Glenn Beck On 'Today': 'I Was A Very Bad Man' (VIDEO)

Glenn Beck appeared on the "Today" show Wednesday to promote his new self-help book, "The 7," and he wound up clashing with Meredith Vieira about his political views and saying that he used to be "a very bad man."

Beck appeared with his co-author, Keith Ablow. Vieira told Beck that, from his own account in the book, it seemed like he had been a "nasty guy" in the past.

"I was a guy that I would've hated," Beck said. "I was a very bad man."

That's when Vieira turned to Beck's professional life. She noted that one of the things he advocates in the book is letting go of anger, and that, especially in the wake of the Arizona shooting, critics have accused him of "adding to this dialogue with hatred." She tried to run through a list of some of his more controversial statements, and they talked over each other as each tried to make their points. At one point, Ablow jumped in, defending Beck.

"If you're the therapist for the country, you have to tell the truth," he said. "He says to the country...'you're drunk.'"

"Do you really think that people don't know the things that I say?" Beck said, as Vieira started to highlight some of his statements. She asked him if he regretted any of them. He said that he didn't regret any "jokes" he had made about people.

"You don't think that that contributes at all to a climate of anger or hate?" Vieira said. "Ask Jon Stewart that," Beck said. "Ask The Simpsons that question."

"I'm asking you that question," she replied.

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Comments

[michael429]

12:42 AM on 02/27/2011

What you mean "Was"?

[jumisko]

03:45 AM on 02/12/2011

Does the word "smarmy" mean anything to him?

[LiberalOutlaw]

02:49 PM on 02/03/2011

Glenn Beck used to be a very bad man.

Now he is a very bad man with lots of crazy minions who hang on his every word. Now he is a bad influence as well.

[Marcusarilius]

11:28 PM on 01/27/2011

Trying to gleen information, truth, or a sliver of Sanity from the Beckster is like trying to punch air. Pointless...

His rantings of hate, fear, conspiracies and "Shoot them in the Head" comments... I fail to understand why the FCC does not have a problem with it.

[Lou77777]

04:29 PM on 01/22/2011

I will restate that HP users seem to universally dislike and hope ill for Beck. Beck inspires the worst from these commentors. The only person more disliked here is Sarah Palin. I don't get the hate and vitriol. Personally I am no fan of Obama but I don't spit bile towards him either.

As an independant minded and well educated man I think that logical positions require more than the vile comments. So much is said against the man but so little about the actual difference of opinions. How can an argument have any point other than hatefulness if the argument is focused at the personal insult level?

I have no horse in this race but I do dislike the way HP seems to fall mostly to one side of these people.

[floydcash]

10:36 AM on 01/23/2011

Independent minded and well educated, lol. Corporate owned and self taught through conspiracy books is more like it. The amount of damage he cluelessly does to this country is not by mistake. He is very, very far from independent minded. And I would argue that Glenn Beck is much more disliked than Sarah Palin on the HP.

[Lou77777]

07:26 PM on 01/23/2011

Floyd, I was speaking of myself as independent and well educated. You are chasing your tail with this comment.

[JanP]

06:12 PM on 01/27/2011

Beck docuemnts what he says so there is no choice but to attack him personally.

Calling him all sorts of names does not negate Van Jones communist remarks nor mark Lloyds admiration for Hugo Chavez nor the Mao Christmas tree ornament in the white House.

He isn't supposed to talk about Ayers, Rev Wright nor Rahsid Khalidi.

[JLSR]

06:47 AM on 01/22/2011

Now you're a guy that everyone can hate. Good going, Glenn.

[jimpager]

01:35 AM on 01/22/2011

WAS?????

[DoctorH]

01:12 AM on 01/22/2011

Well, the U.S. is a very career-oriented success-oriented country. And whatever else one may say about Glenn Beck, one must admit he does his job well-- that job being to get folks to vote against their own best interests. Sanity, rationality, morality, and awareness of facts/reality are not necessary qualities for such a job. He is certainly unencumbered by any such qualities, which helps him to be the expert propagandist that he is. People believe propaganda for emotional reasons, not rational or factual reasons. He manipulates people's emotions expertly, by pretending that his agenda for them will satisfy their emotional needs. And it will seem to, at least for a while.

It's a shame there is so much money to be made & power to be grabbed, by pandering so attentively to people's vices (political road rage, narcissim, fear of and demonizing of people who are a little bit different than oneself) that they begin to think they are virtues. I hope that one day we can become a society where no one will pay people much to do such things & no one will give people much attention for doing them.

[rshrink]

02:07 AM on 01/22/2011

With the emergence of each new conservative messiah, one who isn't buying the flagrant and grandy ose mocking and wild displays of ignor ance and distortions can hardly imagine that human beings can fall for this krazee kkrappp. With Beck, the humans that have latched on to his nonsense have reached a new low, mimicking those who followed the likes of Gem Jonz.

[JanP]

06:12 PM on 01/27/2011

There aren't any Liberal Messiahs?

[Lou77777]

08:53 PM on 01/29/2011

Your meds are not working or you need to take them now.

[lyingtruth]

12:55 AM on 01/22/2011

"a very bad man." Beck is still a very sick duck...!

ops, did I say 'duck' .....Oh, never mind.

[jabailo]

12:55 AM on 01/22/2011

Beck is America's newest Walter Cronkite...summing up the news each day and expressing our sentiments.

[AnitaMan]

12:58 AM on 01/22/2011

another sick duck

[rshrink]

12:59 AM on 01/22/2011

I knew Walter Cronkite and Beck is no Cronkite. If you have those sentiments, I can make a few suggestions.

[marilyn 63]

01:40 AM on 01/22/2011

and Walter Cronkite was a true journalist and reported the truth and told his view sometimes. he didn't incite. and push other people to foment violence. this guy is no journalist.

[rshrink]

12:43 AM on 01/22/2011

How can anyone hope to interview this manip u lating char la tan. He uses badgering, intimidation, thret, poor me, butter up and agg ression, all the manip ulative programs that people are born with. This shows that he never achieved normal socialization. He used alcohol and drugs to cope and now he tries to cope by masquerading as some kind of savior of the country.

[getDpartystarted]

12:29 AM on 01/22/2011

I never in my life wanted a man to choke on his steak dinner as much as I hope this man does.

[Roybe]

01:38 AM on 01/22/2011

Never understood how he manages the simple things in life. He is a severe sufferer of cranial/rectal inversion. Getting food to his mouth is a tricky situation for him.

[donbrown]

09:48 AM on 01/22/2011

FURTHER PROOF OF EARTH'S WEAKENING MAGNETIC FIELD, PRECEDING POLAR SHIFT:

The rapid shifting of our planet's poles is allowing the normal streams
of solar wind that buffet Earth’s magnetic field to enter into our lower
atmosphere at nearly 700 kilometers per second carrying with them
parts of the deadly space clouds that have “mysteriou sly”been appearing
in greater numbers around the globe these past few years, composed
of hydrogen cyanide. This is speculated to be the same element as
mysterious "space gas" that have been recently discovered near the Milky Way.

view the whole article at:
http://www .pakalertp ress.com/2 011/01/13/ poisonous- space-clou ds-slammin g-into-ear th-cause-m ass-bird-a nd-fish-de aths/

[JanP]

06:14 PM on 01/27/2011

Wow! That sure sums up everything that is wrong with Beck.

But you forgot that President Obama called for civility. Is calling for someone to die civil?

[getDpartystarted]

06:48 PM on 01/27/2011

Not civil at all. Choking doesn't mean he dies.

[rshrink]

11:47 PM on 01/21/2011

He didn't even go on this show alone. He had to have his doctor there holding his hand. He would never debate anyone on his show. There wouldn't be anything left of him at the end. Call the men in white coats and take him away.

[Roybe]

01:41 AM on 01/22/2011

I'm taking donations for Dr. Conrad Murray to take care of him!

[Christaic]

11:23 PM on 01/21/2011

This guy is pathological!