RUSH: Let’s go to the audio sound bites. Media montage today. The Drive-Bys decided that I gave Trump the okay to sign the bill on this program yesterday.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Rush Limbaugh appears to give the president the okay to sign new the border comprise.
SANDRA SMITH: Rush Limbaugh saying no one can claim the president has caved.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: Rush Limbaugh was talking about this, and he said the president should take the deal.
MARTY SCHENKER: Rush Limbaugh last night gave kind of tacit approval for this strategy of declaring an emergency action and signing this bill.
SHANNON BREAM: The president is getting support from the most influential conservative radio talk host.
TRACE GALLAGHER: That conservative commentator is, of course, Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh gave the president his blessing.
MAUDE: Rush (crosstalk) Limbaugh says to do it by the way. President (crosstalk) Limbaugh says declare a national (crosstalk) emergency.
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah!
RUSH: There you go. So, folks, I just… I sit here… This is one of the greatest illustrations of how false narratives get built and develop a life of their own — and honest, factual refutation of what these people think doesn’t stop them. (interruption) Ah, I know. The staff likes the sound of it, “President Limbaugh” and so forth. I just… This whole narrative began on a fraudulent report that the president was on the verge of signing that original deal back in December and then somebody ran into the office said, “Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!
“Limbaugh’s ripping you to shreds. Don’t sign it,” and Trump stopped. That’s what’s driving all this. That did not happen, and not a one of these people has ever tried to reach me to find out what really happened. They’d rather create the narrative. They would rather create this little story that they can then feed and expand — and, of course, it’s all designed to make it look like Trump is a puppet or he’s indecisive or he is afraid.
Coupled with the fact that they think in the media that they have effectively destroyed my reputation. So that with people who don’t listen to this program who hear that I am okaying the president to do something or telling him not to do something, the media is figuring they’re getting a double hit because they think they’ve destroyed my reputation in the process of trying to destroy Trump’s. And they just continue to move further and further and further away from reality.
And the real “danger,” quote-unquote, to them — the real risk to them — is that they get no closer to actually understandings who Trump is and how he works and how his voters support him, which is incredible because their objective is to separate Trump’s voters from Trump. But they’re not spending a second of time trying to figure out how to actually do it. They’re using what’s always been in their playbook that has never failed them until now. It’s hilarious to watch.
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RUSH: As we speak, the country is right now under 31 concurrent states of emergency that are in effect right now. I don’t know.
This “President Limbaugh” stuff. I never thought I would say this, folks. I’m beginning to think that I may be underpaid.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Back to the audio sound bites. On Fox today, after… I’ve been requested to play this montage again. “Rush, that was funny. You’re taking this too seriously, Rush. You need to laugh at this.”
Okay, grab sound bite No. 1. I’m not taking it too seriously. I’m just marveling at how… Folks, when you’re in the middle of a news story and you know that it’s bogus — and you’ve told everybody how and why it’s bogus for two weeks and they refuse to correct it and get it right — it’s very instructive, a teachable moment. Anyway, here’s the montage where the Drive-Bys thought that I gave Trump the green light yesterday to go ahead and sign this bill.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Rush Limbaugh appears to give the president the okay to sign new the border comprise.
SANDRA SMITH: Rush Limbaugh saying no one can claim the president has caved.
AINSLEY EARHARDT: Rush Limbaugh was talking about this, and he said the president should take the deal.
MARTY SCHENKER: Rush Limbaugh last night gave kind of tacit approval for this strategy of declaring an emergency action and signing this bill.
SHANNON BREAM: The president is getting support from the most influential conservative radio talk host.
TRACE GALLAGHER: That conservative commentator is, of course, Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh gave the president his blessing.
MAUDE: Rush (crosstalk) Limbaugh says to do it by the way. President (crosstalk) Limbaugh says declare a national (crosstalk) emergency.
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah!
RUSH: Yeah. There you go. I think that’s gonna happen. I think there will be a national emergency declared along with signing this thing and that authorizes the use of the other money, goes to the courts, no need to repeat that. Now, later on Fox they had what they call their A-Team, the Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith out there have their news broadcast from nine to noon. And during it they have a panel and every day the members of the panel change. They call it the A-Team.
Today their A-Team was Judith Miller, former New York Times, Brad Blakeman, a current Republican strategist, and David Drucker, who is a White House reporter. He’s a senior political correspondent for the Washington Examiner. So three bites. Here is Sandra Smith asking the Republican strategist Brad Blakeman if he thinks Trump will sign the agreement.
SMITH: Will the president sign this deal? Rush Limbaugh’s making the case that he could walk away with a win here even if he does.
RUSH: Here’s Judith Miller, formerly of the New York Times, with Sandra Smith.
MILLER: Donald Trump has learned the hard word “compromise,” the C-word. It’s not ugly. It does get you partly where you want to go. But let’s face it. This is not a win for Donald Trump because $1.375 billion is less than $1.6 billion, which is what the House and Senate —
SMITH: Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t give a dollar.
RUSH: That is exactly why they wanted to continue with this BS, that the president’s being bullied. He can’t make up his own mind, he’s weak minded, he’s weak-spined, which nothing could be further from the truth on both of them. But it’s classic. Judith Miller, gigantic feminist, former New York Times, cannot stand the idea that Trump is going to win this. Blakeman was right. Trump is gonna win this. If winning this is declined by winning the wall, he is gonna win this. Now, here’s Drucker. He is the Washington Examiner’s senior political correspondent. And Sandra Smith again says, “First of all, he hasn’t signed the deal, and we’re getting reporting from the White House now the president is in no hurry to sign the legislation. But you talk about it as if he already has.”
RUSH: Yeah, but, again, the reason nobody wants another government shutdown is that it doesn’t provide any leverage over the Democrats to get what you want. It served its purpose the first time around. And the purpose it served was education. That 30 day shutdown forced the Drive-Bys to tell everybody what the argument was about and what Trump’s position on it was, things the Drive-By Media would otherwise not have been reporting. So it served its purpose.
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RUSH: Ray, Livermore, California. Great to have you with us, sir. Hello.
CALLER: Great to be here, Rush. Trump is colluding with Rush Limbaugh dittos.
RUSH: (laughing) Don’t get that started.
CALLER: Well, you were playing the montage and that’s why I called in. I had Fox News on behind me at my desk last night and I heard the same thing about how everyone was turning and looking to Rush for the answer. And everything you said is true along with I think they want to make Trump look bad, obviously, he can’t think for himself, he has to look to Rush. But, Rush, what it really is is in the absence of Bill Buckley, I think you’re the one that they’re turning to now. Everyone wants to turn and see what the new William F. Buckley has to say on it. And so it’s not the president per se. It’s the rest of the media. So congratulations, Rush. You have the mantle.
RUSH: You don’t know what a profound compliment that is to me because I had so much respect for William F. Buckley Jr. that it would be hard to quantify it. One of the greatest thrills of my life was meeting him and becoming a friend. And, you know, you’re right about something. Buckley was — whenever I had a question, it could be much of anything, but particularly when it was conservative ideology, conservative, proper conservative reaction to an event or a person, I always would love to know what his was. And I’d love to measure how much I was on the same page.
So for you to be saying that that’s how some people look at me, that’s a bigger compliment than even you know. I thank you sincerely for that. So you think even these people in the media out there are trying to figure out what I think for some kind of guidance for them?
CALLER: I think that, as you like to say, Rush, they’ve stumbled upon this thing. They don’t even know that they’ve elevated you to this position —
CALLER: But that they are elevating you, sir. And I don’t see anyone else out there who has put in the time and the effort as you have. There’s lots of great thinkers out there, but Rush, you can distill it down, you can just really boil this thing down to a couple sentences so guys like me who are at work, I don’t have time to read the New York Times and these leftist papers, you’re there for me, Rush, and I appreciate it. I really do.
RUSH: Well, I really appreciate that. Thank you very much. You do not know what a great compliment that is. I don’t know how else to say thank you other than that.
CALLER: I’ll tell you how, Rush. You just keep it up and don’t retire. That’s how you keep saying “thank you,” okay? You keep up the good work.
RUSH: No sweat. Have no fear of that. No fear. Folks, I’ve tested it, just to be honest, I have tested it. The last time — and it was before last year, I took a week off and pretended that I was retired — I went nuts. I started feeling useless. Even distant feelings of worthlessness began to creep in.
And then I realized, I can’t play golf every day. I don’t know anybody else who wants to play golf every day. I don’t know anybody who I want to be around every day to play golf with every day. And, you know, I would continue to read up, stay informed and all that, but to have no outlet for it on a daily, regular basis. So that’s not a factor. Why would I leave this? It makes no sense. I appreciate it very much, Ray. I really do.
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