TVSeptember 02, 2024

Dennis Quaid: Playing Reagan Was the Scariest Role of My Life | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 225

When actor Dennis Quaid was approached to play Ronald Reagan in the new movie "Reagan," he almost didn’t take the role. "Fear went up my spine," he tells Glenn on a special episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast." "He’s probably my biggest hero, in a way." As the two sit surrounded by beautiful mountains at Glenn’s ranch in Idaho, Quaid explains how a visit to Reagan’s own ranch property was what finally convinced him to accept the part. "I GOT Reagan there. You can feel him." Quaid reveals what made Reagan such a formidable — yet loved — president and whether or not America will ever see a similar leader again. They dive into Quaid’s past struggles with addiction, the dangers of fame, and how he eventually developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that pulled him through it all. Plus, Quaid provides hope for our nation’s future, from the ability of RFK Jr. to bridge Democrat and Republican Party lines and signs the world is "turning right side up again" to his belief that mending America starts with one small step at a time: "I think it starts at home, in our relationships with our friend [and] local community." They discuss how COVID replicated a kind of "spiritual revolution," the spread of communism, and how Quaid learned piano from Jerry Lee Lewis himself — which Quaid then demonstrates in an impromptu performance. So is Quaid concerned for the nation’s future? Or is he steadfast — like Reagan — in his belief in the American people? He tells Glenn that he’s an optimist and that "people are yearning for a return to common sense and decency."

Special thank-you to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for helping to provide footage of the 40th president.

Note: The new movie "Reagan" is a sponsor of "The Glenn Beck Program."

The INCREDIBLE Story of How Biden Gave Trump the “Gift” of Mass Firings

Every government official who is fired by President Trump should blame Joe Biden, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tells Glenn. Spicer tells the incredible story of how Biden's "pettiness" led Spicer and Russ Vought to sue him in a case they didn't think they'd win. But they DID - and now, it has set the precedent that allows President Trump to fire anyone in his administration! This has since led to the reformation of the Kennedy Center and will allow Trump to make many of DOGE's recommendations a reality.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: My friend Sean Spicer, how are you, sir?

SEAN: I'm fantastic. How are you?

GLENN: So good. So good. I don't want you to tell the end of the story yet. I want you for start at the beginning.

SEAN: No, no, no.

GLENN: What happened when you left the White House, and Biden took over as president?

SEAN: I'll take you one step further. So I stepped out as White House Press Secretary, and the president has always been kind and offered to appoint me to a couple of boards.

He appointed me to two of them!

One of them was the White House Commission by the Commissioner there. And then he also was kind enough to make me one of the -- his appointees to the board of visitors in the US Naval Academy.

So I was sworn into office. Joe Biden came into office. And so January 20th, myself and all of the White House commissioners at the -- resigned. And because it's a White House commission, and the new president has a right to have people for White House commissions. Fair enough.

GLENN: Sure.

SEAN: Well, September 1st, I get an email 2021, and it says, Spicer, thank you for your service on the US Naval Academy of visitors. By 6 o'clock tonight, will you submit your resignation, or will you be fired? And I thought, whoa. What?

Just for context. Remember, Glenn. September 1st, my term ended November 1st. Sixty days later. I was like, you couldn't wait 60 days, just to have it for free?

GLENN: Wow.

SEAN: So I was like, I've been sworn into office. My term was ended at that time. I wasn't going to get reappointed. Biden had his right to appoint his people, great.

So it turns out he fired everybody. Myself, from the Naval Academy board. Russ Vought from the Naval Academy board. And then a guy named McMaster from the West Point Board.

Who, by the way, H.R. McMaster, you remember, was the national security adviser to Trump.

Three-star Army general, who was a graduate at West Point as a distinguished professor at West Point.

And the Friday after that Tuesday email, was going to be honored at West Point as a distinguished alumni in their awards ceremony. So, anyway, he fires us September 1st. I don't resign. I said, I'm not resigning. You can fire me if you want. And then Steven Miller and America First came to me and said, we have an idea. I said, okay. What's the idea? We want to sue Biden. Now, Glenn, I'm not a lawyer. I said, guys, I watch a lot of Law and Order. How in God's earth if we sue the guy in September?

I mean, my term ends November 1st, we're never going to get back on the board. And they said, no, no, no. Let's go to court and make Joe Biden argue that he has the absolute authority to fire anybody. And because we're not going to win the case. They'll rule against this. And I thought, oh, this is brilliant.

So the only people. But here's the kicker. The only people who were running willing to put their name on that lawsuit performance myself. And Russ Vought. Of all the people who were so honored that President Trump had appointed them. And they went and they said, aw, thanks, we're busy.

So they became Spicer et al. It goes up to the court. The court says, the president has the absolute authority to that. We appeal the decision. It goes to the appeals level. And the court again, reaffirms the decision that Joe Biden and the president of the United States have the absolute authority to fire everyone. And the media started calling, Glenn, and said, you lost the case. And I said at the time, did I?

So Donald Trump gets elected, and this is where it gets really fun. You'll love this.

GLENN: Yes. And now you know the rest of the story.

SEAN: Yes. Thank you, Paul Harvey. So I read this story in the op-ed in the New York Post. Saying, hey, guess what? Spicer, Joe Biden has given President Trump the authority to fire anyone he wants. I hope that President Trump executes it, and the White House is tweeting, you know, sending me messages back after we just fired him, and I'm living this. Well, I write this piece for the New York Post. Explaining, hey. Here's what we did. Here's the legal basis. All these people who are about to get fired by Trump should thank President Biden for this.

Now, here's where it gets fun: The New York Post in the editing process says to me. Okay. Well, was it just the service academy?

They said, no, they had the right to fire them. They said, well, give us some examples. And so I got the list of commissions that the president can appoint too. There's like a couple hundred. And I start reading one of the editors.

I said, they can fire -- there's the battlefield commission. There's the Truman scholarship. There's the Kennedy senators.

Put that in the op-ed. People will identify with that. We went. We added a couple other examples to the op-ed.

So the op-ed gets published in the New York Post.

And it gets a lot of coverage. Whatever. And President Trump continues to fire people. And when they fire the board of the Kennedy center, the Washington Post calls -- you know, the spokesman for the Kennedy Center. And he says, are you going to be opposing President Trump firing you?

And on the record, the spokesman for the Kennedy Center says, we can't. Spicer v Biden sets the precedent for this. It gives the president the authority to do this.

Now, the here's the kicker. The Washington Post calls me. And says, what do you think about what the Kennedy Center thinks? Now, I have a hard enough time keeping up with President Trump.

I don't focus on what the Kennedy Center is saying.

I'm sorry. That's really not my thing. So I said, I don't know. And they go, are you serious?

You don't know that they just cited your case as the reason that they can't oppose or -- or object to what President Trump just did. I said, oh, my God. I'm glad to have played a small part in it. Later, the reporter calls me back and says, I went and read all of the court documents, and you're right.

And, of course, I'm -- yeah. I wasn't lying to you. And he said, I've got to write this big story. And I said, to my team at the time. My family. I was like, oh, my God.

This isn't going to go well. The Washington Post wants to write a story about Spicer v Biden, and why it's giving the president the authority.

And then I get a text. And it says, hey, we're putting the story up.

And I go, oh. These things don't end well for people like me and people like you. It's like getting a call from the IRS. It doesn't go well. Hey, I'm from the Washington Post, and I'm writing a story about Glenn Beck. Yeah, thank you.

GLENN: Yeah.

SEAN: So I click on the story. And I'm reading it, and I'm like, okay. Okay. Okay.

Like, when is the bad part coming? And the only part is -- I normally. You know, there's that phrase, Glenn. Where people say, they hate watch MSNBC or something. And I hate the comments. I had to do it. I had to do it.

I will not -- I will not read the Twitter replies or whatever. But I read the comments. And these snowflakes, they're so offended. They're like, Sean Spicer is an evil person for suing the president. I'm like, wait a second. You have to understand the context. Never in the history of the United States has any president ever removed somebody from a service academy board, prior to their term being done for anything less than malfeasance. And even that, we can't find an example. Never!

Joe Biden was so petty. And the point is, they're mad at me?

The comments, there's like thousands of comments when you click on the Washington Post story. I posted it on my social media story if someone wants to go read it. And I'm like, wait a second. You're mad at me.

They're like, I can't believe you did this. Wait. Wait. I did nothing. I literally had 60 days to go. Sure, I would have gotten some medallion from the Naval Academy.

Thanks for your service be on your way. And yet, here they are, like all these snowflakes putting comments in the Washington Post that like I'm the bad guy. Because why?

Because I stood up and said, hey. You want to argue that you have to do this?

Then give the future Republican president.

Now, at the time, myself and Russ Vought had no idea. President Trump hadn't even been declared for reelection yet.

But we thought to ourselves, hey. You know what. We'll stand up. I watch a lot of Law and Order. But that's my legal prowess here.

So the idea that this case now, which we fought at the time, hey, let's try it.

Has now become the basis for which President Trump can run around and say, hey, you're fired. Legit is amazing.

And the Post wrote in the story, that I was giddy. I think that's an understatement. I'm so ecstatic. Not just that President Trump can execute on this tragedy, and that it was Joe Biden that set the precedent and gave us this 50 was such, sweet, poetic justice.

GLENN: You know, whenever somebody tries to force their way. It never ends well.

SEAN: Think about this. They tried to deplatform Trump. They did it civilly and criminally. It backfired. Backfired.

Learn your lesson, folks. Like, to me, I get such a kick out of this because the dumdums keep thinking, if we just go after it one more time, and it works. And it doesn't.

GLENN: So what is the strategy now?
Do you think they have? What -- I mean, because none of this is working.

SEAN: No, I hope it continues. I mean, I just love the fact that it -- they double down on stupid. And they're like, what if we just try it one more time?

And I'm like, God bless you. But the idea that at some point, you know, you take -- I was -- you take the loss. And just say, let's regroup.

Let's retreat. He's not running again. Maybe we stop making it about him, and we think about what we're for.

I don't intend to give advice to the Democratic Party. But at some point, recognize that for ten years, you try to say that Donald Trump is the problem. We are going to come up against them, and it hasn't worked.

So maybe, just maybe you try to rethink this whole strategy. Look, I don't really care.
That's their problem. Not mine.

GLENN: I -- you know, I performed at the Kennedy center ten, 12, 15 years ago.

And it was like -- it almost took an act of Congress to make that happen. You can rent out the Kennedy Center and do whatever you want on there.

Well, they had a problem with me.

And they told me at the time, I was the first show ever done at the Kennedy Center that displayed the American flag on stage.

I found that incredible.

But I don't care what happens at the Kennedy Center. It doesn't matter to me.

But the left is freaking out. They're just freaking out!

SEAN: See, here's the thing. There's a bigger arc, that I think is taking place. In the first term, we were somewhat apologetic. Remember, just think about this. And remember, the Kennedy Center is just one thing. So the president can keep firing everybody. But in 2017, we came into office. The Kennedy Center honors, right? Which was supposed to be this annual thing. And they celebrate each other. They said, we won't come if Trump shows up.

So Trump was actually magnanimous. And said, you know what, you guys go on. Have your event, I won't go. And I think there was a lot of feeling around. And trying to understand.

And like I said, it was -- it was just -- it was new. What do we do?

How do we approach this? This term, he says, screw it. You're all fired.

I'm taking over the board. I'm in charge.

And I love this.

This idea that we have learned. And this what I mean about the arc. it means, don't be afraid. Don't be apologetic. Fight! Go out there. Why are we ceding ground and pretending to be better? Why is it that Glenn beck is the only person that puts an American flag on it?

Why aren't we saying, you know what, let's bring in more people that do that. Let's be proud. Let's be patriotic.

Let's use this institution to celebrate America.

What I don't understand.

Like, the mentality is so different now.

Let's fight. Let's do this.

GLENN: I think it's -- I think it's absolutely fantastic. I thank you for what you did. And, you know, the only thing that would make it better is if you or I were on the board of the Kennedy Center and we could announce that Lee Greenwood's residency was taking place at the Kennedy Center.

SEAN: Now that you know, that definitely won't be the last time we hear that.

We may be meeting for presidency, of like several other country artists.

GLENN: It would be fantastic.

Thank you so much, I appreciate it. Sean Spicer.

Why the US-Canada Hockey BEATDOWN was More than Just a Game

Does the world hate America under Trump, or are we gaining more respect? Glenn takes a look at the latest headlines: Trump and Putin have agreed to begin negotiations for the war in Ukraine, India wants to “make India great again,” Vice President JD Vance ripped into European elites over censorship, Trump has announced plans for reciprocal tariffs, and the United States absolutely pummeled Canada in a hockey game after Canadians booed the US National Anthem. But this game, which started with 3 fights, was more than just a victory. Glenn explains how it’s a defining moment of the “new era” we have entered and, much like the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”, it has helped revitalize the American spirit.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Well, does the world hate us, or are we gaining respect?

Let's look. Last week, Trump was busy with the world leaders. On Wednesday, Trump said he had a very lengthy phone call with Russia president Vladimir Putin in which they agreed to begin negotiations on Ukraine. On Truth Social, Trump posted, good possibility of ending this horrible, very bloody war. They also discussed the Middle East, energy, and other issues. And agreed to make visits to each other's country. The president also spoke to the Australian Prime Minister. They discussed defense. Trade investment. Mineral supply chains. And concerns about China's aggressiveness.

Also, last week, the world came to the White House. King Abdullah of Jordan.

He was at the White House.

They discussed the situation in Gaza. And then late in the week, it was the turn of India's Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi. He visited the White House.

They talked about launching a new initiative on military partnership, commerce. And our countries are going to work together on semi conductors. And AI. In the end, the Prime Minister of India said, we're going to make India great again as well.

The 51st governor, the that one runs Canada is still not happy with Trump.

It played out this weekend, in a Canadian soul-crushing event. I'll get to that in just a minute. In Germany, over the weekend, they were listening to our new vice president. J.D. Vance. They were a little upset. Because he said, the control of thoughts and free speech has to end.

It actually made one of the leaders of the group, weep. Openly.

Saying, that it just showed how far apart Europe and America really are.

And, yes. As the Germans bust down doors for a -- for a retweet. I agree. On free speech, we're quite fire apart. Sixty minutes did a segment on it. That's our topic next hour. But the Germans are now claiming it was free speech that led to the Holocaust.

Excuse me. In Paris, European leaders huddled behind closed doors over the weekend, debating Ukraine's future. Official statements, spoke of unity. But is that the reality?

France and Germany, they're whispering peace talks while Poland in the Baltics brace for something much, much worse.

It's a war of words, at this point now. But history suggests that words don't end wars.

Back then, Washington in its own battlefield, this time over tariffs. The president announced last week, a simple plan. Whatever you charge us. We will charge you.

China was very upset.

Boohoo. Wall Street panicked. In the heartland, farmers remembered fair trade means fair play.

Over the weekend, storms rolled in, as well. They came in fast, and they came in hard. It was Kentucky. West Virginia. Tennessee, and Virginia. Four states that are now digging out from flash floods that swallowed roads and homes and lives.

But among the storm clouds, there was a little parting, some good news.

Small-town America doesn't wait for Washington. Neighbors showed up.

Churches opened doors.

And somewhere, a farmer with a backhoe is already clearing a neighbor's driveway. That's America.

Back in Washington this week, President Trump is delivered on his promises, while even attending the Super Bowl and NASCAR. He's done all kinds of things, including last week, a decisive 25 percent tariff on foreign steel and aluminum, aiming to protect American jobs and industries. Those jobs and industries here in America took a leap on the stock market. Critics are grumbling, but Main Street applauds, as finally a leader puts America first.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans are capturing a six-point agenda. This is all about the budget, and a looming shutdown. Budget resolutions and reconciliation bills aimed to bolster defense, secure our borders, all the way while keeping a keen eye on the deficit, it's a tough balance.

Democrats support the -- the -- the Democrats support is absolutely needed to keep the government from running post-March 14th bipartisan cooperation that is a necessity.

It seems, because we're going to lose some stupid RINOs.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is undergoing transformation. Seven prosecutors have resigned after being corrected to drop corruption charges against New York City's mayor Eric Adams, acting deputy attorney -- attorney general, Emil Bove cites governance concerns for the dismissal.

Critics say, it's a political maneuver. It's Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre. We'll see, as Kash Patel should be confirmed early this week.

And as he is, if he is, on day one, you expect the Epstein client list to follow within hours of him arriving at the Hoover building.

The budget committee, back to them. They have approved in the Senate, approving a fiscal year 2025 budget. The plan emphasizes bolstering border security, military strength, independence, and an annual allocation of 85.5 billion, an offset by corresponding spending cuts, reflecting a commitment for fiscal responsibility.

House Republicans are navigating their internal debates over their budget approach. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, advocates for comprehensive bill.

That combines Trump's tax cut agenda with increased funding for border security, military priorities.

Our friend and serious budget cutter, Chip Roy, is with the House package. We'll see if they can bring them both together.

Both chambers are working on this. Because funding expires on March 14th. Gee, have we ever heard that before?

We can't shut down the government! Really? I don't know.

Democrats are licking their chops. At a government shutdown as usual. But wouldn't it be them, that shut the government down? And, quite honestly, really? I've had enough of this game. Would anybody notice?

Maybe this time, the Republicans won't blow it. Trump sent the Pentagon a Valentine on Friday. That Valentine just pretty much said, be mine. He sent a -- he sent the DOGE team out to the Pentagon on Friday. Their mission is to cut the waste. Cut the crap at the Department of Defense. I think they're going to do that.

Last night, I don't know if Stu watched Hollywood.

They took the stage. Saturday Night Live. Celebrated 50 years of laughs, or depending on who you laugh. Fifty years of finishing returns.

The golden age was when Main Street was in on the joke.

Not the joke.

Tom Hanks is in trouble. He played a MAGA supporter. Oh. And the liberal laughs ensued.

Is it 2016 again?

And the hockey game. I don't know if you saw the hockey game between the US national team and Canada this week. Normally, I'm -- I'm not really into sports.

But sports sometimes, because it's part of culture, has a way of transcending and defining the era we live in.

Sometimes, it says out loud, what we're all thinking. And like the horns of Jericho, it announces our arrival and our future. So let's see if we can find any echoes in the past, that sound an awful lot like this weekend.

In 1980, the United States was in the same situation, we're in right now. And it was a hokey game that changed everything. By and large, the world had lost respect for us. Because just like now, we lost respect for ourselves. Our nation had gone through some of the intense movements in civil unrest, that we had ever seen.

The left seized on it, keeping us in a perpetual cycle of class, and societal warfare. Patriotism and trust, in the government was spiraling out of control.

Three years after Jimmy Carter accepted the Democratic nomination for president, he addressed these concerns in a televised speech.

It happened on July 15th, 1979. He said, there was a threat to the nation. And let me quote! The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It's a crisis of confidence.

It's a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national are.

We can see this crisis in confidence, in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives. And in the loss of unity and purpose for our nation.

Erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of America. Wow, does that sound familiar!

And isn't it amazing how Carter could see what all of these policies were doing. He could deliver impassioned speeches on the dangerous results.

But then he would go back and double down on the policies that continued the spread of the virus.

The great inflation of the 1970s. It's what they used to call it. It hit a fever pitch by 1980. Interest rates spiked. They fell briefly. Then they flew up from there. Does any of this sound familiar? Banks stopped lending. Unemployment skyrocketed. The economy was clearly in a recession. The geopolitical landscape, pretty much the same.

We had lost respect for ourselves. So the world didn't respect us. Soviet Union appeared to be winning the war for global hearts and minds.

And then hockey!

Hockey came in to play. It was the battlefield of the Cold War. By 1980, the Soviet Union had taken home the gold in five of the six past Olympic Games. But then came the night of February 22nd, 1980.

The game had already happened. Hours earlier, due to a broadcast delay, Americans were expected to lose the mighty Soviet national hockey team.

But then we heard Al Michaels. Maybe the greatest sports call in modern history.

VOICE: You've got ten seconds to pass that ball. Five seconds left, and the game is over. I believe in miracles? Yes! Unbelievable.
(applauding)

GLENN: Do you believe in miracles? It was called the miracle on ice. Movies had been made about it. It was an announcement party was what it really was. It was the changing of the guard. It was the birth of the new era. Herb Brooks brought together a group that everyone said could not win, at a time, when America was convinced, it could not win.

And what it announced is: America is back. And we're not going to be pushed around anymore.

We will no longer be taken advantage of. We would no longer allow people just to laugh at us, or belittle us, because we were back!

Reagan, came in shortly after. Now, like 1980, we have just spent four years under a political ideology, as Carter put it. That strikes at the very heart and soul, and spirit of our national will.

Our young people, they don't care about America anymore.
They don't have pride or love for the country. Because we haven't raised them that way, in most cases. School is saying, there's no reason to be proud of your country. People take it for granted. They're ashamed of the accomplishments of America. Her history.

And the very ideology on which she stands. Now, before I get into this last part, I will say, I don't like the arguments between us and Canada right now. I don't like it.

We've always been friends. And it's a beautiful country. It's cold. I don't want to live there.

And I don't want it to be the 51st state. I actually think it's pretty funny that our president is calling the Prime Minister the governor. But the Canadian government, lead by their progressive Prime Minister, our Governor Justin Trudeau is an annoying mascot for everything that is wrong with global politics.

Well, he was at the hockey game on Saturday in Canada between the national Canadian team and the US national team. Rumor was, our boys were a little sick and tired of being booed, every time the national anthem is sung.

And they weren't going to take it. Why would they? Our country under the government leadership has been toothless and apologist for four years. We've been taught to be ashamed of our country. Why not boo the national anthem? And boo they did.

If you saw it, it made your head explode.
When the puck finally troped, at the start of the game, the American center, he barely looked at the puck. He didn't care about playing the game that the point. He immediately tore off his gloves. Dropped his stick. And clocked his opponent, taking him to the ground. When the referees pulled the American away, he skated with his head high, glaring at the hostile crowd. The message was clear. Screw Old Glory. To your peril! It was kind of awesome.

There were a total of three fights in the first nine seconds. Again, which I didn't like.

But the Americans were on a mission. The intensity through the game was brutal.

And the Americans delivered an old-fashioned American beat down. The US team delivered a message and won three to one. I don't know. Was it the miracle on ice of 1980?

Because that was more than a hockey game. And I couldn't help, but feel the same way on Saturday.

I think America is back. We're not ashamed. We're not going to be intimidated. Nor cower anymore.

But we don't hate our neighbors. We just love our country.

What she stands for.

And the birth of a new prosperous, and proud era, I think is upon us.

Congratulations, team USA.

JD Vance ENRAGES European Elites by Denouncing CENSORSHIP?!

It seemed like Vice President JD Vance stood alone for free speech at the Munich Security Conference. The Conference’s chairman decried Vance’s critique of European "hate speech" laws, “60 Minutes” treated Germany’s “online hate speech” police raids as normal, and CBS News’ Margaret Brennan peddled the narrative even further, by suggesting that the Nazis “weaponized” free speech to orchestrate the Holocaust. “This is extraordinarily dangerous,” Glenn says. But if America must stand alone to defend free speech, so be it.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So last hour, I played a little bit of J.D. Vance's speech at the German -- or Munich Security Conference. And he talked about how free speech is under attack. In Europe!

And he didn't just point out that it was Europe, that was having this problem.

But he said, it had to end. But let's not stand here and point the finger at you. Pragmatism let's point it to ourselves as well. Cut seven.

GLENN: And in the interest of comedy my friends, but also in the interest of truth. I will admit that sometimes the loudest voices for censorship, have come not from within Europe. But from within my own country. Where the prior administration threatened and bullied social media companies to censor so-called misinformation.

Misinformation like, for example, the idea that contester had likely leaked from a laboratory in China. Our own government encouraged private companies to silence people, who dared to utter what turned out to be an obvious truth.

So I come here today, not just with an observation. But with an offer. Just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds. So the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite, and I hope that we can work together on that.

And Washington, there is a new sheriff in town. And under Donald Trump's leadership. We may disagree with your views. But we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square. Agree or disagree.

GLENN: Wow! Didn't go over well. In fact, here's the Munich Security Conference chairperson, closing out the convention. Listen to this.

VOICE: This conference started as a transatlantic conference after this speech of Vice President Vance on Friday. We have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore. I'm very grateful to all those European politicians that spoke out, and reaffirmed the values and principles, that they are defending.

No one did this better than President Zelinsky. Let me conclude that this becomes difficult.
(applauding)

GLENN: He was applauded for crying. That we don't have the same values in common anymore.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: If this is the way Germany and the rest of Europe feels about freedom of speech, then, yes. We don't have the same values. And I don't care if we stand completely alone! We've done it before. And when it comes to freedom of the individual, if that's what it takes, that's what we must become. We have to square our shoulders and remember our principles. Yes! If you want to shut down free expression and free speech, which means you have to let the worst be said, so you can actually have dialogue, learn from one another, learn from the past, and not just become a zombie robot, with an out-of-control government that you can never speak against. Well, that's who we are!

That's what we stand against. I will tell you, that their own people -- I can guarantee you, are not for it. How do I know? Well, let me show you what happened on 60 minutes. Here's 60 minutes, joining a German police censorship raid.
(music)

VOICE: It's 6:01 on a Tuesday morning. And we are with state police as they rated this apartment in northwest Germany.

Inside, six armed officers search a suspect's home. Then seized his laptop and cell phone. Prosecutors say, those electronics may have been used to commit a crime. The crime? Posting a racist cartoon online.

At the exact same time, across Germany, more than 50 similar raids played out. Part of what prosecutors say, is a coordinated effort to curb online hate speech in Germany.

GLENN: Now, I don't like hate speech. I don't like seeing racist cartoons. But that is part of life! It depends on who is in power. On how you define hate. And when you have a government, able to take away inalienable rights, you have a real problem on your hand. Sixty minutes continues.

VOICE: Is it a crime to insult somebody in public?

VOICE: Yes, it is. Of course.

VOICE: And it's a crime to insult them online as well?

VOICE: Even higher, insulting someone on the internet.

VOICE: Why?

VOICE: Because in internet, it stays there. If we are talking face-to-face, you insult me, I insult you. Okay. Finished. But if you're on the internet, if I insult a politician.

VOICE: Then it takes around forever.

The prosecutors explain German law also prohibits the spread of malicious gospel, violent threats, and fake quotes.

VOICE: If somebody posts something that is not true. And then somebody else reposts it or likes it, are they committing a crime?

VOICE: In the case of reposting with, it's a crime as well. Because the reader can't distinguish between whether you just invented this or just reposted it?

VOICE: The punishment for breaking hate speech laws can include jail time for repeat offenders.

GLENN: Jail time. Jail time.

If you say something offense about a politician. Did anybody catch that? If you say something offensive about a politician. You can be charged with a height crime. You do it several times, and you will go to prison!

STU: That's a question of how much do we have in in common, before J.D. Vance's speech?

Apparently, not that much.

GLENN: Clearly not.

STU: If those are your laws, it's a crime?

You can't trust people to be able to decipher whether a quote is fake or not?

It's -- it's not their responsibility to -- to look it up themselves?

GLENN: Listen to cut three. CBS. Not pushing back.

VOICE: To build their cases, investigators scour social media, and use public and government data.

They say, sometimes social media companies will provide information to prosecutors, but not always. So the task force employs special software investigators to help unmask anonymous users.

VOICE: So this is suggest you kill people seeking asylum here.

VOICE: He says his unit has prosecuted about 750 hate speech cases over the last four years, but it was a 2021 case, involving a local politician, named Andy Groat, that captured the country's attention.

Groat complained about a tweet, that called him a pimmel. A German word for the male anatomy. That triggered a police raid, and accusations of excessive censorship by the government. As prosecutors explained to us in Germany, it's okay to debate politics online. But it can be a crime to call anyone a pimmel, even a politician.

VOICE: So it sounds like you're saying, it's okay to criticize a politician's policy. But not to say, I think you're a jerk and an idiot?

VOICE: Exactly. Like you're a son of a bitch. Excuse me for -- these words have nothing to do with a political discussions or a contribution of a discussion.

STU: And it's up to him to decipher whether it contributes or not.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. Boy, you better be careful if you're going over to Germany any time soon.

GLENN: 60 Minutes finally asks about some free speech issues. Listen to this.

VOICE: That this feels like the surveillance that Germany conducted 80 years ago. How do you respond to that?

VOICE: There is no surveillance.

VOICE: (inaudible) is a CEO of Hate Aid, a Berlin-based human rights organization, that supports victims of online violence.

VOICE: In the United States, a lot of people say, this is restricting free speech. It's a threat to democracy.

VOICE: Free speech needs boundaries.

GLENN: Hmm.

STU: Ah.

VOICE: In the case of Germany. These boundaries are part of our Constitution. Without boundaries, a very small group of people can rely on endless freedom to say anything that they want.

GLENN: Endless freedom.

STU: Oh, my gosh. It's scary.

VOICE: And your fear is, if people were freely attacked online, that they will withdraw from the discussion?

VOICE: This is not only a fear. It's already taking place. Already half of the internet users in Germany are afraid to express their political opinion. Many participate in public debates online anymore, half of the internet users.

STU: Of course. You're putting them in prison. When they say the wrong thing.

GLENN: I mean, it is Gestapo, with today's technology.

I've warned you. With today's technology, and what is right around the corner, you put a Hitler in charge of it.

STU: And there's not a Jew left in the world.

There's no place to hide in the entire world. This is extraordinarily dangerous.

Now, that's -- that was the extent of the CBS pushback on the Germans.

STU: That was a lot though.

GLENN: Then you get Marco Rubio. And they go to Marco Rubio, to ask him about this. Listen.

VOICE: Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide. And he met with the head of a political party, that has far right views. And some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that, was changing the tone of it.

GLENN: Changing the tone.

VOICE: Well, I have to disagree with you. No. I have to disagree with you.

Free speech is not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by authoritarian Nazi regime, that happened to be genocidal, because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they hated those -- the list of people they hated. But primarily the Jews. There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none.

There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were the sole and only party that governed that country. So that's not an accurate reflection of history.

STU: Obviously.

GLENN: The free speech caused the Holocaust.

STU: Amazing.

GLENN: Free speech.

You couldn't speak out against the Nazis.

Who doesn't learn that in school? Well, probably most Americans. And clearly the journalists here in America. You had no free speech! How do you get everybody to give the Heil Hitler salute?

You don't do that by becoming popular. They didn't. They did it by beating people in the streets.

You will do this, when we salute. If you don't, we'll beat you to death in the streets. And we can get away with it. Because our guy is in power. There was no free speech! This is insanity! Now, I want to show you what -- what J.D. Vance said, that made the guy cry.

In Germany!

Now, I want you to remember that the Munich security conference chair cried at the closing of the conference.

Cried!

Because he realized the United States was no longer on the same side as Germany and Europe!

Now, that seems crazy. But, no. I'm not on the same side of people who want to silence anyone.

I am not for the silencing of people on the left here, I am not for silencing the people in the middle. Or the right.

Even to the extreme. Free speech is an absolute!

Unless you're calling for violence and it actually turns into violence. No! But you can say whatever it is you want. I know that sounds extreme. It didn't used to. But apparently, it does now.

Here's what J.D. Vance said. And if you think that Germany is the problem. Listen to this from J.D. Vance. Listen to this.

VOICE: I look to Brussels where the EU commissars warn citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest. The moment they spot what they've judged to be, quote, hateful content.

Or to this very country prepare police have carried out raids against citizens, suspected of posting antifeminist comments online. As part of, quote, combating misogyny on the internet.

A day of action. I look to Sweden, where two weeks ago, the government convicted a Christian activist for participating in Koran burnings that resulted in his friends' murder.

And as the judge in his case chillingly noted, Sweden's laws to supposedly protect free expression, do not, in fact, grant, and I'm quoting, a free pass to do or say anything without risking offending the group that holds that belief.

And perhaps, most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom. Where the backslide away from conscience have put basic liberties of religious Britains in the crosshairs.

A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith conner, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and Army veteran. With the heinous crime of sanding 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes. Not obstructing anyone.

Not interacting with anyone. Just silently praying on his own.

After British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for. Adam replied, simply it was on behalf of the unborn son he and his girlfriend had aborted years before.

Now, the officers were not moved.

Adam was found guilty of breaking the government's new buffer zones law, which criminalizes silent prayer and other actions that could influence a person's decision within 200 meters of an abortion facility.

He was sentenced to pay thousands of pounds in legal costs to the prosecution. Now, I wish I could say this was a fluke, a one-off crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person.

But no, this last October, just a few months ago. The Scottish government began distributing letters to citizens, whose houses lay within so-called safe access zones, warning them that even private prayer within their own homes, may amount to breaking the law.

Naturally, the government urged readers to report any fellow citizen suspected guilty of thought crime. And Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear is in retreat.

GLENN: What part of that, did you disagree with.

What part of that makes you want to embrace the European Union?

For me, it's quite the opposite. I've always believed that Europe, our brothers and sisters, and we're fine.

And we should help one another. But I have to tell you, I no longer am comfortable with a single dollar going over to Europe, to defend those kinds of policies.

You're not on the same side.

We are not on the same side! If you violate freedom of speech, that way.

And remember, this is why Klaus Schwab told Europe, just believe in the system.

Well, what is the system?

We found out, the system is, if the people vote for a candidate that is not going to play ball. If they are at all in line with freedom of speech, they're a radical, need to be shut down.

And we cancel that election. Until the people get it right!

That's a dictatorship! We are seeing the hatred of the old Germany. And Europe. Start to grow again. And Europe could become a very large foe of freedom.