Michelle Obama fans the flames of racial tensions during commencement speech

May 11, 2015

WRITER

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times on radio this morning. Moments after playing the inspiring audio from Denzel Washington, Glenn played another commencement speech. But rather than deliver an uplifting and inspiring message, Michelle Obama fanned the flames of racial tension.

GLENN: Now, the worst of times. Here is -- and I just want to emphasize, the woman who is married to the most powerful man in the world, the First Lady of the United States of America.

MICHELLE: Because while we've come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn. And they haven't fully gone away. So there will be times, just like for those airmen, when you feel like folks look right past you. Or they see just a fraction of who you really are. The world won't always see you in those caps and gowns. They won't know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to make it to this day.

PAT: Now, she's speaking to an all-black audience. And speaking of black airmen from Tuskegee about them. And, of course, this never happens to white people. White people never get looked beyond. Everybody always knows how hard a white person has worked. Everybody always knows that. Right? Just amazing.

GLENN: Listen to this list, and tell me this doesn't apply to white people as well.

MICHELLE: The countless hours you spent studying to get this diploma. The multiple jobs you worked to pay for school. The times you had to drive home and take care of your grandma. The evenings you gave up to volunteer at a food bank or organize a campus fundraiser. They don't know that part of you. Instead, they will make assumptions about who they think you are, based on their limited notion of the world.

PAT: Jeez. Wow.

MICHELLE: And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be.

GLENN: Can I ask you, Mrs. Obama, the First Lady of the United States of America, who is of a race that is 11 percent of the population. So you were clearly not voted in with just your race, white people in droves went out to vote for you, and you were somehow or another invisible so much that you became the president and First Lady of the United States of America.

PAT: Twice.

GLENN: Tell me about the troubles that you have seen. I mean, it's just remarkable to me. Remarkable. Now, I'm not going to play anymore -- you want to play more?

PAT: There's a lot here. We haven't even gotten to the part where she talks about Baltimore.

GLENN: Well, play the Baltimore part. I can't take --

PAT: Yeah.

MICHELLE: We both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives.

GLENN: Stop.

PAT: Nobody else has. No white people has felt that sting. Nobody.

GLENN: No Hispanics. No whites. No Indians. Nobody else. And if you want to say that the Native Americans have felt it and the Hispanics have felt it, but the whites have never felt it. I mean, the conservatives have never felt it. The jobs that we -- that we are suddenly bypassed for because we're conservative. Because of our viewpoint. The religious that are mocked on a daily basis and belittled. Yeah, we've never felt that. We don't know what it's like. Okay. All right.

PAT: And, again, First Lady of the United States of America.

GLENN: Yeah. I'm not comparing -- I'm not comparing what anybody has gone through. The same as slavery. Or the same as what Martin Luther King went through. But we're not the country of Martin Luther King's time anymore. We are being dragged back to those days. And the proof is in the pudding when she starts talking about Baltimore.

MICHELLE: -- cross the street in fear of their safety. The clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores. The people at formal events who assumed we were the help. And those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

PAT: And why do people do that? We've questioned their honesty and integrity over and over again because of their actions.

GLENN: Because they lie.

PAT: Their honesty is in question because they've lied to us over and over again --

GLENN: And I want to make sure it's very, very clear. When we say "their honesty," we're not talking about black people. We're talking about this particular black person and her husband.

PAT: The Obamas. Yes.

GLENN: And we would question them like we do the Bushes. Like we do with the Clintons. Like we do with the Huckabees. Like we do with -- who else has been on our -- on our list of people to really question? Soros.

PAT: Harry Reid.

GLENN: Harry Reid. Lindsey Graham. John McCain.

PAT: They're liars.

GLENN: Liars.

PAT: And we've proven it over and over again. Now, love of country. That's based on your comments. On your actions. On the history of who you are and what you've done your whole lives.

STU: In the middle of the speech where she's essentially boiling her country down to a place that follows black people around in department stores and executes them as they cross the street, of course, we don't think you like this place. Look at the way you talk about it. You describe it as a horror show.

PAT: Right. She's the one who said, we have to change our history. We have to change our culture. We have to change where we are.

GLENN: Her husband said we have to have a fundamental transformation. I've pointed this out before. You don't go to the Mona Lisa and say I want to fundamentally transform this painting. You say, I want to restore it to its original beauty.

PAT: You don't go to the love of your life -- your wife or husband and say, hey, I really love you, but I want to fundamentally transform everything you are.

GLENN: Everything about you. It just doesn't happen.

MICHELLE: I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day. Those nagging worries that you're going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason.

GLENN: Stop. I want -- I just want you to make a note of what she's saying here. What she's saying here is, you as a black person, you're invisible -- think of this, you're invisible when -- when you want a job or you want to do something, nobody will even see you. But because you're black, you're super, super visible when you're in a store or when you're driving. And they're going to stop you for no reason whatsoever. And you have a justified concern of being stopped for no reason whatsoever. Just make note of what she's saying. Because she's about to get to Baltimore.

MICHELLE: Feared that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds. The agony of --

GLENN: Like Barack Hussein.

STU: When you're trying to lead the world with a name --

GLENN: While we're at war with a guy named Hussein.

STU: And Osama, which is one letter away of his last name.

PAT: How does she get away with this? How does she get away with a speech like this! It's unbelievable.

GLENN: Nobody's willing to say it.

STU: It's laughable. Can we at least put this into context one more time? All of these things, in the middle of all these things, describing the worst country you've ever heard of in your entire life, she complains that people continually think that she doesn't love the country.

PAT: And it's because she's black that they do that.

STU: It's not because you're black. It's because you keep saying this. This is the only way you ever describe the nation you live in. Of course, people think you despise it.

PAT: Every time.

GLENN: But she thinks -- she's saying that it's only because I'm black that they would question.

STU: Right. And it's not that at all. When you're asked to talk about your country, this is what you do.

PAT: Virtually every time.

STU: You point out every horrible thing that's ever happened and you act like it happens all the time.

PAT: Would anybody question if she loves this country if she would get up and say, and leave it at this, look, I know the country has problems. It always has. And it probably always will. But, look, I -- we -- I and my husband are the first couple of the United States of America where we belong to a group that's 12 percent of the population. And we were elected president and first lady of the United States.

GLENN: So don't get discouraged. Don't get down. You can make it.

PAT: Nobody has done that in the history of the world. But we have gotten there.

GLENN: These two people --

PAT: Jeez.

GLENN: I truly believe, in the history of all mankind, they may go down as at least top ten, maybe top five of people who had the biggest opportunity in the world, in all of history to change things for the better.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And they decided to go the other way. They could have changed race relations forever. And they took us back to the 1960s. On grudge politics.

STU: If you played this in a documentary from the 1960s, this speech --

PAT: It would be totally appropriate.

STU: You would have no idea that this country elected a black person. You would have no idea that we made any progress at all. This is boilerplate nonsense from the 1960s.

GLENN: Yes, it is.

MICHELLE: Sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal. The realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen, for some folks, it will never be enough.

PAT: Wow.

MICHELLE: Those feelings are real. They're rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible. And those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country.

PAT: Wow. Wow.

GLENN: So she's saying -- she is saying that the reason why Baltimore is on fire is because people are feeling invisible. They feel like they can't -- they're not being heard. They're not being seen. And she's saying, it's not just that those feelings are real. She's saying, in the beginning of this speech, in the beginning of this paragraph, that that is the truth. So it's one thing to say, you know, I know how you feel. But let me tell you the reality. The reality is, things are getting better. You're not invisible. I'm the First Lady and the president of the United States is my husband. You can make it in this country. Look, the struggle is not gone. The struggle is still there. But you can make it. You can make it. And the worst thing to do is riot in the streets. She's saying the opposite. I know what you feel because I felt it, and even I'm the president's wife and I still feel invisible. I feel like we're not being heard. And so it's -- it's not only your feeling. I validate your feeling. I'm here to tell you, it is happening. And that's why people are rioting in the streets. She is encouraging this kind of behavior.

STU: Yeah. And, first of all, taking something that was real in the 1960s and rehashing it now as if it's still the truth. Honestly, wouldn't you ask, why the hell would you love that country? If that country is real in 2015, I don't love it.

PAT: It sounds terrible.

GLENN: I don't want to live -- I wouldn't be proud of the United States of America if we were doing what we did in Selma, Alabama.

STU: No.

GLENN: I would not be proud of that country.

PAT: The most ironic bit of this is it happened in Tuskegee University.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. Booker T. Washington is spinning in his grave like a lathe. If you've ever read Up from Slavery, that is one of the greatest men to ever live in America.

PAT: It's the opposite of everything he stood for, believed, and advocated.

GLENN: Absolutely. But I doubt they even teach that anymore.

PAT: I bet not.

GLENN: I bet that's so lost. Even now, if you buy Up from Slavery, the copy that I have, I have an original copy. You go back and you read the -- the new versions, the version I have, the preface is from like some Harvard know-it-all that says, we're not even sure that any of this is even real.

PAT: What?

STU: What do you mean?

PAT: Are they saying he didn't write that?

GLENN: We think that this is mostly made up. He wasn't really a slave.

PAT: What! Oh, my gosh.

STU: Trying to discredit him.

GLENN: Yeah. To totally discredit him now.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: And he is one of the greatest voices. Every child, black, white, brown, doesn't matter, every child should read Booker T. Washington Up from Slavery. Should know who Booker T. Washington is. Should emulate his actions and his life. That guy had more answers in his pinkie than everybody in Washington has today.

STU: This is sort of separate. We say this many times though that the suspicion is, of many, that she's actually more radical than he is.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: Michelle is more radical than President Obama. This is an interesting piece of this. Because he's been criticized by some in the black community for using the word thug to describe Baltimore and some of these other riots. He's been out there actually using that word. Which MSNBC is calling the new N-word. The President of the United States is using that word to describe some of these people. That's not the vibe here. There's an obvious separation -- either he's completely lying when he's using that because he's using it for some political purpose, or they are at odds on this position.

GLENN: I have a feeling that their upstairs talk is very contentious. I have a feeling -- I don't know whether he believes it or what. But she does believe it. And he's probably saying to her, I'm the president. You don't know what I'm dealing with here. And he may actually believe it. But he's trying to walk a more fine line that she doesn't have to walk.

Does France's latest move PROVE lawfare is on the rise?

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An all-too-familiar story unfolded in France this week: the is law being weaponized against a "far-right" candidate. Does that ring a bell?

Glenn was taken aback earlier this week when he learned that Marine Le Pen, a popular French conservative, had been banned from the 2027 election following a controversial conviction. The ruling shocked French conservatives and foreign politicians alike, many of whom saw Le Pen as France’s best conservative hope. President Trump called it a "very big deal," a view shared by French commentators who fear this marks the end of Le Pen’s political career.

But this isn’t just about France—it’s a symptom of a larger threat looming over the West.

A double standard?

Fmr. President Sarkozy (left) and Fmr. Prime Minister Fillon (right)

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As of Sunday, March 30, 2025, Marine Le Pen led the polls with a commanding edge over her rivals, offering French conservatives their strongest shot at the presidency in years. Hours later, that hope crumbled. Found guilty of embezzling EU funds, Le Pen was sentenced to two years of house arrest, fined €100,000 ($108,200), and banned from public office for five years, effective immediately.

Glenn quickly highlighted an apparent double standard. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Prime Minister François Fillon faced similar—or worse—corruption charges, yet neither was barred from office during their political runs. So why Le Pen, and why now? Similar to Trump’s "hush money" trial, legal troubles this late in the election cycle reek of interference. The decision should belong to voters—France’s largest jury—not a courtroom. This appears to be a grave injustice to the French electorate and another crack in democracy’s foundation.

This is NOT about France

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This pattern stretches far beyond France; it’s a tactic we’ve seen before.

In early 2025, Bucharest’s streets erupted in protest after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of its presidential election. Călin Georgescu, a rising conservative, had clinched an unexpected victory, only to have it stripped away amid baseless claims of Russian interference. His supporters raged against the decision, seeing it as a theft of their voice.

Both Georgescu and Le Pen echo the legal barrage President Trump endured before his 2024 win. The Left hurled every weapon imaginable at him, unleashing unprecedented lawfare. In America, the Constitution held, and the people’s will prevailed.

Now, with Tesla vandalism targeting Elon Musk’s free-speech stance, a coordinated pushback against freedom is clear—spanning France, Romania, the U.S., and beyond.

The war on free will

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Trump’s 2024 victory doesn’t mean lawfare is dead; Europe shows it’s thriving.

France and Romania prove its effectiveness, sidelining candidates through courts rather than ballots. Glenn warned us about this years ago—when the powerful can’t win at the polls, they turn to the gavel. It’s a chilling trend of stripping voters of their choice and silencing dissent, all the while pawning it off as justice. The playbook is polished and ready, and America’s turn could come sooner than we think.

Melania Trump's fashion influence inspires the next generation

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First Lady Melania Trump’s impeccable style has long captivated admirers across the globe, but for one young woman, it sparked a creative revolution.

Lorelai, a young Glenn Beck fan who requested a degree of anonymity, first met Glenn while attending America Fest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona with her grandmother. An aspiring fashion designer and illustrator, Lorelai shared with Glenn some of her sketches of characters from Glenn’s latest book, Chasing Embers. She also explained how Melania Trump became the cornerstone of her artistic journey, inspiring her to craft modest yet beautiful clothing that redefines modern fashion.

Melania Trump’s elegance—stunning, powerful, and undeniably feminine—first captured Lorelai’s attention during the First Lady’s time in the White House. Unlike the casual, often immodest trends dominating her peers’ wardrobes, Melania’s wardrobe exuded grace and sophistication. From tailored coats to flowing gowns, her choices were a masterclass in balancing boldness with dignity, a philosophy that resonated deeply with Lorelai. This admiration grew into inspiration as Lorelai began designing apparel specifically with Melania in mind, aspiring to design pieces that could match the First Lady’s grace. She strove to reflect Melania’s breathtaking style in her sketches in an effort to demonstrate how modesty can be beautiful.

The First Lady’s poised and graceful presence has redefined modesty for the modern era. To Lorelai, the First Lady’s style proves that more fabric offers boundless room for imagination, allowing personality to shine without sacrificing dignity. Melania embodies this perfectly—her fashion commands attention with stunning, memorable elegance. Inspired by this, Lorelai’s mission is to craft clothing for her generation that mirrors Melania’s influence, blending contemporary flair with classic beauty.

After her meeting with Glenn at America Fest, Lorelai’s passion and resolve have only deepened. Through fashion and art, Lorelai hopes to inspire others with the same grace that Melania Trump exemplifies. Below are some of Lorelai's sketches she was eager to share with Glenn.

Melania Trump: First Lady

I really adore First Lady Melania Trump’s grace and timeless beauty. She is extremely intelligent and brave but also strong and poised. Her fashion style displays these traits. I was inspired to create these outfits for our First Lady in hopes that she would see these drawings. -Lorelai

Melania Trump: Lady Liberty

We, as a country, will be celebrating next year our 250th anniversary of independence. The designs that inspired this patriotic gown came from Lady Liberty and Lady Columbia art. I also love our American flag, and this design is a combination of all three. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Ember)

I chose to draw the characters Sky, Azaz and Ember from Glenn Beck and Mikayla G. Hedrick’s Chasing Embers series. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Ember)

I was inspired to draw a younger and teen version for Sky and Ember. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Sky)

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Azaz)

I also gave multiple outfits designs for Sky and Azaz. I loved that their personalities and character development meant in my mind a wardrobe development too. -Lorelai

Glenn: Government workers bought luxury cars with YOUR tax dollars

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The deep state isn’t a conspiracy theory — it’s a reality. And the corrupt, free-spending Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is just one example of how Washington insiders enrich themselves.

A little-known agency in Washington perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with our bloated, corrupt government: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. It should be the poster child of everything that Elon Musk is exposing.

The agency was established in 1947 under the Labor Management Relations Act to serve as an independent agency mediating disputes between unions and businesses — a noble mission, perhaps. But like so many government institutions, it has rotted into something far removed from its original purpose.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft.

What was once a mechanism for labor stability has morphed into an unchecked slush fund — an exclusive playground for bureaucrats living high on taxpayer dollars.

The FMCS is a textbook case of government waste, an agency that no one was watching, where employees didn’t even bother showing up for work — some hadn’t for years. And yet they still collected paychecks and spent government money — our money — on their personal luxuries.

Luxury cars and cell phone bills

The Department of Government Efficiency discovered how FMCS employees used government credit cards — intended for official business — to lease luxury cars, cover personal cell phone bills, and even subscribe to USA Today. The agency’s information technology director, James Donnan, apparently billed taxpayers his wife’s cell phone bill, cable TV subscriptions in multiple homes, and personal subscriptions.

FMCS officials commissioned portraits of themselves and hung them in their offices, and you footed the bill. They took exotic vacations and hired their friends and relatives to keep the gravy train rolling.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft — and it went on for decades, unnoticed and unchallenged.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the FMCS — a necessary and long-overdue move. But the FMCS is just one of many agencies within the federal government burning through billions of taxpayer dollars. How many more slush funds exist in the shadows, funneling money into the pockets of bureaucrats who produce nothing? How many government-funded NGOs operate in direct opposition to American interests?

Perhaps the most disturbing question is why Americans tolerate such corruption. Why do so many Americans tolerate this? Why is the left — supposedly the party of the people — defending the very institutions that rob working-class Americans blind?

Corruption beyond bureaucracy

The recent rallies led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and their socialist acolytes claim to be a grassroots uprising against corruption and greed. But GPS data from these rallies tells a different story. The majority of attendees aren’t ordinary citizens fed up with the status quo. They’re professional activists — serial agitators who bounce from protest to protest.

Roughly 84% of devices tracked at these rallies were present at multiple Kamala Harris events. A staggering 31% appeared at over 20 separate demonstrations, tied to Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and pro-Palestinian causes.

Many of these organizations receive federal grant money — our tax dollars — and they’re using those funds to protest the very policies that threaten to cut off their financial lifeline.

This isn’t democracy in action. This is political theater — astroturfing perfected. And the American taxpayer is funding it.

Rooting out corruption

Trump was a battering ram against this corrupt system. Elon Musk is a surgeon, meticulously exposing the infection that has festered for decades — and that’s why the leftists hate him even more than they hate Trump. Musk threatens to dismantle the financial web that sustains their entire operation.

When we allow the government to grow unchecked and our leaders to prioritize their own wealth and power over the good of the nation, figures like Trump and Musk are necessary. Rome didn’t fall because of an external invasion but rather due to internal decay that looked an awful lot like what we see today.

We must demand better. We must refuse to tolerate this corruption any longer. The FMCS may be gone, but the fight to root out this deep-seated corruption is far from over.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Did the CIA hide the real truth behind JFK's assassination?

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Many were disappointed by the recent release of the JFK files, frustrated by the apparent lack of answers to decades-old questions. The problem? They’re asking the wrong question.

Everyone wants a "who"—a smoking gun, someone to blame. It’s understandable; Americans crave justice for a slain president, to hold the culprits of one of the 20th century’s greatest crimes accountable. But the real answer isn’t a "who"—it’s a "what." That "what" is the CIA and proof of their nefarious dealings since the 1960s.

In his most recent TV special, Glenn delves into the JFK files, where he found the crucial information that everyone else seemed to miss. Be sure to watch the TV special here.

The CIA's Dirty Fingerprints

Did Oswald act alone? I tested the Warren Commission's "lone gunman" narrative and discovered something SHOCKING.

Watch the full experiment TONIGHT at 9PM ET only on https://t.co/Ki1CX633fq pic.twitter.com/DwNSUFXJ1r
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) March 26, 2025

While the recent JFK files don’t explicitly pin the assassination on the CIA, the evidence between the lines is compelling.

If you follow Glenn on X, you’ve seen his newest artifact: an exact replica of Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle. Glenn tested it at the range, attempting to replicate the notoriously difficult shot Oswald allegedly made that fateful day in Dallas. While Glenn shares more takeaways in his TV special, one thing stood out immediately: the rifle’s abysmal quality, its shoddy scope, and the odd caliber of ammunition it uses.

Oswald’s rifle, a Mannlicher-Carcano, is chambered in 6.5mm—an unusual caliber. Much like today, the average gun store in the ‘60s didn’t stock 6.5mm rounds. The largest known supply was owned by the CIA, who had shipped the ammo from Greece after World War II. Suspiciously, there’s no record of where Oswald got his ammunition, but the JFK files confirm that the gun store where he bought the Mannlicher-Carcano had CIA connections.

It’s well-known that Oswald defected to the USSR and lived there before returning to the U.S. The JFK files reveal that from the moment he touched down stateside, the CIA tracked him like a hawk. They followed him across the country and even to Mexico City—but, conveniently, seemed to lose him in Dallas just as President Kennedy arrived. What a coincidence.

Whether by design or gross incompetence, the CIA greased Oswald’s path, letting him slip unhindered into that sixth-floor Book Depository window.

The Cover-Up

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If the JFK files aren’t the smoking gun many hoped for, why did the CIA fight so hard to keep them buried?

The answer is trust. Hard as it may be to imagine today, Americans in the ‘60s trusted their government—at least more than they do now. This cover-up preserved that trust longer than it might have lasted, allowing the CIA to pull off more scandals before the public caught on. From Benghaziand 9/11 to COVID-19 and January 6, the same dirty marks found in the JFK files stain these events. It’s about saving face. The files make the CIA look incompetent at best, complicit at worst.

This might feel like common knowledge today—especially to Glenn’s audience—but 40 or 50 years ago, saying such things could land you in the loony bin. It’s taken 60 years of growing suspicion to reach this point. Imagine if the JFK files had been available back then. Could we have stopped six decades of CIA shenanigans in their tracks?

The thought is chilling.

What Now?

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The files don’t name a mastermind or explicitly confirm the darkest JFK assassination conspiracies that have swirled for decades—but they’re far from empty. They expose a disturbing truth: the CIA’s unchecked power in the ‘60s echoes into today.

In one of his most exciting TV specials yet, Glenn delves deep into the files, proving why we can’t ignore these revelations. Stop chasing a "who" and start demanding accountability for the "what." Only by confronting this can we hope to rein in the agency that’s dodged scrutiny for too long.

Glenn's Show Prep