President Trump and Elon Musk are battling over the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” But Glenn Beck explains the one thing many on the Right seem to be missing about the bill: raising the debt ceiling again is terrible, but Trump’s economic plan will fall apart if the good parts of this bill aren’t passed.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Stu, the latest on the battle of the big, beautiful bill.

What the hell is happening now?

STU: Well, I mean, most of the coverage, the last 24 hours, has been that Elon Musk is tweeting about it, an awful lot.

That seems to be the focus of the media at the moment.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: And, you know, various lawmakers trying to wrangle Elon Musk and trying to get him to stop doing this.

They don't want him to message this, as this terrible bill. Because they -- they want to keep him within the walls. They want him to be involved, in the Republican movement and party going forward. They also feel like, this is the best they can do I suppose.

You know, it's -- the bill itself. It will be very hard to get this through. You have only 53 senators, on the Republican side.

We know basically for a fact, that Rand Paul is a no, almost any other circumstance. Right? So you're at 52. You can lose two more.

We know Mike Lee has already kind of indicated he's not particularly in love with this bill. Several others have as well.

So they're going to have to make changes to probably get those people on board. When they do that. You're going to have the House, which only passed the bill by one vote.

And already has two members, who did vote for it.

Who have said, they now would vote against it. Now that they know what's in it.

Which is another significant problem, that maybe we should try to avoid in the future. You should probably read the bill before you actually vote for it.

Especially, you don't have to read the bill on this stuff. Because people are talking about it, outwardly in the debate, about the bill. The particular problems that these two representatives cited. So you're already under the amount of votes you need in the House.

Before the changes. Several factions in the House are saying, they will not vote for the bill, if certain parts of it change. Like the SALT deduction we've talked about before. Where you get to deduct your local taxes in blue states basically for a very short subscription of it.

So, I mean, look, Donald Trump does have a way of coming in and saying, do it!

And Republicans have a way of stepping up and saying, yes, sir.

That's kind of the way the Republican Party works at this point.

GLENN: So I think there's a good chance it still gets through eventually.

But when you look at what the bill has. It has a lot of good.

It has an awful lot of bad in it, as well.

So can I just, let me pick it up from there, Stu.

That it has a lot of bad in it. A lot of good in it.

Here's the thing that I don't think you're getting from anybody, really.

You're not getting a balanced look.

I understand both sides. I really do. I understand the urgency from the White House. And I think Russ Voit is going to be on with us, in about an hour, or next -- or tomorrow. Depends on what his schedule is like, trying to squeeze him in today.

But I trust him. He knows what's going on.

And I understand the White House's point of view. I really do.

I understand that if this doesn't pass, that means the tax cuts will probably not be permanent.

They won't get them through.

Without the tax cuts, the entire thing falls apart.

Without regulation reform, the entire plan for the economy falls apart.

Okay? And Trump knows that. The White House knows that. The Democrats know this.

They have to have this pass. Because of the good stuff in it.

Now, the bad stuff that's in it. The biggest probably bad stuff, the debt ceiling being raised by another $4 trillion.

That's really bad!

That's really, really bad.

Because we're not going to be able to continue to fund our -- our country, if we can't -- if we keep raising the debt, and we can't sell our Treasury bonds. We can't sell our debt to anybody, because nobody believes us anymore. That we're serious about cutting spending.

Then the entire thing falls apart.

So damned if you do, damned if you don't. That's where we're at. Okay?

If we don't pass it, then the president's economic plans fall apart. If we do pass it, we run a very high risk of the rest of the world saying, you guys aren't serious! About your debt. And we can't buy your Treasuries anymore.

And that changes -- that changes everything.

That one is not the fault of this administration.

That one is the fault of every single democratic Republican, since -- since when I was first born, they have been talking about this!

They have been talking about the debt and deficit and everything else. We've been talking about our spending problem forever. And at some point, I mean, even FDR said this, at some point, this won't work. You'll have to stop it!

I remember Ronald Reagan saying, at some point, we're not going to have any good options!

Well, we're there. There are no good options. Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

Okay?

This is what Ronald Reagan said was coming. We've known this forever, as a nation. So I look at this, and say, who do I bet on?

Gosh. I mean, we're betting the future of our nation. We're betting the future of our children.

We're betting the -- you know, whether we're all slaves to debt or not.

I don't hear a good solution on either side. I don't trust that the Republicans -- I don't think they're serious about anything. At all.

There's a few people that are serious about the debt. And really, I think understand it. Rand Paul is another one.

Mike Lee is another one.

Chip Roy is one, but Chip is one who I think also really understands not just the dangers of debt, but also the dangers to the economy, if we don't pass this bill.

We've got to the tax cuts. Have to!

Or everything falls apart.

So what do you do?

Well, there is one thing here, that really bothers me. This is -- this is -- I give the benefit of the doubt, to Trump and the White House.

And that scares me! It does. Not because I don't trust Donald Trump. I do trust Donald Trump.

But the debt scares the hell out of me! Because it's real. And at some point, and I don't know if it's this 4 trillion-dollar debt ceiling raised, or the next one, but at some point the rest of the world is going to walk away and go, uh-uh. So I give the benefit of the doubt, pass the bill. Just pass the bill. Okay?

That could end up being wrong. I'm not going to tell you I'm write by any stretch of the imagination. I think this is something we all have to do our own homework. And then pray on.

I can't tell you what's right or wrong.

You want someone to do that. Listen to Sean Hannity or somebody else. Because I don't know. I don't know.

Here's what I do know.

Yesterday, Trump said, the debt limit should be entirely scrapped. That is colossally a bad idea! A bad idea.

And I can't give the benefit of the doubt on that one. No. If we scrap the debt ceiling and the debt limit, that means nobody ever has to pause. Now, he's right in this sense: That everybody is using that debt ceiling as a weapon.

So if you don't have to have the debt ceiling, then they can't say, you know what, we're going to default on our loans, if we don't spend all this money!

We're never going to default. Okay?

We're not going to default. We just will have to live through austerity.

We will just to have cut all the programs.

And just pay the interest on our bills.

So we won't default.

And if we do, we're even in more trouble than I thought. But if you take away the debt ceiling vote, then there's no restraint. And here's how the world will interpret this.

There is one thing to say, I'm getting into a car. And we're going to go down this canyon. And it's very, very curvy.

You know, it's in one of those really dangerous canyons. That just make my butt clench every time you drive down these steep hills and canyons. And in the West. Where you're like, we can drive over the edge, and then we're dead.

It's one thing to get into a car, where the brakes are fine. It might be leaking a little bit.

But the brakes are fine. And you get into the car, and you're like, okay.

I think we're okay. I think we're okay. And we have a chance of survival.

And then another one, inviting people into the car and saying, no.

Oh, the brakes are fine. I mean, they're leaking a little bit. But the brakes are fine. Some people get in. Some people don't.

But if I got you on the top of that canyon and I pull up in my car, and I'm like, hey, hop in. We're going to go down the canyon. By the way, I cut the brake lines. So there's really no chance of us stopping or tapping on to the brakes. Would you get into the car?

That's what other countries and other -- other sovereign funds and all of the big wealth management. That's the way they will look at us, if we have no debt ceiling! If we just like, yeah. We can spend whatever we want.

We don't even have to talk about it anymore.

You know, we just know that the debt is going to be okay.

I'm not getting into that car.

I'm not buying a single bond from you.

You're completely irresponsible.

And there's no tapping of the brake. There's no slowing the car down. It starts going down the hill. There's no slowing it down. It just crashes, period.

That's what happens. Okay?

We cannot scrap the debt limit. That will be the -- that will be the death knell of America!

It will be over.

You will see the interest rates go through the roof.

Because nobody is going to -- nobody will want to buy our tea bill.

So we will have to be able to offer them more money. Okay. We'll pay you 9 percent.

Well, what is paying 9 percent interest? Just say 6 percent.

Five percent!

What does it mean, if we have to pay 5 percent interest, on $40 trillion?

Nothing good!

We won't be able to afford it. We will all be paying our taxes, just to pay that debt.

That's the bomb that's about to go off.

Okay?

And that's why people who are, quote, fiscal hawks, that I happen to agree with are saying, we have to cut more out of the budget.

We have to! Because it might be this 4 trillion-dollar debt ceiling raised, that kills us.

The world is so close to just saying, screw, America.

And they want to say screw America. As soon as they're ready with their alternate version of whatever it is, Bitcoin, a CBDC, or central banks, you know, BRICS.

Whatever it is. As soon as they're ready. They are going to cut us loose.

So we're facing that, let's just not hasten that!

And here's why the president -- the president has never, in his whole life, had a problem with debt.

And in some ways, he's right!

If you have at the time, and you're not really working hard, you're not doing the smart things.

But you have all this potential. And all this talent.

But you're not doing anything. Debt is a problem. Because how are you going to pay for it?

You know, when you're -- when you're not making the -- even the minimum debt payment, you're just adding more debt, you're in real trouble.

However, you know, you're a deadbeat. And you're like, you know what, I'm going to go to school. I'm going to become a doctor. I'm going to become a brain surgeon. And you have the ability to do that. You know what, I will be a brain surgeon, and some Nobel Prize winning scientist on energy. Because I'm going to invent a new kind of energy. You have no problem with the debt you have. You can keep piling on debt.

Go ahead. You want to go to Harvard. Good luck with that. But go to Harvard, and pile that debt on.

Because you will be able to pay that off, with what you're going to make in the future.

But right now, where the deadbeats.

We're not doing anything to make more money. And you know this in your own life. You have to be able to make more money. You have debt.

You either have to refinance, and if it's at a higher interest rate, that could be a problem. You have to pay it off. Or you just have to default, and say, you know what.

Chapter 11. I'm out. Well, we can't file chapter 11.

We can't do that. But we can't default. The world won't allow us to. So what do we do?

We either cut our debt, and our deficit. And we get our spending way under control.

Or we get another job! And we reinvent.

That's why Donald Trump is letting these -- these AI companies build their own nuclear power plants.

We don't have the money to -- to build them!

They will to have build them. You want to build them?

You build them. I will clear the red tape. But I'm not paying for them. You build them. Because you will be using the energy for AI. So go ahead.

You build the power plants.

That's the way for us to not dig ourselves into a hole. And allow us to be in a position to where we can reinvent the world, and reinvent the way the world works. And be first on the scene, so we can pay this debt off! Because we now have another job.

Does this make sense?

But there's one problem with all of this.

And that is, we're spending so much money now, and what are we spending it on?

I'll finish that here in just a second. First, let me tell you about our sponsor.

Our sponsor this half-hour is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You know, what's going on right now in the world, is just really terrifying.

And if you've ever read the Old Testament. I mean, really read it. You know the story about Israel.

It's not about geography. It's about a covenant. It's about a struggle. It's about a people who have endured more than most of us have ever begun to understand. And right now, that struggle is not just in the history books. It's real. It's happening again. There are rockets in the sky.

Families huddled in shelters. Wait until I tell you in a few minutes, what's happening over in France and England.

It will blow your mind. When crisis hits, whether it's war, poverty, or terror.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is already on the ground. And they're giving aid to the elderly, the Holocaust survivors, the children who haven't seen a normal day in months.

These are Christians, standing with Israel, not just in prayer. But in action.

And your gift of only $45 will support their life-saving work by helping provide food, shelter, and so much more.

Bible says, I will bless those who bless you. Supporting IFCJ is a spiritual stand. It's showing up for God's people when it counts. So please, call 888-488-IFCJ. 888-488-IFCJ. Or go online at IFCJ.org. Every dollar helps. Don't wait. Be the difference.

Visit IFCJ.org. Or call 888-488-IFCJ.

(music)

GLENN: So the other problem that we have, and why we can't cut, and this kills me to say this!

One of the reasons why we can't cut so dramatically is because, between federal, state, and local, our GDP is 45 percent based on taxes!

On government. State, local, and federal spending. That's half of our GDP.

That's a crazy amount!

That's a dangerous amount.

So you start cutting all of these programs, you start cutting all of the -- you know, super fast bullet train that we needed in California.

It will take us another 20 years.

So give us some more money.

You stop spending this money. That money dries up in our communities.

And people lose their jobs. So we have to be very careful on how we cut. How rapidly we cut.

We don't want to cut too quickly, until we replace it with growth. But how do you grow without cutting the budgets?

I mean, we are in this really tough situation.

It's why I say to you, I'm not going to tell you, which way to go on this.

Because I don't know.

I don't know.

Who do you trust?

I don't know.

Who has the right idea?

I don't know.

I think it's a combination of everybody.

But I also know, that there's nobody on the Democrat side.

There's nobody on the Democrat side, that's ready to go.

You know what, I will do the responsible thing.

And I will cut. I will cut.

They're not.

So we're just negotiating with ourselves, as usual.

And will the Republicans screw it up?

Well, don't they always?