Glenn is no stranger to New York City, and he’s definitely no stranger to the mass of insults New Yorkers typically like to throw his way. But his most recent trip to the Big Apple, Glenn says, was different. In this clip, he describes some SHOCKING encounters he had with liberals there, and he explains why he believes these interactions show a HUGE CHANGE may be occurring throughout America today...
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: I spent a lot of time just out with people in Texas, New York. Florida. I was in New York for about three or four days. New York City. Wow!
Is that a different place. America is different. I sense something -- she's different than she was 18 or 20 months ago.
And I'm not going to outline all the political changes, our economy and the status with the countries.
You know, looming war, et cetera, et cetera. I think most of us are aware of all of those things. You know, if you go to McDonald's, how many of us have driven through the drive-thru, and you have gotten a couple of hamburgers, and they give you the price. And you're like, what?
I think we know these changes. I want to discuss the changes that I felt in the last couple of weeks.
New York is a shadow of its former self.
And there's a real divide in New York, that I have not felt before. New York is pretty much, they walk in lockstep. Now, I want to preface this, with many times, you see what you want to see.
Or you -- you know, you have a sample size so small, it's meaningless to pull anything out of it. But just go with me for a second. I have walked the streets of New York City, for years.
And to say the responses are a little bit negative, may not surprise you.
The award-winning insult, a couple of weeks ago, I say it's award-winning. Because it really was -- it had been boiled down to the essential insult and feeling. It required the least amount of effort, the fewest syllables. It was just someone who saw me as I was walking at a crosswalk, and he looked at me and he said, die!
And I thought, okay. That's good. That's good.
STU: That's a warm response from New York.
GLENN: A very, very warm response. And I did say to him, I am just probably not at the speed you're hoping.
Anyway, I had a multitude of these encounters. And they happened wherever I go. To some degree or another. It's the positive comments, that tended toward the unique, this time around, at least for New Yorkers.
If I'm walking around Broadway or a place where there are tourists, I usually-- people will call out. Glenn Beck, you know, or whatever. And they'll go, I love you!
Outside of the tourist areas, that doesn't happen. And if you're outside of the tourist areas, the best response that I've ever gotten was, hey, don't look directly at me while I say this, but I'm a big fan of yours. Oh, this guy sucks over here, huh?
I mean, that's the way New Yorkers usually do it. It's usually a whisper. And it's never in a group. Until this time.
I was approached by several self-identified long-time born and bread, die hard liberal New Yorkers, who shockingly, to my -- I mean, I was just like -- you know, there are people around you, right?
Leaned into a table, or leaned into me. And loudly say, you know, I'm not a conservative, and I used to make fun of you, or, you know, I used to think you were crazy. Whatever. I hated you.
But I get it thousand.
This is nuts!
I was...
What is happening? They didn't say that they were conservative. They just said, they get it. They know that we've all been betrayed by those who have betrayed logic, reason, and decency.
Now, in New York, I heard a change. In Texas and Florida, I heard from many conservatives and a change there. Many are now saying the same thing.
I am done with the Republicans. And may I just say, can I get an amen?
I am done with the Republicans.
We've learned everything we ever needed to know with McConnell and Romney and the omnibus bill. That was a true betrayal of everyone who voted for them.
And it's a betrayal of all the American people. Some day, I pray that there will be an accounting for all of the wasted billions of dollars of other people's money. But also, an accounting for the chains of debt these politicians have put around the necks of our children. I think we used to all be responsible in some ways. And in some ways, we still are, I guess.
But there's a lot of us now, that are standing up saying, this is nuts. It's got to stop. But there seems to be no end to the politicians in Washington, that are willing to sell our sons and daughters, into financial slavery to the highest bidder.
I sense that people are waking up, and not necessarily becoming conservative. But are becoming American again.
They have more faith in each other. In themselves. In their families.
People are waking up. It was -- it was insanity to see in some parts of New York. Where you had to wear a mask. You had to.
And when we would walk in, they would say, you need a mask.
I'm like, have you read a newspaper lately?
Have you listened to the scientific news lately?
These do nothing. But there were those cults that were just there. For the most part, area was kind of done with it. I was at the swearing in of Ron DeSantis yesterday. I had dinner with him and his wife the night before.
And I was more than impressed, but that's a monologue for a different time, later today.
In his speech, he spoke of we, not I.
We promised.
We did. We promised we did.
We look forward as a state. We, as Americans, look to this.
He spoke of the benefits to the people of Florida. Do to returning to common sense and common decency peep the most important thing I've noticed, and I've not heard this before. He's now referring to Florida, as the free state of Florida. And I heard that a lot.
And I saw that printed. The free state of Florida. That's like people in Texas. They just call it the great state of Texas.
This is the free state of Florida. And as a history lover, it immediately made me think of the free states during slavery.
And then I started thinking, we are slaves to this state. We are slaves to the debt.
They treat us like slaves. They're not listening to us. Look at the Republicans, what they're doing
Do you think they're actually representing you, or are they representing themselves and the special interests that give to them?
You're unresponsive to a slave. You keep a slave ignorant. You don't want them to learn anything.
You want them to believe what you say. They always told the slaves, you're nothing. You can't accomplish anything. You can't be free of this, without us.
I think the free state of Florida, should be modeled. I wouldn't mind being from the great state of Texas, which has become the free state of Texas. And we're freer than most.
But that should be a goal. That you are the free state of fill in the blank.
Because the time is coming. And we're going to sift each other out.
We're going to -- and I urge you to do this. Move to where you feel you are surrounded by people like you.
You don't want to be alone in what's coming. I sense for the first time in a while, and it might have just been his speech yesterday.
But I sense there is a change. And we are not absolutely at the end of the road. There is a shot, we pull this off.
After I left the speech, I went in to some restaurant. And I was sitting there with my son, and we were eating there at the counter. And they had CNN on.
And we're watching CNN. Oh. While they were going through what was happening in Congress, the vote for Speaker of the House. And, oh, my, did I learn a lot about those crazy extremists. The extremists.
These are the Tea Party extremists. These are the people that wanted to tear our country apart in the first place. And they had been marginalized. And now they're back again.
And I thought to myself, CNN, you are as right as you usually are. You have no idea of what is really going on. And how people in the country actually feel.
And your influence. You know, at the airports, has been lost.
That's not what's happening in Washington. That's not what was going on yesterday on the floor of the House.
