BLOGMay 09, 2017

The Untold, Pivotal Role Faith Played in Jackie Robinson's Life

Ed Henry, chief national correspondent for Fox News Channel, joined Glenn on radio Tuesday to talk about his new book 42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story. While the 2013 movie 42 was excellent, it barely covered a key component to the Jackie Robinson story: faith. Henry set out to correct the record.

"I found out new information, which is why I wrote this book," Henry relayed. "Branch Rickey, right before signing Jackie to the first contract in 1945, secretly had doubts --- he had second thoughts, he almost pulled out. But it was a secret meeting with the minister in Brooklyn at a wonderful church that still stands today, Plymouth Church, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s."

The iconic church was pivotal in ending slavery in the 1800s, as well as launching the career of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in Major League Baseball, in the 1940s. In 42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story, Henry explained how Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, needed to be in the presence of God to know he was doing the right thing.

"After pacing and praying on all of this . . . Branch Rickey finally sits down, starts crying and says to the minister, I've decided to sign Jackie to the first contract," Henry said.

Throughout Jackie Robinson's life, faith played a major role --- saving him as a young man and changing the course of history as a baseball player.

It took Henry nearly 10 years to research and write the book in his downtime. 42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story is available in bookstores everywhere.

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: Welcome to the program, Ed Henry. How are you, sir?

ED: Good. Thanks for having me on, Glenn.

GLENN: You bet. I would love to talk to you about politics and what you see going on. But I really want to spend some time talking about Jackie Robinson. Because I think until we get the story of America right and the story of our heroes, we're never going to be able to -- we're playing games, and we're never going to be able to fix our country.

ED: Yeah.

GLENN: So I'm glad you're here. And your book is absolutely fantastic. I don't -- I don't follow -- you know, I don't follow sports. But even I know who Jackie Robinson is.

ED: Uh-huh.

GLENN: At least that's what I thought until I read your book.

ED: Well, I appreciate that because I think there's a whole lot more to the story.

And Hollywood doesn't want, as you know, better than anyone, to touch faith and God. They don't want to talk about that. And so there was a movie, 42, about Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who signed him to the first contract to break the color barrier in major legal baseball, which obviously, as you suggest did not just change sports. It changed America for the better, forever.

GLENN: Yeah.

ED: But Hollywood, you know, the 42 movie was wonderful. But it did not -- it barely mentioned God. I found out new information, which is why I wrote this book, that Branch Rickey, right before signing Jackie to the first contract in 1945, secretly had doubts. He had second thoughts. He almost pulled out. But it was a secret meeting with the minister in Brooklyn at a wonderful church that still stands today, Plymouth Church, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

So when you talk about getting our history right, this was a pivotal church in helping end slavery in the 1800s. And then in 1945, Branch Rickey, I learned -- and it's in 42 Faith -- basically goes to this minister and says, "I don't know if I can go through with this," because this was such a controversial move in '45 to move to integrate Major League Baseball. And after pace and praying on all of this, a 45-minute meeting that I uncover the details of, which this minister in Brooklyn, Branch Rickey finally sits down, starts crying and says to the minister, I've decided to sign Jackie to the first contract. I needed to be in your presence, he says to the minister. I needed to be in God's presence to know it was the right thing to do. I thought --

GLENN: Okay. So if this were story were told today or happened today, here's how this story would be spun: That Branch Rickey wanted to do it because he was going to have all kinds of publicity and that would be good for the club. And he made this pilgrimage to a black church that was a perfect church because of the history so everybody would know. And he was only doing this for show.

ED: Yeah.

GLENN: Correct?

ED: Yeah, I think --

GLENN: Correct that.

ED: Correct, that that would be the way it might be played now. But the fact of the matter is what this led me to do was go on a journey and think and figure out and research. And I spent almost ten years doing this on the side, you know, on the back-burner, while covering politics, as you said at the top. It made me say, wait a second, how much did God and faith in God play in this monumental decision, that, again, wasn't just baseball? But maybe more importantly, how much did faith play in helping Jackie Robinson overcome people shouting the N-word at him, literally threatening his life because he wanted to play baseball.

And I found a lot of new information. I'll tell you one quick story about Branch Rickey. In the early 1900s, he grows up on a farm in Ohio, along the Kentucky border. And he goes to his mom, Branch Rickey does, and says, I want to become a Big League ballplayer. She says no. She was a Methodist and said, "All baseball players do is drink and swear and party, and you're not doing that."

Well, Branch Rickey goes back to her the next day. This is somebody who didn't take no for an answer obviously, or he might have backed down and not integrated the game of baseball, decades later. But in the early 1900s, he said, mom, if you let me chase my dream to play Big League Baseball, I will never play on Sunday.

And do you know that Rickey became a big league player before he was a famous executive? A lot of people don't know that. He never played on Sunday. It's one reason why he got cut because owners of various teams said, "Why am I paying you a full week's salary when you won't play on Sunday to honor God?"

And then fast-forward to after he signs Jackie Robinson, and he's this famous executive for the Brooklyn Dodgers. I interviewed Branch Rickey's grandson. Branch Rickey III, who is still alive, he said that in the '40s and '50s, Rickey would never go to Ebbets Field on Sunday, even though he was running the team. His parents had died. Glenn, he had already -- that commitment he made to his parents was basically null and void, but he felt like he needed to honor that. That shows commitment, character, we don't see today. It shows a commitment to God that people are frankly scared to talk about and say out loud today. But Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, they were one white, one black, different generations. Didn't have a lot in common, but they both had a deep faith in God. And that's why I think there's a lot more to this story that people didn't want to talk about.

GLENN: So let's talk about Jackie Robinson. I had absolutely no idea that, A, he was a Sunday teacher and that he gave a lot of sermons.

ED: Yes. And I want to tell you about some of them. First of all, in terms of Sunday school, this is a man, Jackie Robinson, who grow up -- you know, he's raised by a single mom in Pasadena, California. We hear about this a lot today, not just in the African-American community. Communities all around the country. And say, "Well, these kids end up joining gangs. And they've got no hope." Well, guess what, Jackie Robinson joined a gang. He's a teenager in Pasadena. He has a criminal record. He was arrested several times, Glenn. And people don't know that about the story. And you know how he got out of it? His mom Mali, Mali Robinson was a woman of faith. She happened also to be a Methodist, like Branch Rickey and his family. Interesting connection. Coincidental perhaps, but still interesting.

And a Christian minister named Reverend Carl Downs in Pasadena pulled Jackie aside as a teenager and said, "You're going the wrong way. Unless you get your life back on track, you're going to waste all this athletic talent."

So the Sunday school you mentioned is, I find in my research that Jackie becomes this four-letter man at UCLA: Baseball, basketball, football, and track and field. He stars as a football player at UCLA on Saturdays. Gets up Sunday.

He's a running back. So he's beaten and bruised, like any other running back. And what does he do on Sunday morning? Gets out of bed. Gets off that UCLA campus and goes back to Pasadena in order to teach Sunday school with the Reverend Carl Downs. This minister had saved his life, and he felt like he had a commitment to him.

Again, to me, there was a wonderful parallel there with Branch Rickey about that commitment to his parents about faith and not playing. Not working on Sundays.

Jackie Robinson -- how many athletes today, either college or pro, get out of bed on Sunday morning and say, you know, I'm going to teach Sunday school before I go to the game or before I do this or that? This is somebody who gave back and understood it. We can get into the sermons as well that he did after his playing days. But I think faith in God is at the center of the story and that's why we call it 42 Faith.

GLENN: I will tell you that I teach Sunday school, and it is impossible -- almost every week, I think, I'm going to call in sick. I just -- I've got so many things going on. Blah, blah. I'm not Jackie Robinson.

ED: Right.

GLENN: Jackie Robinson is not only playing and doing all these things, but also, throughout his life, he is pushed up against the wall. When he first comes out and he's set to make his debut, there's a sniper that has threatened and said --

ED: Yep.

GLENN: -- I'm taking him out. If he steps up to bat, I'm taking him out.

ED: Yep.

And you know what happened? We see in the movie, 42, that there white players from the deep South who circulated a petition and said, "If Jackie gets promoted to the Big Leagues in 1947, we're going to walk." And so we can't sanitize that history. There were white players, teammates who didn't want to play with them.

But you know what I found in my research is there were white teammates like Ralph Branca, a very tall pitcher. And you're right. There were these reports that came into the Dodgers. April 15th, 1947. This is now the 17th anniversary that we're celebrating, of Jackie's first game. He said, there's a sniper. Going to be at Ebbets Field. They're going to kill Jackie when he goes on the field.

And Ralph Branca made a show on the field of standing next to Jackie and kind of throwing his arm around him. And Jackie, thankfully, is not shot. But after the game, one of Branca's brothers comes rushing up to him. He had a big family.

Said, Ralphie, what were you thinking? You were standing right next to this guy. This black player, who was going to get shot. There's a sniper out there, and you were standing next to him. What are you thinking?

And he said, there are worse ways to go than to stand up for a teammate. That was a white pitcher. He was like 6-3, 6-4. He was a big target for a sniper. That's why I mentioned his height.

And yet this white player said, I'm going to stand up for a black teammate. That to me is all about not just faith, but about America, number one. And, number two, you talk about commitment from Jackie. You talk about yourself teaching Sunday school. Jackie's wife Rachel is still alive, about 95 years old. And she remembers that first year when Jackie had snipers out there. He had people sending him letters, saying, we're going to kill you. People shouting the N-word from the stands.

She says that after playing at Ebbets Field every day -- afternoon, he would take the subway home to the small apartment they had in Manhattan. And before he went to bed, do you know what Jackie Robinson, this famous ballplayer did? She says he got down on his hands and knees and prayed to God.

And I think, again, that commitment -- I'm not saying that faith was the only thing that enabled him to play in the athletics field. He had courage. He had character. But faith in God was at the center of Jackie Robinson's life. And it was not something that a lot of people talked about before for various reasons. And I think that image of this famous ballplayer getting on his hands and knees, praying to God every night before bed, shows that he got that. He understood that despite his fame, despite him becoming a civil rights icon, he was imperfect and still wanted to bow down before God.

GLENN: I will tell you that I know -- Penn Jillette is a friend of mine, an atheist, and he has courage and principles. And I know a lot of religious people who don't have courage and principles. But somebody like Jackie Robinson, it's hard to believe that it didn't -- that wasn't what was really driving. We're talking to Ed Henry of the Fox News Channel. Written a new book called 42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story.

As you were researching this, did anybody come to mind at all? Are you seeing these people, Ed, in your everyday life? Are you seeing them anywhere in positions of power?

ED: No. I think that's something that -- and I'm an optimistic story. But as someone -- as I research, as I thought about men of character like Branch Rickey, like Jackie Robinson, like Ralph Branca, who I mentioned, who stood up on faith -- and, you know, you mentioned the sermons that Jackie gave. I mean, I found in his personal papers at the Library of Congress, all of these sermons that Jackie gave at churches all across America in the 1960s. He had hung up his glove in the beginning at '57. The baseball glove. So in the '60s, he's retired. He's working for Chock Full O' Nuts. He makes the baseball Hall of Fame. But, again, he gives back. He goes to churches. Not just black churches, but churches all around America. And let me read one quick passage, where he talked about how he was skeptical about federal government assistance programs being what would help deal with the civil rights crisis, would deal with the long hot summer of 1967.

This was a sermon in '67. And he said, my dear friends in this congregation, I think the black man is just a little weary of this constant help of helping him. I think to a large degree, the poverty programs have fallen flat on their face, coming to resemble just some more handouts, a cut higher than welfare.

God helps mankind, Jackie Robinson said. But he helps those who helps himself. So here is this civil rights icon saying that in 1977. Not in a public square, but in a church, number one, Glenn. And number two, 1967, 50 years ago. Think about that statement today. We don't have a lot of people in public life saying that. And here's a black leader saying that. A black ball player who made the Hall of Fame and an icon.

GLENN: So, Ed, you and I both know what the last -- since 9/11 has been like. Especially at the Fox News Channel. You've been there for a long time, longer than I was.

ED: Yeah.

GLENN: And you know what it was like when I was there. And mainly because of me causing all the trouble. Sorry for that, by the way.

(chuckling)

GLENN: Was this --

ED: I don't know where you're going with this.

GLENN: Is this -- was this your way of searching for some sort of bedrock that made life make sense, that gave you courage to stand? Was this just a -- was this just your stamp collecting thing just to take your mind -- what happened to you with this?

ED: It started in my stamp collecting, in that I have a passion for baseball. And a lot of people ask me, "Well, why in the world did you write a baseball book?" I mean, number one, I don't think the world is begging for a book about Obamacare from Ed Henry. I don't feel like -- you know, how many politicians are out there -- no offense to any of my colleagues or anyone. And number two is, you know, it's not really a baseball book.

GLENN: Yeah.

ED: It's a book about faith in God. And I'm a Catholic. I'm imperfect. But you always strive to be better. And Jackie Robinson said in these personal papers, I found, there are better Christians than me. I'm imperfect. And here's Jackie Robinson, who's pretty darn close to perfect.

But he said, I just did the best that I knew how. Paraphrasing. And I didn't want to let down my mother or Mr. Rickey. He always called him Mr. Rickey.

And what did Mr. Rickey, the general manager have in common with Jackie Robinson? Again, different generations. Different skin color. Came of age in different parts of the country. But they both -- you know, both the Robinson families and the Rickey families had deep faith in God. And when Jackie Robinson says, "Look, I'm not perfect, but I did the best I knew how." For me, this is a kind of project that finds some deeper meaning. And I think in Jackie Robinson, it's not just a baseball story. It's a story about life. And it's a story about how faith in God is at the center of our lives, whether people want to say it out loud or not.

GLENN: I will tell you, the book endorsed by Bill O'Reilly. Brad Thor. Juan Williams and Larry King. You couldn't get more eclectic than that. Oh, and Jim Brown. So no more eclectic than that.

ED: Jim Brown.

Well, I appreciate it.

GLENN: Ed, thank you so much. The name of the book is 41 Faith. A great read.

STU: 42 Faith.

ED: Forty-two.

GLENN: 42 Faith.

STU: That's the prequel. It's coming out next year --

GLENN: Do I understand 42 if I only read 41?

ED: 43 is going to be the best.

(laughter)

GLENN: All right.

Ed Henry, thank you very much. And much success.

ED: Thanks, buddy.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

"Everything is For Sale" — How the Cartels Control Mexico's Government

It is widely accepted that the cartels in Mexico not only control significant swaths of land, but they also have incredible influence over how the country's government operates. Border Expert Brandon Darby sits down with Glenn Beck to explain exactly why this is the case and what the Trump administration's strategy truly needs to be in order to crush these powerful cartels.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Brandon Darby HERE

RADIO

We're being played. THIS is the REAL threat to America

Conservatives in America are being divided over the wrong things. Glenn Beck asks: Who’s the real threat to America: Sen. Mike Lee, who wants to sell 3% of federally-owned land to states and cities, or the rising radical communist wing of the Democratic Party, who recently chose Zohran Mamdani as their NYC mayoral candidate?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to talk to you about the enemy being clear. Crystal clear!

But I'm not sure to everybody.

I'm so sick and tired of us turning on each other.

We saw it with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I like both men. Can we stop?

Thankfully, they did.

You're seeing it with Trump's bombing of Iran. Where you were either a Jew-loving Zionist or raging anti-Semite, or if you're me.

Both!

And then there's something that really caught me off-guard. The people who are turning on Utah Senator Mike Lee over a housing proposal, he's had this housing proposal since 2022.

But if you go on X, you're going to learn, apparently Mike Lee, one of the most Constitutional loving conservatives I know, wants to sell off our national parks and forest.

You know, he was probably in Coeur d'Alene lighting the matches, because he hates our forest so much. He wants to make sure you never get to hunt.

All he wants to do is take away your fishing and hunting rights. And build cheap housing complexes. Amazon warehouses. And whatever China and BlackRock want.

You know, I addressed this a few weeks ago. I invited Mike to clarify where he stands. Because some of my family are very concerned.

You can find the segments on my YouTube channel. Go and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Will you please? But since then, apparently, there's a crusade out to cancel Senator Lee.

There have been a few major updates. So today, let me just take a look at just the facts here, where we stand on this right now.

Over the weekend, Mike Lee decided to withdraw his federal land sale provision from the big, beautiful bill.

He said, quote, while this has been a tremendous amount of misinformation, and in some cases, outright lies about my bill. Many people brought forward sincere concerns.

Because of the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee, these lands would never be sold.

Only to American families. Not to China. To not BlackRock.

And never to any foreign interests.

Wow! What a shill for the globalists, right?

Or maybe how it should work. Members of Congress propose something presented to the people. And then they listen to the community. Instead of just insisting, we have to pass it, to know what's in it.

And I didn't hear this kind of outcry for that!

Here's one of the bigger issues here. We're speaking two different languages.

A lot of criticism online is that Mike Lee wants to sell off our public lands!

Our public lands. Pragmatism to a lot of Americans, those lands are the lands we use for recreation. And hiking. And haunting. And fishing.

And things like that. That's whatnot he wanted to sell. And he promised to make that much clearer in the revised bill.

Now, let me remind you, on the public lands. President Biden, under his administration. The federal government was ordered to conserve 30 percent of our lands. And our waters by 2030. So apparently, our public lands are being gobbled up even more.

That's another, I think six percentage points. Another 6 percent of the entire land in the United States, going to be seized by the federal government, by 2030. And it falls directly in line with the UN's 30 by 30 plan.

It's an initiative for governments to seize 30 percent of all land and water by 2030. Now, do you think the UN wants to give you more hunting and fishing land?

Do you think they're all for that? Or do you think these radical environmentalists want to restrict your access in the name of fighting climate change?

By the way, current -- currently, the US government owns 640 million acres of land. That's nearly a third of the country. So they've almost met that 30 by 30 goal.

And they will meet it, and then what's next? The 50 by 50 UN goal.

And in order to seize the rest of the land, there's the Sustains Act that passed. Do you know about this? I didn't hear about any outcry for this.

Where was the right on this one? It was enacted in 2023, allows the government to receive private funds to advance conservation programs.

So BlackRock, if they wanted to, could buy up the conservation lands! Does your property contribute to pollination, photosynthesis. The air we breathe. The water we drink?

Well, as I -- as I exposed, on a show back in September, the Sustains Act allows all of that to be monetized through the relationship of private investors like Bill Gates. And the government!

And it occurs without the landowners permission.

So they can take your land. Or tell you exactly what you want to do, or what they want you to do on that land, what you cannot do on that land, because photosynthesis happens.

Where was I?

Where were you on that?

This is the real seizing of American assets.

This is the real seizing of American assets, by the global corporations. That you were all so afraid of!

Mike Lee, oh, my gosh.

What about the Sustains Act?

In his revised bill. Which he's still working on.

Lee has promised to remove all forest land. Good. Significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill.

Good. Only land within 5 miles of population centers is eligible.

Yeah. But when he gets that, then he'll build buildings there, and then he'll have another five.

And next thing you know, he will be putting a cap on -- on Old Faithful.

He'll establish freedom zones to ensure these lands benefit American families. Ranchers. Recreational users. But there's a lot of claims online.

Whatever.

Charlie Kirk said, the Democrats -- this is their war on single family housing.

Hmm.

Do you remember when we talked on the program about the globalist plan of 15-minute cities. That all of BlackRock and everything else is for.

Remember when BlackRock came in, and just started buying up whole neighborhoods. Just priced every regular citizen out of the neighborhood.

Why?

Because it's part of the plan to pack the majority of humanity into easily controllable cities where everything you need is just 15 minutes away. And you never need a car. But is that the American dream?

Currently, rural land is getting so expensive. Most Americans can't afford rural land!

I know. I'm living in a place that has a population of 400 -- I think it's 51. Might have had a baby, so maybe it's 452. And nobody can afford it.

How is it possible you're living in the middle of nowhere, with a population of 451 people, and you can't afford a house!

The elites don't need Mike Lee's proposal. But take more of your land.

They're already doing that. But here's my biggest issue.

This is not about Mike Lee's proposal. Okay?

It's not.

There is a much bigger issue.

And I'll share that when I come back.

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. So I was talking about federal -- I want to get off that. I want to change to, instead, what the real problem here is.

What the real problem is. The real problem on the seizing of the federal lands. Is that we are so quick to turn on ourselves.

We are so quick, lately, to turn on our -- our allies.

See, that's -- the issue isn't Mike Lee's proposal.

It's how fast we turn on each other!

If you believe Mike Lee's proposal didn't go far enough to safeguard our land from adversaries. Great!

That's fine. And, you know what, you won!

He's revamping that.

He listened.

The government listened. Good!

But can you say that without calling him a traitorous shill for the elites?

I mean, I don't know what traitorous shill for the elites that actually listens.

Do you?

Donald Trump Jr. He was against my plan. He thanked him over the weekend for pulling the proposal saying, quote, Mike is a great friend. And we usually agree on almost everything. But this was a rare exemption of where we didn't! Hello!

We don't need to hear people tear each other down. Who is our real enemy?

Who is -- who is more dangerous?

Can we go to -- can we go?

I don't have number on these, unfortunately. Six.

Seven, eight, nine, ten. Let's go to cut ten, please, on whiter neighborhoods.

VOICE: I realized there's a policy proposal, and I'm going to quote it for folks to shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer bureaus toward expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.

Explain why you are bringing race into your tax proposal.

VOICE: That is just a description of what we see right now.

It's not driven by race.

It's more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed. We've seen time and again, that this is a property tax system that is inequitable. It's one that actually Eric Adams ran on, saying that he would change in the first 100 days.

He since sought to defend it, and lost at every juncture in court.

VOICE: And I understand, you're saying, we're simply describing the types of neighborhood that would see these increases in taxes.

And yet by invoking race, do you run the risk of potentially alienating key constituents.

STU: I think I'm just naming things as they are. And ultimately, my -- the thing that motivates me in this, is to create a system of fairness.

It's not to work backwards from an original assessment of our neighborhood or our city. Rather, it's to ensure that we actually have an equal playing field.

And right now, what we see with the property tax system, is one that is overtaxing a number of New Yorkers and undertaxing others. And inability of political will to resolve that.

VOICE: So no plans to change that language on your website?

VOICE: The focus here is to actually ensure a fair property tax system, and the use of that language is an assessment of the neighborhood.

GLENN: Just want it to be fair. Just want it to be fair. Play the next cut. This is Mamdani, by the way, the candidate in New York, that looks like he might win, to become the next mayor of New York. Next cut.

VOICE: You are a self-described democratic socialist. Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?
(laughter)

VOICE: I don't think that we should have billionaires, because frankly it is so much money, in a moment of such inequality.

And ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city, and across our state, and across our country.

And I look forward to work with everyone. Including billionaires. To make a city that is fair for all of them.

GLENN: Wow!

That is fantastic.

We shouldn't have billionaires.

Hmm. So how would we get there?

What would be his ultimate goal?

Listen.

VOICE: Do you like capitalism?

VOICE: No. I have many critiques of capitalism.

And I think ultimately, the definition for me, of why I call myself a Democratic Socialist.

Is the words of Dr. King decades ago. He said, call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism.

There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country.

And that's what I'm focused on, is dignity and taking on income inequality. What the purpose is about, about this project, is not simply to raise much consciousness, to win socialism.

And obviously raise class consciousness. We were a part of that. But making sure that we have candidates that both understand that and are willing to put that forward, at every which moment they have.

Every which moment that they are given.

We have to continue to elect more socialists. And we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism. And there are also other issues that we firmly believe in.

Whether it's BS -- right? Or whether it's the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we don't have the same level --

GLENN: Wait. Can you say that again for me?

Whether it's the end goal of ceasing is the means of production.

Let me ask you the question: Which is more dangerous to our country, and our heritage?

Is it the -- the senator?

That controversial maybe. Says 3 percent of federal land should be transferred back to the states?

Or is it the politician standing at a modem declaring, you know, not in some offhanded gap, that he has a real problem with capitalism. That he wants to tax white neighborhoods. That he wants to get rid of billionaires. And seize the means of production.

Now, for those who studied history. I don't need to tell you why your blood has suddenly run cold. Seize the means of production, that's not economic theory.

That is a revolutionary war cry. It always has been. It's the heart of Lenin, of Marx, of Mao. Of Gulags. Of five-year plans. A food line. Total state control. It is the slogan, whispered in the barracks of all of the camps.

Printed on the walls of the Khmer Rouge Torture cells.

That's not American. That's not a goal any of us should look for. But let's take down Elon Musk.

Let's -- let's take down our FBI.

Let's -- let's take down Mike Lee. Let's take down Tucker Carlson. Let's take down at the scene. Because we don't have enough enemies. Riley rightfully, somebody on this program, asked around on this time, on Friday. Glenn, why did you have Steve Bannon on? This is why I had Steve Bannon. We have enough enemies, don't we?

Can we find people we generally agree with, maybe 80 percent. Even if that 20 percent is massive!

If I'm going to be friends with anybody, for the times I'm going to be friends with.

Then I have to say, I part with you here.

You will have to go on your own way. But when you come back to this, I'm with you.

We are -- we are being -- our college campuses, the floor of our own legislative bodies. As if it were another just regular day in paradise of America.

You know, let me -- we want to talk about highway funding and seizing the means of production.

Wait. What?

Meanwhile, the man who says, we should return a tiny sliver of public land. Land that Washington hoards like a miser. While local communities struggle to pay for schools and police.

Why you can't afford a house!

That's an extremist. A radical. A threat. But this guy, I don't see anybody on the right, really standing up against this guy. Where is the big movement against this guy? It's almost as if, that whole federal lands thing, was orchestrated. And so many of our side played right into it!

That man who says, let the states manage their own forests, their own minerals, their own resources.

Just give us 3 percent of our land, so we can actually have a tax base, so we can build some houses there that people can afford. Let's make sure that the land is controlled by the people, who are closest to that land.

Let them be the stewards of it. Not the bureaucrats 2,000 miles away, who have never set foot in a pine thicket, or a desert mesa.

Which one is more in line with the Constitution? Which one is our bigger enemy here? Which one echoes Jefferson's belief in a government closest to the people? Which upholds the vision of the Founders who feared centralized power, more than foreign armies. Which one is calling for the seizing of the -- of the production?

You know, not all ideas are morally equivalent.

We're not dealing here with difference of opinion on tax rates. Or zoning codes.

One wants to give power back to the states.

And, you know what?

People rose up, and said, I don't like that idea.

So that idea has to be closed and forfeited.

Great! But where are the people standing up saying, seizing the means of production?

This guy wants to take control of your factory. Your farm.

Your business, your labor.

One believes in federalism. The other believes in collectivism. One respects the individual as a moral agent of society. And the other sees the individual as a cog in the great machine of the state that's just going to make utopia. Because they always do!

As you just -- you just can't see it. Because you're behind the barbed wire fence!

When somebody shrugs and says, you know, both sides are really pretty extreme. You know, it's time we say, no, no, no, no.

It's that kind of false equivalence that got us into this mess. That's how the frog stays in the pot as the water slowly boils. You know what, they're both really kind of extreme, no, they're not. No, they're not.

If you believe in America, is a place where rights are granted by God, not government.

Where property is yours. It is sacred!

The fruits of your labor belong to you. That we cannot pretend these are equal threats.

Because they're not. Because one man questions how much land the federal government should own.

The other questions whether you should be allowed to own anything at all!

If the government should not own everything!

Which one is dangerous? Which one snuffs out your rights?

It's not about land. This is all about economics. It's about freedom. And history has already told us where these roads lead.

One road leads to liberty. One road leads us to having a discussion and a debate.

Without calling each other names and killing one another.

The other road doesn't allow debate. And if you try to debate, you're disappeared, or you're killed! One leads in liberty, one ends in chains!

What do you say, we -- we have enough enemies. Why do we need to turn on ourselves? And do you think there's a possibility that the communist, the socialist, the anarchist, the Islamist will all band together, to destabilize the Middle East. Europe, come America to destabilize that, to end the Western world. Do you think there's a chance you're being played?

Because I do. And I refuse to be played. I'm not a moron. And neither are you.

See, here's the thing. This is why, when Ben Shapiro says, facts don't care about your feelings. This is why that's so important.

Because they've hit an emotional spot with you. They've hit a spot of, they're going to take my right away to fish or to hunt.

And that's not what he was doing. But that's what it turned out to be. Our sacred public lands.

It's not what he was talking about.

And if it was, he's not talking about it now.

He wants to make it very, very clear. Exactly what he was talking about.

But see, the idea of going hunting and fishing and hiking. And these glorious places.

We all love that.

I mean, I don't like to actually -- I like to hunt. I don't like to fish.

I don't like to be outside, really.

But I love the lands. I love to be in an air-conditioned car, driving through Yellowstone, going, wow. Look at that. And look at that moron, trying to feed the car, to feed the buffalo.

That's going to be fun to watch.

Why are we so emotional, about that? When it's not really what the argument is about. And it's coming from our friends, when we really should have listened more and had a conversation.

And we're not emotional about someone who says, the end goal is to seize production.

Seize the means of production.

That's Karl Marx!

Why is that one not emotional for us?

Why is it we cannot see the actual enemy?

RADIO

“General Lee” stuntman REVEALS ALL about the fountain jump

A stuntman took the internet by storm when he jumped a "Dukes of Hazzard" General Lee replica over a fountain in Somerset, Kentucky. The driver, Northeast Ohio Dukes founder Raymond Kohn, joins Glenn Beck to reveal what happened behind the scenes, why he did the jump, and where he wants to jump next (hint: it would involve President Trump)!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There was something just amazing that happened over the weekend in Somerset, Kentucky. It was like a Dukes of Hazzard Show.

Thirty-five thousand people gathered together, to line the streets of Somerset, as a very brave driver, who you're going to meet here in a second. Raymond Kohn. Raymond Kohn got into a car. Was an old Dodge Charger?

He jumped over the historic fountain, in the center of the town.

Can we play a little bit of this, if you happen to be watching?

GLENN: I mean, that is just crazy. It just makes me proud to be American, in a very strange sort of way. I don't even know why. It's just so satisfying. The world is on fire, and you're like, yes! We still got it. Raymond Kohn is on with us now. He is the founder and lead stuntman from the northeast Ohio dukes. And they -- they do this kind of stuff all the time. Raymond, welcome to the program.

How are you?

RAYMOND: Thank you for having me, Glenn. I am great.

I feel like a million bucks.

GLENN: Do you really?

When I saw you land, I thought, ow, my back. Ow, my back. It didn't hurt coming down?

RAYMOND: Well, you know what, we are thankful that the legendary stuntman who inspired me to do this. Like the late great Al White Jr. Ted Barba. Corrie Uvey. Jumping John Kid. (all phonetic)

These are the guys who risk everything, back in the '80s on the set of the Dukes of Hazzard, to figure out, how we can do this safely without killing ourselves.

GLENN: I've got to say -- I have to say, I saw a video from the -- from in front of you, as you landed.

And you hit a wall. And you're just tearing through this wall.

And there is a photographer, that is in front. Did you see him, and think, get out of the way, dude! Almost killed him.

RAYMOND: Yeah. So Centerville is our producer. His series that follows us in -- like a global episode, of what we do.

And Mike Cullvich (phonetic) is the -- the -- the executive producer, and that was him there.

And they carefully --

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

RAYMOND: They know the risks. They know the risks.

He had a little -- just in case, if I go to the left or to the right, that he would be able to squeeze through.

And he did!

So all of the spectators. They were safe.

They were at a safe distance.

You know, we can't do the jump, if we're out there risking people's lives.

And with the help of the summer night crews, the city of Somerset, all the police and fire and EMS, everybody worked together with my team.
I have the best crew in the world.

And, yes, I am the driver that does the jump. And, you know what, we had to build that tarp.
We had to build that tarp, and there was a team of us. And my crew was so great.

They said, look at everything -- we'll get everything done.

Relax. They knew I was nervous.

You know, and they know that my team -- you couldn't ask for a better stunt team.

GLENN: I have so many questions for you.

But let me start here. Before we go too much further away from the town.

Who the hell is the mayor of the city council?

I love these guys.

I can't think of another city in America, that would be like, yeah. We got that historic you fountain, right downtown.

Yeah. Go ahead.

RAYMOND: America is back, baby. I'm telling you. You couldn't have been telling -- from the Dukes of Hazzard. Forty-five years. Forty-seven years after the show ended.

GLENN: Oh.

RAYMOND: I'm telling you, people love -- from all walks of life, people love the Dukes of Hazzard, they love the General Lee.

Listen, if there was -- if there was ever a non-racist TV show for all, it was the Dukes of Hazzard. And that's my main goal.

My pain goal is to get this TV show back on television, that way, we have our children. And our grandchildren. Watching a TV show that has family values good.

GLENN: Okay. So let me -- let me -- one more question on this, before I -- what the hell is wrong we?

When did you decide, this is what I want to do with my life?

RAYMOND: Okay. So I was always a fan. I was born in '77. The show came out in '79. And I loved that big orange car. I loved that car.

GLENN: So great. So great.

RAYMOND: So in 2005, I watched legendary stuntman Corey Spence jump over my roscoe cart. By my police car that I have.

They jumped over it, at the very first General Lee jump site, in Oxford College, in -- in Georgia.

And that's when I got bit by, what I called the stunt bug.

And I was like, I've got to do this. I've got to do -- if I on me do it once, I've got to do it.

And this was my 30th General Lee jump.

For our 30th -- Detroit. We jumped the General Lee downtown Detroit. And then for our 30th, we're jumping over the historic fountain in Somerset, Kentucky.

GLENN: I don't know. This is different. You know, downtown Detroit, you crash into buildings. There's nobody around.

Oh, well.

In Somerset, Kentucky, though. It's just a different thing.

Okay. Let me -- let me -- I think this is amazing.

In looking into you, while the jump is phenomenal. And makes you feel good. What you have gone through in the last few years, is even more amazing.

You had a -- a rare brain surgery, right?

A rare hormonal disorder, that you were like, living another classic TV show, the hulk!

You -- it was changing you, right?

Tell me about this!

JASON: Yeah. So in 2015, I started to feel a lot of pain in my knees, and my elbows.

I started noticing my voice was changing.

My face was changing. And then here comes, hey, Ray. You have to give up blood pressure medicine. You're prediabetic.

You're 335 pounds.

You know, I was always around 220 pounds.

And so nobody -- because -- it's over a long, long, long period of time.

The people that are in my life, every day, they couldn't see the changes.

You know, but the people I haven't seen Ray in a year or two years. You look different, Ray.

You know, and so I went to our local dermatologist, because I started getting these creases in my head. It's bad enough. I'm bald. What are these lines in my head now?

So the dermatologist, she said, let me see your hands. Yeah. You have big hands.

Yeah. Every time I shake somebody's hands. It's like shaking hands with a cinder block.

GLENN: Like banana hands.

JASON: Yeah. My feet went from a size ten to 12.

I had to get a 2X helmet. Because my helmet wouldn't fit.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Wait pick up wait.

Did you think you were ideas just gaining weight. Or did you know it was something more?

You weren't starving yourself, were you?

RAYMOND: Yeah. Because heavy stunt drivers don't make good stunt drivers. You get hurt a lot easier. It's a lot more weight.

GLENN: Of course.

RAYMOND: All of my loved ones and my crew. It's the jumps are tearing you up.

I'm like, no. No. No. No. It's not the jumps. Don't blame the jumps.

So I said, okay.

So went to the doctor. They said, go give this blood work. You may have something serious going on.

The blood work came back. My growth hormone was 900. 900. Now, normally it was 70 to 270. I'm 47 years old, and I'm still a grown boy!

So that opted for me, to get the -- or, the -- yeah, the MRI of my brain. To scan. And say, I had a 9-millimeter tumor on my 10-millimeter pituitary gland.

And we can have it on my body. And the surgeon, up in the Cleveland Clinic said, Raymond, if we don't get this out of you, it's going to kill you.

And my wife is crying. My daughter is crying.

The first thing that came to my lips was, can I still jump the General Lee after the significant other?

And the doctor said, yes, yes. And I'm like, okay. Let's do does this surgery. Let's get the thing out of my head. And then as soon as I was okay, we went up to the radical speech board in Canada. Joe came up there. We did the first international General Lee jump in front of like 30,000 people up there. And it was awesome.

I'm telling you. I'm living the dream, man. I can't believe this is happening to me.

All because of a TV show, called the Dukes of Hazzard.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I have to put an event together, just because I want to invite you to jump the General Lee over something.

We have to do --

JASON: Glenn, we want. We want to build an American patriot be General Lee.

And we want to put like, you know, 47, 45 on the doors. Put a big old American flag on the roof.

And we will call it The Jump for Trump 2045, and we want to jump in front of the White House. That's what we want to do.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

I'll bring it up to him. If there's any president that will do it. It will be him. He told me a story. He will probably do it on the White House grounds.

RAYMOND: Again, that would be awesome. He would want to do that.

GLENN: He told me a story, he said, you know, about the flagpoles. And he said, you know, he was afraid that all of the -- you know, all of the paperwork and, you know, government everything.

And he wanted to build a ballroom, and put the flagpoles up.

And he went to the guy at the White House, who runs everything at the White House. The architect.

And he said, so what is the paperwork like? And he said, you know, Mr. President, the White House belongs to the president while he's there.

So there's no paperwork. You would have to be the one that would sign all of it. And he's like, this is great.

I bet he could build that jump!

I bet he could build that jump, without any permits.

That is so fantastic.

JASON: In a few weeks. My team --

GLENN: That's fantastic.

JASON: We can build a great American -- they'll give us the panels to make the car, red, white, and blue. Big old American flag theme.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

RAYMOND: We'll call it the jump for Trump. We love Trump! The jump for Trump, and we will rock the White House.

GLENN: It is so great. I will bring it up to him. I will make sure he sees it, okay?

That is fantastic.

But listen, if he takes you up. I have to be there. I have -- you have to get me invited.

RAYMOND: Yeah. Glenn, I would be honored to put a passenger side seat in the car, and you can ride with me.

GLENN: No. No, no, no. No, no.

RAYMOND: Come on!

GLENN: I saw you come down, and my back -- I have a really bad back. And all I could really think of was, ow. Ow. That must have hurt.

RAYMOND: No. Last year, I hit the ramp at 72 miles an hour. I slide 200 at 17 feet. That's the longest General Lee jump in front of a large audience. And I landed a flat on all four wheels.

Had it not been for the safety equipment. That the legendary stuff that came up.

I would have either been killed or worse, paralyzed for the rest of my life.

And it's because of that safety equipment.

I'm not even sitting on the -- I'm painting from the ceiling with bungee cords.

GLENN: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I've got to meet you. I've got to meet you, Ray? Just --

RAYMOND: Let's jump in the White House. Let's jump in the White House.

GLENN: Thank you. Raymond. Northeast Ohio. Dukes founder and lead stuntman. You can find the website, north -- northeast Ohio.
Dukes.net.

Ray, we'll talk again. Thank you so much, God bless you, man.

RAYMOND: God bless you. God bless, America.

GLENN

Introducing 'The Torch'

Tough news week. Tough news month. Always, it seems, another five-alarm fire, or the spotting of arsonists that no one will pay attention to.

The people who watch and support this show—you—are extraordinary.

You don’t just consume information; you act. You don’t just care—you sacrifice. And I’ve seen the receipts. In the last decade alone, you’ve given over a quarter of a billion dollars through Mercury One to help people in crisis.

You didn’t just write checks. You showed up.

Over 45,000 of you volunteered—some of you driving across states, organizing your churches, bringing your kids along—to take part in the largest single volunteer effort completed in one weekend.

That’s not normal. That’s rare. That’s powerful.

You launched The Nazarene Fund, rescuing over 260,000 people from persecution. You funded the largest civilian airlift in history to get Americans and our allies out of Afghanistan.

You’ve changed lives.

You’ve shaped history.

So when people ask me, “Glenn, what more can I do?” my answer is always the same:

First, look at what you have already done. Do you realize how far ahead you are of most Americans? Then start where you are. That feeling inside you—that restlessness, that pull to do something more—isn’t random. It’s a calling. But with everything that is happening in the world, it is hard to keep up as well as keep your chin up.

I get it. I’m tired of the bad news, too.

I’ve spent my life digging through it so you wouldn’t have to. But we must know what is happening and what is ahead. And while next year I’m not walking away from the radio or the stories that matter—in fact, I will be doubling down,

I’ve also told you for nearly two years: I feel something shifting. I feel like I’ve been called to something more. I have only felt this twice in my life—after I sobered up and just before I left Fox.

On January 1st, that “something” begins. I’ve named it The Torch. We started the blaze together; now it is time to take that bit of fire and light the way to a brighter future for our kids.

I wish I could tell you every detail today—but the truth is, some things are still being built, beta-tested, and negotiated. And some things I just can’t tell you until later this year. But here’s what I can tell you:

At its core, The Torch is about education, but not the kind that comes from textbooks or bureaucracies. It’s about self-directed learning rooted in history, liberty, faith, philosophy, and personal responsibility. It’s the kind of education that changes lives—and civilizations.

You’ve heard me say it before: If we want better kids, we have to become better adults. If we want stronger communities, we have to first strengthen ourselves. And if we want truth to survive, we have to fight for it—intelligently, faithfully, daily.

That’s what The Torch is:

A daily connection.

A movement.

A mission.

One part of it will be the culmination of almost a decade of hard work. It will include a new kind of museum—physical and digital—preserving the story of America in ways most museums never could.

You’ll learn through original artifacts, original sources, and real stories from real people who are doing real things. Right now, every summer, we hand-pick around 100 young adults from over 1,000 applications to spend two weeks with us in this kind of immersive learning. Now, for the first time, we’re building a way for anyone, anywhere in the world, in any language, to do the same.

We’re partnering with people of faith, business leaders, educators, innovators—people who know the truth and know how to live it. And they’re coming together not to sell you something, but to empower you.

I’m not asking for anything today—not money, not a sign-up, not a download. Just your attention. Stay connected. Watch what’s coming. I promise you: this is worth your time.

If you want to be one of the first to sign on, join the newsletter at glennbeck.com. But only if you’re serious about discovering your purpose—and lighting a fire that doesn’t go out.

Because we don’t just need new tools or new platforms—we need a renewal of the human spirit. That’s what The Torch is. That is my next mission.

And I hope, when the time comes, you’ll carry it with me.

For future updates on this mission, sign up for my newsletter, and read more background here.

Glenn's Show Prep

The Untold, Pivotal Role Faith Played in Jackie Robinson's Life

"Everything is For Sale" — How the Cartels Control Mexico's Government

We're being played. THIS is the REAL threat to America

Transcript

“General Lee” stuntman REVEALS ALL about the fountain jump

Transcript

Introducing 'The Torch'

The people who watch and support this show—you—are extraordinary.

So when people ask me, “Glenn, what more can I do?” my answer is always the same:

On January 1st, that “something” begins. I’ve named it The Torch. We started the blaze together; now it is time to take that bit of fire and light the way to a brighter future for our kids.

We’re partnering with people of faith, business leaders, educators, innovators—people who know the truth and know how to live it. And they’re coming together not to sell you something, but to empower you.