Glenn Beck Lied About Holding Washington’s Inaugural Address

6:47 am EST September 1st, 2010 | Media | 10 Comments

Of course he lied.

Beck also invoked Washington while describing the inspiring experience of visiting famous tourist destinations around the nation’s capital. ‘I have been going to Mt. Vernon,’ he explained. Holding out his hands for emphasis, he declared with emotion, ‘I went to the National Archives, and I held the first inaugural address written in his own hand by George Washington.’

It was an eyebrow-raising revelation and certainly an original image: Beck cradling the actual words of the first president. But would the persnickety gatekeepers of the nation’s historical legacy at the National Archives allow some talk show bombthrower to put his mitts on a rare (and fragile) artifact? The answer, it turns out, is no way. Beck was not telling the truth.

Beck did receive a special VIP tour of the archives, arranged by an as-yet unidentified member of Congress. During that tour, he did get a peek inside the ‘legislative vault,’ which isn’t open to ordinary visitors. But Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper insists that Beck didn’t lay a finger on any precious documents, much less George Washington’s inaugural address. That would be a major violation of policy. ‘Those kinds of treasures are only handled by specially trained archival staff,’ she explains. Cooper acknowledges that someone at the archives did show the document to Beck, but that was the extent of it. Regarding Beck’s claim that he held the document, Cooper says that seeing such documents for the first time can be a very emotional experience. ‘I’m certain it was a figure of speech,’ she says.”

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10 Responses to “Glenn Beck Lied About Holding Washington’s Inaugural Address”

  1. jrfunkenstein says:
    September 1, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Wow; Glenn Beck is full of shit?

    Shocking. And obvious.

    And disgusting.

  2. SpiderJ says:
    September 1, 2010 at 9:45 am

    Thank you, Susan Cooper, for the next characterization of outright lie that will replace “it was a joke” or “it was out of context” as defense.

    “Figure of speech.” Yes, it was. That figure is referred to as a lie.

  3. jr says:
    September 1, 2010 at 10:01 am

    “George Washington would approve of Goldline selling coins for 208 percent above melt value”-Glenn Beck

  4. MobiusKlein says:
    September 1, 2010 at 11:19 am

    It’s only a piece of paper. What’s more important, the paper of the Declaration of Independence, or the words on it?

  5. wiz says:
    September 1, 2010 at 9:04 pm

    Hey, I actually MET George Washington. It was that time when I used my time machine to go back and save the earth from Borg invaders that wanted to change the timeline. Don’t believe me? Just ask my wife who was traveling with me….Morgan Fairchild….

  6. isms says:
    September 1, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    He really is Mr. Lee.

  7. isms says:
    September 1, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    But with a show.

  8. Wilbur says:
    September 2, 2010 at 7:51 am

    I’m not against figurative langauge. Beck can say he fondled Washington’s address as long as we can say Beck wipes his ass on the Constitution.

  9. Cult Beck and Fallacies of the Right « Drunk Like Leaves says:
    September 7, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    [...] Honor Speech he said that it was necessary for people to be completely honest, all the time.  He just recently lied about actually holding a Washington’s inaugural address.  Sure it was a small lie, but still a lie after instructing people to never lie, no matter how [...]

  10. kate smith says:
    September 10, 2010 at 1:31 pm

    The most amazing thing about this round of Beck Bullshit is the audience.

    they say there may have been 100,000 people there.
    he is on a stage telling all of these people that HE , GLENN
    BECK is allowed to go into the Archives and paw National Treasures as he pleases.

    AND NO ONE , not one person , in the crowd praising Jesus and clutching their hearts and dropping to their knees as he bullshits the hell out of them , not one person went…

    ” HEY. WAIT A MINUTE .NO ONE CAN JUST HANDLE THIS STUFF.
    WHAT’s HE TALKING ABOUT ?
    Which is the first thing i thought of when I heard his psychobabble.

    Maybe Sarah (I am the Devil) Palin hooked him up.