debanked us and deplatformed us.

And the story had to be told from a first-person perspective, who effectively dealt with all of it. And the greatest part of the whole story is we won. We won, and we're saving the country right now.

GLENN: So, Eric, how do you deal -- I just had a conversation with somebody I think is really, really smart.

Doesn't agree with me politically, but very well-educated, very smart, and a reasonable person.

And he immediately brought up the weaponization of our government with the DOJ and James Comey. And I said, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Blood is shooting out of my eyes right now. Hang on, the weaponization of our government with the DOJ and James Comey?

And I had to explain to him, that your Dad didn't say, you're fired if you don't go get him. Your father said, make a decision. Make a decision.

You don't let the statute of limitations go out. And it went through a grand jury process, two out of the three charges were valid. And so you prosecute.

That's different than what you guys. Can you compare James Comey and what's happening there, to what was done with you guys?

ERIC: Well, I'll give you a little inside baseball. So I was the guy that got called when they were raiding Mar-a-Lago. Right? Obviously, I run all of our commercial properties, and our entire portfolio. Everything in the Trump organization. So I get a call from one of my team members. The FBI is here with the search warrant. And I go, excuse me?

We have the greatest relationship with all law enforcement, where we love law enforcement. No, they're coming in. They have a search warrant to raid Mar-a-Lago right now. And I said, you must be kidding me. Why?

Well, they're saying the national archives asked the FBI to raid Mar-a-Lago. You mean -- buy a public library. You know, you have 30 FBI agents there with machine guys because of Norah, you know, asked for a raid?

I went on Fox News that night. I think it was Jesse Waters, I went on Fox News that night. And, give me a break. Like, I wasn't born yesterday. You don't raid Mar-a-Lago, the former president's home and very likely the future president.

Again, because my father was so great. You don't raid that home, based on the national archives. Like you better believe Biden was behind it. And sure enough, 18 months later, it comes out, that Biden was behind it.

And Merrick Garland was 100 percent behind it. And they were the ones that authorized it. The weaponization is unlike anything I had ever seen. Glenn, we were a family that never got as much as a speeding ticket ever in our lives, and we lived a pretty fast life in terms of business and life.

Until my father decided that he was looking to run again in 2024. In which case, they indicted him 34 times for $130,000 that he didn't even make.
I mean, people -- people who are sitting in the courtrooms, couldn't even possibly believe it.

Again, we had every single one of them overturned. When I hear them talking about James Comey. Clearly. It very much looked like it -- to Ted Cruz. And that congressional hearing. That testimony that day.

I mean, give me a break. These guys. I probably spent $400 million, defending ourselves from hoaxes. I mean, the Russia hoax, we had disproved to the FBI.

We didn't have secret servers. There are no servers in the basement of Trump Tower. Because the basement was flooded. You don't put -- like, Computer's 101, you don't put servers in basements. Right?

You know, we didn't know anybody in Russia. They knew this. And they let this sham get perpetrated for three years so that one greedy woman could possibly get, you know, two more bills.

And then when she lost to him in embarrassing fashion, to people who didn't know where the damn delegate was. I.e. our family. Because we had never been in politics before. You know, they needed some way to justify her embarrassing performance.

GLENN: They took your father off the ballot in Maine. They tried to take him off in Colorado. That to me is the weaponization of the political system. By going after you guys for the servers, by changing documents, literally, the FBI changing documents to go after people in your organization, on the -- the Russiagate stuff. Changing the documents for a FISA court.

That's true weaponization. Is there a chance that the Comey thing is going to go to bleed in a larger prosecution, because I've been watching this. Eric, I've been watching this from the beginning.

I was watching this when I was not for your father being president in 2016. Saying, wait a minute.

This isn't right.

What is this?

This isn't right.

It is so clear that this now was -- I mean, the evidence is all there!

That this was a plan from the beginning, that is, quite honestly, I believe, still going on.

Is there is there a chance.

I mean, do you know if the grand conspiracy thing is going to happen?

ERIC: Listen, I hope it does, right?

I'm not in government. But it's the entire thesis of the book. I've dealt with this more than anyone in the country for a ten-year period of time.
They wanted us gone. I mean, Glenn, they were planting documents in Mar-a-Lago in my father's office. They were planting top secret folders, on -- on the carpet of my father's office.

They admitted that to Judge Cannon that they literally brought in top secret folders and they staged photo shoots on my father's office floor. Right?

The whole thing was contrived.

The whole thing was a setup. The Russia thing was a scam.

The dirty dossier that said my father was doing horrible things, the most unthinkable things. You know, it was -- it was a sham, the impeachment number one was a sham. The impeachment number two was a sham. To have seven judges in Colorado just delete my father's name from a ballot was a sham. The fact that, again, a guy who works very hard, and never crossed any line in his life became the most subpoenaed person in American history. It was a sham. I mean, you know, I must have a laptop from hell. I wasn't Hunter Biden. I wasn't doing illicit drugs. I wasn't partaking in prostitution. I didn't have racy photos all over my -- and I sure as hell wasn't doing illegal business deals all over the world of every shady country, as he very much seemed to be doing. And yet, they came after us relentlessly. So do I think that that criminality has to be paid for in some way? I do. And I find it so ironic, when you see Chuck Schumer up there. And Jake Tapper. I'm not sure if you saw him the other day. "This is the weaponization of the government at its finest."

Give me a break. I've taken more arrows than anybody could possibly take and still be standing. And my father, he has taken unlimited arrows, all in the sense of this nation that we love. And it's -- it's true irony. And it's true projection.

GLENN: So let me take ten seconds for a station ID. And then I want to talk to you about, has there ever been a time when you guys said, enough!

Back in ten seconds. (music)

GLENN: So I don't know. I mean, I am amazed at your family. I'm amazed at your father. The things that you guys have put up with. The things that you have come through.

And at some point, did anyone in the family say, dad, please, I mean, we want grandpa to be around? Stop! Please. Did that ever happen?

ERIC: You know what, it's kind of funny. I think that's exactly what they thought was going to happen. I thought that they could take this kind of New York billionaire and make his life so uncomfortable, that he would want to go back to Palm Beach, Florida, play golf, hang out with his grandkids. Fly around on Trump Force One. You know, live in Mar-a-Lago. Live a great life. Right?

And there's no question that was their calculus. You know, how do we make fun of him? How do we silence him? How do we bankrupt him? How do we go after his family? How do we raid his home? How do we indict him, right? How do we break up his business. How do we break up his business. How do we strip the Trump name off of every building in New York City. Those are all the things that I dealt with. I think they only misunderstood him.

And maybe it's like a masochist-type quality, but the harder they hit him, and the harder they hit us, the more resilient we were.

I was in the courtrooms, Glenn, with my father every single day. When they turned around in New York and ran off 34 felony -- bogus felony counts with the corrupt judge. And you know a lot about that trial.

My father turned around. Shook my hand.

We left the courthouse. We did a press conference. I was on the front stairs of that courthouse every single day to the press. You remember, my father was gagged. And then we went down, we did a big fundraiser. I mean, we literally left the courthouse after having 34 felony indictments and went to a political fundraiser.

I mean, the man never stopped. He was the Energizer Bunny in a red tie wearing a suit on steroids.

And the harder they hit him, the harder he worked, the harder he fought back.

But beyond that, I think more the American people realized, the whole thing was a sham.

I mean, there's only so many times you can cry wolf, before everybody realizes it's nonsense.

And they cried wolf in Russia, and everybody saw that.

And they cried wolf with the impeachments and everybody saw that. And people fundamentally started to distrust the mainstream media in the country. And independent voices like yours, all of a sudden, became the most powerful we've ever seen in the nation's history. And, you know, and all of a sudden, this whole thing turned around. Where people started realizing, hey. The harder they hit this guy, the more I like him. Because this is the system. This is the corruption at work. And listen, it obviously worked. Because my father won the popular vote. He won every single swing state.

You know, he won 11 counties in California that had never been wronged by a Republican. In 37 years, no Republicans won Miami Dade County. We won it by 11 points.

And every single state in the country, all 50 states cast way right. You know, and so clearly, their games didn't work.

But that's what they wanted. They wanted to make his life so damn uncomfortable. That he would bow out of the race. And say, you know what, let's just go live my glory years at Mar-a-Lago, living out the American Dream as the next president. And they wholly underestimated the man.

GLENN: But you -- the whole family was like?

I mean, everybody in the family?

I mean, I don't say this. You guys are amazing. Even if you would have said, Dad, stop it.

Please, not for us.

For you, stop it.

It's not a sign of weakness.

I mean, I'm amazed that number in the family ever just sat down and said that.

ERIC: Glenn, at that point, I think we were up to our eyeballs, admitting, you know, they had us in every -- you know, I had a hundred depositions. I had a hundred subpoenas in my desk.
They were raiding our homes. They were trying everything they possibly could to take us out, to bankrupt us. You had Leticia James in New York.

The corruption that overturned five to zero, you know, by the appellate courts. And New York was an absolute sham with a sham judge. You had the Alvin Bragg nonsense. You had the Fani Willis nonsense with her boyfriend in Georgia. You had the Jack Smith, and he plants documents in Mar-a-Lago and ransacked Melania's closet and Barron's room, you know, in our home.

You know, at this point, we were -- we were neck deep in it. I mean, we had no other choice. I mean, if we would have given up then, we would have been dead. They would have taken us out.

And there was one point, I talked about it in the book. Where my father looks at me, coming out of that courtroom. And he says, honey, I don't know how, but we're going to win.

And I said, listen, we either win, or we're all going to be in jail. Because that's exactly what these corrupt people will do to us.

And, again, it's a great irony that I find in the way the Democrats are treating the Comey indictment this week. It's -- they would have put us all in jail and had us rot there for eternity, you know, had we not pulled it off.

That was their exact intent.

And they weaponized the -- the entire system, in order to let that happen.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

So my wife and I just -- gentlemen just moved to Florida. And we lived near the Trump National Golf Course. We were driving by.
And I thought, everything this family has done. Everything this brand has gone through, I think it's a more powerful brand now, that happen -- than ever before.

And part of it is the way you guys have dealt with the -- just weathered every storm.

But also, I think your dad. I've had a lot of respect for your dad as a builder. And, you know, I watched him build buildings in New York. And honestly, Eric, I really thought.

Because he could build things twice as fast as anybody else in New York.

And I'm like, how does this guy not have mob connections? How do you do business without the mob?

And nothing. Clean. Clean. Clean.

So I don't know how he does what he does.

He's just a machine.

But I feel like, everything he has done, in a strange -- in a strange change of topic here, I think he found the golf course and the golf resorts, are like -- that's -- I think he's -- I think he's the best at that in the world now.

ERIC: Yeah. Well, thank you, by the way. And that's a great compliment to me, because I've done every single one of them with him. And I bought, you know, most of those properties and does we're really good at it. And it's really funny. When I -- when he's talking about Gaza the other day, and he goes, you know, the potential for this place. What I could make this place into, would be so incredible. And the Democrats come out. Oh, ha, ha. What do you know about building?

Like when AOC came after Elon Musk. Oh, ha, ha, ha. Elon Musk. Like, the least qualified person to run the FAA. I'm sitting there thinking, this guy is catching rockets with chopsticks. Like, you might not want to belittle him. He's got about 4,000 times the IQ of you, AOC. And they're trying to do the same with my father. I mean, there's no one that's a better builder, and I had his genetics. I mean, he'll tell you, the two of us are like two peas in a pod with that. That's what I do.

By the way, Glenn, I got the library approved yesterday. It's going to be in Miami, Florida, and it's spectacular.

So we just got the greatest site in Florida, and I will be building that. And I promise you, it's not going to look like the Barack Hussein Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, that looks like a jailhouse.

They're literally going around neighborhoods in Chicago. They're like, what does that building look like? Everybody is like, man, it looks like a jail. It will be a spectacular building. But no. I think my father will -- now, ten years ago, I would have said, what he would have wanted on his tombstone was the greatest developer, the greatest builder. You know, I think today, it's a man who literally not only inspired a nation, but opened the eyes of the entire nation to how we were getting ripped off. The flaws of government.

And how much better we could be running this country, which he's doing right now.

GLENN: Well, I've never seen anything like it. You know, when he said, I will be the greatest president. I thought, wow. That's. I'm a historian. I know history. That's a pretty high standard. I told him myself, I think you're -- I think you're in the Abraham Lincoln.

You keep going. You're in the Abraham Lincoln, George Washington kind of territory.

And it might take a hundred years for people to realize that, but I've never seen anything like it.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

USA vs UK: The Parallels in Cultural Takeover | Katie Hopkins & Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck speaks with British commentator Katie Hopkins about the dramatic Islamic demographic and political takeover in the United Kingdom, and the alarming parallels emerging in the United States. Hopkins explains how Muslim birth rates, political power in cities, and cultural changes are reshaping the UK, and what Americans can learn from Britain’s current trajectory. From arrests over flag-waving to the erosion of free speech, she details how Western freedoms are under threat if we fail to recognize the patterns.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Katie Hopkins HERE

RADIO

Will Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance be DEMONIC?!

The NFL has chosen Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny to perform at this year’s Super Bowl. But BlazeTV host ‪@realjasonwhitlock‬ joins Glenn Beck to explain why he believes this isn’t just about expanding the NFL to the Latin American market. “This is the poster boy for demonic activity,” Whitlock argues, and it’s yet another slap in the face of conservative Americans and Christians. Plus, Glenn and Jason discuss why Jay Z may be the true mastermind behind the past few years of “inclusive” halftime shows.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: This is Bad Bunny. And I have to tell you, I don't understand Bad Bunny. I don't claim to understand Bad Bunny. I've never heard of Bad Bunny before. And, you know, I'm cool. I'm cool. I'm all Bad Bunnied out. Now, Jason. Who is a little cooler. Jason Whitlock from the Blaze. He's joining us now. Because he is -- you're apoplectic on Bad Bunny.

JASON: Yes, I am, Glenn. Look, obviously they're trolling Donald Trump. Obviously, they're trolling ICE raids and the whole illegal immigration policy, enacted by Trump. Obviously, they're going out to Northern California, where the Super Bowl is in Santa Clara this year. And they -- Gavin Newsom. Kamala Harris. This is their headquarters. And they want to make a statement about illegal immigration. They want to make a statement about diversity and Spanish-speaking people. They want to make a statement about transgenderism and sexual fluidity.

And bad bunny checks all those boxes.

And so that's what they're doing. This has nothing to do with football fans.

This is about the left's control of popular culture. And control of the National Football League, which is the strongest thing in popular culture. And they're using it to make a big, bold at the same time about how they feel about Donald Trump. But more importantly, how they feel about Jesus Christ.

GLENN: So now, as an expert on Bad Bunny for the last, hmm. Thirty-five seconds. Let me push back on this. I think I agree with you.

JASON: Yeah.

GLENN: Jason. But let me push back on you.

I see the NFL. You know, I see the NBA, placating China. Because that's their new place. The NFL, all over the world. NFL really trying to get football to be American football, in -- in other markets. Why is this not just a continuation of that play to get the Super Bowl to be watched in Latin America?

JASON: Because there's plenty of other Latin-American artists they could have chosen if that was the play. They didn't have to pick someone who is so closely associated with demonic activity, so closely associated with promoting gender fluidity and the cross-dressing deal. They didn't to have pick someone who is so outspoken against Donald Trump and his illegal immigration policy. This is the poster boy for Trump hate. And this is the poster boy for sexual fluidity and redefining masculinity.

These are things straight out of his own mouth. And look, all money isn't good money.

And that's what globalism is teaching us. That we can throw away all of our Christian values. All of our American values, in pursuit of global money.

GLENN: Correct.

JASON: And then what are we left with? A drag show, at halftime of the biggest platform we have to offer in American culture. And so parents will be having discussions with their kids on Super Bowl Sunday. Mommy, daddy, wives, this man out here, dressed as a woman, during some part of this act.

Why are his fingernails painted? Why is he taking subtle shots at Trump? This is -- to me, part of it is a reaction to the Charlie Kirk memorial service. It was such a powerful pro-Jesus Christ deal. They have their answer now.

And it will be Super Bowl Sunday.

GLENN: So let me ask you, because he has -- he won't tour in the United States because of ICE. Right?

JASON: Yeah. Yeah.

GLENN: So he's already sworn off the United States of America as a tour top. Because he's so strongly anti-ICE.

You just said, that he was also none I can. Or he pushes demonic things.

I want to play a piece of audio that we have from somebody who went to his tour. And then I would like you to explain for somebody who is now a full 90 seconds into, you know, what's his name? The Bunny guy. What this means. Here's the audio. Listen.

VOICE: Fans are reporting that they felt a demonic presence when attending Bad Bunny's recent concert. Fans even started making it into a meme by taking videos saying that the concert just feels demonic.

But it became extremely dark when this song by Tommy (inaudible) came on, where there were masked demons dancing all over him and the concert turned all red.

Even the music video to this song is extremely dark. It's this monster looking thing that creeps up into this woman's room, and it actually ends up becoming Bad Bunny himself. Those who attended this concert are even advising people, if you're going to go see Bad Bunny's concert, then --

GLENN: Okay. Stop. I can't take any more of this. You know, obviously AI. The image that they put is Nosferatu, you know, the -- the vampire Nosferatu. Tell me what -- I mean, I've seen a lot of stuff, that I feel is pushing demonic forces. Especially in the music industry. Tell me what your thoughts are on this.

Why it's clear to you.

JASON: The music industry clearly has a close association with the occult movement. This goes all the way back to the Beatles. You're probably familiar with that. But in rap music, these rappers, American and this guy Bad Bunny and everybody else, they so are out of the closet with the occult symbolism in their music, in their videos, what they rap and talk about.

It's undeniable that there's an occult association. And, Glenn, this is funny. Yesterday, as I'm processing this and on Sunday, I start thinking about, well, what kind of song could we use as a protest song for what they're doing here at the Super Bowl. And I was like, we're not going to take it. We're not going to take it anymore. And I go look it up. Because I just remember it from my childhood. And it's Twisted Sister. They had the song We're Not Going To Take It.

And then I went and watched the video. And the video is a kid, in his bedroom, his dad comes in, yelling at him. And the kid spins around and like turns into an adult longhaired cross-dressing man, and starts singing the song, We're Not Going To Take It. And I was just like, holy cow, they've been putting this message into this forever.

GLENN: And you didn't know.

JASON: This came out in 1984.

GLENN: Yeah. I know. I -- I -- i unfortunately was on the radio playing the hits when that was out.

Is it true that Jay-Z is responsible for selecting the last six years of the inclusive halftime shows?

JASON: Absolutely. All of it. And it actually -- Jay-Z's first Super Bowl that he ran I believe was in 2020. He picked Shakira. But the special guest was Bad Bunny. His special guest was -- so this started in 2020. This is always where it was going. You can find plenty of videos of Jay-Z doing spirit dancing and occult-like activity.

This is what Jay-Z is all about. And much of it is justify and/or defended -- diversity. We have to have diversity. And Jay-Z is black. And they're just upset because Jay-Z is black.

And no -- no one has to deal -- no. We're upset. Because he promotes the occult, that he promotes a form of music that is grooming our kids for violence.

Grooming our kids for sexual fluidity and promiscuity and degeneracy and disrespect for authority. And that's what we don't like about Jay-Z.

They use this racial deal, and accusations of you're a racist, if you criticize Jay-Z or criticize anything defined as black culture. And if you're someone like me, you say you're an Uncle Tom and a sellout. And -- and this is why.

Four years, I've been running around saying, men, particularly white men, you're going to have to buckle up. Get over the fact that they're going to call you racist. And defend your values and beliefs. If your values align with Jesus Christ, you defend them, and you deal with the consequences. That's what I do. That's what you do. That's what Charlie Kirk did. That's what we all have to do, if we're going to stand up to this madness and insanity.

GLENN: So how do you stand up against this? Because nobody is going to abandon the NFL. You know, Jesse Kelly said, what? Yesterday. "Oh, they're very upset. They're very upset about that. They'll have another six-day boycott of the NFL." And that's true.

JASON: Glenn, I do think there's an opportunity here, as it relates to the Super Bowl, as it relates to some sort of counterprogramming. Super Bowl halftime at least, or just on the Super Bowl. I've listened to Jack and others, that say, "Hey. We should have a counterdeal through TP USA, through TheBlaze, through whatever."

GLENN: Whatever it is.

JASON: So we can get Creed to perform. Can we get -- in my view, I love Forest Frank, and I would love for churches to host events on Super Bowl Sunday in the evening, so that we have -- because, Glenn, there's no chance of me watching the Super Bowl this year. I've talked about it last year. I was upset with Kendrick Lamar. This is the bridge way too far for me. I will not watch the Super Bowl this year.

I get skipping out -- I don't think it's the appropriate thing to skip out on the NFL and sports altogether. Because the Young Men's Christian Association, the YMCA, in the late 1800s, early 1900s, they organized sports. Sports have been stolen from Christians. And I don't believe in surrendering and just handing it over to them, and to the atheists, to the secular crowd.

It's a tool God intended for us to use to disciple and mentor masculine men in Christianity. It's been stolen from us, by television.

And we need to fight to have it back. Because it's a great tool, to disciple young men. So I don't believe in abandoning, but as it relates to the Super Bowl, no dice, for me.

There's just -- you couldn't pay me to watch this year's Super Bowl, because I feel like I would be spitting in the face of God.

GLENN: Well, I will tell you, that, you know, I don't care about sports. But my family cares deeply about the NFL, and depending on who is playing.

And, you know, but I could see even the diehards. You know, my son. I could absolutely see him saying, turning it off.

And those ratings matter. The ratings matter. Turning not not just the game off, but even if you turned off the halftime show, those ratings matter a great deal. If everybody just said, I'm not watching it had it. And turned to something else, before the halftime show. That is a half step. But an important half step.

Would you agree or disagree with that.

JASON: I totally disagree. And again, I'm using Charlie's memorial service, as our blueprint. That produced incredible numbers, all over the internet. Anywhere that was broadcast.

And I think we could do the same thing with musical performance.

If Brandon Lake, Forest frank, Creed.
Whomever. If offered the alternative and said, hey, just turn your TV off. And whatever.

And open up your i Phone and your i Pad. Whatever. Flip over on your Smart TV, to a counterprogram, Super Bowl halftime rather than invite the devil, Satan into your home, I think a lot of people would take that option.

GLENN: I know I would.

I know I would. Jason, thank you so much.

How are you doing?

JASON: I'm doing great, Glenn. I'm doing great. I appreciate you.

Hey. I know this has been a tough weekend for you. Given the church deal and so I appreciate you making the time for me today.

GLENN: Oh, I love you, Jason. Thank you so much.

JASON: Thank you.

GLENN: Jason Whitlock. You can follow him at TheBlaze.com/Fearless.

If you've ever watched Jason, he is fantastic.