{"id":5824,"date":"2015-07-22T17:45:25","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T17:45:25","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2015-07-22T17:45:25","modified_gmt":"2015-07-22T17:45:25","slug":"trump_was_supposed_to_be_gone_by_now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2015\/07\/22\/trump_was_supposed_to_be_gone_by_now\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Was Supposed to Be Gone by Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

RUSH: You know, I often joke around, calling myself America\u2019s Real Anchorman. You know, I really am. I really, really am, particularly on this whole Trump story, folks, as I made clear toward the end of the program yesterday. That\u2019s why the Drive-Bys misunderstand what I\u2019m doing. They don\u2019t understand objectivity. They don\u2019t understand reporting on something without an opinion attached to it. They really don\u2019t. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why they think I\u2019m supporting Trump because I\u2019m not denouncing him. If I\u2019m not denouncing Trump, I\u2019m supporting him, and it\u2019s not at all what I\u2019ve said or done. They understand the nuance. They finally figured out I\u2019m very nuanced. I\u2019m not this simpleton. Well, today they think that. I\u2019ll be back to being a simpleton next week sometime. Anyway it\u2019s a fascinating case study. <\/line><\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Here\u2019s Kevin in St. Louis. Kevin, I\u2019m glad you called. It\u2019s great to have you with us. Hi.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Thank you for taking my call. Don\u2019t you think that Donald Trump knows exactly what he\u2019s doing and knows that there\u2019s a majority out there that support him? Kind of like what you did when you first started. You know, you knew that you were gonna be attacked and whatnot, but you just kept pressing on and knew that you were right in what direction you were going in.<\/p>\n

RUSH: That\u2019s an interesting question about Trump and what he\u2019s doing and why and what he knows. Now, if you take him at his word, if you take Donald Trump at his word, here\u2019s what\u2019s going on. He\u2019s fed up with both parties and the almost formulaic way they talk and act and get nothing done or make things worse. I think there\u2019s also something that\u2019s happened that we don\u2019t know, maybe a series of things, and the latest one was maybe the straw that broke the camel\u2019s back that finally, he ran.<\/p>\n

Because Trump\u2019s been toying with this for how many election cycles? Even this one, as recently as first week of June, I had people asking me about, “Do you think Trump\u2019s gonna pull the trigger this time?” and I said, “Nah, I doubt it. I think he\u2019s just setting up a big audience and renegotiation for The Apprentice.” But then he did it. He actually pulled the trigger. And then when he started losing support of Macy\u2019s and NBC, he stuck with it. So something\u2019s changed with Trump, and he\u2019s attempting to accomplish something. <\/p>\n

But the big thing that I think sets all this apart for everybody else among everything else that\u2019s happening, is Trump is literally having the time of his life. He is thoroughly enjoying this. Every bit of it. He\u2019s enjoying the big crowds. He\u2019s enjoying the way he is in everybody\u2019s face. Somebody comes along and insults him, and he\u2019s right back at them, and he views every one of those confrontations as he is winning. He\u2019s just having fun. He\u2019s literally enjoying immensely all of this, and I don\u2019t doubt that he\u2019s like all of you in one regard. <\/p>\n

I think he really does care about the country, and I think like a lot of people, he is really, really worried about what\u2019s happening to it. What I hope is that if Trump is serious about this, look at what he was able to do with the immigration issue. When that whole thing started, he was the issue. What he was saying about Mexicans — and what he was saying about the type of people immigrating, what he was saying about our government permitting all that to happen — he was the issue. Everybody was talking about a reprobate he was. <\/line><\/p>\n

Everybody was talking about how impolitic he was, how crude, how extremist. And then Kate Steinle was murdered in a sanctuary city, San Francisco, and all of a sudden the issue became the issue. Well, what if Trump decided to pick up this Planned Parenthood thing? And then what if Trump decided to pick up economics and then pick up Obamacare? What if Trump started doing on all these other issues, what he has done on immigration? So far the value of Trump… If Trump were not in this race, I guarantee you…<\/p>\n

Well, I can\u2019t guarantee, but if none of what Trump… Well, if none of this had happened, I dare say immigration still would not be on the table. Immigration would still be an issue where the focal point of it was, “Republicans better get on board and support this! Republicans better get on board and support amnesty! The Republicans better do it!” If everything that has happened except Trump being in, that\u2019s what we would be looking at: A traditional Republican campaign with all these different guys getting in and all vying for the same votes, voters, and so forth. <\/p>\n

The universe is being expanded here. <\/p>\n

Trump is not running as a Democrat. He\u2019s attracting Democrats. He\u2019s attracting people from all over the place. So he has the ability to illuminate all of these issues that I know all of you are frustrated by because the Republicans don\u2019t seem to oppose the Democrats on them, and Trump is the one guy who does. Trump\u2019s the one guy who\u2019s going against conventions on everything. I think that\u2019s part of the reason that he\u2019s popular at this stage. Now, as to your question about he knows the opposition is small, I don\u2019t know how he looks at that.<\/p>\n

I think that Trump thinks that he\u2019s immensely popular before he even does this. His TV show\u2019s popular. His books sell. When he goes out and does a lecture, the crowds are big. So I think he already thinks he\u2019s popular. I don\u2019t think that any of this is about testing that, finding out what his reach is. Here\u2019s a story, by the way, from TheHill.com: “Trump\u2019s Success Annoys GOP<\/a> — Republican insiders are reconciling themselves to the idea that Donald Trump won\u2019t be exiting the stage anytime soon — and their main concern now is limiting his damage to their party.” <\/p>\n

Uh! Uh! Uh Wait, wait, wait just a second! Just a second. Trump\u2019s comments about McCain were supposed to be the end. The Wizards of Smart in both parties told us that Trump could not survive that. The Wizards of Smart in the both parties said, “This is it! This is the moment we\u2019ve all been waiting for. This is what we knew was gonna happen. We knew this charlatan was gonna come along, and if we just put a pile of excrement in front of him, he would step in it. Well, here it is!” That was just over the weekend, Sunday and Monday. <\/p>\n

This is only Wednesday. Trump was supposed to be history by now. And it was your host, El Rushbo, who said, “Whoa. Put the brakes on it, here. Wait just a second. We don\u2019t know this yet, \u2019cause Trump\u2019s not playing by the rules.” If Trump were your average, ordinary, cuckolded Republican, he would have apologized by now, and he would have begged for forgiveness, and he would have gone away. And the establishment would have claimed another scalp, claiming that they had protected the sanctity of campaigns. <\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s not playing by those rules. He\u2019s doubling down. Now he\u2019s giving out Lindsey Graham\u2019s telephone number a<\/a>nd talking about how much fun it is! He said, “Why should I care about Lindsey Graham? Have you seen what he is in the polls? It\u2019s zero, folks! Why should I defer to somebody that\u2019s got zero?” The American people have not seen this in a while. They haven\u2019t seen this kind of braggadocio that\u2019s done in a way that\u2019s fun. Trump\u2019s braggadocio is not off-putting except to its victims. <\/line><\/p>\n

But to the average, ordinary American watching this, it\u2019s a show. They\u2019re having fun, they\u2019re enjoying it and they\u2019re enjoying Trump enjoying it. (interruption) Well, in a way it\u2019s a live reality show, but it\u2019s a show. There\u2019s no question it\u2019s entertaining. It\u2019s entertaining as a show. As Frank Sinatra said, “If they sell booze in it, it\u2019s a saloon. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a ballroom, I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a casino. If they sell booze there, it\u2019s a saloon.” Okay. <\/p>\n

Well, if there\u2019s entertainment going on, it\u2019s a show. All I know is that Trump was not gonna be able to withstand that McCain insult, he was not gonna be able to survive that, and now “Republican insiders,” just three days, four days after Trump stepped on that pile of excrement, “are reconciling themselves to the idea that he won\u2019t be exiting the stage any time soon. The GOP establishment is almost universally hostile to Trump,” it says here. <\/p>\n

“Among Washington Republicans, the hope is that voters will tire of such comments –” such as Lindsey Graham\u2019s a “jackass” and McCain\u2019s not war hero, whatever. “– and that Trump will have to push his boat out into ever-murkier waters to continue to command attention.” So they\u2019re terrified of the guy. They\u2019re terrified of him. See, can you imagine the shock? Can I give you some names? Todd Akin. Does that ring a bell? Sarah Palin. Does that ring a bell? O\u2019Donnell, the woman in Delaware. Sharron Angle. All these names that the Republican establishment effectively did away with. <\/p>\n

Not only are they unable to vanish Trump, but Trump is triumphing and it\u2019s so far out of the rule book and the Republican manual for procedure that they\u2019re having trouble defining what it all means. But they all do agree that this is ultimately gonna be seen as a sideshow and destructive and eventually it\u2019s all gonna end. Until that happens, they\u2019re just gonna do their best to weather the storm and do what they can to make sure — this is their thinking — that Trump does not destroy the entire Republican brand.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure there are a lot of you, when I say that, shouting at the radio, “No, no, no, no, it\u2019s not Trump that\u2019s gonna do it. They\u2019ve already done that.” A lot of people already think the Republican establishment has inflicted its own damage and that Trump didn\u2019t need to add any more to it. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Let\u2019s go to the Trump audio sound bites, since we have reached that transition. This morning on Fox & Friends, Trump is being interviewed by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She said, “Do you regret giving Lindsey Graham\u2019s phone number out? Do you feel that that was a mistake?”<\/p>\n

TRUMP: Not at all. I mean, he just came out, he started calling me a jackass on every program. The guy\u2019s got zero in the polls. He\u2019s got nothing going anyway. I don\u2019t even think he\u2019s very popular in his own state, because you heard the applause I was getting. And I did it for fun, and everybody had a good time. And we had a packed house — we had a beyond packed house. We had auditoriums next door that were packed. I mean, place was amazing — South Carolina — it was amazing. And no, I don\u2019t regret it. I mean, it seems to have gotten a lot of press, but I don\u2019t regret it at all, no. He calls me names. You have to fight back. I mean, all of a sudden these guys are calling me names. I\u2019m trying to be nice. I want to be nice. I\u2019m a nice person. But everybody\u2019s calling me names, and I guess since I went to number one in the polls, they\u2019re having a field day on me.<\/line><\/p>\n

RUSH: (Imitating Trump) “Hey, I\u2019m just a nice guy. I\u2019m just minding my own business. I\u2019m not bothering anybody or calling me jackass. Well, screw that! They\u2019re the jackass. Yeah, I\u2019m just I\u2019m just a nice guy. I\u2019m not hurting anybody out here. Who\u2019s he? Getting zero. I mean, who the hell is he? Why do I have to — cause he\u2019s some senator? Big whoop. I have to act like, ‘oh, my God, I\u2019ve offended a senator?\u2019 Screw that. I\u2019m rich. Have you seen how much money I have? I\u2019m really rich — how much money so he can get nothing.” Yay, Trump. <\/p>\n

And so then he wasn\u2019t through. Poor Elisabeth Hasselbeck could not get another question is because Trump kept going.<\/p>\n

TRUMP: Well, our country should be that way. We have so many things going wrong. Who are the people leading our country? We have people that are just incompetent. You look at this Iran deal, which is a total disaster, and we don\u2019t even get our prisoners back. We give them a scientist, but we don\u2019t get our prisoners back, because they said it was too complicated to ask. If you had the right messenger — like if I did it, or if I picked somebody that did it that knew about negotiation, not somebody that goes into a bicycle race and breaks his leg at 73 years old — we would have gotten the prisoners back a long time ago.<\/p>\n

RUSH: John Kerry, he\u2019s talking about. (Imitating Trump) “The secretary of state, goes riding a freaking bicycle, breaks his leg at 73, he\u2019s giving away the store. I wouldn\u2019t give away the store.” <\/p>\n

By the way, I guarantee you something. I just gonna tell you right now. When people heard that this morning — people watching Fox & Friends — I will guarantee you they stood up out of their couches or from their kitchen tables or wherever they were and started cheering:<\/p>\n

(Imitating audiences) “Our country should be the way I\u2019m treating people, our enemies and the people we disagree with.” Look at this Iran. It\u2019s a total disaster. We don\u2019t even get our prisoners back because we\u2019re told it\u2019s too complicated?” I think Trump is tapping in, and I\u2019m not at all worried about saying this. I think he\u2019s tapping in, because of what I believe to be is a majority of people in this country are so frustrated they\u2019re about to burst. <\/p>\n

And frankly, I\u2019m gonna tell you something else, folks. What Trump is doing — not the way he\u2019s saying it per se, maybe even that, but what he\u2019s saying — is everybody that\u2019s voted Republican since 2010, has expected this from the Republican Party. This is why they were elected. This kind of opposition. This kind of making it hard for the opposition to succeed. <\/p>\n

A landslide Republican victory in 2010, another one in 2014, a possible presidential win in 2012 if four million Republicans had decided to vote instead of stay home. This is what they thought they were getting when they voted, or this is what they wanted. <\/p>\n

Is this kind of stand up to the opposition, the Democrats kind of behavior, effective behavior? You know, I hear people say, well, it\u2019s not just enough to want the fight. The fight\u2019s not what people want. They want to win, but they realize you can\u2019t win sitting on your butt. You have to fight first. Winning comes after that. <\/p>\n

\"large\"Now, this whole notion that, well, you know, Trump\u2019s tapping into people that just want the fight is even trying to denigrate that. By the way, what\u2019s wrong with fighting? What do you think the Democrats are doing? What\u2019s wrong with that? That\u2019s what this is all about, is prevailing. That\u2019s what happen constitutional republics all about. You prevail. You have to fight to prevail. <\/line><\/p>\n

And I\u2019m telling you, I know, like I know anything, that a huge number of Republicans who have voted have expected this kind of opposition to the Democrats. That\u2019s what they have wanted when they voted for it, and they haven\u2019t gotten it, and it\u2019s why they\u2019re responding to Trump. It\u2019s not the only reason, by any stretch, but it\u2019s part of it. Anyway, I have to take another time-out. There\u2019s more.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Now, Mr. Snerley just told me — I had not seen this myself — Snerdley just told me he saw a video of Lindsey Graham, Senator, South Carolina, in a very funny video destroying his cell phone, obviously because Trump has ruined it. Now, he wouldn\u2019t have to destroy the phone. He could just get a new SIM card, but how do you have fun destroying a SIM card in a video? So he got some golf clubs and a barbecue pit and he literally destroyed his cell phone, making fun of the fact that Trump has destroyed it by giving out his number. <\/p>\n