Direct From the Source: Quotes From General 'Mad Dog' Mattis, Donald Trump's Phenomenal Pick for Sec. of Defense

He's being called the most revered marine in a generation from the Marine Corps Times. He's Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense --- General James "Mad Dog" Mattis.

"This is the guy that Barack Obama fired for good reason, because --- I want to get this exactly right --- he rubbed civilian officials the wrong way," Glenn said sarcastically Friday on his radio program.

RELATED: General ‘Rudely’ Fired by Obama Makes Trump’s Short List for Secretary of Defense

Actually General Mattis was fired for disagreeing with Obama's stance on the Iran Deal. General Mattis, you might say, is an outspoken military man who let's his opinions be known.

"Can I read some of his quotes?" Glenn asked Friday on radio.

Here are just a few of the general's more memorable comments:

I don't lose any sleep at night over potential for failure. I can't even spell the word.

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery, and I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes. If you "F" with me, I will kill you all.

Demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend, no worse enemy than a US marine.

There's nothing better than getting shot at and missed. Seriously, it's really great.

"I have to tell you, this is what our military is missing," Glenn said.

Enjoy this complimentary clip from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

GLENN: This is bad. If this happens -- if "Mad Dog" Mattis, General James Mattis --

STU: I mean, obviously a lot of talk about that.

GLENN: Yeah. But if this happens, this is bad. He's being called the most revered marine in a generation from the Marine Corps Times. So you wouldn't want a guy like that in. You know --

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: -- may I just say how spooky -- can I read some of his quotes?

STU: Oh, no.

GLENN: You're not going to like this guy. Now, first of all, this is the guy that Barack Obama fired for good reason, because -- I want to get this exactly right. He rubbed civilian officials the wrong way.

STU: Oh, no. No. Don't do it.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So let me show you the rabid mad dog that may be joining us on the war front.

Try this quote: I don't lose any sleep at night over potential for failure. I can't even spell the word.

The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some A-holes in the world that do need to be shot.

(laughter)

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery, and I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes. If you F with me, I will kill you all.

(laughter)

Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment in American democracy and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: That is the guy. This is shock and awe.

STU: And this -- this is -- you know -- there's a long process that goes to, you know, finalizing a Secretary of Defense. Not to mention some legal challenges because of an old rule with General Mattis. But, I mean, this is being praised by even some Democrats. And not because -- he's just well-respected.

GLENN: This is where we're going to see Donald Trump's backbone, is when all of these guys go to be confirmed.

STU: Right. But Mattis looks like he's going to do well.

GLENN: Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everybody you meet.

JEFFY: Think about it.

GLENN: You're part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

There are hunters, and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience, and alertness, you will decide if you're a hunter or a victim.

No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it's over. We may declare it over. But, in fact, the enemy gets a vote.

There's nothing better than getting shot at and missed. Seriously, it's really great.

(laughter)

You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.

You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot -- it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot at them. Actually, it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people.

I'd be right up there, however, because I like brawling.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we did here for 10,000 years.

Wow.

Demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend, no worst enemy than a US marine.

Fight happy, with a happy heart and a strong spirit.

I have to tell you, this is what our military is missing.

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Now, I don't want monsters. I don't want people who love killing, but I want people who, when they're faced with a bad guy, oh, yeah. I don't mind killing you.

You're a bad guy, who is trying to kill us and take away our freedoms. Yeah, I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to kill you fast. And I'm going to kill you in such a way that everybody around you goes, oh, my gosh. I don't want any of that.

STU: Yeah. This looks like a great pick.

GLENN: Great pick.

STU: Again, long process to get there. Rumors and everything will fly. However, great -- very well-respected. Seemingly one of the best picks so far. And a guy -- there's a weird law passed in I think the '40s and '50s that says you have to be retired for seven years as a general to get one of these cabinet positions. Which is a -- I would like to -- I've not tracked down yet. I just heard it on TV, and I didn't --

GLENN: When was he fired?

STU: 2013, I think.

GLENN: Ah.

JEFFY: Oh.

STU: So -- but I think, even Democrats are saying, yeah, we'll probably overturn it for this guy. We'll probably get a waiver. There's been one other waiver I think in history, maybe -- in the '50s.

GLENN: So this guy -- okay. So I'm -- remember I told you I was with a farmer friend over the holiday?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: So I was with this farmer friend, he is the most soft-spoken, nicest guy, serves in his church every Sunday, and works, you know, at the church on Saturdays as well. Hard-working. Nice guy.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: He was lieutenant -- he was a lieutenant colonel -- yeah, lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.

And he said, "What do you think of 'Mad Dog' Mattis?"

And I said, "From what I know, I like him."

And he said, "Yeah, I like anybody whose call sign is 'Mad Dog.'" He said, "You know, you don't pick your call sign. That's -- they pick it for you. Your buddies pick it for you based on who you are."

And I said, "What was your call sign?" And he said, "Mad Dog."

And I thought -- and I said, "You were 'Mad Dog'?"

He said, "I was a very different man in the military."

He is the quietest, nicest, politest guy you could ever -- not a mad dog.

And I thought, "What was this general like when they gave him -- if this is who he is now, what was he when he was, you know, a grunt, when he was coming up in the ranks and he was called 'Mad Dog'?"

STU: Well, he is loved by the military.

GLENN: Oh, I know he is. I know he is.

STU: Loved. And what a great -- look, there's a lot of things you might have issues with. You know, and who knows? But what a great change from -- from a president who objectively -- while I'm sure he -- you know, Obama obviously just did not have the same sort of respect that many of us have for the military --

GLENN: No, hang on. That's not the problem. Excuse the slang here. But he sissified. He sissified us. He made us into schoolmarms. He made us into a very sensitive bunch of people that I don't want to -- no. No. That's not what your military -- that might be what the -- the civilian force is like, saying, "Hey, hey, hey. Don't open the door for this military because they're madmen back there. Don't."

You want a disciplined set of -- you want a killing machine that is disciplined and under control. You can have heart, but when you open that door, you should be opening up the gates of hell.

I don't understand. If we don't -- if we don't change the culture of our military, we're doomed.

Now, the question is: Can we change the -- I mean, I would really -- it would be very interesting to see if we teach the Christian ethics again. Remember, that was one of the first things Barack Obama did.

Remember?

PAT: Was to stop that.

GLENN: Yeah, he took out Christian ethics as one of -- that was a required course for everybody at West Point and everybody where else. You had to take the ethics class.

I can't remember -- do you remember what it was called, Pat? It wasn't Christian ethics.

PAT: I can't remember.

GLENN: But it was based on Christianity. That we're not fighting for vengeance or any of that. And he stopped that immediately. Which, when you're sissifying a bunch of battle people, why wouldn't you keep that in? Unless you had a problem with religion. And so we took that out. And that was what really tempered us.

So it will be interesting to see if we reinstate that class because we need that class more than ever. Because if we have a bunch of people who -- whose instinct is vengeance, whose instinct is, "Get them. Make them pay," it needs to be tempered. And we put the teeth back into this military. We better be really careful. Make sure we put them back in the way they were in the first place.

STU: I will say too that this pick has very little in common with a person who is not an interventionalist or a person who is going to hold back and avoid conflict. Now, Mattis is very balanced and very smart.

GLENN: Hang on.

STU: But, again, a supporter of our conflicts.

GLENN: Hang on. Hang on.

Pat, you and I are more interventionalist than probably you guys, right? Pat and I are both: Close down our bases overboard seas. Come home. I don't want anything to do with anybody else.

Pat, I am the president of the United States and I think it would be the same with you, you're my adviser, do you think that I would want you to come in with a bunch of namby-pamby guys in the Defense Department or people who have been in the worst battles in the history of America and know it and know that war is to kill the other guy faster than they can kill you?

PAT: Definitely that.

JEFFY: Yeah.

STU: Again, to me, it's just another piece of evidence that he is closer to the average Republican in -- in these matters, than he is --

GLENN: Not necessarily.

STU: -- to the Democratic positions he had leading into the --

GLENN: Because you could say -- I mean, look, I want to stop the wars. And I want to bring people home. So I'm going to put the biggest bad guy in I could find. I don't mean bad guy, but biggest war dog I could find, who is going to make my military rough and tumble again. Because here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go finish those wars so I can bring everybody home. And I'm going to finish them in such a way that everybody goes, "Good God Almighty, don't mess with them."

STU: And it's consistent with what he said, for example, ISIS. Right? Like, I'm going to bomb the hell out of -- like that type of attitude.

GLENN: Right. Right. Finish it. Bomb them, fight them. Kill them. Finish it. Come home, and you won't have to go back.

I think this is a great pick.

STU: Right. I'm with you.

JEFFY: That's kind of -- I mean, that's Donald Trump's way forever anyway. I'll destroy you, and then, ah, you're okay now. I've destroyed you. I beat you. You're down. I'll talk to you.

PAT: Well, you know --

GLENN: Well, he doesn't do that with everybody.

PAT: No. Not everybody.

GLENN: Not everybody. Mitt Romney.

JEFFY: It's funny that you say that.

GLENN: But he hasn't done that with everybody.

PAT: He does claim he's a counterpuncher though, and that's what you want now, right? That's what we want.

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: We don't want to go out and get our fat face into everybody's business. But if you attack us, we're going to hit back so hard, you'll never do that again.

JEFFY: Yes.

GLENN: Right. I don't want a guy who wants vengeance.

PAT: Right.

GLENN: But I do want a guy who, when you punch me in the face --

PAT: We're coming after you.

GLENN: -- I'm going to break your arms and your legs and maybe snap your neck.

PAT: We're coming after you. Yeah.

GLENN: Don't ever punch us in the face.

Featured Image: US President-elect Doanld Trump poses for a photo with US Marines General (Ret.) James Mattis James Mattis and Vice President-elect Mike Pence on the steps of the clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club November 19, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey. / AFP / Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

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

PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor | Getty Images

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:

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?

What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Trump's assassination attempt?

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor, Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

This past weekend we were mere inches away from a radically different America than the one we have today. This was the first time a president had been wounded by a would-be assassin since 1981, and the horrific event has many people questioning the competency and motives of the supposedly elite agents trusted with the president's life.

The director of the Secret Service apparently knew about the assassin's rooftop before the shooting—and did nothing.

Kimberly Cheatle has come under intense scrutiny these last couple of weeks, as Secret Service director she is responsible for the president's well-being, along with all security operations onsite. In a recent interview with ABC, Cheatle admitted that she was aware of the building where the assassin made his mark on American history. She even said that she was mindful of the potential risk but decided against securing the site due to "safety concerns" with the slope of the roof. This statement has called her competence into question. Clearly, the rooftop wasn't that unsafe if the 20-year-old shooter managed to access it.

Glenn pointed out recently that Cheatle seems to be unqualified for the job. Her previous position was senior director in global security at America's second-favorite soda tycoon, PepsiCo. While guarding soda pop and potato chips sounds like an important job to some, it doesn't seem like a position that would qualify you to protect the life of America's most important and controversial people. Even considering her lack of appropriate experience, this seems like a major oversight that even a layperson would have seen. Can we really chalk this up to incompetence?

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

The Secret Service and DHS said they'd be transparent with the investigation...

Shortly after the attempted assassination, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Secret Service, launched an investigation into the shooting and the security protocols in place at the rally. The DHS promised full transparency during the investigation, but House Republicans don't feel that they've been living up to that promise. Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are frustrated with Director Cheatle after she seemingly dodged a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. This has resulted in calls for Cheatle to step down from her position.

Two FBI agents investigate the assassin's rooftop Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Why is the Secret Service being so elusive? Are they just trying to cover their blunder? We seem to be left with two unsettling options: either the government is even more incompetent than we'd ever believed, or there is more going on here than they want us to know.

Cheatle steps down

Following a horrendous testimony to the House Oversight Committee Director Cheatle finally stepped down from her position ten days after the assassination attempt. Cheatle failed to give any meaningful answer to the barrage of questions she faced from the committee. These questions, coming from both Republicans and Democrats, were often regarding basic information that Cheatle should have had hours after the shooting, yet Cheatle struggled with each and every one. Glenn pointed out that Director Cheatle's resignation should not signal the end of the investigation, the American people deserve to know what happened.

What we DO and DON'T know about Thomas Matthew Crooks

Jim Vondruska / Stringer | Getty Images

It has been over a week since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks narrowly failed to assassinate President Trump while the president gave a speech at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennslyvania. Despite the ongoing investigations, we still know very little about the would-be assassin, which has left many wondering if the agencies involved are limiting the information that Congress and the public are receiving.

As Glenn has pointed out, there are still major questions about the shooter that are unanswered, and the American people are left at the whim of unreliable federal agencies. Here is everything we know—and everything we don't know—about Thomas Matthew Crooks:

Who was he?

What we know:Thomas Crooks lived in Bethel Parks, Pennsylvania, approximately an hour south of Butler. Crooks went to high school in Bethel Parks, where he would graduate in 2022. Teachers and classmates described him as a loner and as nerdy, but generally nice, friendly, and intelligent. Crooks tried out for the school rifle team but was rejected due to his poor aim, and reports indicate that Crooks was often bullied for his nerdy demeanor and for wearing camo hunting gear to school.

After high school, Crooks began work at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide. In fact, he was scheduled to work on the day of the rally but requested the day off. He passed a background check to work at the facility and was reportedly an unproblematic employee. Crooks was also a member of a local gun club where he practiced shooting the day before the rally.

It was recently revealed that sometime before his attempted assassination, Crooks posted the following message on Steam, a popular computer application used for playing video games: "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds." Aside from this, Crooks posted no warning or manifesto regarding his attack, and little other relevant information is known about him.

What we don't know:It is unclear what Crook's political affiliations or views were, or if he was aligned with any extremist organizations. Crooks was a registered Republican, and his classmates recall him defending conservative ideas and viewpoints in class. On the other hand, the Federal Election Commission has revealed he donated to a progressive PAC on the day Biden was inaugurated. He also reportedly wore a COVID mask to school much longer than was required.

Clearly, we are missing the full picture. Why would a Republican attempt to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee? What is to gain? And why would he donate to a progressive organization as a conservative? This doesn't add up, and so far the federal agencies investigating the attack have yet to reveal anything more.

What were his goals?

What we know: Obviously we know he was trying to assassinate President Trump—and came very close to succeeding, but beyond that, Crooks' goals are unknown. He left no manifesto or any sort of written motive behind, or if he did, the authorities haven't published it yet. We have frustratingly little to go off of.

What we don't know: As stated before, we don't know anything about the movies behind Crooks' heinous actions. We are left with disjointed pieces that make it difficult to paint a cohesive picture of this man. There is also the matter that he left explosives, ammo, and a bulletproof vest in his car. Why? Did he assume he was going to make it back to his car? Or were those supplies meant for an accomplice that never showed up?

The shocking lack of information on Crooks' motives makes it seem likely that we are not being let on to the whole truth.

Did he work alone?

What we know: Reportedly, Crooks was the only gunman on the site, and as of now, no other suspects have been identified. The rifle used during the assassination attempt was purchased and registered by Crooks' father. However, it is unlikely that the father was involved as he reported both his son and rifle missing the night of the assassination attempt. Crooks' former classmates described him as a "loner," which seems to corroborate the narrative that he worked alone.

What we don't know: We know how Crooks acquired his rifle, but what about the rest of his equipment? He reportedly had nearly a hundred extra rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, and several homemade bombs in his car. Could these have been meant for a co-conspirator who didn't show? Did Crooks acquire all of this equipment himself, or did he have help?

There's also the matter of the message Crooks left on the video game platform Steam that served as his only warning of the attack. Who was the message for? Are there people out there who were aware of the attack before it occurred? Why didn't they alert authorities?

We know authorities have access to Crooks' laptop and cellphone that probably contain the answers to these pertinent questions. Why haven't we heard any clarity from the authorities? It seems we are again at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, which begs one more question: Will we ever know the whole truth?