Glenn Apologizes for Being a Catastrophist: 'We're Scaring the Hell Out of the Children'

October 19, 2016

Writer

That which you gaze upon, you become. Glenn has spent the last 15 years gazing upon the problems, albeit to sound the warning bell about the truth. But how does that inspire and give hope?

"I have fixed my eyes on Washington, D.C., the parties, the politicians, the economy, terror, loss of freedom, the culture, Facebook, all of it," Glenn said Wednesday on this radio program.

Where should we fix our eyes?

"Believe in yourself and believe in God, and when you two are partnered, unbelievable things can happen," Glenn said.

Read below or watch the clip for answers to these unapologetic questions:

• Why does Glenn refuse not to have faith in?

• Has Glenn changed or remained steadfast?

• Can we not only survive but thrive?

• Did Glenn help create the conditions that brought us Donald Trump?

• How can we inspire the next generation?

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

GLENN: I may be the only person in -- may be the only celebrity, if you can even put me in that category, ever, to be abandoned my own fan club. I don't know if you heard this, breaking news.

STU: I have not.

GLENN: I got a Facebook post from the Daily Beck. Now, the Daily Beck has been around for how many years?

JEFFY: A long time.

GLENN: Long time. Okay. 38,000 members of the Daily Beck. It's a fan club, not started by me. Started by somebody else. Yada, yada. And they have disavowed me.

STU: Oh, no.

GLENN: And so now the Daily Beck has nothing to do with Glenn Beck. And they have disavowed me. So I am the only person, I think, to ever have a fan club that has voted them out.

JEFFY: Happy now?

GLENN: Yeah. So there you go.

STU: There has to be precedent for that.

GLENN: Oh, come on. Let me have this one thing.

STU: No, I will not. The Daily Beck.

GLENN: Yeah, yeah. It's been around for a long time.

STU: Oh, really.

GLENN: Anyway, I bring that up because, A, I'm sad that people think I've changed. I don't believe I have. And I've done a lot of soul-searching on this for a long time. You don't do what I have been doing without having soul-searching. You read my Facebook page. Do you think that would cause somebody to think twice?

PAT: As I challenged on my Facebook page: Name one principle we've changed on. Name one.

STU: Wait. What was the big list? He didn't get a chance to give us a list.

GLENN: Stop. Stop. I want to get to my apology.

PAT: I can give you the list really fast.

GLENN: Stop it. None.

So at least me, I have done a lot of soul-searching over the last five years. And if there is a change in me, the change is this: I believe that some -- in some ways, not meant by me at all, I helped add to our problems of division. I didn't mean to.

Now, I've got people on the left accusing me of creating Donald Trump. And I'm like, "But I'm against Donald Trump. I warned against a guy like Donald Trump." Well, you created the conditions that grew Donald Trump.

"No, I didn't. I think it was the government -- both parties that weren't listening to the people, that the people got so frustrated they wanted to burn the whole thing down." That's a bad thing. However, I have been thinking about this a lot over the last few months, and especially the last few weeks. And I want to -- I have a new perspective. And I want to tell you that, A, yes, I have changed. I have changed. And I'm going to explain exactly how. And I want to apologize for the mistake I made. It was unintentional. I didn't see it.

But here's what it is. And I want to ask everyone to do soul-searching themselves on this.

I believe what I believe. And I've told you I'm a catastrophist. And that's not necessarily healthy for a country to have somebody broadcasting as a catastrophist all the time. But I believe what I believe.

I believe, you know, the parties are irreparably broken. They have gone past the point of no return for trust. We have lost trust in almost all of our institutions. We have an economy that is on the brink. We have a banking system that is on the brink. Our central banks -- you know, I don't know if you saw this, but China is now selling I don't know how many billions of dollars of our treasury bonds, yesterday.

I mean, it's substantial. They're starting to dump our treasury bills. I believe that we are -- we're facing a foe like we did with Japan and Germany: ruthless killers by the name of ISIS. We have a loss of freedom coming our way. Guns. Freedom of press. Freedom of religion. Freedom to choose our own doctors. You name it. We are facing real losses of freedom.

And so I've been ringing that bell. And I've been telling you, "This is going to end in disaster. It's going to end in disaster." No exits left. There's a cliff coming.

That's what I want to apologize for. I still believe that: there's a cliff coming. But that is such a hopeless message that I can barely survive. And it's because I have gazed upon the problems. That which you gaze upon, you become.

And I have spent the last 15 years gazing upon the problems. And I have fixed my eyes on Washington, DC, the parties, the politicians, the economy, terror, loss of freedom, the culture, Facebook, all of it.

I'm tired. See if you feel this way. You're worn-out. You've exhausted all of your options. You've lost hope. And the faith that many people now have is down to this: It doesn't matter anyway because Jesus is coming. Oh, well, let's put the party hats on. I feel better now.

Oh, well, it's the end of days. So good. Once we get past that sticky tribulation part, it's going to be great. That's your hope?

I can't live in that world. I cannot live in that world. And I don't think we're attracting anybody to our world, with that. Because, A, that's -- that's not true. B, it's a bummer. But, A, it's not true. There is change coming.

And I have told you this, more dramatic change, because of technology alone. More dramatic change in our lives coming in the next 20 years than in the -- than in the hundred years of the Industrial Revolution, all packed into a 10- or 20-year period. That's a lot of upheaval. People will lose their jobs and be displaced. And they will find new places to work.

We talk about Common Core and how Common Core is such a problem. Why? Because they're teaching all the wrong things. And they're indoctrinating our kids. That's actually not the problem. Let me come back to Common Core in a second.

So I want to apologize for being a catastrophist. I'm not apologizing for saying that these things are coming because they are. What I am sorry for is giving you the impression that there's no way to survive. Because there is.

The world has faced these times before. And every time, the people choose to be -- choose to live their faith. They survive. When they choose to move without the action that faith motivates, they are destroyed.

But a remnant goes on. We are acting without faith. We are -- and in those days, says II Timothy, people will talk about their faith, they will say that they have great faith, but they will not assign the power of that faith to it.

Because they're not living it. So those under -- those over 40, those my age and above, we have to do one thing: Stop scaring the kids. Because that's what we're doing. We're scaring the hell out of the children.

My poor kids, oh, my gosh, we're scaring the hell out of the children. And more importantly, we are doing what Common Core is doing. What Common Core does, is a group of elites have all got together and they have designed the future. And they say, "These are the things that your kid is going to do." And they're going to design your child from third grade to fit the job that they see in the future.

Well, that's not their job. That's not their right. What education is, is to give them the eternal truths so they can design their future. What we're doing is, we are allowing people up at the top to design a future for our children, that our children most likely will not want, would not design it that way. The future is being designed by people who are 70 years old, for children who are 20 years old or younger. Thirty years old. Adults that would never design that world.

But they're being trapped in that design. That's immoral. But it shows we don't have faith in the future, and we don't have faith in millennials. I do. I do.

I refuse to not have faith in the future. Now, anybody under 40, here's what you need to do: You don't believe -- first of all, don't believe in people. Don't believe in me. Don't believe in Barack Obama. Don't believe in Hillary Clinton. Don't believe in Donald Trump.

Believe in yourself and believe in God. And when you two are partnered, unbelievable things can happen. But beyond not believing in a man, don't believe my words or anyone else that tells you it's all going to burn down and there's nothing you can do. There's no hope. Because that is a lie.

Things are going to be tough. But things, somewhere in the world, are always tough. Every generation faces something tough. We survive this.

The key is: You can thrive. My generation will survive. But you can thrive. It's all happened before. You have to find the patterns of the people that made it through and emulate them. See how they solved it. Because it's not going to be solved in Washington. It's going to be solved by people like you, if you know what is eternally true.

I know this: God keeps his promises. He keeps his promises. And if you are living an unrighteous life, it will fall apart, and you will destroy yourself. Eventually, you will destroy yourself.

Look at Bill Cosby. If that is true about what he did in his life, all -- everything he worked for, now at the end, gone. Gone. He's known as a rapist forever. Everything he did in his entire life: over. That makes a difference.

If you live an unrighteous life outside of eternally true principles, you will destroy -- your life will fall apart. And that is the truth about an individual or a group of people. Eventually, it will fall apart.

But it is equally true that if you live the principles, you will thrive. You will break through. You will change the world. You will set the world free. And that's our goal, isn't it? Isn't our goal to make a difference?

I'd give up all money, I'd give up everything if I could just make a difference. I think most of us would. Millennials have seen us as parents, struggle. And they see what we're doing. And they don't want any part of that. Because they don't believe in any of that.

Millennials, you have to know the system before you distrust it. You don't know the Constitution. You have to know what it says before you distrust it. We are now teaching people just to distrust everything.

They have to come to that conclusion on their own. And if they live their lives with the true knowledge that God keeps his promises and they act with faith in the ways that faith and eternal principles demand that you act, they're going to set everything right.

They have to have hope. We have to have hope. We cannot create a pattern for them. They're going to take our cue from us. And if we have depressed them -- that's why nobody is flocking to us: because we're depressing the snot out of them.

Who wants to hear at 20 years old, "It's all screwed up, and it's not going -- it's all going to be over." Nobody wants to hear that at 20. We cannot take away their hope because that is their fight. We have to enforce them -- reinforce them.

We have to inspire them. And we have to tell them eternal truths. Because, quite honestly, they don't believe in any of the other stuff. Nor should they. They're not buying the lies that we, after being so worn down over a lifetime, have just grown to accept. That whatever Washington says we have to do -- whatever the party says we have to do, whatever the crowd says we have to do. They want to be different. Let's encourage them.

Featured Image: Screenshot from The Glenn Beck Program

Washington Post EXPOSED: How Watergate editors almost published a fake Pulitzer Prize-winning story

Episode 6 of Glenn’s new history podcast series The Beck Story releases this Saturday.

This latest installment explores the history of Left-wing bias in mainstream media. Like every episode of this series, episode 6 is jam-packed with historical detail, but you can’t squeeze in every story, so some inevitably get cut from the final version. Part of this episode involves the late Ben Bradlee, who was the legendary editor of the Washington Post. Bradlee is legendary mostly because of the Watergate investigation that was conducted on his watch by two young reporters named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Bradlee, Woodward, and Bernstein became celebrities after the release of the book and movie based on their investigation called All the President’s Men.

But there is another true story about the Washington Post that you probably won’t see any time soon at a theater near you.

In 1980, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee wanted to expand the Post’s readership in the black community. The paper made an effort to hire more minority journalists, like Janet Cooke, a black female reporter from Ohio. Cooke was an aggressive reporter and a good writer. She was a fast-rising star on a staff already full of stars. The Post had a very competitive environment and Cooke desperately wanted to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Readers were hooked. And outraged.

When Cooke was asked to work on a story about the D.C. area’s growing heroin problem, she saw her chance to win that Pulitzer. As she interviewed people in black neighborhoods that were hardest hit by the heroin epidemic, she was appalled to learn that even some children were heroin addicts. When she learned about an eight-year-old heroin addict named Jimmy, she knew she had her hook. His heartbreaking story would surely be her ticket to a Pulitzer.

Cooke wrote her feature story, titling it, “Jimmy’s World.” It blew away her editors at the Post, including Bob Woodward, who by then was Assistant Managing Editor. “Jimmy’s World” would be a front-page story:

'Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict,' Cooke’s story began, 'a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms. He nestles in a large, beige reclining chair in the living room of his comfortably furnished home in Southeast Washington. There is an almost cherubic expression on his small, round face as he talks about life – clothes, money, the Baltimore Orioles and heroin. He has been an addict since the age of 5.'

Readers were hooked. And outraged. The mayor’s office instructed the police to immediately search for Jimmy and get him medical treatment. But no one was able to locate Jimmy. Cooke wasn’t surprised. She told her editors at the Post that she had only been able to interview Jimmy and his mother by promising them anonymity. She also revealed that the mother’s boyfriend had threatened Cooke’s life if the police discovered Jimmy’s whereabouts.

A few months later, Cooke’s hard work paid off and her dream came true – her story was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. Cooke had to submit some autobiographical information to the Prize committee, but there was a slight snag. The committee contacted the Post when they couldn’t verify that Cooke had graduated magna cum laude from Vassar College. Turns out she only attended Vassar her freshman year. She actually graduated from the University of Toledo with a B.A. degree, not with a master’s degree as she told the Pulitzer committee.

Cooke’s editors summoned her for an explanation. Unfortunately for Cooke and the Washington Post, her resume flubs were the least of her lies. After hours of grilling, Cooke finally confessed that “Jimmy’s World” was entirely made up. Jimmy did not exist.

The Pulitzer committee withdrew its prize and Cooke resigned in shame. The Washington Post, the paper that uncovered Watergate – the biggest political scandal in American history – failed to even vet Cooke’s resume. Then it published a front-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning feature story that was 100 percent made up.

Remarkably, neither Ben Bradlee nor Bob Woodward resigned over the incident. It was a different time, but also, the halo of All the President’s Men probably saved them.

Don’t miss the first five episodes of The Beck Story, which are available now. And look for Episode 6 this Saturday, wherever you get your podcasts.

5 Democrats who have endorsed Kamala (and two who haven't)

Zach Gibson / Stringer, Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

With Biden removed from the 2024 election and only a month to find a replacement before the DNC, Democrats continue to fall in line and back Vice President Kamala Harris to headline the party's ticket. Her proximity and familiarity with the Biden campaign along with an endorsement from Biden sets Harris up to step into Biden's shoes and preserve the momentum from his campaign.

Glenn doesn't think Kamala Harris is likely to survive as the assumed Democratic nominee, and once the DNC starts, anything could happen. Plenty of powerful and important Democrats have rallied around Harris over the last few days, but there have been some crucial exemptions. Here are five democrats that have thrown their name behind Harris, and two SHOCKING names that didn't...

Sen. Dick Durbin: ENDORSED

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

High-ranking Senate Democrat Dick Durbin officially put in his support for Harris in a statement that came out the day after Biden stepped down: “I’m proud to endorse my former Senate colleague and good friend, Vice President Kamala Harris . . . our nation needs to continue moving forward with unity and not MAGA chaos. Vice President Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years . . . Count me in with Kamala Harris for President.”

Michigan Gov. Whitmer: ENDORSED

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

The Monday after Biden stepped down from the presidential VP hopeful, Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement on X: “Today, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for president of the United States [...] In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back home from overseas, and building an economy that works for working people.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ENDORSED

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Mere hours after Joe Biden made his announcement, AOC hopped on X and made the following post showing her support: "Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let’s get to work."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: ENDORSED

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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is arguably one of the most influential democrats, backed Harris's campaign with the following statement given the day after Biden's decision: “I have full confidence she will lead us to victory in November . . . My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal, and political.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ENDORSED

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Massasschesets Senator Elizabeth Warren was quick to endorse Kamala, releasing the following statement shortly after Harris placed her presidential bid: "I endorse Kamala Harris for President. She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion. As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November."

Former President Barack Obama: DID NOT ENDORSE

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Former President Barack Obama wasted no time releasing the following statement which glaringly omits any support for Harris or any other candidate. Instead, he suggests someone will be chosen at the DNC in August: "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges. I believe that Joe Biden's vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August. And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond."

Prominent Democratic Donor John Morgan: DID NOT ENDORSE

AP Photo/John Raoux

Prominent and wealthy Florida lawyer and democrat donor John Morgan was clearly very pessimistic about Kamala's odds aginst Trump when he gave the following statement: “You have to be enthusiastic or hoping for a political appointment to be asking friends for money. I am neither. It’s others turn now . . . The donors holding the 90 million can release those funds in the morning. It’s all yours. You can keep my million. And good luck . . . [Harris] would not be my first choice, but it’s a done deal.”

How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

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Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. It occurred just after 6:10 p.m. while Trump was delivering his speech.

Here are the details of the “official” story. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He used an AR-15 rifle and managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building unnoticed. The Secret Service's counter-response team responded swiftly, according to "the facts," killing Crooks and preventing further harm.

Did it though? That’s what the official story says, so far, but calling this a mere lapse in security by Secret Service doesn't add up. There are some glaring questions that need to be answered.

If Trump had been killed on Saturday, we would be in a civil war today. We would have seen for the first time the president's brains splattered on live television, and because of the details of this, I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't have been viewed as JFK 2.0.

How does someone sneak a rifle onto the rally grounds? How does someone even know that that building is there? How is it that Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting so weird and pacing in front of the metal detectors, and no one seemed to notice? People tried to follow him, but, oops, he got away.

How could the kid possibly even think that the highest ground at the venue wouldn't be watched? If I were Crooks, my first guess would be, "That’s the one place I shouldn't crawl up to with a rifle because there's most definitely going to be Secret Service there." Why wasn't anyone there? Why wasn't anyone watching it? Nobody except the shooter decided that the highest ground with the best view of the rally would be the greatest vulnerability to Trump’s safety.

Moreover, a handy ladder just happened to be there. Are we supposed to believe that nobody in the Secret Service, none of the drones, none of the things we pay millions of dollars for caught him? How did he get a ladder there? If the ladder was there, was it always there? Why was the ladder there? Secret Service welds manhole covers closed when a president drives down a road. How was there a ladder sitting around, ready to climb up to the highest ground at the venue, and the Secret Service failed to take it away?

There is plenty of video of eyewitnesses yelling that there was a guy with a rifle climbing up on a ladder to the roof for at least 120 seconds before the first shot was fired. Why were the police looking for him while Secret Service wasn't? Why did the sniper have him in his sights for over a minute before he took a shot? Why did a cop climb up the ladder to look around? When Thomas Matthew Cooks pointed a gun at him, he then ducked and came down off the ladder. Did he call anyone to warn that this young man had a rifle within range of the president?

How is it the Secret Service has a female bodyguard who doesn't even reach Trump's nipples? How was she going to guard the president's body with hers? How is it another female Secret Service agent pulled her gun out a good four minutes too late, then looked around, apparently not knowing what to do? She then couldn't even get the pistol back into the holster because she's a Melissa McCarthy body double. I don't think it's a good idea to have Melissa McCarthy guarding the president.

Here’s the critical question now: Who trusts the FBI with the shooter’s computer? Will his hard drive get filed with the Nashville manifesto? How is it that the Secret Service almost didn't have snipers at all but decided to supply them only one day before the rally because all the local resources were going to be put on Jill Biden? I want Jill Biden safe, of course. I want Jill Biden to have what the first lady should have for security, but you can’t hire a few extra guys to make sure our candidates are safe?

How is it that we have a Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, whose experience is literally guarding two liters of Squirt and spicy Doritos? Did you know that's her background? She's in charge of the United States Secret Service, and her last job was as the head of security for Pepsi.

This is a game, and that's what makes this sick. This is a joke. There are people in our country who thought it was OK to post themselves screaming about the shooter’s incompetence: “How do you miss that shot?” Do you realize how close we came to another JFK? If the president hadn't turned his head at the exact moment he did, it would have gone into the center of his head, and we would be a different country today.

Now, Joe Biden is also saying that we shouldn't make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. Well, I think we can assume one thing: He wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate. Can we agree on that at least? Can we assume that much?

How can the media even think of blaming Trump for the rhetoric when the Democrats and the media constantly call him literally worse than Hitler who must be stopped at all costs?

These questions need to be answered if we want to know the truth behind what could have been one of the most consequential days in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI has its hands clasped on all the sources that could point to the truth. There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of these glaring “mistakes.”

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

Kevin Dietsch / Staff, Chip Somodevilla / Staff, Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Image

It feels like all of the tension that has been building over the last four years has finally burst to the surface over the past month. Many predicted 2024 was going to be one of the most important and tumultuous elections in our lifetimes, but the last two weeks will go down in the history books. And it's not over yet.

The Democratic National Convention is in August, and while Kamala seems to be the likely candidate to replace Biden, anything could happen in Chicago. And if Biden is too old to campaign, isn't he too old to be president? Glenn doesn't think he'll make it as President through January, but who knows?

There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the current political landscape. Trump came out of the attempted assassination, and the RNC is looking stronger than ever, but who knows what tricks the Democrats have up their sleeves? Let us know your predictions in the poll below:

Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn Apologizes for Being a Catastrophist: 'We're Scaring the Hell Out of the Children'

Washington Post EXPOSED: How Watergate editors almost published a fake Pulitzer Prize-winning story

Readers were hooked. And outraged.

5 Democrats who have endorsed Kamala (and two who haven't)

Sen. Dick Durbin: ENDORSED

Michigan Gov. Whitmer: ENDORSED

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ENDORSED

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: ENDORSED

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ENDORSED

Former President Barack Obama: DID NOT ENDORSE

Prominent Democratic Donor John Morgan: DID NOT ENDORSE

How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

Is Trump going to win the election?

Did the assassination attempt increase Trump's chances at winning in November?

Did Trump's pick of J.D. Vance help his odds?

Did the Trump-Biden debate in June help Trump's chances?

Did Biden's resignation from the election hand Trump a victory in November?

Do the Democrats have any chance of winning this election?