On Today: Glenn Beck Beats Back Meredith Vieira's Charge of Hate Talk
Fox News host Glenn Beck showed up on Wednesday's Today show to promote his new book The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life,
but it was NBC's Meredith Vieira's misperceptions of him and
conservatives as a whole that Beck was forced to try to change. After an
initial discussion about Beck overcoming his personal struggles, Vieira
brought Beck into the debate over whether conservative talk provoked
the Tuscon shooter Jared Loughner, as she charged: "You talk about
spewing anger in your personal life but also in your professional life,
Glenn. I mean there are people who've criticized you and said...you're part of the problem in terms of anger...you've added to this dialogue of hatred."
Beck deftly responded that anything he may have said was not any worse
than what Vieira has heard from the likes of Jon Stewart or on The
Simpsons, as seen in this fiery exchange:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: You've said things like and this is, I guess, where the critics come into play and say you've added to this dialogue of hatred... Some things that you have said in the past, just to get them out there and you know this. That the...
BECK: Do you, wait, wait, do you really think that people really don't know the things that I say?
VIEIRA: I think some people do, some people don't. A lot of people do.
BECK: Okay.
VIEIRA: I'm just, I'm ticking off a couple of them. That the President was a racist. You, you said, at one point, you were joking around, that you wanted to poison Nancy Pelosi. You wanted to beat Congressman Charlie Rangel to death with a shovel. In the spirit of this book-
BECK: Like eight years ago.
VIEIRA: In the - that doesn't matter. It's in the past. I understand that. But in the spirit of this book, do you regret that stuff now - having gone through this crisis - say you know what, that was dumb?
BECK: I regret that anything that I said - let me, let me give you this. Anything that I said in jokes? No. Ask Jon Stewart, ask The Simpsons okay?
A little later Beck, appearing with his co-author Dr. Keith Ablow, gave
the Today co-anchor some much needed historical perspective on
American political discourse:
BECK: Just like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went back and forth. John Adams was called a hermaphrodite by Thomas Jefferson. Adams responded and said [about] Jefferson, "Your children will be raped and your towns will be burned if he becomes the President." Let's keep political discourse in context of history. Children weren't raped. Nobody killed each other. We have to fix the individual. The problem in Tucson was the individual. Look at the individual and be responsible for ourselves.
Vieira, undeterred from her line of questioning, then asked Beck to
comment on Sarah Palin's "blood libel" comment, but Beck, again turned
it around, saying the focus of blame in the Tuscon shooting should be on
the one individual who actually did physical harm.
VIEIRA: So the controversy around Sarah Palin and when she used that term "Blood libel" what are your feelings about that?
BECK: I think, I think, again, political discourse is dicey sometimes. People don't like it. When the President said, what was it he said? "If the Republicans bring a knife I'm gonna bring a gun." Did he mean that or was that political discourse? He didn't mean that. Let's, let's put things in perspective. Let's stop dancing around the corners and, and looking at Republicans and Democrats and let's start to find real answers. And the real answers are the, are the principles that you will find in this book that will change you. Just change yourself. Don't worry about anybody else. Change you.
The following is a transcript of the relevant exchange as it was aired on the January 19 Today show:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: But you, you talk about spewing anger in your personal life but also in your professional life, Glenn. I mean there are people who've criticized you and said that you're, you're, part of the problem in terms of anger.
GLENN BECK: No, I know.
VIEIRA: Let me just finish the thought.
DR. KEITH ABLOW: You know what I have people in my office who tell me that too, by the way, Meredith. I think that there is a corollary, parallel here. If you're the therapist for a country you have to tell the truth and it can-
VIEIRA: But there's a difference between telling the truth-
ABLOW: -kind of set people back on their heels.
VIEIRA: Yeah but there's a difference-
ABLOW: You're an alcoholic, I say to someone-
VIEIRA: Right.
ABLOW: He says to the country "you're drunk."
VIEIRA: But, but you say more than that. You've said things like and this is, I guess, where the critics come into play and say you've added to this dialogue of hatred.
BECK: Meredith, I can tell you right now that-
VIEIRA: Let me just finish the thought, okay?
BECK: Yeah go ahead, go ahead.
VIEIRA: Some things that you have said in the past, just to get them out there and you know this. That the...
BECK: Do you, wait, wait, do you really think that people really don't know the things that I say?
VIEIRA: I think some people do, some people don't A lot of people do.
BECK: Okay.
VIEIRA: I'm just, I'm ticking off a couple of them. That the President was a racist. You, you said, at one point, you were joking around, that you wanted to poison Nancy Pelosi. You wanted to beat Congressman Charlie Rangel to death with a shovel. In the spirit of this book-
BECK: Like eight years ago.
VIEIRA: In the - that doesn't matter. It's in the past. I understand that. But in the spirit of this book, do you regret that stuff now - having gone through this crisis - say you know what, that was dumb?
BECK: I regret that anything that I said - let me, let me give you this. Anything that I said in jokes? No. Ask Jon Stewart, ask The Simpsons okay?
VIEIRA: You don't think that, that contributes at all to a climate of anger or hate?
BECK: No, I think. No, ask Jon Stewart that question. Ask The Simpsons-
VIEIRA: But I'm asking you that question.
BECK: But I'm saying if you ask that question, to those guys, I think you'll get the same answer. No. Comedy is comedy. When there is, and this is why the lines become very blurred and it's very, it's very difficult to do what I do. Anything that I've said, like with the President, I've apologized for and I've explained several times. That's not where we-
VIEIRA: Have you shifted your lines at all?
BECK: No! You know one thing the media doesn't seem to pick up on is, when I started the 9/12 Project what was it?
ABLOW: It was about honor. I mean the line has been the same. Honoring your principles and values.
BECK: Principles and values. It wasn't the Tea Party. 9/12 Project, which I started, was okay find out what you believe. Educate yourself. Go into your principles and values and make sure those principles and values are there to guide you. 8/28 - everyone said it was gonna be a hate fest. That I was just gonna be a monster. And what was it? It was about honor. There wasn't a word of politics.
VIEIRA: But let me just, again, because this book is about finding your truth and, and owning it do you feel, do you look back over and say, "Yeah I've, there are places where I've crossed the line and I have to readjust the way, the discourse?"
BECK: Absolutely, absolutely! Absolutely. You're not human if you don't look back and say that was a mistake, that was a mistake.
VIEIRA: Like what? What are the mistakes you've made that you think that you say, "Geesh I wish I hadn't done that."
BECK: Let me, let me answer it this way. Back - we, we have such an interesting view of history. Political discourse is sometimes really in your face. Telling somebody that you've got a real problem, sometimes you really get into their face.
ABLOW: You have to.
BECK: Just like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went back and forth. John Adams was called a hermaphrodite by Thomas Jefferson. Adams responded and said [about] Jefferson, "Your children will be raped and your towns will be burned if he becomes the President." Let's keep political discourse in context of history. Children weren't raped. Nobody killed each other. We have to fix the individual. The problem in Tucson was the individual. Look at the individual and be responsible for ourselves.
VIEIRA: So the controversy around Sarah Palin and when she used that term "Blood libel" what are your feelings about that?
BECK: I think, I think, again, political discourse is dicey sometimes. People don't like it. When the President said, what was it he said? "If the Republicans bring a knife I'm gonna bring a gun." Did he mean that or was that political discourse? He didn't mean that. Let's, let's put things in perspective. Let's stop dancing around the corners and, and looking at Republicans and Democrats and let's start to find real answers. And the real answers are the, are the principles that you will find in this book that will change you. Just change yourself. Don't worry about anybody else. Change you.
- Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
