Beck Can’t – Or Won’t – Define the ‘White Culture’ He Says Obama Hates
In an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric last week, Glenn Beck refused a viewer’s request that he explain a phrase he used in July when he proclaimed Pres. Obama to be a racist.
As a refresher, here’s what Beck said on Fox & Friends:
“This president, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture,” Beck said. “I don’t know what it is.”
Following up on Beck’s ridiculous claim, Fox’s Brian Kilmeade pointed out that Obama is surrounded by white advisers like David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and Rahm Emanuel.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people,” Beck said. “I’m saying he has a problem. He has a — this guy is, I believe, a racist.”
(It’s strange that Kilmeade brought up Obama’s advisors but failed to note that Obama was raised in white household for most of his life.)
In the Couric interview, the viewer asked Beck to define what he meant by “white culture,” but he refused. Why? Because while “white culture” can refer to any number of things in our society — including the funny site Stuff White People Like — the term is most closely associated with the white supremacist movement.
In fact, “white culture” is what the Klan and the Neo-Nazis say they are ready to protect using any means necessary, up to and including bloodshed.
When confronted with his own words, Beck squirms as he tries to outmaneuver Couric with cameras rolling because he knows he’s been found out. As has been clear from the outset of this scandal, when Beck called the president a racist, he was projecting.
The problem here, of course, is that Beck is a mess. In both the Fox & Friends and Couric interviews, he comes off as a big, stammering dumbass. But is that who he really is, or — as is more likely — is he sending dog-whistle messages of solidarity to the Republican racist base?
Here’s the transcript of the question from the Couric interview:
COURIC: A twitter question is, adrianinflorida: what do you mean by white culture?
BECK: Um, I, I don’t…
COURIC: You said he had a deep-seated hatred for the white culture, what is that? What is the white culture?
BECK: I guess it’s…gosh. I’m so tempted to make news here today.
COURIC: No no, I’m just curious, this was actually adrianinflorida.
BECK: What to do? What to do? Adrian, Go to glennbeck.com. Listen to it. You can hear all of it.
COURIC: No, but you didn’t really address white culture, I think, in your explanation about President Obama, I haven’t seen the whole show, but can you? Just for our purposes?
BECK: Just for your purposes? So this will be a little secret between us?
COURIC: No, for this show, can you explain what you mean by the white culture? Because some people say that sounds kind of racist.
BECK: Really? It’s amazing to me that, for the first time, I think in history somebody can ask a question and say, “Don’t you think that maybe we have several pieces here?” We have several pieces; George Bush says my grandmother was a typical African-American that had, that had her views bred into her. You don’t think maybe we would ask questions about that comment? How is it that the first time I think in history, you should check on it, somebody says, “Hey. There’s some red flags here maybe we should look at?” … How am I? How am I the target for asking questions?
COURIC: People just want to know. What is white culture?
BECK: I’m going to see if I can play your game. People just want to know.
COURIC: You know, well, Adrian wants to know.
BECK: That’s good for Adrian.
COURIC: No but I mean it’s fine if you make a statement though, shouldn’t you be able to defend exactly what you mean by it. I’m not –
BECK: Katie, how many times have you said, how many times have you said something where you’re like, “I didn’t think. What’s white culture? I don’t know. What’s the white culture?”
What? What is the white culture? I don’t know how to answer that that’s not a trap.
COURIC: Mhmm.
BECK: You know what I mean?
COURIC: Yeah I’m not, I’m just, I’m not trying to trap you, I’m just, I think people wanted to know what that meant exactly.
BECK: Well we know Adrian does.
COURIC: Yeah, and you’re not going to answer her?
BECK: I’m not going to get into your sound bite gotcha game which we already are. We already are.
COURIC: No we’re actually, this is completely unedited so if you felt like you wanted to explain it, you have all the time in the world.
BECK: Mhmm.
COURIC: No? Don’t want to go there?
BECK: Nope.
COURIC: But basically, you stand behind your assertion that in your view, President Obama is a racist.
BECK: I believe that Americans should ask themselves tough questions. Americans should turn over all the rocks and make their own decisions.
