BLOGMay 15, 2017

The Real Threat From Russia: Ballet Recitals on Mother's Day

Hacking presidential elections? Unleashing cyber warfare on the West? All diversions to conceal Russia's real plan to subvert Western culture and the American Way. Their real secret weapon: scheduling dance recitals on Mother's Day.

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: So I'm just talking about -- I want to get real on how the Russians are screwing us. My daughter takes a class with Russian -- you know, some Russian ballet teachers.

PAT: So does my granddaughter.

GLENN: And I can't take it. I can't take it.

Yesterday, give -- give -- give to mother of your performance. No. No. No.

JEFFY: No.

PAT: Not much of a gift.

GLENN: Not much of a gift.

My wife yesterday, she got up at 8 o'clock. Started running around the house, trying to get everything ready for this performance at 8 o'clock in the morning. She had to be out of the house by 10:00 --

PAT: Bearing in mind that the performance is at 7 o'clock at night.

JEFFY: Wait. What?

GLENN: Yeah. She had to be out of the house by 10:00 to drive across town to get to the place. She had to be there for my daughter from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

JEFFY: The performance was --

GLENN: At 7:00 .

PAT: On Mother's Day.

GLENN: On Mother's Day.

PAT: That's unbelievable. Unbelievable.

GLENN: So she was just -- and they had the gall -- these Russians, "Give your mother gift of your performance." No, no.

PAT: I'm going to give you the gift of pulling my daughter out of your stupid dance club.

JEFFY: Yeah. Yes.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.

My wife last night was so -- so tired, so tired. I went and I saw her. We came and I took care of the kids and took the grandkids and everything to the performance.

And so we arrive at 6:45, and I see her, and she's just beat into the ground. And I said, "Hey, happy Mother's Day." And she said, "Yeah, duh. Thank you very much."

JEFFY: Fortunately though, you had Saturday.

GLENN: No, I worked all day Saturday. And she -- she had a birthday party for Cheyenne. It was like -- not Mother's Day. It's every day is not Mother's Day. Every day is kid's day, as my mother used to say.

They -- she had 14 girls. She was like -- Cheyenne wanted to go to the -- wanted to go that medieval times thing. Oh, my God. I can't take it anymore. So Tania was like, she wants 14 people to go. How much is it -- no. No.

PAT: It's about $700 a person.

GLENN: Yeah. It's like, no. We're not going to medieval times --

PAT: It's ridiculous.

GLENN: She's like, I'm just going to get some stuff, and I will decorate the house. And then we can go swim out in the pool.

So she's decorated the whole house. It would have been worth spending eight zillion -- it would have been worth mortgaging the house, instead of having 14 girls at the birthday party.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: My wife had the worst -- worst Mother's Day weekend of all time.

PAT: Oh, man.

JEFFY: And you probably shouldn't have eaten her strawberries --

GLENN: And it was the damn Russians.

PAT: The good thing though is the Russians had you pay $25 per person to -- that's great.

GLENN: Oh, no. There's more. There's more to that, if you would like to hear it. There is much more to that story, when we come back.

[break]

GLENN: You want to stay on this Russian conspiracy thing, you know, perhaps Clapper is more right than I thought. And I believe the Russian influence and destruction of the way of life starts with ballet classes for your little girls.

PAT: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

GLENN: Now, let me just say, I happen to have a special experience and special passion -- because as I said just a few minutes ago, my wife was at a ballet recital, getting my daughter ready for 12 hours yesterday. And the Russians -- mother. Throw a potato in pot and dance. Cook! Drink!

So they said, you know, oh, happen to fall on Mother's Day, sorry for that.

Yeah, uh-huh. Here in America, Ivan, it's a little important.

JEFFY: Are you?

GLENN: So she was gone all day yesterday. And then we had to watch the teacher in this deal -- we all want to go home -- it was a three-hour performance.

PAT: It's a dance recital --

GLENN: Gilligan was lost and washed up on to an island and built a hut in three hours. We're having to watch -- and they -- they have the teacher dance. I don't care to see the teacher --

PAT: Right.

GLENN: I don't care. They hired some guy to dress up in tights to do some dances. I guess -- why? Why? Why do I need to look at his junk jumping in front of me for --

PAT: Good golly.

GLENN: I don't care. I don't care about anybody on the stage, except my daughter and her friends, and everybody else I'm tolerating because, you know, it's your daughter and their friends. So I'm like, okay. That's cute. Because you were cheering for my kid. It's cute. It's great.

Stop the madness.

JEFFY: Right.

STU: Yeah, there's a misunderstanding in the audience there, right? No one is there because they like ballet. There's 0 percent --

GLENN: Right. And we all pay $25 to sit there.

STU: Right. They're there because they want to see their daughter or at least feel the need to show up so their daughter sees them. That's probably more accurate.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

PAT: We've been doing dance recitals now for, you know, almost 30 years because my oldest daughter is almost 30.

JEFFY: One hundred years.

GLENN: Dance recitals or ballet?

PAT: I've never seen the instructor dance.

GLENN: Never.

PAT: I've never seen them invite a third party to dance. And I've never been charged 25 bucks a person before.

GLENN: It's outrageous. It's outrageous.

PAT: I mean, that's nuts.

GLENN: I'm going to make a stand tonight. And I probably won't because I'm too much of a chicken. But I'm going to make a stand tonight to say, this is --

PAT: Find some place else.

GLENN: First of all, it's crazy the amounts of time. I was watching this thing last night, and I thought, "I don't know anyone -- growing up, I don't know a single person that would have had the money to -- to -- to rent the stupid costumes, let alone have the recital -- the recital would have been them dressed in tights, if they even did a ballet class. I don't know anyone who was froufrou enough to have a ballet class. My sisters never took it. They never took, you know, private singing lessons. My folks never went to our games or -- it didn't happen.

STU: Your folks never went to your games?

GLENN: I actually played basketball until I was in 6th grade, and then it stopped.

STU: I'm sorry. What?

GLENN: Yes. Stop. I'm not even going there. I will not --

STU: Is there footage of these events?

GLENN: No.

STU: Aw.

JEFFY: Is there a chance --

GLENN: It was as sad and as tragic as you thought.

JEFFY: Maybe that's why they didn't go.

GLENN: They would stand on the court, and they would be like -- they would almost look at the other team and -- they would look at me. And I'd be like, "I'm hooping. I'm hooping." And they would stand with the ball and go, "Oh, crap." And then they would look at the other team like, "I might as well just throw it to you, and it will -- let's just get on with it." And then they would throw it to me, and then I'd drop it or something, and then the other team would have it. But that's a different story. Let's not go any deeper. There's a lot of pain there.

So we never went --

JEFFY: No way!

GLENN: Our folks would say, "Go out and play."

JEFFY: Get out.

GLENN: Go out and play. And you would go out and play. We didn't have all this orchestrated stuff that costs so much money. I can't get past the fact that our kids are better off in some ways because they -- they are taking --

JEFFY: Yes, they are.

GLENN: Taking dance and things we never even thought of. You know, going over robotics over the summers. And doing things -- okay. That's good. Except it's tearing the family apart. When the family is not together for Mother's Day, it's insane. It's insane.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And my wife -- you know, I made a list -- I watched her. I posted something on Facebook last night -- or, yesterday morning. I took this picture, and I didn't include her face. I just took her -- a picture of Cheyenne sitting at her feet and her hands because she had gotten up. And it was 10 o'clock in the morning. And she's like, "I have got to get into the shower and -- and I took this picture of her because she was telling me all the things that she had to do.

Okay? Let me just read this to you. Because she gave me this list of all the things she had to do. And I just started listening to her, and I thought, I do not -- I'd kill myself. If I had to be a mother, I'd kill myself.

There's just no -- I don't know how -- I don't know how women do it. Facebook, this is a shot of the worst Mother's Day. But the most revealing about what a Mother's Day really is like.

It's of Tania in her pajamas this morning. She hasn't had time to take a shower yet, as my daughter's Russian ballet instructor doesn't really care about American holidays. So here she sits on our couch this morning, sewing Cheyenne's point shoes for tonight's recital. She didn't do it yesterday, as evidenced by the little Groot doll on the table. Yesterday, Cheyenne had a birthday party here at the house with 14 girls that mom had to pull off by herself because dad was at work.

The open laptop is next to Tania because she had to go over Raphe's homework that needs to be finished with you today, Glenn. It's due tomorrow, and I've been reminding him and trying to get him to do it all weekend long. She has to leave in an hour. She has to be the backstage mom all day for the recital. Her socks are on because she's always cold, yet she keeps the house that way for me because I'm always hot.

Have you had breakfast yet? Raphe, your right shirt is hanging on the ironing board. Honey, Cheyenne needs to pack a lunch. Can you turn the iron on for me? Cheyenne, hurry up. I need to do your hair. Raphe, did you brush your teeth and use a washcloth?

Did you put deodorant on? No, you didn't. You didn't do any of those. Go back upstairs.

Me, just trying to help doesn't help really at all. Pack the lunches and snacks. Pull the car up front. Tell the son to empty the garbage long after mom had asked him twice, and try to pack the sewing kit. How did I forget the scissors and the lighter? Okay, Mom. Scissors, they were obvious. But a lighter. What's a lighter for?

I didn't ask. I just got one and helped her into the car. But if I were a mom, the lighter would be so I could smoke crack and forget about the endless lists that mom is always writing, checking, and juggling in her head. This is our crappy Mother's Day. Our glimpse into what her day is like every day.

Perhaps the purpose of this day is to notice how lost we would be without her.

I made a list yesterday of the things that she has to do. And it's overwhelming. Just overwhelming.

JEFFY: It's a shame to have to add some stuff to that list.

GLENN: It really is. It's going to be -- it's a shame when I have to let her go because, I mean, she's getting high in the miles, you know what I mean?

JEFFY: Right.

STU: I'm sure she's going to appreciate that.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Now, she's got another thing in the list, which is filing certain papers.

GLENN: Wait. What? So I'm sitting here and I'm thinking and I'm honestly -- I mean, I'm thinking about my mom. And I loved my mom.

And, you know, I loved her. Flaws and all. When she would come in, middle of the night, "Why the hell haven't you cleaned up your room? Get out of bed. You're just like your stinking father."

Those were great times.

JEFFY: Oh, good times. Good times.

GLENN: They don't come back again, and I love those moments.

Well, they didn't happen.

(laughter)

You know, I look at what my life was like. And then I look at what our children's life is like. And I think, what the hell are we doing? Really, honestly, what are we doing to them?

We are constantly the -- the house stops for them. We have put them, in many cases, above the family and above our relationship.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: Now, our relationship, sometimes that is the one to be battered. But you batter that, it's over. It's over. You beat up the relationship between mom and dad. The whole family dissolves. But how many times have you been -- now, this I expect -- how many times have you been in a critical conversation and the kids are like, "Mom, we've got to go -- I've got to go." Okay. "Dad, we've got to go -- okay. We'll get to that later.

That happened with my parents, but not to the degree that it's happening now and not for the stuff that's happening now. Usually, it was the parents who were like, "I've got to go. You're either coming with me, or you're riding your bike. You're coming now, or I'm going. I got to get to work, so ride your bike. You're going to walk." I don't know how many times I heard that. "Go. You're walking. I got to go."

Not now. God forbid.

JEFFY: I know.

GLENN: And if you even thought about doing it, you'd go to jail. It's not that -- Pat was talking about how, you know, times have changed and how, you know, you don't want your daughter walking outside in even your neighborhood.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I got news for you --

PAT: Well, she likes to walk around the pond, which is about half a block from our house.

GLENN: Man, and you live in the mean streets --

PAT: And I don't like her doing that alone.

JEFFY: Pat, that's not dangerous.

GLENN: You've got to be kidding me. Really?

PAT: No, you can't do it. No. Not alone.

GLENN: Yes, you can. Pat.

JEFFY: Pat.

GLENN: Pat.

PAT: One of your brothers going with you? No, you're not going.

Come on.

GLENN: Pat. Pat. Pat.

STU: Wait. How old is she again?

JEFFY: She's seventeen.

PAT: Seventeen.

GLENN: Sharia law. Sharia law.

(laughter)

JEFFY: No kidding!

PAT: That's kind of ridiculous, right? That's ridiculous.

JEFFY: Yes, it is, but you --

PAT: That's ridiculous.

GLENN: That's all coming from you believe -- it's safer for our kids, I think, than it has ever been in many regards. Where the danger is, is online. That's where the real danger is.

JEFFY: That's where we send them.

GLENN: And that's where we send them.

JEFFY: Stick them in the house.

GLENN: We stick them in the house.

"Watch this."

That's where the real danger is.

"No, no, no. Don't go outside and play. I can't be there to watch you."

JEFFY: You might get an ant bite.

GLENN: No, it's not -- we think -- all we think is Taken.

JEFFY: Yeah, I know.

PAT: Yeah. Yep.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. She's going to go for a walk. She's going to be half a block. Some guy is going to put her into the car.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: It's safer than it was. But you don't dare let your kids go out and do the things -- we were outside for hours and hours all day long.

JEFFY: All day. All day.

GLENN: Somebody would say -- hey, who do you kids belong to? We wouldn't want to tell them, not because the folks would get into trouble, because we would get into trouble.

JEFFY: Yes!

GLENN: They would call our folks and say, "You know what your kids were doing?"

JEFFY: I know.

GLENN: I mean -- and what are we doing? We're renting ballet -- don't do it, Stu. I can see it in your eyes. You have a kid --

STU: Uh-huh. Well, this is very -- this is a frightening conversation because I have a 4-year-old daughter. And she's very cute. And she'll dance to the songs. And my wife was saying recently, "You know what we should do is get her into dance. She loves to dance."

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: Tell her she's too old already. There's no way -- you can't start them at four.

GLENN: Yeah, no. That's half serious.

PAT: Yeah, it is.

JEFFY: Yeah. Yeah, it is.

GLENN: When it comes to real ballet -- now, remember, my daughter was taken from Russians who are like, four years old, no. My daughter was performing on stage at four, smoking a pipe, and knitting a sweetheart at the same time and also killing men for KGB.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: And you're like, what?

STU: What?

GLENN: But you -- that's the thing, ballet costs so much money, and it's such a commitment. And it's -- I mean, what do you do with it? Unless you're going to be a ballet dancer, what are you going to --

STU: Yeah.

JEFFY: That's why I stopped.

GLENN: I like the grace that it gives.

JEFFY: That's why I stopped, Pat. Because, I mean, what are you going to do with it?

PAT: Right. I can imagine the grace that was Jeffy in ballet.

JEFFY: Right. I decided after classes of years, that's enough. What are you going to do with it?

GLENN: I think we should do a ballet. I think this show should do a ballet.

STU: With Jeffy?

(laughter)

STU: With Jeffy?

GLENN: Yeah, with Jeffy.

PAT: He'll do a pirouette and fall through the stage.

STU: You keep saying "this show." What you mean is Jeffy, right? Because I know you don't mean this show, as if we'd all be involved in it. I think what you mean is Jeffy. Right?

GLENN: No, I mean this show, the whole show. I would produce and direct.

STU: Oh, and I'll write it. I'll write it. I'll write that thing.

PAT: The musical. I'll do the musical score.

GLENN: Pat, looks like -- looks like you're playing Clara, and Jeffy, of course, is the Nutcracker.

RADIO

INSIDE Trump’s soul: How a bullet changed his heart forever

“I have a new purpose,” then-candidate Donald Trump told reporter Salena Zito after surviving the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Salena joins Glenn Beck to reveal what Trump told her about God, his purpose in life, and why he really said, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, as she details in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland”.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Salena, congratulations on your book. It is so good.

Just started reading it. Or listening to it, last night.

And I wish you would have -- I wish you would have read it. But, you know, the lady you have reading it is really good.

I just enjoy the way you tell stories.

The writing of this is the best explanation on who Trump supporters are. That I think I've ever read, from anybody.

It's really good.

And the description of your experience there at the edge of the stage with Donald Trump is pretty remarkable as well. Welcome to the program.

SALENA: Thank you, Glenn. Thank you so much for having me.

You know, I was thinking about this, as I was ready to come on. You and I have been along for this ride forever. For what?

Since 2006? 2005?

Like 20 years, right?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

SALENA: And I've been chronicling the American people for probably ten more years, before that. And it's really remarkable to me, as watching how this coalition has grown. Right?

And watching how people have the -- have become more aspirational.

And that's -- and that is what the conservative populist coalition is, right?

It is the aspirations of many, but the celebration of the individual.

And chronicling them, yeah. Has been -- has been, a great honor.

GLENN: You know, I was thinking about this yesterday, when -- when Elon Musk said he was starting another party.

And somebody asked me, well, isn't he doing what the Tea Party tried to do?

No. The Tea Party was not going to start a new party.

It was to -- you know, it was to coerce and convince the Republican Party to do the right thing. And it worked in many ways. It didn't accomplish what we hoped.

But it did accomplish a lot of things.

Donald Trump is a result of the Tea Party.

I truly believe that. And a lot of the people that were -- right?

Were with Donald Trump, are the people that were with the Tea Party.

SALENA: That's absolutely right.

So that was the inception.

So American politics has always had movements, that have been just outside of a party. Or within a party.

That galvanize and broaden the coalition. Right? They don't take away. Or walk away, and become another party.

If anything, if there is a third party out there, it's almost a Republican Party.

Because it has changed in so many viable and meaningful ways. And the Tea Party didn't go away. It strengthened and broadened the Republican Party. Because these weren't just Republicans that became part of this party.

It was independents. It was Democrats.

And just unhappy with the establishment Republicans. And unhappy with Democrats.

And that -- that movement is what we -- what I see today.

What I see every day. What I saw that day, in butler, when I showed I happen at that rally.

As I do, so many rallies, you know, throughout my career. And that one was riveting and changed everything.

GLENN: You made a great case in the opening chapter. You talk about how things were going for Donald Trump.

And how this moment really did change everything for Donald Trump.

Changed the trajectory, changed the mood.

I mean, Elon Musk was not on the Trump train, until this.

SALENA: Yeah.

GLENN: Moment. What do I -- what changed? How -- how did that work?

And -- and I contend, that we would have much more profound change, had the media actually done their job and reported this the way it really was. Pragmatism

SALENA: You know, and people will find this in the book. I'm laying on the ground with an agent on top of me.

I'm 4 feet away from the president.

And there's -- there's notices coming up on my phone. Saying, he was hit by broken glass.

And to this take, that remains part of this sibling culture, in American politics.

Because reporters were -- were so anxious to -- to right what they believed happened.

As opposed to what happened.

And it's been a continual frustration of mine, as a reporter, who is on the ground, all the time.

And I'll tell you, what changed in that moment.

And I say a nuance, and I believe nuance is dead in American journalism.

But it was a nuance and it was a powerful conversation, that I had with President Trump, the next day. He called me the next morning.

But it's a powerful conversation I had with him, just two weeks ago.

When he made this decision to say, fight, fight, fight.

People have put in their heads, why they think he said it. But he told me why he said that. And he said, Salena, in that moment, I was not Donald Trump the man. I was a former president. I was quite possibly going to be president again.

And I had an obligation to the country, and to the office that I have served in, to project strength. To project resolve.

To project that we will not be defeated.

And it's sort of like a symbolic eagle, that is always -- you know, that symbol that we look at, when we think about our country.

He said, that's why I said that. I didn't want the people behind me panicking. I didn't want the people watching, panicking.

I had to show strength. And it's that nuance -- that I think people really picked up on.

And galvanized people.

GLENN: So he told me, when he was laying down on the stage.

And you can hear him. Let me get up. Let me get up.

I've got to get up.

He told me, as I was laying on the stage. I asked him, what were you thinking? What was going through your head? Now, Salena, I don't know about you.

But with me. It would be like, how do I get off the stage? My first was survival.

He said, what was going on through his mind was, you're not pathetic. This is pathetic.

You're not afraid. Get up.

Get up.

And so is that what informed his fight, fight, fight, of that by the time that he's standing up, he's thinking, I'm a symbol? Or do you think he was thinking, I'm a symbol, this looks pathetic. It makes you look weak.

Stand up. How do you think that actually happened?

SALENA: He thinks, and we just talked about this weeks ago. He -- you know, and this is something that he's really thought about.

Right? You know, he's gone over and over and over. And also, purpose and God. Right? These are things that have lingered with him.

You know, he -- he thought, yes.

He did think, it was pathetic that he was on the ground. But he wasn't thinking about, I'm Donald Trump. It's pathetic.

He's thinking, my country is symbolically on the ground. I need to get up, and I need to show that my country is strong.

That our country is resolute.

And I need people to see that.

We can't go on looking like pathetic.

Right?

And I think that then goes to that image of Biden.

GLENN: You have been with so many presidents.

How many presidents do you think that you've personally been with, would have thought that and reacted that way?

SALENA: Probably only Reagan. Reagan would have. Reagan probably would have thought that.

And if you remember how he was out like standing outside.

You know, waving out the window. Right?

After he was shot.

GLENN: At the hospital, right.

SALENA: Had he not been knocked out, unconscious, you know, he probably would have done the same thing.

Because he was someone who deeply believed in American exceptionalism.

And American exceptionalism does not go lay on the ground.

GLENN: And the symbol.

Right. The symbol of the presidency.

SALENA: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that affects him today.

GLENN: So let me go back to God.

Because you talked to him the next day. And your book Butler.

He calls you up.

I love the fact that your parents would be ashamed of you. On what you said to him.

The language you used. That you just have to read the book.

It's just a great part.

But he calls you the next morning. And wants to know if you're okay.

And you -- you then start talking to him, about God.

And I was -- I was thinking about this, as I was listening to it. You know, Lincoln said, I wasn't -- I wasn't a Christian.

Even though, he was.

I wasn't a Christian, when I was elected. I wasn't a Christian when my son died.

I became a Christian at Gettysburg.

Is -- is -- I mean, I believe Donald Trump always believes in God, et cetera, et cetera.

Do you think there was a real profound change at Butler with him?

SALENA: Absolutely. You know, he called me seven times that day. Seven times, the take after seven.

GLENN: Crazy.

SALENA: Talked about. And I think he was looking for someone that he knew, that was there. And to try to sort it out.

Right? And I let him do most of the talking. I didn't pressure him.

At all. I believed that he was having -- you know, he was struggling. And he needed to just talk. And I believed my purpose was to listen.

Right? I know other reporters would have handled it differently. And that's okay. That's not the kind of reporter that I am.

And I myself was having my own like, why didn't I die?

Right?

Because it went right over my head.

And -- and so I -- he had the conversation about God.

He's funny. I thought it was the biggest mosquito in the world that hit me.

But he had talked profoundly about purpose. You know, and God.

And how God was in that moment.

It --

GLENN: I love the way you -- in the book, I love the way you said that as he's kind of working it out in his own he head.

He was like, you know, I -- I -- I always knew that there was some sort of, you know -- that God was present.

He said, but now that this has happened.

I look back at all of the trials.

All of the tribulations. Literally, the trials.

All of the things that have happened. And he's like, I realized God was there the whole time.

SALENA: Yes. He does. And it's fascinating to have been that witness to history, to have those conversations with him. Because I'm telling you. And y'all know, I can talk. I didn't say much of anything.

I just -- I just listened. I felt that was my purpose, in that moment.

To give him that space, to work it out.

I'm someone that is, you know, believes in God.

I'm Catholic. I followed my faith.

And -- and so, I thought, well, this is why God put me here. Right?

And to -- to have that -- to hear him talk about purpose, to hear him say, Salena. Why did I put a chart down?

I'm like, sir. I don't know. I thought you were Ross Perot for a second.

He never has a chart. And he laughed. And then he said, why did I put that chart down?

By that term, I never turned my head away from people at the rally. That's true.

That relationship is very transactional. It's very -- they feed off of each other.

It's a very emotive moment when you attend a rally. Because he has a way of talking at a rally. That you believe that you are seeing.

And he said, and I never turn my head away.

I never turn my head away.

Why did I turn my head away?

I don't remember consciously thinking about turning my head away. And then he says to me, that was God, wasn't it?

Yes, sir. It was. It was God.

And he said, that's -- that's why I have a new purpose.

And so, Glenn. I think it's important, when you look at the breadth of what has happened, since he was sworn in.

You see that purpose, every day.

He doesn't let up.

He continues going.

And it brings back to the beginning of the book.

Where you find out, that there was another president that was shot at in Butler.

And that was George Washington. And how different the country would have been, had he died in that moment.

And now think about how different the country would be, had President Trump died in that moment. There would be --

GLENN: We're talking to -- we're talking to Salena Zito. About her new book called Butler. The assassination attempt on President Trump. And it is riveting.

And, you know, it is so good. I wish the press would read it. Because it really explains who we are, who Trump supporters are. Who are, you know, red staters. It is so good at that. She's the best at that.

RADIO

The REAL reason Pam Bondi should RESIGN

Glenn Beck makes the case that Attorney General Pam Bondi should resign over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation - not because of any potential cover-up, but solely because of how incompetent her rollout of the investigation has been.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. I want Pam Bondi fired. I want Pam Bondi fired.

STU: This escalated quickly.

GLENN: And here's why. Here's why. Do you release a tape that is supposed to be the evidence, do you release the tape, and then let the public find out for themselves, that there's an edit in the tape?

STU: That's an excusable mistake. I mean, I don't know that she did it, I guess.

GLENN: You know what, it could have been just a digital jump in the tape.

It's a minute lost. Okay?

So let's just say -- let's just give them every benefit of the doubt, and say, it was just a digital jump in the tape.

Okay?

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Do you not put an intern on it, just to say, watch the clock!

And make sure there's no jumps or edit in the tape.

Because we know.

STU: Everyone is going to watch.

GLENN: 300 million people will be watching it. And somebody will take the time to watch the clock.

So watch the clock.

Is every minute accounted for? You didn't do that? You didn't do that.

STU: I think you can pretty easily say, that if you wanted to, right?

And your goal was -- you wanted to edit out -- it would be very easy to edit in a minute of footage.

GLENN: Correct.

STU: And that no one knows. Just make the clock continuous.

GLENN: Correct.

STU: It would be clear.

If you were trying to cover that, it would be --

GLENN: This is incompetence.

STU: However, highlighting your point to incompetence. At the very least, if you have a jump, you say at the beginning. There's an error at this point.

This is -- we know this is there.

You know, the fact that you release it as proof without acknowledging that minute is -- I just don't understand how you can make a mistake like that.

When your goal here is supposedly to put everyone's mind at ease.

I don't know. I don't know.

But there's more to it, than that.

GLENN: Hang on just a second.

Let me go back to before we leave. Just this one.

Remember when I said yesterday, your wife finds receipts for you buying presents at Tiffany's that she never got.

That, you know, you were in a hotel that she never came to.

You were -- you were not coming home for dinner. You had long weekends and everything else. It doesn't mean you were cheating.

STU: And a traveling jewelry investor.

GLENN: Right. But she -- she should demand the evidence, because it -- you don't want that hanging there. On your relationship.

It will just fester.

Now, you give her the evidence. But then she finds out that, oh. Well, it's the wrong receipt.

It was a -- it was a receipt, you know, that you explained away. But what you -- what you used as proof, was not the same receipt.

You were like, no.

See, honey. This is when we went to the hotel, together.

And she looks at it. And she's like, oh, okay.

And then she has it for a while. And she looks at it.

Like, wait a minute. The date is different on this one. This is not the same receipt.

That's a problem! That's a problem.

And it doesn't mean that he was cheating on you.

It just means. What the hell is going on?

Are you this stupid?

STU: And it would certainly make you have legitimate questions about --

GLENN: It just makes you question things for. Now, if it wasn't for the jump in the tape. And I'm not even going to call it an edit. Because I don't think it was an edit. I think it was jump in the tape. As if the jump in the tape wasn't incompetent enough for you, listen to this one. Jason is here with us.

Hi, Jason.

JASON: Hi, Glenn. What a morning, wow.

GLENN: What a morning it is, wow.

So, Jason, what else have you found?

JASON: Okay. So the more and more we looked at this tape.

I started looking.

It was weird. Because it looked like a janitor's closet.

Door 26.

And you were like, shut up, this is not a janitor's closet. I don't know what this is.

But I was like, I can tell you, there's a woman that looks like a janitor that comes out and supposedly the person that that they're saying is his cell. Which they're not, by the way. This was people on social media was saying, this is his cell.

Was coming out with a trash can.
So I looked around to see, if there was any confirmation of what this cell was.

I found an OIG report from the Justice Department two years ago, that shows the camera angle, and the one camera that was actually working.

So you can see the diagram, and I think we actually have it if you're watching this right now. There's a diagram that shows where this camera is.
It shows where Epstein's cell is. And the big thing that stands out, Glenn, is this camera does not even have eyes on Epstein's cell at all. Like, not at all.

STU: Incredible.
JASON: There's four different wings here. There is a service wing. And that's what we're looking at, with the Door 46.

That's a service entrance, or staff entrance. Now, you can't see on the lower level of Epstein's cell at all.

So this is what it makes it look even crazier for that one minute that's missing.

And I will say -- that okay. Let me just say it this way.

I've spent years and years and years, looking at surveillance and security camera footage as you know, in my previous job.

I've never seen an over one-minute jump right at a time that would be very, very I don't know, just convenient.

I've never seen that before. In all my years looking at these things.

STU: There's no reason. Why would you say that minute would be convenient? You're just saying, that one minute being gone could be convenient.

JASON: It's convenient in this entire time frame.

Based on this camera angel.

It's convenient, that 60 seconds would be great for someone walking across that lower level.

60 seconds would be perfect if you wanted to conceal the fact that someone would have worked across that area. That's why --

GLENN: Here's why -- here's why I didn't buy into this, at first.

Okay. Sixty seconds, to open the door, kill him. And then leave.

Okay?

But look at the diagram. If you look at the diagram, where the camera is, there is a -- just a -- maybe a foot space, where the camera is not able to see. Where there is a door, from the staff area.

Okay?

STU: Are you looking at -- because I think -- it's hard to tell from this.

Are you looking -- is this diagram the top floor or the bottom floor.

Jason, do you have any idea?

JASON: So I think Epstein is on.

STU: The upper floors. Right.

GLENN: Okay. So I'm looking at where the staff area is, okay. See the yellow triangle and the red box, where it's his cell.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: Okay. So there is one way out of the staff area. And it's right below the camera.

STU: Like underneath the floor, essentially, of where the camera is.

GLENN: Yeah. On the floor. If the camera is up on a ceiling. Is that what you -- what -- you're saying.

STU: Yeah. The camera is -- the camera is from on the second floor, shooting down.

And the evidence that they're basically proclaiming here. And this is true.

You know, what Jason is saying, is true.

That you can't see the door of the Epstein cell. What you can see is a common area, that in theory, you would need to cross to get to the cell.

STU: What you're saying, Glenn. The camera does not actually show 100 percent of the potential paths to get there. Right?

JASON: It doesn't.

STU: If you cross right in front of the banister here on the bottom floor.

GLENN: There's no way you will see.

Okay. So wait a minute. I just want to make sure. We are talking about the same thing. If you look at the videotape, it's the white room, down stairs.

Right? And so it's where the garbage can is, down there.

STU: Below that.

GLENN: So Epstein's room would be below the garbage can.

STU: No. Epstein's room, if you look out -- the area that you can see.

And I apologize for radio listeners here that aren't seeing the visual. But I want to make sure we get this right.

There's an open area, where the banister is, and it shows the common area behind it. Right?

If you go on the right side of the common area from our view.

Outside of the view, to the right. Is where the entrance to the cell is.

The stairs up to the cell.

GLENN: So all you have to do. You don't have to cross the floor.

Why do you have to cross the floor? You can go through the door. You can go through the door, and see. And just stay against the wall.

STU: Yeah. I guess, maybe.

And Jason, maybe you know this.

Maybe it's explained somewhere else in the report.

Is it possible that they're saying, all the other entrances, to get to that area, have cameras. So they didn't see anybody walking into those areas.

GLENN: Why wouldn't you show the other --

STU: Right.

GLENN: You know, this is not proof that anybody did anything.

STU: No!

GLENN: This is proof, they're -- Pam Bondi needs to be fired.

Who is rolling this out?

The Little Rascals.

Panky, look, I've got some videotape. What are you doing? This is ridiculous!

This is such absolute incompetence! Incompetence.

STU: It's incredible. The fact that they would release that because I think everybody had the same -- even Jason, as a super-duper skeptic on this, even you had the assumption that what they were saying was, the green doors were the cells, or at least the cell area.

GLENN: Right, that's what I thought.

STU: That's what everyone thought, when they saw it. Now, to be clear, the report, as you pointed out, Jason. Previously had stated in June, this diagram that shows they're talking about the common area.

So that's not like -- but like, they, A, should have been very clear about that. What they're talking about is the common area.

They shouldn't put that in the announcement.

GLENN: Stu, we're going upstairs today.

Okay? To my house. And, you know, I have that balcony, upstairs by the fireplace.

Where you haven't -- like at midnight last night.

Because it's like a day's journey from anywhere.

GLENN: Right. But we're going to go upstairs. And you put a camera, okay? Down into the great room.

STU: Right. You want to recreate it in your house.

GLENN: I do. And I want to show you, I can get to places in the room, as long -- because there's a whole floor.

The balcony shows part, but it doesn't show the door.

I can -- wait until -- I got to prove, that we're going to do this live on YouTube, or something on -- maybe on X today, as soon as we get off the air.

Because I -- this is ridiculous.

STU: It's unbelievable. Again, it doesn't prove that this -- you know, he was killed.

However, it is -- the fact that they're releasing a video that has this many holes to it, to a passing -- again, the person you're trying to make feel better about all of this is someone very interested in the detail of it. Right?

It's not someone who has a passing interest. You're not releasing this to some person who kind of knows who Jeffrey Epstein is. This is intentionally designed to try to push down some weird argument as a conspiracy theory.

GLENN: You're also -- also -- and, you know what, I'm not arguing anything.

I'm arguing this is incompetence.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: I'm not arguing that he killed himself.

Or he didn't kill -- I don't know!

I don't know. I don't know.

But this isn't helping.

You know, not only are you saying, that these people have some interest in it.

Well, you know, these people are interested in the details.

No!

You're releasing it to a bumbling of people, who many of them have the details. But many of them are hostile to what you're saying.

So you better have a buttoned up case.

STU: Right.

GLENN: You better not have anything that they find out later, wait. Wait a minute.

What?

STU: Right. And it could be -- you know, you could make the couple of arguments that you probably could make here.

One, they don't actually care about this. And they're annoyed they have to deal with it.

So they threw it out there.

Terrible incompetence. If that's the truth. That's inexcusable.

The other thing they might argue. And this could be part of it.

There were reports at least, that this got leaked. That this came out essentially earlier than they wanted it to.

So the rollout was not as planned, as they thought it was going to be.

Axios reported this exclusively. Now, it's possible, they linked it to Axios.

It's not exactly a typical location of a Trump leak.

GLENN: Who? The Justice Department, or the FBI? That's what I want to know.

First of all, this administration has no leaks. We just bombed Iran without any leaks.

STU: Yeah. Different -- different wing of the government. Still, I get what you're saying.

GLENN: Yeah, right.

STU: A lot of this has been tight.

But there does seem to be.

You know, there's a lot of big personalities. There's always reported squabbling going on.

Who knows how this was released and who didn't.

That may be true. That part of the rollout was heard.

Right? Because it was released when they were ready. That might be true.

It still doesn't really explain. The video is a video.

They definitely posted it. They posted it like that. They posted it -- they had a memo that explained what the video was, and did not mention anything like that. That mentioned the --

GLENN: That's all you have to do.

Hey, there's a one minute jump. Here's why it's there.

STU: Again, even with that explanation, which would making me happier.

Right? That it's available.

It still wouldn't make a person who believes in this theory.

GLENN: Right. I can tell you -- I can tell you for a fact, nothing is going to satisfy everyone.

STU: Right.

GLENN: But you at least have to try to make the easy things go away.

RADIO

Will Medicaid cuts KILL Americans? Glenn reveals the FACTS!

Democrats claim that the Big, Beautiful Bill will take Medicaid and Medicare away from many Americans and even “kill” people. But is any of this true? Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere review just the facts and explain who’s actually affected by the changes.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Can I address some of the hyperbole around the big, beautiful bill, just a little bit.

If there's anything in the big, beautiful bill to worry about, it's the increase in spending.

Because the spending ourself into oblivion is an actual threat.

To the country. But that's not what anybody is talking about. What everybody seems to be talking about is the tax cuts. Which were already there. Or the tax cuts like no tax for tips. Which you would think the party of the little people. You know, the Democrats. Would all be for. But they're not.

Because they're not party of the little people anymore. And those had to be offset.

Okay. Offset. By what?

Well, by cutting spending. But cutting what spending?

Not cutting spending. Let me just say this. If I said, you know, I made $250,000 a year. And this year, we were going to spend $300,000.
Okay?

And you would say, immediately, Glenn. You can't do that.

And I would say, I've been doing that for 30 years. Okay. You might say, the bank is not going to give a loan.

But then if I came to you and said, yeah. I'm spending $300,000 a year. And my wife and I make 250 or 200,000 a year. But, you know, next year, I was going to spend $500,000.

Did you get a raise? No. I didn't get a raise. I still make 250,000 dollars a year between my wife and I.

But I'm going to spend 500 and not 300. And then somebody came in, like an accountant with some muscle.

And they said, Glenn, you cannot spend $500,000 a year!

Would it make sense if I went back to spending 300, not 200, which I had.

But 300, which I had been spending every year, would it make sense to you to -- for me to say, my children are now going to starve? My children are now going to starve.

Look at the austerity program that I am on.

My gosh, they just -- no. They didn't cut anything. They must cut thinking.

They cut the increase inning spending.

That's what they cut.

And, Stu, could you please explain Medicare.

I mean, all of the people. I know they warned us.

I didn't believe the death squads would actually go out.

And, you know, they want these people off Medicare so badly.

Or Medicaid.

They just sent out death squads. Trump is not waiting for them to die, because he's not waiting for them to get their prescriptions now he just wants them slaughtered in the street.

STU: Yeah, that's the efficiency of the Trump administration. He wants these people dead so badly, he's just killing them in the streets. Actually, no, none of that is happening.

And the Medicaid cuts as you point out, are largely cuts to future increases that have not occurred.

The biggest chunk of this is the work requirements. You've heard this, Glenn.

And, you know, I went through this. And I was like, this can't possibly be what they mean.

I said, wait a minute. When they say work requirement cuts, what does that mean?

So I dove into it a little bit. Basically, what they're saying, you, if you're an able-bodied adult, so that does not include old people, does not include people who are sick and can't work. And it also does not include people who have small children, even if they are able-bodied.

And when I say small, I mean 12 and under. So if you have a 12-year-old. You're completely exempt from this.

But able-bodied adults.

GLENN: Okay. On people in wheelchairs.

STU: No. Gosh, again, I know this is tough. Yeah, this is where it gets difficult.

GLENN: Wait. I'm having a hard time following this. What now?.

STU: So you're an able-bodied adult, that does not have small children.

GLENN: No small children.

STU: You would be required to get Medicaid, to work 20 hours a week.

Now, you might --

GLENN: Twenty hours a week.

STU: Or 80 hours a month.

GLENN: Or 80 hours a month.

That's almost half a full-time job.

STU: Now, you might say to yourself. And this is actually true.

Some people can't get jobs. Right?

I'm sure, there are people trying to get part-time jobs. And maybe can't get them.

Those people will just lose their Medicaid. Well, as you may understand.

Of course not.

Because what you have to do then is go through a process, that you're basically telling them, you're attempting to get a job. Or you're volunteering somewhere, to meet that requirement.

So basically, you have to fill out -- yeah. It's like unemployment.

You have to at least fill out some paperwork here.

GLENN: It's the exact opposite.

Let me see if I have this right.

It's the exact opposite of unemployment which we've had forever.

Which if you're looking for a job, but can't get it. You can still have unemployment.

But it's the exact opposite. Right?

Especially if you're nursing sextuplets.

STU: Again, you're not very close to the truth.

You're a little bit off on this one.

GLENN: No. Huh!

STU: By the way, Glenn, you might say to yourself, wait. How is that a Medicaid cut?

Because they're not cutting anyone's eligibility here. Unless they don't want to meet the requirement.

Of course, there's always been requirements to all of these programs.

So meeting the requirements have always been part of getting on to Medicaid.

This requirement, if you decide basically not to do it. And not participate. And not fill out the paperwork.

Then, yes. You will lose your Medicaid coverage.

What they're saying, hold on. All right.

GLENN: No. I just want to make sure I have it right.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: If you are blind, you're deaf.

STU: No. Again, no.

GLENN: You have no friends, and you can't get out of the house, and you've been on Medicaid, somehow or another, you signed up for that. But now, you don't even know, because you can't hear the news. You certainly can't fill out a form. Because you have no eyes.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: They just come in and rip your Medicaid away?

STU: No. None of what you said is accurate.

Though, it is calm considering some of the accusations -- comparisons made bit left right now.

But, yeah.

So if you are an able-bodied adult that decides, you know what, I don't feel like filling out the paperwork, or I don't feel like going to job interviews, or I don't feel like volunteering, then yes. You could lose -- but that's what they're saying the cuts are.

They think 317 billion dollars worth of people will not bother doing those things. For whatever reason. Maybe because they had more money than they said. Maybe because they're lazy.

Maybe because -- I'm sure there's some case where some -- I don't know.

I can't think of the case.

GLENN: Blind person.

STU: Because the ailments are covered here.

But, yes. Maybe it's some particular skin color. Then they would reject you.

I don't know.

And it's not just that. There are other cuts. For example, some of the cuts are, they're eliminate duplicate Medicaid enrollment.

If you happen to have Medicaid.

GLENN: I can't double-dip.

STU: In two different states. They're going to try to stop you from having it in two states.

And instead, make you have it one state. Uh-huh.

GLENN: Hold on just one second.

I have two legs. I have two arms. I have two eyes. I have two nostrils. I have two ears.

I can't have two Medicaid coverages. It's insane!

STU: I know.

It's really, really brutal.

GLENN: I have two kidneys. I can only have one kidney now, you know, repaired?

STU: Now --

GLENN: Is that what you're saying?

STU: That's not what I'm saying. But, yes. I'm sure that's what's being reported out there by Dana Bash.

Another one, I will give you here, Glenn. They talked about immigrants.

You know, immigrants getting on their Medicaid cut. Now, this is tough. What this bill does, I want you to hold on to your hat here, Glenn.

GLENN: Okay.

STU: If you have green card holders and other certain immigrants, some will lose their coverage. Or actually, sorry, eligibility will -- retain for those people.

Certain other immigrants may lose their coverage. The current law says, all who are lawfully present.

That will kick in after a -- how many year waiting period?

Let me guess, it's a five-year waiting period.

So it will be the next president who has to deal with this, when future Congress will just put it right back in. And it's not a savings at all.

And then you have Medicaid death checks. They're going to require --

GLENN: They're checking on whether your debt? Look at this! It's crazy.

STU: It's brutal. It really is.

GLENN: You're going to kick all of the immigrants off in five years.

STU: No.

GLENN: And then you're checking to see if old people are dead!

When will you leave these people alone?

STU: I know. So, anyway, we can go through this stuff all day. But as you point out, most of this stuff is not at all, what the left is saying it is.

It's not the desperate Medicaid cuts that are going to ruin everybody's lives. A lot of them are just really common sense stuff, making sure you don't have them in two states. I don't know what the positive argument is for that. But they'll make it.

GLENN: Well, they don't have one. That's why they don't make it about that.

Glenn's Show Prep

The Real Threat From Russia: Ballet Recitals on Mother's Day

INSIDE Trump’s soul: How a bullet changed his heart forever

Transcript

The REAL reason Pam Bondi should RESIGN

Transcript

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's Connections to Intel Agencies

Will Medicaid cuts KILL Americans? Glenn reveals the FACTS!

Transcript