Best of the Program | Guests: Peter Schweizer & Claire Abernathy | 8/26/25

Summary

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The Glenn Beck Program — Best of the Program | Guests: Peter Schweizer & Claire Abernathy

Date: August 26, 2025
Host: Glenn Beck
Guests: Peter Schweizer, Claire Abernathy

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Glenn Beck brings a mix of sharp commentary, investigative insight, and poignant personal stories to the table. The key themes include a candid look at American standards for health and fitness, concerns about Chinese influence in the United States—especially relating to student exchanges and land purchases near military bases—and a deeply personal interview with Claire Abernathy on the realities and regrets of adolescent medical transition.

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1. Presidential Fitness Standards: A Lighthearted Yet Sobering Reflection

[04:02–17:02]

Key Points

• Beck’s DNA Test Story: Glenn humorously discusses a DNA test that allegedly told him he had the genetics of an elite athlete—something he finds laughable.
  • “You have the abilities and agility and everything else of an elite athlete. And I'm like, there's not a chance!” — Glenn Beck [04:17]
• JFK’s Presidential Fitness Test:
  • Beck and co-host Stu outline the daunting standards once required for American high schoolers, including 34 pull-ups, 52 bar dips, 50 handstand push-ups, a 5-mile man carry, and a six-minute float in deep water with limbs tied.
  • Both marvel at how far current American youth have fallen from these standards, noting that even the lowest bar set by the test would be out of reach for most.
  • “What kind of Al Qaeda PE class was this?” — Glenn Beck [12:24]
  • “If I'm a firefighter, count on burning in the house... because I can't carry you out.” — Glenn Beck [11:30]
• Cultural Commentary:
  • The discussion pivots to the difference between historical and current attitudes towards physical failure, embarrassment, and the lowering of expectations.
  • Stu jokes about faking injuries to avoid such grueling tests, evoking sports theatrics like LeBron James’ infamous flops [16:37].

Notable Quotes

• “You should have made it a little clearer when I first started to do stuff. And I think that's fair... your honor, your God, you should have made it a little more clear.” — Glenn Beck [05:26]
• “We should have the average person Olympics. I really do. I would watch that every time.” — Glenn Beck [14:34]

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2. China’s Growing Influence in the U.S. — Interview with Peter Schweizer

[19:29–28:29]

Key Points

• 600,000 Chinese Students in the U.S.:
  • Beck presses Schweizer on why former President Trump is permitting this influx. Schweizer explains it is a diplomatic bargaining chip, but warns it’s deeply risky.
  • Chinese students are politically and financially vetted by the CCP. 90%+ study hard sciences, useful for espionage and technology transfer.
  • “These students… are functionaries of the Chinese government. And if they fail to fall in line or do what they’re asked, damage can come to their family...”—Peter Schweizer [19:50]
  • Chinese students reportedly assist with money laundering for fentanyl operations and mobilize for political action in the U.S.
• Lopsided ‘Exchanges’: Far more Chinese come to the U.S. than Americans study in China—the ‘exchange’ is effectively one-way [20:35].
• Espionage and Illicit Activity: Recent events include Chinese scientists attempting to smuggle dangerous substances.
• Land Purchases Near Military Bases:
  • Schweizer’s new research reveals every sampled U.S. military base has adjacent land owned by Chinese interests [24:23].
  • Legislative responses are weak; California Governor Newsom vetoed a bipartisan bill to ban hostile foreign governments (not individuals) from buying land, potentially due to his ties with local vineyard interests.
  • “It’s a massive problem...The notion that we can’t even limit the Chinese government from buying real estate... is patently absurd.” — Peter Schweizer [27:13]
• Drones and Security Threats:
  • Beck draws parallels to the Ukraine conflict, warning that proximity enables sabotage, drone attacks, or even more covert operations.
  • “That is a direct threat to our national security... you could take everything out on those military bases quickly and America wouldn’t have any time to respond.” — Glenn Beck [26:08]
• Call for Vigilance: Both stress that this isn’t theoretical; the threat is immediate and concrete.

Notable Quotes

• “The vast majority of the hardline aides around President Xi were educated in the United States... it’s not working.” — Peter Schweizer [20:28]
• “The students that come to the United States… their costs are borne by the Chinese government. So when they are here, they are functionaries of the Chinese government.” — Peter Schweizer [19:50]

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3. Hard Truths of Adolescent Transition — Interview with Claire Abernathy

[28:43–42:47]

Key Points

• Personal Story:

  • Claire Abernathy began identifying as trans at 12, after sexual assault and severe bullying. Social circles and support groups reinforced her identity.
  • Medical professionals (at a leading Dallas children’s hospital) and therapists discouraged her parents from questioning the narrative, treating their skepticism as abuse [30:49].
  • “They made my parents feel like abusers for being skeptical, for wanting to take pause before, like, making irreparable changes to their child's body.” — Claire Abernathy [30:37]

• Medical Fast-Tracking & Misinformation:

  • By 14, she was on testosterone; six months later, approved for double mastectomy.
  • Doctors told her and her parents that surgery was the only effective treatment and warned of suicide if they refused [32:12].
  • Critical risks and consequences—loss of ability to breastfeed, high risk of complications, regret rates—were not disclosed.
  • “They told me...if I didn’t go through with this, the most likely outcome was suicide. That’s what they told my parents right in front of me.” — Claire Abernathy [32:36]
  • "They were required [to disclose risks], they just didn’t." — Claire Abernathy [34:13]

• Regret and Awakening:

  • Claire realized the aftermath was more complicated—persistent sadness ascribed to “post-op depression.”
  • An encounter with peer breast reduction surgery revealed alternatives had been hidden from her [35:00].
  • Even when expressing signs of regret, she protected her mother from feeling responsible:
    • "My mom found one of these padded bras, and she asked me if she had made a mistake...I lashed out at her...but it was a big deal." — Claire Abernathy [38:07]
  • Eventually, she fully acknowledged her regrets and began speaking out.

• Support for Parents and Victims:

  • Both Claire and her mother live with ongoing pain and regret. She emphasizes that parents are manipulated by experts as much as children.
  • "She did this because she loves me, and she thought...she thought she was saving my life." — Claire Abernathy [39:35]
  • Claire welcomes action by the FTC and urges the public and victims to file comments or support investigation.

Notable Quotes

• “No one [addressed the abuse]. My mom asked... and she was told in no uncertain terms, no, that does not make a child think that they're trans. That has nothing to do with it.” — Claire Abernathy [31:04]
• “There's no such thing as a trans child. And no one is born in the wrong body. You don't become your true self by cutting off pieces of yourself.” — Claire Abernathy [36:39]

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4. Calls to Action

[41:17–42:47]

• Claire encourages those impacted by pediatric transition to submit testimony to the FTC, with help available from the LGB Courage Coalition.
• Glenn directs listeners to IWF.org to find more information, as well as resources to contact the FTC and share Claire’s story.

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Selected Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• “What kind of Al Qaeda PE class was this?” — Glenn Beck [12:24]
• “The vast majority of the hardline aides around President Xi were educated in the United States... it’s not working.” — Peter Schweizer [20:28]
• “That is a direct threat to our national security... you could take everything out on those military bases quickly and America wouldn’t have any time to respond.” — Glenn Beck [26:08]
• “She did this because she loves me, and she thought...she thought she was saving my life.” — Claire Abernathy [39:35]
• “There's no such thing as a trans child... You don't become your true self by cutting off pieces of yourself.” — Claire Abernathy [36:39]

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Important Timestamps and Sections

• Presidential Fitness (humor & culture): [04:02 – 17:02]
• China, Espionage, & Land Buys — Peter Schweizer: [19:29 – 28:29]
• Gender Transition Testimony — Claire Abernathy: [28:43 – 42:47]

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Tone and Atmosphere

The episode balances Beck’s trademark wit and levity—especially in the opening fitness segment—with the gravity of pressing national security issues and intensely personal experiences with medical policy gone awry. The interviews are candid, pointed, and aim to inform as well as mobilize action.

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For more information and ways to take action or learn about these issues, visit:

• iwf.org (Claire Abernathy resources, testimony to FTC)
• Government Accountability Institute (Peter Schweizer’s work)

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Transcript

[Glenn Beck]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch.

[Claire]

Upfront payment of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra.

[Glenn Beck]

See mintmobile.com man, today's podcast is full of stuff. Department of War, cashless bail. Department of Defense versus Department of War. Stu and I talk about, really these presidential standards on being healthy. I don't, I don't think so. We went back into the 1960s, looked what John F. Kennedy standards were. Oh, my gosh. I mean, not his standards, but his standards for P.E. otherwise, his standards are very low on P.E. in high school, they were very, very high. And like, unbelievable. So unbelievably so. We, we also. I told you, I told you a story on the podcast today that I think is really important. It's a. It's a story that comes out of the Carolinas about a young girl who moves to the United States for hope, for safety, and she's killed on a platform, a station in North Carolina. And the outcome of this not only tells us what we're really dealing with, but also it's so important that you listen because I tried to give you perspective on what is actually happening. All on today's podcast. You know how many miles the average grocery store steak travels before it hits your plate? Thousands of miles. Think about that. Your dinner may have more frequent flyer miles than you do. It may have crossed an ocean. And after all that travel, you still don't know exactly where it came from, how it was raised, what kind of quality you're gonna get. Good Ranchers changes all of that. Every steak, every cut of their steak, their chicken, their seafood, it's born, raised and harvested right here in America. So when you open a box from Good Ranchers, you're not just getting dinner, you're getting a promise. This is meat that you can feel proud to serve your family. And if you use the, you know, if you use the rolling of the dice at the store, you go ahead, buy that. Wait until you taste what, what will give. What will give you real American flavor every single time. Wait until you taste Good Ranchers Good ranchers. It's not just better meat, it's American meat delivered. Visit goodranchers.com, see what all the excitement is about and shop. American meat you can trust. Use the promo code beck. You'll get $40 off plus free meat for life. Promo code Beck. $40 off. It's GoodRanchers. Hello, America. You know, we've been fighting every single day. We push back against the lies, the censorship, the nonsense of the mainstream media that they're trying to feed you. We work tirelessly to bring you the unfiltered truth because you deserve it. But to keep this fight going, we need you right now. Would you take a moment and rate and review the Glenn Beck podcast? Give us five stars and leave a comment. Because every single review helps us break through Big Tech's algorithm to reach more Americans who need to hear the truth. This isn't a podcast. This is a movement. And you're part of it, a big part of it. So if you believe in what we're doing, you want more people to wake up, help us push this podcast to the top rate, review, share. Together we'll make a difference. And thanks for standing with us. Now, let's get to work.

[Claire]

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

[Glenn Beck]

You have no idea who you're dealing with. No, you don't have any idea who you're dealing with here. I got my DNA test back, like 10 years ago, okay? And we all, we all took it because we were looking for, you know, we're looking for things. And so we all took it. My DNA test came back, and everybody in the family, their test made total sense. We're like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. Then, then we read mine. We have to find. I have to find and see if Tanya even has it. So we should have. Have it framed. It's the. It's. I swear to you, they. They mixed me up with somebody else. Somebody else is like, wait a minute, man. I'm this pathetic. Mine came back and said, you have the muscle, muscular structure of a. Of a. Something like a. An elite athlete. You have the abilities and agility and everything else of an elite athlete. And I'm like, there's not a chance. I don't have any of that. I don't even know if I have muscles. I have to check once in a while. Go, do I have muscles still? Doctor's like, move your leg. And I'm like, I don't know. Can I. I don't know.

[Stu]

How do you do that again?

[Glenn Beck]

Press against my hand. On the leg. I eek.

[Claire]

I don't know.

[Glenn Beck]

You know, I don't know how to do that exactly.

[Stu]

So you sure it said, I just want you to know, elite athlete and not elephant? I mean, if they misspelled, it could have been a smear. Smudge.

[Glenn Beck]

I was having eye problems at the time. No, I mean, we read it, and I was like, tanya. I believe that for Tanya. Maybe they switched me. Tanya, because Tanya is really strong. She'll kick your butt. She works out every day. All of that. Me, never, never. And it kind of makes me wonder when I get to the other side. And the Lord went, okay, so what'd you do with your life again? Because I gave you this incredible body and you wasted it the whole time. And I'm like, you should have been more clear. Okay? You should have been more clear. I, you know, maybe I could have played basketball, but I tried once, and it was embarrassing. It was embarrassed. It was like sixth grade, and I'll never live. I don't even want to think about my time on a basketball court, okay? So don't. Don't start with me. You should have made it a little clearer when I first started to do stuff. And I think that's fair. I think that's a fair argument in my fence. In my defense, your honor, your God, you should have made it a little more clear.

[Stu]

Yeah, I mean, if they really wanted us to do this, then the 11th commandment is 50 push ups and. Or 50 pull ups and 100 push ups. Right? Like, put it in a commandment. If you really want us to do it, you know, you have to be more specific. We're Americans.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, so let me give you the top of the list for the JFK presidential fitness test. Okay? This is what you had to do in high school. In High School, 34 pull ups, bar dips, 52. What's I. Because I believe I did that a long time, and I don't recommend it.

[Stu]

Not a bar hop.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, it's. What?

[Stu]

It's.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, bar dips. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. Bar dips. 52. Handstand push ups. 50. What are handset. Is that.

[Stu]

Oh, my God.

[Glenn Beck]

Hands. I can't even stand on my hand. Is that like I'm doing a handstand and a push up? Because that's not happening.

[Stu]

Yeah, you're.

[Glenn Beck]

You're not human. You're.

[Peter Schweitzer]

You're.

[Stu]

You're balancing yourself on your hands. Your feet are above your hands on the wall, like a wall, and you're doing.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, so you're balancing Yourself. That makes it a little easier. Still impossible. Yeah, but a little easier.

[Stu]

Impossible. There. You could do precisely zero of those, right?

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, so you had to do 50 handstand push ups or one arm 30. No, sorry, 26. One arm burpees in 30 seconds. Is that a one armed push up? No.

[Stu]

So you're, you're, well, you're bracing yourself like you're about to begin a push up in a burpee with only one arm, which that's not that difficult. But then you're doing, I think that then you're like, you move your feet towards your hands and then you jump up in the air, basically. And then you do it repeated.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, that's, that's ridiculous. That's.

[Stu]

Now there's a law of gravity, okay? You're not supposed to violate.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, that's not.

[Stu]

If it was a recommendation of gravity, maybe jumping would be appropriate, but it's not.

[Glenn Beck]

So follow the law. In 48 seconds, you had to do a 300 yard shuttle. Now I've been to the airport. I think I've done a 3:30, 300 yard shuttle. But depends on who's driving, right? You know?

[Claire]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

Rope climb. Try this. Rope climb. This is what, 20ft, hands only, sit start.

[Stu]

That's what I remember from the President's physical fitness test. And I remember looking at that rope and being like, no chance I can get up that thing.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, I just remember looking at that rope thinking, humiliation. Yeah, humiliation is coming my way. I'll never kiss a girl because that ain't happening. I'm going to get maybe 10ft up. Maybe, maybe.

[Stu]

And you were right. For 24 years from that time, approximately agility run.

[Glenn Beck]

17 seconds. Extension press ups. Yeah, I'm just so tired from reading this. Extension press ups. What's an extension press up? 8 inch. Let's see, you gotta do 100 of those.

[Stu]

An exercise for low back pain involving lying on your stomach and pressing your upper body up with your arms while keeping your hips relaxed and down on the mat.

[Claire]

Mat.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, I could do that. 8 inches.

[Stu]

I could do the last part of it. Relaxed and down on the mat.

[Glenn Beck]

I think it's what my doctor says I should be doing.

[Stu]

What I can do. Relaxed and down on the mat. That part of it, I can, yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

I can do that. I am the only guy. I, I took yoga for a while, like three weeks. My wife was like, yoga, you could do yoga. Let's just do yoga together. I did. And the yoga instructor said to me, because we were doing like, you know, you know. A plank. Yeah. And she came and all I remember is her waking me up and saying, I think you're the only person I've ever, ever taught that fell asleep in yoga. I'm like, it's just so relaxing. Just let me sleep. Just let me sleep.

[Stu]

That's interesting that you did yoga. Is there any footage of that? Is there any video.

[Glenn Beck]

No.

[Stu]

That we could.

[Glenn Beck]

No, there's not.

[Stu]

I mean, that would be good for.

[Glenn Beck]

You have to do. You had to do pegboard. Five trips of pegboard. And I think that's when you have the two like pegs.

[Stu]

Yes.

[Glenn Beck]

And then you have to take it out and put it up, right?

[Peter Schweitzer]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

And climb ninja warrior.

[Stu]

This is no way.

[Glenn Beck]

There's no way. Try this one. You had to do a 45 second handstand. I've never been able to do a handstand. Never. Never.

[Stu]

I've been able to do.

[Glenn Beck]

And I'm an elite athlete. I. I am an elite athlete. Try this one. A man carry, five miles.

[Stu]

What?

[Glenn Beck]

What do you mean a man five mile man carry.

[Stu]

Is a man carry. As obvious as it's.

[Glenn Beck]

I think it is. You're carrying me that man. You got to carry me that man for five miles. I'm not sure. I can't carry any man for any miles. I mean, if I'm a. If I am a firefighter, count on burning in the house. You're just gonna burn. You're gonna burn up in the house because I can't carry you out. I could get in there and go. Yeah. I'm gonna have to leave you. I'm gonna have to leave you here. Can't help you. Sorry. It's also getting really hot in here. I gotta go. You gotta do a five mile jog, an obstacle course. You had to swim prone for a mile. You had to swim underwater for 50 yards. Any strokes? Two minutes. Deep water front hang float with arms. What is a deep water front hang float with arms? Wait, wait, wait. It's a deep water front hang float with arms and ankles tied for six minutes. What kind of Al Qaeda PE class was this?

[Stu]

Who has access to. Who has access to. Like you're in the middle of the country. You might not have a. A deep water body nearby. Are you sure this was their actual test?

[Glenn Beck]

This is the actual test. This was the actual. What is a deep water front hang float with arms and ankles tied for six minutes? Can you look that up?

[Stu]

A deep water hang float is an aquatic exercise done in a deep end of a pool with the Aid of a flotation device such as a noodle or belt. In this position, the flotation device supports your upper body while your legs and torso hang freely below you. The setup, that can't be what it is. I mean, I could do that.

[Glenn Beck]

That's just that. Get a good deep end of a pool with a noodle. It's every weekend.

[Stu]

What are you talking about? Can you bring a margarita? Well, it's a man.

[Glenn Beck]

I could. This test is no big deal. What? No way. No way. Here's the last thing on the test. A vertical tread in an eight foot circle for two hours. No way.

[Stu]

Vertical tread in an eight foot circle.

[Glenn Beck]

So you're in the water and you're treading water in a circle for how many hours? For two hours. 2.

[Stu]

This is not what. This is not, cannot be the test.

[Glenn Beck]

Now I told you this is the top of the test. I told you this is the top of the test. So this was for the ones who could do all of the other tests. This was the top of the test. The bottom of the test is not that much better. Here's the entry. Okay, let's see. Pull ups 2, slash 6, slash 10. I don't know what that means. Push ups 16, 24, 32. Bar dips 4, 8 and 12. Sit ups 30, 45 and 60. Broad jump 6 foot 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 and 6, 9 to jump 6ft. I don't even know if that's.

[Stu]

I mean that one is possible. Glenn. Yes, I know it sounds incredible, but. Yes, that sounds incredible. It's possible.

[Glenn Beck]

You know, I think we should have the average person Olympics. I really do. Oh, I really do. I mean I would watch that every time because you see them coming, you know, and you're like, that one's not eat three feet. I give in. Him three feet. 200 yard shuttle. Agility run, rope climb, 18ft, hands only. 880 yards in three minutes. A mile in seven minutes. Pegboard six holes, a 50 yard swim. 40, 40. 50 yard swim in 36 seconds. Man carry 880 yards. No, thank you. No, thank you. Look at, look at what we've gone down. That's the bottom of it. And I don't think most Americans could do that. I couldn't. Well, I could because I'm an elite. I have the body of an elite athlete.

[Claire]

You?

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Stu]

No, you could not. Now, of course, you now in your. Let's just say, and this is supposed to be for a high school kid, right? So this is the prime of your athletic life. Could you do some of these things.

[Glenn Beck]

Probably let go into high school, Go into any high school and ask them to do this. There's no way. And all of the kids would be.

[Stu]

Well, that's kind of what the reaction.

[Glenn Beck]

I mean, don't get me wrong. I would have been there, too, and my parents would have said, suck it up. Just do it. So nothing's really changed.

[Stu]

But that's been the reaction to this proposal, too, of bringing this back. Right? Like, the, the. The media is covering it. It's like it's going to embarrass children. You know, I mean, I do remember being like, I can't do that. I'm not going to be able to get to the top of that rope. That's not happening. That's sort of life, Right? Like, sometimes you can do things, sometimes you can't do other things. Right. Like, that's.

[Glenn Beck]

That's why you have to learn how to injure yourself. Right. You know, how many stairs can I throw myself down to not do serious damage, but enough to get me out of P.E. yeah.

[Stu]

You have to fake an injury. You have to, like, learn from LeBron James, like, act like you got hit in the eye and fall down.

[Glenn Beck]

Exactly.

[Stu]

Like you were just stabbed over and over again during a athletic competition.

[Glenn Beck]

No way. No way. And you know what? Honestly, if we. That's why we're not having sex with each other without having kids, because nobody wants to look at each other. Like, I'll leave your clothes on.

[Claire]

Leave your clothes on.

[Glenn Beck]

Let me tell you about Patriot Mobile. Let's say you're buying a burger and you hand the kid your money, right? And he hands you your bag, and then he turns and punches some guy in the face. And you'd be like, why did you do that? He says, comes with a burger. It's part of what you paid for. Wait, no, I didn't want you to punch somebody in the face. You're probably not going to go back to that burger joint again, Right? Right. I mean, who wants their money going to something that you never asked for? Well, that is exactly what big cell phone companies do. This how they operate. You pay your bill, and then behind the counter they find causes that you don't support, and they do, and they hand them a bag of cash. I mean, you should be thinking, wait a minute, I just wanted a phone plan, not to finance somebody else's leftist agenda. Well, Patriot Mobile is different. They're America's only Christian conservative wireless provider, and you still get the same great service, great coverage, and a fair Price and your money is helping support causes that you believe in. Switching is easier than ever. You can activate in minutes from the comfort of your own home. Keep your number, your phone, or you can upgrade. Time. To make the switch Today, go to patriotmobile.com beck or call 972 Patriot. 972 Patriot. It's patriotmobile.com beck. Use the promo code beck and you'll get a free month of service. Patriot mobile, nine seven, two, patriot. Now back to the podcast. You're listening to the Best of the Glenn Beck Program. One of my good friends, a guy who I just so admired is Peter Schweitzer, or admire. I still admire him. He is the president of the Government Accountability Institute. He is the host of the Drill down, which is a podcast. He has written numerous books. He's an investigative reporter, been on this program a million times and is always way ahead of the game. He's brought to my attention some, some land exchanges that are going on with China here on our own country, exchanges for dollars, and they are still buying up more land and nobody's doing anything about it. And then there's a story today about the 600,000 Chinese students that Donald Trump is letting come in. Now, there's got to be more of this story on why he's allowing that. But I mean, these are people that, if I'm not mistaken, and this is my first question, Peter, aren't these students they, you have to be close to the CCP to be able to travel to the United States. Don't you have to be well connected with the Communist Party?

[Peter Schweitzer]

Yeah, that's right, Glenn. I mean, look, the reason I think that Trump is allowing this to happen is because this is a top priority and they're trying to negotiate a whole bunch of things. But I still think it is a mistake. And here's why. There are 600,000 Chinese students that come to the United States. American students going to China is a trickle. So this is not about an exchange of ideas. You know, it's not like junior year abroad in Italy where you learn more about Italian culture and you remember the rest of your life. It's not that at all. The students that come to the United States are screened for their political views. Their families are screened for their political views. Their costs are borne by the Chinese government. So when they are here, they are functionaries of the Chinese government. And if they fail to fall in line or do what they're asked, damage can come to their family, damage can come to them. And the entire premise behind the student Exchanges going back to the 1980s is that this would make the Chinese elite more like us, right? They get to know us, they become friendly, they become more Americanized. The vast majority of the hardline aides around President Xi were educated in the United States, primarily at places like Harvard. So it's not working. The Chinese leadership is actually more hardline now than it was under Hu Jintao or under Deng Xiaoping. And they're more Western educated. So it's not doing what they claimed it was gonna do.

[Glenn Beck]

So why is he doing this?

[Peter Schweitzer]

I think Trump's doing it because he is trying to secure, you know, a series of trade deals with the Chines. He's trying to deal with them on the Ukraine, Russia war, to pressure Russia. He's got a whole bunch of things on his agenda. This is a priority for Xi, I would say one of his.

[Glenn Beck]

I understand that, but why would it be a priority for Xi? I mean, he gets.

[Peter Schweitzer]

Great question.

[Glenn Beck]

600,000 spies here in the United States.

[Peter Schweitzer]

Yes, that's correct. And so here's what we know. We know the Chinese students coming to the United States have engaged in espionage. And by the way, they're not coming here to study comparative literature or sociology. They're vast, vast majority, majority, over 90% are in the hard sciences. So it is, it is stealing our secrets. We also know, by the way, that the fentanyl trade in the United States, as we've talked about before, the Chinese are intimately involved in that. A key component of the money laundering is Chinese students in the United States who are taking suitcases full of cash to Chinese state owned banks. This is well documented. So there is a component to it. There is, there's also a political component to it. Chinese students in the United States have done everything from shout down speakers on college campuses that are critical of China. There have been reports in California of Chinese students being bussed to places like San Francisco to engage in counter protests when people are concerned about human rights in Tibet. When President Xi, remember, visited San Francisco, there were thousands of Chinese students bused in there to organize pro Xi rall. So there's also a political force component to this.

[Glenn Beck]

Wasn't there not. Weren't there two students or were they just scientists just recently that were trying to bring in really dangerous stuff? And we caught them, but twice we caught them. That just happened a couple of months ago. Do you remember that story, Peter?

[Peter Schweitzer]

Yes, that's exactly right. And so, yeah, these were scientists, but these are scientists that oftentimes are educated in the West. They take on research lab positions at American universities like the University of Michigan, as in this particular case. And so they sometimes bring in dangerous things. There was a report in Canada of Chinese students that were bringing in pathogens related to Covid back in 2019, widely reported in Canada. So it's an enormous problem, and it's not really something that we are focused on. Again, we are treating them as if they're German exchange students or Americans studying in Italy. That is not how China views this. They view this as a component and an extension of the state. And the students need to fall in line. And if they don't, they're going to suffer serious consequences.

[Glenn Beck]

Donald Trump is so strategic, and nothing he does is without several things down the line. He's usually playing 3D chess. He's way ahead of everybody else. I cannot imagine what we're getting out of this that would, would, would balance this in our favor. But we'll have to, we'll have to see. Is anything being done on the Chinese buying up land? I know you're on a big story now about how much land is being purchased up in the Northeast. That is extraordinarily dangerous.

[Peter Schweitzer]

Yeah. So we're, we're working on a report right now. One of our top researchers picked 20 military bases at random in the United States. And he wanted to look at land records and say, of those 20 milit installations, how many have Chinese owned land that is just adjacent to those military bases? The answer, Glenn, is all 20. So this is a massive problem. It's, you know, land purchases are not regulated at the national level in the United States. They not necessarily should be. It's done at the state level in certain states like Florida and others have worked hard to pass legislation in this area. The problem is you have states like California where there was legislation passed in the state Senate, the State assembly, on a bipartisan basis that said foreign hostile governments. It didn't even say individuals, just foreign hostile governments cannot buy land in California. Gavin Newsom actually vetoed that bill. So the problem is, yeah, it was that narrowly written bipartisan support. Gavin Newsom vetoed that bill. And I think part of the reason, frankly, is, you know, he's involved in the wine business. He has land vineyards in the wine area. And Chinese state companies have been buying up vineyards in Napa Valley. So probably would have affected the valuations of his property. That's, I think, one of the motivations. And as we've talked about before, he has a, let's say, long history of association with people involved in the United Front groups and frankly, people involved with Chinese organized crime. So the land issue is not going anywhere. It's a major problem.

[Glenn Beck]

Peter, if I'm just looking at this on the surface, I immediately think back to what Ukraine did to Russia with the drones, where they were in these trucks, they were right outside the military base and they destroyed things that we could, we in our wildest dreams couldn't have destroyed just a few years ago. And it was because of drones and it was a whole new line of attack. Everybody knows that China is the leader in drone technology. I mean, they are just way ahead of everybody. If you don't, if you have a drone and it's not, what is a dji? Dji? It's, it's not the best. It's all coming from China. If you have property all around the United States, all adjacent to our military bases, that is a direct threat to our national security, I mean, you could have a, a barn full of those drones or a truck full of those drones and you could take everything out on those military bases quickly and America wouldn't have any time to respond. Is it deeper than that on concerns?

[Peter Schweitzer]

Well, I think, yeah, I think that's the main one is right. The ability not only to cause kinetic damage as the Ukrainians have shown by. You've flown drones and you blow things up. And look, even our most secure military bases are not going to be able to defend against attack like that. You have the additional problem that you could do something more stealthy. You could take drones with pathogens, with poisons and introduce them into a military installation. So, yeah, it's a massive, massive problem. And the notion that we can't even limit the Chinese government or government, state owned companies from buying real estate, that that somehow is a violation of some constitutional right. As if the Chinese government constitutional rights in the United States is patently absurd. So this is something we've got to continue to address. We're going to keep exposing it. You've been on the front lines of it, Glenn, and it's one of those things I think that people innately understand. When you think about currency flows, when you think about money laundering, it gets complicated. This is very real and understandable.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Peter, as always, thank you very much. Thanks for your hard work. We'll talk again. Peter Schweiser.

[Peter Schweitzer]

Thanks, Lynn.

[Glenn Beck]

This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. All right, welcome to the, welcome to the program. Claire, how are you?

[Claire]

Hello. I'm doing well, how are you?

[Glenn Beck]

I am, I'm really good. I watched your video and the story of you and your mom is so unbelievably compelling. And especially since, I mean, I'm a father of four and, you know, I have children. My children have told me all kinds of things. And it is so hard as a parent in. Especially at this time when everything is so confused and all of the experts are saying, no, your kid's going to kill themselves. It is your what your mom went through, let alone what you went through. But what your mom went through is just, I think, so universal to some degree or another. And I want to thank you for coming on and telling your. Your story. Could. Can you start it at 14? What happened?

[Claire]

I can, yeah. Well, it'd be better to start a little earlier. I started identifying as trans when I was 12 years old following a sexual assault and some pretty severe bullying that I was experiencing at school. And adopting this identity gave me, well, one. It gave me the ability to pretend to be a new person, someone that this didn't happen to. And it also gave me an entire social network, a whole friend group of other kids who felt similarly to the way I did. And I fell into this social group and started seeing therapists recommended by the people in the support groups that we were going to. And they made my parents feel like abusers for being skeptical, for wanting to take pause before, like, making irreparable changes to their child's body.

[Glenn Beck]

Did anyone say, Any doctor say, hang on, we should look at the abuse? We should. I mean, this might be something that is tied to the abuse and to those experiences. Did anybody say that and take that seriously? No one.

[Claire]

No one. My mom asked about the abuse, the bullying, all these things that I'd gone through, disordered eating. And she was told in no uncertain terms, no, that does not make a child think that they're trans. That has nothing to do with.

[Glenn Beck]

And these are doctors, like, at Cook Children's Hospital in Dallas, a fantastic children's hospital. So they have credibility with parents, right?

[Claire]

One of the most well funded children's hospitals in the nation. Yes.

[Glenn Beck]

Interesting way of verifying what I said. The most well funded. Okay, so at 14, you were put on testosterone, and then like six months later, they're talking about surgery.

[Claire]

Yeah, no, I started testosterone in November of 2018, and by January, I was approved for surgery. It didn't happen until June, but that was just because we wanted to wait until the summer between my eighth and ninth grade years.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. That's pretty young. You're not legal to do anything at that point.

[Claire]

Right. I couldn't get a learner's permit.

[Glenn Beck]

So what did they tell you about the surgery, and what didn't they tell you about the surgery?

[Claire]

Well, they told me that I was transgender, that I had gender dysphoria, and that the only effective treatment for gender dysphoria was chemical and surgical intervention. That if I didn't go through with this, the most likely outcome was suicide. That's what they told my parents right in front of me. Yeah.

[Peter Schweitzer]

And.

[Claire]

They didn't tell me that they would be performing a drains free mastectomy on me, meaning there was a significantly higher risk of fluid buildup. And after rejection as a result, which did end up happening, they didn't tell me that it would permanently take away my ability to breastfeed. They didn't tell me that the majority of kids who look to pursue this end up growing out of it. There was a lot of things that I wasn't told.

[Glenn Beck]

So, I mean, but you weren't told, like, serious, like, you know, pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence and anything. I mean, I see commercials on TV for, you know, drugs, and they. They go into 45 seconds of all of the things that could possibly happen to you. They weren't required to tell you these things.

[Claire]

No, they were required. They just didn't.

[Glenn Beck]

They just didn't do it.

[Claire]

And the DOJ are investigating now.

[Glenn Beck]

They're still doing it, aren't they?

[Claire]

The doctor who did it to me is currently being sued by the Attorney General of Texas for continuing to do it after it was banned.

[Glenn Beck]

So when did you know? I heard you talk about how when the double mastectomy, the bandages came off and you cried and everybody thought there were tears of joy, but you weren't.

[Claire]

So sure.

[Glenn Beck]

What was like, when did you start going, oh, what have I done?

[Claire]

There was always a feeling of sadness surrounding my chest. But the. The narrative that they tell you in the trans community is that everyone kind of feels bad after surgery. It's post op depression is what they call it. And that I believed that it was just post op depression for around a year until what actually happened was a girl on my high school's volleyball team got a breast reduction. And I learned what a breast reduction was from that and realized that a complete mastectomy was not the only option that was available to me, that things were hidden from me. And that's when things started. Tide started changing for me.

[Glenn Beck]

So when did you start trying to speak out? Because they silenced you immediately, right?

[Claire]

They deleted my reviews off of my surgeons Websites. But I started posting on the Internet in, like, 2021 about what happened to me. But I wasn't fully woken up to the reality of the situation until last December. That's when I had my first public event.

[Glenn Beck]

And what did you wake up to.

[Claire]

That were harming children? That there's no such thing as a trans child. And no. No one is born in the wrong body. That you don't become your true self by cutting off pieces of yourself.

[Glenn Beck]

You, in. Your story said that at one point you started wearing, like, a padded bra, and you didn't want your mom to know about it. And I thought it was heartbreaking how you were protecting your mom. And maybe you didn't know it at the time, but can you go through that part of the story?

[Claire]

Yeah. So shortly after I had the realization, after I learned what a breast reduction was, I started. I got curious about women's fashion again. I started wanting to be seen as a girl again. And so I started wearing padded bras in secret, and I would hide them under my mattress whenever I got home from school. And one day, my mom found one of these padded bras, and she asked me if she had made a mistake, basically, if all of this had been for nothing.

[Glenn Beck]

So, wait, wait, wait. Not if you made a mistake, but if she had made the mistake?

[Claire]

Yes. Well, I mean, I was a child, and we all know. Knew that I was a child and that this was ultimately not my decision. It was. There were many medical professionals and guardians who had to sign off on this. But, yeah, she.

[Glenn Beck]

How did you respond?

[Claire]

She asked if all of this had been a mistake, and I. I got really defensive and upset, and I told her that I lashed out at her, and I told her that this was why I didn't tell her that. I knew she was gonna overreact and make it a big deal, but it was a big deal, and that's why she made it one. And no, I didn't tell her that I regretted my transition. I didn't tell her that I was detransitioning until I decided to get breast implants when I was 18.

[Glenn Beck]

When you were how old?

[Claire]

18.

[Glenn Beck]

18. And that's when you told your mom when you were sitting in the meeting for reconstructive surgery, right?

[Claire]

Yes.

[Glenn Beck]

Or going to the meeting. How is your mom doing?

[Claire]

She's doing okay. We both live with a lot of pain and a lot of regret, and we talk about it a lot. There's a lot to unpack, and there's a lot of wounds that will never really fully be healed. But she loves me and I've never questioned that she did this because she loves me and she thought I would say. She thought she was saving my life.

[Glenn Beck]

So you can understand, you can understand how parents are just as duped as the 14 year old.

[Claire]

Yeah. I mean, when you're sitting in front of a mandated reporter who you've entrusted with your child's life and they're telling you that you're killing them, that your child is cutting themselves and starving themselves because you won't go along with this identity they've claimed. It would take a lot of prior knowledge of this issue and a lot of like, very strong will to be able to just overlook that, to be able to say, no, I know what's best.

[Glenn Beck]

So now the FTC is looking into whether the pediatric gender medicine industry is deceiving families, hiding risk, making false claims, and this could really be a big impact on stopping this nightmare. What do people do to help?

[Claire]

Well, if you are someone who has been affected by pediatric medical transition or if you know someone who has, the FTC is taking comments from the public, submissions for people to investigate, essentially. And if you need any assistance filling out that submission, the LGB Courage Coalition, helping people to submit those forms. And if you don't, if you're not someone who. And you don't know anyone, spreading the word is a great way to help. Sharing things like the IWF documentary that me and my mom participated because people really believe that this isn't happening. People, people need to know.

[Glenn Beck]

I want you to. I urge you to go to iwf.org, iwf.org and, and read and learn and watch and you can go there and you can actually submit a comment directly to the FD FTC as well and urge them to crack down on the mutilation of our children. Claire, thank you. Thank you for being brave enough to share all this. And tell your mom we pray for not only you, but also her. God bless.

[Claire]

Thank you, Glenn. Bless you.