Brad Thor: We Can Survive Hillary Clinton, Not Donald Trump

March 30, 2016

Writer

Outspoken conservative author and New York Times best seller Brad Thor joined Glenn's radio program to share his thoughts on the 2016 presidential election Wednesday.

But first, he had to clarify something.

“I got to tell you, I may be outspoken, but I haven't threatened to stab anybody, Glenn," Thor said, referencing the time Glenn jokingly threatened to stab his co-host, Stu Burguiere. Certain media outlets took the comment out of context and went so far as to accuse Glenn of threatening Donald Trump with violence.

With that out of the way, Glenn dove into the deeper subject of who we are as Americans and what's at stake in the upcoming election.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program or read the transcript below.

My Fellow Americans

GLENN: So, Brad, give me your take. I want to hear about, who are we? Do you even recognize your fellow Americans right now?

BRAD: You know what, I -- there are moments that I do and moments that I don't. And I had a talk with my wife over the dinner table the other night, and I said, "Let's take a moment and just put ourselves in the shoes of people who are in small towns across the country where the factory has closed. And they feel the American dream has slipped away from them."

And this rugged individualism that we used to encourage in people, we don't anymore. You know, the whole Andy Warhol, people are going to be famous for at least 15 minutes in their life. I think social media and all the other craziness out there has convinced everybody that they deserve certain things, regardless of what actions they take. So the spirit of getting up and moving, you know, leaving the Dust Bowl and finding jobs, whether it's in California, so on and so forth, we don't instill that kind of get-up-and-go self-determination.

So I said, if I was a person in one of these towns and I'm looking at my wife and my two lovely children and I can't feed them and I don't -- what might I do? That doesn't mean I agree with Trump at all. Because I don't. But I am trying to be at least somewhat empathetic and say, why might there be people who do support him?

But there are things we're seeing across the country, the violence, and all that, that's terrible. And regardless of who you are and what your job is situation is, you should demand more of a candidate than the Trump followers are demanding of Trump, particularly honesty, integrity, and accountability, which is not being asked for by anybody who follows him.

No Apologies for Lewandowski

GLENN: Well, he's saying that yesterday he would not apologize for Lewandowski. I'm sure you followed this.

BRAD: Absolutely. And, by the way, there's a great article up on The Blaze right now that's talking -- it's Mark Levin talking about, "Is this the kind of person you want in the White House?" And one of the points that Mark makes in the audio that's up -- I believe it's on the front page of The Blaze right now -- is saying, "You know what, Trump, you didn't give these tapes to the police. The police were going to get them either voluntarily, or they were going to get them under subpoena."

And the real big problem here is that Trump said originally, "It didn't happen." Blah, blah. And Lewandowski actually tweeted out to Michelle Fields right after she made these allegations, before even a police report, said she was delusional. He's never met her. He never touched her.

So he outright lied. And Trump -- this is a representative for Trump's campaign. It's his campaign manager. If he wants to work security, let him take that role. The campaign manager shouldn't be putting hands on anybody.

Do Not Tweet #TrumpLovesPecker

STU: Brad Thor has done a lot of good work, Brad, you have, on kind of opening people's eyes on the relationship between Donald Trump and the guy who is the head of the National Enquirer. And his affinity -- Trump's affinity for David Pecker. You really, I think crystallized that.

BRAD: Stu, first of all, I don't want this large audience to think that Trump loves Pecker. Because if we say Trump loves Pecker and it's not in context, then people start going around saying, "Trump loves Pecker. Trump loves Pecker." It could be misunderstood, and it could hurt --

STU: Right. And he's saying we don't want to say that.

BRAD: Absolutely. So please if I could just let everyone listening, to say Trump loves Pecker, to tweet it, to retweet #TrumpLovesPecker would be a horrible disservice to Trump and to Pecker. I mean, they have a very close relationship. And I do believe Trump loves Pecker, but I think it's inappropriate to put that out there without context.

GLENN: Okay. All right. This may beneath a number one New York Times best-selling author, you know, Brad Thor.

BRAD: But, Glenn, I do believe it was Saul Alinsky who said, "Ridicule: Do it."

War Gaming the Presidency With Brad

GLENN: Okay. Brad, one last thing. You are a guy -- you were part of the government's red cell program. Which, war games. Tell me a little about -- war game what happens if Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton are president.

BRAD: Well,it -- yeah, you've got two very, very different -- different outlooks on the world. The one thing, and I think it would be a disaster to have Trump as president. I think the way he overreacts to every single thing that happens makes you question how -- how stable he would be as president. And the last debate where he had said -- or the previous debate where he said that the military will carry out my orders, believe me, they'll do what I'll tell them to do is terrifying.

Now, does Trump become kind of a George Bush figure or a Reagan figure in that our enemies see him as a cowboy and unpredictable and they don't want to cross him? There's a potential there. That's the silver lining in a very bad, bad storm. Very bad cloud if Trump gets elected.

Narcissist in Chief

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Hold on. Do you believe there's a -- an equal chance that he becomes a Vladimir Putin here in America?

BRAD: I think there's absolutely no question. If you look at how Trump is using the press and using the media to bully his enemies -- listen, Glenn, Donald Trump is on his best behavior right now. It's not going to get better in the White House. This is his best behavior. This is all he's capable of.

He is, in my opinion, narcissistic personality disorder, and if you look the all the boxes that need to be checked for narcissistic personality disorder, it's a very dangerous person to hand basically unlimited power to. And if you think he'll intimidate the way he's done other foes around him, you're deluding yourself.

GLENN: People will say that's a good thing. He'll get things done.

BRAD: No way. This is not a country of men. We are a country of laws. And that is what a republic is. And he needs to respect those laws. And I don't believe he will. And I will do everything in my power to make sure he does not become president of the United States. He is bad for America. And he doesn't want it. I encourage everybody to read that open letter to Trump supporters from his former top strategist.

We Can Survive Hillary, Not Trump

GLENN: Hillary Clinton, if it's between him and Hillary.

BRAD: Well, I got to tell you, listen, I will never vote for Donald Trump. I will never -- Hillary is a thorough progressive. I mean, she was on TV last night talking about her progressiveness. I think Hillary would be a disaster for the country but we could survive and come out on the other side stronger. I don't think we can survive Trump. I'm even at the point now where if a third party or a write-in wouldn't guarantee that Trump loses, I might even vote Hillary Clinton if that's what it takes to stop Donald Trump because I think she's the lesser of two evils.

Featured Image: Hillary Clinton appears at 'The Ellen Degeneres Show' Season 13 Bi-Coastal Premiere at Rockefeller Center on September 8, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

Glenn: We MUST change our ways before we DESTROY ourselves

What happened to Europe?

Once upon a time, America and Europe fought side-by-side to overthrow authoritarian regimes and resist communist dictators. Now European leaders are adopting the policies Europeans once fought against—and calling AMERICA out for "abandoning liberal democracy." But as Europeans get arrested for their speech, their elections rigged, and their religion squashed, Glenn felt compelled to notify their leaders of the truth: America didn't abandon democracy, Europe abandoned its people.

With this in mind, over the weekend Glenn authored an open letter to the leaders of Europe, calling them to return to the core values of Western democracy that we fought so hard for and to listen to the voices of their citizens who cry out for change. Glenn encouraged his audience to read his letter and spread the word:

pic.twitter.com/176M6uYRbB
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) February 23, 2025

Glenn took to X to get as many eyes on his letter as possible. He also filmed a short video in his home stressing the importance of Europe's awakening. America cannot afford to prop up NATO anymore and Europe needs to be ready to hold its weight. Big changes are coming and for the sake of the Western values we have fought so long to preserve, we want Europe by our side, ready to face the future. We must change our ways before we tear ourselves apart.

An urgent message to Europe’s leaders: Return to the people’s voice. pic.twitter.com/ecI43zSnj5
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) February 23, 2025

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Contributor | Getty Images

In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

SAVO PRELEVIC / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

Glenn's Show Prep