RADIONovember 13, 2023

Can America SURVIVE paying $1 TRILLION in INTEREST on national debt?

The yearly interest payment on the United States' national debt is now over $1 trillion. Meanwhile, our government still wants to spend MORE money! Financial expert Carol Roth joins Glenn to explain this insanity and what it means for the country and the average American: "We are in a really perilous financial position."

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. Let's see. We have a couple of things.

First of all, Janet Yellen came out yesterday, and said, we can't cut the IRS 80 million-dollar increase.

Because, quote, it will hurt the IRS plans for improved service.

Oh. They had some really great customer service things. That they were going to do.

So can't cut that.

Also, there's a story out, about how our US debt, the interest payment, alone, is now surging past $1 trillion a year.

Carol Roth is in the studio to talk to us about that. Hi, Carol.

CAROL: Hi, Glenn. What a great achievement. Are you excited? We finally got our interest, our credit card payment is a trillion dollars a year on an annualized basis.

GLENN: Yeah. But we can borrow at higher and higher interest rates. So we can make it 2 trillion soon.

CAROL: Right. It's fantastic hath. It's the eighth wonder of the world. Is compound interest. Either you're making it, you're earning it, or you're paying it. And we are paying it.

GLENN: Think of this, remember that debt clock in New York City?

And it was -- I don't remember when they started it. It was $5 trillion. And it would take forever to get to six.

Now, every year, just on interest. And we've just begun this journey.

Just on interest, a trillion dollars.

CAROL: Yeah. I think people don't realize, this is the cost of financing things.

We've already bought. This doesn't get us anything new. It crowds out other spending. It crowds out, as we take productive capital in the market that grows the economy. It's just the worst possible personal finance.

If you're in your home and you overspend, you put everything on the credit card. And now, all of a sudden, you are paying all of this money in interest.

You would say to a family. That's ridiculous. You have to get your house in order.

GLENN: And what that family says to you is, no, no, no. I will get another credit card.

Okay?

And I will pay that interest. And that interest, because I'm not really paying those things down.

That interest is going higher and higher. Because I'm becoming a greater and greater risk.

GLENN: But you know what people do. If you have your own credit cards, sometimes they will say, oh, there's a great offer over here. There's a 0 percent, you know, introductory rate. So I will just transfer it over here.

We don't have that luxury. The rates just continue to increase.

I think it's doubled in the last like I think 19 months, in terms of the financing costs for the US government.

So we're having to pay higher and higher rates on all of our borrowing, including the interest.

The financing costs of that borrowing.

GLENN: So it was just a couple months ago, that I saw it was $700 billion a year on interest.

That was just a couple of months ago. That was now it's a trillion dollars a year. And we've refinanced only about a third of it, right?

CAROL: I mean, I don't even know if it's that much. I know about a third was coming due over the next 12 months. Yeah, but I don't think we've gotten that yet.

In fact, they said that they will have to borrow just -- forget about the interest payment. But in terms of new money.

Janet Yellen, Treasuries said, over the next six months, almost 1.6 trillion dollars.

STU: It's incredible.

So, Carol, I had Brian Riedl on. It was a couple years ago now.

And we were talking about this problem. And he was talking about how large it was going to get. And what he said, at the time. And he was saying this over and over at the time.

Was, why don't we take these short-term loans that we have made, in this very low interest rate environment. And just lock them in, long-term. Right?

Because we would avoid so much of this.

And like, normally, I come back to, the government doesn't care. They want to spend more money.

But this is the reverse. They will now spend more money on stuff they can't get.

It's just, they're giving money to lenders. Instead of getting all their fancy new programs. It's actually worse for people who want to spend.

Why didn't they do this at the time?

CAROL: This is the biggest debate. I don't know if you're familiar with Stan Druckenmiller. He's this iconic billionaire investor.

Incredibly smart and savvy. And he basically said, he put Yellen right on the hot seat.

Said, this is the biggest mistake anybody has ever made. The fact that we had all of this debt, and you didn't lock it in, over the long-term.

Which in theory, I agree with. And it's something that you and I have talked about.

The issue that has sort of come out, as a bunch of us have done the research. Is that the reason that they didn't do that, is that they couldn't.

There was not enough demand, at those -- you know, high -- high end of the yield curve.

GLENN: Because we shot ourselves in the foot so much.

CAROL: Exactly. And that what would happen when there is no demand and you try to put more supply in, that the interest rates go up.

And so basically, what is believed in economic circles, is that that would have killed the economy, and thrown the Treasury into a tizzy. The Treasury market into a tizzy. So if you read, there's a new report. This Treasury borrowing committee. Just put out this report.

And they said, we recommend right now, that they issue at the shorter end of the yield curve. Things like two-year, and five-year, or maybe ten-year.

Above the normal recommended allocation. Sounds a lot like inflation. Well, let it run higher for a little bit of time.

Eventually, we want to get it back to there.

But the reason is because there is no demand of locking up money with the US government for 30 years.

And the rate that you would have to pay which would absolutely undo everything.

So this is a real concern.

And it's one that doesn't go away. It's not like, oh, well, we're in this tight period.

But they will be cutting spending. And we have all these great initiatives. There's absolutely no appetite to cut spending.

We're obviously in a very tenuous geopolitical environment.

Which Yellen has come out and said.

We have plenty of money to help finance that.

Let alone that escalates.

I mean, we are in a really perilous financial position.

And the Treasury market. And the information that's coming out there, is really telling an important story.

Of course, they make it very opaque. So the average person doesn't understand that.

And the numbers have gotten so high, I don't think people can even process it.

GLENN: So, I mean, I've been saying this forever.

That we are going to pay a very high. Ronald Reagan said it.

FDR said it.

If you don't have your house in order, there comes a point, where it all just comes crashing down.

It doesn't seem to be crashing down.

I mean, it's bad. But people still tell me. We won't lose the reserve currency.

We will be fine. The dollar will be fine.

We will come out of this.

They can't explain to me how. But they seem to be right. I mean, how long is this -- could this last?

GLENN: I mean, that's a -- that's the multi-trillion dollar question.

Right?

We don't know. We look at periods of history. We go back and look at 50 years. We look back historically. That's a tiny time period.

When we're living through it. That's a big chunk of our lifetimes. For us to say, oh, it will happen in a day, a week, or what not.

We know we are heading towards that precipice.

What we've had going here for the whole time.

We've had an incredibly productive population.

We have a lot of ingenuity, and we are the cleanest.

GLENN: We're getting rid of that.

CAROL: Yes, so we're on the wrong side. So it still exists, and we're the cleanest shirt in the laundry.

Because we are not the only central bank. That has, you know, committed these sins.

And so there isn't sort of this obvious successor.

But as we've talked about before, when you think about these changes in the financial world order, not every war, brings about a new financial world order.

But every financial New World Order, has been brought about by war.

And to the extent, God forbid, things escalate in a crazy way, that becomes an opportunity to reset what do the currencies look like.

What do the debt loads look like? They change around. They change the rules of the game.

That becomes a reset button for them.

And so I sincerely hope that this is not something that's being looked at, as a potential positive or good outcome.

GLENN: No. No.

Who would look at something like that, and say, it would be an opportunity for a great reset?

No, they're not looking at that at all.
CAROL: No, right.

GLENN: Carol Roth.

I wish we had more time you with, Carol. But thanks for coming in.

She is the author of the book, You Will Own Nothing. She is a former investment banker.

And she gets your town, your job, your finances. Read the book. You Will Own Nothing.

And figure out, a way forward for your life. Carol Roth.

Exposing the dangerous roots of queer theory

In this explosive conversation, Glenn Beck and Liz Wheeler expose the disturbing roots of gender ideology and queer theory — and how these radical ideas are directly targeting children. From the shocking origins of queer theory, where pedophilia and child pornography were openly defended, to Planned Parenthood’s new role as one of the largest distributors of transgender hormone therapy, the truth is undeniable: this movement is not about freedom or equality, but about dismantling families, corrupting innocence, and profiting off of our children’s pain. What we are witnessing is nothing less than a satanic ideology dressed up as compassion — and it’s spreading like wildfire through schools, culture, and medicine. Parents, you need to hear this. The time to protect your children and fight back is NOW.

Watch the full episode HERE

Glenn's "secret" to conquering the JFK fitness test

President Trump recently signed an executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test and the media is in a frenzy. But Glenn and Stu look back at the history of these tests, including JFK’s version of the Test that seems IMPOSSIBLE for modern Americans. But Glenn has a secret reason for why he’s confident in his pull-up abilities…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: What is the -- what is the new physical -- the president's physical fitness, you know, plan?

STU: Well, the thing that RFK Jr and Hegseth were rolling out the other day. I don't know if it was the full test or anything, but they were issuing a challenge to America, to be able to do 100 pushups and 50 pullups within five minutes.

GLENN: That's crazy.

STU: Thank you! That struck you as also crazy.

I don't think there's ever been a time in my life, that I could do that. Let alone now with shoulder problems. And much too much weight.

GLENN: All right. But that was before I needed this walker.

STU: I don't think there was a time in my 20s or my teens, that I could do that. But that -- in five minutes? Fifty pullups?
GLENN: Both of them in 5 minutes.
STU: Yeah, both of them. So it's not like 100 pushups in five minutes. It's both tasks within five minutes.

GLENN: No. No. That's not true.

STU: RFK Jr. is just doing it in jeans.

GLENN: Yeah, well, RFK, he's -- he's a weirdo. I mean, he is. Come on. When it comes to fitness, he's a weirdo.
STU: Yes.
GLENN: I mean, he's done this his whole life. He's like 800 years old. He can still do it.

STU: Yes. Depressive, I will say.

GLENN: I don't know. He's a sex machine.

STU: Oh. That's been a problem for him. Yes, that's been an issue in his life. Yes.

GLENN: Okay. All right. Go ahead.

STU: Separate from the president's physical fitness test.

GLENN: Right.

STU: But, I mean, they don't, they don't really think we're going to do that, right?
Like, I mean, how long would that take you to do?

STU: I think for me, it would take a good month. I think a month, I could probably get two pullups a day. That would get me around, a little over 50. So I could do that. Plus, the pushups. A solid month, I could get that done.

GLENN: You could do more than two a day. You could do more than two a day.

STU: You know, Glenn, I've got to say. I think -- I will throw a number out there. No science behind this, so just as a guestimate.

I would say 40 percent of the population can't do any pullups. Maybe 30 percent. Thirty percent of the population can do exactly zero pullups. Precisely zero, so an infinite amount of time would be a correct answer for a third of the population.

GLENN: I think you're -- I think you're being -- I think you're being a little too optimistic. I think it's closer to 40 or 50. I think it's closer to 40 or 50. Maybe 60 percent.

STU: Right! Pushups are one thing. I mean, I think almost anyone can do a pushup. One --

GLENN: You can do a pushup. Yes. Yes.

STU: Singular pushup. And if you can do one, you can wait long enough, to do a second one.
And at some point, the hundred gets done. That's not the case with pullups. Pullups, you can sit there and think about how much you want to do a pullup for a really long time. But that doesn't make a pullup happen. If you've got a certain amount of weight on you. You're not doing a pullup. It's not occurring.

GLENN: I have no idea, how many pullups I can do.

STU: I have an exact number of pullups, you can do.

GLENN: Do you? You think so?

STU: Yeah. Yeah. I have the exact number. I have to calculate -- AI has been running a report on me. It came up with zero.

GLENN: Right. Right. Really?
I can do. I mean, this is so pathetic. Listen to this. I bet I could do three. You know, you could do three.

STU: In a row? Proper form.

GLENN: What do you mean in a row?

STU: I mean, holding on to the bar, without letting go, you're doing three. There's no way. I don't think so.

GLENN: I think I could do. Well, with proper form, I don't know about that. I don't know about that.

STU: I'm not saying it has to look pretty. You have to get your chin up above the bar. It can't be one of those things, where you're a quarter of the way up there.

GLENN: So I can do one and rest for ten minutes. I could do another one.

I think I can do that.

STU: If you -- I'm not saying, you jump up, and you pull yourself up as you're pulling up. Full hang --

GLENN: See, you may not know this.

But you know what, I've done the DNA test. Have you ever done the DNA test that tells you all about your genes and everything else? Mine came back with something remarkable, and I have to share. You might feel bad, next.
(laughter)

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STU: Coming up next, Glenn attempts live pullups on the air. Stay tuned!
(OUT AT 8:29 AM)

GLENN: You know no idea what who you're dealing with. No. You don't have any idea who you're dealing with here.

I got my DNA test back like 10 years ago. And we all -- we all took it, because we were looking for things. And so we all took it. My DNA test came back, and everybody in the family, their test made total sense. Like, oh, yeah. That makes...

Then we read mine. We have to find -- I have to find. See if Tania has it still. We should have had it framed. I swear to you, they -- they mixed me up with somebody else.

Somebody else is like, wait a minute. I'm this pathetic? Mine came out and said, you have the muscular structure of a -- of a -- something like a -- an elite athlete. You have the abilities and agility and everything else of an elite athlete. And I'm like, there's not a chance. I don't have any of that!

I don't even know if I have muscles. I have to check once in a while, and go, do I have muscles still?

Doctor is like, I don't know. Can I? Ask just press against my hand on the leg. I don't know.

You know, I don't know how to do that exactly. So --

STU: You sure it said elite athlete and not elephant? I mean, if they misspelled it.

GLENN: It was.

I was having eye problems at the time.

STU: No!

GLENN: I mean, we read it. And I was like Tania, I believe that for Tania.

Maybe they switched me and Tania. Because Tania is really strong. She'll kick your butt.

She works out every day. All of that. Me? Never. Never.

And it kind of makes me wonder, when I get to the other side, and the Lord went, okay.

So what did you do with your life again?

Because I gave this incredible body, and you wasted it the whole time.

And I'm like, you should have been more clear, okay?

You should have been more clear. I -- maybe I could have played basketball. But I tried once. And it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing. It was like sixth grade. And I'll never live -- I don't even want to think about my time on a basketball court. Okay? So don't -- don't start with me. You should have made it a little clearer. When I first started to do stuff. And I think that's fair. I think that's a fair argument. In my defense. In my defense, Your Honor, God, you should have made it a little more clear.

STU: Yeah. I mean, if they really wanted us to do this, then the 11th Commandment is 50 pushups, and -- or, 50 pullups and 100 pushups, right?

Like, put it in a commandment if you really want us to do it. You have to be more specific, we're Americans.

GLENN: Okay. So let me give you the top of the list for the JFK Presidential Fitness Test. Okay? This is what you had to do in high school. In high school.

Thirty-four pullups. Bar dips: Fifty-two. What's -- because I believe I did that. A long time. And I don't recommend it.

STU: It's not a barhop.

GLENN: Oh, it's -- oh, bar dips. Okay. Okay. All right.

Bar dips: 52. Handstand pushups: Fifty. What are handstands?

STU: Oh, my God. Handstands.

GLENN: I can't even stand on my hands. Is that I'm doing a handstand and a push up? Because that's not happening. You're not human.

STU: Yeah. You're balancing yourself on your hands. Your feet are above your hands on the wall. Like a wall. And you're doing --

GLENN: Oh, so you're balancing yourself. That makes it a little easier. Still impossible.

But a little easier.

GLENN: Impossible. You could do precisely zero of those.

Aright. So you had to do 50 handstand pushups.

Or one arm -- 30 -- no, sir.

Twenty-six one-arm burpees in 30 seconds. Is that a one-armed push up?

STU: No. Well, you're bracing your yourself like you're about to begin a pushup in a burpee with only one arm, which that's not that difficult.

But then you're doing. Then you're like, you move your feet towards your hands. And then you jump up in the air basically. And then you do it repeatedly.

GLENN: No, no, no. That's ridiculous. No.

STU: There's a law of gravity. You're not supposed to violate it. If it was a recommendation of gravity, then maybe jumping would be appropriate. But it's not. Follow the law.

GLENN: In 48 seconds, you had to do a 3300-yard shuttle. Now, I've been to the airport. I think I've done a 3300-yard shuttle, but it depends on who is driving. You know.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Rope climb. Try this. Rope climb. Twenty feet, hands only! Sit start.

STU: That's what I remember from the president's physical fitness test. And I remember looking at that rope, like, no chance I could get up that thing.

GLENN: I remember looking up at that thing. Humiliation. Humiliation is coming my way. I'll never kiss a girl, because that ain't happening. I'll get maybe 10 feet up. Maybe. Maybe.

STU: And you were right for 24 years from that time, approximately.

GLENN: Agility run, 17 seconds. Extension pressups, what? What?

I'm sorry. Why am I so tired reading this?

Extension pressups. What's an extension pressup, 8-inch? You had to do 100 of them.

STU: Let's see. Exercise. An exercise for low-back pain involving lying on your stomach and pressing your upper body up with your arms while keeping your hips relaxed and down on the mat.

GLENN: Oh, I could do that know. 8 inches.

STU: The last part of it, relaxing down on the mat.
GLENN: That's what my doctor says I should be doing. What?

STU: I can do relaxed and down on the mat. That part of it --

GLENN: Yeah. I could do that -- I'm the only guy. I took yoga for a while, like three weeks. My wife is like, yoga. You could do yoga. Let's just do yoga together.

I did. And the yoga instructor said to me. Because we were doing a plank.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And she came and all I remember her waking me up. And saying, I think you're the only person I've ever -- ever taught that fell asleep in yoga. And I'm like, it's just so relaxing. Just let me sleep. Let me sleep.

STU: That's interesting, that you did yoga. Is there any footage of that? Any video that we could post? That would be good for --

GLENN: No. There's not. You had to do pegboard. Five trips of pegboard. And I think that's when you have the two pegs.

STU: Yes, it was a board.

GLENN: You have to take it out, and put it up, right?

STU: This is American Ninja Warrior. No way.

GLENN: There's no way. There's no way.

STU: This is amazing.

GLENN: Try this one: You had to do a 45-second handstand. I've never been able to do a handstand. Never!

STU: Never.

GLENN: And I'm an elite athlete. I'm an elite athlete. Try this one: A man carry, 5 miles.

STU: What? What do you mean a --

GLENN: Five-mile man carry.

STU: Is a man carry as obvious as it --

GLENN: I think it is.

STU: You're carrying --

GLENN: If I'm going to carry that man, you have to carry me that man for five miles.

I'm not sure, I can't carry any man for any miles. I mean, if I am -- if I am a firefighter, count on burning in the house. You're going to burn in the house. Because I can't carry you out. I can get in there and go, yeah, I will have to leave you.
I will have to leave you here. I can't help you, sorry.

It's also getting really hot in here. I have to go. You had to do a five-mile jog. An obstacle course.

You had to swim prone for a mile. You had to swim underwater for 50 yards, any strokes, two minutes. Deep waterfront, hang float, with arms. What? What is a deep water hang float with arms. Wait. Wait.

It's a deep waterfront hang float with arms and ankles tied for six minutes.

What kind of al-Qaeda PE class was this?

STU: Who has access to -- who has access -- like, you're in the middle of the country, you may not have a deep water body nearby. This is -- are you sure this is an actual test?

GLENN: This is the actual test. This is the actual -- what is a deep water front hang float with arms and ankles tied for six minutes? Can you look that up?

STU: A deep water hang float is an aquatic hang float done in the deep end of a pool with the aid of flotation device, such as a noodle or belt.

In this position, the flotation twice supports your upper body, while your legs and torso hang freely beneath you.

That can't be what it is.

GLENN: You can do that.

Deep-end of the pool.

STU: Can you bring a margarita?

GLENN: Man, this test is no big deal.

What! No way. No way!

Here's the last thing on the test.

A vertical tread in an 8-foot circle for two hours!

No way.

STU: Vertical tread in an 8-foot circle?

GLENN: So you're in the water and you're treading water in a circle for two hours. Two!

STU: This is not -- what?

This is not the test.

GLENN: It is. Now, I told you, this is the top of the test.

This is the top of the test.

So this is for the ones who could do all the other tests.

This was the top of the test. The bottom of the test is not that much better. Here's the entry, okay? Let's see. Pullups, 2/6/10. I don't know what that means. Pushups, 16, 24, 32. Bar dips, four, eight, and 12. Situps, 30, 45, and 60. Broad jump, 6-foot, 6, 6, 6. And 6, 9.

To jump 6 feet? I don't even know if --

STU: That one is possible, yes. Glenn, I know it sounds incredible. But, yes. That one is possible.

GLENN: Sounds incredible. You know, I think we should have the average person Olympics. I really do. I really do.

STU: Oh, I would watch that.

GLENN: I would watch that every time.

You see them coming. And you're like, hmm. That one -- three feet. I'm giving him 3 feet. 200-yard shuttle. Agility run. Rope climb, 18 feet, hands only. 880 yards in three minutes. A mile in seven minutes. Pegboard, six holes. A 50-yard swim. Forty -- 40, 50-yard swim in 36 seconds. Man carry, 880 yards. No, thank you! No, thank you!

Look at -- look at what we've gone down. That's the bottom of it. And I don't think most Americans could do that.

I couldn't. Well, I could. Because I'm an elite -- I have the body of an elite athlete.

STU: No. You could not. Now, of course -- let's just say, this is supposed to be for a high school kid. Right?

So this is the prime of your athletic life. Could you do some of these things? Probably.
GLENN: Go into high school.
Go into any high school, and ask them to do this. There's no way. And all of the kids would be.

STU: Well, that's kind of what the reaction would be.

GLENN: Don't get me wrong. I would have been there too. And my parents would have said, suck it up. Just do it.

So nothing has really changed.

STU: That's been the reaction to this proposal too, of bringing this back. Right? The media is covering this. Like, it's going to embarrass children.

You know, I mean, I do remember it being like, I can't do that. I'm not going to the top of that rope. That's not happening.

That's sort of life. Right? Sometimes you can do things. Sometimes you can't do other things.

GLENN: That's why you have to learn how to injure yourself.

You know, how many stairs can I throw myself down, to not do serious damage, but enough to get me out of PE.

STU: Yeah, you have to fake an why are. You have to learn from LeBron James. Act like you got hit in the eye. And fall down like you were just stabbed over and over again, like you were in an athletic competition.

GLENN: There's no way. There's no way.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Whitney Webb: How You Can BREAK FREE of the Chains of the Elites

Are you truly free, or is your life quietly controlled by systems most Americans never question? In this eye-opening conversation, Glenn Beck speaks with investigative journalist Whitney Webb about how the Elites, banks, and global systems have created modern forms of enslavement, all while the public remains largely unaware. They discuss the urgent need for local self-reliance, alternative financial systems, and taking personal responsibility to protect yourself and your family. This is a wake-up call for anyone who believes freedom is guaranteed, and it’s time to see the truth and act before it’s too late.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Whitney Webb HERE

Claire's warning: The dark side of gender care EXPOSED

Claire Abernathy was just 14-years-old when doctors told her parents she’d take her own life without hormones and surgery. They promised “gender care” would save her life. Instead, it left Claire with irreversible scars, broken trust, and a lifetime of regret. Her mom was told she was required to comply. No one ever addressed the bullying, or trauma Claire endured before being rushed into medical transition. Now, years later, both Claire and her mother are speaking out and exposing how families are misled, how doctors hide risks, and how children are left to pay the price. With federal investigations now underway, their story is a warning every parent needs to hear.