(FNC)
This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," April 23, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: What was President Obama's carbon footprint on Earth Day? I don't think Mother Earth was too happy about the flight he had to take to give a speech in front of a wind turbine. Wind turbine — remember that? That's where he gave that speech, halfway across the country.
Good job on leading by example, Mr. President.
Read all about it on my free e-mail newsletter at GlennBeck.com. You can sign up for it right now.
[Wednesday], we did celebrate Earth Day and so did the mainstream media:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, 'TODAY SHOW' HOST: Now to a new vehicle that's sure to turn a lot of heads on this Earth Day, it is called a "Peapod."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robert Kennedy, Jr., his Waterkeeper organization is part of that alliance and it's holding a star-studded Earth Day benefit today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to show you some quick, easy and cheap ways to make your workplace more eco-friendly.
CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS: On this Earth Day, we have a closer look at the growing threat to this planet we all call home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Oh, no. No to global warming; yes to cap-and-trade. Hmm.
Let's rewind a week ago. Remember the coverage of the tea parties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN REPORTER: I think you get the general tenor of this. It's anti-government, anti-CNN, since this is highly promoted by the right-wing, conservative network, FOX.
KEITH OLBERMANN, MSNBC HOST: Number two story tonight, the sad reality behind the corporate-sponsored tea parties, visual proof this is not about spending, deficits or taxes, but about some Americans getting riled up now about these things, riled up by the people who caused these things and finally about some Americans who just hate the president of the United States.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: Today is the day that taxes are due to the federal government. And, in an act of somewhat (INAUDIBLE) amorphous protest, Americans in many cities around the country gathered in public around their chosen protest symbol today: the tea bag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Wow, see what a difference — I mean, should I say, what a difference G.E. makes? Is it a coincidence that a particular network's parent company is the largest supplier of wind turbines in the U.S.? Wait, who was in front of the wind turbine? Oh, my gosh — it's Barack Obama!
I'm not the only one asking this question. Everybody should be.
Yesterday, at the G.E. shareholders' meeting, a bunch of people asked about this network's bias and one of them was Bill O'Reilly's producer, Jesse Waters. He joins me now.
• Video: Watch Beck's interview
Are you are afraid to come in the all-cry zone, Bill? Is that what's happening here?
BILL O'REILLY, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR" HOST: You know, I tried to get into the bunker and there were just too many sandbags in front of the door. I couldn't get through.
BECK: No. I heard you knocking on the door.
O'REILLY: You let me in, Glenn!
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: And then there was like little guys, you know, were outside...
BECK: Shhh! Don't give away all of our secrets.
O'REILLY: Sentries?
BECK: All right. So, Bill, tell me about — this story absolutely amazes me.
O'REILLY: This is a big story and you don't know the half of it, Beck, and you will after you watch "The Factor" tonight.
BECK: No, I may not watch.
O'REILLY: As far — well, if you don't watch it, and you're not going to be in the know. And I know that you want to be in the know.
BECK: Yes, I know. OK, tell me.
O'REILLY: OK. Now, this is far beyond any wind turbine deal.
BECK: Yes.
O'REILLY: Let me ask you a couple of questions. That's how we're going to do the interview. Which is the most pro-Obama network in the country right now?
BECK: I know it. I'm thinking about it. I got it?
O'REILLY: Tell the folks.
BECK: Oh, it's MSNBC and NBC.
O'REILLY: NBC News.
BECK: Yes.
O'REILLY: OK. Which network promoted Obama presidency during the election the most, the most for him?
BECK: NBC.
O'REILLY: OK. Those are facts. They're irrefutable. Everybody knows it.
Now, there was a network attached to NBC — CNBC — which had the brazenness to actually criticize some of Obama's economic policies. Remember that?
BECK: Yes.
O'REILLY: And all of a sudden, Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, and Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC, went over to New Jersey, to CNBC — and what did they do?
BECK: They told them to keep their mouth — to zip it on anti-Obama.
O'REILLY: Right. In fact, the guy, Rick Santelli, is that his name?
BECK: Yes, the tea bag guy.
O'REILLY: He came out and said, "They sent me to a re-education camp." So, now, all the Beck viewers and listeners know what the framework is.
BECK: Sure.
O'REILLY: That we have the General Electric company, one of the most powerful companies in the world, actively promoting a political candidate for the presidency, Barack Obama, and then after he wins, allowing vicious attacks on any criticism of said president, and actually telling the CNBC people knock off your criticism of him.
BECK: But they've also — Bill, they have also, and I know you have covered this, because I have watched you for years, they've covered this or you've covered this where they sell all these green things where they're just, like, hey, look at this...
O'REILLY: OK. That's true.
BECK: Brian Williams: Look at this nice light bulb that the trees are lit in.
O'REILLY: That's not — right. That's true, but this is a bigger thing than that.
All right. You start there with the fact that this corporation, General Electric, has promoted a candidate for president, who won, and is now protecting that man. This is an abuse of power — abuse of corporate power. It should not happen. Now, the company, G.E., owns one of the biggest media outlets in the world, NBC. So, you got a tremendous amount of power pack.
Now, we find out through the good reporting of the Washington Examiner, a small newspaper in D.C., we find out, and this is what "The Factor's" story is tonight, that General Electric has set up a division to capitalize on cap-and-trade — the carbon corporate tax — if it's passed. General Electric is heavily lobbying for contracts that could bring them billions of dollars, getting involved with the cap-and-trade transactions, whereby every company in the United States that has emissions would be told by the federal government, "If you go over a certain amount, you need to pay us or buy other things." G.E. would be right in the middle of profiting from that.
So, hey, I wonder why they're shutting down criticism...
BECK: Bill...
O'REILLY: ...of Barack Obama and attacking people like you and me, who, on occasion, might criticize the president.
BECK: You, sir, you know, every American knows, that if this — if this parent company of FOX was building war machines or tanks or whatever, if we would have supported George W. Bush, the media would have gone crazy.
These people, they don't care about G.E. — Jeffrey Immelt does not — I mean, NBC — Jeffrey Immelt does not care about NBC or its news credibility whatsoever. It is nothing but a propaganda machine to be able to sell wind turbines and make money for G.E.
That's all it is.
O'REILLY: But it's deeper than that, though. If President Obama were to award the contracts for cap-and-trade — which isn't passing by the way, but Nancy Pelosi says she's going to bring it back again. Say it passes. If President Obama then rewards General Electric for all its support and help, that's Chicago politics. That's quid pro quo.
So, you're into an area now that makes Watergate look like a Shirley Temple movie.
BECK: Yes. All right.
O'REILLY: And that's the big story we're breaking tonight.
BECK: Bill, thank you very much. I'll let you go — I'll let you go this time. This time, I'm going to let you go as a friend. I won't hold you and pin you down.
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