Legal scholar and defense attorney Alan Dershowitz has a message for partisans dividing America: "A plague on both your houses." He voted for Hillary Clinton. He endorsed Joe Biden. He's a man who is basically the Forrest Gump of American judicial history. Look up a big court case over the past few decades, and you'll probably see him standing in the background. He's represented notorious clients like Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, Harry Reems, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and yes, Donald Trump. It's made him a target for both the Left and Right. He describes himself as a "civil libertarian," and that's probably why he and Glenn get along despite their opposing politics. His story is like a history lesson, spanning half a century. It also just might be the key to bridging the political divide. Alan explains why he trusts the Supreme Court despite losing high-profile cases there and how he played a "teeny tiny role" in Trump's Middle East peace process. At 82 years old, Alan is still a fighter, and while it annoys him that he has to defend his legacy and reputation against accusations surrounding the Epstein case, he says, "I will win!"
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White House Official Addresses Criticism of Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill"
President Trump has promised to team up with Congressional Republicans to pass a “big, beautiful bill” chock full of campaign promises, like “no tax on tips,” “no tax on overtime,” and major spending cuts. But as the bill’s progress drags on, are the Republicans to blame, is Trump starting to compromise too much, and will he allow Democrats to increase taxes for the rich? Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, joins Glenn to address the criticism. He discusses what Trump’s real strategy is, whether the bill will restore government spending to 2019 levels, how DOGE has been helping, whether the bureaucracy will actually shrink, and whether Congress will codify any of Trump’s policy changes.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Russell Vought. Office of Management and Budget. He is the director.
And one of my personal heroes. And I think yours too, Stu. Welcome to the program, Russell.
RUSSELL: Thanks, Glenn. Appreciate you having me on.
GLENN: You bet. All right. So I want to talk about the Republicans. Because I believe they're kind of a waste of space.
They are not doing the things that I think the president promised. And that is, cut the budget.
And cut regulation, in dramatic ways.
And President Trump has been playing very, very nice with them.
Trying to get them to do what I think is something. By passing the big, beautiful bill.
Can you tell me where we stand on this. And what's in it.
RUSSELL: We're working through. Right now, the House has a -- they're trying to meet their instructions.
They basically passed the budget that would have 100 -- or 1.5 trillion in savings.
And about four and a half trillion in tax relief.
And they are working through to get a bill that can pass.
And we're right there with them, trying to get it done.
And I think it would be a big savings. We could go north of that.
And I think that's -- that is the goal, to try to figure out, how to make this a historic opportunity, to both extend the tax cuts.
Do the tax cuts, the president wanted to do on the campaign. No tax on over time.
Some other things. No tax on Social Security benefits.
And then to really make sure that, you know, this is an opportunity to have some of the -- the highest reforms to mandatory spending since the 1990s. And there's a lot we can do in this area.
And I think that the House right now, is trying to put these bills together.
You know, we spend so much time debating whether you have a couple of bills. Or one bill.
We lost some time in that.
And we were trying to catch up.
And I think they're hard at work. And we have to be right by them, to help get them done.
GLENN: So when are we expecting to get this voted on, and possibly go through.
RUSSELL: My hope is that they pass it out of committee, the two big committees that we've seen. Energy and commerce. And then go to budget. And set up a vote thereafter on the House floor. That's our hope. That's what we're working toward.
I don't think they've noticed yet, the committees. But that's what we're working --
GLENN: So, Russ, can you do me a favor?
I mean, I'm sure you've done this to Congress. But I don't know the American people really understand how dire this situation is.
I mean, I've got a letter from a family member who I just love dearly. A couple weeks ago.
And he said, Glenn. What the president is doing. I said, well, what the president is doing, is trying to save the country from The Great Reset.
Because a reset is coming!
And you want it to be towards shareholder capitalism. Not stakeholder capitalism.
But with our debt the way it is, the interest rates, that we're now paying. Bigger than the defense budget.
No country has ever survived this.
Can you give us some idea on -- on how serious -- I mean, Congress needs to move a little quicker.
RUSSELL: Look. We have $36 trillion in debt.
When I left office the first time.
Under President Trump. We had about $300 trillion per year in interest costs.
Now it's above the defense spending. At $900 billion.
GLENN: 1.1.
RUSSELL: 1.1. So we've got this enormous interest cost, as a result. And it's one of the reasons why, we've incurred it from the administration on balance.
On taking dramatic actions through DOGE. Our budget that you referenced in the lead-up. The lowest non-defense spending, since 2000 adjusted for inflation.
And so -- and I think what we've been trying to do to deal with kind of the paralysis on Capitol Hill, is to change the reality on the ground.
I mean, I think that's what DOGE has done, in a fundamental way. And we will try to make those savings permanent in a couple of different ways.
But it's to force Congress.
If they want to be a part of the process, you know, come alongside of us.
But we will move inasmuch as we can. Within the parameters of the law, and the Constitution. And we will move as fast, and aggressively as possible. To change the reality on the ground. With reductions in force.
With reorganizations.
With doing a dramatic review of spending, that doesn't have to go out.
There's a whole thing.
Set of tools in our box.
That we will use aggressively. To get Congress moving in our direction.
Because we can't -- we cannot be in the normal situation, as an administration, where we just kind of send bills up. And wait on them.
GLENN: Right.
RUSSELL: We have one big bill that needs to occur.
We've tried to put everything, as we possibly can. On that.
Because it has procedural protection in the Senate.
But -- and even in that. It was part of our thinking, was to make sure we limit the number of things that we have to go to Congress for.
GLENN: The -- the taxes.
I mean, I was hoping that we were going to get new tax cuts.
And not just the -- not just the renewal of the Trump tax cut.
But I was hoping Congress would get serious.
And we would get even deeper than that.
And now, the White House, last night. The president last night tweeted.
You know, I know that Congress, you know, they're going to be wishy-washy on -- you know, they will get blamed, if they raise any taxes on the very rich.
But I will go along with it.
If they want to do that.
That's a little scary. We should be going the other way. Shouldn't we?
RUSSELL: Well, I think the president ran a set of tax proposals. That he was very excited about.
Committed out.
Designed toward the working class.
That we, from an economic standpoint. Also believe are really critical to getting more and more of -- of labor force participation at it, of this part of the economy.
And we think it would be a huge boon to the -- the impetus on the economy, the growth.
And so, we are living in a world where, you know, we don't -- we don't have the ability to have unlimited tax cuts.
GLENN: Right. But is it --
RUSSELL: You're seeing a lot of different navigation on that.
GLENN: But is it possible to go back to the 2019 budget. I mean, why can't we just reset and say, we're going back to that budget.
It was fine then. It will be fine now.
RUSSELL: We're trying to do that with the budget that you saw, that we sent out.
That is essentially what that budget represents. It's an effort to go back, non-adjusted for inflation.
It goes back to 2017. It's the 35 percent cut for most programs, when we account for maintaining infrastructure and veteran spending.
But that's what we're trying to do.
Do the entitlements, the mandatory spending, the interest. Do those have an impact on our ability to go back overnight to 2019?
Yes, they do.
And so that's really what we're trying to say.
And I do think that there's a newfound desire to cut spending, even in the context of the tacks cuts on the Hill.
You have a ton of members that are really trying to make sure, this is either deficit neutral.
Or you have -- this is a moment, that can be used for significant mandatory reform.
GLENN: So to get there. Are tax hikes on the rich part of that plan?
RUSSELL: Well, listen, the President put out a truce this morning. He said, look.
I think he said, a couple different minds. He has always been very focused on the things that he ran on.
This was not something that he ran on.
The -- the no tax on overtime.
GLENN: Right. Right.
No tax on tips. Yeah.
RUSSELL: No tax on tips. All that kind of thing.
That's really what we've been trying to fit in. To the amount that Congress is ready to reduce.
At the same time, we have to spend the tax cuts from his first term.
GLENN: I saw in the budget, we are increasing defense and border security.
Is that border.
Is that why this is happening?
RUSSELL: On the border. We want to increase -- and really, buy out all of our increases, over the next three to four years. In one bill.
And we're doing that. This is a paradigm shift. I'm really glad you asked.
We no longer want to be in a situation, where we have to get Democrat votes. Defense increases.
That then, they put us in a situation, where they have to lever up and demand -- not only on our habits. But that we have to increase non-defense spending.
Because we need their votes in the Senate.
Secondly, they flatout oppose any border spending. They put us on the precipice of a shutdown every single time, we want to increase spending for ICE or the wall.
And so our view is to -- to actually look to how they did it. And then the Joe Biden administration.
And put those increases, on the mandatory one big, beautiful reconciliation bill. And then put us in a situation where we have a united Republican Party.
So your defense hawks are not working against us in the appropriations process, to actually get non-defense cuts. That's what we're trying to do.
And then we have DOGE working over time. Pete Hegseth with reforms. Obviously, there's waste there as well.
And at least in this first year. To make sure, we would reinvest there. And let the new leaders there, get a sense of where the reforms need to be.
GLENN: So with all the DOGE stuff. A, this has nothing to do with DOGE, but I was glad to see Kash Patel come out yesterday and say, no, no, no. I will go with the budget.
On the FBI. Because he was saying, no. We can't live on that. We need more. And cut, cut, cut. And I was glad to see, that he kind of changed his position on that yesterday.
But, you know, with DOGE, I'm seeing that Congress is like, well, we're not going to take all of the DOGE recommendations.
Why?
JOHN: Yeah, I mean, that's the question Congress has asked. Number one, send all these rescission bills. Rescission bills. And I'm willing to send rescissions bills.
Our administration is. The Trump administration is. But, man, they have to pass.
And so if they don't pass. It passes our ability to use some of the tools that we would have executively. To spend less of that money.
And so we are working with them.
That's why I haven't formerly sent up the 9th round of rescissions from DOGE.
I am having great conversations, surprisingly with the appropriations committee. Historic in and of itself.
And they are trying to think through. Okay. What's the version that we could do this a little bit different?
But hit the same amount of savings?
That's a healthy back and forth. I think that in and of itself.
This is a little bit different, Glenn.
This is more like the early 1980s. When Reagan first came in, than anything we've seen recently.
Congress is saying, we -- instead of, we will ignore your budget. Saying, we will want to hit your number.
So it's early. I don't know if that will materialize. But I am optimistic about it.
GLENN: How -- how optimistic are you?
Because, you know, I've talked to the president about this. Just a couple of weeks ago.
And I said, we are playing such a dangerous game. Because we have to.
I mean, I think America -- I mean, no country has ever turned around from this point. And we have to.
And it just requires some really big boy pants, to do it.
But I'm -- I'm just so concerned about it.
And I'm -- you know, I'm hoping that we can get the reduction, and the staff.
I know that you're -- you know, you're doing a fantastic job on reducing the number of federal employees. Do you believe we'll be able to get these things, actually codified, so if things don't go well. Or even if they do go well.
But it's not President Trump, the next time. That this remains. This path remains this direction?
RUSSELL: I do. I think if you zoom out for a second, we will come away from this year, in particular. We have to know when to cut spending in like two or three decades.
You know, Paul Ryan kind of put us in this cul-de-sac forever. I think we will come away this year with probably the largest mandatory savings ever, or adjusted for inflation.
Since the 1997 balanced budget. That's going to happen.
I think we will see the appropriations process fixed for the first time, because of our talking about executive tools like rescissions and empowerment.
It's going to cause the appropriations process, a return to separation of powers. That Congress actually listened to our cuts.
GLENN: Wow.
RUSSELL: And we may not get all of them. But we will get some of them. And I think we will see something that is progress on that front.
Third, I think -- I remember coming on this show, in the first term.
And they're just like, the extent to which, the career bureaucracy is just impregnable. Is totally unacceptable. You pushed on this.
And I think, many of us. The president. Elon has spent a ton of time thinking about this.
And I think that will be -- one of the biggest stories, the extent to which, the things that have been done. You know, the fork in the road. Has fundamentally changed the reality on the ground.
And so we have a much smaller. We will have a much smaller bureaucracy, as a result of it.
Notwithstanding the laws that are on the books, that have been here thus far.
GLENN: I have to tell you, I stay away from Washington, DC, you know, as much as I try to stay away from the plague. But next time, I'm up, Russ, I would love to sit down with you, and do a long form interview with you.
You're really one of the good guys. Thank you for everything you're doing.
JOHN: You've got it. Thanks, Glenn.
Rogan Debate Bombshell: Murray Calls Out Fake Experts!
After his recent appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience" with comedian Dave Smith, author Douglas Murray was accused of practically saying, “don’t listen to anybody unless they have an Oxford degree.” But Douglas joins Glenn to set the record straight: He claims he never said that. Instead, he says he believes “experts HAVE let us down.” But having actual experience with a topic, like he does with the Israel/Hamas conflict, still makes a difference. Glenn, as a fan of both Murray and Smith, hears this side of the story.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Thank you. So I hate to get into this because it's been talked about for so long.
But I just -- I think I agree with you, Douglas.
And I just want to make sure that we are saying the same thing. Can you lay out the controversy that you've been embroiled in here recently?
DOUGLAS: You mean, I tend to be embroiled in quite a lot of controversies. Which one?
GLENN: The one where you're accused of saying, don't listen to anybody, unless they have an Oxford degree.
(laughter)
DOUGLAS: Which, of course, I never said. I never would say.
GLENN: Yeah, I know.
DOUGLAS: I think this was -- from my recent appearance on Joe Rogan.
GLENN: Yeah, yeah.
DOUGLAS: The similar thing I said, which has been I think misrepresented by a very large number of people, deliberately. Is that everybody has the right to say anything they like about anything.
But that doesn't mean that all opinion should be regarded as being equal.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
DOUGLAS: And when I was brought on to debate.
And it's not often that Joe Rogan's podcast does that. Normally, he has people give their opinion. But he felt that clearly, the pro-Israel voices like mine, had to be countered.
On air. And when I was talking about my recent book, the best-seller on democracies and death cults. Israel and the future of civilization.
I got into the weeds of what had been happening in the last two years, in the Middle East.
I got into it.
Not just because I had written about it. But I had seen it all up close.
I spent the last couple of years, mainly living it. Being embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza and Lebanon, and elsewhere.
I have seen this war up close.
And I was being pitched against. Who was wildly, wildly uninformed.
On issue after issue. On spouting after spouting after spouting.
Turned out to never have been to the region. And I said, this is -- this is like, if we were to discover, the Chinese state media, as somebody on all the time.
Talking about America.
Claiming that America was a racist country.
The claiming black Americans are currently being lynched and sold into slavery.
If we discovered that person was rampaging across the Chinese media.
But he's never been to America.
Didn't speak English.
And obviously, so -- he's so wildly misinformed.
We would regard that person as being almost comical in their ignorance.
Certainly malevolent.
So why should it be, that when there are people at home, here in America. Who are also just not informed.
Just as many British people are not informed.
About big situations in the world that they're talking about. Why should their opinion be regarded as being somehow sacrosanct?
I don't think it is. And yet, I believe in standards. I believe that they have let us down badly. Experts have let us town badly.
But it doesn't mean there's no such thing as expertise. Or comparative expertise. In matters.
And if people don't understand that, and don't understand that, for instance, a journalist who can goes and reports, first hand. May well get things wrong.
But it's better than somebody who has never left their bedroom. And think they know the world.
GLENN: You know, I mean, read a quote. I think it was from Jefferson. And I've adapted it to modern times.
The man who reads nothing at all, is better educated, than the man who reads nothing, but social media.
He said, newspapers.
But I think that's -- I think that's the kind of expert we have now!
That are running around.
And I don't believe in, you have to be credentialed. Or anything like that. I don't think you have to have a formal education. I don't think that hurts.
But I think serious people can do serious study on their own.
Especially in today's world.
And become an expert in a field.
But, you know, you're -- also have to have enough humility to go, you know what, I'm not an expert on this.
I don't know. I've just done a lot of homework.
And I'm open to different opinions. But here's what I found.
DOUGLAS: Absolutely. And there's a lot of good that can come from that. And we've all done that to some extent.
That is, as you say, in particular, is able to push on people.
GLENN: Yeah.
DOUGLAS: Is extraordinary. Not least because of the lack of humility.
One of the things in debate, it was sort of near the comedian, he put me on with.
One of the things that was startling about it, is the sheer lack of humility of the guy I was debating.
I mean, he seems to think that he knew everything about Israel. And the idea.
Despite never having been there or met anyone. Or spoken with anyone on the ground.
Of the idea.
And he seemed to think that in the Israeli Defense Forces, how they should protect their people, from another massacre like October the 7th.
Maybe, the generals in the Israeli Army, and the politicians and others, who have been losing family, for the last 18 months.
Fighting in Gaza. Maybe they do know something more. Than -- than from even social media.
In Austin, Texas.
Maybe!
It's my view.
I mean, people quite often say to me. You know, what would you -- what would you tell this politician?
Or what would you tell this general, when you meet them?
And I always say, I don't tell them anything.
I listen. I listen.
Because that's much, much more important.
Because they know more about the proximate causes of the conflict.
And what they're doing to prevent it.
And when I hear and see these people. There was a guy. One of Joe Rogan's friends, who had been cropping up on social media recently.
And he accepted the challenge. Which was if you know, if you have a plan to how you would get 250 hostages back from the density buildup and booby trapped area of Gaza. And if you know how to get 250 hostages back. And how to kill or capture all the leadership of Hamas, if you have a better plan, than what the Israelis have been doing for the last 18 months, let me know, and I will pass it on to anyone I know, in Jerusalem.
Okay? And one of these comedians decides to take up this challenge. And you know what he said? He said among other things. Why don't they fight like men?
Why don't they fight like men? And I'm sorry. I've been to the funerals of young men who have no desire to have to ever be in Gaza again.
Who lost their lives, because they were fighting house to house with terrorists embedded in mosques and in hospitals and in civilian homes, and cropping up in tunnels, all over the place.
And if the idea is to me, Israeli Air Force. To level the place they could have done.
But they didn't, because they wanted to minimize casualties on their opponent's size. And minimize casualties on their own.
And if you have to put up with some doofus, claiming that he's the real man.
And he knows, because he's sitting in a podcast studio somewhere, two continents away.
And I think that's just objectionable on every level. And it's a lack of humility and understanding, that is almost pathological.
GLENN: I tell you, Douglas, I mean, I think I struggled from this a little bit. I've done this job for almost 50 years now.
But when I got into television, everything changes so rapidly.
I was -- I was pretty assured that I was right.
Thinking -- I spent a lot of money on research and everything else.
Really good, you know, we were buttoned up.
But when I left there, and I was reflecting on what I had done, I -- I came to the understanding, and I think this just comes from maturity. And experience.
And that is, the only thing I'm certain of, is that I'm not certain of anything.
DOUGLAS: Hmm.
GLENN: I don't -- I don't know. I'm like you. I will ask questions, I will voice my opinion, I will voice what I do know. But that doesn't necessarily make it the absolute truth.
I need to understand more of the situation.
DOUGLAS: Yes.
And you do that. And, you know, one of the things, Glenn.
Is that all of us who -- I hope -- I want to learn more.
And know more. And understand things better.
We -- we have that instinct.
But it also doesn't mean that on the things we know about. Including the things we've seen with our own eyes.
That we should be lacking in confidence. To say --
GLENN: Yes. It's a really tough place to be.
You have to have the confidence in what you do know. And you also have to have the humility to say. I don't know anything.
DOUGLAS: Right. And one of the things that I do know is that having seen war up close. And know what the difference is, between a death cult, as I call Hamas, a death cult like Hamas.
That fights for death, fights to bring death to its enemies, fights to bring death to its own side, even to its own children. And know the difference between a death cult like that. And the democracy like Israel or the United States of America and our armies, who fight for life.
Who fight to minimize casualties, on our own side. And to fight to minimize casualties on the enemy's side.
And there is all the difference in the world between these two things.
But when I see people fighting, it is complicated to tell the difference between a democracy and a death cult, I think they're lost.
Will Pope Leo XIV Restore Strickland or Crush Orthodoxy?
Will Pope Leo XIV continue the legacy of Pope Francis, or will he refocus the Catholic Church on tradition and orthodoxy? Glenn speaks with LifeSiteNews CEO and co-founder John-Henry Westin, who argues that “the number one sign” of how this papacy will go will be whether the Pope reinstates Bishop Joseph Strickland. Bishop Strickland was removed by Francis, with then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s help, for allegedly political reasons. “He HAS to be restored,” Westin argues. Westin also discusses why, despite Pope Leo XIV’s concerning past, he has “great hope” for this papacy.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Welcome to the -- welcome to the Glenn Beck Program.
We're so glad that you're here. We have John Henry-Westen on with us. He is the cofounder and CEO of lifesitenews.com. He is over in Rome right now. He was there when they announced the new pope. An American pope. I don't know why that scares me just a little bit. You know, would you like fries with that?
Anyway, maybe it's because I know all the elites in the United States. Not so good. Not so good. But, anyway, I don't know anything about this guy.
But the guy who does know, is John Henry-Westen. And he is here with us now. Hi, John. How are you?
JOHN: Very good to be with you, Glenn. I am literally standing in front of St. Peters basilica. It's a sunny day. And it's unbelievable what just happened. We're walking around while the announcement was being made. And the -- to walk around, you had to like -- you were in a crush of a crowd. Kind of like a rock concert. But it was everywhere. All the streets filled. And no one knew he was American. He didn't speak a word of English during --
GLENN: I know. I know.
JOHN: So he speaks perfect English. American-born. He's a Chicago boy.
GLENN: So how are you feeling about that one? Is it just me that's like, eh, I don't know.
I mean, you know, Bishop Strickland would be good. I would go for that. But what do we know about this guy?
JOHN: Oh, yeah. Okay. So this is where it gets scary. In the Catholic world, Bishop Strickland was the bishop, the holiest bishop in the whole church of America. Everybody knew it. The guy spent three hours in prayer every day, in church. That was apart from his mass. In other words, the service that he himself said.
So everyone knew he was the holiest. He got removed though, because he was, well -- he went up against the machine. Francis was going anti-Catholic in his teaching. Arnold -- including, you know, fooling around with abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce. So all of it was going offline. And Strickland was one of the only ones who spoke up.
GLENN: Right.
JOHN: You know, he is a guy from Tyler, Texas. Middle of nowhere. Even if you're American, have you heard of Tyler.
So, you know, this poor guy, he gets removed.
Now, the problem is, when you're a holy bishop like that, you attract people.
There's a story about the (inaudible) you guys can look up. And it's wonderful.
You know, Podunk town, middle of nowhere. And they don't train to it because they sent this holy priest there. The bishop is the same, 700 families moved to Tyler, Texas, if you can believe it.
GLENN: Wow.
JOHN: You know, and there were all sorts of priests. All sorts of orders were moved there. And then he was yanked from them. So super sad story, but unfortunately, and much more slowly than now, he was done with the cooperation of our current pope. The reason being, is our current pope was then the head of congregation for bishops. And was involved in -- during an investigation on Strickland. And in removing him.
And you might think, oh, is there anything really wrong with Strickland? No. He has the best numbers in terms of per capita seminaries. His financial situation was in great shape, like the rest of them aren't.
And, you know, there was just great things going on at the diocese. Unlike most places, they don't have -- they are like -- what they have is a great bishop.
But he was a holy one, and those holy ones are used to making noise sometimes.
GLENN: So my podcast tomorrow, that comes out everywhere is with Bishop Strickland.
And we were talking, during -- when the smoke started, and we were recording this podcast.
And so he asked, when he get the name. He's like, what's the name? What's the name?
And I told him, and he said, oh. He's the head of the Council of Bishops. And I said, what do you know about him? And he said, well, you know, there are some things he has done, that I don't necessarily agree with.
But he did not -- honestly, I got the impression he really don't know much about him. There's no way he didn't know about this guy, right?
JOHN: Well, yeah. He also knew.
GLENN: He's just being kind.
JOHN: True. And he was regarded as worst than him. He wouldn't even think of himself in this scenario. But what's worse?
Well, from his perspective. Is that he elevated -- that Francis elevated Cardinal McCarrick. Excuse me.
That's -- that's a Freudian slip, honestly.
McElroy to -- to Washington.
And that also had to be done, with the current pope. So we see in this book, that is Pope Francis' will. Look at it. You're the underling. If you object, you will just get turfed anyway. Okay.
That makes you -- that's kind of weak anyway. Let's just say that's it. That's why the number one find of America, and, in fact, all over the world. Should be looking for. Is the restoration of Bishop Strickland. Bishop Strickland is still young for a bishop. There's no way he can be retired. He's a young man.
And for a bishop. It's like 65. And so you have to be restored. If you want the true signal -- the one sign that will indicate where pope -- Leo XIV is coming from.
Watch Tyler, Texas, or wherever he's put. Because if that man is not reinstated, there's something really wrong.
GLENN: Wow.
What else do you know about him?
I mean, are there any good signs that maybe he's going to be different?
JOHN: Well, there's it this. Okay? So when -- if you look back at history, there is a pope called Pious the Knight. He came in actually as kind of a liberal. Once he got elected, he -- and there was a bit of kerfuffle in the world, especially in Italy, he converted. He had -- he became orthodox. He became -- in fact, he became one of the most orthodox popes.
He made -- he worked against all heresies.
GLENN: Is that the pope -- was that the one in the 20th century?
JOHN: No. That was before that.
GLENN: Okay.
JOHN: He was the one before that.
That was Pious the X, you're thinking of.
GLENN: All right.
JOHN: What that tells us, is the grace of the office can change.
Because literally, all the world is Catholic. They are afraid of the pope.
So he gets bestowed on him, this huge responsibility in office, and position, if you will.
And it's unlike, a political position. It's a position established by Jesus. And he said, Jesus said to the first pope.
To Peter.
You know, I will pray for you.
So it's very, very specific kind of role.
So there's a great hope when it comes to the pope.
And the possibility of change, even for a -- because all men are weak.
And yet, he's called to fulfill our own supernatural paths. You know, to -- to be -- to represent Jesus. For Jesus' church.
He's right. He's not some kind of ultra Jesus. He's just the representative of Jesus' church.
And so he -- that's why the pope is not about making his own -- he can't change anything to do with the religion at all.
He just is there enforce it. To bring unity in the faith. And that -- there's unity in the truth.
He's there to basically uphold the truth of the faith.
GLENN: I mean, you do know. You know this. You're Catholic. And so you know this.
But, I mean, look at the change that John Paul made. In the world. I mean, it was -- it was Margaret Thatcher. Ronald Reagan. And Pope John Paul, that ended communism.
And we just don't have those kinds of leaders. And this particular now pope, has been railing against Donald Trump.
So it's -- not exactly like he's friendly, to Donald Trump or what Donald Trump is doing.
JOHN: Yeah. That's -- yeah. And it's funny. Because he's a registered Republican.
GLENN: Is he really?
JOHN: In Chicago. Yeah. So that's kind of odd. But at the same time, he's anti-Trump. So what his that mean?
It didn't strike me as healthy, particularly because, hey, if you look at his last tweet, before he became pope, it was from like April 15th. You'll see, it's bashing Trump's immigration policy. It's a re-tweet of some of Trump's immigration policy. So that's pretty bad.
GLENN: Oh.
JOHN: He's real bad on immigration.
And, you know, most of the popes in the US are. They either don't get it or they want to show favor with Francis. You know, but he seems to be on the same page.
Also, when it comes to things like COVID, there was very few people, honestly, Glenn, though who were on the right side of the COVID thing, which is now plain and clear. But back then wasn't. So, you know, he was fully masked. Talking to the media.
Yeah, he was back and forth about how we should receive people for commune, which should be disastrous. He wanted confession by phone call, which doesn't even work.
So those are oddities as well.
And yes. There was. So it was a -- when he got out there for the first time. And Francis was like in his liturgical underwear. But this guy didn't. This guy went back to the traditional vestments of a pope, when he got there.
Because these are thousand-year-old traditions.
Francis basically threw them out.
We will do our own thing.
He figure back to it. He said lots of things in Latin.
And then he did something really mean.
So you know how in the Bible it says, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.
And every knee shall bend.
Well, he did that. He was praying at the name of Jesus. You could see -- look, and you'll see.
He just -- strike me down.
And I thought, wow!
That's a pious practice, of many, many Catholics and Christians and Scriptural understanding, where they literally do what Scripture says.
Bow your name to Jesus, and then he did something else that I thought was really neat. He went to give his first blessing as pope.
It's in Latin. Because every country in the world is standing out here. And Latin is one language.
For everybody to understand. And he gives me this blessing. And he starts to tear up.
As he gives me the blessing. I've got no signs of hope.
And hopefully signs of conversion, and what not. So we'll see. There is hope that way.
And there are other things that you could say that he was not nearly as far left.
GLENN: Okay.
JOHN: So, yes. That's where we're at.
GLENN: Well, the mood in Rome, what was it like when everybody realized, oh, crap. He's an American.
I mean, nobody expected that.
JOHN: I don't think that happened until today, when everybody went home and realized. Because the guy's Italian is perfect. His Spanish is perfect. He was in Peru for the longest time.
And not a single word of English, the first time English came out was today. Today in his first mass as pope, all the way through -- going through the mass. Latin. And chants.
So for your American audience. For most of the audience, they will look like a -- it was -- it was an Italian mass with a lot of Latin in it, which is kind of cool.
But at the start of the Hallowing, out comes perfect English. And you're like, oh, my gosh.
It's the first time we've had an American pope. So we've never had this kind of an English. That we could now inherently understand, but it's so clear.
So that's going to be something new, because the American church is going to be reached in a way that it never has been.
Because you're going to have absolute clarity of language.
And we'll find out. What that will mean.
But, you know, despite all of what I know. And I know a lot, unfortunately, that is not great.
I'm still hopeful.
We're called to give people hope.
And I believe in conversions. I believe in miracles.
GLENN: I do too.
JOHN: And I'm looking forward to it. And, you know what, if it's another Francis. If it's a Francis 2.0.
One great thing, the Lord says, I will be with you until the end of time. The gates of hell shall not prevail, and I will never give you a cross to bear.
GLENN: Yeah, and it always works out to his advantage.
You know, which is always our advantage as well.
So I am -- I am hopeful, and I pray for not only this new pope. But also for all the leadership from every religion in the world. We need them to stand up. They are critical.
JOHN: Absolutely.
GLENN: At this time.
JOHN: There is no other force against the world's mob that has a chance.
GLENN: John Henry-Westen. You know what, real quick.
JOHN: Yeah. You were made for this time. You, Glenn, and your listeners, trust in that. Trust in the Lord.
Pray, pray, pray. And remember, God loves you.
GLENN: John Henry-Westen, thank you so much. For from lifesitenews.com. Lifesitenews.com.
Why RFK Jr.’s Former Running Mate OPPOSES Casey Means for Surgeon General
President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Casey Means for Surgeon General had many MAHA fans cheering. But RFK Jr.’s former running mate, BlazeTV host Nicole Shanahan, has major reservations. She joins Glenn, who has been a fan of Casey, to explain why she believes there are stronger candidates. Means, Shanahan claims, may have “conflicts of interest” because of the “biometric harvesting company” she founded and its close ties to Silicon Valley. Shanahan also questions whether RFK Jr. is playing “political 4D chess,” or if she was lied to when she was promised that the Means siblings wouldn’t be in government. Is RFK Jr. reporting to someone other than Trump? Shanahan explains why she believes it’s possible.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Nicole Shanahan. Nicole, how are you?
NICOLE: Glenn, how are you doing?
GLENN: I am very good. It's great to have you here.
So I want to ask you, the Surgeon General thing, are you for Casey Means? Or not for Casey Means?
NICOLE: Well, I will tell you who I am for, Glenn.
GLENN: Okay.
NICOLE: I'm for all of those Americans. Those hundreds of thousands of doctors, seeking truth, honesty, and dignity in our medical system once again. That is what I'm for. That is what propels MAHA into existence.
That's what propels Bobby Kennedy into the position of running for president of the United States. That's why I joined the campaign. It really is about listening to this group of doctors that did the right thing during the COVID pandemic.
That spoke up, when it was dangerous to speak up.
That lost their licenses. And so when I hear from that base, concern or research. About individuals, in and around MAHA.
I have to listen to them.
And I do listen to them.
Because oftentimes, they are right. They're brave, and they're principled. So the concern I've been hearing from that group of people is that MAHA -- you know, any movement. MAGA had this issue too of infiltration by different groups that are more self-serving, than they are for the movement itself.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
NICOLE: And so just one example, Casey Means is a founder of a company that does biometric harvesting. She's very close with many of the big data biometric harvesting companies.
In Silicon Valley. And this -- I noticed with all these people. You do not want them running in a government position that is responsible for everybody equally. Right?
GLENN: So wait. Wait. Wait.
What is -- what is that?
They're harvesting, what?
NICOLE: Well, so biometric data is anything between heart rate data, to all of the data that is collected from your FitBit or high glucose monitor. It could be labs. It could be -- then there's all the DNA harvesting. And big data that's being done.
So, you know, I think that the base -- MAHA really came from medical freedom. And medical sovereignty.
And the idea that we have to keep conflicts of interests. Out of the government.
And so when I -- you know, see some stuff going on. That we could be doing better.
Right?
Our job.
And I learned this from the MAGA base.
Our job is to ton seek the best possible people. For government, that are truly putting the principles of this country first.
The principles of American sovereignty first.
GLENN: So you wrote yesterday.
It's very strange. It doesn't make any sense. I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in the Senate confirmation, that neither of these siblings would be working under HHS or an appointment.
And that people much more qualified would be. I don't know -- I'm sorry.
RFK very clearly lied to me. Or what's going on. It's been clear in recent conversations that he's reporting to someone regularly, who is controlling his decisions, and it isn't President Trump.
With regards to the siblings, there is something very artificial and aggressive about them. Almost as if they were bred and raised as Manchurian assets. Wow!
NICOLE: So keep in mind, I was responding to Dr. Suzanne Humphries.
Who was also expressing very similar sentiment.
GLENN: Concern. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
NICOLE: Concern. There's better candidates.
So what's going on? I also heard from other MDs in the field.
That there was another doctor that RFK had wanted for the position. Very, very qualified doctor.
And -- and, you know, he was caught by surprise as well. By -- by this other choice.
So, you know, there's -- again, they -- they don't call it the swamp for no reason. Right?
GLENN: Right.
NICOLE: And, you know, I'm not officially within the administration at all.
In fact, I decided to take the path of staying an independent --
GLENN: Smart.
NICOLE: -- media person. Which I think -- I think and you know this, Glenn. It's really important that when you are an independent media voice, that you -- you stick by your principles. And that you are not just a mouthpiece for any government organizations.
That you're really on the outside, reflecting back the hopes and wishes of the constituents.
GLENN: Yeah. There's -- it's very hard to do.
I mean, I take stances against the president.
And for the president. You always have to -- you always have to balance, you know, I have my opinion.
And I'm never going to be bought out by anybody.
I'm never. But you also want to make sure that you're being fair to the people that you trust. And I know you have trusted RFK for a very, very long time.
And for what struck me on this. Is, you know, I don't know if RFK lied to me. Which I hope he didn't, or what's going on. It's been clear in recent conversation that he is reporting to someone regularly, who is controlling his decisions.
That's a remarkable thing to say, especially about RFK.
Because he does not strike me as somebody who is afraid of somebody else.
NICOLE: You know, I don't know if it's fear or that he's playing political 4D chess. And, again, they don't call it the swamp for no reason.
It's just, at some point, there's certain decisions, that are worth fighting for.
And I do appreciate what a very complex political environment this is.
GLENN: Oh, yeah.
NICOLE: And I do understand that even within these agencies, there are groups that are intentionally keeping and withholding information from the new leadership.
So, you know, I -- I fully appreciate how complicated it is.
So I fully appreciate how complicated it all is, but there are definitely things that the base is -- is, you know, like, this is an easy one. This could have gone better. Right?
You don't truly -- and, you know, everyone is guessing what precisely this 4D chess is all about. And why these moves are being made. And trying to anticipate the next one.
But it's something that I think that, you know, there's just certain things that indicate that whomever he's giving -- whoever his chess coach is. Could be making some better decisions for him. And --
GLENN: But Casey.
I mean, when I talk to the twins, during -- or after COVID.
They seemed pretty clear on what was bad and what was good.
They -- they both seemed to be good on -- on COVID. And the vaccines. Didn't they?
Or is my memory --
JEFFY: They talk a great talk.
I will say, I was once a fan of it as well.
It was only after I received many comments from individuals, in and around the transition team.
As well as new research that came up.
And then really, like, you know, when the base expresses these things and provides that degree of inquiry, and it shows that kind of concern.
I think we owe it to them.
GLENN: Yes. I agree. I agree.
ANNA: Yeah.
GLENN: So overall, how do you feel things are going?
NICOLE: I think, again, there's been a lot of focus around food dives. Meanwhile, there's millions of people suffering from vaccine injuries, that still feel very neglected.
So I do think -- I do appreciate the executive order, regarding gain of function and limiting overseas research.
GLENN: And shutting down a dangerous -- and shutting down a very dangerous bio lab here.
NICOLE: Yes. And there are many of these bio labs that are kind of flying under the radar.
GLENN: Right.
NICOLE: So it's a big step in the right decisions sedition. I'm a huge Jay Bhattacharya fan. Probably one of his biggest.
I really am excited for him, as he built out his team.
I hope, he has a very, very strong team around him. In the next coming weeks. Because he's going need to it.
As far as HHS goes, you know, I would love to see Bobby bring in more of those doctors that have been around him for the last ten years, very regularly.
Because these are the individuals that, you know, I -- I trust these people with my life. They have sacrificed everything to do the right thing time and time again.
They are so deeply principled. They will never take a check over helping a patient out.
And they actually do have the answers. So I'm hoping to see more of those people around Bobby too.
GLENN: So I'm wondering because this is the way I feel about a couple of things with the FBI. And Intel.
That if I don't see some people in the next year or so, go to jail, or at least brought in for a fair and honest trial, you know. I don't want to just scoop people up. And just assume that they're guilty.
But build a good, strong case. Bring it to trial.
Have it a fair and honest trial. And let the chips fall where they may.
But if I don't see some prosecution, at least. I think I'm very upset at the G O.J.
Pam Bondi. Head of the FBI. Kash Patel. And I don't -- and I'm trusting them so far, that they are doing that.
Do you feel the same way at all, about -- you know, if you don't see some people who go to jail there, that clearly lied about the vaccines.
If they don't go to jail. You have -- you really haven't fixed anything.
You're just eating around the edges.
NICOLE: Yeah. Yeah. I think that really explains it. And this is why I think it's important to continue to voice those concerns, because they're only going to grow and mount.
And it really is the American people, that were sold this vision of accountability.
And as we want to see it. We have to see it. Anywhere. Several months into the administration now.
HHS, you know, lags behind the Oval Office in terms of getting going.
But they're -- people were seriously injured. There were many crimes committed against the American public.
Crimes committed against our bravest doctors. Crimes committed against children.
We need accountability.
We really, really need to see that.
Because, you know, there's -- there's a preciousness in this moment. We have to -- we have to deliver. This country deserves it.
GLENN: And, I mean, if we're -- if we can't correct the things that, for instance. Washington State. Just passed a law where if there is another pandemic, everybody seems to be, you know, claiming there's another one, right around the corner.
But if there is another pandemic, that they will have absolute control, over what you put into your body. And what you do. That's terrifying.
NICOLE: I do.
And those emergency orders, they will scrutinize them. They have revisions.
GLENN: Washington State just revised it to just codify it. Washington State just codified it. It's crazy.
NICOLE: Yeah. Yeah.
So I would like to see more focus around that, not Red Dye 40 and not Kellogg's.
I'm totally fine leaving Kellogg's alone, in favor of HHS spending. All of its energy. And all of its focus. And all of its leverage, making sure that we are actually properly ready for the next pandemic.
And not to cause the catastrophic harm, that was caused during COVID-19.
GLENN: Nicole Shanahan. She's got the podcast Back To the People. And it's now coming to Blaze Media.
It's the same podcast she's been doing. Now as she says, with a wider reach. Glad to have you.
Nicole, thank you very much.
NICOLE: Thanks, it's a pleasure to come on.
GLENN: We'll talk to you again.