The Press Conference We've Waited For

The Press Conference Honest Voters Have Wanted to See for Years RUSH: Now, back to this Trump press conference, if you didn't see it, if you didn't hear it, we're working on audio sound bites now. We're an editor short today so we'll get them up as quickly as we can.  We only got one guy editing.  When we have two guys editing it would only take half the time it's gonna take now. But the New York Times headline: "Television Networks Struggle to Provide Equal Airtime in the Era of Trump." Oh, yes. Five pages this baby prints out. And the New York Times has another story: "Hillary Clinton Struggles to Find Footing in Unusual Race." This is also related. They've got two stories here on how the Times is actually apologizing to its readers for being unable to balance coverage in favor of Hillary. But, anyway, the piece de resistance -- you thought I lost my place, but I didn't, because I never do.  Near the end of it a frustrated journalist (paraphrasing), "Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump, is it gonna be this way, are you gonna be attacking us after you become president?" "Yes, it is.  Because you are the most dishonest people, political press the most dishonest people I know. You know it and I know it.  The press is dishonest, but the political press is especially dishonest." And then Jim Acosta, I think it was, CNN (paraphrasing), "Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump, do you object to scrutiny?  You seem like you didn't even like scrutiny, but you're seeking the office of president of the United States, how do you think --" "I don't mind scrutiny.  What I don't like is lies.  You can scrutinize me all day long but you set up false premises. You state things about me that are not true. Then you run stories on that. That's why I'm out here trying to correct the record ...  By the way, I've seen you, you're among the worst. You're at ABC, right?  You're the worst. You're a sleaze."  And I'm thinking the people at home watching this -- (laughing) 'cause, folks, in the age of internet trolling, manners are out the window.  It's a waste of time asking for manners here.  Because, remember, in a war the aggressor sets the rules and I'm guaranteeing you that Trump thinks the media are the aggressors here. In a followup next day segment Rush asks: Why Am I the Only One Who Said This About Trump's Press Conference? Apparently, virtually everybody in the cable news universe that cable news networks go to for analysts and analysis and so forth, thought that Trump stepped in it big time yesterday. [...]  Okay.  Let's start with Fox News this morning on the program they call America's Newsroom.  Martha MacCallum was speaking with Karl Rove.  Now, keep in mind that Rove and the Bush White House never responded to the Democrats when political allegations or slime or defamation occurred -- and it was constant.  The Democrats -- amplified by the media -- destroyed the George W. Bush second term.  People were frustrated throughout that the Bush administration never responded. I asked the president about it numerous times.  He said, "I'm not gonna sully this office.  I'm not gonna take this office down to the gutter where those people are.  I have too much respect for it, too much reverence for it. So they can go all political on me; I'm not responding to it. I'm not gonna get down in the gutter."  And that's why he didn't do it.  Karl Rove later admitted that that might have been a mistake to have this blanket no-response policy.  But that just is a setup, because Rove is asked to respond to this as one of many who did. You get the jist. Ron Brownstein of the Atlantic got it ... R.B.- I had a conversation -- interesting conversation -- during the primaries with Alex Castellanos, who is a longtime Republican consultant.  And he was puzzling himself over why Donald Trump was able to hold so much support among conservatives despite all his deviations from conservative orthodoxy.  And he said what he finally concluded was that Trump was so popular because he went after our enemies hammer and tong.  Rush Limbaugh, you know, describes it as a press conference Republican voters have been waiting for forever. RUSH:  So here's Brownstein admitting that it took a Republican consultant to tell him why Trump was popular. He couldn't figure it out.  And what they've concluded: "Yeah, Trump's popular 'cause he goes after enemies. He's a fighter." That's part of it. There's no question it's part of it.  There are many, many, many other reasons.

You're welcome