Blog
LatestArticlesVideos
Radio
LivePodcastSerialsStations
TV
Podcasts
The Glenn Beck ProgramThe Glenn Beck PodcastThe Beck Story
Fine Art
Real Estate
More
AboutCharityBooksSponsorsShopContact
SEARCH
Live Radio

©2024 MERCURY RADIO ARTS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn interviews Marco Rubio and Josh Mandel

November 02, 2012
Wilson

Writer

You’ve heard of Marco Rubio and you know he’s the type of guy America needs in Congress - Josh Mandel is running in a tight race in Ohio and he is another guy this country desperately needs. He’s a military veteran and a tea party style conservative - and he’s only 35 years old. Glenn interviewed them both on radio this morning while they were campaigning in Ohio.

Transcript of interview is below:

GLENN: All right. We're going to be in Ohio. You know, I think they are ‑‑ we are on the verge of miracles, quite honestly. I don't know how else to describe it. It is ‑‑ you're going to see on Tuesday I believe Chick‑fil‑A. Remember there was no big ‑‑ nobody was bussing people in. Just, everybody just came.

PAT: So Tuesday we're going to see a lot of chicken sandwiches?

GLENN: Yes, we're going to see a lot of chicken sandwiches.

PAT: Wow, I can't wait.

GLENN: And people will be standing in line to vote and they are going to be like, where's the chicken sandwich? But remember ‑‑ and it went on for a couple of days.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: That's what's going to happen. They are running out of "I voted" stickers in Texas. In Texas. I mean, Texas is like it doesn't ‑‑ I'm not going to really count in the presidential election. But they are running out of "I voted" stickers here. That's fantastic. In Ohio things are dicey. I personally think if it's not stolen, you are going to see an amazing upset in almost all of these states. We have one of the guys who's running, he's state treasurer now, he is running for Senate against Sherrod Brown. I'll let Josh tell the difference. We have Josh on the phone. Also Marco Rubio is on. Is he on the same line?

STU: Yeah, they're separate ‑‑ I think they are sharing the phone there, with each other.

GLENN: Is this a party line? Is that what's going on?

MANDEL: Hey, Glenn, how are you doing?

GLENN: Good. How are you. Is this Josh?

MANDEL: Yeah, this is Josh on the party line in Cleveland, Ohio.

GLENN: Marco, where are you.

MANDEL: He's coming. He's out in the diner shaking hands with some folks.

GLENN: Okay. So Josh, first of all, what's the difference between you and Sherrod Brown?

MANDEL: Well, he was named the most liberal senator in the United States of America, he's never seen a regulation he didn't like or a tax he didn't hike, and I'm a proud full spectrum conservative. While I am a Republican, I'm a conservative first and I'm a constitutional conservative and in Washington some of the Republicans are oftentimes just as much a problem as some of the Democrats and we need to elect more senators like Senator Rubio and others who will stand proudly as conservatives to do the right thing for our country.

GLENN: Small government conservatives?

MANDEL: Small government conservative. I believe the private select ‑‑ private sector is the solution to our problems. When it comes to a lot of our social woes, I think we should look to religious organizations and nonprofit organizations oftentimes before we look to government. And I also believe that while so many politicians, my opponent and others think that the federal government is the answer, I think Washington's the problem. Is the more we can get Washington out of the way, the stronger our economy and our country will be.

GLENN: So you're the treasurer in Ohio State and ‑‑ which is fantastic, because you obviously are a numbers cruncher. The financial cliff that is coming our way and all the trouble we're having. If we don't change the course now, how long do you think we have?

MANDEL: Not very long. It's ‑‑ we are running 100 miles per hour down the tracks and it's I believe soon going to be off the rails if we don't get some new leaders in Washington, $16 trillion debt, over a trillion dollars to China, Social Security, Medicare, bankruptcy.

GLENN: How are you ‑‑ how would you suggest that we stop the money printing and the QE infinity and pull ourselves back up without ‑‑ I mean because the first thing that will happen is interest rates will go up. How do we ‑‑

MANDEL: Sure.

GLENN: How do we not collapse ourselves by trying to heal ourselves?

MANDEL: Well, I think we need to make aggressive cuts in our federal government quickly and, you know, there's a lot of Republicans who disagree with some of the things I stand for. For instance, many Republicans will say, you know, we can't touch defense spending as well. I actually believe we need to do a top/bottom review of all of our bases throughout the world and, for instance, in Europe we're not fighting the Nazis anymore, we're not fighting the Cold War anymore. We could probably trim down or shut down some of our installations and ‑‑

GLENN: So how aggressive are you talking? You know, when Calvin cool age came in, he and Harding, they put the spending by 50%.

MANDEL: Right.

GLENN: How aggressive, how aggressive do you think we should be?

MANDEL: We have to be very aggressive. We need to do a top/bottom review of the federal government and for every agency administration bureaucracy that is not called for in the United States Constitution, we have to really ask the question what is its purpose, how many people work there, how much does it cost the taxpayers and what is the value to our society.

GLENN: I love you.

MANDEL: And one of the first acts, Glenn, of ‑‑

GLENN: If we wouldn't be sued by Barry White, I would play Barry White right now and turn the lights down.

MANDEL: Hey, Glenn, I have someone here who wants to say hello.

GLENN: Oh, wait, wait.

MANDEL: Go ahead.

GLENN: Wait, I just want to thank you for your service, first of all, especially for everything that's going on in Benghazi. You were a Marine for eight years and you know we don't leave men behind. And thank ‑‑

MANDEL: I do know that.

GLENN: And thank you for your service. And I can't wait until you get to Washington and start pulling the bodies out.

MANDEL: I appreciate that. You know, it was my honor to do my small part and do a couple of tours in Iraq and it sickens me to see when our Americans are killed overseas and abroad and I ‑‑ this is just disgraceful how this is playing out with Benghazi. And I'll tell you something else, just while you're on this topic. I didn't like those comments the president of the United States made to Governor Romney at the debate about bayonets and horses. When I went through Marine boot camp in Paris Island, South Carolina, we actually did have bayonets that we trained with. And as a Marine if Iraq, I actually did have a bayonet that I wore on my flak jacket and I just think the commander‑in‑chief of our military needs to be more respectful of our men and women when he's making comments about our military and he should really understand who it is out there carrying a weapon and protecting our country every day.

GLENN: And I know I have Marco Rubio waiting but I mean, you're an official in Ohio. How concerned are you on the stealing of the election in Ohio?

MANDEL: Ballot integrity is definitely a big issue here. I mean, I was down by the board of elections the other day and there's just vans and vans and vans of people being dropped off there to vote and obviously the default is giving ‑‑ is believing the people are following the law and doing everything legally within the bounds, and I'm ‑‑ I hope and assume that's happening. But at the same time with such a volume of people voting early here in Ohio, we need poll watchers and we need folks keeping eyeballs on every ballot site. But I think it's also important, Glenn, that those poll watchers are Americans. I don't know if you caught this.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

MANDEL: Crazy idea about the UN observers wanting to come into America ‑‑

GLENN: I don't know how Ohio handled it but Texas said, go to hell, we'll arrest you if you come in.

MANDEL: Yeah. Over my dead body.

GLENN: Exactly right. Thank you very much, Josh.

MANDEL: So if any of your listeners want to help us out here in the last week, our website's pretty simple. It's JoshMandel.com.

GLENN: Thanks, Josh. JoshMandel.com.

MANDEL: Let me pass out the phone. We've got Senator Marco Rubio here. We're calling you from Joe's Diner in Ohio.

GLENN: Oh, really? Is Joe Biden there because ‑‑

MANDEL: Joe Biden's not here but Marco sure is. Hang on one second.

GLENN: Thanks a lot.

RUBIO: Glenn, good to talk to you.

GLENN: Hey, senator, how are you?

RUBIO: I think people understand the choice of this election is not just between two people. It's between two very different views of our government's role and our future and what America should be, what America should remain. And, you know, I think you're starting to sense that from people as you talk to them.

GLENN: Oh, I tell you I think you're going to see a miracle on Tuesday. I really do. I mean, a miracle as far as the distance between the two. I think America is wide awake. They've just had enough. They're quiet about it. It's like my grandparents. My grandparents didn't have to say anything. They would just go do it. And I think that's what's going to ‑‑ that's what's going to happen.

RUBIO: Yeah, I think that as well.

GLENN: Is ‑‑ how do you think things are going to fare for Romney in Ohio and Florida? How close?

RUBIO: Let me start with Florida, yeah, because that's ‑‑ obviously live there and spend a lot of time there. I feel great about Florida. The analogy I always use is I know people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 that are going to vote for Mitt Romney. I don't know anyone who voted for John McCain that's going to vote for Barack Obama this time. I know that's anecdotal but I think that's the feeling people have. There's a lot of disappointment. Some people just kind of bought into the 2008 notion that, you know, he's ‑‑ let's try something different, he's going to unify our country, he's going to bring us together. And it's just been a disaster. I mean economically, politically, all the way around. And people are just ready to walk away from that and kind of go back to the free enterprise system which made us the most prosperous people that have ever walked the Earth.

GLENN: I am really concerned about what's happening in Benghazi.

RUBIO: Yeah.

GLENN: And even when Mitt Romney wins on Tuesday, on Wednesday I will still be pushing for ‑‑

RUBIO: Yeah.

GLENN: ‑‑ serious investigations because we are ‑‑ what we have is a president that let guys die and a lot of people watched them die in realtime. There's a massive coverup on this. And beyond that, you've got at least ‑‑ you've got anywhere from 25 to 500 people who know and are now having a hard time sleeping at night. And if those guys are allowed to let that just cook in their soul, man, we go really dark. It's not good. We've never been that way as Americans, to leave just people die.

RUBIO: Yeah. Two things are happening. On the one hand I think there's a very serious concern that I have and I think it's a legitimate question to ask and that is, is the reason why they spent two weeks telling us that this was the result of a spontaneous uprising, is the reason why they're saying that because it went counter to their narrative that Al‑Qaeda had been defeated, Bin Laden was dead and the world was safer. And then they bragged about this for months. It was a key part of their convention. Obviously we're very happy Bin Laden is dead, but Al‑Qaeda unfortunately has reconstituted itself in North Africa including Libya. So that's the first element of it. The second is that there's clearly something going on here in terms of our different agencies to be able to interact and coordinate and make the right decisions in a timely fashion to save lives. So we're going to have what they call classified hearings. But I'm going to push for open hearings as well. And by the way, these hearings should have happened a long time ago.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

RUBIO: They shouldn't be happening after the election. And there's a lot of information out there that's going to be classified that shouldn't be classified. There's no reason to keep it that way. The American people have the right to hold their government accountable for its failures, A, so that the people who did it can be held accountable and, B, so that it never, ever happens again.

GLENN: Thank you very much, Senator. You and you keep going and we wish you luck that I think the real hard work for America begins on Wednesday.

RUBIO: Well, thanks for what you've been doing for years all the way back to the 9/12 movement and your involvement in that years ago. It really began in '09 right after the election when folks like you raised your voice and began to educate the American people about what was going on. That led to the big wave in 2010 that allowed me to get elected and the wave in 2012 that's going to give us a new president and is going to give us Josh Mandel.

GLENN: Well, just don't ‑‑ don't let us down. One quick question. How worried are you about the lame duck session?

RUBIO: I'm worried. I mean, a lot of bad things happen in lame duck sessions. You have folks who are never going to run again who don't feel like they're accountable. You have a lot of ‑‑ you know, they will package a couple of good ideas with ten bad ones and tell you that's the way business is done, that's the only way to get things done. So I am concerned about some pretty bad policy happening in the lame duck. You know, we got that START treaty with the Russians and a couple of other things that were not good for our country as well.

GLENN: Thank you very much, Senator, appreciate it.

RUBIO: Thank you.

GLENN: We'll talk again soon.

STU: They're both great.

PAT: I liked Josh Mandel, too. Liked him.

GLENN: He knows ‑‑

PAT: He knows what he's talking about.

GLENN: He knows what he's talking about. He's a Jewish American, strong on Israel. I mean, he gets it.

PAT: And clearly Rubio is ‑‑

STU: Fantastic.

PAT: There's hardly anybody better.

STU: I will say I maintain ‑‑ a lot of people said they liked the Clint Eastwood thing and whatever, you liked it or you didn't like it. One of the worst things that happened in that convention was that Clint Eastwood thing took all the attention from Marco Rubio's speech which was one of the best speeches by a Republican that, I mean, I can remember.

PAT: And it got no attention at all.

STU: Yeah.

PAT: None.

STU: I mean, here's a guy who's really smart, different. Obviously the optics are good on politically and demographically. It's just one of those things that Marco Rubio needs to be heard.

GLENN: Every time I ‑‑ every time he speaks, gives a major speech, like ten of my friends write to me and says, "My gosh, did you see this guy?"

STU: Yeah, he's great.

GLENN: He's really, really effective.

STU: Josh Mandel was great, too. That's the first time I heard him in an extended area. He's great.

GLENN: I talked to him in Ohio last time. I met him backstage and we spent about ten minutes together. He's really sharp. He's really sharp.

STU: That's great.

GLENN: Come on, Ohio, come on.

STU: Come on, Ohio.

GLENN: Come on, Ohio. Remember how pissed you were at Florida?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yeah. That's the way we're going to be with you.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: You don't want none of this.

GLENN: No, you don't. We'll come up there and give you such a hit.

Shocking spike in plane crashes: What’s really Going wrong?

STR / Contributor | Getty Images

Last week, two more serious air travel incidents occurred, adding to the mounting number of aviation disasters this year. Is flying safe?

Over the past year, the number of aviation disasters that have been blasted across the media has been steadily rising, with February alone having a half dozen incidents. It begs the question: Is air travel becoming more dangerous? Or has the media just increased its coverage of a "normal" amount of crashes?

If you look at the data, it suggests that flying has been—and remains—safe. The number of accidents and fatalities has been steadily decreasing year over year and remains a small percentage of total flights. In 2024, out of the approximate 16 million flights recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. every year, there were 1,150 accidents resulting in 304 fatalities, meaning that the average flight in America has a 0.007% chance of an accident. In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board records a decrease in both fatal and non-fatal aviation accidents when compared to 2024. By this time last year, there were already 399 crashes and accidents, while this year has only clocked in 271.

That being said, Sean Duffy, Trump's new transportation secretary, admitted that America's air traffic control system needs an overhaul. Duffy pointed toward dated air traffic control equipment, overregulation, and radical DEI as the culprits behind many recent aviation accidents.

But what do the crashes suggest? We've gathered details about the major aviation accidents this year so you can decide for yourself why planes keep crashing:

American Airlines Blackhawk collision over D.C.

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

In one of the deadliest U.S. aviation accidents in the last decade, an American Airlines plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The American Airlines flight was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport carrying 60 passengers and four crew when it collided midair with the Army helicopter, crewed by three, killing all 67 people involved.

The exact cause behind the mid-air collision is still under investigation, but it is believed that the Black Hawk was up too high and outside of its designated flight path. A report from the New York Times suggests that the air control tower at the Ronald Regan Washington Airport has suffered years of understaffing, which seems to be a result of DEI hiring practices. Investigators are piecing through the wreckage, and the exact cause of the crash is still unknown.

Medevac explosion in Philadelphia

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

On the night of Friday, March 31st, a medevac plane with six people on board crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing everyone on board, along with one man on the ground. The small jet departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6 pm, and according to the FAA, it crashed less than a minute later after reaching an elevation of 1,650 feet. The ensuing explosion cast a massive fireball into the sky and wounded 19 people on the ground, killing one.

The six people on board the jet were Mexican nationals, including a mother and her sick daughter who was receiving treatment from Shriners Children’s Hospital in northeast Philadelphia. As of now, there is no official cause of the crash, but much of the plane has been recovered, and the incident is being investigated.

Alaskan flight disappearance outside of Nome

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

At approximately 3:16 pm, on Thursday, February 6th, a small commuter plane working for Bering Air, carrying 10 passengers, took off from the town of Unalakeet, Alaska, destined for the nearby town of Nome. After a few hours, Nome lost contact with the small plane as weather conditions worsened. The following day, the Coast Guard discovered the remains of the plane, all 10 occupants were dead.

The wreckage of the aircraft, along with the remains of the passengers and crew, have been recovered and are under investigation. While there has been no official explanation given for the crash, the poor weather is believed to be a major contributing factor.

Small jet collision in Scottsdale

Gabe Ginsberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The pilot of a small jet died after the aircraft crashed into a larger plane in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, February 10th. The owner of the jet that crashed was Vince Neil, the frontman of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, but Neil was not on board at the time of the accident. The jet had just landed in Scottsdale, where it appeared to veer out of control and smash into a parked Gulfstream at high speed. The plane was carrying four people: two pilots and two passengers. One of the pilots was killed, and the other three were seriously injured. There was only one person aboard the Gulfstream at the time of the crash, they suffered injuries but refused treatment.

It is believed that the landing gear failed upon landing, which caused the jet to skitter out of control and smash into the parked plane.

Delta crash in Toronto

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

On Monday, February 17th, a Delta aircraft flipped while landing and slid upside down across the runway while ablaze at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Fortunately, all 80 people aboard survived, and only three people suffered critical (though not life-threatening) injuries. First responders were quickly on the scene, extinguishing the fires and assisting the grateful survivors out of the wreckage.

The crash is believed to have been caused in part by the extreme weather in Toronto, which included a powerful crosswind and potential ice on the runway. It is also suspected that the landing gear failed to deploy properly, causing the plane to flip in the severe wind.

Small plane collision north of Tucson

aviation-images.com / Contributor | Getty Images

On Wednesday, February 19th, yet another small plane crash occurred in the skies above Arizona. Two small aircraft collided midair near Tusosn, Arizona at Marana Regional Airport. There were two people in each of the small planes, two of which from the same aircraft died, while the other two managed to walk away with little injury.

Marana Regional Airport is an uncontrolled field, which means there is no active air traffic control present on site. Instead, pilots rely on communication with each other through a "Common Traffic Advisory Frequency" (CTAF) to safely take off and land.

Hudson helicopter crash

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

A helicopter tour out of New York City took a tragic turn on Thursday, April 10th, when the Bell 206 broke apart mid-flight and plunged into the Hudson River. All six people aboard perished in the crash, which included the pilot and a tourist family of five.

New York Helicopter Tours, the operator of the flight, announced it would cease operations following the accident. The decision comes amid scrutiny of the company’s safety record, which includes a prior emergency water landing and another incident where a helicopter was forced to land shortly after takeoff due to mechanical issues. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Upstate New York family tragedy

Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox / Contributor | Getty Images

Days after the tragic Hudson crash, a small private plane carrying an NCAA athlete crashed in upstate New York, killing all six passengers. On Saturday, April 12, 2025, Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player and 2022 Woman of the Year, was aboard her father's Mitsubishi MU-2B with her parents, boyfriend, brother, and his partner when the plane went down in a muddy field in Copake, New York.

The aircraft was reportedly in good condition, and Michael Groff, Karenna's father, was an experienced pilot. While the official cause of the crash has not been determined, low visibility at the time of the incident is suspected to have been a contributing factor.

The recent string of aviation incidents underscores a troubling trend in air travel safety, raising urgent questions about the systems and policies governing the industry. While data suggests flying remains statistically safe, the alarming frequency of crashes, near misses, and systemic issues like outdated technology and questionable hiring practices cannot be ignored. BlazeTV's own Stu Burguiere did a deep dive into the recent crashes in the Blaze Originals documentary, Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster, uncovering the truth behind the FAA’s shift toward DEI hiring and its impact on aviation safety. Featuring exclusive interviews with former air traffic controllers, lawyers, and Robert Poole—the inventor of TSA PreCheck—this documentary exposes how the Biden-Harris administration’s policies, under Pete Buttigieg’s leadership, have contributed to making air travel more dangerous than ever.

Did Democrats just betray fair elections? The SAVE Act controversy explained

DOMINIC GWINN / Contributor | Getty Images

One of President Trump’s key campaign promises, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, faces fierce opposition from Democrats in the Senate.

The SAVE Act recently passed Congress for the second time and is now headed to the Senate. This voter security bill mandates proof of U.S. citizenship for all federal elections. It garnered unanimous Republican support in Congress but was backed by only four Democrats, consistent with last year’s Senate rejection of the bill.

Glenn has repeatedly emphasized the urgency of securing our elections, warning that without reform in the next four years, free and fair elections may become a thing of the past. However, the SAVE Act faces significant hurdles. Republicans lack the Senate votes to overcome a filibuster, meaning the bill’s fate hinges on bipartisan support—something Democrats have been reluctant to offer.

So, what exactly does the SAVE Act do? Why are Democrats opposing it? And how can you help ensure its passage?

What the SAVE Act Entails

Stefan Zaklin / Stringer | Getty Images

The SAVE Act is straightforward: it requires voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship before casting a ballot in federal elections. This measure responds to reports of voter fraud, including allegations of noncitizens, such as illegal immigrants, voting in past presidential elections. Acceptable forms of identification include a REAL ID, U.S. passport, military ID, birth certificate, or other specified documents.

Additionally, the bill mandates that states remove noncitizens from voter rolls and lists of eligible voters. It also establishes criminal penalties for officials who fail to comply with these new guidelines.

Democrats’ Opposition to the SAVE Act

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Democrats have strongly criticized the SAVE Act, arguing it discriminates against women, transgender individuals, and minorities. They claim that people who have changed their names—such as women after marriage or transgender individuals—may struggle to vote if their current ID doesn’t match their birth certificate. However, the bill allows multiple forms of identification beyond birth certificates, meaning affected individuals can use updated IDs like a REAL ID or passport.

The argument that minorities are disproportionately harmed is slightly more substantiated. A recent survey showed that 93 percent of voting-age Black Americans, 94 percent of voting-age Hispanics, and 95 percent of voting-age Native Americans have valid photo IDs, compared to 97% of voting-age whites and 98 percent of voting-age Asians. However, in 2024, only about 58 percent of the voting-age population cast ballots—a trend that has been consistent for decades. There’s little evidence that Americans are prevented from voting due to a lack of ID. Instead of opposing the bill, a more constructive approach would be to assist the small percentage of Americans without IDs in obtaining proper documentation.

How You Can Make a Difference

Melissa Sue Gerrits / Stringer | Getty Images

The stakes couldn’t be higher—free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. Conservatives must rally to ensure the SAVE Act becomes law. Contact your Senators to express your support for the bill and highlight its importance in safeguarding electoral integrity. Grassroots efforts, such as sharing accurate information about the SAVE Act on social media or discussing it with friends and family, can amplify its visibility. Local advocacy groups may also offer opportunities to organize or participate in campaigns that pressure lawmakers to act. Every voice counts, and collective action could tip the scales in favor of this critical legislation.

Glenn unveils CIA’s grim Dire Wolf conspiracy

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should."

-Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park

The monstrous Dire Wolf, extinct for 10,000 years, has returned. This larger, ancient wolf species—popularized by HBO’s Game of Thrones—was resurrected by Colossal Laboratories, a Dallas-based bioscience company. Colossal utilized both preserved ancient Dire Wolf DNA and modern gray wolf DNA combined with some clever gene-crafting and a healthy pinch of hubris to create three approximations of the ancient canine.

While the wolves posed for a photoshoot alongside Game of Thrones props and its creator, Colossal’s broader plans remain unclear. However, what Glenn recently uncovered about the company is far more monstrous than the wolves will ever be. Glenn revealed that the CIA, through a nonprofit group known as In-Q-Tel, is funding Colossal's endeavors to bring back all sorts of extinct beasts. With the recently released JFK Files exposing the CIA’s unchecked power, Glenn warns of the dangerous potential behind this genetic manipulation—and the rogue agency’s possible motives.

Here are the top three most horrifying uses the CIA could have for this technology:

Dual-Use Technology

Xinhua News Agency / Contributor | Getty Images

Colossal and other biotech firms advertise a variety of "civilian" uses for bioengineered beasts, including research subjects, exotic zoos, and even climate restoration. As dubious as those uses are, Glenn revealed that the CIA could be cooking up something much worse. Gene-editing tools like CRISPR are inherently dual-purpose and easily adaptable for military use. As one of Colossal’s major investors, the CIA gains prime access to cutting-edge biotech, likely eyeing its potential for warfare.

Frankenstein’s Spy Lab

Like AI, one can only guess at the maximum capabilities of this gene-editing technology. On air, Glenn speculated about bioengineered resilient organisms, animals with tweaked senses designed for espionage or combat in areas inaccessible to drones or humans. Playing God to create new weapons of war sounds right up the CIA's alley.

Even worse than man-made mutant mutts, Glenn pointed out that these augmentations are by no means limited to animals. We could see (or rather, hear unverified rumors of) the rise of the next generation of super soldier projects. Human experimentation is not outside of the CIA's scope (think MKUltra), and genetically or chemically augmented humans have been a pipe dream for many a clandestine organization for decades. Is there anything more horrifying than an agency with as little oversight as the CIA in control of something as powerful and potentially devastating as gene-augmentation?

Eco-Warfare Unleashed

MARCELO MANERA / Contributor | Getty Images

Why attack a single target when you could attack an entire ecosystem instead?

Anyone who has had to deal with the destructive effects of fire ants knows how dangerous an invasive species can be to the human, plant, and animal inhabitants of any given region. Now imagine genetically engineered Dire Wolves or Woolly Mammoths unleashed by the CIA to cripple an enemy’s agriculture or environment. Such a weapon could inflict irreparable damage from a distance. Even the mere threat of eco-warfare might serve as a deterrent, though its unpredictability could reshape the world in ways we can’t control or repair.

Trump’s Liberation day unveiled: 3 shocking takeaways you need to know

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

President Trump’s new tariffs have sparked global outrage, and even conservatives are divided over the merits of his plan.

On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, President Trump declared "Liberation Day" to usher in a new era for the American economy. This bold initiative began with the introduction of sweeping tariffs on most—if not all—countries trading with the United States. These tariffs are reciprocal, meaning the percentage charged to each country mirrors the tariffs they impose on U.S. goods. The goal was to level the playing field between America and its trade partners.

As Glenn predicted, these tariffs have caused some immediate damage to the economy; the stock market has been hit hard, and China has already imposed a retaliatory tariff. While many fear that a recession is inbound, along with a global trade war, others are trusting in Trump's plan, keeping their head and preparing to ride out this rough patch.

So, what exactly are these "Liberation Day" tariffs, and what happened on April 2? Here are the top three takeaways:

Baseline Tariff

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

To kick off Liberation Day, the White House unveiled a baseline tariff affecting all imports to the U.S. Starting April 5, 2025, every good entering the United States will face a 10% tariff, regardless of its country of origin. While some nations face additional tariffs on top of this baseline, others—like the UK, Australia, and Argentina—only pay the 10% rate. These countries enjoy this leniency because they impose relatively low tariffs on American goods.

Reciprocal Tariffs

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

For the countries that levied heavy tariffs against America, Trump hit them back hard. Cambodia, for instance, now faces a steep 49% tariff, while China contends with 34%, the EU with 20%, and Iraq with 39%. While these tariff rates may seem steep, they are all a good bit lower than the rates they apply against the U.S (see the full chart here). Trump’s strategy is to make foreign goods prohibitively expensive, encouraging manufacturing and jobs to return to American soil. Whether this gamble succeeds remains to be seen.

Canada and Mexico

Aaron M. Sprecher / Contributor, Chris Jackson / Staff | Getty Images

Notably absent from the "Liberation Day" tariff list are Canada and Mexico, America’s closest neighbors. That’s because Trump already imposed tariffs on them earlier this year. In February 2025, he slapped a 25% tariff on most goods imported from both countries to pressure them into curbing the flow of fentanyl across U.S. borders. Exceptions include agricultural products, textiles, apparel, and other items protected under NAFTA.