RADIOJanuary 07, 2025

Is This the Real Reason Facebook Got a "Conservative" Makeover?

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a surprising 180-degree turnaround for Facebook and Instagram. The companies will no longer use third-party fact-checkers to censor users. Instead, they will switch to a community notes system, much like Elon Musk’s X uses. Zuckerberg also lamented the political bias of elitist fact checkers and added Trump supporter Dana White to Meta’s Board of Directors. But can we trust this “conservative” Big Tech makeover? Glenn explains what he believes is REALLY driving Zuckerberg to seemingly embrace free speech once again.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to talk to you, did you see what just happened with Facebook, Stu? And Mark Zuckerberg?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Uh-huh. Fascinating.

GLENN: Uh-huh. Yeah. It is.

And I'm wondering what is happening here.

You know, beyond the -- beyond the headline.

Here it is, just so you know.

Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday morning, that content moderation. And other restrictions on speech will be lifted across Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, as Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Huh. Now, wait. Hold on just a second.

What?

So you know, all traffic decline has been as high as 85 to 90 percent across all Blaze media pages. So when I've said. I mean, we've had -- and, Stu, you can -- you probably know the numbers better than I do.

We're having more success and a bigger platform, bigger voice, than any time in my career.

In the last three years.

The show and everything is just on fire!

And yet, our traffic on social media, has declined by 85 to 90 percent?

It's just not possible! Okay? There's no way, other than, we've been severely contained, if you will.

And, you know, I would like to ask Mark Zuckerberg, where do I go to get my audience back?

Where do I -- you know, you've kind of -- people have kind of fallen out of the habit. If you get all of your news from Facebook, God forbid.

Or Instagram.

We've been so suppressed, all of a sudden, are we going to pop back up?

It would be interesting to see. By the way, this is why your direct support to Blaze TV, means so much.

We wouldn't have been able to survive everything, if we hadn't had built TheBlaze. And built it the way we did. So thank you for your subscription. If you haven't subscribed, please do today.

So he's ending all of the -- the content moderation.

Now, what he did before, was to go to places, that, you know, they're absolute experts.

You know, like the Southern Poverty Law Center. They know what's going on. Poynter Institute they know what's true.

And they've decided, that they are going to go back to their roots, I'm quoting.

And focus on reducing mistakes.

Simplifying our policies. And restoring free expression on our platforms. More specifically, we're going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes, similar to X!

Now, hmm.

Hang on just a second.

Wasn't X the most dangerous platform in the world?

Weren't those community notes just not enough?

The company's third party fact-checking program was put into place, following Trump's first election to manage content and misinformation on its platforms, which executives conceded was a result of political pressure.

But now they say, they've just gone too far.

We went to independent, third party fact-checkers says the global chief of affairs officer at Meta. It's become clear, there's too much political bias in what they choose to fact-check.

Because basically, they get to fact-check whatever they see on the platform.

STU: No!

It can't be true!

No!

Too much bias for the fact-checkers.

But they're just checking facts, Glenn.

GLENN: Yes. I know. I know.

Isn't that weird?

Now, listen to this.

I mean, today, I think today's show is kind of -- kind of based on, no!

Really? You know. The things that are happening now. Wait until next hour.

I'm going to tell you a story, that is -- is just jaw, dropping in how the world works, between you and the elites.

Here's a case, in this hour. We're talking about Facebook.

How does it work between you and the elites?

Well, they didn't listen to you. They wanted to shut you up.

They went to the elites, who were on the winning side last time. And said, okay.

What do we need to do?

What do we need to do, to make sure that, you know, we're on your side? And we can get all that government money.

And nobody will hassle us.

What do we need to do?

So they did it. And they went to the elite's selection of fact-checkers.

Now that the world has changed, at least here in America.

Now, they're still not listening to you.

This isn't because you said something. This is because Donald Trump has changed America.

And now they see the writing on the walls. And so, again, it's not you.

It's power! And it's disgusting. The company is ending their fact-checkers, completely.

And it will instead, rely on the platform users to false flag -- or, yeah. Flag false or misleading content.

Instead of going to some so-called. This is Facebook saying this.

Instead of going to some so-called expert, it will rely on the community.

And the people on the platform, to provide their own commentary.

To -- to something that they've read.

This is what freedom of speech is!

There's no -- there's no expert that sits around in your -- you know -- in your -- in your town, that checks everything somebody says. And then says, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

That's untrue.

And they have a political bias?

It just doesn't happen in real life. But, again, let's remember that social media, is not real life.

But at least it's starting -- maybe, it will start reflecting it a little bit more. Where you have the freedom to say, what you think.

STU: But -- for one quick second.

Because Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have like a rivalry.

Remember, they were going to have a fight? Like, a cage match, a year or two ago. There's a rivalry here.

For him to come out, and say this, he said this on video, Zuckerberg.

Saying, that they would go to -- not just go to community notes. Not just get rid of their fact-checkers. But go to their community notes. As he said, similar to the way X does it.

He actually admitted that basically, we tried something. They tried something. Theirs is better. We're going with theirs.

It's like a tech bro, you know, federalism.

That's -- that's a good thing. And I think a tough admission for a guy like Mark Zuckerberg.

I mean, I -- I am with you, in that, I think they've run this so poorly.

And they have taken companies and content companies. And given them this impression.

That they could advertise to people. Gain followers, and then get their content distributed. And then pull the rug out from underneath them, years ago. And destroyed to any and dozens of websites.

And companies, because of it.

That being said, this does kind of seem like a good change. I don't know if it's just, Glenn, them kissing Trump's butt.

And realizing, if Trump comes in, he's going to be a different kind of president. And in a different environment. And they better change, or they will get hammered.

Or if it's a real change. But either way, I think it's a positive one.

GLENN: Well, you know me. I always look for the best in people. Honestly.

STU: You do.

GLENN: I am kind of a poor judge of character, because of that. Because I -- I see people for who I think they could be. Maybe. At times.

And I kind of look at it like, I think that's who they really are going to be. And they usually disappoint. Because people don't become the people they could be, most times. Instead, they settle for what they allow, or what they've allowed themselves to become. Because they don't have a true center of truth. They don't know who they are. And how they relate to all of eternal truths.

And so they get lost really easily. But when I sat with Zuckerberg, this is more in line with the Zuckerberg that I sat with.

However, you know, I -- can I was -- I think I was -- what did we decide, Stu?

Greatly conned with Zuckerberg.

STU: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, we went back and forth on it, I think.

GLENN: Yeah. We did.

STU: Because I do think there's a part of him, that would like to be clear of all of this.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: I think he has other, you know, large goals in his -- in his life, other than navigate every political thing that pops up.

GLENN: So I am so glad, you said that.

What are his big goals?

What does he really want to do? Do you know?

STU: I --

GLENN: What is he focusing on?

STU: Hmm. I mean, I -- he has gone through several faces, right.

The company started going towards the metaverse. That changed the company to meta.

A couple years ago.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: That -- that was --

GLENN: That tells you everything you need to know.

Tells you everything to know.

Meta is all about virtual reality, correct.

So virtual reality.

Guess who has invested billions of dollars in VR?

The United States Army, Navy, and Air Force.

All going to virtual reality.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Okay?

Meta has lost about $50 billion in its Reality Labs division and the Meta verse. So what -- so what? What's happening here?

I think what this is, partially. I mean, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. To some free.

But I think partially, what this is about, is making sure that the government contracts don't stop with Meta.

Make sure, that they are able to get some of that money, from the United States, in the use of VR. Because that's where he really -- where his heart is.

That's what he really wants to do.

Now, they lost $50 billion in their reality labs. However, if you look at Facebook's revenue, they're subsidizing all of this stuff.

Facebook, the revenue was expected to go up to $100 billion in 2024.

Facebook's advertising revenue is now expected to grow over $127 billion by 2027. So that's the cash cow. But where his heart is, is VR.

And AR. He wants to make sure that he gets -- he's not off the government teat. Otherwise, his -- his real passion is gone.

I think that's what's happening.

Speculation, but I think that's what's happening.

STU: It's got to be part of it, right? It's got to be part of it.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

STU: I wonder and hope that it is more than that.

Because I had the same reaction to Elon Musk, when he started having this transition of real skepticism. I didn't buy it.

The guy has been the biggest climate activist in America. Why would we believe all of a sudden, he's coming around to these sorts of ideas?

It does seem now, that that's pretty legitimate from Elon Musk. Could it be legitimate from Zuckerberg?

Remember, he's done some of this stuff before the election.

He did signal this stuff.

He did testimony.

He outed some of the government intrusions, before the election happened. He called Trump a badass after the assassination attempt.

GLENN: Correct.

He said, that was his turning point. Was the assassination attempt.

He said, that's when he realized, oh, this guy is really a badass. This guy is actually -- you know, what he says he is. To some degree, at least. According to Mark Zuckerberg.

But there's something else that Mark Zuckerberg has done to Facebook, that is very important and interesting.

So guess who else is joining Meta now?

In another announcement, they've decided, that Meta is going to have three new members on its board of directors, one of which is Dana White. What do you think of that one, Stu?

STU: I mean, it's fascinating. It's a huge Trump ally.

Big Trump supporter. Spoke at the convention. On Trump's behalf.

Now, you know, Zuckerberg is into the sort of UFC stuff.

Right? That's part of his world.

But, I mean, it's -- think of the change. Think of the people being kicked off Facebook. Think of where we were, not that long ago. With Facebook.

GLENN: Four years ago. We were just -- we knew we were walking into a bloodbath. We're walking into a buzz saw.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And now look at what we're walking into.

STU: Glenn, I was thinking back into the book, the history of the future. By Blake Harris.

We had him on a bunch of times. It was a story of Palmer Lucky. The guy who invented the Oculus Rift and became Meta Quest. He developed that device in his trailer.

And he eventually got bought out by Zuckerberg, for, you know, a billion dollars. Eventually was fired because he gave $10,000 to a group that was putting up an anti-Hillary Clinton billboard.

GLENN: Right. That's right.

STU: They -- they tried to destroy this guy, completely.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Now, in the interim, built a 14 billion-dollar other separate company.

GLENN: Yeah. So he's --
(laughter)

STU: He -- you know, Palmer Lucky.

GLENN: I wonder if we can even get him on the phone now.

Because we had him on the show when he was destroyed.

STU: Yeah. We had the offer --

GLENN: Oh, you're right. Yeah, that's right.

STU: But the story was like, painted a picture of Zuckerberg, of like this guy. You know, it struck me like he was some Huffington Post blogger, running Facebook and Instagram.

This person, who we have seen here in the last 24 hours and over the past few months, seems like a totally different guy.

Whether that's just self-preservation or it's real, it's better.

GLENN: Self-preservation. I think.

For a Night, We Were Human | The Christmas Truce Music Video

In the frozen trenches of World War I along the Lys River in 1914, amidst the relentless thunder of artillery, a miraculous unofficial truce unfolded on Christmas Day. British and German soldiers, weary enemies, emerged from the mud and wire to share gifts, songs, and stories of home together in the ruins. Produced by Glenn Beck in collaboration with AI, this poignant music video and original song recapture the true story of the Christmas Truce, reminding us that even in the darkest times, a single brave act or small light can awaken our shared humanity, allowing soldiers to lay down their weapons and remember they are human... just for a night.

Stay tuned at GlennBeck.com for more musical storytelling inspired by Glenn’s artifacts next year on Torch.

The HIDDEN history behind Trump’s controversial Rob Reiner comments

President Trump recently received heat from his own party over his comments about the allegedly murdered actor Rob Reiner. Glenn Beck explains why he believes Trump’s comments were not a good move, but also tells of a meeting he had with Trump that he believes explains why Trump hates TDS so much…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You know, I don't -- I don't -- I don't want to get into -- into the mix with everybody and personalities. I like -- my goal is to make things about right and wrong, and not about personalities.

But I do want to spend just a second on President Trump's post yesterday about Rob Reiner. It made me sad. It made me really sad. Because I like the president.

And -- and he doesn't help himself when he does things like this. But I think I understand this in a different way.

You know, the President has said, you know, all kinds of things about me at times when I disagree with him. He'll say, "Oh, he's just a failing fat blob," or whatever. And that's just him. That's just the way -- when he's in a fight, he is a -- he's a knife fighter. And I get it. I don't like it. But I get it. This was different. This was different.
And this was -- you know, you can say a lot of stuff politically about Rob Reiner. But politics didn't matter yesterday. We weren't -- I mean, that's not -- it just didn't matter. It didn't matter.

But I think to the President, it does. I saw a change in the President -- I've seen two changes in the President. I've seen a change in him when they started going after him and his family. After 2020. And they really started going after his family. And we know this because we showed you the documents. What they -- they had a plan. Take him down.

Take his family down to stop MAGA at all costs. Put them in jail. I mean, those are their words.

And it's -- it was frightening to read.

And I talked to the president, I don't know. Maybe six months after, you know, we were in 2021. Maybe six months. Eight months.

And I said, how are you holding up?

And he had talked a little about how he felt. He had really let people down because he had things going in the right direction. And now, look at it, and look how screwed up things are going to get. And how the economy is going to be damn near impossible to fix. It will take us time. But we can't fix it. Pragmatism, but they've just destroyed it. And I said, how are you personally.

How are you holding up?

And this is the first change I saw. He -- his body changed. And he said, they're going after my damn children!

And it was this Dad. All of a sudden, he wasn't the president or former president, he wasn't Donald Trump. He was a Dad. And it was every Dad response in him. And he said, "You don't go after our children."

And I saw him really, truly mad for the very first time, and it was righteous indignation.

Then after he was shot, I saw another change. I saw him recognize that God existed. I mean, I know he believed that in God. I don't know that he believed that God was actually part of, you know, the story. The everyday story. You know, I don't know how he views God in that way.

But I know that he recognized that God was in his -- in the story of America now.

Firsthand, he witnessed it. The reason why I said this made me sad yesterday, is because -- I don't agree with what he said. I feel -- it was -- it was sad.

Because he is -- he has been kicked in the head over and over and over again by some of these people, that he -- Christmas is about the baby Jesus coming again.

And what he can do in your life. And the biggest thing that he taught was, love your enemies. Don't hate them. But that's really, really hard to do. And the President isn't there yet. On this. And it -- it made me sad. How did you feel about it, Stu?

STU: I didn't like it at all. I think maybe the same as you. You know, one of the things that bothered me about it.

Because you hit many of the points that I had on it without the personal insight that is illustrative of -- of -- of what he's going through. I think there is something to understand there. You know, obviously I --

GLENN: Big time.

STU: One of the things that is difficult about life in your attempt to master it is to try to act the right way, even when you're faced with circumstances like that. And, you know, I get it. I get why he's angry and doesn't like the guy. The man -- you used a phrase, I think in there, where you said, he's a knife fighter. This guy was actually just in a legitimate knife fight and was murdered. It was a -- it was -- this actually really happened.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

STU: And, look, my honest opinion is, it's indefensible. You know, I like President Trump. I think he does a lot of great things for the country. We've defended him on a lot of different things. A lot of times when he's being attacked, I think he deserves defense. In this case, you know, it is -- you know, it is what it is.

It is priced in to everyone's understanding of who Donald Trump is. And everything I heard about him in personal situations where he cares about the person. Is that he's very generous. He's very likable.

He's very -- he's one of those people that you like being around. You know, that is something that I've heard from tons of people. This part of him is really hard for me to square with what I've heard from -- from other -- from everybody that I've talked to, and has been on the inside with him.

And so I don't -- I don't have a defense for it. I think it's really bad. And I will say one more thing on this real quickly, Glenn.

I know a part of this that I think is difficult. In that, one of the things I took from the aftermath of that immediately was -- I don't know if pride is the right word. But like, I really liked the way conservatives responded to it.

We didn't do what they did, after Charlie Kirk.

We didn't do what they did after they shot the president. Right?

Like we -- they celebrated it. They -- they were horrible human beings, and I enjoyed the high ground, that we had there.

GLENN: Yeah. Me too.

STU: And it's difficult to make the argument that we have the high ground. When, you know, the President of the Republican Party. The Republican President of the United States, the most high profile person on, quote, unquote, our side, whatever that means these days, is a guy who, you know, kind of did some of the things that they did.

You know, so I don't -- I don't like that. I understand as part of Donald Trump. And I think if we're all adults here, we're able to kind of price that in and judge him on everything that he's doing. And when I mean pricing in. I think that's a negative part of him. Overall, you have to take everything into context.

GLENN: Right. And if we're all adults here, you know, we should be able to say, to those we love and respect, bad move. I didn't like that. Don't do that.

And I think, you know, I think because the left always says, well, you never take on your own.

Yes, we do. We take on our own, all the time. All the time. And I think it's important that we say, didn't like that. Thought that was a bad move. It didn't look good. It just wasn't right.

He's -- I wish -- and, again, though, I -- I'm not excusing it, but I am tempering it with none of us have gone through what he has gone through.

STU: So true.

GLENN: His family, somebody is shooting at him. He's being called fascist Hitler all the time. I mean, that wears on you and changes you.

And, you know, he's having a hard time forgiving that. And I kind of understand that. I wish he would take that on and take on the forgiveness, so he could be more a peacemaker in all of those things. But that is his own personal journey.

But --

STU: Yeah. And I think when we talk about like a terrible crime that's occurred.

GLENN: Sad.

STU: Like, I don't know. If there was -- think about some awful situation and at times you'll see -- he'll hear family members say the worst possible thing.

You know, if your kid is murdered. And by some -- somewhat of a particular area or group or whatever.

And they might react with just an awful thing about that group or area.

And you just. We all have a bit of understanding. Right?

A person going through a massively emotional thing.

And lashing out.

You want -- you know, the example you bring up all the time, Glenn.

Of the maybe -- the ultimate example of being able to have restraint was the Amish situation from years ago. Where, you know, you were talking about mass murder. And they were to the family's house that night, right?

And saying, we --

GLENN: Not that night. That afternoon.

I mean, within an hour. The kids were not even out of the schools yet. Their bodies were still laying in the school. And the Amish went, oh, my gosh. The killer is dead too.

He was a member of our community. His wife lives here.

What is she feeling? She's feeling completely alone. My gosh. What an example. I couldn't do that.

STU: Right. I don't even think I come close to that standard in that moment.

GLENN: No. But I would like to.

STU: That's the range. Some people act -- react really well. Some people react really poorly.

And I think we all understand the emotion and everything that takes over in a situation like that. And that has to be factored in, I think, to Trump. Of course, Rob Reiner wasn't responsible to the shooting. He was just a liberal who said bad things about Trump. And look, he's a very unique person. And a very unique situation, that I don't think anyone in the world has ever experienced.

You know, what happened with him over his life.

But may I just say, you still haven't forgiven RFK Jr for what he said about me.
(laughter)
Okay?

STU: As I said, I'm not Amish. You know, I like technology. I don't have any wagons. I didn't say I'm perfect.

GLENN: Right.

STU: No. I have -- I have -- I have absolutely forgiven RFK Jr for what he said. And if you didn't know, he accused Glenn of being a traitor. He said, he should be charged with treason. The penalty of which is death.

So, you know, I don't like that. And RFK Jr. I don't like for a lot of his policies. Some of them, by the way, I do really like. Some of them, I think are really positive. I could give you a list of some of the negative things he's done as well.

GLENN: I can too.

STU: That doesn't mean -- I certainly was find that to be an appropriate context, when the embrace of RFK Jr is occurring.

I think we need to understand what people are, and what they're doing. If he's apologetic about that, I do forgive him in that sense. Do I want him on the show and promoting all his books and his candidacy?

No. I did not -- I did not like that. But, you know, a lot of people do. I will say is, you're right, though.

We all have our hang-ups.

GLENN: I do. I certainly was.

STU: I will say this, though.

And, you know, again, all the context here. I know people are really defensive of Donald Trump, appropriately.

Because of the fact that he's targeted unfairly. I understand why people are defensive of him. I can tell you this. I really don't like RFK Jr.

He's one of my least favorite people in politics. I'm just not a fan. I could give you other names of people. Most of them revolve around Olivia Nuzzi, who whatever. I don't have feelings about her. But the story was packed with people.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Cuomos for sure.
GLENN: Yeah.

STU: God forbid, one of these people that I really don't like, was murdered and his family and his spouse.

I can promise you. I can promise you, I will not be tweeting anything like what Donald Trump tweeted.

That is just a -- is a -- is a situation where I understand -- I understand the context around it, that we just discussed.

I don't think there's a defense to it. I think there's something, I really hope he has an awakening to at some point.

GLENN: I think that is enough to be said on that.

Now maybe we should examine ourselves, and say, where do we have that hardness in our heart that we should learn from and remove this holiday season?

Why America's "Surveillance State" Has Proven to be a TOTAL Failure

America is facing a shocking security breakdown—from a mass shooting at one of the most heavily surveilled campuses in the United States to a deadly ISIS attack in Syria that exposes the cracks in U.S. intelligence and foreign-policy strategy. As surveillance systems fail, former extremists gain power abroad, and radical Islamist networks globalize their reach, the West is confronting a threat both inside and outside its borders. This episode uncovers the uncomfortable truth behind Brown University’s unanswered questions, Syria’s escalating instability, and why the West may be running out of time to get its own house in order.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I wanted to bring Jason in -- I wanted to bring Jason in because the news that we talked about a minute ago in Australia, then Brown.

There's some weird stuff happening with the Brown shooting. And we -- we don't know much about that. And also, Syria. So let me start with Brown University, Jason. Why is this one weird, as our chief researcher, why is this one weird?

JASON: Well, there comes a point where, you know, as a society, we just end up getting used to the massive surveillance state we live in. And I think we're just like, okay. Fine.

We're never not going to be surveilled 24/7. Maybe there's some benefits to it.

Well, no!

It doesn't seem that way. Because the people were asking the people at Brown. Like, how is it that you have not fully identified the shooter yet? And that's a very good question. Because if you go back to around 2021, there were people writing about how Brown University was one of the most surveilled campuses of the United States.

GLENN: How is it we only have one picture of this guy from the back?

JASON: Right!

GLENN: Apparently the one thing that will help you get away with any crime is a hoodie.

JASON: Yeah. Wear something over your head and a coat.

Apparently, that foils the entire surveillance state. Also, we have nothing to worry about with surveillance. I don't know.

GLENN: Yeah. Right. Right.

JASON: And on top of that, Kash Patel, the FBI director said that they sprung into action. And they activated their cellular monitoring system to help identify the person that has now been let go. Again, that's another layer of this surveillance state that I think a lot of us have been worried about.

And that didn't do anything either. That helped give us the wrong suspect? What is all this stuff for?

It's not keeping us safe, that's for sure.

GLENN: Hmm. I don't want to jump to any conclusions on, you know, what we have, what we don't have. I'm assuming that they have more. They just haven't shown it.

I would like to -- you know, we could help. You show us some pictures.

I think it's odd.

What happened in Syria over the weekend with al-Qaeda.

JASON: Yeah. In Syria.

There's a ton of news, especially involving ISIS, who is very much active and still very much planning attacks.

GLENN: So wait. Wait. Wait. Was this ISIS, or was this al-Qaeda?

JASON: This is ISIS. That's what they're saying. They're saying it's a lone ISIS perpetrator. The location was symbolic as well. The location as in or around Palmyra. Which, I don't know if you remember, that was a scene of a gruesome ISIS video back at the height of their caliphate, where they behead a lot of people in that area.

GLENN: Right. Right. Yes. That's where they lined them up in the orange jumpsuits. Remember everybody was kneeling down in the sand. And they started beheading people. Yes, I remember.

JASON: It was one of those UNESCO sites with ruins all around. And it was very crazy. Brutal video. But another brutal attack. I believe it was three US service members that were killed in this attack. There's a lot of speculation about to go, on if this person was working. I think he was actually at a time working with the security services that are in Syria right now, under the new president. He -- he could have been, you know, a sleeper in that organization. Who knows? But for -- the one thing I do know. And I don't understand the direction we're moving in Syria. I don't understand how a former al-Qaeda guy suddenly is an all right guy because he puts a suit on. And now he's the president of Syria. And he's our ally.

I don't understand that. The Trump administration, maybe they have more information, that I don't know.

I would love to get more of an explanation on this.

As of now, I don't see this going any direction other than a whole lot worse.

You look around that entire area. You have a former al-Qaeda guy now the president of Syria.

You have the rest of Syria, an absolute Dumpster fire. You have Iraq. I hesitate to call these countries.

They're so far down the sectarian, you know, spiral that this is.

But I don't see how this is going to go anywhere, but south, from here on out.

We're in an absolute war with these radical Islamists. And it's not just in the Middle East. It's globalize the intifada has landed on shores all over the world. And while there are politicians that will not denounce that. That is exactly what's happening. Sorry!

GLENN: So I think that's where -- I think that's what -- that explains Trump's thinking. That Trump does not want these everlasting wars to go on.

He does not want to be fighting in the Middle East. He doesn't want to really be fighting anywhere. He will, if he has to. But he's focused more on the American homeland. And the American hemisphere.

And so I think he is -- I think he's letting the Middle East take care of itself.

And as long as they can all get along with each other and Israel.

And recognize that, you know, Iran and the -- the -- the al-Qaeda, the, you know, Muslim Brotherhood. Et cetera, et cetera.

Trying to coax them all into. Hey. These are kind of your enemies here.

You know, ISIS is a big enemy to us and to peace.

And I think he's hoping that they will start to take care of themselves. Whether they will or not, I don't know. You know, it's never happened were. But it's worth trying. We've been playing this other game of us getting involved in everything for 100 years. We know that doesn't work.

So I'm guessing what Trump is thinking is, we know that doesn't work. We're not going to do that. Let's try to give peace a chance, and help them stomp this out, because it will be prosperous for all of them and plant those seeds as deeply as you can to see what happens. But we're not getting involved in any of that. I have a feeling, but there will be a military response to this, I'm sure. Won't you agree?

JASON: Oh, one hundred percent, and to tack on to what you're saying, I would hope that the President would go with his gut on this.

Because the previous ways this has been handled with Islamists, especially in this area. They've screwed it up.

They don't know what they're doing. Although, they think they know what they're doing. I'll go back to history. The Iran and Iraq War. We supported both size on that. In a similar -- in a similar strategy. So we're like, okay. We don't like either one of these groups. Sectarian groups to get too large. Let's fund this country at the same time we fund this country. We'll arm them. They'll fight each other, and they'll be fine. We do that all the time.

So now, the only thing I can think of is that's what they're thinking with the Syria president, this former al-Qaeda guy. Okay. Well, fine. They'll be anti-Iran, so they can counter Iran.

It's literally the same exact strategy, that they're going for. And I get it. That means that we don't have to get involved. I guess in the initial point.

But we always end up having to get involved after the fire erupts and --

GLENN: We know -- look, I think he's trying to buy time, quite honestly. Get us out of that.

Let us recover, and hopefully not go back to it. Try to buy hopefully some real peace.

But we all know how this will end. It's never going to work in the long-term. Because we as the West have to concentrate on our own homelands. You're seeing that with what happened in Australia. We have let the barbarian into the gates. And we've got to focus on that. We've got to get this cancer, cut out of our own societies. Because it's not good.

'Life is FAR Bigger Than Politics' - Glenn Beck's Spot-On Reaction to Rob Reiner's Death

Hollywood is mourning after the shocking and heartbreaking deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife—an iconic creative force whose films shaped generations. Glenn Beck reflects on Reiner’s extraordinary legacy, the tragedy surrounding his final moments, and the humanity he showed even toward those he disagreed with politically. This emotional tribute explores Reiner’s impact, the devastating circumstances of his passing, and why his work—and his character—left a mark far beyond Hollywood.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: it's so sad that Rob Reiner thing is so sad.

I mean, I don't -- I think -- Stu, correct me if I'm wrong. If he hadn't have done This Is Spinal Tap -- A Mighty Wind, Best of Show, for your consideration, any of those would have been able to have even been made. Because this is Spinal Tap. Rob Reiner directed, but it was still Christopher Guest. I think it was Harry Shearer that wrote it.

STU: And Michael McKean, yeah. Yeah, so theoretically, those movies could have been made, but I don't think any of them get made without Spinal Tap. And I don't think Spinal Tap gets made without Rob Reiner. Because they needed somebody attached to it that would be able to bring that to life.

GLENN: I mean, what a legacy he and his father brought to television.

I mean, think, Carl Reiner did your show of shows, which was Mel Brooks and Woody Allen with Carl Reiner writing that. Imagine That. Then he bought the Dick Van Dyke show and a million -- a million other TV shows and movies he was responsible for. And then his son starts with All In the family, and brings us all these classic movies, and the way they died this weekend, is just horribly, horribly tragic. Horribly tragic.

STU: Yeah. And it's not just Spinal Tap, which is a big one. Princes Bride.

GLENN: Oh, I know.

STU: Some of the movies --

GLENN: Harry Met Sally. Gosh, so good. So good.
STU: So many things.
GLENN: Stand By Me. One of my favorite movies.
STU: Oh, yeah. Jeez.
GLENN: Just great moves. Just great movies.

GLENN: So Rob Reiner met his wife in 1989. They have been together ever since. They live in Brentwood, which is a suburb of Los Angeles. It's -- their house is 2 miles away from where Nicole Simpson Brown was -- was discovered and killed.

Officers were called to Brentwood, to their home. All they said at first was, a man and a woman found with stab wounds. That's what came out over the radio. They were dead. And then friends started to show up. Billy Crystal was there. He came into the house. Reporters say he left looking horribly shaken. Larry David, who is a neighbor, he came in. Same story. It was confirmed that Rob Reiner and his wife were killed and brutally murdered: stab wounds.

We knew early this morning that the guy who might have done it is their 32-year-old son. His name is Nick Reiner. He's a screenwriter and also -- he's a guy who has battled drugs and alcohol and homelessness. He said at one point, I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas. I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street, and it wasn't fun. That's what he said to People magazine in 2016. I don't know the latest on him.

But he has been just arrested for the murder of his mother and father. Just horrible!

Just horrible. I mean, Rob Reiner was one of those guys that I was always sad that, you know, we disagreed. And -- I'll be kind to him here.

Neither of us could ever find our way to talk to one another.

Because I really admired him.

I really liked him.

I didn't like him politically.

That's such a small part of life. I mean, gosh. He did When Harry Met Sally. He did the Princess Bride. This is Spinal Tap. He did A Few Good Men.

Stu, look up -- look up his work. He's responsible for some of the best movies ever. His father was a genius. It is so sad that Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, and then now that is broken by the third generation. The son!

And it ends this way. He brought so much joy -- to just me. I'll speak for me. His movies have brought me so much joy, just the Princess Bride alone. But so sad. So incredibly sad.

And to be killed by your -- it's one thing I guess to be killed by your stranger, and that's bad. But to be killed by your own son. Oh!

STU: Glenn, listen to this -- late '80s. Early '90s. Quickly.

1984, this is Spinal Tap. '85, The Sure Thing. '86, Stand By Me. '87, The Princess Bride. '89, When Harry Met Sally. 1990, Misery. 1992, A Few Good Men. I mean, that is -- that is a run!

GLENN: Wow! Wow! Just -- just brilliant, brilliant guy from a brilliant family.

I'm glad his father isn't here. I mean, his father just died, what?

A year ago. Two years ago.

Mel Brooks is still alive, which this has just got to kill Mel Brooks.

Gosh, poor Mel Brooks. The tragedy.
By the way, I want to show you how Rob Reiner for as politically different as we were, and we were extraordinarily politically different. I want you to listen to how he handled the death of Charlie Kirk.

VOICE: When you first heard about the murder of Charlie Kirk, what was your immediate gut reaction to it?

VOICE: Well, horror, absolute horror.

And I unfortunately saw the video of it. And it's -- it's -- it's beyond belief. The -- what happened to him, and that should never happen to anybody.

I don't care what your political beliefs are. That's not acceptable! That's not a solution to solving problems. And I felt like what his wife said at the service -- at the memorial they had. Was exactly right.

And totally, I believe, you know, I'm Jewish. But I believe in the teachings of Jesus, and I believe in do unto others. And I believe in forgiveness. And what she said was beautiful. And absolutely -- she -- she forgave his -- his assassin.
And I think that -- that is admirable.

GLENN: I mean, how many -- how many other people did that? Especially for as vehemently as he disagrees with the right.

He was a human being. And I think that's why his -- I think that's why his films lasted and connected with us. You know, I mean, in a lot of ways, his films were a little like John Hughes' movies.

John Hughes was -- I mean, he was lightning in a bottle.

And there was something. And I think that something in many ways, was John Candy.

But there was something about the John Hughes movie, that connected to us on a basic level.

You know. That -- that spoke to us, deeper than just a movie! Or a script.

You know, it -- it came from a place that was real.

And I -- I think of Peter fall. And

What's his name?

I can't remember. He used to be in the wonder years. It was the little kid on Princess Bride, that -- that just those scenes alone -- just those scenes alone were so real! So real. When Peter Falk turns around and says, as you wish. It -- by the end of the movie, you felt that deeply.