RADIOJanuary 30, 2025

Will DOGE’s “Fork in the Road” Strategy Save the Government BILLIONS?

Elon Musk’s DOGE has gotten to work. Glenn and Stu discuss the “fork in the road” email that some US federal workers recently received, which is very similar to the memo that Elon sent Twitter employees after he bought it. The email offers employees a choice: either resign now and get paid until September, or probably get fired at some point. So, will this save the government billions of dollars a year?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. Where should we begin, Stu? Should we start with the golden parachutes?

STU: Ah. Yes, the email.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: I mean, this is DOGE entering the chat. Right? DOGE has turned -- I don't know if it's a fully powered battle station yet, but it's definitely powering up.

GLENN: Yeah. I mean, it's -- I think we're not far away from a million voices crying out and then suddenly being silenced.

STU: Right. It's kind of one of those things.

This is straight out of the Twitter playbook from Elon Musk.

GLENN: Oh, my.

It starts the same way.

In fact, do we have the fork in the road tweet.

Okay. Let me show you, the fork in the road is -- is an art piece, that Elon Musk, I guess financed in the -- looks like it's in the middle of nowhere.

STU: I didn't know --

GLENN: A giant fork sticking out of it.

STU: I had no idea this part of it.

GLENN: This is real.

STU: I know the phrase. He put a fork this a road.

GLENN: He put a giant. He had a road built, where it goes off. And there's a gigantic fork sitting in the middle of it.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: So this is the thing with him.

STU: Kind of the fork in the fork.

GLENN: Right.

STU: Because the road forks by itself when it turns into the Y, but it's a fork in the fork.

You don't have to believe that, Stations.
I'm just saying that. It feels close to it, but you don't have to.

GLENN: Yeah. You use the F-word a lot.

STU: I do.

GLENN: So when he went to Twitter, he put a fork in the road memo out that said, hey. You might want to get out now.

Because it's going to be a different place here, so I'm giving you the opportunity to bail right now.

Just let me know. And he said, at the very beginning, it's a fork in the road. They have issued a memo that is almost exactly like it, except it's got a bunch of subsections. You know, 1CB.

STU: A little more legalistic.

GLENN: A little more legalistic.

But Trump is offering the people, the money to not be hit with a giant fork.

STU: Yeah. It's -- it's sort of two approaches.

One is anybody who wants to leave right now, will pay you to September.

So we'll give you --

GLENN: That's very generous.

STU: A nice eight, nine month ramp to get a gig.

If you don't work here. Please go. Of course, this combines with the hiring freeze. The idea is five, ten, 25 percent of people accept this deal, and you shrink the government employment.

And then you don't rehire those people.

This is the way you cut. This is the way he did it at Twitter. And then secondarily, it's sort of a carrot and stick approach. The carrot is, hey, we'll pay you to September for no work. It's great for you.

And then the stick is, by the way, if you stick around, we'll probably fire you anyway.

That's kind of what the tone of it is. Like, look, I'm sorry. If you stick around, we will really be cutting. So it might be you.

GLENN: This is what it actually says: During the first week of his administration, President Trump issued a number of directives concerning the federal workforce. Among those directives, the president required that employees return to in-person work.

Do you know what that number is?

How many federal employees actually show up for work, since the beginning of COVID-19?

STU: You know, I don't know the number. What is it?

GLENN: Take a guess.

STU: We're now many, many years past COVID-19, Glenn.

GLENN: Yeah. What is the number of federal workers that are actually showing up for work?

STU: I really -- I have to guess, it's very low.

But if I were just to guess, without any preknowledge, I would have to say, it's like 60. Right?

I don't know. 40 percent of people not showing up seems significant.

GLENN: The number of people not showing up to work is 94 percent.

Only 6 percent of federal workers are showing up.

STU: What? With the knowledge that it was going to be a low number, I'm shocked by that. 6 percent.

GLENN: Six. Six. It is 6 percent.

STU: No way. Is there certain categories? You go to the Pentagon right now, 94 percent empty?

That can't be true.

GLENN: I don't know about the Pentagon.

STU: Okay. Certain areas of the government.

GLENN: Well, I do know this also, that the mayor of Washington, DC, said all of our businesses are dying. And said this to Biden. You have got to get people to go back to those buildings. Or let those buildings loose.

And let's bring other businesses into Washington, DC.

STU: Because we're holding them empty, essentially.

GLENN: We're holding them empty, so there's no business on the street. Because nobody is coming in.

So restaurants are going out. Shops that aren't for tourists, are all going out.

STU: Now, complete economic destruction happened to Washington, DC, would you be able to tell the difference, I guess is the question.

We were just there.

GLENN: No. I think if there was a raging wildfire, I'm not sure I could tell the difference.

Among those directives, the president required employees to return to work in person. Restored accountability for employees, who have policy-making authority.

Let me hang on. I think I hear the knives sharpening here. Restored accountability for senior career executives, and reformed the federal hiring process to focus on merit.

As a result of the above orders, the reform of the federal workforce will be significant. Want out?

STU: Yeah, take your out now.

And like, just a couple of things.

GLENN: I would.

STU: It's interesting. He sent it to everyone.

Basically said, none of you are essential. Any one of you can be replaced. Which is a message you send.

Important message.

You're not too important, essentially. I know you've worked here for a few decades. You're a career employee and all that. It doesn't mean anything anymore.

That's one message it sends. If you put yourself in a position of, you're someone on the left. Who got into government. Because you have left-leaning ideas.

GLENN: Why else would you get into government?

STU: That's true.

GLENN: I can't think of a reason on the right, why they get into government, except to stop the people on the left.

STU: To stop it. And that is a real problem we have. Because it's the same thing with universities.

GLENN: Yeah, it is.

STU: We don't go in there. We don't mix it up in those areas, and then they take them over.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: But let's say, you're someone who leans left. You get in there, you think, you support all these big taxes and big government programs. And you're working on administrating them. And you realize, Trump is coming in. He will try to cut them anyway.

Do I really want to be here, supporting -- like cutting people, and not distributing this money I think is so important? Maybe I do just take it.

Just because I'm opposed, and I don't want to go through this agenda. I don't want to be responsible for these evil cuts.

So maybe I just take the money and leave.

GLENN: I think if you're a career politician or career, you know, government worker, if you've put in your time and they're going to give you, you know, really good exit package.

I don't know if you're -- if you've been there for 25 years. Do I get -- do I get my pension?

STU: Yeah. You probably do.

GLENN: So, you know, I would definitely look at it.

If I had been there for a long time. I would be like, I'm getting out now.

Because you just don't know.

You know, Vivek Ramaswamy said, we should just say, everybody with an odd Social Security number. And ends in an odd number, you're fired.

STU: What helps him here.

Because there are dumb protections built into some of these places for civil service types.

That makes it sometimes difficult to fire them.

And this is like sort of like the self-deportation option when it comes to the border.

GLENN: It is.

STU: You go. You take it. It's optional for you.

And if they do that, you not only will likely get rid of more people that will thwart your efforts. Because they typically will be able to take that deal. But you also get a portion of your cuts done, without having to make the cuts.

There are some legal questions to this.

Of course, it will get challenged. There is a clause, I think it's in the Homeland Security Act.

That allows the government to offer employees $25,000 to resign, essentially if they want to make cuts.

So that much of it is pretty much straightforward protected.

The -- when you say all the way to September, some of those numbers will go above $25,000.

And there, they might get legal challenges.

GLENN: That's amazing -- that people will challenge you.

STU: You're giving me too much money. You're giving me too much --

GLENN: That will never happen.

STU: In reality, of course, the left does not want these employees to go away.

They don't want the size of government to shrink, so they will find any legal loophole they can to challenge what he's doing.

GLENN: It will be fascinating to see the conversations of people right now in Washington, DC. That are those die-hards.

I mean, because he's doing exactly what he's doing on the border, for the government.

He's -- he is --

STU: It's the --

GLENN: We're coming for the bad guys.

And we will cut.

There is in more fooling around. There's a new sheriff in town.

He hopes, just like on the border. He will get the bad guys. But a lot of people, just like you said, will self-deport.

I don't want any part of it.

STU: Yeah. I don't want any part of it.

Not to mention, in nine months of pay. Combine that if you happen to be an entrepreneur type. Of leaving a job. Getting paid for nine months. Then getting paid for another job.

It could be great for your finances.

GLENN: If you had another job. If you knew you could get another job, you would be stupid not to.

STU: Yeah. To get paid 9 months for doing nothing.

Of course, it's taking it out of our pockets, which I'm not exactly thrilled about. But long-term, it's great!

GLENN: Yeah, if he gets enough people. It's like 100 -- 150, or $150 million a year is what they're expecting to get out of this. That's a lot of savings.

STU: Hmm. Hmm.

I mean, it's a drop in the bucket, unfortunately.

GLENN: No, I know it is. I know it is.

STU: $150 a year is a pretty small acceptance.

GLENN: A million or billion.

As I said that, you don't pay attention. Million, billion. It doesn't matter anymore.

STU: Just wait until the quadrillions hit. Then you'll know. Then you'll know.

GLENN: And million will seem like.

You know, it's like -- it used to be like, they're a millionaire. And then it became, they're worth like 100 million dollars. And then it became, they're a billionaire.

It's going to be soon. They're a trillionaire.

STU: You knew we would cross that line, when Bernie Sanders needed to take millionaires out of his speeches. Because he used to say millionaires and billionaires.

Now he says billionaires because he's a millionaire.

And it's like hilarious that Mr. Socialist, with his multiple houses, can't even criticize millionaires anymore.

GLENN: Right!

Because he's most likely a millionaire.

STU: He is, 100 percent.

GLENN: I mean, how does a socialist get that?

STU: I mean, he's making a decent six figure salary and has been forever. He has multiple houses.

Just the equity in those homes, I'm sure, makes him a millionaire.

You know, I mean, he's pretty -- he wants to spend everyone else's money. If he spends like that in his own life.

He doesn't seem to be all that -- he doesn't seem to take advantage with fancy cars or anything like that, that we know of.

But he has a couple nice houses. He saves on hair products, that's for sure.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

"Everything is For Sale" — How the Cartels Control Mexico's Government

It is widely accepted that the cartels in Mexico not only control significant swaths of land, but they also have incredible influence over how the country's government operates. Border Expert Brandon Darby sits down with Glenn Beck to explain exactly why this is the case and what the Trump administration's strategy truly needs to be in order to crush these powerful cartels.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Brandon Darby HERE

We're being played. THIS is the REAL threat to America

Conservatives in America are being divided over the wrong things. Glenn Beck asks: Who’s the real threat to America: Sen. Mike Lee, who wants to sell 3% of federally-owned land to states and cities, or the rising radical communist wing of the Democratic Party, who recently chose Zohran Mamdani as their NYC mayoral candidate?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to talk to you about the enemy being clear. Crystal clear!

But I'm not sure to everybody.

I'm so sick and tired of us turning on each other.

We saw it with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I like both men. Can we stop?

Thankfully, they did.

You're seeing it with Trump's bombing of Iran. Where you were either a Jew-loving Zionist or raging anti-Semite, or if you're me.

Both!

And then there's something that really caught me off-guard. The people who are turning on Utah Senator Mike Lee over a housing proposal, he's had this housing proposal since 2022.

But if you go on X, you're going to learn, apparently Mike Lee, one of the most Constitutional loving conservatives I know, wants to sell off our national parks and forest.

You know, he was probably in Coeur d'Alene lighting the matches, because he hates our forest so much. He wants to make sure you never get to hunt.

All he wants to do is take away your fishing and hunting rights. And build cheap housing complexes. Amazon warehouses. And whatever China and BlackRock want.

You know, I addressed this a few weeks ago. I invited Mike to clarify where he stands. Because some of my family are very concerned.

You can find the segments on my YouTube channel. Go and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Will you please? But since then, apparently, there's a crusade out to cancel Senator Lee.

There have been a few major updates. So today, let me just take a look at just the facts here, where we stand on this right now.

Over the weekend, Mike Lee decided to withdraw his federal land sale provision from the big, beautiful bill.

He said, quote, while this has been a tremendous amount of misinformation, and in some cases, outright lies about my bill. Many people brought forward sincere concerns.

Because of the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee, these lands would never be sold.

Only to American families. Not to China. To not BlackRock.

And never to any foreign interests.

Wow! What a shill for the globalists, right?

Or maybe how it should work. Members of Congress propose something presented to the people. And then they listen to the community. Instead of just insisting, we have to pass it, to know what's in it.

And I didn't hear this kind of outcry for that!

Here's one of the bigger issues here. We're speaking two different languages.

A lot of criticism online is that Mike Lee wants to sell off our public lands!

Our public lands. Pragmatism to a lot of Americans, those lands are the lands we use for recreation. And hiking. And haunting. And fishing.

And things like that. That's whatnot he wanted to sell. And he promised to make that much clearer in the revised bill.

Now, let me remind you, on the public lands. President Biden, under his administration. The federal government was ordered to conserve 30 percent of our lands. And our waters by 2030. So apparently, our public lands are being gobbled up even more.

That's another, I think six percentage points. Another 6 percent of the entire land in the United States, going to be seized by the federal government, by 2030. And it falls directly in line with the UN's 30 by 30 plan.

It's an initiative for governments to seize 30 percent of all land and water by 2030. Now, do you think the UN wants to give you more hunting and fishing land?

Do you think they're all for that? Or do you think these radical environmentalists want to restrict your access in the name of fighting climate change?

By the way, current -- currently, the US government owns 640 million acres of land. That's nearly a third of the country. So they've almost met that 30 by 30 goal.

And they will meet it, and then what's next? The 50 by 50 UN goal.

And in order to seize the rest of the land, there's the Sustains Act that passed. Do you know about this? I didn't hear about any outcry for this.

Where was the right on this one? It was enacted in 2023, allows the government to receive private funds to advance conservation programs.

So BlackRock, if they wanted to, could buy up the conservation lands! Does your property contribute to pollination, photosynthesis. The air we breathe. The water we drink?

Well, as I -- as I exposed, on a show back in September, the Sustains Act allows all of that to be monetized through the relationship of private investors like Bill Gates. And the government!

And it occurs without the landowners permission.

So they can take your land. Or tell you exactly what you want to do, or what they want you to do on that land, what you cannot do on that land, because photosynthesis happens.

Where was I?

Where were you on that?

This is the real seizing of American assets.

This is the real seizing of American assets, by the global corporations. That you were all so afraid of!

Mike Lee, oh, my gosh.

What about the Sustains Act?

In his revised bill. Which he's still working on.

Lee has promised to remove all forest land. Good. Significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill.

Good. Only land within 5 miles of population centers is eligible.

Yeah. But when he gets that, then he'll build buildings there, and then he'll have another five.

And next thing you know, he will be putting a cap on -- on Old Faithful.

He'll establish freedom zones to ensure these lands benefit American families. Ranchers. Recreational users. But there's a lot of claims online.

Whatever.

Charlie Kirk said, the Democrats -- this is their war on single family housing.

Hmm.

Do you remember when we talked on the program about the globalist plan of 15-minute cities. That all of BlackRock and everything else is for.

Remember when BlackRock came in, and just started buying up whole neighborhoods. Just priced every regular citizen out of the neighborhood.

Why?

Because it's part of the plan to pack the majority of humanity into easily controllable cities where everything you need is just 15 minutes away. And you never need a car. But is that the American dream?

Currently, rural land is getting so expensive. Most Americans can't afford rural land!

I know. I'm living in a place that has a population of 400 -- I think it's 51. Might have had a baby, so maybe it's 452. And nobody can afford it.

How is it possible you're living in the middle of nowhere, with a population of 451 people, and you can't afford a house!

The elites don't need Mike Lee's proposal. But take more of your land.

They're already doing that. But here's my biggest issue.

This is not about Mike Lee's proposal. Okay?

It's not.

There is a much bigger issue.

And I'll share that when I come back.

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. So I was talking about federal -- I want to get off that. I want to change to, instead, what the real problem here is.

What the real problem is. The real problem on the seizing of the federal lands. Is that we are so quick to turn on ourselves.

We are so quick, lately, to turn on our -- our allies.

See, that's -- the issue isn't Mike Lee's proposal.

It's how fast we turn on each other!

If you believe Mike Lee's proposal didn't go far enough to safeguard our land from adversaries. Great!

That's fine. And, you know what, you won!

He's revamping that.

He listened.

The government listened. Good!

But can you say that without calling him a traitorous shill for the elites?

I mean, I don't know what traitorous shill for the elites that actually listens.

Do you?

Donald Trump Jr. He was against my plan. He thanked him over the weekend for pulling the proposal saying, quote, Mike is a great friend. And we usually agree on almost everything. But this was a rare exemption of where we didn't! Hello!

We don't need to hear people tear each other down. Who is our real enemy?

Who is -- who is more dangerous?

Can we go to -- can we go?

I don't have number on these, unfortunately. Six.

Seven, eight, nine, ten. Let's go to cut ten, please, on whiter neighborhoods.

VOICE: I realized there's a policy proposal, and I'm going to quote it for folks to shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer bureaus toward expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.

Explain why you are bringing race into your tax proposal.

VOICE: That is just a description of what we see right now.

It's not driven by race.

It's more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed. We've seen time and again, that this is a property tax system that is inequitable. It's one that actually Eric Adams ran on, saying that he would change in the first 100 days.

He since sought to defend it, and lost at every juncture in court.

VOICE: And I understand, you're saying, we're simply describing the types of neighborhood that would see these increases in taxes.

And yet by invoking race, do you run the risk of potentially alienating key constituents.

STU: I think I'm just naming things as they are. And ultimately, my -- the thing that motivates me in this, is to create a system of fairness.

It's not to work backwards from an original assessment of our neighborhood or our city. Rather, it's to ensure that we actually have an equal playing field.

And right now, what we see with the property tax system, is one that is overtaxing a number of New Yorkers and undertaxing others. And inability of political will to resolve that.

VOICE: So no plans to change that language on your website?

VOICE: The focus here is to actually ensure a fair property tax system, and the use of that language is an assessment of the neighborhood.

GLENN: Just want it to be fair. Just want it to be fair. Play the next cut. This is Mamdani, by the way, the candidate in New York, that looks like he might win, to become the next mayor of New York. Next cut.

VOICE: You are a self-described democratic socialist. Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?
(laughter)

VOICE: I don't think that we should have billionaires, because frankly it is so much money, in a moment of such inequality.

And ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city, and across our state, and across our country.

And I look forward to work with everyone. Including billionaires. To make a city that is fair for all of them.

GLENN: Wow!

That is fantastic.

We shouldn't have billionaires.

Hmm. So how would we get there?

What would be his ultimate goal?

Listen.

VOICE: Do you like capitalism?

VOICE: No. I have many critiques of capitalism.

And I think ultimately, the definition for me, of why I call myself a Democratic Socialist.

Is the words of Dr. King decades ago. He said, call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism.

There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country.

And that's what I'm focused on, is dignity and taking on income inequality. What the purpose is about, about this project, is not simply to raise much consciousness, to win socialism.

And obviously raise class consciousness. We were a part of that. But making sure that we have candidates that both understand that and are willing to put that forward, at every which moment they have.

Every which moment that they are given.

We have to continue to elect more socialists. And we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism. And there are also other issues that we firmly believe in.

Whether it's BS -- right? Or whether it's the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we don't have the same level --

GLENN: Wait. Can you say that again for me?

Whether it's the end goal of ceasing is the means of production.

Let me ask you the question: Which is more dangerous to our country, and our heritage?

Is it the -- the senator?

That controversial maybe. Says 3 percent of federal land should be transferred back to the states?

Or is it the politician standing at a modem declaring, you know, not in some offhanded gap, that he has a real problem with capitalism. That he wants to tax white neighborhoods. That he wants to get rid of billionaires. And seize the means of production.

Now, for those who studied history. I don't need to tell you why your blood has suddenly run cold. Seize the means of production, that's not economic theory.

That is a revolutionary war cry. It always has been. It's the heart of Lenin, of Marx, of Mao. Of Gulags. Of five-year plans. A food line. Total state control. It is the slogan, whispered in the barracks of all of the camps.

Printed on the walls of the Khmer Rouge Torture cells.

That's not American. That's not a goal any of us should look for. But let's take down Elon Musk.

Let's -- let's take down our FBI.

Let's -- let's take down Mike Lee. Let's take down Tucker Carlson. Let's take down at the scene. Because we don't have enough enemies. Riley rightfully, somebody on this program, asked around on this time, on Friday. Glenn, why did you have Steve Bannon on? This is why I had Steve Bannon. We have enough enemies, don't we?

Can we find people we generally agree with, maybe 80 percent. Even if that 20 percent is massive!

If I'm going to be friends with anybody, for the times I'm going to be friends with.

Then I have to say, I part with you here.

You will have to go on your own way. But when you come back to this, I'm with you.

We are -- we are being -- our college campuses, the floor of our own legislative bodies. As if it were another just regular day in paradise of America.

You know, let me -- we want to talk about highway funding and seizing the means of production.

Wait. What?

Meanwhile, the man who says, we should return a tiny sliver of public land. Land that Washington hoards like a miser. While local communities struggle to pay for schools and police.

Why you can't afford a house!

That's an extremist. A radical. A threat. But this guy, I don't see anybody on the right, really standing up against this guy. Where is the big movement against this guy? It's almost as if, that whole federal lands thing, was orchestrated. And so many of our side played right into it!

That man who says, let the states manage their own forests, their own minerals, their own resources.

Just give us 3 percent of our land, so we can actually have a tax base, so we can build some houses there that people can afford. Let's make sure that the land is controlled by the people, who are closest to that land.

Let them be the stewards of it. Not the bureaucrats 2,000 miles away, who have never set foot in a pine thicket, or a desert mesa.

Which one is more in line with the Constitution? Which one is our bigger enemy here? Which one echoes Jefferson's belief in a government closest to the people? Which upholds the vision of the Founders who feared centralized power, more than foreign armies. Which one is calling for the seizing of the -- of the production?

You know, not all ideas are morally equivalent.

We're not dealing here with difference of opinion on tax rates. Or zoning codes.

One wants to give power back to the states.

And, you know what?

People rose up, and said, I don't like that idea.

So that idea has to be closed and forfeited.

Great! But where are the people standing up saying, seizing the means of production?

This guy wants to take control of your factory. Your farm.

Your business, your labor.

One believes in federalism. The other believes in collectivism. One respects the individual as a moral agent of society. And the other sees the individual as a cog in the great machine of the state that's just going to make utopia. Because they always do!

As you just -- you just can't see it. Because you're behind the barbed wire fence!

When somebody shrugs and says, you know, both sides are really pretty extreme. You know, it's time we say, no, no, no, no.

It's that kind of false equivalence that got us into this mess. That's how the frog stays in the pot as the water slowly boils. You know what, they're both really kind of extreme, no, they're not. No, they're not.

If you believe in America, is a place where rights are granted by God, not government.

Where property is yours. It is sacred!

The fruits of your labor belong to you. That we cannot pretend these are equal threats.

Because they're not. Because one man questions how much land the federal government should own.

The other questions whether you should be allowed to own anything at all!

If the government should not own everything!

Which one is dangerous? Which one snuffs out your rights?

It's not about land. This is all about economics. It's about freedom. And history has already told us where these roads lead.

One road leads to liberty. One road leads us to having a discussion and a debate.

Without calling each other names and killing one another.

The other road doesn't allow debate. And if you try to debate, you're disappeared, or you're killed! One leads in liberty, one ends in chains!

What do you say, we -- we have enough enemies. Why do we need to turn on ourselves? And do you think there's a possibility that the communist, the socialist, the anarchist, the Islamist will all band together, to destabilize the Middle East. Europe, come America to destabilize that, to end the Western world. Do you think there's a chance you're being played?

Because I do. And I refuse to be played. I'm not a moron. And neither are you.

See, here's the thing. This is why, when Ben Shapiro says, facts don't care about your feelings. This is why that's so important.

Because they've hit an emotional spot with you. They've hit a spot of, they're going to take my right away to fish or to hunt.

And that's not what he was doing. But that's what it turned out to be. Our sacred public lands.

It's not what he was talking about.

And if it was, he's not talking about it now.

He wants to make it very, very clear. Exactly what he was talking about.

But see, the idea of going hunting and fishing and hiking. And these glorious places.

We all love that.

I mean, I don't like to actually -- I like to hunt. I don't like to fish.

I don't like to be outside, really.

But I love the lands. I love to be in an air-conditioned car, driving through Yellowstone, going, wow. Look at that. And look at that moron, trying to feed the car, to feed the buffalo.

That's going to be fun to watch.

Why are we so emotional, about that? When it's not really what the argument is about. And it's coming from our friends, when we really should have listened more and had a conversation.

And we're not emotional about someone who says, the end goal is to seize production.

Seize the means of production.

That's Karl Marx!

Why is that one not emotional for us?

Why is it we cannot see the actual enemy?

“General Lee” stuntman REVEALS ALL about the fountain jump

A stuntman took the internet by storm when he jumped a "Dukes of Hazzard" General Lee replica over a fountain in Somerset, Kentucky. The driver, Northeast Ohio Dukes founder Raymond Kohn, joins Glenn Beck to reveal what happened behind the scenes, why he did the jump, and where he wants to jump next (hint: it would involve President Trump)!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There was something just amazing that happened over the weekend in Somerset, Kentucky. It was like a Dukes of Hazzard Show.

Thirty-five thousand people gathered together, to line the streets of Somerset, as a very brave driver, who you're going to meet here in a second. Raymond Kohn. Raymond Kohn got into a car. Was an old Dodge Charger?

He jumped over the historic fountain, in the center of the town.

Can we play a little bit of this, if you happen to be watching?

GLENN: I mean, that is just crazy. It just makes me proud to be American, in a very strange sort of way. I don't even know why. It's just so satisfying. The world is on fire, and you're like, yes! We still got it. Raymond Kohn is on with us now. He is the founder and lead stuntman from the northeast Ohio dukes. And they -- they do this kind of stuff all the time. Raymond, welcome to the program.

How are you?

RAYMOND: Thank you for having me, Glenn. I am great.

I feel like a million bucks.

GLENN: Do you really?

When I saw you land, I thought, ow, my back. Ow, my back. It didn't hurt coming down?

RAYMOND: Well, you know what, we are thankful that the legendary stuntman who inspired me to do this. Like the late great Al White Jr. Ted Barba. Corrie Uvey. Jumping John Kid. (all phonetic)

These are the guys who risk everything, back in the '80s on the set of the Dukes of Hazzard, to figure out, how we can do this safely without killing ourselves.

GLENN: I've got to say -- I have to say, I saw a video from the -- from in front of you, as you landed.

And you hit a wall. And you're just tearing through this wall.

And there is a photographer, that is in front. Did you see him, and think, get out of the way, dude! Almost killed him.

RAYMOND: Yeah. So Centerville is our producer. His series that follows us in -- like a global episode, of what we do.

And Mike Cullvich (phonetic) is the -- the -- the executive producer, and that was him there.

And they carefully --

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

RAYMOND: They know the risks. They know the risks.

He had a little -- just in case, if I go to the left or to the right, that he would be able to squeeze through.

And he did!

So all of the spectators. They were safe.

They were at a safe distance.

You know, we can't do the jump, if we're out there risking people's lives.

And with the help of the summer night crews, the city of Somerset, all the police and fire and EMS, everybody worked together with my team.
I have the best crew in the world.

And, yes, I am the driver that does the jump. And, you know what, we had to build that tarp.
We had to build that tarp, and there was a team of us. And my crew was so great.

They said, look at everything -- we'll get everything done.

Relax. They knew I was nervous.

You know, and they know that my team -- you couldn't ask for a better stunt team.

GLENN: I have so many questions for you.

But let me start here. Before we go too much further away from the town.

Who the hell is the mayor of the city council?

I love these guys.

I can't think of another city in America, that would be like, yeah. We got that historic you fountain, right downtown.

Yeah. Go ahead.

RAYMOND: America is back, baby. I'm telling you. You couldn't have been telling -- from the Dukes of Hazzard. Forty-five years. Forty-seven years after the show ended.

GLENN: Oh.

RAYMOND: I'm telling you, people love -- from all walks of life, people love the Dukes of Hazzard, they love the General Lee.

Listen, if there was -- if there was ever a non-racist TV show for all, it was the Dukes of Hazzard. And that's my main goal.

My pain goal is to get this TV show back on television, that way, we have our children. And our grandchildren. Watching a TV show that has family values good.

GLENN: Okay. So let me -- let me -- one more question on this, before I -- what the hell is wrong we?

When did you decide, this is what I want to do with my life?

RAYMOND: Okay. So I was always a fan. I was born in '77. The show came out in '79. And I loved that big orange car. I loved that car.

GLENN: So great. So great.

RAYMOND: So in 2005, I watched legendary stuntman Corey Spence jump over my roscoe cart. By my police car that I have.

They jumped over it, at the very first General Lee jump site, in Oxford College, in -- in Georgia.

And that's when I got bit by, what I called the stunt bug.

And I was like, I've got to do this. I've got to do -- if I on me do it once, I've got to do it.

And this was my 30th General Lee jump.

For our 30th -- Detroit. We jumped the General Lee downtown Detroit. And then for our 30th, we're jumping over the historic fountain in Somerset, Kentucky.

GLENN: I don't know. This is different. You know, downtown Detroit, you crash into buildings. There's nobody around.

Oh, well.

In Somerset, Kentucky, though. It's just a different thing.

Okay. Let me -- let me -- I think this is amazing.

In looking into you, while the jump is phenomenal. And makes you feel good. What you have gone through in the last few years, is even more amazing.

You had a -- a rare brain surgery, right?

A rare hormonal disorder, that you were like, living another classic TV show, the hulk!

You -- it was changing you, right?

Tell me about this!

JASON: Yeah. So in 2015, I started to feel a lot of pain in my knees, and my elbows.

I started noticing my voice was changing.

My face was changing. And then here comes, hey, Ray. You have to give up blood pressure medicine. You're prediabetic.

You're 335 pounds.

You know, I was always around 220 pounds.

And so nobody -- because -- it's over a long, long, long period of time.

The people that are in my life, every day, they couldn't see the changes.

You know, but the people I haven't seen Ray in a year or two years. You look different, Ray.

You know, and so I went to our local dermatologist, because I started getting these creases in my head. It's bad enough. I'm bald. What are these lines in my head now?

So the dermatologist, she said, let me see your hands. Yeah. You have big hands.

Yeah. Every time I shake somebody's hands. It's like shaking hands with a cinder block.

GLENN: Like banana hands.

JASON: Yeah. My feet went from a size ten to 12.

I had to get a 2X helmet. Because my helmet wouldn't fit.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Wait pick up wait.

Did you think you were ideas just gaining weight. Or did you know it was something more?

You weren't starving yourself, were you?

RAYMOND: Yeah. Because heavy stunt drivers don't make good stunt drivers. You get hurt a lot easier. It's a lot more weight.

GLENN: Of course.

RAYMOND: All of my loved ones and my crew. It's the jumps are tearing you up.

I'm like, no. No. No. No. It's not the jumps. Don't blame the jumps.

So I said, okay.

So went to the doctor. They said, go give this blood work. You may have something serious going on.

The blood work came back. My growth hormone was 900. 900. Now, normally it was 70 to 270. I'm 47 years old, and I'm still a grown boy!

So that opted for me, to get the -- or, the -- yeah, the MRI of my brain. To scan. And say, I had a 9-millimeter tumor on my 10-millimeter pituitary gland.

And we can have it on my body. And the surgeon, up in the Cleveland Clinic said, Raymond, if we don't get this out of you, it's going to kill you.

And my wife is crying. My daughter is crying.

The first thing that came to my lips was, can I still jump the General Lee after the significant other?

And the doctor said, yes, yes. And I'm like, okay. Let's do does this surgery. Let's get the thing out of my head. And then as soon as I was okay, we went up to the radical speech board in Canada. Joe came up there. We did the first international General Lee jump in front of like 30,000 people up there. And it was awesome.

I'm telling you. I'm living the dream, man. I can't believe this is happening to me.

All because of a TV show, called the Dukes of Hazzard.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I have to put an event together, just because I want to invite you to jump the General Lee over something.

We have to do --

JASON: Glenn, we want. We want to build an American patriot be General Lee.

And we want to put like, you know, 47, 45 on the doors. Put a big old American flag on the roof.

And we will call it The Jump for Trump 2045, and we want to jump in front of the White House. That's what we want to do.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

I'll bring it up to him. If there's any president that will do it. It will be him. He told me a story. He will probably do it on the White House grounds.

RAYMOND: Again, that would be awesome. He would want to do that.

GLENN: He told me a story, he said, you know, about the flagpoles. And he said, you know, he was afraid that all of the -- you know, all of the paperwork and, you know, government everything.

And he wanted to build a ballroom, and put the flagpoles up.

And he went to the guy at the White House, who runs everything at the White House. The architect.

And he said, so what is the paperwork like? And he said, you know, Mr. President, the White House belongs to the president while he's there.

So there's no paperwork. You would have to be the one that would sign all of it. And he's like, this is great.

I bet he could build that jump!

I bet he could build that jump, without any permits.

That is so fantastic.

JASON: In a few weeks. My team --

GLENN: That's fantastic.

JASON: We can build a great American -- they'll give us the panels to make the car, red, white, and blue. Big old American flag theme.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

RAYMOND: We'll call it the jump for Trump. We love Trump! The jump for Trump, and we will rock the White House.

GLENN: It is so great. I will bring it up to him. I will make sure he sees it, okay?

That is fantastic.

But listen, if he takes you up. I have to be there. I have -- you have to get me invited.

RAYMOND: Yeah. Glenn, I would be honored to put a passenger side seat in the car, and you can ride with me.

GLENN: No. No, no, no. No, no.

RAYMOND: Come on!

GLENN: I saw you come down, and my back -- I have a really bad back. And all I could really think of was, ow. Ow. That must have hurt.

RAYMOND: No. Last year, I hit the ramp at 72 miles an hour. I slide 200 at 17 feet. That's the longest General Lee jump in front of a large audience. And I landed a flat on all four wheels.

Had it not been for the safety equipment. That the legendary stuff that came up.

I would have either been killed or worse, paralyzed for the rest of my life.

And it's because of that safety equipment.

I'm not even sitting on the -- I'm painting from the ceiling with bungee cords.

GLENN: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I've got to meet you. I've got to meet you, Ray? Just --

RAYMOND: Let's jump in the White House. Let's jump in the White House.

GLENN: Thank you. Raymond. Northeast Ohio. Dukes founder and lead stuntman. You can find the website, north -- northeast Ohio.
Dukes.net.

Ray, we'll talk again. Thank you so much, God bless you, man.

RAYMOND: God bless you. God bless, America.

Introducing 'The Torch'

Tough news week. Tough news month. Always, it seems, another five-alarm fire, or the spotting of arsonists that no one will pay attention to.

The people who watch and support this show—you—are extraordinary.

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First, look at what you have already done. Do you realize how far ahead you are of most Americans? Then start where you are. That feeling inside you—that restlessness, that pull to do something more—isn’t random. It’s a calling. But with everything that is happening in the world, it is hard to keep up as well as keep your chin up.

I get it. I’m tired of the bad news, too.

I’ve spent my life digging through it so you wouldn’t have to. But we must know what is happening and what is ahead. And while next year I’m not walking away from the radio or the stories that matter—in fact, I will be doubling down,

I’ve also told you for nearly two years: I feel something shifting. I feel like I’ve been called to something more. I have only felt this twice in my life—after I sobered up and just before I left Fox.

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A daily connection.

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A mission.

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You’ll learn through original artifacts, original sources, and real stories from real people who are doing real things. Right now, every summer, we hand-pick around 100 young adults from over 1,000 applications to spend two weeks with us in this kind of immersive learning. Now, for the first time, we’re building a way for anyone, anywhere in the world, in any language, to do the same.

We’re partnering with people of faith, business leaders, educators, innovators—people who know the truth and know how to live it. And they’re coming together not to sell you something, but to empower you.

I’m not asking for anything today—not money, not a sign-up, not a download. Just your attention. Stay connected. Watch what’s coming. I promise you: this is worth your time.

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Because we don’t just need new tools or new platforms—we need a renewal of the human spirit. That’s what The Torch is. That is my next mission.

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