CALLER: My right leg is tingling in total honor of you, sir.

RUSH: (laughing)

CALLER: And I do want to say, I think you are a kingmaker. I’m pretty sure you’re a kingmaker. You talked about being on the golf course with Mr. Trump and what a wonderful — well, you said what a nice, good guy he is, and I’m sure he is. And I think you guys got together and said, “Why don’t we try it? You listen to me, Donald, and I think I can get you there.” And then on your show, you kind of pushed him out there into the forefront, and you covered for him many times. You covered and said, “Well, this is what he meant,” or, “This is the way it should be looked at.” And I think you have made a king, sir.

RUSH: (sighs) Okay. Well —

CALLER: Well?

RUSH: This is why I like Open Line Friday. You know, it’s like a box of chocolates. In the first place, let’s go back to the beginning. I have played golf with Mr. Trump a few times, not a lot. At no time did Mr. Trump ever express a desire or intention to seek any elective office. It is only in retrospect, given what happened with his candidacy being announced in June and the primary went on, and I thought back to those times we played golf and the things that we did talk about.

I did say right here on this program that I think Trump has been planning this for at least three years. As I relive some of the conversations, he was asking me all kinds of things: what I thought of Obama, what I thought of tax policy. He talked about people leaving New York. He knew more and more people leaving New York and why did I think it was happening and why did I do it and why he never would, I mean, permanently, forever. And other things.

I just thought nothing of it. We were just playing golf. I’m known for being interested in those things. We talked about other things, too. I mean, the CEO of Macy’s who he has since thrown under the bus was in the foursome ahead of us, praising the guy the to the hilt. He said you ever need a couple million in advertising, call the guy, he’ll have it for you the next day. Things like that. He’s praising his golf course, bragging about it being better than any other golf course anybody has anywhere, every golf course I’ve played with him. So I’m just thinking back to those things, those times that made me think he’s actually been strategizing this for a long time, that this was not something done on a whim.

CALLER: You never advised him?

RUSH: What’s that?

CALLER: You never gave him advice?

RUSH: No. I have never advised him. Not personally. I take it back. When the McCain thing happened in the campaign last fall, I did get a call from Mr. Trump, just to say hi. It was about a week after he had said that he doesn’t like military people that get captured. He’d prefer to support military people that don’t get captured, and he was talking about McCain. And he asked me if I thought he should apologize. I said, “Not now, it’s a week, no, no, no, don’t.” That’s it. That’s the only time, Quinn. I’m not an advisor. I’m not a confidant. There are all kinds of other people who are, but I’m not.

CALLER: Well, what about the radio? What about all the, oh, I don’t know, tweaks for him more than anyone. Because you taught us how to listen, sir.

RUSH: Why do you think I’m the one that taught him how to — on what basis do you say that? Don’t misunderstand my tone. I’m genuinely curious. What in the world has happened that makes you think I’m the one that taught him how to listen? I don’t think he does, by the way —

CALLER: You taught us how to listen. No, he needs to learn how to listen a little bit better. It just smells like it’s got your touch. It just feels like your touch is there. And it’s so great. I’m very interested in how this is going.

RUSH: Well, did you hear yesterday’s program? Because yesterday’s program was all about how Trump’s following his instincts. And in my own mind I’ve got a lot in common with him on that. We’ve never talked about it. We’ve never once talked about any of this performance stuff. But in my own career — you know, I told him yesterday, on the air, and last week, too, I said that now that he’s won, for all intents and purposes, the nomination, he’s gonna be under a lot of pressure from people within his own circle to change.

They’re gonna be on him, “You gotta act more presidential. You’ve gotta use the prompter more. You’ve gotta be more serious. You gotta stop the insults.” Whatever it is, he’s gonna be under immense pressure to stop being who he is. And yesterday I urged him to ignore all that and to continue to follow his instincts and not change a thing, because who he is is why he’s where he is. And all I said yesterday was I have withstood and I have undergone, experienced the same pressures or what have you, in my own career, and still do, in fact, to a limited degree, but always have.

If you hear things like that — and I’m no different than anybody else on the radio telling somebody what I think they should do, say, not say. But I don’t have a personal relationship with him in that sense. I have not given him any face-to-face or telephonic or Twitter or whatever advice. I’ve done nothing beyond what you all hear me say on the radio here. Whether he listens, I haven’t the slightest idea. I really don’t know. I will tell you this, Quinn. I did admonish him for starting all of his public appearances when this program was on, and ever since then, they don’t happen it as much when this program’s on.

CALLER: No, they don’t.

RUSH: They don’t, do they? (laughing)

CALLER: No.

RUSH: Joking things like that, but no, I’m arm’s-length, like I have been with every candidate.

CALLER: I can see your sweet face, and somehow there’s a connection. I know there is in my heart. But be that as it may, sir, if he’s not listening to you, he darn sure ought to be.

RUSH: You are so sweet. I appreciate that and I know exactly how you mean it, and I appreciate it very much. You mean you’re watching on the Dittocam right now? You can see my sweet face, is that what that means?

CALLER: I know what your picture looks like. We haven’t had television since ’97, so I don’t watch things like that.

RUSH: Ah. I see. But you still have this mental image of my sweet face?

CALLER: Yes. Yes. And I try to look at you once in a while so I keep the image in mind.

RUSH: Well, you are really a nice person, as opposed to Katie Couric, I just want you to know that.

CALLER: Thank you. What a contrast.

RUSH: (laughing) And I appreciate your call. I really do.

CALLER: Thank you.

RUSH: Thank you.