GLENNJanuary 19, 2017

Glenn Finds Kumbaya Moment With Obama on His Last Full Day

This is so weird. What a coincidence. Finally, with Obama's final press conference and last full day in office, Glenn and his co-hosts found common ground with the soon-to-be former president.

OBAMA: I want to do some writing. I want be quiet a little bit, not hear myself talk so darn much.

"He wants to be quiet, and he doesn't want to hear himself talk so darn much. And we don't either," Co-host Stu Burguiere commented.

This is definitely a red-letter day.

"That's a basic fundamental principle of mine. You know, not hearing him talk so much," Glenn said.

Less talking, less time with a pen and phone --- things are looking up.

GLENN: Frustrating. Some might celebrate that this is the last day that we have to hear this, but a piece of audio from a press conference yesterday with Barack Obama that made blood shoot directly out of my eyes. And we begin there, right now.

(music)

GLENN: Oh, I -- I don't even know where to begin. Except with the audio. And I'm not sure I'm going to make it through a commentary on it. Here it is: Barack Obama yesterday in the press conference.

OBAMA: That does not, of course, mean that I have enjoyed every story that you have filed, but that's the point of this relationship. You're not supposed to be sycophants. You're supposed to be skeptics. You're supposed to ask me tough questions.

PAT: Unreal.

OBAMA: You're not supposed to be complimentary, but you're supposed to cast a critical eye on folks who hold enormous power --

PAT: Uh-huh.

OBAMA: -- and make sure that we are accountable to the people who sent us here, and you have done that.

You've done it, for the most part, in ways that I could appreciate for fairness, even if I didn't always agree with your conclusions.

(chuckling)

PAT: Wow.

JEFFY: Does that count as making it all the way through?

PAT: Yeah, we -- we did. I think we did.

JEFFY: We made it non-stop.

GLENN: No, I said I couldn't make it through the commentary about it.

JEFFY: Oh.

GLENN: Play -- play his thanks and warning -- because what he was doing yesterday --

PAT: Yeah, he was --

GLENN: -- was he was warning the press, how they have to behave under Donald Trump. And I just -- I just --

PAT: Yeah, because they did it with him. They were skeptics with him, not sycophants.

In fact, he said sink-ophants. Which I don't know what the hell that is.

OBAMA: That does not, of course, mean that I've enjoyed every story that you have filed, but that's the point of this relationship.

PAT: Yeah.

OBAMA: You're not supposed to be sycophants, you're supposed to be skeptics. You're supposed to ask me tough questions. You're not supposed to be complimentary.

GLENN: Stop.

PAT: Like that, what about being enchanted? What's the thing that's enchanted you the most? What a tough question that was. How do you choose what has enchanted --

GLENN: What was the best thing about your first year as president? What was the thing that you were most proud of? That kind of tough questioning from --

PAT: Yeah, that's tough. That's tough.

STU: Yeah, I was actually hoping whoever that reporter was that asked him how he was enchanted by the office, would come back on the last press conference and ask the exact same question. Did not happen, however. He did use the word "enchanted" during the press conference, though. So he brought it back around a little bit. But it was -- you know, look, there were some moments there that maybe that could frustrate you. You know, you're Mr. Bring Us Together, I thought.

PAT: Yeah, yeah.

GLENN: I thought that wasn't you anymore. I thought that was the old Glenn Beck, you know.

GLENN: I didn't say anything about that. I was just pointing out what the president --

STU: Oh, I could tell. I got your tone. I got your tone. And, sure, you could look at that, and you would say -- well, you guys held my feet to the fire in a lot of ways. I guess those ways were invisible ways. But I guess he did.

JEFFY: Yeah.

STU: You could certainly look at that and be critical. However, what have we done today? We have obviously been skeptical of Donald Trump's presidency. We've outlined a few things we have liked about his run-up to the inauguration.

GLENN: A lot of things.

STU: You know, there's some very positive things there.

GLENN: I want to come back to the David Gelernter thing. That's a great thing.

STU: Yeah. And I think we can also -- people say you can't say anything positive about Trump. We've done that today. People say you can't say anything positive about Obama. I think we can do that too.

GLENN: Did I miss something in his --

STU: In his press conference. He outlined something I think we really, really agree with. And listen.

OBAMA: I want to do some writing. I want be quiet a little bit.

GLENN: Oh.

OBAMA: Not hear myself talk so darn much.

STU: Us too.

GLENN: We're there.

PAT: We absolutely agree with that.

STU: We also don't want to hear you talk anymore.

PAT: I don't want to hear him at all.

STU: We can go even further than you.

PAT: 100,000 percent.

GLENN: We have come across lines, and we're holding hands with the president in his last day.

PAT: Wonderful. Wonderful.

STU: He wants to be quiet, and he doesn't want to hear himself talk so darn much. And we don't either.

PAT: And we want the same thing.

GLENN: Wow. There's so much -- and that's a basic fundamental principle of mine.

STU: Right.

GLENN: You know, not hearing him talk so much.

STU: More quiet time.

GLENN: More quiet time for Obama.

STU: Yes. We agree whole-heartedly.

GLENN: Less time with the pen and the phone. And we're going to get that too.

STU: That's nice.

GLENN: Can I take a moment here and just say, "We made it."

PAT: Well, it's tomorrow at noon.

STU: It's tomorrow. It's tomorrow.

PAT: Tomorrow at noon.

STU: Slow your roll. He's still in office.

GLENN: You're right. He's about to suspend the Constitution, declare marshal law, and not go through with the inauguration. Because I've heard that from a lot of people.

STU: A lot of people. And I don't agree with that part of it. However, there were a dozen or two dozen regulations that were pushed through today. I don't have the list of them yet. But something in there can be quite terrible. We still expect him to pardon dozens and dozens and dozens of people that could be dangerous criminals.

GLENN: No. You don't put -- you don't put dozens of regulations through on your last day that are controversial.

STU: No. And you don't pardon the really controversial -- remember, this is a guy who a couple days ago pardoned a -- a terrorist who was targeting the overthrow of the government from --

GLENN: From Puerto Rico.

STU: From Puerto Rico.

GLENN: And bombed government buildings here in the United States. And was planning on bombing several places in Chicago.

STU: They found his apartment stuffed with C4, preparing for these actions.

GLENN: Unrepentant and an avowed communist, who still wants the communist state.

STU: And that was the opening act.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: They said today, it's going to be substantially more of pardons and commutations.

GLENN: You're right. He's already done 209.

PAT: Well, that was the other day. He's done 1597 commutations and pardons during his presidency. Almost 1600. And it will certainly surpass that today.

STU: By far the most. It was 273, just the other day. Two hundred nine commutations, sixty-four pardons.

PAT: Just the other day.

GLENN: Okay. So 209. And they said it's going to be substantially more today. It's kind of like, what is a few? Is a few three or is a few five? What does substantially more mean to this president?

STU: Because the way it was written, in theory, it could mean there will be a significant amount more, right? So like you had --

GLENN: It said substantially more.

STU: It said substantially more. So it could be another 50. Like that's a substantial amount, right? That's in addition to the 273.

PAT: Or it could be 500.

STU: The way I read it was substantially more that 273. So I don't know which one it's going to be.

GLENN: Right. I think it's more than 273. I think substantially more -- the way I read that, I'm expecting 1,000.

STU: You know what I was expecting -- I was thinking yesterday -- you made the great point yesterday, let's say in theory he just decided to -- everyone who had a marijuana-only conviction in prison, he could just say let them go. And I thought that was an interesting point. I don't know how you could do that pragmatically. You have to do them all individually.

GLENN: Are you in federal prison for marijuana?

STU: You can be, yeah. So theoretically, you know, that could happen. But, again, you'd have to do them all individually. He would have to be preparing for this for a long time. The other one that popped into my head on that same road though was, what about immigration? He knows that Donald Trump has been running on, we're not going to get rid of any of these dream acts. These executive orders. Couldn't he go through and pick whatever his 20, 50, 100, 1,000 best cases are as far as immigration law and exempt them from prosecution on those things?

PAT: Uh-huh.

STU: Because they're not citizens, there might be a weird line there, but in theory, he could probably do that to a lot of people before he walks out and implement his law -- and that would not be one that Trump would reverse.

GLENN: No, he can't. Because it's not executive order. This is presidential privilege.

STU: Yeah, presidential pardon. He's in the Constitution. He's allowed to do it.

PAT: And there's the Hillary thing. Will he pardon her in advance of any --

GLENN: No. Because nobody is going to go --

STU: Trump has pretty much said that. I don't want to hassle the family anymore, is pretty much what he said.

GLENN: No, she's done. She's gone, and they're not going to do a thing about it.

STU: I will say, someone polled the New York mayoral race. And Clinton was up by something like 20 points over de Blasio. So she -- I mean, that's still a big gig. If she wants a role like that, she might be able to get it. She might not be gone.

GLENN: Go ahead, New York. Take her.

STU: She would probably be better than de Blasio, to be honest.

GLENN: Oh, yeah, she would be. She would be.

STU: They're both nightmares. But she probably would actually be better for New York.

GLENN: Yeah. And the crime families would like her too.

RADIO

Could passengers have SAVED Iryna Zarutska?

Surveillance footage of the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, NC, reveals that the other passengers on the train took a long time to help her. Glenn, Stu, and Jason debate whether they were right or wrong to do so.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You know, I'm -- I'm torn on how I feel about the people on the train.

Because my first instinct is, they did nothing! They did nothing! Then my -- well, sit down and, you know -- you know, you're going to be judged. So be careful on judging others.

What would I have done? What would I want my wife to do in that situation?

STU: Yeah. Are those two different questions, by the way.

GLENN: Yeah, they are.

STU: I think they go far apart from each other. What would I want myself to do. I mean, it's tough to put yourself in a situation. It's very easy to watch a video on the internet and talk about your heroism. Everybody can do that very easily on Twitter. And everybody is.

You know, when you're in a vehicle that doesn't have an exit with a guy who just murdered somebody in front of you, and has a dripping blood off of a knife that's standing 10 feet away from you, 15 feet away from you.

There's probably a different standard there, that we should all kind of consider. And maybe give a little grace to what I saw at least was a woman, sitting across the -- the -- the aisle.

I think there is a difference there. But when you talk about that question. Those two questions are definitive.

You know, I know what I would want myself to do. I would hope I would act in a way that didn't completely embarrass myself afterward.

But I also think, when I'm thinking of my wife. My advice to my wife would not be to jump into the middle of that situation at all costs. She might do that anyway. She actually is a heck of a lot stronger than I am.

But she might do it anyway.

GLENN: How pathetic, but how true.

STU: Yes. But that would not be my advice to her.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: Now, maybe once the guy has certainly -- is out of the area. And you don't think the moment you step into that situation. He will turn around and kill you too. Then, of course, obviously. Anything you can do to step in.

Not that there was much anyone on the train could do.

I mean, I don't think there was an outcome change, no matter what anyone on that train did.

Unfortunately.

But would I want her to step in?

Of course. If she felt she was safe, yes.

Think about, you said, your wife. Think about your daughter. Your daughter is on that train, just watching someone else getting murdered like that. Would you advise your daughter to jump into a situation like that?

That girl sitting across the aisle was somebody's daughter. I don't know, man.

JASON: I would. You know, as a dad, would I advise.

Hmm. No.

As a human being, would I hope that my daughter or my wife or that I would get up and at least comfort that woman while she's dying on the floor of a train?

Yeah.

I would hope that my daughter, my son, that I would -- and, you know, I have more confidence in my son or daughter or my wife doing something courageous more than I would.

But, you know, I think I have a more realistic picture of myself than anybody else.

And I'm not sure that -- I'm not sure what I would do in that situation. I know what I would hope I would do. But I also know what I fear I would do. But I would have hoped that I would have gotten up and at least tried to help her. You know, help her up off the floor. At least be there with her, as she's seeing her life, you know, spill out in under a minute.

And that's it other thing we have to keep in mind. This all happened so rapidly.

A minute is -- will seem like a very long period of time in that situation. But it's a very short period of time in real life.

STU: Yeah. You watch the video, Glenn. You know, I don't need the video to -- to change my -- my position on this.

But at his seem like there was a -- someone who did get there, eventually, to help, right? I saw someone seemingly trying to put pressure on her neck.

GLENN: Yeah. And tried to give her CPR.

STU: You know, no hope at that point. How long of a time period would you say that was?

Do you know off the top of your head?

GLENN: I don't know. I don't know. I know that we watched the video that I saw. I haven't seen past 30 seconds after she --

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: -- is down. And, you know, for 30 seconds nothing is happening. You know, that is -- that is not a very long period of time.

STU: Right.

GLENN: In reality.

STU: And especially, I saw the pace he was walking. He certainly can't be -- you know, he may have left the actual train car by 30 seconds to a minute. But he wasn't that far away. Like he was still in visual.

He could still turn around and look and see what's going on at that point. So certainly still a threat is my point. He has not, like, left the area. This is not that type of situation.

You know, I -- look, as you point out, I think if I could be super duper sexist for a moment here, sort of my dividing line might just be men and women.

You know, I don't know if it's that a -- you're not supposed to say that, I suppose these days. But, like, there is a difference there. If I'm a man, you know, I would be -- I would want my son to jump in on that, I suppose. I don't know if he could do anything about it. But you would expect at least a grown man to be able to go in there and do something about it. A woman, you know, I don't know.

Maybe I'm -- I hope --

GLENN: Here's the thing I -- here's the thing that I -- that causes me to say, no. You should have jumped in.

And that is, you know, you've already killed one person on the train. So you've proven that you're a killer. And anybody who would have screamed and got up and was with her, she's dying. She's dying. Get him. Get him.

Then the whole train is responsible for stopping that guy. You know. And if you don't stop him, after he's killed one person, if you're not all as members of that train, if you're not stopping him, you know, the person at the side of that girl would be the least likely to be killed. It would be the ones that are standing you up and trying to stop him from getting back to your daughter or your wife or you.

JASON: There was a -- speaking of men and women and their roles in this. There was a video circling social media yesterday. In Sweden. There was a group of officials up on a stage. And one of the main. I think it was health official woman collapses on stage. Completely passes out.

All the men kind of look away. Or I don't know if they're looking away. Or pretending that they didn't know what was going on. There was another woman standing directly behind the woman passed out.

Immediately springs into action. Jumps on top. Grabs her pant leg. Grabs her shoulder. Spins her over and starts providing care.

What did she have that the other guys did not? Or women?

She was a sheepdog. There is a -- this is my issue. And I completely agree with Stu. I completely agree with you. There's some people that do not respond this way. My issue is the proportion of sheepdogs versus people that don't really know how to act. That is diminishing in western society. And American society.

We see it all the time in these critical actions. I mean, circumstances.

There are men and women, and it's actually a meme. That fantasize about hoards of people coming to attack their home and family. And they sit there and say, I've got it. You guys go. I'm staying behind, while I smoke my cigarette and wait for the hoards to come, because I will sacrifice myself. There are men and women that fantasize of block my highway. Go ahead. Block my highway. I'm going to do something about it. They fantasize about someone holding up -- not a liquor store. A convenience store or something. Because they will step in and do something. My issue now is that proportion of sheepdogs in society is disappearing. Just on statistical fact, there should be one within that train car, and there were none.

STU: Yeah. I mean --

JASON: They did not respond.

STU: We see what happens when they do, with Daniel Penny. Our society tries to vilify them and crush their existence. Now, there weren't that many people on that train. Right?

At least on that car. At least it's limited. I only saw three or four people there, there may have been more. I agree with you, though. Like, you see what happens when we actually do have a really recent example of someone doing exactly what Jason wants and what I would want a guy to do. Especially a marine to step up and stop this from happening. And the man was dragged by our legal system to a position where he nearly had to spend the rest of his life in prison.

I mean, I -- it's insanity. Thankfully, they came to their senses on that one.

GLENN: Well, the difference between that one and this one though is that the guy was threatening. This one, he killed somebody.

STU: Yeah. Right. Well, but -- I think -- but it's the opposite way. The debate with Penny, was should he have recognize that had this person might have just been crazy and not done anything?

Maybe. He hadn't actually acted yet. He was just saying things.

GLENN: Yeah. Well --

STU: He didn't wind up stabbing someone. This is a situation where these people have already seen what this man will do to you, even when you don't do anything to try to stop him. So if this woman, who is, again, looks to be an average American woman.

Across the aisle. Steps in and tries to do something. This guy could easily turn around and just make another pile of dead bodies next to the one that already exists.

And, you know, whether that is an optimal solution for our society, I don't know that that's helpful.

In that situation.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Max Lucado on Overcoming Grief in Dark Times | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 266

Disclaimer: This episode was filmed prior to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. But Glenn believes Max's message is needed now more than ever.
The political world is divided, constantly at war with itself. In many ways, our own lives are not much different. Why do we constantly focus on the negative? Why are we in pain? Where is God amid our anxiety and fear? Why can’t we ever seem to change? Pastor Max Lucado has found the solution: Stop thinking like that! It may seem easier said than done, but Max joins Glenn Beck to unpack the three tools he describes in his new book, “Tame Your Thoughts,” that make it easy for us to reset the way we think back to God’s factory settings. In this much-needed conversation, Max and Glenn tackle everything from feeling doubt as a parent to facing unfair hardships to ... UFOs?! Plus, Max shares what he recently got tattooed on his arm.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Are Demonic Forces to Blame for Charlie Kirk, Minnesota & Charlotte Killings?

This week has seen some of the most heinous actions in recent memory. Glenn has been discussing the growth of evil in our society, and with the assassination of civil rights leader Charlie Kirk, the recent transgender shooter who took the lives of two children at a Catholic school, and the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, how can we make sense of all this evil? On today's Friday Exclusive, Glenn speaks with BlazeTV host of "Strange Encounters" Rick Burgess to discuss the demon-possessed transgender shooter and the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk. Rick breaks down the reality of demon possession and how individuals wind up possessed. Rick and Glenn also discuss the dangers of the grotesque things we see online and in movies, TV shows, and video games on a daily basis. Rick warns that when we allow our minds to be altered by substances like drugs or alcohol, it opens a door for the enemy to take control. A supernatural war is waging in our society, and it’s a Christian’s job to fight this war. Glenn and Rick remind Christians of what their first citizenship is.

Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn Finds Kumbaya Moment With Obama on His Last Full Day

Could passengers have SAVED Iryna Zarutska?

Transcript

Max Lucado on Overcoming Grief in Dark Times | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 266

Are Demonic Forces to Blame for Charlie Kirk, Minnesota & Charlotte Killings?

Here’s what we know about the suspected Charlie Kirk assassin