RADIOJanuary 15, 2024

Which Republican will bring FIRE as the Iowa caucus FREEZES?

The 2024 presidential election has officially begun with the Iowa Republican caucus. But while the caucus usually provides a good look at who the nominee will be, this year may be a little different. Like many states, Iowa has been battered with a winter storm that is "pretty extraordinary," according to BlazeTV host and Iowa resident, Steve Deace. Steve joins Glenn to give his take on how many people will brave the snow to vote and which candidate's supporters will be the most willing to do so. Plus, he predicts how the top candidates will fare against former president Donald Trump. Will Democrats boost Nikki Haley's turnout? Will Vivek Ramaswamy beat the polling numbers? Will Ron DeSantis - Deace's preferred candidate - score a surprise victory? Or will Trump dominate the field?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Steve, what does it feel like on the ground in Iowa.

What's the temperature?

STEVE: Right now, it's minus eight. And I want to scream that like the publisher in Elf. Minus eight.

It is -- Glenn, I've lived in this same house for 17 years. I've never seen snowdrifts in my front walk this high.

This is soul-crushing, go in a corner, and begin self-harm levels of cold.

GLENN: Oh, Steve. Buck up, man!

If Kansas City -- if Kansas City could play on Saturday, in negative four, without sleeves, certainly you can get out of your house.

STEVE: Well, some of us are going to.

GLENN: Yeah, I know.

STEVE: Comparing the average high, which is the best athletes in America -- but some of us are going to.

And that's the thing though, Glenn. I don't know what some of us will.

I went to the last, the campaign closing event for Ron DeSantis last night. And even in one of our largest suburbs of Ankeny, to get uphill, I still had to go four-wheel drive in residential areas, three days after this snow left.

The blowing, the drifting. Most of our residential areas are covered in ice.

Sheets of ice. Our school kids in the metros are looking at maybe a five-day weekend between the closures last week, and then today is a holiday. And then probably tomorrow as well.

GLENN: Wow! And you guys never close. You never los schools there, right?

STEVE: It's got to take a lot, man.

GLENN: Yeah.

STEVE: We have this thing called winter every year. And the caucuses are usually January and February.

This is pretty extraordinarily.

There are wind chill warnings across the state. Literally telling people, not to go outside.

It is -- the turnout model tonight, is going to be very fascinating.

I have no idea what will happen.

I really don't.

GLENN: Well, there you go. Yet another victim of global cooling. Global warming.
Or whatever it is.

So who do you think is the most motivated people?

You know, I read about Nikki Haley's crew. And the latest poll shows she only has about 9 percent of those who are behind her. Really exhilarated by her campaign.

STEVE: Uh-huh.

GLENN: So between that and now the Democrats saying, they are going to show up and caucus for her, is she going to actually perform at that 20 percent that the -- the register said she was going to perform at tonight?

STEVE: No. That poll is a first to her. It really raised expectations for her campaign. Because most people are just going to read the top line. And not the cross tabs. And if you read the cross tabs, basically, her base of people isn't motivated to vote for her. And prefer Biden in the general election.

All right.

So if I don't know how many Republicans are going to show up in this weather and sit around for an hour in this caucus, I sure as hell don't think there will be a lot of Democrats and independents, that want to want to come in and hang out with people they don't like, all right?

And brave this weather. So I actually -- if you made me make one prediction, I -- I would predict, I think she's going to finish closer to Vivek Ramaswamy tonight.

Than -- than to Ron DeSantis.

I think that has largely been astroturfed this entire time.

The Des Moines Register is wrong. Every caucus cycle, I have no idea why it's hold up as the gold standard.

It's held up as the gold standard. It's wrong every cycle.

It's held up by the same people that tell you it's the gold standard. Told you a couple of winters ago.

And Chinese face diapers are 99 percent effective against airborne contagions.

Okay? So it's just, never right at all.

I would go by the behavior of the campaigns. They know better than anyone else.

They have the best data. But they have the best observation.

I think the fact the former president hustled to get up here one final time over the weekend. I doubt he's concerned about losing. He's probably more concerned. He has to cover a spread.

Like, Glenn, he's been favored by 50 points in these polls all year.

He wins tonight by 9 or 10. People are going to be like, what the hell is going on? So he's probably concerned about that.

And now you're starting to see late in the process, the organization that the DeSantis campaign built, which was patterned a lot of what we built on the Cruz campaign in 2016 here.

They've done it even better I think. Now you're seeing it harvest or fruition. So I think he will overperform. To what extent?

I don't know.

I could see him getting anywhere from 20 to 38. I could see Trump getting anywhere from 35 to 50.

I think it's that volatile, with the turnout model right now. Because of the weather and everything here in Iowa.

GLENN: I know that you are -- you know, you've jumped on the DeSantis bandwagon.

So try to be as fair as you can on this.

Who has the most walk through a wall of fire. Or in this case, walk through an ice storm, to vote?

STEVE: I think that's clearly the former president. But I think people need to understand this. And you know this.

Because you came to campaign with Cruz. You saw this with your own eyes.

The evangelical base in Iowa.

It's not like what you see in many states for Donald Trump.

It's admiration. Not adulation. You know, so, for example, he won our state in the general election twice.

No Republican has done that since Reagan.

He was instrumental. You know, people like me, that worked for ten years. To try to make Iowa look like Texas.

You know, the last nut we couldn't crack, is we couldn't convince rural counties to vote Republican, because they thought we were all corporatists.

And trump was kind of the last. He was the last ingredient in the formula here, to help flip this state red, by flipping about 30 counties that voted for Obama once or twice. He flipped them to vote for him twice. So he is popular here.

But Iowans take this process.

Very serious.

GLENN: Very seriously. Yeah. They do. They do.

I wish the -- I wish the rest of the country, took it as seriously as Iowa does.

I mean, I was going on the road. I was shocked. They are a year out, and they are already gathering together, in their towns.

And listening to campaign speeches.

I mean, they take it very seriously.

And I think that's great.

STEVE: Yes, and so I think they are able to look at, for example. They can say, hey, I love what the former president has done for rural Iowa. It's been great.

We are one of the states.

I know there's a big debate in the Republican Party right now. What the Trump brand has done with places like suburban states and mixed urban states.

But in a rural state like Iowa, he's been a benefit. There's no question about that.

But Iowans are also able to say, yeah, just because I liked him before, doesn't mean I like him again.

So I think that there will be some soft Trump supporters that will flip to DeSantis tonight. Based on the strength of his organization. What that number will be, though. I have absolutely no idea. I mean, I really don't.

GLENN: Where will -- where will Nikki Haley's voters go if they flip?

STEVE: I don't know how many voters she has. First of all, I think she's relying a lot on people that don't traditionally vote Republican.

And just so people understand what I mean by turnout models, you know, typically we get about 25 or 26 percent of Republicans will turn out in a caucus. This year, it will be less.

Because we have more Republicans in Iowa, than ever before. About 670,000. So if we have, say, a turnout of 150,000. Which I think would be pretty good, in this weather.

You're talking about almost only one out of every six Republicans is showing up to vote here. Okay?

So if most -- in most of her -- and people ask, why is that?

Because in the caucus, you vote the way the Founding Fathers did. You don't show up, pull a curtain on your break and walk out. All right?

You show up. You listen to speeches. Maybe you'll be called on to give a speech.

You may be asked to give an account for why you're voting the way you are.

Or you can volunteer to do that. Horse trading goes on there. Party business goes on there. The process can take an hour or more in some places, depending on how large the precinct is.

So you have to be really committed to wanting to be part of the process, to take part of the caucus. And that's just not the kinds of people that typically vote for Nikki Haley. She's basically, the John Kasich of this cycle.

GLENN: Hmm.

Why do you suppose -- I mean, I have my opinions.

Why do you suppose DeSantis, who before this race started, seemed like it could be a lot closer between him and Donald Trump.

And it just hasn't materialized.

It did at first.

And then it just kind of dissipated.

Why?

STEVE: Well, if you go in and -- I think, let's find out what happens tonight. I think tonight will give us -- I'll probably be able to answer this question more for you tomorrow, in terms of both its premise and application, based on what happens tonight.

Preemptively, you know, if you look at the Real Clear Politics. National polling average on March 30th. It was something like 42 Trump, thirty-two DeSantis.

And he wouldn't even be a candidate for another almost two months.

GLENN: Correct.

STEVE: A week later on April 6th, Trump is now up from 54 to 25. So what happens?

DeSantis isn't even a candidate.

What happened is on March 31st, Donald Trump got indicted by Alvin Bragg.

And the biggest pinning poll of this cycle, has been, what's happening to Trump is wrong.

So you have these -- you have these dual, you know, about philosophies. Trump can't win another -- another national election. We've lost every national election cycle. Since he miraculously won in 2016. Versus vis-à-vis, what he's doing to him is wrong, it's un-American.

And I want him to return, like MacArthur in the Philippines, and we will finish this script. And if you look at the internals of a lot of the polls that had him way ahead of DeSantis. What you'll see, in favorabilities, DeSantis is either even with Trump or often ahead. And I think the biggest cell that Ron DeSantis had to make. I think there's a lot of people. I think what people like you and me on Twitter, that we've destroyed Ron DeSantis' plan. You know, these Trump influencers. That's just not true.

If it were, his favorables would have plummeted. I think what DeSantis has had to do. He has to make this sale, that his time is now.

And I think people are torn between, do we turn the page from Trump or do we finish the script from Trump.

And that's why I said, I want to see and wait what happens tonight, to give you a more definitive answer. Because I think this will be the first verdict on, how successful can you be, convincing people that Trump's time is passed, and it's your time now, as opposed to 2028.

GLENN: And if he falls into third, you think he's done, or not.

STEVE: I would be stunned if he finished third. I would be stunned.

GLENN: Yeah. I would too.

STEVE: There's two things I'm confident in. It will be a disappointing turnout. And he will overperform. But I don't know what overperform is. Could it be 22, could it be 38? Forty?

I think -- when we're talking rural America, rural Iowa, where Trump needs huge turnouts. And people may need to drive tractors to get to precinct sites, given what's going on now.

You know, the average Fox News viewer is 69 years old, as you well know. Those are very supportive of Trump.

I don't know how many of those people are going to come out in this weather, given their health and the dangers of the ice and everything else. I just don't know the answer to that.

GLENN: Okay. Hang on just a second. Steve Deace.

He's the author of The Rise of the Fourth Reich. And also a BlazeTV personality. Follows this program. He is in Iowa, lives in Iowa. Has been there forever. And can really give us insight on what's happening in Iowa.

GLENN: All right. Steve, I don't know if they asked you. Because we have such little time. How long can you stay with me?

STEVE: I've got -- you know what, I stayed late, so I'm not on the cell on the way to the office, but I have to go in like 20 minutes.

GLENN: Okay. Tell me about the kerfuffle, if you will, between Donald Trump and Ramaswamy this weekend.

STEVE: Here's -- I have -- what I think is two-fold.

Number one.

You know, we have -- in a lot of these races. You have these under the radar issues. That don't penetrate the national coverage.

In Iowa right now.

In northwest Iowa, where we have a large concentration of Republicans.

There is a huge deal with eminent domain.

And there's Republican Party interests on both sides of it.

Some want the fuel to go through the community.

Others want to keep their farm.

This is a very divisive issue on the right, right now in Iowa.

And Vivek, after he didn't qualify for the debate.

Has focused a lot of his energy on the issue.

Number one, I think the Trump campaign is concerned.

That he may be drawing from some of their rural support.

And if they're concerned about winning. Or likely, meeting expectations.

If Vivek gets four, five, six points higher than the polls tonight.

It will be at Trump's expense. And no one else's.

They're also concerned about that.

Also, one of the guys I met in this process. A tech entrepreneur, a successful guy named Robert Salvador. And he is trying to bring AI to public polling.

And using AI to basically look at people's digital footprints. What they're actually posting in public on their social media pages.

That's more honest what they think, than what they tell pollsters. What he's seeing is an uptick in the last couple of weeks.

DeSantis', but also Vivek.

And if you know, Trump is the one candidate on the right, going back to 2016 with others, who really understood how to use data. Cambridge Analytical, all that kind of stuff, to his advantage, the world he lives in.

And I also wonder, if they're seeing, that increase in Vivek's digital footprints as well.

I think they're concerned, that Vivek may play a role, in either him winning tonight. Or more likely, him meeting expectations.

So I think order 62 came out.

GLENN: So we have only two minutes. And Vivek Ramiswami joins me after the break here, at the bottom of the hour, in just a few minutes.

We're talking to Steve Deace.

Steve, do you think that the Democrats did the indictments, and all of this stuff, to help Donald Trump win the primary.

Or is this something that is backfiring on them.

STEVE: Yes. I do. I absolutely think that they believe they did this in 2016. He got 60 times more coverage than any other candidate because they thought he was a clown and they could beat him. And then this blew up in their faces.

And I think that's what enraged him all the more. I think the same thing. They have a formula for how to brand him, particularly to suburban voters.

It has worked in every election cycle since. I do think that's the case. And, yes. I also think it's backfiring on them.

Because, you know, they're basically the -- the mob outside, Glenn. They can't contain themselves.

So Jack Smith had this well-thought out plan. Then all of a sudden the state of Colorado said, we'll jump in line, and disqualify him for the ballot now before you can hatch your plan.

There's two things in American politics, Glenn, you can always count on: Republican gutlessness and Democrats absolutely exceeding their mandate and creating blowback against themselves as a result, those are the two constants.

GLENN: All right. Steve, thank you so much.

We'll talk to you, again, hopefully tomorrow. And blessings on the people of Iowa. Stay safe tonight. But please, if you can, go out and caucus for your candidate.

Iowa is -- is one of the states, I think Natches is as well.

That really take it seriously. For an extended period of time.

And Iowa, your chance to be heard, is today.

Go out and caucus tonight.

China, ICE, and the shutdown: Everything Trump's "60 Minutes" interview revealed

President Trump gave a master class on negotiation in his recent “60 Minutes” interview with Norah O’Donnell. Glenn and Stu review Trump’s best comments on China and Taiwan, ICE raids, and the government shutdown.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

VOICE: I know you have said that Xi Jinping wouldn't dare move militarily on Taiwan while you're in office. But what if he does?
Would you order US forces to defend Taiwan?

DONALD: You'll find out if it happens. And he understands the answer to that.
VOICE: Why not say it?
DONALD: This never even came up yesterday.

STU: Why not say it? I don't know. Tough question!

DONALD: He never brought it up, because he understands it, and he understands it very well.

VOICE: Do you mind when I ask, he understands, why not communicate that publicly to the rest of us? What does he understand?

DONALD: I can't give away my secrets. I don't want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what is going to happen, if something happens. The other side knows, but I'm not somebody that tells you everything, because you're asking me a question. But they understand what's going to happen, and he has openly said it, and his people have openly said it. He said, we will never do anything, while President Trump is president. Because they know the consequences.

GLENN: And they do.

Now, what's her name? Norah McDonald?

Or that Norah O'Donnell. I can't remember.

STU: It's Norah O'Donnell.

GLENN: One is a comedian, and one claims to be a journalist. I don't know remember the difference. But, you know, here she is. Why won't you just say it? I don't know!

Strategery!

I mean, why wouldn't you just say it?

Presidents never say that. They never say that. Can you imagine?

What a stupid question that is.

And if you think -- go ahead.

STU: I was going to say, you know, I think Trump sometimes does say stuff like that. Right? Like he does -- for example, with North Korea. Right?

He was like, hey. We're going to blow you up. And the fires of hell are going to rain down upon you.

GLENN: Because North Korea is not China.

STU: Right. He's making decisions based on strategy with different countries. And there's different decisions to make with each nation.

GLENN: Correct.

STU: And when you look at something like this.

What he's trying to, I think communicate is he has communicated to China that they will be involved.

But he does not want to escalate it publicly.

And honestly, all of that being said, I don't know what his actual answer is. My suspicion is, we won't be involved if that happens. Honestly, like I know we promised it. But my suspicion is, if China actually goes in there, there's a good chance, we are -- we come up a reason to not be involved in it.

GLENN: We can't. We can't.

We can't be involved in that.

We will be involved in covert ways.

My guess is, we blow up all those chip factories. That's my guess. And my guess is, we have given the ability to Taiwan to do that. Long ago. I don't know.

But that's what -- that's what I would do. Because we don't have -- we cannot -- we cannot support a supply line, that far away. We just tonight. We're not capable of it.

So we don't have the supply lines. We couldn't get things there, fast enough. And they're going to overwhelm with drones. That's what -- this is going to be the fastest war ever. If they go into Taiwan. It will be over, by the time we ever get a ship or an airplane there. It will be over. They will just overwhelm the island with swarms of drones, period. So here's what the president is actually doing.

He announced a deal on economic and trade relations with China.

So here's what he -- here's the Chinese actions. You ready?

Suspend new rare earth export controls. Issue general license for exports of rare earth. Listen to what he got: Take significant measures to end the flow of fentanyl to the US. Suspend all retaliatory tariffs since March 4th. Suspend all retaliatory nontariff measures since March 4th. Purchase at least 12 million metric tons of US soybeans, and we lowered our tariffs by ten points and extended the expiration of Section 301 tariff exclusions until November 2026. Do you see what we've got? See what we gave up?

Let me just say that again. Do you see what we got and what they gave up?

The president -- it's genius how he got us here. He didn't just engage with China directly. He embarked on a massive, massive campaign, securing the rare earth minerals in all of their allies. Multiple countries.

He built an -- an alternate system that cuts China out, entirely.

Then went after Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. All the three of their major allies.

This was the equivalent of the American president, putting his foot down on the neck of China and saying, you want up?

You want up?

And China blinked because at this point, they had no choice.

China is not used to being handled like this. And he just handled them.

This is a good win for America!

So when the president is has done negotiation. Why would he go on 60 Minutes?

And insult them even more.

Why would he go and say, what you know we'll do?

We'll vaporize Beijing. And I have on good authority, that's exactly what the president said. You know, you want to do that, and I'll make Beijing disappear.

And Xi laughed at first. And what? What?

The president didn't laugh and blink. And Xi left going, he might just do it!

That's how you negotiate. That's how get all of the rare earth minerals. That's how you get this giant concession with from China. The guy -- I have to tell you, I mean, we've known this forever. How long has everyone on the planet, you know, now, of course, the left won't say it. You know, the Democrats won't say it. But everybody has always said, I wish we just had a good negotiator on our side. Wouldn't it be nice if we had somebody that looked at the country like a business. And could just run it like a business. And knew how to negotiate?

We have the best negotiator, I think we've ever had.

I can't think of anybody who is better than that.

Here's what he said, yesterday on 60 Minutes on the ICE raids. Cut ten.

VOICE: More recently, Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood. And the smashing of car windows. Have some of these raise gone too far?

DONALD: No. I don't think they've gone far enough. Because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges, that were put in by Biden and by Obama.

VOICE: You're okay with those tactics?

DONALD: Yeah, because you have to get those people out. You have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries because they were criminal.

GLENN: What do you think of that, Stu?

STU: Again, he's not going to back down from that policy, not a surprise.

GLENN: Uh-uh.

STU: Criminals, you know -- it is such a popular issue to get rid of people who are violent criminals in this country.

That he's going to lock into that, no matter what the tactics look like. As long as they don't look cruel to people who are innocent.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: Right? That's the type of stuff he would get beat up.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

STU: These are people here illegally.

And it's not -- like, you know. He's beating a mom to -- these people are beating moms to death in the streets. Of course, it's going to be something different.

What we're seeing is, what? They're getting arrested on their way to work?

I don't think that's going to be controversial at all to the American people.

GLENN: Seventy percent of the American people agree with the ICE raids.

Seventy percent. No matter what the mainstream media makes it look. That's the latest poll. Have you read another poll? Stu, you're looking at me --

STU: I have seen more negative polling on the issue, generally.

It is -- I think --

GLENN: I just saw one yesterday or today, 70 percent.

STU: I'll have to --

GLENN: Is it in the show prep today?

STU: I did see that poll somewhere.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: I wouldn't say -- his border policy is among his most popular policy. There have been some more negative reactions. Not on the right. But on the left. And the -- and the -- and independent voters, who are concerned about these tactics generally.

Now, of course, what they've received about this is basically, this is the gestapo. So you would understand, that their analysis of what they're hearing in the media, is that it's a negative.

I think though, when you look at these individual cases. People wind up realizing, okay. That's not what's actually going on.

You know, I do think that generally speaking, this is a positive issue from him.

Certainly, it's one of the issues that he cares about the most. And he's not going to back off of it. I think there's this idea that the media can try to corner him. And he will try to back down. When does this occur?

This is not -- the only time Trump has ever really backed down on anything is when, occasionally you'll get a situation where his base says no. We can remember cases of this, with the Second Amendment. He said something to the effect of, well, we'll go in there. We'll take the guns first, and then we'll have a trial. His base said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not the way it should work.

And he backed off of that. That does sort of happen occasionally. And you'll see occasionally, when it comes to economic consequences.

This is the -- you could argue, that, you know, he backs off on some of those stuff, when he sees the market crash or some of that sort. Really, with stuff like this. There's no sign of him backing down. He believes the policy is correct.

He believes these people should leave. And I think, at this point, most people who are border hawks, if they have any complaint about what's going on at the border, it's more than at that it's not enough. It's not been widespread enough.

It has been a situation where it's been focused on. You know, we have a lot of attention on the Maryland father who went to El Salvador.

When I think the issue is larger than a few of these cases. So that is probably the only complaint you would have from people who agree with him.

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(music)
Ten seconds, back to the show.

So let me take on now what happened with the shutdown. Here's cut 11. Trump on 60 Minutes last night.

VOICE: And the shutdown.

DONALD: Well, what we're doing is we keep voting. The Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it. And the Democrats keep voting against any -- you know, they've never had this.

This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension.

Always saying, give us an extension. We'll work it out. They've lost their way. They've become crazed lunatics. And all they have to do, nor a,is say, let's vote!

VOICE: Senate Democrats say, they will vote to reopen the government if Republicans agree to extend subsidies for over 20 million Americans who use Obamacare for their health insurance.

DONALD: Obamacare is terrible.

It's bad health care at far too high a price.

We should fix that! We should fix it. And we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open, and we will fix it. We have to let the country open, and I will sit down with the Democrats, and we'll fix it. But they have to let the country -- and you know what they have to do? All they have to do is raise five hands. We don't need all of them.

GLENN: Notice, I mean, he is pissed about this.

He wants to fix this.

He wants -- I mean, he does not like Obamacare. But he also is probably -- leans more. See if you agree with this, Stu.

Leans more towards the Democrat kind of fixing of health care than where I would lean. I would lean, shut it all off. Shut it all off. Get all of the government regulation out of insurance and everything else.

Let all of this stuff just be a free market again. And I think you would fix a lot of this.

I don't think that's Donald Trump's point of view. Do you?

STU: No. I don't think so.

Again, we talked about how the border say real passion issue for him. I don't think the health care thing is.

I just don't think that's central to his -- you know, his belief structure long-term.

You saw what happened. He tried to -- he did try, I think, at the beginning to get rid of Obamacare. I think there was a legitimate effort made. It did not work.

DONALD: Yeah. I don't think the Republicans did.

STU: Certainly, many did. Many did. Obviously, it failed. John McCain, famously.

GLENN: Yeah. Right.

STU: Although, that's a little bit blown out of proportion, as the moment where it failed. If it had actually failed before that, regardless, it was something that he promised voters that he would try to do. It didn't work. And I think he's moved on from those sorts of real solutions, that I wouldn't favor. That you would favor.

GLENN: Right. Let me play one more. Cut 12, please.

VOICE: Government shutdowns in the past. And you did it by -- members of Congress, into the White House.

DONALD: I'm not going to do it by extortion. I'm not going to do it by being extorted by the Democrats who have lost their way. There's something wrong with these people.

VOICE: So then what happens on November 5th, when the troops --

DONALD: Schumer is a basket case, and he has nothing to lose. He's become -- I just like Japan. He's become a kamikaze pilot.

VOICE: Sounds like it's not going to get solved the shutdown.

DONALD: It's going to get solved. Oh, it will get solved.

VOICE: How?

DONALD: We'll get it solved. Eventually, they will have to vote.

GLENN: How?

Because I'm on the completely reasonable side, and you seem completely unreasonable.

How? How is this ever going to stop?

Because you won't give the Democrats what they want.

She is so -- she's so mainstream old-fashioned media. Just sickening.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

The Satanic Cult Fueling Mexico’s Cartels - 'Santa Muerte' Exposed

Mexico’s cartel war isn’t just about drugs or power — it’s about evil itself. Glenn Beck sits down with former federal agent Dave Franke to expose the satanic cult of Santa Muerte, the so-called “saint of death” worshiped by cartel members across Mexico. From ritual killings and demonic symbolism to deep government corruption and spiritual decay, Glenn and Dave reveal how Mexico’s violence is being fueled by a dark, religious devotion to death. This is the story the media won’t tell — and a warning for America about what happens when faith collapses and evil fills the void.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Dave Franke HERE

This Reviewer Just DESTROYED Karine Jean-Pierre's New Book

In what might be a first in the program’s history, Glenn reads a book review in its entirety. What review is worthy of such an accomplishment? The most brutal book review of former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's new book, 'Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines." Glenn reads through the scathing review written by Andrew Stiles of the Washington Free Beacon, as he and Stu look back at how bad Karine Jean-Pierre was at everything she did.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't think I've ever read a book review, word-for-word on the air before. And I'm not sure I've ever even read a book review on the air before, more than a paragraph. But this book review is so good. It must be read verbatim. A book so bad, it has shattered liberal's faith in DEI. It is a Free Beacon review of Independent: A Look Inside A Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, by Karine Jean-Pierre. Are you ready?

Stu, you're going to love this. Karine Jean-Pierre cannot stop making history. Earlier this year, the former White House Press Secretary became the highest ranking openly queer French-born black woman with a hyphenated surname to publicly renounce the Democratic Party for being mean to Joe Biden. She is the only black female lesbian immigrant to publish a book about her time in the Biden administration. And it is the worst political memoir ever written in the history of the English language!
(laughter)
This is not hyperbole. It is an especially vacuous genre and highly competitive to be sure. But imagine writing a book so bad, it could shame Democrats and liberals into second-guessing their cult-like devotion to DEI.

That is exactly what Jean-Pierre has done with her book, Independent. In 2022, Jean-Pierre's promotion to White House press secretary was hailed by Democrats and journalists, where to the extent there's a difference, as a triumph for diversity and representation. She is now wildly viewed in the words of a reporter who worked with her, as the most incompetent and irrelevant White House Press Secretary ever.

Former colleagues now describe her as ineffectual, unprepared, and kind of dumb. Jean-Pierre's book tour, if you can call it that, as now been described as a car crash, a non-stop cringe. She fumbles her way through interviews, repeatedly invoking her lived experience as awe trailblazing black woman and openly gay pioneer. The same people who pioneered her historic promotion and the first to denounce her critics as bigots are rolling their eyes. Every time she falls back on identity politics instead of actually answering a question, she reinforces the worst stereotype about Democrats says a former White House colleague. Her egregious performance in an interview with the New Yorker, one democratic strategist likened it to Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson is fighting a baby.
(laughter)
Jean-Pierre told the New Yorker, the broken White House, in reference to the subtitle. Remember, it's Independent. A look inside a broken White House, outside the party lines.

Okay? So she's in the interview, with the reporter from the New Yorker. The broken White House referenced in the subtitle, she said is actually a reference to Donald Trump's White House, not the one that she was writing about, or everyone assumed she was writing about.

It's a strange thing to lie about, and a clueless person might blurt out when they get flustered. But in the author's defense, even a semi-talented communicator would struggle to defend this drivel. Readers may be surprised to learn that Jean-Pierre became a professional spokesperson, because she was even less capable in a different field.

I wish I would have known this. Did you know this? Her parents, "Oh, God, help us!"

Her parents wanted her to become a doctor.

STU: Oh, my God.

GLENN: Imagine. But she flunked the medical school entrance exam. So she switched the Ivy League to Democratic Party pipeline, where talent barely matters, when there's history to be made with every promotion.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Jean-Pierre implies all of her jobs since have been plagued by disloyal leagues who question her competence. Love -- I love that. I love that.

At some point, you do -- if this is your experience time after time after time, eventually, you do have to ask, maybe it's me!

And I know this from experience. Because that was my experience.

I was so egotistical and full of myself when I was in my 20s.

That I couldn't work with anybody.

Because they're all incompetent.

They're all whatever.

You know, no!

Glenn, you're an ass.

That's what I finally came to the conclusion.

Why does everybody say, I'm an ass?

Well, probably because I was an ass, that's why.

STU: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

GLENN: Independent, her book, which is both mercifully brief, 172 pages, and intolerably long.

STU: 172 pages?

GLENN: 172 pages.

STU: I had idea. That, I mean, that is a great description of it too. That is amazingly short for the -- the stuff she's talking about.

GLENN: It's like a bathroom reader. It's a bathroom reader.

STU: But I imagine reading it, it must feel eternal.

GLENN: Intolerably long.
(laughter)

I love this review.

I want to hug the person who wrote this review. Jean-Pierre claims, she never noticed Biden's cognitive decline, despite meeting with him at least once a day for two and a half years.

Her observations reflect an alarming disconnect with reality. She denounces the media for grilling the Democrats and soft-balling the Republicans.

She recounts her disbelief when days after that one, quoting, one wobbly debate, where Biden bragged about beating Medicare, blah, blah, blah.
Not a single -- I'm quoting from the book. Where Biden bragged about beating Medicare, blah, blah, blah. Not a single reporter asked a question about his landmark efforts to bring about social justice, end quote.

STU: Oh -- oh.

GLENN: Like her rambling press briefings, Jean-Pierre's proceeds is riddled with contradictions that boggle the mind. Democrats should have been more loyal to Biden.

That's why she left the party. She's an independent now, because no entity deserves blind loyalty. I want you to remember that. No entity remembers blind loyalty.

Multiple interviewers have noted the discrepancy. Pierre, who holds a Master's Degree from Columbia University doesn't follow.

STU: I mean, Columbia University has to -- is -- got to be ashamed of themselves for that.

I understand she didn't -- she just handed it to her. I get it. That is a disgrace. How could you act as if she could graduate something?

That is a completely ridiculous concept!

GLENN: Columbia university hosted Nazis, to speak the campus in the 1930s.

And then sheltered Nazis in the -- in the -- you know, in the campus.

And as teachers.

I mean, what -- if you're not embarrassed by that crap, what, you're embarrassed by her?

Not a chance. Not a chance.

For obvious reasons, she declines to note that Barack Obama was one of the party leader's most skeptical of Harris. She said, she never really believed that Kamala Harris could win, but any Democrat who argued with her or suggested Harris should compete for the nomination was insulting all black women. It's easy to see why Democrats are so annoyed. Her absurd retelling of the 2024 election, notwithstanding, Jean-Pierre has no useful suggestions to offer.

GLENN: This is her book.

Democrats should think creatively, move nimbly, and plan strategically, in pursuit of bolder solutions. Oh, my gosh.

STU: That's just nothing.

GLENN: Empathy is key.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Stop supporting the candidates who are elected, instead, backing the inspirational ones. Democrats should look -- Democrats should look to the Grammy Awards for inspiration because we all know how popular the Grammy awards are.

Watching all those Hollywood millionaires denouncing Trump reminded me that monumental change was possible. One of Jean-Pierre's boldest ideas, something Democrats should definitely consider is restarting the vigorous conversation about being antiracist.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Alas, Jean-Pierre is no longer a Democrat. Now, remember, she said, no blind loyalty, right?

She's no longer a Democrat because she does not believe in blind loyalty.

Okay. All right. She explains in -- in the pages that follow in so many words. She explains that leaving the party was a tantrum-like plea for attention. A deeply personal quest for new ways to be acknowledged. That's a quote.

Her leaving the party was a quest for new ways to be acknowledged. And it's also about self-care.

Now, she's left the party. Because nobody gets blind loyalty.

But she'll never vote for a Republican, or even a third party candidate.
(laughter)

STU: Well, then what?

GLENN: Wait.

Wait. If you'll rule those two out, I won't vote for a third party.

And I won't vote for a Republican. But I'm not going to vote.

But they don't get my blind loyalty.

STU: Gosh. She's an idiot.

GLENN: I mean, really.

STU: I would love to say, it's more complicated than that.

But she's just a vapid moron.

GLENN: No. Moron. Moron.

Jean-Pierre urges others to follow suit, to proclaim their independence and follow their own political compass. She doesn't have a political compass.

What is she saying? She's still going to vote the same way?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: It's an incredibly brave thing to do. She says.

Listen to this. It's so important to carry around the talisman to remind you of the values you hold.

Like, a biography of a poet who spoke to a better world and spoke a better world into existence.

Yeah. I'm walking around all the time, with a -- with an old book of poetry.

Or a pebble from a peach, where you once dreamed and felt free. She says, she hopes the book will provoke a more nuanced political conversation. It certainly has provoked a conversation, shockingly nuanced in its context of the Democrat Party politics. It's just not the one she was expecting. That is fantastic.

STU: It's a great review.

And I fear it's -- maybe they went a little light on her, honestly.

GLENN: It's only 172 pages.

STU: Yes. So what can you do?

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: I will say, the part that's most frustrating about it. Talking about the interviews she's done on this book tour.

Which have been, among the worst interviews I've ever seen with someone, who is supposed to have an operating brain inside their skull.

And what's frustrating about that is all of those moments were readily available to every media member, the entire time she was White House press secretary.

GLENN: Yep. Yep.

STU: If anyone of them asked her any difficult questions the entire time she worked there, they would have learned all of this stuff before.

GLENN: All of it. All of it.

STU: Now they find it okay to actually press her on these issues. Because they don't care about her book sales.

GLENN: Right. And the same thing.

Look what's happening. I mean, her and Kamala Harris are exactly the same story.

It's DEI in action. They're exactly the same story.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Both vapid. One more so than other.

One is vapid. And I believe filled with so much helium, that she could float away to the sun.

But the same kind of stuff. Is happening with -- with Kamala. Once they are asked questions, you see, they can't handle it.

Any idea what they're talking about.

STU: Yes. I think that's true.

I think there's a comparison to be made there. I do think Kamala has proven herself to be an able back room warrior.

She is in multiple ways, some of which the back room, there's a bed in it.

And then other ways, it's also, that she is legitimately good.

And I mean this sincerely.

Legitimately good, at haranguing a bunch of donors to her side in a democratic scuffle.

She is -- has done that multiple times throughout her entire career.

Behind closed doors to be able to kind of pressure and harangue people into donating into her. Into supporting her over other Democrats. She really. The way she just wrestled. I mean, Barack Obama with his 96 percent approval rating among Democrats. Came out and said, I can't wait to see what process we have. To determine what the next nominee will be.

GLENN: Oh, I know.

STU: And hours, she had the nomination. She is legitimate am good at that one thing.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: Which is unlike Karine Jean-Pierre. Who is legitimately good at nothing.

GLENN: I understand, when you're talked about the gravity or the pull, you know, of the individual, you know, in comparison to the Pluto-like gravity of Jean-Pierre, okay?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yes. She does make, you know, Kamala Harris look like the sun. Okay?

STU: Right.

GLENN: I do understand that. But comparatively speaking, they are -- they are both in a different universe entirely.

“HORRIFIC”: Jamaica UNRECOGNIZABLE a week after Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica and Mercury One is on the ground to help with recovery efforts. Glenn speaks with Jack Brewer, who just returned from Jamaica. Jack describes the tragedy, which he calls “one of the worst I have seen,” and explains how people like you can help get aid to people in regions where “NO ONE” has come to help, even 6 days after the storm.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know if you've been paying attention at all to what happened with Hurricane Melissa. But, you know, it's been, what? Five days since Melissa pummeled Jamaica. I mean, pummeled it.

And not a lot of people are showing up. It's -- it's -- it's really not good.

At least 28 people have died, since the hurricane hit. Monster category five. 185-mile-an-hour winds. They say, trees are just piled up everywhere. 400 people in Jamaica. 400,000 people in Jamaica have zero power. They don't have cell phone service. They don't have Wi-Fi.

They don't have water.

And they don't -- and, again, like I said, nobody is coming. Mercury One was there, over the weekend, and Jack Brewer was there. Jack is -- Jack is an amazing guy. He's a three-time NFL team captain. He was -- he is a minister. Humanitarian civil rights commissioner on the US Commission for the social status of black men and boys. Vice chair of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Advisory Board.

Leads a national advocacy for fatherhood. Criminal justice reform. A really, really good guy.

In fact, he just won Mercury One's angel Bonhoeffer award. Which is really for very, very special people. He was down with us in Jamaica, just this weekend. He just got home. I wanted to get an update on what he saw. Jack, welcome to the program.

JACK: How are you doing, Glenn? Thanks for having me.

GLENN: You bet. What did you see down in Jamaica?

JACK: It was horrific. You know, I've been doing this organization, going on our 20th year. So I've seen disasters from across Africa and throughout the Caribbean, and obviously in the US. This is one of the worst that I've seen, just in regards to the devastation. Homes completely leveled. I mean, down to the foundation.

And, you know, the entire West side of Jamaica is without water. Without electricity. And, you know, it's hard -- it's tough terrain. Because a lot of these people kind of live up in the hills and the mountainous areas. And so as these trees have fallen down, you know, the infrastructure, electricity wattage is pretty old.

And so the electric wires are just twisted all in the trees. And it's -- you know, as you're driving around, you know, you're being whipped by electric wires and just a tough terrain. And unfortunately, everywhere that we were able to get to, we were the first there.

And this is -- now we're going on six days after the storm. And these people don't have water. They don't have electricity. You see, just piles and piles of -- of humans sitting next to each other. Trying to get water. They're washing their clothes with the saltwater. And, you know, they're -- they're -- the gas pumps have run out. You know, there are fights at the gas pumps. Because people are trying to desperately get enough fuel, you know, if they do have a generator to get fuel for it. Or cars to get places.

And the most heartbreaking thing is that folks haven't found their family members.

You know, there's no communication. You know, we brought several thousand Starlinks with us, we brought battery backs and start to give them to the people. But, you know, they haven't communicated with their people. They have -- there's still so many folks. When I was there, they had just found six more bodies in the area.

And they were asking us for cadaver dogs, and asking us if we could, you know, assist with them.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

JACK: It's terrible, it really is, Glenn.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. Did you see any American forces?

I mean, did you see any -- who did you see there?

I keep hearing that nobody was there. But there has to be somebody.

JACK: Nobody. Well, I saw a couple helicopters in the air. You know, I saw a couple military helicopters in the air. But again, when you get up into these mountainous regions, the higher up you go, the worse the devastation. If you were just to go there, and you look down. Like a normal hurricane. You know, trees down. And, you know, it's a difficult place. But when you start to go up these mountains, just I'm talking about a quarter mile, everything is wiped out. Literally, Glenn, no one has come.

I went to village after village, town after town, no aid organization has come. I think they just started to try to get the West more -- because you have to take a helicopter to get in there. But if you start at Montego Bay and start to work your way down South. A small little town like Tucker, Westmoreland.

If you go down the Black River, in those areas, those areas are decimated. And so, you know, they're sleeping outside. And another thing, Glenn. That has been an issue. It hasn't stopped raining. It's been raining every day. So everything is mucky.

When we got there on Saturday, I mean, literally we had to divert from a flood. You know, the floodwaters started rising on our car. Got up to almost the window. We had to get out of there. I think, three days after the storm. And so they're still dealing with the water. And now they don't have any shelter. So we've been trying to deliver, as many tarps and tents and those type of things that we can, just for the short-term. Because obviously, they're going to start dealing with water-born diseases and mosquitoes. And so we've been trying to bring as much insect repellent for these people.

So it's a lot different. And it's a lot different in Haiti. I tell people, the people of Jamaica aren't used to this.

You know, they've lived their lives with electricity. And, you know, they're not -- they're not used to living in these type of conditions. So it's been really rough. You know, particularly on the children of those communities, and we saw households. You know, that they were -- they didn't have a place to go shelter in. You know, I talked to probably 25 different families that were inside of their homes, as they blew completely down!

I mean, all walls down, roofs, torn off their homes. And now all of their belongs are scattered around the neighborhood. It's depressing.

GLENN: I know we're trying to fill a plane. We -- we're sending a cargo plane on Wednesday, and we so desperately need your help.

One hundred percent of your donation to M1 right now, will go help the people of Jamaica. Can you compare this to what we saw in North Carolina?

JACK: No question. The difference between here and North Carolina, we have something called insurance. And we have helicopters. And, you know, we have actually -- you know, you know, our fellow Americans can get there. You know, in Jamaica, they don't have that option. And it's -- it's really depressing. Because you can tell the people were already, you know, living in poverty.

And now, you know, they're dealing with the reality.

And, I mean, but I will say one thing though, Glenn.

The love of God and the thankfulness and the -- the smiling and the worshiping, that was happening, in these towns I was in -- it motivated me. It lifted me up. It humbled me.

To see people that literally lost it all. But they were so thankful. And they said, you know what, we're living to see another take.

God has given us another chance to recover. We have our life. We have our children.

You know, many of them have lost loved ones and family members. And so they were just grateful to be alive.

And so it was a humbling experience. But, you know, to answer your question, yeah. From a destructive perspective, it's very similar to what we saw in the Carolinas.

It's just -- the -- the recovery. And the need now, where there's water and food, you know, it's -- desperate, at this time.

GLENN: Yeah. We have really good people drive from all over the country, to get there.

They just felt prompted to go do it.

And, you know, you're not driving to Jamaica.

That's really difficult.

JACK: That's right.

GLENN: Anyway, we have a cargo plane going out on Wednesday. We really need your help. You can go to MercuryOne.org and donate. We're still in North Carolina. We are rebuilding. We're still in the Texas Hill Country.

We're in Alaska, after the horrific -- the horrific typhoon that hit just a few weeks back. We're all over. And we're getting ready to go to Africa with the Nazarene Fund to rescue Christians.

We really need your help. And, again, I give you my word, 100 percent of it goes right directly to the cause. There's no funding that -- nothing comes off the top.

It will go right to the cause. So go to MercuryOne.org. And help us help people.

MercuryOne.org.

Jack, have you been over, and have you seen what's happening over in Africa?

JACK: So I've done extensive work in Africa. I have not directly in the northern portions of Nigeria. I do plan to go there very soon.

I have been -- I actually have a number of our partners there. You know, we run about 50 orphanages in Africa, so I'm used to that terrain.

But I can tell you, I've been telling a lot of folks on the ground, it's a really sad situation. You know, the people that are being persecuted, the Christians that are being persecuted are the poorest of the poor.

These people are living in conditions where, you know, they don't have running water.

Many of them. And they live in villages. You know, of little means. So these Islamic groups have really come in and taken advantage of them. And, you know, taken over their villages.

So I ask, how are you able to just take over a village?

How can you take over that many people?

How come they haven't fought back? Are these the most vulnerable people in the world. The people who Christ told us to protect as Christians. So I'm just, I'm so happy that President Trump stepped in.

GLENN: Me too.

JACK: The statement, backed up by our amazing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

But we have to do something about this.

The precedent that is set in, is one that is dangerous for the world.

You know, it's also happening in Sudan, running rampant now.

GLENN: I've -- I've heard Sudan is actually in some ways worse, and nobody is paying attention to Sudan.

I mean, barely anybody is paying attention to Nigeria.

But what I'm hearing coming out of Sudan is awful.

JACK: Yeah, it's awful. It really is awful.

And Sudan is a little bit different because you have more of a Muslim country. You know, Nigeria has had a really thriving Christian community --

GLENN: Right.

JACK: -- in the past.

And, you know, for some reason, I think this government that they have now has this Islamic influence over it that is really trying to -- and they're telling their people that it's propaganda. So if you ask a Nigerian, maybe they will tell you it's all propaganda. It's propaganda.

But, you know, the world is starting to see it. And so I think they'll have to really address these issues. And not be able to just use their media to distort the narrative for their -- for their people.

It's important for the Nigeria to (phone cuts out), I feel. And I just pray that, you know, President Trump and our administration continues to use our influence on the world, to protect our Christian brothers and sisters.

GLENN: Jack, it was good to see you the other night. Thank you so much. Appreciate all that you do.

JACK: Yeah. Thank you, Glenn. Just so you know and all your listeners, man, without Mercury One, we wouldn't be able to do any of this work. You know, the Bible tells us that we all -- we all need elders. And we need people who God has appointed to us.

I know our organization knows that God has appointed you to us. We have been able to affect the lives of so many people, man. I mean, the poorest of the poor and the forgotten because of the support of Mercury One. And I'm just humbled to be your partner and your friend and brother. And just, I pray, we will continue to lock our arms, to help those that are hurting around our world.

GLENN: You are one of the many Moses figures that we play into and hold our arms up. You're doing all the hard work, Jack. Thank you so much.

If you can help us, please, go to MercuryOne.org. That's MercuryOne.org.

You can donate. There's many things going on, our general fund will allow you -- will allow the money to go to many different things as it's needed.

But right now, we really need the help for Jamaica. We're filling a cargo plane on Wednesday to get it there. This is for the poorest of the poor. The people that are just completely left alone, as -- as Jack said. And I talked to Mercury One earlier today.

They're like, Glenn, nobody is there. Like, nobody is there.

Our governments, you know, their government. Our government failed us here.

Their government, I mean, it's just -- it's -- we have to help each other.

We have to help each other.

MercuryOne.org. That's MercuryOne.org.