RADIOJuly 21, 2022

How BlackRock uses YOUR MONEY to push ESG & far-left plans

BlackRock — the largest asset manager in the WORLD — lost an unprecedented 17 BILLION DOLLARS over the last 6 months. BlackRock’s losses are in part due to the overall market downturn, Vivek Ramaswamy tells Glenn. BUT the policies BlackRock continues to push, like ESG, are responsible for today's struggling market. Ramaswamy, author of ‘Nation of Victims,’ describes just how toxic ESG policies are to America, to our economy, and most recently, to energy companies and oil supplies around the WORLD. And, thanks to BlackRock, it’s only getting worse. Plus, he explains how YOUR money could be helping BlackRock push ESG and other far-left initiatives and plans…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Vivek, my friend, how are you, sir?

VIVEK: Good to talk to you, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: Very, very good. You are a guy, who I think -- one of the few that actually really gets ESG and the Great Reset. Believes and understands how dangerous it is, and is working to educate people, and also help us beat it. Let me -- let me start with what's happening with ESG and BlackRock.

Is -- is BlackRock's downturn in their profits, is this something that is caused by ESG? Or is this just the downturn of the market, that everybody is feeling?

VIVEK: Well, the answer to that question, Glenn, is it is both of those things. In part, because BlackRock is contributing to the downturn in the market that everyone is feeling because of ESG.

So I'll explain to you how that works. Where, this is the largest asset manager in the world, managing over $10 trillion. $10 trillion.

About half the U.S. GDP in the hands of one firm. And if you add Vanguard and State Street to the list, the top three, they manage more than the U.S. do. And what they do, they're aggregating the money of everyday citizens -- probably most people listening to this program, actually. Probably you and me included. Which, we don't know it, through our 401(k) accounts, through pension fund accounts, et cetera. And what they do, is they use that money to advocate for these ESG policies in corporate America. Climate change plans. Emissions caps. Diversity, equity, inclusion quota systems for race and gender on board, et cetera. They use our money to advocate for those principles in corporate America, that makes companies less successful. And as we've seen this year, has actually contributed to stock market declines, as well, in my opinion. And the ESG specific funds, this year, Glenn. Have underperformed the broader market as a whole. Even though the broader market as a whole, have done badly enough. And I think a big reason why the broader market has done badly. Is because of these demands of these ESG-linked asset managers. But the ESG-specific funds have done even worse. So the answer to your question, is there a downturn because of the broader market? Or is it because of the failures of ESG?

The answer is both. Because part of the reason the broader market is turning down, is exactly because of some of these toxic policies, that cause companies to focus on these social agendas.

GLENN: So let me ask you if -- because this -- I'm -- I'm not an investor guy. I really -- I mean, I should never be around money. I'm horrible at investing. However, it's -- it would be my feeling, that if you are in a place, to where oil is as scarce as it is, if we didn't have ESG, wouldn't the -- the energy market be the place to put your money, or is that just a Glenn Beck, you know, thought?

VIVEK: You know what, it's not just Glenn Beck. It's Warren Buffett, quietly starting to behave this way too, Glenn. So you might give yourself a little bit more credit, than you just did.

But actually, if you think about it, you know, this is -- the potential moment for U.S. energy to really shine, and rise to the occasion. Not just as an investment proposition. But as a proposition to meet the needs of Americans, at a time when there's a massive supply/demand imbalance, right? You remember, as recently as 2018, the U.S. was the world's largest producer of energy. How quickly things have changed now, with the U.S. president groveling in front of foreign dictators around the world, begging them to produce more oil, that the U.S. could be producing instead.

And now, I know the Biden administration is trying to walk this back. I think a lot of ESG managers like BlackRock are trying to walk this back, and say, well, we didn't really want to end fossil fuel production. Actually, he's making good on a campaign promise. In September of 2019, on the campaign trail, I'm quoting him exactly. Here's what President Biden. Then candidate Biden said, I guarantee you, we're going to end fossil fuels, end quote.

That was a campaign promise, that he's now delivering on. But he has multiple tools to deliver on it. Because normally the way constitutionally, you would deliver on that campaign projects. You would get a law passed through Congress. Well, he doesn't have the political support to do that.

American people haven't given Congress the political support to do that. Joe Manchin won't even stand in the way of doing -- won't even allow that to happen. And so what are they doing now?

They're resorting to other means, like executive action. Through the climate change emergency. We'll see -- we'll hear more about what that means. They're doing it through the private sector.

Deputizing the cronies like BlackRock, many of whose alumni, by the way, work in the Biden administration. But large private sector actors, they do favors for them, in return for those private actors, doing it through the back door, what government could not get done through the front door through Congress, the constitutionally ordained way for actually passing laws.

So he's delivering on that campaign promise, but doing it through the back door in ways that I think will make our Founding Fathers shun her, if they actually knew the way the government was -- was treating big -- private sector and using the invisible fist of government, instead of the invisible hand of the market to actually reach these outcomes.

GLENN: So one more -- one more question on -- on food now. Would food be the same thing? Because we have -- we have the ability. We have the property. The land. We have the farmers. We have the history of being the world's breadbasket. If it wasn't for ESG, wouldn't this be the time that farming would be the best kind of investment, where you would -- we would be selling our wheat and our food, all over the world. We would literally be feeding the world. If it wasn't for ESG. Am I wrong on that?

VIVEK: And at a time when there's real demand and need for it as well.

GLENN: Correct.

VIVEK: So, Glenn, these are all part of the same categories. Because energy is upstream of food production as well. Right?

It takes energy to transport food, to be able to export food, to be able to produce food, to be able to put the ingredients together. So I agree with you. I kind of look at energy as even more fundamental. Because it's upstream of nearly every other sector and nearly every other production means. But the thing for people to understand here, is that this is -- this is damage that's been done in the last few years, by the merger of public power and private power. So that's what makes it so hard to find the source. Because the one hand, Biden can say, this is not my fault. This is just the decisions of the private sector, that stop drilling for oil. That stop fracking for a natural gas. We didn't do that. There's no policy that you could point to. But, actually, the reason why they're doing it is because of the ESG movement in the private sector, that this administration, and the modern left, supports through the back door.

So that's kind of how they're able to really trick the public, through this Jiu Jitsu move, saying that, oh, this isn't the private -- this isn't us passing laws to do this. We're just seeing the private sector under investigation. Oil and gas. That's why they feel gas prices are high. When, in fact, they're responsible for causing it. And that's what people need to wake up to.

GLENN: Okay. So they are -- they are not talking to the American people about this. They're blaming the private sector. And that usually means the investors and the companies. But the investors are not necessarily a part of this. A lot of us are invested in these companies. Through our 401(k) et cetera, et cetera.

And we're not telling the companies to do this. Do the companies want to do this, or is it based just on the pressure from places like BlackRock who have a lot of those shares, because we've -- we run our money through BlackRock for our 401(k)s.

VIVEK: It's really the latter, Glenn. So the U.S. energy sector. The potential of U.S. energy to be able to supply not only America's needs, but the global needs is staggering. And this isn't just a policy failure. It's an American travesty, when those same countries have been hamstrung from being able to do their jobs. Now, most people choose -- choose (cut out). Production. This is the travesty, and then. It's the fraud of our time. When Americans are paying for $5 a gallon at the pump on the one hand. Want knowing that their own 401(k) accounts, and brokerage accounts are actually subsidizing the very ESG agenda that gives them 5-dollar gas in the first place. And I think that once people start to see that with clear eyes, the good news, is we find our way to a better way forward. To say, we're not going to let somebody else abuse my money. Abuse my savings. To be able to send messages to the U.S. energy industry, that I absolutely don't want to be delivering to the U.S. energy industry. I want them to make great products.
That's actually what I think accepting this battle looks like.

GLENN: Well, we have a ton of states now, that are looking to move their money. And, you know, all of the pension funds and everything else.

We have a lot of states that want to do that. We have a lot of people that want to do that. But I'm assuming, this is what you're working on. You -- I think you told us, last time you were on. That you were going to start something, and go right after BlackRock. And is that -- is that happening?

VIVEK: I started to strive earlier this year. Creating a firm. To compete head-on versus BlackRock. These are problems, Glenn, created in the market, that need to be solved through the market. So that's where I started to strive. And we'll take these guys. And I've learned a lot over the last few months, even. About how broken that pension fund system, at the state level really is.

And this isn't even a Republican or a Democrat issue. You know, we talk about -- you want to talk about the Deep State and the federal government. I think it exists at the state level. I think it exists at the corporate level.

These are institutionalized, bureaucratized actors. That you know BlackRock and State Street and Vanguard, they've mastered this system over the last ten to 20 years. And it's an ossified system, that in absence of everyday citizens speaking up and demanding change. You'll have a mid-level bureaucrat, who will happily sit and collect his paycheck, without wanting to be board. That's going to say, well, this is what I've done. And I'm not going to pay any more if I serve my citizens or not, so leave me alone. You know, I'm overstating the case. But only by a little bit. Which is exactly how many of these mid-level bureaucrats at the state level think, or even communicate. And I think at the end of the day, the right answer is going to come from everyday citizens demanding change. Kind of what you saw on a small scale, the school boards last year. Parents taking educational control back into their own hands, not leaving it to some sort of bureaucratized school board and saying, that it's your job to educate my children. No, they're my children. And I have a say in how do you they're educated. It's the equivalent. I think bottom-up. You know, sort of a positive revolution of sorts, that we need to see.

GLENN: Yeah.

VIVEK: To say, this is my hard-earned savings. I want to take control. Just like, it's my kids, it's my money. It's not your money. It's definitely not your money, BlackRock. That's what we're going to need to say.

GLENN: Yeah. I -- I -- I think the same thing could be said, for what we saw with Afghanistan.

I mean, just this audience, raised almost $50 million, in -- in like three weeks. To go and save and rescue people. From the Afghanistan debacle.

We flew the last plane. This was the deal we had to make with the State Department. That we could get our people out, if our first plane, that flew out, would carry our special forces. We're the ones that paid for that.

I mean, it's incredible. But it's also a great -- a great example of what a group of people can do, if they really set their mind for it.

Vivek, hang on just for one minute, I have one more question for you. But first I have to tell you about the Tuttle Twins. They have a powerful, powerful new book. It's called American history. 1215 to 1776. It is a history book. It's a storybook. It's not about the dates and the -- and the memorization of names. It's about the ideas.

Because that's what history is supposed to teach us. What idea replaced the old idea? And how did we get there? And what did we learn from it? If you learn from history, and not the names and the dates, if you learn from the story, you'll be able to apply that to our future. And that's what's missing right now. We don't know our own history. We're not teaching why fascism. How it came about. Why it happened. And how bad it was. We're not teaching -- we're teaching more that than of communism.

We're not even teaching what worked here in America. And what set us apart. The Tuttle Twins book, does it. They have an amazing deal right now. They're throwing in 200 pages of companion curriculum, and activities. An audiobook version. Videos to help the lessons from the book to come alive. It's like 250 pages itself. Your kids will love it. You will love it. I think every American home, needs to have a copy of American history. By the Tuttle Twins, in their home. TuttleTwinsBeck.com. TuttleTwinsBeck.com. You can preview a free sample of the chapter, and you can see for yourself, why it's, I think crucial to own. It's TuttleTwinsBeck.com. Ten-second station ID.
(music)
Vivek, earlier this week, I came back from vacation, and I -- I said, the most important story, since I've been gone, was the Sri Lanka, overthrow of the government. And kicking out of the president. Because, the World Economic Forum said, this is the motto. And there was a story up at WEF.org. That said, the headline was, how we're going to make Sri Lanka rich by 2025. So they implemented all of this stuff. They did everything the World Economic Forum said to do. And I talked about it, and read that story, on the air. By the time I got off the air, the World Economic Forum had taken that story off of their website.

But do you agree that Sri Lanka is the example that we should all be looking at, saying, they're the ones who did it. And look how it turned out.

VIVEK: I think it's a great example, unfortunately, Glenn, I would like to see it is the example. Unfortunately, we're seeing more and more examples by the day. Look at what's happening in Ghana. Look at what's happening in the Netherlands. Look at what's happening in the United States and Canada, at a smaller scale.

We have an energy supply shortage that we just talked about in this country. But you're right, Sri Lanka is a great example, to see what happens when these toxic philosophies are taken to their logical extent.

And, you know, I think this is a trans national issue, Glenn. It's a trans partisan issue. Goes beyond partisan boundaries, national boundaries. It is a global monarchy. And it's going to take a revolution to fight it.

GLENN: I agree. I agree. You're exactly right. Vivek, thank you so much. Be a part of that revolution. Because we're in one, whether you like it or not. And we don't need to pick up our guns. We need to inform ourselves and inform our neighbors. Knowledge, knowledge is power.

Could Trump’s “warrior dividends” CHANGE the economy?

President Trump has announced he is giving our troops “warrior dividends” of $1,776 each from the money raised by his tariffs. Glenn and Stu debate whether this is a good idea. Also…what are the odds that the Republicans will cave on Obamacare subsidies?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So something the president said yesterday, that I thought was really, really good. Because it will make a difference. And it's not a redistribution of wealth. He talked about his warrior dividend.

He said, every -- the 1.45 million military personnel are going to receive $1,776 before Christmas. And he says, it's recognition for their service and sacrifice.

He says, it's one time. It's coming from tariffs because of the big, beautiful bill. Tonight, I'm proud to announce, more than 1.45 million service members will receive a special we call warrior dividend. Warrior dividend in honor of our nation's founding in 1776. We're sending every soldier $1,776. The checks are already on the way.

I think this is better than choosing another group of people. You know, who is poor? And let's give them the money. I don't like when the government hands out money. But if anybody -- I mean, they're already on the payroll, and they're underpaid. And if anybody can use it, it's the military. $1,700 is a huge amount for most people in the military. Gigantic amount. That will make an actual impact in the people's lives, who I think actually deserve. You know, we -- we don't do enough for our military. And so it's the best kind of -- I don't know. Stimulus package I've ever seen. Although, this isn't a stimulus package, I don't think. Even though, these people are going to pump it into -- I can guarantee you, they will get it, and they will use it on their family for Christmas. Which, you know, will stimulate the economy so much.
Warrior Dividends. How did you feel about that, Stu?

STU: A bit conflicted for a few reason. I obviously 100 percent agree with you that our military members deserve more money, and I'm excited they're going to get it. And I have no -- my feeling on that from a general perspective is very, very positive. Like, if we're going to give money to anybody.
GLENN: Likewise.

STU: Our military is great.

GLENN: Yep.

STU: So that's obvious.

But I had a couple of concerns. One being, you know, we're not exactly at a place where we just have tons of extra money lying around to -- you know, to throw around to people.

I know the argument is with tariffs that we have enough. But, of course, that only pays for a slight amount of our deficit, right know

So we still -- this is all money that we don't actually have. Number one. And number two, my -- I don't really understand. Maybe you have a better understandings of this. But like my understanding of the mechanism of how we spent money as the government is that Congress passes a bill to allocate money.

When you're talking about a policy like this. And I think the president's heart.

GLENN: You got rid of that under Obama.

STU: I don't think.

Well, I didn't get rid of it.

GLENN: You did. Congress. I know. It's still the law of the land.

But nobody is paying attention to it anymore.

Congress doesn't even pay attention to it anymore.

They don't seem to care.

STU: And the other thing with this part of it, particularly, Glenn. Is quite obviously, there would be very little resistence to a bill that did this.

If you put a bill in front of Congress that said, we're going to give a bonus of $1,776 to all our military members. I would love to do it, just to dare the Democrats to vote against it.

Take all the concerns out about spending. This obviously would pass. Because no one would have the balls to vote against it. Outside of Rand Paul, and Thomas Massie.

Like, there would be a couple people. But it would be pretty limiteds.

GLENN: Right.

GLENN: So it could have gone through the normal processes. I don't know if Trump is saying, I want to be -- I want to dare someone to try to stop me here.

Or if it's just, look, there's a pile of money in a military budget somewhere. That he can move around. And he has control of it, because he's commander-in-chief.

I don't really understand the mechanisms.

So I have some questions of that. Generally speaking, when you're thinking of the most offensive things that the government does, giving our military more money is nowhere near the top of that list.

GLENN: It's not one. It's not it. Not it. Not it. They deserve it. They deserve it.

Now, the Republicans pass something. I love this. They just passed their health care plan.
Which is just staying with Obamacare without re-upping the insurance part of it. So they're not for the subsidies. It's not going to pass. It's not going to pass.

This is just something that they pass in the House. It will not be passed in the Senate. Not going to go to the President's desk.

Here's what's going to happen: You're going to see the House and the Senate. No. No, no. Let me rephrase that.

I started that with a lie. While you're not paying attention this Christmas, you will not see, but it will happen, anyway, the House and the Senate will re-up the insurance subsidies, and they will pass this health care thing while nobody is paying attention. And then it will be over.

I mean, that's exactly what's going to happen. There's not a chance we come back and on January 5th, and we say, oh, my gosh. Look! Wow. They're going to close down the government. Because they didn't pass this health care thing.

Well, good for the Republicans for having a spine and standing up!

No! Not going to happen. Not going to happen

STU: It does appear, the chance of the Republicans folding here, is approaching 1 trillion percent.

I don't know. We're having major inflation numbers.

GLENN: I would say 38 trillion. 38 trillion percent.

Yeah.

STU: There you go. I don't know. Because basically what has happened is enough Republicans have already folded on this, for a three-year extension of the subsidies. Which again, is a giveaway on top of the normal Obamacare to make it Obamacare turbo and lock in even higher subsidies because the old Obamacare plan failed. So that's what we're talking about here. So going back to Obamacare as passed is now the worst thing in the world to even the Democrats. Fascinating!

But they have enough Republicans who have changed sides on this. And they are now -- the Democrats have enough votes to force a vote on this bill, which almost definitely will pass the House. Because they already have the votes, and others Republicans will want to now change sides, if there's a public vote. So it will likely pass there.

It's the possible, obviously, that they stop it in the Senate. They could stop it in the Senate.

I don't know. I don't think there's much appetite to stop this, honestly, at the end of the day.

You know, you probably will have a chance of doing it, at the Senate. That's the best chance.

My guess is, what happens. Once the pressure is there, they find a way to maybe adjust it and do a year or something like that, that gets them past the election.

But, of course, what happens this a year. We all know what happens in a year. It's the same thing that will happen this year.It the same thing that happened four years ago, when the first part of this bill went away.

In 2022. Or 2021. They came in and said, okay. Let's extend it for four more years. My guess is, there will probably be some adjustments to this plan. I don't expect at all, for Republicans to hold the line this. Not only do they not want to get rid of Obamacare. They don't even want to get rid of Obamacare turbo. They passed this thing yesterday, which does give them the argument to say, hey. We did pass some of it.

We do have a plan, it's right here. But that's all of it.

GLENN: Stu. Understand the reality. Understand the reality.

We can't get things done unless we have the House and the Senate and the White House and the Supreme Court.

So we just have to wait until we have a time when -- what?

STU: Glenn, I have breaking news.
We've got all that! We've got all of that right now.
GLENN: Well, but it's not. Yeah. It's not as big as we need it, really.

STU: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: We have to have the House, the Senate, the White House, and the Supreme Court. But we have to have more than what we said, when we said those things.

We just need those -- you know, all three branches of government. We need all three branches of government, but more.

It's like we need -- we need that turbo, kind of like Obamacare turbo.

It's never quite enough to get the job done.

STU: Never is, Glenn.

I really do expect, if we have a nine-zero Supreme Court, the presidency, and 534 combined Congress men and senators, we can't do this with this guy over here. There's one Democrat in Congress. We can't do this! That's exactly what I would expect.

GLENN: Stand in the way.

STU: It's pathetic. But it reminds you that your goals are not their goals.

You know, that's what -- I keep coming back to. Forever, Glenn when we started this show. I started the show very young. I was in my early 20s. Didn't really understand lots of things. I was unfortunately running from you, which obviously turned into a catastrophe.

But, you know, as I learned here, at the beginning, my thought was, us as conservatives, as Republicans, as the right, agree on a lot of different things. And there are disagreements as to how we get there, right?

There are sometimes people think we need to kind of fold, or we need to compromise. And we have to move slowly.

And some other people there, saying, we have to go all the way right now.

And there's that disagreement. You remember this from going back in history. Right? Slavery was like this.

There were some people who were like, abolish, abolish, abolish. And others were like, gosh, I don't think we can do that. We have to finagle. We have to work around the edges.

Every big debate has had that.

What I've learned is that actually the goals are the same. When we are saying, hey, we need to make sure government is more -- is smaller, more limited. That's not the goal of most of the people. On, quote, unquote, our side in Washington.

GLENN: Nope.

STU: They don't share those goals. So they're working for something completely different.

They're not going to what we want, as -- as a typical American conservative.

We're inching towards some of those goals.

But also, when we need to give up on them. They go the opposite direction to keep these guys in office for a couple of years. Fine!

And that's what's really frustrating here.

GLENN: So let me give you some good news. And then I'll -- and I'll spoil it for you.

But some good news. The House has just passed legislation that makes performing transgender surgeries on minors a felony. Now, here's the bad news: It passed 216 to 211.

That means, really, there are 211 Democrats that actually in their heart of hearts think that cutting into minors, cutting the breasts off. At this point, now that we have all the data that we have gathered over, you know, five years of doing this to children. At this point, there's 211 that firmly believe, yeah, no. Damn it. We should cut off the breasts. The healthy breasts off of a healthy minor. We've got to make those -- we've got to make those decisions. And a 12-year-old make that decision. A 15-year-old should make that decision.

Really? No!

It's just politics. And if they do think they believe it, they believe it because they've been party brainwashed. You know, how many of us, on any -- on any and all sides, how many of us actually believe something and have thought it through, and how many of us are just kind of zombie following the crowd?

I contend most people are just zombies following the crowd.

Whether -- that might be a crowd now of, you know what, Charlie Kirk was killed by his wife!

There's all kinds of zombie crowds. And they don't require you to think at all.
They just require you to sign up for the team. And that's -- that's my biggest problem with the Republicans. Is I'm not on a team.

You know, when I left Fox, Roger Ailes said to me, you know what your problem is? And I said, no. But I know you're going to tell me.

What's my problem?

He said, you won't play the game. He said, you know, there's -- there are well-established rules. If you need a pound of flesh, you take a pound of flesh from me.

But then you owe me a pound of flesh. So when I need a pound of flesh, I'm going to come and take it out of you. And then we go out, and we have dinner with each other.

And I was just astounded that that was actually spoken out loud. And I said, see, here's the problem: I don't believe it is a game.

I actually believe in something. And -- and I thought more people believed in something.

Don't you feel like you just want somebody to go in, like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and actually believe in something!

And then when they find out, wait a minute. I've been duped like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

They stand up and say, this is wrong!

And I'm not playing that game. And I don't want to play that game. And you kind of, again, there's so many hoops you have to jump through, for this to happen.

Then you actually have to believe that there are other people in the Congress and the Senate, that are like, you know what, he's brave enough to say it. I'm going to stand up next to him.

I mean,, oh, I remember when I was young and naive. And I believed those things would happen.

I still believe they can happen.

But only when the American people return to common sense and demand it.

"It’s a Wonderful Life" - The Amazing UNTOLD Story of the Classic Christmas Movie

It’s a Wonderful Life wasn’t always a beloved classic — in fact, it was a complete failure that nearly destroyed the careers of Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart. Glenn Beck reveals how a forgotten film, resurrected only because its copyright lapsed, became one of the most meaningful stories in American culture. Through George Bailey’s quiet sacrifices, the movie teaches us that the true measure of a life is often invisible, discovered only through the small acts of faithfulness and love we give along the way. This timeless reminder — that ordinary people can change the world without ever seeing the ripples — is why the film still breaks our hearts, heals our spirits, and reassures us that we mattered.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Let me tell you a story that you think you already know. It's about a movie that feels like it's been there our whole lives. It's like a tree in the town square and the hymn. You don't remember learning, but somehow you know it by heart. But this particular movie hasn't been around forever, it just seems like it. It was actually born out of failure. It was born out of exhaustion.

And it was born out of people who felt just like its lead character, George Bailey.

It's a Wonderful Life has a fascinating story behind it. And it speaks volumes about us, our hopes, our fears, our desires.

The movie was made by Frank Capra, and it was right after World War II. Frank Capra had just come back. He didn't come home triumphant. He came home a changed man.

He had spent the war making film for the United States government. The war department.

About why the west is worth saving. This film series. They're fantastic. It's called Why We Fight.

And when he returned, his old style of doing things, the old machinery just didn't fit Hollywood anymore. So he started his own studio. He bet absolutely everything on it.

And It's a Wonderful Life was supposed to be the movie, that proved Frank Capra is still Frank Capra. And it nearly ruined him. The movie lost money. Critics really didn't like it. They mocked how schmaltzy it was. Audiences stayed home.

Jimmy Stewart, this was his first movie that he made, when he came back home from the war. And this was his start. And between Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart. Oh, my gosh, you've got a massive hit, right?

Nobody came. Nobody watched it. Jimmy Stewart, the most beloved man in America gave a really raw, shaken, almost too real performance for people at the time. He wasn't the cheerful hero that is coming out of war as a victory.

This was a man that was cracking under the weight of responsibility. A man who did everything right, but he still felt like he was a failure.

Any of this sound familiar?

It was a story about what happened during the Depression and the crash of '29. Well, America had been living that forever!

They had been living that since '29. They went through the long Depression.

Then they went through the war. The first thing, out of war, they don't want to watch a movie about how depressing life can be. Okay?

So it was a total failure. Film disappears. Goes into a vault. It's a noble misfire.

Good idea. It just didn't land. Maybe wrong time. Eh. Maybe too schmaltzy. Then something weird happened, everybody forgot about it. And so the rights lapsed. There was no grand relaunch. There was no marketing genius, just a legal oversight that let the rights lapse.

Enter Ted Turner.

Ted Turner and Super Station TBS. Remember Super Station TBS when he bought a bunch of stations across the country, and he tied them all together.

And then cable came in, and Super Station TBS became TBS. Turner, while he was looking on super station TBS. They needed some holiday programming. And they needed it cheap. And when I say cheap, what they -- what Ted really meant was tree. We need a bunch of free programming, that we can run all Christmas.

Okay?

No rights. No royalties.

What is out there?

The vaults opened up, and lo and behold, they find It's a Wonderful Life.

Suddenly, it appears in our life, and I don't know about you. I always thought it had been around forever. It did seem like it was a new relaunch.
It was like, hey, did you hear about this new movie?

It was just there and on. We thought everybody knew about it. Nobody knew about it. Our grandparents probably didn't know we knew about it, because it was a massive failure. It's on afternoons, late nights. It's on mornings.

It's everywhere. It's everywhere. Black and white snow flickering on the living rooms. As we are playing on the floor. We as the adults are half listening, half watching. And slowly, slowly, its message found us.

It found us this time, because America had changed.

We weren't fresh from it despair. And we weren't fresh from victory anymore.

We weren't those people. It wasn't so close to us, that we didn't want to look at us!
Yes, we were tired. We were busy. We were stretched thin.

But we were also a group now that measured our lives in promotions. And in square footage. And bank balances.

We were starting to become a little Mr. Potter-like. And we didn't want to be Mr. Potter.

And there on the screen is George Bailey, standing on the bridge, wondering, would the world be better without me? He's not a villain. He's not a loser.

He's actually a really good man.
He's the best of us. And that's why it still works.

Think of all the happy endings and all we have, and everything else. And all of the stories that we tell ourselves.

This movie doesn't tell you, that life will turn out the way you planned.

This one tells you something much, much harder. That the measure of your life is probably going to be invisible to you, while you're living your life.

Because Clarence ain't coming down in his 1800s clothing, and having a hot toddy with you.

So you probably won't know the real measure of your life. And the biggest victories in your life don't come with applause. And the sacrifice, it usually doesn't feel heroic at the moment. It just feels like sacrifice. And crap. Why me. Why me?
Why don't I ever get the adventure that I planned my whole life? Remember, George never left Bedford Falls. He never becomes famous. He just stays. And he shows up. And he keeps his promises. And he holds people together.

What is the real -- what's the real miracle of the film?

Because it's not Clarence. It's not the bells.

It's not him getting his life back. The real miracle is the ledger. That's the miracle. The names, the faces, the small kindness, you all stacked you up, one on top of each other, until you realize, oh, my gosh. All of those little acts, they amount to a life that actually mattered. We're all looking for the big splashy -- he didn't get any of those. He didn't get that.

And that's why he felt like he was a failure. That's why when the town shows up in the end, and they're all giving just a few dollars, it breaks us every single time. Because deep down, we're not watching George Bailey. Deep down, we're checking our own books, our own ledger. Did I? Do I matter to anybody? Would I be missed? Do the things I gave up -- the things I really wanted to do in life, but because something else came up. I had to serve, I had to do this for my kids. Or I had to do this -- the things I gave up, does it mean anything?

This film answers it with a whisper. It doesn't shout it. It whispers.

You'll never fully know the good you've done. I can't give you an answer. You'll never know it. You'll never see the ripples while you're standing in the water.

But they're there. Believe me, they're there.

So this year, when you either just have it running, while you're all in the kitchen. And you're watching time to time. Oh, I love this part. I love this part.

And everybody gets quiet and you just curl on the couch and watch it again, remember, you're not watching a Christmas movie.

What you're watching is a reminder that life doesn't have to be loud to be important.

That staying can be braver than leaving. That loving your family and your neighbors and your town, imperfect as it is, that's not settling.

It's choosing. And whether Ted Turner knew it or not, I can guarantee you, that Jimmy Stewart did. And Frank Capra certainly did.

That every time you see that, why we, year after year, when the snow starts falling in that old piano theme play as we comes back. Not for the nostalgia. But for the reassurance.

Because every once in a while, all of us need somebody just to look us in the eye and say, you're here!

You mattered.

And it is a wonderful life.

How Trump TRICKED the media with his presidential address

President Trump recently addressed the nation about his administration’s many accomplishments over its first year. Glenn Beck reviews the best moments of the speech, as well as some moments he doesn’t believe will age well. Plus…did Trump trick the media into playing his highlight reel by making them think he would declare war with Venezuela?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So last night, the President spoke, and, you know, he started out.

It was -- it was -- let me give you the overall first. I've never seen him more disciplined.

I think the speech was like, I don't know. It was over by 20 minutes after. And I think he ran six minutes late. I mean, I've never seen -- he doesn't say hello in less than 20 minutes.

He stayed on script the whole time. He was extraordinarily disciplined. He was forceful with it. And he explained what has been done in the last year. And he started out saying, a year ago, our country was dead. Now we're the hottest country. We're the hottest country in the world right now. Nobody has ever seen anything like it.

He said, you know, when he took -- when he took over, inflation was the worst in 48 years.

Caused prices to be higher than ever. Making life unaffordable for millions of Americans. And he said, over the past 11 months, we brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history.

Never been anything like it.

He talked about successfully negotiating $18 trillion of investments into the country.

And he said, but the real problem for most Americans was under Biden, car prices rose 22 percent in many states. He said, 30 percent or more. Gasoline rose 30 to 50 percent.

Hotel rates raised 37 percent. Airfare rose 31 percent. And he said, they're all coming down. They're coming down fast. Faster than anybody expected. Drugs, brought by ocean and sea are now down by 94 percent. He said, we broke the grip of sinister woke radicals in our schools.

I restored American strength, settled eight wars in ten months, destroyed the Iran nuclear threat. And ended a war in Gaza, bringing for the first time in 3,000 years, peace to the Middle East.
Then he talked about, you know, what's coming next!

Now, here are my thoughts on this: You know, everybody was speculating, he's going to say we're going to war. What would give you that impression?

I mean, he doesn't -- that is the very last resort. And we are not out of tricks with Venezuela.

I don't think we're going to war with Venezuela.

I think he's making it look like we're going to war, to freak Venezuela out.

And to get Maduro out.

I don't think we're going into war.

I hope we're not. I could be wrong.

But I just don't think that's his deal.

Everybody is speculating, he will announce we're going to war.

No. He's not.

However, is it possible that they were leaking this?

Because I saw this as the kickoff of the campaign. I saw this as okay. This is the message for 2026 for the Republicans.

And it was so disciplined and -- and so tight. You know, he gets -- when the president calls a speech at night and says, he wants to address the nation be, the networks are asked to carry it.

Sometimes they don't. They don't have to. But if he said, look, I only need 20 minutes, I'm sure that everybody at NBC. I mean, I did. Rolled my eyes. Yeah. It will be 20 minutes.

It will be an hour and 20 minutes. But it was tight and focused in 20 minutes.

I wonder if the war thing wasn't a way to get them to cover this.

If -- if it wasn't a leak from the White House. You know, I think he might. I think he might announce war tonight. Then everybody will cover it. I don't know.

Maybe that's me being too sinal. I don't know. Can you be too cynical at this point?

Here's the thing. He said a couple of things that I didn't think will serve him well. And it's only because -- and I think you feel the same way.

I know I'm sick of it. And I've been reporting on it since the beginning of Obama.

And I hated it when Obama was doing it. And he did it for eight years. Biden did it for four years.

And here's the line: I inherited a mess. I inherited trouble. I'm cleaning up somebody else's mess.

True. It's absolutely true. It wasn't with Biden.

It kind of was with Obama, at the beginning.

But, you know, when you're seven years into it. You haven't cleaned that up yet?

I mean, you've got to get a bigger mop. But it's definitely true under Donald Trump. However, people have heard that now from the last three presidents.

And they're tired of it. It has no meaning anymore. Even though it's true.

And I want to go back to truth here in a second. The other thing that I don't think will serve him well is the economy is doing better than ever.

You're going to love it. It's great. People are not -- that might be true!

In my opinion, it's not. It is doing much, much better.

I mean, you know, you -- you had -- what was it?

Twenty-five percent. Thirty percent inflation added to everything? You've got to go into negative inflation to be able to get those prices down. They're going to be up there. And what's happening is, we still are adding 2 percent inflation. And that's the target. I don't know why we put up with that target, but that's the target.

So you'll have 2 percent price increases every year. Now, we're at 3 percent. We get the numbers out today.

It might go into the twos. Are they out yet?

STU: Yeah. 2.7, the number out today.

GLENN: 2.7 that's great.

STU: Yeah, it's better. It's going the right direction. They say part of that might be because the government shutdown, so we're not sure how long that lasts, but positive movement anyway.

GLENN: Yeah, so that's fantastic! So coming down to 2.7. Remember, we were at 9, and it was compounding year after year after year.

So he is bringing things down. And the price of some things like gasoline and eggs. And some of the stuff you get at the grocery, are way down. They're not back to where they were in 2016. Or 2020.

Because, I mean, he's just trying to stop the inflation.
So what's happening, and this is what I say, will serve him well is, there was this great marketing book out in the '80s called Positioning the Battlefields of Your Mind -- or, Battleground of Your Mind.

And it was a book that led to the Cola Wars. It was the understanding of the Cola Wars and how Pepsi could beat Coca-Cola.

They had to change the perception. And the perception was, that Coca-Cola was it!

And Pepsi had to change it, and that's why they became the choice of a new generation. And for a while, Pepsi was -- it may have even beaten Coke.

But there was this real Cola War back and forth the whole time. They didn't change the flavors. They didn't change anything.

Pepsi was what Pepsi always had been. Coca-Cola was what Coca-Cola had always been.

They needed to change the perception, okay? Because perception, whether it's true or not, perception is reality.

Whatever people perceive, and feel, is their reality.

So it's the reality that you have to deal with.

People don't feel the relief yet. They see the prices coming down. But they're still paying out the same amount of money that they were paying out under Joe Biden.

It's not getting worse. Except, by 2.7 percent overall.

But it's -- it's not getting better to them. You know, certain categories are.

But overall, you're still struggling with your rent and everything else!

And so people's perception is: It -- it's not what I expected. Because what I expected was 2019!

I expected to have jobs and the economy rolling. And the price of housing coming down. And everything else.

And it's not.

So what's not going to serve him well is saying, "Your perception is wrong." He might be right! It doesn't matter! You can't tell people their perception is wrong. You have to change that perception.

And the only way to really change it is to demonstrate it, or through ads, you know, back in the Cola War era, they just changed slogans and do ads and everything else. But people don't buy slogans anymore. They don't buy ads anymore. They don't even trust logos anymore. So that won't work.

You actually have to change people's lives to change their perception. Now, 25 percent last month said that they felt that their personal finances were doing better. That was last month. Or the month before last.

This last month, it's up to 27 percent.

So he's moving that in the right direction. But to win, you've got to be over 40 percent.

Easy over 40 percent have to feel like their personal finances are getting better. 27 percent is not enough. But it is moving in the right direction.

So when the president says he's got to relate to the people who steal -- who have defended him, liked him, and believe in him, he's got to say, I know you're feeling the pinch.

You know, one of the things he said last night. But I don't think it's connected yet to people.

And it's because it's absolutely true. Why do you think that you are spending more every month for your rent?

Why?

You're spending more on rent, because there's too many people chasing too few houses and apartments.

You cannot add ten to 15 million people in four years, while you're not building things. You can't add 10 million people into your country and say, oh, by the way. Go get housing.

Where are they going to get the housing?

The housing, you're going to have a shortage, which will cause the prices to go up.

So until you get rid of those 10 million people. You're not going to lower the price.

And especially if the government is subsidizing them.

Because, I mean, look at the NGOs. If people know, the government will pay. They will keep the price up. What would happen with NGOs. Look what's happening with universities. Why do you think universities are so expensive?

They weren't like that. Until the government said, we will guarantee the loans. Once the government said, we'll guarantee the loans, prices went true the roof because everybody could get a loan!

That's the problem. He's got to connect this, and I think he started last night. He's done it a few times. But somewhere or another, it's really got to connect with the American people.
You cannot solve the housing crisis and not solve the immigration crisis. You have to send people back home, or you're going to have to wait five years, as we build new apartment complexes and new buildings. And we stabilize under these ten million new homes that were needed.

That's not popular. And nobody is going to wait that long. Somehow or another, he's got to make that point. And it's got to connect with people, to give him more time to turn things around, on the housing.

Now, he also was really strong in saying that he was appointing -- wait until you meet the guy to appoint the head of the Fed.

Well, I would like to meet that person too. I would like to know who that is. He said he will do it right after the first of the year. Because our Fed chair is leaving, after the first of the year in February. And he said he's a guy who understands low interest rates. And, you know, low mortgage rates, looser money. That could be really dangerous with -- with inflation, but we'll see.

But that could be a turning point, one way or the other, a new Fed chair will be a new turning point.

And hopefully, Trump and this new Fed chair know what they're doing, and it won't make things worse.

But I don't know how you can with the Fed. I mean, they've already made everything so bad.

Brand new show takes you backstage with Glenn

Everything changes January 5th

Enter your email to be the first in line for groundbreaking Torch reveals:

Hey, it’s Jason Buttrill, Glenn’s head writer and chief researcher.

Have you ever wondered what’s going on behind the scenes of Glenn’s radio show?

What’s happening right before he starts the show? How do he and his staff get ready? Is it chaotic during the show as Glenn adapts to breaking news?

Glenn has decided to bring you all in on the action. Introducing the Torch Insider Feed—a new segment running throughout the daily radio program. I’ll be your guide during the entire show, popping in just before it starts and at other times when non-Insiders typically see commercials.

I’m going to give you a behind-the-scenes inside look that hasn’t been seen before.

But beyond that, we’re going even deeper. We’ll use Glenn’s new content tools to rapidly access the information he’s shared with you over the past two decades—all the dots connected, all the history explained… EVERYTHING. And we’ll—somehow—fit it all in before Glenn returns from commercial.

As an Insider, while Glenn does his daily radio program, you and I will push the boundaries of what we can learn and experience during his show. You’ll be able to comment on everything we’re talking about, and I’ll respond in real time. It truly is a one-of-a-kind experience that I don’t believe has ever been attempted before.

Coming January 2026.