RADIOSeptember 13, 2022

THIS is how we can END the ‘victimhood’ RUINING America

America has a victimhood problem. And that victim mentality has helped to create a ‘vacuum at the heart of American souls,’ says Vivek Ramaswamy, author of ‘Nation of Victims.’ But, thankfully, Ramaswamy believes he has the answer. He explains to Glenn how rejuvenating Americans' ‘unapologetic pursuit of excellence’ can help to create a new national identity that leaves victimhood far behind…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There is a must-read book, that has just come out called nation of victims. Identity politics. The death of merit and the path back to excellence. It's out today.

Vivek Ramaswamy is the author, and he joins me now.

Vivek, first question. And don't hate me for this, if I've had it wrong the whole time. I am the worst on names. The worst. And every time I see you on a show, you never correct anybody. And they're always pronouncing your name a different way.

Am I getting it wrong, and you're just being polite? Or is Vivek the way you say your name?

VIVEK: Vivek is right. Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy.

GLENN: Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy.

VIVEK: Right. Exactly. You know, there's TV hits, you usually get three to four minutes. I prefer to talk about content. Since you asked, I love it.

GLENN: Yeah. So, Vivek, out of respect for you, because I'm watching it. And I'm so paranoid, I always get things wrong on names. Always. Like my wife, I would screw up her name. I just wanted to make sure. Okay. So nations -- nation of victims is out.

And you're known at least on this program, as somebody who is very into ESG. You know, very -- against it. You are doing everything you can, to bring back merit. This book does not really deal with ESG or anything like that. This is the answer in our own lives. Would you agree?

VIVEK: That's right, Glenn. I would agree. I think there are two sides to this equation. Right? Even if you think about the kind of stuff we usually talk about in this program. The kind of stuff I'm working on, in the private sector. Yes. That is about corporate meddling in our culture. It is about the use of corporate power to advance one-sided progressive agendas. But it takes two to tango. What do I mean by that? It also takes a population, and a consumer base, that is willing to buy those narratives, and use that to actually be moved by it. So what this book is about is the broader question. Why is it that consumers are so hungry for a cause, and purpose, and meaning and identity. That they fall for these victim narratives. That companies and other cynical actors to sell them. That's what this book is about. And the case that I make in this book is that we've fallen into a moment in our history, where we see hardship as the same thing as victimhood.

Well, guess what, my thesis is that hardship is not the same thing as victimhood. Hardship is part of what teaches who we are, both as individuals and as a people.

And I think the black hole, at the vacuum of Americans. And the vacuum of the heart of the American soul right now, is our absence of a shared national identity. And the case I make in this book, is that we can fill that vacuum, with a shared national identity, based on the unapologetic pursuit of excellence. Through our system of free market capitalism. And as individuals who are free agents in the world. Regardless of the color of our skin. Or where our parents came from. That's why I wrote this book.

GLENN: So where do you think the big turning -- because I think it was 2008. Where the bailout happened. We're now doing all of that. And it's the end of personal responsibility for corporations.

VIVEK: It really was. It was a different level of responsibility at every level of society. So I think 2008 was a big turning point for a lot of reasons. What happened in 2008? We had the 2008 financial crisis. We had the bailouts. We had no accountability for a lot of financial institutions, that took risk at the public -- at the public -- when times were good, they got paid. When times were bad, the public had to bail them out. That was also the birth of the identity politic wing of the new left. It was Barack Obama elected as the first black president of the United State, a lot of victimhood narratives that went with that. We're also in the thick of the greatest intergenerational wealth transfer in human history. From the Baby Boomer generation to my generation of millennials and Gen Z. And I think that creates a new victimhood culture. And a culture of entitlement as well.

Just there were a lot of things around the turn of the last decade. There were a lot of factors in our culture that conspired to create this new culture of victimhood. And one of the things I -- one of the things I describe in the book, is also the rise of a laziness culture. Even in our work. But in our culture more broadly. And one of the things I say in the book, is that victimhood fits laziness like a glove. In that people today, who are lazy, and that don't want to work. Construe that as not just their own sloth. Which is one of the human vices.

But also a narrative of the grand fight of the oppression of capitalism. The oppression of modernity, the colonialism of capitalism. This is the kinds of things you hear, as part of the great resignation in the pandemic, started back in the post 2008 era. So I think it was a combination of a new laziness culture of entitlement, that came from my generation being on the receiving end of this large inter-generational wealth transfer.

But combined with these victimhood narratives, this justified that laziness with a moral veneer.

That is part of what led to us now having a shared national identity based on victimhood. We're a nation of victims. And I think the case I made, we need to graduate from that.

You talk about Plato's ideal society. And you talk about it, because you say, that's how we find the ideal citizen.

What is the ideal citizen in 2022?

VIVEK: In America, this is the question of our hour, okay. So I think there are two parts to what it means to be Americans. And I think each of us has some of this in our heart. On the one hand, we all want to be an individual, who is able to pursue our own individualistic dreams through the system of free market capitalism. That's what we think of as the American dream.

I have that impulse. You have that impulse. Most of the listeners in this program, share that feeling too. That's half the story. That's what I call the pursuit of excellence. The unapologetic pursuit of excellence. But I think there's another half of the story too, Glenn. I think many of us on the right, have missed for years. Which is also our hunger to be part of a nation, that is greater than the sum of its parts. A collective whole as citizens. And that's the side of our identity as individuals, that really, I think revolves around also the revival of civic duty. One of the chapters of the book is entitled A Theory of Duty. It's a play on John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, which was the North Star of the left, for much of the late 20th century.

I offer what I call A Theory of Duty, which talks about the revival of a civic duty. And the case I make, is it's not at odds with liberty, to have a civic duty. Our civic duty as citizens is different than the freedoms we want to have, in all of the spheres of our life, including economically. And I think it's one of the things that conservatives sometimes get wrong. We get wrong. In our -- in our obsession. We just talked about freedom. And believe me, I'm ten out of the scale of ten on that discussion. We miss the fact, that we have civic duties as citizens, that actually gives us greater fortitude to pursue our freedoms through the system of free market capitalism, through our pursuit of excellence as individuals, which is not the philosophy at the heart of this book, actually.

GLENN: I'm old enough, that in high school, you couldn't graduate without having a class called rights and responsibilities. And we have forgotten the responsibility part. And that is, like you say, huge.

But, you know, I learned something, when I lived in New York City.

When I moved to New York City, I was always a guy, who if there was garbage on the street. I would pick it up and throw it in the garbage can. And it was just ingrained in me. I grew up in a smaller town. And after about two years of living in New York, there was garbage at the front of my building, at sixth avenue. And it was just this newspaper. It was just blowing everywhere. And my first thought was, how much money do I have to pay this stupid city, for them to keep it clean?

And I stopped in my own tracks, and I thought, oh, my gosh. I've turned into one of them!

VIVEK: Well, that's really honest of you, Glenn. To talk about. Look in the mirror that way. That's something more of us ought to do. That's before we point the finger outward, let's take a mirror and look within. It's funny, I'm talking to you from a car in New York City right now, where I'm literally seeing bottles lining the street on the left hand side of my car, without somebody stepping down to pick it up.

And I think that idea of civic duty is something that -- I could call out the liberal side of this. I have been for years. I do a little bit of that in the book as well. But I think it's a place for the conservative movement to look internally and say, all right. Look, we can criticize the poison that fills the vacuum, all we want.

At the end of the day, we're not rising to the occasion. If we don't fill that vacuum with something more meaningful, something more rich, that dilutes the poison.

GLENN: So help me out.

Because, Vivek, I think -- and I know religion plays a big part in religion and in your life. The right would say, we do our civic duty. We're much more charitable. We work through our churches. I know people who go on missions all the time. I mean, we do do our civic duty. That's what they would say.

VIVEK: I think we need more than that. I think there's definite -- that's why -- that's why I'm more interested in speaking to the conservative movement than I am to the left. Because I think that there's a greater chance of filling that national vacuum, and we have to pick which political party or which political movement is going to do it. I'm more optimistic about the conservative movement.

That's why I'm preaching to that choir, rather than the other one. Because I think that's our best chance of success.

I think we need to revive that though. And I think there's one of two directions, for the future of the conservative movement. Either one that wallows in a new version of victimhood, in response to left-wing victimhood.

Which I've been -- by the way, a big critic of. And a lot of what I'm saying is a self-reflection, Glenn. I've spent the last two years criticizing a lot of woke victimhood culture. Left-wing victimhood culture. But one of the things I've learned, introspective for myself.

Is how much -- and we're moving the needle a little bit, by putting the spotlight on the problem. If we want to move the needle in a big way. We won't have a generation left, to save the identity of this country.

And if we're going to do it, it's not going to come by just pointing our finger at all the hypocrisies of the other side. Because that would take all of our time. We would have no time left, and time would run out, before we would be able to save our national identity. We need to fill the void of national identity with something else.

And what I offer in this book is two reasons for that. One is the revival of the shared pursuit of excellence. That's part of what I'm working on in the private sector. In the board of directors at Chevron, last week. Doing what I'm doing at strive. I'm trying to do that through the private sector.

That's still only half the story, though.

And I think that as citizens, we also need to revive our sense of civic duty, to start talking about that more. You know, I think it's a provocative idea, I offered in my last book. I talk about it in this one too, of even thinking about weaving civic service, into education. That's something that makes conservatives, a lot of Libertarian conservatives, even myself, ten years ago, would have recoiled at that idea. That feels like, it's an infringement on our liberty. Well, what I say, is, first of all, if you start at a young enough age, we accept that children, under the age of 18 or 16, are not yet free agents in the world. We have to create those citizens. And weaving the idea of service. Of identity as a citizen in your country, is part of what allows you to actually be an unapologetic capitalist. An unapologetic free agent, once you do enter that free world.

And part of that problem, I think, is we have an entire generation. My generation, that never learned how to do actual service. Nor how to pursue their own self-interests in their own right, by co-mingling the two. We never learn how to actually do either one on its own.

So I think it will actually create a greater generation of capitalists. A greater generation of free individualist agents in the world, if we also revive this idea, of living out our civic duties. And I think you're right. A lot of conservatives in their private lives do that. I think we need to make that as part of a North Star of what it means to America.

GLENN: I think you're seeing that now, with the takeover of the school boards, and you know the local city councils, et cetera.

I mean, conservatives. You know, they were busy keeping their nose to their business. And down to the grindstone. And et cetera, et cetera. And just thought. Oh, this is all being taken care of.

It was being taken care of. Just not in the way we appreciate.

VIVEK: Exactly. And one of the things I like to do, Glenn. Let's take a step back from the present. Let's take a walk through history. One of the things I do in the book. I talk a lot about a post-Civil War history and the Reconstruction Era. But one of the areas of history I go to is Roman history. One of the things I reminded myself of. You know, you hear a lot of analogies today, between the fall of the American experiment. And the fall of Rome. Well, guess what, there was no one rise or one fall of Rome. There were many rises, and many falls.

And it -- you know what, I don't think we're done with this American experiment quite yet either. There were many rises and many falls of Rome. There were many rises and many falls with this great country, and this great experiment as well.

And I tell the story of, it's interesting, I hadn't studied this since high school. Emperor Septimius Severus, he was known as the black Emperor. Okay. That's how I studied him in high school at least. One of the things I learned doing the research of this book. He only got that name, the black Emperor. In the last few decades. As he was redescribed in modern American history. There was a TV series that highlighted the story of the first black man to walk on England's soil came not as a slave, but as a conqueror. And then they made a whole narrative around it. Well, the funny thing is, if you go back to the Roman era, people could see that he had dark skin. It was no different than someone having dark eyes or dark hair.

The thing they actually cared about were, were you a Roman citizen? Or were you not?

Were you a member of this nation, or were you not?

That's how they actually saw him. And in a certain sense, we've created our vision, even in history. He's the black emperor we need. Not the black emperor he was. That was never how the Romans saw him. And it just shows you how anachronistically we even view history. That if we're able to take off the Googles of the present. The filters of the present. And actually even take ourselves out of the present, it suddenly becomes politically less controversial. We're able to talk about these ideas in ways that are 1,000 years removed. But then you come back to the present and you see what a strange world it is that you live in.

GLENN: Yep. Yep.

VIVEK: And I think that's one of the reasons why I felt compelled to write this book. It's not for everybody. But if you're a lover of history, if you're interested in potentially the parallels between Roman history and modern American history, how we got here, dating back to the post Civil War.

Reconstruction Era, where victimhood culture began, and I think how we were able to translate that into the victim culture that we see today.

You know, for those who actually enjoy that walk through history, that's who this book was intended for, in contrast to Woke Inc. my last book, which was more about current events and the current era. This is a walk through history, that gives us hopefully a different view of the present.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, you've really targeted the wrong audience for that.

VIVEK: I don't know about that. I don't know about that.

GLENN: This audience -- you're speaking their language. It's great. It's called a nation of victims. And it's written by Vivek Ramaswamy.

And we appreciate everything that you do, Vivek. Thank you so much. God bless.

You bet. Nation of victims. A must-read. All right. Back in just a second.

Glenn's POWERFUL Easter Message for the Lost & Lonely

This Easter and Good Friday, Glenn speaks to the lonely, those in despair, those who have dealt with pain for far too long. He was once in that same place. But the message of Easter, he says, isn’t just history. It’s our story, if we surrender and come to Christ. Glenn ponders the weight Jesus must have felt on Thursday night as he knew what was coming on Friday. As he walked through the garden, as he was betrayed, as he was beaten by the Romans, abandoned by his own people and disciples, and nailed to a cross. But he had a purpose for all of it. And just like he called Mary’s name at the empty tomb on Sunday, he calls to you today. “He’s alive and He’s waiting, scars and all, arms open,” Glenn says. “Give it up and walk away from all that haunts you. Surrender. Live.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So last night, Jews all over the world gathered for Passover. So I want you to picture Jerusalem 2000 years ago, at Passover. And the air is heavy with the aroma of unleavened bread. And the streets are buzzing. Because people have come from all over Israel, to be there.

The sun sinks. It's casting a golden glow. But a shadow is hanging over one man, because he knows what's coming.

Jesus. What must his -- what must the weight of last night have been like?

For the man, Jesus. Because he knows what's ahead. The nails. The thorns. All of it.

Yet, he presses on.

Why?

Because that's the deal he made.

That he loves us. He was the one that could bring us back home.

That's tremendous love.

And a love so relentless that it defies death itself. So it's Thursday night. Passover meal. Jesus gathers his 12 disciples in an upper room. Oil lamps flickering casting long shadows. They eat. They laugh. They're unaware of the betrayal that is sitting at the same table with them. And Jesus breaks the bread. His hands aren't shaking. His voice is steady. His eyes are heavy.

And he says something that must have been very odd. This is my body. Broken for you.

They each have some of the bread. Then he lifts the wine. This is my blood, shed for you.

What was going through their mind?

Remember, they're looking for the messiah.

They -- some of them believe that he is the messiah. The Son of God.

You know, I can't speak for Judas. But they're expecting a warrior. And they -- they're not expecting this.

They're waiting for something big to happen, that not this.

The weight of it, must have been crushing to him, being there alone.

Nobody understands. So he goes to Gethsemane. It's an olive who don't have to. And it's right on the top of the hill, overlooking the Temple Mount. And he leaves the Apostles, just says, pray with me.

And he leaves them. And goes off himself.

And he collapses to his knees, under the twisted branches of these trees. And the moon is hanging low by now. The night, silent. Except, perhaps for his silent and ragged breathing.

And that's when he says, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

You know, it says that blood came out of every pore.

And I never understood that. I thought maybe it was a metaphor or something when I was younger.

It's actually, it's not a metaphor. It's a real, very rare condition, where extreme stress will rupture all of the capillaries right underneath your skin, so you actually sweat blood. That's the pressure he was under.

His body had to have been trembling and racked with anguish and pain. He's not just sweating. He's bleeding all of us clean. He begs for escape. And then he knows.

And he says, your will, not mine.

Why? Because he knew we were going to need it. And here we are with our secrets, our shame. He saw us, and he chooses the cross.

And Judas slinks in, his kiss, he knew.

He said somebody, earlier. Some -- one person at this table is going to betray me tonight.

So the soldiers swarming, torches are blazing, swords are drawn. Peter grabs one of the swords, and he actually cuts the ear off of one of the soldiers. And Jesus stops him. Stop it!

That's not my path. And he picks up the ear, and he hears. He heals the soldier.

They bind him. They drag him through the streets. Sanhedrin's trial. Just total farce. False witnesses.

You know, spit, fists, everything else.

Caliphas nears. Are you the Son of God? And Jesus says something that seals his fate: You have said it yourself.

Truth, not blasphemy. Truth. That saves us. Not him. So my -- he's before Pilate.

Bloodied and silenced. This happens. Back and forth, until this time of day. And the crowd is beginning to gather. And they're screaming crucify him.

And Pilate washes his hands.

But no water erases that stain. Jesus is then scourged.

Whips, studded with metal. Just shred his skin.

I'm on my way, in two weeks, to see the shroud of Turin.

The actual shroud of Turin.

And I believe that to be actually the burial cloth. After you study it, a little bit. Just even a little bit.

You see what has been done to prove or disprove. And the best they can say is, you know, on the -- on the negative side is, I don't know.

I don't know how it happens.

They mock him. They drape him in a purple robe.

His back is just shredded. His legs, on both sides, his chest.

They jam a crown of thrones into his scalp. And these aren't little roses. I think they're called Bethlehem thorns. And they're like three, 4 inches.

And they just push it into his scalp. Blood is streaming down his face now.

But he still has burning eyes, purpose for you. The cross -- part of the cross, lay across his shoulders. Splintered. It's heavy. He stumbles. Every single step is a testament to love. Somebody is pulled out of the crowd, Simon is pulled out of the crowd. He's forced to carry it.

But Jesus is still bearing all the weight of what's coming. At Golgotha, the place of the skull, nails are actually put through his wrist. And then through his feet.

Can you imagine what that he felt like to just have the -- the -- the vibration of that hammering? And I've always seen when they slide the cross into the ground. And it settles. You know, his shoulder was dislocated, they think, in the streets. So, you know, the only way you breathe, on a cross, is you have to force yourself to stand up straight, as much as you can. Because once you start to sag down, your lungs start to collapse.

And so with a dislocated shoulder. He's pulling himself up, so he can breathe.

Jeez. The sky is darkening now. He's -- he's executed with two thieves, one on each side.
One mocks him. The other one says, remember me!

And at that moment, Jesus is offering grace. Can you imagine? Today, you'll be with me in paradise.

He's dying, and he's saving. He sees his mom, standing below.

John is beside her. Praise again. Jesus looks down and says, woman, behold your son.

Love, even in agony. The crowd cheers. Save yourself! Save yourself! If you're God, save yourself! He doesn't, because of us. Because of me. Because of you. He saw us. He knew we were going need to this. He takes it. For him to really be man and suffer, he had to be separated from God at this point. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Jeez. God didn't turn away from him. He turned from the sin that he was bearing, our sin. And at the ninth hour, he just says, it is finished! Victory, not defeat. The debt is paid.

The temple veil tears. God's presence is unleashed. The earthquakes. Rocks split. Centurion stands at the foot. Says, surely, this was the Son of God.

They pierce his side, just to make sure that he was dead.

Joseph of Arimathea lays him in the tomb. And they sealed him up. Sealing hope, away. Disciples have no idea what's going on. No idea. They're hunted now. Are we going to die like that? I thought he was the savior? What is happening? Now he's dead. Nothing more humiliating than being crucified to a tree. That was the most humiliating thing that could happen. That's clearly not the savior. The disciples scatter, broken, the world falls silent. Is this the end? No. More in a minute. You know, selling your house used to be simple. You mowed the lawn. You vacuumed all the carpet. Shoved everything into a closet, and hoped nobody noticed.

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We've found these real estate agents all across the country. They don't just know the market. They live it. They've done the hard work. They've seen it all. And they don't treat your home like it's just an HGTV audition. They treat it as a most important sale of your life. If you're buying or selling, don't go it alone. Get somebody who really gets it. Go to RealEstateAgentsITrust.com. That's RealEstateAgentsITrust.com. Ten-second station ID.
(music)

GLENN: So imagine, just on Easter. On Palm Sunday. He's riding in triumphant. And everybody is so high. And saying, wow. This is going to be great.

Now he's dead. Now he's in a tomb. Now it's sealed. Silent.

The apostles are like, what just happened?

It's only been 24 hours!

Disciples are -- they hide.

Hope buried with Jesus. Mary Magdalene weeps. Her heart is just raw. Her world now feels empty.

But there's a pulse in the air. There is a pulse in the air. Mary has been sleepless, broken. She walks to the tomb, sits pre-dawn. She has spices in her hand to anoint his body. Final act of love, and the ground quakes as she gets close. She falters, her breath catches. What is it? And the stone is rolled back.

Now the tomb's mouth is gaping open. And her heart lurches. Oh, grave robbers?

She runs to Peter and John. She says, they've taken him! They race. John outruns Peter.

Pierced inside the linen cloth, folded. The head cloth, separate, but empty.

Peter barrels in. Baffled. The tomb is hallow. No trace of Jesus anywhere! They leave. Days.

Mary is just stunned. She just stays there. She doesn't know. She can't abandon him. Where is he?

She's sobbing, and the sobs are echoing off the stone, and then there was movement.

Two radiant figures are sitting where Jesus was supposed to be laying.

Woman, why are you weeping?

She turns. She thinks it's a gardener.

She says, sir, if you have moved him. Just tell me where.

It's not a gardener. It's Jesus. And he just says one word. Mary. Soft, alive. Her breath stops. Those eyes that voice. It's Jesus.

Rabbi! Teacher! He's alive. Flesh and bone. Scars and all.

He says, go tell the others.

She runs, bursting, I've seen him!

The disciples have locked themselves away, fear choking them. Suddenly, you know, Jesus is amongst them.

He shows them the hands, the feet. The nail marks remain proof of his love. How could he live?

This is a very rough and short telling of probably the most story -- not probably. The most important story in all of human history. But it's our story.

It's -- the only story, probably that matters. He's already done all the hard work. He bled, literally from every pore, carried our sin, faced the cross, shattered the tomb.

Death couldn't hold him!

Nothing can!

And just like he said, Mary. He's calling your name.

I don't need it. I'm fine.

And perhaps, maybe that's try for you right now. But there will come a time, in all of our lives where despair will overtake us. Where our mistakes will just seem to be just too overwhelming.

Lay it down. Lay down all of the lies that you now believe about yourself, that you're not enough, that your mistakes define you, that your pain and loneliness are yours forever. Because that's who you are, really.

They're not with you forever. It is the strangest thing. Everything true with God is usually the opposite.

Don't fight. Surrender.

Surrender. It's hard to let go of the shame that you've carried your whole life. Or the wounds you've nursed. The voices that you whisper to yourself.

Because at least it was in my life. That's all you know. They probably have been with you for so long, that you believe that that's all you are. And without them, what are you?

Nothing. There's nothing else inside. I'm not good enough.

There's nothing else good inside.

I'm just this. Lies.

This Easter, I just want to leave with you this message: I've made that awful, awful journey. And it is not easy. But it is so worth it. This weekend, I encourage I to listen to hear his voice. Soft as it was for Mary. Fierce as it was on the cross. Let it go! Come to me. Step out of the shadows. Lay down the weight. It's not about being perfect. It's about being his. And he's already paid the price. He's fought the battle. Won the victory. Now all you have to do is surrender, because he is alive. He is waiting. Scars and all, open arms, come to him. Give it all up, and walk away. Surrender. And live.

How So-Called 'Free Trade' DESTROYED American Jobs | Glenn TV | Ep 427

As the markets spin from President Trump’s tariff strategy and the globalists clutch their pearls, Glenn Beck zooms out to see the bigger picture — the story of how elite-driven trade policies over the last 30 years gutted America’s middle class. Deals like NAFTA and China’s WTO entry sounded like progress to a lot of people, but they left devastation in their wake, killing jobs, draining small towns, and fueling an opioid epidemic in the heartland. To understand Trump’s tariffs, you have to understand the real human cost behind tens of thousands of shuttered U.S. factories and the erosion of the American dream. No one knows the toll of the real human cost better than journalist Salena Zito, who wrote in the Washington Post, “What I learned about ‘America First’ in a Pennsylvania steel mill.” U.S. Steel workers who once opposed Japan’s investment now welcome it because “if this deal doesn’t happen, these jobs will be gone.” She rejects the claim that Americans don’t want manufacturing jobs anymore and are scared of Trump’s tariffs. “There’s a very different feel in the middle of the country. ‘This might pinch now, but this is better not just for my kids, grandchildren — this is better for my country.’” Glenn argues Trump’s tariffs aren’t just policy — they’re a rebellion against managed decline and a high-stakes gamble to restore American self-reliance.

Did the Media Bury the Truth About a Maryland Man’s MS-13 Connections?

The Legacy Media has been reporting nonstop about a “Maryland man,” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration “wrongfully deported” to El Salvador. But they’re leaving out many key details, including how he’s an illegal immigrant with alleged ties to MS-13, how he allegedly beat his wife, how he faced deportation in 2019, and how he could have been deported anywhere else without issue. Glenn separates what we know from what’s still unproven. Plus, he and Stu comment on Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who took a completely unsuccessful trip to El Salvador to try and free this man instead of listening to a woman from his state whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. Is this really what the Left is standing for?!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: All right. So Stu, help me out on the Maryland man.

Because --

STU: You're talking about the Maryland father?

GLENN: The Maryland father. The Maryland father.

STU: Why didn't you include he was a father? You have to include that he was a father.

GLENN: I know. He was a father. And he's an immigrant.

STU: And a husband.

GLENN: And a husband.

Okay.

STU: Thank you.

GLENN: Well, there are some things that we know. And some things that we don't know.

You know, the media will, for instance, his wife swore out of, you know, a -- a protection order against him.

You know, but only a couple of -- you know, only a couple of them.

You know, bays he was apparently beating her. But, you know, that -- you know, that's without any new answer.

I don't know. Do you need nuance with the domestic abuse thing?

STU: Not really, no.

GLENN: No. I really don't. You know, the one thing that you -- I don't know. I don't know.

We know that he entered the US illegally.

We don't know when he entered.

STU: Yeah. There's some reports between 2011 and 2014, some places are reporting both numbers.

GLENN: Yes, correct.

We know that he was working as a roofer.

Okay.

We know in 2019, he faced deportation proceedings in Baltimore. But was granted a withholding of a removal order.

So he couldn't be deported to El Salvador. The MS-13 affiliation. That's unproven.

It is based on some evidence. But weak.

You know, unless you believe in the informant.

I mean, we had to believe every single whistle-blower under Biden.

But this one. No. No. No.

STU: Yeah. They released some documents too, that basically say, he was an MS-13.

Those are, of course. Essentially, the accusations, of course.

They come from the police.

These are the -- these are their observations of him.

It doesn't mean it went through.

It was proven in a court of law or anything.

This is what they believed.

They believe, he was arrested, I believe, one time.

With someone who was a known MS-13 member.

GLENN: That happens to all of us.

STU: That happens to me all the time.

GLENN: Yeah. But he's a good guy.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: We bowl every single Tuesday night.

STU: I got a couples massage the other day. With a known MS-13 member.

GLENN: Or a couple.

STU: No. The price -- you get a discount.

GLENN: Oh, you get a discount.

STU: Together.
(laughter)
I mean, it is unlikely.

GLENN: Right. Right.

STU: It's not impossible. But unlikely that he was not affiliated with these -- they don't -- I will say though, they don't have like the greatest evidence of all time on this. This is not like an open and shut, we definitely know. I would say, it's more likely than not.

GLENN: What. What.

STU: Again, the standard here, when you are an illegal immigrant is you don't get all the Constitutional protections that are against.

GLENN: Right. You're an illegal.

STU: You're an illegal immigrant. And we do know, for certain.

This is something that he has admitted.
He -- he crossed into the country, illegally.

Which is a crime.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: That we know, he has admitted to it.

And there's no disagreement on whether he should have been really deported or not.

Now, of course, the family is saying all sorts of things. His defenders are saying some stuff.

But like, there's no question, that he could have been deported.

The question was, whether he should have been deported to El Salvador or not.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, he's from El Salvador, so I guess he could work that out.

STU: Well, I mean, when Trump was president, they went through a hearing. And said, he shouldn't be deported to El Salvador. Now, I believe that this was based on, this guy lying a lot.

And saying that his mother's pupusas stand was being harassed. Yes, it was being harassed.

She was being harassed, back in 2011.

GLENN: Yeah. Pupusas.

Isn't that what Native Americans carry their babies in? Like a pupusas stand or something like that?

SARA: That's a papoose.

STU: What's a pupusas?

SARA: A food, I guess.

GLENN: Wow, don't go across those cultures, it could get very dicey quickly. Sorry, mistranslation.

STU: Just like when you mess up humus and Hamas. Like, there's only one letter, but there's a lot going on there.

GLENN: Right. But it's a big difference. It's a big difference.

STU: Pupusas is a thick, grilled, or fried tortilla from El Salvador, particularly made with cornmeal, or rice flour.

And stuffed with various fillings like beans, cheese, or pork.

GLENN: Don't really need to know all of this. You can stop at any time.

STU: That was the best part of the story. What are you talking about? It kind of sounds interesting.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: Her pupusas stand was being harassed by a local gang.

Again, this is his telling. And they were threatening to kill this guy. He left. And he believes, if he goes back to El Salvador, they will kill him. Now, of course, the pupusas stand is not even open anymore. So it doesn't even exist.

GLENN: Yeah, so they're probably not carrying that grudge.

STU: What a weird grudge to carry all these years.

GLENN: Pupusas stand still bothers me -- I've been retired over ten years, but still bothers me to this day.

Let me ask you, if he was -- because he claimed that he was here for asylum. But he never claimed asylum until they arrested him, and then he was like, have you heard the story of the pupusas stand?

STU: Right. So it sounds awfully fishy to me. And if I were the immigration judge, I would probably not have said, he cannot be deported to El Salvador.

That being said, a judge, and this was when Trump was still president. This is not a Biden thing. Said, you can't deport him there.

So we probably should not have deported him there.

By the way, this is something the Trump administration has admitted to.

Admitted to making a mistake.

That's okay. It sucks for the guy. This is why the family is upset about it.

GLENN: Yeah. Welcome home.

STU: That being said, there's not a lot of evidence, that he's a wonderful human being. And should be treated as they're treating him.

GLENN: Sure. Domestic violence.

But that wasn't really proven.

STU: It was just accused by his wife. Who is now -- now, it's, of course -- accused him of domestic violence before.

Now, I can't believe --

GLENN: I walked into a door.

Happened to me all the time. Fell down the stairs. That happens.

Anyway, Patti Murin. Well, her daughter was killed. And here's what she said, yesterday, from the White House.

Listen to this.

VOICE: Tell the truth. Tell -- (inaudible).

VOICE: This is subjecting our children. It's more than just politics or votes. Or just anything.

It's about national security. Protecting Americans. Protecting our children.

Thank you.

VOICE: Thank you.

GLENN: Please tell the truth.

VOICE: Share your daughter's story. And I think the country hears you loud and clear. So thank you. Does anyone have any questions for Patty, or for me? No.

STU: No questions.

GLENN: No questions.

STU: Questions whatsoever.

GLENN: Not going to ask the mom, because I'll lose in that argument, because it's not really about finding the truth. It's about fashioning an argument, and I'm not going to be the one that questions mom with the dead daughter. Yeah, that's what they were thinking. No. No questions here. Don't look at me.

STU: Well, they're not interested.

Same thing with -- you know Chris Van Hollen, right? Would you have known his name last week?

GLENN: No. Uh-uh.

STU: I love this one, because I -- Chris Van Hollen is a senator.

GLENN: Uh-huh, from a state. Right.

STU: From a state. Who would have known?

GLENN: Yeah. Not even that state.

I'm not even sure that the people in his state are all that quick.

STU: I think if you went to the political media apparatus of this country and asked, who is Chris Van Hollen? 95 percent of them would have said, who?

As of last week, but what I -- he's actually become my favorite part of the story. Which is this pathetic attempt to take a vacation to El Salvador. And try to free him or something.

He will bring him back. And he goes into El Salvador. And just nobody pays any attention to him. He just is totally ignored.

It's like if John Cusack went up and held up the boom box bit window. And Say Anything. And the girl was just not home. It's just a pathetic -- what a loser this guy is. And he goes down there, and gets absolutely nothing done. He flies all the way down there for them to tell him, what are you even doing here? No. We're not going to listen to you. Who are I, by the way?

Who is Chris van Hollen? Then the entire time, he's ignoring the families of people who have been murdered, in -- his own constituents.

Family members that have been murdered by illegal immigrants.

They don't get calls. They don't get mentions on his Twitter. They get nothing.

And he flies all the way down there, to try to free this guy, who is beating his wife. Allegedly, and was -- was here, illegally, not allegedly, he admitted that. And maybe most likely was a member of MS-13. Okay. We see the priorities of the left. This is what it is.

GLENN: Yes.

STU: They care about that type of person. But not the family, who had their -- their, you know, daughter or son.

Or other family member murdered.

They don't care.

GLENN: Isn't it -- isn't it fascinating what they're choosing to stand for?

STU: It is.

GLENN: I mean, it really -- you just can't -- how do you argue?

You're on the other side.

Hang on just a second.

So you're with the guy who came here illegally. Maybe we don't have everything rock solid here. But this is the pattern, and he's also not an American citizen.

So, you know, ship him back.

But what -- what, you're standing up for. That's the most important, out of all of the things that are going on.

And you're not -- you're reporting on that, day and night. But you're not reporting on the mother, who had her daughter killed. Brutally killed.

You're not reporting on that at all?

Really?

Wow! That's -- that's incredible! Incredible!

I mean, you can't -- you cannot make this stuff up.

STU: Also, I just want to let you know. We're 3 miles away from a pupusas stand.

GLENN: Are we really?

STU: We can get pupusas to the studio, at any moment.

GLENN: The babies?

STU: No. We're not going to get -- why -- no, why would we -- we're not going to bring the babies in. No.

GLENN: Okay. I just want to make sure. Because I don't want you eating any babies.

Because I've heard you. I can just eat you up. And I'm like, no, don't do it. Don't do it. I've got a whole stand of babies.

Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Yeah. I've heard it from you.

Oh, who will eat the leg? Who will eat leg? That's you.

STU: No. No.

Glenn, I don't think people necessarily know, that when you chose to move the studios here to Texas, you decided to put them in the most diverse city in America.

GLENN: That's what I chose. That's what I chose. I said, where could we find?

Where? What ZIP code is the most diverse in the entire country?

I said, that's where I want to build my studios! And lo and behold, they were built right here in 1982, and we occupied them as soon as we got here.

STU: Yes. Well, you could have moved anywhere, Glenn. This is literally the most diverse city in America.

GLENN: Do you have a pupusas stand, within 3 miles of you?

STU: Probably not. We do.

GLENN: I can get Korean barbecue, pupusas stuff.

STU: Indian food. Asian food. Anything we want.

GLENN: Anything we want right here. Barbecue. Whatever we want.

STU: It's all right here.

I'm afraid if we go to the pupusas stand. Will we get terrorized by a gang?

Or will we just get a bunch of babies?

GLENN: No, I think they might terrorize us with a bunch of babies. Here, eat this. Wait. I don't want --

STU: A gang of babies.

GLENN: Yeah, that's what happens.

This is the mean streets. It's the life we live. You know, don't cry for me Argentina.

New Evidence: Is ADHD a Scam to Feminize Our Boys?

Is ADHD a scam? As diagnosis levels (and Adderall sales) have skyrocketed, the New York Times recently reported that experts are now questioning whether they’ve been thinking about ADHD all wrong. Glenn and Stu debate whether the real cause of ADHD symptoms is not a chemical imbalance, but instead how we treat our boys. As pointed out in commentary from the Daily Wire, our education system has been feminized, our kids have been distracted by smart phones, and our doctors have pushed medication on them. Maybe the real solution is much simpler: let boys be boys!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So even though Stu doesn't want you to hear this news.

STU: I don't.

GLENN: Doesn't want you to hear this news. Because he hates children.

STU: I do? I have two of them.

GLENN: Yeah. Well, Mengele liked them in pairs too. So...

STU: Wow. That went really dark, really fast.

GLENN: I do have --

STU: We're like ten seconds into the hour.

GLENN: I'm like launching nuclear weapons. Yeah. We should probably build up to that one.

Anyway, there's a new article out now that talks about ADHD. And it's come from the left.

And the experts. That they're now starting to say, I don't know.

Maybe -- maybe -- maybe not everything we thought was true, about ADHD. And I think this story was written by Matt Walsh, who was great.

Whoever wrote this for the daily wire was great.

More than 21 percent of 14-year-old boys in this country, now supposedly suffer from ADHD. The number goes up to 23 percent for 17-year-old boys. As a result, prescriptions for drugs like Ritalin and Adderall has skyrocketed. Just want you to know, that's speed.

From 2012 to 2022, the total number of prescriptions for stimulants, to treat ADHD increased dramatically by nearly 60 percent. From 2012, in a ten-year period, we've gone up with 60 percent prescription.

Between the ages of 10 to 14, the demographic saw the highest increase in these prescriptions. So he writes, and I think this is such a great observation. For decades, you have been instructed to believe that there's no significance to this correlation whatsoever. And here it is: As women increasingly enter the workforce and replace men in teaching jobs, we're not supposed to dray any conclusions about how the behavior of male children is now being addressed.

The truth is, we've been told, not that effeminized education system has increasingly punished normal male behavior it doesn't understand. It's not that schools have lost their capacity to educate male students, it's that -- it's not that smartphone use and electronics in general have become distractions. Teachers have been unable to control.

Instead, we're led to believe that boys have suddenly become afflicted with a severe psychological disorder.

Okay. I -- you know, this is the first time, I had ever heard this about, you know, how we effeminized things. And we have. We have diminished boys, but I grew up in a school. I don't think I had a male teacher until I was in high school. I had all-female teachers. There weren't a lot of nuns that were, oh, my gosh. I remember that really -- I remember that really male-like -- maybe she was a man, but identified as a nun.

I'm not sure.

STU: You, of course -- to put it gently, are not exactly a recent student -- you know.

GLENN: It's better than where I thought he was going, Sara. I thought he was going, you're not really a man.

STU: No. But you're right. There are --

GLENN: Right.

STU: There are surely more female teachers just because of the workforce changes. That was a pretty -- all my teachers that I could remember were female too.

GLENN: Right. One thing that has changed though, is we just dismiss boys entirely.

I mean, it's all focused on girls, right now. All of it. It's science. Everything is just push the girls. Push the girls.

You can be anything. Shut up, sit down. Have some Ritalin. To the boys.

And that's a problem. I have to tell you, as a parent, you probably have recognized this. Does Lisa understand your daughter better than you do, and I understand your son?

STU: I get the point you're going at. I don't necessarily that it -- some ways she understands my daughter. We talk about this often.

GLENN: Because I walk in. I am just clueless. I have no idea. I walk in as a dad, and I'm like, hey, put some pants on, will you? And my daughter is like (crying). And I'm like, what the hell did I just say?

And my wife just looks at me like, you don't say that to her. I'm like, okay. But she'll say that to my son, and my son doesn't go (crying).

STU: Right. They're different.

GLENN: I know. They are. They are.

And I can relate -- for instance, my wife she will say something. And I know how she means it. Because I'm an adult.

But I can hear what Rafe hears.

STU: Right. Yes.

GLENN: Because I heard it from my mom, and I realized, no, that's not what my mom meant.

But you hear, pick up your room! You're always a mess. You're always this. And that's not what she said, you know what I mean? It's true.

It's not --

STU: As they get sound bite teenage years, in particular. It's really difficult.

GLENN: That's what I mean. Is the teenage years.

I have no idea.

Like I had no idea how mean girls are. Oh, my gosh.

They are vicious. I would much rather be put into a room of rabid boys.

Than normal girls. They are dangerous!

STU: Guys can be jerks, but they are --

GLENN: They're stupid jerks.

STU: Yeah, it's just kind of nonsensical stuff.

Girls dig. They dig for the wounds.

Yeah.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. They'll cut you open, and then they'll eat your heart while you're still watching.

I mean, it's horrible.

Anyway, so the article goes on to say, about how some of these -- some of these studies.

And they point one out.

The University of Central Florida conducted a grand experiment where they put a child in front of a computer. And it shows the video in this.

The research -- by the way, you can get this article at GlennBeck.com. You just sign up for my free email newsletter. Get all the stories we talk about every day.

Research shows the child two separate videos. One was a video about mathematics, and it involves a teacher talking about basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

The other video was the pod racing scene from Star Wars.

Now, you'll never guess what they discovered.

STU: Oh, what did they discover?

GLENN: They discovered that when the math lecture was going on, the kids started spinning in his chair. And he was fidgeting, and not paying attention. But when the child was watching the pod --

STU: Oh, my gosh. ADD.

GLENN: Yes. Something deeply psychologically wrong that kid, right?

STU: You're telling me, when they showed the one good scene from the first prequel, they were interested. Wow, it's shocking.

GLENN: The rest of the movie is like math.

STU: Yeah, give me the one that is the pod racing scene versus the trade dispute scene from the Star Wars. Why go to anything else? Just do the Star Wars scene.

GLENN: Right. It doesn't prove anything.

STU: It proves, that there wasn't a lot of good scenes in the first Star Wars.

GLENN: Wait a minute. I just did a study with my kids. They like sugary cereal over Bran Flakes.

STU: Oh, my gosh. They can't stand focused on the Bran Flakes.

GLENN: No, I have to get them on LSD or something.

STU: We are looking for these diagnoses. To diagnosis kids in this way, I think often. It doesn't mean that there aren't some that have these types of issues. You know, when you refer to that article. You said Matt Walsh wrote this?

GLENN: I don't know. It's from Daily Wire.

STU: Daily Wire is great. We love The Daily Wire guys. Obviously, the one I had read was some scientific -- I thought you were referring to a different story, where they didn't say it was a scam.

Obviously, it's an opinion to say it was a scam.

GLENN: No, yeah, it's a pretty strong opinion.

STU: It might be the right one. I don't know. But I was referring to a different article, which is why I was confused, as to the framing of it.

GLENN: Right. Right. Right.

STU: I think there are kids that are affected with -- real trouble in school. Focusing on things.

GLENN: Of course.

STU: That was maybe a little bit more than they could handle.

GLENN: But that's not a psychological disorder.

STU: Right.

GLENN: It's not.

All kids are wired differently. Boys and girls are wired differently in the first place.

That's one of the things that AI can produce. That will be good.

With you as a parent, overseeing it every step of the way.

Is it will -- it will adapt to the way you learn. Because everybody learns differently. You know. There are kids that just -- they're into math. And I don't get it.

And they can talk about math all day long. And they've lost me.

But a kid that likes to learn through stories, I'm there all day for them.

I'm there all day.

And I was the same way. I'm a visual learner.

I'm a story -- you know, I learn from stories. And if I have a really boring teacher, some of the kids are really going to love that teacher, because he's just all about facts, and just gets it all out and can explain it in facts. That doesn't help me. It doesn't help me.

It doesn't mean I have a psychological.

Well, let me make it clear.

That by itself, does not indicate that I have a deep psychological problem.

Okay?

Other things, might.

But not that. That's just everybody is different!

Especially the difference between boys and girls.

And here's what they said, the conclusion was that ADHD is triggered by cognitively demanding tasks.

No. No, it's not.

No, it's not. I was painting yesterday. And I can't tell you how many times, I just kind of like was holding the brush. And I walked around the house, and I was like, oh, wait a minute. I was painting. I mean, I just get -- you know, lose train of thought. I start thinking about something else. And, oh, wait. I've got to go back into the art room and paint.

You know, I don't know if anybody else is like that. But, you know, it's honestly, it's kind of like going to the fridge all the time.

You know, there's no reason to go to the fridge and just stare at the fridge that you just opened up and stared at, you know.

That's not a deep psychological problem.

It's just the way you're wired.

STU: Is that fat?

GLENN: Yes, the fat is directly wired right to my brain. Right to the brain.

STU: Right to the brain.

GLENN: Right to the brain. So I personally think a lot of things are solved -- and not for everybody.

Not universally. But are solved by understanding that we're all different.

And then, you know, just not being such a namby-pamby, wishy-washy society.

That's trying to understand everything.

Did you ever see the south park episode on ADHD? Listen to this.

VOICE: Hello, I'm Dr. Richard Shea, here to tell you about my exciting new drug-free treatment for children with Attention Deficit Disorder.

VOICE: This treatment is fast and effective. And do not use -- apply treatment to the first child.

VOICE: Sit down and study!

Sit down and study!

Stop crying and do your school work!

If you would like more information on this treatment, please wait for this free brochure, entitled --

GLENN: So part of it is, part of it is --

STU: You should hit kids more is what you're saying.

GLENN: No, what I'm saying is -- and this is a very broad brush. One of the things we have a problem with now, is just saying, knock it off. Study. Knock it off.

Focus. And I know not everybody can.

But if you couple that with actually knowing that kids are different and trying to find the best way for your kids to learn.

Because it's not. That's the problem.

Honestly, with big class sizes. And a lot of public schools. Public schools are made for everybody to be the same.

Okay? Everybody has to be the same. Well, they're not the same. Some kids, some kids learn really well in that atmosphere. Some kids don't.

It's not one-size-fits-all.

And they're not teaching you, you know, it's a lot more exciting when you are learning things. I mean, honestly, how many times have you heard your kids say, your kids aren't teenagers yet. So you'll start to hear this.

STU: One is, yeah.

GLENN: Really? How old?

STU: Zach is 13. About to turn 14, yeah.

GLENN: Wow. He's about to be married and have kids, or at least just have kids.

STU: Please no.

GLENN: So, you know, you'll hear from your kids, why am I -- why do I have to know this?

Why am I memorizing this?

I'll never use this. I'll never use this.

And as a parent, you want to say, you're right.

There's no reason you need to know. Memorize that name and that year.

STU: I tell my kids all the time, AI is coming. You're not going to have to know anything. All you have to do is type it in, and it will do all the work for you. Don't worry about it. Never learn another thing, son.

GLENN: Might not be a good idea. see, I don't tell them it's coming. I tell them, it's already here. Why are you working on that? Why are you questioning?

Have -- just take a picture of it, give it to Grok, and it will finish it!

But there's -- we have to start -- we have to start going back to a lot of the common sense, you know, that we used to have.

And there's a lot of things that were really bad.

I mean, you know, I was afraid of our principal. It was Sister Una. Okay. That just says enough right there. Sister Una. And she had a paddle that she hung up in her office, that she made herself.

And it was a wood paddle, and she had drilled holes in it to pick up speed, so there wasn't real resistance.

STU: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: Oh, my. And, you know, she was proud of it. She was proud of it.

But you know what I was more afraid of? I mean, I would have taken the paddling, give it to me twice as hard, sister, just let's keep this between us. Just don't call my parents. Okay?

We don't have that anymore. We don't have that anymore.

And there's some things that come from discipline.

Some things that come from kids being different.

And some, you know, because they do have an issue.

You know, you can't -- you can't talk a kid out of, you know, dyslexia.

You can't understand your way out of dyslexia.

You can't, you know -- you can't do anything, except understand that that makes your child different. And there are ways for them to learn.

But the worst thing for them to do is to medicate your child, so they don't adapt.

They have to -- you either are wildly successful, or you're going to live under a bridge, if you have ADD.

You decide. You either adapt to it, and use it as a strength, or you just, you don't adapt to it, and you just are crushed by the rest of your life.