RADIOMay 15, 2025

JD Vance: America is DONE Telling Other Countries How to Live

“The era of American preachiness and America telling other countries how to live their lives is OVER,” Vice President JD Vance tells Glenn Beck. Vance joins “The Glenn Beck Program” to comment on the Trump administration’s latest massive moves and what’s still to come, including President Trump’s history-making trip to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. VP Vance also puts Western Europe on notice over its social media censorship plans, promises major spending cuts in the FINAL version of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” lays out Trump’s plan t slash regulations on AI and energy companies, explains why staying ahead of China on AI is a matter of life and death, and tells a little-known fact about the Vatican’s role in global politics ahead of his trip to Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: We welcome to the program, the vice president of the United States, and somebody who I think has the presidency in his future. J.D. Vance. Welcome to the program, Mr. Vice president.

J.D.: Glenn, how are we doing?

GLENN: I'm great. I'm great. What an amazing few days the president has had, first with all of the foreign wins before he left, with the wars, you know, and everything in the State Department and Marco Rubio is doing. And now, this speech. I think this Riyadh speech is historic. On so many levels. How would you describe what's going on in the Middle East this week?

J.D.: Yeah. So I agree with you, Glenn. About that particular speech. I mean, when I listen to it. And I obviously knew a little bit about what the president was going to say. It changed a little bit. I was there the last couple of days. But the core message is very simple. That America wants not to remake the world in America's image. We don't want to force our allies to adopt our form of government. We actually want to be in the business of shared interests and shared economic cooperation. So long as you're not trying to kill anybody, and so long as you're interested in building wealth for your citizens and working with America, then America is open for business. And I think that's a very important signal to send to the world.

You know, the Obama administration economist Larry Summers had a very smart point, a few years ago. He said, you know, when the Chinese show up in the developing world, they show up with a bag of money. When Americans show up in the developing world, they show up a with a lecture.

And, you know, if you're given a choice between a lecture and a bag of money, you're going to choose the bag of money every step of the way. I think what the president is saying, is that era of American preachiness and America telling other countries, how to live their lives, that era is over.

And I think it's a very important point for the Middle East. It's a very important point for the whole globe. And in some ways, only President Trump could have made that argument at this point in time.

GLENN: Are we stopping with the bags of money too?

J.D.: I think we're stopping with both. But we are really looking at economic cooperation. And, you know, in Africa, for example, Glenn, you have America diplomats sent by the Biden administration, who are telling very conservative Christian African countries, that they need to fly the LGBTQ flag.

But they're not engaging in any economic arrangement where, you know, the Africans have critical minerals that we need. They have other industries that we can be participating in, we can be partnering on, and I think that's the bags of money point.

It's not that we'll give them money, but that we can have some shared economic relations with a conservative African country, where we won't tell them how to live their lives. We actually just want to enter into a partnership with them.

And that's, again, a big, big change.

It's a big shift, but it's an important shift from a very dumb American policy, to a very smart one that I think will benefit the next generation.

GLENN: There was this old TV show. It was a game show when I was a kid, called the 20,000-dollar Pyramid. And they would allow you to say, pass, and you could just skip the subject of the question. I give you that. We're playing the 20,000-dollar pyramid here. You know, I look at the reaction of your speech in Europe. Then I see the moves that they're making. I see the new Prime Minister of Canada. Who is the architect of the Glasgow financial accords.

And I'm not sure we're on the same page anymore.

Is -- is -- we can be friends with everybody.

But I'm not sure we're walking down the same path anymore. With those countries.

J.D.: Well, it worries me, Glenn. Because look, there are certainly some economic benefits and friendships that we can have with a lot of our, you know, sort of western European and obviously our Canadian friends. But in western Europe, in particular, you know, my view on this point is, our relationship with western Europe is what's going to be unique. You know, America, of course, started as an English economy. We're always going to have a special relationship with the United Kingdom. But what that means you fundamentally is that if we see certain European countries in Germany, for example, where we have 38,000 troops.

If we see Germans do something incredibly offensive to American values, I think Americans are going to recoil a little bit at that. You know, I went to Germany very recently, very briefly, Glenn.
Just to visit the troops and say, hello.

And I was hearing from Germans during that very brief visit on the ground, saying that they were worried about free speech policies in their own country.

Well, if we have 38,000 troops there and we're living amongst the Germans, we're literally defending their country.

I think you can expect Americans to at least express some negative opinions about some of the free speech policies they're seeing in Europe.

And, Glenn, you know this as well as anybody. Things that start in Europe. Sometimes come over to America. The same way that things that start in America, make their ways to Europe.

The kind of social media censorship that we've seen in western Europe.

It will -- it's already made its way to the United States. That's the story of the Biden administration, silencing people on social media.

So we will be very protective of American interests when it comes to things like social media regulation.

We want to promote free speech. We don't want our European friends telling social media companies that they have to silence Christians, or silence conservatives.

GLENN: Right.

J.D.: And I think there will be that friction over the next ten years. It's not that we're not friends. But there is a disagreement you didn't see ten years ago.

GLENN: Right. So they've decided they will not pursue being a leader in AI. But they will make all the rules. How confident are you, that we are in a -- a winning position here on AI?

It is advancing so rapidly. And the things that I hear that come out of China, it's either another way hipped. It's all a paper tiger. Or they're way ahead. Where are we, do you think, on AI and, you know, AGI.

J.D.: Well, I think that we're ahead, Glenn. But nobody -- nobody says that we're way ahead, should be believed. You know, in artificial intelligence, six months is a lifetime. Twelve months is a generation. We're probably 12 months, maybe two years ahead of where the Chinese are, when it comes to critical hardware, when it comes to necessary infrastructure. When it comes to the engineering talent. But that is not very far ahead at all. And we're really going to have to invest a lot in developing America's next generation of scientists. Glenn, we're going to have to make sure that our hardware companies, that we stop regulating them to death. That our energy infrastructure. That we stop regulating them to death. Because if we allow the Chinese to catch up. We may never ever have an edge on China in this space again.

And I think for a lot of people, artificial intelligence is a chat bot. It's something that maybe helps a college student write a paper.

No, no, no. The artificial intelligence that I'm worried about, Glenn, is the kind of intelligence that helps them develop next generation weapons. It helps their rockets and missiles hit their target, and 99 percent more accurate than the weapons that use artificial intelligence. They're just massive defense technology implications of this.

That it's kind of like, what would have happened, if the English Army had faulted the Americans in the Revolutionary War, and we had M-16s and they had muskets.

We don't want to be on our battlefield of the future and have -- you know, we have the muskets, and the Chinese have the M-16s. I think AI is the critical part of staying ahead of the Communist Chinese.

And it's something, look, we're very focused on. We have a great guy. It's David Sacks in the administration who is leading this effort. But it's full pedal to the metal, Glenn. We have to constantly be innovating and staying ahead of the game. We can't follow the European lead of regulating. We want America to innovate, and that's what we're doing.

GLENN: I spoke to the president a couple weeks ago. And, you know, I was going to ask him about nuclear energy. And he just volunteered. I said, what about energy with AI?

And he went to say, you know, we're talking about making them their own -- you know, their own utilities. And they can build it. We can clear, even if they want nuclear power plants. That didn't print.

I mean, I thought that was one of the bigger headlines of my lifetime. And nobody seemed to pick that up, or care about that.

And we do lose, if we don't have these power plants. Are we -- what are we doing to accelerate?

I mean, they need 99 percent of our power by 2028.

99 percent of the power that's currently being made.

We need power plants.

J.D.: Yeah. You're a smart guy, Glenn. Because I don't know what else the President said during that interview, but I doubt it's as important as that point.

GLENN: Nothing.

J.D.: This is a critical issue. And, yes, what we've done. We've had Lee Zeldin's EPA, and all of our environmental folks look at how we cut through the red tape. And make it possible. Because the market would do this. Right?

These companies would like to do this.

But it's the environmental bureaucrats that have told them, you can't really attach any power plant off-grid to a pure, you know, artificial intelligence hardware facility. We're tearing down those regulations and making it possible again.

And then, of course, Glenn, part of this is not just building these facilities, but it's powering them with the fuel that we need. And the president -- you hear this term, all of the above.

The President has really said, we're all of the above.

GLENN: Have to be.

J.D.: We're lowering the regulations on coal. We're powering the natural gas folks.

Petroleum, obviously, nuclear.

Like, this is a president who said, all power that we have, we need to put it into this prospect. And, Glenn, one important point on this. You look at a chart of electric degeneration, the People's Republic of China versus the United States.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

J.D.: Four years ago, we blew them out of the water. Right now, the PRC is producing about three times as much electricity as we are. And we flatlined in the last 20 years. That innovation. That development.

That's got to change. We've got to be producing more power for the next wave of innovation.

It's maybe the most important part of the puzzle.

GLENN: So I did a show last night on just that a reset is coming. It's inevitable that a reset is coming. We have to hurry, cut the budget. Onshore. Fix the tariff -- or, the trade deficit, or we don't really have a chance of doing anything.

And as I was looking at -- we ran three different models through AI, and they all came back with the same stuff. And we're doing those -- the president is doing those things, except for the cutting of the budget.

I mean, Congress won't even pass the DOGE cuts. When will the White House become strong on, you must cut the spending?

J.D.: Yeah. Great question, Glenn. And I will say, the big, beautiful bill text just came out last week. That's going to change a lot from now until then. We've already had conversations with, you know, House leadership that we want to see some more significant efforts to rein in spending here. You know, the President also believes, Glenn, and I think he's right about that, that if you cut the trade deficit or you raise revenue through tariffs, then you actually go a long way to making the country on the worst single fiscal pathway as well.

But you're right. You can't do it without cutting domestic spending. We're going to have to do a series about it. Think about as clear Congressional leaders as possible.

But, look, you know, knock on wood here.

But I think that once we get the final package out of the House and the Senate, we're going to have something that is serious on -- on budget cutting.

One final point on this, Glenn. No one is talking about it. When I talk to Elon. When I talk to the DOGE folks. Whereas where they think they will get the most cuts. Is in taking people. Illegal aliens. And other people who are defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security system.

But you think about two people, right? A guy who paid his Social Security for four years. Obviously, we want that guy to get his Social Security benefits.

You compare that person to an illegal alien, who engaged in Medicaid fraud. Obviously, we don't want that person to get their benefit. I think Democrats are going to fight us on this. But this is such an important point, we cannot allow people to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid system. Or it's going to bankrupt this system. It's also just fundamentally unfair. I don't want people who shouldn't even be here be on the public dole.

GLENN: Right. I know you're headed to the Vatican. You're going to be celebrating the inaugural mass of Pope Leo this weekend, along with Senator Rubio, who is also Catholic. You had one of the last conversations with the last Pope.

Why -- why does the pope matter so much to the world?

And I want to talk beyond faith and religion.

Why is he so important?

J.D.: Well, obviously, right?

He's the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics. And so there is just a lot of soft influence. Right?

He doesn't have a military. He doesn't have an army. But he does have a lot of influence to the Catholics. And I think a lot of Catholics -- I think we won a majority of Catholics in the last election. But a lot of the Catholics continue to vote Democratic. And so, you know, there is just a natural influence in -- in having the ear of 1.4 billion faithful people, including, you know, 100 million or so, in the United States.

I also think, Glenn, something I picked up on.

And you don't see a lot of headlines about this.

But the Vatican has already played a very constructive role in some of the peace conversations that we've been having all over the world.

They've been trying to facilitate negotiations between the Russians and the Ukrainians. They've been trying to facilitate other peaceful negotiations between various countries, and so they have that soft power. Right? They have the ear of the Catholics.

But then they also have the ability to use that soft power, to play a mediating role in some of these disputes. So while the pope doesn't have an F-35 standing behind him, he does have the prayers of a lot of faithful Catholics.

And that matters when you try to insert yourself in these conversations. So we welcome that engagement. As you know, the president really believes that we can have less conflict in the world, if we just have cooler heads prevail.

So we welcome that engagement, and we will continue to do so in the next few years.

GLENN: Thank you so much, Mr. Vice President, for all you do.

If you don't know why he picked Leo as his name, you in particular will be fascinated by it.

You will have to ask him. Because it's -- it's -- you'll love the reason why he did it. Have a safe trip. Thank you for everything that you've done, and Godspeed.

J.D.: Thanks, Glenn. Buh-bye.

GLENN: J.D. Vance, our vice president.

South Korea's slide into authoritarianism: A warning for the Western world

Glenn Beck speaks with Pastor Rob McCoy about the rapid collapse of South Korea into authoritarianism and what it means for the entire Western World. McCoy shares his firsthand experiences from the trip, detailing how the government is packing the Supreme Court, arresting opposition, and opening borders to foreign influence. With parallels being drawn to what could happen in America and Europe, this is a stark warning about the dangers of complacency and the erosion of freedom.

Watch Glenn Beck's recent episode of 'Glenn TV' which dives deeper into the current situation in South Korea HERE

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Rob McCoy, Turning Point's faith cochair. Good friend of Charlie Kirk, and Charlie Kirk's pastor. He just got back from South Korea. Pastor, welcome back. How are you?

ROB: I'm good, Glenn, and I think you're a likable character.

GLENN: Spend some time. Get to know me. Come on. Come on.

So let's talk about what you experienced in South Korea.

We talked, I think a week ago, or maybe a little longer. Where they're starting to -- I mean, it's bad. I talked to Pastor Son last night from Korea on the TV show, and it is really becoming dystopian and authoritarian over in -- in South Korea.

ROB: Yeah, it reminds me of the Hemingway novel, The Sun Also Rises, where he said, it happens gradually and then suddenly.

And that's what's happening in South Korea.

They've packed the Supreme Court from 14 justices. Now they're going to 30.

It's no longer rule of law. It's rule by law.

GLENN: Yes.

ROB: And they just arrested the communications commissioner. It's awful. I mean, I met with Assemblywoman Na, who was a previous judge. And she's the longest serving assemblywoman in the conservative party. And she's fearful. I mean, they're making a hit list to get all these people arrested, and we're losing an ally rapidly.

GLENN: Yeah. And if we lose that ally, we don't really have a way to protect Australia, New Zealand, Japan. I mean, that is a massive strategic area for us.

And that's not my first concern. But it is a -- it is a very large concern. My first concern is: Is what's happening over there, is happening to all of the western world.

They just are a little further ahead, than seemingly everybody else.

ROB: Exactly. The Chinese. So we took a flight after I had spoken in Pastor Son's Church in Busan. And then we flew into Seoul to meet with some folks and also do a protest in front of the courthouse for Pastor Son. But on the plane, it's interesting, they had listed all visa requirements for the Chinese.

And the Koreans are the most polite people on the planet. We get on this plane, and it's packed. And as we're getting off, they're bum-rushing to get off the plane. And they said, these are all Chinese people.

And they -- they -- if they're there, I think it's four months, they have the ability to vote.

China is invading without any shots being fired, all of South Korea.

GLENN: Yeah.

ROB: And Pastor Son is a rarity in that country in that he's standing in opposition to that.

Most of the pastors are silent. They're starting to get encouragements. They're starting to stand. We did have a good attendance in the protest in front of the courthouse. But we have a lot of work to do, to get these people away.

Like I said, we will lose an ally. More importantly, this country will fall to Communism.

GLENN: That is so crazy to think.

I mean, when we think of North Korea and what they've gone through, and how close of an ally, and how they're for freedom. And they understand North Korea. They have just -- this new regime has come in and done everything that has been tried to be done in Europe by just opening up the borders. Except, they're opening it to Communist Chinese. And it's just slipping away, so fast.

How -- how long do you think before it's done!

ROB: Well, you know. I met with some business leaders. I met with politicians.

And the greatest stopgap we have. And I don't know if the administration knows this.

I'm -- you know, Glenn, you're in the book of whose who. I'm in the book of who's he?

I'm not a political operative. I don't know a lot of political names.

I don't even think we have a South Korean ambassador, appointed right now.

GLENN: We don't.

ROB: And the greatest stopgap we have is tariffs. If the president can establish two-tiered tariffs by simply saying, "Look, religious freedom and no arresting of the opposition party, this will be your tariff. If you don't, this is what you're going to get." And just smoke them.

Because these -- these business owners want their country back.

They're willing to take a hit. Because they're watching the country evaporate before their very eyes.

And the president can do that with these tariffs. He did it for two reasons. One is to bring manufacturing back and, two, is to have political leverage. And this country needs help! They've been our greatest ally.

Real quick, I spoke to Pastor Son's church on that Sunday. And it was to the day, the 75th anniversary of the UN forces liberating soul from the grasp of the communist Chinese.

And here we are. We are giving it right back to them. Because we are sound asleep at the wheel.

GLENN: You saw the pastor for, what? Ten minutes with his son. For the first time since he's been arrested.

What was that like?

ROB: You know, the man is amazing. I go in there. I sit down. His wife is there. And she's as strong as could be. She reminds me of the Korean equivalent of Erika Kirk. You know, she has this husband. But here he is in prison. And he just said, I'm standing strong.

And I told him, Pastor Son, you're the freest man in Korea. And you're here to God.

Defiance to tyrants is obedience to God.

And he is doing that. And then I told him, I said, you know, I came here because you're my friend. More importantly, to fulfill a promise for Charlie.

And I've never seen this man cry, ever.

And you don't cry in Korea. And he broke down crying. And his son even commented to me, I've never seen my dad cry like this. This is unbelievable.

GLENN: Yeah, he told me that last night.

He said, my father broke down in tears. He said, I didn't know what to think. I've never seen him cry.

ROB: Yeah. But he even said, I'm on a mission trip. And I said, you're probably going to have to stay here until the church wakes up.

He said, as long as it takes.

He's committed to getting his country back.

And, you know, most of the folks I talked to, I said, look, you guys are going to be political dissidents if this doesn't hold out.

And they said, we're not going to leave this one. We're going to fight for it.

You know, God gave us this country, it's important to us. It's important to America. And I wish our government would wake up to this, which I hope they will.

And, you know, churches because of your help, Glenn, are waking up. A lot of pastors want to go over there, but the current president has now outlawed foreign protesting.

He's doing everything he can to just stop any opposition voice.

And I'm surprised, they got out of the country. Because I turned to the police and I said, look, Romans 13 says your minister of justice to execute wrath on those who do evil.

You don't point your gun at those who are doing good. You're here to protect the people.

You know, not enslave them.

And then I walked right through with my friend Steven Martin. Pastor Steven from Texas, and we walked through those police officers, looked them right in the eye after I said that.

Five of us were looking at us like, thank you. And the others were bowing their head in shame. They're in a lot of trouble, and we have to pray for them. But we also have to activate as a government.

GLENN: I'm going to call the President either today or tomorrow, Rob. Would you just write a note to me. And tell me exactly what you need me to hear, and I will pass that on to him.

ROB: Yes, sir. I will do exactly that, Glenn.

GLENN: Yeah. How can we help?

ROB: Well, first of all, Glenn. I just want to commend you and your entire audience. You have been the pebble in the pond, and the ripples are going out. And, you know, the definition of friend is when the whole world goes out, they come in. You're that friend. And you've created this stir.

So I would say to all your radio audience. Any connection you have in your circle of influence.
Get this out. Most of the pastors I'm talking to, they're saying, we didn't do. We just didn't know.

Well, it's catching up. And it's like wildfire. And we know those are out here in California. And you're starting a fire. And I'm grateful for it.

GLENN: It's happening so -- it's happening so fast!

I mean, when you think of South Korea, you don't think of it being a country that is about be taken by the Chinese.

You know, that's about to go communist. And it's already gone authoritarian.

I mean, the things that they have done now, they are just arresting anyone who is a conservative, they're just arresting them. And throwing them in Yale. They're dismantling everything.

As you said, I talked to Alan Dershowitz about the rise and fall of democracies. And he said, the last thing, and is this the knockout punch is they change the Supreme Court.

And they usually end up, you know, doubling the size of it, or whatever. He said, when they do that, you no longer have the rule of law.

And as you started with, they've just done that.

I mean, and it's -- it's so bad, for the west!

It's so bad.

ROB: Yeah, just to give Americans an idea, especially conservative Americans, we went through the Biden administration. Imagine Kamala winning and getting the -- the House and the Senate, by filibuster. Proof majority.

Packing the Supreme Court.

That's where we are today.

They would be suppressing religious freedom. They're silencing opposition voice. They would have put President Trump in jail for 700 years. They would have imprisoned his family. Anyone who stood with him, they would be imprisoned. Just what we went through. Just imagine it exponential, and that's where Korea is right now.

GLENN: Your sign of hope from over there?

Let me ask you this: The people who did the -- and I don't even want to mention names. But I had one of the young ladies in my office. And she said, you know, we were part of this, Charlie. We brought Charlie over yada, yada, yada.

And I -- you know, I -- I said to her, you're going home, and you might be arrested. And she said, oh, yeah.

I know, but I have to go home. How are they feeling?

How is that movement?

ROB: Because of that young lady's work and these young people. There were certain times where I would be in a large mall in Seoul or I would be in Busan. People would come up with autographs because they have seen either the church service or they had seen YouTube videos produced by a number of, you know, outlying non-traditional media that we had done there.

And they were coming up for autographs. They wanted a picture. And it's young people. They want their country back. And they're looking. They started a movement there. And pastors are waking up as well.

So my -- my hope is that there is -- there is 20 percent of that nation that is committed to doing anything necessary to stand in opposition to this, even be put in jail. And we've got to come and help them.

And I told them. I said, look, you know, Churchill was completely surrounded.

All of Europe had fallen. And he held on in Great Britain until America had interpreted war. Hang on. Hang on. I'm going to go back and do my best.

Is THIS Trump's REAL plan for the government shutdown?

The government shutdown is here! But is this really just about a dispute over illegal immigration and healthcare? Or do President Trump and his OMB Director Russ Vought have additional plans? Glenn and Stu explain how the shutdown could lead to much-needed government layoffs and spending cuts.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Well, the government is shut down. Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.

I'm really -- I had somebody call me at home last night. Somebody called for the family and said, "Is it safe to fly tomorrow?" And I'm like, "What -- why? What are you hearing?"

"The government is shutting down. Planes going to fall out of the sky?"

No, they're not going to fall out of the sky. Well, let just say that. I -- today, I'm not sure I would -- I would try to be some place that's not under the sky.

Let's just say that to be safe, be some place, not under the sky. Because the planes are going to be falling.

And when you say the planes will fall out of the sky, I mean more than Boeing planes are going to be falling out of the sky today. Because it will be chaos. Complete chaos.

The government is just -- and, by the way, you'll probably -- you should start taking Mandarin, because the Chinese are going to invade. Because the army is on furlough now. Because of these damn Republicans. Oh, wait.

No, hang on just a second. It's the Democrats. The Democrats are being so unbelievably irresponsible. You know what they always say, when the Republicans do this? They're so irresponsible. You're like, wait a minute. No.

This time, they're being very, very irresponsible. The Democrats are. Because the Republicans just would not allow health care to be extended to all illegal aliens.

I heard -- I actually heard somebody on CNN yesterday, this is -- saying, all people have a right to health care!

No. I mean, you mean American citizens?

No. All people. So illegals?

All people of earth, should be able to have universal health care.

Oh! Okay. Well, why don't we just start writing that check for the Chinese too.

You know, the -- the poor Greeks, man. They really have -- Cuba, they're having a hard time with their health care system.

There are a lot of places collapsing. We should just write the check for everybody on earth, for their health care.

How's that even make sense?

Now, the Democrats are in a really precarious situation because they had to acquiesce to the extreme left. Because their base wants to fight.
And I think literally fight.

But at least at this particular case, it means, you can't -- you have to -- you have to walk out on a deal. You cannot accept it. Unless you have universal health care.

And so they said, no.

Republicans, what a surprise.

No. Not going to do it. Actually, it's kind of a surprise. Wouldn't you say that Stu. It's kind of a surprise. That they're not saying yes to even more spending.

STU: Yes. And we can't rule it out quite yet. The fact that they didn't immediately before the shutdown, agree to whatever they wanted to spend was nice.

GLENN: Correct. Correct.

So if I may make a prediction. See where I am on this.

My prediction on how this will work. We will shut down, because the Republicans didn't want to spend more money. And the Democrats wanted to spend a trillion dollars more.

And so what will happen is, we'll shut down. But we'll spend more money.

And we'll end up paying for it.

And then they'll just sign another continuing resolution. And nothing will really be done.

That will be --

STU: That's a little pessimistic there, Glenn.

GLENN: Well, it only comes -- it only comes from 60 years of watching our government.

STU: Yes, although I do think things are a little different right now.

GLENN: Yeah, I do.

STU: I think Republicans are in a place where they have more cards than the Democrats do. There's a good chance the Democrats wind up getting blamed by this. By the American people. Not the media. But by the American people. They don't like shutdowns. Although, I'm not honestly that much broken up about them.

GLENN: Oh, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled.

STU: Then you have the other part of this. Then you have the Russell Vought. You know, Donald Trump.

GLENN: Do you think that's real? By the way, is that how you say his name? Because I always thought it was Russ Vought.

STU: I hear it both ways.

So I don't know. I will just go back and forth to confuse people. But, yeah. That's -- the -- in case you don't know what we're talking about here. There's a -- Russ. He put together this plan. Over the four years while they were out of power. To try to maximize opportunities like this.

There's this long profile, just written in the New York Times about how scary and terrifying he is. For those reasons.

GLENN: Because he's smart and prepared.

STU: When you hear Trump talk about, hey, we will fire these people, and not bring them back.

GLENN: That's Trump's plan.

STU: It's Trump's idea with Russ' execution behind it.

That's the thought here.

Maybe you should get some long-term gains out of this.

One of my other favorite nuggets on this, Glenn.

The health care credits that they're looking for.

That the Democrats say they want.

They're like, we have to have these. We can't have a seven-week, which was the proposal by Republicans. Seven weeks, just continuing the spending and figuring things out.

So currently, those tax credits are in effect. They are available right now. Republicans want to end them.

The interesting part is, they don't run out in the seven-week period that Republicans are proposing to increase -- to continue the spending. So they wouldn't go away, if everybody is just signed on to the Republican plan.

Which, by the way, I mean, neither one of us particularly like. Just increasing -- spending at these ridiculous levels for another seven weeks. But these credits that they're so worried about, like they're going to kill all these people. And the health care is going to go away.

Don't go away during that time period. They go away after that. And they're saying. Well, people are going to get notified that they're going away in that period. And therefore, we have to shut county the government. So that people wouldn't get notifications, that they might be going away. We have to stop it before that.

That's their big plan.

GLENN: You would think that the Democrats would want people to be notified, that they're going away. Because it would help their case.

STU: Right. There's an argument to be made. Maybe they do.

I think a lot of that is, they're making things up as they go along.

GLENN: That doesn't sound like the Democratic Party.

STU: Like, Chuck Schumer last time. When he was threatened with evil Russ and his evil plans. Said, okay. We're going to fold. And we will just keep the government going, at the current levels.

And this time, he is saying, the exact opposite.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Because last time, his idea was, well, they're going to fire all these people.

This time, they're saying, well, they're firing all these people anyway.

They just change -- move the goal post. Change the arguments. And act as if this all makes sense.

GLENN: So here's what I would like to see Donald Trump do.

Because I read this morning. And I don't know what rag it was. Donald Trump. He's bluffing. He's bluffing.

No. I don't think he is. I hope he's not. Listen to Donald Trump yesterday on this cut one.

VOICE: If DOGE is already reducing the federal workforce, why is it necessary to link more federal judges cut to a shutdown?

VOICE: Well, the Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs, so we would be laying off a lot of people that will be very affected. And the Democrats, they will be Democrats.

As you know, this country, no country can afford to pay for illegal immigration, health care for everybody. That comes into the country. And that's what they're insisting. And obviously, I have an obligation to not accept that.

That would affect everybody. You know, when I see what we're doing with AI. And all the plants that are opening up in the country.

$17 trillion are coming in.

If you compare that to Biden.

Biden had, in four years, less than a trillion. We have 17 trillion more than that. I think it will be much more than that, David. By the end of this year.

I think it will be -- it's a record. It's already a record. In 18 months. It's a record by a lot. So we're doing well as a country. So the last thing we want to do is shut it down.

But a lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we don't want, and they would be Democrat things.

But they want open borders. They want men playing in women's sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stop. They don't learn. We won an election in a landscape. They just don't learn.

So we have no choice. I have to do it for them, for the country.

GLENN: So I -- I'm hearing him say here, over and over again. Is, yeah. We're just going to shut these things down. We don't want them.

And it's a permanent thing. You're going to have to go through reauthorization to get these non-essential programs back. And, you know, if they're not mandated, he's saying, Russ is planning to just cut them all. If it's not mandatory spending, cut it. I think that is absolutely fantastic.

I mean, I don't know why we haven't done that before. Now, it's going to go into the court system, et cetera, et cetera.

But that's one I'm willing to die on. That's a hill I want to take.

STU: And, of course, you're right. Every single one of those jobs have a lawsuit attached to it. And they will get some of them reversed. No question about that.

GLENN: Right. We should fire twice of the amount of people.
STU: Right. If they will reverse half of them, just fire twice as many.

Yeah. And I think that partially one of the reasons -- the question from the reporter was, hey. You're doing this with DOGE already. How come?

Well, part of it, was a lot of the DOGE stuff got blocked. A lot of the DOGE stuff got blocked by courts, and it's a real problem. This is a way they think they have a little more legal clearance on it.

Glenn, can I give you one trip down memory lane here though? Fun trip down memory lane. Let's go back to 2009, if we could.

Barack Obama. He's doing the State of the Union address.

GLENN: Oh, my God.

STU: And in the middle of this great man's address, as he's talking about the wonders of Obamacare. An evil Republican legislator screams out, "You lie!" From the audience.

It's a massive controversy. A terrible.

GLENN: Because you don't do that. You don't call the president of the United States a liar.

STU: Decorum, sir.

GLENN: Decorum. Decorum. You can call him a Nazi. But you don't call him a liar!

Okay.

STU: So he says, you lie. Why does he say you lie?

He says, because Barack Obama is up there on the stage. And Barack Obama says, with Obama care, we're not going to be giving any health care to illegal immigrants.

GLENN: You lie.

STU: You lie. That's the controversy.

Everyone says, of course, every media report is, of course, this isn't Obamacare.

How would he even claim such a thing?

And then the next president -- the next presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, puts it in the middle of her website! Running for office.

That's 2016.

It's part of her platform, that illegal immigrants will get care under Obamacare.

Part of her platform.

They go from you lie. To part of the platform, in just one presidential election. And then, we should note, now, that it's so shocking, that illegal immigrants wouldn't get health care, out of Obamacare.

We need to shut the government down, over it!

STU: That is how your country works, in three easy steps.

GLENN: Yep.

That is -- that is by definition, progressivism.

STU: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

GLENN: You -- you move in the direction. But you say, no. It will never be that. Then the next president. The next opportunity, you move a little further.

And then the next president, the next opportunity, you're like, of course, that's what it is.

I mean, it's just right there.

STU: And then you say, how dare you, hurt these poor people by taking away that plan we say didn't exist. Oh, it's so frustrating.

GLENN: Right. And nobody knows. Because people are so stupid. They don't remember, you lie. They -- they have been ratcheted up into their hatred for the other side. And they always lie. They always lie. They always lie.

Like, when he stood up and called President Obama a liar. No. They weren't lying. They were telling the truth, because they understand how progressivism works.

But you refuse to see, you know. This is my favorite question to ask people. Is how did you get there?

How did you get there?

What do you mean?

How did you get to where illegal aliens should. Because you were against that ten years ago. In fact, you said, that's a lie. That will never happen.

Okay. So take me. That's a lie. That will never happen. Which you were passionate about.

Because you understood, we couldn't afford that. Tell me the logic, that had been introduced to you, over the last ten years. That made you move from that's a lie, that will never happen. How un-American of you to even say we would think that way. To, how dare you, even try we shouldn't be paying for that health care! Help me with the logic.

Because I want to understand.

My guess is: You've just been riding a wave of feelings and propaganda. So please, tell me, how did you get from that place, ten years ago, to this place, today?

Because there is no new information. There's none. In fact, the new information shows, it's even more insane to do it today, than it was ten years ago.

President Trump takes action in Memphis, Antifa reigns in Portland

President Trump has begun his crackdown on crime in Memphis, Tennessee. Meanwhile, Portland streets are still being controlled by Antifa. Glenn and Stu discuss this drastic difference and ask: which environment would you rather live in?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Did you hear Stephen Miller yesterday, talking about what we're doing now in Memphis by order of the governor. The governor has asked for help, national help. So the National Guard is on its way in to Memphis to put an end to the madness in Memphis. And here's Stephen Miller on this yesterday.

VOICE: We will liberate this city from the criminal element that has plagued it for generations. This is not just a strategy shift. This is an attitude shift. We are not going to live in an environment anywhere, where there is a street that belongs to a criminal, where there is a neighborhood that belongs to a gag, where there is any physical space, anywhere, that belongs to anyone, other than other than the law-abiding citizens and the families of Memphis. The idea that there is a square inch of block in this city, where a citizen doesn't feel safe is unacceptable! This is Memphis.

This is the United States of America. And all that work is done. It's over.

It's finished!

GLENN: That is -- wow.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Antifa has their 100 nights of rule. They have now ruled the streets for 100 nights.

And police aren't doing anything at all.

I mean, Stu, what are we headed for?

STU: Ooh. It's amazing. First of all, the Stephen Miller thing, some people might look at that and say, it's a bit utopian.

Right? How are you going to -- it's nirvana, you will stop all crime?

No, but that should be the aspiration.
Should it not at least be the goal? One that you admit to and acknowledge?

GLENN: Is it aspirational or reasonable to say, there's no street in America that should belong to the mob or to, you know, gangs or whatever?

There's no street! You might say, there's going to be crime!

But there is no street that should be off-limits and run by anybody else, other than the elected representatives of the people.

STU: First of all, both of us lived near New Haven, Connecticut. Some streets are run by the mob, and they're run very well if the mob existed.

GLENN: Well, I'm not saying the mob exists. If it does exist, I, of course, love the mob.

STU: Huge fans of it. Great pizza places. But, yeah. Agreed.

That should -- it should not be overtaking a community. I went on a vacation this summer, and I was in an area in Florida. And I just remembered walking around and thinking, it doesn't seem like anything could possibly go wrong in this place.

You know, there are places like that in America.

Turning major cities into those areas, is not probably fully plausible.

However, that should be our goal. Our goal should be that people don't walk around terrified, don't walk around scared.

You should be able to at the very least, Glenn, with approaches that we all know and understand, be able to reduce crime massively in these cities.

It's all carrying. It's only carrying in resources to make that happen. We all know that we can stop crime, largely, if we put enough resources at it and actually care. Throw enough resources at it and actually care. And that's what it seems to be that Stephen Miller and Trump are talking about here.

GLENN: You know, I think -- I think that's generally true.

But I think what has really been lost is not caring.

As much as common sense!

I mean, you can't -- you can care all you want.

But if you're not putting, into it.

If you're not saying, oh, by the way. How do we stop crime.

I don't know. We punish the criminals.

That's how you stop crime.

STU: That's a better way of phrasing it, than throwing resources at it. Because throwing resources could be some liberal program, hugging each criminal. That's not what I'm talking about.

GLENN: Because that's what they say.

They say, they're the ones that care so much. And we will take care of these poor criminals.
And how dare you judge them.

We will make it happy and healthy with hugs. No.

Common sense is required.

STU: Right. You look at DC. You put a bunch of, in that case, troops and National Guard and such like that.

GLENN: This case too.

STU: Right. And that one though, they are specifically in Portland talking about -- and in Memphis, it's being welcomed, as we've talked about by the governor. In Portland, they're talking about protecting federal buildings, which is under their scope.

But it is a -- it's a situation where any city could do this themselves. You don't need a federal response to hire a bunch of law enforcement officers to enforce the law. You don't need that. You should be able to do it yourself.

That's what I'm talking about when I say people carry.

Right? It's about -- like, these cities do the Skid Row thing. Right? They just kind of like, oh, well, cordon off that area.

Like Chicago. I've been to Chicago several times over the past few years when it's been a big topic of conversation.

And each time I've been there, honestly I haven't felt unsafe at all in Chicago. That's largely because I'm not going to any of the areas where all these murders are happening.

You know, I'm sure some of the crime obviously happens in the more tourist areas. Generally speaking, walking around the areas of Chicago, where you would go, if you were just visiting to, you know, check out a baseball game. Or see a concert. Or whatever you may be doing.

Most of that stuff seems completely fine in the city. Because they've cordoned off all the areas of violence. To the places they don't care about.

And all the people on the left will say. What do you mean. We don't care. We're the only ones that care about those areas. Do you?

You don't show it very well.

If you actually do care about those people in lower income areas, where all the crime is. I don't know. Do something about it.

Stop trying to blame Donald Trump who lives thousands of miles away.

GLENN: Would you listen to a parent that said, I care about my children.

I care deeply about my children. But then was hugging it out with everyone who is hurting your children, making your children unsafe. Maybe killed one of your children. Maybe raped one of your children.

No!

You would never -- you would never assign, oh, that parent really loves his children.

He's enabling all of the abusers. No.

You would say, you're part of the abuse.

You're part of the problem, and those children would be taken from you.

STU: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
GLENN: You know, so you can't tell me you love your city. We're just doing this through love. No. No. You don't.

You know, you can claim that. But your actions do not match the fruit of the word love.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: They don't.

STU: You know, in Portland, they're talking about -- Dave Marcus was out there. He works for Fox news. He was out there, actually looking.

He said, I can't believe this is actually happening. He went to check it out, to see what was actually happening out there.

He was saying, it's clear, the police have been told, that they can't do anything.

GLENN: Oh, in Portland?

STU: In Portland. They're told, they're not allowed to take on the Antifa members who are taking over the community every night for 100 nights.

Like, that is -- that is a centralized decision somewhere. Where a decision is being made. That they don't care about these people.

They don't care about their community. They don't care.

They rather let Antifa run wild. And it's like, if that's your decision. First of all, you should pay for it politically. But secondly, you're making -- you are endangering every member of your community with the decision like that.

And that's the type of stuff that common sense and just caring can solve.

GLENN: You know, I'm just looking for that story from Fox news. I think it's the same one you were talking about.

I read it this morning. And it's terrifying.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: He's there on the streets and he's watching what's happening. People -- normal people getting surrounded. One guy drives up in a truck. And they surround his truck.

And, you know, screaming all kinds of things at him.

And he talks to the guy in the truck. And says, why are you even here?

And he said, I can't take it anymore.

We just can't give up our city.

Another woman, she had her car surrounded.

And, you know, they were ready to I can't think her out of the car. And she's just a woman, driving down the street.

And they just -- just -- they're ready to beat her! Arrive and he helps her get into her car, and she goes away.

And when he walks back, the police are there, and they question him. And they say, what just happened. What did you just do?

And he's like, are you kidding me? I did what you guys should have done. I went over there and helped that woman get back into the car.

They were like, good, thank you. What do you mean good, thank you?

Why aren't you doing it? One woman is filling out a form for police. They're not doing it.

But they escorted her out of the scene. Made her go a mile and a half away. So she wouldn't cause any trouble with Antifa.

That's unreasonable.

Now, the governor of -- of Portland doesn't want to do anything about it. Okay.

STU: Mayor.

GLENN: The mayor. And the.

Neither of them are interested in having Donald Trump go in.

But just so you know. Federal buildings are something else.

You know, you're coming after a federal courthouse. You're coming after ICE. You're coming after the FBI. The United States has a right to defend that land.

And it will. And it should.

But, I mean, we are just -- I think today, if you listen to, you know, at least the -- two of the hours today.

Last hour and this hour of today's posts. You'll get an understanding of where we are.

In today's world.

It is -- it's accelerating rapidly.

And if these things continue, at this pace, by 2028, America will be pretty much alone in the world. And the rest of the world will be begging us to help them with their freedom.

Because it is slipping away, quickly. Quickly. Pray for your nation.

Digital ID & Religious Persecution: New Globalist Plans to ENSLAVE You | Glenn TV | Ep 459

We’re at a crossroads — freedom or total control. We see it in the U.K., where people are thrown in jail for waving their flag or sharing a meme. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s push for digital IDs is just the latest piece of a control-freak puzzle that’s been coming together for years, with nudges from the U.N. and World Economic Forum. Award-winning journalist Alex Newman tells Glenn Beck that the survival of freedom depends on stopping this agenda before it's too late. But it’s not just the Brits who are slaves to global elites — Glenn Beck points out how governments worldwide are racing toward totalitarianism. He shares a jaw-dropping story from South Korea, where Reverend Son of Segero Church in Busan was arrested for calling out policies he saw as anti-biblical. His son Chance tells Glenn that just days before he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk promised to make Rev. Son’s stance against the South Korean regime an international human rights issue. Chance calls on Americans to pick up Charlie’s torch and remind the world what liberty looks like.