RUSH: “Trump Telling GOP Brass He Will Forgo A Third-Party Run.” This according to sources. Donald Trump has also weighed in on what happened in Virginia yesterday. He says mental health is the problem, not the gun. We have news on the Democrat side. Joe Biden is unsure if he has the emotional fuel for a presidential run. And, by the way, he made this comment in what he thought was a private meeting off the record. He was talking to other Democrats, elected Democrats, fundraisers and others.
Well, we’re told that he thought it was off the record. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I would think any politician would think anything he says anywhere is gonna be reported somewhere. But they’re saying that it was an off-the-record meeting with Biden being honest with them. He’s not sure he has what it takes, but, nevertheless, he has the best favorability rating among the 2016 contenders of either party.
And he would run a little bit better than Hillary in the general election, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll released today that shows Trump increasing his lead up to 28%. Ben Carson is in second place, a distant 12%. It’s outsiders on the Republican side that are triumphing. On the Democrat side, it looks like they want anybody but Hillary. I mean, Hillary is… The negatives are piling up. Lack of honesty, lack of trustworthiness. So we don’t know what’s gonna happen.
And Biden been given the blessing by Pope Obama to go for it. So it’s a situation in a huge state of flux. The Republican establishment is continually befuddled. They simply do not understand. Every day — every day — somebody in the deep Republican establishment writes an opinion piece that either is warning Trump supporters that they’re gonna end up being really disappointed, how Trump’s not who they think he is.
And if they’re not careful, there’s gonna be really, really let down. Or you’ll get another piece where Trump is a phony baloney, plastic banana, good-time rock ‘n’ roller. He’s not who he says he is. He’s not really a conservative. He’s not even really a Republican. He’s probably working to sabotage the Republicans with a secret deal made with the Clintons. I mean, all kinds of stuff is coming out from Republican and conservative establishment types who thought Trump would be gone by now.
And are still hoping that Trump is not in this to win, that he didn’t even get into this to win, that there’s something else going on that nobody knows yet. But if you stop and even if you think that’s true, take a look at whatever is happening with Trump, whatever his expectations were — and I don’t happen to know them. I think if he were honest, he would tell you that he didn’t foresee this. But look what the prize is if we’re talking about the presidency of the United States.
We’re talking about the most powerful leadership position in the world. We’re talking about the presidency of the greatest country in the world. We’re talking about the position of leader of the free world. That’s gotta be pretty seductive when you see it’s in your sight, within your grasp. If he got into this not wanting it, had something else on his mind, anything can change. Maybe he… Who knows? But it is clear that the Republican establishment has no clue what to do.
Now, there was something that I was hoping would happen, and it may yet. In fact, you know what? I don’t want to tell you what… I don’t want to jinx it or blow it in any number of ways by giving voice to this. I’m gonna hold this back. My problem is I’m too famous and too powerful myself, and just by saying something, I could affect the outcome of events. And I don’t want anything artificial interrupting the natural flow and what is to be (whatever it is) the natural outcome of all of this.
But if I were the establishment? I’ll just say this: If I were these establishment consultants, not understanding this, there are some real lessons here that can be learned. There are a whole lot of teachable moments happening every day. All kinds of things they believe are being blown to smithereens. Now, it’s very difficult to admit that you’ve been wrong about things. You want to hold… Particularly if you’re an expert. For example, let’s say you believe that the only way Republicans can win is by talking about cooperation.
Because the American people are tired of things not getting done. Because if you believe this — if you believe the American people want cooperation, the American people want the Democrats and the Republicans to work together, and they want governance and they want — if you believe that, it’s gonna be very, very difficult to let go of that. Even if you see incontrovertible evidence that you are wrong, it’s gonna be very difficult to let go of that.
It is for anybody. If you are a rock-solid believer in something and you see evidence that you’re wrong, it’s hard to let go of it. It’s hard to admit that you’re wrong. It’s hard to admit maybe times have passed you by. It’s hard to admit that maybe there’s something out there that you haven’t seen. But the opportunities are clear. I just don’t want to illustrate what they are, ’cause I just don’t want to impact it.
It’s akin to I would never announce the marketing plan. If I were director of marketing at some business, and let’s say my objective is to sell as many iPhones as possible. I’m not gonna tell you how I’m gonna do it. I’m just gonna do it. I’m gonna execute the plan, but I’m not gonna tell you what the plan is ’cause I don’t want you to have a chance to build up resistance to it.
Well, it’s that thinking that is forcing me to hold my comments here in reserve. Not much longer, because it won’t take much longer to see if what I’m talking about is happening. I’m not teasing you. I’m actually doing what I think is best here in zipping it.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Back to Trump. I reported earlier that Trump signaling to the GOP brass that he will forgo a third-party run. In Greenville, South Carolina, he had an informal press event. A reporter said, “There’s a requirement in the South Carolina Republican Party that candidates signed a pledge that they will support the eventual nominee. Will you sign that pledge?”
TRUMP: We have plenty of time to think about it because I think that’s September 30th, and there’s a lot of time. So we’ll be making announcements on different things over the next couple of weeks.
RUSH: So he’s hedging on it now. This report that I have is from the Huffing and Puffington Post that he’s told the brass that he’ll forgo a third party run. Now, I mentioned yesterday that there was a story about South Carolina I think the other one was North Carolina and the third state I think was Georgia where the Republican Party establishment in those states was gonna mandate that the eventually nominee, the winner of that state had to sign the pledge that they will not go third party; they will support the nominee.
I happen to know in North Carolina that’s not true, and I’m not sure it is true in South Carolina yet. It could be, but I think what I read yesterday was that it’s something they’re working toward. But I will allow that I might have misread it. It may already be, quote, “on the books” in South Carolina. Another reporter said to Trump, “Can you talk about the event that you might be working on with Cruz?”
TRUMP: We are talking about to Ted Cruz, who’s a friend of mine and a good guy, about doing something very big over the next two weeks in Washington. It will be announced. It’s essentially a protest against the totally incompetent deal that we’re making with Iran. And, by the way, even if you break it up, they’re gonna get $150 billion! They’re gonna get hundreds of billions of dollars even if you break it up and you know what I’d do? I wouldn’t give them the money. I don’t care what the deal is. I wouldn’t give them the money, so that deal will be announced, that location will be announced.
RUSH: So here’s Trump, “Yeah, I’m talking to Ted Cruz. He’s a friend of mine, a good guy.” See, Cruz is not criticizing him, so Trump says, “Why should I get mad at him? He’s not ripping me,” and the same thing with Ben Carson. “Ben Carson hasn’t ripped me; why should I criticize Ben Carson?” So this is about the Iran deal. Here is Jason in Bakersfield, California. Look, I’m really glad you waited, Jason. Thanks for your patience. Hello.
CALLER: Hey, great to speak with you, Rush. Thanks for all the truth out there, spreading the truth and all your great work, definitely appreciate you.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: You had mentioned just speaking to a discussion you had earlier regarding Trump and really wanting to actually be president of United States and you’d had a theory, and it dawned on me, and I’d been thinking about this. I’d actually thought, “If you take a look at all the Republican candidates, you think, ‘Why on earth has not one of those candidates really stopped and taken a look at what’s happening with Trump?'” Why have they not said, “The American people are speaking; it’s in his rising polls.”
I have a theory here, and my theory is — and here, again, I’d be curious to see what you think about this. But I truly believe that Trump is waiting for one of these Republicans to stand up and say, “You know what? Here it is. The American people are speaking, and come to Trump’s side — his policies, his beliefs, maybe even with a little bit more tact — and I truly believe that what Trump would do is once he sees that somebody’s come over and he’s led the pack, led the way, that Trump would actually back out and potentially endorse him.
RUSH: Interesting theory. I have no idea if that’s close, if it’s accurate or not, that if he finds somebody willing to carry his torch, he’d get out and do it. You know, my thought on that right now is that Trump is probably doing far better than he thought. You know, braggadocio aside, I think Trump is among those who are surprised at how well he’s doing. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that Trump didn’t expect to do well. His ego is such that he thinks he’s gonna do well at whatever he does.
I think he’s probably surprised by this, and I think now he’s saying, “You know, this could happen.” He’s starting to get serious about it. “It could really, really, really happen. It’s quite a thing, to become the leader of the free world.” So we’ll see. But I agree with you. I’m surprised that… No, I’m not gonna say it. I promised earlier I wouldn’t, ’cause I don’t want to taint the natural flow of events and eventually outcomes, so I’m gonna withhold this. I appreciate the call, Jay.