Glenn Beck directed a bunch of sexist invective at Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski on his radio show today. He referred to her as “babe” over and over, claimed that she “lick[s] her lips” when she talks about him, and said that when she looks into the camera, she thinks, “I am so hot for you right now.”
If you listen to the entire 10-minute segment, you'll see that Beck is trying to make a point about the willingness of the media in general, and probably Morning Joe in particular, to pay attention to Donald Trump's birther antics when they're not actually newsworthy:
Beck used this as an opportunity to complain that the media aren't covering the story about a teacher being charged with emailed death threats to Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin.
He also seemed to be trying to bait people into talking about his sexism toward Brzezinski, thereby reinforcing his point that the media are willing to cover frivolous stories, rather than the ones that really matter.
Well, guess what, Glenn? If you'd thought through this for 10 seconds, something that we teach children at a young age might have flashed through your head: Two wrongs don't make a right. Even if you think people aren't covering the death-threat story enough, it doesn't excuse your being a sexist jerk to Mika Brzezinski.
Transcript below the jump.
From the April 1 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:
GLENN BECK: Could you play cut 105, please? This is Mika. Mika in the morning. On NBC. And she's -- she is so fantastic. She is so fantastic. She's talking about Donald Trump, who I think is being ridiculous, really. I mean, I really do. I love Donald Trump. I think he's the only -- you wanna fix the economy? Give it to Donald Trump.
STU BURGUIERE (executive producer): Why, so you can make it go bankrupt? Is that -- you wanna go more bankrupt? Is that what you're looking for? You wanna go bankrupt in a business in which you have gamblers who can't control themselves come down and dump money into slot machines that you're automatically going to win at, and you still go bankrupt? That's what we're looking for?
PAT GRAY (co-host): Yeah, I --
BECK: OK, you make a good point.
GRAY: I don't love Donald Trump. But, you know, I don't think --
BECK: I do. I -- look, Donald Trump -- here's, I guess -- this is where my love of Donald Trump is. If we would have said to Donald Trump on 9-12, “Don, we need new buildings.”
BURGUIERE: Yes.
BECK: Those damn things would have been up --
BURGUIERE: Oh, yeah.
BECK: -- and they would have been twice as tall.
GRAY: They would have been built.
BURGUIERE: There's some stuff to like about Don --
BECK: Oh, yes.
BURGUIERE: I used to be a fan, but he's acting more and more like an idiot lately.
Beck: Yeah, he -- since the TV show, he's gone more and more --
GRAY: This is just a cry for attention.
BURGUIERE: Yes.
GRAY: He loves attention, he's getting it, and he feeds on that.
BECK: Yeah, he does.
GRAY: I think even negative attention, he feeds on it.
BECK: Yeah, he does.
BURGUIERE: And I lost a lot of respect for him during the Iraq war, the way he talked about that --
GRAY: Me too.
BURGUIERE: -- and the way he, I think, sold out our troops over there. I hated that. I hated that.
BECK: I didn't hear it. I didn't hear it. I didn't hear it. I stopped listening to what dopes were saying about, you know, the Iraq war.
BURGUIERE: I mean, he gave every liberal talking point you heard out of the mouth of Howard Dean or any of the other people like that. And the fact that this guy is now running for the Republican nomination for president a few years later is just insulting.
BECK: Mmm, now, wait a minute. Hang on just a second.
BURGUIERE: He hasn't run -- he's not announced a run yet.
BECK: Hang on just a second. I think you can be -- I mean, I have to tell you. I think in retrospect, the way the war was fought --
GRAY: Yes, but he's talking this -- he's talking this stuff in 2005, 2006.
BURGUIERE: Yeah, he -- in all seriousness, he made Harry Reid's “the war is lost” seem like a dream.
BECK: OK. So, I'm not interested -- you know, I'm no supporter of him. But listen to -- or not supporter of what he's been saying lately. It's crazy. But listen to what Mika says about Donald Trump.
[begin audio clip]
MIKA BRZEZINSKI (co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe: Can I be serious for a second about this?
MALE VOICE: Yes.
JOE SCARBOROUGH (host): Hey, you know what? It's seven after the hour. Now would probably be a good time to talk about how the CIA is in Libya.
[crosstalk, laughing]
BRZEZINSKI: Because I'm going to say what's really -- should be said about this, because you all are afraid to say it.
SCARBOROUGH: What? What do we need to say? What?
BRZEZINSKI: And everyone loves to start this stuff with, “I like Donald very much.” Well, so do I. But you know what? I don't like this. Because I think this promotes hate, and this brings us back. And I thought we had gotten past this.
[end audio clip]
BECK: OK. So, she thought we have gotten past this. Now, she's probably doesn't like the fact that, you know -- Donald Trump “bringing up the birth certificate” thing is promoting hate, because there's so many other stories to report on on hate that they haven't gotten past yet. And I hate to even bring this up, because the news media has spent so much time on the death threats to the GOP in Wisconsin.
BURGUIERE: Aw, they beat it to death.
GRAY: Oh, it's been super saturation. Super saturation. You can't get away from the story.
BECK: You can't.
GRAY: You can't get away from it.
BECK: You can't.
BURGUIERE: They're just overblowing it. It's ridiculous.
BECK: It's just out of control on the actual death threats.
GRAY: If I see another front-page New York Times story on this, that the Republicans in Wisconsin are getting death threats from Wisconsin teachers and union members, I just -- I'm gonna --
BURGUIERE: You'll have seen a whole one.
GRAY: I'll have seen one. If I see one the front page or any page.
BECK: But when you see one -- if you see another one, it'll be one.
GRAY: And it'll be one.
BECK: And you'll be sick to death of it.
GRAY: Sick of it. Sick.
BECK: So, Mika -- I hear you, babe.
GRAY: Yeah. She's --
BECK: And I mean that “babe” thing -- you are such a babe. And it's good that babes can work on TV now, isn't it? It's great. So --
BURGUIERE: April fools. Oh. Sorry.
BECK: No, I think it's good that babes can be on TV.
BURGUIERE: Oh.
BECK: I didn't mean that as a joke.
BURGUIERE: Stop taunting them.
BECK: [laughter]
BURGUIERE: You're just taunting the media. Why do you do it?
BECK: Why?
BURGUIERE: Yes.
BECK: Because it drives them crazy.
BURGUIERE: Yes, I know that, I suppose.
BECK: And I love when babes go crazy. So -- 'cause, Mika, quite honestly -- have you guys noticed, when they talk about me, have you noticed how sometimes she'll just, like, lick her lips, like --
BURGUIERE: No. No, I've not noticed that.
BECK: Oh, yeah, you watch. You watch.
GRAY: Really?
BECK: She --
BURGUIERE: I must have missed -- well, I never really watched the show, so, it's possible [inaudible]
BECK: She looks into the camera sometimes, and she is like, “I am so -- as a babe, I am so hot for him.”
GRAY: Really?
BURGUIERE: You do realize that other people are also watching the same channel? It's not just you.
BECK: No. Yeah, that's fine, but that's what she's saying. She's saying -- she's looking right into the camera. She's looking right at me. And she's like, “I am so hot for you right now.” And I'm like, “Mika, no. No.” And let me just say this publicly now: No, Mika. No. Have some self-respect, babe. Have some self-respect.
BURGUIERE: Yeah. There you go.
GRAY: This is helpful.
BURGUIERE: OK. This is Donald Trump philosophy right now. This is, “Give me attention, please.”
BECK: All right, so here is --
BURGUIERE: This is you demanding news stories about yourself.
BECK: No. No, no, no. I don't want any news stories.
BURGUIERE: No -- yes, you --
BECK: I just want her to know. I just want her to know.
BURGUIERE: You are -- no, you are taunting them because you want people to write stupid stories about you.
BECK: I just want her to know.
GRAY: Stop stalking you.
BECK: It's OK. Stop stalking me.
BURGUIERE: Through the television.
BECK: Stop it.
GRAY: Through the TV set.
BECK: Stop it. Stop it. You've got your little place, and it's great. And you're doing a good job.
GRAY: Doing that morning cup of tea thing.
BECK: And I know you want -- and I know you are tired of doing the story on the Wisconsin teachers. We're tired of hearing it.
GRAY: Oh, man. Yeah, we really are.
BECK: We're tired of hearing it.
GRAY: Well, the hate.
BECK: The hate.
GRAY: The hate.
BECK: Oh, the hate.
GRAY: This is actual hate --
BECK: Mm-hmm.
GRAY: -- we're about to hear. And I know you've heard it so many times, again, from the mainstream media. CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN -- they're all just hammering this story.
BECK: Yeah.
GRAY: But just one more time.
BECK: Yeah. Go ahead.
GRAY: Here's the story.
[...]
GRAY: Ah, there it is. There's the story that we've become so tired of.
BURGUIERE: Again, Pat? I mean --
BECK: Can I tell you something? Can I tell you something? Let me tell you something. May I tell you something?
BURGUIERE: I would love to hear something from you.
BECK: Let me tell you something right now.
GRAY: Tell us.
BECK: Teachers. Teachers in Wisconsin. I think -- I would check all of their birth certificates. I would check every single one of their birth certificates.
BURGUIERE: Really?
BECK: Especially the babes.
GRAY: You're just --
BECK: Because they could be --
GRAY: You're doing the --
BECK: -- Russians. No.
GRAY: You're trying desperately --
BECK: Listen to me.
GRAY: -- to do the Donald Trump thing.
BECK: No, I'm not. Listen to me. Listen to me.
GRAY: We know what you're doing.
BURGUIERE: This is real this time.
BECK: Listen to me, listen to me. This is real. What do you mean, “This time”?
BURGUIERE: Well, because last time, you were doing the Donald Trump thing.
BECK: No, I wasn't.
BURGUIERE: You're trying to get attention for yourself --
BECK: No.
BURGUIERE: -- and I get the point. But I don't --
BECK: No. I may run for president.
BURGUIERE: I wish you could just say it.
BECK: No. I may run for president. I haven't decided yet.
BURGUIERE: Oh, no.
BECK: I haven't decided yet. What? What? I may. I mean, if the people -- look, I have --
GRAY: Have you neither ruled it in nor out?
BECK: Look it, look it, look it. I have the best of everything. Of everything. Of everything. I have the best shoe, that I put on this morning. I have the top-of-the-line button that I use at the top of my -- I take the Levi's that I wear, and sometimes I'll take that top button and I will replace it with the best jean button ever made.
BURGUIERE: Is there such a thing as the best jean --
BECK: Well, see you don't know. But you're not me. And I'm willing to serve. I haven't ruled it in. I haven't ruled it out. I'm just -- I'm asking the questions that [unintelligible] people want to know.
BURGUIERE: Like, if --
BECK: Like, why is Mika stalking me?
BURGUIERE: Right. And --
BECK: Why are the teachers possibly complete plants? Manchurian -- you want to talk about a Manchurian candidate? Forget about Obama. Manchurian candidates? Please. They're the teachers in Wisconsin. Have you noticed none of them have shown their birth certificates? None of them. None of them.
GRAY: I honestly hadn't noticed that.
BURGUIERE: No. None of us had noticed.
BECK: Yeah, you check. This woman? This woman?
GRAY: Are some of them perhaps born in Iowa? Or, you know, Minnesota? Or, heaven forbid --
BECK: If Iowa were in --
GRAY: Maine.
BECK: If Iowa were in the USSR. Yeah.
GRAY: These are Russian teachers? Or former Soviet --
BECK: You never see the babes coming.
GRAY: No. Well, this woman in particular is not a babe that we're talking about.
BECK: What do you mean, she's not a babe?
GRAY: She's --
BECK: Is she a woman?
GRAY: I mean, she's a woman. But I wouldn't --
BECK: Babes.
GRAY: I wouldn't call her a “babe.”
BECK: What's the difference?
GRAY: Well, “babe” denotes sort of a --
BURGUIERE: No, it's good. Your word is --
BECK: Can I tell you something?
BURGUIERE: It's an interesting new media approach.
BECK: Can I tell you something? Can I tell you something? Listen. Listen. I only marry babes. I only marry Russian babes.
BURGUIERE: Really?
GRAY: Really? I don't think Tania's --
BURGUIERE: No, I don't think --
BECK: Russian name.
[crosstalk]
BECK: Listen to me. She's a babe. I love babes. Babes love me. Russian babes -- don't trust them. Marry them, but don't trust them. I'm not ruling anything in. I'm not ruling anything out. I'm just saying, check for the birth certificates in Wisconsin. Enough said, babe. Our sponsor --
BURGUIERE: It took me a minute, but I did get -- I did understand, finally, what you were doing.
BECK: Here's the -- I don't know what you're talking about.
BURGUIERE: I'm a little slow, but --
BECK: Please, please. I'm ruling things in and out. Here we go with Generation America.