The Glenn Beck Program

Episode: Charlotte Ukrainian Refugee Stabbing Reveals Democrats' True Priorities
Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Glenn Beck (Blaze Podcast Network)
Guest: Justin Haskins

Overview

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program centers on the alarming murder of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, using the incident to critique mainstream media’s selective reporting and highlight what Glenn calls the erosion of core American values. The discussion moves fluidly from a pointed rebuke of Senator Tim Kaine’s remarks on rights and government, to cultural tensions around assimilation, police outreach in Dearborn, MI, and the results of a disturbing poll about young Americans' political and economic attitudes. Justin Haskins joins to present polling data underscoring the nation's growing divisions and the Left’s appeal among youth. The tone is a blend of urgency, reflection, and Beck’s signature mix of sarcasm and candid conservatism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Natural Rights, Tim Kaine, and the American Experiment

[05:39–23:54]

• Beck rebukes Senator Tim Kaine for comparing America’s notion of rights to Iran’s, claiming Kaine’s conflation shows ignorance or ideology:
  • “In Iran, rights are clarified and defined through clerics...They are not inherent to your humanity. Rights exist, but they're conditional, granted through obedience.” —Glenn Beck [07:28]
  • Distinguishes American rights (“endowed by our Creator...inalienable”) from conditional rights in Iran/USSR, asserting the uniqueness of the American system.
• Asserts that misunderstanding or diluting this principle leads directly to tyranny, referencing both Soviet and Islamic theocracy as cautionary tales.
• Connects modern leftist ideology to “the unmaking of America,” a refrain throughout the episode.

Notable Quote

“If we get this one wrong, you end up with tyranny cloaked in piety... This is the entire ball game.” —Glenn Beck [13:52]

2. The Media, Selective Outrage, and the Charlotte Stabbing

[23:54–25:36; 109:44–116:35]

• The brutal stabbing of Irina Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, is highlighted as a case of media double standards:
  • Minimal legacy media coverage: “AP stories have exactly zero. PBS zero. New York Times zero. NPR zero. CNN one.” —Glenn Beck [20:05]
  • Comparison to the George Floyd case, questioning why some deaths ignite mass movements while others are all but ignored.
• Political Narrative: Beck claims the story is buried because it doesn’t fit progressive crime narratives—illegal immigration, violent repeat offenders, failings of the justice system.
• Axios' eventual coverage: Only addresses the story a week later, and frames it as “fuel for MAGA’s crime message.”

Notable Quote

“Every life matters in America. Remember her name. Irina Zarutska. Because the truth deserves to be louder than lies. And justice cannot depend on politics.” —Glenn Beck [22:55]

3. Assimilation, Dearborn Police Patch & Historical Perspective

[25:36–38:07]

• Dearborn Heights PD’s new Arabic patch is dissected as a symbol of waning American unity; Beck warns this is “the state bending towards the demand of a religious-political ideology.”
• Historical comparison: Contrasts with how Catholics, Jews, and Mormons assimilated, touting past resilience and eventual embrace of American constitutional norms.
• Warns against tribalism, “Balkanization,” and parallel justice systems:

  “No immigrant group...ever had law enforcement tailor itself to them. Never...We don't create parallel systems of justice or identity.” —Glenn Beck [28:34]

4. Fragmentation of the Left, Identity Politics, and Social Disorder

[38:07–42:44]

• Jason Butrow and Beck analyze identity-based coalitions: LGBTQ activists marching alongside Islamists, “grievance politics” as what unites the modern Left, not shared values.
  • Risks: When oppressed groups’ interests conflict, society fractures; cited UK and Canada as cautionary tales.
• Government’s role expands in the face of unrest: Disorder justifies more laws and state control.

5. Young Voters Embrace Socialism: Justin Haskins Poll Analysis

[47:25–65:35; 67:40–71:44]

• National poll of 1,200 voters aged 18–39 reveals:
  • 53% would support a Democratic Socialist candidate in 2028, including 35% of those who say they voted for Trump in 2024 [53:01].
  • 75% support nationalizing major industries (healthcare, energy, big tech) [50:08].
  • 55% support laws to confiscate “excess” wealth (second homes, luxury cars) to subsidize first-time homeownership [64:07].
  • 74% feel “just getting by” or worse financially; alienation and a sense that the system is “rigged” is widespread.
• Beck/Haskins' reading: Young voters aren’t necessarily “socialists” on principle—they’re disillusioned, anxious about housing, and open to radical change.
  • “Socialism is not the answer. It is the symptom...They don’t know any other [option]...and socialists are coming at it from a completely new angle—or so the youth think.” —Glenn Beck [56:08]
• Implication: Leadership must offer mentorship, honest solutions, and civic education or risk further division and upheaval.

6. Cultural Decay, Consumerism, and Lessons from Travel

[87:31–109:44]

• Personal anecdotes from New York and Las Vegas:
  • Vegas framed as “soulless” and transactional; NY as the root of progressive cultural rot, plagued by performative consumerism and decline.
  • Despite uniformity and rot, Beck finds “the magic happens” in authentic human effort—be it a Broadway show, a hardworking diner owner, or the story of Ralph Lauren’s hustle.
    • “It was about the human...magic that can only happen when humans get together and pour everything into their passion.” —Glenn Beck [101:15]
• Cautions that socialist cities arise divorced from reality and that mentoring, local action, and cultural humility remain crucial.

7. Modern Elites and Double Standards

[82:50–85:10]

• Profile of Ilhan Omar’s husband’s surging net worth: Doubles as an example of how the rhetoric of “equality” at the top is often contradicted by private enrichment.
  • Sarcastic: “Democratic socialists are just that good...at capitalism.” —Beck & Butrow [84:58]

8. Mental Health, Crime, and the “Death Cult” Narrative

[109:44–120:37]

• Revisits reporting gaps on recent mass violence, especially involving unstable or gender-nonconforming assailants.
  • “Many of these people are standing with Hamas...It’s the same kind of death cult. It is absolutely a death culture. And until we start calling it that...it’ll just get worse.” —Glenn Beck [115:11]
• Systematic refusal to acknowledge mental health crises and their social cost is linked to increased violence, disorder, and victimization of vulnerable populations.

9. Event Coverage: US Action Against Terrorists in Venezuela

[122:40–126:49]

• Discussion of US military action against a drug boat off Venezuela, highlighting another media double standard.
• Draws on past reporting regarding Venezuela’s links to terror groups, pointing out selective skepticism and accountability demands from the press.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On American exceptionalism:
  “No government, no cleric, no priest, no pastor. No one can take away my rights.” —Glenn Beck [08:57]

• On selective outrage:
  “If our media only covers deaths that advance a narrative, then truth itself has become partisan.” —Glenn Beck [21:11]

• On generational duty:
  “For those of us over 45, you can’t just lecture...We owe the next generation mentorship. We owe them proof that ownership and opportunity is still possible in America.” —Glenn Beck [69:30]

• On identity politics and leftist unity:
  “The only thing that unites us is that we're all being oppressed...The only thing that drives us forward is our grievances with one another.” —Jason Butrow [39:47]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 05:39–23:54 | Tim Kaine/rights discourse; Marxism vs. American liberty
• 23:54–25:36; 109:44–116:35 | Charlotte stabbing and media coverage
• 25:36–38:07 | Dearborn police patch, religious assimilation, American identity
• 38:07–42:44 | Identity politics, Left’s fragmentation, societal consequences
• 47:25–65:35; 67:40–71:44 | Justin Haskins poll; Economic attitudes of under-39 voters
• 87:31–109:44 | Travel observations, American cultural “zombie-ism”
• 82:50–85:10 | Ilhan Omar’s husband's financial disclosures, hypocrisy
• 120:37–122:08 | RFK testimony analysis, life expectancy, health crisis
• 122:40–126:49 | US strike in Venezuela; Venezuela as terror hub

Conclusion

This episode weaves together a series of headline events and cultural ruminations to deliver a pointed warning about the U.S.'s cultural cohesion and future. Beck and Haskins argue that America is at risk not only from ideological and demographic shifts but from an establishment—and media—that increasingly acts as a leftist gatekeeper, ignoring inconvenient violence and dissent. The polling segment illustrates a coming generational chasm in economic values and confidence in the American dream, while the episode’s last act offers personal, sometimes melancholic reflections on how society can recover true meaning amid cynicism and decline.

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