The 2024 presidential election season has already proven to be unprecedented and bizarre. Everyone is asking, “What’s at stake?” A lot. BlazeTV host Steve Deace has made a career parsing this exact question, and, as he tells Glenn on this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast," America has never been more reliant on the answer. Steve is the #1 best-selling author of "Faucian Bargain: The Most Powerful and Dangerous Bureaucrat in America History." His latest is “Rise of the Fourth Reich.” This year, he took on Hollywood with his underdog success, “Nefarious.” He and Glenn walk through many of his biggest ideas, fears, and suspicions, as well as his proposed solutions, from a new era of the GOP to a bold, new devotion to religion, with some interesting examples, including Billy Graham's fight against Soviet propaganda. In the wake of the first Republican presidential debate, Steve explains why he’s cautious about supporting Vivek Ramaswamy and why he has endorsed Ron DeSantis. With former President Donald Trump facing another arrest, Steve lays out the dubious events of Fulton County. The nation is approaching a breaking point, and, as Steve tells Glenn, there are really only two possible outcomes: policy or violence. It has to be policy. It can’t be violence. But in order to do that, Americans have to make giant choices right now.
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They Broke America's Social Compact. What Now? | Steve Deace | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 191
Mom ARRESTED for letting son WALK TO STORE speaks out
Brittany Patterson was recently arrested in Fannin County, Georgia, after a police officer found her 10-year-old son walking by himself. She was charged for violating the “reckless conduct” statute, which was ruled unconstitutional in 1997 by the Georgia Supreme Court. Brittany and ParentsUSA Executive Director & General Counsel David DeLugas join Glenn to tell this dystopian story. You can find out more and join the fight to protect parental rights at https://parentsusa.org
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Brittany Patterson is on with us now.
And also her attorney. Want to make sure that she doesn't say anything that would cost her in court.
David Delugas is with the Parents USA.
He's an executive director, and general counsel. Brittany, tell this audience your story.
What happened to you?
BRITTANY: So basically I have two kids that homeschool. And two kids that go to public school.
And any time I leave the house to run errands, or take somebody to the appointment.
The homeschool kids always get the choice to stay or go.
So on this particular day, I had to take my older son, to an appointment.
And so I had to pick him up at school, and take him.
And I thought that both my homeschool kids were going to come.
But when I went back to holler for them. They didn't answer.
I waited for a minute.
Hollered again. Didn't answer. So I figured, he didn't want to come.
And he was somewhere out on the property.
Or somewhere in the House, where he couldn't hear me. Or something like that.
So, I mean, went ahead and left. And went and picked up my son.
Took him to the doctor. And while we were at the doctor, I got a call from a sheriff's deputy, saying that she had found Soren, less than a mile from our house. In a little tiny town of middle bluff.
GLENN: What's the population of that town?
BRITTANY: So I don't know exactly. But it's like 350, I think, 370 something like that.
GLENN: 370 people?
BRITTANY: Yes.
GLENN: Okay. All right. So huge metropolis.
BRITTANY: There's a four-way stop sign. That's all there is.
GLENN: Okay. Okay.
BRITTANY: So, anyway, she started asking me questions. If I knew he was there.
Of course, I said no. Because I didn't.
And, you know, she seemed very concerned that something terrible was going to happen to him.
I was not concerned.
So basically, she ended up putting her in her car. And bringing him back to my house.
And my dad just for some background. My dad lives in our basement apartment.
And he's pretty much here all the time.
Because he has a physical disability. So he can't drive.
GLENN: Okay.
BRITTANY: So there's basically always an adult in my house with my kids. Not that there needs to be. But there always is.
GLENN: Okay. And, I mean, want to make sure. Your kids are 11, 12, 14, and 16.
And at the time, Soren, the child that was out walking. Was ten. Correct?
BRITTANY: Correct. He was a few days from turning 11. But he was still ten.
So they brought him home, and dropped him back off at home.
With my dad down stairs. Which is exactly the same way that I left him.
And they left. And so he was here. You know, without me. Or without the police.
Exactly the way I left him, for about 20 minutes, before I -- and so, you know, of course, I had a talk with him. Because I do tell all my kids. You know, if you want to go somewhere.
Send me a text. Call me.
Let me know where you will go. So that way, I can kind of keep tabs on you.
And he obviously didn't do that. So I gave him a little talking to about that.
And then we just kind of went about our day.
And about five minutes later, around 6:30, is when they showed up to arrest me.
GLENN: Okay. I just -- hang on. I just want to bring people up to speed here.
So you know who you're listening to. She was a kindergarten teacher.
She has a master's degree in education leadership. And curriculum obstruction.
Professional teaching license in Atlanta and Georgia. Her husband, Josh. Been in an organization of 17 years.
At all levels. Has been the superintendent of schools, for seven years.
He has a doctorate degree in educational leadership. She left education to go into real estate, because the demands of the kids' competitive sports wasn't working with her teaching schedule.
And that's who you're dealing with. So you're not dealing with people who just -- who don't know what they're doing with children.
You know, they're teachers. They have a doctorate. They know so much more.
This is -- these are professional people.
That have spent their lifetime teaching children, and being around children.
So when they came to your door, in this town of, how many people again?
Thee hundred --
PETER: About 370.
GLENN: About 370 people.
So, you know, one of them leaving the other 369 at home in their beds. What did they say to you?
BRITTANY: They didn't really say anything, other than they asked me to step outside, and put my hands behind my back. So at that point, I asked why. And the female officer said, because you're under arrest. And so, again, I asked, what am I under arrest for?
And for the second time, I didn't get a straight answer.
She said for the incident we spoke about earlier. So then I asked again, so what am I under arrest for? And she said, child -- or reckless endangerment. Which my attorney has told me is not even a thing that exists in Georgia. It could have just been her misspeaking.
But the point is -- and at that point I was going to ask, you know, what -- what was reckless?
What led to this?
I was going to ask for a warrant, that they basically forced me to turn around. Put my hands behind my back.
And they weren't going to answer anymore with any more questions.
GLENN: That sounds like the Soviet Union. Yes, go ahead. David.
DAVID: Yeah. And Brit knows from the body cam. What we heard is Brit said, last time I checked, it wasn't illegal for a kid to walk to the store.
And remarkably, the deputy immediately says, it is when they're ten!
And I -- I assure everybody, it's not illegal for a 10-year-old to be out and about walking. Not in the state of Georgia, it's not. For a deputy to say, it is illegal when they're ten.
GLENN: I grew up in a different time. So make no mistake.
I'm 60.
I think at about six, I went to the store, for a pack of graduates, for my dad.
I mean, at ten. At ten, you could have bought a gun and bullets!
But now, you know, God forbid, in a town where, many my town of 450 people.
Kids can drive trucks, down the road, because it's a farming community.
Stop treating children, like they're morons. Anyway, go ahead.
BRITTANY: Yeah. Well, the point I was going to make is that when I went to jail, I still didn't understand even though I had asked multiple times. I didn't know really what I was being arrested for.
I didn't find that out, until I got to jail, had already been stripped down and changed and fingerprinted.
And body cammed. And all that stuff.
And then they hand me the arrest warrant.
So at that point, I was ready to read it, and understand what -- what they thought was the justification for arresting me.
GLENN: Oh, my gosh.
Could I just ask, what is this sheriff's name?
The sheriff. Not the deputy. The sheriff of your county.
BRITTANY: So the sheriff of Fannin County is Dane Kirby. And he's been the sheriff for quite some time. I don't know exactly how many years, but several terms.
GLENN: Probably time for him to go away. When is he up for reelection? Do you know?
BRITTANY: I think --
DAVID: Yeah, it's not necessarily -- matters.
I mean, you know, the people in the county can likely become informed, and decide what they will do. But we don't take a stance about his election, or his culpability.
GLENN: Oh, no. No, no, no.
I'm not suggesting you do.
I am. I am -- I am an advocate of sheriffs that follow the Constitution, sheriffs are there. To protect the people of their county.
From out of control government entities.
If they become out of control, the people have the right and the duty to remove them!
So if you happen to live in this county, and your sheriff is Dana Kirby.
I don't know what you're doing.
But I would be out -- I would be -- I would be -- there's only 300, what?
70-some doors to knock on.
I would be knocking on every single one.
Including his. And saying, we need to get this sheriff recalled.
But, anyway, I digress.
DAVID: It's a bigger county than 370. But I get your point. It's an extraordinarily valuable point.
Let me throw this in, while we're talking about following the Constitution. Really, really significant, the statute Brent was charged with violating, is actually called reckless conduct. And, hey, in 1997, the Georgia Supreme Court held that statute unconstitutional because it's too vague and gives law enforcement too much power. So how about that? 1997. You would think in what's -- 27 years? Law enforcement in Fannin County would figure out that that statute doesn't apply.
GLENN: What's the name of this county again in Georgia?
DAVID: Fannin. F-A-N-N-I-N.
GLENN: F-A-N-N-I-N?
BRITTANY: Yes.
GLENN: Fannin County in Georgia.
Okay.
So what's next for you?
BRITTANY: Well, right now, we're just kind of in limbo. There's not been any real communication from the county. There's been no offers put on the table, or anything like that.
So really, kind of it's up to them, you know, what happens next.
They have multiple options that they could, you know, decide on. But in the meantime, you know, David and I have just been kind of raising awareness. Because before this happens to me.
I was living in the dark. I had no idea that this was even possible to happen to anybody. Review and since I kind of went public, and, you know, I've just been getting comments.
I've even gotten some cards in the mail and emails, and stuff like that.
From people all over the country, who some of them have found themselves in a similar situation, you know, at some point.
And so it kind of opened my eyes they can't be this is something that does happen.
That I think just a lot of us parents didn't even realize it was a possibility that was happening.
And so I'm just trying to bring that to light. That, you know, we do still have to kind of fight for our parental rights. And make sure that those are something that we get to hold on to.
Because I found that no matter which side of the aisle, people are on. Whether they want to be overprotective. Or let their kids be wild and free.
Both sides don't really want the government involved.
They want to be able to make those decisions as parents. And so it's just been interesting to see. Even though we might have philosophical differences on how to approach parenting. That we can still agree on that same thing.
GLENN: I mean, if you're sending your kid out to go to the store, to pick up some extra ingredients, so you can cook crack in the basement. That might be a problem.
But letting your kid go for a walk, to the store is absolutely normal. The country is out of control, when it comes to everybody and everything is a danger.
It's not. We're creating a society, where kids are -- are still kids, when they're 30 years old. And they don't know what to do.
Give your kids credit.
DAVID: You're on point there.
Absolutely. Let me throw a plug in for an organization called letgrow.org.
And they published statistics and advocate for parents providing more responsibility and freedom for their children, because it's better for kids.
And one of the things they at that they do is dispel this notion, that kids are going to be kidnapped and snatched off the side of the roads. So you should never let your kids be alone.
CDC, to the extent that anybody protects the CDC. But the CDC far and away, the most danger that a child is in, is when they're in an automobile.
So what did this deputy do?
Put them in a car, and driving him, during which could have been an arrest.
And even maybe, more -- more dangerous. Could have been one of those calls. Shots fired.
Officer down. This deputy would have been wheeled right to the scene. And taken this kid right into an active shooter.
Don't put kids in the back of a car, because you will give them a ride home. Leave them alone!
4 MAJOR cover-ups Kash Patel would EXPOSE as FBI Director
President-Elect Donald Trump has tapped Intelligence Community veteran Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Glenn explains why he’s a big fan of that pick, and it stems from an interview that Kash gave Glenn back in 2023. Glenn plays a clip of the interview, where he urged Trump to declassify information on multiple major cover-ups, including Jeffrey Epstein’s black book, the January 6th pipe bomb incidents, the case of the “deleted” J6 text messages, and Russiagate. So, if he is confirmed as FBI Director, will he release all this information to the public?
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: But Kash was -- Kash was on my show.
And we were talking about who holds -- who has the diary, who has the phone records, who has everything from Epstein? Do we have that cut?
Yeah. Go ahead. Play it.
Who has Jeffrey Epstein's black book?
VOICE: FBI.
GLENN: Porn music.
VOICE: Oh, that's under direct control of the director of the FBI. Just like the manifesto from the Nashville school shooting and the Catholic school. We haven't seen that yet. It's not the national police or PT --
GLENN: Ding, dong, pizza.
VOICE: The FBI says this is not going to happen. They do that because this is another government gangster operation. All these local law enforcement communities get funding from the DOJ and FBI for local programs.
And if you don't cooperate, you're not getting your million dollars for this.
You're not getting -- and that's a lot of money for these local districts. That's how they play the game.
That's why you don't have the black book.
GLENN: So, but the black book is not just sitting -- I mean, that's -- that's Hoover power times ten.
VOICE: And to me, that's a thing that I think President Trump should run on. On day one, roll out the black book. Oh, yeah. Please, I can't take anymore.
VOICE: On day one, roll out all the text messages and communications we were told were deleted. On day one, play the rest of the video of the pipe bomber.
He needed -- one of the forms I talked about, is you need a central note, to continuously declassify.
This is another thing they do. They overclassify. I'm telling you, as a former number two --
STU: Stop it.
GLENN: Yes! Yes!
Oh.
VOICE: I know you can't see that. Nothing to see here. Gino was a master of it. Of doing it. And we still haven't seen the half of the Russiagate report that we wrote.
GLENN: Oh, yeah.
VOICE: It's still under lock and key.
I don't know how the ICA was originally constructed. We went -- we put 10,000 man-hours against John Brennan's team that did it.
And we found out why they came up with their bogus conclusions.
But we couldn't sell it to the world, because we couldn't talk about it. And the government gangsters came in and buried it.
GLENN: Wow. Let me tell you this. I think I need a whole pack of cigarettes after that.
(laughter)
He is --
PAT: He's going to be good.
GLENN: Oh.
STU: And that's the only reason this part is happening.
Because Kash Patel.
Glenn Beck likes him so much. Look he's definitely going to come after Hunter Biden.
And therefore, we didn't think -- we never would have predicted that Adolf Hitler would do something like this.
GLENN: Here's what -- here's what we need to start tweeting. Okay?
Everybody needs to start tweeting this.
Kash Patel.
We love you!
We love you!
Please, release all of the information on the Biden administration.
PAT: Yeah.
GLENN: All of the information on Hunter Biden. You can't prosecute him.
But you certainly can prosecute everyone that was involved in the cover-up.
And, by the way, we would like the names on the Jeffrey Epstein list!
There's no reason, that if that was a bunch of truck drivers, we would know every truck driver's name!
Why don't we know this?
And it is too much power, in the hands of the FBI director.
Or the president.
Or whoever might have it.
The only way that thing becomes powerless, is if it is revealed.
Why Joe Biden’s PARDON of Hunter is NOT the end
President Biden has issued a pardon for his son Hunter that covers any crimes committed over the past 10 years. That would include any possible fraudulent dealings with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma or the Chinese Communist Party. So, is Biden just trying to protect himself? Glenn breaks it all down and also explains how Donald Trump can still bring criminals to justice: Biden only pardoned Hunter and, by extension, himself. But anyone else who was involved in the Biden family’s shady business dealings is still fair game, especially if Trump’s pick for FBI Director, Kash Patel, declassifies everything …
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: All right. Well, let me -- let me start here.
We've been saying it for decades now.
Decades!
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
That used to be kind of like a bumper sticker thing back in the Reagan era, you know.
These things, I think it's lost its impact.
I don't know if people really understand it, anymore.
Even know it. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Joe Biden has given his blanket pardon to his son. But only for crimes that may have been committed for the last ten years.
Now, this is something that he said he would never do, but I'm not surprised. We're going to -- this is the least surprising story of the decade.
We all knew it. We all knew it was coming, right?
Now, this is the privilege of the US president. The final month of office, actually accounts for about 92 percent of pardons and presidential commutations. It's fairly normal then, for presidents to exercise that constitutional power. And it is his right to do it.
It has no constitutional or Supreme Court oversight. So he can do whatever he wants. It's one of the few powers, that we grant the executive office for which there is no check and balance process outlined in the Constitution.
It's been used every year since Herbert Hoover, when he pardoned the first Thanksgiving turkey.
Legally speaking, Joe Biden giving a blanket pardon to his son for felony crimes, that he's actually admitted to in court!
And sentenced to in court, after millions of dollars were spent, in not only covering up the crimes, but also denying the crimes.
And all of the corruption that went on with the Justice Department and the FBI and the IRS.
All of that now, is gone!
He admitted it, in a book. He admitted it, as soon as he knew dad was going to pardon him. And presidents can do this.
They have, you know, whole staffs dedicated to finding criminals, who may have gotten the short end of the stick.
And if I may pause here for a Glenn Beck moment. Short end of the stick. You know where that comes from?
It's actually a historic reference from the Scottish/Gaelic days where they had physical combat, where two men would take a tree branch and kind of like a wish bone, they would break it in half. And then they would beat each other to death with that stick.
So it's like the turkey wish bone, except the other person dies. Anyway, back to modern times. President can give a blanket pardon to a multi-felony son, directly in the face of his own Justice Department's investigations of the same son.
Now, we're at the point where if this were just cocaine and prostitutes. I don't think we would care that much. I really don't!
I mean, it would be bad. But I don't think him doing cocaine and prostitutes is that much of a surprise!
Would you be that surprised, if cocaine and prostitutes? Dad was doing them too?
No. However, we're talking about money laundering charges to the Biden family. What about the violation of the State Secrets Act?
You know that Biden granted his children, including Hunter, security clearance against the recommendations of the NSA, and the CIA. And that warned him over and over and over again, secrets are being leaked.
How about Chinese prostitute spies? You care about that much?
I don't even know how you face yourself in the mere, if you're part of the White House Press Corp, or anybody in the mainstream media. Who has been saying the whole time: None of this happened. None of this happened!
He's not going to pardon his son. He's not going to need to.
I mean, I feel very bad in a small way for KJP, who has to stand there today, to defend what she's been saying the whole time.
No! I stand by what the president has said for the last two years.
Now she's got to say, if it wasn't -- if it wasn't the president's son, would he then prosecute it?
Yes!
He would have been prosecuted. In fact, he would have been in jail years ago!
So when Joe Biden says, yeah, well, there was -- you know, there was a miscarriage of justice here.
I mean, he got special treatment. Yes, he did. You know, the reason why all of this is a big deal. Is because the Justice Department and the FBI and the IRS made a deal, that one judge said, wait a minute.
I've never seen a deal like this. What's going on here?
That's why this whole thing came undone.
They were trying to sweep it up.
Yes! He was getting a sweetheart deal, that you wouldn't have gotten. Your son wouldn't have gotten.
How are they going to defend it? The same way. The same way.
It doesn't matter. That's why I say it's the least surprising story of the decade.
Nobody is surprised by it. We all knew. We knew this was happening when he was running.
Now, if Trump is who we think he is, or who he's, I hope, going to be.
An agent of change, he can completely blow the lid off of this. And effectively destroy -- and just destroy any semblance of respect Biden had left. Even if he couldn't prosecute Hunter or Joe. That's fine.
But he can declassify every single document in the Biden investigation. From cocaine, China, and the Middle East. And destroy not just the Biden legacy.
He's already destroyed that.
But he can destroy the press.
He can destroy everyone that was involved in this.
The entire apparatus around it!
Biden only granted Hunter immunity.
Only Hunter.
And by extension, himself.
But not the gross military intelligence industrial complex. And the team around them.
All those people can be exposed.
All of those people can go to jail.
And with the appointment of Kash Patel, I predict it's going to happen.
So now why not hearings?
I mean, we could impeach Biden right now.
But you want to spend the money on that?
You want to spend the time on that? Justice would say yes. Our country demands that we say yes. If we want a country, and we have a family that has built billions -- I'm sorry. Millions of dollars, from other countries. Why are we -- why are we in Ukraine?
Why is all this money going to Ukraine? Where is it going?
Where is it ending up?
You know, no one has followed the money on that one. Why? Why?
Is there even more corruption?
You know, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, they really were the ones that kind of industrialized this whole game.
They did it with China. But everybody turned their head.
No big deal. Oh, they were out of office now.
Joe Biden perfected it. If we let this family get away with this, what do you think is going to happen the next time, a president decides to sell themselves and the office.
People must go to jail. The president has every right. Every right to pardon his son.
But Kash Patel, if he's half the man I think -- no, if he is half the man I know he is, declassify all of it!
All of it!
Call out the corruption, that is everywhere.
I have to ask half the country a question. And I know you think that we're stupid, because Donald Trump is a felon. Is he? Is he?
He's a felon on -- on what? On what?
Charges that were brought against him? That have never been brought against anyone ever, in the history of the country?
That's called weaponization. And is it a surprise that they were brought, when he was running? You see, the Hunter Biden thing, that should have been in the pipeline, years before.
But couldn't do it. Because of Biden's grasp on the system. How stupid are you?
I mean, I'm sorry. I don't in between insult you. Because you think I'm stupid. What is it going to take.
You're still donating and supporting the Democratic party?
They just -- they lied to you, on so many things.
But they lied to you, about this.
They lied to you about the laptop being real when they knew it was real!
The FBI was part of it. They tried to make a deal. An underhanded deal, that you would have never gotten. Remember, why would you stand up for someone's extra rights, that you would never get.
If it's right for them, it has to be right for you. Remember, we lend our rights to them, to protect them. They don't have extra rights. They have none. They can't print rights. They come from us.
I -- you know, it is so hard -- you know, we just went through Thanksgiving. And hopefully, you had a big Thanksgiving. And hopefully, you didn't have big battles and fights and everything else.
Hopefully things went well.
But I've got to tell you, it is hard.
I marvel at the blindness of so many Americans.
I marvel at it. And I know they think the same of us.
I know.
That's fine. But we have the Constitution on our side.
We are fighting for the Constitution. Believe me, if Donald Trump, we found out, was selling secrets to Russia. Was selling secrets, or selling his office to China, I would be first in line.
Be first in line to impeach him.
If he was enriching his children, exactly the same way, that Joe Biden was, I would be for his prosecution, and his jail time!
Can you say that?
Until you can rationally describe to me that this isn't just pure nepotism, that utterly destroys Biden's entire career. His entire legacy. His entire presidency.
Everything that this man does. Has done, we now know, for the last ten years.
This isn't just, hey. I pardoned him for this crime. I pardoned him for every crime he may have committed for a ten-year period!
I mean, I just -- if we meet in a grocery store, you know, God bless you. But if you still think that that's okay, I might just pat you on the head and send you down the cereal aisle with the same kind of kindness I show a retarded puppy. But holy cow. Justice is more than a specific outcome. It is a philosophy.
It's a mentality. It's an absolute. We may not get it right every time.
Because we're human. But we should strive for justice.
What if Hunter's crimes were rape or murder?
Would that be okay? Would you still support a blanket pardon?
Or would you say, no. That's too far. But selling my children and your children into slavery, by granting China and others special access to our White House and to our secrets, that's okay?
Good on you. It's not for me.
But good on you.
And let me just end it with, surprise!
He pardoned his son.
Did “The Chosen” Director just release a new CHRISTMAS CLASSIC movie?
Dallas Jenkins, the director of "The Chosen," have released a new movie with Lionsgate that many are saying could become a new Christmas classic. The film, called, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", is based on the hit book and tells the story of misbehaved kids who put on a Christmas pageant and shock their community. Dallas Jenkins joins Glenn Beck to go behind the scenes of the film, which is in theaters now!
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Dallas Jenkins joins us. Hello, Dallas.
How are you?
DALLAS: Good, I'm actually wanting to write down what you were just talking about. It sounds great.
GLENN: I'm telling you, every school should have these things. Nobody wants to arm teachers. If you put your hand around the corner of the door. And somebody in the hallway. Yes, kids will be hit with tear gas. But nobody will die.
And the police can take that guy down.
It's crazy.
DALLAS: Yeah. No. It sounds amazing. I'm literally going, I'm going to get them for my home.
GLENN: Yeah, yeah. They're great. How are you?
DALLAS: Here's the thing. I'm looking at you, and you're a handsome guy. But behind you is this big picture where you look phenomenal.
And it's -- it's like, it's not good for you to put it right behind you.
Because I'm like, wow. Wait a second. There's a difference. Like, you're -- again, you look good in person too.
GLENN: That's me happy.
DALLAS: But over there you look happy and rugged and handsome. Wait a minute.
GLENN: Yeah. So tell me -- tell me the story of the film Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
I have -- I admit to you. I have not seen it. I have others who have seen it, and just rave about it. I've seen the trailer.
This is before you ever sent me anything.
I didn't know who it was. And I watched the trailer.
And I'm like, this looks fantastic.
It looks heartwarming and funny. And all of it. And it's true!
DALLAS: And I really think -- we talked before. This is your kind of movie. I really think you will really love it.
I read this book almost 20 years ago to my kids. My wife brought it home. And the first couple of chapters, it's been around 50 years. I read it in public school, which is why I was so surprised by what happened when I read it again to my kids. First few chapters, I'm laughing. It's very witty. Very nostalgic. Just a terrific story.
And I get to the last chapter. And I'm going, I don't remember how Jesus-y this was.
Like I don't know how we got away with reading this in public school. I guess because of the Christmas of it all.
GLENN: Right.
DALLAS: I get to the last chapter.
GLENN: You get to Oklahoma?
DALLAS: Yeah. Illinois. I don't know. Yeah, a little different.
GLENN: Okay.
DALLAS: But, anyway, the first -- the story is the six Herdmen kids. The worst kids in the world. The ones that everyone is looking down on.
GLENN: This is -- I just want to read it -- it's not true? Okay. Somebody told me it was a true story.
DALLAS: No. That's The Chosen.
GLENN: Okay.
DALLAS: But this -- she captured, it feels very real. It's very nostalgic. Remember the movie, the Christmas Story. Very much that feel to it.
In this case, these six kids. They're on the wrong sides of the tracks. They're in poverty. They're mean.
They're feeler.
And this church and had this town, don't want them around. And they hijack the town's Christmas pageants. They take over the roles. They bully the other kids into saying, we will play these roles of Mary and Joseph. So of course everyone is scandalized and thinks it will be the worse Christmas pageant ever.
GLENN: Because they're so un-Christ-like.
DALLAS: Right. And so much like Mary and Joseph.
Like you can't have this awful girl playing Mother Mary. Mary is beautiful and sweet and pretty, and always looks clean.
So they get to the performance of the pageant. And I don't want to give anything away.
Of course, it's called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
But we get to that last chapter. I start crying so hard.
I can't see the pages. My kids are looking at me like, what is going on? And my wife Amanda goes, give me the book. Let me read it.
She starts reading it. She starts crying.
We are passing the book back and forth to each other, while the other one recovers.
The story is just so beautiful.
It's because of these kids' poverty, because of their outsider status, they're actually closer to the heart of the true story than anyone else is.
And so it ends up transforming this town and the town, of course. So everyone is learning something new, because these kids have never heard the story before.
So they're asking all this question.
GLENN: Oh, that's a better ending than I thought -- I thought that it was they -- the -- the people that were helping the kids, actually kind of changed the kids to have those kids transform the -- it's fantastic.
DALLAS: That's the thing. The chump learns from these outsiders.
We've taken for granted the Christmas story and the Christmas pageant, and we think of the sweet little nativity.
And the halo around everyone's head. And the kids are going, why wouldn't they let a pregnant woman into the inn? And they're asking all these questions, that we take for granted. And so their perspective on the story is just closer to the truth of it.
Because of their unique perspective. And outsider status.
And so it just was so beautiful. There's a very common connective thread between that. And the chosen.
My passion has always been. And we talked about this before. I'm taking Jesus and the apostles down from stained glass windows.
Down from the pretty paintings that we've seen. And try to give you the most active direct portrayal of the humanity of these people, and their true story. And that's what really stood out to me, about the best Christmas pageant ever.
It's funny, it's witty. It's a traditional Christmas classic. Bits got this -- it's probably the only of the movies that I would consider to be Christmas classics. And hopefully, this becomes one of them.
That really does put a spotlight on the true story of Jesus.
But in a fun way.
GLENN: It's amazing to me how snotty Christians can get.
And maybe it's because they either -- they either didn't have that kind of experience, or didn't need the redemption of Christ as much as others do.
But the -- you know, Christ came for -- for the ones that needed redemption. We all need it.
But needed the redemption really badly.
He -- he was always around those kinds of kids.
GLENN: Yeah. He came for the sick. Not for the healthy. There's a line in the trailer or the movie.
Where the mom is volunteering to do this pageant. Everyone in the church is telling her, no. Just get rid of the Herdmans. We need to protect our sacred Christmas pageant. And at one point, her daughter says, shouldn't we just get rid of them?
You know, and she says, I think that would contradict the whole point of the story.
GLENN: Right.
DALLAS: And she said Jesus came for the Herdmans as much as he came for you and me.
GLENN: Right. He was -- everyone in that story was rejected and despised.
DALLAS: Yes. And there was also a moment where the herd men walk out on stage. And they are wearing the clothes.
They cobbled together at home.
To portray Mary and Joseph instead of the pretty costumes that were given to them by the church. Right?
And one of the girls in the choir, who is against them, goes, look at them. They look like refugees. And the main character is looking at them. Yeah. They do.
And she's smiling going, this is what Mary and Joseph were. They were refugees. They were outsiders.
It's those kinds of moments that unlike some of these other Christmas classics that I love.
You know, Elf and Christmas story. Home Alone. They're all great.
But this is a movie that has all those elements of humor and what not. But then there's these moments that they go, oh, my goodness. That is the true story. I think the moment about Christians and those in America. I think sometimes we -- it's not that we need redemption less. If anything, we need it more.
It's our awareness of our need. Which sometimes goes away if you live comfortably.
Comfort can sometimes cause you to take for granted. What -- who came for us. Not comfortable.
Jesus was born into a stable, into a rough environment on the run.
Hiding. Outsiders. Refugee. All that stuff. He came as a suffering servant.
Not as a conquering king.
And we sometimes forget that.
GLENN: Yeah. And it's -- it's remarkable to me, the best Christians -- I put -- I put a few people like Billy Graham into other categories.
But the best Christians I have met.
Regular people.
Are those people usually from the Middle East. Or from China.
The ones who are just like, oh, they -- they have to know God. Because it's literally all that gets them through their day.
DALLAS: Oh, yeah. I have a friend who runs this ministry. Called world relief.
And he said, the church in Iran is cool, man.
GLENN: Oh, I bet it is.
DALLAS: He said, we just had another great bopping. They were like, what? We had a bombing of one of our churches. We've never been closer to God.
We've never been more desperate for him.
We've never -- and I'm like, man, I wish I could reach that level of passion and desperation. Without needing to be oppressed for it.
GLENN: Yeah. I went to Iraq years ago, and we were rescuing the Yazidis. And I was supposed to come and pick them up.
And then we were going to take them to some other country in Europe.
And so when I get on the plane in New York. I'm told, you may not be able to go see them.
Because ISIS has just targeted the church, at the time, you're supposed to arrive, and they're having a final service.
And so I'm on the plane. Wondering, I mean. What am I going to do when we get there?
And I get there, and they say -- I say, so where are we meeting?
I said, oh, the church. Did ISIS?
They said, no. They're not changing their plans.
And I said, okay.
And then halfway through church, Russia said that they were going to start bombing that city.
And I --
DALLAS: You laughed at this, and said, this is not something we think about in America.
GLENN: Shh should we all maybe -- is there a shelter around here?
They just kept singing and praying.
And they said to me, oh, if we die, we're with God. Right now, we're fine.
This is great.
It was amazing to see it.
DALLAS: Very humbling. And so that's the kind of thing I'm hoping, not only that it reaches me. But the viewer, when I do the chosen. When I do a movie like best Christmas pageant ever.
It's, can we somehow remove these -- sometimes it's religion. Sometimes it's our sin.
Sometimes it's our art. That gets us -- gets us further away from that -- what actually happened. And from that desperation. And from that authenticity.
So in this case, it's wrapped in a fun, PG-rated Christmas movie. But it's all the same intention of, man, I would love to get that level of direct connection.
So connected to Jesus. That everything around you is so irrelevant.
GLENN: This is so important. This Christmas. I mean, I've been fighting Santa.
Not in a -- I didn't want to be that bad dad. We want Santa. Santa.
You know, I had fun as a kid with Santa. But I -- it was a different culture. The culture said, Christmas was about Jesus, not Santa. And Santa was just the fun part.
And it is so important. And this is a fun way to bring your kids to the true story of Christmas.
It's called the best Christmas pageant ever. It's in theaters now.
Are you going to release it, on video, on demand before Christmas or not?
DALLAS: Just close to around Christmas. But I do hope the people see it in theaters now. We want it to last in theaters for as long as possible. But yes eventually, shortly before Christmas, it will be available at home as well.
GLENN: Yeah. I will tell you, that the -- it -- it speaks a lot -- I think this came out November 5th. Yeah, eighth.
DALLAS: Right after the election.
GLENN: And it is doing really well.
This early in the season.
DALLAS: New York Times liked it, Glenn. It's got a 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
GLENN: Wormhole.
DALLAS: I know, there's a glitch in the Matrix.
There seems to be this reaction of, wow. This movie does take me to where Christmas should be about. And it's been a really, really cool -- really cool experience, to see the reaction.
GLENN: That's great. Can you hang on just a second? I have to take a one-minute break.
We are with Dallas Jenkins, the creator/director of the Chosen. And the new movie, must-see, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
See it this week in theaters. It will be great to kick off the holiday, and kind of also remind us. Hey, God just played a big role in our lives here recently. We saw some miracles. Let's thank him. Let's thank him for that.
GLENN: That is part of the Christmas album done by my daughter with the Czech Symphony Orchestra.
Comes out, Black Friday.
It's called home For Christmas. Can we play the trailer of the Best Christmas pageant ever?
Please.
Listen.
(music)
VOICE: They're advertising it on TV now?
VOICE: The pageant is an especially big deal this year. It's the 75th anniversary.
VOICE: I want to be of special mention to Grace for volunteering to direct it.
VOICE: You did, what?
VOICE: Oh, no. Did somebody die?
VOICE: It's worse than that, son.
VOICE: It's going to be the best Christmas pageant ever.
VOICE: Oh, no. It's the Herdmans now.
VOICE: The Herdmans are absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.
VOICE: What did they do now, dear? Break another window?
VOICE: Set something on fire?
VOICE: Steal your lunch. And then punch you for not having any candy.
No, even worse.
We're going to be in your Bible.
VOICE: Herdmans in church.
VOICE: Oh, boy.
VOICE: We take the pageant seriously.
VOICE: It's about community and tradition.
VOICE: What do you all suggest? That I kick the Herdmans out of the church?
VOICE: Yes.
VOICE: I want to be Mary, and Ralph wants to be Joe.
VOICE: And the angel of the Lord.
(laughter)
VOICE: The Herdmans shouldn't be here. They're a poor influence.
VOICE: You don't look like any Mary I've seen before.
VOICE: Don't touch him. I'm happy to take over the part at any time.
VOICE: I can't just kick them out.
VOICE: I thought you might all be interested in one of my stops.
VOICE: You never told me you visited the Herdmans.
VOICE: I got the biggest ham for you guys. Is your mom home?
VOICE: Not when the sun is up.
(music)
VOICE: What if the Herdmans ruin this for you?
VOICE: They probably will, but it's not about me. Jesus was born for the herd man's as much as he was for us. We will be missing the whole point of the story if we turn them away.
GLENN: The best Christmas pageant ever. It is playing in theaters, right now.
And I've never heard this before. The people that I know that saw it. And that I trust.
They said, Glenn, I saw the trailer. And I saw the trailer. I thought it was great and funny.
I saw the trailer. And it seemed like a little holiday, you know, Hallmark kind of thing.
And they said, the movie is so much better than the trailer. And I've never heard anybody say that about any movie. Ever.
DALLAS: Yeah, typically the trailer is the very best -- the highlights of it.
GLENN: Yeah. So I can't wait. I'm making reservations at the theater for Thanksgiving. After we've -- we have our Thanksgiving. We'll go to the theater at night. And watch the best Christmas pageant ever.
I have to get you to correct something. There was somebody that I was talking to, that goes to a Christian school, here in Dallas.
And they were talking about it. With a more and more friend, who has a child in that school.
And it came up that the Mormons distorted The Chosen because they were involved. And so you can't believe The Chosen scripturally.
And I want you just to verify that you used the set, I think for the first year, from the Mormon Church.
And there -- all churches are involved. But you have -- I said to them. You need to go back to the classroom and say, that Dallas Jenkins has a group of Bible scholars, that look at it from all angles.
And they argue, make sure it's exactly Biblically correct. Correct?
DALLAS: Yes, 100 percent. And number one, I'm an evangelical Protestant. I have the final say and control of every single piece of content in the show. It's not influenced by anybody.
And as I'm sure you wouldn't be that surprised. But all of the Mormon friends or people that I have, that I work with.
I mean, I have people of all backgrounds.
GLENN: Yeah. All faiths.
DALLAS: And lack thereof.
Half of my cast weren't believers. But there hasn't been any arguments. None of them said, well, we wished we would do this instead.
Like, it's the gospels. It's the story of Jesus.
GLENN: It's pretty cut and dry.
DALLAS: The arguments we have about Jesus. Are based on things that took place after he was here. Or before he was here on earth.
It was astonishing some of the rumors. I use a set that was owned by the church.
It's not like they said, okay. Now, if you will use our set, you have to Mormon this up --
GLENN: Yeah.
DALLAS: Because this set doesn't come free.
GLENN: That was the first time I ever had to defend my Christian friend. Against like the Mormons.
It was weird.
DALLAS: Yeah. No. It's been -- it's been wonderful. And a great, great relationship with everyone who was involved.
GLENN: Thank you so much for everything that you do.
Dallas Jenkins. Movie, Best Christmas Pageant Ever. See it.