Brad Thor Announces Candidacy for President as Third Party Option

June 23, 2016

Editor

New York Times best-selling author Brad Thor dropped a major bomb-shell on Glenn's radio program Thursday, saying he's committed to running for president of the United States.

Glenn introduced his friend by reminding listeners about the author's courage in the face of controversy.

"I believe Brad is one of the most courageous people out there. Because --- he is in business. You're selling a book. And what you said --- I shouldn't say what you said --- because what you said was not controversial," Glenn said.

Some may recall the flak Glenn received following Thor's fiery remarks about Donald Trump in his previous interview on The Glenn Beck Program.

This time, Thor took his challenge to the next level.

"I announced to Reince Priebus on Twitter, I said, 'If it takes announcing my candidacy to get onto the stage to debate Donald Trump, I said I would do it.' So I announced," Thor said.

Here's the Tweet:

If it takes formally declaring my candidacy to get on stage to shred Trump, consider this my declaration. #Thor2016
— Brad Thor (@BradThor) August 28, 2015

Co-host Stu Burguiere pointed out Thor might just get the debate he asked for.

"You've got Trump and Clinton against Brad Thor," Stu said. "Imagine Brad Thor going up against Trump and Clinton on the same stage."

#Thor2016

Listen to Thor's full interview with Glenn or read the transcript below.

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

GLENN: Do you think the government gets to a point where they do try to take our guns or start to limit people's rights by saying, "Okay. All these people are on the No Fly List. All these people now, including soldiers are on the mentally disabled list?"

BRAD: PTSD. They want to take guns away from Marines. That's insane. I think they continue to nudge. I don't know that they make a huge step over the line. I really don't think -- they tried with Sandy Hook. You know, this is why it's so important that even if you are not a Trump supporter, don't -- don't vote for Trump. If you hate Hillary and you hate Trump, you still need to get out and vote down the ticket. Because the Republicans right now are holding the line for the most part against Democrats trying to institute more gun control.

STU: Yeah. I will say there's a million problems -- yeah. There's a million problems that we can point out here, of course. However, they did -- they have held the line generally speaking on the gun issue.

GLENN: Yes.

PAT: They have.

STU: But they did also propose two gun control amendments that Democrats voted against out of that four. But, still, generally speaking, they have done a pretty good job on this issue. It's just, you know, you never know when they're going to fold. But, I mean, when you have Sandy Hook and you have Orlando and you have some of these tragedies, the emotion of the moment pushes most of these guys over the --

BRAD: And that's the -- that's the problem with the left. Their answer is: We have to do something.

GLENN: Japanese internment camps. Japanese internment camps. They wanted the -- the government tried to do it the year before. They tried to put the internment camps in the year before. Nobody wanted to hear it. Pearl Harbor happens. Done.

STU: Well, that's getting into the war too, right?

GLENN: Yeah, yeah.

STU: People didn't want to get into the war.

BRAD: Let's be clear, Americans have to stand up. They can't expect their leaders to read their minds. You need to be vocal because they will roll over. I mean, I was reading something this morning about Hillary's emails and how they had to deactivate at the State Department, a bunch of protections against phishing scams so she could use the private server. Nobody at the State Department stood up to her and said, "Mrs. Clinton, Secretary Clinton, you cannot use a private server."

They rolled over. This is my consistent fear with DC, that here's Hillary Clinton, a powerful woman. They exposed the State Department to all sorts of stuff because it was Hillary Clinton. Nobody will take a principled stand in Washington. Very few people will. So if we won't as citizens -- these people work for us. We are stewards of this republic. We must hand a freer, more successful, more prosperous, safer nation to the next generation. That is our number one duty as Americans. We need to stand up.

STU: Hmm. That was an impressive little -- I wouldn't call it a speech. I guess I would call it a --

GLENN: It could be a speech. It could always be a campaign speech.

STU: Because I know --

GLENN: Like a stump speech.

STU: Yes, yes. I know there's been people who are talking about a viable third party candidate who maybe knows a lot about the issues --

GLENN: But, Stu, you need somebody who is articulate. You need somebody who has television and radio experience.

PAT: But you also need somebody who is known.

STU: Yeah, who has notoriety already.

GLENN: Who is really intelligent. You'd need him to be able to appeal to a lot of people.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: You know, have a big fan base.

PAT: Hardly anybody like that.

JEFFY: Comfortable with --

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. What about Brad Thor?

STU: What?

PAT: What?

GLENN: What about Brad Thor?

STU: Not to mention, President Thor. We are the biggest badasses ever.

GLENN: I'm in love with it.

BRAD: I can hear my wife hitting the radio with a hammer in Nashville right now. Bringing a sledgehammer --

GLENN: You live in Nashville?

BRAD: Thor's hammer. Wow, I walked right into that one.

GLENN: Yeah, my gosh.

BRAD: I walked right into that one.

GLENN: Yeah, she's trying to, but she can't pick it up.

BRAD: And instead of the olive branch, the eagle could hold a hammer in one hand -- in one claw and the arrow is in the other.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So what do you think?

STU: What do you think? We are David Frenching it.

BRAD: You are David Frenching it.

JEFFY: You're the man of the house, Brad.

BRAD: Well, I'll tell you, I'm just sitting back with a bag of popcorn, watching it burn. I'm looking forward to Kanye 2020. You know, and the Democrat primary with George Clooney going against Kanye West. I think that's going to be an exciting, exciting thing.

STU: I don't even want to ask who the Republican is there.

JEFFY: Yeah, no kidding.

STU: Because at that point, that might be the most conservative we have, is George Clooney.

BRAD: It could be the way we're going.

STU: You already challenged Donald Trump to a debate.

BRAD: I did actually months ago in the primary process. And I was originally --

GLENN: No, I don't care about any of this. That's the past. 2020. Or even 2016.

PAT: 2016.

STU: Because this is how you get the debate you've asked for. All you have to do is get to 15 percent in the polls, and then --

JEFFY: We can do that.

BRAD: With the radio show, you can get me to 15 percent? If you can get me to 15 percent, I'll run.

STU: We got Cruz to like 20 percent.

JEFFY: Wait.

GLENN: Right. You could get to 15 percent easy. You could.

BRAD: Just to get on the debate stage.

STU: Because then you've got Trump and Clinton against Brad Thor. Imagine Brad Thor going up against Trump and Clinton on the same stage.

GLENN: What do you think? What do you think? I'm being serious. I'm being serious.

STU: I'm being serious. There has to be somebody that does this. And why not you? Why not you?

BRAD: Why not me?

GLENN: If not you, then who?

PAT: If not now, when?

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

JEFFY: That can be your slogan.

BRAD: You need a really catchy slogan. You know, Thor, something. Who would my running mate be?

GLENN: Thor will bring the hammer down. Right?

STU: You need somebody with a last name "Hammer" is what we need. Thor/Hammer 2016.

BRAD: M.K. Hammer. Mary Katharine. Mary Katharine Ham.

STU: Yes, bring her in.

GLENN: Okay. So I'm serious. What about you doing this?

BRAD: I'm somebody who believes you actually should have some experience to run for this --

GLENN: Oh. Oh.

JEFFY: Oh.

GLENN: Well, we're not. So what about you?

(laughter)

BRAD: I announced to Reince Priebus on Twitter, I said, "If it takes announcing my candidacy to get onto the stage to debate Donald Trump, I said I would do it." So I announced.

STU: Look, Trump didn't think -- he wasn't getting in this to win. You can start it with that. And then when you get to 20, 30 percent and dominate them in the debates, then you can be like, "Wait a minute. I could really be president." And then you roll with it.

BRAD: And then I roll with it. Then I roll with it. Well, I definitely -- can I take the weekend to think about it?

GLENN: No. How about you, right now.

BRAD: Jeez.

GLENN: Okay. So let me tell you this -- let me ask you this.

BRAD: Yes.

GLENN: What happens at the Republican convention?

BRAD: That's the big question right now. We actually have extremely concerned Republican delegates that don't want Donald Trump, that see this guy as the -- what is it? The cyanide capsule that spies used to carry behind a tooth. And that we're going to pop that, and that's going to be the end of the Republican Party.

GLENN: Which I would celebrate, by the way.

BRAD: So would I.

GLENN: Not the death of the conservative movement.

BRAD: No, we definitely need a new party. And I think the Republicans are going to go the way of the Whigs.

GLENN: I do too.

BRAD: People say, this never happened before. Well, look at Zachary Taylor. I mean, this was a guy that hadn't voted in four years. Politico did a great article on it. Look it up. About that election with Zachary Taylor. But I really hope something is done. Donald Trump will not be a good leader. He lacks the temperament. He lacks the skills for the most important --

PAT: He lacks the knowledge --

GLENN: Got it. Got it. Got it. What I'm asking you is, what is going to happen at the convention just before you announce? What is going to happen at the convention?

BRAD: Well, I think I'm going to huddle with delegates.

GLENN: Do you think they're going to -- are they going to walk out, or are they going to give him the 1237?

BRAD: Boy, that's -- I actually think you're going to see some sort of a protest. I think you will see people walk out. I do think you'll see that. I think there are men and women with principles who are delegates. The party matters to them. The country matters to them. This is not going to be everybody folds for Donald Trump. I think we're sick of this being a reality show. There are actually serious, intelligent, well informed delegates that don't want Trump. And I agree with them. I don't want Trump. I don't want Hillary. And that's this country's last hope.

PAT: He still gets there, though, right? In the end --

GLENN: In the end, he's the nominee.

PAT: It's still Trump.

STU: I think he is.

GLENN: I think he is too. You don't think so, Brad?

BRAD: I don't know. What I think and what I want to have happen.

GLENN: If not him, then whom do they pick?

BRAD: Well, you've got to pick somebody. Anything can happen. I mean, this has happened in contested conventions before, but he's walking in with the 1237. But if they get enough people to change the Rules Committee -- get enough members of the Rules Committee that they can change things if they go with the -- I don't know. It's just -- and they are talking themselves into the fact that it's going to freak out the entire party. It's not going to. Trump has a plurality. He does not even have close to a majority of the Republican Party. This is not the will of the people. Sixty percent of the Republican primary voters voted for somebody other than Trump.

JEFFY: He's got the microphone though.

BRAD: Yeah, he's got a big mouth. He's got a lot of money. What has he done for America and liberty up to this point? There's a guy that could have been a huge force for liberty, and I don't think he has been. This is a guy who is a lifelong progressive, whose answer to every single problem has always been more government. This is not the kind of guy we need in the Oval Office.

GLENN: Hang on. Hang on.

JEFFY: That's the kind of talk that's going to get you elected.

BRAD: It's that kind of talk?

GLENN: Hang on. Hang on. I want Pat to go the audio vault. I'm going to do a quick commercial. We're going to come back. And I'm going to play the person that is running against him, and have you heard her lately? Did you hear her speech yesterday? Oh, my gosh. It isn't America that she's even discussing. We'll go to that here in just a second.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

GLENN: This is big. He has just committed he's in.

BRAD: Absolutely.

GLENN: He wanted to know -- we came up with a slogan. Drop the hammer of Thor.

PAT: Of Thor.

GLENN: Drop the hammer of Thor.

BRAD: Hashtag.

STU: I will also point out, Brad, as you're doing this other job that you do, Dreams From My Father came out in the mid-'90s and sold no copies. All of a sudden, Barack Obama starts running for president, making big presidential speeches, millions and millions sold. Foreign Agent will be one of the biggest books of all time.

GLENN: Foreign Agent will be huge.

STU: You're already starting at the top of the New York Times, by the way.

GLENN: Hey, hey, Dreams of My Father: Foreign Agent. All right?

STU: Now we can really --

GLENN: By the way, #Thor2016. #Thor2016.

STU: We're accepting Thor 2016 campaign art @worldofStu on Twitter.

GLENN: Right. Yes.

BRAD: @worldofStu. Now, what you're suggesting, and this is interesting because I do not think it's been done in American political history, is that I embark on this as a way to improve my brand. As a way to kind of make it more valuable.

GLENN: That's never been done before. That's crazy.

BRAD: So crazy, it just might work.

GLENN: It just might work. It just might work. You go in and you just say crazy things.

BRAD: Wow. This is an idea factory, this race.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

#Thor2016.

Okay. Play a little bit of what Hillary said yesterday.

BRAD: I'm going to be up against her, so I want to hear it.

GLENN: Yeah. This is remarkable.

HILLARY: I believe the federal government should adopt five ambitious goals.

PAT: Okay.

HILLARY: First, let's break through the dysfunction in Washington.

GLENN: Yeah. With a hammer. With Thor's hammer.

HILLARY: To make the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since World War II.

GLENN: We already did that. Yes.

HILLARY: Second, let's make college debt free for all.

PAT: Free for everybody. Yay!

GLENN: Yay! Dropping the hammer. Dropping that Thor hammer.

PAT: Yay!

(applauding)

HILLARY: And transform the way we prepare Americans for the jobs of the future.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: That's right.

HILLARY: Third, let's rewrite the rules so more companies share profits with their employees and fewer ship profits and jobs overseas.

GLENN: Okay. Stop. I don't have time -- I've only got about five seconds. But if that isn't Marxism, I don't know what is.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: And what does this call for? Thor's hammer.

BRAD: Thor's hammer. Let's hit it with a hammer.

URGENT: Supreme Court case could redefine religious liberty

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins Megyn Kelly LIVE — One night ONLY in Fort Worth!

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What will happen when two of America’s sharpest voices collide under the spotlight? Will Glenn finally reveal the major announcement he’s been teasing on the radio for weeks? You’ll have to be there to find out.

This promises to be more than just an interview — it’s a live showdown packed with wit, honesty, and the kind of energy you can only feel if you are in the room. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss your chance to see Glenn like you’ve never seen him before.

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What our response to Israel reveals about us

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

I have been honored to receive the Defender of Israel Award from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post recently named me one of the strongest Christian voices in support of Israel.

And yet, my support is not blind loyalty. It’s not a rubber stamp for any government or policy. I support Israel because I believe it is my duty — first as a Christian, but even if I weren’t a believer, I would still support her as a man of reason, morality, and common sense.

Because faith isn’t required to understand this: Israel’s existence is not just about one nation’s survival — it is about the survival of Western civilization itself.

It is a lone beacon of shared values in the Middle East. It is a bulwark standing against radical Islam — the same evil that seeks to dismantle our own nation from within.

And my support is not rooted in politics. It is rooted in something simpler and older than politics: a people’s moral and historical right to their homeland, and their right to live in peace.

Israel has that right — and the right to defend herself against those who openly, repeatedly vow her destruction.

Let’s make it personal: if someone told me again and again that they wanted to kill me and my entire family — and then acted on that threat — would I not defend myself? Wouldn’t you? If Hamas were Canada, and we were Israel, and they did to us what Hamas has done to them, there wouldn’t be a single building left standing north of our border. That’s not a question of morality.

That’s just the truth. All people — every people — have a God-given right to protect themselves. And Israel is doing exactly that.

My support for Israel’s right to finish the fight against Hamas comes after eighty years of rejected peace offers and failed two-state solutions. Hamas has never hidden its mission — the eradication of Israel. That’s not a political disagreement.

That’s not a land dispute. That is an annihilationist ideology. And while I do not believe this is America’s war to fight, I do believe — with every fiber of my being — that it is Israel’s right, and moral duty, to defend her people.

Criticism of military tactics is fair. That’s not antisemitism. But denying Israel’s right to exist, or excusing — even celebrating — the barbarity of Hamas? That’s something far darker.

We saw it on October 7th — the face of evil itself. Women and children slaughtered. Babies burned alive. Innocent people raped and dragged through the streets. And now, to see our own fellow citizens march in defense of that evil… that is nothing short of a moral collapse.

If the chants in our streets were, “Hamas, return the hostages — Israel, stop the bombing,” we could have a conversation.

But that’s not what we hear.

What we hear is open sympathy for genocidal hatred. And that is a chasm — not just from decency, but from humanity itself. And here lies the danger: that same hatred is taking root here — in Dearborn, in London, in Paris — not as horror, but as heroism. If we are not vigilant, the enemy Israel faces today will be the enemy the free world faces tomorrow.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about truth. It’s about the courage to call evil by its name and to say “Never again” — and mean it.

And you don’t have to open a Bible to understand this. But if you do — if you are a believer — then this issue cuts even deeper. Because the question becomes: what did God promise, and does He keep His word?

He told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and to give him “the whole land of Canaan.” And though Abraham had other sons, God reaffirmed that promise through Isaac. And then again through Isaac’s son, Jacob — Israel — saying: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I give to you and to your descendants after you.”

That’s an everlasting promise.

And from those descendants came a child — born in Bethlehem — who claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus never rejected His title as “son of David,” the great King of Israel.

He said plainly that He came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And when He returns, Scripture says He will return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And where do you think He will go? Back to His homeland — Israel.

Tamir Kalifa / Stringer | Getty Images

And what will He find when He gets there? His brothers — or his brothers’ enemies? Will the roads where He once walked be preserved? Or will they lie in rubble, as Gaza does today? If what He finds looks like the aftermath of October 7th, then tell me — what will be my defense as a Christian?

Some Christians argue that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred exclusively to the Church. I don’t believe that. But even if you do, then ask yourself this: if we’ve inherited the promises, do we not also inherit the land? Can we claim the birthright and then, like Esau, treat it as worthless when the world tries to steal it?

So, when terrorists come to slaughter Israelis simply for living in the land promised to Abraham, will we stand by? Or will we step forward — into the line of fire — and say,

“Take me instead”?

Because this is not just about Israel’s right to exist.

It’s about whether we still know the difference between good and evil.

It’s about whether we still have the courage to stand where God stands.

And if we cannot — if we will not — then maybe the question isn’t whether Israel will survive. Maybe the question is whether we will.

When did Americans start cheering for chaos?

MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND / Contributor | Getty Images

Every time we look away from lawlessness, we tell the next mob it can go a little further.

Chicago, Portland, and other American cities are showing us what happens when the rule of law breaks down. These cities have become openly lawless — and that’s not hyperbole.

When a governor declares she doesn’t believe federal agents about a credible threat to their lives, when Chicago orders its police not to assist federal officers, and when cartels print wanted posters offering bounties for the deaths of U.S. immigration agents, you’re looking at a country flirting with anarchy.

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic.

This isn’t a matter of partisan politics. The struggle we’re watching now is not between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between good and evil, right and wrong, self‑government and chaos.

Moral erosion

For generations, Americans have inherited a republic based on law, liberty, and moral responsibility. That legacy is now under assault by extremists who openly seek to collapse the system and replace it with something darker.

Antifa, well‑financed by the left, isn’t an isolated fringe any more than Occupy Wall Street was. As with Occupy, big money and global interests are quietly aligned with “anti‑establishment” radicals. The goal is disruption, not reform.

And they’ve learned how to condition us. Twenty‑five years ago, few Americans would have supported drag shows in elementary schools, biological males in women’s sports, forced vaccinations, or government partnerships with mega‑corporations to decide which businesses live or die. Few would have tolerated cartels threatening federal agents or tolerated mobs doxxing political opponents. Yet today, many shrug — or cheer.

How did we get here? What evidence convinced so many people to reverse themselves on fundamental questions of morality, liberty, and law? Those long laboring to disrupt our republic have sought to condition people to believe that the ends justify the means.

Promoting “tolerance” justifies women losing to biological men in sports. “Compassion” justifies harboring illegal immigrants, even violent criminals. Whatever deluded ideals Antifa espouses is supposed to somehow justify targeting federal agents and overturning the rule of law. Our culture has been conditioned for this moment.

The buck stops with us

That’s why the debate over using troops to restore order in American cities matters so much. I’ve never supported soldiers executing civilian law, and I still don’t. But we need to speak honestly about what the Constitution allows and why. The Posse Comitatus Act sharply limits the use of the military for domestic policing. The Insurrection Act, however, exists for rare emergencies — when federal law truly can’t be enforced by ordinary means and when mobs, cartels, or coordinated violence block the courts.

Even then, the Constitution demands limits: a public proclamation ordering offenders to disperse, transparency about the mission, a narrow scope, temporary duration, and judicial oversight.

Soldiers fight wars. Cops enforce laws. We blur that line at our peril.

But we also cannot allow intimidation of federal officers or tolerate local officials who openly obstruct federal enforcement. Both extremes — lawlessness on one side and militarization on the other — endanger the republic.

The only way out is the Constitution itself. Protect civil liberty. Enforce the rule of law. Demand transparency. Reject the temptation to justify any tactic because “our side” is winning. We’ve already seen how fear after 9/11 led to the Patriot Act and years of surveillance.

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

Two dangers face us now: the intimidation of federal officers and the normalization of soldiers as street police. Accept either, and we lose the republic. The left cannot be allowed to shut down enforcement, and the right cannot be allowed to abandon constitutional restraint.

The real threat to the republic isn’t just the mobs or the cartels. It’s us — citizens who stop caring about truth and constitutional limits. Anything can be justified when fear takes over. Everything collapses when enough people decide “the ends justify the means.”

We must choose differently. Uphold the rule of law. Guard civil liberties. And remember that the only way to preserve a government of, by, and for the people is to act like the people still want it.