
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to Glenn Beck about the dangers of political purity tests on the right; why Texas is in danger of losing it’s conservative status; the threat of liberal transplants changing red states; the failure of CEOs...
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A
All right, Glenn Beck, do I have to bother giving you an intro? What do you want me to say about you? You're on. You're on the short list of sane people that I've known throughout this. Like, would that suffice?
B
I am so thrilled to say that you and I have been friends since before it was cool to be friends with each other. You know what I mean?
A
We. We. We really. Well, you're. I feel like you're one of my original friends in the biz now, which is crazy. I mean, we. We only met. My guess is it was probably late 2016, early 2017, so it's not that.
B
Long, but it was it really only then.
A
Yeah, because I only lived in that house for a short period of time. And I remember you walking in to do the shows the first time we ever broke bread. And we had to kind of. We had to kind of feel it out.
B
Well, I remember. I remember walking out and talking to some people in the conservative movement, and they were like, shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have done that. He's not. I'm telling you, Glenn, he's not a friend. And I'm like, he seemed totally cool. I really liked him. And they're like, yeah, but he doesn't. He doesn't agree on abortion. And I'm like, oh, okay, so, okay, so we can't talk to him until he agrees on absolutely every one of our time. That's craziness. And it was amazing to watch people, they just don't know how to deal with. And I think we're getting worse at this. If you don't agree on 100% of whatever it is, we can't talk. You're an enemy of mine. And it's gotta stop. It's crazy.
A
It's really gotta stop. And I think maybe to your credit, in those, you know, roughly nine years since we've known each other, I'm probably more of a right wing maniac than you are at this point.
B
I told you. I told you. Oh, Dave, we will have. You will be ours. At some point, you will be ours. Now you're looking at me going, glenn, at some point, you will be ours.
A
I know, I know, you're. You're just too moderate for me. But I said, okay, we'll do. We'll do this show anyway with moderate liberal Glenn Beck.
B
Well, I, I think that's moderate liberal. I think that's what happens when you move to Florida instead of Texas. I mean, Texas kind of pushed out on us in many ways. I mean, it's still great, but it's not Florida. It's not Florida and Texas is in trouble.
A
Let's, let's do a little of that to start because there was a moment where I considered a Dallas operation and we took a walk on your ranch and we had a serious heart to heart and I really was considering it. And then I had just more, it was more family reasons because I had my sister and my parents here that got me to Florida. But that's an interesting place to start because Florida and Texas are kind of the Alamo now. You do still have the Alamo.
B
Alamo.
A
We're the, we're kind of the Alamo of America. But Florida does seem to be doing it in a better way than Texas is doing it right now.
B
I think it's DeSantis. I worry about what's going to happen to Florida once DeSantis is gone because he's just so clear. And I think he's just, I think he's America's best governor. And we have a governor who is okay. We have, you know, House of Representatives that is okay. It's all Republican. But, but what does that even mean anymore?
A
So what is that? What, what is that? So, like, why would somebody like Abbott, who is in charge of Texas, that had a weird moment maybe with Beto a couple years ago, where it felt like it might go the other way, but then it did push back to red. Why aren't they stronger? Why, why isn't he looking at DeSantis and being like, I'm going to do it this way?
B
I think it's because Texans don't feel like they could lose it all. They really don't. They like, ah, it's Texas. It'll always be Texas. Where Florida was like, all right, it could be go, it could go anyway.
A
Yeah.
B
And Texas is just, it'll always be this way. And they have no idea how close it is to losing Texas. I mean, I'm, I'm really concerned about it. I've talked to the governor about it. I've talked to Ken Paxton about it. You know, I've talked on the air about it. I went to a, I, I spoke to all these new CEOs that were moving their countries, companies into Texas from California. And I said, how many of you here moved because of taxes? They all raised their hand, okay, how many moved here because of regulation? You couldn't get anything done in California. They all raised their hand, okay, how many of you just could not for any reason do business anymore in California? And this is like a paradise. They all raise their hand. I said, now, how many of you have told your employees that very thing that you've now moved from California here to Texas? Not one raised their hand. And I said, you're going to end up in California again. You have to tell people why you moved to Texas. You moved to Texas because it is impossible to do business in California. And if you just keep importing people from California that don't get it, that don't know they're just going to turn us into California.
A
So do you think it's part of just the human condition that because when things are going right, people do take their foot off the gas, that it's part of the human condition, that you don't then relentlessly run around defending all the good stuff? Although I will have to say maybe this is your point. Here in Florida, I'm seeing no. And probably because of DeSantis, the people that are moving here are the most patriotic. We are not going to screw this up thing ever. I mean, I'm telling you, my neighborhood, every day, someone new is moving in. American flag is going right up front right at the beginning. And they're making it clear they are here for a reason.
B
I. That's generally happening in Texas. I, you know, I would say that Austin scares me a little bit, especially.
A
You got a real I am legend situation there with the homeless, by the way.
B
Yeah, it's really bad in Austin. And Austin has always been very left, you know, and that's the capital and the home of, you know, some of the powerful universities. And. And now they're trying to make it into, you know, the Hollywood of Texas. And I. That just scares the crap out of me because you. You start to lose Austin. You grow the spirit of Austin from what it already has been. It is already the San Francisco of Texas. You. You give that more cultural relevance. You. You're going to lose the state and we lose Texas and we're done. Because you'll never get. I mean, it's like having California and New York and Texas. You have New York, California, Texas. What else do you need? Right.
A
Well, basically, it would be the ultimate sacrifice to the monster to then be like, okay, now we've got everybody at that point, right? You take out Texas, you take everybody. So with that in mind, we have traded some communication. Over the last year, I have had a sense that Florida might be in Glenn Beck's future. Now you're running quite an operation over there with the blaze, a million people over there who I love Largest sound stage between New York and Cali in the entire United States of America. I've been to the ranch. I see what's going on in Glenn Beck's life. You have the fancy pillow couch from Restoration Hardware that everybody wants. The cloud couch. Everybody wants that.
B
Yeah, sure. Everybody does.
A
Of course, you also have a lot of great memorabilia and things of that nature, but the couch is pretty impressive. But I sense Florida is in you now. Am I right about.
B
So. Yeah. Because we've been exchanging emails, you know. Yeah. I promised my wife that when we first got married. She's like, someday I want to live by the water. And there is. There's no water in Texas. None. You know, unless you want to live in Houston or. Or Corpus Christian. You don't want to do that because it's just so humid.
A
That's too hot even.
B
Yeah, yeah, it's. It's too hot even for Floridians. And so my wife and I for the last three or four years have been looking for a place, and we just found a place. And you're actually. You're the first to know it, Dave, but we're going to be. I'm keeping everything in Texas in Dallas, but Tanya and I are going to be living most of our. Most of our time we're going to be living in Florida because I just. I love it and I love. You know, the one thing I miss about New York is the dynamic culture of all of the, you know, big brains just hanging out and talking and having dinner and everything else. Not that it doesn't happen in Texas, but Florida has become the best part of New York, in my opinion. And I really enjoy it every time I go there. And my wife always says, you know, they have an ocean here. So. Yeah. So in.
A
Wow.
B
Actually, we're closing on a house in about a month.
A
Wow. I am so. Absolutely. We have traded some emails, but I did not know that it was that final. I am absolutely thrilled to hear that. And I know you're a man who enjoys a good steak, but Dave Rubin is the king of tomahawks. So you guys.
B
Yeah, we'll come over to your house and you'll have to bring the family up to ours because we'd love to have you.
A
Wow. Well, that's. That is great. Really great to hear. So you're going to be. Will you be filming out of Florida, too? I mean, I guess so if you're.
B
Going to be filming most of the year. I mean, I'll be doing some out of the sound stages of Dallas, some of the big shows that we're going to be doing. I'm changing an awful lot next year. I'm probably taking the biggest gambler of my career and I'm kind of in with the career. I've kind of been known as a gambler.
A
Yeah, you've taken a few.
B
Yeah. But I'm. I'm radically changing everything in the first of the year. But I'll be doing a lot of the big shows and everything I'm going to be doing and on the sound stages in, In Dallas, but most, most my daily stuff will probably be done in. In Florida.
A
You mentioned, you mentioned to me right before we started recording that two years from now, 2027 will be your 50th year in broadcasting. I just turned 49 this week. Okay, does that is, does that have some. No, no, no, that's not. Dude. I'm saying that with the most, like, love and respect. Like, you know, how many.
B
You know, I got the railroad track starting here, Dave. It's like, oh, God, what's happening to me?
A
There's something. There's something. Because if you were still on network tv, I'm pretty sure they do something. There's a guy who stands behind you or.
B
Yeah, there'd be somebody. They'd have somebody standing by me just grabbing onto my neck. So Anyway, you were 50 years.
A
Well, 50 years. That's incredible. I mean, especially because in my, you know, 13 years or so of this, whatever it is, I've seen so many people burn real hot and then disappear. I've seen people that were amazing that turned out to be terrible. I've seen people that I thought were going to be nobody turned into somebody every. And you have so many more versions of that, I'm sure. So that. Is that partly why you're doing a life change now? Because this, I mean, that's a pretty, you know, hefty number.
B
So. Yeah, well, I guess part of it I, you know, I'm a disruptor at nature. I disrupt myself all the time. And, you know, I got into talk radio to disrupt talk radio because I thought it was really boring and disrupted that and then got into television and disrupted cable news. And then the real big disruption was putting Blaze on the.
A
Yeah.
B
And, you know, blazing that path, if you will, for people like you to be able. I mean, nobody. I mean, it's crazy, Dave, to think it was 14 years ago yesterday or sometime earlier this week, it was 14 years ago that I left FOX and did the first broadcast at gbtv, which is now the Blaze.
A
Wow.
B
And, And I remember Roger Ailes saying to me, you're not really going to do that Internet thing, are you? And I said, yeah, I am. And he said, there's no future in that. That's. That's nothing. It's a fad. And I said, I don't think it is. But I mean, just, just 14 years ago, that's how primitive things were. I mean, think how much has changed since then. And, and now I'm in the, you know, I think I've got another 15 years of me where I want to run hard and, and I want to go out disrupting again. And there's things that I've done. You know, it's weird when you get to a certain point in your life, you. It feels like, okay, I've spent my whole life preparing for what I think is right now, and so I'm disrupting hard.
A
How do you figure out what that right now is? Is it that your kids are now, basically, I think all your kids are out of the house. Or maybe your youngest son is just on the way.
B
No, no, no. Just this year. Everybody's out.
A
Yeah. So is that also part of it? You're suddenly like, wow. So I, I raised my kids. I've, you know, I've got some cash, I've got a business. I can do some of these other things, whatever that.
B
No, I think it's, you know, I've always been able to see somewhat over the horizon, Dave and I. What I see coming is, has disturbed me a great deal in the last year and a half, and I just think there is a. There's a different position that we all need to be in to be able to, to be able to weather and lead in the coming storms that are, that are happening. But also, you know, now that my kids are. When we were going to Florida to look at the house and we were thinking about buying the one we did, my wife and I had a long talk on the airplane and we were like, you know, it's not right. We, you know, we should be living in a 400 square foot apartment. It's just the two of us, and it's, It's. I don't feel right. I, I feel like it's time for us to really dedicate ourselves to philanthropy. And so everything that I'm doing now will be really geared, at least financially, all to philanthropy. I mean, my audience is the most generous. They. We have, we have rescued, in not the last nine years, 260,000 Christians from, from being killed, slaughtered, or abused. Overseas, we have raised and given away now almost just over a quarter of a billion dollars, like 300,000 or $300 million we've raised and given away. And I think we're just getting started. I mean, I have some really big goals for myself on what to do.
A
What are those dark clouds you just described or the changes that are coming? What are they? Because you've been ahead of this stuff for years. I told you, I used to watch you on Fox. I say it every time we do this, but I would watch you on Fox with that blackboard and I thought, this guy is half crazy, half brilliant and half a showman. That's three halves. But there was a lot going on there and you were right about a lot of these things, particularly as it pertained to what was going to happen to mainstream media and everything else. So what do you say?
B
Not only that, I mean, if you look at what's happening with Mamdani, that is the chalkboard that I'm probably best known for. The Islamists, the socialists, the communists, the anarchists will work together first to destroy Israel, then to destabilize Europe and America and to end the Western world. I was made fun of for that. For. I don't, you know, but if you look at. I should have put a giant magnet of his face on that board today because he is the poster child for that to happen. And I think we are in, you know, that I, I hope that the future of the Democratic Party is not him. But I think it is, at least for a while, at least until they realize that is either not where America is or until we realize, oh my God, that is what America is. But I think there is some real, real trouble. I mean, the, the blood.
A
Have you seen, have you seen any evidence that it's not the future of the Democrat Party? I mean, one of the lines that I love to quote from Jordan Peterson is he, he would always ask these Democrats, when does the left go too far? And no one would ever give him a point. So it seems that the entropy, if nothing else leads to this guy winning, or if somehow he doesn't win, it's that the entropy will still go in that direction.
B
Right? So, so let me ask you, Dave. I mean, this is what people. Why they mocked this board that I did is because they said the communists and the Islamists and the anarchists and the socialists, they don't have anything in common. What do they have in common? And I said, they have one thing in common. Revolution. That's what they have in common. Destroy the West. And, and, well, but, yeah, but they're not going to work together because they're all against each other. And I said, no, it's human nature. Everybody gets together like, yeah, okay, well, let's bring him into the camp and we'll kill him or eat him, you know, after we finish with these people. And that's exactly what's happening. The Democrats brought in, I said this when they brought Michael Moore into the presidential box. What was that for? Was that for John Kerry? And I said, you can't, he's a socialist. You cannot bring him into the box. You can't do that because once you, once you open that door, you start to normalize all of that. And you think you're using them, but they're using you. They will gain power and they will eat you in the end. The reason why you're not seeing any pushback from people like Schumer and everything else is they're terrified of these guys. Look, look at what happened in Minneapolis. What do you think that was? That was somebody who was willing to see reason and go, you know what? I really don't want to make this vote, but I have to because I think it's the right thing to do. And they kill her. Yeah, they are eating that party. And then once the communists have eaten the Democrats, then the Islamists will eat the Communists.
A
Is it remarkable to you that more of, let's just say the like, generic kind of like gender queer, progressive, wafy, whatever, don't realize that the Islam thing is not going to work? I, I, I think most people can, certainly people watching my show can watch you say that, and they understand why this intersectional thing can't hold too many competing interests. But, okay, fine, we're all trying to take out the west first. But I'd really try to get in the average mind of a queer for Palestine. Do they honestly? Or is it just that their minds are so muddled now because of algorithms and everything else?
B
I, you know, I, I really want to give people on both sides, Dave. I mean, I think we have morons on our side, too. I should say that we'll get to.
A
Those in a little bit.
B
Yeah, we have, we have people who are so algorithmed out that they can no longer see reality. And so I really feel bad and I try to give these people the benefit of the doubt, but I, I just can't. I mean, you really have to be brain dead at this point as a homosexual to go, oh, I'm for Hamas. What are you, what, what are you thinking they're going to kill you. You know what, you, you saw it in, in Egypt, remember when they all came and, and they were going to, you know, protest for Palestine. The Egyptians know exactly who the Palestinians are and who the revolutionaries are. They don't know, get out of our country. And they're like, well, we have this, we have this right in America. Well, you're in Egypt now.
A
Those videos might have been my favorite videos of the entire year because it was like to watch these western dingbats all show up and they're LARPing as revolutionaries and just have the Egyptians basically spit on them. It's like, doesn't get better than that, actually.
B
Yeah, yeah, it's, you know what we're, we're going to, if, if we don't stand together and we don't find our way to everybody who loves the Constitution, even if we disagree on some pretty big things, you know, I don't want any guns. Okay, well, there's one out of the ten we disagree on. We can have that argument, but let's not have that argument right now. Let's save the rest of the constitution. If we don't come together and hold the, hold the gates and the, the jackals from, you know, outside the gates coming in and just eating all of us. We're going to, we're going to see, we're all going to be apart, but we will witness the Night of Long Knives. We will see it in our own life where the communists will knife the, the Islamists and the Islamists will kill the homosexual lobby and who mean we're going to see it in our own lifetime. I hope, I hope not. But if we don't get it pretty soon, we're going to get it in the end.
A
No, it's interesting because I, I always consider myself kind of a world weary optimist. I'm not like a blind optimist. I'm, I'm a realist first. So I am an optimist because kind of like you. How could we, how could we do this if we weren't wired toward optimism? You, you would have killed yourself 40 years ago, probably. Right. And, and Greta Thunberg and believe she's not aging well. I mean, she's starting to look, yeah, she's starting to look like a golden girl right now. Yeah, because that, because it's fueled by hate. But at some, at some point, if we don't wake up enough people, it just magically appears. And I think that's the part that people don't Realize, like, it's at some point you just seeded your city, and then you're just some guy walking in New York City, and you think you're in New York City, but you're actually in zombie New York City. And I think that's what a lot of people are going to be confronted with.
B
I got to tell you, Dave, when I saw that the. I mean, this should tell you everything you need to know about education in our country. The number one search on Google the night of the election in New York was, what's a communist?
A
I know, I know.
B
Good heavens. What's a common. After you voted, you decide to look at what's communist. So, you know, go ahead.
A
Do you think that was partly our mistake, that we all kind. I include myself in this, that in some sense we all took a little bit of a victory lap around Trump winning? Like, oh, we defeated the woke, but what we didn't see, maybe, or what was hidden underneath under it, was that actually they would be able to recalibrate pretty damn quickly within this new alliance that you're talking about. Like, again, you got to give it credit. That's what I'm always saying. It's evil, but you got to give it credit for survival.
B
Brilliant. It's brilliant. The way this whole thing has been done is absolutely brilliant on their, on that. You have to admire it. I mean, even though it is, like you said, evil, you have to admire how it's been done. You know, it's. You know, everybody was talking about. I heard Liz Wheeler talk about this the other day that she said, you know, everybody was saying that he just ran a better campaign and whatever. No, he didn't. That's just years and years of indoctrination. That's all it is of, of. Of telling everybody that America is bad. It's horrible. It's just nothing but the oppressor. And you have to believe anybody, anybody. Even people who are putting people in cages, setting them on fire because they don't agree on the same religion, or throwing gays off the rooftop, they're better than the United States of America. When you've done that for 10 or 15, 20 years, this is exactly what happens.
A
What do you think has been for you? Your, Your ability to a guy that people. You say, Glenn Beck's nuts, he's crazy with the chalkboard and all this stuff. And yet I always, I always put you on my list of sane in the biz. What do you think it is about you that allowed you to see something that's pretty damn Scary. Take a lot of risks throughout your career and not go bananas because we don't have to name names, but, like, there's a laundry list of people in our world that I think have just gone completely crazy. And again, you've been doing this longer than me, so you probably saw many more of them before I was even in the game.
B
I think it is that one. I'm a God guy, so I. And I should say this carefully. I'm a God guy who has been humbled by his own mistakes. I'm a raging alcoholic, currently in recovery. And when you've lost everything and you. You then you find the only thing that matters and has meaning. And the only thing that matters is having your word actually means something. And fame and fortune and everything else doesn't mean anything, Dave. And you know this. I know you have got to have wrestled with this yourself. It is so intoxicating, you know, to. To be able to speak and have people listen and want to know. And. And you can get. It's a really hard job for that. We do. Where you think you have to be confident enough in yourself to say, no, this is right, this is wrong, but then be humble enough to realize you're still probably wrong. You're just on a road to being right. You know what I mean? And it's really hard. So I think the fact that I am an alcoholic that had been redeemed and surrendered all of this stuff has helped me a great deal. And then being married to a good woman, I just don't think you make it without a spouse that is rock solid. Rock solid. My wife, you know, she's not into. She's. She said we were invited to the. To the White House for dinner with the President. At some point, it was White House or Mar A Lago or something. I don't remember. We were going. And I said, honey, we've been invited to have dinner with the President, blah, blah, blah. And she loves the President. Loves the President. But she said, when? And I said, when. She's.
A
She's planning the Florida move. You know, she's. She's working on the curtains.
B
And she said. She said when? And she said, honey, I'd rather just be sitting. I'd just rather be with the kids this weekend. And so I went and took my son with me, but she's just not impressed by any of it. And if. If my wife. If my wife would have been like Jeff Bezos's new wife. Oh, my gosh, I would have. I would have. I would have been. I would have been sadly lost a long time ago.
A
Yeah. So you go. So that's got to be something that, that probably is a little bittersweet in some sense. You're getting to do this awesome thing. I mean, I know you've known Trump for years, interviewed him many times, but you're getting to go to the White House to sit down with the President and, and your wife's not there, but she's taking care of the other part of life.
B
Yeah. So she, we kind of had agreement when we first started. She was like, I will take care of keeping our family safe, you know, and away from all the craziness of what you do and you try to help the country, you know, stay safe and away from all the craziness. And, you know, as we were flying to Florida to buy this house, she said to me something, because she doesn't. You're one of the very few, Dave, that have ever been to our house. We don't, we don't have guests at our house ever unless they're long, long time friends because of the way our life has unfolded, you know, over the years. And, and so she just guards that. And she said to me on the, on the plane, she said, okay, the kids are gone now. I'm, I'm ready. And I said, what do you mean? And she said, I'm ready to join you now in doing good and raising money and we're going to open up our house and we'll do it for all the right reasons. And neither one of us are really. We're not cocktail party people. We're not social butter. I mean, I just don't, I don't, I don't like it. And she doesn't either. We're both real homebodies. But she's, she's now joining me in, in keeping me sane and keeping me grounded in do good first. Just good first.
A
I want to. No. And I've seen it with you guys. Although she does let you drive that. What's that car that you drove me to the Blaze studio in that you're, you're old. It's, you know, it's.
B
Oh, it's a 1934. It's a 1934 Bentley boat tail, Le Mans racer. And it is unbelievable.
A
All right, we're going to put a, we'll put a picture of it up in post because you took me in this car, I don't know, about a half hour to drive back to the studio from your house or. So we're on the highway, you know, there's no. There's no top. We have no helmets on. You're grinding the gears on this thing. I'm thinking it's going to end right now. Like we're. Some giant truck in Texas is just going to. And I was like, you know what if this is how it ends? Ruben got crushed with Glenn Beck in the old time.
B
That'd be cool.
A
So she lets you do that? Yeah, it is. It is a pretty good way to go.
B
She does let me. Let me. She, you know, because I collect history. She is. She's let me collect some amazing things and. But, you know, they're all going. There's another announcement that's coming in January about our museum, that we're going to be doing some amazing things and finally giving it a public space and opening it to the public. And we're about to do something with the White house for the 250th, which is really exciting. So there's some really neat things.
A
Let me ask you a bit about that. So I think one of my favorite episodes of the show I ever did, we did at Blaze Studios, and you just. I said to you, bring whatever you want, and you brought in a whole bunch of your favorite memorabilia. And we went through things for about an hour. It was really wonderful. And then I got to spend some time at. At the museum, and you let me hold the Olympic torch that Jesse Owens held, which I'm pretty sure you shouldn't let me. Why did you let me hold that? I should not have been allowed to hold that.
B
You know, the only thing I ever regret is I handed somebody Darth Vader from the original New Hope, Darth Vader's helmet, and he dropped it and he chipped it, and it took everything in me to go. It's just stuff. It's just stuff. And I was like, oh, don't worry. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about.
A
You know. Do you know the person that did that?
B
Mm.
A
Okay, good, because I'm about to tell you something that I guess the Blaze people never told you. And you. You promised me you're not going to fire anyone right now.
B
Oh, my gosh. Did you. Did you try it on?
A
Years ago when I was doing a little photo shoot there, they were like, anything else you want to do? And I was like, well, he's got the freaking Vader helmet.
B
That's so funny.
A
I did put it on. There is a picture. We will have to. But I did not drop it.
B
I swear that I know I have to tell you. I Put it on. When I first got it, I got it, and I put it on, and I went in my son's bedroom. He was like, 13. And I went, I am your father. But, yeah, now we don't let anybody. There was. There was a very famous person I met backstage someplace that I had it, and they were like, come on, man, you got to let me put it on. Like, no, no, no.
A
I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a long time. I feel much better right now.
B
It's good. I'm glad you had the opportunity.
A
But you have. You have. What's so great about your collection? Do you even consider it your collection anymore? The museum's collection, or is some of it yours? Is any of the stuff yours, actually?
B
Oh, yeah, some of it's yours.
A
Yeah. Yeah.
B
My kids. My kids had to pay for their own way to college because of that collection.
A
But, yeah, because you're like, yes, I need one more C3PO.
B
That's right. That's right.
A
But. But your collection, it's. It's incredible because it's historic memorabilia. But then, like, these insane things from Hollywood, like Dorothy's ruby red slippers. And then you have. Last time I was there, you have the original set of all in the Family. The set. Like, yeah, that's nuts.
B
I know. My wife wouldn't let me buy the Tonight show set. Johnny Carson's Tonight.
A
Oh, my God. How much. How much do they sell that for? Like, how do you even.
B
The. The. I think that one went less than the all in the Family, and I think Johnny Carson's set was half a million, something like that.
A
Wow.
B
Yeah. Yeah.
A
That doesn't.
B
Well, I mean, it's. When you see it, it's very unimpressive, right?
A
Well, they're much smaller, and then you think they are, and.
B
Yeah, yeah, it was really unimpressive. You walk up to it and that. You remember the skyline. That was. Yeah, that was.
A
Oh, yeah.
B
That was painted on carpet. So they took a roll of carpet, they painted it, and they. Because that's what I guess, gave it textures. It was. So you walk in, you're like, oh, my gosh. Really? This was it. This was it.
A
What's your favorite. I mean, what's really, like, the thing that you have that you consider the prized possession? You've shown me some really, really unbelievable things. Is there one thing that. That's the thing that still wows you?
B
For me, it's probably for personal reasons. It's probably the. All the stuff in the Orson Welles section. I'VE got his typewriter where, you know, he took Mankiewicz's, you know, name off of Citizen. Katie was like, yeah, no, Mankowitz did Red. I have his script. I have all of his scripts from all of his films. I have the original War of the World script. I have his movie camera. I have, I have his storyboards from Citizen Kane done by him. I mean, it's, and I'm, I'm a big fan of, of Orson Welles, so that's, that's probably my personal favorite. But it's hard to choose. I mean, there's 150,000 pieces in one vault and that's, that's probably only about 50% of it.
A
What about from a historical perspective? Not a, not a Hollywood or entertainment perspective.
B
Passion wise. One of my favorites is the D Day Normandy flag. The, the flag that landed on the beaches of Normandy. And it, I don't know if you've seen that one.
A
I don't think I saw that. I don't know.
B
It's, there's, it's only half of it. It's all frayed and I mean, it looks like it went through war. It is stunning. The, we have the full Roe vs. Wade case of the entire, all the papers, all of the notes back and forth, all the letters back and forth from Rose Attorney. So that one is being poured over by, by scholars and attorneys now because she wanted it to go to a, to a university, you know, to teach people that, you know, how important it is to fight for abortion rights. And when I saw that, I thought, well, you know, that sentence seems pretty greedy. Then you should have just donated it, you know, otherwise you put it up for auction and you risk somebody like me. And then my wife found out about it because she does not like, she does not bid in any of this. She does not like this at all. Yeah, and I, I knew that was going to be really expensive. And so I said to her, I said, honey. And she said, she says the same thing every time. Oh, good Lord, what is this going to cost? And I said, before I even say what it is. And I said, well, I want you to hear this one out because this one is different. And I told her what it was and I said, so I don't know, what do you think that's worth? And she said 65 million children. And so she, yeah, she bid on that one. And don't ever bit against my wife. She's an animal. But that one, we, we are loaning out. We're doing research on it right now to get Everything down. But I've seen people that were interns on that case that are going through it, and they're like. They're seeing these notes and they're like, I knew it. We knew it at the time. We knew there were these connections to all these lefties that happened way before and they have always been denied, but they're all in the paperwork of this case.
A
It's just such an unbelievable collection. I can't wait to get back there and dive into some of the other things. Let's back up for a second because, you know, we started talking about kind of the problems of the left, and that's obviously, that's wheelhouse stuff for us to do.
B
Yeah.
A
There's been some weirdness on the right over the last couple months, I think, particularly as it pertains obviously to, let's say, Israel, Iran, some of that kind of stuff. You've been so consistently good on this forever. You also mentioned how many. You said you saved. 235,000 Christians. Is that what you said?
B
265 Christians, Yazidis, and persecuted people for their religious affiliation. Yeah, there's probably some Jews in that, too.
A
Yeah. So as it connects to that part, one of the strange things that I found is with some of the people on the right that have been so critical of Israel, Israel is the place in the Middle east where Christians are free. I was there a week before the Iran war and I got an unbelievable personal tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And it is a place free of oppression and all of these things. And amongst the fact that there's 2 million Arab Muslims that live there and all the rest of the other stuff, what do you think is going on? What is. What is the crux of the confusion? Let's say, if you think that's the right way to present it with some of the other. The guys that we would normally agree with on a lot of things.
B
I mean, being a religious guy, evil is playing a great role. You know, the author of all confusion is. Is, you know, the adversary. And so evil is playing a very great role in confusion. I think there is a couple of things that are going on. One, I am against forever wars. I don't want to fight Israel's war. I don't. I don't want to be involved in it at all. I believe supporting Israel means, hey, back off. Let them fight their own fight. That's their country. That's their space. Let them fight the way, you know what somebody comes in and tells us if Canada, the Canadians started doing what Hamas was doing to us. You want England coming in and telling us how to fight our fight? No, screw off, England. We're going to fight it the way we want to fight it because we have a right to survive. And that's my support of Israel, is that let them fight it. I don't know if anybody's noticed. They seem fairly capable of doing it in shocking fashion. But I think that just comes from thousands of years of people trying to erase you, finally getting your own land and saying, you know, what if this starts to happen again, we're not taking any prisoners, we're going to end it. And so they're very good at doing that. And so I think the confusion of it's another forever war. The thing that I warned about as soon as Barack Obama was running and I saw that he was a Marxist, I said, warning, anti Semitism is going to come raging back by 2008 or 9. I said, we will see the hatred of the 1930s that were on the streets of Germany and Poland. You're going to see this come back and it'll be on the streets of Europe and in America, because it always goes hands, hand in hand with Marxism, always. And so I think there's this confusion of antisemitism. I hate this. You know, they control the world bull crap. Do they really? Do they?
A
And I'm pretty sure if they did, they wouldn't be the only country, the world, that rockets are constantly flying in, that's dealing, inability to get their hostages back, etc. Etc.
B
It. It is such an amazing thing, Dave, to, to watch and, and I find frightening because you know that they are the canary in the coal mine. If you think that, oh, we just, we just let them get rid of Israel, then everything's fine. You're next, dude. You're next. And that's with all of us. If, I mean, you know, if you go back and you look at the Barbary Pirates war that we fought, our first, very first foreign war, the guy who hated foreign wars as much as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson was the one who fought it. And he, he had the Koran. I have it upstairs in the library. A Koran that was published at that time because he said you shouldn't read quotes from it. You need to read the whole book. You need to understand what these people believe. Because if we don't fight them now with the Barbary Pirates, they believe that they can take you and use you as a slave or kill you or do whatever they want with you. Because you're an infidel. And if we don't fight them now in our first war, we will be fighting them in our last war. And he's right.
A
So do you think some of this is also a confusion about the reality of the world versus sort of what flies online? Meaning we all live in this information war. And it's easy to say, oh, this person's a warmonger. I'm for peace. And the bumper sticker around, that kind of sounds right, we're all for peace until they come for you one day. And I think something has happened where the Internet has so softened people's brains that they don't understand, actually, every now and again, to be the peacemaker and to live in peace is that you have to actually be strong. I didn't come up with the phrase peace through strength, but that the bumper sticker versions of stuff is what accelerates sort of the stupidity or something.
B
There's. Yeah, and there's no. There's no nuance anymore, Dave. There's none. I mean, I've started. I've started intentionally having people on, like Steve Bannon and I have. Haven't talked. I don't know. I think since Andrew Breitbart may have died. I mean, it's been that long since we. We spoke to each other. And I don't like everything about Steve Bannon. I think he's got some dangerous ideas on some things, but I also think he loves the country, and I think that he, you know, loves the Constitution. We are going to get to a point at some point in our. In our, you know, time together, where I'm going to go. Yeah, I think that's a really problem here, Steve. I don't go. I won't go with you there, but I'm starting to have these people on that even I really disagree with on things, but I can maybe get 70 or 80% agreement on, because they're going to eat us one by one if we don't stand together. We're going to, you know, we have to start thinking like they do in a way, except with a nefarious ending of, yeah, we'll just kill them when we're done. They will stand together with anyone because their goal is to dismantle and kill the Western civilization. Well, my goal and Steve's goal and your goal is to save Western civilization. Yeah, I don't. I. I'm not going to be picky here. I. I think we need all hands on deck.
A
Yeah, I mean, we absolutely need it all hands on Deck. And that. That creates a strange bedfellow situation. But it's like. It's not like everything always has. What's that movie with the hobbits with the hairy feet? They. It worked out for them. And they're weird. Whack doodle.
B
Right?
A
Good friends. Doesn't.
B
I mean, doesn't that make life so much better? I mean, for me it does. Dave, in the day, you and I would not have been friends had we not had something in us to go that said, you know, he can't be a bad guy. He can't be that bad of a guy. You know what I mean? And yeah, we disagree, but I kind of like him. And then we met and we talked and we liked each other, and now we're good friends. I mean, that's what makes life fun, exciting, good. That's what makes life life.
A
So how much of this do you think is just the digital piece of all of it? Like that we're stuck on the phones, we're stuck in the algorithm, so that, yes, most people hearing what you just said, of course they go with that. And I know I sit at a dinner, I want to be with people that I disagree with so we can have some life in the conversation. I don't want to just sit there and agree on everything. And I think most people actually do feel that in some sense, or at least most somewhat evolved people, but then we're caught on this freaking thing all day.
B
I think to blame it on that, I think is not wise, but to say, let me rephrase it. That I think.
A
Or it's making us more of what we are. So I'll take the other version of it. Right. Maybe it's right. Fair enough.
B
I think what the trouble is, what we have coming towards us is social media is dangerous and we all know it. And it's destroying us and destroying our families, our children, our faith, everything. It's destroying us. AI is a million times worse than that. And so we have social media and AI coming our way, and I don't know, I mean, it's going to be a very, very tight corner to turn. And it's. It's coming at us at a thousand miles an hour. And I don't think most people are seeing it because of. Because of the other real enemy to freedom, and that is apathy. They just don't think it's ever going to change. You know, it's just. It's the way it is. It's always going to be this way, and it's never been this way. It's never been this way. It's all. The only constant in life is change and sometimes massive change. And that's what's coming. Massive change.
A
So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the people that listen to me and you are not on the apathetic side. They're on the side that wants to fight. So. So what? What do you think? Just like the average person, we're on this, you know, we're on this technological precipice of something that will fundamentally change humanity. With AI, we all can see the little bites of it. We can just see, even in the last couple weeks when we're doing little AI stuff with my show, we can see how much better it's getting overnight. And we will, at some point be completely unable to tell if that's the real Glenn Beck or not. And all the rest of it. I mean, what. What do you do in the midst of that? We're at that moment in the Sci Fi movie where everyone's like, boy, a lot of crazy stuff's gonna happen, but yet they don't do anything about it.
B
It's a conversation that I would like to have with you off the air, because I think there.
A
I thought this was our weekly check in back.
B
That was my question. I mean, really, you're to air this thing, but I'd like to have that conversation with you off air and then maybe again on air in a couple of months, because I'm. I'm working on some things that I. That I think are critical that our side needs to understand and do. And I. I think we are. I was talking to the guy who started MTV years ago, Bob Pittman, and he runs the world's largest broadcast network, iHeartMedia, and he said, what do you think of AI? And I said, well, I think it is the tool of our own destruction. But in the years leading up to that, if it is used carefully and used with real forethought by really disciplined people, it could actually save us or save at least a remnant of us. And I think we're about to enter that phase, Dave, and. And I'd like to talk to you about it off the air, and then we can come on and talk about it some other time.
A
Yeah, well, of course, of course we can do that. We can maybe do it in person in the free state of Florida. But yeah, I think we're. You know, you're. I see. Like, as you were saying that you were talking about Orson Welles before. I mean, it reminds Me of Stanley Kubrick, the beginning of 2001. Like, what we're looking at basically is the monolith right now. We don't know what the hell it is. And are we about to just basically bash each other's heads to get the thing that we don't know what it is? I mean, that's where we're at. We're the monkeys.
B
Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's a really good analogy of it. That's exactly where we are. We don't even know what it is, but let's kill each other for it. And it's amazing how, you know, we couldn't have any energy because energy was just going to kill all of us and it was going to destroy the planet. And now all of a sudden the AI is here. Oh, quick, we've got to. We have to double our energy so we can consume double the amount of energy. We've got to build nuclear power plants, coal plants, everything. And that's not being driven by this White House. That's being driven by Silicon Valley. That's being driven by AI and all those people. And you'll notice nobody's saying anything about it. I did an interview with the President two months ago, and I'm sitting there and I thought, he's never going to answer this question because if he does, it'll be front page New York Times. And I said, Mr. President, you know, there are sources now that tell us that the energy that will be needed by 2028 to do to run the server farms will be equivalent to 99% of what we currently produce. And then he interrupted me and he said, you're absolutely right. That's why I am taking all of the red tape out of the way. These companies are going to become their own utilities. I'm going to allow them to make nuclear power plants, coal plants, gas fired plants. Whatever they need, they have to fund it and build their own energy because we are going to need that much. And I said, so nuclear power plant. We haven't started a new nuclear power plant. And I think since I was a kid. And he said, no, I'm taking the regulate. I mean, there's going to be basic safety, but I'm cutting all of that red tape out. Nobody talked about that, Dave?
A
No, I don't think I even saw. I don't even think I saw that clip. We played a bunch of clips from, from your interview.
B
Yeah, it was crazy. That was. That's one of the most astounding things I ever heard a president say. And I Think that's because the algorithms. You know, let's not talk about that. Let's just let the social media and the big, you know, AI companies, let's just. Let's not even think about it. It's like social media. We are repeating exactly the same pattern. It just happened. It was just introduced. We all went, oh, that looks fun, and we just adopted it. And that's what.
A
That's.
B
That's what's happening again.
A
Yeah, Well, I always say it's like, you know, we got the Twitter files. We found out about all of this deep, deep corruption, not just at Twitter, obviously, but with our government. And then we never. No one even asked, well, where are the YouTube files? Where are the Facebook files? Where are the Google files? Like, guys, think there might be some other problems here.
B
Right, right. And, you know, that's another thing that I think that has been driving us apart is not just Israel, it is also all of this stuff, Dave, where. You know, I did a monologue on the air the other day. It was. Oh, it was when Dan Bongino and Cash Patel came out and said that Epstein killed himself.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
B
And I said, really? I mean, from everything I know now, I don't know what the FBI knows, but from what I do know, that doesn't seem very likely. And. And then Dan Bonino came out on tv, and he said, no, I've seen the footage. And I said, okay, we're at a crossroads here. We're at a crossroads because I know Dan Bongino. Dan Bongino. Dan Bongino. Most people don't know this. I was on Fox, and there's this guy standing there in a suit, and he just screamed Fed. And he's standing off to the side of the camera, and we break for a commercial. And I came up to him, I said, I'm Glenn Beck, and you are federal agent. And he just smiled at me. He said, I'm Dan Bongino. I'm not here in official capacity. I work at the White House, blah, blah, blah. And so I've known him since before anything, and I trust Dan. And I said, so now we're in this place to where I have to choose. Do I trust a guy I've known forever? Personally? No. I've heard him talk about things forever. And then he was appointed by the President, who I trust. I mean, he's the only guy that is exposing any of this stuff. And if I don't trust them, who's left? Who's left? You have nobody to trust. If you don't trust Dan, then you can't trust the president, because why isn't the president saying, no, Dan, that's not right. Expose it. Is Donald Trump suddenly part of the big deep state, or has he been duped by the deep state? I mean, you go.
A
And then once you go down, right then you're spinning. You know, it's so interesting you say that, because I think I said almost the exact same thing on my show when Bongino came out with that, because I know him, too. We did the rumble and locals thing together. Like, I've done business with him. I've known him only to be an honorable person. So if I'm willing. If I'm willing to throw what I personally know about him away because I have a suspicion of something, the same thing that's legit that you're talking about, man, then really, where are we? And that's.
B
And it's amazing. We don't have any information. We have suspicion.
A
Yeah, okay.
B
We have no information. And we have Cash Patel, Donald Trump, and Dan Bongino out of those three, they're looking at it and saying, there's nothing to see here. And with no new information on our side, we're willing to say, no, they're part of it now. That doesn't make any sense. That's not rational. That's not rational. It is rational to say, dan, I need you to show some of the evidence. I need to see these things, and not just for me, because I believe you, Dan. It's for the country. You can't. We cannot just go on trust. We must have facts.
A
Carl Sagan. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, you know.
B
Very good, Glenn.
A
It's a damn shame we didn't record this. Next time we're gonna. Let's record these next time, okay?
B
Next time we should.
A
I got the thumbs up over there. I love you, man. You're the best. And I cannot believe that we will soon be living in the same state that is. That is a good sign for the future, at least if you're a Floridian.
B
God bless you, Dave. I love you. Thank you.
C
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Podcast: The Rubin Report
Host: Dave Rubin
Guest: Glenn Beck
Release Date: July 5, 2025
The episode opens with Dave Rubin warmly welcoming Glenn Beck, highlighting their long-standing friendship and mutual respect. Dave remarks, “You’re on the short list of sane people that I’ve known throughout this” (00:08). Glenn reciprocates by expressing his long-term friendship, emphasizing their bond that predates many trends within the conservative movement (00:18). Their conversation quickly establishes a deep personal connection, setting a candid and comfortable tone for the ensuing discussion.
A significant portion of the conversation delves into the political dynamics of Florida and Texas. Dave reflects on considering a move to Dallas but opts for Florida due to family reasons, noting, “I have my sister and my parents here that got me to Florida” (02:24). Glenn shares his admiration for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stating, “I think he’s America’s best governor” (02:53). They contrast the resilience and adaptability of Florida’s political environment with Texas, expressing concerns over Texas’s complacency and potential vulnerabilities.
Glenn elaborates on Texas’s resistance to change, remarking, “Texans don’t feel like they could lose it all. They really don’t” (03:32). He underscores the risk of Texas transforming into a state akin to California, cautioning that continued inward focus could lead to its downfall. Dave adds a local perspective, highlighting Austin’s issues with homelessness and its cultural drift, which could erode Texas’s unique identity (05:04).
The conversation shifts to Glenn Beck’s personal life, particularly his decision to relocate to Florida. Glenn reveals plans to live part-time in Florida to fulfill a promise to his wife of living by water, contrasting it with Texas’s humid climate and lack of coastal amenities. He shares, “Florida has become the best part of New York, in my opinion” (07:42). This move signifies a strategic and personal shift, allowing Glenn to engage more dynamically in his philanthropic and broadcasting endeavors from a location he finds personally fulfilling.
A substantial segment is dedicated to discussing Glenn Beck’s extensive museum collection. Dave reminisces about a previous episode where Glenn showcased memorabilia, including iconic items like Orson Welles’s typewriter and the D-Day Normandy flag (29:06). Glenn expresses pride in items such as the original War of the Worlds script and Jesse Owens’s Olympic torch, underscoring the historical significance of his collection.
Glenn also touches on his philanthropic efforts, noting that all his future endeavors and financial resources are dedicated to philanthropy. He proudly mentions, “we have rescued, in not the last nine years, 260,000 Christians from being killed, slaughtered, or abused” (14:22). This commitment highlights his dedication to leveraging his platform and resources for meaningful impact.
Glenn Beck raises alarm over what he perceives as the Democratic Party’s fragmentation and alliance with extremist factions. He discusses a hypothetical coalition of Islamists, socialists, communists, and anarchists united by their revolutionary goals to dismantle Western civilization. Beck states, “They have one thing in common. Revolution” (16:13). He fears this alliance could destabilize Western societies, drawing parallels to historical totalitarian movements.
Dave probes Glenn on the future of the Democratic Party, referencing Jordan Peterson’s question about when the left goes too far. Glenn responds by asserting that the current trajectory is unsustainable and highlights incidents like the Minneapolis tragedy as symptomatic of deeper issues within the party's governance (17:50). He emphasizes the necessity for unity among conservatives to counteract these internal threats, stating, “we have to start thinking like they do in a way” (42:31).
Both hosts express deep concerns about the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on society. Glenn characterizes social media as a tool of destruction, eroding family structures, faith, and overall societal cohesion. He warns that AI poses an even greater threat, describing it as “a million times worse” than social media (44:01). They discuss the rapid and unchecked advancements in AI, with Dave sharing a troubling interview with President Trump about the energy demands of AI server farms (48:00).
Glenn articulates a fear of a future where AI and social media lead to mass surveillance, loss of privacy, and societal manipulation. He remarks, “If we don’t stand together and hold the gates… we’re going to see the Night of Long Knives” (20:46). The discussion underscores the urgent need for conservatives to address technological threats proactively to preserve Western values and freedoms.
A critical moment in the conversation addresses the erosion of trust within American institutions. Glenn shares his skepticism towards figures like Dan Bongino, especially in the context of conspiracy theories surrounding events like Jeffrey Epstein’s death. He expresses frustration over the indecisiveness and lack of clear evidence, stating, “We have no information. We have suspicion” (52:10). This skepticism extends to concerns about the deep state and the ability to discern truth in a landscape riddled with misinformation.
Dave echoes these sentiments, reflecting on the difficulty of maintaining trust when personal relationships are tested by political narratives. The hosts lament the polarization and the ease with which trust can be undermined, emphasizing the need for evidence-based discourse.
Towards the end of the episode, Glenn Beck opens up about his personal struggles and the role of faith and humility in maintaining his sanity amidst a tumultuous career. He shares, “I am a God guy who has been humbled by his own mistakes” (23:55), revealing his battle with alcoholism and the grounding influence of his spouse. This candid admission highlights the human side of public figures and the importance of personal resilience.
Glenn also discusses his upcoming projects, including plans for a public museum space and collaborations focused on preserving historical artifacts. Dave expresses admiration for Glenn’s ability to stay grounded and focused on meaningful pursuits despite the pressures of broadcasting and activism.
The episode concludes with a call for unity among conservatives to combat the multifaceted threats facing Western civilization. Glenn emphasizes the importance of “all hands on deck” to resist and dismantle the alliances that seek to destabilize society (42:31). He advocates for pragmatic alliances, even with unlikely partners, to preserve core constitutional values.
Dave concurs, recognizing the necessity of engaging with a diverse range of allies to effectively counteract the pervasive challenges posed by extremist ideologies and technological threats. The conversation underscores a shared commitment to safeguarding freedom, promoting informed discourse, and fostering resilience within the conservative movement.
Dave Rubin (00:08): “You’re on the short list of sane people that I’ve known throughout this.”
Glenn Beck (00:42): “Shouldn’t have done that. Shouldn’t have done that. He’s not. I’m telling you, Glenn, he’s not a friend.”
Glenn Beck (03:32): “Texans don’t feel like they could lose it all. They really don’t.”
Glenn Beck (14:22): “We have rescued, in not the last nine years, 260,000 Christians from being killed, slaughtered, or abused.”
Glenn Beck (16:13): “They have one thing in common. Revolution.”
Glenn Beck (20:46): “If we don’t stand together and hold the gates… we’re going to see the Night of Long Knives.”
Glenn Beck (23:55): “I am a God guy who has been humbled by his own mistakes.”
Dave Rubin (48:00): “The energy that will be needed by 2028 to run the server farms will be equivalent to 99% of what we currently produce.”
This episode of The Rubin Report features an in-depth and candid conversation between Dave Rubin and Glenn Beck, touching on personal experiences, political dynamics, and pressing societal concerns. They explore the vulnerabilities within conservative strongholds like Texas, the strategic advantages of Florida under Governor DeSantis, and the existential threats posed by internal party fragmentation and technological advancements. Personal anecdotes humanize the discussion, while their shared commitment to philanthropy and activism underscores a proactive approach to overcoming challenges. The dialogue serves as both a reflection on current issues and a call to action for unity and vigilance within the conservative movement.