RUSH: Now the news today. And it’s… Well, it’s what it is. The big news today is Trump. Trump seems to be the big news every day. Trump went out and did an interview with Rolling Stone. I don’t know why. I don’t know what the purpose was. I don’t know what anybody thought was the upside there, but it’s not for me to question. There was a time on this program maybe a month ago where some similar things were going on.
And I very graciously, and with just overwhelming humility, came to the Golden EIB Microphone with just a small, tiny message for the Trump campaign, and it was what I would say today: “Let’s get back to the issues.” I don’t mean to be mocking you in the Stick-to-the-Issues Crowd here. I’m serious. I don’t know what the value is in ripping into Ben Carson as an “okay doctor.” And now Carson, he’s firing back. I don’t know who fired first in this. I don’t know who launched a salvo at who first.
I mean, the rule of thumb according to Trump is he’s fine with you until you hit him — and, if you hit him, you better look out ’cause he’s gonna counterpunch. He’s gonna come right back and he’s not gonna apologize no matter what he says. Okay, so I don’t know if I missed something where Ben Carson… Maybe Ben Carson said that Trump was “unserious.” No, it was Bobby Jindal that said that. Whatever. Trump responded with some things about Ben Carson that obviously are not true. Ben Carson’s a great man. He’s a great, great surgeon. He’s far more than an “okay doctor.”
And he has a genuinely American life story that is worthy of inspiration to anybody in this country. He is a kind and decent man, but he’s not a softy. He’s hard as a rock. He’s tough as nails. He happens to be soft-spoken because he’s humble. But he is a brilliant person. Some say that he’s wasting his talents running for president because he’s in an area of business where his personality type and so forth does not lend itself to rising to the top. I think all that’s out the window now when you talk about the formula for presidential candidate.
Given this campaign, we can see that’s all out the window. If you can make a case for yourself, then you’re in, and you’re valid. And Ben Carson… Look, I know that for Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, having Trump go after you is a plus. It’s name recognition. It’s name ID, and it is validation. And all this, of course, is a gigantic ratings gift for CNN. ‘Cause after Trump went out there and said whatever he was about Ben Carson. He says he’s an “okay doctor.” Now in the Rolling Stone interview, Trump sort of mocked Carly Fiorina’s face.
“‘Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?’ Trump reportedly bellowed while watching his Republican presidential rival on the news. ‘I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?'” Now, I know what some Trump people are gonna say. I can predict it. They are going to say, “Hey, wait a minute, Rush! He’s not gonna hurt himself with any of this because, you know, he’s just being honest.
“And we’ve got so much political correctness running things… I mean, how many people in this country look at somebody else and judge their appearance one way or the other? Nobody ever says anything about it, because it’s supposedly rude and impolite. But Trump doesn’t have those boundaries. And don’t forget, Rush: Carly Fiorina hit him first, and it’s Trump playing to type. You attack him, he’s gonna come back at you.” So I fully expect to have people defend Trump. People are gonna try.
They’re gonna do it under the rubric of political correctness and how he’s continuing to blow that up, but don’t feel sad for Carly Fiorina. My point is: She loves this, and Carson probably does, too, because Carly Fiorina has just had her awareness level raised significantly. Especially with low-information voters. I mean, here’s Trump out there talking about this ugly woman, with whatever else he said. (paraphrased) “I mean, God, are you kidding? Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that’s the face of our next president?”
Can you imagine low-information voter?
“Who’s he talking about? Wow! Wow! Wow! That’s…” They go and they find out. And, voila! A whole bunch of people who never heard of Carly Fiorina now know who she is. She will take that any day. She’s an adult. She can handle this kind of stuff. See, this is the point. The point is, her feelings aren’t hurt. And I don’t know her. Maybe her feelings are hurt. My guess is this woman has been at the top of the rough-and-tumble high-tech business world. She had a job where a lot of people thought she had no business having a job, trying to undermine her every day.
This is small potatoes. It may be impolite, it may be rude, it may be all those things that people say about polite society. It may be totally inappropriate, but “appropriate” and American politics have been strangers for who knows how long now. Appropriate and American politics or inappropriate and American politics. But don’t feel bad for Carly. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not endorsing anything here. As usual, I’m objectively analyzing what has happened since we were last together. And I would probably say the same thing Ben Carson. Don’t feel sorry for him.
The Democrats have said worse about both of these people. It’s just Trump’s happened to be personal. But the Democrats and the media have said far worse things about Ben Carson, far worse things about Carly Fiorina. Nobody gets mad at them. Nobody gets… This is chump change compared to the kind of insults and character assassination the media engages in against Republicans every day, and what are we told when that happens?
“You gotta tough it up. You gotta handle it. You gotta learn to handle it because that’s the game. We know the rules. The media’s on the left, the Democrats and the media are on the same team, so gonna run as a Republican, you gotta be able to stand the heat in the kitchen. Can’t complain about it!” Fine. Same thing goes here. And if at some point this stuff starts to blow back and negatively impact Trump… No, I’m telling you what: The Republican establishment can’t believe any of this. There’s a new CNN poll. I think it’s CNN. Yeah.
“Donald Trump has become the first Republican presidential candidate to top 30% support in the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, which finds the businessman pulling well away from the rest of the GOP field.” Now, obviously before this… Trump, by the way, said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa I was talking about her persona.” All right, fine. But it’s out there. But it’s not part of the pool of polling respondents here. This poll took place before this latest… It’d be interesting to see if Trump continues to build even after his highly personalized comments at both Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson.
Now, look, folks, I’m just gonna tell you what I have here. Be mad at me if you want, but I have a story June 9th, 2010, Huffing and Puffington Post. Headline: “Carly Fiorina Open Mic Video: Republican Senate Candidate Mocks Barbara Boxer’s Hair.” She was running for the Senate; she made fun of Barbara Boxer’s hair. So, I mean, these people, they know what’s coming their way. They can handle it. And I’m telling you Carly Fiorina… I mean, she may not be doing handstands, but believe me, the new awareness level she’s gonna get, she’ll take it.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s what started it with Ben Carson and Trump. This was yesterday in Anaheim, California. Carson held a press conference and got a question: “What are the main characteristics that differentiate you from Donald Trump?”
CARSON: I realize where my success has come from, and I don’t in any way deny my faith in God. And I think that probably is a bigly differential. I haven’t heard it; I haven’t seen it. You know, one of my favorite Bible verses, Proverbs 22-4. It says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” And that’s a very big part of who I am, humility and the fear of the Lord. I don’t get that impression with him.
RUSH: Okay. So he questioned the authenticity of Trump’s faith. Now, Trump says the Bible’s the greatest book ever — even ahead of his book, The Art of the Deal. The Art of the Deal is second. The Bible is the greatest book ever, Trump says, but then he said earlier… I warned everybody this is gonna come back at some point. He said he never had asked God for forgiveness because he’d never done anything that he thought needed to be forgiven. And I think it was in Iowa when he said that.
And everybody was distracted by what he had said about McCain and the Mexicans and a lot of people said, “You know, his audience, his base supporters, a lot of evangelicals in there, they’re not gonna like that.” So Carson questioned his authenticity and also said that Trump had not fully thought through the implications of his immigration policy, had not thought through the implications of trying to send 11 million people back to Mexico and El Salvador, and Ecuador and wherever they’re coming from.
So those two things, Carson starts it, in Trump’s view, and as Trump has said, “Hey, you don’t attack me! I love you. Leave me alone; I’ll leave you alone. But you come after me, and I’m gonna fire right back at you, and I’m not gonna apologize.” So that’s what started it. I don’t know what Fiorina did to him. She had to have done something, said something.