People Don’t Mock the President in Egypt – but Bassem Youssef Dared To

September 28, 2017

WRITER

He’s known as “Egypt’s Jon Stewart.” Bassem Youssef created a satirical political show that channeled the feelings of many Egyptians, and he has since been exiled from his own country.

Now living in Los Angeles, Youssef has shared his incredible story in a memoir, “Revolution for Dummies.” A documentary released earlier this year called “Tickling Giants” captured his journey from heart surgeon to star to expatriate.

He talked with Glenn on Wednesday about the Arab Spring; comedy and satire; and why oppressive governments don’t want people to be aware and educated. Listen to the amazing interview on Glenn’s Soundcloud (embedded above).

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: There's a guy -- there's very few people that have come on this program that have -- that I've put into the category of a real hero, a global hero. Somebody who is actually facing down giants and not popular with anyone, except the people. And has stared down true dictators. And rewriting history and the book of how things are done. Living in Egypt, there are -- they don't do satire. They don't have The Daily Show. They don't have shows where you take on the president. You find yourself in a prison. The world is radically different in the Middle East.

There's a guy who was a doctor. And during the Arab Spring, he went out to Tahrir Square, and he just started aiding people, helping people. And what he saw was different than what he was seeing on television.

He decided to do a YouTube television show with a friend. And it became an overnight success, gigantic. Before you know it, he's now doing a television show, where he's actually taking on the president of his country. And doing things that had never, ever been done before under a dictatorship. He has been hated by Mubarak. He was arrested by Morsi, and el-Sisi doesn't like him all that much either. His name is Dr. Bassem Youssef, and he joins us now. They call him the Jon Stewart of Egypt. Welcome, Bassem, how are you?

BASSEM: Hello, Glenn, how are you? Such a pleasure to talk to you. Man, I mean, I've kind of known you forever. Such a pleasure. How are you?

GLENN: Thank you. I would imagine that you have strong opinions about me, and we can get to those if you care to later. But I would rather talk about you.

BASSEM: No, no, no. I enjoy all your views, and I have to say, I have watched you, I don't know, make -- I find your ways and -- I don't know. I respect all kinds of freedom of speech. And I have no strong opinions about you at all, no.

GLENN: That's fine. So, Bassem,the one thing that we should come together on was I was really concerned about the Arab Spring because of the Muslim Brotherhood.

BASSEM: Yeah.

GLENN: And I really felt that the -- as I said at the time, Mubarak is a monster. And we as Americans, we helped create him. I mean, we have no business to -- to tell anybody about freedom. We were in bed with Mubarak for a long time. Horrible person. And here we are with our ghost plane, sending people and saying, we're not going to torture anybody. We'll just bring to you Mubarak. And I was concerned because I do know the history of the Middle East. Not like you do. And I do know the -- I take people who are Islamic extremists at their word.

And I saw the Arab Spring as an opportunity for those who wanted to create caliphates. As it turns out, you guys dodged a bullet, and it was ISIS, you know, forming the caliphate. And you guys got away from the Muslim Brotherhood.

In watching your documentary, I can't imagine living it. Can you -- can you tell the American people what it is like to go through a revolution?

BASSEM: Yeah. It's very chaotic. I chose comedy and satire to go through with it. Which is very difficult. Because we happened to write comedy where things were basically falling apart outside, especially threats -- I mean, like there were people -- I was put under siege in my theater, writing my show. And I was put under siege by people who were supporters by the military, not the Islamists.

So -- so the thing is, you are completely right about being scared of the Islamist. And it's totally justified. But what people miss is that Islamism, radical Islamism has been also a tool by military as much as it is a tool by Islamists.

GLENN: Oh, yeah. Oh, I agree.

BASSEM: Yeah. It was set out in 1980, who actually gave a greater power to Sharia in the Constitution in order to have unlimited times of reelection. It was (inaudible) in Pakistan, who also pushed into the Sharia laws, so that he will appease the Islamists. It was Gaafar Nimeiry in Sudan, who changed the country into an Islamic State because military dictatorship was not working.

And even now, right now, the military under el-Sisi is using all the conservative values of conservatism. It's kind of like our Islamism is better than their Islamism. And it has put people in jail because if they try to reform some interpretation of the religion.

So the thing is, I don't think that the Muslim Brotherhood were on the way to the caliphate. As a matter of fact, they were in bed with the military. The military actually pushed them to the front, because the Muslim Brotherhood would give them guarantees so they will keep their own benefits.

GLENN: Correct.

BASSEM: So it is basically a game. You know that the most radical people in Egypt are the Salitis, which are kind of like the right, right, right wing. It's kind of like Muslim Brotherhood on steroids. They were created by the Mubarak regime. And why?

Because these military regimes they tell the West, hey, we are quote and quote, secular. If you go, you will have these people to deal with. So it's kind of like, either me or chaos. Either me or ISIS. What do you choose?

So, of course, all of the Western (inaudible) say, all right. You know what, he's a son of an SOB. But he's our SOB. And it is in their benefit to keep that duality. So they do not -- they do not support education. They don't support awareness. They don't support openness. It is their own best interest to have people stuck between the duality. The bully with the gun or the bully with the Sharia.

GLENN: So we see -- we see people over here. We're marching in the streets. And both sides are marching in the streets now. And they're, I'm so oppressed. And blah, blah, blah. And then you see people like you, where -- where people in America don't have any concept of going on television or going online and telling a joke about a president or a leader and then being arrested for that or being disappeared.

BASSEM: Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes. And this is a blessing. I mean, I know that you guys are always kind of concerned about how the state of -- and I think this is a good thing. I mean, when I was asked, like, Bassem, do you think we are like a bunch of kids because we are complaining, while you guys went through a lot? I said, no, I think you should be complaining. Because it's like you guys are like someone who is used to a certain kind of service. He goes into a restaurant, he doesn't like his soup, it's cool, he turns it away.

Nobody on the other table is like, oh, you should be grateful because other people in the world don't have food to eat.

No, you have actual war, like for the past 400 years. Civil war. Revolution, in the beginning. Civil rights, to get this kind of service.

So when people think that this is not the kind of service they paid for through their history, they -- they should be upset. And it's fine. So it doesn't have -- you shouldn't be waiting until it actually goes down the drain.

GLENN: So I agree with you. But here's where, you know -- I'm probably a little more like you in some ways. I'm hated by every president in our country. I don't think I've been liked by a president since Ronald Reagan.

BASSEM: Good for you.

GLENN: Yeah. But the last two presidents have made it personal. The last two presidents have -- and it's getting worse -- are making this very, very personal. And we're starting to creep to a place to where, you know, the president just this last weekend said, you know, you should be fired from your job. You know, they should run you out of business. Whatever. For freedom of speech.

And Americans are losing the understanding, on both sides of the aisle, that the only speech that needs protecting is the speech that the majority or those in power don't like. And so we --

BASSEM: Absolutely.

GLENN: And so we have to -- how can you teach Americans that you -- you got to tolerate the stuff you really despise.

BASSEM: Well, actually, I don't think you really need to teach Americans. You have a president to teach. Because the thing is, this is -- as an outsider, as a complete outsider, that is my biggest problem with the current president. It's not because he's -- he's biased against people like me who has skin like me, has an accent like me, or comes from a place like me, because that's kind of like a joke.

My biggest issue with him is that he doesn't understand the concept of becoming a public servant. He is still acting as a celebrity rich guy who doesn't accept criticism.

And you know what really bugged me? Not all -- like, there's a lot of stuff that bugs me about him. But like, this year, when he said, you know what, I'm not going to the correspondent dinner. I'm not going to that tradition where every president in the United States since -- the only one who bailed out was Reagan because he was shot, you know. So, you know, he said I'm not going so that you can make fun of me. And this is a tradition that all -- you don't understand outside of America, how the world looks at the correspondent dinner. And it's like, wow, they have a president. He's there. And he's being roasted for a whole night. This is amazing.

And he said, no. I'm not going because I'm above this. And this is his problem. He doesn't understand that it's okay because people voted for him. People are paying his salary because of the tax --

GLENN: So you have -- you have -- you say this kind of -- not about Trump. You say this in your own -- in the documentary about your experience. You talk a little bit about how, you know, these guys -- we have to be able to make fun of our leader.

BASSEM: Absolutely.

GLENN: But that's totally foreign to you.

BASSEM: Absolutely. Absolutely. And the thing is, in the Middle East, it's totally different. It's not like a rich guy who doesn't understand the concept of being a public servant. It's like a whole region that has lived for so long and attached to our system. It's like he's a father, he's the leader, he's the inspirational guru. It is something that you cannot touch. And it starts from a very young age. You can't talk back against your parents. You can't talk back against your teacher. Against your boss. Against -- all the way up to the president.

And this has been engrained in us. So when I went out and I made fun of it, said, oh, that's not appropriate. It's like, all right. So that's not appropriate. But, like, torturing people, jailing people is appropriate?

It's really weird what people would consider is appropriate. Because I've been hearing you, you know, before I went in, and you were saying like Puerto Rico is suffering, and people are talking about like whether we should kneel or not for the flag. It's crazy. It's crazy.

How people are offended by, like, kneeling for the flag, but they're not offended by what's happening to fellow Americans on this island.

GLENN: Bessem Youssef is joining us. We'll continue our conversation. The movie is Tickling Giants. You really need to see it. It's available everywhere. It's really an amazing documentary on the Arab Spring and what was going on with satire and what it takes to tell a joke in the Middle East.

GLENN: We have Dr. Bassem Youssef on, and we're going to run out of time with him, and I could spend two hours with him. But, first of all, let me just say this, Bassem, we have a Muslim Egyptian on our own staff who is a huge fan. His family lives in Egypt. And they are huge fans. And they -- I'm going to get spanked by everybody in the family if I don't say thank you for them, for what you've done in Egypt.

BASSEM: Oh, my God. That's amazing. Thank you so much.

GLENN: So let me -- let me ask you two quick questions. We have very little time left.

You've seen now this whole revolution. You've watched it. Are you optimistic for Egypt and the Middle East?

BASSEM: On the long run, yes. Because it had to be done. It had to be done. You know, in the age of social media and Snapchat and Instagram and instant likes and shares, I think we got used to things have to happen instantly. So we were fooled by, "Oh, my God. We had the revolution in 18 days. Yay, we got Mubarak down. And then, oh, my God, it's going down the drain."

But if you look at history, history doesn't work this way. Look to America, 100 years in, you had the Civil War. And even your revolution just didn't happen in 1976. And then you had the Constitution. You had the Bill of Rights. There was like fights and malicious wars in the streets. And it took them another 100 years -- so it doesn't work this way. Look to Europe. It's kind of like -- I hate to say this, but I think there's a blood tax that humanity has to pay to learn. And we've seen that in Europe. We've seen that in America. We've seen that in Latin America.

GLENN: I think so too.

BASSEM: And I think we will have to pay. We have to pay to learn. We didn't pay our tax yet, and here's the one optimistic thing that's going out of the revolution. Because I know that you're looking at the Middle East right now, and it looks terrible. But there has been -- if you look closely, questioning was not a popular thing.

GLENN: You have 45 seconds.

BASSEM: Yeah. So popular -- people are very popular -- people now are questioning everything. Questioning things about tradition. Questioning about military.

And this is what came out of the revolution, the questioning. And that's a prequel of revolution.

GLENN: Bassem, I would love to talk to you again. And I wish you all the best of luck. I truly believe you are a -- you are one of the bravest people on television anywhere in the world, as you have active -- real active threats from the power structure, no matter who is in power. And it's an honor to speak to you. Thank you so much.

BASSEM: It's an honor to speak to you, sir. Thank you.

GLENN: You bet.

Name of the video that you must see is Tickling Giants.

STU: And the book, Revolution For Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring.

GLENN: Have you seen the documentary?

STU: I've only seen parts of it.

GLENN: It is -- this guy -- I mean, when they're writing comedy and he's like, so-and-so had their father arrested last night because of the show. Are we doing the right thing? It's remarkable.

Antifa isn’t “leaderless” — It’s an organized machine of violence

Jeff J Mitchell / Staff | Getty Images

The mob rises where men of courage fall silent. The lesson from Portland, Chicago, and other blue cities is simple: Appeasing radicals doesn’t buy peace — it only rents humiliation.

Parts of America, like Portland and Chicago, now resemble occupied territory. Progressive city governments have surrendered control to street militias, leaving citizens, journalists, and even federal officers to face violent anarchists without protection.

Take Portland, where Antifa has terrorized the city for more than 100 consecutive nights. Federal officers trying to keep order face nightly assaults while local officials do nothing. Independent journalists, such as Nick Sortor, have even been arrested for documenting the chaos. Sortor and Blaze News reporter Julio Rosas later testified at the White House about Antifa’s violence — testimony that corporate media outlets buried.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened.

Chicago offers the same grim picture. Federal agents have been stalked, ambushed, and denied backup from local police while under siege from mobs. Calls for help went unanswered, putting lives in danger. This is more than disorder; it is open defiance of federal authority and a violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

A history of violence

For years, the legacy media and left-wing think tanks have portrayed Antifa as “decentralized” and “leaderless.” The opposite is true. Antifa is organized, disciplined, and well-funded. Groups like Rose City Antifa in Oregon, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club in Texas, and Jane’s Revenge operate as coordinated street militias. Legal fronts such as the National Lawyers Guild provide protection, while crowdfunding networks and international supporters funnel money directly to the movement.

The claim that Antifa lacks structure is a convenient myth — one that’s cost Americans dearly.

History reminds us what happens when mobs go unchecked. The French Revolution, Weimar Germany, Mao’s Red Guards — every one began with chaos on the streets. But it wasn’t random. Today’s radicals follow the same playbook: Exploit disorder, intimidate opponents, and seize moral power while the state looks away.

Dismember the dragon

The Trump administration’s decision to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization was long overdue. The label finally acknowledged what citizens already knew: Antifa functions as a militant enterprise, recruiting and radicalizing youth for coordinated violence nationwide.

But naming the threat isn’t enough. The movement’s financiers, organizers, and enablers must also face justice. Every dollar that funds Antifa’s destruction should be traced, seized, and exposed.

AFP Contributor / Contributor | Getty Images

This fight transcends party lines. It’s not about left versus right; it’s about civilization versus anarchy. When politicians and judges excuse or ignore mob violence, they imperil the republic itself. Americans must reject silence and cowardice while street militias operate with impunity.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened. The violence in Portland and Chicago is deliberate, not spontaneous. If America fails to confront it decisively, the price won’t just be broken cities — it will be the erosion of the republic itself.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Colorado counselor fights back after faith declared “illegal”

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins Megyn Kelly LIVE — One night ONLY in Fort Worth!

Get ready for sparks to fly. For the first time in years, Glenn will come face-to-face with Megyn Kelly — and this time, he’s the one in the hot seat. On October 25, 2025, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Glenn joins Megyn on her “Megyn Kelly Live Tour” for a no-holds-barred conversation that promises laughs, surprises, and maybe even a few uncomfortable questions.

What will happen when two of America’s sharpest voices collide under the spotlight? Will Glenn finally reveal the major announcement he’s been teasing on the radio for weeks? You’ll have to be there to find out.

This promises to be more than just an interview — it’s a live showdown packed with wit, honesty, and the kind of energy you can only feel if you are in the room. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss your chance to see Glenn like you’ve never seen him before.

Get your tickets NOW at www.MegynKelly.com before they’re gone!

What our response to Israel reveals about us

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

I have been honored to receive the Defender of Israel Award from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post recently named me one of the strongest Christian voices in support of Israel.

And yet, my support is not blind loyalty. It’s not a rubber stamp for any government or policy. I support Israel because I believe it is my duty — first as a Christian, but even if I weren’t a believer, I would still support her as a man of reason, morality, and common sense.

Because faith isn’t required to understand this: Israel’s existence is not just about one nation’s survival — it is about the survival of Western civilization itself.

It is a lone beacon of shared values in the Middle East. It is a bulwark standing against radical Islam — the same evil that seeks to dismantle our own nation from within.

And my support is not rooted in politics. It is rooted in something simpler and older than politics: a people’s moral and historical right to their homeland, and their right to live in peace.

Israel has that right — and the right to defend herself against those who openly, repeatedly vow her destruction.

Let’s make it personal: if someone told me again and again that they wanted to kill me and my entire family — and then acted on that threat — would I not defend myself? Wouldn’t you? If Hamas were Canada, and we were Israel, and they did to us what Hamas has done to them, there wouldn’t be a single building left standing north of our border. That’s not a question of morality.

That’s just the truth. All people — every people — have a God-given right to protect themselves. And Israel is doing exactly that.

My support for Israel’s right to finish the fight against Hamas comes after eighty years of rejected peace offers and failed two-state solutions. Hamas has never hidden its mission — the eradication of Israel. That’s not a political disagreement.

That’s not a land dispute. That is an annihilationist ideology. And while I do not believe this is America’s war to fight, I do believe — with every fiber of my being — that it is Israel’s right, and moral duty, to defend her people.

Criticism of military tactics is fair. That’s not antisemitism. But denying Israel’s right to exist, or excusing — even celebrating — the barbarity of Hamas? That’s something far darker.

We saw it on October 7th — the face of evil itself. Women and children slaughtered. Babies burned alive. Innocent people raped and dragged through the streets. And now, to see our own fellow citizens march in defense of that evil… that is nothing short of a moral collapse.

If the chants in our streets were, “Hamas, return the hostages — Israel, stop the bombing,” we could have a conversation.

But that’s not what we hear.

What we hear is open sympathy for genocidal hatred. And that is a chasm — not just from decency, but from humanity itself. And here lies the danger: that same hatred is taking root here — in Dearborn, in London, in Paris — not as horror, but as heroism. If we are not vigilant, the enemy Israel faces today will be the enemy the free world faces tomorrow.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about truth. It’s about the courage to call evil by its name and to say “Never again” — and mean it.

And you don’t have to open a Bible to understand this. But if you do — if you are a believer — then this issue cuts even deeper. Because the question becomes: what did God promise, and does He keep His word?

He told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and to give him “the whole land of Canaan.” And though Abraham had other sons, God reaffirmed that promise through Isaac. And then again through Isaac’s son, Jacob — Israel — saying: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I give to you and to your descendants after you.”

That’s an everlasting promise.

And from those descendants came a child — born in Bethlehem — who claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus never rejected His title as “son of David,” the great King of Israel.

He said plainly that He came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And when He returns, Scripture says He will return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And where do you think He will go? Back to His homeland — Israel.

Tamir Kalifa / Stringer | Getty Images

And what will He find when He gets there? His brothers — or his brothers’ enemies? Will the roads where He once walked be preserved? Or will they lie in rubble, as Gaza does today? If what He finds looks like the aftermath of October 7th, then tell me — what will be my defense as a Christian?

Some Christians argue that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred exclusively to the Church. I don’t believe that. But even if you do, then ask yourself this: if we’ve inherited the promises, do we not also inherit the land? Can we claim the birthright and then, like Esau, treat it as worthless when the world tries to steal it?

So, when terrorists come to slaughter Israelis simply for living in the land promised to Abraham, will we stand by? Or will we step forward — into the line of fire — and say,

“Take me instead”?

Because this is not just about Israel’s right to exist.

It’s about whether we still know the difference between good and evil.

It’s about whether we still have the courage to stand where God stands.

And if we cannot — if we will not — then maybe the question isn’t whether Israel will survive. Maybe the question is whether we will.

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