What the GOP Needs to Do to Avoid a Disastrous Midterm | Guests: Bethany Miller & Carol Roth | 9/3/26
September 3, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe GOP’s Midterm Problem Isn’t the President—It’s Them
Glenn Beck opens the episode with a blunt diagnosis: Republicans have held the House and Senate for two years and didn’t deliver what they promised. Voters noticed. In the spring primaries, they held incumbents accountable. But now, with 35 races in play and the president promising to campaign for every struggling Republican, the question is whether those same voters will show up for the candidates they just fought to nominate.
The core tension is straightforward. The primary is where the party settles its differences. Once the ballots are printed, the only question left is whether Republican voters will actually turn out for candidates they spent months fighting over. Beck warns that sitting out or punishing the party by staying home doesn’t hurt the politicians—it hurts the country. “Who are you punishing?” he asks. “The people. And if the people lose, the country loses.”
The Affordability Problem and What Republicans Should Be Saying
Beck argues that the GOP has two years of non-action to answer for, and between now and November they’re unlikely to pass anything meaningful. So at minimum, they need to learn how to talk like human beings again. He lays out three specific things candidates should be saying.
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Glenn Beck Program
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (01:48) **Introduction & President's Midterm Campaign Strategy** - Glenn opens by discussing the president's plan to travel to 35 competitive districts in the final 30 days before the election.
- 2 (09:00) **What Republicans Must Say to Win** - A direct message to GOP candidates on the language and priorities they need to adopt immediately.
- 3 (12:03) **The Danger of Discouragement and the Baltic Singing Revolution** - A historical parallel to explain how discouragement defeats voters, and how to overcome it.
- 4 (18:30) **The Call to Action: Find One Person** - A direct appeal to listeners to take personal responsibility for turning out the vote.
- 5 (24:14) **Ryan Reynolds on the 1980s vs. The Reality of the Era** - Glenn reacts to Ryan Reynolds' claim that the 1980s were a "brutal time" and contrasts it with the actual dangers and shared experience of the decade.
- 6 (33:00) **The Lost Instrument of Shared Reality** - The core thesis: we don't need 1984 back, we need the "other guy in the room" who checks our readings against theirs.
- 7 (43:17) **Bethany Miller: The State of American Women & Weaponized Empathy** - Introduction of Bethany Miller to discuss her article on the Lindsey Clancy trial, Luigi Mangione, and the radicalization of women.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
President Trump announced his plans to speak at every political event ahead of the midterm elections. Will it help? Glenn argues that while it won’t hurt, Republicans have an uphill battle after failed promises and ongoing affordability struggles under GOP leadership. Actor Ryan Reynolds recently said he has little nostalgia for the 1980s, citing a lot of trauma and stress during that time. Glenn explains why Ryan Reynolds is both correct and incorrect. The jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial is back deliberating after members told the judge for the second time that they failed to reach a verdict. Why is our society failing to agree that killing your children should have consequences? Glenn discusses the conviction of a mother who let her 5-year-old walk to a pond. The Conservateur managing editor Bethany Miller joins to explain how the Lindsay Clancy trial is setting women back decades and the difference between understanding and affirming. Recovering investment banker Carol Roth joins to give a list of things you can do to help bring down the cost of living. Glenn reacts to the backlash after U.S. Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo discussed Canada in a recent interview.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from this podcast
The Glenn Beck Program →