Beck, a prominent #NeverTrumper, is getting soft. Allegedly. In an interview with The New Yorker, America’s most famous crybaby expressed remorse for his fear-mongering:
“I did a lot of freaking out about Barack Obama.” But, he said, “Obama made me a better man.” He regrets calling the President a racist and counts himself a Black Lives Matter supporter. “There are things unique to the African-American experience that I cannot relate to,” he said. “I had to listen to them.”
It’s certainly possible that Beck does regret his racism and misogyny. But his peculiar brand of aggrieved politics made him famous and earned him significant influence in the conservative movement. It also made him a lot of money: His net worth is reportedly $100 million.
But he’s not without his worries, and those worries may explain his abrupt moderate turn. According to The Daily Beast, his media empire is in upheaval. His flagship site, The Blaze, recently cut its workforce in half. “We’ve got to course-change, and if we don’t, we’re either going to go out of business or we’re going to be a crappy, soul-sucking business,” he allegedly told Blaze staffers at a contentious meeting.
It looks like that’s exactly what he’s doing now. But let’s not forget that Beck’s redemption narrative benefits Beck, no one else. His sincerity is as performative as his televised weeping.