RUSH: Hey, hey, how’s everybody? Great to have you with us. Big, big day here. I still say I will not be surprised if there is no debate tonight. I can’t say, “Well, I guess I was wrong,” because we still have nine hours to go. Anything can happen. And don’t think that they haven’t tried to get out of this. And don’t think that they’re not still trying to get out of this. I don’t care what anybody says.
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RUSH: Let’s talk about the debate, because already there are suggestions in the media that all Biden basically has to do is show up.
And if he manages to stay standing up through the entire hour and a half, then the media’s already saying, “There won’t even be a need for a second debate.” You can bet the Drive-Bys are gonna say, “He did well; there’s no need for any more debates. They’re a waste of time.” There are a bunch of rumors out there already circulating, ladies and gentlemen, about things that have been requested by both parties.
It’s kind of fascinating. You know, people said, “We want to examine the candidates’ ears.” Trump said, “Fine with me.” Biden camp said, “Ain’t no way. You’re not examining our ears.” Because people want to look if there are hidden devices in the ears that could be receiving devices, to be coached by people offstage. Biden would clearly benefit from something like that.
Of course Trump demanded there be a drug test. They’re at the Cleveland Clinic. Biden has refused to go along with the drug test. Biden has also asked for two breaks. Have you heard about this? Two breaks every half hour. One break after 30 minutes, another break after the next 30 minutes. Trump said, “No way! If you can’t stand up for 90 minutes, then you don’t deserve to be president.”
Two breaks! Now, I want to warn you: That could all be part of a massive setup. Who knows what…? Trump has alluded to the drug test because he’s convinced that Biden is gonna be given some drugs. I looked into this, by the way. You know, I asked yesterday, “What drugs would you give somebody if you wanted to make ’em look cogent and energetic for 90 minutes.
The answers I got were pretty universal. One was prednisone, which is steroid; the other is Adderall. Is that right, Adderall? For ADD. So these are the two drugs that I kept hearing if somebody needed a boost. And there are others that I guess… (interruption) Well… (laughing) “Cocaine.” No. Let’s not go there. Let’s not… (interruption) Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, the bottom line here is that the bar has been set very low for Biden.
And the media is basically saying all he’s gotta do is show up and if he shows up and if he lasts 90 minutes then he is the winner. We need to remember back in 2016, the media said Trump lost every debate during the GOP primaries. After every debate, we were told Trump had peaked and his campaign was over. Then after every debate in the general, the media told us Hillary mopped the floor with Trump.
Remember? (As if Hillary has ever mopped a floor with anything.) Guess what? The public refused to believe the media. In fact, I think when the public really began to realize how much the media lied about Trump was when he clearly smoked her in all of these debates, and there’s the media out saying, “Wow. Hillary Clinton was invincible tonight.”
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RUSH: folks, I gotta tell you something. I still think that the Biden campaign is gearing up to cancel tonight. Since I’m all-in on this, I’m not gonna start backtracking or hedging. I think everybody in the Biden campaign… Do you know they put a lid on the campaign again today at like 9 or 9:30 this morning, meaning they shut off all press access to Biden?
Meanwhile, Trump is out there available to anybody who wants him at any time for any reason. The last thing that Trump does is hide, particularly from the media. No matter what they’re accusing him of, no matter what hoax they are perpetrating — like this tax business. We’re gonna blow this up again on the program today. This is literally outrageous…
Well, not outrageous. It’s actually kind of funny. Because this tax story is a gigantic dud and a bomb for two reasons. One: Russia. The other: Stormy Daniels. They were actually looking for that Trump had paid her off somewhere in his tax returns. It’s silly! But I think that in the Biden camp, the plan always was, “Get up today and see how the guy is,” and go from there.
Well, I take that back. I think they’ve been looking for ways to get out of this the whole time. But since they haven’t yet… The thing that really makes me (sigh) think that they’re still trying to worm their way out of this is that Biden will not allow his ears to be checked for a hidden device. The fact that he will not agree to this is overwhelmingly stunning.
You know, this is a longtime conspiracy theory going way back. Both parties have had their day where their candidates have been accused. Remember, we’ve seen the close-up photos. “What is that in George W. Bush’s ear? What is that in George W. Bush’s nostril? What is that in George W. Bush’s eyelid?” We’ve had to deal with this.
So the idea is to put it to bed by having the test and saying, “Nah, there’s nothing in my ear.” Plugs will not agree to this? Why not nip it in the bud? Why not just get rid of this conspiracy? Have the examination. But he will not. I think it’s these kinds of things they’re gonna use to get out of this. “The dignity! I will not have my dignity impugned like this.”
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RUSH: Yeah, the rumors are starting now to leak out, to be reported. “Fox News has learned new details about debate negotiations between the Biden and Trump campaigns ahead of tonight’s debate. The Trump campaign wants the Biden campaign to allow a third party to inspect the ears of the debaters for electronic devices or transmitters. The president has consented to this,” obviously, “but Biden has not.”
“The Biden campaign requested two breaks (one every thirty minutes) during tonight’s program, which was denied by their Trump counterparts, in negotiations over the last several weeks. Leaked details reveal what both sides were thinking. The Trump camp wants to eliminate the possibility of cheating. The Biden camp doesn’t think their guy can get through the 90-minute debate without a couple of breaks.”
I mean, that’s how you have to look at this. Before Biden was known as a sleepy basement dweller, he was known for plagiarism. So… Why would…? I still say, “Why would Biden not consent to an exam of the ears?” ‘Cause this is a constant allegation. Every year, some conspiracy minded theory or kook brings this up, and there are pictures, and there are credible questions about it. And you could dispense with this, but the Biden camp will not go along with it.
Let me grab a quick call. Charlotte, North Carolina, there on line 2. This is Neil. I’m glad you called. Thanks, and welcome to the program.
CALLER: Thanks, Rush. Hey, listen. I think it’s a great idea. You know, Trump should just let it… If they want to have a 30-minute break, as soon as Wallace announces a break, Trump can jump in and say, “Oh, you know what? If he needs a rest, that’s fine. While he’s resting, you can ask me a couple more questions.”
RUSH: Well, but I don’t think that’s what would happen. If there are a couple of breaks, then they would leave. There would be no televising of what’s going on in the place, precisely to prevent something like that. But I get your thinking. I get your…
CALLER: (crosstalking)
RUSH: Trump could exploit it somehow.
CALLER: Yeah. He jumps in, you know, as soon as Trump says something, they’re gonna stop and throw the camera on him. So that’s what he should say.
RUSH: What do you mean, “If Trump says something, they’re gonna stop and…”?
CALLER: Well, when they’re coming up to the break, you know, Wallace is gonna have to announce it, that we’re taking a break, and as soon as he says that, Trump should jump in, the cameras will go to Trump, and he can go, “I know he needs a rest or whatever, but that’s fine.”
RUSH: Well, that’s entirely possibly that Trump would try to exploit it that way. Well, why do you think…? Just add to your premise. Why do you think that the Trump campaign said “no” to this?
CALLER: Well, I mean, because they want more time. You know, it’s gonna take away from the 90 minutes if they go to a five-minute commercial break that jumps (sic) it down, you know, another 10 minutes off. They want Biden out there as long as they can.
RUSH: I don’t think that’s it. I think the reason that Trump said “no” is to not give the guy a chance to take a rest or go backstage and get advice from handlers or to huddle with coaches or what have you, ’cause that’s clearly what would happen. I think Trump wants to pretty much say, “If you can’t stay up here for 90 minutes — if you can’t hang with me…
“If you can’t stand here for 90 minutes in a simple little debate — which it’s not even really a debate, it’s a glorified press conference — then you maybe have no business being president here.” I think this is Trump playing hardball. There’s no guarantee that they would allow Trump to exploit this, although Trump might not wait for opportunity to be allowed and just jump in and do it.
Anyway, Neil, I appreciate the call.
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RUSH: Look. Let me repeat a point that I’ve made repeatedly, including recently late last week, in terms of the Biden campaign putting a lid on the campaign every day at 9:30 o’clock, 10. Remember I told you about the effect that affects some people who are suffering from dementia. The sundowner effect. Something about when sunset happens, sundown happens, 8 o’clock at night, it has been noted that some patients suffering dementia or diminished mental acuity have it at its worst about sundown. And that’s why there is this term called sundowner or sundowning to describe it.
So I theorized that maybe what they have been doing at the Biden campaign is attempting to reprogram Plugs’ body clock. The debate’s at 9 o’clock tonight. That is roughly two hours after sunset now. Sunset, depending on where you are in the Eastern time zone, 7 to 7:15. The debate starts at 9. That is really late for anybody who is suffering from some kind of mental diminished capacity. It’s really late for Biden.
So if they can take these past two weeks and somehow reprogram his body clock and limit the impact of sundownerism or downtimerism or whatever the actual name is, that may be one of the reasons why they have been putting a lid on the campaign every morning at 9:30. I don’t know how successful something like that would be, reprogramming the body clock. But they’ve been at this for two weeks now with this business of putting a lid on the campaign at 9 o’clock, anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30 in the morning.
Daniel in Baltimore. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Hello, Rush. Let me just say, first of all, my sincerest wishes for you in your recovery.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: And I mean that, that’s a heartfelt wish very much. And thank you for taking my call. I believe there’s gonna be a debate tonight, but I don’t think there’s gonna be a winner in the traditional sense. And what I mean is it’s not gonna necessarily be Trump or Biden. I think the winner is gonna be Chris Wallace. And the reason I say that is I believe since Chris Wallace is deep state media, he’s probably already orchestrated it and choreographed the outcome with the Biden campaign, or shall I say a la Donna Brazile when she sent questions to the Hillary Clinton campaign during one of the debates.
And here’s something else I was thinking about. Like The Rock, ’cause you mentioned The Rock, when he performed for the WWE, Chris Wallace and Biden will perform a WWE-esque-like tag-team maneuver and a smack down of Trump. And the reason I say that is ’cause I noticed over the last several weeks, Biden has awakened, and he’s been very aggressive in his media comments about Trump.
And Chris Wallace — i.e., like I said previously, deep state media — has a reputation on his Sunday show ’cause I’ve watched him for a very long time, of being very aggressive and rude to his conservative guests. So Chris Wallace will be performing for his peers tonight in the media and the Never Trumpers. So that’s my take. So I say keep an eye on Chris Wallace and his overly aggressive style in conjunction with Biden teaming up and let’s see how it all washes out in the end.
RUSH: Now, do you think Trump is ready for this?
CALLER: Oh, yes, Trump is gonna be himself. I don’t care what advice your past callers have given as far as toning it down or anyone in the media or any one of political pundits, Trump is gonna be Trump. And he is gonna be able to detect the beat-down from Chris Wallace and Biden and he’s gonna know instinctively that’s their plan or their game plan, and he’s gonna be come out and he’s gonna be the Trump that we know and love and voted for.
RUSH: Just so I understand, you think Chris Wallace has conspired with the Biden campaign?
CALLER: I’m not a conspiracy — I guess I’m probably being a little bit more cynical than the actual, you know, meaning of that theory. I mean, I’m not saying I actually hold to it but, you know, I’m cynical because I know the deep state media and all this deep state intelligence and the deep state arena in general, I’m being a little cynical.
But I would not put it past Chris Wallace to do that because not only is he a Never Trumper, he hates Trump. He hates him. And like I said, he wants to perform. He wants to perform for his peers tonight. And I can just imagine the accolades and the emails and phone calls he’s gonna get after he puts on this performance tonight. So I say keep an eye on Chris Wallace and watch what Chris Wallace does and you’ll pretty much know what the outcome is going to be.
RUSH: Okay. Thank you, Daniel. Matt, Charlotte, North Carolina, you’re next. Hello. You want to add to this?
CALLER: Yeah, Rush. It’s an honor. Mega dittos. Mega prayers for many extra innings.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: Yeah, if you look back to 2012 and how Biden handled Paul Ryan relatively easy, he went out there, he had no substance, he’s never had any substance, but just his style, the optics of it and then he was declared the winner the next day. Ryan couldn’t get a word in edgewise. All Biden has to do is throw punches all night tonight.
RUSH: To do what? What do you mean that’s all he has to do?
CALLER: Just as soon as Trump is gonna land a blow, the same with Paul Ryan, Biden just interrupts him and he just starts throwing punches. And I think your last caller is right, that Chris Wallace is gonna aid in that, come to his rescue or what have you.
RUSH: Okay. Well, I appreciate the call.
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RUSH: All right. If there is a debate tonight, I will repeat my prediction from yesterday, and it is that Biden will answer not one substantive question or very few. I don’t care what Wallace asks him, Biden’s not gonna answer it. He’s gonna take — and this is what the coaching has been — every question he’s asked, whatever it is, his answer is gonna be to attack Trump on something.
And I think he’s going to follow Pelosi’s lead. Pelosi is saying that there shouldn’t even be a debate because Trump is such a reprobate, such a liar that he shouldn’t even be validated as president since he stole it with Russia and all that. Shouldn’t even be validated. She says that Biden shouldn’t do the debate because Trump is such a stranger to the truth, he has no fidelity to the truth, that he has no business even being given this position here.
I think Biden is gonna basically just take every occasion — it’s much easier to coach him on attacking Trump than it is to get him straight on policy-related things. Now, the way Biden dealt with Paul Ryan, that was an amazing thing to watch. Biden, after about an hour, I think began to feel sorry. He was wired and prepared for somebody that he didn’t get. I mean, Ryan was in full, 100 percent policy wonk mode. And Biden just went after him. It was brutal. Mean spirited. Didn’t care at all.
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RUSH: The plot thickens here, folks. Washington correspondent for the New York Post, Ebony Bowden (I’m not sure how it’s pronounced): “Joe Biden’s campaign agreed to an inspection for electronic earpieces at tonight’s debate several days ago but are now declining to go through with it,” according Ebony Bowden at the New York Post. So this, this is interesting.
“Joe Biden’s campaign agreed to an inspection for electronic earpieces at tonight’s debate several days ago but are now declining…” The inspection would have to be today, you see, and now they’re declining to go ahead with it. Now, this kind of… Who knows where this could lead? But this could lead to some sort of kerfuffle where the Biden campaign says (sniveling), “We just cannot go through with this tonight.
“There’s obviously some kind of chicanery going on. The Trump campaign is obviously added a wrench here into the gears and so forth.” We’ll have to wait and see here. But I don’t know. I just… I still can’t… In my heart of hearts, I just can’t see this thing happening tonight. I just can’t. I hope it does. There’s part of me that hopes it comes off just because of the curiosity factor here.
But, again, Ebony Bowden, New York Post: “Joe Biden’s campaign agreed to an inspection for electronic ear pieces at tonight’s debate several days ago but are now declining,” which means they agreed to it but now on the day of the debate, they’re “declining” to go through with the inspection. Why would that happen?
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RUSH: The Plugs campaign says that he’s not gonna wear an earpiece, and he did not ask for any breaks. This is Harris Faulkner moments ago on Fox News.
FAULKNER: Biden will not be wearing an earpiece tonight. He’s just said that. The campaign has, rather. And they’re saying they never asked for two breaks in the program, like after the first 30 minutes, after the second 30 minutes. The president saying earlier he doesn’t need a break, his campaign says he talks for 90 minutes in speeches all the time. Boy, this has gotten interesting.
RUSH: Wow. Boy, this has gotten interesting. So the Biden campaign denying they asked for breaks and Biden saying he will not be wearing an earpiece. Well, I hope not. Nobody’s allowed an earpiece at this thing. That’s what this all is about. Now, we’re told that Biden’s campaign agreed to no earpieces and to an examination, and we get to the day of the debate, and that they are denying the inspection. Not gonna participate in the inspection.
Anyway, back to the phones. John in Kabul, Afghanistan. We got somebody on the phone from halfway around the world. Great to have you on the program, sir.
CALLER: Hey, Rush. Many dittos. Speedy recovery. We love those Rush Revere books. They’re the best history books out there. We like them so much.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: We got the audio books too so we can hear your voice and tell the boys how to learn about history. But I want to keep this short. So I can’t agree with you more with your earlier statement that we shouldn’t give him any leeway. I mean, I don’t understand why you would give your opponent any breaks or any edge. Like, what’s next? Are we gonna bring ’em out some hot cocoa or a teleprompter, you know?
RUSH: Yeah, I know. I’m not aware of any request like this having been made before in a presidential debate. I can’t recall. But the Biden campaign now is denying that they’ve asked for this, John.
CALLER: Okay. Well, I was always trained to exploit and expose your opponent, you know, their weakness. Make this guy stand the whole time for 90 minutes. Why would you let him go take a 30-minute break? To repose?
RUSH: Well, look. This is one of the focal points here. Look. This issue of Biden’s mental ability is a factor because of Biden. Biden has demonstrated that he’s got some problems by virtue of many public appearances. He has lost his train of thought constantly. It’s happened frequently. It’s been highly noticeable. His campaign has acknowledged it in indirect ways.
So here comes a 90-minute debate. And one of the items of curiosity is, can the guy do it? Can he stand for 90 minutes? Can he handle rigorous questioning and back and forth with a candidate? Can he keep his train of thought, or can he not? Will he be able to appear coherent, cogent, and make sense? Unfortunately, this has become one of the many focal points of the debate tonight.
And it’s characteristics that nobody questions about Donald Trump. Nobody thinks he gonna lose his train of thought. Nobody thinks that there’s any mental deficiency there, in a medical sense. And so this focus of attention is all on Biden. So when the story leaks or is reported that he’s requested two breaks, it kind of feeds into the narrative that he may not be up for this. It’s why I have predicted that the debate’s not gonna happen. And I have not, as you well know, wavered from the prediction.
So this all exists as it does because Biden has brought us to this point. It’s not inhumane to be curious. It’s not mean-spirited because these things are relevant. We’re talking about the leader of the free world, the highest office in the world in terms of power. These are all legitimate questions that need to be answered.
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RUSH: Here’s Steve in Springfield, Massachusetts. You’re next, sir. Hello. Welcome to the program.
CALLER: Mega dittos, sir, and you’re in our hearts and prayers always, buddy.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: Anyway, I just don’t see Trump getting walked over in this debate. All the debates that I’ve seen Donald Trump in, he does not put up with being treated unfairly. He does not put up with the other person getting more time. He does not put up with the other person not answering questions. And I just don’t see any of this happening. Donald Trump is actually, from a psychological standpoint, he’s a good psychologist when it comes to analyzing his opponent’s weaknesses. He’s more of a psychologist than a politician.
RUSH: You know, you’re right on the money. I just want to urge you not to say all this stuff too loudly. You don’t want too many people hearing this.
CALLER: (laughing)
RUSH: Because you’re absolutely right. Why are so many people concerned that Trump is gonna get — like our first caller is convinced that Chris Wallace is working with the Biden campaign to screw Trump. It’s not gonna let that happen. If he even suspects that something like that happened he’s gonna call ’em out on it.
CALLER: Oh, yeah. Trump is not gonna be silent. When he was in the Republican primary the first time around with those 17 candidates, what he did was masterful. And I’ve seen him out-interrupt Jim Acosta, and if he can do that, Biden doesn’t stand a chance.
RUSH: Well, that’s another reason why I don’t believe this is gonna happen. But we’re getting closer to it, and the closer and gets and it’s not canceled, it looks like — it’s just a good thing I didn’t promise to eat something if I was wrong about this. Who knows what that would have been. But I didn’t. But you are so right. Joe Biden can’t hold a candle. He cannot. It’s not possible. Do you think — let me ask you this, Steve. Do you think Trump has to be careful that he doesn’t come across as mean-spirited to Plugs?
CALLER: Maybe slightly. But I think Trump’s been analyzing Joe Biden. And I’m telling you, Trump actually, he’s got the psychology of the debate down. He’s more of a psychiatrist than a politician. He really is. I mean, it’s masterful. He’s masterful to watch.
RUSH: Well, I agree. This is the kind of thing that they have the ability to know, and they ignore it. Or they refuse to acknowledge it because they’re so invested in Trump is a buffoon, Trump is bad orange man, Trump is this, he’s incompetent, he’s whatever he is, they just refuse, they just can’t even acknowledge between themselves that Trump has strengths, that Trump has immense qualifications and talent. They don’t even admit this to themselves.
Now, I asked you the question about whether or not Trump has to be careful. I don’t know how many Americans are aware of Joe Biden’s mental problems that are age related. Because the Drive-By Media doesn’t talk about it much. In fact, the media, whenever Biden has a good appearance with them, the media says, “What mental problem? You just saw that. He’s on top of his game. Joe Biden has no mental problem.”
So, if anything, the American people that only get their news from the mainstream media have no — you may find this hard to believe, but I’m telling you there are a lot of people that only read the New York Times or only watch CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC. Do not doubt me. And those people who don’t listen to this program or access any conservative media, they have no idea of this supposed problem Biden has.
So if Trump comes out and starts mocking Biden, “Hey, Sleepy Joe, so glad you delayed bedtime tonight, man. It’s great to see you. Can you go through the whole 90 minutes, or do we need to bring a bed out here for you?” If Trump does stuff like that… but I remember — and I want to call your attention to this again — back in 2012, the vice presidential debate was between Biden and Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan was Mitt Romney’s running mate. We were all excited. We thought Ryan — young, energetic, knew the issues — was gonna be able to take it to Biden, and it didn’t happen. In that debate, Biden was mean, he was disrespectful, he was accusatory, he was a classic, you know, Washington politician. He had no compassion whatsoever. He was not trying to be polite. He wasn’t trying to be respectful. He came out attacking Paul Ryan as a phony and as a deranged conservative, no compassion, didn’t care about people, and so forth.
And Ryan didn’t know what hit him. Ryan was sitting there, and he was in full policy wonk mode. He’s even got a piece of paper and a pencil. (imitating Ryan) “What we’re saying is, what we’re saying, what we’re trying to.” Then he’d go into the finer wonk points of Keynesian economic policy versus Burkean economic policy. People said, “What the is this?”
And even after a passage of time where it was obvious that Biden could dial it back, that he didn’t need to be this hard-hitting or disrespectful, he didn’t dial it back. The whole debate was this way. It was like Walter Mondale when they got him out of the archives to debate somebody. These guys — well, my point is, Biden did not get called out on it at all.
And he was mean-spirited. He was mocking Ryan. He was disrespectful. And the next day he was praised to the hilt for being a great debater. He was not criticized whatsoever. Now, the difference there is in the media, the media hates Paul Ryan, or did, and conservatives at the time. They were happy to see the shellacking. They won’t be happy to see Biden get shellacked. I’ll guarantee that you they’re scared to death of it.
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RUSH: Here’s Keith. Keith is in Finleyville, Pennsylvania. Great to have you with us, sir. Hello.
CALLER: Rush, it’s an honor to speak with you, just like Jesus, I can’t imagine life without you in it. Right to the point. You keep asking, folks, if Trump should go easy on Biden. It doesn’t matter what he does, the media’s gonna denigrate him no matter what he does. Why is it always the conservatives that have to bend from our beliefs and change our principles, but liberals can always walk in lockstep, voting with their principles and beliefs, and they never have to change. It’s always conservatives that leave their values and their viewpoints behind.
RUSH: Well, that’s a great question. And by the way, I don’t think Trump should moderate. I don’t think he should go easy. I don’t think he should change a damn thing. I was asking a caller that based on something else the caller had said. Your question about why is it always us, you know the answer to that is generations of branding. The mainstream media and the Democrat Party, the Washington establishment, deep state, whatever you want to call it, for years, for generations has portrayed conservatism as mean-spirited, racist, bigoted, homophobic, anti-woman, anti-black. You know the drill.
And for 50 years this has been the drill. And so many conservatives have thought that they need demonstrate it isn’t true, that they need to tell people they’re not all of these horrible things. But because the conventional wisdom and the branding has set in, it allows the Democrats to make these allegations. “Look. You guys have to dial it back.”
Whereas they are clean and pure as the wind-driven snow. They have all the compassion. They love people. They care about people. They don’t have to change anything. They’re not racists. They’re not sexists. They’re not bigots. They’re not homophobes. They’re all of that, but that’s not their image. It’s a great question, and I don’t think Trump should back off on Biden whatsoever. Don’t misunderstand me on that.