The Best Thing About John Kerry's Speech? It Will Be His Last.

Biker, gun enthusiast, former bull rider and radio talk show host Mike Broomhead filled in for Glenn on The Glenn Beck Program today, Wednesday, December 28.

Read below or listen to the full segment from Hour 1 for answers to these questions:

• Who wrote CNN's 16-page diatribe on John Kerry?

• When will Democrats accept the election results?

• How will the Obama administration punish Russia?

• What did Hillary expose about the old boy network?

• Will Bourbon Street be safe this New Year's Eve?

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

MIKE: Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. My name is Mike Broomhead in Phoenix, Arizona, filling in for Glenn today and tomorrow. Thanks for joining the show. We have a lot going on.

If you want to reach out, social media is the best way to reach out to me. Twitter, I am @BroomheadShow. Don't tweet Mike Broomhead. That's some guy in England who is really upset that he gets my tweets all the time.

So @BroomheadShow on Twitter or the Mike Broomhead fan page on Facebook, best way to reach out to me.

A lot going on in the news. We've heard about the death of a movie star in Carrie Fisher. Big deal because of the Star Wars movies that she's a part of. That may be a part of the conversation this morning.

But so much happening with Israel, the UN, the vote there. The US abstaining. That's going to be a big part of the program today as John Kerry -- I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. What I mean by -- anytime I talk about John Kerry, it makes me angry. But at the same time, it's this final speech in the Middle East. There's good news for America and the rest of the world.

John Kerry will be leaving the post as Secretary of State. And, fortunately, he's such a dolt, he hasn't done much. He hasn't done much damage because I just don't think he's that capable. We'll talk about him.

Harry Reid makes some statements bragging about some of the horrible things he did while he was in the Senate. More good news for America. The Senate will take its next session in January, minus Harry Reid. That's already a great year.

So far nothing but good news. Some of the headlines: President Obama says that they are going to somehow punish Russia for meddling in our elections. You know that 54 percent of Democrat voters -- this is just a poll. And we know that numbers can be skewed. But half of Democrats believe that the Russians changed the vote tally.

Now, the Russian influence had everything to do with emails, if you believe it was the Russians that did the hacking and sent over to make sure it was dropped by WikiLeaks. And if you believe the Russians had a hand in that, that was the extent of what they did in influencing elections. They had nothing to do with hacking into vote tallies anywhere. But 50 percent of Democrat voters -- apparently over 50 percent believed they had something to do with changed the vote tally.

By the way, Jill Stein still not done with protesting elections. At some point, you've got to give up. Don't you? You've got to give up and just say it's over. The electoral college has voted. Joe Biden is going to count those votes pretty soon. You know, on January 20th, Donald Trump is going to be inaugurated as president of the United States.

And I wonder the shoe is definitely on the other foot in America today. I question so many people on the left that I'm friends with. And I enjoyed my friends that think different than me politically. It's one of the things I enjoy the most, is when I have disagreements with people that I admire and I like. Because I would rather figure out how we could be so close to each other and yet so far apart on some issues. And I try to come to the conversation from a position of respect.

I look at Donald Trump moving into the White House, and there are a lot of people on the conservative side who are terrified of a Trump presidency. I've mentioned on this show before. I was filling in here -- and I was honored to be a part of the network for Glenn Beck long before I was friends with Glenn. But I have gotten to know Glenn fairly well.

And, you know, I am not the anti-Trump person that Glenn is, which is -- when I look at somebody I admire as much and knows as much about American history and American politics that I disagree with, I'd rather learn why and what they believe.

But when you look at the pro-Obama crowd, you look at the people in this country that were thrilled with what Barack Obama was doing because Congress would not go along. The Founding Fathers were geniuses in the sense, it was called the great experiment. It still is. Our form of government was never done like this before. Ever.

The House of Representatives being called the people's house, representing very small districts across the country, where individual voices, I mean, supposedly are being heard in the House of Representatives. Those people can be replaced every two years. The house of representative is up for reelection. I'm not giving anybody the civics lesson here. The Senate, every six years. A six-year term. Two senators equally representing every state in the union. Equal power. Two senators from each state doing the business of the states.

That makes up the legislative branch. And the executive branch, the president having veto power. And there is a lot of power that comes out of that office because it is that office. But that power is also not absolute, which is why the Congress is supposed to be the balance.

And to get something through both houses of Congress, to get it signed by them and sent to the White House to become law, and then the check and balance there -- the checks and balance there, of course, are the Supreme Court. We can argue what it's become. And I agree the Supreme Court has become something it was not intended to be. But the Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether or not the laws made by Congress are constitutional. Not good or bad. Constitutional or not.

We realize we now have justices on both side of the aisle over there, that are legislating from the bench, which isn't what they're supposed to do. But in theory, what our Founding Fathers have created, such an amazing thing.

When you have a president that says I have a cell phone and a pen, and if Congress isn't going to go along, I think I've got the power, and the Supreme Court has disagreed with him on some very important facts of his executive powers. And some yet to be determined. When you expand the executive powers and you set the precedent that Barack Obama has, I've asked people on the left before we even had any inkling that Donald Trump was going to be president -- this brash guy that's bucking the system and is going against both parties and all the things he says he's going to do.

I ask people on the left, how are you going to feel if the next president says -- and he's on the far right -- and he says, you know, President Obama was on to something. There is a lot of things that a president can do. He doesn't need Congress for. I'm just going to use executive orders to do everything I want to do. And I'm going to do it the same way Barack Obama did, although it's going to be completely different policies.

You watch how all of a sudden the political left in the next four years is going to become a small government limited power in the executive branch group of people. And when the Democrats are saying we have to stop the ideology and the plans of Donald Trump, which means we have to be an obstructionist, isn't it funny that we -- that the right was told, "You got to work with President Obama. The people elected him. They want his policies in place. So you should go along with what he wants because that's what the American people want." Well, now we're hearing the opposite.

And I'll tell you this, in all fairness, if Donald Trump uses executive powers the way Barack Obama did, I will call him out like I did Barack Obama. Because the Congress is supposed to be included. It never was supposed to -- because if you eliminate them. If you do things by executive order, the Congress either becomes a dissenting voice or a rubber stamp. That's it. Now you've got absolute power. You can't have it. Donald Trump is going to have to negotiate with the Congress. He's got a majority -- obviously a big majority in the House right now. That could change in two years. But right now, a big majority in the House. So it's going to be fairly easy to get some of his policies, when agreed upon through the House.

But with only a two-seat majority, really, in the Senate, it's going to be difficult on some issues. Now, Obamacare has got to be repealed and replaced. That should be easier because there are a lot of Democrats in the Senate that are in places where it's costing a lot of money for Obamacare. So repealing and replacing that may be something they go along with just for their political futures. But other things are going be tougher. And when it requires 60 votes, it's going to be difficult. And there's going to have to be some negotiations.

So that's going to be a part of the discussion today. Here in the first hour, just so we know what we're going to talk about. John Kerry and his final speech in the Middle East before he goes. The president in trying to punish Russia before he leaves office because of their meddling in American elections. And security measures in the United States, big offense like the Thanksgiving Day parade, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, the Boston Marathon. And upcoming in what we're going to see in Mardi Gras in New Orleans. What we are learning about, terrorist attacks, and how we're trying to prevent them here in the US. So we'll get to all these here in the first hour of the program. Once again, my name is Mike Broomhead. I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm in here for Glenn Beck. And this is, of course, the Glenn Beck Program.

[break]

MIKE: Thanks for being here this morning. Mike Broomhead, Phoenix, Arizona, in for Glenn Beck. Today and tomorrow I will be in for the Glenn Beck Program. Thanks for being a part of it. And making it a part of your day. It is -- John Kerry will be giving his final speech in the Middle East.

Now, this under the backdrop now of what we've seen in the UN resolution, that we're calling the new settlements in the West Bank by Israel illegal. The US abstaining from that vote, which is ridiculous.

We, from every perspective you can think of as Americans, whether it is -- they are our only and closest ally -- I shouldn't say only ally. Our closest ally in the region is Israel. We are their best friend.

From that point of view, from a faith-based point of view from me personally and for a lot of people within earshot of me right now, we have had a responsibility and a long-standing tradition of standing side by side with Israel.

And nor -- the Israelis claim they have ironclad proof that we were behind the resolution calling those settlements illegal. And the Israelis are going to defy the UN, and they're going to continue to settle in the West Bank. And they're absolutely entitled to do so. And anybody out there that wants to talk about the battles between the Israelis and the Palestinians and you're siding with the Palestinians -- I love that conversation because you are a propagandist and are believing absolutely the wrong things.

The tunnels that are being dug are not being dug by the Israelis. The bombs being lobbed are not being lobbed by the Israelis.

And, you know, we can go through history and talk about a lot of these things. Golda Meir and some of the quotes from Golda Meir. And when I say quotes, I'm probably going to screw it up by a word or two, so I don't mean to paraphrase. But I believe it was Golda Meir that said to the Palestinians, "We can forgive you for killing our children. We can't forgive you for forcing us to kill yours." And that has been the Israeli point of view for decades in this war.

They -- the other quote is, "If Israel were to lay down their weapons, there would be no Israel. If the Palestinians were to lay down their weapons, there would be peace." That is another accurate -- in my opinion, accurate statement.

But for the UN to do what they've done and for the accusation even to come from Israel, that they believe -- let's say that they don't have ironclad proof, that it's just a belief that they have, that the US is behind this resolution. Tells you to what degree other relationship between the United States and Israel has deteriorated over the last eight years.

Jews in America largely vote Democrat, most of the time based on social issues, if not economic issues. Definitely social issues. I don't know for the life of me how anybody -- how any American Jew can vote for Barack Obama and the policies of that office.

But specifically, John Kerry now giving his final speech in the Middle East. And CNN had a story that was written about him that is -- I think John Kerry's wife wrote this and just did it under somebody else's name. Elise Labott from CNN global affairs correspondent, John Kerry's Mission to Save Diplomacy, is the title. It is 16 pages on their website.

And it is -- the first paragraph -- and I don't like to read stories on the air. You can read them yourself. But it starts like this: You can see it in everything he attempts to do around the globe, even conflicts he -- every conflict he weighs into, every crisis he refuses to concede. And as John Kerry prepares to step down as Secretary of State next month, he will carry it with him just as he has for 15 years, a deep-seated belief that America and indeed he can solve some of the world's thorniest problems with the right mix of politics, diplomacy, perseverance, and personal charm.

Now, is that a journalist or is this a biographer?

John Kerry sat down over and over and over again with the Iranians and hashing a nuclear deal that was hated by every other nation in the region, to the degree that the Saudis and the Israelis were working together saying that we will work together to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

The US has very limited publicly as they could do, solve the problem of the fears by the nations in the region because of the deal by selling bigger arms to those nations, arming nations around Iran to a larger degree so they could defend themselves if the Iranians break the deal. That's how confident we were in the deal. Not to mention that every aspect of the Iranian government, from their religious leaders, the ayatollahs speaking in a public forum, the crowd chanting death to America, their religious leader -- who runs the country, by the way. It's not the government. They take their lead -- they are a theocracy. The ayatollah chanting with the crowd. Yes, of course. Death to America. This while John Kerry is negotiating with the Iranians.

One of the Iranian military leaders said, "No matter what happens in this deal, the Americans will always be our enemy." John Kerry didn't push away from the table. So they're right when they say he perseveres. When the Iranian government was voting on this deal behind the scenes to denounce the US -- they can't sanction us. But it was an anti-American vote going on. And I believe with 200 members they had, it was 199 to one. And while members of the Iranian government were voting on this, in what would be their -- we would have the House came home or the Senate came home, while they were voting in their governmental chamber, the parliamentary chamber, they were chanting, "Death to America." Not all of them. But some of them. And yet we continue to negotiate with the Iranians. Every aspect of the Iranian government, chanting in some way, shape, or form throughout these negotiations, death to America. There's your chief diplomat at work.

When the Iranians captured two US vessels and then took those US sailors, stripped them of their uniforms, showed the videotape of them crying around the world, embarrassed and mocked the United States Navy to the entire world, John Kerry thanked the Iranians for the way they treated our sailors. He was in the Navy.

Remember when he ran for president as a Swift Boat captain? He crossed the Delaware and saluted and said, "John Kerry reporting for duty," and he looked like a dope. This guy was in the United States Navy and thanked the Iranians for their treatment of the United States Navy. There's your chief diplomat being talked about as a saint in a 17-page CNN review.

This administration was going to restore the world's confidence in the United States. Anybody believe that's true? Even on that side of the aisle. From Hillary Clinton and Benghazi to John Kerry and Iran -- and not just the Iranian nuclear deal, but when the two American ships were taken. One of the stories we're going to discuss a little bit later on in the show is the Chinese won an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. They're going to monitor us. They're sending us a message.

How incredible is it that we have become what we have become. Our enemies have no reason to fear us. Think what we've done with John Kerry as Secretary of State under the policies of this administration. We have restored diplomatic ties with Cuba, which is an absolute abomination because of the way the Cuban people are treated. I could spend the next 30 minutes talking about Cuba again. But we've restored that with Cuba -- relations with the Cuban government, while the Cuban people still suffer under that communist regime.

We gave the power back with nuclear weapons and billions and billions and billions of dollars to the Iranians. Even John Kerry had to admit, it's probably going to go and foster terrorism. Nothing about ISIS. It's been a failure.

Coming up in just a few moments, the Obama administration, they're going to punish Russia for election interference. How? We'll talk about that, next.

[break]

MIKE: All right. Thank you for being here. Mike Broomhead in Phoenix, Arizona, in for Glenn Beck today and tomorrow. Thanks for making the Glenn Beck Program a part of your day.

The Obama administration close to announcing measures to punish Russia for election interference. I'm going to get to this in a moment.

I'm in Phoenix. Do a local show in Phoenix, Arizona. One of the listeners, her name is Jackie, is the best producer I've ever had. No offense to my producer. She does a great job. She sends me information all the time. I was talking about Harry Reid a little earlier. Harry Reid talking with someone about his career, said, "As my staff will tell you, I've done a number of things because no one else will do it." What was he talking about? The false accusation about Mitt Romney not paying his taxes. And he admits, whether it was changing the rules in the Senate and basically, you know, using a nuclear option to do what he wanted to do there, when he said earlier in his career, if that ever happened, it would destroy the United States Senate and the intent of the United States Senate. And he did it. Because he wanted to get what he wanted to get through. He justified it 18 different ways. It was wrong. And then as soon as he got booted from power because the Republicans took over the Senate, he said, "This shows America wants us to work together."

Well, here's what he said about what he did to Mitt Romney by lying about Mitt Romney. I tried to get everybody else to do that. I didn't want to do that. I didn't have anything against him personally. He's a fellow Mormon. Nice guy. I went to everybody, but no one would do it. So I did.

So when we talk about American politics, we want to talk about what's happening. And you want to hear about the vitriol of people. It's on both sides. I'm not condoning it on either side of the aisle. I've been very critical of Donald Trump when he was running for president about the way he said things and the way he did things.

But I thought he was a much better option than Hillary Clinton. I voted for Donald Trump. And I have been very complimentary about the way he's handled the transition and the way he's handled things since then in a lot of regards. His victory speech which could have been a moment where the Donald Trump supporters from day one, which I was not, but the Donald Trump supporters day one said he was going to win. And a lot of us, myself included, said there's no way that guy could win. When they were proven right and the rest of us were proven wrong, in a moment where Donald Trump could have had a drain the swamp, lock her up, give the country the middle finger kind of a moment, he was gracious and he was humble. And so were the supporters that night. They kind of followed his lead.

So I'm hopeful -- I'm hopeful for the presidency, and I've been complimentary, as much as I was critical. But anybody on the left that wants to come after a Donald Trump, you know, low-hanging fruit of some of the tweets that have been sent out, look no further than your own party, where they don't like the way things are being handled on the right.

If you remember, it was Harry Reid that called the sitting president of the United States, that time George W. Bush, an idiot, his words. I don't know what happened to Harry Reid. I don't know when Harry Reid became what Harry Reid had become. But I'm glad he's gone.

Harry Reid, John Kerry, they just -- I'm glad they are -- thrilled that they are gone from American politics at least in the short-term. I think we're a better country for it.

And, you know, if Nancy Pelosi would have lost her seat, I think that would have been another great service to the American people. And I just wanted to get that out before I got to the other thing with Harry Reid and some of the nonsense he has spewed before.

By the way, I'm in today and tomorrow. If you are a social media user, I love to interact on social media. You can find me on Twitter. I am @BroomheadShow. Not Mike Broomhead. @BroomheadShow is my handle on Twitter. Mike Broomhead on Instagram. All one word. You can find my -- I'm famous for my blurry pictures I post on Instagram. Or the Mike Broomhead fan page on Facebook if you want to find me there. I would love to interact with you if you have questions, comments. If you want to do that on social media, that would be terrific.

The Obama administration is getting ready to announce whether it's going to be economic sanctions or diplomatic censure. But the president of the United States has every intention of punishing the Russians for interference in American elections.

Now, what they did was hack the DNC, most specifically Podesta and emails. And exposed the corruption in the Clinton campaign.

Now, the accusation was out there, where they also hacked the RNC, but didn't turn that information over, which the RNC says it was never hacked. They showed proof that they were never hacked. Reince Priebus saying they were never hacked. That it was the Democrats. Was this a pro-Trump thing or an anti-Hillary thing? I'm pretty sure it's anti-Hillary.

What's funny, be careful what you hear because as far as I know, nobody denied the validity of those emails. Nobody said it wasn't true. Nobody said they were manipulated.

What they said was they were stolen.

The American media was all over it. And then when Donald Trump won the election, now they're blaming the Russians, and they tried to do everything they could to stop what they were a big part of, from the beginning.

But the president himself had to admit there was no tampering with the election itself. They didn't hack into voting machines. They didn't change vote tallies. They didn't get into any voter databases.

What happened was that they were -- if it was them, and so far, it hasn't been proven that it was. But they're -- and I'm hearing from some very high-level people that they believe it was the Russians. So let's go for arguments' sake to say that the Russians were the ones behind the hack that got the emails exposed through WikiLeaks. What they did was expose the corruption inside the Clinton campaign. That's what sank that ship.

When you see Hillary Clinton saying to the entire world, when I become Secretary of State, there is going to be this huge firewall -- her word -- between my Secretary of State's office and my foundation. And then we find out almost from day one that was never the case.

Even when it came to Haiti, earthquake relief, there was a lot of government grants, money that was out there, given the companies that were there to do relief efforts, whether it was humanitarian aid, humanitarian relief, or it was rescue and recovery and rebuilding of Haiti. And when people were applying for that -- for those State Department grants and State Department funds, there were emails being exchanged, that if you weren't friends of Bill or Clinton VIPs to the foundation, then they were sent to a website to fill out the paperwork.

If they were friends with the Clintons or VIPs, then they were told send them to us at the State Department directly. Those were handled in-house. Those people were given the contracts.

There's your firewall. There's the collusion and corruption that the American people were tired of. If anything else in this election cycle, we learned the good ol' boy network was despised by the American people. And Hillary Clinton exemplified that with her office. Seating at state dinners for donors to the foundation. And meetings being brokered because there were diplomats that couldn't get a meeting with the Secretary of State, but their country or they individually had donated a lot of money to the foundation. So the head of the foundation, reaching out to Huma Abedin and some of the other handlers for Hillary Clinton and saying, "Hey, this is a big donor of the Clinton Foundation, trying to get a meeting with the Secretary of State, and can't do it through the diplomatic channels. Is there anything you can do?" And then the email going back saying, "Yeah, we've given them a few dates. Let us know what works for them."

You know, that's the kind of corruption the American people despise. That's what sank that ship.

So the president going along with the theme -- and all it has to do is keep the American people doubtful. You know, when Al Gore lost and George W. Bush's brother was -- Jeb Bush was the governor of Florida. And, of course, that's why he won Florida. And all that stuff died off fairly quickly. Not this time.

Nobody went quietly into that good night this time. The electoral system in the United States is set up for an express purpose in an express ways. They don't want it to be coastal elections. They don't want LA and New York deciding every election, which they would have.

They tried to get the electors to change. I know one of the Arizona electors received over -- they weren't -- this was not a unique case. They received over 40,000 emails trying to get them to switch their vote from voting for Donald Trump as the people of Arizona had done to anybody else, basically.

And that is not -- that's not the way the American people behave.

We know about the terrorist attacks that happened in Germany and France, where they're not using bombs, they're not using guns or knives, they are using vehicles to just mow down people in crowds. It is just a horrifying way to take human lives. But it just shows you, again, the ingenuity and the desire and the hatred for humanity that some of these people -- in the name of religion -- have. And we saw it in Germany at a Christmas market. We saw it in France.

Well, in America, we've got big events here. And are the Americans learning from what's happened in other countries? The best of a horrible situation is to learn from others -- not mistakes necessarily, but learn tactically from things that happen in other countries.

Well, we've got Mardi Gras coming up. What's happening in New Orleans? What happened at the Thanksgiving Day Parade? What happens now at the Boston Marathon? What are happening at some of these events in America to be one step smarter than we were before and try to prevent the mayhem and the death? We'll talk about that here in just a moment. Again, my name is Mike Broomhead. I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. This is the Glenn Beck Program.

[break]

MIKE: All right. Mike Broomhead in for Glenn Beck today and tomorrow. Coming up next hour, we'll talk about the US inequality keeps getting uglier in a CNN story. Talking about the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. It's a great topic.

And also in the next hour, one of my heroes -- if I could emulate anyone, which I don't ever want to do, but if there's one person whose career I admire, it's Mike Rowe. Mike Rowe has been the voice for kind of the working man in what he does in his television shows and what you see when you hear him on broadcasts. And he's just one of those working class heroes. And it's genuine. It seems very genuine.

If there's one person out there that I would love to be able to meet some day and just have a conversation with, because I think it would be a fascinating conversation, it would be Mike Rowe.

Mike Rowe talks about why there's a lot of jobs out there that Americans aren't taking. And I think he's right on the money with some things. So we'll talk economy big in the next hour.

But to wrap up this hour of the show, Bourbon Street to be pedestrian mall for New Year's weekend. So it's not just Mardi Gras, but over the new year, they are going to be using blockades and trucks, I think, to block the streets where there will be pedestrian traffic only, to stop the same kind of mayhem where a vehicle is used to murder as many people as possible. We've now seen it in Europe a couple of different times. And now we're looking at a different scenario.

If you looked at Ohio State -- and this was the big argument. The stabbing in Ohio State where a guy rammed a building with his car, tried to run people over, then started with knives and started stabbing people before he was killed by a police officer.

Right away, the anti-gun crowd in America -- because the reports were out there. There was a gunman at the Ohio State campus. Right away, it was an anti-gun message. Right away, the gun control crowd was out there once again in full force.

Turned out that he didn't use a gun. One of the arguments I've always had -- and I'm fortunate to live in a place where our gun laws are probably the most lenient in the entire country. And I live in a very safe place. Phoenix, Arizona, if you've never visited, I hope you will someday. It's a beautiful city. And it's safe. The valley -- all the surrounding cities. We call it the valley. Beautiful and safe place. If you can legally own a handgun in the state of Arizona, you can conceal it without a permit.

Now, a lot of people think that's, "Oh, my gosh. How Wild West is that. No training. No -- the offset to that is criminal conceal weapons all the time. They don't have any training. There's not been an increase in death. There's not been an increase in shootings. There haven't been an increase in violence. None of that.

Good people, law-abiding citizens do not brandish weapons on each other. They just don't.

And now we're seeing the terrorists around the world are using guns when it's effective. They're using pressure cooker bombs when they believe that's going to be effective. And now they're using big trucks. We're going to limit the size of vehicles now. That's what they want to do with guns. Let's limit the amount of ammunition in a magazine. Let's limit the caliber. Let's limit the number of bullets somebody can buy.

Let's -- have we really turned into people that believe that that's going to solve a problem? I could go into the grocery store today because New Year's Eve is right around the corner, I could go in to a grocery store with a hand truck. I could buy six cases of beer, four cases of whisky, and 15 bags of ice and roll it out to my truck, and people would look at me and say, "Where is the party?" No one is going to look at me and say, "Oh, look at all the drunks he's going to be creating on New Years Eve. There's going to be death and mayhem in the streets from drunk drivers."

But you roll out of -- of a gun store with a couple of thousand of rounds of ammunition, and they may follow you home.

There is evil in the world, and people that based on religion, right now -- I mean, there's other reasons as well, are just looking to kill the western way of life. And we have to try to stay one step ahead of the way they're doing things. And this is going to be one way to stop people from driving trucks down Bourbon Street and just running people over that are celebrating New Year's Eve. But they're going to come up with a new way to kill people.

We have to double down and be diligent. The joint terrorism task forces around the country are constantly assessing what's going on around the world to improve how they target people, how they watch people, and how they protect the American citizens. So next hour, we'll talk about the economy iniquities, inequalities in our economic status in America, and what we can do to fix it, according to CNN. Stick around. You're going to love what's next.

Featured Image: Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a speech on Middle East peace at The U.S. Department of State on December 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. Kerry spoke on the need for a two-state solution and defended the Obama administration's approach to Israel. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

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?

Who will be Kamala Harris' VP pick?

JIM WATSON / Contributor, Chris duMond / Stringer, Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images

Over the weekend, President Joe Biden officially dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and put forward his endorsement behind his Vice President Kamala Harris.

Glenn recently predicted that Biden would step down due to the mountain of pressure within his party to do so. But now that we are here we are faced with an all-new line of questions, like, who will be the candidate on the Democratic ticket? Who will be their pick for vice president?

As of now, the answer to the first question seems to be Kamala Harris, who received the support of the president and several prominent democrats. It's still too early to call for certain, and Glenn doesn't think it's likely, but assuming Kamala becomes the Democrat nominee, who will her VP pick be? There are endless possible options, but there are a 5 big names that could prove beneficial to Harris' campaign:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

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Governor Newsom has spiked in popularity within his party since his taking office in 2019 due to his scathing criticisms of President Trump and other Republicans. Newsom has been a popular contender as a possible Biden replacement, and a future presidential bid seems likely.

His widespread recognition may be a boon to Kamala's ticket, but the California governor comes with a dark side. Newsom was famously nearly recalled as Governor in 2021, hanging on to his office by a narrow margin. He also faced criticism for his hypocrisy during the COVID lockdowns, attending large gatherings while the rest of his state was locked inside. There's also the issue that both Newsom and Kamala are from California, meaning that if they were to appear on the same ticket, that ticket would lack geographical balance and would potentially lead to a Constitutional issue that would force the duo to forfeit all 54 of the states' Electoral College votes.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

Tom Williams / Contributor | Getty Images

Another prominent Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro has also been floated as a potential VP pick. Governor Shapiro has become a viable pick due to his well-received performance as Pennslyvania's Governor. The governor has good support within the swing state due to his handling of the I-95 bridge collapse, the train derailment in East Palestine, which had effects on his state, and the assassination attempt on the former president last week. Shapiro would bring much-needed support from the swing state if he was put on the ticket.

That being said, Shapiro has little time to build nationwide name recognition before the DNC in August and the November election. This would be Shapiro's debut on the national stage, and he would find himself in the most unforgiving situation possible.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

FREDERIC J. BROWN / Contributor | Getty Images

Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and opponent of Biden during the 2020 Democratic primaries, "Mayor Pete's" name recognition might be what Kamala needs on her presidential ticket. Buttigieg rose to popularity during the 2020 election due to his youth and status as "openly gay." Buttigieg has served as the Secretary of Transportation during the Biden administration for the past four years and has formally endorsed Harris.

Nevertheless, Buttigieg has some dark spots on his resume. The East Palestine train derailment disaster has besmirched his reputation as Secretary of Transportation. And while his youth may work in his favor when compared to the other elderly members of our federal government, it also means Buttigieg lacks the experience and prestige that other politicians enjoy.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

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Yet another governor of a crucial swing state, Whitmer was elected in 2018, two years after President Trump was elected, helping secure the state for the Democrats. Whitmer is known for her strong opposition to Trump, both during his presidency and his reelection campaign. Whitmer serves as co-chair for the Biden-Harris campaign and as vice chairperson of the DNC, which gives her influence over the Democratic party, something that would come in handy as a Vice President. Gov. Whitmer also established the Fight Like Hell PAC, which is dedicated to helping Democrats get elected and to stopping Trump by any means.

On the other hand, in a statement following Biden's resignation from the election, Governor Whitmer stated that her role “will remain the same.” It is also worth noting that if she were to be chosen as Kamala's VP, that would make their ticket all-female, which may foster some "woke points," but is politically risky.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

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Andy Bashear has seemingly beaten the odds twice, having been elected and reelected as the Governor of Kentucky, despite the deep-red nature of the state. Beshear, who has moderate tendencies, would be a boon to the Harris campaign as he has a track record of reaching rural, typically conservative regions where Democrats tend to struggle. He is also known for his propensity to talk about his Christian faith and willingness to work with Republicans, which are traits that might help win over moderates.

But, like Gov. Shapiro, Bashear has very little time to whip up national support and recognition. He also is unlikely to be very much help for the Harris campaign in winning over important swing states.

Five times Glenn had J.D. Vance on his show and where he stands on key issues

CHANDAN KHANNAMANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

We finally have an answer to the long-awaited question of who Trump will pick for his running mate, and it's none other than Ohio Senator and friend of the show, J.D. Vance. At the RNC in Milwaukee, Trump officially accepted the party's nomination as the Republican candidate and announced J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Glenn has had Senator Vance on the show several times to discuss everything from DEI to the Southern Border. If you are looking to familiarize yourself with the next potential Vice President, look no further, here are five conversations Glenn had with Trump's VP pick:

Why Biden Won't Stop "Racist" Government DEI Programs, But Trump Would

How Trump’s Trials Could HELP Him in the 2024 Election

Could THIS new Senate bill DOOM a Trump presidency?

MIDTERM UPDATE: What Republicans must do to WIN BACK the Senate

'Greatest risk of a terrorist attack in 20 years': Senator SLAMS 'atrocious' Biden move