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Jan. 27, 2016 - Rush Limbaugh Program
36:55
January 27, 2016, Wednesday, Hour #1
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Welcome to today's edition of the Rush 24 7 podcast.
All right, here we are, folks.
You're tuned here to find out what the heck does it all mean?
What's really going on?
Why is all of this happening?
And you've come to the right place.
I am happy to provide for you my insight and analysis.
Rush Limbaugh, the EIB Network, here at 1800 282882, and the email address Lrushbow at EIBNet.com.
You know, I've been thinking about something since last night.
I saw Rudy Giuliani on Megan Kelly's show on Fox last night, and he was going on about how he is friendly with so many people involved in all this.
Doctor about the Republican uh nomination and then the various candidates.
And I know so many of them.
They're close friends.
And it got me to thinking this is exactly right.
It makes this challenging.
And I've even had uh get all kinds of criticism, which is which is fine, but some of it, you know, Rush, I don't know.
You you you you uh you've gonna know some of these people.
How do we know that you don't secretly prefer one over the other when you're not being upfront and honest about it?
Because you know these people, and I can understand people with that sentiment.
So let me run through this, because I have definite opinions about what is happening here, and I want to share them with you.
And I I it's tough, just to be flat out honest, it's very hard when you know everybody involved, and when you consider them friends.
Sometimes I tell you, it's it's much easier when you don't know.
I mean, you have no relationship, you have no personal friendship relationship with any of the people about whom you opine or comment, but in this case, that doesn't apply to me.
Let's start with Roger Ailes at Fox News.
Roger Ailes, I have known since 1990.
Roger Ailes is one of my closest, dearest friends.
We confide in each other in quite a lot.
We don't see each other as as much as we would like, but we communicate regularly, and I have endless respect and admiration for Roger Ailes, but it has not stopped me from being critical of certain things I see or hear on Fox.
And he's never once called me and said, Hey, what are you doing?
By the same token, I, as you well know, over the years have been criticized, sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly, by any number of people at Fox.
And I've never called Roger, and I said, Hey, what's going on?
I wouldn't think of it.
I wouldn't think of calling Roger.
Hey, would you get he stopped him from saying what he I've never it would never cross my mind?
And by the same token, he has never done anything like that here.
Megan Kelly.
Megan Kelly was at my wedding.
She has been in my home a couple of times.
Uh I I know her and her husband Doug, and I know of his efforts in writing novels.
I've read them, I've talked about them.
Uh I have uh intimate, profound respect for her career and what she's trying to do and how she's going about it.
Um Trump.
Uh I've I've known Donald Trump for years, and I like him.
I have never been angry at him.
I have laughed, I have been amazed.
I've had every reaction to Trump that you've had.
Some of it up close and personal.
I haven't divulged many of those stories.
It's nothing hyper super personal.
It's just I don't routinely speak out of school without without permission.
Ted Cruz.
I have broken bred with Ted Cruz.
I have uh been around him a number of times, like him immensely, am dazzled by his intellect and his commitment.
And his conservatism is unchallenged by anybody in this race.
Marco Rubio.
Ditto.
Marco Rubio has been here, as has Mitt Romney been here, as has Rand Paul been here, and And they have all opened up and been very honest with me, in some cases, off the record, which I always respect.
And I never even try to sneak off the record stuff into conversations about them.
And it works both ways.
And by the so with and the the who else?
Jeb Bush, the entire Bush family.
I can't I can't begin to tell you all of the things the Bush family made possible for me.
Trips to the White House.
I mean, I I don't care, folks, career aside, I have such reverence for this country.
I consider it an honor to be at the White House each and every time I've been there, and for whatever reason, and I always feel a sense of gratitude for whoever made it possible.
George W. Bush had me to the to the White House this final year in office on my birthday, the private lunch, which I've talked about before.
I in the presidential dining room off of the Oval Office with Ed Gillespie, and they had a special chocolate microphone cake that they that they brought out.
And there have been the White House Christmas parties, Lincoln Bedroom, George H. W. Bush.
I mean, I can't pretend these things have not happened.
And I have always considered myself to be uh well-mannered and polite and respectful.
Uh and and I I uh am appreciative of the graciousness and uh and then the opportunities that have been uh offered and presented to me by by a host of people uh that that I otherwise would not have been able to experience.
Uh look, I don't want to leave anybody out.
Dr. Carson uh uh met Ben Carson two or three times, interviewed him for the uh Limbaugh, the most widely read political newsletter in all of the United States, and uh Catherine has has been with Dr. Carson at a number of homeschool conventions where we feature the Rush Revere series and uh get to know that that group of people as we work with
people to try to make sure the proper history of this country is taught at the youngest ages to combat what's happening in the public school system and all the way up to the university level.
Uh I've I've known John Kasich since John Kasich used to come up to my office with Frank Lontz back at Two Penn Plaza to talk about strategy and messaging back when they were part of the uh Republican freshman class, 1994, 1995.
Uh Newt uh hosted dinners in his office at the Capitol when he was speaker with Mr. and Mrs. Buckley and me.
It became a yearly tradition for a few years to do dinner with that group at uh different location each year.
Uh Henry Kissinger, uh Mr. Buckley himself, uh members of his family, people at National Review, I've known since I started doing this program, over the American Spectator Bob Tyrrell, uh Brent Bozell and his crowd at the Media Research Center and uh and newsbusters, and there's not a one of them that is in any way approaching uh uh an enemy.
Uh I mean, some of the blogs, Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air, uh, I know Eric Erickson, who guest host this program, he was at Red State, and his lifelong dream was to guest host this program, which he's done, so now he's going into retirement.
Uh my point, look, I don't I don't want to leave anybody out.
Who else in the presidential field uh mention?
Chris Christie has called me enraged on on the phone.
Uh but I've I've I've been at a strategy planning session with Chris Christie and some of his supporters way, way back.
I can't mention some of the people that were there, but there are other Fox News people and so forth that I have met over the course of Britt Hume.
I mean, I uh Rick Santor, well, the Huckster I've not really met.
I've been the recipient of caustic phone calls from the Huckster.
Uh but I mean, who else?
Uh Dr. Krauthammer, uh met at Tony Snow's funeral for the for the first time.
And you know, you now, not all of these people are what I would call close friends that I'm in daily contact with.
Don't misunderstand.
But I know them.
And in some cases, some of them have been very critical of me on occasion over the years.
And vice versa.
But there's not a one of them who I consider a problem or an enemy, and there's not a one of them that I worry about if I have to be honest here about what I think.
And I guess the the best the best illustration would be Roger.
Fox News starts in 1990.
So Roger was the executive producer of my TV show from 1992 to 1996.
And we went through all kinds of wars and battles there.
And we've just we've stayed and remained extremely close friends.
Now, knowing that I know a lot of you watch Fox, and you've watched me get ripped over the colds, sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly.
But by guests, by Fox analysts, employees, or what have you.
Not once I wouldn't even dream of calling Rogers.
Hey, what's going on?
When you make those people, what was this for?
And by the same token.
I don't think he would have he has never called me.
So what do you what do you what are you beating up on Fox News for?
He's never done it.
There's a I don't know what you call it.
It's mutual respect or or uh professional understanding or what have you, but it's just understood that you you um everybody involved, you have to be honest what you really think, and you can't allow, and it's hard.
You can't allow personal knowledge, friendships, some cases relationships, to get in the way of what I consider to be honest commentary.
The reason I'm setting all this up, because this is this is this stuff that's happening here with Trump and Fox News and Megyn Kelly, I can't avoid discussing it.
And there's no sense in me coming here and trying to disguise what I really think.
And I have to tell you what I really think of what's going on here.
And it is something that I've I just I wanted to put all this out there and get it uh on the on the table that um this doesn't happen in a in a vacuum.
And it does involve talking about people that you know, that I know that I have uh gotten to know pretty well and that I like and respect, but sometimes they do things I don't understand.
It doesn't affect the friendship or relationship, at least far as I'm concerned.
People's degrees of sensitivity differ from person to person.
I, for example, couldn't care less what anybody says or writes about me, those that train left the station like 25 years ago.
But other people are hyper concerned about it.
And if you start taking things like that into account, you see, to me, folks, it's you.
And when in these three hours, it's all about you.
This program's done for you, not to protect, condemn, attack, shield any of these people that are the newsmakers that I happen to know.
Because at the end of the day, if you begin to doubt the honesty, veracity that I bring to this program in commentary, and if you don't trust it, then it doesn't do me any good.
So that's why the setup here.
Having having said all that, uh, let me take a break and we'll come back and establish what's really happening here with Trump and not doing the debate and the way that's been reacted to, what's really going on, is there an explanation for it?
Is it good or bad?
Does it hurt Trump?
Does it help Trump?
Does it hurt Fox News?
Does it help Fox News?
What does it mean for the other candidates?
What does it mean for people that are going to be on the stage tomorrow that Trump is, is Trump really not going to show up?
Could there be some last-minute faith-saving accord that is brought together, put together by some of the principles that we don't know?
All kinds of things here are possible.
We've got audio sound bites from across the media spectrum.
Some think, and many of the people who think Trump is doing genius things here are members of the drive-by media who work at CNN and the Washington Post who really don't like Fox News.
So everybody's opinion is out there, and you understand what their possible motivations are.
But there are basic elements of this that are what they are, despite what any opinion maker says or analyst says about them.
And like you, you know, I'm I'm still sifting through all of this and attempting to make some sense of it and explain it to myself in a satisfactory way, just as I'm going to attempt to do with you here.
So a brief time out.
I didn't start mentioning names.
Well, no, Snertley, I don't know everybody.
For example, I I I uh there are people running on the Republican side I haven't met, I don't think.
I've not met Carly.
I have not met Carly Fiorina.
I have I have played golf next to Carly Fiorina's house in Hawaii, but I didn't know that if she was there or not.
I've waved.
I say, Carly!
Rush Limboy, as I drive the carpet like the 18th hole, I think, somewhere, big island.
I have, oh, I've had many sit-downs with Lindsay Gramnesty.
Uh George Pataki asked me for one of my ties back in the old TV show days.
So it's, I mean, I and that there's there's none of them, folks.
Some of them I support, some of them I don't for elective office for president, but I don't dislike any of them.
And even if I did, it it wouldn't and shouldn't impact influence.
No, I'm not making excuses for it.
What do you mean making excuses?
No, no, no, no.
I'm just, I'm I'm I'm trying to explain what what follows this is objective, is what I'm trying to tell you.
Let me take a break.
We'll come back and continue after this.
Do not go away.
You're guiding light through times of trouble, confusion, murkiness, tumult, and despair.
Rush Limbaugh here behind the golden EIB microphone.
Okay, where are we on the on the on the situation here with Trump and the debate?
So far, Trump says he's not showing up.
He claims he's not showing up because Meghan Kelly is going to continue to be a moderator.
And if you believe that, I can give you substantive reasons.
And it's all in the art of the deal.
Trump is not that hard to understand if you pay attention to him and read his books.
In the art of the deal, one of the things that he makes a huge deal about is being able to know when to walk away and having the guts and the courage to do it.
Trump is so far outside the formula that has been established for American politics that people who are inside the formula can't comprehend it.
They don't understand why somebody would want to venture so far outside it, because it is what it is, and there's a ladder of success that you have to climb.
And somebody challenging it like this in more ways than one, as Trump is doing, is just got everybody experiencing every kind of emotion you can.
They're angry, they are flabbergasted, they're shocked, they're stunned.
And all of it because he's leading.
Everything he's doing goes against the book.
Everything that any analyst or consultant or professional would tell you not to do.
Donald Trump is doing it, and he's leading the pack.
This creates its own set of emotions and feelings, thoughts, that run from person to person.
The political business, if you want to look at it that way, is like any other business.
It has its people who are considered the elites in it.
And like any business, they hate outsiders.
They don't want outsiders just storming in, trying to take over, and much less Succeeding at it.
Like any group of elites, they're exclusionary.
They want to keep people out.
They want to be in charge of who gets in the club.
They want to be in charge of who's allowed to rise or climb the ladder in the club.
Politics is no different.
And all of those determinations are made by who gets money and who doesn't.
But Trump is functioning totally outside this structure that has existed for decades.
And as such, the people who are only familiar with the structure and believe in it and cherish it and want to protect it feel threatened in ways that you can't even comprehend.
So that leads them to try to figure out how is all this working for Trump.
Why do his followers grow?
Why does his support expand every time he busts a rule wide open?
Don't go away.
Back in a minute.
And the cutting edge, El Rushbow, Rush Limbaugh, the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies.
Yes.
Probably isn't necessary, but let me again say that whatever I say today about this or anything else today is not coming from a position of support for any candidate or opposition to any candidate.
So whatever I happen to say about what I think of Trump, skipping the debate, the reaction to it, it's not rooted in, and don't even consider that it's rooted in the fact that you think I might be doing it in support of Trump or in opposition to Trump or support of Cruz or anybody else.
It's none of that.
You've heard the phrase the game.
Every business has aspects of it that are considered the game, and that's the routine.
And the game is characterized by everybody knowing the rules of the game.
And people involved in it play by the rules.
Some venture outside now and then, but the rules pretty much of the game are adhered to because it's a matter of respect for the game in which everybody's in.
And in this business, one of the games is that when the media calls, you answer.
And when the media wants you, you go.
And when the media is going to host a debate, and it's part of a Republican presidential campaign, you go.
You just do it.
No matter what the media's done to you in the past, no matter what you think of it, no matter whether you want to go or you go.
That's the game.
Trump is so far outside this game, he's so far outside the rules.
He's never been a player in this game.
He's always been an outsider.
I've heard people on Fox last night talk about this.
Who does he think he is?
He can't control the media.
I got news for you.
He is controlling the media, and it's his objective.
He is controlling the media.
He controls the media when he's not on it.
He controls the media when he is on it.
He controls the media when he's asleep.
Nobody else has been able to do anything like this short of the Kennedys and their pikers compared to the way Trump is doing this.
Now it's very simple.
If you read the art of the deal, or if you know Donald Trump at all, it's very simple.
He had an unpleasant experience in the first debate.
And in his mind, the question that he was asked was rigged.
Don't forget.
Before that first debate, remember all of the news stories that were floating around saying that that debate, somebody at Fox had been given orders by the Republican establishment to take Trump out.
Remember that?
There were any number of so-called sources for this.
Some said it was the donors demanding it.
Some said that it was Fox News executives demanding it.
Some said it was the RNC demanding, but the news was, well, Trump's not immune.
He hears it.
And even if he hadn't heard it, he would have to know that they want to take him out.
He's outside the game.
He's breaking all the rules.
He's exposing so much as fraud that has gone on inside the American political process for so I can't allow somebody like this to win and succeed.
It's quite natural they would want to take him out as well.
Politics, it's Bingle Steelers time here, folks.
It's quite natural they'd want to take.
Well, he heard it.
Here comes Meghan Kelly's first question.
He didn't hear anybody else get a question like that.
He never sees Hillary Clinton get a question like that.
He never hears Bill Clinton or any other Democrat get a question like that.
So he answers it and he says, screw this.
I'm not putting myself in that position again.
Why should I?
I don't have to.
But the rules of the game say when there's a debate, you show up, screw the rules, he's saying.
Why should I willingly give them another shot at me?
In a circumstance they control, why should I do it?
What's the sense in it for me?
I'm leading.
I'm running the pack here.
Why in the world should I put myself in that circumstance?
I've already seen what's going to happen.
I don't think it's any more complicated than that.
It might be, I mean, there could be some personal things going on here that I don't know about.
But just in a in a from the standpoint of knowing Trump, reading his book, and seeing how he operates elsewhere, in his mind, screw the rules, screw what's expected, screw this is just the way you do it.
I'm not going to put myself in a position again where I'm going to be treated unfairly.
I don't have to.
I'm Donald Trump.
Anyone can do this.
Ted Cruz could choose to do it if he wants to.
They just don't.
Cruz and the rest of the pack are playing the rules of the game.
Trump is saying, I don't have to do it, I don't want to do it.
I don't have any respect for these people.
What the hell?
In addition to that, Donald Trump knows that by not showing up, he's owning the entire event.
Some guy not even present will end up owning the entire event.
And the proof of that is Fox News last night.
I have to tell you, folks, this is this is where this gets tough for me.
I was stunned watching Fox News last night.
Fox News was acting like they had been jilted at the altar.
If it had been me, and this is easy to say, if it had been me, and Donald Trump makes a big to-do about not showing up the debate, report the story and move on.
Talk about Ted Cruz, go talk about the other candidates, go talk about Hillary and the FBI.
There's a lot of news out there.
But don't devote the rest of the night to how a candidate's not showing up because of you.
I mean the network, not just Meghan Kelly.
Then they bring in the analysts to analyze what it all means.
And I'm just, I'm watching this and I'm I'm really, it's very hard for me to say here.
I'm stunned watching this.
Because everybody has to know, everybody that's involved has to know that this is exactly one of the things Trump is hoping to achieve.
And then bringing Michael Moore on late in that program to mock Trump.
Look, I I I understand the warfare that has been established here.
If you look at some of the things that Trump's campaign spokesman, Corey Lewandowski has said, if you read between the lines, it looks like what really has ticked him off over Trump Central is the mocking of Trump in the official PR statements that Fox has released,
making fun of well, they're going to call Putin, they're going to call Ayatollah and Ayatollah and Putin, whatever.
It was, I think that might have been the nail in the coffin, as opposed to any lack of desire to face Meghan Kelly.
But here's, folks, and one other thing about this.
If I heard it once last night, I've heard it a thousand times since that Trump is afraid of Meghan Kelly or afraid of Fox.
That is not what this is.
What there is here, my opinion, is a desire to control this.
And a purposeful decision to not put himself in a circumstance where other people want to make him look bad.
In his mind, that's a dumb thing to do.
You don't put yourself in a circumstance where a whole bunch of other people are going to be able to make you look bad while you're there.
And if they do it while you're not around, that's another thing.
You can counterprogram it, you can uh do whatever, but you don't have to put yourself in a circumstance where you have to personally deal with it as a sign of disrespect or somebody else trying to notch their belt.
It really isn't any more complicated than that.
Now Trump's out there talking about how they're desperate to have him because high ratings mean a lot of advertising revenue.
Lower ratings means lower advertising revenue because Fox has to charge less.
They were hoping to get $750,000 a minute, I heard, and they may be down to $150,000 a minute if Trump isn't there.
I mean, these are samples of kind of the things uh going around.
Now, should Trump be there or not, should should that's a whole other question.
Is Trump right in avoiding some place that makes him look bad or has the potential to make him look bad?
Is it a smart move?
Is it a bad move?
Well, is it a smart move in terms of Iowa?
I heard last night this is another thing.
I'm sorry, I went in one of in one ear and out the other.
You know, people of Iowa are not gonna like the people of Iowa.
People of Iowa, they're not gonna take it very well.
A guy purposely avoiding them.
That's what Trump's doing.
He's avoiding the people of Iowa.
People of Iowa, he's not avoiding the people.
Come on, he's not avoiding the people of Iowa.
He's all over Iowa.
A guy who does more TV and radio than any other candidate out there.
So I don't think there's fear, and I don't think it's disrespect for the people of Iowa.
It is simple.
This is what it looks like.
When some guy stands up to the rules in the game and says, screw yours, I'm looking out for me first.
That's all this is.
And you can say whatever you want, but I am not dumb.
I'm not gonna give you the gun and the bullet and stand still.
You want to hit me?
Come get me.
But I'm not gonna put myself in your line of fire.
That's what he's doing.
If you ask me, quick time out, we'll be back.
Don't go away.
Before we get to the phones here, real quickly, and we've just scratched the surface on this.
There's a lot to add to this because there's news elements now that it add to it.
But I routinely am asked in the email by people on uh in the audience, why don't you do more TV?
You're never on TV.
And there's an answer for that.
I don't want to.
And the reason I don't why why would I go someplace where I know exactly what's whatever they tell me they want to talk to me about, I know it's not gonna be that.
Why would I go someplace that I know doesn't support me, doesn't like me, disagrees with me, would love to embarrass me or damage my credit.
Why should I do that?
I have no desire.
But the rules say you're a camera, TV, you gotta go on to No, I don't need it, I don't want it, I don't like it.
And I certainly don't want to reward the people who have been spreading misquotes, lies for years.
Why should I help them?
That's me personally.
That's why I don't do a whole lot of TV.
Folks, you would you would you wouldn't believe the number of times a week that we turn down invitations here.
Uh I just I don't mention it because there's never been a reason to, but it's appropriate now to tell you since I get questions about it anyway.
It's all about not rewarding people who I know do not have my best interest in heart, who I know have no interest in anything other than notching their belt.
Why help them?
Especially when I don't like doing makeup anyway.
So for me, it's a no-brainer.
And it's also easy.
I don't Have to go on TV to be seen or heard.
So I'm fortunate in that regard.
A lot of people, the only way they can be seen or her is to go on TV.
And they end up loving it and so forth.
It's never captivated me.
Anyway, to the phones.
I want to get started on phones early here because people I know have their own uh thoughts and questions.
We're going to start with Peter in Seattle.
Thanks for calling, sir.
You're up first, and hello.
Thank you, Rush.
It's wonderful to talk to you on daily today.
It's always I'm always excited to hear your guidance and your view on things.
Thank you, sir, very much.
My view is basically that Megan Kelly needs to step out of the way of this story.
We're talking about the presidential race, leadership of this country.
If any somebody needs to be able to take a shot at Trump, it's Cruz and the other candidates.
Megan had her chance in the first debate.
I don't believe she laid a glove on him.
She may want to rematch, but Trump's the champ, and the card is the other candidates.
Okay, so you're serious?
You you you think that Megan for on what basis?
For what reason should Megan say, I guess you're saying she should announce that she is removing herself from the moderator's table and maybe that would be a very journalistically ethical thing to do.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
That would oh.
Now, look, let's let's construct a scenario here.
Let's let's put your idea together in an actual hypothetical.
Okay.
Let's just examine it.
Let's say later today, Fox News and Megan Kelly jointly announce that in the interests of the country, in the interests of the Republican presidential contest,
that she is taking the great move of removing herself because she doesn't want to be the reason the people of Iowa are not permitted an opportunity to see one of the candidates.
Can you see something like that happen?
There's there is just no way anything like this this is the rules of this game I'm talking about.
Folks, the media run this game.
The media are never to blame for anything that goes wrong.
They get they have total immunity where this all is concerned.
The media, in their minds and the way everybody plays the game, you have to go through the media to get where you want to go if you are in politics.
You have to, and you have to bite your lip along the way.
And if you don't, then you have made a perpetual enemy of people, as goes the saying who buy ink by the barrel.
In this case, cable news, airwaves by the minute, whatever the analogy would be.
Uh the media does not look at themselves as an obstacle.
The media looks at themselves as part of the obstacle course anybody has to pass in order to get where they want to go in politics.
And Trump is saying, I don't like those rights.
Who says I have to go through you?
Who says I have to look good according to what you say?
Who says I have to get to the American people through you?
Why can't I just do my own event by my own microphone, my own camera, my own time, and talk to the American people without you?
Seems to me a lot more efficient, and more importantly, I control it.
And I don't have to deal with people maybe misrepresenting me or putting me in a bad light.
The other players in the game who have always abided by these rules are shocked and dismayed that somebody would mock the game this way and upset it like this.
This cannot stand and so forth.
But no journalist is ever going to take themselves out.
I don't think they should, by the way.
That you might consider it to be super patriots.
But don't forget one of my favorite journalism stories of all time, Bernard Shaw, was in the Al Rashid Hotel during the first Gulf War.
It was one of our targets.
He got out of there.
U.S. military got Bernard Shaw out.
When he got home, the U.S. military wanted to debrief him to find out what he had seen about the enemy.
And he said, I refuse.
I'm not, I'm not, I that would ch that would compromise my journalistic ethics.
What do you mean journalists?
Well, I can't I can't help one side over another.
What is your own country in a war for crying out?
Sorry, I cannot help.
Not even realizing that it's his own country's constitution permitting him to do what he's doing.
But he couldn't compromise his ethics to help his own country.
I've never forgotten it.
No, no, I know the guy from Seattle, Peter.
His point was that journalists should not be the story.
Hey, folks, that ship sailed long ago back with Dan Radder and Sam Donaldson.
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