Glenn Beck | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Beck in 2025 | |
| Born | (1964-02-10)February 10, 1964 (age 61) Everett, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Talk show host, political commentator, producer,[3] entrepreneur[4] |
| Political party | Republican (before 2014) Independent (2014–present)[5] |
| Movement | Conservatism |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
|
| Website | glennbeck |
| Signature | |
 | |
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an Americanconservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and radio networkTheBlaze. He hosts theGlenn Beck Radio Program, atalk-radio show nationally syndicated onPremiere Radio Networks. Beck also hosts theGlenn Beck television program, which ran from January 2006 to October 2008 onHLN, from January 2009 to June 2011 onFox News and now airs onTheBlaze. Beck has authored sixNew York Times–bestselling books.[9]
In April 2011, Beck announced that he would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News, but would continue to team with Fox.[10] His last daily show on Fox was June 30, 2011.[11] In 2012,The Hollywood Reporter placed Beck on its Digital Power Fifty list.[12] Beck launched TheBlaze in 2011 after leaving Fox News. He hosts an hour-long afternoon program,The Glenn Beck Program, on weekdays, and a three-hour morning radio show; both are broadcast on TheBlaze. Beck is also the producer of TheBlaze'sFor the Record.[13]
Beck has received both praise and criticism, characterized by his supporters as a defender of traditional American values and by his detractors as ademagogue. DuringBarack Obama's presidency, Beck promotedconspiracy theories about Obama, his administration,George Soros, and others.
Beck was born inEverett, Washington,[14] the son of Mary Clara (née Janssen) and William Beck, who lived inMountlake Terrace, Washington, at the time of their son's birth.[15] The family later moved toMount Vernon, Washington,[16] where they owned and operated a downtown bakery.[16] He is descended fromGerman immigrants who came to the United States in the 19th century.[17] Beck was raised as aRoman Catholic and attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Mount Vernon.
Beck and his sister moved with their mother toSumner, Washington, attending aJesuit school[18] inPuyallup. In 1979, when Beck was 15, his mother drowned inPuget Sound while fishing with a man inCommencement Bay west ofTacoma.[19][20] Her companion also drowned; police investigators believed that one of the victims may have fallen overboard and the other drowned in a rescue attempt.[21][20] Beck has called his mother's death asuicide in interviews.[20]
After their mother's death, Beck moved to his father's home inBellingham, where Beck graduated fromSehome High School in 1982.[22][23] Beck also regularly vacationed with his maternal grandparents, Ed and Clara Janssen, in Iowa.[24] In the aftermath of his mother's death and his stepbrother's subsequent suicide, Beck has said he used "Dr.Jack Daniel's" to cope. At 18, after graduating from high school, he moved toProvo, Utah, and worked at radio stationKAYK. Feeling he "didn't fit in", Beck left Utah after six months,[25] taking a job atWashington, D.C.'sWPGC in February 1983.[20]
While working at WPGC, Beck met his first wife, Claire.[26] They married in 1983 and had two daughters, Mary and Hannah. Mary developedcerebral palsy as a result of a series of strokes at birth in 1988.[26] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles withsubstance abuse. He is a recoveringalcoholic anddrug addict,[27] and has said he hasattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[28][29][30]
By 1994, Beck was suicidal, and imagined shooting himself to the music ofKurt Cobain.[29] He creditsAlcoholics Anonymous (AA) with helping him achievesobriety. He said he stopped drinking alcohol and smokingcannabis in November 1994, the same month he attended his first AA meeting.[29] Beck later said that he had gotten high every day for the previous 15 years, since the age of 16.[20]
In 1996, while working for aNew Haven area radio station, Beck took atheology class atYale University, with a written recommendation from SenatorJoe Lieberman, a Yale alumnus who was a fan of Beck's show at the time.[31] Beck enrolled in an "Early Christology" course, but soon withdrew, marking the extent of his post-secondary education.[29][32]
Beck then began a "spiritual quest" in which he "sought out answers in churches and bookstores".[29] As he later recounted in his books and stage performances, Beck's first attempt atself-education involved reading the work of six wide-ranging authors, constituting what Beck jokingly calls "the library of a serial killer":Alan Dershowitz,Pope John Paul II,Adolf Hitler,Billy Graham,Carl Sagan, andFriedrich Nietzsche.[31] During this time, Beck's Mormon friend and former radio partnerPat Gray argued in favor of the "comprehensive worldview" offered bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an offer that Beck rejected until a few years later.[29] (Later, after moving to the New York City area, he had a consultation with Graham, which he said affected him strongly.[33]
In 1999, Beck married his second wife, Tania.[29] After they went looking for a faith on a church tour together,[29] they joinedthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October 1999, partly at the urging of his daughter Mary.[34][35] Beck wasbaptized by Pat Gray.[29] Beck and Tania have two children together. Until April 2011, the couple lived inNew Canaan, Connecticut, with the four children.[36][37]
In July 2010, Beck announced that he had been diagnosed withmacular dystrophy, saying, "A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes. I can't focus my eyes. He did all kinds of tests and he said, 'you have macular dystrophy ... you could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not.'" The disorder can make it difficult to read, drive or recognize faces.[38]
In July 2011, Beck leased a house in theFort Worth suburb ofWestlake, Texas.[39] The Blaze has been based inIrving, Texas, a suburb ofDallas, since 2011.[40]
On November 10, 2014, Beck announced onTheBlaze that he had been suffering from a severeneurological disorder for at least the last five years. He described many strong and debilitating symptoms that made it difficult for him to work,[41] and also announced that he had "a string of health issues that quite honestly made me look crazy, and quite honestly, I have felt crazy because of them".[42] Beck said that achiropractor who specializes in "chiropractic neurology",Frederick Carrick, had "diagnosed [him] with several health issues, including an autoimmune disorder, which he didn't name, andadrenal fatigue." Over 10 months he had received a series of treatments and felt better.[43] On January 13, 2022, Beck announced that his second case ofCOVID-19 was "getting into my lungs".[44]
Glenn Beck has managed to monetize virtually everything that comes out of his mouth.
In 2002, Beck created the media platform Mercury Radio Arts[31][46] as the umbrella over his broadcast, publishing, Internet, and live show interests. Beck foundedMercury Radio Arts in 2002, naming it after theOrson Welles'Mercury Theatre, which produced live radio broadcasts during the 1930s. The company produces all of Beck's productions, including hiseponymous radio show, books, livestage shows, and his official website.[47][48]
In 1983, Beck moved toCorpus Christi, Texas, to work at radio stationKZFM.[26] In mid-1985, he was hired away from KZFM to be the lead DJ forWRKA's morning-drive radio broadcast inLouisville, Kentucky.[26] His four-hour weekday show was calledCaptain Beck and the A-Team.[49] Beck had a reputation as a "young up-and-comer". The show was not political and included the genre's usual off-color antics: juvenile jokes, pranks, and impersonations.[31] It slipped to third in the market and Beck left abruptly in 1987 amid a dispute with WRKA management.[50]
Months later, Beck was hired byPhoenixTop-40 stationKOY-FM, then known as Y-95. Beck was partnered withArizona native Tim Hattrick to co-host a local "morning zoo" program.[29] During his time at Y-95, Beck cultivated a rivalry with local pop radio stationKZZP and that station's morning host Bruce Kelly. Throughpractical jokes andpublicity stunts, Beck drew criticism from the staff at Y-95 when the rivalry culminated in Beck telephoning Kelly's wife on the air, mocking her recentmiscarriage.[26] In 1989, Beck resigned from Y-95 to accept a job in Houston atKRBE, known as Power 104. He was fired in 1990 due to poor ratings.[26]
Beck then moved toBaltimore,Maryland, and the city's leadingTop-40 station,WBSB, known as B104. There, he partnered withPat Gray, a morningDJ. During his tenure at B104, Beck was arrested and jailed forspeeding in hisDeLorean.[29] According to a former associate, Beck was "completely out of it" when a station manager went tobail him out.[29] After Gray and Beck were fired, they spent six months in Baltimore, planning their next move. In early 1992, they moved toWKCI-FM (KC101), aTop-40 radio station inNew Haven, Connecticut.[29] In 1995, WKCI apologized after Beck and Gray mocked a Chinese-American caller on air who felt offended by a comedy segment by playing agong sound effect and having executive producer Alf Gatineau mock a Chinese accent. That incident led to protests by activist groups.[51] When Gray left the show to move toSalt Lake City, Beck continued with co-host Vinnie Penn. At the end of 1998, Beck was informed that his contract would not be renewed at the end of 1999.[29]
TheGlenn Beck Program first aired in 2000 onWFLA (AM) inTampa, and took its afternoon time slot from 18th to first place within a year.[52][53] In January 2002,Premiere Radio Networks launched the show nationwide on 47 stations. The show then moved toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting from new flagship stationWPHT. On November 5, 2007,The New York Times reported that Premiere Radio Networks was extending Beck's contract. By May 2008, it had reached over 280 terrestrial stations as well asXM Satellite. It was ranked fourth in the nation with over 6.5 million listeners.[54] As of July 2013[update], Beck was tied for fourth in the ratings, behindRush Limbaugh,Sean Hannity, andDave Ramsey.[55]
In January 2006,CNN'sHeadline News announced that Beck would host a nightly news-commentary show in its new prime-time blockHeadline Prime. The show, simply calledGlenn Beck, aired weeknights.CNN Headline News called the show "an unconventional look at the news of the day featuring his often amusing perspective".[56] At the end of his tenure at CNN-HLN, Beck had the second-largest audience, behindNancy Grace.[57] In 2008, he won theMarconi Radio Award for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year.[8]
In October 2008, it was announced that Beck would join theFox News Channel, leaving CNN Headline News.[58] After moving to Fox, Beck hostedGlenn Beck, beginning in January 2009, as well as a weekend version.[59] One of his first guests wasAlaska GovernorSarah Palin.[60] He also had a regular segment on Fridays, "At Your Beck and Call", on the Fox News Channel programThe O'Reilly Factor.[61] As of September 2009[update], Beck's program drew more viewers than all three competing time-slot shows combined on CNN,MSNBC andHLN.[62][63]
Beck's show's high ratings did not come without controversy.[58]The Washington Post'sHoward Kurtz reported that Beck's use of "distorted or inflammatory rhetoric" had complicated the channel's and its journalists' efforts to neutralizeWhite House criticism that Fox is not really a news organization.[58] Television analyst Andrew Tyndall echoed these sentiments, saying that Beck's incendiary style had created "a real crossroads for Fox News", saying, "they're right on the cusp of losing their image as a news organization."[58]
In April 2011, Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts, Beck's production company, announced that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News in 2011.[64] His last day at Fox was later announced as June 30.[65][66] FNC and Beck announced that he would team with Fox to produce a slate of projects for Fox News and its digital properties.[10] Fox News headRoger Ailes later referenced Beck's entrepreneurialism and political movement activism, saying, "His [Beck's] goals were different from our goals ... I need people focused on a daily television show."[67] Beck hosted his last daily show on Fox on June 30, 2011, when he recounted the accomplishments of the show and said, "This show has become a movement. It's not a TV show, and that's why it doesn't belong on television anymore. It belongs in your homes. It belongs in your neighborhoods."[11] In response to critics who said he was fired, Beck pointed out that his final show was airing live.[11] Immediately after the show he did an interview on his newGBTV internet television channel.[11]
Beck's Fox News one-hour show ended on June 30, 2011,[68] and a new two-hour show began his television network, which started as a subscription-basedinternet TV network,TheBlaze TV, originally called GBTV, on September 12, 2011.[69][70] Using a subscription model, it was estimated that Beck was on track to generate $27 million in his first year of operation.[71] This was later upgraded to $40 million byThe Wall Street Journal when subscriptions topped 300,000.[72]
Mercury Ink has a co-publishing deal withSimon & Schuster and was founded by Glenn Beck in 2011 as the publishing imprint ofMercury Radio Arts.[73] Started in 2011, Mercury Ink publishes adult and young adult novels and non-fiction titles. Authors signed to Mercury Ink include Beck andNew York Times best sellerRichard Paul Evans.
Beck has reached No. 1 onThe New York TimesBestseller List in four separate categories as of 2010[update]: Hardcover Non-Fiction,[74][75] Paperback Non-Fiction,[74] Hardcover Fiction,[76] and Children's Picture Books.[77]
Beck has a chapter giving advice inTim Ferriss's bookTools of Titans.
When Beck meets his fans, he does so with the gusto of a public figure engaging his constituents. People he meets often give him presents and notes. He signs autographs, poses for photos. He has perfected the Everyman shtick that presidential candidates spend years trying to master in places like Iowa.
Since 2005, Beck has toured American cities twice a year, presenting a one-man stage show. His stage productions are a mix of stand-up comedy and inspirational speaking. In a critique of his live act,Salon magazine'sSteve Almond describes Beck as a "wildly imaginative performer, a man who weds the operatic impulses of the demagogue to the grim mutterings of the conspiracy theorist".[78] A show from theBeck '08 Unelectable Tour was shown in around 350 U.S. movie theaters.[79]
The finale of 2009'sCommon Sense Comedy Tour was simulcast in over 440 theaters.[80] The events have drawn 200,000 fans in recent years.[81]
In March 2003, Beck ran a series of rallies, which he called Glenn Beck's Rally for America, in support of troops deployed for the upcomingIraq War. On July 4, 2007, he hosted the 2007Toyota Tundra "Stadium of Fire" inProvo, Utah. America's Freedom Foundation presents the annual event atLaVell Edwards Stadium atBrigham Young University.[82] In May 2008, Beck gave the keynote speech at theNRA convention inLouisville, Kentucky.[83]
In late August 2009, the mayor of Beck's hometown,Mount Vernon, Washington, announced that he would award Beck theKey to the City, designating September 26, 2009, as "Glenn Beck Day". Due to local opposition, the city council voted unanimously to disassociate itself from the award.[84] The key presentation ceremony sold out the 850-seat McIntyre Hall and an estimated 800 detractors and supporters demonstrated outside the building. Earlier that day, approximately 7,000 people attended theEvergreen Freedom Foundation's "Take the Field with Glenn Beck" at Seattle'sSafeco Field.[85]
In December 2009, Beck produced a one-night special film,The Christmas Sweater: A Return to Redemption.[86] In January and February 2010, he teamed with fellow Fox News hostBill O'Reilly to tour several cities in a live stage show called "The Bold and Fresh Tour 2010". The January 29 show was recorded and broadcast to movie theaters throughout the country.[87]
In July 2013, Beck produced and hosted a one-night stage event,Man in the Moon, held at theUSANA Amphitheatre inWest Valley City, Utah. The amphitheater sold out all 20,000 of its seats and a recording of the event was released on television and DVD in August 2013. The event was a narrative story told from the Moon's point of view, from the beginnings of the Book of Genesis to the first Moon landing. The Moon narrates the story.
In 2011, Beck founded the nonprofit organization Mercury One, the mission of which is to "restore the human spirit by encouraging dependence on God, providing humanitarian aid, preserving heritage, and empowering all to stand for truth."[88] In early 2011, he began work toward developing a clothing line to be sold to benefit the charity. In October 2011, Mercury One began selling the upscale clothing line1791 exclusively at its website, 1791.com. The clothing in the line's 11-piece inaugural offering was manufactured by American Mojo ofLowell, Massachusetts.[89]
In July 2014, after tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant children crossed into Texas via theSouthern United States border, unaccompanied by parents, Beck announced that he, SenatorMike Lee, and RepresentativeLouie Gohmert would travel to the U.S.–Mexico border with Mercury One. He said they would bringtractor trailers full of food, hot meals, and teddy bears for the unaccompanied minors. While Beck made clear in interviews that they wanted a full repeal ofDACA, he also said he believed in the importance of helping these children. "Through no fault of their own, they are caught in political crossfire, and while we continue to put pressure on Washington and change its course of lawlessness, we must also help", Beck said. "It is not either/or. It is both. We have to be active in the political game, and we must open our hearts."[90]
As of 2017, Beck's Nazarene Fund had reportedly relocated 10,524 Christian refugees from northern Iraq and Syria to other host countries, including the U.S., Australia, France, Slovakia, Greece, Lebanon, Brazil, and Canada. The fund's website says 1,646 families have been evacuated from the ISIS-ravaged region since its launch in 2014, and 45,000 people have received humanitarian aid as a result of donations to Mercury One.[91]
In 2003, during the early stages of the2003 Invasion of Iraq, Beck called for and helped fund "Rallies for America" in cities across the country to support American troops and counter theanti-Iraq War movement. Around 8,000 people attended the first rally inCleveland, Ohio, and around 150,000 people are believed to have attended the rallies in total. At theWashington DC rally, letters from PresidentGeorge W. Bush and actorArnold Schwarzenegger were read.[92][93]
In March 2009, Beck put together a campaign, the9-12 Project, named after nine principles and 12 values that he says embody the spirit of the American people on the day after theSeptember 11 attacks.[94] TheColorado 9-12 Project hosted a "Patriot Camp" for kids in grades 1–5, featuring programs on "our Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and the values and principles that are the cornerstones of our nation".
Beck promoted and hosted theRestoring Honor rally at theLincoln Memorial inWashington, D.C., on August 28, 2010. The rally—which purported to embrace religious faith and patriotism—was co-sponsored by theSpecial Operations Warrior Foundation, promoted byFreedomWorks, and supported by theTea Party movement.[95] Attendance was estimated at 87,000 (± 9,000) based on aerial photos.[96]
In December 2010, Beck went toWilmington, Ohio, a town devastated by thelate-2000s recession, to host live events to encourage his fans to go to the town to boost the local economy in a project called "America's First Christmas".[97] He hosted an event and his radio and television shows from the local theater.[98]
Beck headlined his "Restoring Courage" events inJerusalem, Israel, in August 2011 in a campaign he said was designed to encourage people worldwide "to stand with the Jewish people".[99][100] After Jerusalem, Beck visitedCape Town, South Africa, and was scheduled to visit Venezuela.[101]
Actively supportingMitt Romney as "perhaps the best-known Mormon after the Republican presidential candidate and a major influence on evangelical Christians, ... Beck has emerged as an unlikely theological bridge between the first Mormon presidential nominee and a critical electorate [evangelicals]", according to a pre-election article inThe New York Times. Along with personal campaign appearances in Ohio and Iowa, Beck directly addressed doctrinal issues between Mormons and evangelical Christians (the latter often consider the former a "cult" rather than Christian) on his radio show in September 2012. During the one-hour show, he asked his audience, "Does Mitt Romney's Mormonism make him too scary or weird to be elected president of the United States?" The article concluded by addressing the "fear of making Mormonism mainstream" as a reason Beck could be acceptable to evangelicals and Romney not be, quotingJohn C. Green, the author ofThe Faith Factor: How Religion Influences American Elections:
There's a difference between a public figure like Glenn Beck and someone who could be the president of the United States. ... Many evangelicals believe this country was founded by Christian leaders. It is important that the person in the White House be positive about Christianity, if not a devout Christian himself.[102]
In August 2012, Beck held a rally atAT&T Stadium in Irving, Texas. The event's theme was service to one's fellow citizens, and loving each other. The event saw a "Day of Service", which saw Mercury One volunteering to feed homeless and disadvantaged people, doing community-building projects, and mowing lawns. It culminated in a keynote speech by Beck imploring the audience to "commit to each other. Go home and wake up your neighbors." Of serving fellow Americans, Beck said, "Those who count us out are counting on one weekend of action, one weekend of speeches. One weekend. One day. Please, my fellow countrymen, let this be the first of many."[103][104]
In August 2015, Beck and Mercury Radio Arts organized a rally that saw a little over 20,000 people march through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, in a statement of unity and support for persecuted Christians in Iraq, a cause Mercury One focuses on, and as a call for unity among the American people. After the march, the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex held a rally featuring speakers including Beck, Ted Cruz, Rafael Cruz,Jon Voight,Alveda King, andDavid Barton.
Beck has called himself aconservative with libertarian leanings.[105] Among his core values, he lists personal responsibility, private charity, theright to life,freedom of religion,limited government, and the family as the cornerstone of society.[106] Beck believes in lownational debt, and has said, "A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence."[107] He supports individual gun ownership rights, opposesgun control legislation, and supports theNRA and its state chapters.[108]
Beck rejects thescientific consensus on climate change.[109] He contests the evidence, and has said, "There is more proof for theresurrection of Jesus than man-made climate change."[109] He views theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act as a form ofwealth redistribution, and he has promoted a petition rejecting theKyoto Protocol.[110]
Although opposed to illegal immigration, Beck announced in 2014 that Mercury One would make efforts to provide food and relief to thelarge numbers of migrant children.[111]
On March 18, 2015, Beck announced that he had left the Republican Party, saying that it had failed to effectively stand against Obamacare and immigration reform, and because of its opposition to lawmakers such asMike Lee andTed Cruz.[5]
Beck endorsed Cruz for president of the United States in 2016.[112] In October 2016, Beck called opposing Donald Trump a "moral, ethical choice".[113] On the campaign trail in support of Cruz, Beck said, "If Donald Trump wins, it is going to be a snowball to hell."[114] After Cruz dropped out of the race, Beck endorsed independentEvan McMullin.[115][116]
What's the difference between a communist or socialist and a progressive? Revolution or evolution? One requires a gun and the other eats away slowly.
During his 2010 keynote speech to theConservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Beck wroteprogressivism on a chalkboard and declared, "This is the disease. This is the disease in America", adding that "progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution!"[117][118] According to Beck, theprogressive ideas of men such asJohn Dewey,Herbert Croly, andWalter Lippmann, influenced the presidencies ofTheodore Roosevelt andWoodrow Wilson, eventually becoming the foundation for PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sNew Deal.[117] Beck has said that such progressivism infects both main political parties and threatens to "destroy America as it was originally conceived".[117] In his bookCommon Sense, he argues that "progressivism has less to do with the parties and more to do with individuals who seek to redefine, reshape, and rebuild America into a country where individual liberties and personal property mean nothing if they conflict with the plans and goals of the State."[117]
A collection of progressives whom Beck has called "Crime Inc." make up what he contends is a clandestine conspiracy to take over and transform the United States.[119][120][121] Some of these includeCass Sunstein,Van Jones,Andy Stern,John Podesta,Wade Rathke,Joel Rogers andFrancis Fox Piven.[119][122] Other figures Beck has tied to "Crime Inc." includeAl Gore,Franklin Raines,[123]Maurice Strong,George Soros,[124]John Holdren andBarack Obama.[120] According to Beck, these people already have or are surreptitiously working to fulfill their agenda with an array of organizations and corporations such asGoldman Sachs,Fannie Mae,ACORN, Apollo Alliance,Tides Center,Chicago Climate Exchange,Generation Investment Management,Enterprise Community Partners,Petrobras,Center for American Progress, and theSEIU.[120][124] In his quest to root out these "progressives", Beck has compared himself to IsraeliNazi hunters, vowing on his radio show that "to the day I die I am going to be a progressive-hunter. I'm going to find these people that have done this to our country and expose them. I don't care if they're in nursing homes."[31] Beck compared Al Gore to the Nazis while equating the campaign against global warming to the Nazi campaign against the Jews.[125]
According to the bookThe Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories, Beck "believes in the existence of a large-scale, long-term socialist conspiracy – encompassing elements of both the Democratic and Republican Parties – to deny American citizens their God-given rights to liberty and freedom from taxation."[126]
Progressive historianSean Wilentz has denounced what he calls Beck's progressive-themedconspiracy theories and "gross historical inaccuracies", contending that Beck is merely echoing the decades-old "right-wing extremism" of theJohn Birch Society.[127] According to Wilentz, Beck's "version of history" places him in a long line of figures who have challenged mainstream political historians and presented an inaccurate opposing view as the truth, stating:
Glenn Beck is trying to give viewers a version of American history that is supposedly hidden. Supposedly, all we historians – left, right and center – have been doing for the past 100 years is to keep true American history from you. And that true American history is what Glenn Beck is teaching. It's a version of history that is beyond skewed. But of course, that's what Beck expects us to say. He lives in a kind ofAlice in Wonderland world, where if people who actually know the history say what he's teaching is junk, he says, 'That's because you're trying to hide the truth.'[127]
ConservativeDavid Frum, a former speechwriter for PresidentGeorge W. Bush, has also alleged Beck's propensity fornegationism, remarking, "Beck offers a story about the American past for people who are feeling right now very angry and alienated. It is different enough from the usual story in that he makes them feel like they've got access to secret knowledge."[31]
In 2020, Beck argued that the election ofDemocratic presidential candidateBernie Sanders could lead to "another Holocaust."[128]
Beck promoted numerous conspiracy theories and falsehoods about PresidentBarack Obama and the Obama administration.[129][130][131][132] He suggested that Obama was building FEMA concentration camps to put opponents in,[133] that Obama was planning to fake a terrorist attack such as theOklahoma City bombing to boost the administration's popularity,[134] and that Obama was George Soros's "puppet".[135] He often likened Obama and his administration to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.[133] Beck falsely claimed that the John Holdren, who led the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Obama administration, "proposed forcing abortions and putting sterilants in the drinking water to control population."[136]
In 2009, Beck argued that Obama had repeatedly shown "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture", saying, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."[137] These remarks drew criticism and resulted in a boycott in which at least 57 advertisers requested that their ads beremoved from his programming.[138][139][140][141] He later apologized for the remarks, tellingFox News Sunday anchorChris Wallace that he has a "big fat mouth" and miscast as racism what is actually, as he theorizes, Obama's belief inblack theology.[142] In November 2012, Beck attempted to auction a mason jar holding an Obama figurine described as submerged in urine but in fact submerged in beer. Bidding reached $11,000 beforeeBay decided to remove the auction and cancel all bids.[143][144]
In a 2016 interview withThe New Yorker, Beck said of his commentary on Obama: "I did a lot of freaking out about Barack Obama." He added, "Obama made me a better man." Beck said that he regrets calling Obama a racist and supportsBlack Lives Matter. He said, "There are things unique to the African-American experience that I cannot relate to. I had to listen to them."[130]
In July 2009, Beck began to focus many episodes on his TV and radio shows onVan Jones, special advisor forGreen Jobs at Obama's White HouseCouncil on Environmental Quality. Beck called Jones a "self-avowed, radical revolutionary communist".PolitiFact rated Beck's claim "mostly false", noting that Jones, who has been open about his past as a communist during the early 1990s, had since expressed firmly capitalist beliefs.[145]
Beck also criticized Jones for his involvement inSTORM, a Bay Area radical group with Marxist roots,[146] and his support fordeath row inmateMumia Abu-Jamal, who had been convicted of killing a police officer. Beck spotlighted a video of Jones callingRepublicans "assholes", and a petition Jones signed suggesting thatGeorge W. Bush knowingly let theSeptember 11 attacks happen.Time magazine credited Beck with leading conservatives' attack on Jones.[81]
In a moveThe New York Times called a White House response to the controversies, Jones said that "the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual" and resigned his position in September 2009.[147] Jones called his opponents' attacks as a "vicious smear campaign" and an effort to use "lies and distortions to distract and divide".[146]
Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama White House, was a frequent target of Beck's conspiracy theories.[148][149] Beck led opposition against Sunstein's nomination to the position,[150] calling Sunstein "the most dangerous man in America"[151] and suggesting that Sunstein was plotting ways to "ban" conspiracy theorizing.[152]
In 2009, Beck and other conservative commentators were critical ofAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) making multiple claims including voter registration fraud in the2008 presidential election.[153] In September 2009, he broadcasta series of alleged undercover videos by conservative activistsJames O'Keefe andHannah Giles, which portrayed ACORN community organizers offering inappropriate tax and other advice to people who had said they wanted to import "very young" girls from El Salvador to work as child prostitutes.[154][155] Following the videos' release, theU.S. Census Bureau severed ties with the group while the U.S. House and Senate voted to cut all of its federal funding.[81]
On December 7, 2009, the formerMassachusetts Attorney General, after an independent internal investigation of ACORN, found the videos that had been released appeared to have been edited, "in some cases substantially". He found no evidence of criminal conduct by ACORN employees, but concluded that ACORN had poor management practices that contributed to unprofessional actions by a number of its low-level employees.[156][157][158][159] On March 1, 2010, theDistrict Attorney's office for Brooklyn determined that the videos were "heavily edited"[160] and concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff in the videos from the Brooklyn ACORN office.[161][162] On April 1, 2010, an investigation by theCalifornia Attorney General found the videos from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino to be "heavily edited",[163] and the investigation did not find evidence of criminal conduct on the part of ACORN employees.[163][164] On June 14, 2010, the U.S.Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its findings, which showed that ACORN evidenced no sign that it, or any of its related organizations, mishandled any federal money they had received.[165][166] In March 2010, ACORN announced it would be closing its offices and disbanding due to loss of funding from government and private donors.[167]
According to a 2010 study in the journalPerspectives on Politics, Beck played a prominent role in media attacks on ACORN.[168]
In 2009, lawyers for Beck brought a case (Beck v. Eiland-Hall) against the owner of asatirical website namedGlennBeckRapedAndMurderedAYoungGirlIn1990.com with theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The claim that the domain name of the website is itselfdefamatory was described as a first incyberlaw.[169] Beck's lawyers argued that the site infringed on his trademarked name and that thedomain name should be turned over to Beck.[170] The WIPO ruled against Beck, but Eiland-Hall voluntarily transferred the domain to Beck anyway, saying that theFirst Amendment had been upheld and that he no longer had a use for the domain name.[171]
In January 2011, in protest against what they saw as inappropriate references tothe Holocaust and to Nazis by Beck (and byRoger Ailes of Fox News), four hundred rabbis signed an open letter published as a paid advertisement inThe Wall Street Journal. The ad was paid for byJewish Funds for Justice (JFFJ), which had previously called for Beck's firing. The JFFJ have claimed on their website that Beck seems "to draw his material straight from the anti-Semitic forgery, theProtocols of the Elders of Zion".[172] The letter states that Beck and Fox had "diminish[ed] the memory and meaning of the Holocaust when you use it to discredit any individual or organization you disagree with. That is what Fox News has done in recent weeks." In response, a Fox News executive toldReuters the letter was from a "George Soros-backed leftwing political organization".[173][174]
Beck is a prominent proponent of conspiracy theories about George Soros, a Jewish philanthropist.[175] Beck falsely claimed that Soros as a boy helped to "send the Jews to the death camps."[175] Beck frequently referred to Soros as a puppet-master and repeated the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that Soros caused the1997 Asian financial crisis.[175] In 2010, Beck was accused of being anti-Semitic due to his smears against Soros. TheAnti-Defamation League said Beck's remarks about Soros sending Jews to the death camps were "horrific" and "totally off-limits."[176]
On February 22, 2011, during a discussion on his radio show about the controversy surrounding his earlier comments about Soros, Beck said "Reform Rabbis are generally political in nature. It's almost like radicalized Islam in a way where it's less about religion than it is about politics." He was quickly criticized by other conservatives, rabbis, and others. The Anti-Defamation League labeled Beck's remarks "bigoted ignorance". On February 24, Beck apologized on air, agreeing that his comments were "ignorant".[177][178]
In 2016, Beck, a friend of actor and directorMel Gibson claimed he and Gibson shared a conversation in which Gibson claimed Jewish people had stolen a copy ofThe Passion of the Christ before its official theatrical release, and that Jewish people were assaulting him in the streets.[179]
Beck condemned the2011 Norway attacks,[180] but was condemned for his comparison of murdered and surviving members of the NorwegianWorkers' Youth League to theHitler Youth. He said, "There was a shooting at a political camp which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler Youth or whatever, you know what I mean. Who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing."[181] The statement was ill-received in Norway, prompting political commentator andLabour party memberFrank Aarebrot to label Beck as a "vulgar propagandist", a "swine" and a "fascist",[182] and Torbjørn Eriksen, former press secretary to Norway's prime ministerJens Stoltenberg, to describe Beck's comment as "a new low", adding that "Glenn Beck's comments are ignorant, incorrect and extremely hurtful".[183] Commentators pointed out that groups affiliated with the Tea Party movement and the Beck-founded 9–12 Project also sponsor politically oriented camp programs for children.[182][183][184][185][186]
Beck opposedDonald Trump during his2016 campaign for president, comparing him toAdolf Hitler and describing him as "an immoral man who is absent decency or dignity."[187][188]
SiriusXM suspended Beck on May 31, 2016, for remarks made during an interview a week earlier. During an interview with authorBrad Thor about a hypothetical situation where Trump was abusing his power as president and Congress was unable to stop him, Thor asked "what patriot will step up and [assassinate him] if, if, he oversteps his mandate as president?"[189] Thor and the show's general manager both denied that the comments were a call for hisassassination.[190] Beck's radio show was moved from the SiriusXM Patriot channel to theTriumph channel soon after.[191]
Beck's opposition to Trump did not sit well with many Trump supporters and hurt his businesses and viewership.[192][193] On May 18, 2018, Beck stated on his radio program that he intended to vote for Trump in the2020 presidential election, calling Trump's record "pretty damn amazing".[194] Beck said Trump's defeat in the 2020 election would be "the end of the country as we know it."[187]
The old American mind-set that Richard Hofstadter famously calledthe paranoid style—the sense that Masons or the railroads or the Pope or the guys in black helicopters are in league to destroy the country—is aflame again, fanned from both right and left ... No one has a better feeling for this mood, and no one exploits it as well, as Beck. He is the hottest thing in the political-rant racket, left or right.
An author with ideological influence on Beck isW. Cleon Skousen (1913–2006), a prolificconservative political writer, Americanconstitutionalist and faith based political theorist.[195][196] As ananti-communist supporter of the John Birch Society,[197] and a limited-government activist,[198] Skousen, who was Mormon, wrote on a wide range of subjects: theSix-Day War,Mormon eschatology,New World Order conspiracies, evenparenting.[198] Skousen believed that American political, social, and economic elites were working withcommunists to foist aworld government on the United States.[117] Beck praised Skousen's "words of wisdom" as "divinely inspired", referencing Skousen'sThe Naked Communist[199] and especiallyThe 5,000 Year Leap (originally published in 1981),[198] which Beck said in 2007 had "changed his life".[198] According to Skousen's nephew,Mark Skousen,Leap reflects Skousen's "passion for theUnited States Constitution", which he "felt was inspired by God and the reason behind America's success as a nation".[200] The book is recommended by Beck as "required reading" to understand the current American political landscape and become a "September twelfth person".[198] Beck authored a foreword for the 2008 edition ofLeap and Beck's on-air recommendations in 2009 propelled the book to number one in the government category onAmazon for several months.[198] In 2010,Matthew Continetti of the conservativeWeekly Standard criticized Beck's conspiratorial bent, terming him "a Skousenite".[117] Additionally,Alexander Zaitchik, author of the 2010 bookCommon Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance, which features an entire chapter on "The Ghost of Cleon Skousen",[201] refers to Skousen as "Beck's favorite author and biggest influence", while observing he authored four of the 10 books on Beck's9-12 Project required-reading list.[202]
In his discussion of Beck and Skousen, Continetti said that one of Skousen's works "draws onCarroll Quigley'sTragedy and Hope (1966), which argues that the history of the 20th century is the product ofsecret societies in conflict".[117] He observed in Beck's novel,The Overton Window (which Beck describes as "faction", or fiction based on fact), a character says: "Carroll Quigley laid open the plan inTragedy and Hope, the only hope to avoid the tragedy of war was to bind together the economies of the world to foster global stability and peace."[117]
Beck's views on early-20th-century progressivism are greatly influenced byRonald J. Pestritto, who teaches atHillsdale College.[203] The portal page GlennBeck.com for "American Progressivism"[204] uses Pestritto's teachings and links directly to one of his books. Pestritto wrote an article forThe Wall Street Journal detailing "Glenn Beck, Progressives and Me".[205]The New York Times observed that Pestritto was a regular guest on Beck'sFox News show, .[206][207][208]
Princeton UniversityhistorianSean Wilentz says that alongside Skousen, John Birch Society founderRobert W. Welch, Jr., is a key ideological foundation of Beck's worldview.[209] According to Wilentz, Beck "has brought neo-Birchite ideas to an audience beyond any that Welch or Skousen might have dreamed of."[209]
Other books that Beck regularly cites on his programs areAmity Shlaes'sThe Forgotten Man,Jonah Goldberg'sLiberal Fascism,Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen'sA Patriot's History of the United States, andBurton W. Folsom, Jr.'sNew Deal or Raw Deal.[117] Beck has also urged his listeners to readThe Coming Insurrection, a book by a FrenchMarxist group[117] discussing what they see as the imminent collapse of capitalist culture.[210]
On June 4, 2010, Beck endorsedElizabeth Dilling's 1936 workThe Red Network: A Who's Who and Handbook of Radicalism for Patriots, remarking, "this is a book,The Red Network, this came in from 1936. People,[Joseph] McCarthy was absolutely right ... This is, who were the communists in America."[211] Beck was criticized by an array of people, includingMenachem Z. Rosensaft andJoe Conason, who said that Dilling was an outspokenanti-Semite and aNazi sympathizer.[212][213][214]
Beck has credited God for saving him from drug and alcohol abuse, professional obscurity, and friendlessness.[215] In 2006, he performed an inspirational monologue in Salt Lake City, Utah,[25] detailing how he was transformed by the "healing power of Jesus Christ", which was released as a CD two years later byDeseret Book, a publishing company owned by the LDS Church, entitledAn Unlikely Mormon: The Conversion Story of Glenn Beck.[216]
WriterJoanna Brooks contends that Beck developed his "amalgamation of anti-communism" and "connect-the-dots conspiracy theorizing" only after his entry into the "deeply insular world of Mormon thought and culture".[195] Brooks theorizes that Beck's calls tofasting and prayer are rooted in Mormon collective fasts to address spiritual challenges, while his "overt sentimentality" and penchant for weeping represent the hallmark of a "distinctly Mormon mode of masculinity" where "appropriately-timed displays of tender emotion are displays of power" and spirituality.[195]Philip Barlow, the Arrington chair ofMormon historyand culture atUtah State University, has said that Beck's belief that theU.S. Constitution was an "inspired document" and his calls forlimited government and not exiling God from the public sphere "have considerable sympathy in Mormonism".[217] Beck has acknowledged thatMormon doctrine is different from traditional Christianity, but said that this was what attracted him to it: "for me some of the things in traditional doctrine just doesn't work."[218]
To his admirers, Glenn Beck has been a voice crying in the wilderness, a prophet who warns us that we have been wandering in darkness too long. To detractors, he is a clown and a buffoon, at best, a dangerous demagogue, at worst.
In 2009, Beck's show was one of the highest rated news commentary programs on cable TV.[220][221][222][223] For aBarbara WaltersABC special, Beck was selected as one of America's "Top 10 Most Fascinating People" of 2009.[224] In 2010, he was selected forTime's top 100 most influential people under the "Leaders" category.[225]
Beck has called himself an entertainer,[226] a commentator rather than a reporter,[227] and a "rodeo clown".[226] He has said that he identifies withHoward Beale, a character portrayed byPeter Finch in the filmNetwork: "When he came out of the rain and he was like, 'none of this makes any sense'—I am that guy."[228]
.jpg)
According toTampa Bay Times, Beck's supporters have praised him as aconstitutional stalwart defending their traditional American values.[229]
Time magazine described Beck as "the new populist superstar of Fox News", saying it is easier to see a set of attitudes rather than a specific ideology, noting his criticism of Wall Street, yet defending bonuses to AIG, as well as denouncing conspiracy theories about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but warning against indoctrination of children by theAmeriCorps program."[230] (Paul Krugman[231] and Mark Potok,[232] on the other hand, have been among those asserting that Beck helps spread "hate" by covering issues that stir up extremists.) What seems to unite Beck's disparate themes,Time argued, is a sense of siege.[230] An earlierTime cover story called Beck "a gifted storyteller with a knack for stitching seemingly unrelated data points into possible conspiracies", proclaiming that he has "emerged as a virtuoso on the strings" of conservative discontent by mining "the timeless theme of the corrupt Them thwarting a virtuous Us".[81]
Beck's shows have been called a "mix of moral lessons, outrage and an apocalyptic view of the future ... capturing the feelings of an alienated class of Americans".[226] One of Beck'sFox News Channel colleagues,Shepard Smith, has jokingly called Beck's studio the "fear chamber", with Beck countering that he preferred the term "doom room".[81]
RepublicanSouth CarolinaU.S. SenatorLindsey Graham criticized Beck as a "cynic" whose show was antithetical to "American values" atThe Atlantic's 2009 First Draft of History conference, remarking, "Only in America can you make that much money crying."[233] The progressive watchdog groupFairness and Accuracy in Reporting's (FAIR) Activism Director, Peter Hart, argues that Beckred-baits political adversaries and promotes a paranoid view of progressive politics.[234] Howard Kurtz, ofThe Washington Post, has remarked, "Love him or hate him, Beck is a talented, often funny broadcaster, a recovering alcoholic with an unabashedly emotional style."[58]
Laura Miller writes inSalon that Beck is a contemporary example of "the paranoid style in American politics" described by historianRichard Hofstader:
The Paranoid Style in American Politics reads like a playbook for the career of Glenn Beck, right down to the paranoid's "quality of pedantry" and "heroic strivings for 'evidence'", embodied in Beck's chalkboard and piles of books. But Beck lacks an archenemy commensurate with his stratospheric ambitions, which makes him appear even more absurd to outsiders.[235]
Beck has acknowledged accusations of being a conspiracy theorist, saying on his show that there is a "concentrated effort now to label me a conspiracy theorist".[236][better source needed]
Particularly as a consequence of Beck'sRestoring Honor rally in 2010, the fact that Beck isMormon caused concern among some politically sympathetic ChristianEvangelicals ontheological grounds.[237][238][239][240] Tom Tradup, vice president atSalem Radio Network, which serves more than 2,000 Christian-themed stations, expressed this sentiment after the rally, saying, "Politically, everyone is with it, but theologically, when he says the country should turn back to God, the question is: Which God?"[215] A September 2010 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) andReligion News Service (RNS) found that of those Americans who hold a favorable opinion of Beck, only 45% believe he is the right person to lead a religious movement, with that number further declining to 37% when people are informed he is Mormon.[241][242] Daniel Cox, director of research for PRRI, summed up this position by stating:
The disparity between Glenn Beck's favorability ratings and how people feel about him as a religious leader suggests that people are more drawn to him for political reasons than religious ones. Many of Beck's strongest supporters, such as Republicans and white Evangelicals, perceive real differences between their own faith and Beck's Mormon faith, and this may become a liability in his efforts to lead as a religious figure.[241]
Pete Peterson ofPepperdine'sDavenport Institute said that Beck's speech at the rally belonged to an American tradition of calls to personal renewal. Peterson wrote: "A Mormon surrounded onstage bypriests,pastors,rabbis, andimams, Beck [gave] one of the moreecumenicaljeremiads in history."[243] Evangelical pastorTony Campolo said in 2010 that conservative evangelicals respond to Beck's framing of conservative economic principles, saying that Beck's and ideological fellow travelers' "marriage between evangelicalism and patriotic nationalism is so strong that anybody who is raising questions about loyalty to the old, lassez-faire capitalist system is ex-post facto unpatriotic, un-American, and by association non-Christian."Newsweek religion reporterLisa Miller, after quoting Campolo, opined, "It's ironic that Beck, a Mormon, would gain acceptance as a leader of a new Christian coalition. ... Beck's gift ... is to articulate God's special plan for America in such broad strokes that they trample no single creed or doctrine while they move millions with their message."[244]
In June 2010, investigative reporter Alexander Zaitchik released a critical biography,Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance, with a title mocking Beck's work,Common Sense.[245] In an interview about the book, Zaitchik theorized, "Beck's politics and his insatiable hunger for money and fame are notmutually exclusive", adding:
Beck's true religion is not Patriotism, Mormonism, or Conservatism. His true religion is cross-platform self-marketing ... According to Beck's worldview, there's no inherent contradiction between his sophisticated instinct for self-promotion, his propagandist rodeo clown act, his self-image as a media mogul, and his professed belief system. I think he actually believes that God wants him to make a ton of money and become this huge celebrity by fear mongering and generally doing whatever it takes in the media to promote right-wing causes.[246]
In September 2010,Philadelphia Daily News reporter Will Bunch releasedThe Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama.[247] One of Bunch's theses is that Beck is nothing more than amorning zoo deejay playing a fictional character as a money-making stunt.[247] WriterBob Cesca, in a review of Bunch's book, compares Beck toSteve Martin's faith-healer character in the 1992 filmLeap of Faith, before describing the "derivative grab bag of other tried and tested personalities" that Bunch contends comprises Beck's persona:
His [Beck's] adenoidal "Clydie Clyde" voice is based on morning zoo pioneer Scott Shannon's "Mr. Leonard" character. His history is borrowed from the widely debunked work of W. Cleon Skousen. His conspiracy theories are horked from Alex Jones and maybe Jack Van Impe. His anti-Obama, anti-socialist monologues are pure Joe McCarthy. His chalkboard is stolen from televangelist Gene Scott. His solemn, over-processed radio monologue delivery is a dead ringer for Eric Bogosian inTalk Radio. This is all well-worn stuff, but no one has drawn it all together and sculpted it for the purpose of conning an especially susceptible audience during turbulent racial and economic times.[247]
In October 2010 a polemical biography byDana Milbank was released:Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America.[248]
Beck has been the subject of mockery and ridicule by a number of humorists. In response to his animated delivery and views, he was parodied in an impersonation byJason Sudeikis onSaturday Night Live.[249]The Daily Show'sJon Stewart has spoofed Beck's 9–12 project with his own "11-3 project", consisting of "11 principles and 3 herbs and spices",[250] impersonated Beck's chalk board-related presentation style for an entire show,[251] and quipped about Beck: "finally, a guy who says what people who aren't thinking are thinking".[252]Stephen Colbert ofThe Colbert Report satirized Beck's "war room" by creating his own "doom bunker".[253] Through the characterEric Cartman,South Park parodied Beck's television program and his commentary style in the episode "Dances with Smurfs".[254]The Onion, a satirical periodical and faux news site, ran anOnion News Network video "special report" lamenting that the "victim in a fatal car accident was tragically not Glenn Beck".[255] Meanwhile, theCurrent TV cartoonSuperNews! ran an animated cartoon feature titled "The Glenn Beck Apocalypse", where Beck is confronted byJesus Christ, who rebukes him as the equivalent of "Sarah Palin farting into a balloon".[256] Political comedian and satiristBill Maher has mocked Beck's followers as an "army ofdiabeticmallwalkers",[257] whileThe Buffalo Beast named Beck the most loathsome person in America in 2010, declaring, "It's like someone found a manic, doom-prophesying hobo in a sandwich board, shaved him, shot him full ofZoloft and gave him a show."[31] The October 30, 2010,Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, hosted byComedy Central personalitiesJon Stewart andStephen Colbert, was conceived as a parody of Beck's earlier Rally to Restore Honor,[258] even though Stewart and Colbert said that they came up with the idea of holding a rally in March[259] and Stewart had put down the deposit for the National Mall before Beck announced his rally.[260]
In March 2014, Abdulrahman Alharbi filed suit fordefamation in theU.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Beck and his business entities, The Blaze andMercury Radio Arts, along with his distributorPremiere Radio Networks. Alharbi's defamation claim arose from Beck's repeated broadcasts "identifying Alharbi as an active participant" in theBoston Marathon bombing, even after federal authorities cleared Alharbi, who was injured in the attack, of any wrongdoing and confirmed that he was an innocent victim.[261][262] In December 2014, the judge rejected Beck's attempt to have the case dismissed.[263] In September 2016, the suit wassettled on confidential terms.[262]
Non-fiction
Control series
Fiction
Children's
As comic book author
[Couric]: How would you describe your brand of politics? [Beck]: I don't know, ummm ... libertarian, but I hack the libertarians off ... I still believe in a strong national defence. Though I'm becoming more and more libertarian every day.
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
