Front Burner - Front Burner Presents: The Flamethrowers Ep. 6

Episode Date: November 2, 2024

Donald Trump takes the style, tactics, and issues straight from the right-wing radio playbook. The only question now is: Where does it go from here?This is episode 6 — the final episode — of The Flamethrowers, the story of how radio energized and then radicalized a conservative base. Hosted by Justin Ling.Listen to the full series here.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, everyone. It's Jamie. Over the past five weeks, we've been featuring episodes of The Flamethrowers, hosted by award-winning reporter and podcaster Justin Ling. The Flamethrowers takes us through the rise of right-wing radio and how it reshaped American politics. Today, in the finale of the series, The Flamethrowers follows the rise of Donald Trump, a president who didn't just listen to right-wing radio. He embodied it.

of Donald Trump, a president who didn't just listen to right-wing radio, he embodied it. Trump took the tactics, the rhetoric, and the issues straight from the conservative talk radio playbook with stunning success. The only question left is, where does it all go from here? And just a reminder that this podcast was first released in 2021, and it does not touch on the current U.S. presidential election. Here's episode six, The Talk Radio President. This podcast tells the story of how right-wing radio radicalized America. We use examples of what was actually said on the radio, and some of it is offensive. But it's an important part of understanding this story.

Just a heads up. The Washington establishment is laughing at Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke. a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke. It's 2011, and everyone who's anyone from politicians to staffers, journalists, Donald Trump, have gathered for the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Mahalo. As some of you heard, the state of Hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate.

Hopefully, this puts all doubts to rest. Just weeks before this dinner, Trump was on CNN spreading the lie that Obama was not born in the U.S. Well, I've been told very recently, Anderson, that the birth certificate is missing. I've been told that it's not there and it doesn't exist. And if that's the case, that's a big problem. I just heard that two days ago from somebody. Obama has been a picture of restraint regarding the birther story. But tonight, he's coming out swinging.

He's taken some flack lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald. And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?

Cut to Donald Trump, totally stone-faced. All kidding aside, obviously we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example, seriously, just recently in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately you didn't blame Little John or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night.

Everyone in the room is having a good laugh, except for Donald Trump. He looks like his head might explode. Well handled, sir. Well handled. looks like his head might explode. It's easy to imagine a world where the Correspondents' Dinner is the end of Donald Trump's political career. After all, the birther story was his main political vehicle up until that point. By releasing his long-form birth certificate, Barack Obama has killed that story. Now, he's humiliated Trump in front of the entire Washington political establishment. But here in the world we actually live in, a few moments of discomfort was all worth it for Trump.

world we actually live in, a few moments of discomfort was all worth it for Trump. In the three years he had pushed the birther story, he forced his name into the national political conversation. And the scorn of the Washington establishment? That may have been an asset for a man who would brand himself as a political outsider. Four years on, with Neil Young blaring on the sound system, Trump descends the escalator to the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City. Wow. Whoa. That is some group of people. Thousands. So nice. Thank you very much. That's really nice. Thank you. This is beyond anybody's expectations. There's been no crowd like this. Right out of the gate, he sets the tone.

Our country is in serious trouble. We don't have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don't have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let say China in a trade deal they kill us. America is a mess and the enemies are clear. The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. When Mexico sends its people they're not sending their best. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.

And only one man can turn things around. I am officially running... ...for president of the United States. And we are going to make our country great again. And then he gets to another definitive Trump promise. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. For many in the mainstream media, that promise,

well, the whole speech for that matter, For many in the mainstream media, that promise, well the whole speech for that matter, is just Trump being Trump. Gaudy, outlandish, and not to be taken seriously. So Jenny, could he actually win? No freaking way! Oh my god, Wendy. First of all, if you're going to be running for president or president, then you need to have social grace and also kind of watch your work. Yes. But you know who was not laughing? Rush Limbaugh. Well, well, well, well, Snurdley and I just spent the last half hour sitting here watching Donald Trump's announcement that he's going to run for president. And we were laughing ourselves. I mean, it was a howl session.

And we were laughing ourselves. I mean, it was a howl session. Okay, yeah, he was laughing, but for different reasons. Because he saw something that everyone else didn't. All of this I'm telling you is going to resonate with people. And here's something else to watch. The more the media hates this and makes fun of it and laughs, the more support Trump's going to get. Trump is not just spouting these phrases at random. This was years in the making. He had honed his message to resonate with a very specific audience.

One of Trump's key advisors is a guy named Sam Nunberg. Nunberg is a keen student of right-wing radio. For years, he'd been a devoted listener of Mark Levin. So we have people escaping failed cultures, escaping failed economic systems, escaping failed governments, coming into this country and bringing all three of those with them. And our country encouraging it. Unbridled, wave after wave, immigration, legal and illegal. It's taking the country down. Nunberg spends thousands of hours listening to conservative talk radio.

He prepares these thick reports about what's being said, what issues are getting airtime, how the broadcasters are talking to their listeners. And the reports, they go straight to Trump. We had an agreement where I would give him, I called it suggestions, and the suggestions would be me taking, helping him market himself was what I had said. I'm helping you market yourself. I'm trying to sell gold in a different market. Help me help you. We have a different type of customer here. Nunberg learns all these steps and he teaches Trump how to dance. For instance, here's how Trump arrived at one of his signature promises.

The Republican Party had for years been moderating its position on immigration, even as right wing Radiohead called for a hardline position. And Nunberg knew that. What immigration became for Donald Trump was it made him a political martyr and a leader after his speech. Nunberg had been listening to guys like Glenn Beck, who as far back as 2006 were saying, you want to solve the immigration? You know it and I know it. You put up a giant fence. You stop the people who are coming in here because they're criminals or they want to do us harm. And lo and behold, here's Trump at an event in Iowa in early 2015. He hasn't even declared he's running yet. We have to build a fence and it's got to be a beauty. Who can build

better than Trump? I build. It's what I do. Just like Nunberg promised, the crowd loves it. And there is no clearer political barometer for Trump than the roar of a crowd. Over the next few months, he'll dial in on that message. I gave him a call that one day and I said, let me shoot something by you. So I said, well, why don't we say you're going to build a wall because it's bigger. You're going to build a wall and you'll get Mexico to pay for it. People love it. And remember what you said that day? And he goes, what?

What are you talking about? And I go, nobody builds like Trump. People are going to love this. Nobody builds like Trump. I'm going to build a wall. And just four months later, Trump says, I would build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. And I'll build them very inexpensively.

I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. And repeat, repeat, repeat. I will build a great, great wall. We're going to build the wall. We have no choice. And we're repeat, repeat. I will build a great, great wall. We're going to build the wall. We have no choice. And we're building a wall. We're going to build a wall, folks.

A wall on the border of New Mexico. And we're building a wall in Colorado. Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that wall. It's easy to forget now, but Trump was way offside the Republican Party on immigration. Most of his competitors in the primary supported amnesty or at least a path to citizenship

for undocumented immigrants. Not Trump. And the wall stood for a lot. The wall stood for who had the harshest, strongest, biggest law and order policy on immigration. On issue after issue, Trump is taking his cues and his talking points from right-wing radio. Just take Obamacare. It was an out-and-out lie. It was a false promise they get to keep their insurance if they like it.

And it was an abject lie we have a disaster called the big lie obamacare even common core a new way to teach english and math in school became a target what's happening with common core why are we why are they dumbing us down they are breeding an entire new generation of slaves. And I don't mean that as just the Obama administration. Jeb Bush is doing it as well. These guys who are involved in Common Core are enslaving you to giant corporations and to the state.

And it is wrong. Common Core should... It is a disaster. Bush is totally in favor of Common Core should, it is a disaster. Bush is totally in favor of Common Core. He's in favor of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? Education has to be local. And when host Michael Savage calls for an outright ban on Muslim immigration.

Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. And it is not lost on Savage that Trump is stealing his lines. For 21 years, my message has been borders, language, and culture. And many of these bullet points or talking points have been and are being used by the Trump campaign to the credit of Donald Trump and, of course, to the benefit of the United States of America. And I'm going to take credit for being the architect of Trump's messaging.

There is no way to refute that. Everyone who understands the realities of what Trump is saying and why he is popular understands it's related to what I've said on radio since 1994. As author Brian Rosenwald explains, Trump isn't just parroting the lines. He's fully immersed in this character. absolutely everything that people's favorite hosts were he is a fighter we talked about people calling in saying to rush limbaugh thank god you're on the air rush we finally have a voice well if you interview people at trump rallies they're saying the same things we finally have somebody to fight for us he is someone who is doing exactly what those hosts have been doing trump is even borrowing their shtick what What do you call the New York Times? The New York Slimes.

The Washington Post. The Washington Compost. Chuck Schumer. Schmucky Schumer. Vice President Biden. Senator Lindsey Grimnesty. Lion Ted. Little Marco Rubio.

Crazy Bernie. Pocahontas. Actually, it's Focahontas. Crooked Hillary Clinton. And these hosts start looking at Trump like one of their own. When he gets attacked, they're the ones cheering him on from the sidelines.

The first time that Trump said something horrible and outrageous, whether it was, you know, John McCain isn't a war hero because he was captured. He's not a war hero. He's a war hero. He's a war hero. Five and a half years in the military camp. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay?

I hate to tell you. Do you agree with that? He's a war hero because he was captured. Limbaugh says, you know, folks, we've never really seen anything like this. You know, the media is confidently predicting that he's done, that this is the end of him. You can't say that and survive.

No, no, no, Trump can survive this. Trump is surviving this. You know, this is a great, great teachable moment here. This whole thing with Trump and McCain. But most of the time, what happens is the media and the left and these lords of political correctness, they say this and the person, you know, tucks their tail between their legs and disappears they go away they buy by the judgment this guy's not doing that folks and and he very much recognizes that his audience is fed up they're fed up with republicans who don't seem to get results they're fed up with republicans who they see as playing a washington game and they want someone who is just going to

be an unvarnished champion who's going to fight back for them and their values, and who, when it makes the left angry, is going to say, good, you deserve to be angry. Plenty of mainstream Republicans and pundits are still horrified by Trump's rise, and they're convinced he's going to fail. But right-wing radio and a growing network of conservative news sites recognize him as one of their own, and they get on board. And as author Matt Leshak explains, all of this is instrumental to Trump's rise. Donald Trump would not have finished in the top three in the GOP primary if it wasn't for Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge. And I'll explain why. And I'll explain why. The populist wave in media had been growing from Rush Limbaugh and then blown up by Matt Drudge.

And without that opening, somebody like Donald Trump could never even run. When they said, we're supporting him, Everybody under their conservative ecosystem followed suit. This is more of a feat than you can imagine. Now, you go back in time and you look at a candidate like Jeb Bush, who had stockpiled so much money and favors among the traditional GOP party and tell me they're going to be out within 30 days? And a man named Donald Trump, who up until then was viewed widely as a liberal, would become the darling of the conservative movement. Two people are responsible for that more than anybody else. And that was Rush Limbaugh

and Matt Drudge. Here's another thing about about Jeb. They have to know at the Jeb campaign why Trump is leading. And in the national polls, Trump still is leading. They have to know it's immigration. They have to know that they the Bush campaign and the candidate himself, Jeb, they have to know that they're on the wrong side the candidate himself, Jeb, they have to know that they're on the wrong side of that issue when it comes to Republican primary voters. The broadcasters of right-wing radio line up to get behind Donald Trump. Some do it enthusiastically right out of the gate. For others, it took some time to realize they had a friend in the host of The Apprentice. to realize they had a friend in the host of The Apprentice. Take Sam Nunberg's idol, Mark Levin. Initially, he's a never-Trumper.

These bully, dirty tricks, Nixonian tactics, they're only going to backfire. They're only going to backfire, so count me as never-Trump. At some point, you got to stand up to it. I do not like bullies and I never have. So I will not be voting for Donald Trump and he can thank Roger Stone. But that didn't last long. So I'm going to vote for Donald Trump. I'm going to wind up voting for Donald Trump on election day. Alex Jones, meanwhile, is fully on board from the get-go, which is pretty surprising considering he had long been hostile to conventional politicians. In the past, he said that Democrats and Republicans

are all part of the same wicked game. The policies of George Bush and Barack Obama are identical. It's all about unity, unity, unity, unity. It's going to be tough. It's going to be hard. Austerity, pain, suffering, sacrifice, because they are going to rape you. And if you think it's bad now. But in Trump, he sees something different. Because I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. I'm a populist. And I know Trump is.

At this point, he has stoked fear of a new world order shadow government, accused George W. Bush of plotting 9-11, claimed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a false flag operation, more claims of secret Satanist cults made up of government officials who sacrifice children, vaccines causing autism, secret Jewish cult running the world, claimed billionaire Bill Gates was trying to eliminate minority populations, accused Glenn Beck of being a CIA operative, said the government was adding estrogen to the tap water to feminize the population, accused George Soros of organizing a chemical weapons attack in Syria to discredit Bashar al-Assad, made wild unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud, and so much more.

Jones, at this point, is a pariah amongst conservative radio hosts, but during the presidential campaign, Trump embraces him. Well, we had Matt Drudge about a month ago in studio, only does an interview every three, four years. And I thought that got me excited. But I'm telling you, Donald Trump is our guest, ladies and gentlemen, for the next 30 minutes or so. Donald, thank you for joining us. Thank you, Alex. Great. Great to be with you. I know now from top people that you actually are for real and you understand you're in danger and you understand what you're doing is epic. It's George Washington level. And you understand that office. I'm so into this and I'm not into it. You know, I could do other things that I would enjoy doing, to be

honest with you. You're doing a dangerous mission. We understand that. In Jones's view, Trump is going into the belly of the beast, the murderous swamp beast that is the deep state. I just want to finish by saying your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down. You will be very, very impressed, I hope. And I think we'll be speaking a lot, but you'll be you'll be looking at me in a year, in a year or two years. Let's give me a little bit of time to run things. But a year into office, you'll be saying, wow, I remember that interview. He said he was going to do it and he did a great job. You'll be very proud of our country. Well, I'm impressed. I mean, you're saying you're fully committed. You know, there's no future if we don't take

this country back. Donald Trump, I hope you can help uncripple America. Thank you so much, sir, that you will be attacked for coming on. And we know you know that. Thank you. Thank you very much. One by one, these broadcasters line up to get on board. And there are very few exceptions. One of them is conservative Wisconsin broadcaster Charlie Sykes. Do you ever apologize? This is an interview he did with Donald Trump in April 2016. Do you ever apologize? Because you know what, most real men, when they screw up, they'll go, you know what, I was a hothead. I shouldn't have done that. I do apologize. I believe in apologizing. But I think before I would think about apologizing, he owes me an apology because what he did was wrong. Again, I didn't start it. He started it.

If he didn't start it, it would have never happened. Nothing like this would have ever happened. But he started it. Just remember, we're not on a playground. We're running for President of the United States. I agree with that 100%. And my views are not playground views. Sykes learned that there was not room in Trump's party for his brand of conservatism.

Sykes quit his radio show just a few months after that interview, and he went on to write a book entitled How the Right Lost Its Mind. Trump owned the Republican Party. He owned right wing radio. He owned the narrative. And it would seem like nothing could change that. And when you're a star, they let you do it. Not even.

You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the pussy. Each time something like this would happen, Trump would be counted out by the mainstream media. But each time, all of his friends on right-wing radio found ways to rationalize his behavior and rally the base to his cause and his campaign. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem.

Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income? That's not a typo.

50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. Before we move on, just one more little thing. It has to do with Alex Jones. In the fall of 2016, the internet starts buzzing with a bizarre rumor. Hillary Clinton is trafficking children. This is the end. Whether Hillary steals it or not, globalist dynasty is on fire. Less than a week before Election Day, on Jones' show, he interviews a private investigator and conspiracy theorist who

fills him in on this secret investigation that supposedly involves disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner, the Clintons, and an airplane called the Lolita Express. Perhaps the most disgusting aspect of this is the sexual angle that involves Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, and Bill Clinton as well with Jeffrey Epstein. Oh my God. Bill Clinton as well with Jeffrey Epstein. Oh my God. Based on my source, Hillary did in fact take part in some of the junkets too

on the Lolita Express, independent of and with Bill Clinton. Blackmail. Blackmail is also a Votoma. Well, that's what I was told by McChinney. They say it's a major foreign penetration of everything. That's why, despite the fact our government's corrupt, she's got to be taken down.

This is total blackmail. This conspiracy theory is so vast that it even includes Limbaugh's old insinuation that the Clintons had Vince Foster murdered. The FBI just posted four separate files on Vince Foster. That's not just to give people information about what happened at Fort Marcy Park or with Vince Foster. Let's talk about it. This is seismic. This is historic. Wow. Breitbart runs a story about Clinton child sex trafficking and devotes a whole segment to it on Breitbart Radio. Hillary went to this sex island with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Bill Clinton went there more than 20 times. Hillary Clinton

went there at least six times. There's all kinds of criminal culpability through all the emails they've seen of that 650,000, including money laundering, underage sex. New elements are getting bolted on to this conspiracy theory. Suddenly, Clinton is part of a satanic cult. Children are being sacrificed, and they're being kept in a secret location. It's just like the secrets of Bohemian Grove that Jones introduced us to just two decades prior. And just like last time. Edgar Welch, 28, of Salisbury, North Carolina, has been arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. And police say that Welch told them that he showed up at the D.C. pizza restaurant to get to the bottom of what appears to be an utterly bogus story about child abuse promoted

on the internet. How scary was the situation? He allegedly pointed the gun in the direction of an employee and fired the weapon inside the restaurant. Out of the shadows emerges a new player, one who will claim that Hillary Clinton is a murderer, that a deep state runs America, and who says, basically, that Alex Jones was right about everything. That person called themselves Q, and a movement was emerging to fight back, to defend the president. And they called themselves QAnon. A whole new class of do-it-yourself broadcasters emerges online to introduce the masses to their new hero. Have you ever wondered why we go to war? Or why you never seem to be able to get out of debt? Why there is poverty, division and crime. What if I told you

there was a reason for it all? What if I told you it was done on purpose? What if I told you that those who were corrupting the world, poisoning our food and igniting conflict were themselves about to be permanently eradicated from the earth? You might think that an idealistic fantasy. The good guys with control over the NSA began the Q intelligence dissemination program to invoke an online grassroots movement that came to be called the Great Awakening. It started on underground Internet channels and then moved to the mainstream. And promoting Q is a man we've heard from before.

Best-selling author Jerome Corsey. He's saying that yours truly, that I, Sean Hannity, am the next target of the deep state. It's Jerome Corsi, talk radio's go-to guy on Obama's supposedly fake birth certificate. QAnon is military intelligence and close to Trump. And the intelligence we're getting really is a lot of the inside script. Q experts believe that he even helped build QAnon from scratch.

QAnon. I know you know QAnon's identity. Yes. Obviously, we're not going to, and I've confirmed as well, QAnon is a group in the Pentagon. And very close to Donald. Whoever created Q, all Trump cares about is that they're being nice to him.

The QAnon movement has been, appears to be getting a lot of followers. Can you talk about what you think about that and what you have to say to people who are following this movement right now? Well, I don't know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. But I don't know much about the movement. I have heard that it is gaining in popularity. So Trump had Jones spinning conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton. Limbaugh was telling his listeners that they had to believe that he could really win.

Levin, meanwhile, was giving the Trump campaign issues and talking points to use to rally the base. And the whole right-wing media echo chamber was amplifying the message. No one would appreciate just how powerful that system really was until election day. And I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people. And I think they recognize that being president is a serious job. Donald Trump is not going to be president of the United States. I think that man will be president of the United States

right about the time that spaceships come down filled with dinosaurs and red capes. Donald Trump is holding on the line to speak to the people who were with him right from the beginning on the Savage Nation. Donald, thank you so much for being with us today, this election day.

First of all, Donald, I want to thank you personally for showing your loyalty to me personally. I know that you're not doing a lot of national radio shows today. I know you wanted to come on to the Savage Nation because in many ways we had you on before anyone else did on a regular basis. And I know your loyalty is very important to you. I told the people that you're the most

loyal politician I've ever encountered in this business. So again, I want to thank you for that, period. Well, thank you, Michael. And you've been loyal also. And I did want to do your show. And I have done very, very little today because, you know, I'm sort of sitting back and seeing what happens. It's been a great honor for me to have had you on this show since the year 2011. If you win, I will know in my own heart I had something to do with it. And even if you don't win, I know that we've changed America together. And I've got to say this, you're the greatest warrior I have seen fighting for the American people. CNN now projects that Donald Trump will carry the state of Wisconsin.

He will win Wisconsin with its 10 electoral votes. He's cracked the so-called blue wall that Hillary Clinton had tried to create. The tears have started at the Clinton campaign. USA! USA! USA! Thank you. USA!

USA! Thank you very much, everybody. I've just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us, it's about us, on our victory. And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of song with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah. People believe in him. He's going to do exactly, he's going to be everything that he says he's going to be.

Everybody believes in him. I'm so happy and I'm so proud. I'm so proud to call him the President of the United States because that's what's about to be. Everybody believes in him. I'm so happy and I'm so proud. I'm so proud to call him the president of the United States because that's what's about to happen. I thought for sure that Hillary would win this election, that Hillary would win Florida. Hallelujah. I'm not giving up, and neither should you. And live from New York, it's Saturday Night.

Man, there is so much to say. There are so many vibrantly great feelings to share. We have not lost our country. Our party has not believed the Democrats can be beat, and Donald Trump has shown how to do it. You can hear how giddy Limbaugh is the morning after Trump's victory. This is the pinnacle of his success. He didn't just win a midterm or propel a primary challenger to Washington, he installed a president. Limbaugh, Levin, Savage, Jones, all of these guys had radicalized their listeners. And they did it by telling millions of Americans not to trust the media, not to trust experts or scientists or doctors. They told Americans not to trust what was right in front of their eyes. Trust only what you hear on the radio.

And that gaslighting, it would have deadly consequences. Officials say the source of the new type of coronavirus has not yet been found, and they don't fully understand how the virus is transmitted. I'm Charles Szilardesma. It's going to be a historic week in Washington as the impeachment trial of U.S. President... When COVID-19 emerges and the threat of a global pandemic looms, the country looks to Donald Trump. At first, he downplays the seriousness.

You said in an interview this morning on the coronavirus, this thing's going away. It will go away like things go away, despite ongoing cases and death. It's going away. Isn't that what you're claiming? What's the reality? It's going away now. It'll go away like things go away. Absolutely. It's no question in my mind it will go away. Please go ahead. Hopefully sooner rather than later. And guys like Sean Hannity, they follow suit.

Everything that we really can be doing, we're doing. When Trump heralds an unproven treatment. Many doctors think it is extremely successful. The hydroxychloroquine coupled with the zinc and perhaps the zithromycin. But many doctors think it's extremely good and some people don't. Some people, I think it's become very political. I happen to believe in it. I would take it. As you know, I took it for a 14 day period. Right Wing Radio has his back on that too. That's all they're interested in is politics at CNN and MSNBC and some of these other mainstream media outlets. What in the world is the harm in using hydroxychloroquine if it may work? Well, that's the problem. It may work and then Trump would have been right.

This is Phil Valentine talking. He's a respected conservative broadcaster with a popular show on Westwood One, one of the country's biggest radio networks. Conservative radio host Phil Valentine had been a skeptic on the coronavirus vaccine for months, but now he feels differently. Why? He got COVID. Bad. He's now hospitalized himself. The family put out a statement saying, quote, Phil contracted the COVID virus a little over a week ago and has since been hospitalized and is in very serious condition, suffering from COVID pneumonia and the attendant side effects. Phil regrets not being more vehemently pro-vaccine and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon.

Phil Valentine would never get the chance to record that message. He had spent months railing against the vaccine. When he got sick, he took unproven therapies like anti-parasite drug ivermectin. After a month in hospital, Phil Valentine died in August 2021. As we record this episode, Phil Valentine is one of four prominent conservative radio hosts who spoke out against the vaccine and later died of COVID-19. And now we arrive at the lie that, right now, October 2021, is threatening to undermine American democracy itself. Dozens of states are introducing laws that critics say will restrict the voting rights of millions of people, particularly people of color. And it's all based on a supposed fraud that never happened.

This lie emerges after Trump loses the 2020 election, but right-wing radio has been laying the groundwork for this for years. Let me give you the dirty little secret. Illegal driver's licenses, driver's licenses for illegals, I should say, in New York is all about one thing. Voter fraud. In the days and weeks before the 2020 election, they begin watering that lie. Absolutely, there were a lot of unprecedented modifications to many states' voting statutes to allow for the opportunity for widespread fraud through mail-in voting. And I believe that that occurred in some states. fraud through mail-in voting. And I believe that that occurred in some states. I have a family member that's been dead nine years and not only got one ballot, but two ballots.

I'm like, wow. We already know when there are a lot of things electorally we need to change. And it grew. I suspect, I'll speculate, they're preparing for needing a bunch of extra ballots come election day for Joe Biden. That's what I suspect they're doing in there. And grew.

Unless they fight back on this point, that provision, forget everything else. That provision that ballots could show up with no signatures and no postmark and still have to be counted after they know Trump won the election Tuesday night. So they have a motivation to make sure that there's fake ballots that get mailed. Absolutely. We are committed to not letting this race be stolen from us. The president is going to win. He is going to come out on election night. And he with with the most votes, he is going to win. They are already trying to set up a narrative now that they are going to be able to chip away at his victory with all of these vote by mail ballots that are coming in. And after the votes are counted, it becomes one of the biggest lies in American history. An allegation that a

deep state conspiracy rigged the presidential election. It alleges the states were involved, the Democrats were involved, the company that makes the voting machine was involved. The media was involved. And they all conspired to install Joe Biden as president. Evidence overwhelmingly shows now, and I've got a giant stack confirming it, law enforcement's investigating, that Dominion wiped all the servers illegally after the election and covered up the paper trail. Of course we knew that. And now by the hand counts, they found that Trump won by a giant landslide and the same tax reviews in every other state, but they stole the election. I've got Lin Wood, an attorney for Donald Trump fighting hard.

Last night, I filed an emergency motion for injunctive relief in my lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State. Relief sought includes an order prohibiting certification, which includes defective absentee ballots requiring that a hand count be performed, And that lie took hold. And Donald Trump's most ardent supporters began to believe it. And they began to believe they could overturn the results of the U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump will not be removed from office Donald Trump will not be removed from office.

He will not be removed from office. And in the counterattack he's going to launch, one or two facts that could change everything. And I want to predict to you here today that when the tables turn, Donald Trump will be invoking military tribunals. And even Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are going to be facing treason charges. It would all lead to this moment. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Alex Jones Show.

I'm Harrison Smith. It's January 6th, and Donald Trump has just begun speaking to the Stop the Steal march in Washington. Without any further ado, we go now to the president of the United States in Washington. In Washington, without any further ado, we go now to the president of the United States in Washington. Not even one vote, but we're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. And Alex Jones, at this moment, is leading the march towards the Capitol building where the Senate and Congress are joining together. And not just take this country back,

but take the whole world back from the communist Chinese! USA! USA! USA! USA! This is a live feed from Washington, D.C. Right now, Alex Jones and Owen Schroer speaking to a large crowd. At the same time, there's word that thousands of patriots have broken through the barriers around the Capitol and are now moving towards it to occupy. That's word from Elijah Schaefer, who's on the ground. And Alex Jones continues to speak to this crowd.

Let's go back to Alex Jones. We're not giving in to the globalists. We're never surrendering. The Great Reset is triggering the Great Awakening. And the Great Awakening will trigger the Great Rebellion and the destruction of the new world order. We're never surrendering. This is our country.

Multiple capital injuries. Multiple capital injuries. Hearing reports that shots are being fired within the dome of the Capitol, tear gas is being fired. Piling up furniture to block the doors as protesters move ever towards the center of our republic. This is absolutely mind-blowing. Can I speak to Pelosi? Yeah, we're coming, bitch. my bitch, we're coming for you too. Fucking stand down. They've got the gallows set up side this Capitol building. It's time to start fucking using them. This is now effectively a riot.

1349 hours declaring it a riot. Get in! Get in! Get in! Get in! Woo! Get in! Get in! Get in! Get in!

Get in! Get in! Get in! If you watched Donald Trump win the presidency, or the January 6th insurrection, and wondered, how did it come to this? You weren't alone. The pundits, the pollsters, and the data geeks, they were all shocked by Trump's win. Hillary Clinton's book about the election was called What Happened? Well, right-wing radio happened. I know it sounds a bit quaint to talk about the election was called What Happened? Well, right-wing radio happened. I know it sounds a bit quaint to talk about the power of radio in 2021. By now, most of us have a multimedia broadcast platform sitting in our pockets. But there's something special about the direct,

intimate connection of a human voice over the airwaves. All you poor laborers and farmers. At its most effective, it is an arrow straight to listeners' hearts. This is not a political war. This is not an economic war. It is not even a military war. It is a religious war at bottom. For nearly a hundred years, broadcasters have harnessed that singular power to keep politics in America at a steady boil. Before there was Fox News, before there was the Drudge Report, there were decades of rage and loathing blasting out of 50,000 watt flamethrower towers. Are you going to stand up on your two feet and take this

country back? How many more people are you going to allow to death, murdered, because you are a coward. All that heat would radically reshape the character of conservative politics in America. That wasn't the cries of the downtrodden, that's the cries of the useless, the worthless. By the time Donald Trump was elected president, American conservatism was barely recognizable from even a decade prior. This is not the time to get moderate. This is not the time to start trying to be liked. This was politics as blood sport. For broadcasters like Michael Savage, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh, ideas were almost beside the point. My purpose here, people have asked me, why are you still doing this? 29 years.

Beating the left has always been what this is about. In addition to whatever I must do in the realm of broadcasting in order to succeed, the substance and the content portion of this program has always been, whether it's been humor, whether it's been satire, whether it has been serious commentary, it has always been about beating the left. For 29 years, that's what this program has been about. And when you are in a war for hearts and minds, and when winning is the only thing that matters, truth is the first casualty of the conflict. Remember Charlie Sykes? He was a giant of talk in Wisconsin until Trump came along.

He realized there was no longer a place for him in the conservative movement and was forced to reckon with his own role in splintering politics in America. I was part of the media ecosystem that contributed to the alternative reality media that we created, that we had succeeded in delegitimizing the mainstream media. Like, look, any conservative in America will criticize the media for being biased. And I think some of that's legitimate. But there came a point where you realized that you had delegitimized all news, that you had turned, instead of just being the other side of the story, that we had created this hermetically sealed bubble, echo chamber, whatever term you want to use, that became impenetrable.

Of course, that bubble was not perfectly sealed. Some nasty stuff was leaking in and festering. That's what black fathers do. They simply leave. We're living in a Zionist matrix in this country. We have de facto quarantine vaccination camps already. Whatever form American conservatism takes now, whoever leads it, right-wing talk radio played a central role in creating and radicalizing the modern movement. And everywhere that right-wing media has succeeded, it did it by following the talk radio playbook. And even as the technology changes, the simple power of radio is connecting with huge audiences. Take a look at the podcast charts.

The top 20 is a who's who of a new generation of right-wing broadcasters. Hey I'm Dinesh D'Souza. This is the Ben Shapiro Show. The Charlie Kirk Show. Here's your host Stephen K Bannon. It's coming through fiber optic cable now but all the ingredients are still there. A voice in the darkness, striking the the matches and stoking the fire. That's what we're dealing with, ladies and gentlemen, a secretary of state that has had sex in giant vats of feces.

To bomb Iran, bring our boys home now. What we need in this country is a good old-fashioned American Revolution. That was the sixth and final episode of The Flamethrowers. If you want to listen back to the series or share it with others, just search for The Flamethrowers wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for joining me over the past few weeks. Be sure to follow FrontBurner for our ongoing coverage of the U.S. election wherever you get your podcasts. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.