RADIOMay 29, 2025

Terrifying truth exposed: Why America’s economy faces a catastrophic collapse

“We are looking at losing the dollar,” Glenn Beck says. “And it’s gonna happen fast.” But there is a way to avoid this fate and fix the economy. Glenn reveals the 3 moves Congress and President Trump MUST make. But while cutting the government’s debt and spending is crucial, it’s not that simple for one TERRIFYING reason …

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: All right. I want to talk to you about the big, beautiful bill.

I want to talk to you, instead of all the politics going around. I want you to understand what we are facing right now. What we are facing right now is collapse of -- you know, of our economy. Collapse, you know, they will say, what's coming is a collapse, that will be worse than 2008.

I believe, and I could be wrong. Remember, I'm an optimistic catastrophist. I believe that it doesn't have to be this way.

But we are -- we are looking at losing the -- the dollar.

And it's going to happen fast. How do people go bankrupt?

Over a long period of time, and then all of a sudden. And the all of a sudden part is coming our way. Now, the majority of Americans feel that the country is headed in the right direction. And I believe it is. But what we're looking at, is -- is a really difficult situation. So let me ask you: How did we become the world's leading economy?

What did we have that others didn't have?

Because it was very easy. And I want you to -- I want you to make a checklist in your own mind. This is what we used to have.

We had cheap energy. Cheap labor.

And an educated labor. We had small business entrepreneurs. We had individual inventors that were in their garage or in their barn. We had ingenuity. We had low regulation. A cohesive society, that was built around stable laws and a stable government.

That's what it took for us to become the leader of the world.

Now, let's go through those, and see how many of these we have, or are on the road to repairing. Cheap energy.

Yes. I think we -- we didn't have that. But, yes.

We are doing it now. Cheap labor. I don't know how to do that one.

Educated labor. Well, as soon as we get rid of all of the DEI crap that's going on.

Yeah. I think we could maybe reeducate ourselves.

Small businesses, no.

Small businesses are being choked by taxes and regulations.

Individual inventors. Not really.

Everything is being gobbled up by big government. Ingenuity.

Well, ingenuity happens when you don't have DEI. You don't have all of these things, regulations.

And when you have tax cuts and people realize, I can do this. And I can actually make more money. And I can get ahead. That's what ingenuity in America goes on. And I don't think we're there yet. Low regulation. No. The answer to this is not in the big, beautiful bill. The answer to this is in the REINS Act. And you will see at the end of this monologue, that's the most important thing we can do.

A cohesive society, I don't know.

That's our job. Are you feeling like you're making inroads on that one? And stable laws and government. Well, that is the DOJ.

That is the FBI. That is restoring trust in our institutions. Are we doing that?

Well, I think this is one of the reasons why people think that we are on the right track.

Because, yeah. We're starting to see it.

But we're making some real mistakes there as well.

And that has to happen.

That's why Donald Trump.

I mean, if you look at these. You can understand why Donald Trump has the agenda that he has.

He's got to repair these things.

Now, the old way of fixing an economy, because you are -- you are not in trouble. Right?

I mean, you are -- we know that the government -- the business in America is not good.

The dollar is not good.

Our debt is not good.

The people really don't understand why it is so bad. Well, let me show you -- remember I told you, at some point, it was right after 2008. I said, they're going to start precipitating money. And they will tell you that they're not printing money.

They're digitizing money, and everything I said they would do, and they denied that they would do.

They did. And I said, that would lead to inflation. Which it did. Our government debt would explode. Which it did. And our dollar would lose value and eventually lose its place. They would start to degrade. I'm sorry. Downgrade our dollar status. Which they are doing now.

And then eventually, we would lose the reserve dollar. The currency for the reserve.

And everybody said that would never ever happen.

And now, look at where we are.

Okay.

In the years, when I was growing up, how did you fix an economy?

Well, the government could step in.

And they would cut taxes. But when they would cut taxes and not cut spending.

That increases debt.

Then you have the fed lower the interest rates.

That helps people have cheaper money to be able to take loans and start businesses, et cetera, et cetera.

But instead, what our people did, is they just gave zero interest rates.

So all of the big corporations, just took on all kinds of debt. But it -- they didn't have to worry about it. Because they didn't have to have any interest payments. So they just took on all kinds of debt.

That inflated our dollar by pumping all of that money in.

It inflated our dollar. So if you lower the interest rates.

You have debt.

You have things like QE. Quantitative easing. Which puts debt on the fed.

And you have inflation. Which is our biggest problem.

Then the other thing you would do, is you would do a stimulus package.

Have you noticed that this is the first time in American history, this administration, that I know of, that nobody is talking about a big, beautiful stimulus package.

Why?

Because a big, beautiful stimulus package, that doesn't work anymore. Because all it's doing is adding money to the debt!

And then the last thing you would do, if you were a conservative, is you would cut regulation.

Now, we can't do.

Tacks cuts. He's doing. But is he doing the tax cuts, in a way that are -- I mean, he's just holding the tax cuts, right?

We're not getting new tax cuts. Why?

Because it will increase the debt.

So we're doing the same tax cuts. Just making them permanent.

So your tax will not change. That does not help spur the economy. But it does help stabilize the economy.

But he is then taking taxes and he's saying, hey. No tax on tips. He's giving tax cuts at the lowest level of the economy. That's not going to spur on the economy. However, because of all of the other problems.

It's really important because the people at the bottom of the ladder are really struggling. And they have to have relief!

So a way to that do is give them tax cuts, some sort of tax relief.

Because you can't do a stimulus package. So let's try this. And hope that people spend that money, wisely.

Okay.

The other thing that you do, when you have a troubled economy, like we have had in the past, and we do now.

Is you look for a black swan event.

You look for a game-changer out on the horizon. Something is going to change everything.

Sometimes that's war. Sometimes that's an invention. But what will change everything, to refigure the economy. Okay. So now, let me tell you why the president is doing what he is doing with the big, beautiful bill. Everybody is arguing that we have to cut the deficit. Everybody is saying, there's no debt reduction here!

And we have to have debt reduction.

That is great! And you're right. We absolutely do.

I am with you, 110 percent. We cannot continue spending this way! Now, let's look at the other side. Why wouldn't you cut the debt?

Well, there's a couple of reasons. You don't think it's a problem.

Nobody with a brain think it's a problem now.

And that's one or two brains between the whole lot of them, in Congress. But you -- you know that this is a problem. Okay.

So you don't care that it's a problem. That's another one. You don't care that it's a problem. You just think, it will go on forever.
And the sun is shining right now, so I will just keep spending. And just put my head in the sand.

And it doesn't matter, because the United States is an oppressor anyway.

Yada. Yada.

Whatever your reason is, you don't care. You recognize the problem, but you don't care.
That's the second reason. There is another reason why not to cut the debt. And it is one that is very hard for Americans to understand.

But I take you back, if you're my age, to Ronald Reagan, when he says, when this debt gets to a point to where we are spending more on interest, than we are on our national defense, there will be no good options left. We are here!

There are no good options left.

The other reason why you don't cut the budget. You look for ways to spur the economy on.
You don't cut the budget, at least radically at all.

Because right now, I ready for this one?

This won't improve your mood. The US government and the budget.

What we spend every -- every year, now accounts for 25 percent of GDP.

So if you want to cut the budget. Let's say we just cut it in half, which Coolidge did. That means, that we take 12 cents out of every dollar that is being spent and used in America. We take 12 cents out of the economy. Now we're going to have to do it at some point. But how are you going to do that? Because that will hurt the GDP. You will reduce the GDP.

Once you reduce the GDP, then you have problems again, with the budget. The taxes and interest rates. Okay.

So you have to spur the economy on, before you start to dramatically cut the budget. Now, if your mood didn't improve when I said your GDP is now 25 percent of spending. Let me include the state and local spending.

So when you include the tax money, that is being spent now, your dollars that are being spent in our economy, and you include the federal government spending. The state spending. And the local spending, the good news is, it might be at times, as low as 34 percent. But it's much closer to 45 percent of our GDP.

So almost half of our spending, almost half of our gross domestic product, being what we build. What we buy, almost half of it, is being spent and purchased by our government.

So you cannot cut the budget quickly, dramatically.

But you must cut the budget. Or we collapse!

Do you see what Ronald Reagan was saying?

We're in a place where there are no good options!

I'm going to tell you some things today, that you won't hear anywhere else.

That you need to hear.

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Ten-second station ID. If we do not do the things we must do.

I'm going to give that list to you here.

In fact, let me do that now.

The number one thing that everybody should be asking for in this big, beautiful bill. Is not necessarily more cuts. I would like more cuts. But remember, we have to spur on the economy. How do we do that?

We have to stabilize our laws. Make sure that we are focusing on education. This is a longer term thing. The education. Stabilizing our laws to make sure they apply to everyone equally.

Do the exact opposite of what New York did, when they went after Donald Trump's business, even though other businesses do exactly the same thing.

You cannot have a growing economy, if you don't have stable laws. So you have to strengthen the DOJ and the FBI.

President Trump is doing that. You do have to cut. But you have to cut strategically.

That's what DOGE was doing. Congress is not doing their part by even passing the in my opinion of what DOGE did. That's Congress' fault. Then you need the REINS Act. Because the biggest thing that will spur on the economy, that we can actually do. We can't cut taxes anymore.

We can't cut the budget dramatically. Which we have to do.

So what do we do?

We've already lowered the cost of energy dramatically. We're already getting foreign investment, which will help us re-shore for our workers. That's longer term.

We have the game changer. It's AI.

Here's what we don't have: Low regulation.

We have to have low regulation. So I want you to call Congress, and the Senate. And say, put the REINS Act in the big, beautiful bill!

Because then you don't have to keep going, over and over again, and saying, well, will the Supreme Court allow us to do that. Will Congress pass that money?

Et cetera, et cetera.

It puts that power back where it belongs in Congress for all these regulations. And it defangs this out of control bloated government.

Because it requires that Congress passes all of the regulations.

Well, they're not going to pass a lot of them, are they?

That's why they got rid of them. This is a Woodrow Wilson progressive tool.

Get rid of it. Make it an administrative state.

The REINS Act is impaired. You want to subjective?

Pass the REINS Act. It is the only tool that we have, that will have positive consequences, and I can't think of many negative consequences. Because we restore the power, the way it is in the Constitution. And we cut all of the insane regulation quickly.

Which spurs on growth. That's what Donald Trump is trying to do.

He's like, we cannot cut our way out of this debt.

We have to grow our way out of this debt. And then begin to cut!

This is why the tariffs, this is his logic on the tariffs. I'm going to get foreigners. Foreigners to pay taxes. So we can put that in.

I don't believe in that. But he does.

That's what he's trying to do.

Everything he's trying to do, makes sense, if you understand the problems, that we have.

You may not agree with the solutions, but at least somebody is pursuing a solution.

You know, there was a great article out today, and we put it in the prep, because it is so -- so, so, so important. It's from Victor Davis Hanson.

And he said, look, historically, if you don't fix this now, historically, he said from Greece to Rome, through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, there were only three ways of dealing with unsustainable debt, and none of them are good.

They're all civilizational killers.

Number one, Weimar Republic in cheap dollars. You inflate the dollar. The -- and then you bankrupt what really helped cause the Depression.

You can do that. You can pay back the $37 trillion in inflated dollars. It's just not good. It is the Weimar republic.

Number two, you can confiscate private wealth. People do that all the time throughout history.

This destroys the legitimacy of the government. It makes private investors, hide their money.

Confiscate the wealth. You're already seeing leftists say that that is exactly what we have to do.

It never works. Never works. It didn't work in Athens. It didn't work in Rome. It didn't work in Renaissance, Italy. It doesn't work. And the last one is the most drastic, and it's a killer too. South America has tried this one. And it just renounced the debt. It says, you know what, guys, we won't pay you back.

All through of those are civilizational killers. So pay attention to this, because your lifestyle is about to change!

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Are Epstein's "Blackmail Videos" Being Used for Leverage RIGHT NOW?

What was Jeffrey Epstein's operation all about. If he was at the center of a massive blackmail operation to compromise those in positions of power, who is in possession of that information now? Glenn Beck and ATF Whistleblower John Dodson analyze the details of this situation and give their thoughts on what is the most likely reality surrounding Epstein.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with ATF Whistleblower John Dodson HERE

WARNING: How America Elects a Socialist President in 2028 | Glenn TV | Ep 444

The rise of Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old socialist who just won the Democratic primary for mayor, is not just a political earthquake shaking New York City — it’s a warning for the rest of America. Backed by Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani promises free everything, to tax the rich, and to dismantle capitalism. There’s nothing new about this tired strategy, but the media is propping him up as a new political genius. And with Democrat leaders lining up behind him, it’s clear: This radicalism isn’t fringe anymore. It’s the Democratic Party’s future. Mamdani’s rise is part of a larger movement that’s rewriting America’s values. Glenn Beck explains how New York is the prototype for the Left’s socialist makeover of America. Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Standford, gives a terrifying prediction on Mamdani’s mayoral race chances and warns the revolution is coming for mainstream Democrats. He also dives into MAGA’s frustration with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files.

INSIDE Trump’s soul: How a bullet changed his heart forever

“I have a new purpose,” then-candidate Donald Trump told reporter Salena Zito after surviving the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Salena joins Glenn Beck to reveal what Trump told her about God, his purpose in life, and why he really said, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, as she details in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland”.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Salena, congratulations on your book. It is so good.

Just started reading it. Or listening to it, last night.

And I wish you would have -- I wish you would have read it. But, you know, the lady you have reading it is really good.

I just enjoy the way you tell stories.

The writing of this is the best explanation on who Trump supporters are. That I think I've ever read, from anybody.

It's really good.

And the description of your experience there at the edge of the stage with Donald Trump is pretty remarkable as well. Welcome to the program.

SALENA: Thank you, Glenn. Thank you so much for having me.

You know, I was thinking about this, as I was ready to come on. You and I have been along for this ride forever. For what?

Since 2006? 2005?

Like 20 years, right?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

SALENA: And I've been chronicling the American people for probably ten more years, before that. And it's really remarkable to me, as watching how this coalition has grown. Right?

And watching how people have the -- have become more aspirational.

And that's -- and that is what the conservative populist coalition is, right?

It is the aspirations of many, but the celebration of the individual.

And chronicling them, yeah. Has been -- has been, a great honor.

GLENN: You know, I was thinking about this yesterday, when -- when Elon Musk said he was starting another party.

And somebody asked me, well, isn't he doing what the Tea Party tried to do?

No. The Tea Party was not going to start a new party.

It was to -- you know, it was to coerce and convince the Republican Party to do the right thing. And it worked in many ways. It didn't accomplish what we hoped.

But it did accomplish a lot of things.

Donald Trump is a result of the Tea Party.

I truly believe that. And a lot of the people that were -- right?

Were with Donald Trump, are the people that were with the Tea Party.

SALENA: That's absolutely right.

So that was the inception.

So American politics has always had movements, that have been just outside of a party. Or within a party.

That galvanize and broaden the coalition. Right? They don't take away. Or walk away, and become another party.

If anything, if there is a third party out there, it's almost a Republican Party.

Because it has changed in so many viable and meaningful ways. And the Tea Party didn't go away. It strengthened and broadened the Republican Party. Because these weren't just Republicans that became part of this party.

It was independents. It was Democrats.

And just unhappy with the establishment Republicans. And unhappy with Democrats.

And that -- that movement is what we -- what I see today.

What I see every day. What I saw that day, in butler, when I showed I happen at that rally.

As I do, so many rallies, you know, throughout my career. And that one was riveting and changed everything.

GLENN: You made a great case in the opening chapter. You talk about how things were going for Donald Trump.

And how this moment really did change everything for Donald Trump.

Changed the trajectory, changed the mood.

I mean, Elon Musk was not on the Trump train, until this.

SALENA: Yeah.

GLENN: Moment. What do I -- what changed? How -- how did that work?

And -- and I contend, that we would have much more profound change, had the media actually done their job and reported this the way it really was. Pragmatism

SALENA: You know, and people will find this in the book. I'm laying on the ground with an agent on top of me.

I'm 4 feet away from the president.

And there's -- there's notices coming up on my phone. Saying, he was hit by broken glass.

And to this take, that remains part of this sibling culture, in American politics.

Because reporters were -- were so anxious to -- to right what they believed happened.

As opposed to what happened.

And it's been a continual frustration of mine, as a reporter, who is on the ground, all the time.

And I'll tell you, what changed in that moment.

And I say a nuance, and I believe nuance is dead in American journalism.

But it was a nuance and it was a powerful conversation, that I had with President Trump, the next day. He called me the next morning.

But it's a powerful conversation I had with him, just two weeks ago.

When he made this decision to say, fight, fight, fight.

People have put in their heads, why they think he said it. But he told me why he said that. And he said, Salena, in that moment, I was not Donald Trump the man. I was a former president. I was quite possibly going to be president again.

And I had an obligation to the country, and to the office that I have served in, to project strength. To project resolve.

To project that we will not be defeated.

And it's sort of like a symbolic eagle, that is always -- you know, that symbol that we look at, when we think about our country.

He said, that's why I said that. I didn't want the people behind me panicking. I didn't want the people watching, panicking.

I had to show strength. And it's that nuance -- that I think people really picked up on.

And galvanized people.

GLENN: So he told me, when he was laying down on the stage.

And you can hear him. Let me get up. Let me get up.

I've got to get up.

He told me, as I was laying on the stage. I asked him, what were you thinking? What was going through your head? Now, Salena, I don't know about you.

But with me. It would be like, how do I get off the stage? My first was survival.

He said, what was going on through his mind was, you're not pathetic. This is pathetic.

You're not afraid. Get up.

Get up.

And so is that what informed his fight, fight, fight, of that by the time that he's standing up, he's thinking, I'm a symbol? Or do you think he was thinking, I'm a symbol, this looks pathetic. It makes you look weak.

Stand up. How do you think that actually happened?

SALENA: He thinks, and we just talked about this weeks ago. He -- you know, and this is something that he's really thought about.

Right? You know, he's gone over and over and over. And also, purpose and God. Right? These are things that have lingered with him.

You know, he -- he thought, yes.

He did think, it was pathetic that he was on the ground. But he wasn't thinking about, I'm Donald Trump. It's pathetic.

He's thinking, my country is symbolically on the ground. I need to get up, and I need to show that my country is strong.

That our country is resolute.

And I need people to see that.

We can't go on looking like pathetic.

Right?

And I think that then goes to that image of Biden.

GLENN: You have been with so many presidents.

How many presidents do you think that you've personally been with, would have thought that and reacted that way?

SALENA: Probably only Reagan. Reagan would have. Reagan probably would have thought that.

And if you remember how he was out like standing outside.

You know, waving out the window. Right?

After he was shot.

GLENN: At the hospital, right.

SALENA: Had he not been knocked out, unconscious, you know, he probably would have done the same thing.

Because he was someone who deeply believed in American exceptionalism.

And American exceptionalism does not go lay on the ground.

GLENN: And the symbol.

Right. The symbol of the presidency.

SALENA: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that affects him today.

GLENN: So let me go back to God.

Because you talked to him the next day. And your book Butler.

He calls you up.

I love the fact that your parents would be ashamed of you. On what you said to him.

The language you used. That you just have to read the book.

It's just a great part.

But he calls you the next morning. And wants to know if you're okay.

And you -- you then start talking to him, about God.

And I was -- I was thinking about this, as I was listening to it. You know, Lincoln said, I wasn't -- I wasn't a Christian.

Even though, he was.

I wasn't a Christian, when I was elected. I wasn't a Christian when my son died.

I became a Christian at Gettysburg.

Is -- is -- I mean, I believe Donald Trump always believes in God, et cetera, et cetera.

Do you think there was a real profound change at Butler with him?

SALENA: Absolutely. You know, he called me seven times that day. Seven times, the take after seven.

GLENN: Crazy.

SALENA: Talked about. And I think he was looking for someone that he knew, that was there. And to try to sort it out.

Right? And I let him do most of the talking. I didn't pressure him.

At all. I believed that he was having -- you know, he was struggling. And he needed to just talk. And I believed my purpose was to listen.

Right? I know other reporters would have handled it differently. And that's okay. That's not the kind of reporter that I am.

And I myself was having my own like, why didn't I die?

Right?

Because it went right over my head.

And -- and so I -- he had the conversation about God.

He's funny. I thought it was the biggest mosquito in the world that hit me.

But he had talked profoundly about purpose. You know, and God.

And how God was in that moment.

It --

GLENN: I love the way you -- in the book, I love the way you said that as he's kind of working it out in his own he head.

He was like, you know, I -- I -- I always knew that there was some sort of, you know -- that God was present.

He said, but now that this has happened.

I look back at all of the trials.

All of the tribulations. Literally, the trials.

All of the things that have happened. And he's like, I realized God was there the whole time.

SALENA: Yes. He does. And it's fascinating to have been that witness to history, to have those conversations with him. Because I'm telling you. And y'all know, I can talk. I didn't say much of anything.

I just -- I just listened. I felt that was my purpose, in that moment.

To give him that space, to work it out.

I'm someone that is, you know, believes in God.

I'm Catholic. I followed my faith.

And -- and so, I thought, well, this is why God put me here. Right?

And to -- to have that -- to hear him talk about purpose, to hear him say, Salena. Why did I put a chart down?

I'm like, sir. I don't know. I thought you were Ross Perot for a second.

He never has a chart. And he laughed. And then he said, why did I put that chart down?

By that term, I never turned my head away from people at the rally. That's true.

That relationship is very transactional. It's very -- they feed off of each other.

It's a very emotive moment when you attend a rally. Because he has a way of talking at a rally. That you believe that you are seeing.

And he said, and I never turn my head away.

I never turn my head away.

Why did I turn my head away?

I don't remember consciously thinking about turning my head away. And then he says to me, that was God, wasn't it?

Yes, sir. It was. It was God.

And he said, that's -- that's why I have a new purpose.

And so, Glenn. I think it's important, when you look at the breadth of what has happened, since he was sworn in.

You see that purpose, every day.

He doesn't let up.

He continues going.

And it brings back to the beginning of the book.

Where you find out, that there was another president that was shot at in Butler.

And that was George Washington. And how different the country would have been, had he died in that moment.

And now think about how different the country would be, had President Trump died in that moment. There would be --

GLENN: We're talking to -- we're talking to Salena Zito. About her new book called Butler. The assassination attempt on President Trump. And it is riveting.

And, you know, it is so good. I wish the press would read it. Because it really explains who we are, who Trump supporters are. Who are, you know, red staters. It is so good at that. She's the best at that.