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<\/p>\nRUSH: So I have this note on the call screener computer: “On the hotline…” We don\u2019t have a hotline. “On the hotline, you\u2019re receiving a phone call in recognition of your anniversary broadcast. You\u2019ll want to take this immediately.” Okay. So we\u2019re going to the phones and we have a special guest. Who is it?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: So, Rush, I just wanted to congratulate you on 30 years.<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: This is your favorite president, and I think you are fantastic.<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: I heard about it, and today\u2019s the big day, 30 years. I wanted to call personally and congratulate you.<\/p>\n
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RUSH: I am floored. I… (laughing) I thought there was nothing anybody could do to surprise me today. I\u2019ve been preparing for anything. Mr. President —<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: You\u2019re a very special man, Rush, and you have people that love you. I\u2019m one of them. But you\u2019re a very, very special guy. What you do for this country, people have no idea how important your voice is. So I just wanted to personally make this one and I said, “I\u2019ll even dial the number myself if I have to.”<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: But I just want to congratulate you. Thirty years in that tough business is incredible — and you\u2019re stronger now than ever before.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, I — I thank you so much. It\u2019s such a thrill to hear from you.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it\u2019s a thrill to be on.<\/p>\n
RUSH: I told you, any time you want to appear here, you are more than welcome. I don\u2019t want to hound you by asking you because everybody\u2019s doing that, trying to get you. But, man, this is great. I\u2019m so flattered. While I have you, can I say something back at you here?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go ahead, Rush. Go ahead.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Are you aware…? I have to think you are when you go to your rallies.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Right.<\/p>\n
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RUSH: Are you aware of what you mean to everybody who voted for you and I think a bunch of who didn\u2019t who want to the next time around? People have invested their hopes and their futures in this country being made great again and saved in you. Are you…? When you\u2019re alone — which you may not ever be. But when you\u2019re alone in the White House, do you think about that? Do you ponder what you\u2019ve come to mean to people?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I love these people. And, you know, you probably saw last night I was in Florida and we had 9,000 seats in the auditorium.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Oh, yeah.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: That was packed, and we had thousands outside and in these rooms all over the place. I guess they had at least 15,000, 18,000 people that couldn\u2019t get in last night — which I hate. So we\u2019re actually starting to put up big screens. I must tell you, it\u2019s such an honor to me to see this. This love! I don\u2019t know if you were able to see it last night, any of them. I mean, there\u2019s such tremendous love. I\u2019m going to Ohio on Saturday, and tomorrow I\u2019m going to Pennsylvania, and it\u2019s the same thing.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like the enthusiasm — and part of it is that they\u2019ve really been mistreated for so many years by the politicians. The country\u2019s been mistreated. The trade deals were so bad. The taxes were so high. The tax cuts are so good; they\u2019ve been so appreciated by so many people. The cut in regulations maybe is just as important as the tax cuts because businesses are hiring like they haven\u2019t, like they\u2019ve never hired before. And, you know, we have a more interesting stat: We have more people working in the United States today than at any time in our history. And it\u2019s been so many different things are happening. So there\u2019s a tremendous amount of love in the room, and I am aware of it; there\u2019s no question about it.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Mr. President, it was just a little over year and a half ago where your predecessor said that what is happening now couldn\u2019t happen again, that those days were gone, that those jobs that were lost were not coming back. And he would tell audiences this. And look at what you\u2019ve done with the entirety — seemingly the entirety — of Washington\u2019s political class opposed to you. In a year and a half, you have reversed the direction the country was going. We have 4.1% economic growth. When you promised that, they accused you of misleading people because it couldn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that\u2019s right, Rush. You have a lot of bad people in Washington. You knew that a long time ago. Frankly, before I knew it. I had no idea how evil some of them are, but you have a lot of great people too. And outside of Washington you have the greatest people in the world. And you\u2019re right. You know, I\u2019ve been saying 4%, but it should be much higher than that. You know, if you do good trade deals — which I will. You see what\u2019s going on with China. You look at what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n
I will tell you, NAFTA? They want to make a deal very badly. And, you know, we\u2019re putting \u2019em back in shape. They\u2019re horrible deals, the worst deals ever made by any country. You do that; you start lifting your GDP numbers way up also. Nobody ever ever talks about that. We\u2019re doing 4.1% with bad trade deals. We have horrible trade deals. And our farmers, we\u2019re gonna open up markets for them. You know, but they\u2019re great patriots. They\u2019re… I watch them all the time where they\u2019re saying, “We trust our president.”<\/p>\n
And, you know, they may take a short-term hit. But you look at farm and farming, it\u2019s been going down for 15 years. Soybeans, five years before the election, was cut in half! The price was cut in half. I wasn\u2019t there. So it\u2019s going to… A lot of things are happening that are very exciting. And, you know, you look at the job numbers. You look at African-American, best ever. Hispanic, Asian, women, best ever! And it\u2019s been a lot of fun for me, but I see the happiness and the faces.<\/p>\n
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Like last night in Florida with that, you know, really massive crowd, you see the happiness and the love — and nobody left. It\u2019s like you. Nobody turns off your show. It\u2019s like you can\u2019t. Nobody leaves. You know, I\u2019ll speak for an hour and 10 minutes, hour and 20 minutes. There wasn\u2019t a person that left that room. It was just… It was an absolute love fest, and it\u2019s going on all over the country, and a lot of it\u2019s the same message. Most of it, I think — probably all of it — is the same message that you give out so well every day, better than anybody.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, but your key… You know, I do understand it. I understand the bond that those people attending your rallies have with you and you with them. I\u2019ve seen it. I know why it exists. And you are consistent. Things you said during the campaign are things you still say today. You haven\u2019t given anybody reason to doubt you. You haven\u2019t betrayed anybody or made them think that you\u2019re going to. An example: Here you are suggesting that you\u2019d be willing to maybe — you\u2019d talk about — shutting down the government if that\u2019s what it took to get this wall built.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Now the traditional Republican says, “Oh, no! No! Don\u2019t say that!” There you are saying, “Oh, yeah. I\u2019ll be glad to do it if that\u2019s what it takes.”<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I actually think it would be positive.<\/p>\n
RUSH: People don\u2019t understand your voters rally to you for that.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: We had Obamacare repealed and replaced, and a man — I won\u2019t mention his name. But a man at 2 o\u2019clock in the morning went thumbs down, and he campaigned for years on repeal and replace. We had the chance. Nobody even spoke to him about it, because it was something that was unthinkable what he did, and because of that… But still, I have just about ended Obamacare. We have great health care. We have a lot of great things happening right now. New programs are coming out.<\/p>\n
We got rid of the individual mandate. But that was very disappointing to me that night — and he did it because of me, probably. But that was very disappointing. That was a horrible thing he did to our country. And, frankly, it cost $1 trillion because we would have saved $1 trillion, on top of which we would have had good health care. But we\u2019re doing it a different way. We have to go a different route. But he cost us a trillion dollars. And the other thing is the wall. We\u2019ve started it. It\u2019s like pulling teeth, though, getting these guys to get it done is. You have no idea how tough I\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n
I say, “Hey, if you have a shutdown, you have a shutdown.”<\/p>\n
Now, the shutdown could also take place after the election. I happen to think it\u2019s a great political thing, because people want border security. It\u2019s not just the wall, Rush, as you know. It\u2019s border security. It\u2019s getting rid of catch-and-release, where you catch somebody, he can be a criminal of the highest order, and you have to release him! You catch him, you take his name, and you release him. And then you have the visa lottery. It\u2019s a lottery system where you pick people out of a lottery. Well, the countries aren\u2019t giving us their best people. They\u2019re giving us people that they don\u2019t want. So we\u2019re taking people out of a lottery that the country doesn\u2019t want. We\u2019re getting some beauties.<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: And then you have, you know, so many other things.<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
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THE PRESIDENT: We have to change the laws. We have the worst laws! How about chain migration? One person comes in and you end up with 32 people. The person that ran down 18 people on the West Side Highway, he\u2019s allowed to have — and I think eight died. He has 22 members of his family in the United States because of chain migration. So we have to change this stuff, Rush. And we\u2019ll get it done, but we have to change it, Rush. If we don\u2019t change it, it will just go down, down, down. And it will get done. One way or the other, it\u2019s getting done. But I\u2019d be willing to do it. And you could do it before the election or after the election.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, speaking of before, as a campaign issue, I saw a couple consultants say… I don\u2019t need to mention their names. They\u2019re Washington, D.C., professionals.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Right.<\/p>\n
RUSH: They said that you need to drop this immigration stuff, Mr. President. You\u2019re cruising for defeat if you base the midterms on this.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: I know. I\u2019ve heard that. (chuckles)<\/p>\n
RUSH: You need to pivot back onto the economy, start telling people what a great economy we have, \u2019cause that\u2019s the only way the Republicans can have a chance of holding the House in the midterms. What do you think about that advice?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I\u2019ve heard them. Probably different people than you, but I\u2019ve heard a lot of people saying, “Oh, don\u2019t do it before the election, we\u2019ll upset the applecart,” and because we are doing so well economically we should do well — and, you know, the polls are okay. It\u2019s very interesting. My polls are great, but the question is, “Is it transferable?” Now, it certainly was in Florida because you saw Ron DeSantis, who\u2019s gotten a tremendous — you know, many, many, many points. The governor of Georgia where he was down by five and he won by 40 after I endorsed him. (chuckling) That was pretty good. That was almost like your endorsement.<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: But, you know, we\u2019ve had tremendous —<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
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THE PRESIDENT: If you take a look at Congressman Donovan from Staten Island where he was down by 10 and he wins by 24. So we\u2019ve had a lot of impact. And that\u2019s why I\u2019m going around. But I have to say that I have heard this theory. I happen to think it\u2019s a good thing politically. I\u2019m not doing it for politics. I\u2019m doing it because it\u2019s the right thing to do. So I\u2019m not looking at politics. But I happen to think that border security would be a good thing before the election, but there are many people within our party that are good people that are like you that agree with you on everything you say. But they\u2019d rather do it after. They don\u2019t agree on doing it before, and I accept their opinion, but I happen to think it would be a good thing to do before. I actually think we\u2019d get more and there\u2019d be more pressure on the other side, because we\u2019re doing it because the Democrats are not giving us the votes.<\/p>\n
RUSH: I think immigration is the largest reason you got elected, your consistency on that.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well…<\/p>\n
RUSH: I mean, it reverberates all across the country. There are people that the media, the inside-the-Beltway denizens are never gonna understand about this issue that you do. You\u2019ve just articulated it, and you have articulated the thinking of what I think is a vast majority of people in this country. It\u2019d be silly for you to abandon this issue now, going into the midterms.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, if you do it before, there\u2019s a lot more pressure to get a great solution. But it\u2019s riskier. If you do it afterwards, there\u2019s less pressure; there\u2019s less risk. I\u2019m just not sure you\u2019d make as good a deal. I will say a lot of people — good people — you know, would ask me in the nicest of ways, “Could we do it after the election?” So —<\/p>\n
RUSH: I\u2019ll bet. (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, and they\u2019ve been good to me. I\u2019ve had a lot of good support within the Republican Party, and you saw the poll numbers in the Republican Party. They like me so I have to keep them a little bit happy. But whether it\u2019s before or after? But I actually think it\u2019s a great campaign issue. I think it would be great before. But I don\u2019t want to disappoint a lot of very good people that are working with me — and, Rush, I have to tell you, I\u2019ve got some really good support within the Republican Party, too.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, you do, and you have your staff. Are you basically…? Are you still following your gut, your instinct, or are you relying more and more on the circle of advisers you trust?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it\u2019s largely instinct. I have some great people. I really do. You know, you heard me tell the story last night maybe where, you know, I\u2019ve been in Washington 17 times. In my whole life, I never stayed here. Now, all of a sudden, I\u2019m riding down Pennsylvania Avenue and I\u2019m president. So I don\u2019t know a lot of people. Now I think I know everybody in Washington. I never stayed a night in Washington, I don\u2019t believe. And, you know, I\u2019ve probably been here 17, 18 times.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m from New York. But very rarely. And, all of a sudden, I\u2019m president. And like Mike Pompeo. What a change that was. Mike is doing an incredible job. What a terrific guy — and I know you like him and he likes you. But we have some great people, and I\u2019ve made some changes. But we\u2019re really close to getting a fantastic — really just a fantastic group of people. We have some really great ones, and I think that\u2019s reflective on the success that we\u2019re having as an administration.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, I thank you again for calling me today. This is the pinnacle, the greatest thing that could happen today. The last thing I expected was to hear from anybody \u2019cause I\u2019ve given orders not to do anything unusual, and here you are. You\u2019ve made the day for me. I can\u2019t thank you enough, and God bless you.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you. You know, people don\u2019t realize what a great achievement 30 years is in that cutthroat business that you happen to be in. You know, you might not find that \u2019cause you\u2019re so good at what you do. But that is a cutthroat business, and for you to do this for 30 years is truly an amazing accomplishment, and there\u2019s no voice like it. Even your friend Hannity agrees with that.<\/p>\n
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RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: He said, “There\u2019s nobody like this man.”<\/p>\n
RUSH: (laughing)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: So I said, “Oh, gee, I guess. I thought you two would be competitors.” He said, “Nope. He\u2019s the dean.”<\/p>\n
RUSH: No way!<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: He calls you “the dean.”<\/p>\n
RUSH: No way. He was a guest host. He guest hosted for me when we first started. Absolutely.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: No, he\u2019s great. He\u2019s a tremendous fan of yours. They all are. Everybody is. So I just want to congratulate you. Thirty years of… Just do it for another 30 years. After that, you can take it easy, okay?<\/p>\n
RUSH: I will do that. Just that. I will stay around as long as you do.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. You have a deal.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: And thank you very much, Rush. So important what you do. Thank you.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Thank you, sir, again, very much.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Take care of yourself. Good-bye.<\/p>\n
RUSH: President Trump. We went a little long there, but that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE PRESIDENT: This is your favorite president, and I think you are fantastic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":281022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n