Rush Transcripts...Jan. 27th 2020

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https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/


Is Our Government Doing Anything to Stop the ChiCom Virus?

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Okay. Before we start, I’m gonna tell you that I know what you want from me today. I know exactly. But this why I’m who I am. I have empathy. I am able to meet and surpass all audience expectations every day. I know what you want from me. You want me to be able to make you able to rest assured that this Bolton thing is no big deal. Right? That’s what you want — and guess what? I’m gonna do my best to do that, ’cause I think I can — that and a whole bunch of other stuff, just rolled into one.

In fact, this virus from the ChiComs? I am seriously wondering, with all of this that’s happening out there, this impeachment, is this government doing enough? Is it focused enough to actually protect the country? The stock market, last I looked before the program began, every stock is down for the most part. It’s the market overall. The DJI was down 300 points. I don’t see where we’ve put any ban on Chinese passengers being permitted into the country.

This is a serious thing that could be brewing out there. It’s just a question, but I’m asking.

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The Terrible Media Coverage of the Kobe Bryant Tragedy

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Let’s start with the Kobe Bryant story, because that’s a devastating thing, it’s a horrible story. And, just as an aside, the media reporting on this has been absolutely horrible, from just the facts standpoint, and you can trace the problem of this back to Twitter. Twitter is a national sewer, and it’s where everybody goes to try to be a journalist, to be the first to tell this or that. So many errors in the original reporting are showing up on Twitter and then magically get repeated by Drive-By journalists.

First reports had Kobe and his wife and their kids on board the helicopter. Just one mistake after another, and it doesn’t further any purpose other than creating clicks on links, creating traffic, retweets. It’s just captures, I think, the entire problem. You look at Bolton, for example. Who’s the source? What’s the source for this? The New York Times. The New York Times got nothing right about collusion, the Russia collusion with Trump story. The New York Times has a track record as flimsy as anything.

Look at the timing before this happened and that’s where the Kobe story is a little bit relevant. You know, the Drive-By Media… It’s understandable, a lot of people are torn up about the death of Kobe Bryant, and who could blame ’em? It’s a shock. You’re driving around, you’re playing golf, whatever you do. You hear the news, and it just brings you up short, you can’t believe it. But you look everywhere in the Drive-By Media outside Washington, and that is the story, understandably so.

As an aside, when time has passed and a little bit of the emotion of this has waned, I just want to give you a little heads-up and a prediction when people are gonna finally get to, “What happened, why did it happen, how did it happen?” Keep your focus on the difference between IFR (instrument flight rules) and VFR (visual flight rules). You will probably find the explanation for this accident somewhere within those two parameters, and I don’t…

Look, I could tell you what I think about it, but I’m not gonna make the mistake the Drive-By Media did. Until it’s known, I’m not gonna sit here and speculate about what might have happened, other than we know that the helicopter pilot chose to fly VFR in fog and very low visibility instead of IFR, instrument flights. When you’re flying IFR, you file a flight plan and they track you, ATC tracks you. Your transponder is on; they can follow you. The Kobe helicopter got a message from ATC (summarized), “You’re too low. We can’t follow you on radar. We don’t see your blip.”

So they never got sufficient altitude to get over the mountains in the Calabasas area where they were going. So it’s gonna be IFR versus VFR. They were very experienced pilots. It’s a gigantic mystery. But the point is, this story — as far as the majority of Americans are concerned are — has totally overwhelmed this magically, mystically, perfectly timed on John Bolton’s book

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Perfectly Timed Bolton Leak Follows Old Playbook

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Right on schedule, Mitt Romney goes to the microphone. “Hey, you know what? I saw this Bolton business, and I just want everybody to know that I am ready today to step in and be president.” Well, that’s what Romney’s doing. “I’ll be able to do it. I’ll step in. If anybody wants me to be president, I’ll go there today. Whatever it takes for me to get there, if that’s what you want me to do, I’ll do it.” That’s how you translate what Romney is saying about witnesses.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Notice the timing of this leak. This book has been in the vetting process for two to three weeks now — and, by the way, do you know whose vetting it at the National Security Council?

If you write a book like this and you’re part of the Security Council, National Security Council apparatus, you have to submit this to the National Security Council for vetting before it can be send to the publisher. They have to clear it to make sure no national security secrets or violations are being written about and published. Alexander Vindman’s brother, Yevgeny Vindman, is the guy vetting Bolton’s book!

Isn’t it just magical that on the very day after the Trump defense team decimates the House managers’ case, the very next day here comes this leak from the New York Times about what Trump told Bolton supposedly that he didn’t want to do? What remains amazing is the leak supposedly is that Trump told Bolton that he didn’t want to release any aid to Ukraine until Ukraine turned over him material related to investigations. That’s from the Maggie Haberman tweet. “New York Times scoop:

“Bolton book draft circulated to associates and sent to White House for review process describes a conversation with the president where he says he doesn’t want to release withheld aid ’til Ukraine…” Doesn’t want to? Well, you know, I don’t want to go the dentist, but I do it, and I’ll tell everybody the day I have to go, “Damn, I don’t want to do!” If I’ve got a meeting after the program that I don’t want to take — ask the people here — I’ll whine and moan and say, “God, I really don’t want to do this. Oh, I wish I had not scheduled it.”

But I take the meeting and I go to the dentist. So Trump supposedly tells Bolton that he doesn’t want to release aid. But he did. The aid got released. It was more than Ukraine thought they were gonna get, and it included Javelin missiles, and Trump got nothing for it. (laughs) There was no investigation! So we’ve got Bolton here saying that Trump supposedly… The leak is Bolton book says Trump told him that he didn’t want to release aid. The leak cannot be that Trump didn’t release aid because the aid was released!

Ukraine got it, and the Democrats making this case have always tried to make criminal what they claim were Trump’s desires or Trump’s thoughts or what he really intended or hoped to do. And they have ignored the fact that all of these supposed criminal thoughts that Trump had never prevailed. Ukraine got their aid. It’s also understandable that Trump… You know, Ted Cruz has got a podcast. Everybody’s got a podcast. If you can’t get a radio show, you get a podcast, and Ted Cruz has got a podcast out there.

He said (summarized), “You know, I think these House managers ought to stop focusing on a simple acquittal and they need to make tracks and they need to go at this on the offense, and thing that the Trump defense team needs to do is make it plain. Establish that it is perfectly legal for a president of the United States to investigate corruption in a foreign country that involves American citizens,” and I agree with Cruz. I think this is one of the things…

I hope the Trump legal team makes this point. There’s nothing criminal about wanting a corruption-free government with whom we’re doing business in an ally, and there’s nothing criminal about wanting to find out if American government officials have been engaging in corruption in a particular foreign government that is an ally. So I think what we have here… I know a lot of people say, “But, Rush, Romney hasn’t spoken up and denied this yet.” No. Not Romney, but Bolton. “Bolton hasn’t spoken up and denied this yet.”

No, he hasn’t. Bolton is an interesting figure. It remains to be seen if all this is true. But again, the point is that even this scoop, this gigantic leak talks about what Trump said he wanted to do, and it’s overridden by the fact that he didn’t do it. He didn’t withhold the aid. He didn’t get the investigation. So how in the world can there be anything criminal in what somebody wants to do versus what they end up doing? Particularly if there’s no illegality involved, if there’s no criminality, and if there isn’t an impeachable offense.

So let’s go through some of the timeline here. We have the very sad and unfortunate Kobe Bryant death and crash, and the Drive-By Media is distraught for a number of reasons, among them that the news coverage of that crash totally overwhelms what they thought would be a 24/7, laser-like focus on the Bolton leak. What they’re missing is the American people don’t care about this. Did you see David Axelrod? He’s one of the guys that got Obama elected. He’s gotta PAC. He’s got a political action committee, some sort of organization in Chicago.

They had a focus group over the weekend. They got some Democrats from Cook County in there, started doing a focus group, and they purposeful didn’t bring up impeachment. They waited to see how long Democrats in an Axelrod focus group would bring it up. Eighty minutes! It was an hour and 20 minutes before Cook County Democrats even bothered to bring up impeachment. It’s not on anybody’s mind — ad I’ll tell you something else that’s not on anybody’s mind is John Bolton. Most people don’t know who he is, especially with all the coverage of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash.

But even before that, when Bolton’s name was in the media, they hated him! They despised Bolton. I’m gonna be reminding you with exact details as the program unfolds. We made this point last September on this program, and of course it ended up being highlighted at RushLimbaugh.com. They hated Bolton’s mustache, folks! They hated Bolton because they thought he mistreated women. He was a bully in the workplace.

Whenever any Republican wanted John Bolton in the ambassadorial service or anywhere in the national security apparatus, the Democrat Party went literally bat crazy because they hated the guy, and they hated the guy because he was a hawk. They hated the guy because he was aligned with the neocons. The neocons are always wanted the U.S. extended militarily in outposts all over the world, predominantly in the Middle East, and Bolton was one of these guys that was in favor of it — and of course, he didn’t get that accuse foreign policy with Trump.

Trump is trying to extricate the United States from affairs and military entanglements like this, and Bolton left in a huff. He was ticked off about things. I have to also say this. I’ve had dinner with John Bolton a couple times. I’ve met him two or three times, and if this passage in the book is true, and this is actually what he’s intending, it’s not the John Bolton I thought I knew, this kind of disloyalty. You may say, “Well, Rush, it’s not disloyal. He’s simply telling the truth. The president didn’t want to…”

Yeah, but it is disloyal. But again, folks, I have to backtrack here. Doesn’t this seem strangely like the Kavanaugh hearings? We’re on the verge of Kavanaugh getting confirmed, and all of a sudden here comes Christine Blasey Ford and her story, and that begets Michael Avenatti and his story and then a whole bunch of stuff that delays the confirmation, prolongs the hearings, a demand for FBI investigations. Lo and behold, here we are.

The House managers have blown it. Nobody’s watching. Not a single Republican’s on the verge of voting for witnesses. And bammo! We get a leak to the New York Times from the manuscript of Bolton’s book, and it looks like Vindman’s — O say can you see — brother Yevgeny is in the vetting apparatus, the vetting procedure, and all of a sudden now (sputtering), “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! We need to call Bolton! We gotta call Bolton! Look — look — look what — what this Times story says!” Bolton hasn’t said it. It’s supposedly in the book.

We’re relying on the New York Times for accuracy when they have no claim to that anymore. Two years minimum, lying day after day after day about Trump-Russia collusion — and, by the way, those lies have continued on every other adjunct. We’ve had the New York Times going all-in on every Democrat allegation. If Bolton was such gold, why didn’t Schiff call him? Why didn’t they do their due diligence? Why didn’t they take their time and call Bolton? Well, we know why. Because there would be an executive privilege fight, and it would delay it in the courts, and they had to get this done for the purposes of the 2020 campaign.

It looks to me like we almost have a replay, an exact rehash of the Kavanaugh situation when he was on the verge of being confirmed. Here we are at this trial, after the first day of the president’s team just destroying the Democrat House managers’ whole case — they did it in two hours on Saturday — and then the next day we’ve got this, when all the Democrats have been caterwauling about is, “We need witnesses! The Senate needs to open it up to witnesses,” and so forth. Now all of a sudden, at the very last moment, we’re getting a recycling of a previous Democrat quasi October Surprise-type operation.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: On the cutting edge of societal evolution. What that means is if you’re here every day, you’ll be way ahead of the game. You’ll know what’s important before it becomes important, and you’ll know what to think about it when it becomes important.

Now, Sean Davis — and there’s a bunch of these guys I follow, and I sometimes get confused where they work. I think Sean Davis works at The Federalist, but it might be American Greatness or it might be Breitbart or it might be the Daily Caller. I don’t know where. I think it’s the Federalist. His tweet is this: “John Bolton is running the exact same revenge playbook against Trump that James Comey used.

“He’s even using the same agent and leaking to the same reporters,” Maggie Haberman at the New York Times. “All because he’s mad Trump fired him for leaking and trying to start new wars,” and, as Sean Davis says here, “It’s so boring and predictable.” Bolton’s attorney, Charles Cooper, said, “It is clear, regrettably, from the New York Times article published [on Sunday] that the prepublication review process has been corrupted and that information has been disclosed by persons other than those properly involved …”

Pfft! (chuckles) Big reveal there, buddy! The process? You mean journalism has been corrupted? Really? Who knew! When did this happen, Mr. Cooper? But it is. It’s the same revenge playbook, the same thing Comey did. It’s the same thing they tried to do to Clarence Thomas. It’s the same thing they did with Kavanaugh — and remember, it’s all about what Trump said he wanted to do (chuckling), because they can’t say that Trump withheld the aid. They can’t say that Ukraine didn’t get what they wanted. It’s absurd, all of it is.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: By the way, I want to make one point here. The New York Times is admitting… It says here they’re “saying,” but they’re not saying. They’re admitting. The New York Times is admitting they have not seen the Bolton transcript, and yet they run a story based on what it says. They’ve not seen the Bolton book!

They’ve just been told about it by anonymous sources. What if it’s an abject lie? What if whoever is doing this is knowingly lying, knowing they’re gonna get two or three days out of it — and maybe even a vote on witnesses — and then at some point when the book comes out in March, it’s gonna be learned or discover that it’s not true? Big deal! That’s also the history. “Trump colluded with Russia. He’s a traitor. He stole the election.” Two years later. “Eh! No evidence. Can’t find it.”

Now we move on to something else that Trump supposedly did: The phone call with the Ukraine president. It’s the same pattern! It’s like every leak for two years on Trump-Russia collusion — and every story had a line buried in the story, “As of now, there is no evidence substantiating this claim, but, but, but,” blah, blah, blah. So the New York Times admits they have not seen the actual Bolton manuscript.

They’ve just been told about it by anonymous sources. We know that Vindman’s brother is in the vetting process. He’s on the staff of the NSC that vets books like this. See, this way if their story turns out to be completely false — if it’s a total lie — they can say, “It wasn’t us! It wasn’t us! That’s what we were told,” and that’s how they’ve been getting out of every lie for the past three years. “Well, our sources told us…” Let me go to the phones. This is Wantagh, Long Island. Ileana, great to have you on the program. Hello.

CALLER: Hello, Rush. Everything that you just said while I was waiting to speak to you and I was listening to you, what you were saying, was 100% correct. I called because I’m just so frustrated and so fed up. This is so predictable. Every time the Democrats realize that they’re losing, we get these bombshells, you know? It happens to be the New York Times this time. But what I don’t understand is why there is an assumption that because John Bolton writes a book or testifies at the hearing, that there is any truth or substance to his words. It is his word against the president’s, and I believe President Trump.

RUSH: Well —

CALLER: And I believe the only witness, which is the transcript!

RUSH: It doesn’t matter. They hate Bolton. They’ve despised Bolton. But Trump is a bigger enemy. So here it’s not about who believes who. It’s that they hate Trump, and somebody’s come along and… We don’t even know how this all happened. It’s… Look, this isn’t journalism. This is Democrat Party activism — and you’re right. I even told you. If you go back, you’ll find the transcript of this program on Friday. I told you, “Folks, this is gonna end someday.

“What’s next? Because we got 10 months between now and the election. This isn’t the end of Democrat tricks, surprises, what have you. So what’s gonna be next?” Well, lo and behold (chuckles), here we are. After Trump’s lawyers make their case on Saturday and destroy Schiff and his managers, guess what we have here? We’ll take a break. Thank you for the call, Ileana.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: By the way, President Trump has tweeted (he’s also said verbally) that he never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations in the Democrats. He never told Bolton this. The New York Times story is that Trump told Bolton he wanted to.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right. So now the second day of the Trump legal team presenting their case, which will probably be a combination of refuting Schiff and the Democrat House managers and Trump’s asserting his case. They really… I don’t want to characterize it beforehand. I hope that it’s… I don’t mind going down the list and refuting the baseless, just crock-filled allegations the Democrats have made, but there does need to be some offense asserted here.

They did a great job on Saturday of just conveying to anybody paying any attention that Adam Schiff is a serial, serious, pathologically, really messed-up guy and liar. So just to review before moving on to some other things here, the bottom line is this leak — which the New York Times admits they have not seen. They’ve not seen the manuscript. They’ve not seen the book. They’ve just been told about it by anonymous sources — the same anonymous sources who assured the New York Times that Trump had colluded with Russia, that Trump was a Russian agent.

Same type of sources. The sources are CIA and other Obama holdovers still in the Trump administration. But they’ve made it plain they have not seen the manuscript. Now, some people have said, “Why doesn’t Bolton just come out and say, yeah or no?” He can’t yet. The vetting process is not over. He would be in violation of all kinds of security regulations. He can’t comment until they have vetted the book and okayed it for publication, at least as I understand it — and that makes some sense to me.

But if New York Times hasn’t seen it, they’re just reporting what anonymous sources are telling ’em, that way when the truth comes out, they say, “Hey, it wasn’t us! Our sources misled us.” The Washington Post and New York Times do this all the time. The Washington Post did it with the whistleblower complaint! They said they never saw the complaint by the whistleblower. Where is the whistleblower, by the way? The whistleblower, the guy who got all this started. Schiff said, “He’s gotta testify! He’s gotta testify!”

Then Schiff said, “No, it doesn’t require his testimony now. This hearing doesn’t require his testimony,” and that’s because the whistleblower implicates Schiff, because Schiff was instrumental in orchestrating the whistleblower and the actions that he took. I could spend the rest of the program probably giving you examples of how the Washington Post and New York Times do this all the time. And, by the way, Alexander Vindman — O say can you see — was behind the whistleblower story, which the whistleblower leaked to the Washington Post.

It was Vindman who was on the phone call that then reported to the whistleblower who then — secondhand — went to Schiff. Illegally. He should have gone to the inspector general, but he didn’t. The inspector general then changed the regulations to allow secondhand whistleblower testimony, or secondhand knowledge to be qualified. (sigh) So all of these players… Vindman’s twin brother, Yevgeny, is in the vetting process for Bolton’s book.

The original Washington Post leak on the whistleblower’s complaint turned out to be a pack of lies, and among those pack of lies was that the transcript of the phone call was shocking. “It was frightening! It was scary,” the whistleblower said. “It was unreal! Oh, my God, we had to do something, it was so bad,” and then there’s nothing in it. Trump releases the transcript. None of that was the case, and the Washington said, “Don’t blame us. That’s what we were told.” Their lies got enough attention to kick off this entire impeachment process.

The whistleblower’s lies are why we are here, and the Washington Post published this pack of lies and then got out of it by saying, “Well, it’s what we were told. We didn’t actually see it.” I hope the Trump defense plays all the clips of the Democrats saying that we don’t need witnesses, that the impeachment is a coup from the Clinton days, as well as the Drive-Bys saying it. Play it several times over the next two days. Even though we say hypocrisy doesn’t stick to Democrats, it still would be good to get it out there.

Anyway, I think the Bolton leak — that, again, the New York Times has not seen — was orchestrated to do two things: To distract from the Republicans just creaming the Democrats’ case on Saturday, and it was a Hail Mary pass to try to get the Senate to vote to call witnesses. And it was not the first. You know what the first effort they made to get the Senate to call witnesses was? The Lev Parnas video! Lev Parnas. They had Lev Parnas video of Trump saying he wanted to fire Yovanovitch.

That’s what Schumer was saying. They uncovered “a plot,” uncovered a plot to fire the ambassador, the Lev Parnas video. That was supposed to be so heinous that it was gonna make the Republicans immediately vote to call witnesses. But it flopped. It went nowhere because, guess what? You don’t need to “plot” to fire the ambassador. You just call her up and say, “You’re out!” Trump doesn’t need to orchestrate a “plot.” He appoints ambassadors. He fires ambassadors. Any president does!

But somehow… Somehow Lev Parnas on video, Trump on video saying that they wanted to get rid of the ambassador. Sack her. Get rid of her. Somehow this is impeachable? Somehow this is sinister? Somehow this is a crime? It flopped; so here we are. Now, it’s fascinating to read news media accounts before the Bolton leak — and as your host, that’s exactly what I did over the weekend. I’m here to tell you, the Senate — and it was widely known, conventional wisdom.

The Senate was on the brink of voting not to call any witnesses. In fact, Mike Allen of Axios — formerly of Politico, formerly of the Washington Post, formally of the Drive-By Media. Mike Allen reported yesterday that Trump is on, quote, “a glide path to swift acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial despite a blizzard of evidence bolstering Democrats’ accusations.” There isn’t a shred of evidence that bolsters any accusation! That’s the rub! That’s the thing.

Anyway, before the Bolton leak, the Drive-Bys were wringing their hands (sniveling), “Oh, my God, the Senate is gonna vote no witnesses! Oh, my God. (mewling) Horrible,” and F. Chuck Todd all over Meet the Press and had his guests on and they were all concerned that “nobody cares (sniffles) and nobody…” In fact, I’ve got the audio sound bite of this. Let me see I can find it real quick. I think I’ve got this. Yeah. Grab sound bite number 14. Chuck Todd, Meet the Depressed, and he’s got Cook Political Report national editor Amy Walter on, and they’re talking about voter reaction to all of this.

TODD: Maureen Dowd had a fascinating little nugget in her column today. I want to put it up here: “One Democratic Senate staffer mourned the apathy. ‘Our phones aren’t ringing,’ he told me. ‘Nobody cares. It is the saddest thing ever.'”

WALTER: Mmm-hmm.

TODD: The fact that you don’t have —

WALTER: Yeah.

TODD: — even Democrats storming the Capitol and protesting…

WALTER: Nope.

TODD: It’s not there.

WALTER: I was in Iowa; no one talked about this.

RUSH: They’re wringing their hands. (sniveling) “There aren’t any protesters in Washington; the Senate gallery’s half empty. Oh, my God. (sobbing) Nobody cares!” Isn’t it fascinating? So before the Bolton leak, nobody cares. The Senate Republicans on the verge of voting no witnesses. The Drive-By Media is at an impasse. They’re depressed, they’re despondent, they’re near suicidal (politically suicidal), and you just heard this (sobbing): “Nobody cares. It is the saddest thing ever.” Where are the protests “storming the Capitol and protesting”? “It’s not there,” which is a good point.

Here we have, as far as many schlubs are concerned, the closest yet the Democrats have been to getting rid of Trump — it’s a freaking impeachment trial — and where are the vagina-hat-clad women and the feminazis? Where are the rest of the paid protesters, the rent-a-mob? Where are they? They’re not storming Washington. They’re not even showing up to try to get in to watch this! David Axelrod admits it. He was on CNN talking to Erin Burnett, and he’s all concerned. He did a focus group out there, and a bunch of Democrats in Cook County didn’t even bring it up for an hour and 20 minutes.

I’m looking for the sound bite here. I know I saw this in here somewhere. Da-da-da-da-dee. Let’s see. Can anybody tell me what number Axelrod is? Maybe I don’t have it. I thought I did, but we don’t have it. Okay. But he was out there on CNN today. He said an hour and 20 minutes! It’s the same thing you just heard out of Chuck Todd. “Oh, woe is us! Nobody cares. We can’t find it. Nobody’s interested; there’s no protests.” So the bottom line here is that before the Bolton leak, it was utter depression. It was, “Oh, my God, all is lost,” and now the Bolton leak.

The New York Times, a manuscript that they haven’t seen. The Senate was on the brink of voting not to call witnesses. Mike Allen was saying “Trump’s on the way to a swift acquittal,” and, lo and behold, the New York Times produces a quote-unquote “leak” of the Bolton manuscript. Even if everything that the Times claims that Bolton says is true, there’s not a single thing impeachable about it because the leak is that Bolton says Trump told him he wanted to do X, Y, Z, whatever. He wanted to condition the aid on the investigation of Democrats.

That’s what Bolton says. “You know, Trump told me he didn’t want the aid to get to Ukraine until they investigate.” Well, big deal. Like I said, I tell people all the time, “I don’t want to go to the dentist tomorrow.” I got this stupid appointment and don’t want to go. But I went. Or I don’t want to do this meeting or I don’t want to do this or that. We all do this. Everybody complains. Everybody speculates. “You know what I’d like to do? I would love to tell you these guys they’re not getting their money until they give me the goods on Biden.”

But what happened? Ukraine got their money. There was no investigation. Ukraine got everything they wanted and more. This is all so really dangerous. They’re trying to convict Trump here on thought crimes, but I’m telling you, folks. It was fascinating to watch the media consult the media, ready the media before the Bolton leak, and they were on the verge of utter despair, and now look at ’em — and it’s the same pattern. It’s the same thing Comey tried. It’s the same thing they tried with Kavanaugh, with Clarence Thomas, on and on and on.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: One, I want to go back to me, Rush Limbaugh, and this program, September 10th, 2019, when John Bolton was let go as national security adviser. I want to read you just a few little excerpts here from what I said then. Okay. So, “Trump [says] he fired Bolton. Now, Bolton: ‘No, no, no, he didn’t fire me. I resigned.’ We’ll have to wait and see. I’m just gonna tell you what’s gonna happen now.”

Remember, folks, this is last September. “You gotta trust me on something. The Drive-By Media, the Democrat Party has hated John Bolton for his entire career in the Foreign Service. He’s been a United Nations ambassador. He’s been accused of being rude to employees. He has been accused of being unfeeling and insensitive toward women. He’s been accused of being no nonsense. He’s been accused of being a horrible diplomat, that he tells people straight out right between the eyes.

“They have never had any respect for John Bolton. They have never liked John Bolton. He’s always been an extension of whatever Republican president they hated. But now, you watch. Any second now John Bolton’s gonna become the smartest foreign policy strategist in our country. He’s gonna become the wisest foreign policy adviser Trump has ever had. The Drive-Bys, despite a lifetime of disrespect and hatred for this guy, the Drive-Bys are gonna start wringing their hands and lamenting that he was the last adult in the room, and that we’re all in peril,” because John Bolton is gone.”

“Bolton was the only guy saving us from” the insanity of Donald Trump. “Bolton was the only guy saving us from destruction, the only guy saving us from our enemies beating us…” This is how they’re gonna portray him. Back on September 10th: “I predict that he’s already getting book offers, he’s already getting interview offers. The left is gonna offer him whatever they can to get him to speak out against Trump. They can’t help themselves!

“He’s gonna become the new Russian collusion story. John Bolton is gonna become the next Robert Mueller. Mark my words.” I have it right here my formerly nicotine-stained fingers. I printed this out from my own website. I predicted all it is. Now, granted that’s not a tough prediction because the Drive-Bys are the Drive-Bys. But what does this prediction need to be true? It needs Bolton to turn on Trump. I’m gonna tell you.

Like I said the first hour, I’ve been to dinner a couple times with Bolton and his wife, met him here and there. I never thought that he was disloyal in this way. Now, some of you might say, “He’s not disloyal, Rush! He’s being loyal to America. Trump’s horrible. Trump’s rotten. Trump’s bad.” Some of you think this, but I know not very many. But I guess everybody in Washington is, at the end of the day, out for themselves — and that’s one of the problems. All right. Let me sneak another call in.

We’ll go to Mesa, Arizona. Sherry, great to have you. Glad you waited. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. Thanks. Hey, so, just to bolster your thought that they’re trying to impeach Trump on thought crimes or whatever is in his head, he also during the Russia investigation and wanted to fire the special prosecutor, but he didn’t. So it’s the same thing. I mean, you know, everything he wants to do is (crosstalk).

RUSH: You know, that’s exactly right, and the Mueller report tried as hard as it could to make that appear to be abuse of power, that it appeared to be obstruction. He wanted to fire Mueller and therefore we might be able to say that Trump wanted to obstruct. But the point is Mueller didn’t get fired, and the investigation wasn’t obstructed. Nothing prevented it from being concluded. But you’re exactly right. It’s the same thing. That’s a great call. It’s almost identically the same thing as this stupid leak involving Bolton saying that Trump told him that he wanted to, but he didn’t do it, and Ukraine got the money. We’re going blue in the face reminding everybody of this. Anyway, Sherry, thank you. I appreciate that.

CALLER: Okay. Thanks.

RUSH: Is there anything else you wanted to add? We still have 30 seconds here left for your allotted caller time.

CALLER: Actually, I just want to vent on something real quick. I live in Arizona. Martha McSally is our senator now, and she’s up for reelection. It just frustrates me that everybody assumes that these people — because they are in a tough election — have to be wishy-washy. Why can’t it be that because 90 to 95% of the Republicans support Trump and it’s because they’re not strong enough for Trump? Is it always… (chuckles) It’s because they’re not, you know, wishy-washy enough.

RUSH: You’re talking about…? Are you talking about voters or are you talking about McSally?

CALLER: Yeah. I’m talking about like the Republicans senators they are saying are up for reelection and they have a tough time because they might vote for witnesses.

RUSH: Oh. Oh. oh. Well, experience. Republican voters have experience with Republican elected officials kind of caving now and then.

[mystery-ak]

You Do Not Die Politically When You Take on Democrats and the Media!

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Do you remember the book by Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth? Remember that “bombshell book,” how that was gonna bring down the Trump administration? Remember that book? And then whatever happened…? Remember the New York Times or Washington Post (I forget which) published an op-ed from “Anonymous” that basically said, “Look, there are some adults in here, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure this guy Trump doesn’t go off and ruin things. Count on us! We can’t tell you who we are.”

Well, then this person writes a book, and it was gonna be a “bombshell.” It was gonna bring down the Trump administration. What happened to that book? And Andrew McCabe! Andrew McCabe had a “bombshell book” that was gonna take down Trump, and then James Comey. James Comey had his book about honor and integrity and how he’s the only guy in Washington that has any, and that book was gonna take down Trump — and then Avenatti.

Avenatti and Stormy Daniels and their thing was gonna take down Trump, and Avenatti was gonna be the Democrat primary nominee for president. Now he’s in court on charges of defrauding clients and Nike. Not to mention books by Bob Woodward, Laurence Tribe. There have been how many anti-Trump books that have been “bombshells” that were going to destroy Trump? Now, I want to go back to Friday. Trump was the first sitting president to appear at the March for Life rally, and there’s a point to be made about this as it relates to the impeachment trial and the ongoing shenanigans.

The Democrats are constantly on offense here and attempting to get the Republicans to slit their own throats. “You gotta call witnesses! You can’t do this without calling witness. You must! In the Senate, you must do your own investigation.” Meanwhile, the House, as you know, didn’t call any of the witnesses they’re now demanding — and the Republicans had held firm, and over the weekend it didn’t look… I mean, you ought to see the Drive-By Media stories out there before this Bolton leak happened.

There’s a piece from Mike Allen at Axios. You’ve got people on F. Chuck Todd’s show, on Meet the Press lamenting (sobbing), “Nobody cares. It’s so horrible! The Senate gallery’s only half full. We can’t find anybody in America who cares about it! Oh, my God.” They’re devoting every ounce of energy they got; they can’t get anybody to care about it. The Senate gallery only being half full during the House managers’ presentation? I mean, what more do you need to know about how uncompelling the Democrats’ whole case and their allegations are.

And yet, despite the president’s team holding all the cards, because the House managers’ case is one lie after another, and it was decimated in two hours on Saturday morning by Trump’s team. So the Republicans — Ted Cruz is right — they need to go on offense and whenever these Democrats start whining and moaning about witnesses or this other that just tell ’em to go pound sand. Now, what does this have to do with the March for Life rally? Well, I’ll tell you what it has to do with it.

Donald Trump’s the first sitting president to ever attend one. A lot of presidents appeared by video. They appeared on a video screen. A lot of presidents sent videos. But no sitting Republican president (certainly Democrat) ever actually attended it. Trump did on Friday. What happened to him? Not a thing. In fact, his stature rose, and he cemented that voting bloc even more firmly than it was already with him. But the point is, the bottom didn’t fall out.

A Republican president actively participated in a pro-life rally, which had never been done before, the biggest one — in Washington — of the year. Now, normally Republicans think doing that kind of thing is going to kill them politically. It’s gonna destroy them. (sniveling) “Oh, my God, it’s provocative. It’s unnecessary,” blah, blah, blah, blah. All Trump did was benefit. But there’s something else Trump did — and he’s been doing this his entire presidency.

He’s been teaching and show and demonstrating to Republicans, “You don’t have to be afraid of the media anymore. You don’t have to be afraid of the Democrats — and certainly you don’t have to be afraid of Adam Schiff, and you don’t have to be afraid of Chuck You Schumer or Harry Reid or any of the others. You don’t have to be afraid of them! You don’t have to be defensive. You don’t have to say and do things to make half the country think you’re not the bad people the Democrats say you are, which is what the Republican modus operandi has always been.

This whole business of calling witnesses, all these weak Republicans who think they want to call witnesses, it’s in response to Democrat demands. It’s not because they actually think it’s necessary. It’s not because they actually want to. They think they’ve gotta do it because the media’s demanding it and because the Democrats are demanding it. And if they don’t follow through, they’re worried that the American people are gonna see ’em as a bunch of — you know — racist, sexist, bigot, homophobes, whatever the cliches are.

Trump is demonstrating that you don’t have to go them the time of day, particularly when you hold the cards. The Democrats cannot get a conviction of Trump here, and the purpose for witnesses is not to get a conviction. It’s to sully and dirty the Republican Party at large and President Trump in particular. There is no reason to kowtow to this, and even after the Bolton thing comes out there’s no reason to waver. There’s no, “Oh, my God. I guess we do need witnesses.” No, you don’t. You do not need to change from your instinct.

You don’t need witnesses. They don’t have a case, and the Bolton leak can’t even be confirmed. It is a tweet from a New York Times reporter, and the New York Times in this area is widely more known for making it up and lying through their teeth about things. Throughout this entire Trump presidency when it’s come to any story that has to do with maybe getting rid of Trump or overturning the election results, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the mainstream media — and there’s no embarrassment.

These people have been wrong on every assertion. They published lies under the guise of leaks from intelligence community people, former government officials, former defense department officials. They ran the gamut, and not a single one of them was true. The Steele dossier, which was responsible for all of that? None of it was true! Trump has not committed a crime. He hasn’t even committed a thought crime because there’s no such thing as a thought crime, but they’re trying to impeach him on the basis of that.

I was watching Schumer today at his regularly scheduled 11 o’clock-in-the-morning press conference, and he said — here it is — that “there had been uncovered a plot to remove the ambassador.” That would be Maria Yovanovitch. A plot! A plot to remove the ambassador, which is Chuck You Schumer, saying that Trump has behaved additionally in a criminal way, “because we’ve uncovered a plot to remove the ambassador.” This is Trump telling some associate, “Just get rid of her. She’s in there undermining my foreign policy. Get rid of her. I don’t want her in there.”

He can fire any ambassador he wants, and it isn’t a “plot.” It isn’t a crime. It isn’t an impeachable offense. The president, whoever he is, runs American foreign policy. If he doesn’t like an ambassador… Who do you think appoints the ambassadors? She’s a holdover from the Obama years! I think Trump’s going out of his way trying to be gracious here, not firing — in summary — a bunch of political appointees like Obama did. Obama fired every U.S. attorney when he took office. George W. Bush didn’t. He waited a couple years; then all hell descended on him when it happened.

But there’s no “plot” to remove the ambassador!

They’re trying to make it look like there’s some sinister, criminal behavior in firing an ambassador. But that is an indication of how all of this is being treated. The bottom line is, you can’t find a more partisan — apparently, supposedly partisan — and volatile issue than abortion, right? “Abortion? No, Rush! You’re not supposed to bring. Don’t talk about it, Rush. Don’t talk about religion. Don’t talk about it. Nothing to be gained, Rush.” Trump is the first sitting president to attend a pro-life rally. His approval numbers are at an all-time high, not only after that, but in the midst of this impeachment fiasco.

The U.S. economy continues to roil, and the American people know it and give it five-star ratings. Record consumer sentiment. Record consumer confidence. This is the stuff the Democrats are scared to death of and angry about. That’s why they keep trying to talk about a recession looming down the road. The bottom line is: You do not die politically when you take on the Democrats. The bottom line is: You do not die politically when you take on the media. Donald Trump has demonstrated this for three years! Now, there are gonna be a lot of Republicans and maybe even some of you who would disagree.

You might say, “Well, Rush, Trump hasn’t died, but look at what they say about him. My God. He can’t be treated fairly. It’s gotta be a hellacious existence. They lie about him all the time.” Yeah, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. This has been my point since I’ve been doing this program. There’s nothing you can do to change what they are gonna say about us — and you certainly can’t do it by convincing them that we’re not what they think we are, because they know that we’re not what they think…

Well, I take it back. Kathryn and I watched Bombshell over the weekend. Pfft. Folks, whatever you do, don’t watch it. If I say this, it’s just gonna get people intrigued and want to watch, and it is an absolute… It barely rises to high school-level quality of production. The only reason to watch that stupid-ass movie is to find out every cliche they think about you and me. By the way, in this movie, everybody who works at Fox News hates it. Everybody that works there — everybody — has to hide who they are. You know there are a lot of lesbians at Fox News! Did you know that?

They have to hide it! They can’t put pictures of their partners on their desktops because otherwise management might see it and fire ’em. But everybody hates Fox News. My point is this. You do not die politically when you take on the Democrats and the media, and Trump has shown. It he is triumphing. Yeah, they hate him. This is exactly why! Yeah, they say mean things about him — and I’m sure Mitt Romney doesn’t want mean things said about him as he’s making himself available to be temporary president every day.

“Hi, I’m Mitt Romney. I think we ought to call witnesses. By the way, do you want me to be president? I’ll be happy to do it. Just put me in there right now. Do whatever you want.” That’s what Romney’s gaming for. It’s time to stand up to this! I don’t care Bolton leak, Bolton book, whoever. Tell ’em, “No witnesses! We’re gonna present the rest of our case, we’re gonna make our case, we’re gonna decimate their case, and we’re gonna get out of here,” because all of this is a bogus waste of time. And again, I ask, is our government doing anything about this virus that has come from the communist haven of China?

It doesn’t appear so.

[mystery-ak]

I Still Think the Trial Has to End This Week So Democrats Can Go to Iowa

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: This is Dave in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Glad you waited, sir. Great to have you. Hi.

CALLER: Thanks, Rush. You know, as frustrating as the impeachment is — and it is frustrating — I’m looking at the other side. Trump’s fundraising is through the roof, his support is being galvanized more and more every single day. This is blowing up. Let Sanders and Warren have to waste all their time instead of being giving the country away while they campaign. I think… As much as it’s frustrating, I think it’s not hurting him at all.

RUSH: Well, this is true. When you say “it’s not hurting him,” yeah, in polling data, it isn’t, which is important, in economic job performance approval polls, it’s not hurting him — and it’s clear that the Democrats are fully aware that the American people don’t care. As I say, a perusal of all media before the Bolton leak in the New York Times yesterday would show media despondency. In fact, Fox News has a poll: “Record Economy Ratings as Voters Credit Trump.” Now, that is new.

We’ve had great polling numbers on the economy for a while, meaning people are living it. Therefore, they are reporting great economic attitudes. “Voters give the economy its best ratings in nearly [twenty years] in the latest Fox News Poll…” What’s new about it is that they are crediting Trump for it. “[A]s his impeachment trial begins, Trump’s job approval holds steady… The poll, released Sunday, finds 55% give the economy positive ratings (excellent or good). It’s been 19 years since this many felt as positively” about the economy.

“In addition, a new high of 20% say the economy is in ‘excellent’ shape, up from 14% in October 2019.” Again, here’s the clincher: “[T]he bulk of voters credit Trump for the economy. When asked to say who or what they think is most responsible for the current economy, without the aid of a list,” it’s not a multiple-choice question that pollsters present, “the top answer is Trump and Republicans (42%). Next,” and I’m not making this up: 42% say the reason economy is gangbusters is Trump and the Republicans.

Next is 9% Barack Obama and the Democrats. So 42% think Trump is the reason; 9% think Obama and the Democrats. That 42% number is what’s new about this, and it’s just a further blow to the Democrats who are using all of this to try to separate Trump’s voters from Trump. I mean, that’s really what this is about, is trying to bust up the Trump coalition. So our guy here on the phone is correct. But I’m not sure that the longer it goes, the better. It’s six of one, half dozen of the other, I guess. But I just… I would like to see it end. I’d like the Democrats just to have this end as a slam dunk.

But remember, there’s gonna be something else.

There’s 10 months to go, and there’s gonna be a bunch of something elses that they will launch after this particular phase — and let me remind you of my prediction last week. I gotta go quickly here. But I think this all ends this week, and I think it ends this week ’cause the Democrats in the Senate running for president have got to get out and campaign for the Hawkeye Cauci which are a week from today. Maybe tomorrow. I’m not sure which. But it’s next week. They gonna have one weekend left to campaign.

Crazy Bernie, Fauxcahontas — who, by the way, got the Des Moines Register endorsement because she doesn’t lie.

[mystery-ak]

Democrats: The Jurassic Party

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Bill in New Orleans. Welcome, sir. Great to have you with us. You’re next.

CALLER: Oh, my God, Rush. This is a top-three bucket list item I can now check off.

RUSH: Wow. I appreciate that, sir. Thank you.

CALLER: Rush, why can’t Republicans get younger, more conservative people to run against these RINOs so I don’t have to hear this tired tripe from Romney and Murkowski and Collins and Gardner? Don’t we have returning veterans that are coming back that would capture the interests of us conservatives? I’m so tired of hearing all of these establishment RINOs.

RUSH: You know —

CALLER: Why can’t we get someone else?

RUSH: This is an actual interesting question. Have you taken a look at the average age of the Democrat frontrunners?

CALLER: (crosstalk)

RUSH: No, wait. I’m serious about this. Don’t… I’m not being flippant here. This says something. Bernie Sanders looks like he’s 95.

CALLER: (laughing)

RUSH: Joe Biden looks like he’s going on 85. Elizabeth Warren is not a spring chicken. If you look at the Democrats… Now, the Democrat Party’s thought to be what, Bill? Young and hip and progressive. The Democrat Party is thought to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and yet look at who their frontrunners are. They are literally out of Jurassic Park.

And guess who Bernie’s number one support group is? It’s young people! Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but now that I have brought it to your attention, do you have a reaction? Why do you think this is? Why are these old fossils — who look like old fossils! Why are they not automatically rejected by the youthful, young, vibrant, hip progressives of the Democrat Party?

CALLER: Because they’re being taught and they’re being indoctrinated from our universities, now even middle school, high school, that the Democrats are the way to go if you’re young, because they think like you do, and you should be thinking this way. I guess on my side, on the Republican side, it’s more about, “Can’t we find people that believe in conservatism like we do, regardless of age? I’m just tired of hearing about Romney and Collins and how they’re not really Republicans.” (crosstalk)

RUSH: Well, why do…? The reason you hear about them is because the media focuses on them precisely because they undercut the Republican Party.

CALLER: Hmm.

RUSH: That’s why you hear about them. The media wants them to be traitors. The media wants them to go against their own party. So they make them out to be super stature, very learned and so forth. They’re being manipulated to go against their own party — and if it weren’t those four, they would find some others. But look, now you’re into questions of incumbency and how hard… You ask, “Why can’t some returning veterans run against these guys?”

One of the most difficult things to overcome in politics is incumbency. Do you know what the incumbency return rate in the House of Representatives is? I’ll bet a lot of you don’t. It’s 95%. Ninety-five percent of incumbents win. Now, in 2018 something like 55 Republicans retired. So that meant 55 seats that were pretty much automatic Republicans were lost because the incumbency factor was lost, and then now you’re up for grabs.

You gotta actually campaign. Voters look at two people they don’t know, the Democrat and the Republican, and it was a big deal — and there were some Republicans retiring before the next election in 2020 in the House. But look, that’s one reason why, and it’s the same thing in the Senate. It’s not quite the same return election rate in the Senate, but it’s high. Incumbency. Because of fundraising, it’s just easier to give gobs and gobs and gobs of money to people already there, who have a track record of paying off on the donations and contributions that they get.

You talk about Collins and Murkowski. They’re actually young compared to the Democrats. Look at the Democrats. You’ve got Pat Leahy. These Democrat senators are as archaic as their presidential candidates. Now, where I was going with this — and I understand your frustration. But if it weren’t Collins and Murkowski and Romney, it would be whatever other Republicans are showing an interest in hating Trump. The media would focus on ’em and build ’em up and attempt to manipulate them into voting against Trump on legislation or witnesses, in this case, for the impeachment trial.

But why is it that in politics…? Everybody says politics showbiz for the ugly. You’re not gonna have somebody… Where is the equivalent of Bernie Sanders in Hollywood, for example? Where is the Jurassic Park leading man in Hollywood? There isn’t one. Hillary Clinton? Elizabeth Warren? Come on, folks. Let’s be real! We’re talking about ancient people here, and they are the frontrunners, and they are considered to be the ones with the greatest chance of winning. Obama was a rarity, came along young.

But that was the race factor almost exclusively there in determining why he was selected in the primaries and why he won the presidency. When it comes to politics, there’s something about age that I guess to people equals experience. But whereas almost everywhere else in American life and American society the elderly are cast aside, they’re thrown away, they’re put in the home or they are put in a room in the basement or the attic… I’m not trying to be mean here. I’m not trying to be descriptive.

I’ve always maintained that the elderly are one of the greatest sources of wisdom young people have simply by virtue of the fact that they’ve lived longer than the young people that they are talking to and can impart all kinds of wisdom and knowledge if they still have their wits about them and so forth. But outside of politics, this is a culture and a country that’s about youth. It’s all about the young. It’s always been. It’s nothing new here, and you could say that that is an apt description for life in general — certainly in athletics.

I mean, once you hit 30 in professional athletics, you’re on the downside. There are exceptions, but once you hit 30, you’re done for. You’re peaked. Your best days are usually behind you. It’s just the way it is. You have more energy, you have more resiliency, you have a lot more of what it takes for strength and endurance when you’re young than when you are an elderly, seasoned citizen. Now, Americans are living longer, and they’re living healthier longer. But our culture still discards the elderly.

Again, I’m not trying to sound critical of it. I’m not trying to be insensitive to it. It’s what it is. Yet in politics, the old white-haired guy is considered to be filled with experience and wisdom. I mean, it doesn’t even cross anybody’s mind that Crazy Bernie is crazy and old. You don’t find Bernie Sanders supporters running around wishing he were 35 or looking for the 35- or 40-year-old version of him. Why is that, do you think? And you find the Republican Party actually, in terms of its…

Trump is 73 going on 50, if you ask me. Trump’s in a league of his own. Energy, resilience, strength, there isn’t anybody on the Democrat side who can keep up with him. Even if they’re younger than he is. But when you start talking about age in elected officials, the Republican Party’s actually younger than the Democrats, and yet young people glom onto these dinosaurs and think Republicans are a bunch of stodgy, buttoned-down old fools.

Well, Crazy Bernie’s out there saying (impression), “I don’t know how much my health care plan’s gonna cost and I don’t know…” Crazy Bernie’s got the Democrat establishment so scared. They are scared to death he’s gonna get the nomination, and they are scared to death he’s gonna lose in a landslide. They are scared to death he’s George McGovern Jr. They are scared to death. They’re gonna do everything they can to sabotage this guy. In favor of who? Biden?

[mystery-ak]

What to Make of the Polls?

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Emily in Burlington, Kentucky. It’s great to have you. Hi.

CALLER: Good afternoon from Bluegrass State.

RUSH: Yeah. Hi.

CALLER: So I’m hearing you talk about how good this is all working out for Trump, but I just don’t see it. I certainly don’t see it in the polls. We had the new Fox News poll that said 50% of Americans want him impeached. Everybody is so entrenched in their opinions, I just don’t see it. I hope, I pray that you’re right. Yes, he has approval ratings for the economy and that kind of thing, but I don’t see it reflected in the election polls.

RUSH: Well, let me ask you a question.

CALLER: Mmm-hmm?

RUSH: On January 27, 2016, can you tell me who was leading in any of the polls?

CALLER: (laughing) Not Trump.

RUSH: It doesn’t matter, and I’m not just saying that. It really doesn’t matter. We don’t even have a nominee yet on the Democrat side. We don’t even know which one of those schlubs is going to stand up to be whacked in a landslide defeat. We don’t even know which one it’s gonna be yet. The polling data right now is not designed to reflect public opinion. It’s designed to shape it. It’s designed to actually do what it’s done for you: Make you worry.

CALLER: Mmm-hmm.

RUSH: Now, I have never… I don’t think that I have forecast Trump winning in a landslide. I may have casually used the word a couple times, but I’ve not officially predicted that.

CALLER: Mmm-hmm.

RUSH: But I saw the Fox poll you are talking about: 50% not just want impeachment but want him removed from office.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: There are so many variables with polling data today, like finding actual, interested people. You know, it’s getting harder and harder to find qualified respondents in polls. And you’ve got a bunch of Trump people scared to death to admit that they’re for Trump to anybody. I mean, look what happens. You wear a Trump, Make America Great Again hat in the wrong place and some Indians gonna come along and start beating a war drum in your face and the media is gonna want you fired and thrown out of school. Other places, you might get beat up!

CALLER: Yup.

RUSH: Some guy got murdered the other day — or beat up real bad — for being for Trump. You think there’s a lot of, therefore, hidden, unexpressed support for Trump. But don’t forget: The 50% number that want Trump impeached and convicted in a Fox poll. There’s literally no evidence that those people exist. Where are those people storming the Senate? Where are the protests? Where are the people in the gallery watching this, demanding it, trying to affect the vote in the Senate? I wouldn’t worry yet. When it’s time to worry, I’ve always told you, I will tell you.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Just a couple of additional items. From the Washington Post: “Trump Soars to Highest Job Approval Rating of Presidency Despite Impeachment Trial.” Trump’s approval has been going up, not down during this trial. The Washington Post/ABC poll finds 44% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance. Fifty-one percent disapprove. Now, wait. I know you’re gonna say, “Rush, it’s still 51% disapprove. How can you say…?” The trend is going up — and, by the way, I’m just gonna tell you…

Look, everybody selectively accepts or doesn’t accept certain aspects of polling because everything’s been corrupted now. There’s not… I don’t know. There’s not very much in Washington that most average people believe is legit. But something other than common sense is behind the explanation of things that we can’t otherwise explain — and it’s deserved. Washington has been corrupted in any number of ways.

How do you have a president with 35% job approval among African-Americans and Hispanics, 92% approval among Republicans — and a number of other individual groups that have Trump’s approval way, way higher than any Republican ever has been — and his overly job performance remains below 50%? I don’t believe it. I just don’t believe it, and I think there are a lot of factors. I think one of the factors is that people just don’t tell pollsters the truth.

I think it’s demonstrable now that a number of pro-Trump people will hide that. What’s the term for them, Trump-shy supporters? I’d not heard the term until last week. But whatever the actual term is, I think it has some validity — and then there’s this. Gallup! “From a new Gallup survey: ‘Forty-one percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going…'” This is different from the 42% who are crediting Trump for the economy. This is 41% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going. You might think, “Well, Rush, 41%? That’s no big deal.”

It’s the highest it’s been in 15 years, including during the presidency of the precious Barack Hussein O. “A new Gallup survey: ‘Forty-one percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., a level not seen in nearly 15 years.’ Gallup noted that the last time 40 percent or more of Americans were satisfied, in 2005…” Do you know who was president in 2005? Quick, Rachel. Who was president in 2005? (singing Jeopardy! theme) (interruption) George W. Bush is correct.

You win nothing because everybody should know that.

In 2005, it was George W. Bush, the last time 40% of Americans were satisfied.

[mystery-ak]

Ken Starr Almost Caught Fire

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Would you agree with me that it would be very difficult to ever describe Ken Starr as being on fire? (interruption) Yeah, I thought so. He’s getting… (laughing) He’s getting close. He’s getting close, for him, to being on fire. He’s just nuking this entire premise that the president can obstruct justice and be accused of impeachable offenses by defending the presidency constitutionally.

He talks about (summarized), “When I was trying to put Bill Clinton behind bars for all the crap that he did, we’d go to court — and every time we went to court on executive privilege, we won. We beat Clinton because he was suborning perjury and a number of other things. But at the end of the day Henry Hyde, who was running the House managers for the House, said that none of the president’s actions regarding executive privilege would in any way be considered impeachable offenses during the Clinton trial.”

Well, that just destroys one entire article of impeachment that the Democrats have, that Trump has obstructed Congress by refusing to let Schiff and his smarmy little team of managers from seeing everything they want. Anyway, he got pretty animated making this point. For him. Ken Starr animated is somebody in bed talking, not sleeping. That’s how to best describe the degree here.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: The Trump defense team just took a break. Mr. Shapiro just did a great job of nuking the claims the Democrats have made by pointing out video sound bites of all these ambassadors claiming, “Yeah, Ukraine got all the aid they needed from President Trump, much more than they ever got from Obama.” It was good.

[mystery-ak]

Des Moines Register Endorses Fauxcahontas for Her Truthfulness!

Jan 27, 2020



RUSH: Now, to the Democrat side of things and their campaign. The Des Moines Register (for some reason) is, in the Hawkeye Cauci, the most prized newspaper endorsement. The Democrats seek it; they do everything they can to get it. I have yet to be convinced that newspaper endorsements in any way matter. I don’t know how you would even try to qualify it. But it’s a tradition, and it’s a journalism tradition, it’s an American presidential election tradition, and so people think, “Oooh.” Fauxcahontas, Elizabeth Warren, has gotten the official Des Moines Register endorsement. They claim that she would, quote, “treat truth as something that matters,” unquote.

Now, you’re laughing.

I understand that.

This is the woman who lied about being an Indian.

This is the woman who has lied about how she got her job teaching at Harvard. She has lied about the sources of her wealth. She has made up fantastic stories about her kids and so forth. Yet the Des Moines Register doesn’t know it. They can’t know it if they literally are gonna endorse her because she “treats truth as something that matters.” Look, if the Des Moines Register… I know a lot of you were gonna disagree with me on this because you think the Democrats are so partisan and so corrupt that this is what they do — and you’re right.

But I also maintain to you that liberals live in a very walled-off, cocooned set of circumstances, and anything that is outside their worldview doesn’t get in. It’s not that they know everything and then choose to believe. They literally reject anything and everything that isn’t sourced from somebody on their side or in their movement.

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RUSH: The Des Moines Register literally has no idea. They can’t have any idea what an abject liar Elizabeth Warren is if they’re gonna endorse her as somebody “who would treat the truth as something that matters.”

The woman lied and made up the fact that she is 1/24000 or whatever what Indian to get a gig at Harvard. How do you not know that? And if you do know that, how can you just casually overlook it? Do you assume your readers don’t know it? I’m telling you that strange as it may sound, I think liberals in journalism… I’m sorry (chuckles), there aren’t any others. Liberals in journalism everywhere, I think you’d be stunned at how unworldly and how literally little they actually know about daily life in this country.