Beck falsely claimed Anita Dunn “worships” “her hero” Mao Zedong

Throughout most of his October 15 Fox News program, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that White House communications director Anita Dunn “worships” and “idolizes” “her hero” Mao Zedong. In fact, in the video that Beck aired as evidence to support his claims, Dunn offered no endorsement of Mao's ideology or atrocities -- rather, she commented that Mao and Mother Teresa were two of her “favorite political philosophers,” and based on short quotes from them, she offered the advice that “you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths” or “let external definition define how good you are internally.”

Dunn did not praise any of Mao's ideology or atrocities in video Beck aired

Dunn cited anecdotes about Mao and Mother Teresa to counsel that "[e]verybody has their own path." In the video of a speech to high school graduates earlier this year, Dunn cited Mao's response to skeptics who pointed out that their party was facing steep disadvantages while fighting the Nationalist Chinese: “You fight your war, and I'll fight mine.” After asking the audience to “think about that for a second,” she said, “You know, you don't have to accept the definition of how to do things, and you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths, OK? It is about your choices and your path.” Likewise, Dunn cited Mother Teresa's response to a young person who wanted to work at her orphanage in Calcutta: “Go find your own Calcutta.” Dunn then reiterated: “Go find your own Calcutta. Fight your own path. Go find the thing that is unique to you, the challenge that is actually yours, not somebody else's challenge.”

From the video Beck aired:

DUNN: A lot of you have a great deal of ability. A lot of you work hard. Put them together, and that answers the “Why not?” question. There's usually not a good reason.

And then the third lesson and tip actually come from two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa -- not often coupled with each together, but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is, you're going to make choices. You're going to challenge. You're going to say, “Why not?” You're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before. But here's the deal: These are your choices. They are no one else's.

In 1947, when Mao Zedong was being challenged within his own party on his plan to basically take China over, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Chinese held the cities, they had the army, they had the air force, they had everything on their side. And people said, “How can you win? How can you do this? How can you do this against all of the odds against you?” And Mao Zedong said, you know, “You fight your war, and I'll fight mine.” And think about that for a second.

You know, you don't have to accept the definition of how to do things, and you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths, OK? It is about your choices and your path. You fight your own war. You lay out your own path. You figure out what's right for you. You don't let external definition define how good you are internally. You fight your war. You let them fight theirs. Everybody has their own path.

And then Mother Teresa, who, upon receiving a letter from a fairly affluent young person who asked her whether she could come over and help with that orphanage in Calcutta, responded very simply: “Go find your own Calcutta.” OK? Go find your own Calcutta. Fight your own path. Go find the thing that is unique to you, the challenge that is actually yours, not somebody else's challenge.

Beck distorts video to suggest Dunn “idolize[s]” and “revere[s]” Mao

Beck: “This is her hero's work!” After commenting that Mao “killed 70 million people,” Beck falsely claimed of Dunn: “It's insanity! This is her hero's work! Seventy million dead!”

Beck suggests Dunn “idolize[s]” Mao. After asking, “America, how many radicals is it going to take?” Beck stated: "[W]e're not just talking about progressives now, we're talking about revolutionaries that idolize Mao."

Beck: Dunn “worships Mao Zedong.” Beck falsely claimed that Dunn is the “latest -- the latest -- on the list that now worships Mao Zedong.”

Beck commenting on Jones: “He also loves Mao.” After claiming that former White House green jobs adviser Van Jones is “a committed communist revolutionary,” Beck claimed that Jones “also loves Mao.” Beck continued: “Look at how many people we have already in -- have in common with good old Mao. You feel comfortable with the government of the United States being run by people who idolize and look to ... this man most often?”

Beck: Dunn and other White House officials “seem to love a communist revolutionary dictator.” Beck asked, "[I]s it a concern to any American that so many people now in and around this administration and this president seem to love a communist revolutionary dictator? Here's our White House communications director, Anita Dunn, standing in front of a group of graduating high school students and praising him."

Beck suggests Dunn “revere[s]” Mao. After stating that Mao “took away the freedom of hundreds of millions of Chinese,” Beck exclaimed, “and now he's being revered? How did we get here?”

Transcript

From the October 15 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: It's a video that just might explain why that phone hasn't rung all this week when I said, “Look at these people.” Again, this is Anita Dunn, June or -- is it May or June? June of this year. Here it is.

DUNN [video clip]: A lot of you have a great deal of ability. A lot of you work hard. Put them together, and that answers the “Why not?” question. There's usually not a good reason.

And then the third lesson and tip actually come from two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa -- not often coupled with each together, but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is, you're going to make choices. You're going to challenge. You're going to say, “Why not?” You're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before. But here's the deal: These are your choices. They are no one else's.

In 1947, when Mao Zedong was being challenged within his own party on his plan to basically take China over, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Chinese held the cities, they had the army, they had the air force, they had everything on their side. And people said, “How can you win? How can you do this? How can you do this against all of the odds against you?” And Mao Zedong said, you know, “You fight your war, and I'll fight mine.” And think about that for a second.

You know, you don't have to accept the definition of how to do things, and you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths, OK? It is about your choices and your path. You fight your own war. You lay out your own path. You figure out what's right for you. You don't let external definition define how good you are internally. You fight your war. You let them fight theirs. Everybody has their own path.

And then Mother Teresa, who, upon receiving a letter from a fairly affluent young person who asked her whether she could come over and help with that orphanage in Calcutta, responded very simply: “Go find your own Calcutta.” OK? Go find your own Calcutta. Fight your own path. Go find the thing that is unique to you, the challenge that is actually yours, not somebody else's challenge.

One of the things that we see the Obamas, both of then, Michelle and Barack, came out of backgrounds as community organizers, working --

BECK: Stop. I wanted to make sure that we at least played the -- there's more -- but I wanted to make sure that we didn't take it out of context. We showed you the nice things she said about Mother Teresa, OK?

So, the reason why this phone hasn't run all week is because the most important political philosopher for her is Mao Zedong -- oh, and Mother Teresa. The guy responsible for more deaths than any other 20th-century leader is her favorite philosopher? How can that man be your favorite anything? He killed 70 million people. That would be like me saying to you, “Oh, you know who my favorite political philosopher is? Adolf Hitler. Have you read Mein Kampf? Just fight your fight, like Hitler did.” It's insanity! This is her hero's work! Seventy million dead!

She thinks of this man's work all the time? That was a quote. Could you please put the gulags back up here? Could you please put the images back up here of China, please, while I remind you the gulags -- not that picture. Give me the picture of the Chinese and the brutality, the gulags, the re-education camps. And he's your favorite?

America, how many radicals is it going to take? How many radicals surrounding our president will it take before you understand that when the president says he wants to transform the country, well, he wants to transform it, all right. Progressives don't care what you think. They will drag you to reform if they have to. But we're not just talking about progressives now, we're talking about revolutionaries that idolize Mao.

You tell me the difference between these phrases. Castro: “Revolution first, elections later!” Mao: “People who try to commit -- don't commit suicide, don't save them. China is so populous that we can do without a few people!” What is the difference between that and the clip I'm going to play for you next? Next.

[...]

BECK: Two people -- I can understand Mother Teresa. The two people that I turn to most. Somebody that -- Mao Zedong, 70 million dead.

Let me put these things together. Che: Our kids don't know who he is. Cold-blooded killer.

Anita, the latest -- the latest -- on the list that now worships Mao Zedong.

Then we have Valerie Jarrett. Valerie Jarrett -- do we have the Valerie Jarrett sound, please? Here's Valerie Jarrett. You getting it? Just to put it into --

[begin video clip]

JARRETT: I don't know how many of you guys know Van Jones. Van Jones is --

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: This is his house, apparently.

JARRETT: Van Jones, all right. So, Van Jones -- we were so delighted to be able to recruit him into the White House. We have been watching him, really, for -- he's not that old -- for as long as he's been active out in Oakland and all of the ways that he has -- creative ideas that he has --

[end video clip]

BECK: Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Anytime she tells you that she didn't know who she was, you remember that. “Oh, I don't know. I didn't know who he was.” “I've been watching him ever since he's been in Oakland.”

This man is a committed communist revolutionary. He also loves Mao. Look at how many people we have already in -- have in common with good old Mao. You feel comfortable with the government of the United States being run by people who idolize and look to this man -- where is he -- this man most often?

[...]

BECK: The only one that we don't have really on record yet of whether he believes all this stuff is this man. But he sure has surrounded himself with an awful lot of Marxists that are in love with Mao and Chavez and Castro. Could we find one, one in the White House that idolizes George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams? One? America, how did we get here?

[...]

BECK: America, things are tough right now. They're -- we're -- I'm asking you to consider things that sound insane. But they're true. And we're Americans, and when the tough gets going, that's when we usually arrive.

You know, I said last night when I put up all these people on the board, I said, “It's not a crime to admire the work of Chairman Mao” -- it's not. But is it a concern to any American that so many people now in and around this administration and this president seem to love a communist revolutionary dictator? Here's our White House communications director, Anita Dunn, standing in front of a group of graduating high school students and praising him.

DUNN [video clip]: Two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa -- not often coupled with each together, but the two people that I turn to most.

BECK: Mao Zedong, one of the worst murderers in mankind's history, probably the worst. We don't even know how many people he actually killed. The usual number is between, what, 50 and 70 million. To put that into perspective, that would be 10 to 12 times as many people that killed -- that were murdered by Adolf Hitler in the Holocaust. Ten to 12 times.

Would you be a little alarmed if somebody in the White House had cited Adolf Hitler in a speech to high school students as the person they turn to the most? What is the difference? Mao was worse. Plus, he took away the freedom of hundreds of millions of Chinese, and now he's being revered? How did we get here?