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‘Social Media Doesn’t Reward That’: Why Can’t Conservatives, Liberals Listen to Each Other?

How do we heal division in our country when we can’t even have conversations?

“I really feel one of the biggest problems is nobody’s listening at all,” Glenn said on today’s show while sitting down with Eric Liu. “Nobody feels heard right now.”

Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University, leans liberal in his political views but has the same passion for bringing people together. He pointed out that we’ll have to be better than our political leaders if we want to reach across the aisle. We’re learning terrible habits from our political leaders and the way social media encourages extreme views.

“That’s a set of habits that nobody’s modeling for us in national politics,” Liu said. “Nothing in our daily lives rewards that. Social media doesn’t reward that.”

Listen to their full conversation on today’s show here:

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: So much to the, I think, chagrin of my friends and chagrin of his friends, we are friends, Eric Liu. He is the founder and CEO Of Citizen University. Also, the executive director of the Aspen Institute. Citizenship and American Identity Program.

He's -- he's from Seattle. I don't think I need to say anything else. He's from Seattle.

(laughter)

GLENN: So we don't necessarily agree on everything. But we have become friends because we both are trying to find sane ways to have conversations with each other and other people. Or we're doomed. We're doomed.

Welcome. How are you?

ERIC: Glenn, it's great to be back. It's great to see you.

GLENN: How is Seattle?

ERIC: It's beautiful. It's thriving. It's booming. You know, you grew up in the area.

GLENN: I know. I love it. I love it. I love it.

I don't think I would be welcomed there anymore. I don't think I was welcomed there ten years ago, let alone today.

ERIC: Well, we'll follow-up and bring you back together, and we'll do something in Seattle.

GLENN: Yeah, good. I would love to.

So would you agree with me that both sides, to one degree or another, have become unhinged on the extreme edges?

ERIC: Yeah. I think our politics today, and especially if you spend more than ten minutes on social media, it is about voices on the unhinged extremes.

GLENN: Yeah.

ERIC: And it's about this pattern that plays out over and over, where each extreme has to gin it up in order to feed the rage and the anger about the other side's extreme.

GLENN: Yeah.

ERIC: You know, that is our politics as it's mediated, you know, especially through social media. But I think -- you were talking about this before we went on-air. There is a broad swath of, you know, sane people. You know, interested bystanders. People who aren't super active in politics, super active in commenting on politics, who just want to understand each other, and who just want to fix stuff.

GLENN: Yeah.

ERIC: And some of them are as progressive as I am. And some of them are as Libertarian as you are. And many of them are all points in between. But they're not interested in the game-playing and the posturing that so much of national politics is about today.

GLENN: Yeah. I mean, I -- we're making everything about politics now. Absolutely everything is about politics.

And we're not going to survive. That's nuts.

The story today came out on sports -- sports illustrated. They just did a swimsuit issue, that doesn't have any swimsuits. All of the women are completely naked. And they're beautiful women. One is lying down naked, face up with the word "truth" painted on her rib cage. Another one is naked with "feminist" emblazoned on her arm. The other is the daughter of Christie Brinkley that is staring at the camera, laying on her side with the word "progress" written across her back. And they've put this -- this is -- I don't understand this. This is Sports Illustrated, a magazine for men, trying to say, see, we shouldn't objectify women. I don't understand that.

ERIC: Yeah. There's a lot that is great fundamentally about the Me Too movement and the fact that our society is waking up to shifting norms on what's okay when it comes to actually treating women with respect.

GLENN: I agree. I agree. I agree. Yes.

ERIC: But I do not look to Sports Illustrated as my moral guide on the objectification of women. Okay?

GLENN: How do we find a way -- and tell me what your feelings are on the people that, you know, on the -- on the dangers -- even Margaret at wood brought this up, the dangers of just these kangaroo courts, who are not even a kangaroo court. Just, you're guilty, and you're done if anybody accuses you.

ERIC: The danger is there. But I think actually as a society, we're navigate it right now. I mean, this is somewhat uncharted. Right? It's not like the society has tried before to have deep equity between men and women, on what -- who gets to harass whom. We've never done that before. We're having a society-wide reckoning.

Are there going to be cases where people abuse that -- the power that comes with that?

Sure. But are our institutions and are the leaders in our institutions fundamentally trying to reckon with that in good-faith? I actually think we are.

And even this kind of absurd Sports Illustrated cover is a sign that -- you know, one thing you can say about Sports Illustrated is they're trying to tune into the zeitgeist. They are aware of the market place, right? And they know the zeitgeist is, you got to be on the right side of the speech. Right?

GLENN: Yeah. Right. Right.

But if I did photos of naked women and put #metoo, I don't think I would get the pass that --

ERIC: Well, exactly.

GLENN: -- from either side, in my case. From either side.

STU: Yeah.

ERIC: The question is one of -- you know, in the law, they talk about standing. Do you have standing to make a case? Right?

During the Super Bowl, we all watched the ads and stuff. I didn't think Dodge Ram trucks had the moral standing to use an MLK speech about the dangers of commercialism to sell trucks. To me, that was -- and to lots of Americans, that was, you know what, message and messenger not aligned here.

GLENN: You mean the MLK message?

ERIC: Yeah. Yeah.

GLENN: So the MLK message -- may I present an opposite point of view. That's a sermon that most Americans have not heard, was really good. I agree with you that the images of the truck coming in, halfway in. You're like, okay. That's really -- you don't need that.

Just a simple Dodge at the end would have been perfect.

ERIC: Yeah. Yes. Would have been great.

GLENN: However, I have had more email on a monologue that I did on forgiveness, and I used that sermon the very next day. I've had more email on that from people who woke up. So, I mean, you can't necessarily reject it as universally bad that they did it. Because it did affect people.

ERIC: Well, look, I mean, Sports Illustrated was trying to do something like the right thing. But the equivalent would have been, had they had a cover -- if they said, this year's swimsuit issue, here's what it looks like. And it was a black cover that just said, we're taking some responsibility for feeding this culture in which women are treated like objects and which men feel they have permission to treat women like objects. We own a piece of that.

GLENN: And it would be the lowest selling Sports Illustrated.

STU: But that would be a powerful statement. Writing it on naked women's bodies doesn't seem quite as --

ERIC: It would be low-selling as a swimsuit issue. But the whole country would be talking about it. Would be talking about Sports Illustrated.

GLENN: Yeah, that's true. That's true.

So who have you found, Eric, I have been looking for a while, people like you, that we don't necessarily agree, but we can have really good conversations. And we can move things forward together.

ERIC: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Who have you found on the -- on the left or in the media that is really willing to do that?

ERIC: Hmm. You know, and I'm not sure if she's been a guest on your show, but my friend Neera Tanden --

GLENN: Nope.

ERIC: -- who runs the Center for American Progress.

Big, big progressive think tank, that I know you cross swords with. Right? But Neera is both able and willing to have conversations with anybody. And to have them in ways that aren't just the made for TV food fight, that are really trying to say, what's your deal? Right.

What are you getting at here?

GLENN: I really feel one of the biggest problems is nobody is listening at all.

ERIC: Yeah.

GLENN: Nobody feels heard right now.

Somehow or another, the left still controls most of the media. Doesn't feel heard. And the right now that they control the House and the Senate, they don't feel heard. And it's because nobody is -- nobody is actually -- I guess emoting what the average person is feeling right now. You know, we're all scared. It's amazing. I saw a YouTube video of a liberal talking about how afraid she was that Donald Trump was going to build concentration camps. And it was in a room -- probably had 1,000 people in it. And they were all like, yeah, yeah. And I remember, I debunked the lie about Obama making concentration camps. Because that was a big deal.

STU: A big conspiracy theory at the time.

GLENN: Big conspiracy. I was called a conspiracy theorist for debunking that conspiracy theory. And now the other side is feeling the same kind of fear that so many Americans did when they didn't trust the president. And I think this is a moment where we can wake up and say, see, this is why the president should never have this much power. The president should not be able to affect our lives, to the point to where we're afraid of him.

STU: Yeah.

ERIC: I actually agree with that. I think there's one lesson that people on the left are learning today, and that is the dangers of this imperial presidency. Right?

Which is not a Trump phenomenon or even an Obama phenomenon. It's been going back half a century at least, right?

GLENN: Been going for a long time, yeah, yeah.

ERIC: At least since World War II. Right? Concentration, power in the executive, right?

GLENN: Yeah.

ERIC: But I think you're -- I want to go back to something you were saying about listening and being heard, right?

We live in this time right now where there is -- and we've talked about this. There's so much pain. There's so much pain.

The segment you were doing right before the break, in which you were just speaking to a human, an individual about the pain they were feeling in their journey. And you were tying it to the pain that you have felt at various points in your journey, right?

That kind of conversation which is both about listening -- but it's about, I'm not just listening to the words you're saying and the points you're making. I'm trying to listen underneath, to the emotional currents there. That's a set of habits that nobody is modeling for us in national politics. And that we as citizens, frankly, it's gotten easier for us to shed those habits. Because nothing in our daily lives rewards that, right? Social media doesn't reward that.

GLENN: The media doesn't reward --

ERIC: The media doesn't reward that.

So we've actually got to build experiences where we see each other face-to-face again. You know, if we were having this conversation by phone, this would be different. But I'm looking you in the eye right now, Glenn. And I'm looking at you as you've spoken about these questions. And there's a human connection here. That I can't now just call you a nutjob and call you a this and call you a that. Like, we've connected on some level, right? It doesn't mean we're going to agree on the issues.

But it means I'm not going to demonize. And I think the deepest ill in our politics is how we've forgotten how to rehumanize each other.

GLENN: That's -- I just wrote a member of the press morning, a private conversation, that dealt with that. I said, we are -- we are calling each other subhumans, exactly the way the early, you know, 1920s Nazis were starting to. Train people that you're subhuman. If you don't agree with me, you're subhuman. And we're training each other that way.

But it doesn't -- social media is not the only one that doesn't reward it. Media doesn't reward it either. I mean, if you're not going to call somebody a nutjob or a Nazi. You don't win. And they don't put you on. And you, Stu -- was it you yesterday that said that you had seen somebody say, no, well, on the surface, this means X and X. And the guy was like, no. But that's -- can you tell the story?

STU: Yeah. It was an interview about some controversial comment that had gone on media. And they had brought someone on to kind of answer for it. And the typical kind of cable news back and forth. And that's essentially, when the person was pushing back against it. To say, yeah, but you got to admit on the service, it's an insult.

It's like, well, isn't the point here as human beings, that we go beyond the surface, that we think a little deeper about these things?

Because we can all get frustrated at the surface of it. We can all find the worst possible intent of a comment and turn it into something that is going to enrage our side. But that shouldn't be our goal.

GLENN: So, Eric, how do we do that?

ERIC: Well, it starts with something I actually want to give you guys credit for, which is, you got to put something at risk. Right?

When you started a couple years ago saying, I own my piece of how our politics and our political culture have gotten toxic. And I've decided I want to be part of the solution. I want to start reaching out and having conversations across certain divides, right? You put a bunch of stuff at risk.

You feel it acutely, right? You feel it every day. You put -- I don't have to name it. Right? It's not just about the business side of things and the listeners and the sponsors or whatever. I'm talking about reputational power and so forth, right? You put stuff at risk.

And I often ask myself and I ask my friends who are left of center, what are we willing to put at risk in order to change this politics? In order to go a little deeper, beyond the surface and beyond just this throwing of flames at each other? Right.

So number one, it's being willing -- and I want to name the fact that you all have started something and set in motion a different cycle of responsibility, taking rather than responsibility shirking with, right?

GLENN: Thank you.

ERIC: There is only one way to break the cycle of dehumanization and responsibility shirking, and that is to break it.

GLENN: Yeah.

ERIC: That is to say, you know what, I didn't start it. I'm not the one to blame. But darn it, I'm actually just going to say, I'm stopping right now, and I'm trying to change direction here. Go a little deeper. And rehumanize. And, yeah, I may pay some price for that. But this is a question of purpose.

STU: One of -- a famous poet said, we didn't start the fire.

GLENN: It was Billy Joel. Stop it.

ERIC: A poet. Yes, indeed.

(laughter)

GLENN: So what do your friends say to you, when you say, what are we willing to lose? What chip are we willing to put up?

ERIC: Let me tell you about something we've been doing at Citizen University. For the last year plus now, a year and a quarter, we've been doing these regular gatherings that we call civic Saturday. And these are basically a civic analogue to church. It's not church. It's not synagogue or mosque. But it's about American civic religion. Right? The stuff that you and I, civic nerds, are steeped in. Right? Understanding the language and the texts and what you might think of as civic scripture, whether that's from the declaration of the preamble or King speeches or Susan B. Anthony or whatever it might be, and understanding that we have all inherited this body of values and text and idea. And we do these gatherings with the Ark of the Faith gathering.

We sing together. You turn to the stranger next to you. You talk about a common question. There are readings of these texts.

There's a sermon that I've been giving. And then afterwards, there's more song. And then there's an hour afterwards where people kind of form up in circles and talk about, what are we going to do together? Right?

And I go to length to tell you about this, because number one, it's been amazing how people have responded to this. There is this need, across the left and the right, whether you are traditionally religious or not, there is this need in our political life for a space where we can come together and rehumanize, right?

Number one. Number two, when in that space, I've said to folks in these sermons what I've said here, which is, we've got to be willing to take risks. We've got to be willing to ask ourselves, what are we willing to put on the line?

And people are -- people sit there for a minute because they haven't been asked/challenged to do that in a long time, right? All of our political leadership is about, let me indulge you. Let me indulge your worst instincts. Let me indulge you. Not what can you do? And maybe even give up a little bit, in order to start solving the problem, right? And that leads to different kinds of conversations.

And, frankly, not all of them are about Trump or national politics. A lot of these conversations then come to life in our city, which is changing dramatically right now.

GLENN: That's what it should come down to in the first place.

ERIC: Yeah.

GLENN: Eric, we're going to continue our conversation at 5 o'clock tonight on the Glenn Beck Program. He has written a book, You're More Powerful than You Think. His name is Eric Liu. And we'll have more tonight at 5 o'clock. Make sure you join us on TheBlaze.com/TV.

Glenn is SICK of Hearing THIS About America
RADIO

Glenn is SICK of Hearing THIS About America

Glenn has heard a lot of talk lately about how Americans should hunker down and beg the government for help because the destruction of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key may affect our supply chain for a long time. But Glenn is "SICK" of hearing what America CANNOT do. Instead, Glenn asks us to remember who we are, what we've done, and who we came from. We invented skyscrapers, built the Hoover Dam, and answered the Great Depression with some of the biggest marvels of engineering ever accomplished!“Stop tearing everything down," Glenn says, "and let’s start BUILDING.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: All right. I want to give you this -- I want to give you this story today. The immediate upshot for Americans on this bridge collapse. If you're waiting for a new car to come in from overseas, prepare to wait longer. The port of Baltimore stands as the nation's leading import/export site for cars and light trucks. It's also the leading nexus for sugar. And gypsum. Which is used in fertilizer, drywall, and plaster. A record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo was transported through Baltimore just last year.

The bustling port is cut off now after the 1.6-mile bridge crumbled and fell into the river early Tuesday, blocking the only shipping lane into the port. The port is one of the busiest in the US, and saw a record of 52-point-million tons of foreign cargo transported in 2023.

The officials have said the time line for rebuilding the bridge is, quote, years. We will do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers, the president said yesterday. The port of Baltimore creates more than 15,300 jobs, with 140,000 jobs linked to the activity at the port. This is a major disaster, and will continue -- and will create significant problems on the east coast, for US importers and exporters. The bridge collapse will mean for the time being, it will not be possible to get to the container terminals, or a range of the other port terminals in Baltimore. The Maryland Secretary of Transportation told the reporters Tuesday, that vessel traffic in the Port of Baltimore would be suspended until further notice, but noted the port is still open to trucks. So we still have trucks going in.

As soon as we clear the bridge, we can get vessels in.

But it's going to be a major hassle for -- over time, for cars, et cetera, et cetera.

An expert on property damage cases in the shipping industry, told the New York Post, that the collapse will have a major impact, on shipping and traffic routes in the east coast, for the foreseeable future. It's not -- quote, it's not going to get fixed any time soon.

It's going to take a lot longer than anyone expects. This is going to be a major problem for the northeast. I'm sick of this. I am absolutely sick to death of all of these stories, that say things like that.

Have we forgotten who we are? Have we forgotten what we've done?

Let me just take you on a little journey here for the American spirit. A spirit so potent and so vibrant, that it has scaled towering mountains. Mountains nobody thought that they could cross. Constructed marvels of engineering. Have you ever been to the Hoover dam? The skyscraper was invented here. Here we are on the threshold of tomorrow, none of us know what is happening tomorrow. None of us. But I'm getting the impression that we've been so beaten down, that we believe we're not going to make it tomorrow. Can I just remind you of who we come from? Our ancestors what they did. Our history, if you just look through it briefly, you will see a group of people, that never take no for an answer. And can do anything. I want to stop just briefly in 1930. The great depression had its icy grip on us. It was a time like the -- where everybody felt the flickering candle. In the vast darkness. It was just barely there.

Yet, it was in this crucible of adversity, that Americans did great things. The Empire State Building rose. It wasn't just a structure of steel and stone. But it was a beacon. A beacon of hope and American resilience and ingenuity. The way that thing was built, no one has ever seen anything like it before and since. In a record-shattering one year and 45 days, an army of workers, as many as 3400 men on certain days, they transformed this audacious vision, into a cowering reality.

The guy who was funding it knew, this thing better come in under budget. And we have to get it here fast. Or this will just destroy all of us.

The Empire State Building wasn't constructed. It was conjured into existence, with a symphony of clanging metal and roaring machines. And, quite honestly, the inexhaustible spirit of its builders.

Their stories. The men who were perched on the steel girders. That were being felony in by giant cranes, and they sat there. They whispered tales about how they could still feel the warmth of the freshly poured metal beneath them. That beam was still warm, even though it was poured in Pittsburgh.

And then pit on a train, then put on a boat. Then put on a truck. Then hauled up into the air. They could fill the warmth. It was moving that fast.

It was a feverish pace of construction. It seemed to defy the laws of time and physics.

For a long time, it was the tallest building in the world. An architectural achievement. It was also a declaration to the world, that America was a land where the impossible became possible. Determination. Innovation. A relentless will to succeed.

Yeah. That's all old, dusty history. Why even look at that? Pause they're not merely historical footnotes. They are blazing torches, illuminating our path forward. They remind us or are supposed to remind that you say when we're faced with adversity, we don't just endure it. We overcome it. We don't wait for history to chart our course. We write it with the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs. That's who we are.

Have we forgotten that?

It's going to be years. We find ourselves at another crossroads, America. Faced with the challenges that threaten to dim the bright future that we all dream for, for our nation, for our children.

The spirit that build the Empire State Building, that laid down miles of railroads. That cut through the Rocky Mountains.

That sent astronauts to the moon.

It's still inside of every heart of every American, somewhere. Awaken that spirit.

Scale new mountains. It's not just rock and earth. Scale the mountains of innovation and stainability.

Build. Not just physical structures. But a future that upholds the spirit of adventure and hard work and ingenuity.

Stop tearing everything down, and let's start building.

Well, we might have another president. You know, who is out there? Who could we?

Why are we waiting? If this isn't a national emergency, I don't know what it is. And I don't mean the bridge. I mean all of it.

Well, our government has to lead. Really? Really?

Does it?

Maybe that's our problem. America is led by its values and its principles, that are found in the soul of those who still remember who we are, and who we serve.

Americans led the way. The government always follows.

Yeah. Well, we can't act without them.

Bullcrap. Where are the bridge builders who will stand up today, and say, I'll get it done?

As soon as that happens, you'll see who is leading, and who is stalling. The government is the one that stalls the engine out. To expect more from our leaders is rational. But to expect the most from ourselves, is essential.

We are the architects of our destiny. We are the builders of our dreams. There's a huge task that's right in front of us. I still believe we can tackle that. We can overcome anything.

The history of America is a tapestry, woven with the threads of bold endeavors. Monumental achievements. Blood, the blood spilled at the Empire State Building, and every other path to greatness. Let's harness the potential, not for glory. Not look at us. Oh, we're the best. We're the best. But because we understood -- we understand that in the pursuit of a better world, action is not just an option. It's our duty.

I often wonder, as I look into the horizon now, in today's America. Is that a sunset or a sunrise?

It depends on you. If Americans rise with the determination that carried our forbearers through the trials and tribulations. If we build with love and compassion and an unbreakable commitment to the spirit of daring adventure and hard work and ingenuity, we restore ourselves and our country.

In the words of our ancestors that are etched in every American heart, somewhere, you can do it. You can become anything. You can do anything.

That doesn't make it easy. It doesn't mean you deserve. You deserve it. You can do it. Because it's hard. And it's in doing the hard things, that we find the best of ourselves. That's why everything that's going on is not necessarily a curse.

It's an honor to serve at this time. Because we can find the best of ourself.

We can step forward into the dawn of a new day with our eyes wide open to all of the problems of the past and the possibilities that are right in front of us.

But we have to resolve to make those possibilities our reality. We are Americans. There is nothing we can't achieve, when we all stand together. United by our dreams, and driven by the will to see them fulfilled.

Don't listen to anybody else that tells you the differently.

The CRAZIEST Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse Theory Yet???
RADIO

The CRAZIEST Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse Theory Yet???

It didn’t take long for people to cry foul when a cargo ship crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and knocked it down. But while there’s still no hard evidence of a cyberattack or terrorism, Glenn, Pat, and Stu have another … weirder … theory: Has anyone seen Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lately? Because there have been A LOT of transportation-related tragedies under his watch …

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So the bridge, Stu has a theory on this -- this Baltimore bridge collapse.

STU: I do not. I would not say I have a theory at all. I'm just saying, look, it wouldn't make any sense for this to be a terrorist attack the way it happened. 1:30 in the morning. Like, why would you do it that way?

Maybe you would argue, it was some sort of a test run.

PAT: Or just to disrupt our infrastructure.

STU: I don't know. But it doesn't seem like it will be that serious, in that. These places are able to -- it doesn't seem like. Like all the reporting is, they're able to reroute to other ports.

I mean, it has to affect Baltimore pretty seriously. Obviously, traffic will be affected. If you're going for a major terrorist attack. First of all, 1:30 in the morning is a weird time for it. And, of course, the warnings from the ships and all these other things.

Beyond that, I'm looking at a broader picture here. And I'm -- again, I'm not saying this. What I want you to know, I'm not saying this.

PAT: Okay. What are you not saying?

STU: I'm not saying that Pete Buttigieg individually, is going to each one of these things and -- like unscrewing Boeing doors before the plane takes off. I'm not saying he's doing that.

I'm not saying he's loosening tires off of planes. I'm not saying that. That would be incredibly impossible. What I am saying, should we check his house, to see if he has scuba gears. Let's check it out. Why not go into his garage and see, Pat. Maybe he has a couple of -- you know, a couple of -- I don't know.

Rubber suits. That might be for other use. I'm just saying, can we at least check? We should at least know that.

PAT: Maybe he has a Phillips screwdriver or something.

STU: Right. Does he have -- it would just be interesting to know, what type of --

PAT: It would. Yeah.

STU: Underwater diving gear, the man owns. Like, does he happen to have a mini submarine in his garage? That would be something we should know.

PAT: That would be weird.

GLENN: First of all. First of all.

As I said, they always return to the crazy -- the scene of the crime.

So he never shows up after one of these.

He disappears after this.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: Have I noticed that?

We never hear him talking about anything transportation. Have you heard him actually, you know, standing in front of a United airliner going, we're going to shut this thing down, until we figure out why the United Airlines keeps losing doors and wheels. And I heard the steering wheel or something, the other day.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Why? Where is he on that?

So he never shows up at the scene of the crime. So that immediately goes. It's also way too much work for him.

PAT: It's true.

GLENN: He would have to learn things, like how to put the mask on. Which I think is beyond his capability. You know, how do I -- the scuba gear goes where exactly. And you don't want to use it after him. After he tries it. I'm just saying, I don't know.

STU: I think, look, there are a lot of reasons to believe that Pete Buttigieg isn't responsible for each one of these things. It would be insane. It would be a crazy development, by all accounts.

GLENN: Yes, it would. Right.

STU: However, how else do we explain this?

PAT: It would be unprecedented, if it were our transportation secretary.

STU: I would agree, you be precedented.

PAT: Never in history, has a transportation secretary sabotaged so much transportation.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Can we look at the bright side, however?

That would be more than any transportation secretary has done probably in the history of transportation. I never know what they do.

STU: This is a good point.

Who knows the name of any other transportation secretary.

Yet, we all --

GLENN: You have chow.

STU: Yeah, Chow was one. And the other one that popped into my head was LaHood. Because back in the day. But not for, hey, he's screwing up all of our infrastructure.

It was like, oh, well, he's sort of a notable figure that occasionally comes up in policy conversations. This guy has overseen disaster movie sequel, after disaster movie sequels since he has this job.

We have American institutions. Boeing is just like, eh, we can't keep planes in the air anymore.

Like, what?

Why? Why has all of this happened under his watch. It's like he's trying. It's like he's Michelman. He's tied to -- we now have more footage to show in disaster movies, because of this guy. Allegedly. I mean, I don't think he is intentionally derailing trains across the country.

It does seem weird, that ever since -- we should look to see if he has a wedge or tools that would allow him to do it.

GLENN: You know, I would say the fact that everything is being derailed, would lead me to believe, that it's not one man.

STU: It's probably not. It's probably not.

GLENN: This is not bad -- the entire -- the entire country is going into a bridge abutment.

STU: That's true. That's true.

PAT: It would explain why we never see him though. Because he's always off skulking into one of these places, loosening some bolt.

STU: It's probably not him loosening bolts. It's probably not. Probably not.

PAT: Probably not.

STU: But wouldn't it be easy to rule it out. Let's toss that -- let's toss the individual possibility, that Pete Buttigieg is flying around the country, disabling our infrastructure.

Let's just rule that one out. It has to be easy to rule out.

PAT: I would feel a lot better. You know, I would. Even though, I understand, it's a --

GLENN: Call his husband. And find out, was he in bed with you, last night, or the night before, when this thing hit the bridge abutment. Just find out.

STU: Just find out. It's an easy one to rule out.

PAT: It did.

STU: Until we rule it out. He should go back on maternity leave.

That's all I'm saying. He shouldn't be employed on this job, as if it's a possibility.

GLENN: Oh, I see what this is. You just want him out as the transportation secretary. You are such a bad man.

PAT: Could that be it?

GLENN: Is it homophobia? Is that what's happening?

STU: It's definitely not homophobia. He can be as gay as he would like to be, while on paternity leave. In fact, I would encourage it. It would be almost odd if he wasn't, right?

But like, what I'm saying is, ever since this guy took this job, we have done show after show after show, out of --

PAT: About disasters.

STU: About transportation infrastructure collapse. What is happening -- like, why not just, either he's individually doing it himself.

Or maybe another possibility, is everything this man touches, gets destroyed like he's Ivan Drago. Maybe that's the thing.

GLENN: I have to tell you. I don't even know if he -- I think this is just -- this is just now four years of absolute incompetence.

The companies are all being distracted. From what they have to do. So they can meet new governmental mandates on bullcrap that mean nothing to any of us.

And this guy. This guy, I don't think he knows what his job is. I really don't.

STU: He seems to be terrible at it.

GLENN: Do you? This has and whenever he's involved in something, tragedies ensue. Again, we talk about these problems. With the border.

I don't know. What do you do? You have to make sure you're closing the border to illegal immigration. Before you're worrying about the immigrants that already cross.

You have to stop the flow. There's a leak. You have to stop the leak. Turn the water off. Then fix. With this. Shouldn't we turn the water off here?

Get this guy away from this thing first.

And then we'll figure out some of the other tails.

Whatever he's bringing to the table, is weighing down the table, and the table is collapsing. Can we do something about it?

GLENN: This is the best entertaining conspiracy theory, that I've heard in the last 24 hours. This is good. This is good.

STU: I don't think -- it would be absurd to picture Pete bite judge in a scuba outfit.

I mean, like, if somebody were to Photoshop that, and give it to us, and put it on Twitter.

That would be silly.

PAT: Irresponsible. Irresponsible.

STU: Irresponsible. He can't possibly do it. Let's confirm he doesn't have the equipment to make it possible.

Let's rule it out now!

GLENN: Have we seen close-up pictures of the American Airlines flight. When it was taking off, losing the tire. Was there a parachute after? Was he up in the wheel of -- as they took off?

Just, you know, like one of those poor Afghans, that were just like, I'm going to go to America. And he's like, wait. I'm not done.

I'll unloose the bolts here. I would like to see a close-up. Was he driving a tanker up Dr. Truck, last June 11th, and left it on I-95, in Philadelphia.

That bridge. When that caught fire.

PAT: Let's see who the driver was.

STU: Let's look. If you have the CCTV footage. You see a little guy scampering from the bridge right after. I would like to know, who is that?

Is that a leprechaun, or is that Pete Buttigieg? I want to know who that is. These are basic questions, we can ask, honestly.

And my goal here is to exonerate Pete Buttigieg.

PAT: Clear! Clear the air.

STU: That's my goal.

GLENN: Well, I don't think -- before you said this, I don't think Pete Buttigieg came up as a suspect.

STU: Hell. It would be so outlandish, right?

PAT: People were afraid to say it. Thank you.

STU: It was.

GLENN: Is that what it was?

PAT: We're saying what everybody was thinking, stupidly.

STU: But other people would say --

GLENN: As Jon Stewart said, saying the things that nobody is thinking. That's what he's doing now.

STU: Right. It could be. It could be. But then other people might say, it's the most logical explanation, that he's just going around and doing it himself. Why else would all of this happen. And that's why I just want to exonerate him. And let him get back to his wonderful family.

PAT: Real considerate of you.

STU: Yeah. And I think too, we should consider. For this particular role, whether paternity leave should only happen after the birth of a child. Maybe it should be like a constant thing.

Like a, whenever you need it, you take it.
Just go ahead. Go on leave. Right now. And maybe take eight to 12 years off.

GLENN: That would be good. Okay.

STU: Just in case, you know.

GLENN: Okay.

STU: These are just possibilities.

GLENN: Pat, thanks for standing and watching the whole thing burn with me. It's been fun.

"I Was Probably Drunk": Alex Jones APOLOGIZES for Calling Glenn Beck a CIA Agent
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"I Was Probably Drunk": Alex Jones APOLOGIZES for Calling Glenn Beck a CIA Agent

Years ago, InfoWars host Alex Jones accused Glenn Beck of being a CIA agent, and it caused some serious consequences. But in a recent BlazeTV exclusive interview on Pat Gray Unleashed, Alex apologized for the incident, admitting, “I was probably drunk when I said that,” and thanking Glenn for his work over the years exposing the global elites’ plans. Glenn responds to Alex’s apology and reveals the "peace offering" he gave Alex the last time they spoke about their past disagreements.

What We Currently Know About the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore
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What We Currently Know About the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore

A cargo ship that lost power has crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor, causing the entire bridge to collapse. Thankfully, traffic on the bridge was reportedly stopped before the crash. But the incident has many people asking: was this an accident or sabotage? Former assistant Treasury Secretary Monica Crowley, who helped spread the word of the incident, joins the Glenn Beck Program to discuss what we currently know as the search and rescue operation continues.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: One of my favorites Monica Crowley is with us. She's a former assistant Treasury secretary. My gosh, Monica, how have they trashed that Treasury? They are just looting it like crazy. Anyway, I saw Monica, you post something this morning, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Can you tell us what happened?

MONICA: Yeah. Good morning, Glenn great to be here like always. America is waking up to real tragedy this morning. The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor, it's a massive span. And for those of us who live in the northeast, Glenn, I can tell you, I have crossed that bridge many a time, going from New York to Washington, and back, right?

GLENN: Oh, I have too.

MONICA: It is a major, major artery in the northeast. And at about 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time this morning, a cargo ship was approaching the bridge. And the video that I posted, which is now everywhere on social media.

GLENN: We're watching it right now.

MONICA: Yes. And it's all over TV as well.

GLENN: Go ahead. Yeah.

MONICA: It is a massive cargo ship. And it's under a flag, so the ship itself is registered in Singapore. And you can see in the video, that it approaches at Scott Key Bridge, and it loses power, Glenn, twice.

Not once, but twice in the moments leading up to its approach to the bridge.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

MONICA: And so, yeah. It -- it -- you can see in the video, it loses power twice. It regains power, but by that moment, Glenn. It's too late. And they can't get away from one of the massive lanes supporting bridge. And the cargo ship goes right into the piling. And the entire bridge collapses like a house of cards. just folds in on itself, right into Baltimore harbor.

GLENN: You know, I noticed, because I watched this video, a couple of times, after you posted it.

And I couldn't believe it was like toothpicks falling apart. When they had -- when you first start watching it. You'll see, the traffic is pretty steady on the bridge.

And thank God, right at the time it collapses, not a lot of cars, if any, were on the bridge. Do you know if there were cars on the bridge?

MONICA: Well, thankfully, if there's any silver lining on this horror show, Glenn, it is 1:30 in the morning. So it's relatively light traffic.

And you can see headlights of cars going both ways. And the moments the cargo ship, hits the bridge.

It looks like very few cars, if any, are on the bridge.

What we're hearing this morning, pardon me. What we're hearing is that two people have already been rescued, God bless. There are at least seven people missing that we know about.

So there is a very active search-and-rescue going on. The Coast Guard is out there. The National Transportation Safety Board is on site. The Navy is there. Navy divers are in the water, and have been there for hours.

And so we hope and pray that any victims that fell into the water in their automobiles and in their trucks, there's at least one semi that we know of, that collapsed into the water with the bridge. Glenn, so we hope and pray, that all of these people, who were part of this unfortunate accident. And at least now, it does look like an accident. And we will wait for the investigation. But we hope and pray that everybody will be rescued, and will be okay.

GLENN: So, Monica, do we know anything about the ship.

Because the first thought is. The power goes out. Then it comes back on. And the poor captain, man, you can see him just trying to turn that ship as fast as he can, when the power goes on. Then it goes out again.

Do we know?

My first thought is, is this some sort of a -- you know, a -- some sort of an attack with -- on electronics. Was there -- is there -- has anybody else thought of that? Or is it just me and my sick, twisted paranoia, I guess?

MONICA: Well, I think that too, Glenn. And we will have to wait for a thorough investigation here, in a lot of different areas.

There's one report that I saw this morning, that indicated that the crew, and apparently there was one pilot and two captains on board. And, of course, an additional crew, which you would expect for a vessel of this size and magnitude, under an international flag. Again, Singapore. And there is one report this morning, that indicates that the crew alerted the Maryland Department of Transportation when they were leaving the port, that they had lost control of the vessel. And again, I don't know how reliable this report is. But it's up on the New York Post website this morning. So, again, I don't know if that report has been vetted. But, you know, most of these vessels now, are under electronic control. Not unlike some of our voting systems. And might very well be -- might very well be open to hacking by nefarious players here.

So, again, we will to have wait and see. I mean, sometimes the cigar is just a cigar. And accidents unfortunately do happen.

GLENN: Right. And I hope that's the case. But with all the cyber terror that is predicted, I just -- you know, I know we're all on high alert for that.

Monica, thank you very much for reporting and calling in. I appreciate it. God bless.

MONICA: Oh, it's my great pleasure, Glenn. Thank you.

GLENN: So we have an update on the bridge collapse. The Fort McHenry Bridge. Very important bridge and port in Baltimore.

Here's the update that is pretty remarkable.

STU: Yeah. Apparently, the ship was able to issue a mayday, and say they were experiencing a power issue. And this enabled transportation officials to halt traffic on the bridge, at the last second.

I mean, if you watch the footage, you can see the cars crossing the bridge as normal, up until the very last second. And all of a sudden, they just stop. And you just kind of assumed, it was a break in traffic.

But, apparently, they knew something was wrong, and were able to stop it. I mean, they must have saved dozens of lives by doing that. So that's an incredible part of the story.

GLENN: These -- these -- yeah. These guys are heroes.

If you're watching TheBlaze right now, we're showing you the bridge collapse. It is absolutely unbelievable.

And you can see how the boat is trying to turn, as sharply as they can. And then the lights -- the lights come back on. They try to steer it away. And then it goes out, at the second time. And it's too late, and the whole thing collapses. It's remarkable.

Jeez. And they've now -- that port is closed. I'm not saying that this is by any stretch of the imagination, other than it reminds me of, the cyber attack on -- I think it was a Navy ship, wasn't it?

That was in the South China Sea. I'm pulling this -- I'm sorry. I have CRC. Can't remember crap.

But it was in the South China Sea. And it -- it lost control. And it made a circle.

And then rammed right into an oil tanker. Clearly controlled by somebody else.

I'm not saying this -- that's what this is. This is probably just mechanical error.

But we have to start thinking about those kinds of things now. Because they're all possible.