Best of the Program | Guests: Rep. Thomas Massie & Kevin Roberts | 11/14/24

Summary

The Glenn Beck Program: Best of the Program | Guests: Rep. Thomas Massie & Kevin Roberts | 11/14/24

Release Date: November 14, 2024
Host: Glenn Beck
Guests: Rep. Thomas Massie & Kevin Roberts
Network: Blaze Podcast Network

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Introduction

In this episode of The Glenn Beck Program, hosted by Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere, the discussion centers around the controversial nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and the implications for American politics. The episode features insightful conversations with Rep. Thomas Massie and Kevin Roberts, grounding the dialogue in current political dynamics and the future of American governance.

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Presidential Appointments and Matt Gaetz Nomination

Glenn Beck opens the discussion by addressing the recent surge of presidential appointments, emphasizing the challenges and the potential reshaping of the Justice Department. The focal point is the nomination of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, a move met with both support and skepticism within political circles.

Stu Burguiere and Glenn Beck delve into Matt Gaetz's background, highlighting his aggressive stance against the Department of Justice (DOJ) and his reputation for being a "tough opponent." Glenn remarks, "[...] Matt Gates is going to be more motivated and more knowledgeable than anybody else on how to stop that crap from being turned loose on the American people as it has been at DOJ." (Timestamp: 34:25)

The conversation addresses the ethical concerns surrounding Gaetz, including accusations of misconduct and the impending ethics report. Stu emphasizes, "The accusation is it was for paid sex across state lines, that's sex trafficking." (Timestamp: 12:47), while Thomas Massie defends Gaetz by stating, "This is what I call touching the red wire to the black wire. If you've ever jumped a car with jumper cables, you know, you don't put them together, it's going to melt the insulation off the place over there." (Timestamp: 34:25)

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Guest Appearance: Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts, author of "Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America", joins the program to discuss his perspectives on the current political landscape and the path forward for America.

Roberts outlines a strategic four-point plan for the next 90 days post-election:

1. Securing Election Victory: Affirming the importance of consolidating the electoral win.
2. Strategic Appointments: Emphasizing the need for key positions to be filled with loyal and capable individuals.
3. State and Local Level Engagement: Highlighting the critical role of governors and local officials in driving conservative reforms.
4. Cultural and Societal Restoration: Stressing the importance of family values and virtuous living as the foundation for societal change.

He states, "We're in great shape with the president and vice president. I would argue in great shape with the speaker of the House." (Timestamp: 21:19)

Glenn Beck echoes Roberts' optimism, drawing parallels to historical military strategy and the need for decisive action: "If we keep the pressure on, we stay awake, we make the changes we have to and help them make the changes in Washington, I think we are on the verge of a golden age of America." (Timestamp: 28:21)

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Guest Appearance: Rep. Thomas Massie

Rep. Thomas Massie provides a robust defense of Matt Gaetz's nomination, countering allegations with firsthand insights into Gaetz's character and professional demeanor. Massie asserts, "He is one of the smartest guys up here. You can tell that from his wit." (Timestamp: 36:42)

He critiques the DOJ's handling of investigations, particularly referencing the January 6th committee: "The Secret Service received five preservation notices [...] and still deleted all of their phones and their texts from January 6th." (Timestamp: 38:02) This underscores his belief in the necessity of Gaetz's role in reforming and invigorating the DOJ.

Massie further elaborates on Gaetz's capability to navigate and rectify internal corruption: "Matt Gates is somebody, again, who's been the subject of political witch hunts is going to be more motivated and more knowledgeable than anybody else on how to stop that crap from being turned loose on the American people." (Timestamp: 34:25)

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National Anthem Metaphor and Cultural Reflection

A significant portion of the episode uses the national anthem as a metaphor for America's current state. Glenn Beck recounts the historical context of the anthem, relating it to present-day challenges: "We don't know if we're entering dawn's early light yet, but we are at the twilight's last gleaming. This is a fork in the road right now on Western Civilization." (Timestamp: 19:32)

Kevin Roberts aligns with this perspective, invoking Winston Churchill's phrase, "the end of the beginning," to describe the transition from the Biden-Harris administration to the forthcoming conservative administration. He emphasizes the importance of societal and cultural renewal: "It's all about society and culture, our local communities, our families." (Timestamp: 21:25)

Glenn Beck and Kevin Roberts advocate for restoring foundational American values through individual and collective responsibility, underscoring that governmental reform must be mirrored by personal integrity and ethical conduct within families and communities.

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Conclusion: Optimism for America's Future

The episode culminates with a shared sense of optimism among hosts and guests. Glenn Beck expresses a rare sentiment of hope, contingent on sustained effort and vigilance: "I am so optimistic because I do think if we pay attention, if we don't do what we did in 2016 and say, okay, well, he's got it, I voted. It's done. If we keep the pressure on, we stay awake, we make the changes we have to and help them make the changes in Washington, I think we are on the verge of a golden age of America." (Timestamp: 28:21)

Kevin Roberts reinforces this outlook by advocating for accountability and proactive engagement at all levels of governance, aiming to foster a "golden era of conservative reform."

Rep. Thomas Massie concludes by affirming Matt Gaetz's suitability for Attorney General, envisioning a DOJ that is transparent, accountable, and aligned with the principles of justice and integrity.

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Key Takeaways

• Matt Gaetz's Nomination: A polarizing move with strong support from conservative figures like Massie and skepticism from opponents, centered on his potential to reform the DOJ.

• Strategic Political Reform: Kevin Roberts outlines a comprehensive plan focusing on election security, strategic appointments, local governance, and cultural restoration.

• Cultural and Societal Renewal: Emphasis on restoring family values and ethical conduct as fundamental to broader political and social reforms.

• Optimistic Outlook: Despite challenges, there is a shared optimism among hosts and guests about the potential for a renewed and prosperous America.

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Notable Quotes

• Glenn Beck: "We are at a fork in the road right now on Western Civilization." (Timestamp: 19:32)

• Kevin Roberts: "The hard work begins now." (Timestamp: 21:19)

• Thomas Massie: "Matt Gates is somebody [...] who's going to be more motivated and more knowledgeable than anybody else on how to stop that crap from being turned loose on the American people as it has been at DOJ." (Timestamp: 34:25)

• Rep. Thomas Massie: "He just isn't planning for Trump to win. [...] That is not the case with Matt Gaetz." (Timestamp: 39:05)

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program provides a deep dive into the complexities of political appointments and the broader implications for American governance. Through candid discussions with Rep. Thomas Massie and Kevin Roberts, the program explores themes of accountability, reform, and the crucial role of individual and collective responsibility in shaping the nation's future.

Listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the current political climate, the significance of Matt Gaetz's nomination, and the strategic pathways envisioned by conservative leaders to usher in a new era of American prosperity and integrity.

Transcript

[Glenn Beck]

Stu, your favorite part from today's show.

[Stu Burguiere]

Probably the third one.

[Glenn Beck]

The third, the third part. I don't, we don't usually break it up.

[Stu Burguiere]

That, yeah, third part was great.

[Glenn Beck]

I like the second part, quite honestly. And that's when, that's when Kevin Roberts was in and we talked about the twilight's last gleaming or the dawn's early light. Do we have a golden era coming back to America? We also talked to Thomas Massey. We talked about all of the latest appointments and the propaganda industrial complex, how to take that down. All that and more on today's podcast.

[Stu Burguiere]

The third part.

[Glenn Beck]

This is the, this is the best of the Glenn beck program in 60. It's a nice thought here. In the next few months, we finally, you know, won't have to be worrying quite as much about the disasters coming at us from Washington, D.C. it's nice to have that off our plate. But it is still going to be a real battle. There's still kinds of, there's other things that could be coming at us. Fortunately, you don't have to be inactive. You can prepare for whatever could come your way. I think the idea of cutting the federal government by 50%, that's going to take a lot of people by surprise. When it happens, you're going to have to be responsible for yourself. You're going to have to take care of yourself and your neighborhood when it comes to breakdowns of anything, especially relationships with, like China. We rely on China for 80% of our generic medication. Preparing now is the only recourse we have in case something happens to that critical supply chain. The Jace Case is a personalized emergency medication kit that contains essential antibiotics and medications that treat most common and deadly bacterial infections. So do yourself and your family a favor. Go to jace.com j a s e.com use the promo code beck at checkout. That's promo code beck a s e dot com. You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program. Well, I wasn't bored with the news yesterday, Stu. I'm not sure anybody was.

[Stu Burguiere]

We said it, we did say these are like kind of, you know, just normal. Like any Republican nominee may have put these people in office. And that changed. I would say yesterday that would.

[Glenn Beck]

Yep, yep, yep.

[Stu Burguiere]

This is what you promised, right? You get it. It's always exciting.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

And we got a lot of exciting yesterday.

[Glenn Beck]

There's a couple of things that I find worthy of pointing out. If you look at it from his point of view. Last time he was in office, he didn't know who to trust. Right? He didn't know the system. He didn't know the players, he didn't know the parties, how they actually work in Washington. And he was stabbed in the back, in the side, in the shoulder, you know, in the chest, in the stomach, everywhere. He was stabbed by everybody. Okay. So he's looking first, I think, for people who are loyal to his vision and perhaps also loyal to him because he was stabbed over and over again. Yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

I mean, obviously this is a factor.

[Glenn Beck]

Right. And it's logical and reasonable. I mean, Stu, you know, I've been stabbed every. From every direction. Right.

[Stu Burguiere]

Sorry about that.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. So wait a minute. And you know that I have a tight circle around me, and they are people that not everybody necessarily likes each other, but they're all people I know because I've seen them battle hardened. They will never stab me in the back. You know what I mean?

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

And that's reasonable.

[Stu Burguiere]

A very reasonable desire.

[Glenn Beck]

So that's what. That's the first thing that needs to be taken into consideration. The second thing I noticed yesterday is he's also nominating people that the left will say, this is vengeance. No, no, not necessarily. Although it could quickly become that. And I will be against that if it is a grudge fest. Okay. But I don't think that's what it is. I think this is people who have been wronged by the department they're now running. You know what I mean? For instance, Tulsi Gabbard, dni. Well, what did dni. She's. She oversees CIA, Homeland Security, all intelligence. Okay. Well, she was put on the terror watch list. Now, you could look at that and say, oh, she's going for vengeance. She wants retribution. No, I know Tulsi well enough to know she wants no one to ever face that again for political reasons. You know what I mean? She was deeply not offended, deeply disappointed in her country. It was an assault on her honor. That's where Tulsi is. And she's like my country. I mean, it's shattered for her. My country is saying that I'm a traitor. And they're only saying it because of politics. This is not America. So I think she's perfect for that role. Now, Matt Gates is an interesting pick. I don't know how I feel about Matt Gates as the Attorney General wouldn't have been my pick, but I'm going to give Donald Trump the. I'm going to give him all the rope he's asking for. I think he has earned our trust. He has earned the right to go fishing and pull up Any fish that he wants. Now, that is not a blanket wait a minute, this isn't working out well kind of deal. If it's not working out well, I'm still going to say it's not working out well. However, if you look at what he's done in the past, he was one of the toughest people against the Justice Department. I mean, it's him, Massey, Rand Paul. He went after the Justice Department, and he was in oversight of the Justice Department. So he knows it. He is qualified for it. He just is possibly a loose cannon, but the other thing I know about him is he will not stab Donald Trump in the back.

[Stu Burguiere]

Definitely not. He will do anything that Donald Trump asks him to do. And that.

[Glenn Beck]

I hope that's not. Wait a minute. I hope that's not a blanket statement from anybody. And I'm not talking about you, but from anybody. I will do what the President asked me to do. Unless it's unconstitutional.

[Stu Burguiere]

Look, I don't have that much worry that Donald Trump is going to request an unconstitutional thing, though. I don't think Matt Gates would be the obstacle in his path if he did.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Stu Burguiere]

I just don't. I'm not all that concerned about Donald Trump doing that, but I think Matt Gaetz will do it. I mean, I can understand if I'm Donald Trump. Like, I've been through this. They've come after me. I need somebody to go in there and basically fire everybody and not feel bad for, you know, because they have relationships inside that world.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Stu Burguiere]

And so from that perspective, I understand the Gates pick, because Gates will do that.

[Glenn Beck]

He'll. He'll.

[Stu Burguiere]

He will. If Donald Trump says go in there and fire 75% of the people, he will fire exactly 75.0% of the people.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And I will tell you that, you know, there are different. There are different phases of a job. And, you know, there are war generals and there are peacetime generals. A war general isn't afraid of getting bloody, isn't afraid of just going in just with a hatchet and just kill them all. You know what I mean? And I think that that's Gates role that he may or may not be. I mean, proof is in the pudding. A peacetime guy, uh, you know, he's the guy who goes in when you're at war and says, all of you out. You know, he does that for two years. Oh, and who's open for a gig in two? Oh, Ron DeSantis is open in two years. You know what I mean?

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah. It kind of seems like he's specifically designed for the beginning of this.

[Glenn Beck]

Yes.

[Stu Burguiere]

Now, again, the question of whether he gets confirmed is a whole other situation. And I know that the recess appointment situation, they're trying to get it so that they don't have to confirm it. I think that's probably the only way he gets the job. I don't think he'll get through the Senate, but it's not impossible. And if he goes through the recess appointment approach, he can get in there and he can go for two years because of that clause. So he would be able to only do two years, and then he would need to be confirmed. And I don't. I mean, maybe in two years, if he just did a really good job, he would get confirmed by the Senate. So it's possible. I mean, but I think right now he just got, you know, like, the guy's got a lot of enemies in Congress a lot of times. That's a good sign. But I do think you're right in that he's the type of person that's just gonna go in there and light the place on fire. And that's exactly what Donald Trump, I think, wants to start out because of how corrupt he believes it is.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

And so I understand it from that perspective. I guess. My. Look, if I'm making the pick, which I'm not, I was not actually elected President of the United States, I don't get to make this pick. But, like, you know, you think of a person like Eric Schmidt, I would have gone with him, who is, I think, a more. I don't know, I think he would do a lot. He would not be, I think, a rubber stamp, like, I think Gates will be for anything that he wants. However, he is a really serious person, can absolutely do the job. Would be an incredible pick for that job, and I think brings a little more credibility, not to mention a much easier path in the Senate. But again, it's up to Trump. He gets to make these picks, and if this one fails, he moves on to somebody else.

[Glenn Beck]

And I like Ken Paxton. Paxton wouldn't have affected the balance of power in the Senate and the House. You know what I mean?

[Stu Burguiere]

The House is. We're getting into worry time here, guys. We've now taken three House members out when you have a very small majority. Now, I'm sure Trump is thinking about this because it is important to him. He does need the House critical, and I think they're gonna get to 220 or 221.

[Glenn Beck]

But, I mean, he's gotta stop poaching from the House, he has to.

[Stu Burguiere]

I mean, Johnson's like begging him at this point, please, nobody else no more. No, but again, they'll have. Because he dropped out quickly. Now there's of course a lot around that Gates, they were scheduled to vote on whether they were going to release a report on all of his personal issues here in two days. And so the fact that he immediately drops out, that means they theoretically don't.

[Glenn Beck]

Where do you stand on those issues? Do you believe those to be true or is that another hatchet job?

[Stu Burguiere]

That's an interesting question. I think it's. To me, again, I will say I haven't spent a lot of time.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, I've been into this.

[Stu Burguiere]

To me, the idea that he was sex trafficking seems like a real stretch. I don't know, I could be wrong.

[Glenn Beck]

There are sex traffickers in the country and they seem to miss a lot of those. They don't even look for a lot of those.

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah, he was not charged. It should be pointed out. And like, the idea that it seems like even the accusation itself is sketchy strikes me as like they're stretching that into a larger crime. Like they're saying, basically, I mean, the accusation, we don't need to go through all this because none of it's been proven. We don't even have the report. But the bottom, the accusation, if you don't know, is that he slept with a 17 year old girl and took her on trips, which they call as across state lines. And Venmo, they say they had his Venmo records and they say that he Venmoed these women a bunch of money, which I think that part of it is true. The question is, what was it for? The accusation is it was for paid sex. So paid sex across state lines, that's sex trafficking. Now look, when I think of sex trafficking, I'm thinking of like people being smuggled in from other countries.

[Thomas Massie]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

I immediately think of a cargo container.

[Stu Burguiere]

Exactly. And that is not the accusation against him. You know, look, it's, they're serious. You know, look, if he actually is having sex with underaged girls, like that's a big problem. And obviously Trump is convinced he didn't. He has denied this. You know, there are a lot of accusations from multiple other members of Congress who say that he was at the very least showing them pictures of girls that he was having sex with on the floor of the House. You know, and again, that doesn't necessarily, it's not necessarily a crime, but not necessarily the best activity for someone you're putting. You want to appoint to attorney General.

[Glenn Beck]

It's more Clinton esque, worthy of the President of the United States.

[Stu Burguiere]

But as we know, there are. It's difficult to find somebody who isn't engaged in some horrible activity in Washington. So.

[Glenn Beck]

I know, but I hope these things are wrong. We can't have somebody who has any dirt on them.

[Stu Burguiere]

Oh, and he. And look, Gates is tons. They're about to release an ethics report on him that they are saying is very damaging. Now, Gates is going to deny it and he has some like I remember him saying, oh, actually they're coming. I'm being framed.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, he's denying this hard.

[Stu Burguiere]

Some of that was true because they were coming after his dad and some related things. So there's a long story here. If that report comes out, which by the way, I would expect it to, it would be very surprising if somebody who has a lot of enemies does not leak this report before this.

[Glenn Beck]

But you have to remember too, the.

[Stu Burguiere]

Report is still just raw and it's an ethics investigation. It's not going to result in charges at the end of the day. Right. This is going to come down to whether Republicans want to cross this line for Trump. And this is the biggest one he's presented to them so far. If he went to Thune, and this is what I expected, he went to Thune and said, look, I'm not going to endorse Rick Scott if you give me these recess appointments. That's my guess is that was a big part of the deal. He was pretty clear about it and the reporting was pretty clear on it going out. If that happens, he will be able to get in there. He'll go in, he'll shake the place up and probably only last two years.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Because he will be acting attorney general.

[Stu Burguiere]

Acting. And that's the maximum limit on that. But I will say it will be an interesting test of that relationship and how serious Thune is in keeping that promise.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

Because Thune is not a guy that I would trust with a promise like that.

[Glenn Beck]

I wouldn't trust Thune with anything.

[Stu Burguiere]

I mean, you know, he's.

[Glenn Beck]

Hey, could you hold this pile of dirt for me? I'm not giving it to Thun. Absolutely. I'm all over it.

[Stu Burguiere]

The easiest way to think of Thune is McConnell. I mean, he's protege of McConnell's. He's basically McConnell. Now, look, McConnell, maybe he would keep that promise. But usually what happens here is the Senate wants their opportunity to give their opinion and their consent.

[Glenn Beck]

The one thing I do like about Gates is he was Pushing to stop the influence industry in Washington. And he was pushing for the end of stock trader, you know, stock trading, inside information, blah, blah, blah.

[Stu Burguiere]

Very good on that.

[Glenn Beck]

And he reached out to the Uber left. I mean, he stood with aoc and I love this comment from him. AOC is wrong a lot, but she's not corrupt. And I'll work with anyone and everyone to ensure that Congress is not compromised. I think that's good. Now here's a fun fact. We're getting older every day. Fun fact, right? One of the things that comes with that is your pain. Your joints start to wear down. Normal exercise of everyday life begins to catch up with you. See, I knew exercise was bad for you. Fortunately, Relief Factor is a daily supplement that helps your body fight pain by fighting inflammation, which is the source of most of our pain in our bodies and a lot of disease as well. It's 100% drug free, developed by doctors to help reduce or eliminate pain, whether it's neck, back, joint, muscle pain. Relief Factor can help you feel better and live better. Over a million people have already tried Relief factor's quick start. 70% of them have ordered it again and again. Try it for three weeks, take it as directed, stop masking your pain and start fighting back naturally. Give Relief Factor a try. Right now, their three week quick start is only $19.95, less than a dollar a day. So visit relieffactor.com relieffactor.com or call 800, the number four relief. 800 the number number four relief. Now back to the podcast. You're listening to the Best of the Glenn Beck Program. I think we really truly understand the meaning of our national anthem. The way we sing it, it's like, okay, that's good. Play ball. This is one of the most tense national anthems that I have read. It is, it's describing one night and it happened to the author, Francis Scott Key. We were at war with the British and at Fort McHenry, the British were about to attack and we were trying to get a couple of prisoners back. And so he was selected, along with another guy to go onto this British ship and negotiate and return the American prisoners on the ship. But when they got there, they saw that they were preparing to attack the fort. And so the captain of the ship said, you can't leave now because now you know you're, you're going to be held here until this is over. And so he put him down at the bottom of the ship and they watched what was happening through one of the little ship's Portholes. Now imagine you're on the other side. You're now on an enemy ship locked away, so you can't go anywhere. And you're watching to see what you want to see if that flag comes down and another flag goes up, right? So the lyric, oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming means, Is that flag still there? Last night it was there. Is it in the morning? This is a guy waking up in the morning after a long battle and going, is it there or. The ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. So he could only see it when bombs would go off or things were burning or there were rockets in the air. When that would happen, they would look, is the flag there? But now the sun has come up and he asks us the question, does that star spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are we at the twilight's last gleaming or are we at dawn's early light? We don't know. I mean, I don't. I don't know if we're entering dawn's early light yet, but we are at the twilight's last gleaming. This is a fork in the road right now. This will be studied for centuries. This is a fork in the road right now on Western Civilization. I want to bring in Kevin Roberts, who I love the name of the book, Dawn's Early Light, Taking Back Washington to Save America. It is out now. Kevin, how are you, man?

[Kevin Roberts]

I'm doing great. You ought to do broadcasting for a living. What a perfect framing of where we are in this country. And as you know from this early American historian to you, a great patriot and friend who has forgotten more about American history than most students learn. Thank you for that framing. That's really where we are. We have a lot of work ahead. The election is just the beginning.

[Glenn Beck]

So you do believe that we're at the twilight's last gleaming right now?

[Kevin Roberts]

I think that the, as Churchill would put it, the end of the beginning just occurred.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Kevin Roberts]

To say, you know, the next several weeks, the Biden Harris regime comes to a close. I think that we're tilting toward Don's early light. I'm hopeful by my nature because of my faith and because I'm an American. But I think the key thing to the underlying point that you're making, Glenn, is that just because we won the election doesn't mean that, you know, we can go back to everything we were doing. The hard work begins now.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And we're in for some really difficult times to make this turn and to make it without collapsing everything and to make it fast enough to where people will feel, you know, like Malay, you know, he's turned that around quickly in Argentina. I don't know if we can turn that fast. I hope we can, but he's down to 3% inflation now, and that's a massive, massive turn for Argentina. But it's going to be difficult. So what are the things that you're seeing and you outline in the book that we have to do to get this ship to turn?

[Kevin Roberts]

Three or four things in the next 90 days? Let's say the first has already happened. We had to secure an election victory, which has happened. But the second thing is the men and women who are in key positions. We're in great shape with the president and vice president. I would argue in great shape with the speaker of the House. I think we will be okay with the new majority leader of the Senate. Nothing against Senator Thune personally, but he's not the most aligned with this framing that we've just outlined. To put it charitably, but popular, will might be something that he responds to. But the good thing, Glenn, is point number three, which is that not everything that needs to happen is in Washington. And if you look across the fruited plain and you see the governors and also, very importantly, an increasing number of local officials, county executives, county commissioners, school board officials, the center right in this country has been awakened to the reality that we all have to dig a little bit deeper in spite of all the sacrifices we've made to participate in the revitalization of the American dream. But it's point four that is the most important, and to some extent, it's the hardest. Politics to some extent doesn't matter. It's all about society and culture, our local communities, our families. The thing that I try to emphasize in the book is not just an America first posture, but a family first posture in which we're going about our lives virtuously. We're all flawed, of course, but as virtuously as we can because our institutions and our politics reflect us as individuals. And it's really important we not lose sight of that as we are making this turn to dawn's early night.

[Glenn Beck]

We can't restore America if we don't restore ourselves and our families. If we don't put first principles back into our own lives. Our society is just a Reflection. I mean, our government is just a reflection of our society. That's all it is. We don't care about lies and corruption. Then they'll lie and produce tons of corruption for us because we don't really care about it. We say we do, but do we really? You know, once a guy on your side gets caught doing something, you're like, yeah, well, that's not that big of it. No, you got to care about it. You got to care about it in your own house. You have to care. You know, I remember, Kevin, when I was a kid, if I got in trouble with the teacher or God forbid, I was called to the principal's office, I was less afraid of the school than I was my dad and my mom, because they weren't going to listen to my side. You know what I mean? They just weren't. They were like, no, I know you too well. You did that. And you know, that happened. Now parents go and try to broker deals for their kids or blame the school when it is the kid's fault many times.

[Kevin Roberts]

Oh, it is.

[Glenn Beck]

That doesn't. You can't do that in your own home and expect the culture to be.

[Kevin Roberts]

Well, you know, it's an excellent example. And it reminds me when I was a senior in high school and I thought I was a bit of a hotshot. And so I had this liberal English teacher who's a very good teacher. Her politics were terrible, and she was probably saying something in class she shouldn't have about politics. And I said something that was disrespectful to her, and I got called into the principal's office, and he was a mentor and a great guy, and he said, Look, Mr. Roberts, you just can't do that. I was courteous to him in that meeting, but when I got home, to your point, Glenn, I mentioned this to my mom. She was livid at me. I thought she was going to be livid at the English teacher and at the principal. And she said, kevin Roberts, you get your rear end to that school early tomorrow and you apologize to that principal. You apologize to that English teacher. I don't care if she's liberal and you're conservative. You must own that mistake. And, boy, that has stuck with me, because it's those kinds of things that my mom stepping up in that moment to say, no, you must comport yourself better than that. That's the kind of thing we have to do writ large across this republic. Because just to come full circle here, and to sum up in this response, Glenn, if you read Madison's notes about the constitutional debates, as you know. Well, Madison said, really, our motivation in building this constitutional system is to build a framework that acknowledges the fallen nature of humans. And that's really what we're up against in the 21st century.

[Glenn Beck]

And people, I don't think, understand that. We've trusted government. The founders didn't trust government. They knew how because they knew people how. The progressives want to put the elites in place, and they treat the hardworking, everyday guy as really the forgotten man. That guy doesn't have the power. You have all the power. And we know because of history, of the human race, the more power you have, the more corrupt you're likely to be. But they just dismiss that. And that's what I think Donald Trump is trying to reverse. I really feel. I feel very optimistic, Kevin. You know me, I'm not optimistic very often or maybe ever, but I am so optimistic because I do think if we pay attention, if we don't do what we did in 2016 and say, okay, well, he's got it, I voted. It's done. If we keep the pressure on, we stay awake, we make the changes we have to and help them make the changes in Washington, I think we are on the verge of a. A golden age of America.

[Kevin Roberts]

I'm convinced of that. And while I am not as prone to pessimism as you are, you know that I am a hopeful realist. And so the advice that I've been giving to people, you know, I've had family members from across the country call me friends, elected officials. They said, kevin, you know, what's the advice or what's the posture that Heritage foundation and Heritage Action are taking with all of this? We're going to be accountability partners, and all of us need accountability partners, whether informally or formally. And by that, it's not so much a negative thing. But these elected officials need people who are trusted friends, who are aligned with them philosophically, who want the same thing, which is the restoration of the American dream, but who also are such good friends that, as good friends do, and only good friends can do, we can level with them, hopefully behind the scenes and say, don't do that. Stop doing that. And if we have this attitude, if everyone in your audience has that attitude, and going back to my point about comportment, we do that in a way that's charitable, that's civil, but also candid. I actually think that we are at the beginning of this golden era of conservative reform.

[Glenn Beck]

Me, too. We have to be able. It's so weird how shaming in our culture has become all about politics. If you don't agree, then you're run out. Where we used to agree not on politics. We used to agree on principles. That's why you could be a kid in a grocery store and somebody who you didn't recognize would walk up to you and say, you're Bill and Mary Beck's son, aren't you? Yes. I don't think they'd want you behaving this way. And you would just go beat red and you'd stop it. You just wanted to become invisible. Now we're saying, how dare you tell me what to do? No, there is a place for shame. There is a place for the community to say, look, we all agree on the same values and what you're doing here is wrong when it is clearly wrong. We just shut up now because we're afraid of the response or the attorneys that are going to get involved or whatever. We can't be afraid of that anymore.

[Kevin Roberts]

No, we can't. In fact, so much of what I talk about in the book, although I do cover quite a bit about politics and policy because they are important, is about the point you just made. Just our daily relationships. And one of the reasons I decided to home in on that, Glenn, is because I've learned in the second half of my career, where I've moved from academia to politics, as you know, that what people are looking for, people who listen to you, people who support heritage, largely the same people. They say, kevin, give me some solutions that I can do in baby steps or bite sized pieces. And what I realize is, let's start by doing that in our individual relationships, our individual conversations. And so I'll just give you an example. I'm encouraging people, as exciting as it is with all of these cabinet appointments the President's making, of course, support those and pay attention and be accountability partners, but don't lose sight of what's going on in the politics of your city, of your county, of your state, and develop a relationship with someone who represents you, even if they are a member of the opposing party. And you're going to disagree on everything. Now is the time for us to press the advantage on what the American people have said loudly and clearly over the last eight days. And that is, we want to wake up in a normal country. So use the power of shame to when people are being abnormal, be charitable about it. But the American people are with us on this point.

[Stu Burguiere]

You're streaming the Best of Glenn Beck to hear more of this interview and others. Download the full show podcasts wherever you get podcasts.

[Glenn Beck]

All right, Thomas Massie's gonna join us. We're waiting for him to call in, but Thomas is gonna call in and talk to us a little bit about everybody fre out about Matt Gaetz as Attorney General because Massey has come out. Massey was a little bit sassy about this and is, is supporting the nomination, obviously. And here he is. This is cut six. Attorney General.

[Stu Burguiere]

Suck it up.

[Glenn Beck]

He's the Attorney General. Suck it up. That's what he says. Get over it. He's gotta be the Attorney General.

[Stu Burguiere]

That's what he meant. I couldn't, I couldn't tell. It was kind of hard to hear. But he's, he's basically saying, look, get, get over this. It's gonna be happening.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Stu Burguiere]

Cuz the recess appointment thing looks, I mean, it's not been confirmed.

[Glenn Beck]

I think that's why Trump was so okay with Thun was okay with Thune is he wanted that recess appointment, which means he's not confirmed by the Senate because he'll have a hard time going through the Senate.

[Stu Burguiere]

Yeah, I don't think he'd have any chance honestly, to get through the Senate in normal procedures.

[Glenn Beck]

Right.

[Stu Burguiere]

So there's a lot of people who don't like Matt Gates.

[Glenn Beck]

Right. And so he's, he's going to be a recess appointment. As soon as they go on recess, Trump nominates and then it just slides through. But it's a, it's an acting role and the limit on that is two years. So somebody else is coming after Matt Gaetz and this is probably a very well laid plan. I don't know what the plan is yet, but gonna give President Trump the benefit of the doubt here. Thomas Massie, welcome to the program.

[Thomas Massie]

Hey, great to be on Glenn to talk about my friend Matt Gaetz.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, so first of all, let's, let's start at the worst possible place for Matt Gaetz. You know, there was this inquiry that was gonna be released into how bad he is on Friday. That's why he had to quit right away. That's why it happened. Can you address that?

[Thomas Massie]

Well, who better to take on the weaponization of the government than somebody who's had the government weaponized against them? I mean, this is what I call touching the red wire to the black wire. If you've ever jumped a car with jumper cables, you know, you don't put them together, it's going to melt the insulation off the place over there. And if anybody knows how to fix it, it's Matt Gates. How to fix the doj.

[Glenn Beck]

Why do you say that? Because most people know him just as a bomb thrower.

[Thomas Massie]

Well, because he served on the committee, the Judiciary Committee that Jim Jordan chairs and I serve on as well. And we have sat there, I don't know how many times, and heard Merrick Garland try to say when we ask a question, I'm sorry, that's the subject of an ongoing investigation and it's our long standing policy not to comment. That's bull crap. And I told Matt I expect to never hear that answer from him when he comes in front of me. I am looking forward, Glenn. This is my dream. To cross examining Matt Gaetz in the hot seat there in front of Judiciary.

[Glenn Beck]

And have him not say what Merrick Garland said.

[Thomas Massie]

Right. I can imagine saying, hey, where are those documents that we ask for? Matt would probably reach under the table and say, here are those documents.

[Glenn Beck]

So tell me, because I don't think this is, you know, the left is saying, this is revenge. He's gonna go on a scorched earth. He's gonna go after all his enemies. No, I think like with Tulsi Gabbard, he's appointing people who have direct experience of the weaponization of government in that role. Right?

[Thomas Massie]

Yeah, absolutely. Look, the DOJ was weaponized against teachers at school board meetings. Right. Matt Gates. It's not revenge to say, we're not going to, we're not going to go after parents at school board meetings or.

[Glenn Beck]

To fire those people that were responsible for that.

[Thomas Massie]

Correct. Or to go after whistleblowers, for instance.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Thomas Massie]

It's not revenge to say, we're going to set things right. There's nobody that's being targeted. I am certain there's some people going to be cleaning their desks when Matt Gates takes over. Some of them will be given the notice and some of them will be trying to get out of Dodge before the new sheriff gets to town.

[Glenn Beck]

So, Thomas, is he a kind of guy that is well thought out and well planned? Because he's got. He has to move in on inauguration day and lay down the law quickly. He's got to take that bull by the horns, day one.

[Thomas Massie]

Listen, I don't always agree with Matt Gaetz, but he is one of the smartest guys up here. You can tell that from his wit. But, you know, when we question people in the Judiciary Committee, it's usually his questions that are the most pertinent. He knows the right questions to ask. When he gets to doj, he's going to know which rocks to turn over, which ones are Going to have snakes and scorpions underneath of them. Because he's, you know, he spent many years asking these questions. I can't imagine the day he walks in there and actually instead of asking for the documents, gets to pull the file open and pull the documents out.

[Glenn Beck]

They gotta be, I mean, have you guys issued a warning on destroying of any kind of documents? Because that's what they did to you guys with the January 6th committee. They destroyed them. They, they only gave you half of them and then they were locked up and they were like, oh, we can, we don't know what the code is to get those. Do you have the penalties right now? Have you issued any warnings on this?

[Thomas Massie]

Well, you're right about January 6th. The Secret Service received five preservation notices from different committees in Congress and still deleted all of their phones and their texts from January 6th. So I'm not, I mean, I'm not sure what good that will do. And then you have people who use illegally are using their private phones. They're going to be doing that. It's going to, you know, the forensics, he better hire a forensic expert to try and find some of the stuff that's been bleach bedded over there. I'm sure the shredders are in overdrive illegally. So. But to answer your specific question, I don't know what preservation notices we've sent, but we should be sending them in overdrive.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Into every agency. And, and here's why it should make a difference. The DOJ is responsible for putting people in jail and holding people accountable for that. If you've destroyed any documents, you were involved in any of that, if you're the person in charge of those documents and they can't be found, you go to prison, Period. That's what it should be.

[Thomas Massie]

There should be ramifications, repercussions for anybody that engages in that kind of malfeasance. It's usually the COVID up that gets them.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Thomas Massie]

Not, not necessarily what they did, but their effort to cover it up.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Thomas Massie]

And look, they were not planning for Trump to win. And then they had a backup plan for Trump to hopefully appoint another Bill Barr type who would coddle them and really work against Trump. That is not the case with Matt Gaetz. Matt Gates is somebody, again, who's been the subject of political witch hunts is going to be more motivated and more knowledgeable than anybody else on how to stop that crap from being turned loose on the American people as it has been at dojo.

[Glenn Beck]

I gotta tell you, Thomas, you make me feel much better I mean, I know you. I know your integrity. I know what you believe, and we're friends. Hearing you, you know, give some testimony here on Matt Gaetz and what's been going on in his life is very heartening. Thank you for that.

[Thomas Massie]

Well, you know, there are some appointments where we're going to be scratching our heads and saying, can we really trust that person? Is that person they have a connection to the Cheneys and the Bushes? Are they deep state? Matt Gates, I can assure you, has none of those connections. If he did, he wouldn't have been prosecuted like he's been.

[Glenn Beck]

Right. How do you feel about Tulsi Gabbard, you know, being DNI? I've only got about 30 seconds. 45 seconds.

[Thomas Massie]

Love it. Again, this is touching the red wire to the black wire. She's one of the people who was targeted and put on a watch list. Who better to have go clean up the watch list and than Tulsi Gabbard?

[Glenn Beck]

Do they have teams that have to come in with them? Because, I mean, I'd hate to be DNI all by myself.

[Thomas Massie]

Oh, they'll be undersecretaries and lawyers and things they'll need to bring in, too.

[Glenn Beck]

Thomas Massie. Thank you so much. The Republican from Kentucky. Actually, he's a libertarian.