RADIOFebruary 23, 2023

Vivek Ramaswamy SLAMS 3 lies about his 2024 presidential run

Most know Vivek Ramaswamy for his involvement in the business, tech, and anti-ESG world. So does he have the political skills needed to successfully lead the country? Ramaswamy, who recently announced his 2024 presidential run, joins Glenn to detail both why he’d make an excellent president and what he would hope to accomplish while in office. Plus, Ramaswamy debunks 3 falsehoods being spread about his career — one of which he calls an outright ‘LIE.’

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Vivek Ramaswamy is on with us.

You know, you could have told me, given me a better clue. We just talked, I think it was on Friday. Said, are you thinking about running for president?

Like, I'm thinking about it.

Come on, you knew.

You knew.

VIVEK: Glenn, I think I said I was very seriously considering it. I think I did on the show.

GLENN: No. We hung up. But I said on the show, he's running. He's absolutely running.

VIVEK: Yeah. Come on. I gave it to you. Absolutely.

GLENN: Vivek, first of all, you were not known as a politician, or somebody who has ever done this.

You're known as a CEO. We'll get into that. What is it that your platform -- look, like on -- with Russia. What would you do as president, with what we're going through right now with Ukraine?

VIVEK: I think foreign policy is all about prioritization, Glenn. I would not spend another dollar on Ukraine. I would re-prioritize that to take on the number one foreign policy challenge. Which is Declaration of Independence from communist China.

I think we can declare economic independence, and defeat them economically, so we don't have to militarily. That's number one.

And at number two, if there's a youth case for the U.S. military and weapons, it is actually to protect our border and to take on, and I would go so far as to say, decimate the cartels, 100,000 fentanyl deaths in the United States today.

Eighty percent of which comes from Southern border crossings. Deal with that. Protect our soil here. We could do that for a refraction, Glenn, of the cost that it takes to, you know, fight a foreign war, on the ear side of the world. That has far fewer American interests to it.

I was in New Hampshire yesterday, and actually one of the things that surprised me, Glenn, was how broad the support for that idea for policy profits is.

And it's amazing, because the defense establishment doesn't -- says, you can't say that in polite company. But that gives you a sense for where I am on foreign policy.

GLENN: So let me ask you, Vivek, the -- Donald Trump was an outsider, he came in. And he's told me, several times, personally, he had no -- he knew it was bad.

But he had no idea, that he wouldn't be able to trust a soul, in Washington. He had no idea, how deep the Deep State was.

And how powerful it was.

What makes you think, you could go in, and rock everyone's world.

VIVEK: Well, he's told me the same thing, and he's a friend. And honestly, I take inspiration of what he did in 2015. I just think we have to take this to the next level. Part of this will just have to be shutting agencies down, full stop. Now, are there costs and benefits to that?

Yes. But I think we live in moments, where the benefits outlive those costs.

GLENN: So when you say shut the agencies down, what agencies are you talking about?

VIVEK: Department of Education. Let's start there. I was speaking to the Iowa legislature this morning, congratulating them for what they did in school choice in Ohio.

I said, they need to eliminate the Department of Education.

Many other three-letter acronyms. Even much of the national security apparatus, Glenn, has to be shut down and replaced in those cases with something new.

Because when a managerial rot runs so deep, you can't reform it by putting a different figurehead at the top.

You have to shut it down, and build something new to take its place.

And here's the other thing: I can say that Donald Trump knows this just as well as I do, from being a CEO.

If you can't fire somebody who works for you, that means they don't work for you.

It means, you work for them. You are their slave.

We need to replace these civil service protections, with sunset clauses. Saying that, you know what, if I can't be the next president of the United States and work for the federal government, for more than eight years, than neither should anybody who works for me, either.

Those federal bureaucrats have to be subject to eight-year sunset clauses.

GLENN: How are you going to get that done?

I mean, you have to have -- you have to have a Congress, that has the balls to do these things. And I'm not sure you have the Congress on either side of the aisle.

You've got a few.

VIVEK: Glenn, you're asking all the right questions, right? So I take a strong view of the Constitution here.

Article II of the Constitution says that the president of the United States, runs the federal government, period.

So if Congress isn't willing to act. As president, I am. And I have studied the Supreme Court. And the composition of the Supreme Court right now.

You want to take this one and test it in the Supreme Court with me? Great. We can then use judicial president to make sure we lock that in.

I believe that Clarence Thomas, and others on the court today, will be right there with me, on my view of Article II and how that reads in the Constitution, to say that a lot of these other -- constitutional statutes. From the impoundment prevention act of 1974. That says that the president has to spend money on specific agencies that greatest has actually authorized to spend it on. That's authorization, not a mandate.

Firing civil service protections, as I said, if you're running the federal government, under articles of the Constitution, the president runs the executive branch.

I take the Constitution seriously. And, you know what, I think the friendly way to do it is to leave Congress.

I personally think that 2024 can actually be landslide election, Glenn.

A topic for another day. I'm optimistic about that.

But if we don't get it done that way, we will get it done through executive authority, per what the Constitution empowers a president to do.

This is once again, America first. I'm all in as an America first conservative.

We just have to take this to the next level, with what I'm repeatedly now calling America first, 2.0.

And that's a big part of the reason, I'm doing this.

GLENN: So why did you -- you said you were Libertarian.

Why -- why did you decide you were a Republican?

A conservative? Over a Libertarian?

VIVEK: I used to be a Libertarian in college. I had this discussion with the folks in New Hampshire too.

There were a couple of Libertarians that came to one of my rallies last night. But here's the thing: Libertarians, I got two issues.

One is, they're too meek, actually. So they'll talk about the free market.

And they say, they don't want to make political expression a civil right, as I believe we need to in this country. Yet, they don't actually touch the other protected classes, like race or sex or religion or national origin.

To my view, to Libertarians today, with all due respect, have their heads in the sand.

Because you can't have it both ways. That's problem number one. The problem number two is deeper. Which is, you know, what are we doing, in that free world?

Even when the state is out of our hair. There's still the deeper question of purpose, as citizens. How we live our lives. How we live virtuous lives.

And I care about virtue, in civic life and in family life, and in faith-based life too. Not to say that the governments should necessarily be involved or mandating those things.

But those things matter for human flourishing, for American flourishing, and Libertarianism has nothing to say about that.

That is why I call myself a conservative today, in contrast to 15 years ago, when I thought I was a cool kid in college, calling myself a libertarian.

GLENN: So we're talking to Vivek Ramaswamy.

He's running for president of the United States. As a Republican.

We've gotten to know each other, over the World Economic Forum. And ESG.

And you are not only one of the biggest voices against it. You are actually -- you've put into action, strive management.

Where you are saying, invest with us.

We'll do better with your money than BlackRock.

And we're going to use the voting rights, that we get, to try to tell these companies, don't do these woke things.

But there's some charges out about you. That I just like to hear you answer.

You were nominated and selected, as a World Economic Forum young global leader in '21.

Did --

VIVEK: Glenn, this is hilarious. This is hilarious. Thank you for this opportunity. This is actually a lot of fun for me. Look, there are a lot of people on the right and the left that are threatened by my entry into this race.

So I welcome the opportunity to have this debate in the open. All right?

I think you know this.

I don't like to boast about myself. But I would go so far to say, no one. And I mean, no one in this country has been a bigger both doer and crusader against the World Economic Forum agenda, than probably the two of us on this call.

I really mean it. I would challenge anybody to name one for me. If you really pressed me.

I would name maybe Elon Musk. And guess what, he's named on that sanely website, of the World Economic Forum. Somebody else, financially.

Friend, Peter Thiel. He's been named on that same website. You want to know why? Here's the dirty little secret. Though -- and I have seen it firsthand. I experienced it firsthand. The World Economic Forum names you on their website without your permission.

So the funny part is, I have a book coming out later this year. Where I actually detailed this experience.

I have phone calls, emails. And I was respectful about it.

I believe in being civil. But I said, do not name me on your website, because I do not accept your award. I don't want to speak at your conference.

They tell me, no, no, no. You don't understand. We have all the global billionaires here. Mark Zuckerbuck was a young global fellow.

No, no, no, Vivek, you don't understand. This is an honor. I respectfully disagree. I don't want to be named. And I don't want to accept your award.

And then they go on to put my name on their website anyway. They've asked me to speak here, and that kind of thing.

I declined. But the funny thing about me. And I've learned a little bit about how this partisan politics game works. You know, Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in 2018 and 2019.

Do I hold that against him?

No. You want to know why, because everyone who is as financially successful as me or Donald Trump or Elon Musk or whatever, gets invited to speak. In my case, I've said no. This has been my focus area.

It would not have made sense for me to do it. In Trump's case, he said, yes, I don't hold that against him.

But I think it just reveals, you know, one of the things that has been eye-opening to me, about the online version of the conservative movement. The rise of these click bait conservatives. That it is sort of sad. Want to mislead their followers to advance what agenda, I don't know.

But at the end of the day, I also don't want to complain about it.

One of the big leagues of presidential politics. It's well-known, it is a dirty game. But it's good to keep your eye on the facts. And there's no -- this agenda than me.

GLENN: Well, I can verify one thing. The world economical forum has me on a list too. And they won't take me off that list either.

So it's just not the same kind of list.

BRAD: They can do it.

GLENN: I know. So the next thing is, that you have a long time association with Soros.

And I'm probably the number one anti-Soros guy in the world.

VIVEK: Can I give you a one-word answer to that question, Glenn?

I know you're the number one anti-Soros guy. So I'm not saying false to you. I'm saying false to the long-time association with George Soros.

Lie. 100 percent lie.

Now, let me actually give you guys the facts. And again, this -- these click bait conservatives online.

I don't know if they feel threatened or whatever. And they need to make up stuff.

I was 25 years old. When I went to law school. I got a scholarship funded by Paul Soros, not George Soros. But Paul Soros.

That allowed me at the age of 25, to pay for law school, and I took it.

You want to know why? Because I'm smart.

Now, it's hilarious to me, that the same people who bring that back up from when I was 25 years old, taking a scholarship, funded partially by somebody who is related to George Soros, don't say a word about the fact, that, again, Donald Trump, who I love. Who I respect. I'm not criticizing him. Took 160-million-dollar loan from not Paul Soros, but George Soros himself.

I have no problem with this. You want to know why?

Because it's business.

Donald Trump knows what he's doing. I don't think he's corrupted by that.

I'm not criticizing him for it. He's a friend. But I think it's funny. And I think it's revealing, that these same people will talk about a 25-year-old dude taking a scholarship to help him pay for law school from a relative of George Soros. Make a big deal out of that, without saying a peep about Donald Trump taking 165 million-dollar loan for George Soros, and I say that as a friend and somebody who respects Donald Trump.

Because I don't think that that disqualifies him or taints him in any way, because he's a man of integrity. And he's doing business the way he knows how.

But I think when you're in positions like I've been or Donald Trump has been, you get that. I think, you know, if you're sitting online on Twitter, it can be a very different story.

GLENN: All right. I have one more question in this line here. And that is: You're -- you're a biotechnical guy. And in bed with big pharmaceuticals.

And big proponent of mRNA shots.

And, you know, you -- you have -- you've never critiqued Pfizer.

VIVEK: So let me -- let me say a couple things. First of those things is true.

I'm a biotech guy. I am proud of my success in biotech. Glenn, five of the medicines I worked on, personally oversaw in the company I founded. Are FDA products today.

That is now a multi-billion-dollar company. A seven-billion-dollar company that I led as CEO.

One of those drugs is a drug for prostate cancer. Another for women's health conditions, for endometriosis, to Uterine fibroids, to psoriasis. To one that is particularly touching for me.

I say an approved therapy for kids, who are born with a genetic disease that caused them to die by the age of two, at a 100 percent fatality rate by the age of 2 or 3. Now a majority of them have an opportunity to live lives of potentially a normal duration.

I'm proud of those things, Glenn. I will not apologize. That is part of what makes America great, and it's part of what makes innovation great, is it empowers human beings to live better lives.

That is not an association with anything other than human innovation and a commitment to actually making people prosper by addressing diseases and treating them.

Now, the idea that I am a proponent of some sort of vaccination agenda. No, I'm on the record right now.

I oppose vaccine mandates. I think there has been a lot of rampant government lying and mistrust. Appropriately shown to the American public. Because of how badly they handled this issue.

But I think we can't go to a place where we say that now we don't want people working on innovative medicines to treat diseases from prostate cancer, to psoriasis, to genetic conditions in children.

No. I think we have to stand up for the innovation that makes us who we are. And I'm proud of what I accomplished.

GLENN: All right. Talking to Vivek Ramaswamy. Back with him in just a second.

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GLENN: Let me go back to your platform. A good friend of ours, David Harsanyi, has pushed back a bit on one of your platform policies. I would like to hear your response.

STU: Yeah. I think some respectful questioning, about one of your policy proposals, Vivek, about making political ideas a protected right.

I think there's a lot of appeal to conservatives, who continually get fired from their jobs, over what they believe.

He says, though. You're -- we could have some negative side effects. He says, your idea would potentially make it illegal for not only for Disney to fire a social conservative, but for a Jewish restaurant to sever its restaurant with a neo-Nazi, or a hedge fund would be compelled to keep a Trotskyite, who believe profits are evil on the payroll. Or Walmart having to wait for the worker who spends his days trying to put big box chains out of business, to leave on his own volition. How do you walk this line?

Because, obviously, there's a lot of really negative consequences coming from this. But does -- if we make this a civil right, does it go too far?

VIVEK: Great question. These are the things that we should actually be talking about. Great question. Thank you.

Here's what I would say: I would give Congress a choice. Either you repeal the protected classes as they exist. Okay?

Race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and you actually leave it to the free market. Or you have to apply those standards evenhandedly. But you cannot have it both ways.

And since this is -- I know who I'm talking to. A pretty sophisticated counterpart here, and Glenn in particular understands this. I know.

Let me explain how those civil rights laws and protected classes created the conditions for viewpoint discrimination. Okay?

GLENN: We have two minutes.

VIVEK: Yeah. So Lyndon Johnson thought it was just prohibiting discrimination on the base of race.

But they've now been interpreted to say, that includes hostile work environments against religious minorities. What's one of the ways you can create a hostile work environment?

It's by wearing a Trump hat to work. It's by saying the wrong thing on social media. So ironically, the law created the conditions for a viewpoint-based discrimination, while leaving political viewpoints unprotected.

So you can't have it both ways. If you can't fire somebody for being black or gay or Muslim or white or Jewish or whatever, you should not be able to fire somebody for being an outspoken conservative either.

We have to apply these standards, evenhandedly. And if you want to get rid of protected classes altogether, great. I'll have that conversation. But no Republican or anybody else is willing to.

So in the meantime, I think we need to bring civil rights into the 21st century, to protect political expression as a civil right.

GLENN: All right. Vivek, I love the fact that you're running. I -- I support anybody who is standing up for the Constitution. Standing up for the right of people. Standing up against the endless wars and the lies. And you just are just able to run for president, are you not?

Didn't you just have a birthday? What are you, 36? Thirty-seven?

VIVEK: Two years ago. Thirty-seven. Thirty-seven.

GLENN: Thirty-seven.

Yeah. That would be a shocking change from what we had traditionally. Since really Clinton. And I think he was in his 40s.

STU: I only want people above 100 years old to run for president. Yes, I think we should go the other direction. I'm sorry, Vivek.

GLENN: All right. Vivek Ramaswamy.

We'll talk to you again. Thank you so much.

You can find out more, at Vivek V-I-V-E-K2024.com. Vivek2024.com. V-I-V-E-K2024.com.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

"Everything is For Sale" — How the Cartels Control Mexico's Government

It is widely accepted that the cartels in Mexico not only control significant swaths of land, but they also have incredible influence over how the country's government operates. Border Expert Brandon Darby sits down with Glenn Beck to explain exactly why this is the case and what the Trump administration's strategy truly needs to be in order to crush these powerful cartels.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Brandon Darby HERE

We're being played. THIS is the REAL threat to America

Conservatives in America are being divided over the wrong things. Glenn Beck asks: Who’s the real threat to America: Sen. Mike Lee, who wants to sell 3% of federally-owned land to states and cities, or the rising radical communist wing of the Democratic Party, who recently chose Zohran Mamdani as their NYC mayoral candidate?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to talk to you about the enemy being clear. Crystal clear!

But I'm not sure to everybody.

I'm so sick and tired of us turning on each other.

We saw it with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. I like both men. Can we stop?

Thankfully, they did.

You're seeing it with Trump's bombing of Iran. Where you were either a Jew-loving Zionist or raging anti-Semite, or if you're me.

Both!

And then there's something that really caught me off-guard. The people who are turning on Utah Senator Mike Lee over a housing proposal, he's had this housing proposal since 2022.

But if you go on X, you're going to learn, apparently Mike Lee, one of the most Constitutional loving conservatives I know, wants to sell off our national parks and forest.

You know, he was probably in Coeur d'Alene lighting the matches, because he hates our forest so much. He wants to make sure you never get to hunt.

All he wants to do is take away your fishing and hunting rights. And build cheap housing complexes. Amazon warehouses. And whatever China and BlackRock want.

You know, I addressed this a few weeks ago. I invited Mike to clarify where he stands. Because some of my family are very concerned.

You can find the segments on my YouTube channel. Go and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Will you please? But since then, apparently, there's a crusade out to cancel Senator Lee.

There have been a few major updates. So today, let me just take a look at just the facts here, where we stand on this right now.

Over the weekend, Mike Lee decided to withdraw his federal land sale provision from the big, beautiful bill.

He said, quote, while this has been a tremendous amount of misinformation, and in some cases, outright lies about my bill. Many people brought forward sincere concerns.

Because of the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee, these lands would never be sold.

Only to American families. Not to China. To not BlackRock.

And never to any foreign interests.

Wow! What a shill for the globalists, right?

Or maybe how it should work. Members of Congress propose something presented to the people. And then they listen to the community. Instead of just insisting, we have to pass it, to know what's in it.

And I didn't hear this kind of outcry for that!

Here's one of the bigger issues here. We're speaking two different languages.

A lot of criticism online is that Mike Lee wants to sell off our public lands!

Our public lands. Pragmatism to a lot of Americans, those lands are the lands we use for recreation. And hiking. And haunting. And fishing.

And things like that. That's whatnot he wanted to sell. And he promised to make that much clearer in the revised bill.

Now, let me remind you, on the public lands. President Biden, under his administration. The federal government was ordered to conserve 30 percent of our lands. And our waters by 2030. So apparently, our public lands are being gobbled up even more.

That's another, I think six percentage points. Another 6 percent of the entire land in the United States, going to be seized by the federal government, by 2030. And it falls directly in line with the UN's 30 by 30 plan.

It's an initiative for governments to seize 30 percent of all land and water by 2030. Now, do you think the UN wants to give you more hunting and fishing land?

Do you think they're all for that? Or do you think these radical environmentalists want to restrict your access in the name of fighting climate change?

By the way, current -- currently, the US government owns 640 million acres of land. That's nearly a third of the country. So they've almost met that 30 by 30 goal.

And they will meet it, and then what's next? The 50 by 50 UN goal.

And in order to seize the rest of the land, there's the Sustains Act that passed. Do you know about this? I didn't hear about any outcry for this.

Where was the right on this one? It was enacted in 2023, allows the government to receive private funds to advance conservation programs.

So BlackRock, if they wanted to, could buy up the conservation lands! Does your property contribute to pollination, photosynthesis. The air we breathe. The water we drink?

Well, as I -- as I exposed, on a show back in September, the Sustains Act allows all of that to be monetized through the relationship of private investors like Bill Gates. And the government!

And it occurs without the landowners permission.

So they can take your land. Or tell you exactly what you want to do, or what they want you to do on that land, what you cannot do on that land, because photosynthesis happens.

Where was I?

Where were you on that?

This is the real seizing of American assets.

This is the real seizing of American assets, by the global corporations. That you were all so afraid of!

Mike Lee, oh, my gosh.

What about the Sustains Act?

In his revised bill. Which he's still working on.

Lee has promised to remove all forest land. Good. Significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill.

Good. Only land within 5 miles of population centers is eligible.

Yeah. But when he gets that, then he'll build buildings there, and then he'll have another five.

And next thing you know, he will be putting a cap on -- on Old Faithful.

He'll establish freedom zones to ensure these lands benefit American families. Ranchers. Recreational users. But there's a lot of claims online.

Whatever.

Charlie Kirk said, the Democrats -- this is their war on single family housing.

Hmm.

Do you remember when we talked on the program about the globalist plan of 15-minute cities. That all of BlackRock and everything else is for.

Remember when BlackRock came in, and just started buying up whole neighborhoods. Just priced every regular citizen out of the neighborhood.

Why?

Because it's part of the plan to pack the majority of humanity into easily controllable cities where everything you need is just 15 minutes away. And you never need a car. But is that the American dream?

Currently, rural land is getting so expensive. Most Americans can't afford rural land!

I know. I'm living in a place that has a population of 400 -- I think it's 51. Might have had a baby, so maybe it's 452. And nobody can afford it.

How is it possible you're living in the middle of nowhere, with a population of 451 people, and you can't afford a house!

The elites don't need Mike Lee's proposal. But take more of your land.

They're already doing that. But here's my biggest issue.

This is not about Mike Lee's proposal. Okay?

It's not.

There is a much bigger issue.

And I'll share that when I come back.

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. So I was talking about federal -- I want to get off that. I want to change to, instead, what the real problem here is.

What the real problem is. The real problem on the seizing of the federal lands. Is that we are so quick to turn on ourselves.

We are so quick, lately, to turn on our -- our allies.

See, that's -- the issue isn't Mike Lee's proposal.

It's how fast we turn on each other!

If you believe Mike Lee's proposal didn't go far enough to safeguard our land from adversaries. Great!

That's fine. And, you know what, you won!

He's revamping that.

He listened.

The government listened. Good!

But can you say that without calling him a traitorous shill for the elites?

I mean, I don't know what traitorous shill for the elites that actually listens.

Do you?

Donald Trump Jr. He was against my plan. He thanked him over the weekend for pulling the proposal saying, quote, Mike is a great friend. And we usually agree on almost everything. But this was a rare exemption of where we didn't! Hello!

We don't need to hear people tear each other down. Who is our real enemy?

Who is -- who is more dangerous?

Can we go to -- can we go?

I don't have number on these, unfortunately. Six.

Seven, eight, nine, ten. Let's go to cut ten, please, on whiter neighborhoods.

VOICE: I realized there's a policy proposal, and I'm going to quote it for folks to shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer bureaus toward expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.

Explain why you are bringing race into your tax proposal.

VOICE: That is just a description of what we see right now.

It's not driven by race.

It's more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed. We've seen time and again, that this is a property tax system that is inequitable. It's one that actually Eric Adams ran on, saying that he would change in the first 100 days.

He since sought to defend it, and lost at every juncture in court.

VOICE: And I understand, you're saying, we're simply describing the types of neighborhood that would see these increases in taxes.

And yet by invoking race, do you run the risk of potentially alienating key constituents.

STU: I think I'm just naming things as they are. And ultimately, my -- the thing that motivates me in this, is to create a system of fairness.

It's not to work backwards from an original assessment of our neighborhood or our city. Rather, it's to ensure that we actually have an equal playing field.

And right now, what we see with the property tax system, is one that is overtaxing a number of New Yorkers and undertaxing others. And inability of political will to resolve that.

VOICE: So no plans to change that language on your website?

VOICE: The focus here is to actually ensure a fair property tax system, and the use of that language is an assessment of the neighborhood.

GLENN: Just want it to be fair. Just want it to be fair. Play the next cut. This is Mamdani, by the way, the candidate in New York, that looks like he might win, to become the next mayor of New York. Next cut.

VOICE: You are a self-described democratic socialist. Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?
(laughter)

VOICE: I don't think that we should have billionaires, because frankly it is so much money, in a moment of such inequality.

And ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city, and across our state, and across our country.

And I look forward to work with everyone. Including billionaires. To make a city that is fair for all of them.

GLENN: Wow!

That is fantastic.

We shouldn't have billionaires.

Hmm. So how would we get there?

What would be his ultimate goal?

Listen.

VOICE: Do you like capitalism?

VOICE: No. I have many critiques of capitalism.

And I think ultimately, the definition for me, of why I call myself a Democratic Socialist.

Is the words of Dr. King decades ago. He said, call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism.

There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country.

And that's what I'm focused on, is dignity and taking on income inequality. What the purpose is about, about this project, is not simply to raise much consciousness, to win socialism.

And obviously raise class consciousness. We were a part of that. But making sure that we have candidates that both understand that and are willing to put that forward, at every which moment they have.

Every which moment that they are given.

We have to continue to elect more socialists. And we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism. And there are also other issues that we firmly believe in.

Whether it's BS -- right? Or whether it's the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we don't have the same level --

GLENN: Wait. Can you say that again for me?

Whether it's the end goal of ceasing is the means of production.

Let me ask you the question: Which is more dangerous to our country, and our heritage?

Is it the -- the senator?

That controversial maybe. Says 3 percent of federal land should be transferred back to the states?

Or is it the politician standing at a modem declaring, you know, not in some offhanded gap, that he has a real problem with capitalism. That he wants to tax white neighborhoods. That he wants to get rid of billionaires. And seize the means of production.

Now, for those who studied history. I don't need to tell you why your blood has suddenly run cold. Seize the means of production, that's not economic theory.

That is a revolutionary war cry. It always has been. It's the heart of Lenin, of Marx, of Mao. Of Gulags. Of five-year plans. A food line. Total state control. It is the slogan, whispered in the barracks of all of the camps.

Printed on the walls of the Khmer Rouge Torture cells.

That's not American. That's not a goal any of us should look for. But let's take down Elon Musk.

Let's -- let's take down our FBI.

Let's -- let's take down Mike Lee. Let's take down Tucker Carlson. Let's take down at the scene. Because we don't have enough enemies. Riley rightfully, somebody on this program, asked around on this time, on Friday. Glenn, why did you have Steve Bannon on? This is why I had Steve Bannon. We have enough enemies, don't we?

Can we find people we generally agree with, maybe 80 percent. Even if that 20 percent is massive!

If I'm going to be friends with anybody, for the times I'm going to be friends with.

Then I have to say, I part with you here.

You will have to go on your own way. But when you come back to this, I'm with you.

We are -- we are being -- our college campuses, the floor of our own legislative bodies. As if it were another just regular day in paradise of America.

You know, let me -- we want to talk about highway funding and seizing the means of production.

Wait. What?

Meanwhile, the man who says, we should return a tiny sliver of public land. Land that Washington hoards like a miser. While local communities struggle to pay for schools and police.

Why you can't afford a house!

That's an extremist. A radical. A threat. But this guy, I don't see anybody on the right, really standing up against this guy. Where is the big movement against this guy? It's almost as if, that whole federal lands thing, was orchestrated. And so many of our side played right into it!

That man who says, let the states manage their own forests, their own minerals, their own resources.

Just give us 3 percent of our land, so we can actually have a tax base, so we can build some houses there that people can afford. Let's make sure that the land is controlled by the people, who are closest to that land.

Let them be the stewards of it. Not the bureaucrats 2,000 miles away, who have never set foot in a pine thicket, or a desert mesa.

Which one is more in line with the Constitution? Which one is our bigger enemy here? Which one echoes Jefferson's belief in a government closest to the people? Which upholds the vision of the Founders who feared centralized power, more than foreign armies. Which one is calling for the seizing of the -- of the production?

You know, not all ideas are morally equivalent.

We're not dealing here with difference of opinion on tax rates. Or zoning codes.

One wants to give power back to the states.

And, you know what?

People rose up, and said, I don't like that idea.

So that idea has to be closed and forfeited.

Great! But where are the people standing up saying, seizing the means of production?

This guy wants to take control of your factory. Your farm.

Your business, your labor.

One believes in federalism. The other believes in collectivism. One respects the individual as a moral agent of society. And the other sees the individual as a cog in the great machine of the state that's just going to make utopia. Because they always do!

As you just -- you just can't see it. Because you're behind the barbed wire fence!

When somebody shrugs and says, you know, both sides are really pretty extreme. You know, it's time we say, no, no, no, no.

It's that kind of false equivalence that got us into this mess. That's how the frog stays in the pot as the water slowly boils. You know what, they're both really kind of extreme, no, they're not. No, they're not.

If you believe in America, is a place where rights are granted by God, not government.

Where property is yours. It is sacred!

The fruits of your labor belong to you. That we cannot pretend these are equal threats.

Because they're not. Because one man questions how much land the federal government should own.

The other questions whether you should be allowed to own anything at all!

If the government should not own everything!

Which one is dangerous? Which one snuffs out your rights?

It's not about land. This is all about economics. It's about freedom. And history has already told us where these roads lead.

One road leads to liberty. One road leads us to having a discussion and a debate.

Without calling each other names and killing one another.

The other road doesn't allow debate. And if you try to debate, you're disappeared, or you're killed! One leads in liberty, one ends in chains!

What do you say, we -- we have enough enemies. Why do we need to turn on ourselves? And do you think there's a possibility that the communist, the socialist, the anarchist, the Islamist will all band together, to destabilize the Middle East. Europe, come America to destabilize that, to end the Western world. Do you think there's a chance you're being played?

Because I do. And I refuse to be played. I'm not a moron. And neither are you.

See, here's the thing. This is why, when Ben Shapiro says, facts don't care about your feelings. This is why that's so important.

Because they've hit an emotional spot with you. They've hit a spot of, they're going to take my right away to fish or to hunt.

And that's not what he was doing. But that's what it turned out to be. Our sacred public lands.

It's not what he was talking about.

And if it was, he's not talking about it now.

He wants to make it very, very clear. Exactly what he was talking about.

But see, the idea of going hunting and fishing and hiking. And these glorious places.

We all love that.

I mean, I don't like to actually -- I like to hunt. I don't like to fish.

I don't like to be outside, really.

But I love the lands. I love to be in an air-conditioned car, driving through Yellowstone, going, wow. Look at that. And look at that moron, trying to feed the car, to feed the buffalo.

That's going to be fun to watch.

Why are we so emotional, about that? When it's not really what the argument is about. And it's coming from our friends, when we really should have listened more and had a conversation.

And we're not emotional about someone who says, the end goal is to seize production.

Seize the means of production.

That's Karl Marx!

Why is that one not emotional for us?

Why is it we cannot see the actual enemy?

“General Lee” stuntman REVEALS ALL about the fountain jump

A stuntman took the internet by storm when he jumped a "Dukes of Hazzard" General Lee replica over a fountain in Somerset, Kentucky. The driver, Northeast Ohio Dukes founder Raymond Kohn, joins Glenn Beck to reveal what happened behind the scenes, why he did the jump, and where he wants to jump next (hint: it would involve President Trump)!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There was something just amazing that happened over the weekend in Somerset, Kentucky. It was like a Dukes of Hazzard Show.

Thirty-five thousand people gathered together, to line the streets of Somerset, as a very brave driver, who you're going to meet here in a second. Raymond Kohn. Raymond Kohn got into a car. Was an old Dodge Charger?

He jumped over the historic fountain, in the center of the town.

Can we play a little bit of this, if you happen to be watching?

GLENN: I mean, that is just crazy. It just makes me proud to be American, in a very strange sort of way. I don't even know why. It's just so satisfying. The world is on fire, and you're like, yes! We still got it. Raymond Kohn is on with us now. He is the founder and lead stuntman from the northeast Ohio dukes. And they -- they do this kind of stuff all the time. Raymond, welcome to the program.

How are you?

RAYMOND: Thank you for having me, Glenn. I am great.

I feel like a million bucks.

GLENN: Do you really?

When I saw you land, I thought, ow, my back. Ow, my back. It didn't hurt coming down?

RAYMOND: Well, you know what, we are thankful that the legendary stuntman who inspired me to do this. Like the late great Al White Jr. Ted Barba. Corrie Uvey. Jumping John Kid. (all phonetic)

These are the guys who risk everything, back in the '80s on the set of the Dukes of Hazzard, to figure out, how we can do this safely without killing ourselves.

GLENN: I've got to say -- I have to say, I saw a video from the -- from in front of you, as you landed.

And you hit a wall. And you're just tearing through this wall.

And there is a photographer, that is in front. Did you see him, and think, get out of the way, dude! Almost killed him.

RAYMOND: Yeah. So Centerville is our producer. His series that follows us in -- like a global episode, of what we do.

And Mike Cullvich (phonetic) is the -- the -- the executive producer, and that was him there.

And they carefully --

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

RAYMOND: They know the risks. They know the risks.

He had a little -- just in case, if I go to the left or to the right, that he would be able to squeeze through.

And he did!

So all of the spectators. They were safe.

They were at a safe distance.

You know, we can't do the jump, if we're out there risking people's lives.

And with the help of the summer night crews, the city of Somerset, all the police and fire and EMS, everybody worked together with my team.
I have the best crew in the world.

And, yes, I am the driver that does the jump. And, you know what, we had to build that tarp.
We had to build that tarp, and there was a team of us. And my crew was so great.

They said, look at everything -- we'll get everything done.

Relax. They knew I was nervous.

You know, and they know that my team -- you couldn't ask for a better stunt team.

GLENN: I have so many questions for you.

But let me start here. Before we go too much further away from the town.

Who the hell is the mayor of the city council?

I love these guys.

I can't think of another city in America, that would be like, yeah. We got that historic you fountain, right downtown.

Yeah. Go ahead.

RAYMOND: America is back, baby. I'm telling you. You couldn't have been telling -- from the Dukes of Hazzard. Forty-five years. Forty-seven years after the show ended.

GLENN: Oh.

RAYMOND: I'm telling you, people love -- from all walks of life, people love the Dukes of Hazzard, they love the General Lee.

Listen, if there was -- if there was ever a non-racist TV show for all, it was the Dukes of Hazzard. And that's my main goal.

My pain goal is to get this TV show back on television, that way, we have our children. And our grandchildren. Watching a TV show that has family values good.

GLENN: Okay. So let me -- let me -- one more question on this, before I -- what the hell is wrong we?

When did you decide, this is what I want to do with my life?

RAYMOND: Okay. So I was always a fan. I was born in '77. The show came out in '79. And I loved that big orange car. I loved that car.

GLENN: So great. So great.

RAYMOND: So in 2005, I watched legendary stuntman Corey Spence jump over my roscoe cart. By my police car that I have.

They jumped over it, at the very first General Lee jump site, in Oxford College, in -- in Georgia.

And that's when I got bit by, what I called the stunt bug.

And I was like, I've got to do this. I've got to do -- if I on me do it once, I've got to do it.

And this was my 30th General Lee jump.

For our 30th -- Detroit. We jumped the General Lee downtown Detroit. And then for our 30th, we're jumping over the historic fountain in Somerset, Kentucky.

GLENN: I don't know. This is different. You know, downtown Detroit, you crash into buildings. There's nobody around.

Oh, well.

In Somerset, Kentucky, though. It's just a different thing.

Okay. Let me -- let me -- I think this is amazing.

In looking into you, while the jump is phenomenal. And makes you feel good. What you have gone through in the last few years, is even more amazing.

You had a -- a rare brain surgery, right?

A rare hormonal disorder, that you were like, living another classic TV show, the hulk!

You -- it was changing you, right?

Tell me about this!

JASON: Yeah. So in 2015, I started to feel a lot of pain in my knees, and my elbows.

I started noticing my voice was changing.

My face was changing. And then here comes, hey, Ray. You have to give up blood pressure medicine. You're prediabetic.

You're 335 pounds.

You know, I was always around 220 pounds.

And so nobody -- because -- it's over a long, long, long period of time.

The people that are in my life, every day, they couldn't see the changes.

You know, but the people I haven't seen Ray in a year or two years. You look different, Ray.

You know, and so I went to our local dermatologist, because I started getting these creases in my head. It's bad enough. I'm bald. What are these lines in my head now?

So the dermatologist, she said, let me see your hands. Yeah. You have big hands.

Yeah. Every time I shake somebody's hands. It's like shaking hands with a cinder block.

GLENN: Like banana hands.

JASON: Yeah. My feet went from a size ten to 12.

I had to get a 2X helmet. Because my helmet wouldn't fit.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Wait pick up wait.

Did you think you were ideas just gaining weight. Or did you know it was something more?

You weren't starving yourself, were you?

RAYMOND: Yeah. Because heavy stunt drivers don't make good stunt drivers. You get hurt a lot easier. It's a lot more weight.

GLENN: Of course.

RAYMOND: All of my loved ones and my crew. It's the jumps are tearing you up.

I'm like, no. No. No. No. It's not the jumps. Don't blame the jumps.

So I said, okay.

So went to the doctor. They said, go give this blood work. You may have something serious going on.

The blood work came back. My growth hormone was 900. 900. Now, normally it was 70 to 270. I'm 47 years old, and I'm still a grown boy!

So that opted for me, to get the -- or, the -- yeah, the MRI of my brain. To scan. And say, I had a 9-millimeter tumor on my 10-millimeter pituitary gland.

And we can have it on my body. And the surgeon, up in the Cleveland Clinic said, Raymond, if we don't get this out of you, it's going to kill you.

And my wife is crying. My daughter is crying.

The first thing that came to my lips was, can I still jump the General Lee after the significant other?

And the doctor said, yes, yes. And I'm like, okay. Let's do does this surgery. Let's get the thing out of my head. And then as soon as I was okay, we went up to the radical speech board in Canada. Joe came up there. We did the first international General Lee jump in front of like 30,000 people up there. And it was awesome.

I'm telling you. I'm living the dream, man. I can't believe this is happening to me.

All because of a TV show, called the Dukes of Hazzard.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I have to put an event together, just because I want to invite you to jump the General Lee over something.

We have to do --

JASON: Glenn, we want. We want to build an American patriot be General Lee.

And we want to put like, you know, 47, 45 on the doors. Put a big old American flag on the roof.

And we will call it The Jump for Trump 2045, and we want to jump in front of the White House. That's what we want to do.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

I'll bring it up to him. If there's any president that will do it. It will be him. He told me a story. He will probably do it on the White House grounds.

RAYMOND: Again, that would be awesome. He would want to do that.

GLENN: He told me a story, he said, you know, about the flagpoles. And he said, you know, he was afraid that all of the -- you know, all of the paperwork and, you know, government everything.

And he wanted to build a ballroom, and put the flagpoles up.

And he went to the guy at the White House, who runs everything at the White House. The architect.

And he said, so what is the paperwork like? And he said, you know, Mr. President, the White House belongs to the president while he's there.

So there's no paperwork. You would have to be the one that would sign all of it. And he's like, this is great.

I bet he could build that jump!

I bet he could build that jump, without any permits.

That is so fantastic.

JASON: In a few weeks. My team --

GLENN: That's fantastic.

JASON: We can build a great American -- they'll give us the panels to make the car, red, white, and blue. Big old American flag theme.

GLENN: That's fantastic.

RAYMOND: We'll call it the jump for Trump. We love Trump! The jump for Trump, and we will rock the White House.

GLENN: It is so great. I will bring it up to him. I will make sure he sees it, okay?

That is fantastic.

But listen, if he takes you up. I have to be there. I have -- you have to get me invited.

RAYMOND: Yeah. Glenn, I would be honored to put a passenger side seat in the car, and you can ride with me.

GLENN: No. No, no, no. No, no.

RAYMOND: Come on!

GLENN: I saw you come down, and my back -- I have a really bad back. And all I could really think of was, ow. Ow. That must have hurt.

RAYMOND: No. Last year, I hit the ramp at 72 miles an hour. I slide 200 at 17 feet. That's the longest General Lee jump in front of a large audience. And I landed a flat on all four wheels.

Had it not been for the safety equipment. That the legendary stuff that came up.

I would have either been killed or worse, paralyzed for the rest of my life.

And it's because of that safety equipment.

I'm not even sitting on the -- I'm painting from the ceiling with bungee cords.

GLENN: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I've got to meet you. I've got to meet you, Ray? Just --

RAYMOND: Let's jump in the White House. Let's jump in the White House.

GLENN: Thank you. Raymond. Northeast Ohio. Dukes founder and lead stuntman. You can find the website, north -- northeast Ohio.
Dukes.net.

Ray, we'll talk again. Thank you so much, God bless you, man.

RAYMOND: God bless you. God bless, America.

Introducing 'The Torch'

Tough news week. Tough news month. Always, it seems, another five-alarm fire, or the spotting of arsonists that no one will pay attention to.

The people who watch and support this show—you—are extraordinary.

You don’t just consume information; you act. You don’t just care—you sacrifice. And I’ve seen the receipts. In the last decade alone, you’ve given over a quarter of a billion dollars through Mercury One to help people in crisis.

You didn’t just write checks. You showed up.

Over 45,000 of you volunteered—some of you driving across states, organizing your churches, bringing your kids along—to take part in the largest single volunteer effort completed in one weekend.

That’s not normal. That’s rare. That’s powerful.

You launched The Nazarene Fund, rescuing over 260,000 people from persecution. You funded the largest civilian airlift in history to get Americans and our allies out of Afghanistan.

You’ve changed lives.

You’ve shaped history.

So when people ask me, “Glenn, what more can I do?” my answer is always the same:

First, look at what you have already done. Do you realize how far ahead you are of most Americans? Then start where you are. That feeling inside you—that restlessness, that pull to do something more—isn’t random. It’s a calling. But with everything that is happening in the world, it is hard to keep up as well as keep your chin up.

I get it. I’m tired of the bad news, too.

I’ve spent my life digging through it so you wouldn’t have to. But we must know what is happening and what is ahead. And while next year I’m not walking away from the radio or the stories that matter—in fact, I will be doubling down,

I’ve also told you for nearly two years: I feel something shifting. I feel like I’ve been called to something more. I have only felt this twice in my life—after I sobered up and just before I left Fox.

On January 1st, that “something” begins. I’ve named it The Torch. We started the blaze together; now it is time to take that bit of fire and light the way to a brighter future for our kids.

I wish I could tell you every detail today—but the truth is, some things are still being built, beta-tested, and negotiated. And some things I just can’t tell you until later this year. But here’s what I can tell you:

At its core, The Torch is about education, but not the kind that comes from textbooks or bureaucracies. It’s about self-directed learning rooted in history, liberty, faith, philosophy, and personal responsibility. It’s the kind of education that changes lives—and civilizations.

You’ve heard me say it before: If we want better kids, we have to become better adults. If we want stronger communities, we have to first strengthen ourselves. And if we want truth to survive, we have to fight for it—intelligently, faithfully, daily.

That’s what The Torch is:

A daily connection.

A movement.

A mission.

One part of it will be the culmination of almost a decade of hard work. It will include a new kind of museum—physical and digital—preserving the story of America in ways most museums never could.

You’ll learn through original artifacts, original sources, and real stories from real people who are doing real things. Right now, every summer, we hand-pick around 100 young adults from over 1,000 applications to spend two weeks with us in this kind of immersive learning. Now, for the first time, we’re building a way for anyone, anywhere in the world, in any language, to do the same.

We’re partnering with people of faith, business leaders, educators, innovators—people who know the truth and know how to live it. And they’re coming together not to sell you something, but to empower you.

I’m not asking for anything today—not money, not a sign-up, not a download. Just your attention. Stay connected. Watch what’s coming. I promise you: this is worth your time.

If you want to be one of the first to sign on, join the newsletter at glennbeck.com. But only if you’re serious about discovering your purpose—and lighting a fire that doesn’t go out.

Because we don’t just need new tools or new platforms—we need a renewal of the human spirit. That’s what The Torch is. That is my next mission.

And I hope, when the time comes, you’ll carry it with me.

For future updates on this mission, sign up for my newsletter, and read more background here.