RADIODecember 05, 2023

Why Disney TANKED in 2023

Disney is taking hit after hit at the box office and marked its first (non-pandemic) year since 2014 in which it failed to release a billion-dollar movie. And apparently, Hollywood workers are all too aware of what the issue is. Glenn speaks with Film Threat founder and publisher Chris Gore, who has spoken with Disney insiders, including animators and current and former employees as part of a series of stories called "The Disney File." He reveals some of his biggest finds: "All of the veteran talent has been driven from the company," he says, "starting with John Lasseter. And his departure was not what was described in the media." And they've been replaced by what many Disney insiders have described as woke "activists." Chris also describes a "toxic" work environment that pushes DEI and trashes the company's own movies. "I have never seen a company tube their credibility faster," Glenn says. So, will Disney finally take a hint?

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Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: It was another scandal for Disney. Only now Disney has I show you or another lost its ability to shed scandals with ease.

Disney is just dying on the vine. And it couldn't happen to a better group of people. It really couldn't.

I -- I wish them to receive all of the things and the seeds that they have planted.

You know, they used to be -- they used to be the company that would bring joy and magic. And now it's black magic. And, you know, just some corporate empire. That, you know, will do anything for a buck.

And now they believe that they are the guardians of culture. And they are going to change our culture.

Their latest example is wish.

It's a movie that supposedly is to serve as the celebration of the 100th year of Disney magic.

It is hackie and uninspiring. And really not worth your time. And everybody knows that. Nobody is going to see it.

We have -- we have an inside look now, at what is -- what is happening at Disney.

And can they ever bring it back?

Film threat, the founder and publisher of Film Threat. Chris Gore is with us now. Hi, Chris. How are you?

CHRIS: Hey, doing great, Glenn. Thanks for having me on the show.

GLENN: So first of all, tell people about Film Threat. Because I'm not sure they know about it.

CHRIS: Well, it's an independent film. We were a magazine in the '80s and '90s. Now it's a website, and a podcast. And we have remained, oddly enough, politically agnostic through all of these --

GLENN: How did you do that?

CHRIS: Well, first of all, I don't know why any -- all the entertainment media outlets should actually be this.

GLENN: Yes.

CHRIS: It's really bizarre.

I feel obligated. A movie comes out. It's an independent film.

Fritz one side of the aisle to the other. We will cover it.

That's not true for all my leagues, in the industry, who cover film.

It's unfortunate.

GLENN: I mean, you did Matt Walsh's what is a woman? And it was actually objective. And I assumed it would never happen in today's world.

Never.

CHRIS: Yeah. I think it's an important documentary. It's worthy of coverage. And I don't know why it was covered by every media outlet.

I think it's an important conversation. But, you know, we'll also cover documentaries about drag queens.

GLENN: Sure.

CHRIS: We're all over the place. And I think that that's our obligation.

You know, we also -- we also reviewed Candace Owens documentary, BLM.

Which did not get a favorable review.

But we look at everything. And we try to be objective.

And I -- you know, I would like to see more of that.

GLENN: Chris, I am the biggest Disney fan.

I mean, I have the original prospectus, hand-colored by Walt Disney. I have been a fan since I was a kid. I've always been a champion for Disney.

I have never seen a company, tube their credibility, faster, than the Disney corporation.

And I have gone from a fan to somebody who can't wait to see them burn themselves out of existence.

It's -- it's a remarkable thing that's happening with Disney.

CHRIS: Well, it is crazy to watch in real time.

How they've taken one of the greatest brands.

One of the greatest brands. A family brand.

And I think it really has to do with getting away from their core values.

When I'm talking about those values.

I'm talking about the values of Walt Disney, the man. At the company.

Walton Disney was a proud American, who -- who espoused family values through his art.

And we -- we see where the company is now. It's become very corporate.

Filled with middle management bloats. Micromanaging all of their artists.

And as I like to say, I think corporate cultured kills creativity. And that's where we are at. There's more to this story.

There's a lot more to this story, actually.

GLENN: You have -- you have an article coming out, where you've talked to many of the insiders, who are giving you a real deep look into what's -- what the culture is there.

And there's one story about when everybody came back from work after COVID, and they were having a meeting about which breakfast cereals, to put into the break room. And what happened?

CHRIS: Well, it's a funny story. This was on a Zoom call.

They were coming back from COVID, and restocking the break room with cereals, which devolved into a conversation about privilege.

And if you ate certain breakfast cereals, when you were a kid, you were privileged.

But if you ate generic breakfast cereals, that said something about your upbringing, and status.

There seems to be a bizarre obsession with -- with all of this nonsense.

Identity. You know, privilege. And the fact that a simple conversation about restocking the breakfast cereal in the break room, devolved into that, shows you how bad the rot is. Which is at every level.

And the key word that's come up.

I will just say this.

The article coming up on the FilmThreat.com website, which is being written by my colleague Allan Ing.

It's -- we're currently talking about a dozen current and former employees of Disney. And also people who work in animation.

We're calling the series of stories, the Disney File. But the stories we're hearing are fairly shocking. So also --

GLENN: Like -- like --

CHRIS: For anyone that's paying attention. Shocking.

GLENN: Like what?

CHRIS: Well, ultimately, there's more specifics to it.

But ultimately, all of the veteran talent has been driven from the company.

Starting with John Lasseter.

And his departure is not as described in the media.

There was much more to it.

I believe that certain people felt threatened by John Lasseter. Probably because he was the most talented person at the company.

Nearly every Pixar film was a home run.

I mean, even the lesser Pixar films.

Even the lesser Pixar films. When you look at what Disney is putting out today.

They're amazing.

So that was the beginning of the rock. Was his departure. And that veteran talent has been not replaced by veteran talent. It's been replaced by -- and I'm using words that are in the correspondences, a key word came up in every correspondence with every person.

And that is activism. The people that have been replaced. They've been replaced by activists.

And it's at all levels.

You can't necessarily blame upper management.

But the rot is from beyond up.

GLENN: Right.

So somebody described to me. And said, Glenn, Bob Iger.

Nobody else can fix it now.

They felt that Bog Iger was responsible for this.

But they said, they hired activists.

And allowed them at the bottom, to just infest the Disney culture, if you will.

Then it just kept growing stronger and stronger.

And now there's really nobody left. To hand the company. And say, okay. All you guys, shut up. Get out of here.

You can't do it anymore.

Do you believe that's true?

CHRIS: I believe that's 100 percent true. 100 percent.

GLENN: Wow.

CHRIS: And I think it's just a company culture that's been created.

And those that don't agree with the direction of the company.

Have to remain silent. And are reprimanded, even for espousing certain ideas.

And the HR department at Disney, appears to work in an oppressive manner, creating a toxic work environment.

Where if you -- we're talking about innocuous posts on Facebook, from years ago.

An employee being dragged into HR, into HR. To have meetings at ungodly hours. You know, 6:00 a.m. or something.

With an attorney, sitting next to the HR person.

To discuss a social media post.

There is a fall in line attitude. And if you don't fall in line, you're not welcome at Disney.

Which has led to -- which has led to many of these people leaving have their own accord.

They're simply not welcome to think their own things.

GLENN: Well, I know creative people, and there's nothing that drives creative people more crazy. I mean, Walt would lose people from time to time. Because his management style was, keep them always guessing. You know, and it will make them sharper.

The animators hated that. But Walt was so good at what he did, that you're either in Disney or you're not.

Now that's not the case. No creative person is going to want to go to work every day, let alone be creative at work every day, if you're constantly looking at your DEI shoulder.

CHRIS: Well, that's 100 percent true. And on that note, interestingly enough, lecturers come to Disney often, to help animators. And discuss topics like how a giraffe runs. What does it look like when it runs. How do birds fly? Different type of birds. They have brought in lecturers to talk to all of the animators. And in our article, we will discuss the person who has been coming in with the animators.

Because not only was this DEI person saying, that based on your identity, you are -- you are racist, based on the way you look. You are just a racist person.

This DEI instructor. Instructor, lecturer, went on to critique all the Disney movies and why they're racist.

And why in particular, a movie called The Princess and The Frog is racist, which features a black princess.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh, that was to expose, to bring in African-Americans. And to expose people to a different culture.

That's what that whole movie was designed to do.

CHRIS: Well, yes. Absolutely. But this lecture pointed out, that because the -- the pretext to the film was to turn into a frog. And remained a frog for most of the movie. That that was racist.

And basically, this lecturer was telling the animators, everything you're doing wrong. Which erupted into a huge argument. Of some of the animators that stood up.

This is the problem. This is the big problem.

Is this is well-known throughout the animation industry. That Disney acts in this way.

There are other companies. For example, Illumination, you know, distributed by Universal. Their animated films. They avoided any sort of political messaging. They make movies that are entertaining.

Dominion's movies.

The Super Mario movie, which crossed the billion-dollar mark.

They're just making family entertainment, and they're well aware of that. Disney is the exception in this, where the messaging is a huge part of this. This is well-known in the industry.

It's become a whisper network.

Where animators, that have felt so betrayed, that these Walt Disney company's legacy is falling by the wayside. That they speak on private message groups about each other. About everything that is going on.

But here's the deal.

If people at the Disney company don't speak out, there won't be a company left to save. It's -- it's dire. When you look at the amount of money that they've lost this year. It's -- it's unbelievable. When you look at -- in the year 2019, Disney had seven movies, that crossed the billion dollar mark.

This year, it's zero.

GLENN: It's unbelievable.

It's the fastest. It's the fastest destruction of the greatest brand, ever. Of the 20th -- of the 20th century.

And you're right.

I'm not sure if it's going to make it.

Chris, I have to cut you short. But I apologize for that. I would love to have you on when the story comes out. And spend some real time with you because I think it's fascinating to see the price that they're paying. Chris Gore. The name of the website is filmthreat.com. Filmthreat.com.

Why Trump’s Gaza Takeover Promise is GENIUS

President Trump shocked the world when he announced that the United States will move to take over Gaza, relocate the Palestinians somewhere else, and rebuild it into…practically EPCOT?! But is he serious about this? Glenn argues that Trump is NOT bluffing…but this also probably isn’t his Plan A. And that’s what’s genius about this: Trump moved the Overton Window so that now, countries are discussing whether Israel owns Gaza!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Last night, he stands up with Bibi Netanyahu on his side, and he says this. Cut one.

DONALD: The US will take over the Gaza Strip. And we will do a job with it too.

We will own it, and we will be responsible for dismantling all of the dangers, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

DONALD: Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out.

Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different. Just can't go back. If you go back, it will end up the same way it has for over 100 years.

GLENN: Okay.

Hmm. Kind of unexpected. America is going to build I guess Epcot in the Gaza Strip. Kind of a Rivera thing. So what the hell is that all about?

Well, let me explain. Let me play cut two. This is what he said, before. Listen to this.

VOICE: How many people are you thinking about --

DONALD: All of them. I mean, we're talking about probably a million Senate people. A million Senate people. Maybe a million eight.

But I think all of them. I think they'll be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life. And not worry about dying every day.

GLENN: Okay. So he's talking about all of the Palestinians in Gaza going away.

Going to Jordan or Egypt or anything else.

What is everybody talking about today?

Everybody is talking about, wait. The United States wants to make Gaza into the Rivera. We are not talking about moving 1.7 million people into other countries.

Interesting. Isn't it? It's called the Overton window. And Donald Trump has an amazing ability on the Overton window.

Now, here's the best thing about Donald Trump. He never bluffs. He never, ever bluffs.

Is this something that he thinks would be great? Yeah. I believe that he believes, that he could go in.

You know, or we. Under his supervision. And we could bull dose everything, and make it into a nice resort.

Is it he believe that's a great thing for the people in the Middle East? Yeah. Does he believe we could do it? Yeah. Does he want to do it?

Hmm. I don't know. Maybe. If he's allowed to do it, yeah!

He would do it. Is that his first priority?

No! Uh-uh.

So what he's doing is saying, you know what, we're going to do, we're going to build the greatest city of all time. People will be laying by the pools.

Gaza will come and bring you drinks. There will be peace on earth. Snow in the Middle East at Christmastime. It will be beautiful. That's what he is saying.

Does he mean it?

Yes, he does.

Would -- if he's given the opportunity, do that?

Yes, he would. Is that the plan? I don't think so for a couple of reasons. First of all, did you notice what Bibi Netanyahu said right after?

Bibi Netanyahu said, the press was like, would you -- I mean, are you -- Israel would be cool with that?

Okay. That's Israeli land. That's what they've always been saying. That's Israeli land! Should the United States own part of Israel?

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. From my perspective as an American, no. Should you, if you were an Israeli, would you be for that? No! That's Israel's land. So what did Bibi Netanyahu say. None of that.

He said, well, I think it's a good proposal, really smart people. And I think we should discuss it!

Wait. So instead of talking about relocating almost 2 million people, getting rid of the Palestinian state idea. Getting rid of Palestinians being in that hellhole. Instead of talking about that. Instead of, well, what do you think Saudi Arabia is going to say.

Or Jordan. Or Egypt. About relocating.

We're not talking about that. He's moved the Overton window.

The guy is a genius.

Because he means it!

Now, here's something else, I came away with, watching that -- watching the press conference yesterday.

The guy sees things completely differently.

He's not a president like you're used to a president!

And everybody is going to have to get used to that. He wasn't prepared to be president, last time!

He didn't know how the machine worked. I mean, the bad part of the machine.

He didn't know what he was up against. He learned in the first four years. And in the next four years, oh. He went to -- he went to school!

He wrote everything down.

He planned all of this out!

He surrounded himself with the people that could execute it.

And he is just checking off a list of one by one.

And it's overwhelming the system. What are they doing? Let me ask you this. With the USAID. Come on! Seriously.

On Monday, you hear USAID. Something that nobody knows about. USAID has been shut down.

Is the average person standing in front of USAID with Chuck Schumer, with signs they made at home.

That says, you can't shut USAID down? No. Nobody at the grassroots level is doing that.

No one. No one. So they're -- all of these protests are all hyped. And I'll bet you, some of the money from USAID is helping plan some of these things. At least the money that was coming to them.

So they have no place to go.

Because he's exposing everything.

I'll tell you, I wouldn't be surprised if -- and I don't have any information on this. But I wouldn't be surprised if Kash Patel releases the Epstein black book, day one.

He walks in, and goes, oh, by the way.

Boom. Here are all the names. And I'll tell you why I think this: Because look at what Bill Gates is doing right now.

Bill Gates is all over going, you know, that was a stupid thing.

You know, I -- I was with Jeffrey Epstein. And that was really stupid. But he was kind of blackmailing me. Because I had an affair. Did you hear that lately?

So wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Before, there was nothing wrong. And it went that way, for a long time.

But as soon as Donald Trump came in, you're like, yeah. That was a mistake. But he was kind of blackmailing. Bullcrap Bill Gates. You are crapping your pants. Because you are all over that black book.

And you know it's coming out!

Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. You have -- we have been talking about USAID for a decade!

Maybe -- maybe a decade and a half. And nobody did anything about it! It was -- it was -- it was right there in front of you. All you have to do is follow the money. This is the first time anyone is following the money. And this is going to happen on all fronts. The Democrats and anybody, I don't care which side you were on. If you were dirty, you're done. You're done. Did you hear about the -- the -- the offer made to now every member of the CIA?

By the way, we'll give you eight months severance. If you want to go right now.

The CIA. Every CIA agent is being told, yeah. Because we're going to -- we're reshuffling. We're going to change the game now with the CIA.

These people are not fooling around.

You just might get your government back. You just might get it back.

And how is he doing it?

By looking at things! He's the guy that I have wanted now, my entire life, I've been saying, we need a president like John K. Kennedy. That would point to the moon.

And say, we're going there. And return a man back to earth, in ten years.

Except, he's not doing that.

He's saying, we're going to Gaza an absolute hellhole.

A place that has been nothing, but terrorism for the last 100 years.

I'm thinking about making it into a resort. We will build a pool over there.

What?

And he's doing it day after day after day. This guy is going to go down as the greatest president, maybe in league with George Washington!

When I watched that last night, the other thing that struck me, was when he was talking about Iran.

He actually meant how bad he felt about putting sanctions on Iran.

He said, I hated doing that to the people. Because the people are good. It's just their leadership. And I know the people are going to hurt. But I had to do it. And we almost had them! We almost collapsed that system!

And the people have to be free!

And I love the people. But I'm going to have to do it again. And it really bothers me.

That's true!

Everything he said about the Palestinians. None of it was based on hate. He was like, look, they're people just like you. Just like me.

They want to live in peace. If they don't want to live in peace. Then they're going to have to be killed. But if they do want to live in peace. Let's help them!

It was amazing. It was, I'm not an enemy of anyone. Unless you're an enemy of peace!

Unless -- unless you're trying to kill other people.

We're not your enemy.

And, you know, every country can choose how they want to run themselves. This guy just thinks differently. Thinks differently. And acts like -- like a CEO.

And we've never seen a president like him before. I have to tell you, so far I like everything that I see.

Now, I'm not sure about the whole resort thing. But I'm willing to give him the rope of negotiation here.

Why Trump SHOULD Dismantle USAID

President Trump has faced major backlash from the Left and media over his plan to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), or at least merge parts of it with the State Department. But Glenn explains why Trump SHOULD either dismantle USAID entirely or let Secretary of State Marco Rubio clean house. This isn’t a “humanitarian aid” organization, Glenn explains. USAID is a CIA front and the reason why the rest of the world hates us. It has been used to influence regime change and force nations to embrace things like transgenderism and abortion. But if Elon Musk, DOGE, Trump, and Rubio succeed in reforming it or dismantling it, the America people are in for a good surprise!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: All right. Let me tell you about what happened this weekend with DOGE.

This is something that was tucked beneath the political squabbles, and the Grammy night celebrity nonsense.

It is a story far more important than any of our daily distractions. And it makes me, oh, so very happy.

And you'll understand why, in a minute.

This story pulls the curtain back, on who really holds the reins of power in our country. I want to connect a few dots with you, here in the next 40 minutes, or so. We will talk about USAID.
We are going to talk about Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and DOGE.

The Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE and the Trump team are battling it out with USAID. Okay? We cannot let Elon Musk see our books! We are not giving him. Really?

You run an aid program. What's so top secret that you can't let him see it?

This is about control, control over the flow of information, over government secrecy.

And, yes, control over your tax dollars.

So here's the story in a nutshell. In case you didn't know, USAID, the US agency for the International Development, had its Director of Security, Jonathan Voorhees and his deputy, Brian McGill, placed on administrative leave.

Why? Because they refused to grant access to security systems, and systems containing sensitive personnel files, security clearance information, even classified materials, to employees of DOGE.

When Voorhees and McGill said, no, you're not allowed to see any of this. That's when the DOGE team threatened to call in the US marshals. The US marshals over a bureaucratic disagreement? No. Uh-uh.

Remember, this is about something much, much bigger. It's about who controls the machinery of the government, when it comes to foreign influence.

Covert operations. And the shadow games, our government is playing overseas.

So let's start with USAID.

On paper, it sounds great. Right?

The US agency for international development. They're the folks who help develop countries, build schools. And fight diseases.

And support democracy.

First of all, I don't want to be in that business, as a government.

But if you've been paying attention, history will tell you something else.

It's well-known that USAID has been much more than an aid operation.

Since its inception in 1961 -- by the way, can you tell me anything that happened, you know, with the government and overseas, things that was good that happened in the '50s and '60s. Maybe the Peace Corps. Maybe the Peace Corps. But I doubt it.

USAID say covert CIA operation. They do covert black ops, all around the world.

And their money just comes in, and it just -- no. This is aid. Black hole.

Now, this is not a conspiracy theory. This is historic fact. In the Cold War, USAID funded cultural organizations. And student groups.

And agricultural projects. Uh-huh.

They were covers for intelligence gathering. And they have been accused of everything from influencing elections in foreign countries, to helping overthrow governments that didn't align with our interests. Do you want any country doing that?

Don't we have a big problem with other countries influencing our elections? How dare they! Uh-huh.

Black ops. Do you remember the Colour Revolutions in Europe? Yeah. Yeah.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that every employee at USAID is a covert operative. Most, I'm sure, good, decent people trying to do their jobs.

But the agency has always had a dual identity, part humanitarian, part shadow extension of US foreign policy through the CIA.

And that's really the part that I think is interesting here.

Because every nation knows, that this is a CIA front.

Except, the American people. We don't -- we don't know that apparently.

No, no. We're good. You know, it has billions of dollars, in black covert money, flowing through it.

We just -- we just don't know it. Because those with oversight. Can't see the records. President team has just been denied access.

Wait a minute. Who works for who?

This is an aid thing. What do you have that is so very top secret.

So here comes DOGE. The department of government efficiency.

Sounds pretty harmless. Yeah. Like a bunch of accountants, trying to balance the budget. That's all we're trying to do.

But those who are running black ops, know that DOGE has two agendas. And the president has made it very clear.

Yes. Cut the waste. Downsize the government.

But it also has another very specific mission. Except, this isn't a black op.

Again, this mission is right out in the open. Where all missions should be.

They -- their mission is not only to cut the budget.

But to break up the entrenched bureaucracies, that have been running Washington like their own personal fiefdoms.

Trump's goal was to drain the swamp. And DOGE is supposed to be one of the tools that is headed by Elon Musk, to drain that swamp.

Now, I personally like it for a couple of reasons. Elon Musk is one of the world's greatest minds. I mean, when he goes into his own companies, he sits with every employee for about five minutes.

And just says, what are you working on, this week.

And if they don't have something that he feels is really moving the company forward, you're not necessary.

You're fired. Okay.

He has a knack for cutting waste, and making companies more efficient and also coming up with some really good products.

He's a disrupter.

He doesn't do things like everyone else. He doesn't think like everybody else.

That's his strength. He advertise erupts industries. He challenges the norms.

And he's been a very public mission to expose and challenge what he sees as government overreach.

Whether it's with Twitter for X. Or even the critiques of regular agencies. Now, he can come in and look at these things and go, wait a minute.

This doesn't seem to be exactly, you know, what you're supposed to be doing. This is different. This isn't about posting memes and calling out the woke mind virus.

This is about accessing the very heart of the government's covert machinery.

That's what's happening with USAID because it's not about aid programs.

It's all about data. It's all about networks.

It's all about the hidden influence, that the US experts, you know, flex all around the world.

Including perhaps inside the United States, against their own people.

But we don't know. And now for the first time in decades, somebody from the outside of traditional power structures are -- are saying, huh.

What is it that you guys do here?

And guess what? The machine doesn't like it.

The people who have been running that machine, also don't like it. I want you to remember who was in charge of USAID. Does anybody remember?

Anybody. Bueller. Anybody?

Samantha Power. Now, Samantha Power. She's the wife of Harvard professor. Obama adviser.

And author of the really super important book called Nudge.

How to get people to do what you want them to do, without them knowing. Nudge.

So the wife of that guy, who I'm sure has nothing to do with nudging or dig do go anything like that.

Even though she was with the Biden -- or the Obama administration, forever! She didn't know anything about that.

GLENN: This is why John Voorhees and Brian McGill push back.

That's why they're risking their careers to say, no. You can't come in here. Because they weren't just protecting the files!

They were protecting the status quo. They're protecting a system that has operated in the shadows for decades, with that to no accountability to the American people!

And here's where it gets even more fascinating. The employees at USAID and across the federal bureaucracy, aren't just fighting to protect sensitive information.

They are fighting to protect their power. He's getting in to the roots now.

He's opening up to -- you know how Donald Trump is kind of like a -- a human hand grenade. I've said this to his face. You know, I think you're kind of like a human hand grenade.

What do you mean? Well, you're the greatest human hand grenade I've ever seen, don't get me wrong. You just kind of throw yourself into things, and then a wall comes down.

And then as the dust is settling, everybody goes, wait a minute.

What's on the other side of that wall? That's what's happening.

Except, this time they're not just lobbing grenades in. They know where it is.

Over the years, we've created this massive administrative state. Which is a fourth branch of government that nobody votes for. Wholly unconstitutional.

No one really controls it. You noticed that the people on Capitol hill, they're afraid of the intelligence agencies.

Hmm. So who is really boss then?

They operate with a level of secrecy, that would make our Founding Fathers roll in their graves.

This many of us state has been the gatekeeper of information.

Deciding who gets to know what.

Both here, at home.

And abroad.

Does the president even know?

So when Trump and Musk come knocking, knocking, knocking, at the door.

Trying to peak behind the curtain. The reaction is swift and fierce.

Because if they succeed, they'll manage to pull USAID's operations. And put it right under direct control of the State Department. Or even worse, in the public eye! They'll be held accountable for things!

We can't have that. It will expose decades of covert actions.

Questionable alliances.

The dark side of US foreign policy.

That has been hidden under the guise of aid.

It's why the rest of the world hates us.

Think about some of the crazy things we've done in the name of foreign aid.

We funneled money to warlords in Afghanistan.

We gave money to the Taliban.

Money to Gaza to prop up Hamas.

We've run guns to the Syrian groups ISIS, propped up dictators in Latin America. Even funded opposition groups in countries, where we wanted regime change all under the banner of freedom and democracy.

Again, this is why everybody hates the American government.

Her people see our influence as good and benevolent.

And sometimes, I think we are.

Other times, America is anything but!

So in exchange for our tax dollars, we've asked countries to change their laws. To accept abortion, in places where the people are morally outraged. We promote transgenderism in their schools.

We -- we tell them, that this is the enlightened way to go.

Otherwise, they lose their aid.

We force them to open their markets to multi-national corporations that sometimes don't have their best interests at heart. And we conduct military operations on their soil. You will do it our way. And yet, you don't know anything about it.

Most Americans don't have any idea. Because it's all wrapped up in the nice shiny package of humanitarian assistance.

So here's what happens if DOGE succeeds.

What happens if Musk and Trump manage to pry open the lid to this operation?

Well, for once, the bureaucrats lose control of one of their many hiding places.

Intelligence community loses one of its more useful tools.

And the American people might finally get to see just how much of their hard-earned money has been used, not to build schools or feed the hungry, but to manipulate foreign government and maintain our empire of influence. And here's the kicker.

This isn't about just the past. It is about the future. Because if Musk and Trump can break through this wall, it sets a precedent. It says no part of the government is beyond scrutiny of our elected officials.

And that tariffs people who have been running the show.

So what do we take away?

One, pay attention.

Stories like these are not bureaucratic squabbles.

This is the battlefront.

This is the battle line, right there, that will decide who actually runs the country.

We will see more on this, and the intelligence agencies are not going to like it.

So one thing I would take away from this is don't take any news story at face value, for a while.

There are many hiding places. And those who receive and use dark money for black ops are going to fight back.

Second, ask questions.

Continue to ask questions.

Why does USAID have classified systems that other government officials can't access?

Why is there so much resistance in an aid organization to transparency.

And third, remember the people that are screaming the loudest about protecting democracy are often the ones most afraid of the people actually seeing how the sausage gets made. So this isn't about USAID, DOGE, or even Trump or Musk.

It's about whether you have the right to know what our government is doing with your money.

Stay curious, America.

We will get to the bottom of this. But we have to be willing to go through the tough times, remain determined, and vigilant.

Adam Schiff Spews INSANE HYPOCRISY in Kash Patel Confirmation Hearing

Trump's pick for FBI Director, Kash Patel, recently sat down for his Senate confirmation hearing. And like many of Trump's picks, he faced a hostile room. But Glenn reviews some of the highlights, including how Kash said that "having been the victim of government overreach and a weaponized system of justice and law enforcement" makes him uniquely qualified for the job. Glenn and Stu also address Kash's comments on Trump's January 6th pardons and Sen. Adam Schiff's painful lecture about the word "we." Plus, Glenn reveals the "point I coldn't get past with any" of the Democrats from the hearing: "I can't take it! The Democrats don't understand what just happened!"

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I only have really one thing to say today.

And that's because I threw out everything else, because it took me about two hours, to just gather my thoughts and jot them down.

Because I wanted to be searingly accurate.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: So the rest of the show, we're just going to kind of wing. Because I wanted to make sure, when I give you my opinion on what's happening, it's actually very clear. What I believe.

So that's coming up in just a little while. The rest of this show. We have today -- yesterday, last night, for Blaze TV subscribers, one of my favorite podcasts, because this is something I've been interested in as a kid.

The shroud of Turin. We had the exact linen copy of the shroud of Turin, in the studio. Plus, one of the leading experts on it.

And if you don't know what the shroud of Turin is. First of all, it's -- it's not a Catholic artifact. That's what people have said in the past.

But now evangelicals and everybody else have started to say, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

There is some new information on this.

This thing is the shroud of Christ, they believe. New data has been released, with something that is better than carbon dating. I can't remember what it's called. But it's better than carbon dating. And it looks at the fabric.

Dates it. It's 2,000 years old.

And what's more. There are spores and pollen. Et cetera, et cetera.

On and in the fabric.

That only are found in Jerusalem, in and around April, in the spring.

I mean, that's a pretty elaborate fraud! Plus, all of the bloodstains. The things that science has found about this, I think this is the shroud of Christ.

And you have to make up your own mind. But we're going to talk about that, later. And play some pieces of it. We have Jeremiah Johnston on, to talk about it on hour number three today.

You don't want to miss this.

People who say, it can't be done, it's not the shroud of Jesus. It's the greatest shroud of Jesus you've ever seen. I can't believe it. So, anyway, that's coming up.

So let's start with some -- hmm. Beautiful people in the Senate, shall we?

Let's start with Kash Patel first. Here's Kash Patel, testifying in front of Congress yesterday. Cut one.

VOICE: Senator, it may be one of the scenarios that most uniquely qualifies me to take command at the FBI.

Having been the victim of government overreach, and a weaponized system of justice. And law enforcement.

I know what it feels like to have the full weight of the United States government barreling down on you. And as the Biden inspector general determined, those activities at the FBI and DOJ are wholly improper, and not predicated on law and facts.

I will ensure if confirmed that no American subjected to that kind of torment, to that kind of cost, financially and personally. And most importantly, I will make sure that no American is subjected to death threats, like I was.

And subjected to moving their residents like I was.

Because of government overreach. Because of leaks of information about my personal status.

If confirmed as FBI director, Mr. Chairman, you have my commitment, that no one in this country will feel that pain.

GLENN: Wow!

Why is he on such a rant here? He's going to weaponize the government. Is this just all about payback? Oh, my gosh!

Did you hear what he just said he went through!

Yeah, it's not about payback. It's about justice.

Making sure that anyone that was involved in that kind of activity, with anyone, no longer works for the United States government.

And if they broke any laws, they go to jail. I don't know about you! I kind of -- I kind of like the idea of jail for some people.

You know what I mean?

Not everybody. But the guilty?

No matter if they're the poorest person in the world. Or it's George Soros.

I don't really care. You break the law. You go to jail. But he's on your side.

I don't care.

Go to jail.

That's what he's trying to restore. Now, let's go to cut two. He was called out on the January 6th pardons by Senator Durbin. Here it is.

VOICE: Was President Donald Trump wrong to give blanket clemency to the January 6th defendants?

VOICE: Thank you, Ranking Member. A couple of things on that. One, the power of the presidential pardon is just that. The president.

VOICE: Well, I can see he has the authority. I'm asking, was he wrong to do it for him?

VOICE: And as we discussed in our private meeting, Senator, I have always rejected any violence against any law enforcement. And I have including in that group, specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6th.

And I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.

VOICE: So do you think America is safer because these 1600 people have been give up an opportunity of coming out and serving their sentences and living in our communities again.

VOICE: Senator, I have not looked at all 1600 individual cases. I have always advocated for imprisoning those that cause harm to our law enforcement and civilian communities.

I also believe that America is not safer, because President Biden's commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents, Agent Coler's and Williams' family deserve better than to have the man that at point-blank range, fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them, released from prison. So it goes both ways.

GLENN: Okay. All right. I think you're pretty clear.

STU: I like that answer.

GLENN: I love that answer.

STU: So what do you take -- part of the -- trying to stir things up on the left.

Saying, he took a different position than Trump on that.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

You mean people are the different, they're not zombies.

STU: That's true. Though not common.

GLENN: The presidents. Presidential pardons are just that.

His pardons.

I'm not for releasing people who have ever, you know, harmed cops. I'm not for that. I don't think the president is for that.

STU: Well, he -- he did commute sentences of people who were the violent offenders in there.

GLENN: I would like to look at each individual case.

STU: But he did all of them.

So we don't to have look at each individual case.

GLENN: Well, here's my feeling on this.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I've already expressed this over and over again.

You cannot say that the system was corrupt for some and then just allow that corrupt system to sentence and put people away that might have been guilty. You can't do that! We never do that. If there was a corrupt prosecution, and a corrupt judge, or whatever.

And it's found out.

It's not only that person that is parted. And you throw the case out. And you can't try it again.

Sorry, it was corrupt. Then you're supposed to go on and see, when did this happen?

Did this team see anything else?

And if you look and see this as a pattern, you have to throw it all out.

It's not the president's fault. It is the prosecution's fault. It is the DOJ's fault.

STU: I think that's a defensible point.

He hasn't explicitly said this. Donald Trump's point, why he did all 1600. That's not Kash Patel's point. Kash Patel is saying, I can't agree with any of those commutations.

GLENN: He didn't say that. He said, I don't agree with --

STU: Any commutation of anyone.

GLENN: But that's a blanking statement. I don't really care anyway.

STU: I'm just curious. Because I think they're too slightly different points.

I would say, they're kind of representative of our two points here.

My point is more consistent with Kash Patel, I think on this. And yours is maybe more consistent with Trump. I don't think it's a big deal if they disagree, as you point out.

GLENN: No.

STU: It's interesting what the left was trying to do with that though.

They're trying to get that little wedge of separation.

They're trying to say, hey, to know, this guy doesn't agree with you.

Look, he doesn't need. Because the whole -- it's funny, they want to separate them. And say, hey, they don't agree.

At some point of time, of trying to make the point, the only reason he has this job, that he's a loyalist that is an automatron robot. Which is like, you don't get both of those things.

They'll try. You can't have both of them.

GLENN: They'll try. Yeah. Touchdown, either direction. You know? Which I think you would be for with the Eagles, so please don't get on your high horse.

Okay. So the thing that drives me nuts is -- and this is the point I couldn't get past with anyone of them.

Excuse me, Durbin. Hang on just a second. Wait. Wait. Wait.

You're worried about the safety of the American people, because people who, in your words, not mine. Rioted and tried to burn the republic down, you're worried about them. But all of the riots from BLM. Burning Minneapolis almost to the ground.

You didn't have a problem with that one? I can't take it. I can't take it.

And I don't think the American people -- I just -- they don't get -- the Durbins of the world. And the Democrats. Don't understand what just happened. America changed on Election Day. This isn't just, you know what, we're going to -- we're going to switch and go with another party.

That's not what happened!

People didn't vote for the Republicans. They voted for Donald Trump's agenda.

They voted for massive change. And they're playing the same game.

And I'm sorry, but it's not going to work, dude. It's just not going to work. And it will come and bite them in the ass like nobody's business.

Look, whenever you try to con people, it's going to come out. It's going to come out.

All of their illegalities. Everything that they tried to do, is any of that really hidden anymore?

Do you really think that Donald Trump's going to let these secrets lay secret?

Let's go to cut three.

VOICE: Trump recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we went to a studio and recorded it. Mastered it. And digitized it. And put it out as a song released exclusively on the war room.

We, we, we.

If you had nothing to do with it, Mr. Patel. Why did you tell Mr. Bannon and all his listeners, that you did.

VOICE: That's why it says, we, when it's highlighted.

VOICE: Yeah. And you're part of the we. When you say we, that includes you, Mr. Patel.

VOICE: Not every instance.

VOICE: Well, that's new!

So when you said we.

GLENN: Stop. Stop. Is it? Is it?

Maybe I identify as we!

Really? You mean these words have meaning?
Good God Almighty!

This is Adam Schiff, talking to Kash Patel about January 6th! Like he has any credibility at all.

STU: None. Zero.

It's the royal we, is it not, Glenn? The royal we.

GLENN: Well, it's whatever Kash Patel decides it is, quite honestly.

STU: That's right! You're not allowed to ask.

GLENN: That's new.

So when you said we, you didn't really mean you, is that your testimony?

VOICE: Not unless you have a new definition for the word we.

VOICE: Oh, okay. I always thought we included the person that announced the word.

GLENN: Stop! I always thought them/them refers to a group. But it doesn't.

STU: So true. I cannot even read news stories anymore. They say they, and I'm like, who are they talking about?

And they're talking about one person who says they're they. Like, that is not --

GLENN: Right. I wish Kash would have -- I mean, he's too -- he's too cool to do this.

He's too smart to do this, but I would have unleashed on Schiff.

Really? Because I thought, I'm sorry. They told me. Who is they?

Well, that's how I refer to myself. And I was talking to myself. You have a problem with them/they, sir.

STU: So true.

GLENN: You have a problem with we? I call myself we. What's the problem with that?

Now, it's not a logical answer.

But it's certainly worth shoving right down his throat.

STU: We come up with words. As a society. To describe things.

Right?

GLENN: Yes! You've done everything you can, to destroy the meaning of almost every word!

That's what's so -- we always talk about. Oh, well, it's not scientific.

It's not reality.

All that is true. But you're destroying the way we communicate with each other.

GLENN: When you say we, what do you mean by we?

STU: I mean they. Thank you.

GLENN: All right.

STU: But it's true. You destroy that. And you have nothing. You have nothing.

How can you listen to a show? You can't listen to a show. Because you can't understand what people are saying.

When you go to a court of law. This is what they try to do in court cases all the time.

That's not what the founders meant there.

That's what they always do. They're manipulating the language. You said this 100 times. Control the language. Control the argument. If you do control the language, you control that argument.

And we're starting to stop that.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

So sorry, Adam Schiff. We don't like it.

Me don't like it, either.

IHEART FEED

Will Trump's Cabinet Expose the Obama CIA’s BIGGEST Secrets?

During her Senate confirmation hearing to become Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard mentioned an Obama-era CIA program called “Timber Sycamore.” The program gave weapons and training to Al Qaeda affiliated groups with the goal of toppling the Assad regime in Syria. But the American people and many soldiers fighting in the Middle East were kept in the dark. What other secrets are government bureaucrats still hiding from us? Is the CIA connected at all to the Benghazi tragedy? And would Tulsi Gabbard reveal the truth as DNI? Glenn and Stu discuss.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: FBI agents are starting to pack up their desks. As fear of FBI mass firings swirl. That's -- that's sad.

And good. I'm glad.

Benjamin Netanyahu just arrived in DC. He said that he's meeting with Trump. And they hope to redraw the lines in the Middle East.

That's an interesting thing. I think Donald Trump is absolutely headed that way. The USAID headquarters have been closed.

Thank you, Donald Trump, for that. And there was something else.

Oh. And Mexico just came out.

The Mexican president just talked to Donald Trump.

And that 25 percent tariff?

Well, that's on hold.

She said, I talked to Donald Trump, we had and a great conversation.

And he put that on hold.

And I'm sending 10,000 troops to the US/Mexico border right now.

So I've got that under -- and Justin Trudeau. God bless his soul.

He's going to talk at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Yeah. Who is a good Prime Minister?

What a joke. Now, let me tell you about -- I just told you about USAID. And how that is a CIA front.

And Donald Trump is going to do two things with DOGE. He's going to cut all the bad guys. Try to find them.

He may not find all of them. But he will find a lot of them

Oh, did I mention that the FBI people are clearing out their desks.

Getting ready for a firing.

Anyway, he will clean out a lot of the mess, and a lot of the black ops that are happening.

And he will also cut the budget.

So he has that going for him. Now, the left and the Deep State. They're a little freaked out.

If they could have shredders at their disposal, 24 hours a day. I don't think there would be a lick of paper left, in I forget these agencies.

Consider some of the questions that have been swept under the rug. All the way back to Obama.

Let's see. Consider the American lives that are lost, overseas.

Consider the foreign lives lost. Consider the regimes that have changed.

And the chaos that is spread all over the world, in our names, with our tax dollars.

Now, consider what Donald Trump's team has pledged to break and uncover.

So if you listen to some of the confirmation hearings in the Senate, you might hear a little sneak peak at what's to come.

Tulsi Gabbard over on Friday, revealed for many Americans, they don't know about it. It's a clandestine, Obama program, that sought regime change in the Middle East.

And unloaded over a decade of violence and chaos.

Listen to this.

VOICE: Senator, as someone who enlisted in the military, specifically because of al-Qaeda's terrorist attack on 9/11 and committing myself and my life to doing what I could to defeat these terrorists. It was shocking. And a betrayal to me. And every person who was killed on 9/11. Their families. And my brothers and sisters in uniform.

When as a member of Congress, I learned about President Obama's dual programs that he had begun. Really, to overthrow the regime of Syria.

And being willing to -- through the CIA's timber sick more program, that has now been made public. Of working with and arming and equipping al-Qaeda, in an effort to overthrow that regime, starting yet another regime change war in the Middle East. DOD train and equip program, again, begun under President Obama, has widely been known, looked at, and studied that ultimately resulted in half a billion dollars being used to train who they called "moderate rebels," but were actually fighters working with and aligned with al-Qaeda's affiliate on the ground in Syria.

GLENN: Hmm. That's weird.

Most Americans have never heard about Obama's Timber Sycamore. It's possibly the largest gun running and training operation our little spy agencies have ever pulled off.

How many people died in Syria, as a result of this? How many people died all over the Middle East?

How many terrorists received weapons and training from our government?

Al-Qaeda?

We know that many of those same terrorists now control the government of Syria, right now.

And the horror show is not over yet.

Why haven't we heard about this?

Why does every school kid know about Reagan and Iran-Contra, but not Obama and Timber Sycamore?

It is because it not only reveals terrorists receiving our training and weapons, that we supplied. But it also reveals American lives that have been lost.

We still don't know the full details on what happened in Benghazi.

Why is that?

Why is it that Hillary Clinton and Obama made sure of that?

That wasn't part of some gun-running operation to Syria, was it?

Is this part of the peace of the fallout from Obama's Timber Sycamore?

Why was the US ambassador even in Benghazi? Why was there a State Department annexed in such a dangerous place? And why was it so unguarded?

Why was there a secret CIA substation there? Why was it kept so low-key?

Why didn't the military respond? Why were they so quiet and ineffective? Were they trying to keep Obama and Clinton's little secret hidden?

And all at the cost of four American lives. Say their names. They like to say that. Say their names.

Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Sean Smith. Tyrone Woods. Glen Doherty.

They still deserve justice. We deserve answers. I just want you to know, what's happening in Washington, DC, right now, is because cutting the budget.

But it has a dual purpose. In everything they're doing. They're cutting the heart out of these secret ops. They are exposing what our government is doing. By moving USAID over to the State Department. USAID can't that have.

I mean, I don't think of the State Department as someplace that's clean and has a good agenda.

But apparently, that's being cleaned up as well.

What is it we are going to learn, over the next few months?

What is it we're going to see exposed?

It's quite amazing. It is quite amazing.

By the way, Sunday, yesterday, Musk wrote, that career Treasury officials are breaking the law every hour of every day by approving payments that are fraudulent or do not match the funding laws passed by Congress.

Oh, boy. What's this? Apparently, the Treasury Secretary, the new one, has allowed the department of government efficiency to gain access to the federal government's payment system.

Okay. Wait a minute. So USAID won't allow the DOGE officials any access to their aid programs? But the Treasury is like, yeah. Open up the books!

They discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers, at Treasury were structured to always approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups!

They literally have never denied a payment in their entire career.

Not once!

So why do you have them.

And why would they be told that? My gosh, this house of cards is going to come crashing down.

They are in -- they're going to have serious issues.