The Glenn Beck Program - Best of the Program ｜ Guests： AG Ken Paxton & Salena Zito ｜ 4⧸9⧸25

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00:00:14.940 On today's podcast, have we made a deal with Afghanistan to be allowed to reuse Bagram Air Force Base?

00:00:22.240 If so, what does that mean?

00:00:24.500 What are we doing?

00:00:25.920 And is it the Chinese as the trade war begins to heat up?

00:00:29.340 What's happening there?

00:00:30.500 We try to explore that.

00:00:32.140 Also, Ken Paxton, who is running for John Corden's seat, joins us to talk about a new community,

00:00:37.540 an Islamic community that is being built or proposed to be built here in Texas.

00:00:42.420 And the one and only, I love her, Selena Zito.

00:00:44.920 I think she's one of the best reporters.

00:00:46.180 She was with the president on the day they tried to assassinate him.

00:00:52.260 And she tells the story.

00:00:53.520 She's got a new book coming out in, I think, the summer at some point.

00:00:56.600 And we just kind of were talking, got into it.

00:00:58.380 Wait until you hear the story that she has to share in her new book, Butler.

00:01:03.060 All right, here's the podcast.

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00:02:15.000 Hello, America.

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00:03:08.220 You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program.

00:03:12.340 Ken Paxton, welcome to the program, Sir Comrie.

00:03:15.960 Doing great.

00:03:17.080 How are you?

00:03:17.980 I am.

00:03:18.640 I'm great.

00:03:19.760 I'm very excited to talk to you about your Senate candidacy.

00:03:24.080 Me too.

00:03:24.560 Yeah.

00:03:25.320 But first, let me talk to you a little bit about what is happening here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with EPIC.

00:03:36.740 EPIC is an Islamic center and community.

00:03:41.920 And let me just play some of the video as we're talking about this.

00:03:47.120 And now we embark on a new chapter of Vision of Harmony.

00:03:51.440 All right.

00:03:51.820 So homes and hearts unite.

00:03:53.400 As a, you know, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I mean, you know, they crossed the mountains and started their own community in Salt Lake.

00:04:03.300 But they don't have a Mormon separate law.

00:04:09.120 You know what I mean?

00:04:09.620 It's all based on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

00:04:13.500 And it's not going against everything that the country was done.

00:04:18.080 So I have no problem.

00:04:19.320 You want to start any religious community?

00:04:21.540 Not a problem.

00:04:22.780 Is this that kind of community?

00:04:24.660 Do we know enough about it yet?

00:04:26.940 So I don't.

00:04:27.760 So we're in the middle.

00:04:28.540 We just started an investigation.

00:04:29.820 So I don't know the answer.

00:04:30.780 And I do agree with you.

00:04:31.800 We are a free country.

00:04:33.320 First Amendment is like clearly First Amendment.

00:04:36.660 And you can believe whatever you want to believe in this country and still be free.

00:04:41.820 On the other hand, you're right.

00:04:43.120 I mean, we have laws in this country.

00:04:44.740 Those laws matter.

00:04:45.880 The Constitution matters.

00:04:47.260 And if you're not following the laws of our country, then we're going to have some controversy and some contention.

00:04:54.060 So in the end, you can have whatever religion you want and believe whatever you want.

00:04:59.580 But you still have to follow our laws, our state laws and our federal laws and our Constitution.

00:05:04.300 So the the developments attorney says that any investigation is just racial profiling.

00:05:10.880 I'm so sick of that stuff because I don't think that it is racial profiling.

00:05:17.060 I think we have reason to be concerned.

00:05:18.800 Look what's happening over in Europe.

00:05:20.260 And we can't let that happen here in America, especially Texas.

00:05:25.180 Well, yeah, countries are being taken over and the Sharia law is taken over whatever country they're in.

00:05:34.540 And that's certainly we can't let that happen here.

00:05:37.440 I mean, the rule of law, our Constitution, what what our founders put together is so beautiful and wonderful, given us freedom for so long.

00:05:44.760 So we're not going to sacrifice that for Sharia law.

00:05:49.340 It's just not going to happen in Texas.

00:05:51.320 And so we're going to be very focused on that and make sure they're following our laws.

00:05:55.780 And at the same time, as you said, we want to be cognizant that people have a right to have their own religion.

00:06:01.420 And we we respect that.

00:06:03.220 So where do you how do you possibly because everybody involved is going to say, well, of course, you're not going to have Sharia law.

00:06:09.220 Of course, this isn't going to be a no go zone.

00:06:11.420 But that's what has been said now for a few decades over in Europe.

00:06:15.580 And that's exactly what they become.

00:06:17.280 How do you if you can't find, you know, a smoking gun with how to bring Sharia law into Texas, you know, you're not going to find that pamphlet.

00:06:27.140 How are you going to be able what what could you possibly find that would be solid enough to say no?

00:06:34.640 Well, so it's what you say is different sometimes than what people actually do.

00:06:39.400 So we're going to be looking at what people are actually doing out there.

00:06:42.620 What are the developers at?

00:06:44.560 How are they implementing this?

00:06:45.640 So they are they discriminating based on whether you are a part of a certain religion, because that would create issues with, you know, fair housing laws.

00:06:55.780 And so we're just going to be looking at what is the actual practice, not not not what are you saying, not what is your promotional material, you know, lawed, although the promotional material may tell us something.

00:07:07.660 So it's actually what is actually happening on the ground out there.

00:07:10.820 And that's that's our focus.

00:07:12.460 What is what is the truth?

00:07:14.000 So multiple state agencies are involved in this.

00:07:19.400 And are we talking about fines, injunctions, something bigger violations are found?

00:07:25.160 Yeah. So so, you know, I can't issue fines, but I can certainly sue over it and get, you know, if there's a reason, get an injunction to stop it.

00:07:35.040 If it's doing imminent harm, it's usually what you have to show.

00:07:38.420 You have to show imminent harm that you win on the merits.

00:07:40.600 Otherwise, you know, we would sue him over some type of consumer law violation or if if the governor had other violations through some of the agencies that he's directing, we could we could represent those agencies and lawsuits.

00:07:53.820 So there's all kinds of different ways to address that, depending on what we find in our investigation.

00:08:00.820 So when you were under investigation here in Texas, your attorney that represented you in the impeachment hearing, which was all cleared, is now representing the developers.

00:08:13.780 Does that cause a conflict of interest with you at all?

00:08:16.820 Um, look, I, he, I certainly didn't know about that until recently.

00:08:20.600 And, uh, I, I would say obviously a little concerning that I wasn't made aware of that.

00:08:27.260 And, you know, there definitely could be an argument that there's conflict because I'm still being represented by him and he's representing clients that we are investigating.

00:08:37.520 So, yeah, a little conflict to me.

00:08:39.740 Yeah. Uh, all right.

00:08:41.460 Let me, let me switch to Cornyn's.

00:08:43.340 This makes Stu very, very happy, uh, makes me happy too.

00:08:47.760 Uh, I think when I found out we were together, I, I gave you, we hugged it out.

00:08:51.620 Um, yes, we did.

00:08:52.940 Yeah.

00:08:53.160 Anybody, anybody who is standing against Cornyn?

00:08:55.380 I think I, I think I told you in person.

00:08:57.260 Yeah, you did.

00:08:58.000 You did.

00:08:58.720 Uh, but, uh, so we have Cornyn in, um, have you heard anything?

00:09:04.180 Have you talked to the president about this?

00:09:06.300 Is he going to stand against Cornyn and stand with you?

00:09:08.800 Do you have any idea yet?

00:09:10.760 So I don't know.

00:09:11.880 I mean, obviously the, what I have noticed about president Trump is typically he,

00:09:16.540 he waits till later, closer to the election.

00:09:18.980 He likes to see how things are going, whether people are doing, doing what they said they

00:09:22.820 were going to do and whether they're performing.

00:09:25.060 Um, so I, I mean, I, part of the reason I decided to get this over with, I think there

00:09:30.360 was a big effort by John Thune and some of the, the, the swamp to get John an endorsement

00:09:36.360 before I got in or somebody else got in.

00:09:38.920 And I wanted to make sure I was in the game before, you know, all these things got done

00:09:43.320 in Washington.

00:09:44.060 In my opinion, one of the frustrations I have is it feels like sometimes that Washington

00:09:48.240 wants to decide, oh, well, Ken, you can't run because we haven't picked you.

00:09:52.180 And I'm like, I don't care if you pick me.

00:09:53.560 What I tell about the people of Texas, right?

00:09:55.220 It feels like they think that they get to decide, well, we picked John.

00:09:58.780 And so, sorry, you can't run.

00:10:01.040 Well, I'm just not into that decision-making and never will be.

00:10:04.780 So they don't understand.

00:10:06.320 It should be the voters of Texas that decide, not John Thune and a bunch of Republican senators

00:10:11.280 that think they should run the world.

00:10:13.140 So for anybody who hasn't been paying attention for the last 400 years, uh, why, why, what would

00:10:21.420 be different between you and Cornyn?

00:10:23.680 Oh my gosh.

00:10:24.680 You know, it's so funny.

00:10:25.700 I've had this discussion many times.

00:10:27.960 It's everything.

00:10:29.620 I mean, he, he and I, his, his, his focus is in DC.

00:10:34.800 His focus is not on the people of Texas.

00:10:36.320 My focus on the people of Texas.

00:10:37.500 And that translates into him wanting to be happy and satisfied in DC.

00:10:43.800 So he fights to pass gun restrictions on, um, on Texans and all Americans.

00:10:49.740 And he worked with Joe Biden and Joe Biden said, Hey, great job.

00:10:53.500 President Trump on the other hand said, no, this is your rhino.

00:10:56.840 No, don't, this is bad legislation.

00:10:58.980 And so not only did John pass legislation that, that hurt, hurt the rest of the country, but

00:11:04.380 he also enabled the ATF to then have angles to, to try to expand their control over gun ownership.

00:11:11.260 And I had to go sue them twice.

00:11:13.200 So it's things like that.

00:11:14.740 It seems like the, the, you know, amnesty that he suggested he's for it's the fight.

00:11:19.960 He fought the book, you know, building a wall.

00:11:22.100 He fought Trump on that.

00:11:23.680 He's been unsupportive and critical of Trump when he ran both times calling him an albatross.

00:11:28.700 So fundamentally, John and I are very different and we believe very different.

00:11:33.100 We, our focus is on very different people and he's part of the establishment.

00:11:38.100 He was put there by the bushes and he doesn't look out for the interest of individual Texans.

00:11:43.980 He's thinking people in Washington are his, are his, are his people.

00:11:49.840 Ken, uh, part of the establishment in this particular case is, I would say an understatement.

00:11:53.360 Um, and one of the benefits of being part of that establishment is you got a lot of friends

00:11:57.880 who have a lot of power, a lot of money.

00:12:00.280 They are going to come after you really, really, I, I, I mean, I can't even, I can't even imagine.

00:12:05.920 They've already told me, no, no, they've already told me.

00:12:08.420 They told me that I should not run, that I was not picked and that I should not run and

00:12:13.600 that they would spend, I was told $120 million to make sure that they kept John Cornyn.

00:12:18.540 And I said, Hey, can you tell me why John Cornyn is running?

00:12:22.620 And just, just, I just want to know that.

00:12:25.020 And there was a quiet silence and there was like, well, you know, we told him not to run.

00:12:29.420 He's already been in there four terms.

00:12:30.880 We told him not to run.

00:12:32.360 And, uh, but he's up, but he, but he's our friend.

00:12:35.080 So we're going to support him and we're going to spend the money to beat you.

00:12:37.100 And I said, so you're telling me, you don't even know why John Cornyn's running and you

00:12:40.860 can't explain why he should be this center.

00:12:42.720 And you do think he's already been there too long, but yet you're still going to support him.

00:12:46.300 And the answer was yes.

00:12:47.480 And we will spend a lot of money to make sure it's not you.

00:12:49.860 $120 million that could go to defeating people on the left.

00:12:54.640 Yes.

00:12:55.080 And like, I don't know what the real number is that could, uh, 120 million at primary.

00:12:58.520 I don't, I don't think that's the real number.

00:13:02.080 Yeah.

00:13:02.480 I mean, I wouldn't, you have the pockets to go against that.

00:13:07.780 Uh, I am, I'm right now I'm doing quite well.

00:13:11.000 I mean, I, I, you know, part of this has to be separate with super packs, but I am anticipating

00:13:17.120 that I will be very competitive on the fundraising side.

00:13:20.220 I already know I'm going to be competitive.

00:13:21.340 Now, will I have 120 million?

00:13:23.900 I don't need 120 million, but you know, 20 to 40 million, that's doable for me.

00:13:32.320 Well, money can't, uh, money can't buy this.

00:13:36.000 Um, you know, it's, it's going to be whether it just getting your name out and making sure

00:13:41.480 that people understand what John Cornyn has done.

00:13:44.300 Who are your friends in the Senate that would be your pack?

00:13:49.260 So I, I doubt, you know, the centers, but most of them, they won't, they, they all kind

00:13:53.220 of stick together behind the scenes.

00:13:55.460 They'll, they'll, they're several telling me they hope I win.

00:13:58.860 The only one that I think that would, you know, openly support me is, is, is, uh, Tommy

00:14:04.360 Tiberville, who said, I'll, I'll support you.

00:14:06.360 And I think he, he's, uh, obviously leaving to go run for governor, but he's, he's a rare

00:14:11.080 breed up there.

00:14:11.840 And, uh, that's fine.

00:14:14.220 I don't need Washington to support me.

00:14:17.280 Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz won't do it.

00:14:19.560 I mean, I think, I think Ted, um, because he's, he's, I don't think he'll say anything.

00:14:25.260 I don't think he'll endorse either way.

00:14:27.740 Yeah.

00:14:28.120 He's got to work with, he's got to work with whoever wins, I guess.

00:14:31.160 Is that the game we're playing?

00:14:33.060 That's the game we're playing.

00:14:34.080 Yeah.

00:14:34.320 Okay.

00:14:34.960 Look, and I'm just happy if, you know, that's, that's a win for me.

00:14:38.000 If, if, if Ted just stays out of it, that's, that's the message, right?

00:14:41.420 I mean, I know he endorsed Cornyn last time.

00:14:43.900 If he doesn't endorse him this time, it's, it's helpful.

00:14:46.920 Yeah.

00:14:47.720 Uh, well, um, and by the way, I'm a benefit to Ted because I'll be supportive instead of

00:14:54.400 disruptive to what he wants to do, because I am a fan of Ted Cruz.

00:14:58.520 I think he's, he's the kind of center that Texas deserves and should have, and he's done

00:15:03.040 a fantastic job and I've supported him ever, ever since he ran the first time.

00:15:06.460 Yes.

00:15:06.920 Um, and John Cornyn is in contrast is, is opposite.

00:15:11.520 I mean, as you, I think I heard you say he, he'd be fine in Vermont.

00:15:15.620 If we had him as a Republican, we'd be happy to have him, but not in Texas.

00:15:20.340 This is the best of the Glenn Beck program.

00:15:23.180 To hear the rest of this interview, check out the full podcast.

00:15:27.300 More coming up.

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00:16:32.360 Now back to the podcast.

00:16:34.760 This is the best of the Glenn Beck program.

00:16:39.060 The real Z factor is Selena Zito. 0.98

00:16:42.180 She is from the Washington Examiner, the national political reporter.

00:16:47.180 I can't wait to talk to you, Selena, about Butler.

00:16:49.120 We're going to get into that here in a second.

00:16:50.700 But can we just talk about your story that you wrote a couple of days ago?

00:16:53.660 What I learned about America first in Pennsylvania in a steel mill.

00:16:58.580 Tell me about your experience.

00:17:01.140 So thanks so much for having me on, Glenn.

00:17:03.600 You bet.

00:17:04.040 It's so nice to talk to you.

00:17:05.460 You're so great.

00:17:05.960 You know, so this is a special correspondence to the Washington Post, and they reached out to me after the election to do this kind of work.

00:17:20.120 And I really wanted to get in there and tell the people's story, in particular the steel worker's story, not only about how they feel about this sale to Nippon, but also how they feel about the tariffs.

00:17:37.440 And it is, you know, walking into that steel mill, I have to tell you, it was a thrill of my career.

00:17:44.260 I have wanted to go inside that mill for 30 years and have always been turned down.

00:17:49.560 And I think finally I just wore them down.

00:17:51.620 And you just walk in there, Glenn.

00:17:55.200 I don't know if you've ever been in one.

00:17:56.920 No, I haven't.

00:17:57.420 But it is.

00:17:58.820 Is it like the pictures where the sparks are flying?

00:18:01.460 Is it still like that?

00:18:02.280 Yes.

00:18:03.180 Wow.

00:18:03.480 It's so cool.

00:18:05.060 I really, really enjoyed it.

00:18:08.300 I have my hard hat on, earplugs, the sound, everything like the sound, the smell, the visuals, everything about that place screams work.

00:18:19.580 Right?

00:18:20.060 You just felt, and you felt like you were in a place that was part of something bigger than self.

00:18:26.800 And that is how these men and women see what they do.

00:18:31.940 It's bigger than them.

00:18:34.380 And because what does it do?

00:18:36.420 It makes your appliances.

00:18:37.700 It makes your cars.

00:18:38.900 It makes your roads.

00:18:39.960 It makes your buildings.

00:18:41.100 Everything.

00:18:42.300 Everything.

00:18:43.260 And if we are ever threatened, it makes the vehicles and the instruments that protect us.

00:18:48.860 So they are part of something bigger than self.

00:18:52.100 It is a very patriotic job.

00:18:54.400 U.S. Steel is America's first big company.

00:18:59.440 Once upon a time, the largest company, not just in the country, but in the world.

00:19:04.720 That's the magnitude of U.S. Steel.

00:19:07.200 And what are some of the things that took it down?

00:19:11.020 Tariffs.

00:19:12.380 Trade.

00:19:13.220 Bad trade deals.

00:19:14.780 And these guys have been just hanging on by a thread trying to keep this very important thing still made and produced in America.

00:19:29.500 Now, when the Nippon deal first came out in December of 2023, the union guys, the management, they were, like, against it.

00:19:38.160 Why?

00:19:39.140 And there's a historical reason.

00:19:42.140 Most steel workers are generational, right?

00:19:44.960 Their grandfather, their great-grandfather, they all worked in it.

00:19:48.320 So the images of the 70s where Japan was selling the deal, dumping the steel.

00:19:57.940 But they're also, you know, they had grandfathers and fathers that fought in World War II against Japan.

00:20:04.880 They probably should let that one go, but.

00:20:07.400 Yes, they should let that one go.

00:20:09.260 But still, there's this cultural thing, right?

00:20:11.240 Right, right, right.

00:20:11.980 Yeah.

00:20:12.140 And so they were initially against it.

00:20:15.760 But then, as they realized that U.S. Steel was never going to reinvest in their mill, if people take a look at the story, they can see the rolling mill in action.

00:20:28.880 I put a free link up in my Twitter account, Zito Selena.

00:20:35.560 But that rolling mill that you see there, which is like this awe-inspiring, powerful thing, is 86 years old.

00:20:45.860 It's really, really difficult to be competitive with any other company or country because of the age of that mill.

00:20:55.300 And it cost a billion dollars to make a new one.

00:21:01.440 And the U.S. Steel has said, yeah, we're not going to do that.

00:21:03.500 We'll just, you know, go down south.

00:21:05.220 Right.

00:21:05.780 And so Nippon comes in and says, we're going to rebuild it.

00:21:10.280 Not only are we going to rebuild it, we're going to invest in several other billion dollars into your company.

00:21:16.960 And it took a lot of talks, a lot of understanding, a lot of getting more investment from Nippon, where the steelworkers, by the way, they are not aligned with the international.

00:21:33.340 These are the local steelworkers.

00:21:35.000 The guys that show up every day, not the suits.

00:21:37.500 The guys that show up every day and they said, we're for the deal.

00:21:43.280 It'll save my community.

00:21:44.560 It'll save my local church.

00:21:45.900 It'll save my schools, the tax base.

00:21:48.020 And it won't turn my community into places like McKeesport or Aliquippa, which are now just shells of what they once were because of steel mills left in those areas.

00:21:59.860 So I just said, Selena, this week that, you know, when Donald Trump talks about bringing jobs back, he's not talking about, and hear me carefully, not talking about going back into Pittsburgh and saying, we're going to open up all the steel mills.

00:22:15.420 He is talking about steel mills, but they will be smaller and different, closer to the needs, et cetera, et cetera.

00:22:23.200 There are things, everything's going to change, but it's different kind of jobs and different kinds of things.

00:22:30.820 We're not talking about this nostalgic, you know, rebuilding of Pittsburgh the way it was.

00:22:37.300 Do they?

00:22:37.900 Right.

00:22:38.280 And they understand that, the workers, right?

00:22:40.420 Absolutely.

00:22:41.320 Yeah.

00:22:41.820 And the amount of technology that they use there would blow people's minds.

00:22:45.980 They're like, there's so much stereotype of what you think happens in there that you often get from my profession.

00:22:51.160 And then you walk in there and you're like, oh, okay.

00:22:56.400 And here's the other thing.

00:22:58.020 And to your point, this is a really important point.

00:23:00.200 This is another story I covered last week.

00:23:02.540 Two weeks ago, the Homer city coal-fired tower plant was leveled.

00:23:07.320 It was very dramatic watching the highest smokestack in the country fall to the ground.

00:23:13.500 But 10 days later, thanks to Trump, thanks to Burgum, they are putting in its place, and nobody knew this was going to happen.

00:23:23.940 They're putting in its place the largest electrical gas-powered plant in its place that will not only provide electricity to Pennsylvania,

00:23:36.480 but also parts of Maryland, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.

00:23:40.560 And more importantly than that, they are going to build an AI data center next to that.

00:23:47.340 Wow.

00:23:47.840 Really smart.

00:23:49.220 It's going to be 10,000 jobs.

00:23:52.200 10,000 jobs.

00:23:54.840 $10 billion investment, and it's shovel-ready.

00:23:58.960 And there are places like that all over the industrial Midwest that you can retrofit these coal-fired power plants

00:24:07.380 and make them power plants for AI.

00:24:11.680 You know, Trump, both Trump and Burgum have said, you know, it used to be the arms race that we wanted to win.

00:24:17.500 Yep.

00:24:18.020 Well, we need to win the AI race.

00:24:20.080 Yes.

00:24:20.600 It is non-negotiable.

00:24:22.880 We have to win it.

00:24:24.040 And these are the places where we'll build them.

00:24:26.040 So what is your feeling now that the tariffs, you know, everybody in Wall Street, everybody's freaking out.

00:24:35.280 And I think it's starting to freak people out, the average person, you know, because everybody is, like, screaming so hard about it.

00:24:42.480 You know, it's like, you know, when the media doesn't talk about gas prices, nobody says anything about gas prices, even though the average person feels it.

00:24:50.520 This is kind of like that.

00:24:52.060 The media is just freaking out about all of this.

00:24:54.560 And maybe they have good points here and there.

00:24:57.200 I'm not sure how this is going to work out.

00:24:59.800 But the last thing we need is to freak out about it.

00:25:03.820 What are the people like you meet in those small towns, the working class people, what are they saying about the tariffs?

00:25:13.500 Well, you know, Glenn, we have had this conversation so many times before.

00:25:18.040 I feel like I straddled two different worlds.

00:25:20.880 If I step on social media or if I put on the legacy news, it's a very, very different narrative than when I talk to people.

00:25:31.700 Yeah.

00:25:32.360 And, you know, for so long, the playing field has not been level for them.

00:25:39.540 And I know that sounds like a cliche.

00:25:41.340 However, it is true.

00:25:42.400 And they, and it's really interesting to me, to a person, they almost, they are willing to have a short-term sacrifice for a long-term betterment for the country.

00:25:58.120 I was talking to Anthony.

00:25:59.640 It's going to be in my upcoming story with my interview with Bergam.

00:26:02.480 Um, I was talking to Anthony.

00:26:05.260 He is a PhD in chemistry, has traveled all over the world in the energy industry.

00:26:12.180 And, and I said, so how do you, you know, feel about this?

00:26:15.580 And he said, um, I think it's the best thing for the country.

00:26:19.020 It's going to make the country better for my children and for my grandchildren.

00:26:23.300 And we need to start thinking in those terms.

00:26:27.260 We have been thinking in terms of satisfying wall street.

00:26:32.180 And, and I know, I look, my, he goes, I, you know, I'm, I'm 10 years from retirement.

00:26:36.620 I know what my 401k looks like right now.

00:26:38.900 However, I also knew what it looked like in 2008 and 2020 America rolls back.

00:26:45.120 That is what we need in this country.

00:26:47.760 And he said, we should have learned this from COVID.

00:26:50.660 We need to make more stuff here.

00:26:52.820 We need to make more stuff here.

00:26:56.520 And we haven't been able to because corporations see how cheaply it can be made in China, how

00:27:04.060 cheaply it can be made in Mexico or wherever, name a country, Vietnam or whatever country

00:27:09.600 it is.

00:27:10.780 Um, and, and we need to be able to have our supply chain be able to supply us.

00:27:17.380 And if that makes me take a haircut, I'll take a haircut because it's going to be better

00:27:21.140 for my kids and my grandchildren.

00:27:22.320 I've got about a minute before I have to break, um, and I'm going to pursue something else.

00:27:26.620 But, um, do you think that, uh, the average person, uh, really understands that this is

00:27:35.700 not about the economy today?

00:27:38.400 This is the great reset, uh, this is the great reset, not done by the elites.

00:27:44.940 This is the great reset saying, no, we're going to put our faith back into America and to our

00:27:50.840 principles.

00:27:51.700 And it's not about racism.

00:27:53.160 It's not about isolationism.

00:27:54.620 It's just about what the elites have been doing is wrong and it's going to hurt, but we got

00:28:00.080 to do this.

00:28:01.140 Do you believe that they understand that?

00:28:03.280 Yeah, absolutely.

00:28:05.620 I mean, to a person and, and it's really interesting because I don't lead into that question, right?

00:28:11.300 To try to get them to say it.

00:28:12.680 It's one of the first things that they say in particular ranchers, you know, talk to a

00:28:18.400 rancher in Kansas and they will tell you, you know, we haven't had a level playing field at

00:28:25.380 all.

00:28:25.760 We have been on the short end of the stick for decades and, and, you know, this is the first

00:28:32.900 time that, that we have a chance to show what we have and show that we can compete so that our

00:28:39.920 ranchers ranches for our kids and our grandkids are, are better, stronger, more viable because

00:28:46.580 they're not going to be, if we don't.

00:28:49.240 Selena, it's always good to talk to you.

00:28:50.280 You know, the, one of the things that, let me just say this to anybody who's listening.

00:28:53.280 Um, one of the things I love about Selena, we've known each other for decades now and,

00:28:58.560 uh, I love, I love her because she does not drive the highways. 1.00

00:29:02.760 She doesn't fly place to place. 1.00

00:29:05.180 She drives the back roads. 0.92

00:29:07.040 She stops at the coffee shops and the little stores in the gas station.

00:29:10.620 And that's, that's why I think you have such a good handle on the heartbeat of the average

00:29:16.740 person in America.

00:29:17.920 You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck podcast.

00:29:20.620 Hear more of this interview and others with the full show podcast available wherever you

00:29:25.360 get podcasts.

00:29:26.960 Welcome to the Glenn Beck program.

00:29:28.880 Uh, I'm probably going to talk about this tomorrow.

00:29:31.440 Steven Moore is going to be on with me in about an hour from now, and we're going to touch on

00:29:34.740 this.

00:29:34.980 I just want you to know that if you are, you know, if you pay attention to what's happening

00:29:40.120 in the markets, uh, you'll see the, uh, you'll see the fed, the treasuries are going up.

00:29:47.660 That's the opposite of what should be happening right now.

00:29:51.340 And that is because of something called basis trade.

00:29:53.920 Uh, and it's a very, very big deal if it's not turned around the hedge funds playing fast

00:30:03.240 and loose.

00:30:03.740 And now they got their foot caught in the door and it's almost a 2008 kind of thing.

00:30:08.800 If it, if it doesn't get under control quickly, um, it's, it's really not a good thing, uh,

00:30:15.380 not caused by the tariffs, but kind of pushed over the edge because of the tariffs, the unwinding

00:30:21.980 of this thing that has been a problem for a long time.

00:30:25.340 And, uh, and I just want you to know we're aware of it and we're watching it for you.

00:30:30.480 And I'll have more on that tomorrow.

00:30:32.600 I might be able to get to some of it, uh, uh, later on in the program today.

00:30:38.120 Uh, let me go to, uh, uh, Jason Buttrill.

00:30:41.620 He is our, he's former defense department of defense, um, intelligence analyst.

00:30:46.480 And he is also, uh, our head writer and head of research here at the Glenn Beck program.

00:30:52.580 Uh, and Jason, there is something that I did not expect to read and maybe ever a, a C-17

00:31:02.840 aircraft from ours took off in Doha on our military base and arrived at Bagram on Sunday.

00:31:14.040 Uh, it was said to be carrying senior U S intelligence officials, including the CIA deputy chief, uh,

00:31:21.920 military equipment, et cetera, et cetera.

00:31:25.100 Now there's rumors that the Taliban handed the base over to us, which I don't think that

00:31:35.580 happened just because of the kindness of their hearts.

00:31:38.040 And I have a feeling this, I don't know what kind of, if this is true, I don't know what

00:31:43.000 kind of deal we had to make with the Taliban to get that base back because that base is 0.98

00:31:48.300 strategic, like nobody's business, uh, if you're going into any kind of war with, with

00:31:56.080 China, Jason, can you fill us in on this?

00:31:59.540 What's true?

00:32:00.160 What's not?

00:32:00.780 What do you read from this?

00:32:02.880 Yeah.

00:32:03.420 So none of this is, uh, is official.

00:32:06.060 Uh, this news report came out because there's people on the ground that are watching flight

00:32:10.660 trackers.

00:32:11.360 They saw this flight take off.

00:32:13.340 They saw it land and then the rumors spread from, from there, from the, you know, the

00:32:18.140 whole thing about, you know, the Taliban handing over Bagram to us is probably a complete and

00:32:24.200 total pipe dream at the moment.

00:32:26.100 I don't know where it goes.

00:32:27.080 Eventually it could, but of course the Taliban denied it.

00:32:30.200 Like they can't be seen, you know, handing over facility in their, like that's what sparked

00:32:37.040 off Al Qaeda, you know, in Saudi Arabia, having us in, you know, at their military base, they're

00:32:41.240 not going to admit that, but I, I do see, we have to look at the state of the world and

00:32:48.540 kind of think about during the cold war.

00:32:50.600 Can you imagine when, if during the cold war, the media landscape was how it is now.

00:32:55.660 So that, I mean, like who are these Contra people? 1.00

00:32:58.360 Like what are we dealing with?

00:33:00.020 Or who are the Sandinistas?

00:33:01.380 Like this news would be everywhere nonstop.

00:33:04.420 And you were going to start seeing that with this trade war that's going on right now.

00:33:07.900 And by the way, by the way, I think it's important for us to say, I think it's official.

00:33:12.820 We are in a trade war.

00:33:14.520 China just retaliated again a second time.

00:33:18.500 What was it number this time?

00:33:19.800 54%?

00:33:20.780 They added another 50%.

00:33:22.180 So they're up to 84% now.

00:33:24.020 And we're up to 104.

00:33:25.360 104.

00:33:26.280 So we're at a trade war.

00:33:28.460 And then Europe as well.

00:33:29.560 Europe just retaliated with 25% as well.

00:33:33.340 So this is not a good thing.

00:33:35.660 You don't like trade wars.

00:33:36.680 Trade wars are not a good thing.

00:33:39.960 Stephen Moore, Art Laffer have been advising the president.

00:33:44.400 And Stephen's going to be on with us here in about 45 minutes.

00:33:49.040 Oh, not confirmed yet?

00:33:50.280 Okay.

00:33:50.880 He will.

00:33:52.120 We've been chatting this morning on text all morning since about 4 a.m.

00:33:56.560 Both of us wide awake going, what's happening in the world?

00:33:59.540 But anyway, we are at a trade war.

00:34:01.640 So why does that play a role with Bagram?

00:34:06.580 Well, we're going to start seeing activity beyond tariffs.

00:34:09.980 Tariffs are the main lever.

00:34:11.680 But we're going to see some clandestine activity and other moves from our intelligence services,

00:34:16.100 maybe even military movements in the middle of this.

00:34:18.620 Because right now, between the United States and China, it is a very big and competitive world and issue between the both of them. 0.65

00:34:25.960 And I think this is squarely about China.

00:34:28.580 I really think it does.

00:34:29.520 That's what was so scary about handing over Bagram to begin with.

00:34:33.180 Because that's a major part of their Silk Road initiative. 0.92

00:34:37.140 So one of their major trade objectives is to be able to have a land route through places like Afghanistan.

00:34:45.060 So I think that there's a big issue that both us and the Taliban can agree on, if you can believe that.

00:34:51.600 And that is the elimination of ISIS-K in Afghanistan. 0.88

00:34:55.060 That's their affiliate in Afghanistan.

00:34:56.520 The Taliban doesn't like them.

00:34:57.700 And I believe they've worked with them in the past, but now it's a completely different state of the game for them between the two groups.

00:35:05.820 So I can see them making concessions to allow us to, let's say, operate some intelligence assets out of there or use it in some way.

00:35:13.880 I think we are seeing the beginnings of that negotiation right now with this.

00:35:18.600 That's my opinion.

00:35:19.200 Can you believe, after all those years at war with them, there's the possibility that we're going to need their help with China? 0.70

00:35:29.360 I mean, that's insane.

00:35:30.980 That's insane.

00:35:31.720 And none of this would have happened had we not just handed them the base. 0.99

00:35:35.740 That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard. 0.98

00:35:38.340 We paid how many billions for that base? 1.00

00:35:41.560 Oh, gosh.

00:35:42.500 I mean, too many.

00:35:43.840 Yeah, too many billions of dollars in that base.

00:35:46.620 And we just handed it to them, just handed it to them.

00:35:50.620 And we left all our equipment there.

00:35:53.080 Now, there's a couple of other reasons that, you know, you can speculate on.

00:36:00.100 Are we doing counterterrorism or intelligence operations in that area?

00:36:06.360 Maybe not with just China or not against China, but also, you know, this is a central place to be for Russia and China, for the United States.

00:36:16.380 Make sure we have a foothold in that.

00:36:18.940 What do you think we would have to offer the Taliban to get this? 0.89

00:36:26.400 Well, I don't think we'd be giving them anything, but I do think that we would, you know, offer our services.

00:36:35.320 I don't know what to call it, offer our services, but show that we both have the same enemy in ISIS-K. 0.99

00:36:41.860 And I don't think that we'd be sharing anything with them.

00:36:44.780 But, I mean, if you look at our relationship with Afghanistan while the Taliban pre-2001 was in place, we didn't have a major foothold in Afghanistan.

00:36:55.520 We had intelligence operatives within the country clandestinely and outside the country.

00:37:01.360 That's how we managed the terror threat before.

00:37:03.540 I think we're moving into a more aggressive phase where that is our stance in that area.

00:37:08.340 We have some intelligence assets in the country.

00:37:11.060 We have some intelligence assets in places like Pakistan and other places.

00:37:14.180 Not a major military footprint.

00:37:16.820 I don't think that's going to happen again.

00:37:18.560 I really don't.

00:37:19.240 I don't think Bagram will ever be fully turned over to us again.

00:37:21.880 I don't think that's going to happen.

00:37:23.080 But I could see some kind of accommodation to allow, let's say, and this is very dangerous, like a a la Benghazi, like a compound or something like that, that we do operate out of, like a handful of intelligence assets.

00:37:38.300 Extremely dangerous, but I can see them moving in that direction.

00:37:41.980 And so what does that give us, Glenn?

00:37:43.740 That lets us attack terrorists, which is what we want to do.

00:37:47.440 We don't want them to get larger groups within Afghanistan. 0.99

00:37:49.880 That benefits the Taliban as well, but it also lets us keep an eye on who is using that air base also.

00:37:57.840 Are the Chinese there?

00:37:58.880 Are the Russians there?

00:38:00.100 More importantly, are the Chinese there?

00:38:01.780 That's what I think is going on.

00:38:03.260 What is the Chinese relationship with Afghanistan?

00:38:06.180 Because they've got to, I mean, Chinese need Afghanistan too.

00:38:10.760 Chinese absolutely need Afghanistan for Silk Road. 1.00

00:38:13.460 And, I mean, look what they've done in places like Africa. 0.98

00:38:16.520 They move in and offer the world.

00:38:18.200 We'll build this superhighway.

00:38:20.260 We'll build up this infrastructure, this infrastructure, this infrastructure.

00:38:23.160 Eventually, the way they structure those deals, Afghanistan becomes a slave to China because then they're on the hook for a trillion dollars in infrastructure payback. 0.62

00:38:33.280 That's how China exerts force. 0.99

00:38:35.520 So that's China's stake in this game, and that's probably what they're maneuvering to do.

00:38:40.300 We would want to stop them from doing that in this overall trade war, looking down the road a decade, two decades from now.

00:38:46.960 You know, everybody I've talked to, everyone has said to me, Glenn, in a trade war with China, if this doesn't back off, we're both in real trouble.

00:39:01.220 China has got to have us, and we really have to have China for our medicines and everything else.

00:39:07.100 And I said, so which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which one of us wins in the end?

00:39:13.480 And it's like any war.

00:39:15.060 You don't know.

00:39:16.500 Whoever can stomach it the longest, I guess, is the answer.

00:39:22.160 Your thoughts on what we're entering and how Europe is now responding?

00:39:27.400 You know, history teaches us so much.

00:39:32.020 And if you, if you look at the world post-World War II, it was very similar to, who was that, that Japanese geopolitics person or philosopher, I can't remember, where he said that this was the end of history.

00:39:43.660 But he was talking about, I think, World War, was he talking about World War I or World War II, I can't remember.

00:39:47.240 One, I think.

00:39:47.620 But he's, he said this is the end of the history, because the world is so interconnected, we're not going to want to go to war again. 0.76

00:39:53.080 Well, that's complete bullcrap.

00:39:55.900 You know, you look at, you know, books like The Clash of Civilizations that pointed out that, well, actually, you know, people are just going to move into their own, you know, racial or race or identity. 0.79

00:40:06.040 And that will be the new, you know, you know, spark for war going forward.

00:40:10.960 Sure.

00:40:11.220 But the solution to that, thinking that this is the end of history, was to fully interconnect all these countries, the entire world, so that if we go to war or, you know, whatever, we all suffer for it.

00:40:23.820 So we won't do it.

00:40:24.600 So it's the end of history.

00:40:25.800 Right.

00:40:26.200 Well, that system that we built made it to where we are dependent on all these other countries.

00:40:31.580 We're dependent on China for our, you know, our, our, our, all of our, what's it, 75%, I believe, of our medicines.

00:40:39.440 75%.

00:40:40.320 We depend on this country for all of these rare earth minerals.

00:40:43.440 We compare, you know, we're dependent everywhere.

00:40:45.940 That is the system they built.

00:40:47.680 They never thought it would turn around and bite people, even though we saw in COVID that that was completely wrong.

00:40:54.640 We are in bad shape and it's not sustainable.

00:40:58.260 So now, you know, hang on a second.

00:40:59.520 That is the scariest thing, because when you, when you fully understand that, then you understand what the president is doing.

00:41:07.700 And then you're looking at it going, geez, but that doesn't give us relief right away.

00:41:14.160 This, this, this is going to cause a lot of temporary pain.

00:41:18.680 And maybe, I don't know what temporary even means.

00:41:21.280 It will be temporary, but it's going to cause a lot of pain.

00:41:25.160 And I'm not sure that the American people even understand truly what's going on.

00:41:31.680 They think it's just about the economy.

00:41:33.700 It's not.

00:41:34.680 It's about changing everything.

00:41:37.780 Yeah.

00:41:38.340 And people rightly point out that change doesn't happen overnight.

00:41:41.320 And that's exactly right.

00:41:43.020 I mean, how many billions of dollars does it take for a company to set up a plant or manufacturing facility within the United States?

00:41:50.520 It's billions of dollars.

00:41:51.820 How long does it take to build those?

00:41:53.460 What, three to five years once they finally pull the trigger?

00:41:56.200 We're only in the negotiation stage.

00:41:58.480 I know.

00:41:58.800 So we're talking about a long, far, you know, far off in the distance plan that we're just negotiating.

00:42:05.960 Right.

00:42:06.120 It has to be done.

00:42:07.140 It's unsustainable.

00:42:08.700 And it's.

00:42:09.500 But we are seeing the beginnings of the pain now.

00:42:12.380 And it's only going to get worse if we don't do anything.

00:42:16.920 But we have to understand the pain may be, may be a long time.

00:42:21.080 This is a hundred year plan, longer than that now, being turned overnight.

00:42:25.880 And it's, it's not going to, it's going to cause some shocks along the way.

00:42:29.640 Thank you, Jason.

00:42:30.660 I appreciate it.

00:42:33.940 Claudia was leaving for her pickleball tournament.

00:42:36.300 I've been visualizing my match all week.

00:42:38.600 She was so focused on visualizing that she didn't see the column behind her car on her backhand side.

00:42:44.800 Good thing Claudia's with Intact, the insurer with the largest network of auto service centers in the country.

00:42:50.500 Everything was taken care of under one roof and she was on her way in a rental car in no time.

00:42:54.800 I made it to my tournament and lost in the first round.

00:42:58.400 But you got there on time.

00:43:00.260 Intact Insurance, your auto service ace.

00:43:02.880 Certain conditions apply.

The Glenn Beck Program - April 09, 2025

Best of the Program ｜ Guests： AG Ken Paxton & Salena Zito ｜ 4⧸9⧸25

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