Flashback: Glenn interviews Romney's VP pick Paul Ryan in April 2011 about his proposed plans for the federal budget

In the wake of Mitt Romney selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate, we are reposting this article from Glenn's interview with Paul Ryan in April 2011:

Glenn interviews the $6 trillion dollar man

Rep. Paul Ryan has been all over the news today, but he took time out of his busy schedule to speak with Glenn about his proposed budget which seeks to cut close to $6 Trillion from the federal budget over the next ten years. Glenn welcomed Rep. Paul Ryan in the third hour of today’s radio show.

Glenn was quick to thank Rep. Ryan for proposing a budget that would attempt to make some real changes. “When Congress was going back and forth with, oh, should it be 60 billion or 40 billion I was losing my mind,” Glenn said.

“We were talking about the trillions and here you come, riding in on your white horse to give us a plan that has a chance of saving our country. Thank you for that, sir,” he told Rep. Ryan.

“You’re welcome. It’s what I owe you, my children, my constituents. We owe this to our country,” Rep. Ryan said. “Our whole budget committee, you know, half of which are new freshmen, we decided, look, we’re just going to fix this. We’re going to go after these programs, after these drivers of our debt and, you know, we rolled up our sleeves on the worked for the last two months, you know, and working with the CBO and all these other actuaries to put in place a plan that cut $6.2 trillion out of the Obama budget over the next 10 years and get this debt on a path to actually be paid off.”

You can read Rep. Ryan’s article on the GOP Path to Prosperity here.

Rep. Ryan broke down some of the major components of the proposed budget. ‘We’re going after corporate welfare which means Fannie and Freddie, getting rid of Dodd-Frank and all the bailout funds, going after actual the energy green pork.”

Part of cutting out corporate welfare means that Rep. Ryan will be going after Fannie and Freddie Mac. But Glenn wanted to know what that meant for the average American as those two organizations have control over most of the loans that have been written in the past year.

“It means we’re going to get the private sector to do the secondary mortgage market, not the government. We’re going to put private capital at risk for securing mortgages, not taxpayer capital,” Ryan said.

But Ryan said that there plan goes beyond just Fannie and Freddie, as they will also focus heavily on welfare reform and entitlement programs. “We want to finish with reform now so they work. Food stamps have grown fourfold. We’re reducing that. We’re sending it back to the states and we’re having time limits and work requirements so we can get people into a system where they don’t become complacent and dependent on government but they get up on their lives and lives of sufficiency.”

“We’re talking about shrinking the Federal workforce by 10% over the next three years through attrition, pay freezes in the Federal workforce. We’re talking about cutting discretion spending on government agencies below 2008 levels. We’re talking about entitlement reform, block running Medicaid to the states, and doing welfare reform 2.0 which is food stamps, housing programs,” Rep. Ryan said.

Ryan said that he wants to shrink the federal government down from the historic size that it has reached and reform the system so people do not become complacent and dependant on big government.

“This is not the role of Federal Government. We want to get the government out of the role of picking winners and losers, out of the role of trying to micromanage the economy, and back toward a traditional Constitutional role which is to protect our natural rights,” he said.

But how will Rep. Ryan stand up to the inevitable criticism from the left? “They’re going to say that you’re offering tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, blah, blah, blah. You’re taking money out of the mouths of children. They’re going to hit you with all that stuff that we can’t afford this and that this is reckless and extreme. How are you going to combat that?” Pat wondered.

“I think the country is ahead of the political class up here in Washington. I think they’re ready to be spoken to like adults. They want that honest conversation,” Rep. Ryan said.

“You know the path we’re on. We go to becoming a cradle-to-the-grave welfare state. The size and scope of the Federal Government will be unrecognizable if we stay in our current path,” Ryan said.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam 

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

Should Trump stop the production of pennies? 

Do you agree with Trump's reversal of the plastic straw ban?

Was this the most PATRIOTIC Super Bowl yet?

CHANDAN KHANNA / Contributor | Getty Images

The 2025 Super Bowl demonstrated Trump’s vision of a new America.

On Sunday, February 9th, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the biggest sporting event of the year. But this wasn't just a victory for Eagles fans. For those watching, it became apparent that American culture has changed, the zeitgeist has shifted, and America has become cool again. While remnants of woke culture lingered, they felt out of step next to the parade of American Flags and patriotic messaging that dominated the national event. The message was clear: America is back.

Everybody knows that the commercials are the best part of any Super Bowl, and last night's game was no exception. As Glenn has pointed out, while some of the ads still carried woke messages (like Nike's), many more captured the newly kindled patriotism felt nationwide. Here are four of the best commercials from last Sunday that make this the most patriotic Super Bowl yet:

1. Rocket: "Own the Dream"

This touching commercial by the financial services company, Rocket, states "Everyone deserves a shot at the American dream," while showing images of people returning home and building families. The ad included a cover of John Denver's iconic song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and featured an in-stadium sing-along, live from the Super Bowl.

2. Secret Service: "A History of Protection"

Donald Trump made history by being the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, which required the efforts of hundreds of Secret Service agents to ensure his safety. The Secret Service boasted of this feat during their minute-long commercial, which lauded American values and achievements and featured iconic American imagery.

3. Brad Pitt: "Huddle Up"

The Super Bowl introduction celebrated snapshots of American achievement accompanied with a powerful commentary about unity narrated by Brad Pitt. The message is clear: Americans can achieve great things when we work together. The ad conjures up American ideals such as hard work, ingenuity, self-sacrifice, and teamwork.

4. Jeep: "Big Game"

Movie star Harrison Ford appeared in Jeep's Super Bowl commercial to promote freedom and to remind us that "freedom isn't free." Ford treks through the mountains while ruminating on what freedom means in America and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with it.