‘Beckstock’: Glenn Beck Explains ‘Restoring Love’ to Bill O’Reilly

Even Bill O’Reilly is getting on the “Restoring Love” bandwagon. The O’Reilly” Factor host had Glenn Beck on to discuss his upcoming event, or as O’Reilly joking called it, “Beckstock.” The interview proceeded with the typical variety of lighthearted banner one would come to expect from O’Reilly and Beck during their Fox News days as dueling anchors, with O’Reilly continually showing his suspicion that “Restoring Love,” which will be broadcast exclusively on TheBlazeTV/GBTV this Saturday, July 28, was really for hippies.



“Restoring Love, I thought that was a rock group at first, but then they said no, it’s a Beck thing,” O’Reilly joked at the start of the segment. “Sounds kind of like a hippie deal, very, very far out.”

Beck laughed off the accusation. ”If I can bring the hippies in and slowly bend them our way, listen hippie, come. Come,” he hissed in imitation of a supervillain. “It’s not a hippie deal. Restoring Love is, first of all, 35,000 volunteers on the street on Friday. 35,000! We don‘t think it’s ever been done before. We have, already, a million meals raised for the homeless all across the country. If we believe in small government, then we have to roll up our sleeves and do the work. It starts tomorrow night at the American Airlines center here in Dallas, Texas, with FreePAC. This is CPAC, if you will, except this is small government people. 10,000 people are already scheduled to be there. Tickets are still available. Then the service event, all day, 35,000 people serving and doing amazing things on the street, and then, Dallas Cowboys stadium on Saturday night, where we’re going to restore the culture, if you will. We have to take our rightful place back in society. We have given away almost everything on the Right.”

“So let me recap,” O’Reilly responded. “So tomorrow, Thursday, you’re asking for volunteers to go out and give meals to the homeless across the country and do charitable things, right?”

“Well, you’ve cheapened it a little bit, Bill,” Beck responded sadly.

More banter then followed, after which O’Reilly proceeded to ask after the specific scheduling of the event.

“What are you gonna tell ‘em to do on Friday?” O’Reilly asked.

“Hmm? I wasn’t really listening to you, Bill,” Beck shot back. “Friday is this great event where people are going to serve in churches, in houses, in 305 community organizations. People are going to rebuild churches to helping nursing homes.”

O’Reilly then proceeded to press Beck on the mission of Restoring Love.

“Now, the overarching theme here is that you want a kinder, gentler, America, right?” O’Reilly asked. “You want the folks to take the place of the government, helping their fellow citizens.”

“I just want us to be consistent, Bill,” Beck replied. “If we want small government, that means someone else has to do it, and that means us, and it is our responsibility.”

“Now, I understand you have a song that promotes this?” O’Reilly asked, apparently referring to the music released in preparation for Restoring Love.

“We don’t have a jingle,” Beck admitted, before explaining the loftier musical ambitions involved.. “I have everything from rap to a symphony being composed right now, and everything in-between. We have to push back in the culture. You know, my company is into music, into film, and into television, entertainment, and also shows like mine, and you can work for me, Bill. But I find it important that we occupy – uh oh, did I use that word – occupy the space in the culture that belongs to conservatives as well.”

When pressed on the length of the event, Beck joked that “I’ve been trying to take my lessons from Fidel, I mean, it could run 8 to 10 hours.”

Still fixated on tying Beck to hippies, O’Reilly decided to go for the kill. ”I want to dub this Beckstock,” he joked.

“Well, you could do that if you want to go with a hippie, but my friends aren’t hippie friends,” Beck said. As proof, he held up a skull to the audience. “This is the last guy who spoke in Texas like you did on the show about guns. This is the last guy. You’re so wrong.”

“I’m looking out for the folks,” O’Reilly responded.

“No, you’re not. You’re just wrong about gun control.”

“You don’t know what I said.”

“Are you kidding me?” Beck gasped. “I played it on the radio show today.”

“Yeah, you played it, but you didn’t see it.”

Yet despite ending on this contentious note, the interview still ended on a cordial note, with Beck getting an endorsement from O’Reilly and the viewers getting an earful of info about “Restoring Love.” Tickets for the event are available here.