{"id":214135,"date":"2016-08-04T16:10:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/172.24.32.11\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/"},"modified":"2016-08-04T16:10:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T20:10:00","slug":"if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/","title":{"rendered":"If Trump Is Truly Imploding — and I Don\u2019t Think He Is — Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/a> <\/p>\n

\n

RUSH: The entire Washington establishment, consisting of the Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment, the media establishment, the think-tank establishment — the entire political class — has arrayed every gun that it has at the Trump campaign, and they are firing both barrels 24\/7. It is a breathtaking sight to behold, ladies and gentlemen. Why all of this panic?<\/p>\n

No, no. Now, hear me out on this. I understand on the surface of it, it would make sense. You\u2019ve got Republicans over here and their nominee is now ten points down, and is losing some of the battleground states. And, as a result of that, yeah. If the nominee were Romney, or if the nominee were Ryan and this were happening, you could understand the panic. But these establishment types have been in panic since Trump announced.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been in panic since Trump didn\u2019t implode, and they have been openly expressing their opposition to Trump since the day Trump got in the race. And they\u2019ve openly said that they want Hillary to win. Many of them have come out — some quoted, some not quoted, some publicly, some anonymously. The list keeps growing of Republican establishment types who say they can\u2019t handle this anymore, they can\u2019t deal with this anymore. “Its\u2019 unacceptable. It\u2019s too embarrassing, and they\u2019ve got to go with Hillary.”<\/line><\/p>\n

They always were going to go with Hillary! Why all of a sudden panic? Some of this doesn\u2019t make any sense to me, because look: If the people in panic had started out supporting Trump, then I would understand this panic. But the people I\u2019m talking about have been predicting what\u2019s happening now from the get-go. They had predicted that there would be a Trump implosion. They predicted Hillary would run roughshod. This is part of their attempt to defeat Trump during the primary.<\/p>\n

So, they want to get rid of Trump. Why aren\u2019t they out there dancing? Why aren\u2019t they celebrating? Why aren\u2019t they going on and on about, “This is what we wanted. We can\u2019t have our party taken over by this guy. This guy can\u2019t possibly win.” I mean, this is exactly what they wanted to happen, so why the panic? And, by the way, who\u2019s telling us there\u2019s panic? The Drive-Bys. The Drive-By Media. And I don\u2019t doubt there\u2019s panic, but there\u2019s a part of it that doesn\u2019t quite connect logically.<\/p>\n

Because the very people said to be in panic — and some of the people saying they are panicked — are getting (at least as reflected by polling and media coverage) exactly what they wanted. I can\u2019t remember the names right off the bat, but you know what I\u2019m talking about. During the primary process it seems like every week there was a Republican — elected or official of some prominence — who would come out and make it clear, very publically, that he or she just couldn\u2019t support Trump.  “I can\u2019t hear it.  I can\u2019t do it.” <\/p>\n

And then they would either explore the possibility of finding a third-party candidate or finding ways to deny Trump the nomination at the convention or maybe voting Hillary.  But they never have supported Trump.  And they always have made it clear that this is kind of what they wanted to happen in a way.  The people have been opposed to Trump do not want Trump being the agent that redefines the Republican Party. <\/p>\n

So a Trump shellacking and Trump taking constant never-ending hits in the media should be cause for celebration.  So why are they panicking?  Any theories Mr. Snerdley?  Or am I off track on this?  Look, no opinion here.  I\u2019m literally asking a question.  Some of this isn\u2019t making any sense.  Why the panic from people who are seemingly getting what they wanted all along?  Are they panicking because now it\u2019s one thing in, say, August, September of last year to dream about Trump destroying the party.  But it\u2019s another thing to see it. <\/p>\n

“Uh, oh, I didn\u2019t really want this to happen.” <\/p>\n

<\/a>If you say you can\u2019t support Trump no matter what, your principles, whatever, do not permit you, for whatever reason, Trump is a reprobate or he\u2019s unqualified, if you can\u2019t bring yourself to support Trump and you\u2019ve been publicly saying so and then you\u2019ve been flirting with supporting, raising money for or even supporting Hillary, then why is any of this upsetting?  These people seem to me to be getting exactly what they want. <\/p>\n

Is it the sudden realization that Trump imploding, if they think that\u2019s what\u2019s happening — by the way, don\u2019t bank on that yet, folks.  Don\u2019t infer anything yet.  But they perceive it.  The media perceives it.  The media is trying to create the impression, is it that they\u2019re associating a Trump implosion with a party implosion?  Is it that they thought maybe they could arrange it so that Trump would bomb out but that wouldn\u2019t have any effect on the party? <\/p>\n

How it can be that when these people, the people I\u2019m talking about have made it clear that they\u2019re abandoning the party as long as Trump\u2019s there.  The party\u2019s not worth standing with and saving.  No.  Because Trump\u2019s the head of it as the nominee, because Trump\u2019s saying he\u2019s a Republican.  It\u2019s not worth saving the Republican Party.  No, I\u2019m going to join the Democrats or I\u2019m going to join some third party or I\u2019m going to go independent or raise money for Hillary or whatever. <\/p>\n

Now, the need for an intervention, that story\u2019s coming from Trump supporters.  And, by the way, who is it, somebody\u2019s claiming that Newt started that story, that it\u2019s not a genuine story.  <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Mike Huckabee on Fox last night, After the Bell on the Fox Business Network.  David Asman said (paraphrased): Hey, Mike, Governor Huckabee. People like Rush Limbaugh are saying that you can\u2019t judge this campaign by the same measures you\u2019ve used in others, because Trump isn\u2019t ideological.  There isn\u2019t any ideological component in this race. What do you think about that, Governor Huckabee?<\/p>\n

HUCKABEE: I think they\u2019re largely right.  It doesn\u2019t mean he can just go off and do anything, because ultimately there are undecided voters.  But here\u2019s what is true: This is not an ideological election where people are voting traditional Democrat or Republican lines.  It\u2019s a disruptive election.<\/line><\/p>\n

RUSH:  Now it may be ideological on the Democrat side.  I think Hillary is getting votes because there\u2019s a D next to her name.  But on the Republican side, this is true.  Whether you like it or not, Trump is not an ideological guy, and he\u2019s not running an ideological campaign, meaning Trump isn\u2019t running against liberals.  He\u2019s running against the status-quo establishment.  Now Robert Costa used to be a reporter at National Review.  He was so admired by the Washington Post they, hired him away.  He\u2019s now a reporter on the presidential campaign.  He was on Charlie Rose last night.  Charlie Rose said, “How deep and wide is the movement that Trump has…?” How long can it last?<\/p>\n

COSTA: It\u2019s wider than any party.  I mean, it includes some Bernie Sanders supporters. It includes some libertarians.  The most important voter in this movement, uh, when I travel around the country, is the previously disengaged voter.  They\u2019re almost a nonpartisan voter, but they\u2019ve given up not just on the political process, but they\u2019ve disengaged from civic society. They don\u2019t really follow politics. If that\u2019s a real coherent voting block, then Trump — regardless of the polls — will have a shot in November — and regardless of all the mistakes — because that\u2019s a huge block.  There\u2019s so much of this country that rarely, if ever, votes, and if — for some reason — they come to the polls in droves, that changes everything.<\/p>\n

RUSH:  This is why they\u2019re scared, and this is why all the panic that doesn\u2019t seem to be sensible.  Why panic when the guy you don\u2019t like is imploding?  But they are.  <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH:  I\u2019m going to play this Bob Costa, Robert Costa sound bite again.  There\u2019s actually a follow-up sound bite that goes along with it.  I want to share a little story here with you.  We introduced at RushLimbaugh.com, Rush 24\/7. This is the pay side of the Rush Limbaugh website<\/a>.  There\u2019s a free side, which is just fabulous.  But the subscriber or member side is just out of this world in terms of the collection of knowledge organized, the data, the historical record of this program.  It\u2019s incredible. <\/p>\n

So every now and then, we offer little premiums to new subscribers, and it always irritates people who subscribe when that particular premium is not available.  The last one caused this controversy — minor little headaches — is the Never Hillary bumper sticker<\/a>.  It\u2019s a Never Hillary bumper sticker that we made available a couple months ago.  We cannot keep these things in stock.  They\u2019re flying off the shelves.  We\u2019ve got people signing up and becoming members of Rush 24\/7.  Don\u2019t get mad, folks, because I never talk about this.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t talk about this nearly as much as I should, in fact.  But we\u2019ve got people signing up at a rate that almost duplicates when we rolled out our website 15 or so years ago.  It\u2019s incredible.  And so we added in the EIB Store where we have, eh, some merchandise<\/a>.  Not a lot.  T-shirts and golf shirts and bags and doodads.  We created T-shirts modeled after the bumper sticker — and those are flying off the shelves!  I mean, there is so much anti-Hillary sentiment out there.  You\u2019re not seeing any of this in media. <\/line><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean my website.  You\u2019re not seeing any of the anti-Hillary sentiment reported.  It\u2019s just not being mentioned.  I think Media Research Center did some calculations and for every negative story of Hillary, there are like 100 negative stories on Trump.  It may even be worse than that.  So what I did, is I went up to Connecticut for an annual golf tournament that I play in back on July the 13th\/14th, and I took 50 bumper stickers with me.  I got them free because I own the company.  So I took them up there with me. <\/p>\n

And everybody that saw one wanted one.  But only 10 people took them.  They were afraid that there would be vandalism on their cars or that liberal friends of theirs would criticize them.  So they didn\u2019t want to publicize their anti-Hillary opinions.  They didn\u2019t want anybody to know.  Now, Connecticut is obviously a deep blue state.  And the number of conservative Republicans there is not that great.  But even the ones who are, do not want it known.  There\u2019s a genuine fear. <\/p>\n

Now, part of this fear is common.  There are a lot of people who don\u2019t tell you what they really think about things because they just don\u2019t want to get into arguments.  And particularly with people on the left because those people are vile.  “They\u2019re disgustingly mean and potentially dangerous.” This is what people think.  “So it\u2019s best not to provoke them.”  Now, I\u2019m not extrapolating this to mean anything. <\/p>\nI\u2019m not suggesting that because of this little anecdotal story that you can expand it and suggest there\u2019s all kinds of anti-Hillary support out there but they\u2019re not going to tell anybody, including pollsters.  But I think there\u2019s some.  <\/line>Well, heck, I know there is!  And it cuts both ways.  There are people who are for Trump who don\u2019t want to say so.  They see what happens to Trump supporters.  I mean, if you\u2019re a Trump supporter and you see that the media every day is about what kind of degenerate and reprobate or whatever else Trump is?<\/line>\n

My gosh, why would anybody want to say publicly they support that guy?  But obviously a lot of people do.  And then I doubled back. Pardon the repetition here, but I really want to make this point.  I don\u2019t understand this panic. I understand if there\u2019s panic within the Trump campaign but, honestly, I don\u2019t know whether to believe that either.  That could all be a media manifestation, a media creation.  I know that if you just look at this and your only source of data is the media, you can\u2019t help but conclude it.<\/p>\n

You have to fight the conclusion that Trump is in trouble.  That\u2019s what everybody wants you to believe.  And he may well be.  I don\u2019t know.  But what doesn\u2019t make sense to me is the people in the Republican Party who have opposed Trump since July being in a state of panic over what\u2019s being reported as Trump\u2019s campaign unraveling.  Why would they be in a state of panic?  Why wouldn\u2019t they be celebrating?  Instead of telling reporters how panicked they are and how desperate times are and how, “Oh my God, we\u2019re going to get creamed,” (they think), why aren\u2019t they out there dancing? <\/p>\n

Because these are the people — at least some who are supposedly panicking.  These are the people that never wanted Trump.  These are the people hoping and praying every week that Trump would implode.  Many of them predicted that Trump would implode, and many of them said they\u2019re going to vote Democrat!  Many said they\u2019re going to abandon the Republican Party.  Many said they\u2019re going to sit out.  Some said they\u2019re going to work for Hillary.  Some said they\u2019re going to endorse Hillary.  Why are those people panicking? <\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t make any sense. <\/p>\n

And if they answer that by saying, “Well, we\u2019re panicking because look at what\u2019s happening with our party,” well, I\u2019m sorry, but isn\u2019t this what you wanted to happen to the party?  Now, I know a lot of Tea Party people are not unhappy.  The Republican Party may be in the process of imploding and then have to be put back together again.  But I\u2019m talking about establishment Republican types.  If you don\u2019t want to stand and preserve your party — and I\u2019m talking about establishment types. <\/line><\/p>\n

If you proudly, loudly affirm your opposition to the nominee — in this case, the Trumpster — and you say you\u2019re joining Hillary or you\u2019re sitting out or you\u2019re voting third party or whatever, well, by definition you are helping whatever your fear is will be happening to the Republican Party.  So I just don\u2019t understand the panic.  That would be — and the people supposedly panicking don\u2019t want Trump to win anyway. <\/p>\n

And the people supposedly panicking are the ones mostly who predicted that this kind of thing would happen, that Trump would implode.  Not that he is.  I\u2019m reacting to media coverage.  That\u2019s all that anybody is doing either.  Except, folks, overflow crowds at every Trump event.  You can\u2019t get into them.  The people that do get in are as raucous as ever.  They\u2019re as supportive as ever.  I have talked to a lot of people that have attended these rallies. <\/p>\n

I had a guy tell me, “Rush, you don\u2019t know what walking a rope line and signing autographs is until you do it with Donald Trump.”  And then he said, “Well, maybe you do, Rush, but I\u2019m telling you: Most people don\u2019t.  It\u2019s phenomenal.”  In the midst of all of this, all of that, that support that was with Trump from day one is still there.  You just don\u2019t see it reported anymore.  And the reason for that, supposedly, is that Trump isn\u2019t saying anything new.  So the media has grown tired and bored. <\/p>\n

<\/a>And while all of this is going on, can anybody find Hillary Clinton?  We need a search party.  We need an APB.  She hasn\u2019t had a press conference in over 200-some-odd days.  She\u2019s not out there by design, because the people who don\u2019t want Trump to win, the vast majority of them realize that Hillary can\u2019t win it; they\u2019ve got to take it away from Trump.  They\u2019ve got to gin it up so people are voting against Trump not for Hillary because she can\u2019t pull that off.  Maybe in her base. Maybe she can energize her base, but no more than that. <\/p>\n

So given all this, I want to go back to Robert Costa last night on Charlie Rose on PBS. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s formerly National Review, now at the Washington Post.  And amidst all of this panic, and by the way, there\u2019s celebration too. The media and the Democrats are celebrating whatever is going on or whatever they\u2019re reporting is going on with Trump.  Let\u2019s face it, they\u2019re reporting an implosion, can I just use the word without worrying about it.  They, in effect, are reporting that the campaign is imploding, reporting it\u2019s the worst two weeks any candidate for president has ever had.  That\u2019s what they want everybody to think to conclude. <\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t see — I don\u2019t know.  I don\u2019t see the dancing in the streets metaphorically.  I don\u2019t see all this happiness that would accompany that.  So here\u2019s Costa, he\u2019s a young guy.  He\u2019s okay.  But he was being asked by Charlie Rose about the Trump campaign and some people are still not sure about things.  Because they know some of this is outside the establishment\u2019s ability to comprehend it when plugged into traditional formulas. <\/p>\n

So first question to Mr. Costa: “How deep and how wide is the movement that Trump has in a sense accepted as his reason for being?”  That\u2019s a convoluted question.  What he\u2019s asking him here, who are these people?  How big is this Trump movement?  Is it bigger than what we see?  How deep is it?  Tell us.  You\u2019re covering it.<\/p>\n

COSTA: It\u2019s wider than any party. I mean, it includes some Bernie Sanders supporters. It includes some libertarians. But the most important voter in this movement when I travel around the country is the previously disengaged voter. They\u2019re almost a non-partisan voter, but they\u2019ve given up, not just on the political process, but they\u2019ve disengaged from civic society. They don\u2019t really follow politics. If that\u2019s a real coherent voting block, then Trump, regardless of the polls, will have a shot in November regardless of all his mistakes because that is a huge block. There\u2019s so much of the country that rarely, if ever, votes. And if for some reason they come to the polls in droves, that changes everything.<\/p>\n

RUSH:  Now, that\u2019s interesting isn\u2019t it?  Nobody is talking about that group.  Because you can\u2019t poll them.  The group that traditionally doesn\u2019t vote, and there are tons of them.  You probably know many of them.  You know what they say: “I\u2019m so fed up with politics.  My vote doesn\u2019t count.  Those people are cheating us. It doesn\u2019t matter. Don\u2019t waste your time voting. It\u2019s all set up. It\u2019s all rigged.  You and I don\u2019t have a prayer.”<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of people like that.  Mr. Costa here says Trump\u2019s connected with them and nobody knows anything about them.  Nobody know how big the group is. Nobody knows if they\u2019re actually going to vote.  But at every Trump rally, no matter where it is or the size of the arena, it\u2019s overflowing.  People have to put in satellite rooms with video monitors. <\/p>\n

So Charlie Rose then said to Mr. Costa, “Well, what is your best evidence that Trump may be able to pull this off?”  Remember now this question\u2019s asked right smack dab in the middle of what\u2019s being reported as there\u2019s an intervention coming, Trump\u2019s bottoming out, Trump\u2019s blowing up, Trump is imploding.  It\u2019s a mistake.  The Republicans are regretting it.  Everybody thinks it\u2019s horrible.  Trump may even quit.  You know, you\u2019ve heard all that.  And yet here they are on Charlie Rose talking about how he can win it.  Costa got his attention, Charlie is now concerned. Charlie says, “What\u2019s your best evidence that Trump can actually pull this out?” <\/line><\/p>\n

COSTA:  I\u2019m seeing it everywhere I go, people are just frustrated with the country at large, not just with a specific party. And Trump may be the benefit of that, but he\u2019s not entirely making an overture to them in a straightforward way every day. He\u2019s a symbol of someone who\u2019s an outsider, an interloper, someone who\u2019s against the establishment and the elite class, however people want to describe it. <\/p>\n

RUSH:  And they are the ones that are carrying out the daily destroy mission on Trump.  Understandably so.  So this is interesting.  And so Costa, he knows they\u2019re out there.  And he knows that if anybody, this group is going to be attracted to Trump.  But then he says:  Trump is not really making an overture to them.  In other words, Trump may not even know to whom he\u2019s appealing and how far and wide, which makes my point that this movement, whatever you want to call it, existed before Trump.  It\u2019s not dependent on Trump. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s another reason that the establishment is very worried and concerned, because it doesn\u2019t depend on Trump.  Trump came along and connected with it like nobody else has.  And that\u2019s why they\u2019re standing with Trump.  They\u2019re not going to let people to take Trump out.  It isn\u2019t going to happen. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got to take a quick timeout here, my friends.  Seems like I go long in this segment, it\u2019s because they\u2019re all good.  Let\u2019s admit it. <\/line><\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH:  Okay, so numbers that go along here with Mr. Robert Costa\u2019s point.  Voter turnout in 2008 it was 62.3 percent.  In 2012, it was 57.5 percent.  So five percent dip in voter turnout.  Almost half the people in the country who could vote don\u2019t.  Or in 2012 didn\u2019t.  Probably about 45 percent who could vote didn\u2019t.  If they show up, if Trump gets a fraction of them, it would totally upend every formula everybody has out there.  These people are not polled.  And also keep in this mind, and I never see anybody dispute this.  Let me just ask you to see if you recall.  The latest number in whatever poll you want to take, the number is pretty consistent poll to poll, the percentage of America people who think the country is headed in the wrong direction, what\u2019s the number?  It\u2019s 70. <\/p>\n

It is 70 percent.  This, I think, is why Mr. Costa, making the point that — it\u2019s not Costas.  It\u2019s Robert Costa.  There\u2019s no S there.  Don\u2019t make the mistake of discounting the guy because you think he\u2019s a gun control nut on Sunday Night Football.  He\u2019s not the same guy. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Bob from Coronado, California.  Great to have you on the EIB Network.  Hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER:  Hi, Rush.  I have two comments that I think are the reason that people are fearing an implosion.  The first one, which I think is less important, applies to non-supportive Republicans and liberals.  I think that\u2019s the Wilder Effect which you can explain better than I.  But I think that scares that group.  But what I think really scares the Republican establishment is, if in fact this group of people that you\u2019re talking about doesn\u2019t show up to vote, they\u2019re going to vote for Trump and that\u2019s why they\u2019re going to the polls.  If they get disgruntled and say, “I\u2019m not going to vote for Trump, I can\u2019t take it.”  They\u2019re going to stay home and that is minus one Republican vote for that senator, that House person.  And they need the voter to go to the polls and the Donald supporter, if he gives up, isn\u2019t going to vote for the rest of the ticket.<\/p>\n

RUSH:  Wait a minute.  Okay.  That\u2019s a good point.  But these people should have thought of that.  They should have thought down ballot.  If they\u2019re going to abandon the Republican Party because of Trump they\u2019re abandoning the Republican Party.  They can\u2019t say they\u2019re going to work for Hillary and then — I guess they could say they\u2019re going to turn around and work for their favorite senator or what have you.  Anyway, we\u2019ll throw that in the hopper.  Couple of good points there.  Particularly the second one. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH:  You gotta be very careful.  Folks, I\u2019m not saying that the Trump campaign is imploding.  I don\u2019t believe that it is.  The media wants you to think so.  In all of these stories about there\u2019s going to be an intervention, everybody reputed, supposedly in charge of that, says it\u2019s not true.  Other than Rudy who said Newt made up the story.  But there isn\u2019t one.  Don\u2019t misunderstand me.  I\u2019m just referring to what the media wants you to believe.  I don\u2019t believe it is happening.  <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: I really do believe that what you are seeing in the media — and I expect to be excoriated for this, as I\u2019m excoriated for much of what I say.  Actually, what we\u2019re seeing is establishment panic.  Look, they know what the stakes are here.  Folks, if this guy Trump wins, everything is turned upside down.  Everything these establishment people rely on for their self-esteem, for their identity, for their standard of living, for their kids\u2019 future? <\/p>\n

Everything is turned upside down and potentially put at risk.  They know it, and they know something else.  They do not have, in Hillary Clinton, a candidate that can cross the finish line on her own.  They don\u2019t have a candidate that they follow.  They have a candidate who has to be pushed.  They have a candidate that has to be guided and defended — and ignored — at the right time.  And there\u2019s an opponent that they have to take out.  And we\u2019re now in August, and you know what the establishment people do in August?<\/p>\n

Mr. Snerdley, what do the establishment types do in August?  What do they do?  Where do you find them?  Where are they right now? (interruption) Well, they\u2019re out in the Hamptons.  They\u2019re going to charity fundraisers. They\u2019re hanging around playing polo or attending polo matches sponsored by Mercedes and fashion shows and stuff.  And they\u2019re going to cocktail parties.  And they\u2019re wringing their hands, because they know what I just said.  They don\u2019t have an electric candidate.  They don\u2019t have a candidate that can sell books. <\/p>\n

All they have is a candidate that can sell herself — or access to herself.  And you know what? I think these people, the opponents to Trump, look at everything they\u2019ve been able to either manufacture, create or report — that is the supposed implosion of Trump campaign, his bottoming out on the polls, and Hillary racing ahead — and yet what do they see?  They see overflow arenas when Trump goes out and does an appearance.  In the real world, they don\u2019t see the evidence that would accompany their reporting. <\/p>\n

I mean, if the bottom is falling out of Trump\u2019s campaign, he shouldn\u2019t be drawing any crowds either.  I mean, if the bottom\u2019s falling out of Trump\u2019s campaign, what does it mean?  It means he\u2019s losing support and that\u2019s what they\u2019re trying to create: The impression he\u2019s losing support.  And if you believe, live and die by these polls, then you must accept that.  You can\u2019t take a poll that you don\u2019t like and throw it out and then sign on to a poll that you do.  So people live and die by these polls on both sides. <\/p>\n

But, yet, Trump\u2019s still drawing crowds.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re just as large as ever. There are just as many overflows as ever, and Trump\u2019s still doing them.  So over here on one hand you have all this evidence of a campaign in disarray, a campaign supposedly with a near mutiny going on inside it, a campaign in need of an “intervention” by professionals like Newt Gingrich or Rudy Giuliani.  You have a campaign with this person leaving it or that person leaving it. You have a campaign that Republicans are publicly denouncing and smearing, and then leaving to join Hillary Clinton. <\/line><\/p>\n

But over there, on the other hand, the real world example is Trump is just as popular as ever.  So all of these problems — the diminished campaign and the lack of support, the dwindling enthusiasm… Look, if you\u2019re losing support, if you\u2019re down ten points in a week, that should mean there\u2019s a lot less enthusiasm for you.  But they don\u2019t see less enthusiasm for Trump.  And I\u2019m telling you, this sound bite we had from Robert Costa of the Washington Post?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of those sound bites that provides a window into the thinking of many in the establishment.  So they are trying to think outside the box.  They are worried about outside-the-box things that they don\u2019t control, because they don\u2019t reach those people through traditional media and so forth.  My point is, they\u2019re still very, very, very concerned because they have a lot at stake here if they lose.  Both parties\u2019 party structure here, party identity, are not that big a deal.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking about the ruling class people from all walks of life, that make it or break it in some way related to government.  And that is what is at stake here.  Somebody is trying to intercede, interrupt, disrupt, take control of it away from them.  And they\u2019re just not going to sit idly by and let things take their normal flow and course and then deal with it.  They\u2019re going to do everything they can to control the course of events, and especially using the Drive-By Media that is theirs.  <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Here is Brian in Sonoma, California.  Welcome sir, glad you waited.  You\u2019re next, hello.<\/p>\n

CALLER:  Hi, Rush.  How are you doing? <\/p>\n

RUSH:  Just fine, sir, thank you.<\/p>\n

CALLER:  I kind of had a question.  I was thinking out loud to myself about an opportunity where Trump could get most of the votes, like more votes than Hillary but still not get elected as president. <\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I was thinking about Gore and Bush. Gore won the popular vote and Bush still got the election because of the Electoral College.  So we don\u2019t really elect, I mean the people, we don\u2019t really elect the president.  So is there an opportunity still for Trump to get a majority of all the votes and then Hillary still get the election because somebody smarter at the Electoral College decides that it\u2019s better for us? <\/p>\n

RUSH:  No, the electoral college has to vote the way the states go.  That\u2019s why you hear presidential campaigns are actually campaigns in various states, battleground states.  But it\u2019s another reason why, by the way, part of the Trump is losing it meme, is that, “You know what, he\u2019s losing every battleground state he needs. Oh yeah, he\u2019s losing Ohio, he\u2019s losing Florida, he\u2019s losing Pennsylvania and don\u2019t doubt me, he needs Pennsylvania.  He can\u2019t do anything unless he wins Pennsylvania and he\u2019s down by 15 points in Pennsylvania.  It\u2019s over.  Trump is losing in every state!”  That\u2019s what they\u2019re saying.  That\u2019s the theme, the narrative that\u2019s out there. <\/p>\n

But yeah, it rarely happens.  Bush and Gore was a rarity.  You can win the popular vote, lose in the election, but it\u2019s not because of individual — well, I take it back. There is a member of the Electoral College, one of the electors in Georgia has come out and said he\u2019s not going to vote for Trump no matter what the state of Georgia does.  He\u2019s just not going to do it. <\/p>\n

So, look, there\u2019s all kinds of opportunities for chicanery here.  I\u2019m not denying it.  It\u2019s not going to come down to that.  Well, I shouldn\u2019t speak so fast.  I think these establishment guys are capable of anything to hold onto what they\u2019ve got.  I still don\u2019t think people have the slightest idea what they would do.  I mean, did you think that coup was actually going to get rid of Recep Tayyip Erdogan?  You see what he\u2019s doing to everybody?  And that might have even been a fake coup just so he could get rid of opposition. <\/line><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to hear this one sound bite, by the way. This is David Rodham Gergen.  He is the voice of conventional wisdom in Washington.  Remember now, in June we were told polling data in June tells you who wins.  But then Trump erased Hillary\u2019s advantage and then they said, “Okay, it\u2019s the first set of polls after the conventions, that\u2019s what tells you.”  Now that\u2019s out of the window.  Now there\u2019s a new mechanism by which we can now determine who will win the presidency and David Gergen has it talking about Hillary\u2019s bounce in the polls after the Democrat convention.<\/p>\n

GERGEN: It\u2019s the bounce-plus, and the plus is that Donald Trump has had a miserable seven days.<\/p>\n

RUSH:  Take it back.  I called for the wrong bite.  Play No. 7 real fast.  Play the next one real fast.  We\u2019ve got time.  Never mind.  What he says is that all that matters is Obama\u2019s approval rating. As long as Obama\u2019s approval rating remains high that will carry Hillary Clinton across the finish line.  Nothing else matters.  It used to be the polling data in June told us all we needed to know.  Then that one fell apart. <\/p>\n

Then they went to the post-convention bounce.  They\u2019re not comfortable with that.  Now the significant number in all of the polling, Gergen says, is the president\u2019s approval rating:  When a candidate runs, same party sitting president, his approval number tells you who is going to win.  They think they can keep Obama\u2019s approval number at 56, even if they have to make it up. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: The entire Washington establishment, consisting of the Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment, the media establishment, the think-tank establishment — the entire political class — has arrayed every gun that it has at the Trump campaign, and they are firing both barrels 24\/7. It is a breathtaking sight to behold, ladies and gentlemen. Why all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIf Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"If Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: The entire Washington establishment, consisting of the Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment, the media establishment, the think-tank establishment — the entire political class — has arrayed every gun that it has at the Trump campaign, and they are firing both barrels 24\/7. It is a breathtaking sight to behold, ladies and gentlemen. Why all […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"30 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/\",\"name\":\"If Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-04T20:10:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-04T20:10:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If Trump Is Truly Imploding — and I Don\\u2019t Think He Is — Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"If Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: The entire Washington establishment, consisting of the Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment, the media establishment, the think-tank establishment — the entire political class — has arrayed every gun that it has at the Trump campaign, and they are firing both barrels 24\/7. It is a breathtaking sight to behold, ladies and gentlemen. Why all […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"30 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","contentUrl":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/","name":"If Trump Is Truly Imploding - and I Don't Think He Is - Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking? - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-08-04T20:10:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-04T20:10:00+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/08\/04\/if_trump_is_truly_imploding_and_i_don_t_think_he_is_then_why_is_the_washington_establishment_panicking_\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If Trump Is Truly Imploding — and I Don\u2019t Think He Is — Then Why Is the Washington Establishment Panicking?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214135"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}