RUSH: This is the governor of California. His name is Gavin Newsom. Gavin Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, has been one of those Democrats leading the pack in attempting to laugh at or make fun of or otherwise impugn Donald Trump.
From the first day Trump was elected all the way through the transition and the inauguration to the present, Gavin Newsom has laughed at, has made fun of, has openly taunted Trump in terms of his intelligence and his qualifications. He has been very arrogant about it. He has been typical of a California liberal, been typical of the Hollywood/Silicon Valley liberal and the way they almost are programmed and must react to Donald Trump.
Then this happens. Then the coronavirus happens — and now, all of a sudden, everything changes. Now you need the guy in Washington. Now all of a sudden, the guy in Washington matters. The way the guy in Washington operates matters. You happen to be the governor of a state which is the closest border we have to China. There is mass travel between China and California.
The potential for coronavirus infections and spread in California is serious, and so now it’s time for the reality to set in. So a couple days ago in Oakland, California, Governor Newsom had a press conference and talked about his phone call with President Trump about the coronavirus outbreak.
NEWSOM: He said, “We’re gonna do the right thing, and you have my support — all of our support — logistically and otherwise.” He said everything that I could have hoped for. And we had a very long conversation. And every single thing he said, they followed through on. Every single thing. His administration — and it starts at the top, including the vice president — has been consistent with the expectation that we repatriate these passengers and we do it in a way that does justice to the spirit that defines the best of our country and the state of California.
RUSH: Now. Okay, so that’s reality. This is not the fun and games of pin the tail on the donkey with Trump being donkey. This is serious. Of course, it only makes sense. Donald Trump is a competent businessman. He’s a competent crisis manager. That’s been his whole life. Donald Trump has had to follow through on everything that he said he was gonna do.
A lot of people, over his life, have depended on him. A lot of people have been paid by him. A lot of people have been, out of necessity, dependent on him following through on things he said he was gonna do. One way or the other, he has a lifetime track record of following through on these things. Other people think he’s got a lifetime track record that’s not so stellar.
But the point is, the facts are the facts. So here comes the governor of California with an opportunity to say to his constituents, to the people of California, “Yeah, I had a call with Trump — and, man, what a dunce. Oh, my God, are we in trouble! This guy doesn’t know what he’s doing. This guy told me things that are not possible. He lied through his teeth. All he cared about was how it was looking for him.”
Gavin Newsom could have said any of this, and he could have forced Trump to go out and say, “That wasn’t what we talked about.” He could have gained — he could have curried — tremendous favor with California Democrats. He could have been the star of MSNBC. He could have been the king of CNN. He could have been the most sought-after guest for late-night so-called comedy shows.
All he would have had to have said was, “Man, are we in trouble. I talked to this guy for a half hour, and he didn’t even know what coronavirus was. He thought we were talking about the beer — and he doesn’t drink beer, so he said he wasn’t worried about it.” He could have said anything he wanted. He could have continued to lie about Trump like he’s been lying about Trump.
This is my point. In order to curry political favor with the nutcases on his side of the aisle — the late-night comedy people, the CNN and MSNBC hosts, the New York Times writers and editorial board — Gavin Newsom could have been a hero! All he would have had to have done was say, “Yeah, we are in trouble. This guy hasn’t the slightest idea what to do.
“This guy doesn’t know coronavirus from flu virus. He doesn’t know diddly-squat. The only thing this guy cared about was how he was doing, how it was looking for him, what could he do to make it look better for him, how serious was it? He was asking me for help.” He coulda done that. That’s what Democrats do. He could have done that. What did he do? Play the sound bite again. Audio sound bite number 13. Three, two, one…
NEWSOM: He said, “We’re gonna do the right thing, and you have my support — all of our support — logistically and otherwise.” He said everything that I could have hoped for. And we had a very long conversation. And every single thing he said, they followed through on. Every single thing. His administration — and it starts at the top, including the vice president — has been consistent with the expectation that we repatriate these passengers and we do it in a way that does justice to the spirit that defines the best of our country and the state of California.
RUSH: Now, look at that. Let’s break it down. He said, “We’re gonna do the right thing. You have my support, all of our support, logistically and otherwise. He said everything I could have hoped for. We had a long conversation. Every single thing he said, they followed through on.” Now, some of you cynics might be saying, “Oh, my God, Trump caved!
“He’s talking to some leftist liberal governor and this guy’s asking for the moon and Trump gave it to him!” No. That’s not the way to interpret this. Trump is not the guy that had to make any moves here. Trump didn’t have to change who he is. Gavin Newsom had to totally change his tune about Donald Trump, and he did.
Now, folks, the point that I’m making here is that all of this crap that we’ve been hearing from Democrats and media about Trump for four years is just that. It is pure crap. They have known for four years that Trump is not the buffoon that they say he is. They’ve known for four years he didn’t collude with Russia. They’ve known for four years he didn’t do anything impeachable.
They’ve known for four years and three years and however many years that he has not broken any law. They’ve known it all, and yet they did all of that to try to get rid of him. But now when the pedal hits the metal — when the rubber hits the road, whatever — and Gavin Newsom has an opportunity to keep the ball rolling, what did he do?
Well, because this is serious, he had to give Trump his props. Now, do you think Gavin Newsom might be in trouble in California for this? Do you think Californians might call him a sellout? Do you think the late-night comedians might say, “We’re never gonna have this guy on! This guy just sold out! This guy just made Trump look like a great guy.”
Do you think CNN and MSNBC are gonna never want Gavin Newsom back on? Do you think in three weeks when the coronavirus is over, that Gavin Newsom will revert and go back to calling Trump a buffoon and an idiot? (interruption) Yes, yes, yes. You think Gavin Newsom, when this all passes, that’s when we’ll hear, “I didn’t really have confidence in this Trump guy. He’s dangerous.”
When we get close to the campaign, “Trump buffoon, Trump this and that”? Think he’ll do that? Again, my point is, they know that they’re lying about Trump. They’ve known it for four years. They know exactly who they’re dealing with.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
All right. A couple of sound bites here from President Trump. I told you I got the sense Gavin Newsom and others, I think we’re over the hump on this economic business with the coronavirus. I think we’re over the hump with the stock market. We’re not through with the rough edges here, but we’re not gonna become Wuhan, China, folks. We’re not gonna become Ground Zero on the equivalent of it.
Here is Trump today in Washington on Capitol Hill. He went over and met with Republicans in the Senate and then met the press afterwards, and we have a couple of sound bites. He’s asked by a member of the media, “Are you going to get tested?” Because he supposedly has come in contact with whoever had the virus at the CPAC conference or whatever. Here’s what his answer was.
THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think it’s a big deal. I would do it. I don’t feel any reason. I feel extremely good. I feel very good. But I guess it’s not a big deal to get tested and something I would do. But, again, I spoke to the White House doctor. Terrific guy, talented guy. He said he sees no reason to do it. There’s no symptoms, no anything. If there were, you people would be the first to know it. You would — you would maybe even tell me about it.
RUSH: Now, this answer is classic Trump. Permit me to analyze this answer. So you’ve got some sniveling-nosed little reporter, “Mr. President, Mr. President, you’ve come in contact with somebody at CPAC that had the virus. Are you gonna get tested?”
Translation: “Do you have it? We so hope you get sick. We want you getting sick. We want you getting the virus. It would be perfect. Do you have it? Are you gonna get tested?” That’s the question. Okay? So what’s Trump’s answer? “I would. I would. I don’t see any reason. I feel extremely good, feel very good. It’s not a big deal to get tested. It’s something I would do. I would do it. But again, the White House doctor — terrific guy, smart guy, smartest guy I’ve ever met, talented guy — says he sees no reason for it.”
Now, some people would say, “No, I’m not gonna get tested and screw you. I don’t need to get tested.” And so they would permit the reporting to be: “The defiant president, despite maybe being at risk, said he wasn’t going to get tested.” But here Trump says, “No, no, I feel fine. I have no objection to getting tested, if that’s what they want, but White House doctor — greatest guy, smartest guy you’ve ever met — says I don’t need to be.”
Trump has a technique. You ask him a question about something he doesn’t want to do, he’ll always tell you, “I’d love to do it. I’d love to do it. I got no problem doing it. But they’re telling me I don’t have to. They’re telling me I shouldn’t. I’ll say this. I’ll tell you this. I don’t mind doing it. But they tell me I shouldn’t do it, I don’t have to do it, so I’m not gonna do it. I feel great.”
This is a natural inclination. It’s a natural way of answering questions that he’s got that just shuts everything down. The president kept talking. Here’s the second half of this.
THE PRESIDENT: Just today, I have it inside, Governor Newsom, Gavin Newsom of California said tremendous — there’s an article just came out, I had it inside, I showed it to the senators and I showed them other articles too, where Governors, Democrat Governors are saying we’ve done a fantastic job. Gavin Newsom said there’s not a thing that he’s asked for that we weren’t able to get him.
Many Democratic governors have said that the task force and the federal government, what we’ve done, has been terrific. We’re prepared and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away, just stay calm. We want to protect our shipping industry, our cruise industry, we want to protect our airline industry, very important, but everybody has to be vigilant and has to be careful. But be calm. It’s really working out. And a lot of good things are going to happen.
RUSH: Be calm. Everything’s working out. And he cites Gavin Newsom and other Democrat governors say we’re following through on everything we said we were gonna do. You know, when that happens, when the governor of California, been one of the biggest thorns in your side, comes out and praises you to the hilt, what’s the media gonna do? Turn on the governor of California? They may at some point. You never know. But this is just the best advice. Stay calm. It’s all gonna work out. It’s gonna end. Everything does at some point.