The Glenn Beck Program has been suspended by SiriusXM following comments by Brad Thor on Beck’s show last week.
Thor made for an explosive radio interview on May 25th. Thor referred to Trump as a Caudillo, the strong men of Latin America, and questioned who would hold Trump responsible when he crosses the line constitutionality as president.
THOR: With the feckless, spineless Congress we have, who will stand in the way of Donald Trump overstepping his constitutional authority as President? If Congress won’t remove him from office, what patriot will step up and do that if, if, he oversteps his mandate as president, his constitutional-granted authority, I should say, as president.
If he oversteps that, how do we get him out of office? And I don’t think there is a legal means available. I think it will be a terrible, terrible position the American people will be in to get Trump out of office because you won’t be able to do it through Congress.
BECK: I would agree with you on that and I don’t think you actually have the voices we’ve been talking about and we’ve been talking about this off-air for a while. I think the voices like ours go away. I don’t think we are allowed – especially if things, and I believe the economy is going to go to crap, even if Jesus was in office. It’s going to naturally reset. It has to.
THOR: Glenn, under the policies of Trump – again, Foreign Affairs – look up what a Caudillo is, C-A-U-D-I-L-L-O. Trump is promoting a protectionism, a nationalism in economics. It has destroyed Latin America. It has destroyed any hope of democracy down there. He will do the same thing here.
Read the full transcript here.
Listen to the interview here (article continues below)
This is where SiriusXM drew the line, suspending The Glenn Beck Program, concluding the statements as advocating harm against Trump.
SiriusXM put out the follow statement via email:
SiriusXM encourages a diversity of discourse and opinion on our talk programs. However, comments recently made by a guest on the independently produced Glenn Beck Program, in the company’s judgment, may be reasonably construed by some to have been advocating harm against an individual currently running for office, which SiriusXM cannot and will not condone. For that reason, The Glenn Beck Program is suspended from our Patriot channel for the coming week. SiriusXM is committed to a spirited, robust, yet responsible political conversation and believes this action reflects those values
What does this mean for free speech?
When a national satellite radio company suspends a radio show for comments a guest has made, they are crossing the line into dangerous territory. Will SiriusXM continue to stifle opinions that are contrary to their own? This sets a chilling precedent for conservatives and libertarians in the future.
I listened to this interview live, and one can also concur through the transcripts that there was no threat against Donald Trump. Discussing the possibility that the people may have to overthrow a potentially powerful tyrant who (in the context of the hypothetical) has stepped over his constitutional authority is not “advocating harm.”
It is in keeping with the Declaration of Independence and the duty of the people of the United States to overthrow an overbearing government that steps on our constitutional rights.
Should The Glenn Beck Program have been suspended for Brad Thor’s comments?
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