BLOGMarch 21, 2017

World's Best Trump Impersonator Talks With Glenn. It's YUGE.

Glenn welcomed a very special visitor in studio today. John Di Domenico, a professional comedian and voice artist, does a spot-on, killer impersonation of Donald Trump. He's been doing it for years and realized it was going to be YUGE when Trump won the nomination during the primary and later the presidency. Domenico gave the inside scoop on how he noticed what the media missed --- the enthusiasm Americans had for Trump.

Enjoy the complimentary clip above or read the transcript below for details.

GLENN: Hello, America. And welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. You're going to appreciate this much more, if you're watching us. But give us 30 seconds if you're on radio, and you will appreciate it just as much. We have a guest in the former Oval. Go ahead. Pan over to him. We begin there, right now.

(music)

JOHN: Good morning, everybody.

GLENN: Honestly, I don't even know how to introduce. I don't even know how to introduce. Other than this is the guy you see on Conan all the time. And I think he's the real -- I think he's the real deal. I think this is -- how are you?

JOHN: I'm fantastic. So excited to be here. Tremendous. You guys are amazing. I don't any of you, but I think you're great. And Glenn has been so supportive of me for so long. He's said such wonderful things about me. And on his latest book -- I'm on the cover, and that's why it's a million seller. I'm on the cover. Did you notice that? None of his other books have done well. Why would you write a book on broke? Bad move. Bad move.

I have to tell you, stupid, stupid title. But I like you, though, you're good. I've written a lot of books too. A lot of books. Best-selling books.

GLENN: Right. But I haven't really been helpful for you.

JOHN: Really? You haven't?

GLENN: No.

JOHN: In that case, you're a lightweight loser. You're doing a terrible job. I've always said you're terrible. I've always said that from the beginning. Now that I know this about you.

GLENN: Right. Right.

JOHN: Really amazing. You were on CNN, you blew that gig. Then you were on Fox, you blew that gig. Now we're in this place. Folks, we're in a double wide trailer, I don't think you know -- realize that. He's not doing well, believe me.

GLENN: John Di Domenico is the voice you're hearing right now, doing Donald Trump. And the hair -- how much -- I mean, how did you do -- I mean, how much did that hair cost?

JOHN: That's four grand.

GLENN: Seriously? Four grand? That hair?

JOHN: Yeah. I have three of these.

PAT: Four thousand dollars? Wow.

GLENN: And they're not 4,000 each.

JOHN: Yeah, they're 4,000 each.

GLENN: Shut the hell up.

JOHN: Yeah. They take 90 hours to make. They're -- every single hair is hand-pulled.

GLENN: I don't know if he's -- I don't know if you're doing --

JOHN: Well, I'm kind of in between.

I can tell you about the hair. It's Trump hair. Tremendous hair. Best hair --

GLENN: Right. Okay. So drop the -- drop the effect here for a second. Talk to me about the hair.

JOHN: Okay. The hair is -- the hair is -- the very first wig I ever had was made by Bob Kelly. He used to do all the wigs for all the Broadway shows and Saturday Night Live. And this goes back at least 12 years ago.

And those wigs are human hair wigs that are hand-pulled. They measure my head, and then they build a frame. And then they just pull the hairs through. And it's called ventilating. That's why the hair -- your hair goes in different directions. Grows in different directions. So they ventilate the wig so it's closest to the actual style. I get three or four wears out of this. Then it has to be washed.

GLENN: How many wears out of this?

JOHN: Three or four.

PAT: That's it?

JOHN: No, no, no. Then they go to my wig person. They wash and style it. Because once there's too much product in it, it just -- it is human hair. So it's got to be restyled and redone.

JEFFY: I need a wig person.

JOHN: Yeah.

GLENN: You need three or four of these wigs?

JOHN: Well, because I'm always traveling. So I'll go home for a couple of hours. Switch out wigs. My wig person will come by, pick them up and then wash one or two.

GLENN: This has been tremendous for you as a human being, hasn't it? I mean, you're hoping for eight years.

JOHN: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: Country could be on fire. And you're, still like, whatever.

JOHN: Yeah, I don't care. Rome is burning.

(laughter)

GLENN: So is it amazing to you that nobody could do -- nobody had the balls to put an impression of Barack Obama on television. They all said, oh, he wasn't funny.

JOHN: I don't think he had -- comedically, there's just not -- there's something there -- there's such a well with Trump. And it goes back so far. You look at his lexicon. You look at statements that he's made. You look at where he's been. How he's done it. There's just this reservoir of material. And, you know, Barack Obama was so guarded, that the most you could do was, here's a deal. You know, there just wasn't a lot to pull out. Comedically, he's so guarded. But you have somebody like Bill Clinton, he was much easier to like -- there was just more comedy to mine from somebody --

GLENN: Did you think -- because you've been doing Donald Trump for how many years?

JOHN: Since 2004.

GLENN: And you really studied him.

JOHN: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: You're looking at me like he does, and sitting in this room, which is the Oval.

JOHN: Which is the Oval Office. Which I now own. I bought the White House. Great view, by the way.

GLENN: Right.

JOHN: No one makes deals like me, I have to tell you.

GLENN: Right. So --

(laughter)

You really have to -- go to GlennBeck.com and watch this. You have to watch it. It's so funny.

PAT: That's great.

GLENN: The -- when you studied in the beginning of 2004, just because he was a great character?

JOHN: No, what happened was -- I worked in the New York market, and I always got calls for tougher voices, for voiceovers. I do about 30 characters, full makeup. And I gotten the call, and somebody said, "Hey, are you doing Donald Trump yet?"

And this was the first season. The Apprentice had just ended. And I said, no, not really. Said, we have an audition on Monday for you, if you can learn the voice.

So I was like, jeez.

And I said, give me an hour. And I did some real quick research. And the only person at the time who was doing it at all was Phil Hartman on SNL, and he had done it on Church Lady a number of times.

So I didn't really have a lot of resource material to really draw from. So I ran out and bought that first season of The Apprentice that just happened to come out.

And I sat there, locked myself in my house, and I broke his voice down by elements, which is throat placement, nasal placement, vocal production, cadence, and that's how I kind of usually break voices down. And then I worked on figuring out -- he doesn't sound like anyone from New York. So I had to figure out --

JEFFY: Right.

JOHN: So I wanted to find a voice similar to his. And the only person that I knew other than him from Queens was another guy who spoke in a very, very staccato way, like Christopher Walken.

GLENN: Walken. Yeah.

JOHN: And Walken, you wouldn't necessarily think is a New Yorker if you hear him speak.

JEFFY: No, you wouldn't.

JOHN: And Trump when he speaks, you don't necessarily think of him as a New Yorker, unless he uses certain words.

(laughter)

GLENN: Does it help -- did you pick up the mannerisms? Does that help you --

JOHN: It helps me. It helps me. Yeah. Especially when I'm doing voiceovers and things like that. Even when I'm doing the Conan calls, I'm buying furniture in my house. Because I have a small studio in my house, and I'm whacking the mic and everything else.

But it's just such a big part of who he is because it really -- I have to tell you, tremendous. Tremendous. You know. Even when he was on the -- when he was at the CIA. You know, watching one of the news -- one I don't like. I don't like it.

And they say, Donald Trump doesn't draw. He's so physical. And it's a very dynamic impersonation. He's very dynamic, in that two years ago, he wasn't this physical. And he constricts his voice and he loosens his voice. And he's going up and going down. And things he had never done early on. Because he used to be, Glenn, your team did a terrible job, you're fired. That was it.

Guys, you're selling lemonade. That was the most you saw of him.

GLENN: Right.

JOHN: And it seemed the more he was on the campaign trail, especially with these stump speeches, he just became looser and looser.

GLENN: At what point did you think to yourself, I've got a freaking gold mine?

JOHN: I just knew -- people were calling me as soon as he announced. Friends. Because I had been doing him so long. And said, dude, you're set. You're set, man. It's going to be incredible.

And I said, hold on. Let's see if he doesn't implode first. Because four years before, he had run. He was toying with running. And I remember at the very end of -- literally the day before he dropped out, he was speaking in front of the -- I live in Las Vegas. He was speaking at a Las Vegas Republican women's group, and he dropped the F bomb three times.

And I remember thinking, he's dropping out. He dropped out the next day. Because he kind of lays the groundwork before he does something. And he dropped the three F bombs, and everyone was shocked. And he was out the next day. When he announced this last time in June of 2015, I thought, okay. Well, let's -- let's see what happens, if the work starts coming in.

And we were about a month in, and he made the John McCain comments. And I thought, well, that was a good run. That was -- yeah. I guess I'll go back to Austin Powers. It was really -- and then his number went up. And his numbers kept going up. And I thought, "You know what, if he can make it to the first debate, I'm set for the fall. I'm set for the fall." And then he did that first debate, and he crushed it. And the phone started ringing off the hook.

And by that time, I was on Red Eye on Fox, and I had already been on Conan. And other calls were happening. And the corporate work was coming in. And voiceovers were -- it already started. And then by August of this past year, 2016, I was being interviewed by the -- not the BBC, by Channel 4. They had flown me to DC to do some interviews. And most of the interviews I did last year -- I did a ton of them. They always said, who are you voting for? Which I always thought was a dumb question. Who cares who I'm voting for?

They said, "Who do you think will win?" And I said, "Trump will win in a landslide." I had been on the road for well over a year now. I've done hundreds of events. It doesn't matter what corporate group I do or where I do it. It's always overwhelmingly for Trump. And --

GLENN: What is it that the media missed?

JOHN: They missed the fact --

GLENN: Say it like Trump.

JOHN: They missed the fact that people are upset. They want a leader. They want someone with bravado. They want someone who has real accomplishments and someone who is going to say whatever he wants to say. And that was the thing that he missed, that he --

GLENN: Do you believe he is that caricature? Because people always say, when they meet with him, he's a totally different guy? So which is he? What is he?

JOHN: Well, you know, that's a great question. I say to people, you'll see he's different in different situations. Even when he's doing interviews. If he's being interviewed by Sean Hannity, he's one way. If it's Bill O'Reilly, it's another way. If it's Scott Pelley, it's another way. He assumes different styles each time.

GLENN: Right. But they're still all him.

JOHN: They're still all him, yeah. But I think when he's -- when he's out and about, you know -- if you've seen -- he's a certain way. This is tremendous. Look at this place. This is amazing. This is an amazing event. I have to tell you, it's incredible. Best of the best.

So I think what was missed was the fact that he's -- he -- he -- the enthusiasm part was so important. They didn't get the fact that people were really enthusiastic about him. And they were incredibly unenthusiastic about Hillary. And I remember this clearly. I was in New York, which was pretty much Hillary country. I was doing an event, about 500 people. And I do this bit in the act, where I come out, and basically I say, I've been told there's over 5,000 people here today. It's usually a much smaller crowd. The press -- the press -- terrible people, the press. They're going to say there's 400 and we're in a banquet hall. Terrible.

And I say, just -- listen, listen, listen, we're all friends here. Right? We're all friends, right? I just want to do a quick poll, quick poll. Who here wants to ruin the country and vote for crooked Hillary? And the Clinton -- these were the people voting for her. It was so unenthusiastic. And this was a less than a quarter of the group. He said, all right, who is going to vote for me and make the country great again? Overwhelmingly, it was him.

GLENN: These were Clinton people. In Clinton country.

JOHN: You would think in New York, yeah. And I remember, early on, I was at a hotel in San Diego of all places -- I'm constantly on the road. Constantly in hotels, airports. I mean, in character, I'm in hotels.

And I would walk down to my room one time, and the cleaning lady said, Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump, can I get a photo of you, Mr. Trump?

And I said, sure, of course. What's your name?

My name is Esmeralda, Mr. Trump.

And I said, are you going to vote for me?

Goes, yes, I'm going to vote for you, Mr. Trump. I love you.

You love me?

Yes, I love you, Mr. Trump. I want you to build the wall.

That happened like five times.

JEFFY: Yeah, I bet.

GLENN: Wow.

JOHN: I had a Muslim driver in New York. I was out of character. They picked me up at the airport. And the guy said --

GLENN: But you're dressed like this?

JOHN: No, I was in street clothes. I was in street clothes. And he said, what do you do? And I said, oh, I'm a comedian.

He said, what kind of comedy?

And I said, oh, I'm a personator.

He's like, who do you do?

And I said, oh, Dr. Phil. Dr. Evil. Donald Trump.

Donald! You do Mr. Trump! You do Mr. Trump!

And I said, yeah. I do Donald Trump. And I mentioned the different stuff.

He goes, I love Donald Trump. I love Donald Trump.

I said, really? I said, why? He goes, he's going to draw a line between me and the terrorists. I love America. I love America. And he's going to draw a line.

PAT: That's great. Wow.

JOHN: I was thinking, wow, I never -- and I took all these things. And I was like, all these things are happening. I'm thinking, this guy is going to win. It doesn't seem -- every corner.

GLENN: What is the one thing -- you know what, I have to take a quick break. We'll come right back.

JOHN: Sure.

RADIO

Why RFK Jr.’s Former Running Mate OPPOSES Casey Means for Surgeon General

President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Casey Means for Surgeon General had many MAHA fans cheering. But RFK Jr.’s former running mate, BlazeTV host Nicole Shanahan, has major reservations. She joins Glenn, who has been a fan of Casey, to explain why she believes there are stronger candidates. Means, Shanahan claims, may have “conflicts of interest” because of the “biometric harvesting company” she founded and its close ties to Silicon Valley. Shanahan also questions whether RFK Jr. is playing “political 4D chess,” or if she was lied to when she was promised that the Means siblings wouldn’t be in government. Is RFK Jr. reporting to someone other than Trump? Shanahan explains why she believes it’s possible.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Nicole Shanahan. Nicole, how are you?

NICOLE: Glenn, how are you doing?

GLENN: I am very good. It's great to have you here.

So I want to ask you, the Surgeon General thing, are you for Casey Means? Or not for Casey Means?

NICOLE: Well, I will tell you who I am for, Glenn.

GLENN: Okay.

NICOLE: I'm for all of those Americans. Those hundreds of thousands of doctors, seeking truth, honesty, and dignity in our medical system once again. That is what I'm for. That is what propels MAHA into existence.

That's what propels Bobby Kennedy into the position of running for president of the United States. That's why I joined the campaign. It really is about listening to this group of doctors that did the right thing during the COVID pandemic.

That spoke up, when it was dangerous to speak up.

That lost their licenses. And so when I hear from that base, concern or research. About individuals, in and around MAHA.

I have to listen to them.

And I do listen to them.

Because oftentimes, they are right. They're brave, and they're principled. So the concern I've been hearing from that group of people is that MAHA -- you know, any movement. MAGA had this issue too of infiltration by different groups that are more self-serving, than they are for the movement itself.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

NICOLE: And so just one example, Casey Means is a founder of a company that does biometric harvesting. She's very close with many of the big data biometric harvesting companies.

In Silicon Valley. And this -- I noticed with all these people. You do not want them running in a government position that is responsible for everybody equally. Right?

GLENN: So wait. Wait. Wait.

What is -- what is that?

They're harvesting, what?

NICOLE: Well, so biometric data is anything between heart rate data, to all of the data that is collected from your FitBit or high glucose monitor. It could be labs. It could be -- then there's all the DNA harvesting. And big data that's being done.

So, you know, I think that the base -- MAHA really came from medical freedom. And medical sovereignty.

And the idea that we have to keep conflicts of interests. Out of the government.

And so when I -- you know, see some stuff going on. That we could be doing better.

Right?

Our job.

And I learned this from the MAGA base.

Our job is to ton seek the best possible people. For government, that are truly putting the principles of this country first.

The principles of American sovereignty first.

GLENN: So you wrote yesterday.

It's very strange. It doesn't make any sense. I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in the Senate confirmation, that neither of these siblings would be working under HHS or an appointment.

And that people much more qualified would be. I don't know -- I'm sorry.

RFK very clearly lied to me. Or what's going on. It's been clear in recent conversations that he's reporting to someone regularly, who is controlling his decisions, and it isn't President Trump.

With regards to the siblings, there is something very artificial and aggressive about them. Almost as if they were bred and raised as Manchurian assets. Wow!

NICOLE: So keep in mind, I was responding to Dr. Suzanne Humphries.

Who was also expressing very similar sentiment.

GLENN: Concern. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

NICOLE: Concern. There's better candidates.

So what's going on? I also heard from other MDs in the field.

That there was another doctor that RFK had wanted for the position. Very, very qualified doctor.

And -- and, you know, he was caught by surprise as well. By -- by this other choice.

So, you know, there's -- again, they -- they don't call it the swamp for no reason. Right?

GLENN: Right.

NICOLE: And, you know, I'm not officially within the administration at all.

In fact, I decided to take the path of staying an independent --

GLENN: Smart.

NICOLE: -- media person. Which I think -- I think and you know this, Glenn. It's really important that when you are an independent media voice, that you -- you stick by your principles. And that you are not just a mouthpiece for any government organizations.

That you're really on the outside, reflecting back the hopes and wishes of the constituents.

GLENN: Yeah. There's -- it's very hard to do.

I mean, I take stances against the president.

And for the president. You always have to -- you always have to balance, you know, I have my opinion.

And I'm never going to be bought out by anybody.

I'm never. But you also want to make sure that you're being fair to the people that you trust. And I know you have trusted RFK for a very, very long time.

And for what struck me on this. Is, you know, I don't know if RFK lied to me. Which I hope he didn't, or what's going on. It's been clear in recent conversation that he is reporting to someone regularly, who is controlling his decisions.

That's a remarkable thing to say, especially about RFK.

Because he does not strike me as somebody who is afraid of somebody else.

NICOLE: You know, I don't know if it's fear or that he's playing political 4D chess. And, again, they don't call it the swamp for no reason.

It's just, at some point, there's certain decisions, that are worth fighting for.

And I do appreciate what a very complex political environment this is.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

NICOLE: And I do understand that even within these agencies, there are groups that are intentionally keeping and withholding information from the new leadership.

So, you know, I -- I fully appreciate how complicated it is.

So I fully appreciate how complicated it all is, but there are definitely things that the base is -- is, you know, like, this is an easy one. This could have gone better. Right?

You don't truly -- and, you know, everyone is guessing what precisely this 4D chess is all about. And why these moves are being made. And trying to anticipate the next one.

But it's something that I think that, you know, there's just certain things that indicate that whomever he's giving -- whoever his chess coach is. Could be making some better decisions for him. And --

GLENN: But Casey.

I mean, when I talk to the twins, during -- or after COVID.

They seemed pretty clear on what was bad and what was good.

They -- they both seemed to be good on -- on COVID. And the vaccines. Didn't they?

Or is my memory --

JEFFY: They talk a great talk.

I will say, I was once a fan of it as well.

It was only after I received many comments from individuals, in and around the transition team.

As well as new research that came up.

And then really, like, you know, when the base expresses these things and provides that degree of inquiry, and it shows that kind of concern.

I think we owe it to them.

GLENN: Yes. I agree. I agree.

ANNA: Yeah.

GLENN: So overall, how do you feel things are going?

NICOLE: I think, again, there's been a lot of focus around food dives. Meanwhile, there's millions of people suffering from vaccine injuries, that still feel very neglected.

So I do think -- I do appreciate the executive order, regarding gain of function and limiting overseas research.

GLENN: And shutting down a dangerous -- and shutting down a very dangerous bio lab here.

NICOLE: Yes. And there are many of these bio labs that are kind of flying under the radar.

GLENN: Right.

NICOLE: So it's a big step in the right decisions sedition. I'm a huge Jay Bhattacharya fan. Probably one of his biggest.

I really am excited for him, as he built out his team.

I hope, he has a very, very strong team around him. In the next coming weeks. Because he's going need to it.

As far as HHS goes, you know, I would love to see Bobby bring in more of those doctors that have been around him for the last ten years, very regularly.

Because these are the individuals that, you know, I -- I trust these people with my life. They have sacrificed everything to do the right thing time and time again.

They are so deeply principled. They will never take a check over helping a patient out.

And they actually do have the answers. So I'm hoping to see more of those people around Bobby too.

GLENN: So I'm wondering because this is the way I feel about a couple of things with the FBI. And Intel.

That if I don't see some people in the next year or so, go to jail, or at least brought in for a fair and honest trial, you know. I don't want to just scoop people up. And just assume that they're guilty.

But build a good, strong case. Bring it to trial.

Have it a fair and honest trial. And let the chips fall where they may.

But if I don't see some prosecution, at least. I think I'm very upset at the G O.J.

Pam Bondi. Head of the FBI. Kash Patel. And I don't -- and I'm trusting them so far, that they are doing that.

Do you feel the same way at all, about -- you know, if you don't see some people who go to jail there, that clearly lied about the vaccines.

If they don't go to jail. You have -- you really haven't fixed anything.

You're just eating around the edges.

NICOLE: Yeah. Yeah. I think that really explains it. And this is why I think it's important to continue to voice those concerns, because they're only going to grow and mount.

And it really is the American people, that were sold this vision of accountability.

And as we want to see it. We have to see it. Anywhere. Several months into the administration now.

HHS, you know, lags behind the Oval Office in terms of getting going.

But they're -- people were seriously injured. There were many crimes committed against the American public.

Crimes committed against our bravest doctors. Crimes committed against children.

We need accountability.

We really, really need to see that.

Because, you know, there's -- there's a preciousness in this moment. We have to -- we have to deliver. This country deserves it.

GLENN: And, I mean, if we're -- if we can't correct the things that, for instance. Washington State. Just passed a law where if there is another pandemic, everybody seems to be, you know, claiming there's another one, right around the corner.

But if there is another pandemic, that they will have absolute control, over what you put into your body. And what you do. That's terrifying.

NICOLE: I do.

And those emergency orders, they will scrutinize them. They have revisions.

GLENN: Washington State just revised it to just codify it. Washington State just codified it. It's crazy.

NICOLE: Yeah. Yeah.

So I would like to see more focus around that, not Red Dye 40 and not Kellogg's.

I'm totally fine leaving Kellogg's alone, in favor of HHS spending. All of its energy. And all of its focus. And all of its leverage, making sure that we are actually properly ready for the next pandemic.

And not to cause the catastrophic harm, that was caused during COVID-19.

GLENN: Nicole Shanahan. She's got the podcast Back To the People. And it's now coming to Blaze Media.

It's the same podcast she's been doing. Now as she says, with a wider reach. Glad to have you.

Nicole, thank you very much.

NICOLE: Thanks, it's a pleasure to come on.

GLENN: We'll talk to you again.

Is America’s Grid a Ticking Time Bomb? Trump’s Energy Secretary REACTS | Glenn TV | Ep 430

President Trump is working hard to right the wrongs of the Biden administration. But did Biden harm our energy grid even more than we thought? While Glenn was on vacation in Italy, two other European countries — Spain and Portugal — suffered one of the biggest blackouts in their history. The mainstream media, as they always do, rushed to blame it on ANYTHING other than the countries’ heavy reliance on unreliable green energy. But Glenn has the receipts and the evidence that leftists tried to make America’s grid just as unreliable. Glenn speaks with Energy Secretary Chris Wright about how the Trump administration is reversing these dangerous policies. Secretary Wright also discusses his department’s discovery that Biden shoveled out $93 BILLION in energy loans after Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election and before Trump could take office. Plus, he comments on Trump’s plans to deal with OPEC, why Trump must refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and why Trump is planning the biggest energy project in American history to help accommodate AI. But first, Glenn recaps the biggest media lies that he missed while on vacation. Topping the list: Are these elitists like Axios and Jen Psaki finally admitting that they lied about Biden’s cognitive decline, or do they STILL not get that their charade is over?

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Is the New American Pope Catholic? | Bishop Strickland | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 256

A new pope has been chosen! As the recording of this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast" began, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the selection of the first American pope. Glenn and Bishop Joseph Strickland react live to the news as the whole world wonders if Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, will continue in the ways of his predecessor Pope Francis or go a more traditional route. Bishop Strickland, who was removed from office by Pope Francis, says the former pope pushed a church “in the world and of the world” and reviews “duplicity,” “corruption,” and potential abuse overlooked by the Vatican, including the infamous McCarrick scandal. The pair discuss the resurgence of the Latin Mass, globalism, the Catholic Church’s approach to homosexuality and gender identity, and whether the Shroud of Turin is an “icon” or a “relic.” As the new pope greets the world, Glenn asks, “If we have a more progressive pope, does that set the Church back?” Bishop Strickland advises that “even if we are disappointed and dismayed,” we must pray and keep our focus on God.

RADIO

Zuckerberg Wants to Give You AI “Friends” … To CONTROL You?

Meta and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has a new goal: to give lonely Americans AI “friends.” But Glenn sounds the alarm: this must NEVER happen! Glenn explains the hidden danger in Zuckerberg’s seemingly kindhearted plan: “AI cannot, must not, and will never be your friend.” Opening that door will only give Meta insane levels of potential for manipulation and control over you.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Let's start with this: Mark Zuckerberg. Good guy. I mean, he brought us Facebook.

And, you know, that is the thing that brought all of us together.

Brought out families together. All the people that we lost touch with.

Oh, the world is so much better now that we have Facebook.

So now, he's got another idea. Could we play the clip of Mark Zuckerberg?

VOICE: There's a stat that I honestly think is crazy. The average American has I think it's fewer than three friends. Three people they consider friends. And the average person has demand for meaningfully more. I think it's 15 friends or something.

I guess there's probably at some point, I'm too busy. I can't deal with more people. But the average person wants more connectivity, connection than they have. So, you know, there's a lot of questions that people ask.

Of stuff like, okay. Is this going to replace kind of in person connections or real life connections?

And my default is that the answer to that is probably no.

I think it -- it -- I think that there are all these things that are better kind of about physical connections, when you can have them.

But the reality is that people just don't have the connection when they feel more alone, a lot of the time, than they would like.

GLENN: Hmm. True.

Now, let me ask you. Is there a time when you don't remember feeling so isolated? When you didn't really feel like I don't have any real friends?

When you didn't -- you had real connections with people, instead of a million connections with people that are your friends, but not really your friends?

Can you think of a time, way back in history?

I mean, probably have to go back to the cavemen, to find a time.

Oh. Before Facebook, and social media!

When we weren't all killing ourself, because we have no meaning.

Now, from the people who brought you kill yourself, because you've been on Facebook too much.

Brings you new AI friends. Oh, this is going to be good.

By the way, you know, that's a crazy stat, I think the average American has, what? Three friends. And they have a capacity for, I don't know. Fifteen or 20. I don't know.

Really think about it right now.

How many true friends, do you have?

How many true friends?

People that when you are down and out, there is nothing -- the whole world is against you!

That that person will actually stand by your side. And go, yeah.

I'm their friend.

And I don't care what you say.

How many? How many do you have?

I think I would count myself lucky if I have three.

Now, I have a lot of consequences.

I have a lot of people who we all think are friends. But as a recovering alcoholic, I've been there.

I've done that. As a recovering alcoholic,
who then also is a conservative and spoke out about the Obama administration, I know who my friends are.
I know who my friends are not.

And I think there's a lot of people that have counterfeit friends.

If you've got. Oh, I've got ten or 15 friends.

Eh.

No, you don't. No, you don't.

I've always grown up thinking, you're lucky, you're lucky, to have three, five, really good friends.

That will walk through anything with you. Do you agree with that, Stu?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: You've never been there.

STU: For you? Oh, God no. But I'm just saying, generally speaking. No. I think -- I mean, you're describing a great friend. You're describing a really --

GLENN: A real friend.

STU: Yeah. Like someone you know and stick around for multiple decades.

GLENN: Yeah, I have lots of friends. You know what I mean? I have millions of Facebook friends.

STU: Right. Those aren't real.

GLENN: Right. And I have lots of friends. But the ones that are there for you always, no matter what, I have family.

And I have family.

STU: Right.

GLENN: And I have a handful of friends. I would consider you one of those.

STU: Thank you. I would as well.

GLENN: Why?

Remember, I have a drinking problem.

STU: Yeah. A lot of brain cells killed to make that decision.

But I think that you -- yes. I think the only thing that I think I'm drilling down a little bit on to try to understand. When you say, well, I have a lot of friends.

In a way, I think that's what Zuckerberg is talking about.

It's not even necessarily a great friend that you have for multiple decades. And can count on at any time.

Just the mid-level consequences, are drying up for a lot of people.

GLENN: Yeah. And why is that?

Why is that?

Because we don't talk to each other anymore.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Because of social media.

You know, when this generation says, I don't know.

I just think it's weird. I'm just now in a bar someplace.

And some stranger comes up to me and wants to strike up a conversation. I'm like, hello, weirdo. I don't know!

You think it's less weird to go online?
When people can fake everything!

Thank you, Mark Zuckerberg.

But no thanks. Okay.

STU: And they're just -- to build up on this point for one second.

There's a study that came out, the last 20 years, of how much time do you spend socializing with the people.

Again, that's not with your best friends.

This is just socializing with anyone, a human.

Every single group. Every single group has massive drops.

GLENN: Massive.

STU: Massive drops. Just give you some examples.

Ages. Fifteen to 24-year-olds. Thirty-five-point down.

In 20 years. 35 percent. So a typical 15-year-old, as compared to what they are, in 2003 and 2025, where were the two measurement years?

They're spending 35 percent less time, with other human beings.

GLENN: Okay. Hang on just a second. Can you please stop distracting me? Because I'm trying to figure out why our kids are killing themselves.

STU: No, it's really hard.

GLENN: It's very hard to figure out.

STU: To understand.

And this is the coup de grâce of this entire study, which is, the typical female pet owner spends more time actively engaged with her pet, than she spends face-to-face contact with her friends of her own species.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: That is unbelievable -- not like you're in the same house as your cat.

Right? No. More face-to-face time with your cat!

GLENN: And I've got news for you. If you think your cat is your friend, wait until you die, and your cat is trapped in the house with you and you have no friends to check. They will eat your face.

STU: They will still have a use for you.

GLENN: Yeah. They will have a use foy.

STU: Not the other way around.

GLENN: Okay. Here's why I'm bringing this up today.

This is a lie, that is going to be sold to you, like crazy. And it's going to be wrapped in a beautiful, shiny package. And it's going to have from Mark Zuckerberg and others like him, on the tag.

They want you to believe, that AI and bots can be your friends.

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