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<\/a><\/p>\nWhen I saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders on TV today, when I saw her saying that, I said, “I heard the exact opposite last night.” I don\u2019t mean to be getting anybody in trouble here. But remember the original option on the table from Trump was, “If Chuck and Nancy wouldn\u2019t cooperate, we\u2019ll just expand the defense budget by $37 billion and take five of that 37, $5 billion of that and build a wall with it.” Even if the defense budget doesn\u2019t expand by 37 just take $5 billion. There\u2019s $5 billion in defense budget somewhere. Just take that.<\/p>\n
That was what Trump was gonna do to get the wall built under the premise that the president can take whatever action necessary he deems necessary for national security. So I know this looks like “Read my lips: No new taxes” and caving on it. I know it does. I\u2019m not here to defend it, either. Don\u2019t misunderstand. I\u2019m just telling you that it\u2019s not unusual for Trump to do this. Now, on this issue it\u2019s very alarming because this is the issue that got him elected. This is an issue that your supporters are saying, “Don\u2019t tease us! Don\u2019t play games on this. Stay straight.”<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure that\u2019s what a lot of you are thinking. I understand it.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: This is Troy in Queen Creek, Arizona. Hi, Troy. Thank you for calling, sir.<\/p>\n
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Thanks for taking my call. Yeah, so I\u2019m a married Millennial dad, two young boys, a beautiful wife, in a border state, here, Rush, and the reason why I voted and so many people that I know voted for Trump is for border security and illegal immigration. And I know that was a staple of his campaign, and I say it\u2019s a staple of his presidency, and I say, “Shut it down.” Shut the government down, roll with the punches and, you know, just show us that that\u2019s the reason why we voted you in. I think it\u2019s paramount to his reelection.<\/p>\n
RUSH: You think his presidency\u2019s on the line now because you\u2019re afraid he\u2019s caving?<\/p>\n
CALLER: I\u2019m afraid he\u2019s caving, Rush, yeah. I woke up this morning, I read the news, and I saw that the bill may be off the table — you know, the amount of money and the construction of the wall — and it just made me a little disheartened. I\u2019m such a huge Trump supporter, and I just don\u2019t like seeing that.<\/p>\n
RUSH: What did you…? Are you referring to Sarah Sanders, that story, saying that maybe they would come down off the $5 billion, or did you see something else that has you concerned?<\/p>\n
CALLER: I did, yes. That and the Drudge Report. I read that quite a bit.<\/p>\n
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RUSH: Let\u2019s see. What did the the Drudge… Hang on a minute. Let me call to make sure \u2019cause I like to know what my callers… It says, “Wall Funding off Table.” Is that the headline that you saw?<\/p>\n
CALLER: That\u2019s one of the ones I read, yeah.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Let me click on it and see what it goes to, \u2019cause that will tell us everything. Who is this? Okay. It\u2019s CNBC. “White House Suggests it Could Back Down on $5 Billion…” That\u2019s the Sarah Sanders. Essentially that\u2019s what she said on Fox this morning.<\/p>\n
CALLER: Yes.<\/p>\n
RUSH: And I don\u2019t know if this is shutdown related or not. Again, I don\u2019t know if this is just Trump… Look, Republicans have an instinctive fear of government shutdowns and the fact that they\u2019re gonna lose them. Even though there\u2019s a poll out today cited this last hour the AP, the American people no longer have this conventional wisdom view that government shutdowns are the result of Republicans being mean-spirited extremists or any of that.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t have the… The world doesn\u2019t end when these things happen, you know, the Democrats can\u2019t keep getting away with, “Your life ends if the government shuts down,” because nothing happens. Life goes on. So it could just be that Trump is trying to show his willingness to cooperate, to show that the Democrats won\u2019t… Look, I\u2019m here to tell you, Troy — and I\u2019m not trying to talk you out of anything; please don\u2019t misunderstand.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just here to tell you, there isn\u2019t a single person in that town that wants this wall. No, I take it back. Some House Freedom Caucus members are hell-bent on getting it. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows are insistent on getting the wall built. Outside of those two and Trump and maybe some stragglers in the House, nobody in that town wants this wall. Now, don\u2019t misunderstand my telling you that. I\u2019m just trying to give you an idea of the obstacle this is.<\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t anybody in that town that wants this. Trump is all alone in this, and I don\u2019t know whether he is simply making this statement and sends Sarah Sanders out there to send a signal that the White House willing to cooperate with the Democrats so that ultimately the Democrats are shown to be the immovable objects. It\u2019s not the first time, if that\u2019s what\u2019s happening. I can just tell you, I was there yesterday.<\/p>\n
By the way, speaking… Troy, thanks for the call. “I feel you,” as they say. I understand your queasiness.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: I just want to remind you all of something. From the very beginning, I made the point that the media did not make Donald Trump and therefore the media cannot destroy him. What comes next that I said? Hmm? I said, “The only person that can destroy Donald Trump is Donald Trump.” The only person that can separate Donald Trump\u2019s voters from Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Meaning: His voters are loyal; the media cannot talk them out of supporting him no matter what they say about him, no matter what allegations they make.<\/p>\n
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Only Trump can do that, and I say this… We\u2019ve had two calls today and both of are from people who are panicking. That may be too strong a word. They\u2019re disappointed that this claim that the White House has made they\u2019ll come off the $5 billion for the border wall is tantamount to caving. The wall, which equals border security and stopping illegal immigration… As our last caller said, that is why Donald Trump got the elected.<\/p>\n
He was the only one that was believable when he said this was his intent. Voters that voted for Trump know that nobody in Washington really cares about illegal immigration to the point of stopping it. Those who said they did were not trusted to mean it. But Trump was trusted to mean it. So, look, folks… (sigh) I\u2019m kind of between a rock and a hard place here because I was there last night, and this subject came up, and this was not what was discussed.<\/p>\n
Now, this is not to say that people would be open and honest with me. After all, I\u2019m a guy that has a microphone that reaches gazillions of people, and so they might not be forthcoming or they might not want to reveal what\u2019s really going on. I totally understand that. I\u2019m not lost in this belief that nobody would ever try to use me or mislead me to do something. But there was literally no indication of this. As I say, there\u2019s no reason to suggest that I would have been given indication, either. But what I did hear was the exact opposite of this.<\/p>\n
Look, I can\u2019t say any more and I can\u2019t attach names to it, \u2019cause obviously it\u2019s a fluid the situation. I don\u2019t want to put anybody on the spot here. I\u2019m just telling you, when I saw Sarah Huckabee — and I saw her last night. I didn\u2019t talk about anything with her. Just pleasantries. But when I saw her on Fox today make the statement, I said, “Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh.” A little bitty warning tick or two started happening to me. But we\u2019ll see. Time goes on and we\u2019ll find out in due course. This is Henderson, Nevada, next, near Las Vegas. Brian. Great to have you on the program, sir. Hi.<\/p>\n
CALLER: Rush, it\u2019s an honor to speak to you again. And like your two previous callers, I was a bit down in the dumps this morning with the news also. But you helped allay my fears with your pacing comments about how our president responds, you know, the way he paces his comments back. So I wanted to take this in a different angle. I remember back in 2005-2006 when the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill was trying to be stuff down our throats and it looked like the skids were greased, it was gonna happen — and then a funny thing happened.<\/p>\n
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The heartland of America rose up and began ringing the phone lines off the hooks in Washington, D.C., for about a week or 10 days, and suddenly that thing went from the front burner to the back room, and eventually it was defeated. And what you have to say about our president is so true. He\u2019s gotta feel isolated at times like, you know, he\u2019s the only one out there, you know, putting on the armor and going to battle every day. So what I would like to see, Rush, is for the American people — the deplorables, the Tea Party folks, you know, the freedom people, caucus people — everybody rise up and support our president and hit those phone lines again, let Washington, D.C., know how we really feel about this issue.<\/p>\n
RUSH: Well, I remember that and you are exactly right. In 2005-2006, they thought they had it in the back. They did. I\u2019m telling you, you people in this audience and elsewhere in America — without being prompted, without being given any phone numbers or fax numbers or email addresses — Washington was overrun with public comment. It shut down operations. It shut down switchboards, and it just happened. It was organic, as I say, and that\u2019s why they believed it in Washington. There was nobody out there pushing it.<\/p>\n
There wasn\u2019t some loco weed out there promoting it, claiming credit for having all this happen. It was just… Like the Tea Party itself was organic — and it did. It intimidated \u2019em. It frightened \u2019em much like the yellow vests intimidated and frightened Macron, except this didn\u2019t happen in the streets. This happened with public opinion being expressed peaceably by millions of citizens. Your idea is a good one. I cannot emphasize… I would not use the word isolated, although it fits. But isolated carries with it a meaning or a tinge of loneliness.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think Trump is lonely. He\u2019s just alone in this, on this issue, and he\u2019s alone on the idea of his presidency succeeding. He\u2019s got that entire town arrayed against him with every bit of power that town can amass. It is arrayed against Donald Trump. So I don\u2019t think he can take \u2019em on head on. There have to be end runs. There have to be head feints. There has to be a little subterfuge, which is why I acknowledge the Trump pacing. He did it with DACA. He did the same thing when DACA came up.<\/p>\n
He clearly sent a signal that he was all for the children, all for the kids, all for doing it, and he\u2019s done it… Climate change. Do you remember when he had that interview with the New York Times and then when he was a candidate. Before the Paris climate accords, he made it sound like he was open to the possibility of signing on? And then when the pedal hit the metal and the rubber hit the road, we found out that he had not moved at all. He was just publicly posturing for the value of showing that he was flexible and was not closed mind on things.<\/p>\n
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So this is by no means the first time something like this has been done. And if the effort is, if the strategery is to try to demonstrate to as many people as possible the real inflexibility here — and remember the term the White House is using… They\u2019re not talking wall so much. They used the term “border security,” and to the to the extent that Trump can demonstrate to the large number of people possible that the Democrat Party doesn\u2019t care about it, he would consider that part of winning the issue.<\/p>\n
‘Cause I don\u2019t think he believes that he single-handedly can force a wall on an entire town that doesn\u2019t want it. Now, he\u2019s gonna need public support for it, but if he can demonstrate to people — and again, I don\u2019t know that this is what\u2019s being executed here in terms of strategy. But it would be really helpful if he could demonstrate that Chuck and Nancy have no interest and that anything they say about it is just a bogus lie, whenever they talk about needing border security, agreeing with the premise.<\/p>\n
But they\u2019re both on record — and so is everybody else on that town — as “No wall. No wall! Hell no. No wall.” That\u2019s the last thing anybody wants in that town. He\u2019s alone on that, and so I know you would love to see him become a steamroller and just, “Pffft!” power over and through everybody, but I don\u2019t think he thinks that\u2019s the way he\u2019s gonna get there. And there are ways he can get this wall built without Congress signing off on it (i.e., the defense budget) as we have discussed previously.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: Here\u2019s Sarah Sanders this afternoon. I guess this was at the — yeah — daily press briefing. There was an unidentified Drive-By interrogator who said, “$1.6 billion in border wall funding or continuing resolution to take this matter up after the Christmas break, what are you gonna do?”<\/p>\n
SANDERS: The president threw out a lot of ideas. We\u2019re disappointed in the fact that they\u2019ve yet to actually vote on something and pass something. So when they do that, we\u2019ll make a determination on whether or not we\u2019re gonna sign that. In the meantime, we\u2019re looking at every avenue available to us possible. The president\u2019s asked every one of his cabinet secretaries to look for funding that can be used to protect our borders and give the president the ability to fulfill his constitutional obligation to protect the American people by having a secure border. So we\u2019re looking at the other options.<\/p>\n
RUSH: All right.<\/p>\n
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