RADIOMarch 11, 2024

WHAT?! Biden APOLOGIZES for Calling Laken Riley’s Alleged Murderer “ILLEGAL”

President Biden made a big apology related to his mention of Laken Riley and her alleged murderer during his 2024 State of the Union address. But the apology wasn’t for calling Laken “Lincoln.” He instead apologized to the illegal immigrant accused of killing her for calling him “an illegal.” “When did we start worrying about the feelings of the killer,” Glenn asks. Glenn also looks back at how Democrats used to talk about illegal immigrants, and the difference is shocking …

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: President Joe Biden, thank goodness. In step with the American people.

Apologized for describing the suspected killer of Lincoln.

A/k/a, Laken Hope Riley. I described him as an illegal immigrant during the State of the Union.

STU: I believe he just said "illegal."

GLENN: Oh, he did. He just said "illegal." And people aren't illegal.

STU: Human beings cannot be illegal!
All humans are legal!

GLENN: Illegal.

Oh, my goodness.

STU: I wonder if that applies to babies born in states that ban abortion. Is that process illegal?

GLENN: Babies born.

STU: In states that have banned abortion.

A Texas baby, that the mom really wanted to kill, just couldn't get around to it because of the law. Are those babies legal? Because they keep telling us everything about it is unconstitutional.

GLENN: Well, I'll tell you, I think, for instance, Manson. Charlie Manson.

You know, the guy with the swastika on his head.

STU: I remember him.

GLENN: Okay. He's not illegal.

STU: No human is illegal.

GLENN: Yeah. But what he did was illegal.

STU: Wait. Is that how the law works?

That human beings can have actions that are illegal. They're not illegal themselves.

GLENN: They're not illegal. If you do something. Let's say, thinking outside the box here.

Come into a country. And you're not supposed to be here. Okay?

And so you cross our border, illegally. No. You're still a legal human being.

But you've -- you've now come to cross purposes with the law.

STU: Right. So your actions are the thing that formed --

GLENN: Yes. Your actions are illegal. And shorthand, we would just call you illegal. Instead of having to explain it every time, to dummies.

STU: Although, you just did have to explain it to a bunch of dummies.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. Mainly in the White House. Or in Congress. Or have a D after their name.

The D, by the way, does not stand for Democrat. It stands for dummy. So this guy killed Lincoln Hope.

She was a nursing student. He brutally killed her.

Kidnapped her. During the State of the Union address, he -- he was confronted by Marjorie Taylor Greene, who yelled, say her name. Say her name. Because he had never mentioned her name.

And that's when he called her Lincoln. Okay. No. Yeah. It's Laken, but good for you for finding a name that starts with an L.

STU: Look, he's confused with a college football coach. Of course that can happen.

GLENN: Yes, and it was another president, and he was thinking of Civil War.

STU: There you go.

GLENN: So that really upset the family of Laken.

Lincoln's mom, well, she had been dead for a long time, so she didn't even really notice it.

So here's what happened: Expect -- on itself plane on Saturday. Had to go to California to give a speech. Couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Anyway, so I'm on the plane. I land.

And I said, to somebody who was on the plane with me.

You have the headlines?

He said, yeah. Looks like President -- President Biden just apologized for the Lincoln Riley thing.

I said, well, it's only a couple days late, but at least he did it.

And then I got on to my own laptop, and started looking at -- and said, no. No. That's not what he apologized for. He apologized for calling him illegal.

It is -- I mean, I don't even -- what!

He is from Venezuela.

He crossed into the United States. Illegally.

He -- you know, of course, he was an undocumented person. He goes -- he comes here. He gets all kinds of help. They -- they catch him at the border.

They release him within an hour or so. They ship him to New York.

Where he gets free room and board.

I think he also gets a couple of extra free spaces in bingo up at the church.

And what does he do?

Breaks the law. Goes down to Georgia.

Breaks the law. Oh, well, I'm here. I may as well kill a woman.

This is a really bad guy.

And why is it the president had to apologize?

You know that was a setup.

Do we happen to have the audio by any chance?

No.

You know this was a setup.

He was on MSNBC. And the MSNBC anchor says, so do you feel bad at all? About calling him an illegal?

Now, why would you ask that?

Go ahead, here it is.

VOICE: During your response to her heckling of you, you used the word "illegal" when talking about the man who allegedly killed Laken Riley.

BIDEN: Undocumented person. I shouldn't have used the word "illegal." It's undocumented.

And, look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about on the border was that is the way he talks about vermin. The way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what I won't do. I'm not treating any -- any of these people with this disrespect.

Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing.

We have to control the border, and more orderly.

GLENN: Right. Right.

VOICE: So you regret using that word?

BIDEN: Yes.

GLENN: Okay. All right.

This was the White House putting him in a softball situation, and tipping off the interview, hey, ask him about illegal.

STU: Yeah. 100 percent. These things do not just happen like that.

GLENN: No.

STU: Obviously, in reality, no one cares whether he said it was illegal. The fact that he didn't know the name was a bigger situation.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Than that. And the fact that he -- you can tell he was -- she was trying to goad him into talking about this.

She wanted him to mention this story. Which he would have never mentioned, if it wasn't for her.

If it wasn't for Marjorie Taylor Greene, he wouldn't have even mentioned it in that speech.

And look, it wound up drawing more attention, which is great.

But it's incredible, that that is where we are. Where we have to give the media giving him softball interviews.

At least he's doing interviews. He avoided the Super Bowl interview. At least he's doing interviews.

GLENN: He probably didn't have a lot guarantee, that it was going to be, what's your favorite ice cream?

So he's apologizing, that he would use the word "illegal" for somebody who is here illegally.

And didn't apologize for his role in allowing this guy to be here.

I love all of this -- this lefty bullcrap, that, you know, what about all the crimes that were done by illegals?

Yes. You mean citizens.

There's lots of crime done by citizens. Absolutely. But there's absolutely no reason to import people, who are criminals, into this country. So they can do crime.

We -- we should know who is here.

You know what, he's part of a pretty vicious gang. I don't think we let him in.

And you -- Mr. President, you, Mayorkas, and everybody else involved, who has been pushing these policies. Their blood is on your hands. Period.

Period. And there's a lot of blood on your hands. I mean, should we count the number killed in Ukraine?

Because that's directly responsible. You're directly responsible for that action, of Russia.

All you had to say was, we're not going to make Russia a part of NATO. That's all you needed to say. And you wouldn't say it.

You wanted the war. So her blood. The blood of everybody else, that has been injured or killed here in America, because you opened the border. Ukraine. Oh, all the people, really, at the Abbey Gate.

Of course, the 19 Marines. You know, that blood is -- there's a lot. I don't know if I can tally up all of the blood, but there's a lot on your hands.

Do you apologize for any of that?

STU: If you're in an interview talking about the Laken Riley situation, you think at the very least, if you're going to ask the question, hey, did you say illegal wrong? You would also mention, hey, what about mispronouncing her name?

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Right? It's almost directly related.

GLENN: Have you met her?

This is so crazy. When did we start worrying about the feelings of the killer?

Look what's happened!

Stu just brought up a very good point.

He asked about mislabeling the killer. Not about the callousness of not knowing her name. Nor, reaching out to the family, and consoling. How about that one?

STU: And, of course, when he did attempt to console from the stage. He made it about himself. Which he did every single time.

GLENN: Every time.

Really? Well, I know your son was I guess in the war. The war wasn't happening in Georgia. You know. This has and he didn't lose him in the war.

GLENN: I know that.

STU: He also lost him because of cancer. Which again, is terrible. But had nothing to do with the situation they were dealing with.

Cancer is a vicious killer. And so is this illegal.

He's a vicious killer.

More on this, in just a second. First, let me tell you about are of.

Some people seem to be born tough. Like Helen. You remember Helen?

She still here? Helen!

Yes.

STU: Hi.

GLENN: Hi, Helen, how are you?

STU: Wonderful. I'm really glad we're talking again. Any time I get a chance to talk to you, I'm very happy.

GLENN: Really. Well, why not stay in the greenroom. I can have you back every ten minutes or so.

STU: Great!

GLENN: Anyway, you have pain, right?

STU: Lots of pain. You know, the incredible surgery and shots I've been going through, seemed to leave marks.

GLENN: Really?

STU: And, yeah. The pain is excruciating.

GLENN: But had you had that female pain yet?

STU: Well, surprisingly, not really. I don't know what's going on.

GLENN: Really? That must be just you.

STU: It must be just me.

GLENN: Right.

STU: You know, I'm so feminine now. Everyone thinks immediately, I must be dealing with that, on a monthly basis.

GLENN: Right.

STU: But not -- nope.

No.

GLENN: Huh.

STU: Very male in that sense.

GLENN: Wow. Have you had the ovaries checked?

STU: You know, they can't find them anywhere.

I asked, can you put some in, so the next doctor will find them. They say, they don't do that yet.

GLENN: Wow. Okay. Well, follow the science.

STU: Hey. Just one good piece of information: You paid for my surgery. You paid for my surgery. Thank you so much.

GLENN: I paid for it? How did I pay for your surgery?

STU: Taxpayers are now paying for my surgery, which is great. I wanted to thank you, because of how much you pay in taxes.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: So just think about that -- it's come up on April soon. Think about how wonderful that will be.

GLENN: I used to think it's really great, that, you know, on April, I think to myself, maybe I bought a plane that's keeping the country safe.

STU: Nope!

You bought something much different.

And it's now in the medical waste bin.

So I love Miranda Divine from the New York Post. I love her.

I was reading this story today. I didn't know who wrote it. It was from the Post. I didn't know who wrote it.

And I went, it's got to be Miranda Divine.

She said -- about this interview on MSNBC.

The first question was gently to chide the president for using the word illegal. Not for the insult of getting Riley's name wrong, or the outrage of allowing her to kill her into the country.

Look, when I spoke about different things between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about was the border. The way he talks about vermin.

It was the same after the train derailment spilled toxic chemicals that sickened residents of East Palestine, Ohio.

Biden's studious indifference allowed Trump to ride into town with fresh water and concerned words, two weeks after the disaster.

Biden couldn't find it in him -- find the town for a year. His people said, he was too busy. But he's never too busy for long weekends in luxury vacations.

Biden likes to emote about his own tragedies, every chance he gets. And this has been misinterpreted as empathy. It's not empathy. It's narcissism.

If he had a shred of empathy, he would unwind his open border executive orders of January, February '21. And stop lying that it's the Republican's responsibility.

This is a classic example of Biden's border madness. Despite being listed in the Department of Homeland Security documents as an active member of the deadly Tren de Aragua gang. I'm not a gang member. So I don't know all of their cool names.

The Post reported, this man was set to be free, almost immediately after crossing the border illegally in September 22.

Put on a bus in New York. Bring on free room and board in a migrant shelter. He worked for DoorDash and UberEATS, with entry to the apartments of unsuspected New Yorkers to deliver food.

A disgrace for which those companies should be hauled over the court -- coals. He expressed his gratitude for America's generosity, by continuing to break our laws.

Multiple arrests in New York, and Georgia.

But no detention. No deportation. And the media bent over backward. Saying that the murder suspect, was from Athens.

No. Venezuela.

They're spelled differently.

As Trump says, they're not sending their best and their brightest to us, from Venezuela.

This is -- this is -- our perversion now of empathy, what we -- what we are doing now. Is replacing, well, good for evil. Evil for good.

Whoa, unto him. We -- we have now taken the victims, and put that title on the perpetrator.

And the bad guy now, is the victim.

There's more empathy on the left, and the president, for this illegal, than there is for the dead.

Or those she left behind. That -- that is not the country you want to live in.

And I'm saying that to Democrats.

You don't want to live in that country.

We've seen those kinds of countries come and go. And they're abominations. You have to stop misplacing the empathy.

We used to be a nation of -- of heroes, and those heroes were the people, who were the underdogs.

We've replaced the underdog. The underdog is not the individual. Not anymore. It's this big terrifying group, that says, I, as an individual have a problem.

And they've gathered themselves into groups, with clubs.

And if you don't listen to them, they're Goliath!

Leaving you the one who is supposedly holding them down. To be beaten, by this mob!

No. They're -- they're not the victim. They're not little David.

They're Goliath. The individual remains the underdog.

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program.

Glad you're here. It's a Monday.

Bitcoin is over 72,000 now. 72,300. Amazing.

STU: Oh, is that it? Crypto is still dead. I want to make sure.

GLENN: No. Crypto is dead. Well, not right now.

But the moment it starts going down, it will be dead again.

STU: I saw so many stories about people who invested when it was 60 something thousand. And then they lost everything.

And those stories were everywhere. And I don't see them as often, when it goes up. That's such a weird thing.

GLENN: You know who lost?

The people who bought it at 60. Then pulled it out of the market. Now it's at 72.

STU: Yeah. Here's a true statement. Every single person, who has ever in the entire history of Bitcoin, bought it and held it to today, has made money. All of them.

100 percent of them. Congratulations to all of you. You people who decided to sell, oh, well, sometimes that goes wrong.

But if you decided to hold it, every single person who has ever done it in human history has made money. Oh, what a terrible investment.

Crypto dead. Let's write some more articles. Where are you guys?

Let's see it all over again. I can't wait until it goes down to 58, and we have the same cycle all over again.

I can't believe -- Bob toxin of southeast, South Bend. After seeing Pete Buttigieg's battle against underbridge lighting, decided to sell his Bitcoin and be lost 11 teen dollars. And now lives under that bridge, under that wonderful underscaped lighting.

And --

GLENN: This is why government needs to regulate it. Because people get hurt.

STU: Where is Elizabeth Warren when we did her?

Where are you, Liz. I haven't heard from Liz lately, on this stuff.

GLENN: You will. You will again.

STU: She's always blabbing about something. Just, it's infuriating.

Like, I mean, look, how many -- we're well over a trillion dollars in market cap.

How many times have we seen these things go to zero after we get to a trillion? Does that happen a lot? I don't know. It's pretty rare.

GLENN: Did pets.com get to a trillion? Then no. No.

STU: I'm pretty sure no. Pretty sure no.

GLENN: By the way, may I -- may I just point out the more perplexing story of the day, from Politico?

And that is, what's up with raw milk?

Now, normally, I'm not into my raw milk stories.

STU: No?

GLENN: Doctor says I'm getting too much of -- in my diet, of stories about raw milk.

How raw milk went from a whole food staple, to a conservative signal.

This story is fascinating to me. Because it's true. We're like switching places.

If you shopped at Whole Foods, 15 years ago, you were a Democrat. Had to be. Flaming liberal, okay?

Most likely, if you were eating at Cracker Barrel. Most likely, you voted for a Republican.

I don't know who the Democrats have become.

But we are people now, that enjoy Cracker Barrel and raw milk. And I've never -- have you ever had raw milk.

STU: No. I never have. We've talked about it a bunch of times. Never actually consumed it.

GLENN: Should get some raw milk.

STU: I have no interest consuming it, per se. But I know some people really like it.

GLENN: Why?

STU: I don't know.

I think Louis did a decent job with the whole pasteurization thing. That was the whole thing.

GLENN: Good old Louie, man.

STU: I thought he did the right thing.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, I mean, it was a progressive idea.

STU: It was.

As far as --

GLENN: The stats are. Do you know how many people have died?

STU: Oh, I can guess. How many people have died from raw milk, per year? Or what's the time period you're looking for?

GLENN: Give me from 19 -- I'm looking for it here -- 1998 to 2018.

STU: Oh, my gosh. Twenty -- well, 396,000. That's -- I'm just judging on the coverage of it.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: I don't know. Well, it seems like every one who has died.

GLENN: You actually were pretty close. 300 -- what?

STU: 396,000.

GLENN: It was three -- that's it. It was three.

STU: 300 --

GLENN: But your number had a three in it.

It started with a three. So did --

STU: Started with a three.

GLENN: Starts with a three, except it ends with the three.

It's only three. From 1998 to 2018, three.

While oysters have caused hundred deaths every year! And we still eat oysters.

STU: Right. Right. We eat lots of things that could be dangerous. And I don't think raw milk is dangerous.

GLENN: No. And I don't think that -- I don't think -- I was against it, when they were coming down on the Amish.

Leave the poor Amish alone.

I like to drink it right from the teat. Okay. I don't. I don't.

STU: No.

GLENN: But that's the way you want to drink it. Go for it. As long as it's not something else. Just trying to get milk, you know what I'm saying?

STU: I kind of want to get away from the process as much as I can, on this one.

It's one of those things insular want to think about. The more raw to me, the worse.

Because I would rather have more chemicals in it, frankly.

GLENN: In the summers, I live in a town, with a few dairy farms. I don't like driving by them with my windows closed. I just don't want to think about all of that stuff.

However, I hear raw milk is good, and really good for you.

STU: Yeah. Look, if you want to have raw milk, you should be able to have it. You need to know the risks, if there are any. I guess there are some.

GLENN: Three.

STU: Three people have died.

GLENN: 1998 to 2018.

STU: You have to believe though, more people have died from regular milk. Because so many more people drink it.

So I don't know. Same risk happens every time you go to the store and buy things. We all know something can happen.

And like, if you -- I don't understand why you wouldn't allow people to consume it, if they want to.

GLENN: And how did this happen?

How are we the raw milk drinkers? And they're -- Whole Foods stopped carrying it.

STU: Really? Well, remember, Whole Foods has gone through quite a transition.

GLENN: Who bought them? Amazon.

STU: That's right. Amazon. That's right.

GLENN: So now the lefties, I love my Whole Foods. Good thing we don't have any raw milk in here, that's dangerous. And I know because a giant global corporation owns Whole Foods, and they care.

STU: Right. Now, the person who owned it back in the day was a Libertarian. Big time Libertarian. And really believed in the mission of the company. I don't know if Amazon does, or if they just find it in a nice distribution center.

GLENN: Yeah. I don't think Amazon cares about anything, except where their drones can land. You know, I think that's pretty much -- that's pretty much here -- pretty much it.

STU: How many people have died from drones in 1998 to 2003.

GLENN: More than three. More than three.

STU: By the way, Obama was president for a part of that time.

We know it was more than three.
(laughter)

GLENN: Yeah. All right.

Speaking of -- speaking of corrupt government.

Can I just take you, just for a minute, to Liz Cheney?

And the January 6 committee.

Have you heard the latest?

Liz Cheney suppressed evidence, that President Trump pushed for 10,000 national guard troops to protect the nation's Capitol.

This is now verified, by the transcript of the deposition given, and now through Freedom of Information Act, released through the Federalist?

Mollie Hemingway, wrote this unbelievable piece this weekend. We're going to talk about it coming up in great depth with some of the players. But Cheney, and her committee, falsely claimed they had no evidence to support Donald Trump ever communicated with anyone, their desire for 10,000 National Guard troops.

Now, I've heard the opposite from people. And I thought the opposite would have been in the committee!

Right? Wouldn't you think?

If they had the opposite, and it was testimony, you would enter that, as, you know, you know, no.

Actually, people also said this.

They didn't!

They didn't. Only less than half of the information, they collected, was included in the released testimony and final report.

STU: It was obviously totally one-sided.

And you had no one representing the Trump side of this.

GLENN: None.

There's three witnesses that testified, and is in the -- not the final report.

But the actual treasure trove of everything that was gathered. This has now, Republicans put -- could have been on the committee, and decided they didn't want to be part of it, which was understandable.

Also did not give them a voice to bring these things up during the committee. To me, it was a complete waste of time. And we got nothing out of it. And it was just nonsense.

So I don't know that was the wrong move. But this is the type of stuff, that they could have caught, if they were in there.

GLENN: Yeah. But I don't know if it would have made. Did you see the latest, also on Liz Cheney this weekend?

She was instrumental, in the defense chiefs all coming up, and intelligence chiefs saying, Donald Trump in bed.

This looks like a Russian operative thing. And he was involved. That was her. She was organizing all of that.

Through the Cheney name. I mean, how do you believe anything, that comes out of Washington anymore?

STU: We should note that Liz Cheney voted for Trump in 2020.

Which is the most bizarre part, she voted for him. And turned into this person that seemingly has completely dedicated to the --

GLENN: To the big state.

STU: I don't know she's even doing now.

I don't know. Is that still under conversation?

GLENN: Good luck with that, with these things coming out.

STU: Yeah, well, this might be the thing you do. Within the race, blame everything on politics.

GLENN: Maybe she put it out.

Look how anti-Trump I was.

I mean, Nikki Haley. Yeah. She's a rookie. Look what I've done.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Glenn Beck Program. Glad you're here. Well. We started the hour with Joe Biden, making sure he was taking care of the illegal who killed Laken. And I mean, he's been so consistent on this.

I mean, Stu, could you imagine if we could go back in time and somehow or another, find like Chuck Schumer, or Biden talking about illegals?

VOICE: Can you scare an employer in this country, whether he's an agricultural worker or housewife, into not hiring an illegal, because the punishment is so high, that if you get caught, it's a huge embarrassment to your family. And you may just get hit with a fine that will kill you.

BIDEN: That's slightly what we should do.

VOICE: Because you can't catch every --

VOICE: No. You can't. And the last part of this is that the democratic position also recognizes. You have 11 million illegal aliens here. They have to have a way to earn their way into the deal. This isn't amnesty. They're required to take 11 year's worth. They pay a fine. They have to learn to speak English. They have to pass...

GLENN: That's -- now, imagine if we could find Chuck Schumer saying the same kind of stuff.

VOICE: When we use the phrases like "undocumented workers," we convey a message to the American people, that the government is not serious about combating illegal immigration. Which the American people overwhelmingly oppose. If you don't think it's illegal, you're not going to say it. I think it is illegal and wrong.

GLENN: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Anyway, Stu, can you imagine if we could go back in time and find stuff like that?

STU: Yeah. I mean, we don't have those --

GLENN: Those capabilities. Just all in our imagination.

STU: Yes. That was a fascinating --

GLENN: That was 2009. 2009.

STU: I was going to say, he looked pretty old for the '80s.

GLENN: 2009.

STU: Who was president in 2009? Barack Obama?

GLENN: Barack Obama, talking about, if you're not going to say they're illegal, you're not going to stop it.

STU: He's, of course, right. And he's right in how people hear that. If you won't say that, you probably won't think it's illegal.

GLENN: Well, if anybody, I don't know how anybody who vote Democrat still think that the Democrats, that the Democrats are the ones that are fighting for the little man. The every guy. They're fighting for the labor unions. The closest they get to the little guy.

The labor unions. And then the big corporations.

They're only for big, powerful things. They're not for the individual.

STU: It's a fascinating thing. What a weird transition.

We just -- it just shows we're old. We've done this show long enough together, to see them completely switch sides on like 100 different topics.

GLENN: Can you imagine, if we were on talk radio, back in like 1970s.

We would be like, wait. Johnson.

Johnson would be the guy who stopped the Civil Rights Act. You know, I can't take it anymore.

If you were living in the '60s, you went through this transition. Where all of a sudden, without any rhyme or reason, they just are like, yeah.

I know I was the one using the N-word.

And I'm still proud to use it, you know, at my home and with my friends.

But I think we should help out these inferior races. I mean, how did they pull that off?

Just like they're doing now!

The same kind of transition. Right in front of our eyes.

“He was one of ours, and he was taken”: Megyn Kelly remembers Charlie Kirk

Glenn Beck and Megyn Kelly remember their friend, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, a day after he was assassinated at Utah Valley University. They also discuss the manhunt for the killer.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Yesterday was such a surreal day. I was getting to record my special last night. It was in the afternoon. And I'm sitting here in my studio, and I look at the stairs through this glass door that I have here. And my wife is on the phone, and she's standing in the stairway.

And she has her, her hand gripping the stair rail. And I could see it in her eyes, she was on the phone. And I could see confusion, and I could see trouble.

And in my ear, I'm hearing, five, four, three -- and I said, "Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. I need 30 seconds. I need to talk to my wife."

And I motioned for her to come in. And in a confused and dazed sort of way, she kind of stumbles into the room.

And I said, "What's happening, honey?"

And she said, "It's Cheyenne."

I didn't know what that meant. As a dad, you can imagine. I said, "Is she okay? What -- what's happening?"

She meant, it's Cheyenne on the phone.

Cheyenne had just gotten past the crush of the crowd. She called her mom. She said, "Charlie Kirk's just been shot."

"What?"

She sent me some video, and I knew it was true, but hoped for the best until a few minutes later somebody else sent me video that I hope you did not see, of the bullet striking him.

It must have been like what it was when you first saw the Zapruder film, or if you were standing in the Grassy Knoll. You just knew.

I was on with Megyn Kelly, and we were holding on to the hope that he was somehow or another going to survive that. And Megyn said at one point, I don't know why I'm not announcing what everybody else is announcing. But I just can't.

Megyn joins us now. Hi, Megyn.

MEGYN: Hi, Glenn.

GLENN: What a weird 24 hours it has been. Where are you this morning, in unraveling this knot in your head?

MEGYN: I still don't have my arms around it. I -- I don't feel like I've totally digested the fact that he's gone and the way in which he was taken. You know, Charlie truly was such a larger than life figure. We say that term. But it -- it was true about him. At six-five, he truly seemed larger than most of us. And he was, in his gifts, in his tirelessness. And just knowing exactly where the scene. Every story was.

And his raw courage. So many times. We like to think we're courageous in our commentary. You look at Charlie, and you think, now that's try courage. He -- he would just say it like it was.

The things you might be thinking in your head, but you might not want to say explicitly, he said. And he took a lot of slings and arrows for it and was demonized for being all the terrible things, as opposed to people taking him on and saying, "Does he have a point?"

GLENN: You know, I said earlier today, you don't kill the weak. People don't want to try to heal. They just want to speak in anger at times. And anger is part of the grieving process. And I know I'm angry.

But Charlie would face that anger. And what people think is weakness, by showing love and compassion and listening and just having a decent conversation, that's one of the reasons why he was killed. He wasn't -- he wasn't killed because he was weak. Just like Gandhi wasn't weak. He -- he -- he was killed because he was effective.

Megyn, where do we go from here?

She dropped. Can we get her back on the phone. I got an email from somebody today. This morning.

And I want to share the email. I won't share the name. It's short. But I -- I also think I should share the -- my response. Because I think it's how most of us feel.

It -- it comes from a very well-known conservative leader. Glenn, I am devastated this morning.

I am in deep mourning for Charlie. I am in mourning for his family and our country.

And I don't know how to surface from this. I don't know if I do either.

But I would like to share my thoughts with you, a little later on. Megyn is with me.

Megyn, how do we process this? How do we surface from this?

MEGYN: You know, I think as many lost -- we -- we all have to go through the denial and the bargaining. You know, I'm still refreshing my X account, like hoping somehow there's a reversal. You know, like somehow it was all wrong. Somehow we got it all wrong. You know, sometimes the media gets it wrong. It -- it's absurd. We know what the answer is.

But that's a natural reaction when you had a sudden loss in particular. And anger is completely appropriate now too. It's completely appropriate.

You know, we are going to catch this guy. You know, that FBI presser they just held which is very encouraging.

They -- and two things that happened this morning that are of note, Glenn. First, Steven Crowder who is very solid on his law enforcement leak reporting. He has -- he has a proven track history. He's the one that got the manifesto from the trans shooter in Nashville before anyone else. And that's not all.

He's had other leaks, posting a document saying he received from an ATF source on the investigation.

And that says that they retrieved the gun in the would see, behind the campus. Wrapped in a towel. And that there were three unspent cartridges in the gun. That had transgender and antifascist ideology. Something written on them.

Now, that piece of -- that last piece of it was not confirmed by the FBI at the presser they just held, but every other thing was.

The Crowder report was confirmed in every detail, including naming the kind of gun. He had that right. He had the location right. He had the trail and the tracking of the suspect right.

They did not volunteer the business about what was written on the cartridges, nor did anyone there ask. Because those reporters almost certainly don't follow Steven Crowder because those reporters will probably tell you, he's not to be trusted.

Now, this is an early report. And it could turn out to be wrong. But that's the update as far as we know it.

And the FBI revealing that they have a picture of him, that they did, of course, track him on his way to the shooting spot with surveillance cameras, of course, on these college campuses. We would expect that in dorms or class buildings.

And they appear confident. At least to me. That they've got the guy. And if they've got the weapon, Glenn. Well, they may or may not have fingerprints.

But they almost certainly have DNA. They almost certainly DNA, which I'm sure they're uploading right now, into every database, they can.

You know, within we saw -- they're not supposed to use the public databases. Sorry, private like 23andme or Ancestry.com. Though, in Culverter (phonetic), they did. And that is how they found Culverter. Sometimes they do.

And even just a public database of DNA. Can lead you at least to a family member somewhere near a shooter or suspect. And then it's just a matter of charts and a few hours in getting to that person's relative. So I believe they will find the shooter.

And then we'll know the ideology. And then we'll have a place to put some of the anger. Like, an explanation or something that will help us understand what deranged person. And I don't mean that in a clinical sense. Did this yesterday.

I just feel like, I don't know where to go, until I figure out who did this and why.

GLENN: It was about midnight last night, when I talked to the president.

And he was very clear, that we will find whoever is responsible for this. And justice will be served.

He was extraordinarily confident in that. Which gave me an awful lot of hope.

I don't know if you saw his speech last night, that he gave from the oval.

But I thought -- very powerful. Hit exactly the right tone.

Hit exactly the right tone.

But I think the days of us fooling around and nibbling at the edges. I think those days are over.

MEGYN: I agree. And one of the things that Trump said last night that was so good was, he used the word "terrorism." That's exactly right. You know, that's -- that is how a lot of us are feeling.

And I know you've had the same experience I've had in the last 24 hours, Glenn, where virtually everybody I know in the media business has reached out. I think there are a lot of folks who are in Arlene, in particular, in conservative media, who are very rattled by this because he was one of ours.

And he was taken. You know, he -- obviously, we all have concerns about personal security now with the shooter at loose. You know, at large as well. But I just mean that -- like the betrayal and the need to rise up and protect ours. And the people we value and love.

You know, this is like -- I don't want to say a call to arms. Because I'm not encouraging violence. But, I mean, a unifying call for us to stand shoulder to shoulder and stand up.

GLENN: Yeah. It is absolutely a wake-up call. To anybody who thought, you know, "Oh, it's just going to pass us by," it's not. This is -- this is the call of our age. And how we respond, is going to determine the future of freedom in this country. But I have great confidence that we will respond just as we did after 9/11.

We responded with conviction. We responded with an intelligence sort of way. We overreacted in some ways, that I would like to avoid this time.

But we came together as a nation, and did what had to be done.

For the preservation of our nation.

Now, if we can have the moderation lesson learned this time. Perhaps we will be good. But I think the days of Antifa not feeling any ramifications for their work and others, those days are over! As of yesterday.

Megyn -- I just -- go ahead.

MEGYN: Go ahead, Glenn. I was just going to say. One of the things we did after 9/11 was when the stock market opened two days later. We -- we all bought stocks. We just -- it could have been a 5-dollar to being. But everyone did it to send a message that the financial center would stand. And I think we are going to see a reaction on college campuses when it comes to free speech by conservatives unlike we've ever seen before. In a similar vein.

GLENN: I agree. I'm proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with you, Megyn. And be in the trenches with you all the time. You are a light in a lot of darkness. And I appreciate our years of friendship. And everything that you've done for the country. Thank you!

MEGYN: Likewise, my friend. Thanks for having me.

“Our country has changed forever”: Charlie Kirk's BlazeTV friends reflect on his death

BlazeTV hosts Liz Wheeler, Steve Deace, and Allie Beth Stuckey join Glenn Beck to reflect on the assassination of their friend, Charlie Kirk. They also discuss where the conservative movement goes from here and what they believe the impact of his death will be.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I spoke to you yesterday. And we were both pretty raw at the time. How are you doing this morning?

LIZ: I -- I am in a fog of grief, Glenn. I think that a lot of us are -- it still feels very unbelievable what happened to our very dear friend, Charlie Kirk. I feel like I'm floating up outside of my body in a sense, watching all of this unfold.

It's quite something to see the reaction, from the American people over this assassination. I think you're correct when you say that our country has changed forever. I think this is one of the most significant -- not just political assassinations, but political events that we've experienced since the inception of our country.

And I think I've been praying about this, since you and I spoke for so long yesterday.

I've been thinking about this endlessly.

Obviously, on my knees, praying for sweet Erica and Charlie and Erica's two babies. But I think one of the things that's happened in the last 24 hours is people in our country, and I don't even want to say conservatives.

I don't want to say right-wingers because it's not just that, have realized that Charlie is so normal. He's not radical. He's not extreme.

He's not bombastic. He's not edgy. He's just a regular guy. And he's kind. And they killed him because of those beliefs and opinions, those principles and values, Glenn, that we share with him.

And you and I work in this industry, and you've written a lot of books about this political enemy that we face, and we talk about it a lot.

But for the majority of the American people, this is the first time, Glenn, that they're realizing, exactly who this political enemy that we face is.

And it's jarring, and it's gut-wrenching. Because they realize, that just as easily as they assassinated Charlie Kirk and are now dancing on his grave, they want to do that to us, too. (crying)

GLENN: Liz, I -- and I know you do. I have such faith in the Lord. And I know -- I don't know how our lives end.

I don't know how things work out. But I know everything that happens is used for his good. There is no way to thwart God's plan. You can make it -- you can make getting there harder. You can make getting there more painful.

But if we trust in him, great and glorious things are going to happen. Because of this.

LIZ: Charlie once said --

GLENN: Go ahead.

LIZ: Charlie once said, when someone asked him what he wanted to be known for the most -- and he wore a lot of hats, so he could have picked a lot of different accomplishments and identities. And he said he wanted to be known for his faith.

And that's -- it's so powerful. You and I are clinging to God right now. Everyone sitting here with us is clinging to God. I'm literally sitting here, gripping a rosary as we talk. Evil happens in our world, and we all ask that question, "Why? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good and innocent people?"

And, you know, as Father Mike Schmitz reminded us yesterday, "When evil happens, that is not God's perfect will. It is God's permissive will, which is very different."

God allowed Charlie's death to happen, but he did not want it to happen. God values human freedom and can bring about a greater good through these allowed events. But God does not allow evil. He uses it to achieve his higher purpose. When sometimes we don't know what that is, and I -- I'm human. I find it very difficult not to have an immediate answer to, "Okay. What is that higher good?"

But it could be testing faith or demonstrating compassion, teaching people how to uphold his perfect will of good.

And if God were to remove evil from the human existence, he would also be removing our free will to love him and to love others. And he knows that despite the evil that he allows to exist in the world, this greater good can be achieved for eternity, which is where Charlie is now.

And, Glenn, there are a lot of bad people online right now. You know, celebrating Charlie's death and saying how ironic it was, that Charlie was killed by a gun when he was a champion of gun rights. But you want to know what the real irony is? The real irony is that Charlie, at this moment in eternity, I guarantee you, Glenn, is praying for those who did this to him.

GLENN: You know, yesterday I said, "I think I might have done the hardest things I've done. I walked to the front gate, and I lowered my flag to half-mast for a dear friend."

And I think that is going to be easy compared to the forgiveness and the compassion and the restraint that is going to be required from all of us in the coming days. I think that's going to be very difficult. And I don't know how you do it, if you don't have God.

LIZ: I don't. I can't imagine moving forward without God. The Bible says, "He is my rock. He is my refuge."

And I can tell you, that that's the only thing that's helping me swim through this fog.

Charlie was such a good man, Glenn. Such a good man. You know, he once actually hired me -- this was a decade and a half ago. He hired me to work for Turning Point USA, but I wasn't going to -- my start date for starting that job wasn't going to be for, like, three months down the road because that's a new financial cycle. And in the interim after we had signed that contract, but before I had started, I got offered my first television job on OIN. And so I preemptively quit on Charlie.

And I remembered talking to him. And saying, "I know this is such a sucky move for me to preemptively quit on you after we had agreed. But, Charlie, what would you do?"

And he was so gracious, Glenn. He was so generous. He said, "You are -- you're going to kill it. You're going to -- you will use this platform to glorify God and save this country."

And he was always so encouraging. Yesterday, I was looking back at our text thread, because for as busy as this man was, he never neglected talking to his friends.

And during some of the most challenging moments in my public life, who was texting me encouragement, but Charlie Kirk? This -- it is hard to think about how to move forward, but one of the things -- and I know that it's hard to articulate clearly in this moment. But one of the things that I know with crystal clarity at this moment. Is we are not going to be silenced by an enemy who harms us.

We are not going to back down. We are not going to be quiet. We are going to honor Charlie's legacy. We are going to care for and love Charlie's families.

We are going to understand in a clearer sense exactly what we are up against. And it's going to -- with God on our side, it is going to lead us to victory, in a way that our country has not yet experienced. Because we do have this binary choice.

The left wants violence. The left wants Civil War.

The left wants to hurt us and kill us.

But what's going to happen instead, is these people in our country. People who are politically apathetic. Or lukewarm liberal. Or maybe right-wing, but not that active in politics, the same thing is going to happen as a result of Charlie's assassination. That happened after the Black Lives Matter riots.

Or after the COVID vaccine mandates. Where people realized that the other side does not want the best for us.

That the other side, during the Black Lives Matter riots, was willing to falsely accuse us of being racists when that wasn't true. Or during COVID, to tell us that we couldn't go to church and worship God. And we had to take their medical products because they said so, and they didn't care about the harm. Glenn, this is that, times one thousand!

People are now looking out across our country, realizing, that there are subversive forces. And not just a radical lunatic madman incident.

There are radical forces who want to kill us. And the awakening that is going to happen, the eye-opening, you are going to see churches filled with people turning to God. You are going to see politics, a swell of good people, who want to stand for normalcy, and common sense. Two million, 5 million, 10 million Charlie Kirks are going to be minted because of this!

And that's hard to picture in this moment, and there will be hard choices to make because we're angry right now and the left is taunting us, but I have so much faith. I have so much faith in what Charlie did and in the prayers that he is going to be bathing our country in now from eternity.

GLENN: I want to spend a few minutes with another friend of Charlie Kirk's and a good friend of our program and -- and mine. Steve Deace, who follows me on Blaze TV. Steve, I know it has been a hard 24 hours. How are you holding up?

STEVE: I'm pretty devastated. I think I have sobbed more, Glenn, in the last 18 hours than I probably did since the night of my own conversion.

GLENN: Hmm.

STEVE: I'm angry, as I know a lot of people are. And there will be a time, after we -- we need to mourn, first, Glenn. Because otherwise the anger will come out destructively. And it needs to come out, but constructively. And I think we have to mourn first. I think Charlie's legacy as a father, husband, friend, patriot merits that. And I think TP USA and his family need that.

In the not too distant future, we're going to have to get the message that was sent here. He was the best of us. We saw him behind the scenes or in public, genuinely kind, generous.

I -- I -- too many pastors and ministry leaders thought they were too good for Charlie and TP USA. Didn't want to get their hands dirty, and claimed they were being super friendly. And yet, he was the one that sought out the seekers. He went to the places that those nicer than God pastors didn't go to. And he took the bullet that, frankly, that's part of their calling. That they're supposed to take. And I hope in a good way, it shames some of them this morning. That they wake up and they realize, that they have slept on the job. And that's judge somebody like Charlie had to do their job for them.

And as Charlie, you know, named his own organization.

This is a turning point. We're never going back to the way things were before. What we do, next, will decide whether or not they are better. And as one of Charlie's biggest -- biggest supporters and donors texted me this morning, we can only pray that out of one, many will rise up.

GLENN: That's a guarantee. That is an absolute guarantee, that that is going to happen.
You know, when the tyrant is killed, his reign is over. When the martyr is killed, his reign has just begun. And make no mistake, for liberty, Charlie Kirk was a martyr. He was assassinated and martyred yesterday.

And -- and, you know, I -- I -- I -- I think -- I hope, that America -- I wish America could know him the way we knew him.

Because he was a -- he was such a generous man.

STEVE: Uh-huh.

GLENN: It didn't matter who you were, or what rank in life you were, if you needed help, he was there. And --

STEVE: Yep.

GLENN: No matter how busy he was, everything stopped.

And he would help you.

And I saw it in him over and over and over again. And I wish people could see that, because it -- you know, this cartoon character, where they're making him into this bomb thrower, he was anything, but.

I mean, he would have the greatest conversations with people. I mean, I could have done it. I couldn't do it. I couldn't sit through that nonsense. But he could!

And he could logically and peacefully have a great conversation, with people who despised him. And that was so important for the healing of our nation. And I really think that that's one of the reasons that he was killed, not just because he was effective at what he did, but because he was healing us. Something that is really vital to happen. He was healing all of those divides.

STEVE: I couldn't have said it better myself. And if you just look on social media and see so many people in our movement, who have such incredible -- people I don't know, people that don't know me, such incredible testimonies of everything you just said in their interactions with Charlie.

You know, we had a very divisive presidential primary. And to be honest, I didn't always handle it well. One of the first people I heard from when it was over was Charlie. And he texted me, and he said, "Don't give up. We need you."

He didn't have to do that, he won. And he's got the bigger platform. He's got the bigger show. He didn't have to do that. But that's the -- those are the kinds of things that leaders do.

And the void that is left here is massive. And at my lowest point I've ever had in my faith, the Lord said something to me, that will stay with me the rest of my life. And he said, "Steven" -- I'm sorry.

"Steven, I need apostles, not assassins."

And I want to share that with your audience because to win the fight that will come after this, that is what will be required. If you know me, this isn't about being a pansy. The apostles rebuke. But they don't seek revenge. The apostles confront. But they don't condemn. The apostles did something that Hannibal couldn't do.

No other civilization in the fertile crescent could do, they conquered the Roman empire. They set the stage for Western civilization. And they did not do it because they were passive, and they sit on the sidelines, and they were nicer than God. And they wear pleated khakis and Hawaiian shirts year around with sweater vests.

They did it because they got their hands dirty. They did it because they did the kinds of things we saw Charlie do: Build infrastructure.
Direct, lead, guide.

I mean, we would have to have a literal conclave, Glenn. And literally, everyone in our business and movement. And come up with divisions to do all the various things Charlie himself was leading and doing in that organization.

I told Charlie at dinner recently, "It's like, you were like, if Rush Limbaugh and the Heritage Foundation had a baby. This is what you and TP USA are."

And that's what it's going to take to fill that void. But I can't -- I'm sure with the size of your audience, my inbox -- my wife is going through it, as we speak, it is full of people. You were right. I have to get off the sidelines. I have to do something. My buddy Sloan over at TP USA texted me yesterday, he goes, "You know, I can't tell you how many pastors we're hearing from. They thought they were too pious for us. Too good for us.
And now the stakes have been raised. They're getting it."

And I'm just so sorry, that it took two little children and their -- and their mom's family away from them for two -- for more people to get the message. And I want to -- I want to specifically challenge my generation, Gen X, no more grunge. No more, we're too cool for school. No more, "Well, everything sucks. Nothing we can do." No more.

That was a 31-year-old man doing the work as a young father and husband, frankly it wasn't his time to do yet. He has other primary duties that he should have been given the benefit of devoting to as a husband father, but our generation has set on the sidelines for too long. We must lead. It is our children now that are grown, that are leaving the nest. We are the ones with the free time.

We are the ones with the discretionary income. It is our time now to leave, to stop bitching and complaining about boomers. And I say that to me more than anybody else.

And to stop looking around like we're still listening to Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots and Sound Garden, and nothing is going to get better. It is time now to lead. This is our moment.

And we are the ones that are in a place to do this with the positions of our families and with our productivity and prosperity. We have to step to the forefront now.

GLENN: Such great good will come out of this, Allie.

I know this is a tough day for you, and thank you for joining me.

ALLIE: Yeah. God is in the business of redemption. He's in the business of thwarting Satan's schemes. He's in the business of bringing beauty out of the ashes. He's in the business of bringing glory to himself, and bringing people to himself.

And if Charlie had had the choice, if someone had been able to come to him and say, okay. This is what your death will accomplish, it will accomplish more people hearing the gospel, it will accomplish more people waking up, I know if Charlie had had that choice, he would have said yes. He would have said, "Yes, Lord, send me." And not only would he have, but he did.

He went into the lion's den, and now he is with the lion of Judah. Now he is with Jesus. And everyone is going to know who he was and why he lived and the gospel that motivated him. And that is the only thing right now that is giving me any hope or any peace or any comfort.

GLENN: I know that all I could think of yesterday was how glorious the greeting must have been on the other side. You know, good -- "Well, done, good and faithful servant."

ALLIE: Yes, absolutely.

And before any of us heard the news, before his sweet wife Erica got the phone call, he was already hearing those words. And I am so happy for him.

I'm so happy that he is with the saints and the martyrs and the persecuted through which the Church of Christ has been advanced for millennia. I'm so happy for him. I'm so sad for us. I'm so sad for us, having gained an incredible person. But we -- we lost a huge presence.

GLENN: That's how I know when people have faith. They don't weep for the dead.

They weep for the lost to themselves and to the world and to the families that are hurting.

They -- they mourn that loss on themselves. But they -- they -- when they think of the person who has died, they know exactly where they are.

ALLIE: Yeah.

GLENN: And with Charlie, I -- I -- I -- I mean, I knew him when he was 17, and he was a good kid, but what a change happened to him.

He -- he was on fire for Christ, on fire for that.

ALLIE: Yes. Absolutely. He grew into over the past five to ten years, such a theologically deep and apologetically astute man of God, as he became a husband, as he became a father, as he became even more of a warrior for truth, and that is really what -- that's what inspired me.

And when I heard the news yesterday, I thought, my thought was, that's it. I'm done. I'm throwing in the towel.

That is it for me. I'm not -- I'm not willing to do this anymore.

And then later after he died, I went through some of the texts that he had sent me over the years. He was always sending everyone. All of these friends. These very encouraging texts.

And he sent me this article from a liberal outlet, that of course, had taken some jabs at me. That had made me anxious. And he said, "Well done. Keep slugging."

And I just know that if he were here, that's exactly what he would say, not just to me, but to all of us.

He would say, "No. You can't get out now. You got to keep going. You got to keep going." That's exactly how he would feel, and that's exactly what he would tell all of us.

GLENN: I've received so many emails from people who have said, "I don't know how to get back up again."

ALLIE: Yeah.

GLENN: And I don't know what to tell them other than, faith in God. Faith in God.

ALLIE: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I think if our side, if you will -- boy, I hate that in this context, but if -- if we didn't have God, we would be very much like the left right now.

We would be mired in anger and -- and screaming for vengeance and it would be a really ugly place today.

ALLIE: Yes.

GLENN: If -- if we didn't have God.

ALLIE: Yes. And if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, like if he wasn't resurrected, then we don't have a hope of a resurrection. If he didn't defeat death, then we can't defeat death. If Jesus didn't live forever, then we can't live forever.

And that's exactly what Charlie always preached. What he always posted on X. What he always said, if you were to be able to text him right now. And say, "Look, Charlie. I've got this really tough thing to talk about today. And I don't know how to say it. I don't know what to say. What are your thoughts on it? What should I say?" I know exactly what he would say, the one word he would text back, and that would be, "Jesus. Just tell them that. Just tell them that Jesus is the only way to fulfillment." That is what he would say. People may not realize that. Every time he went on a college campus, he wasn't just talking about capitalism or Donald Trump, and all those things are important. He shared the gospel.

GLENN: No.

ALLIE: He knew that every single person that walked in front of him, was made in the image of God with a soul that was going to live forever, in one of two places. He desperately wanted the people who hated him to go to heaven. And I just pray that I can have that same boldness for the rest of my life.

Courage, Faith, and Truth: Glenn Beck's Tribute

Glenn Beck pays tribute to his dear friend Charlie Kirk following his tragic passing. With raw emotion and deep conviction, Glenn reflects on Charlie’s courage, faith, and unwavering commitment to truth in a world that often rewards lies. Drawing parallels to America’s founders, soldiers, and first responders, Glenn reminds us that Charlie’s life and legacy demand an answer to the question: “If not me, then who?” This episode is both a remembrance of Charlie’s extraordinary life and a call to action for all of us to stand firm in faith, defend truth, and carry forward the torch of courage that he so boldly bore.

Watch Glenn Beck's Full 3-Hour Radio Show from September 11, 2025 HERE