Glenn Beck frets about state of republic, but high on future for Ron DeSantis, Kari Lake

Radio and TV anchor Glenn Beck says he fears the United States has dismantled much of its core as a constitutional republic under President Joe Biden but sees hope for the future with rising conservative stars like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday, Beck told Just the News that the efforts by some red states to revive federalism and challenge America's lurch toward Washington-centric, big government socialism was one of the few remaining barriers preserving the nation from its demise.

He implored voters to treat the next two elections in 2022 and 2024 as existential, saying it was essential that globalist elitists and career politicians be ousted in favor of common sense, grounded Americans.

"I personally don't think that we are a constitutional republic anymore," Beck said during an interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast. "You know, we have it in name, but nobody's following it. And I think that we're over by 2024, if people don't go to the polls and put some sane people.

"I'll take any farmer. I'll take anybody who works with their hands. You know, I'll fight people on you know, higher tax rates. I'm fine with that. Can we get some people that know the difference between right and wrong? Common sense and complete nonsense?"

Beck cited a litany of news stories this week ranging from cultural fights over liberal ideology to the announcement that Boston University had manufactured a modified version of the COVID-19 virus that was far more lethal than what swept the world in 2020-22.

"Taking the virus that shut down the entire world, that almost collapsed everything and they're making it more virulent," he said. "Really? We're in a crazy, science fiction movie."

Beck said much of America's decline was driven by a disregard for morals, common sense and basic right and wrong, declaring "our cities have become third world countries, while parents have been supplanted by teachers unions from their roles overseeing their children's education, values and virtues.

"We are in a spiritual vacuum. It is so dark when we have Americans that will sit by and argue that you can teach your third grader or kindergarteners that they're sexually fluid, that you could have a trans story hour, that that there is no such thing as gender, that people who are at an abortion clinic should go to jail, because they were praying outside. An 87-year-old woman praying, she's now being charged ... could go to jail for 11 years.

"And yet people burn down our cities. And our Vice President said, 'Hey, you can contribute to their funds so they can get out of jail.' And there's no responsibility. When we are sending $60 billion over to the most corrupt country in the world. We all know it. We are depleting all of our military. We're not sending just cash, we're sending all of our missiles. ... And we're depleting our strategic oil reserves. We have a war and an oil crisis. I'm telling you, this is evil, what's going on is evil. It is the destruction of a whole people."

While gloomy about the current state of America, Beck said he found some reason for optimism in the rise of some new young conservative leaders in the states as he predicted that Democrats will choose California Gov. Gavin Newsom as their next presidential nominee.

"I will tell you the most exciting candidate that I've seen in a long time is DeSantis," Beck said. "I think he's a guy that could actually navigate through these waters. I really like Kari Lake. I'm not sure I agree with her on everything because I just haven't paid that close attention to her. But if she's the real deal, like I think she is, educates herself on the Constitution, she could be President of the United States. She's very effective, very effective."

Beck, who created his own media empire at Blaze Media after leaving Fox News, called on conservatives to continue building a parallel economy of media, Big Tech and financial outlets that can challenge and compete with traditional institutions that have gone liberal woke. He also urged a heavy focus on realigning the education system.

"I think the public school system is just a mess," he said. "And I don't know how you reset that. But it has to be reset, and the universities have to be cleaned out. But I don't know how you clean, because who do you replace them [with]? Where is the tree that's growing fresh professors that understand this? I don't know. But you have to clean that up."

While having an urgency to create change, Republicans need to resist the temptation to adopt the liberals' tactics as a form of retribution.

"There's a movement on the conservative side," Beck said, "that says, 'Oh, we're gonna play that way. We'll play that way too.' Martin Luther King didn't. Martin Luther King quoted the Declaration of Independence and challenged America to live up to its higher self. We cannot violate our founding documents to save America, or it won't be worth saving."