Best of the Program | Guests: Clint Brown & Carol Roth | 11/13/24

Summary

The Glenn Beck Program: Best of the Program | Guests: Clint Brown & Carol Roth | 11/13/24

In this compelling episode of The Glenn Beck Program hosted by the Blaze Podcast Network, Glenn Beck engages in a dynamic discussion with guests Clint Brown and Carol Roth. The conversation delves into the current American political landscape, Senate leadership battles, potential appointments within the administration, and the broader implications for the future of the United States. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode.

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1. Opening Banter: Optimism vs. Pessimism

The episode kicks off with a light-hearted exchange between Glenn Beck and Pat Gray. Pat humorously accuses Glenn of being on a "bender," teasing him about his newfound optimism in the current political climate.

Notable Quote:

• Pat Gray (02:07): "I regret to inform you he's back on the sauce. He's drunk this morning."
• Glenn Beck (02:21): "I am alcoholic. Optimistic."

This playful banter sets the tone for a deeper exploration of the contrasting outlooks on America's future.

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2. Government Efficiency and New Leadership

Glenn expresses enthusiasm about recent political appointments, specifically highlighting Elon and Vivek's roles in leading the Department of Government Efficiency. He likens the situation to a "Freaky Friday," emphasizing the shift towards a more optimistic and proactive administration.

Notable Quote:

• Glenn Beck (02:07): "Today we talked about Elon and Vivek being put in charge of doge, the Department of Government efficiency and how great it is. I'm really optimistic."

Discussion Points:

• The significance of Elon and Vivek's appointments.
• The potential impact on government operations and efficiency.
• The contrasting optimism between Glenn and Stu Burguiere regarding these changes.

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3. Senate Leadership Battle: Insights from Clint Brown

Clint Brown, a seasoned political analyst, provides an in-depth analysis of the ongoing Senate leadership contest. He outlines the dynamics within the Republican conference, highlighting shifts towards more conservative approaches and the implications for the majority leader position.

Notable Quote:

• Clint Brown (28:56): "So what's going to happen today is they're voting this morning on who's going to be the next Senate leader."

Key Insights:

• The role of Senators Tillis and Cornyn in the leadership nomination.
• The emergence of Rick Scott as a potential contender and his influence.
• The historical comparison to Senator McConnell's long-standing leadership and the potential for change under new leadership.

Notable Quote:

• Clint Brown (30:00): "We don't know the numbers. But what it tells me is the conference, the Republican conference has moved the way of conservatives..."

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4. Treasury Secretary Pick: Carol Roth on Scott Besant

Carol Roth sheds light on the potential appointment of Scott Besant as the Treasury Secretary. She delves into his background, including his tenure with George Soros, and assesses his suitability for the role amidst concerns about his previous associations.

Notable Quote:

• Carol Roth (20:40): "Scott Besant was Stanley Druckenmiller's protege at Soros's Quantum Fund. They did in the early 90s... he's incredibly savvy, astute investor."

Discussion Points:

• Scott Besant's professional history and his departure from George Soros.
• The dichotomy between his financial acumen and his past associations.
• Roth's analysis of Besant's policy proposals, including his "333 plan" aimed at reducing deficits and controlling inflation.

Notable Quote:

• Carol Roth (22:25): "If we don't get any of this stuff done, I'm back to the depressed Glen of we have no chance."

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5. Cutting Government Size and DEI Initiatives

Glenn Beck and his guests discuss the administration's plans to streamline government operations, including the controversial Department of Education and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

Notable Quote:

• Glenn Beck (03:01): "We're like hitting a new. This could very well be the golden era of America if he can get this stuff done."

Key Points:

• The proposal to significantly reduce government size, potentially by 50%.
• The challenges and opposition expected in implementing such drastic cuts.
• The emphasis on eliminating DEI initiatives perceived as divisive and inefficient.

Notable Quote:

• Glenn Beck (05:10): "He wrote the book on ending Wokeism."

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6. Economic Outlook and Potential Recession

The conversation shifts to the economic health of the nation, with Glenn expressing concerns about fraudulent economic records and the looming threat of a severe recession reminiscent of the 1980s.

Notable Quote:

• Glenn Beck (26:26): "We are on the verge of a recession. We are on a verge of a really bad 1980s recession."

Discussion Points:

• Critique of the current administration's economic reporting.
• The anticipation of a recession and its potential impact on American families.
• The necessity for substantial tax reforms, such as lowering income taxes or implementing a flat tax system, to stabilize the economy.

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7. Trump's Role and Congressional Obstruction

Glenn Beck questions why former President Donald Trump hasn't publicly endorsed a Senate leader candidate and explores the implications of potential Congressional obstruction on Trump's ability to implement his agenda.

Notable Quote:

• Glenn Beck (34:15): "If you have a Thune and he begins to become an obstructionist, does the President have the ability to say, J.D. Vance, go in there and take control of the Senate and do what John Adams did?"

Key Insights:

• Trump's strategic restraint in endorsing a Senate leader to maintain leverage.
• The procedural possibility for Trump to exert influence over the Senate's operations.
• Clint Brown explains the legal mechanisms that could allow such an intervention, including the role of JD Vance in recognizing the majority leader.

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8. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

As the episode concludes, guests reflect on the discussions, reiterating the importance of proactive leadership and strategic planning to navigate the complexities of the current political and economic landscape.

Notable Quote:

• Carol Roth (18:55): "We cannot live with this giant cloud. We do have to hope for the best and make that optimism self-fulfilling."

Glenn Beck emphasizes the urgency of the political battles ahead and the critical role of informed and decisive leadership in shaping America's future.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program offers a thorough examination of pivotal political developments, leadership dynamics within the Senate, and critical appointments that could shape U.S. policy in the coming years. Through insightful analysis and robust discussion with experts Clint Brown and Carol Roth, Glenn Beck provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing America today.

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Additional Noteworthy Quotes:

• Glenn Beck (05:36): "Trust the people. We finally have a captain who's saying that."
• Carol Roth (25:26): "Focus on the policy. And is this person maybe a little bit too smart for the position?"

Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and engaged as these political maneuvers unfold, potentially redefining the nation's trajectory.

Transcript

[Glenn Beck]

So Stu thinks that I'm on a bender. You'll hear that. Today we talked about Elon and Vivek being put in charge of doge, the Department of Government efficiency and how great it is. I'm really optimistic. It's like a Freaky Friday on the program because Stu's not as optimistic. Clint Brown discusses the fight for the Senate and the majority leader today. What options President Trump has to avoid obstruction from the potential new majority leader. And Carol Roth helps shed some light on a potential treasury secretary pick. Can we we find someone that hasn't happily worked with George Soros? Find out in today's podcast. My Patriot Supply is our is our sponsor. And we have reached the point where you need to take a moment, put your hands on your knees, stare at the ground, take a deep breath for a moment. Take another deep breath. Let out a huge sigh of release. Feels good. Okay. We didn't burn the country down yet, so don't lose that feeling of relief. But I see said yet. The left has plans. I don't know what they have planned. But you know, these next few weeks could be kind of dicey. So storing emergency food in your home is the right thing to do. We still live in crazy times. You and your family might need it right now. You can get started by offering a three month emergency food kit from my Patriot supply. And each kit comes with delicious foods. 2000 calories a day and it can last into storage for up to 25 years. Who knows what the world, we may not even be eating food by then. Go to my patriotsupply.com because we'll all be robots. Order your three month emergency food kit from my Patriot Supply. That's my Patriotsupply.com. you're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program. Welcome to the Glen Back program. Glad you're here. Joins us now from Pat Gray Unleashed.

[Pat Gray]

It's with us at. I have some disappointing news for you, Pat. You've known Glenn a long time, gone through a lot of his times of struggle.

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah.

[Pat Gray]

And I regret to inform you he's, he's back on the sauce. He's, he's drunk this morning.

[Glenn Beck]

No. Yes.

[Pat Gray]

Yes. It's happened. Drugs.

[Glenn Beck]

I am alcoholic. Optimistic.

[Pat Gray]

I don't know how else to deal with this person other than to accuse him of drug use because he's so optimistic about what's going on.

[Glenn Beck]

And I have been for several days.

[Stu Burguiere]

I know it's usually a bad thing too, but it's not this, it's not this time.

[Glenn Beck]

No, it's not this multiple days.

[Pat Gray]

It's called a bender. That's what they call that.

[Glenn Beck]

No, it's not. I mean, part of it probably is a relief, Pat, than waiting for someone to stand up and say we're going to the moon and we're coming back within a decade. How long I've been saying we need somebody to give us a grand vision.

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah. Long time.

[Glenn Beck]

The guy has a grand vision. It is exciting what's going on right now. We.

[Stu Burguiere]

It really is.

[Glenn Beck]

We're like hitting a new. This could very well be the golden era of America if he can get this stuff done.

[Stu Burguiere]

And how much do you love the Elon Vivek thing?

[Pat Gray]

Yeah, that's the part I'm most excited about.

[Stu Burguiere]

Love it.

[Glenn Beck]

I love it, love it, love it.

[Stu Burguiere]

It's just incredible.

[Glenn Beck]

It is so great.

[Stu Burguiere]

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense. That's fantastic.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Now, why do you like Pete?

[Stu Burguiere]

Because he's a military guy. He's a no nonsense guy. He's conservative.

[Glenn Beck]

He's.

[Pat Gray]

That's quite a resume, too. I'm sick of the way that the media has reacted to this. Like who?

[Stu Burguiere]

You mean the weekend Fox News host? And I was a little bit like that at first too. But then when you dig a little bit deeper into pig head Pete Hegseth.

[Pat Gray]

Right. And like I. You look at like the media is just like, oh, gosh, well, there. Can you believe this guy? Who is this guy? It's like as if they know all the names of the generals that would normally get a gig like this. They have no idea who this major media personality is. Like, they know who he is. They're just trying to demean him. And so I think, like it's. That part of it is just ridiculous. He has a real strong resume.

[Glenn Beck]

Give it four.

[Stu Burguiere]

I think he was a major, wasn't he? Did he rise to the level of major?

[Glenn Beck]

He was National Guard, which isn't usually something. Did he see combat? Yeah, he did. He was over in Iraq, wasn't he?

[Pat Gray]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. He's in multiple times.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And he joined.

[Pat Gray]

He was a Bronze Star, 2001.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Pat Gray]

By his description, he's pulling people out of burning vehicles in Afghanistan.

[Glenn Beck]

A. He is a. He is a. I think a well balanced individual. He's not necessarily the best personally.

[Pat Gray]

You know, they're going to have some opposition research on.

[Glenn Beck]

So he's had some problems with women and everything else. I mean, far as, you know.

[Pat Gray]

Liking them too much.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Liking them too much.

[Pat Gray]

Liking too many of them at the same time. Right, right. But I Mean, you know, that's well known. It's.

[Glenn Beck]

It's been also literally wrote the book on ending Wokeism. Yeah. In the Pentagon.

[Pat Gray]

Yeah, exactly.

[Glenn Beck]

So he may be. I mean, how many people went. Did Trump go through the last time? This guy may not be somebody that is going to take us through everything. He might be the guy that Donald Trump says, go in there, just rinse it all out. Get all of this Wokeism DEI stuff, because you literally wrote the book on it. You know where it is. Get it all out of here.

[Pat Gray]

That stuff is toast.

[Stu Burguiere]

Right.

[Pat Gray]

Like, you know, there are how many employees? You know, hundreds of them. And like, HHS that are just diversity employees, they're all gone. Right? That's all gone. Don't you think?

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Pat Gray]

Stuff he's really going to be targeting. Oh, no, but this is the. Now, you were saying you've been incredibly positive here. You did mention a dark side, the ducks.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, so here's. And it's. It's. It's not a dark side. I just don't want people to think, like, when I'm really, really pessimistic, everybody's like, you're so depressing to listen to. Yeah, I know. But. But for God, okay, what did I say? I could come up with a million ways this falls apart, but to thread this needle in this election, it's going to take God. And I think God acted. I do. So here we are on the other side. We see that God is not neutral in the affairs of men. We have to stay focused on him and doing the right thing for him. Not get too big for our britches, not be sitting here going, ah, you know what? We're gonna smash them. And, you know, that feels good, because we are. But we're doing it for the right reasons and we want to bring everybody together. Blessed be the peacemakers. It doesn't mean, you know what, let's all get together. It means I'm standing up. Bonhoeffer is a great peacemaker. What did he do? He tried to assassinate Hitler. I mean, the real Hitler, not the latest Hitler that everybody's talking. The real Hitler. He stood up. Against all odds. He lost his peace to be able to fight for God's peace. Okay, so we have that fight in front of us. They're not going to sit down and roll over. They're not. But for the first time, perhaps in my lifetime since Ronald Reagan. And Ronald Reagan was good, but not like this team, okay? Reagan's time was different. Different problems, everything else. But Reagan stood. Stood up. And he didn't care what anybody else said. And he said, that is evil and we're going to destroy it. And everybody said, no, don't say that. That's Trump. This is evil. You're not going to mutilate our children. You're not going to take the rights away from people. You're going to return this to the hands of the people. What's happening with DEI is evil and destructive, and we're going to take it down. What's happening to our country is evil and destructive because you're saying America shouldn't exist anymore. No. That you can't do it without some big government. No. That's evil. Trust the people. We finally have a captain who's saying that. So in the midst of battle, look to the Lord and then look to the leader who is saying, remember when this burns up on launch, on the launch pad, and we lose eight people, we know. We knew. We should have known that that's going to happen. When you're doing something this massive, don't cut the cord on it. Remember when they burned? When we burned up. What was it? Apollo 8 on launch pad. And all of those people died. There were people who are like, see, this is too big. We shouldn't do this. This is going to be bad. No, keep going. That's what we have to remember. Be a peacemaker, keep going for what will bring people peace. So I think it's a downside, but it's only if you don't know that that's coming. A fight of your life is coming soon.

[Pat Gray]

What's your optimism level on this stuff, Pat? Do you think they can get a lot of this stuff done?

[Stu Burguiere]

I hope so, but I always think when they have control of both houses of Congress and the presidency, they're gonna get something done, and they never do. So it's tempered with a little bit.

[Glenn Beck]

Have you seen a president like this? I mean, I am counting on Donald Trump being a man of his word. I didn't believe that in 16. Okay. I didn't believe he was going to do it right when he said, I'm going to make Jerusalem the capital. Yeah, right. Sure you are.

[Pat Gray]

And he did.

[Glenn Beck]

And he did.

[Pat Gray]

Well, he didn't make it the Capitol. It actually just is the Capitol. But he moved our embassy there. Embassy.

[Glenn Beck]

I mean, he now knows more than he knew the first time. A lot more. Look at the way he's. He's laying this all out. Yep, he is. He's not letting us guess what's going on. He's releasing these videos every Couple of days to say, this is this section and this is how we're fighting. This is not by the seat of your pants. This is well planned. And it's not Agenda 2025. It's his agenda. And it is taking everything apart that we've all dreamt of forever. I'm in this fight, man. I am all in on this fight. If this is the way this guy is going to go, I'm all in. I'm all in.

[Pat Gray]

Yeah. I mean, that's. If he can succeed at this, it would be one of the. I mean, we look back at the Calvin Coolidge presidency and say that. How did he do that? He cut 50% of the government. Like, how is that even possible? So that's the type of heavy lift.

[Stu Burguiere]

He'S looking at, because now you can't even cut the increase in spending. They're pissed about that. You can't cut it 1%.

[Pat Gray]

Yep.

[Stu Burguiere]

So, yeah, 50% in two years was amazing.

[Glenn Beck]

But you know what? Cut it. Cutting you. You still have to cut the programs because it will be unmanageable with 50% of the employees. But you cut the salaries of 50% of the people. Do you know how much that saves alone?

[Stu Burguiere]

A lot.

[Glenn Beck]

A lot.

[Stu Burguiere]

And cutting out the Department of Education, which he has promised to do already, that would be huge. But that's going to be a bloodbath to get done.

[Pat Gray]

So what. Okay. All right, so let's put this up. I want to put you on the spot here a little bit. If he doesn't get rid of the Department of Education, are you disappointed? I don't mean like disappointed like, oh, gosh, I wish we had done that. But, like, is this a failure if he doesn't do that? Is it a failure if he doesn't cut the government by 50%?

[Glenn Beck]

Depends. What has he done? I mean, if we don't get any of this stuff done, I'm back to the depressed Glen of we have no chance. Okay, Right. Because it's true.

[Pat Gray]

Because he's. He seems honestly to want to do this.

[Glenn Beck]

Correct?

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah.

[Pat Gray]

And he has the will and he has obviously, a mandate.

[Glenn Beck]

We have always said you can't eat around the edges. You can't do that. You got to take the whole thing and throw it out. Restore it back to the constitutional principles. That's what he's saying to do. He's not saying, well, you know what? I'd like to reduce this by 5%. Ah. He's saying, this is wrong. Constitutionally, we're going to throw it out. We're going to get. We're going to restore it by 2026. July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary. We're going to give America back to Americans on our 250th birthday. That's brilliant. And that is something that he's pointing to the sky and saying, not in 10 years. We're going to return this constitution back to you in a year and a half. Oh, yeah. I love it.

[Pat Gray]

It's shooting for the stars.

[Glenn Beck]

Yes. Yes. And if we only get to the.

[Pat Gray]

Moon, that'd be great.

[Glenn Beck]

It'd be great. It'd be great because I would be.

[Pat Gray]

Absolutely over the moon thrilled if they cut the government 10%. I would be over the moon thrilled with that. Do I think that's going to happen? Probably not. Like, what did we spend? 6.2. So you're telling me, how about this 2026? If they spend. They spend 6.2 trillion.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

You guys should do another massive bet.

[Glenn Beck]

Like 5,000 on the money.

[Pat Gray]

No, but like, if they spend instead 5.6 trillion, I would be over the moon thrilled with that outcome. I don't. I. This just the way this city works. If he can pull that, just that off, I will be over the moon thrilled with it.

[Glenn Beck]

Me, too.

[Pat Gray]

I'm a bit skeptical that he's going to be able to do it. Not because he doesn't have the will, not because he's not the president with a mandate, not because he's not very, very capable. It's just there's a lot of crap in the way.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And there's a lot of things that could happen. I mean, the. We're going to talk about this next hour. The what happened with Biden and the fudging of the numbers, the economic numbers. Oh, we're the strongest we've ever been. Not true. Now those numbers are all being revised and now we are going to start seeing them for what they really are. We are on the verge of a recession. We are on a verge of a really bad 1980s recession. So he's being handed garbage because they lied about it. So I don't know what that's going to mean and what that's going to take to dig us out. But if he gets his way and he lowers, and I mean dramatically lowers, income tax, even if we had a flat tax of 18%, flat tax, everything, 18%, I'd be thrilled. It would be unbelievable. Just that. Just that would push us into a new stratosphere that would give us time to save the Republic. It'd be awesome. I love it. Pat, thank you so much for joining us. Let me tell you about Patriot Mobile. People love a good Black Friday deal and Patriot Mobile believes that all Fridays matter. Not just the black ones, but all Fridays. They're running their All Friday's Matter sale. You can get a brand new smartphone just for making the switch. It's a great way to start your new Service. It's Patreon. Patriotmobile.com patriotmobile.com you can call them at 972 Patriot. They're America's only Christian conservative mobile company and their mission is to passionately defend our God given constitutional rights and freedom. You can keep your number for a limited time. Get a free smartphone or go to patriotmobile.com pec call 972patriot and use the promo code Friday again, free smartphone. The offer is eligible only with a promo code Friday. This is a limited time offer or until supplies run out. Terms and conditions do apply. Join me and make the Switch today. Patriot mobile.com beck or 972patreon now back to the podcast. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. Well, let's say hello to the one and only Carol Roth. Hello, Carol.

[Carol Roth]

Hi, Glenn. How are you?

[Glenn Beck]

I'm pretty good. I'm pretty good. You know, I'm feeling very optimistic and I don't want anybody to talk me down from the street. But I'm feeling like we finally have everything I have asked for in a leader, somebody who is pointing to the horizon and giving us a huge goal like JFK did. We're going to go to the moon and come back within 10 years. I think with the, with the Doge announcement yesterday, I think he's saying I'm going to cut the regulations, I'm going to cut the size of government and I'm going to give the Constitution and the government back to the people by July 4, 2026, which is our 250th birthday. It's exciting.

[Carol Roth]

It is exciting. Is it an uncomfortable, uncomfortable place for you to be? Because I know that you're usually a contrarian. I know who gets on the book boat and looks for the exits. Like, are you dealing with all this optimism? Okay.

[Glenn Beck]

I don't know yet. I don't know. It's weird. I haven't been this optimistic. I don't even know for 15, 20 years. I have been just seeing the burning down. And I recognize that this is not going to be easy. They are going to throw, they're just, they're not going to Roll over, they are going to throw everything at us. So it's going to be ugly. But from now until, you know, things get ugly, I think we should enjoy this time and, you know, mentally prepare, but take a breath and just relax, you know.

[Carol Roth]

Amen to that. I'm with you on that. We have had such a weight on our shoulders, like you said, for a couple of decades, and it's really accelerated in the last five years. And the fact of the matter is that now we do have optimism. We have a mandate, we have a path forward. And as you said, it's not an easy path to navigate. It's one that is full of, you know, pebbles and rocks and barriers. But that being said, there's a path. And so, yes, we, we always need to be prepared. That's a non starter. But we cannot live with this giant cloud. We do have to hope for the best and make that optimism self fulfilling. Do what we can to push forward this opportunity for the American dream to be seized by everybody.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay. I don't believe anybody's appointment until you see it on Truth Social. Okay. Right. I personally think he is. He's checking the boat for leaks right now. You know, I think some of these names are just being said. Oh, you know, the only person I told was you. So he's checking his own boat for leaks, I think. But one of the names being touted and thrown around for the treasury pick is somebody I don't know. Scott Besant.

[Carol Roth]

Besset.

[Glenn Beck]

Bassett.

[Carol Roth]

Besant.

[Glenn Beck]

Besant. Besant, yes. Okay. Who is.

[Carol Roth]

Say that, say that 10 times fast.

[Glenn Beck]

Besant. Besant. Besant. Besant. Besant. Okay, who is, who is he?

[Carol Roth]

So obviously the Treasury Secretary pick, let's just put it on the table. Is going to be better than Janet Yellen, academic, anybody. We could.

[Glenn Beck]

I would be better.

[Carol Roth]

Yes.

[Glenn Beck]

You.

[Carol Roth]

A sock, a sock puppet, a random name out of a phone book, whatever it is, is going to be better than Janet Yellen. The Trump administration tends to go for the jockeying of the billionaires and the Wall street typ. That's what you're looking at. Scott Besant is interesting because he is not necessarily famous, but he is famous for the people who he's been associated with.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, this, this is troubling.

[Carol Roth]

So I'm gonna set it up and everybody's gonna go, ah. And then. Let me walk it back a little bit. So he was. He started early in his career at the Soros Funds and he ended up being the CIO of the Soros Fund and the likely successor to George Soros, which I know right now, everybody just fell over in their chairs and has a cold sweat running down.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Carol Roth]

What I need to tell you about that is that it's almost like separating the art from the artist. You know, there are all these bad people who, you know, you enjoy their art, but you don't like the people they're associated with or, you know, that kind of a thing. George Soros for, I would. I would say that he is a repugnant human being, but I'm not sure that I want to call him human. So I'll just call him a repugnant being.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay?

[Pat Gray]

All right.

[Carol Roth]

So everybody knows that.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay.

[Carol Roth]

But in financial circles, if you put that aside, he is an incredibly savvy, astute investor and the best of the best. People on Wall street have been associated with Soros at different points in time, including one of my favorite billionaires, because we all have always have to have our favorite billionaires on Wall Street. A gentleman by the name of Stanley Drucker. Druckenmiller, who is probably the most common sense, rational, like, fantastic guy that, you know, honestly, we would all love him to be in the administration. But he's, I think, a bit older. But he was the one. He was basically. Scott Besant was Stanley Druckenmiller's protege at Soros's Quantum Fund. They did in the early 90s. You may have heard about this infamous bet against the British Pound that netted them $1 billion. That was the team. So he's super smart, and from a political standpoint, he has pushed back against George Soros. I think the most famous time was in 2014 when Soros got pressure from his allies to divest from Israel. And Scott Besant went into his office with a team of people and said, if you do this, we are going to resign. And so that, to me, says this is somebody who's willing to stand up for his principles and not let.

[Glenn Beck]

Who.

[Carol Roth]

Somebody like George Soros, who, again, you're his cio. You're supposed to be a successor. He didn't let him push him around. And so I think that should give people. I'm not saying take it. You should throw away every reservation that you have. But he's somebody who's proven that he does not approve of Soros is and is very unlikely to be a puppet, as you might think.

[Glenn Beck]

Is he a guy that will come in? I mean, we've got to cut all of this DEI crap, all of this public private partnership bull crap. All of that that has been laid deep into the Treasury Department. Is he a guy that will recognize that and come in and just cut it all out? We can't, we cannot have a halfway person. They gotta be deeply into the boat.

[Carol Roth]

Yeah, no, he is a no nonsense nuts and bolts. Doesn't want any of this, you know, stuff that is not financially related around it. I think my biggest concern, and this is going to sound very funny, is that the guy's too smart. This may be the smartest person that we have for Treasury Secretary, you know, potentially in our history. And the issue with that is that he may be unchecked, that his ideas are so sophisticated. This is somebody who understands currencies, who understands central banks, who's dealt with financial markets. I mean, he has so much domain experience in all of these different areas, which is very difficult in finance. Usually you're kind of a specialist in one area that he may have an idea and nobody else is going to be there to go, well, you know, why are you going in this direction or whatnot. He said a couple of kind of crazy things that I just put on your radar. One is that my biggest red flag is that his favorite treasury secretary was Robert Rubin, who was the treasury secretary under President Clinton who repealed the key provisions of glass steel that allowed commercial banks to go into investment banking, which we all know has been an epic disaster. So he is going to be somebody who probably leans into bank deregulation. So red flag there. He has come up with the idea of having a shadow Fed to basically reduce Jerome Powell's power, which as you may think, well, that sounds like a great idea until you realize if you can do that under Trump, you can do that under anyone else. And I think that's a very bad precedent and could create a lot of, of consternation in the, in the market. So we don't want that either. And then the third one is that he has this 333 plan. It's not the 999 plan that, you know, we used to have from Herman cain. It's the 333 plan that was, he said was based on Shinzo Abe of Japan, Rest in peace, his three arrows plan. And it sounds different, but Shinzo Abe's plan is not one we would want here because it's very much, you know, Fed intervention, fiscal stimulus from the government, as well as regulatory reforms. Now he's saying his 333 plan is going to be different. He wants to reduce the deficits to GDP to less than half of what they are, 3%. He wants to increase GDP growth 3% on an ongoing basis. And he wants to tamp down on inflation by producing 3 million barrels of oil a day. So as long as it was inspired, but it's not the same. So I think those are the kinds of things that you have to kind of get in the weeds on. But he's certainly somebody who understands the issues we face, which, by the way, are numerous. They have left us a huge mess. The Biden Harris administration, in terms of our fiscal foundation and, by the way, refinancing $13 trillion of debt over the next four years, as well as any new debt that needs to be financed. So we need somebody really savvy. And so I would say, guys, don't focus on the Soros connection here. Focus on the policy. And is this person maybe a little bit too smart for the position?

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, hang on just a sec, because I read something from Ed Dowd today, and he said we have been handed a book, a record book of fraudulent, you know, records of. Of the economy. He says it's all a fraud, and he thinks we are in real trouble.

[Carol Roth]

You're listening to the Best of the Glenn Beck Podcast.

[Pat Gray]

Hear more of this interview and others with the full show podcast available wherever you get podcasts.

[Glenn Beck]

All righty. Welcome to the program. So the president right now is meeting with the House. I don't think he's going to meet with the Senate today, but then he's going right over to the White House and he is going to meet with President Biden. That is going to be an interesting photo opportunity with both of them sitting by the fireplace.

[Pat Gray]

But no Melania. Dr. Jill.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Good. I'm glad.

[Pat Gray]

Oh, totally.

[Glenn Beck]

I am so happy for she has been the most maligned, mistreated first lady ever. She's done nothing. It's not like Hillary Clinton, where she inserted herself into everything and made herself a polarizing figure. She never did anything.

[Pat Gray]

No, she just sat back and tried.

[Glenn Beck]

To be nice to people and tried to restore the White House back to Jackie O's original plan. That garden she did, she got raked over the. That is an abomination. She went right off of Jackie O's plan. It's not like this case. She came up with this herself. She restored it to the Kennedy years, and it's an abomination. Oh, shut up.

[Pat Gray]

Anyway, they're just. They're whining about it, and it's like it's never been. It's been.

[Glenn Beck]

It.

[Pat Gray]

It's understandable for you to dislike a political opponent, but, like, she's not A political opponent?

[Glenn Beck]

No, she's not. Okay. We have Clint Brown on. He is a guy who was the executive director for the Senate Steering Committee for the Senate and the United States Senate. He also has held positions at Pacific Legal foundation as legal Policy director, multiple roles with the U.S. senate, including policy director for the Senate Steering Committee, assistant counsel for the Senate Budget Committee, blah blah, blah, blah, blah. He is now the vice president of Government relations at the Heritage foundation and an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. Clint, welcome to the program. Can you help us break down what's going to happen today with the Senate?

[Clint Brown]

Yes. Thanks so much for having me on, Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

You bet.

[Clint Brown]

So what's going to happen today is they're voting this morning on who's going to be the next Senate leader. They're going to vote for positions all the way down from Senate leader to conference leader. These are several positions that a lot of people don't know about. Everybody sees the face of the majority leader. That's where the fight is centered. This morning they're giving nominating speeches. Senators Tillis, Senator Tillis is giving the nominating speech for Senator Cornyn. But interestingly, Senators Rubio and Hagerty are giving the speech for Rick Scott. Now, a couple years ago when Rick Scott ran, it was Mike Lee giving that speech. Ron Johnson, conservative, right wing, you know, troublemakers. Now it's our potentially next secretary of state.

[Glenn Beck]

So what does that tell you? Because he's in second place according to the latest numbers and we don't know if they're true or not, but he is in second place behind Thune.

[Clint Brown]

That's right. We don't know the numbers. But what it tells me is the conference, the Republican conference has moved the way of conservatives and even the Hill rags who don't really know what's going on in America like your listeners do. They're now admitting it. This morning, Punchbowl said regardless of who wins, the Senate could look and act differently next year due in large part to Scott and Senator Mike Lee banging the drum for years about the need for an overhaul in the Senate. So conservatives are winning this battle. No matter who becomes the leader, they're all moving our way.

[Glenn Beck]

So what do you think of Thune? Isn't he just going to be almost the same kind of guy that what's his name was, you know, turtle face?

[Pat Gray]

McConnell.

[Glenn Beck]

McConnell. I never remember his name. McConnell.

[Clint Brown]

Yeah, that guy. That guy who's always in our way.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Clint Brown]

So Thune, I would think would be a little bit more McConnell aligned. That is that is his reputation. But the conference has changed so much. Republicans have started to say, hey, wait a minute, why didn't McConnell let me amend legislation? Why did he put bills up, negotiated in a back room on the floor with five minutes to go before the deadline. The conference, the Republican senators who choose the leader, they are mad about that. So Thun is going to have to change the way business is done, even if he wins, to accommodate what they want, or frankly, he may not last as long as McConnell did, let's put it that way.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, that would be great. I mean, McConnell, I think, is an eternal figure at this point. I don't remember a time, really, when McConnell wasn't in charge of things. So what does a vote mean for Thune? That the majority still is kind of on the fence and they just kind of want. Not business as usual. Kind of. But not totally business as usual.

[Clint Brown]

Yeah, there's so many factors that go into this. You know, it's really a small institution. It's 53 Republican senators. They all know each other. They travel together, their wives know each other. It's very personal. For a lot of them, it comes down to fundraising. For most of them, it comes down to how the Senate is run. What are you going to do to make my life better? And for a select few, it comes down to certain issues. So a vote for Thune could be about fundraising, it could be about personal relationship, or it could be about his position on a select few issues that, you know, maybe more swampy. Republicans want to get a deal on some earmark that Thune has promised them, perhaps. I don't know.

[Glenn Beck]

What do you say to the call for this should be in open air. This shouldn't be a. A secret vote.

[Clint Brown]

I would like to know where senators stand on this, and I think most of your listeners would, too. I understand why they don't want it to be right. Because imagine, you know, at your workplace, you get to vote on who gets the promotion. You have to select from three of your friends, and then you have to work with that person.

[Glenn Beck]

Correct.

[Clint Brown]

You didn't vote for the guy that got the promotion. Sorry. You're not getting that vacation time you wanted. There's. There's certainly an element of retribution, and it protects senators to actually be able to vote their conscience for someone like Rick Scott. If they don't face retribution for it now, they could still, because they've come out publicly for him, and that's a brave stand.

[Glenn Beck]

Why do you think Donald Trump hasn't weighed in on this at all? I Mean, it would be Scott if he just said, this is who I want, it probably would be him. Why is he not doing that?

[Clint Brown]

He took a very smart approach to this. I certainly think he could move the conference if he did. But he has the same dynamic these senators have. He's got to work with the winner. So what he did is he said, I want the winner, whoever it is, to commit to moving my nominations fast and first. And if you don't, I want you to do recess appointments. He made it about the issues. He made it about how the place is run and fulfilling his agenda rather than about personalities. And I think that was very smart. It's art of the deal once again.

[Glenn Beck]

When you, when you look at this, if Trump, he's got to have the Senate move and move quickly, he's got 100 days, he needs to move things massively fast. If you have a thune and he begins to become an obstructionist, does the President have the ability to say, J.D. vance, go in there and take control of the Senate and do what John Adams did?

[Clint Brown]

Absolutely. So you've talked about this, you've been great about it. There is a little known procedure in the Senate that gives the Majority leader the right to be recognized on the floor first. Who decides to recognize them? The person sitting in the chair at the front of the room. That chair belongs to JD Vance. Anybody else sitting in that chair is borrowing his seat. He can walk in the room, take them out, take the seat and recognize whoever he wants who is going to move his president, Trump's nominees, so he can actually decide really who's running the show.

[Glenn Beck]

Why haven't they done that in the past?

[Clint Brown]

There was talk in the last Trump administration of doing this. I ultimately don't know why they decided not to. There's always a negotiation about these kind of things. Having the threat of doing that is certainly powerful. And maybe, maybe Pence just wasn't comfortable with it. JD Would probably be a lot more comfortable with that. Yeah, he's been a senator.

[Glenn Beck]

Since you're an attorney and this is unfair to spring on you here, but I don't know if you've seen the Doge announcement that came out yesterday from Donald Trump about cutting the size of government. And Ramaswamy said, this is not policy, this is just a thought experiment at this point. But if we wanted to fire half of the administration, we can do it just by holding a lottery. And it's odd or even. We pull one from, you know, a bowl. And if it's, if it says odd, then everybody whose Social Security number ends in an odd number is fired. That way we don't have any, you know, litigation or anything else. What do you think of that idea? Can it be done?

[Clint Brown]

You know, I don't know the legal ins and outs of that idea, but certainly the federal government needs the ability to do layoffs, and that would probably need some funding decisions from Congress. But at the end of the day, the president can take that money and, you know, it's assigned by Congress to certain things, but he can decide how to execute on that. And if he doesn't have the right people in there, if government's too big, which we think it is, we know it is, then he should have the ability to do mass layoffs like any company would. It's crazy that we can't.

[Glenn Beck]

Right. And it's if the executive is not in charge of the executive branch of all of the Cabinet and all of the agencies, then he works for the people that haven't been elected, not the other way around, correct?

[Clint Brown]

That's right. It's putting the cart before the horse. It's putting the administrative state in charge of the government, which is the entire problem that we have right now with the executive branch. So the president needs the ability to decide who is executing on his agenda and whether they're doing it the right way or not.

[Glenn Beck]

It is great to talk to you there. I think they're going in to vote right now, Clint, or it was at last hour. No, I'm looking at Eastern time now. They're voting right now for the Senate, I believe, or at least the process begins right now. So we will see. Thank you so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

[Clint Brown]

Thank you, Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

You got it. Clint Brown.