RADIOSeptember 23, 2024

How to convince your Democrat friends to 'JOIN THE RESISTANCE' | Bret Weinstein

Evolutionary Biologist Bret Weinstein used to be a Democrat but now has since flipped to support Donald Trump. What was the final straw that caused him to look at his party and say, 'Enough is enough'? Bret laid it all out for Glenn here: "It wasn't one thing. It's a consistent pattern of hostility to the things that make the West so productive, vibrant, and innovative." But Bret also explained how we can convince our Democrat-leaning friends to make the same change he did.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I wanted to bring Brett Weinstein on.

He's an evolutionary biologist.

Co-host of Dark Horse, the podcast.

He is also one of the founding members of the team, putting together. Join the resistance.

And you can find out all the information at jointheresistance.org/donate. It's September 29th in Washington. So that's a week from this weekend.

I know how you probably feel about going to Washington.

Kind of the same way I feel about going to Washington.

But I'm doing my best to clear my schedule. And be this. Just to stand in the crowd and be there with everyone else.

Because I think this is really, really important.

Brett, welcome to the program.

BRET: Thanks so much. It's great to be with you. On.

One minor correction. The website is jointheresistance.org. The name of the event is Rescue the Republic.

GLENN: Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Rescue the Republic. So tell me what Rescue the Republic is, for people who don't know.

BRET: Rescue the Republic is more than an event.

It is really, in my opinion, the furthest meeting of the vast unity coalition, that is forming, in large measure, in response to the tyranny, that is clearly unfolding. And planned by what I call the blue team.

I'm embarrassed to say, that's the party to which I still belong. The Democratic Party which has obviously gone rogue. And opposes all the values that are foundational to the West.

So many of us, across the political spectrum, have recognized this hazard. And are putting aside our political and ideological differences. In order to protect the civilization.

Which has been so good to us.

And to stave off the disaster, that will untold, if it is -- it is destroyed.

GLENN: So, Brett, I mean, what?

Eight years ago. You and I wouldn't have been talking. I don't think.

We would have seen each other in the opposite camp. What is it that -- I know what brought you out of that. And decided to go to say. You know, I need to stand on my own here.

Because some things don't make sense, and they're not right.

But what turned you?

What was the turning point for you to say, this -- my own party, is so dangerous to the republic. That I have to -- I have to sign up, and be on the side of Donald Trump.

BRET: Well, it wasn't one thing. It's a consistent pattern of hostility to the things that make the West so productive, vibrant. And innovative.

And, you know, any one of those things could be just myopia of some sort.

But the consistent pattern suggests that we are under the control of people, who do not value the system. For what it is capable of.

And find the rights that we are guaranteed by our Constitution.

So I can't stand by, and watch that happen. I have children. I love them.

They need to have a nation and a world, that is livable.

One in which, they are not seen, as a host to some parasitic force.

But they are understood to be citizens, with rights.

So in light of what we are up against, what possible the difference could there be, between us, that would matter?

GLENN: Hmm. How do you talk to people?

Because you must hear it all the time. You must hear from people who is, you know. Things. Crazy things like you're a traitor.

How could you possibly do that? I mean, Donald Trump is out of his mind crazy. He's a danger. And we're all going to be in shackles and chains.

How do you -- how do you talk to those people, and -- and get them to see the -- the hypnosis in some ways, that they're under.

BRET: Well, I have a couple -- a couple different approaches. But I would say, the key thing is to recognize that this is a kind of hypnosis of some sort. And I believe that literally.

Which means, that the -- the people you're talking to, to say that. Nine out of ten of them. Maybe 99 out of 100 are victims of something that they don't understand. They don't see it. And the way to reach them, is incrementally. The first job is always to let them see your humanity.

GLENN: Yes.

BRET: And let them understand. Know what it is, that they feel.

And that you're concerned about it too. And what you want is to leave them with the question, if the person I'm sitting across from. Sounds reasonable to me. They don't sound crazy. They don't sound like they have bizarre objectives or values.

How could they possibly have reached such a different conclusion about what we must do now? That's the question to leave them with.

And then when you return, hopefully, they will be curious. There will be a lot of questions about how you could possibly be doing something that in their mind, is the height of insanity.

And that's a conversation that most people would have. You would be surprised. If you could break through the first layer, and get past the instinct to either avoid the topic. Or shut down the counterarguments.

GLENN: Right.

BRET: There's a lot of room to discuss where we are, and where we should be headed.

GLENN: So we're running out of time.

What do we have, about 50 days before the election?

BRET: That's about right.

GLENN: We're running out of time.

And I've had really great hope. I mean, you look at the people, who are coming to rescue the republic.

It's Bobby Kennedy. And it's Tulsi Gabbard.

You're going to be there. Russell Brand is going to be there. Charlie Kirk is going to be there.

I mean, it's -- it's a lot of very different people. Some of the best doctors are going to be there.

Some of the best people on -- on economics, is -- they're going to be speaking.

Very short bursts from everybody. On all of the things that are being violated. And how we have to -- and how we have to fix it.

How -- how do we do this in 50 days?

BRET: Well, it's obviously a heavy lift, but it's also easier than you would imagine.

And I -- I'm not sure how to make this point to people. But all of the political analyses about the election are inherently wrong.

If they calculate what the -- the race is going to look like on Election Day, based on what we think of as voters.

Because there's a huge collection of people, who are not voting.

Some of them don't vote because they're tuned out.

There's nothing to be done in 50 days. About those people.

But a huge fraction are actually not voting because they're fed up. Those people can come off the bench. And if they do so, in significant numbers, they can swing any election.

So from my perspective, as somebody who has frankly thought it wise, to vote against both parties, in almost all of the elections that have taken place. Or presidents, in my lifetime.

This is not the moment to do that. And it is certainly not the moment to sit out of the election.

This is the moment to come off the bench. And to stand up for the values, that make our marvelous nation possible.

If we can get people to recognize that, we can actually make a decisive enough victory, that it can overcome, what is presumably, the margin with which the blue team is capable of cheating.

GLENN: The -- you know, Elon Musk has said, repeatedly now. That he feels, this is pretty much it.

Western civilization is at stake. This time.

Now, that sounds like hyperbole to a lot of people. But on September 11th, you know, of 2001, we -- we all instinctively knew that. When we were hit that day, we all thought, oh, my gosh. This thing is fragile. It could come apart at any minute. And what they were trying to do on 9/11 could be done at the ballot box, this time. And -- and destroy, not just America, but the entire Western world.

How do you convince people, that that is -- that's not hyperbole.

Because most people don't that believe that could ever happen.

BRET: Yes, I -- I truly believe it's not hyperbole.

And, in fact, I believe that we are being slowed down, in our recognition, that it is actually an ongoing process.

What we are living through, is the looting of our system. The resources are being drained out of it. Because those orchestrating it. Understand that they are pulling the plug.

So we need to wake up faster. That all this money printing is not the result of foolishness. This is the end game.

The same that could be said of the bubbles that we see in our markets, and the fact that they have come up with rationalizations for incriminating our most fundamental right. Freedom of speech.

Tells you, that this is the end of the process. This is the point at which they don't want us to be able to talk about what they're doing. Because it's going to go on and fast forward.

So I don't think Elon is being hyperbolic at all. I think he's right on target.

GLENN: I do too. And I'm so glad to see, people that are open-minded. And, you know, generally don't vote the same way I certainly was.

Come to the same conclusion. And understand where we are.

So tell me, a little bit about the event on September 29th in Washington.

BRET: So the event is a free event. We're hoping for a very large turnout for a couple of very different reasons.

One reason is that it will make it obvious, that the Supreme Court for it is the new unity coalition is tremendous. And that will make it very hard to sell the story, that Kamala has -- has been swept to victory by a wave of support.

The other reason though, is that seeing people. Flesh and blood people. Gathering across political differences.

Putting the ideology aside. Is going to be meaningful to the large number of people, who are debating in their own minds, whether or not to vote, or sit this one out. We need to motivate them, and motivating them in large numbers will do two things. One, it will make it possible to win this election, decisively.

And, two, it will make the point to the new administration, that really, governing from this vast storehouse of talent and insight, that exists in the unity coalition, is the right way to accomplish the job.

This needs to be a new era, in which frankly the Republicans --

GLENN: Hmm.

BRET: From power.

GLENN: I'm sorry. You cut out the last second or so. What did you say?

BRET: I said, that if we get a large turnout, that this will make the point that this unity coalition, which contains so much talent and insight, is the proper team, to usher in a new era, in which the Republican Party is transformed into something new. And the Democratic Party is removed from power.

GLENN: That is remarkable.

And I have to tell you, I am so excited for Elon Musk. And Robert F. Kennedy.

And Tulsi. And all of the people now. We're getting the real innovative thinkers, to join with Trump.

And I think that -- it promises to be, a completely different world. If he takes advantage of it, and the American people take advantage of this team, that is -- that is growing.

Thank you so much.

I -- I want to encourage you to not only go, to Rescue the Republic. It is happening September 29th in Washington, DC.

But also, if you can. You can show your support, by donating. This is a very worthy cause.

This is honestly, this is the 9/12 Project.

From, you know, the people we would have said are the other side.

They agree with the principles that we put out.

This is -- this is so incredibly hopeful and important. And I know what it's like to put this together.

Especially with the names that they're bringing in. My gosh, you have everybody under the sun. They asked me to speak, and I was like, no. I think I can go and listen.

I don't think I can speak. RFK Jr. Russell Brand. Tulsi Gabbard. Matt Taibbi.

Laura Logan.

Everybody is going to be there. If you can donate, please jointheresistance.org/donate.

Join the resistance.org/donate. It is critical, as the government always makes things more and more expensive, as you get closer and closer. Jointheresistance.org/donate.

And it's happening next weekend. September 29th. Right at the Washington Memorial, in Washington, DC.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Are Epstein's "Blackmail Videos" Being Used for Leverage RIGHT NOW?

What was Jeffrey Epstein's operation all about. If he was at the center of a massive blackmail operation to compromise those in positions of power, who is in possession of that information now? Glenn Beck and ATF Whistleblower John Dodson analyze the details of this situation and give their thoughts on what is the most likely reality surrounding Epstein.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with ATF Whistleblower John Dodson HERE

WARNING: How America Elects a Socialist President in 2028 | Glenn TV | Ep 444

The rise of Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old socialist who just won the Democratic primary for mayor, is not just a political earthquake shaking New York City — it’s a warning for the rest of America. Backed by Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani promises free everything, to tax the rich, and to dismantle capitalism. There’s nothing new about this tired strategy, but the media is propping him up as a new political genius. And with Democrat leaders lining up behind him, it’s clear: This radicalism isn’t fringe anymore. It’s the Democratic Party’s future. Mamdani’s rise is part of a larger movement that’s rewriting America’s values. Glenn Beck explains how New York is the prototype for the Left’s socialist makeover of America. Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Standford, gives a terrifying prediction on Mamdani’s mayoral race chances and warns the revolution is coming for mainstream Democrats. He also dives into MAGA’s frustration with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files.

Salena Zito reveals WHY Trump said “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“I have a new purpose,” then-candidate Donald Trump told reporter Salena Zito after surviving the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Salena joins Glenn Beck to reveal what Trump told her about God, his purpose in life, and why he really said, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, as she details in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland”.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Salena, congratulations on your book. It is so good.

Just started reading it. Or listening to it, last night.

And I wish you would have -- I wish you would have read it. But, you know, the lady you have reading it is really good.

I just enjoy the way you tell stories.

The writing of this is the best explanation on who Trump supporters are. That I think I've ever read, from anybody.

It's really good.

And the description of your experience there at the edge of the stage with Donald Trump is pretty remarkable as well. Welcome to the program.

SALENA: Thank you, Glenn. Thank you so much for having me.

You know, I was thinking about this, as I was ready to come on. You and I have been along for this ride forever. For what?

Since 2006? 2005?

Like 20 years, right?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

SALENA: And I've been chronicling the American people for probably ten more years, before that. And it's really remarkable to me, as watching how this coalition has grown. Right?

And watching how people have the -- have become more aspirational.

And that's -- and that is what the conservative populist coalition is, right?

It is the aspirations of many, but the celebration of the individual.

And chronicling them, yeah. Has been -- has been, a great honor.

GLENN: You know, I was thinking about this yesterday, when -- when Elon Musk said he was starting another party.

And somebody asked me, well, isn't he doing what the Tea Party tried to do?

No. The Tea Party was not going to start a new party.

It was to -- you know, it was to coerce and convince the Republican Party to do the right thing. And it worked in many ways. It didn't accomplish what we hoped.

But it did accomplish a lot of things.

Donald Trump is a result of the Tea Party.

I truly believe that. And a lot of the people that were -- right?

Were with Donald Trump, are the people that were with the Tea Party.

SALENA: That's absolutely right.

So that was the inception.

So American politics has always had movements, that have been just outside of a party. Or within a party.

That galvanize and broaden the coalition. Right? They don't take away. Or walk away, and become another party.

If anything, if there is a third party out there, it's almost a Republican Party.

Because it has changed in so many viable and meaningful ways. And the Tea Party didn't go away. It strengthened and broadened the Republican Party. Because these weren't just Republicans that became part of this party.

It was independents. It was Democrats.

And just unhappy with the establishment Republicans. And unhappy with Democrats.

And that -- that movement is what we -- what I see today.

What I see every day. What I saw that day, in butler, when I showed I happen at that rally.

As I do, so many rallies, you know, throughout my career. And that one was riveting and changed everything.

GLENN: You made a great case in the opening chapter. You talk about how things were going for Donald Trump.

And how this moment really did change everything for Donald Trump.

Changed the trajectory, changed the mood.

I mean, Elon Musk was not on the Trump train, until this.

SALENA: Yeah.

GLENN: Moment. What do I -- what changed? How -- how did that work?

And -- and I contend, that we would have much more profound change, had the media actually done their job and reported this the way it really was. Pragmatism

SALENA: You know, and people will find this in the book. I'm laying on the ground with an agent on top of me.

I'm 4 feet away from the president.

And there's -- there's notices coming up on my phone. Saying, he was hit by broken glass.

And to this take, that remains part of this sibling culture, in American politics.

Because reporters were -- were so anxious to -- to right what they believed happened.

As opposed to what happened.

And it's been a continual frustration of mine, as a reporter, who is on the ground, all the time.

And I'll tell you, what changed in that moment.

And I say a nuance, and I believe nuance is dead in American journalism.

But it was a nuance and it was a powerful conversation, that I had with President Trump, the next day. He called me the next morning.

But it's a powerful conversation I had with him, just two weeks ago.

When he made this decision to say, fight, fight, fight.

People have put in their heads, why they think he said it. But he told me why he said that. And he said, Salena, in that moment, I was not Donald Trump the man. I was a former president. I was quite possibly going to be president again.

And I had an obligation to the country, and to the office that I have served in, to project strength. To project resolve.

To project that we will not be defeated.

And it's sort of like a symbolic eagle, that is always -- you know, that symbol that we look at, when we think about our country.

He said, that's why I said that. I didn't want the people behind me panicking. I didn't want the people watching, panicking.

I had to show strength. And it's that nuance -- that I think people really picked up on.

And galvanized people.

GLENN: So he told me, when he was laying down on the stage.

And you can hear him. Let me get up. Let me get up.

I've got to get up.

He told me, as I was laying on the stage. I asked him, what were you thinking? What was going through your head? Now, Salena, I don't know about you.

But with me. It would be like, how do I get off the stage? My first was survival.

He said, what was going on through his mind was, you're not pathetic. This is pathetic.

You're not afraid. Get up.

Get up.

And so is that what informed his fight, fight, fight, of that by the time that he's standing up, he's thinking, I'm a symbol? Or do you think he was thinking, I'm a symbol, this looks pathetic. It makes you look weak.

Stand up. How do you think that actually happened?

SALENA: He thinks, and we just talked about this weeks ago. He -- you know, and this is something that he's really thought about.

Right? You know, he's gone over and over and over. And also, purpose and God. Right? These are things that have lingered with him.

You know, he -- he thought, yes.

He did think, it was pathetic that he was on the ground. But he wasn't thinking about, I'm Donald Trump. It's pathetic.

He's thinking, my country is symbolically on the ground. I need to get up, and I need to show that my country is strong.

That our country is resolute.

And I need people to see that.

We can't go on looking like pathetic.

Right?

And I think that then goes to that image of Biden.

GLENN: You have been with so many presidents.

How many presidents do you think that you've personally been with, would have thought that and reacted that way?

SALENA: Probably only Reagan. Reagan would have. Reagan probably would have thought that.

And if you remember how he was out like standing outside.

You know, waving out the window. Right?

After he was shot.

GLENN: At the hospital, right.

SALENA: Had he not been knocked out, unconscious, you know, he probably would have done the same thing.

Because he was someone who deeply believed in American exceptionalism.

And American exceptionalism does not go lay on the ground.

GLENN: And the symbol.

Right. The symbol of the presidency.

SALENA: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that affects him today.

GLENN: So let me go back to God.

Because you talked to him the next day. And your book Butler.

He calls you up.

I love the fact that your parents would be ashamed of you. On what you said to him.

The language you used. That you just have to read the book.

It's just a great part.

But he calls you the next morning. And wants to know if you're okay.

And you -- you then start talking to him, about God.

And I was -- I was thinking about this, as I was listening to it. You know, Lincoln said, I wasn't -- I wasn't a Christian.

Even though, he was.

I wasn't a Christian, when I was elected. I wasn't a Christian when my son died.

I became a Christian at Gettysburg.

Is -- is -- I mean, I believe Donald Trump always believes in God, et cetera, et cetera.

Do you think there was a real profound change at Butler with him?

SALENA: Absolutely. You know, he called me seven times that day. Seven times, the take after seven.

GLENN: Crazy.

SALENA: Talked about. And I think he was looking for someone that he knew, that was there. And to try to sort it out.

Right? And I let him do most of the talking. I didn't pressure him.

At all. I believed that he was having -- you know, he was struggling. And he needed to just talk. And I believed my purpose was to listen.

Right? I know other reporters would have handled it differently. And that's okay. That's not the kind of reporter that I am.

And I myself was having my own like, why didn't I die?

Right?

Because it went right over my head.

And -- and so I -- he had the conversation about God.

He's funny. I thought it was the biggest mosquito in the world that hit me.

But he had talked profoundly about purpose. You know, and God.

And how God was in that moment.

It --

GLENN: I love the way you -- in the book, I love the way you said that as he's kind of working it out in his own he head.

He was like, you know, I -- I -- I always knew that there was some sort of, you know -- that God was present.

He said, but now that this has happened.

I look back at all of the trials.

All of the tribulations. Literally, the trials.

All of the things that have happened. And he's like, I realized God was there the whole time.

SALENA: Yes. He does. And it's fascinating to have been that witness to history, to have those conversations with him. Because I'm telling you. And y'all know, I can talk. I didn't say much of anything.

I just -- I just listened. I felt that was my purpose, in that moment.

To give him that space, to work it out.

I'm someone that is, you know, believes in God.

I'm Catholic. I followed my faith.

And -- and so, I thought, well, this is why God put me here. Right?

And to -- to have that -- to hear him talk about purpose, to hear him say, Salena. Why did I put a chart down?

I'm like, sir. I don't know. I thought you were Ross Perot for a second.

He never has a chart. And he laughed. And then he said, why did I put that chart down?

By that term, I never turned my head away from people at the rally. That's true.

That relationship is very transactional. It's very -- they feed off of each other.

It's a very emotive moment when you attend a rally. Because he has a way of talking at a rally. That you believe that you are seeing.

And he said, and I never turn my head away.

I never turn my head away.

Why did I turn my head away?

I don't remember consciously thinking about turning my head away. And then he says to me, that was God, wasn't it?

Yes, sir. It was. It was God.

And he said, that's -- that's why I have a new purpose.

And so, Glenn. I think it's important, when you look at the breadth of what has happened, since he was sworn in.

You see that purpose, every day.

He doesn't let up.

He continues going.

And it brings back to the beginning of the book.

Where you find out, that there was another president that was shot at in Butler.

And that was George Washington. And how different the country would have been, had he died in that moment.

And now think about how different the country would be, had President Trump died in that moment. There would be --

GLENN: We're talking to -- we're talking to Salena Zito. About her new book called Butler. The assassination attempt on President Trump. And it is riveting.

And, you know, it is so good. I wish the press would read it. Because it really explains who we are, who Trump supporters are. Who are, you know, red staters. It is so good at that. She's the best at that.