Why Is Jeb Bush Still in the Race?

February 08, 2016

Writer

The Context

Glenn is feeling bad for Jeb Bush. The humiliation just keeps piling on for the former governor of Florida (who recently asked a crowd to clap following his impassioned remarks that received no reaction). At this point, there's no mathematical strategy that puts Jeb Bush in a winning position. So, it begs the question, why is he still in the race for president?

Setting the Bar High

Barbara Bush, affectionately known as "Bar" to family and friends is the only woman besides Abigail Adams to be both a wife and a mother to a president of the United States. In a recent interview, she let her disdain for Donald Trump be known, saying "I don't think about him at all . . . I'm sick of him."

Fighting the Good Fight

Glenn shared a theory Monday on The Glenn Beck Program after hearing Barbara Bush's interview.

"What do you think about the theory --- this would make Jeb one of the most honorable men you could ever imagine --- [that] he's going through this humiliation because he and the family believe somebody has got to stand up and say these things about Donald Trump," Glenn speculated.

Could it be that Jeb has agreed to take this beating because he's the only one willing to stand up and say what he's been saying about Donald Trump?

"[What if] he's gone to the family and said, 'I can't take this beating.' And the family has said, 'You've got to. You've got to. This guy can't be president of the United States,'" Glenn further speculated.

Common Sense Bottom Line

If Glenn is right, and Jeb Bush is taking one for the country, it's pretty darn honorable.

"Yeah, you're right," Co-host Pat Gray agreed. "It's pretty honorable if that's what he's doing."

Listen to this segment:

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

GLENN: All right. Let me go -- let me -- let me -- let me start with the humiliation of Jeb Bush.

This really bowled me over the weekend. We played this on Friday. And I don't know if you've heard it yet. It came out last week. And it's just so sad. Listen.

JEB: So here's my pledge to you. I'll be a commander-in-chief that will have the back of the military. I won't trash talk. I won't be a divider-in-chief or an agitator-in-chief. I won't be out there blow-harding, talking a big game without backing it up. I think the next president need to be a lot quieter. It would send a signal that we're prepared to act in the national security interests in this country. To get back into the business of creating a more peaceful world.

Please clap.

(applause)

GLENN: Ugh.

PAT: It gets worse every time.

GLENN: Every time you hear it, it's just so sad and tragic.

PAT: And when you see the video, it's even worse.

JEFFY: Takes that deep breath.

PAT: Please clap.

GLENN: Oh. It's so sad.

PAT: It's agonizing.

GLENN: Okay. So I've been thinking, "Why is he in?" And the answers are: He has a ton of money, and it doesn't matter. But you have the Bush name, okay. You're soiling -- there's no chance of you ever running for anything after just this --

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: -- this roundhouse HEP that you're getting, right?

PAT: Yeah, I think so. I think he's getting bludgeoned. And you don't want your name bludgeoned. You don't want to be considered a loser from here on.

GLENN: You don't want to be considered just a humiliation. It's just a humiliation, all right. And he knows at this point, there's no math that will let him go on. Right?

PAT: I would think so. Yeah.

GLENN: So help me out. There's no mathematical strategy that allows you to lose as badly as he has Iowa and New Hampshire. And they just go on.

PAT: Although he hasn't yet lost in New Hampshire.

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: Where is he in the polls? Fifth?

PAT: I think he's fifth, yeah. I think he's polling fifth. So that's bad in New Hampshire.

GLENN: Fifth. That's bad in New Hampshire. Especially since New Hampshire is the place that he would probably do the best.

PAT: Yeah, and he had 3 percent in Iowa. So there's really not --

GLENN: I mean, really bad. So I just don't believe it's the money thing because the name is too big.

Listen to a speech he gave just this weekend.

JEB: It's a sign of weakness when you scare Muslims, law-abiding, peaceful Muslims that are as patriotic as anybody in this room, that are citizens of this country by sending a signal that they're not worthy of being respected. It's a sign of deep weakness when you do that.

(applauding)

And it's a sign of weakness when you -- when you make fun of the disabled. What kind of man would do that? You do not want that man as president of the United States. I can promise you that.

(applauding)

And, by the way, let me echo what Lindsey said. It is a sign of real weakness when you call John McCain or Leo HEP Thorsnus or anybody else that was a POW who served this country in a way that should be admired, American heroes, calling them losers. Donald Trump, you're the loser.

(applause)

GLENN: He gets a standing ovation on that line.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Now, this came to me on the weekend when I saw Barbara Bush on television. Listen to this.

BARBARA: He doesn't give many answers to how he would solve problems. He sort of makes faces and says insulting things. I mean, he's said terrible things about women. Terrible things about military. I don't understand why people are for him, for that reason. I'm a woman. I'm not crazy about what he says about women.

VOICE: Mrs. Bush, what do you think of Donald Trump? You're known for being blunt and plainspoken.

BARBARA: I don't think about it him at all. I think about Jeb and the qualified candidate.

VOICE: You dodged me on Donald Trump. Do you want to --

BARBARA: No.

VOICE: You want to go full New Jersey on Donald Trump?

BARBARA: No, no. I do not. I don't even think about him. I'm sick of him. That's very strong.

GLENN: So I heard the disdain. When she said, "I don't think about him," that is the lowest insult you can give to somebody.

PAT: Especially Donald Trump.

GLENN: Yeah. I don't think about you at all. She knew what she was saying. I don't think about you at all. And then she said, "I'm sick of him." What do you think about the theory -- this would make Jeb one of the most honorable men you could ever imagine. He's going through this humiliation because he and the family believe something has got -- somebody has got to stand up and say these things about Donald Trump.

PAT: And try to bring Trump down?

GLENN: Yeah. No chance of winning --

PAT: Well, he's the only one doing it. He's the only one doing it.

JEFFY: Yeah.

PAT: So maybe. I don't know.

GLENN: He's willing to take on -- he's gone to the family and said, "I can't take this beating." And the family has said, "You've got to. You've got to. This guy can't be president of the United States. Look at what he says about women. Look at how he responds to the military. This guy can't be president of the United States. And you know that be with Jeb. You have to stay in. You have to stay because nobody else is saying these things."

PAT: Yeah, you're right. It's pretty honorable if that's what he's doing.

JEFFY: Sure is.

GLENN: Really honorable. Don't know if that's what he's doing.

Featured Image: Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush holds a town hall at Woodbury School February 7, 2016 in Salem, New Hampshire. Candidates are in a last push for votes ahead of the first in the nation primary on February 9. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

'Get involved': Here's how YOU can join Glenn on election night

America is currently standing at a fork in the road. Which path we take will determine our fate as a nation.

One path is “we try something entirely new,” as in “not the Constitution,” and the other path is “we go back towards the Constitution,” says Glenn Beck.

The stakes for this decision are higher than they’ve ever been.

“We're deciding this year whether or not our kids are going to grow up in a country that gives them the opportunity to be themselves and to move forward and chart their own course, or we're going to continue to live in a place where we're not sure if our kids are going to have a better life than we did,” Glenn warns.

Regardless of who you vote for, Glenn says that one thing applies to everyone: “You’ve got to get involved this year,” which includes voting.

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TOP THREE craziest leftist reactions to Trump's McDonald's visit

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

Over the weekend, President Trump visited a McDonald's in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to serve up some french fries to hungry supporters.

MAGA fans from across the country came to celebrate and support Trump, quickly swamping the small town with a tide of Trump merch. With a roaring crowd outside, Trump cooked up some crispy fries and served them to a small selection of supporters through the drive-thru window, creating a light-hearted, fun moment— a pleasant break from the turbulent election cycle.

Naturally, the Left quickly swooped in to rain on Trump's parade. From unsubstantiated fact-checks to overused insults, here are the craziest reactions to Trump's McDonald's trip:

Fact check on Donald Trump's claims about Kamala Harris

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

While working his brief 15-minute shift, Donald Trump quipped that he's now worked at McDonald's longer than Kamala Harris, referencing the Vice President's unsubstantiated claim that she worked at McDonald's one summer during college. McDonald's further substantiated Trump's claim by indicating that there are no existing records of Harris's employment, though they admit that records from the pre-digital age may not have survived to the present day.

Despite the lack of evidence, left-wing media outlets, such as the Washington Post, were quick to defend the Vice President. Their argument essentially put Trump's word against Harris's, suggesting that Trump was deliberately lying to defame the Vice President, while simultaneously treating Harris as a more credible source.

Pointing out the obvious fact that this was a political stunt

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

In what is likely the least informative journalistic piece of the century, MSNBC made the "shocking discovery" that Donald Trump didn't actually work at McDonald's and that the entire event was for his campaign. It's unclear what detail gave this away to the "ever-vigilant" reporters at MSNBC. Maybe it was the fact that McDonald's was closed for the event, or the lack of employees within the restaurant, or possibly it was the crowd of cheering fans outside. Thank you captain obvious, the event was a carefully coordinated and secure political event. The former President who has had several assassination attempts on his life did notwork in an unsecured restaurant, dealing with countless unknown people.

Truly "top-notch" reporting by MSNBC.

Calling Trump supporters "weird"... Again.

LOGAN CYRUS / Contributor | Getty Images

The New York Times had to really scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with something to paint Trump's fast food fiesta in a negative light. Instead of attacking Trump, they went after his supporters who lined the street to cheer on their favorite presidential nominee. They went so far as to describe the event as a violent riot full of unhinged and uneducated fanatics. The New York Times even quoted a pro-Harris protester who showed up to the event and suggested that "Jan. 6 was maybe a trial run ... and now they’re a lot more organized — and a lot angrier.” The insults didn't stop there. They dredged up the archaic and cringeworthy Tim Walz original calling the Trump supporters "weird." This "zinger" doesn't have the punch the New York Times wanted it to have, and came across as a sad attempt to bring Trump down in one of his high points in his campaign.

RIGGED: Kamala Harris attempts to sway Fox interview in her favor, STILL falls short

Paul Morigi / Contributor | Getty Images

The election is mere weeks away and Kamala Harris just had her first adversarial interview since she began campaigning.

Last week, Harris sat down with Fox News journalist Bret Baier for an interview plagued with difficulties from the beginning. As Glenn recently pointed out, it seemed like Harris had done her best to ensure the interview was intentionally rigged against Baier. Despite being in front of Baier's diverse audience, she did not seem too interested in taking the opportunity to sell herself to a new demographic. Instead, Glenn hypothesized she was just after a quick soundbite to pander to her faltering core supporters.

However, the interview blew up in Kamala's face, and the American people took notice. Here's a rundown of Kamala's first Fox interview:

Rigged Interview

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

Harris and her team did everything possible to throw Bret Baier off his game and derail the interview in her favor. It started when Harris's team informed Fox that the interview, which was originally supposed to be an hour, would be cut in half. This left Baier scrambling to reformat his interview to better fit the new time requirement. Then Harris arrived at the interview ten minutes late, further shorting the interview.

The purpose behind Harris's tardiness became apparent during the interview. Every time Baier asked a question, Harris would launch into a lengthy word salad. Baier was forced to interject just so he was able to ask more than a couple of questions. Harris even pushed back, calling out Baier's interruptions, which of course, just wasted more time. Clearly, Harris or her staff realized that she could not sustain a hostile interview for any extended period, which is why Harris tried to filibuster away as much of the interview as possible.

When the brief interview was nearing the end of its allotted time, Harris's staff began signaling to Baier to end the interview. Despite the change in plans and late arrival, her staff was determined to end the interview as quickly as possible.

Harris's Agenda

CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA / Contributor | Getty Images

From the beginning of the interview, Harris was hostile. She was immediately adversarial and would spin every question into a criticism of Trump, no matter how pointed Baier's question was. Several times Harris had emotional outbursts, spewing classic anti-Trump rhetoric, regardless of its relevance to the question asked. Glenn pointed out that this was the reason Harris took this interview. Recently, many of her core supporters have been faltering as her sudden burst of televised appearances has revealed her paper-thin platform. She took this interview to get a good clip of her passionately bashing Trump on Fox News. This would bolster her core demographic, which she desperately needs.

Harris's Fumbles

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

Despite her best efforts to sway the interview in her favor, Baier still managed to pin Harris several times. Harris kept dodging tough questions Baier threw her way with the same tactic: she would promise to "follow the law" then deflect the question back on Trump. One of the more memorable instances of Harris's evasion strategy was when she was questioned if she supported prison inmates having access to taxpayer-funded transgender surgery. Harris insisted she would "follow the law" and then explained that Trump had followed the same law while he was in office. This response was, in essence, a non-answer. Harris was ignoring the obvious fact that as President, she would influence what the law would be and how it is enforced.

Harris's other major blunder occurred after Baier asked her how her presidency would differ from Biden's and how she would "turn the page" on our current situation. In classic Harris fashion, she immediately deflects on Trump, framing our current situation as somehow a byproduct of Trump simply existing within the political sphere. This convoluted web she spun was so twisted that Harris herself lost track of what she was saying gave up, telling Baier, "You know what I'm talking about." Baier admitted he was just as lost as she was, and she simply went back to attacking Trump.

POLL: Are your kids eating POISON?!

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

More Americans than ever are sick, life expectancy is falling, and our children are in rough shape... What happened!?!

In his newest TV special, Glenn delves into the toxic garbage that the FDA allows to be put into our food and the devastating effects it has on our bodies. The stats are staggering: nearly one-third of all Americans have at least one chronic disease, almost40 percent of school-aged kids have a chronic disease, and U.S. life expectancy is at a 20-year low and is still plummeting. Not to mention the skyrocketing rates of ADHD and Autism diagnoses in our children.

Why does the FDA allow our food to be poisoned? Glenn unveils that the FDA is owned by the monopolistic food manufacturers that put the products in the food and by Big Pharma which sells the cure. In fact, 46 percent of the FDA's budget is paid for by food manufacturers, and a whopping 6,500 FDA jobs are funded by Big Pharma. On top of that, it's up to the food manufacturers to run tests, gather data about the safety of their food, and present it to the FDA. Seems like a conflict of interest, don't you think?

Glenn wants to know what you think. Do you/your kids eat foods with toxic ingredients such as artificial food dyes? Do you trust the FDA to keep your food safe? Can the system be fixed? Let us know in the poll below:

Glenn's Show Prep

Why Is Jeb Bush Still in the Race?

'Get involved': Here's how YOU can join Glenn on election night

TOP THREE craziest leftist reactions to Trump's McDonald's visit

Fact check on Donald Trump's claims about Kamala Harris

Pointing out the obvious fact that this was a political stunt

Calling Trump supporters "weird"... Again.

RIGGED: Kamala Harris attempts to sway Fox interview in her favor, STILL falls short

Rigged Interview

Harris's Agenda

Harris's Fumbles

POLL: Are your kids eating POISON?!

Do you/your kids eat foods with toxic ingredients such as artificial food dyes?

Do you trust the FDA to keep your food safe?

Could Trump/RFK Jr. fix/replace the FDA?