RADIOMarch 04, 2024

Blaze Media Journalist Describes 'HUMILIATING' Treatment by FBI During Arrest

The FBI has temporarily released Blaze Media investigative journalist Steve Baker after arresting him for his reporting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Now, Steve joins Glenn with the details of how the FBI treated him. Steve describes feeling "humiliated" and "overwhelmed" by the FBI's tactics, which included shackles around his wrists, legs, and waist. And he also tells Glenn that, although he was booked on misdemeanors, he was put in a cage with a meth dealer. Steve's attorney, James Lee Bright, also joins to make the case that this is NOT normal.. Out of the roughly 60 journalists who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Bright says that only 6 or 7 have been charged and "all of those have been right-of-center media."

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Steve Baker is with us.

He's the investigative journalist for TheBlaze. He's TheBlaze media correspondent. He's in today with his attorney. Because on Friday, he was arrested by the FBI.

If you happened to miss that podcast. It's kind of a don't miss. It's Friday's podcast.

James Lee Bright is his attorney, and he is with us, now. Welcome back.

JAMES: Hey, good to be back, Glenn.

GLENN: So I heard you say, the very first thing out, asked how you feel.

And you said, humiliated. Why?

JAMES: I thought I was mentally and emotionally prepared for this, because I've followed too many of these cases to not have been. I've seen too many of these guys, even misdemeanor defendants, even misdemeanor independent journalists. Marched before a magistrate in leg chains and the orange jumpsuit. So I thought I was ready for it, until they put the leg chains on.

And it -- I mean -- I've never even been fingerprinted for anything in my whole life.

And to actually, in the moment that it was happening, it was overwhelming.

And then on top of being chained, at your -- at your waist and your legs, then they put you in a cage with a meth dealer.

For -- and -- and, of course, Lee can speak to this better than I can. But the process of putting a non-violent misdemeanor defendant, who has been utterly and totally cooperative since the very first phone call, from the FBI, over two and a half years ago, it could have been just an order to appear. I could have walked in with Lee. Both of us with our jackets and ties on.

We could have sat in the gallery. They call us up. Stand for it. Just like they did for a felony defendant that day. But I am guarded by US marshals with leg chains on.

GLENN: So how many misdemeanors, Lee, have you -- have you done, where they're in -- leg chains?

How many times did you see this?

JAMES: In a case like this, almost never. I have clients right now, that are charged with felony drug cases, that we are negotiating with the DOJ for voluntary turn-ins. There's an active warrant with one, that I was speaking with this morning. And the DOJ is working with us, to do a voluntary turn-in to a magistrate. We'll do a same-day hearing. She'll process through pre-trial services. Will be out, no leg chains. Nothing. This is determined by the DOJ in Washington. They had us turn Steve in to the FBI at their headquarters, 7:00 a.m.

Walking through, processed him. Put him in leg chains, waist chain.

Handcuffs to his waist. And then took him directly to the marshals down at the Capitol Building here in Dallas.

GLENN: I mean, I don't remember anybody in leg chains and irons, for BLM, setting cities on fire.

JAMES: No. In fact, most of those were just catch-and-release, if they bothered to catch at all.

In fact, most of them had their cases dismissed. And then many of them had been awarded cash payouts from the government, because they were unfairly arrested, or prosecuted. Because obviously, we had to understand what their frustrations and, you know, what made them burn a building down.

GLENN: So I was really encouraged by -- by the op-ed that came out from Jonathan Turley. This weekend.

JAMES: Yeah.

GLENN: He makes the point that you, you know, might be an activist journalism. Or a journalist activist. You know, whatever this new thing is that they're doing.

BAKER: Right. Right.

GLENN: Because you have an opinion. And Stu and I were talking about it earlier this morning. Yes, you have an opinion. I have an opinion.

But that doesn't mean that you are finding the story you want to find.

You could still have an opinion on things. But as long as you're honest enough to say, I'm going in. And I don't know what's going to happen.

I have an idea of what could happen. But I'm going to tell the truth, no matter which side it falls on.

Is that who you are?

JAMES: Well, see, that's the thing that obviously not only the charging documents themselves. Because the charging documents are what they call the statement of fact. They are specifically put together for the purpose of constructing a narrative for prosecution.

GLENN: Okay.

JAMES: Out of context comments.

More importantly, and this is the key, Glenn.

And look, I'll tell you what. I'll let -- let me let an NBC. The court reporter. The guy who does every one of the cases, J6 cases for NBC.

He's there every day. His name is Ryan Riley.

And he tweeted out yesterday. He said, if it wasn't for Steve's language on January 6th, before he entered the Capitol. And then after that evening, this case almost certainly wouldn't have been brought.

GLENN: Okay. So let's -- wow, that's interesting here in America.

Let me go through the actual charges. And let's take them one by one. Can we do that. Here are the charges.

JAMES: You want me to read them?

GLENN: Yes, please.

JAMES: Okay. So these are the charges listed in the criminal complaint.

That's not the formal filing of the charge. That would either be an information, of misdemeanors, or indictment on felonies.

But this is the criminal complaint, that issued the arrest warrant, with the supporting affidavit and statement of facts contained.

And Steve is right. It is written. With the intent to create a language narrative. There's no question. So of the four charges that Steve has been charged with, 18 USC 752 A1. That's knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, without lawful authority.

That's the one that carries up to a one year in jail penalty, minimum of six months.

18 USC 1752 A2. Disorderly, and disruptive conduct in a restrictive building or ground.

40 USC 5104e2d. Disorderly conduct, in a Capitol Building.

And then 40 USC 5104E2G. Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

GLENN: Okay. So the -- I don't know.

I'm sure you know this now. I don't know when you found out.

But the Speaker of the House released 5,000 hours, of videotape.

Much of it is centering around you.

And showing that you weren't parading or picketing or being disorderly at all.

JAMES: Ever. Not at all.

GLENN: So, how they make that charge?

JAMES: That's going to be fascinating to see.

BAKER: You know, this is -- this is -- and, again, I don't want to get into being the legal expert or even trying. I did stay at a Holiday Inn express last night. But the point being, they always -- because I followed so many of these trials. They always overcharge. That's not just J6. And that's to scare you into a quick plea deal. They get their -- you know, their notch in their belt. And their points towards whatever their next career advancement goals are. And that's essentially what's happening here.

Technically, yes. I went in the building. Okay. So if that is a crime, then it is a crime.

But --

GLENN: Hang on. If that's a crime. Then the crime has to be punished equally.

So the New York Times, the Washington Post.

Every single journalist would have to be charged with that crime, right?

JAMES: I think Steve and I were talking earlier. And I think we estimated that roughly 60 journalists went into the rotunda. Went into the Capitol building that day. Six to seven have been charged now. Out of 60, rough.

All of those have been right of center media. All of them.

GLENN: So you -- you are being made -- let me see if I can find it.

From NBC. You're made into a total clown, by NBC.

BAKER: The same guy whose tweet I just read.

GLENN: Correct. Correct. And he -- he says that, you are just a -- you're in a cover band. You weren't a journalist, at the time.

I don't know who defines journalists now.

BAKER: He refused to call me a journalist. Instead, he said, now I'm a writer for TheBlaze website.

That was his only way of getting around having to acquiesce to what I was doing that day.

GLENN: Correct.

JAMES: I apologize. I got to know Ryan a little bit, when we were in trial, back in the fall of '22 for three months for the Oath Keeper's trial. I always found him to be a really reasonable fellow. I liked some of his work. But I agree, the article that he wrote, regarding Steve.

GLENN: Was a hatchet job.

JAMES: It was. It was petty. It was completely unnecessary. I thought it was really poor reporting. And it was done, not unlike the complaint. Not unlike what we're talking when we see the language. It was done to establish a narrative, solely to disparage Steve.

GLENN: So how do you -- first of all, how do you combat the journalist thing?

With him going in, that's a six-month sentence. And he has said, well, yes.

Technically, I did. I did violate that. So how do you defend that?

JAMES: Number one, I'm not the only attorney on this case. We have about five of us, that are volunteering on this.

And we are volunteering because we got to know Steve during trials in DC. Great reporting.

Always loved spending time with him. He was one of the few conservatives in the press pool there.

One of the other attorneys --

GLENN: No. He's a musician. A musician and Libertarian writer.

Who was a frequent presence at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, during the Oath Keeper's seditious conspiracy trial. What were you doing, just hanging out there all the time?

BAKER: Well, the worst thing that I was doing, about half of my reporting was on the press pool.

They didn't like that. Because I always sat in the back of the room, so I could watch them and see what was on -- what they were doing. See what they were doing. See which games they were playing during the important testimonies.

To see who was prewriting their stories. And then just hanging out in the hallway, talking. Because that's what they do.

And they're really good at it. They can pre-write two or three stories in a day. And as soon as the rulings, or the motions are filed, fill in the blanks, and boom, submit, submit, submit.

And then get out. And then more importantly, I was able to show on certain very significant testimonies, how the comparison of how the various journalists withheld information.

Because see, we all know, it is -- it is -- it's not that they lie, it's the lie of omission.

It's when you're only covering the governments case-in-chief.

And their witnesses. And then all of a sudden, they get out, and go for coffee break during the cross-examination. How can you tell the truth about what happened on that trial?

FEMA blacklisted CONSERVATIVES? Biden's secret policy EXPOSED

The Left claims that President Trump is weaponizing the federal government following the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton. Ignoring the fact that Biden's FBI tried to jail Trump before the 2024 election, damning evidence has come out that under the Biden administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency secretly blacklisted conservatives and lowered their priority when it came to FEMA assistance. Where is the outrage?!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So they say that Donald Trump has weaponized the government. Okay. Then he turned the DOJ loose on his enemies. He's targeted John Bolton. And obsessed with James Comey. They've said it a million times over and over again.

Without ever asking, you know, who actually held the trigger here?

Okay. But for a moment. Just for the case of this argument, let's just say all of that was true. Let's say Trump had used the power of the state to punish those two people who had crossed him. Okay?

People like Bolton and Comey. Just say, for the sake of argument, that's all true!

These are men who said in the highest rooms of power, they have lawyers. They have money. They have microphones.

If that were true, it would be ugly. It would be dangerous.

And it would be limited!

Because what we just learned from the Department of Homeland Security. Is something far, far worse. This time, the target is not a political rival. It's not a Washington insider. It was you!

There's new news that's coming out today. According to the DHS privacy office report, which was launched after a bunch of whistle-blowers came forward. That now says that FEMA did not mishandle just a few cases.

They kept notes. They were making a list.

They tracked American -- Americans, their political and religious beliefs, during disasters. Not in theory, in black and white.

Let me give you some of the quotes: Angry political rant. Sign in yard states I'm a bitter gun owner, clinging to go my religion. Homeowner had a sign stating, "This is Trump country."

They -- they -- these are not comments, you know, about storm patterns. These are comments about people!

And when these people were flooded, they were homeless, they were desperate, and asked for help from the same government that preaches compassion and equity, they got something entirely different! They got silence. Delay. And sometimes, nothing at all!

The DHS report now confirms, quote, FEMA violated the privacy act of 1974, by collecting and storing data, tied to protected speech.

They were checking bumper stickers and writing you down in a book!

They logged gun signage. Seventy-two times. Trump, 15 times. Firearms, five times. Biden, twice.

The FEMA workers then. And we told you all this. But it was a conspiracy theory. Now it has been proven.

FEMA workers skipped homes, if you had a MAGA flag. Or a yard sign. And then they left notes. There was a political fire. There was a political flier, I'm quoting, so I didn't leave a FEMA brochure.

Quote, we don't recommend anyone visit this location, end quote.

That's not a clerical error here. That's a blacklist!

This is the same agency that airlifts people off of rooftops after hurricanes. That distributes food and shelter.

When nothing else works, and they were told to avoid Americans because who they voted for.

Not terrorists. Not not criminals. Citizens. You!

I will tell you, I have been in disaster after disaster. Much of it not of my own creating.

But natural disaster all over the world!

I've shown up at the hurricanes and the floods and the tornadoes. With help!

And not once did it even occur to me, to ask you, what's your political affiliation?

Not once did it even occur to any of us to say, where do you stand on the Second Amendment?

Who did you vote for?

What do you believe?

What church do you go to?

Never. Do you believe in God?

Never! That is absolutely 100 percent un-American. Un-American.

I read this report, the floods in Florida, and the tornadoes in Tennessee, and the hurricanes in South Carolina. Where people waited for days for aid, that never came!

And when it did come, because of pressure from people like us, survivors. Americans who lost everything received a 700-dollar check.

$700. Meanwhile, billions are being funneled to illegal immigrants.

To foreign wars. To bureaucracies studying climate equity. And now we know why.

Because they were busy making notes about bumper stickers.

I read this, this morning, and I saw it firsthand. But I couldn't prove it. But I saw it firsthand. And I reported on it, at the time.

But they could say, it was an isolated incident. And I could prove otherwise.

We can now. The report is now out.

This is as un-American as our withdrawal in Afghanistan. Why was that so offensive?

Because we -- we left in, A, humiliation.

That's the least of my concerns. We left in humiliation. We betrayed all of our allies. And we left people behind.

We never leave people behind. Never!
That's one of our highest rules! You don't leave people behind!

One of the biggest things about Americans, that we are generous. We are good! We're charitable. We help everybody. We are the world's lifeboat.

And now we find out we had a president, and an administration, that was making a political list. A blacklist. Where they would not give aid to Americans who are suffering!

You're taking my tax dollars, and if I happen to be the one that needs aid, I don't get coverage?

Because of who I voted for?

It's the most offensive thing I've heard of our country ever doing on aid. Ever! Can you -- can you remember anything like this, ever? I mean, they say, "Democracy dies in darkness."

Yeah. Well, why don't I shine a light on some of these things? It doesn't die in darkness, it apparently is dying in databases. The FEMA database quietly flagged citizens as politically undesirable.

Let me ask you this: What would the media have said or done if Donald Trump would had ignored those who lost their homes in California after the ravaging fire?

If he didn't just show up, it would be bad enough. Right?

But he showed up. He brought his cabinet with him! He brought FEMA. He brought relief. He tried to cut all of the red tape in California. Couldn't get that done. But he was there. Can you imagine if he just hadn't have showed up. Which Biden never did. If he hadn't have shown up. Worse yet, can you imagine what would be said, if you had found out, that Donald Trump -- his FEMA was making a list, and saying, they voted for Gavin Newsom. They voted for Joe Biden. No help for them on their house!

Can you imagine the outrage? I would be outraged. I am just as outraged that it happened under the last administration.

Why? Why am I outraged?

Because it cannot happen. It cannot happen under any administration!

You allow this to happen, and stand, good luck, America, on what you have left! Will anything be done? Will anyone go to jail?

Will the left be outraged by this?

You want to talk about no kings? What is a king?

Other than, let that serf die. We don't care about those guys. They aren't for the king!

You know, Mercury One has already rebuilt homes. We are -- we are moving people back into their homes every single day. I know it. Because I watch Mercury One do it. But not in California. We tried in California. Gavin Newsom, the Democrats, they won't help those people. They won't allow any help for those people. Their own voters they don't care about. If you get in the way of this leftist administration, these leftists, it doesn't matter. Ends justify the means. Let them die.

You know, they keep warning you about authoritarianism, but here it is. Cloaked in compassion. Branded with a FEMA logo. This wasn't rogue. Not a rogue agent.

This was not a one-off scandal. This was a database.

The DHS investigation says, political bias was systematic, dating back to at least September 2021.

That means, that while the administration accused conservatives of conspiracy theories, it was literally compiling lists.

And the media went right along with it. And will the media ever tell you this story?

When what was her name, the FEMA administrator Criswell testified before Congress, in 2021, she said, "This was an isolated case."

Well, unfortunately, your files tell a different story. It's not isolated. It was national. And it was deliberate.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, quote, for years, FEMA employees under the Biden administration intentionally delayed much needed aid to Americans suffering from natural disasters on purely political grounds.

This is not your political enemy! This is your neighbor! That's not mismanagement. That's moral rot!

It's not just another Washington scandal. This is a betrayal of the covenant between citizen and state!

But they're not going to tell you about that. The media won't talk to you about that.

The Democrats won't do a damn thing about it.

None that side will condemn this. You, but they'll talk to you today, about how trump is destroying the White House. Oh, my gosh.

He's destroying the White House.

And he's spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a ballroom of his own money.

And other people who are donating!

And, you know what, they're not donating in secret. It's all listed right there.

They don't go through Arabella advisers or the Tides Foundation.

They give it straight, and it's reported straight. So you know who built that building!

My gosh.

They'll report on the White House today. But they won't report on your house. You know, when FEMA didn't show up because you were on their list. The moment this government decides that you are less worthy of rescue because of how you vote, your faith, your flag, a bumper sticker.

The -- the -- you don't need darkness for democracy dying. The republic is dead!

There is no republic.

A republic represents all voters! It ceases to exist. You do have a king.

You know, weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents is really bad! But weaponizing disaster relief against ordinary citizens, people standing on their roof, waiting for a helicopter that never comes, is something absolutely pitch black dark!

If your politics can determine whether you live or die, we cease to be a republic. We cease -- we cease to deserve the rights God gave us.

WARNING: Will the "AI Bubble" CRASH the Stock Market?

The AI revolution promises to change everything, but what if it’s leading us straight into another financial collapse? Glenn Beck and economist Peter Atwater break down the eerie parallels between today’s AI boom and the 2008 housing crash, revealing how speculative hype, overvalued tech giants, and circular corporate investments are inflating a dangerous bubble. Could this “AI gold rush” be the next market disaster waiting to happen?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Is it not a bubble?

I don't know. Are we close to AGI or not close to AGI.

Again, I don't know.

Is it to change things? Yes. I saw a story in our show prep today. I'm not going to get a chance to get it. It's about other countries that are building these giant server farms. Their electricity and their water is being shut off because all of it being diverted to these big server farms. And if we're not careful, that's exactly what's going to happen to us.

Peter Atwater is a guy that Stu and I have been talking about for a while because he's comparing this AI bubble. He's like, "Look, I wanted to show you a chart. I'm not smart enough to figure out the chart. But let me show you a chart, and I want to show you a chart that I did in, like, 2007 or 2008 with the housing bubble! Wow, they kind of look exactly the same. And it's a little frightening."

Peter is with us now. Peter Atwater from the College of William & Mary. He's an adjunct lecturer there. He's the guy who coined the term K-shaped recovery.

Welcome to the program, how are you, sir?

PETER: I'm great, Glenn. Thanks very much for having me.

GLENN: You bet. Okay. So can you explain the housing -- or, not the housing bubble.

The AI bubble. Do you believe it is? And if so, why? And what does that mean?

PETER: I do believe it is.

And I study confidence and its impact on what we do.

And so what I see in the AI bubble is a lot of similarities to what we saw during the housing bubble. Where everybody wants to be involved.

There's a social frenzy to it. There's a want to, you know, make a lot of money, to see the opportunity in it.

There's a lot of speculation.

And what matters so much, to me as a researcher, is that this network that existed in the -- in the housing bubble. Where mortgages were sliced and diced.

And you had these conveyor belts that moved everything from, you know, mom and pop's house to folks all over the world.

GLENN: Right.

PETER: Now, it's within the AI system. Where you have enormous amounts of capital moving, but also equipment.

So it looks a lot like the Just In Time Network that we saw stumble during COVID.

GLENN: Okay. That doesn't make me happy. But there's a difference between the housing bubble, where it was all being inflated and resold and repackaged. And this, which does seem to be a game-changer on productivity. Where housing was not.

This seems to be like it could be a real game changer for economies. Agree or disagree?

PETER: Oh. There's no question, it will be a game changer. But we can think about it the same way we said dot-com was going to be a game changer. Like railroads. And all of these other things that we have in terms of speculative mania.

There's real productivity. Real improvement that comes from it. But what happens is that investors anticipate it happening far sooner, in far larger scale.

And much more profitably than it ever does.

GLENN: So what are you predicting? How is this going to -- how is this going to happen?

What's a bad case scenario, not necessarily worst?

I don't know if I can handle worst. Bad case scenario, and realistic scenarios.

PETER: Yeah. So to me, the realistic scenario is that valuations come down dramatically. At the same time, the build-out continues at a much lower pace.

And eventually, maybe a decade from now, it all settles out.

But in the meantime, there's a lot of financial pain that's going to go along with it. Particularly because today, more than 40 percent of an S&P 500 ties to AI.

GLENN: Like seven companies. Right?

PETER: Seven companies, and -- and the ones that are closest to them. So that, you know, retirees, pension plans, you know, folks that invest in index funds, have a super sized allocation to AI whether they realize it or not.

GLENN: Can you give me an example of this happening in history, that's not housing, but more industry?

PETER: Sure. You can go back to radio. In the -- in the 20s. I mean, RCA was a mammoth weight in the markets. Because people were incredibly excited about it.

You saw it even -- go back even further to canals. We -- we love new technology. Particularly where we can identify the efficiencies that we see coming from it.

STU: One of the things that's really interesting about the trends you've highlighted, Peter, is this sort of circuitous relationship with these companies. It's too complicated to go through all of it.

Just to give you one quick relationship here. And tell me if I'm understanding this right.

OpenAI, of course, buys a bunch of chips from NVIDIA. They're spending a ton of money with NVIDIA. NVIDIA is investing $100 million into OpenAI. OpenAI is -- has a 300 billion-dollar cloud deal with Oracle.

Oracle is spending tens of billions of dollars in chips with NVIDIA. And then NVIDIA is investing into OpenAI. There's a bunch of these arrows, that are pointing in this circular directions. And it seems like companies are flowing money back and forth to each other, and all these arrangements. And you wonder if there's any disruption here.

Are we looking at some sort of short-term collapse of all this stuff.

PETER: The -- the dog eating its tail phenomenon is extraordinary here. And what's so unusual about this one is, in prior bubbles, the -- the conveyor belts were among smaller participants.

But in this one, we had the largest technology companies in the world, to spinning money around, among themselves.

It looked like one of those Esther drawings, where the waterfall just keeps moving in perpetuity. And the challenge, particularly given that OpenAI is at the center of it, is that this is a company that is barely profitable. That is committing to hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: So what does it look like if it starts to fall apart? And what are the signs we should be watching for?

PETER: So what we know right now, is that everybody wants to be affiliated with AI in some way.

And so you end up with these late arrivals to the party.

And typically when a bubble bursts, the last guy to the party, is the first to leave. When you think of this in the context of a mortgage bubble.

Where it was the subprime lenders who showed up right at the tail end.

And then collapsed first. So I'm -- I'm watching to see these companies that are barely AI-related, that have tried to position themselves as being AI industry leaders. Who are likely to fail in the not too distant future.

They just need rarefied air to exist.

GLENN: Like what companies?

PETER: I don't have specific names to throw out there.

GLENN: Sure. Okay.

PETER: But they're typically smaller highly leveraged offerings. To very, very compelling, but untested technologies.

GLENN: Now, this would be -- I mean, if it collapses, I mean, that would be horrific for our economy.

But also, what -- what happens with the race with China? I mean, China is deeper into this than we are, at like crazy.

How -- how does this affect China, what happens to the race, how does -- I mean, how does this not move forward?

PETER: So I am by no means a China expert, but I would expect that if our confidence in AI begins to fall, confidence in AI more broadly will come under question.

STU: Hmm.

PETER: So they then face questions in terms of policy maker credibility. In terms of, why did you commit so much to this?

No difference than a CEO faces that test, when a bubble bursts.

GLENN: So what does success look like to you?

Because I'm not sure -- I had a really fascinating conversation a couple of weeks ago.

And he's going to come on the show in a couple of weeks with Max Tegmark, who is a brilliant AI ethicist. And we were talking about AI, AGI. And he believes that that may not be happening. And he makes a great case on this.

But is that the goal, or, I mean. Because what -- what is the goal that we're not going to hit, that would fall short?

That would cause this kind of stuff?

PETER: So I think you -- we tend to fall short in terms of immediate usage. So volume short.

But also profitability.

You know, if you go back through dot-com bubble. They all imagined this huge, you know, pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And you're seeing the same wild fascination with the potential profitability for AI.

And, again, that may come, but it's unlikely too come at the speed and magnitude that people now expect. I mean, we're -- we're fans of science.

GLENN: Boy, I mean, in a way, that would be really, really good.

Because that -- what I worry about is AI advancing as quickly as everybody says it is. And then what happens to all the jobs so quickly. I mean, you just can't absorb that kind of an impact. If it happens that fast. So I don't know which is better.

PETER: So typically, we'll see a backlash against new technology. I mean, if you go back to the 1920 bubble burst. And you saw this backlash to, you know, innovate technologies like the vacuum. And the ironing board. And all these things that people said, took jobs away. Well, we'll have that same thing in all likelihood. And this time, too, to a point you made earlier, likely compounded by a greater awareness of the environmental consequences of this, and also, the cost that it creates in the average consumer, in terms of the utility bills.

GLENN: Hmm.

Can you explain one more thing? Because you're the guy who invented the K-shaped recovery. And as Stu and I talked about the K-shaped recovery -- can you explain that? K-shaped recovery.

PETER: Sure. So when COVID hit, I immediately saw that if you were a white-collar worker who could work from home, your confidence improved immediately. Whereas, if you were a, you know, somebody who worked if a warehouse. Or stocked shelves in the supermarket. Or hospital worker.

Your confidence didn't start to improve for a long time.

And from that, what I have seen is that the economy that results from these two different tracks of confidence, are vastly different.

And today, those are the top, whether it's because of the markets, or because of corporate earnings, growth. Those at the top feel invulnerable.

And they're spending like it. They're investing like it. They're living like it. They're living like there's no tomorrow.

Well, on the other hand, those at the bottom today, aren't sure how they will make it through the take. They're delinquent on their car loans. They're now worried about health care costs. And so to me, this K that -- this divide has created two classes of Americans.

You have the increasingly desperate, and those who feel invulnerable.

GLENN: That does not sound stable long-term.

PETER: It doesn't feel stable to me too.

And I worry that those who are in a position to do something about it, we're spending so much of our time in this country, fighting between the left and the right, and we're not seeing that our biggest divide is up and down.

That those at the bottom, there's a bipartisan hopelessness that exists.

GLENN: Hmm.

PETER: That I feel like Washington is not paying enough attention to.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

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Trump told me why he's "DESTROYING" the White House...

Construction for President Trump's ballroom has begun on the East Wing of the White House, and every Democrat in America has lost their mind. Does the President have the authority to alter a historic structure like the White House? Glenn and Stu discuss, as Glenn shares the story where he reveals even Trump was shocked at how easy it was to get the alterations approved.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

STU: Well, you still haven't really addressed why Donald Trump for is knocking down the White House for his own --

GLENN: Well, he just hates America.

STU: That's -- what I've been reading. Yeah.

GLENN: Right. And how crazy excited the left should be that he's knocking down something built by slaves. They're like, we've got to preserve that.

Slaves made that!

It's weird.

STU: I actually do have questions about this though.

GLENN: What? What question do you have?

STU: Well, and they come from, you know, everybody's source of thinking these days. Which are group texts.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: I'm on with some friends. I have some really basic questions of like, I feel like, there would be a conversation and a bill passed if we're going to put a giant new building at the White House.

GLENN: No.

STU: That's not how it works at all.

Is it? How's it work? How does this work?

GLENN: You ready? So the president says, I want to change the White House.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: And the White House architect says, how would you like to change it?

And he says, this way. And they say, okay.

Well, you need to approve all the permits. Okay. I approve all the permits.

Okay. We change it. That's literally how it happens.

STU: Really? They can do anything they want.

GLENN: Well, I mean, within reason.

When I say within reason.

I think with restraint from public outcry.

Like, I want to paint the White House black.

Well, you know, as president, you can do whatever you want.

But I don't think that will fly with the American people.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: So there some standards in there. I will tell you about a conversation I had with Trump next.
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(OUT AT 10:29 AM)

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. We're glad you're here.

Thank you so much for listening. You know, Stu has been freaking out about the White House.

STU: I'm not -- I'm not freaking out. I just think it's an interesting. I thought there would be more of a process to something like this.

GLENN: No.

STU: Because I certainly was not think at this point, the American people understand what is about to happen. Which is like, the White House is about to double in size.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: My -- just by my eyeball look at it.

It looks like it will maybe be more than two times the size.

GLENN: It's going to be large! But it's not the actual White House. It's part of the east wing.

STU: That's -- that's a totally misleading commentary.

GLENN: No. It's not.

GLENN: Because the White House is the original piece from the 1700s. Okay?

That's the center house. The east wing and the West Wing was not done until FDR. They were added later.

STU: It was a big deal.

GLENN: The biggest change in the White House since FDR. And happened in our lifetime. Right after 9/11.

The White House became enormous. But it was all underground.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: They completely changed everything underground.

STU: Yes.

GLENN: And we didn't have a conversation about that at all.

STU: Because it's underground!

I assume all sorts of things are happening underground. Our well-known monuments and buildings.

GLENN: Right. Sure.

STU: But this is -- this is -- it's not a -- they keep saying this.

They're going to be changed the West Wing.

GLENN: No. The East Wing.

STU: They're going to be changing the East Wing. That's not what they're doing. This is like doubling the size of the White House.

Now, I'm not opposed to that idea.

I'm just sort of surprised that it wasn't like a big conversation and a bill.

GLENN: All right. Okay. Okay. You ready?

So was Donald Trump.

STU: What do you mean?

GLENN: So I'm in the White House with him. And I'm up in the private quarters with him.

And he is showing me some things that he is doing. And talking to me about some other things that I can't talk about. Because he doesn't want.

I don't know.

STU: He doesn't want to discuss it.

GLENN: I didn't want to discuss it. And I don't know why.

Because it's all really good stuff.

So, anyway, we're taking about it. And then he brings up the ballroom.

And we're walking down the stairs, from the residents, and we're going into the ballroom.

And he says, you know, this is the ballroom that Abraham Lincoln had dinners here.

I said, you know, it's that window over there, that Fredrick Douglass had to open up the window and had to crawl in because they wouldn't let him in because he was black. And Abraham Lincoln was like, let him in. He's my friend. Why is coming through the window?

And we were talking about all the history of the ballroom. And that it's very, very small.

Because it was built in the 1700s. And we keep using that ballroom. And he's like, we have to have a bigger ballroom.

We have it out in the wet, and the cold and the rain. Yada, yada, yada.

And so he said, we come over to a window. And he's like, right there, I will build a big, beautiful ballroom.

And it's going to better than anybody thinks. It's going to be the biggest, most beautiful ballroom. And I'm just trying not to laugh. Because that's the way he describes it.

And he said, you know, surprised that I could do that.

And I said, I bet. How long is that going to take? What's that process like?

And he's like, right. That's what I asked.

He said, I went to the -- I went to the -- I don't know, chief usher or somebody. Whoever is in charge of the White House. I think it's the chief usher. He said, I think we should have a ballroom. He's like, what do I do?

And he said, well, you just have to talk to the architect.

So he went to the White House architect. Now, this is a guy who makes sure the integrity of the White House stays. Okay?

You can't make it into a modern house. Okay? You're not going to redesign the inside. You can add some gold I guess.

You can add a lot of gold, I guess. You can't make it into. You can't wreck the integrity of the White House.

And he said, you know, I just put these flagpoles in. And he's like, all I had to say was, I want to put some flagpoles in.

He said, yes, sir. Where?

He's like, what?

One in the front. One in the back. They were like, okay. Tell us where.

We went out into the yard. Right here. Right there.

And they put them up. And so he's talking to the White House architect. And he said, we've got to have a ballroom. And I think we should have it over here in the East Wing. A big, beautiful -- and he said, but what is this going to take?

And he's like, well, it's going to be very expensive. Are you expecting the people to pay?

And he's like, no, I'll raise the money for it. I'll pay for it, and I'll raise the money, extra, so American people are not going to pay for it.

And the architect said, well, then all you have to do is sign the permits.

And he's like, what?

And he said, well, you have to go through the permitting process.

He's like, how long will that take?

He said, well, the President is the one who controls the process and signs the permits. So as on short as you would like it to be, Mr. President.

And he's like, are you kidding me? And he looked at me, he's like, I'll have this done by spring of next year.

So he can change it. The -- what you have to understand is, the -- the east wing and the West Wing, those -- those are FDR.

So FDR went into a works project. And he added those wings.

The east wing is where the first lady's offices are.

Just the east wing is like, you know, it's -- it's just the east wing.

And it's --

STU: Okay. Shade of the east wing?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, and so what he's doing is he's taking some of it town, and he's going to link it to the ballroom. And the bail room is going to be the biggest, beautiful ballroom in Washington DC.

It's going to link from there. So you will walk -- if you're in the White House, you will walk from the front door, through the -- the dining room.
Or, the east dining room. You'll go into the East Wing, and you'll go to the ballroom.

STU: I'm looking -- I'm at the renderings as we speak. And that's exactly --

GLENN: I've not even seen the renderings. Just describe it to me. Can I see it?

STU: No. They're mine. This is my computer.

GLENN: Okay.

STU: This is the -- I can't obviously show it to the people here. You can see it over here.

GLENN: Okay. It's big, beautiful. What a surprise, the tables are golden.

STU: By the way, it's different --

GLENN: That's amazing. Holy cow.

STU: My conversation about whether this is the -- the -- you can't. It's already zoomed in. They're not the best images.

Here.

GLENN: There's nothing wrong with that. What is wrong with that? It looks just like the White House.

It fits. It's appropriate.

STU: I was in the middle of saying. It's -- my conversation on this is not whether it is -- looks good or is appropriate or anything like.

I actually think his point on the ballroom is so obvious, every president should have been making it.

The fact that we don't have a big room to have state dinners in.

GLENN: Right.

STU: Unless you wanted to do them off campus everywhere else.

You have to have that, and why not have it at the White House. It makes a lot of sense.

GLENN: Except, I don't want to pay for it, as a citizen. I don't want a dime going for it.

You know what? Hey, all you Frenchies, you can eat on the lawn. Literally, on the lawn.

Just throw the food out on the lawn.

Yeah, I mean, I'm fine with that.

But if he wants to pay for it. If he wants to get rich people to pay for it, go for it.

I don't want any of my tax dollars going for it.

STU: Right. So my criticism is not how it looks. And that we need it.

We actually showed the inside of it. It seems like the facility we should have for these type of events.

We're going to have them somewhere. Why not have them there?

GLENN: Right. And who better to build it than one of the best builders of all time.

STU: Donald Trump. We've had this conversation about how you project American power.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: And I think Trump's approach to -- particularly in the Middle East. I think it's been effective around the world. Of these trappings actually are effective in diplomatic relations with other nations. Donald Trump has a lot of places that are lined in gold. That can have meetings. It's not like that's what he wants it for. The left tries to portray. Of course, he does.

No. It means something to him. And he knows how these people think.

GLENN: No. No.

Because I asked. I -- I won't tell the whole story.

But I really want to, really desperately.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: But, you know, he's gilding everything.

And that's not necessarily my favorite look.

STU: Right.

GLENN: And -- and he -- he came in, Tania and I were alone in the Oval for a while. And we were talking about it.

And he comes in. He says, you know, I'm doing all of this.

You see all the gold? Yes. You can't miss it. You can't miss the gold.

And he's like, you know, it's so important. These foreign leers, they all come from palaces. And they don't understand. And I know, you know, the White House is different. America is different. But they understand power in a different way.

And he said, they are coming from these old countries. And these big buildings.

And these palaces.

And he said, it is important for us to project power.

STU: Yes!

GLENN: And that's -- and that is why he's doing this. Not because he likes gold. He's doing it to project power and wealth.

Notice how many prime ministers.

They're all flying in all the time, from all over the world. You know, I've never seen a president meet with so many foreign dignitaries in the White House all the time!

STU: Yeah. And the media likes to say, well, that's because he's self-important.

And he's --

GLENN: No. He's projecting American power.

STU: Yes. I think so too.

When I say it's important to him.

That's why it's important to him.

He believes it's an important tool in that world.

GLENN: Correct. It's not him.

He knows the language they speak. And not just body language or, you know, spoken language.

All of the entire -- that's what protocol is all about. It all means something.

STU: And so my criticism -- and it's not even criticism.

My observation is not whether it fits. Or whether we need it, or whether it's appropriate.

My -- I don't think my observation here in the group text, that we started this with, which is that, holy crap.

I don't think the American people have any idea what's about to happen. Like every time I bring this up to Glenn.

And we have to understand how these conversations work.

I say, people will look at the White House. And it will be totally different.

He's like, oh, president Tyler did on more than that. In 1940 -- shut up!

That's what I get from Glenn.

Oh, well, there was more changes underground. You don't understand the piping -- that he totally changed the -- the -- the piping back in 1807. You moron!

Okay. I'm sorry.

I didn't know that. What I think of. And, you know, FDR made these changes.

My whole life, it's been the same, pretty much from the outside.

I know what the White House looks like. You go up there, I look at the White House.

It looks like the White House.

It is not going to look like the White House when this is over. It is going to look like the White House plus another White House next to it.

And it's going to be, I think, massively impressive. But I'm surprised there's not more conversation about this.

GLENN: When was the last time you were in Washington, DC?

STU: The inauguration.

GLENN: So you would not believe the difference in the White House grounds.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: The difference from, you know, when I went with George Bush.

You could stand right at the front gate.

STU: Right.

GLENN: You can't do that anymore.

They've taken the park. The park in the back is all gone.

The security --

STU: Just for security.

GLENN: Everything. All of the trees. Everything that has been done to not see the White House.

Except, for that iconic front.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: You know what I mean?

Everything is -- is not really -- you don't see it like you used to anymore. You don't walk up to it.

STU: The last -- I was in town for the inauguration. Last time I actually walked by the White House.

It's been a long time.

GLENN: Oh, you would not.

You will not recognize it.

I mean, just driving by and seeing it.

You will get pictures and everything else. But walking by it.

Today, you wouldn't recognize it.

It's -- it's -- what has -- what has happened with security is so sad. When I have the bell from the White House front desk, they're will it used to be a little desk right in the front, right as you walk in. There was a desk, and a bell. And I -- I have it. I think it is from Tyler's, you know, administration.

STU: Of course.

GLENN: And you would walk in. And you would hit the bell. And you would say, I want to see the president.

And somebody would say, okay. All right. Sit over there.

And you would wait. And you might wait all day, but you got -- you can walk in without an appointment and see the president of the United States.

You're not getting within two blocks of the White House right now.

It's sad. It's sad what's happening.

STU: Yeah. And for good. I wouldn't disagree with that either.

It's for good reason, security-wise.

I think back, the classic. I think what everybody thinks of when they think of the White House.

Is the scene from Superman two.

GLENN: Try to remember.

STU: When they showed the White House. And it's supposed to be -- it's a motion picture.

But they were too lazy to actually get video footage of the White House.

So it's just a still.

And you can tell, because there's like things that should be moving. That aren't moving. Right.

GLENN: Is that because --

STU: I think that's Superman.

GLENN: On Independence Day, they blew it up.

STU: But that's another example.

You had that picture of what the White House looked like. And, you know, I guess from certain angles, it looks pretty much the same. From the front. You won't notice it. Because it's kind of wrapped around the back. The back is pretty iconic too.

It's not going to look like that anymore.

In some ways, it will look a lot better or impressive.

It is a major change. That when you say, hey, they're redoing the West Wing, putting a ball room in there. That's not what they're doing.

GLENN: East.

STU: Sorry, East. I hate Glenn.

GLENN: I'm only saying it because I know how much he hates it.