BLOGMay 11, 2017

Glenn Tells Head of Libertarian Party What Floored Him About Gary Johnson

Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian Party joined Glenn in studio Thursday to discuss the contentious 2016 election and the future of his party. Does Sarwark see 2016 as a missed opportunity for the Libertarian Party?

"Absolutely not," Sarwark said.

"You don't?" Glenn responded in surprise.

Glenn and Sarwark continued a lively discussion about the 2016 candidates, Gary Johnson's distrust of religion more than government, and how Libertarians can shape their message of individual freedom to appeal to a larger swath of voters.

"He made a point every time he came on this program to mention that he distrusted religion more than he distrusted the United States government, and we were floored by that," Glenn said. "Now, I have a healthy distrust of religion as well. Religion gets us into problems just like government does. It depends on who is running those things."

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: We've invited the chairman of the Libertarian Party on, Nicholas Sarwark. He's 37 years old. He took over the head of the Libertarian Party when he was 34. He's a former public defender and -- and wants to grow the Libertarian Party. Welcome to the program. How are you?

NICHOLAS: I'm fabulous. Thank you so much for having me on, Glenn.

GLENN: You bet. When you look back at 2016, do you see that as a missed opportunity for the Libertarian Party?

NICHOLAS: Absolutely not.

GLENN: You don't?

NICHOLAS: We -- we took advantage of the opportunities that were given.

We had been doing work -- as you probably know, the Libertarian Party has been around for 45 years now, and it's been small, and it's been growing slowly and steadily over time. 2016 was a huge opportunity. The old parties decided they wanted to nominate the worst people they could find, and they did.

GLENN: Right. Right.

ROBERT: We nominated two very experienced former governors who were very popular Republican governors in Democratic states. So we had kind of the perfect storm.

GLENN: But were they? And I hate this test because no one ever passes the Libertarian test. You can talk to any Libertarian, and they will convince you that you're not Libertarian enough. So it doesn't -- so I hate this test. But these guys were for a lot of big government policies, when they were government -- when they were in government. And they also, you know, didn't meet basic fundamental principles of freedom of religion, et cetera, et cetera.

And we felt at least -- and, you know, I don't know who the Libertarian Party is trying to appeal to. But we felt at least -- and still do -- we belong in the Libertarian Party because we're strict constitutionalists.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: But we don't feel welcome there. And we certainly didn't feel welcome with Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: Really? And who made you feel unwelcome, Glenn?

STU: You. It was you.

GLENN: Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: It's usually me.

GLENN: No, it was Gary Johnson.

NICHOLAS: Really?

GLENN: Yeah, he was on our show a couple of times.

STU: And we liked him.

GLENN: And we liked him.

STU: We had good conversation with him.

NICHOLAS: Okay.

STU: But, for example -- quick example to back this up, he mentioned a lot to a lot of different media sources the percentage of issues he agreed with Bernie Sanders on. That was a big talking point for him, and I think to a lot of people in this audience, even though I can't imagine the percentage he was quoting, which was like 80 percent or something like that, was actually true, because he was using that as such a kind of an outward talking point, to many media sources and mentioned it even here on the show, I think that that scared a lot of the audience away.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: Also, he made a point every time he came on this program to mention that he distrusted religion more than he distrusted the United States -- the government. And we.

NICHOLAS: That's --

GLENN: And we were floored by that. Now, I have a healthy distrust of religion as well. Religion gets us into problems just like government does.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: It depends on who is running those things.

So we just -- we just felt like -- and this is why I wanted to have you on.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: Like Austin Petersen, we loved. We loved.

NICHOLAS: Okay.

GLENN: Where are you guys headed -- because I know America, especially the youth, is headed towards this -- you know, this idea of a new kind of Marxism. And big government. Are you guys constitutionalists, or a hybrid of things? What is it?

STU: Wow. That was a long question.

NICHOLAS: Yeah, that's a huge question. It's double-teaming, which is perfectly fair.

I'm used to it.

So starting with the Sanders thing, yeah, Gary Johnson agreed with Bernie Sanders 80 percent of the things.

GLENN: May I just say, you're not in a hostile room.

NICHOLAS: I don't feel like I'm in a hostile room. I feel like I'm in a friendly room. I'm smiling.

GLENN: All right.

NICHOLAS: He agreed with Bernie Sanders on a lot of stuff. I agree with Bernie Sanders on a lot of stuff.

GLENN: I agree with Bernie Sanders on the problems, not necessarily the solutions.

NICHOLAS: I agree with a lot of conservatives on a lot of stuff. Libertarianism is something fundamentally different, and there are a lot of conservatives who feel not welcome, as you feel. That's a -- that's a normal feeling. There are a lot of liberals who feel not welcome.

GLENN: Right.

NICHOLAS: And the reason is the same: We kind of deny the validity of the paradigm of left and right. Left and right is not important. What is important is freedom and government control. So if you're pro-freedom on an issue, you're for empowering individuals over empowering government, we're with you, whether the issue with you on is from the left or from the right. And the thing that makes people feel uncomfortable is, if you've been in this left/right paradigm, hearing somebody say nice things about a freedom issue that's on the left makes your skin kind of crawl. And if you talk to liberals, it's the same thing. If I say something nice about what a conservative did because it was pro-freedom on that issue, but it's from the right, they're like, "Well, you guys are just bad Republicans."

STU: Right.

GLENN: I would agree with you in most cases. With this audience -- not all of this audience, but a large share of this audience, we are -- here's the problem with Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson came in and he said -- or was on, and he said twice -- and then the running mate Weld said the same thing that -- we said, "How can you have a law that a photographer has to take a picture or wedding cake -- it doesn't make any sense. You can't be for ultimate freedom and maximum personal responsibility and also say, "Oh, and the government should regulate that." As Penn Jillette and I talked about --

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: -- you know, you should be able to have your business do anything that you want, and I have a reason to go, "I'm never going to go there."

NICHOLAS: I love Penn Jillette. So this is going to be hard for him to watch or listen to.

That's right to a point. There's a -- I can get into a long discussion of Anglo-American contract law and stuff like that. But that's probably boring for your listeners. The point is that there's this tradition of something being open to the public. A movie theater is open to the public. A drugstore is open to the public. And open to the public means if you're a person who is not belligerent and you come in, I sell you the stuff off of my shelves.

I don't get to say, "Hey, you can't buy the candy bar because you're white. Sorry. Leave." That runs through our legal history. There's also a long tradition, in America, which is really different, of a strong and vibrant First Amendment, both the free exercise clause and the free speech clauses, that say, I get to say whatever I want. The government can't stop me. Other people can disagree. And I get to exercise my religion, as I choose, as long as I don't violate laws of general applicability. And there can be no compelled speech. That's big. You can't make me say something I don't want to say, as the government.

The tension comes when you get in the middle. Because what are we talking about when we talk about cakes? Because it's a cake issue. And it's a hypothetical. And it's weird. But up in the northwest, it's not hypothetical. Are we talking about, hey, it's a Costco sheet cake. I just want to buy a cake? In which case, yeah, you have to sell that cake to everybody.

GLENN: It's off a shelf.

NICHOLAS: If it's, I want you to write, I want you to express, I want you to put words on to the cake, then it's different. And then photography gets into a weird spot because it's --

GLENN: It's art.

NICHOLAS: Some of it is art. Some of it is documentary. You know, is the artist's message in there? These are hard issues. There isn't one right answer. It's not black and white. A lot of life isn't black and white. And what I've been trying to do is get Libertarians to focus on how many areas do we agree on?

GLENN: It's amazing. Yeah. A lot.

NICHOLAS: If this is a point of contention, where you are a little farther on the free speech side than the Costco sheet side, that's okay. Because we agree on so much else.

GLENN: I agree.

NICHOLAS: Let's have a beer and talk about this. But let's work together on all the other stuff.

GLENN: I agree with you. It just, to me, it seems like a very -- a very easy call, I have -- for instance, you don't have a right to come in -- to me, to come in and say, "Oh, well, I'm just not serving your kind. So you get out." I got to serve you everything. But if you're asking me to do something that is part of a religious ceremony or something that I feel is religious, then that's an easy call.

NICHOLAS: Right. It's coerced expression.

GLENN: Yeah. And it's just so easy, black and white.

STU: It did not seem to be Gary's position, what you're articulating here. I'm totally comfortable. In fact, I agree with you, on what you just articulated. It's just, that's not what he articulated.

NICHOLAS: I got that. And no candidate is perfect. No person is perfect. I love Gary Johnson. He's strong in some areas. He's weak in others.

STU: As we all are.

NICHOLAS: Austin Peterson is strong in some areas, weak in others. And the delegates make those choices.

GLENN: Right.

NICHOLAS: You know, we're -- you want to talk about big differences between the Libertarian Party and the old parties, we had a convention in Orlando, where 1,000 delegates from across the country selected by state Libertarian parties came into a room. Our bylaws explicitly prohibit bound delegates. Every one of those people was totally free to vote for any presidential nominee. They got to meet them. They got to shake their hands. They got to see them in debates. And those delegates in that room made a choice about who they thought would best represent the Libertarian Party. My job as chairman is to empower the choice of those delegates. So I would get these calls where people would say, "Well, what are you going to do about Weld, or what are you going to do about Johnson?" The delegates decide. I don't decide that.

GLENN: No, I agree with that. It's not you. It's not the party. Now, the question is, how does -- because to me, this looks like such an easy place to go and unite the country. Because I -- I really believe -- I can live next to Ben & Jerry for the rest of my life. And they can --

NICHOLAS: They live here? I thought they were up in Vermont.

GLENN: Yeah. But I could live next to them for the rest of my life and we'd never -- we'd be perfectly fine neighbors.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: It's only when I try to affect them or their business or what they believe, or they try to do it to me --

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: -- coercively through government. So -- and I think that's where a vast majority of America is. I could be wrong.

How do you shape that message to cut through and -- and appeal to -- to more people? Because I think that's where people are.

NICHOLAS: I think you start by changing people's premises. The veterans of the culture wars, like many veterans, bear scars from that. Because these were fights that we had during the '90s and the 2000s, between the right and the left, over who gets to have government tell you how to live your life. That's what made them so bitter. That's what made them so angry. Because the stakes of losing were so high.

GLENN: Correct.

NICHOLAS: In a Libertarian society, what we change -- what the party is trying to do in changing America is take that option off the table. No matter how much we disagree --

GLENN: Amen.

NICHOLAS: -- about how you live your life or I live my life, which we may, probably have some disagreements, we agree as a premise that I won't try to use the government to try and control you and you won't use it to try and control me.

GLENN: This is so easy.

NICHOLAS: And it makes -- it makes for better debates and discussions and dialogues because we can get heated and we can get angry. And we can shout or yell or cry or whatever, but we know at the end of the day, it's safe. Because we're exchanging ideas, not fists or guns. That's what we're trying to -- to change about the culture of politics in this country. Libertarian politics is basically -- it's anti-politics. Politics, political economy generally is different groups of people arguing over which one of them gets to take your tax money and give it to their corporate cronies. Theirs. Because theirs are the good ones. Not the other guys. The other guys -- you don't want to give any money to him, but the developer that I know, oh, yeah. No, that's the guy that should get your tax dollars.

GLENN: We're seeing this with Donald Trump.

NICHOLAS: Right.

GLENN: The right was against the stimulus package.

NICHOLAS: Until he did it.

GLENN: Until he's got a bigger stimulus package, and they're for it.

NICHOLAS: Right. We're fundamentally different because we're the only political party in the country that's dedicated to the idea that you have a right to pursue happiness any way you choose, as long as you don't hurt other people and you don't take their stuff.

We're fighting to make it so that government stops taking stuff away from you and stops controlling your life.

GLENN: Okay. So let's get into that. When we come back --

NICHOLAS: Sure.

GLENN: And you're going to be with me on TheBlaze, so we'll maybe spend another ten minutes. And then tonight, at 5 o'clock, we'll spend a full hour. And I really want to concentrate on that. Because there's a new study out -- and this is of conservatives -- conservative millennials. Forty -- 51 percent say that the government -- that the First Amendment is sacrosanct, that you have a right to speech and a right to free press. 49 percent say that is sacrosanct. But the government has to decide what speech is okay. I mean, it's crazy. And it's conservatives that are saying that. How do we change that?

[break]

GLENN: Talking to Nicholas Sarwark. He is the chairman of the Libertarian Party. We have to get to this here in a couple of minutes, and we'll probably spend more time on it tonight. Can you just go over -- because I only have two minutes here. Can you just go over and then just tease for tonight to explain this, what you just said to me during the break?

NICHOLAS: Sure. Oh. Oh. You had asked earlier whether or not the Libertarian Party is constitutionalist. But it's not anti-constitutionalist. The Constitution, as written, has good things in it -- free speech, Fourth Amendment, stuff like that -- and it has bad things in it, three-fifths of a person, some anti-Democratic stuff.

We support freedom. Every issue. Every time. If the Constitution supports freedom, we're behind the Constitution. If the Constitution takes away freedom, we're against the Constitution. Our North Star is individual liberty, not a particular document written by a particular set of people in a particular place in time.

Legally, we're bound by the Constitution, but our goals --

GLENN: Is there a better document than the Constitution?

NICHOLAS: Oh, no. It's very much the Churchillian line. It's the worst system, except for all the other ones.

GLENN: Yeah. I'll give you that. I mean, we've had this argument -- I had a progressive on the other day, and we were talking about it.

And I said, "You know, let's just agree on the top ten. The first ten amendments." And I said, "Except for the 13th Amendment and Prohibition, the Constitution, all the other amendments are just like, hey, dummy, this is what we were saying in the first ten."

NICHOLAS: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: And that's really where we have to get to.

NICHOLAS: Bill of Rights is solid. Bill of Rights is solid. We're totally behind the Bill of Rights.

GLENN: Rock solid. Yeah.

NICHOLAS: Other parts of the Constitution get a little bit muddy.

GLENN: Yeah. But the Bill of Rights -- I think when people talk about the Constitution, I think, you know, they're not talking necessarily about all the inner workings of how the government works and the three-fifths clause, which was in there for a reason that nobody even knows about anymore. But looking at that Bill of Rights, there is a huge connection across all categories.

NICHOLAS: Absolutely.

GLENN: All categories.

I'm really looking forward to our conversation later today. 5 o'clock on TheBlaze.com. The Libertarian Party.

What is it? What do they believe? And where are they going in 2018 and 2020? You want to be a part of change? Join us tonight. 5 o'clock. Only on TheBlaze TV. TheBlaze.com/TV. Join us tonight at 5:00.

RADIO

Biden's Farewell Address, Rewritten by Glenn Beck

President Biden’s farewell address was filled with all sorts of irony. Perhaps most shocking was his warning that an “oligarchy” of power-hungry elites “literally threatens our entire democracy.” Surely, he isn’t talking about the progressive elites, right?! Glenn decided to rewrite Biden’s farewell address to better reflect the reality of his administration’s legacy. No joke!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: All right. So Joe Biden. And I know this is all going to come as new news for you, Stu.

Because I'm not going to lie. It came to me as new news this morning.

When I read it in the show prep.

This is not something, I would even care about. From this president.

But I think it's important just to notice how he's leaving office.

And there's a couple of things. One, have you ever seen a president who nobody gives a flying crap about more than this one?

STU: I don't think so. I mean, have I?

No. Has it ever occurred in American history is more the question.

GLENN: Right. It could be like John Tyler, or Taylor.

I don't even know.

STU: Tyler. That was the one I didn't even know existed. John Taylor, I think was the basis for Duran Duran. John Tyler, former president.

GLENN: Okay. Right. So former -- so I care about what's happening in this administration, just a little bit more than John Tyler!

STU: Or John Taylor. Right.

GLENN: Or John Taylor. Either.

I mean, I care a little bit more about John Taylor. He had some great songs.

STU: He had some great songs.

GLENN: So, I mean, I just don't care.

The only reason I do care. Is because what is he doing today, to destroy our country?

STU: Yeah. We've been doing this series of Biden's parting shots on our show.

Stu Does America, by the way. Blaze TV.

And there's a lot.

You could say, he's not doing anything. Because you think he's incoherent. And falling asleep on the job.

GLENN: No. He's not doing anything.

STU: It very well may be true. It also doesn't matter. He's doing a lot to the country here, as he walks out the door.

It does not seem that anyone seems to care.

GLENN: There was another 500 billion-dollar forgiveness of loans, yesterday.

STU: Not that much.

GLENN: How much was it?

STU: He did 150,000 people. And then another 200,000 people. I believe over the past few days.

GLENN: A lot of money and a lot of people.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: And this one he's saying, because the university scammed them.

Oh, Lord.

Okay and -- yes?

STU: I think that's just -- amazing. You go through a legal proceeding. That's how they get their money back.

They don't get the money back. We don't have to take that on as a country. And again, none of this is legal. None of this is constitutional.

Most of this will be overturned after he's out of office. Most of these poor people who believe they no longer have these loans, will wind up having these loans.

GLENN: Right, but they're still going. They're still going. They're filing all kinds of suits in court, and you're like, that's not going to stand in court. They're not going to pursue that.

It's just -- okay. Well, then stop it. Spend the time to stop it. That's what he's doing. He's just lighting little brushfires everywhere.

Thank goodness, Donald Trump is not California.

He'll put them out quickly, I think.

Now, the -- Biden gave a speech, and I -- I just rewrote it.

I'm sorry. I rewrote the speech.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: Because I said everything that he said, but I added a little bit of the truth.

Okay?

So let me give you what he said, last night.

First, do we have the -- the Hail to the Chief?

Or something that makes it sound official? Because it was very official.

It was in the White House. I'm not kidding.

He was sitting on a pillow last night.

Yeah. No. Real one. And just go ahead. So he's -- and now a message from the president of the United States.

My fellow Americans, folks, I'm serious. This is it.

This is my last address as your president.

No joke!

I've been in public service. For 50 years, now.

Maybe more.

I've seen a lot in my time.

But I've got to tell you, still believe in America.

Well, there's some things that we need to talk about. Things that really worry me.

I'm not kidding.

This is serious stuff.

First of all, the oligarchy thing.

Yeah. It's bad!

Folks, we've got billionaires and corporations running the shows right now, and it's dangerous. Come on. We can't have people, billionaires, who think they can run everything. Like George Soros.

Well, no.

Probably, he deserves a medal, but other people like that, that vote differently than the way we want them to vote.

That's just got to stop. Got to stop. Okay?

He's a good guy mostly. And big tech. Don't even get me started, folks.

Don't. Don't.

It's like my dad used to say. When I was growing up in Scranton, you know, just an average scrappy kid, hanging out with black people and minorities mainly.

You know, my dad used to say to me, don't trust big tech. He was way ahead of the game. Way ahead.

I loved my dad. I will cry. By the way, California, I can relate. Because I had a kitchen fire once.

Anyway, back to big tech. Don't even get me started. We had to work with them. You know. You know, to protect democracy. That's why we had an open line to Facebook and Twitter. Some people called it censorship. That's malarkey. Okay?

It was just, what's the word? Guardrails. Yeah, guard rails for democracy.

That's what that was. And misinformation.

Folks!

I'm serious.

It's everywhere. No joke!

Americans are buried in misinformation.

But let me be clear. We weren't part of that. Okay. Maybe a little bit. But not very much.

I mean, not that you know of.

It's coming out?

Okay. Well, all right.

Maybe a little. We did say Hunter's laptop was fake. Turns out, wasn't. That was a surprise.

No joke, people. I had no idea.

Maybe we had a few things wrong about COVID. You know, like the origins, the lockdowns, the vaccines. But come on! Folks, I'm serious.

It was confusing. You keeping it straight.

Come on.

Look, I know some of you are mad about my family making a few bucks overseas. But, folks, let me tell you, that's how business gets done sometimes.

You know, what are you going to do?

My son, Hunter, good kid. Smart as a whip. Oh, my gosh. What a talented painter he is. Did you hear? Five hundred million dollars of his paintings have been lost in the fire!

Damn it! But a good thing we had insurance on all of that art.

You know, he got some deals. China, Ukraine. Whatever. But it was all aboveboard.

I mean, I'm serious, folks. It's fine. Totally legit. And here's the thing about AI. It's scary.

Artificial intelligence. That's what they call it. I don't trust it. One day, you're talking to your phone.

The next thing you know, it's running your life.

That's why I wanted Congress to ban stock trading for government employees. No joke.

No joke. You can't have senators buying stocks when they know stuff about stocks!

It's just wrong, folks.

Never. I mean, not recently.

I have not recently benefited from stock trading. No joke.

My family made it the old-fashioned way. Through bribery.

That's what we did. All right.

That's America. And let me tell you about America and unity. Folks, we need unity now more than ever.

But you know what is stopping us?

And I mean it!

People who don't listen. They spread lies. They stir up television.

Some of them need to vote for the other guy, and I'm not kidding.

These people are dangerous. Folks, I'm not kidding. Makes me so mad. I could -- I don't know.

You know the rest. Now, I know I've made mistakes. Nobody is perfect. I mean, I'm pretty Tam close. But come on, folks. Give me a break. I'm just doing what's right.

You have to trust me on this. In closing, I want to remind you of the statute of liberty.

That lady has been swaying in the wind for years. But she never falls. Just like America.

She might lead a little to the right or left. But she stays upright. No joke.

It's a miracle. They wouldn't let me change that torch to an ice cream cone. Which I think that would have been great. You know, on her feet, we should have given her some socks or something. Because her feet has to be cold. They're made out of metal, seriously. Seriously, folks.

I'm not joking. What's her hair smell like?

So now it's your turn to stand guard.

Keep the faith. Protect democracy.

And remember, I love the little children.

Hey, God loves the little children.

He keeps them in the palm of his hand.

I've got my palm of my hand on little children.

It's good. Folks, come on!

I'm being serious.

It's real. I love it. I'm serious.

God bless you.

And God bless something else, I don't remember what it was.

So that is a summary of his speech last night.

And --

STU: He's good.

GLENN: Then he walked off into the sunshine.

With the -- and they're pretty close.

He had the seniors come this. You know, from his senior center.

And it was regulated. Ow! That one hurt there. But, hey, he was trying. No, folks, seriously, they're trying their best.

They're seniors. And look at them go. Look at them go.

STU: The Joe Biden players. Ladies and gentlemen.

GLENN: And we're going to miss it. We're going to miss them.

We really are. We really are.

You know, I was thinking, I really don't care except for the instruction.

And I think Democrats have it in the exact right place.

Because they don't care about the destruction, I don't think. At least the ones in Washington.

And they're not paying attention to him at all. They don't care what he's doing. They don't care, okay?

Isn't this exactly the way we should all feel about our president, all the time?

Without the fear of, good God, what is he doing behind the scenes?

Without that fear. He should not have that big of an impact. Nor should all of those clowns in Washington.

You know what I would like to do?

I would like to go back to doing comedy, like, remember, Stu. In the old days, 25 years ago, before 9/11. We were doing comedy.

Wouldn't that be nice? That would be nice.

Would love to do that. But we suddenly had to care. Because these people are out of their mind and out of control.

The way the Democrats care about Joe Biden right now is the way we should care about every president.

Okay?

They should have such little power. No. I'm not joking folks.

I'm not. I'm being serious.

Such little power. We don't care. Yeah.

Yeah. Now, let's go have some ice cream.

STU: I mean, that's -- what the Founders kind of wanted, right?

They wanted a country in which, where you didn't have to think about the cane all the time --

GLENN: Yeah, and you would say, shut up. Shut up.

That's what I think our Founders.

STU: Italian Founders. Yeah. Shut up.

Because, again, it's easy to think about now, as someone you probably like is coming into office.

So you might like the focus on them.

GLENN: Well, I like the focus on them. Because I will fix it. You know what I mean? And then we need to care enough to get those things out of an executive order. And passed as laws. Otherwise, four years from now. We can have somebody -- Karl Marx, they might bring back from the dead. And they will be like, Karl Marx, you know, his first time around didn't go well. But I'm serious, folks. He's great now. And look at that beard. I mean, that's a great beard. Especially for being dead for so long.

And they -- we can -- he will be like, I will do a few executive orders. What? What's the problem?

You know, no! We need to pay attention, so they actually pass these things, as bills.

STU: Interesting. A development on that front. The Republicans are trying to talk Trump out of doing some of these executive orders.

When he first starts. Because of a -- basically a technicality, that comes from this law that we want to pass, this reconciliation bill.

This is their one big bill. To do that. They can pass this bill with only 50 senators.

If it's cutting the deficit, essentially.

And so the -- what -- some of these executive orders that Trump wants to do, will help that. Right?

GLENN: But they need to have them in the pill.

STU: They need to have them in the bill to make sure the scoring is right, so they can pass it.

GLENN: You know, I have to tell you. I think there's more to cut than everyone thinks. Oh, gee, we've got to reduce the deficit.

And you will cut a lot of places. I think you could find more.

STU: I think you can. I think you can.

Again, if you're going to do it anyway. I would prefer, if it's a good measure. And it's going to improve the budget situation. I would rather have it in the reconciliation bill, than as an executive order, for the same reasons you're talking about.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. But I would like to not give away, the stuff that we could get through executive order.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: You know.

STU: If you can get it through the law.

GLENN: Get it through the law.

STU: Get it through the bill. Get it that way. If it's not available there. Then you go --

GLENN: Take it elsewhere.

Because there's a lot that can be cut. Gee. I don't know. We're a few hundred billion dollars away from being able to save the deficit. And pass this bill.

I don't know. Department of Education. Where are the keys?

STU: You can't do that by executive order.

GLENN: No. I'm saying Congress. I'm saying Congress.

We can't do it in the bill.

We can't just pass it with 50, because it's not enough.

Where are the keys to the Department of Education?

I would just like to see them, right now.

Let's put them in the pile. All right.

California Fires and New Jersey Drones: Government Secrets EXPOSED | Glenn TV | Ep 405

The secrets, lies, and utter absence of transparency from all levels of government are tearing our country apart. In just a few days, the Trump administration has the opportunity to change all of that and start a new era of accountability. Over the past decade, we’ve been lied to about Epstein, Ukraine, the Biden crime family … the list goes on! In this episode of Glenn TV, Glenn peels back the layers on two of the biggest stories right now that Americans are DEMANDING answers on: the fires in Los Angeles and the mysterious drone sightings that started in New Jersey but have since occurred all over the world. Then, journalist Michael Shellenberger joins to discuss how California failed to prepare for the Los Angeles wildfires, why there never should have been a dry reservoir, and where he believes the drones are coming from: Are they Chinese, UFOs, or the property of the U.S. government?

RADIO

The TRUTH About Biden’s Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is already showing signs of falling apart. The deal, which includes the swap of 33 hostages for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, was paused after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of breaking some of its promises. The Biden administration took plenty of credit for the deal, but also acknowledged Donald Trump’s role in its finalization. But Glenn explains why this is NOT Trump’s deal. When Trump takes office, he believes, we’ll see a deal that’s much better for Israel.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So let's talk about this deal in the Middle East. Here is -- and remember, the State Department is -- is ground zero for everything bad. In the world.

I mean, I -- honestly, I think Marco Rubio should go in.

And he said fire everyone on the seventh floor. Maybe the sixth.

Just fire them all. You're all gone. I don't care if some of you are good. I don't have time to sort it out.

You're all gone.

Because it's been out of control since really FDR.

And they think that they're in charge of the world.

And it is the State Department, that has brought us these endless wars and everything else.

They've got to go. They all have to go.

So with that in mind, listen to the State Department spokesperson on the Hamas deal.

Listen to this.

GLENN: When it comes to the involvement of president-elect Trump's team is absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.

And it's been critical. Because obviously, as I stand here today.

This administration's term in office will expire in ten days.

And one of the things we've always said about this deal.

When you get to stage one, to stage two. That the United States, Egypt and be Qatar. Are the guarantors of this deal. And Egypt and Qatar will push Hamas to stay at the bargaining table. And to get from stage one to stage two.

And the United States will push Israel to stay at the bargaining table from phase one to phase two.

Obviously, those are promises we cannot make on behalf of the United States for any longer than the next five days.

And so it's critical that all of the parties to the agreement and the other mediators see that when the United States is in the room, making commitments. Those are lasting commitments. That extend beyond this administration. Into the next one.

GLENN: Uh-huh. So stop.

They're long-standing commitments. They will go long past the five days.

Well, they must even make it to day two. Overnight, this deal has started to fall apart.

And it started to fall apart with Benjamin Netanyahu. And the Israelis.

Okay.

Well, wait. I thought that's the critical role that Donald Trump was playing. That's what he just said.

We can -- we can bring Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel to the table. Well, Benjamin Netanyahu did not go to the table, under Biden.

Didn't come to the table. Now, Hamas didn't come to the table because of Biden.

This has all happened, because Donald Trump has said this. Cut one.

VOICE: I think they heard him loud and clear.

It will get done by the inaugural.

VOICE: Before we take office.

VOICE: And don't release the hostages.

VOICE: Do you have to define it for you.

All hell will break out. If those hostages aren't back. I don't want to hurt your negotiation.

If they're not back by the time I get into office. All hell will break out, in the Middle East.

And it will not be good for Hamas.

GLENN: Okay!

So wait. How is Donald Trump responsible for a deal that looks like it's really good for Hamas.

And not good for Israel.

All hell will break loose.

This is the only reason why they're talking about this. And Joe Biden, eager to make a deal.

Made a deal that's good for Hamas, not Israel. So that's falling apart right now.

STU: Deal is falling apart?

GLENN: Yeah. Fell apart overnight. It looks like, it's not holding.

STU: Well, I mean, because it is -- obviously has some good in it for Israel.

And potentially America, right? Potentially American hostages released.

GLENN: But also potentially --

STU: We don't know. It's something like 33 for a thousand. Something -- as always with these deals.

It heavily favors Hamas.

GLENN: Correct.

It leaves Hamas in power.

All kinds of things bad for Israel.

STU: It does not end the war. It's a cease-fire. Okay.

That's important.

GLENN: Yeah. A cease-fire.

That's important.

So Donald Trump is the reason why something will happen. Okay?

Donald Trump has not been able to make a deal. Get them to the table.

He can make a deal. But it's a Biden deal. A bad deal.

He can make that deal with them right now. Because they all know, daddy is coming home.

We better stop our bickering.

Because daddy is going to solve it. And I'm not sure we're going to like the solution coming from daddy.

So they try to get into a deal.

Notice, if the Israelis are the ones pulling out, you don't think Benjamin Netanyahu is just springing that on Donald Trump.

He's not just like -- Donald Trump is not getting up today and going, wait. The deal fell apart. Benjamin Netanyahu and the Knesset doesn't want to deal with that? What happened? Uh-uh. They were on the phone with him, so he knows that.

No matter what the White House tries to do and rope him in, this is not his deal. It's moving because of him. But that's all.

And I take him seriously when he said -- I mean, let's talk about this in a week. Let's talk about this next Friday. Where will this story be next Friday?

Because I don't think it will be here!

You'll notice, he said, make a deal before I even get into office.

There's going to be a lot of talk with Hamas, on what exactly they have to do. And what the ramifications are.

Because I would not put it past Donald Trump, by Monday evening.

Drones, to be flying over Hamas.

He will -- he will release hell on them.

He is a guy, that keeps his word. Because he knows, if I don't, then I'm known as somebody who just bluffs.

And I'm not going to do that. Because that puts the United States. Into real trouble.

And he's been real clear on this, over and over and over again! Hell will be paid if you don't release the hostages, by the time I'm in office.

So we'll see, exactly what is coming on.

RADIO

Female Veteran Says Pete Hegseth is RIGHT About Women in the Military

Congresswoman and Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna joins Glenn to clear up one of the Democrats' biggest lies about Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing: "Pete never said that he didn't want women to serve in the military. In fact, it's quite the opposite. But I have the same agreement in that there are certain roles that women SHOULD NOT be subjected to in the military." Plus, she discusses why she’s hopeful that the Trump administration will reveal the truth about UFOs and the mysterious New Jersey drones.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna from Florida. Welcome to the program. How are you?

ANNA: Hey, Glenn. Happy to be back on.

GLENN: Yeah, it's very good to talk to you. So you were in the Air Force?

ANNA: I was.

GLENN: And what did you do in the Air Force?
ANNA: I did air field management, and worked with actually my first installation, was the B-2 stealth bombers of flight plans, a lot of inspections, a lot of readings. Did not serve in combat.

However, I definitely have an opinion or two on women in combat.

GLENN: I would like to hear it.

ANNA: First of all, during the confirmation hearings. They were incredible.

And they were trying to walk them into these sound bites. The one thing I kept hearing from the Democrats was, they were taking his comments out of context, in regards to women in the military.

So Pete never said that he never wanted women to serve in the military. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

But I have the same agreement, in that there are certain rules that women should not be subjected to in the military. So in a lot of foreign countries, you will see there will be women-only sniper teams. And/or women-only teams that will see combat. Now, I preface this by saying, that there is a study that has been done. And shows that when women have been placed in harm's way. That the natural instinct for men was to protect that woman. And that's the right thing to do.

That's that, quote, unquote, toxic masculinity that the left tries to mess with all the time --

GLENN: That is human nature. We're born with that, but go ahead.

ANNA: Right?

And so when you have though, a woman that let's say, plays on a Special Forces team. They come under fire.

Hypothetically that woman gets hurt. Instead of focusing on the mission, as it would be, the men then would in turn, go to protect that woman.

And it could ultimately result in, A, more casualties, more people getting hurt, and then also jeopardize the success of the mission.

And so I think when we're looking at military policy as a whole, we need to take these things into consideration. But it's very easy because Pete is a white male. For them to try to demonize him and treat him as this anti-woman, you know, alcoholic womanizer, which is simply not the case.

Other thing, and the reason why I wanted to show my support for him. Was, look, Pete is a Christian. He has the Jerusalem cross tattooed on him.

That does not mean he's a Nazi. That does not mean he's a white nationalist. So what I've been telling reporters. If Pete was so anti-, you know, anti-minority.

Anti-, you know, anything to do what we stand for and value in this country, why would you have the same -- because they don't really have a response to us.

GLENN: Yeah. All right. So do you agree with him? Because I took from him yesterday, something else about the military. I have no problem with women in the military, with an exception of the natural order of things, where I think men -- I have to tell you, if -- if one of the guys was captured by, you know, al-Qaeda. I would do everything I can to make sure that one of the members of my team, you know, were safe. And I would do everything that we should do. However, it's different if I know that the woman member of our team, has just been captured.

I -- it takes on a different meaning to me. Because I know what's going to happen to her, in compared to Tom or Tim.

And I think that is a natural instinct, that you cannot get rid of. And you don't want to.

The second thing, that I think that Pete is talking about. And we saw this in the fire chief, in -- in Los Angeles.

Where she said, you know, I -- you know, I'll talk to people. They'll say, well, you can't lift my husband out of our burning house.

And her response was, well, you know, he got himself into a place he shouldn't be.

So why should I?

Okay. So that's ridiculous. As long as a woman can physically do exactly what is required of the male, then I don't have a problem with that. Do you agree with that?

ANNA: I would say, though, there's this aspect of psychology. And certain situations. Where I don't think women should be placed. So right now, what we're seeing, is -- you know, those are all great points, Glenn.

The military standards, currently. There are different standards for women and for men.

That's just a fact. But there are also different requirements for different jobs. Right?

If you can go in, for example, to be a fire firefighter, you're required to lift X amount, whether or not you're a man or a woman in the military.

But in that sense, I would say that, when you're talking about conditions where you're living in a field. When you're talking about conditions, when you know that there is going to be a psychological aspect and component. It doesn't mean that women aren't as good as men.

I think there's been cases, where women can be better snipers than men are.

Depending on what you're looking for job-wise.

What I will say, as far as my perspective is concerned.

I don't think women should be required to register for the draft.

I know that Senate Democrats were pushing that.

And I also think that women should not be placed in certain combat roles in the military.

GLENN: Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.

Let me switch topics with you.

You were one of the biggest advocates for the UAP. UFO disclosure.

Any updates on -- on that hearing, the updates on the New Jersey drones.

And were you able to get David Grusch into a skiff and get a classified briefing? And if so, what was your takeaway?

ANNA: So I was not able to get Grusch into a skiff. In fact, they were blocking that, by not re-activating his security clearance. And so I'm hopeful with the new incoming administration, especially because as of right now, you know, Marco Rubio led to his confirmation for Secretary of State.

GLENN: Yeah.

ANNA: And they have been in the Senate, one of the big advocates and supporters of looking into UAP's -- a/k/a, UFOs. And then everything else associated with that.

Now, what I will say, is that I've been grossly disappointed and disgusted by how the Biden administration handled what happened with the Chinese spy balloon, which to be clear is different than a UAP.

The fact is, some of these drones are likely tied to not just hobbyists. But probably more nefarious actors.

Even if we had that information, shared in the public. I don't believe that the Biden administration would have done that.

Because of how I saw, how they handled the drones.

In the United States. And collecting intelligence. Nonetheless.

It was a Chinese intelligence operation.

You know, I had one of my colleagues Van Drew, who actually made an admission on television, that it was adversarial drones. And then you saw the Intel community come out. But Van Drew would not just make something like that up.

So you're seeing kind of this rift occur with the intelligence community, and then people that do want the American people to simply know the case.

I think this is probably the topic of longer discussion. In regards to what a UAP is. What's interesting, Glenn. And I know you look at these things through a lens, as do I.

As a Christian, first and foremost. But what's interesting, when I was questioning Grusch.

I actually asked him, well, what would you consider, in so many words -- is this like a physical ST?

And he kept calling things inter-dimensional beings, if we're specifically referencing UAPs, and so I think that that just aligns in perspective, to think about this from.

I think there's a lot. You would have talked about this even ten years ago.

Your political career would have been over. People would have said you're a conspiracy theorist.

I can tell you, this is probably the number one question I get. No matter where I am at in the country, people come up. They appreciate it, because everyone is curious. So I'll leave you with that.

GLENN: So let me just -- let me just follow that here, just a little bit.

The inter-dimensional beings, that could be spiritual. That could be a quantum being. Any idea what he meant by that?

ANNA: You know, I actually tried to pull on his string. And he didn't want to go there.

And I can also tell you, when I was talking to him, with a group of other legislators on the phone, prior to the hearing.

That he did make the omission. That he was actually in fear of his life. And that something happened, where he tried to kill him.

So I don't know if that was associated. But he did not want to go into that any further.

And so based on my investigation. Based on what we're told in the hearing, I would say that it does not seem like it would be a good thing.

He gave me the impression. That this was nefarious.

So take it for what it's worth.

It's inter-dimensional.

I think quantum could be, you know,

GLENN: Right.

ANNA: We're on the same page there.

GLENN: So it is so bizarre that this kind of stuff is happening.

And we're not being told. Donald Trump said that he would talk about the drones. On Tuesday.

He said, give me a day, to get settled on office.

And he said, I'll find iota the drones. And I'll tell the American people.

If that's China. Should we know, the American people?

ANNA: I think it would be well within his wheelhouse.

And I think he wants the American people to start to trust their elected officials.

It goes to so much deeper than just have someone in the White House on your side. Right?

Because we know that -- and from what I've gathered, because remember, there's been bipartisan and bicameral meetings in the Senate, the House. And Democrats and Republicans have all been working on this together, to get some answers and information.

And there is a certain level of stovepiping that we've seen with information. And then also too, the aspect of, I as a sitting member of Congress. Who sits on oversight and foreign affairs, was denied access by a general at the Air Force base, to whom I responded. Who gives you the right and authority to tell a duly elected member and group of Congressmen, that they don't have access to a program that we write the damn checks for?

You have no authority to deny us access.

And so that conversation, probably not comfortable for that general.

GLENN: How did that end?

ANNA: Well, he left.

He actually got up in the middle of our meeting and went on TDY. Which any military member will tell you, never happened. He left the meeting.

He left the state.

He got up and left.

GLENN: Wow! Did you ever get an answer?

No. Representative Gaetz and Representative Burchett were also there to witness this.

I never seen that happen. And remember, I was in the military.

He literally got up and left in the middle of the meeting. Said he had orders in Georgia, and he never came back.

GLENN: Are you -- are you concerned at all about some of the conversations. We just saw another video from James O'Keefe.

Where he's talking to somebody who was -- I think he claimed to be in the FBI.

Said, he and others were meeting with generals. To make sure that they had a control on Donald Trump.

Are you -- are you confident at all, this time around, Donald Trump will be able to route that.

VOICE: Oh, most certainly.

And I will say, that has a lot to do with the confirmation of the Secretary of Defense.

You know, top down.

Last time president Trump was in office. I think there was a lot of trust in people, to do the right thing.

And then he realized that the Deep State was real.

And there were people running, regardless of whether he was a Republican. Or whether they're Republicans or not.

That they were working against his agenda. Because they didn't like what he stood for.

What we're finding, there is going to be a setup to go through these generals. That, A, discharge military members based on vaccinations. And boards.

The fact is, if you're a general and you're pushing wokeness ideologies.

Or you're trying to undermine subjective o the commander in chief, you have no place in the Department of Defense, period.

And so those people conspired, and I look forward to that. Because I can just tell you from a congressional perspective, Glenn. I actually had an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act to remove DEI for military training.

And I have friends still in the military. So someone at Ramstein Air Base actually sent me an email of an officer there, that was directly undermining what we did. Congress has removed DEI.
So we're renaming it. Please, proceed with the training.

Guess what, that person is also going to be fired. And that's really how you're going to be at the DOD --

GLENN: Good. Good.

If you could hold for 60 seconds, I need to take a network break and come back. I want to ask you about Cuba. What the Biden administration just did. And also about Tulsi Gabbard. And how you feel about her and her nomination.

Back in just a second with Anna Paulina Luna, Representative from Florida.

Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn Tells Head of Libertarian Party What Floored Him About Gary Johnson

Biden's Farewell Address, Rewritten by Glenn Beck

Transcript

California Fires and New Jersey Drones: Government Secrets EXPOSED | Glenn TV | Ep 405

The TRUTH About Biden’s Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal

Transcript

Female Veteran Says Pete Hegseth is RIGHT About Women in the Military

Transcript