RUSH: Donald Trump lit into Ben Carson yesterday. You know, it will be interesting to see. There have been countless times in the past where Trump has behaved in ways people found questionable and thought that would be the end of it. “He’s gonna blow up. He’s gonna implode. The polling data is gonna show he’s gone too far, that people think he’s gone too far.” So people are saying that again yesterday over what Trump said about Ben Carson and others. Let’s go to the sound bites and see what you think. Last night CNN’s Erin Burnett “Tonight.” She said, “On questions about Dr. Carson’s past, do you believe he’s being truthful now that you’ve heard his answers?”
TRUMP: Pathological is a very serious disease. And he said he’s pathological. Somebody said he has pathological disease. Other people say he said in the book — and I haven’t seen it; I know it’s in the book — that he’s got a pathological temper or temperament. That’s a big problem, because you don’t cure that. I could say, as an example, “child molester.” You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it. Pathological, there’s no cure for that.
RUSH: Well, we’ve called many people on this program “pathological liars.” You know what the definition of a pathological liar is? I mean, there are many definitions, but just to give you an idea what’s being discussed here, I’ve often said that Clinton is pathologically lying. By that I mean, he really believes what he’s saying is true. A pathological liar actually believes his own lies. He’s so good at it that his lies to him are reality, and there are others just as adept at lying or who are fully aware what they are. Now, I don’t know in this tirade Trump gave in Iowa last night…
I haven’t seen anything in his tirade that he hasn’t said before. But last night, apparently, it was total stream of consciousness. He didn’t seem to have any brakes anywhere. I mean, no guardrails or any speed bumps. Let’s put it that way. And it seemed many people think Trump does that all the time, but this seemed a little bit more disjointed than usual. Carson has come out, by the way, at a press conference. “Donald Trump did not call me a child molester.” We have that coming up. But first, return to Trump. Last night, Fort Dodge, Iowa. This is Trump speaking about questions regarding Dr. Carson.
TRUMP: Give me a break! The knife broke. Let me tell you, I’m pretty good at this stuff. … So I have a belt. Somebody hits me with the belt, it’s going in because the belt moves this way!
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
TRUMP: It moves this way! It moves that way! He hit the belt buckle!
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
TRUMP: Anybody have a knife; they want to try it on me?
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
TRUMP: Believe me, it ain’t gonna work. You’re gonna be successful. But he took the knife, he went like this. And he plunged it into the belt! And amazingly the belt stayed totally flat and the knife broke. How stupid are the people of Iowa?
AUDIENCE: (chuckle)
TRUMP: How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?
RUSH: There you have it. That one sound bite is what has everybody out there going, “Ooooooh, this is above and beyond even what we’re accustomed to from Trump. Ooh, what do we do with this? Oh, my God, he said, ‘Crap!’ Oh, my God. And now, and now he said Carson lied about the knife, ’cause he goes in this whole dissertation about the belt buckle and so forth,” and then, ‘How stupid are the people of Iowa?’ when he’s in Iowa. He was at Fort Dodge.” So, you know, some people say he is clearly, clearly bothered that Carson’s ahead of him in Iowa. He doesn’t understand it and is blaming (like Democrats do, actually) the voters and their stupidity.
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RUSH: Donald Trump on ISIS. Now, this is after he asked, “How stupid are the people of Iowa?” for believing anything Carson’s saying about his past. “How stupid are the people of Iowa?” because they somehow prefer Carson. How can they believe this crap? Now, the next bite, this is also from Fort Dodge. This is Trump on what he would do about ISIS.
TRUMP: I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me. I would bomb the (bleep) out of them.
AUDICENCE: (cheers and applause)
TRUMP: I would just bomb those suckers. And, that’s right, I’d blow up the pipes! I’m blow up the refineries. I’d blow up every single inch! There would be nothing left.
RUSH: Audience loved it. Audience liked hearing it. There’s some conflict over whether or not we’ve actually killed the ISIS head honcho. You know, it’s fascinating to me. All of this time ISIS has been out there doing whatever they’ve been doing, and we officially — from the Regime — have been acting like we care a little bit and we’re gonna do something about it but we’ve gotta be very careful. No boots on the ground and all that.
Putin comes along, starts talking tough, starts making bombing runs, starts making attacks. Putin’s dominating the news cycle. Putin this; Putin that. Three weeks of that, and all of a sudden we’ve killed Jihad John. But now David Cameron of the UK says, “Ah, ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, maybe the US didn’t. We gotta take this under advisement.” Meaning: We necessarily can’t trust Barack Obama and his apparatus, claiming that they’ve killed somebody here. So that’s the latest on that. Anyway, Trump just wants to…
He wants to bomb those suckers. He’s gonna bomb the bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep out of them. The audience goes, “Yay, dude! Right on.” But there were also people shocked in the audience last night. Here’s Carson in Greenville, South Carolina, not playing the outrage game. He had a press conference. Reporter said Donald Trump last night on CNN compared things that you’ve said about having a pathological temper to being a child molester, saying those things are incurable for life. Do you find this appropriate dialogue from your presidential front-runner in the Republican race at this point?
CARSON: Well, it’s not the kind of dialogue that I would ever engage in. And I’m hopeful that maybe his advisors will help him to understand the word “pathological” and recognize that that does not denote incurable. It’s not the same. It simply is an adjective that describes something that is highly abnormal — and something that, fortunately, I’ve been able to be delivered from for a half a century now.
RUSH: So half century ago he was pathological, but he isn’t pathological anymore, proving that you can cure abnormal pathologies. But it’s wrong for Trump to say that pathologies or pathological characteristics are incurable ’cause they’re not. And a female reporter said, “He called you a child molester! He called you a child molester! Do you believe he owes you an apology?”
CARSON: I don’t believe he called me a child molester.
REPORTER: He compared your pathology to child molestation!
CARSON: Well, you know, I always find a little amusing what people in the press like to say. “You compared this, and therefore you said they’re the same.” I don’t buy all that stuff. So those are questions you could ask Donald Trump.
RUSH: Well, let’s go back. Grab audio sound bite number seven. ‘Cause Carson may be right about this. Not that it’s a big deal, but Trump employed a verbal trick here. And I’m sure that a Drive-By Media person — in full-fledged bias mode — would be capable of hearing something that wasn’t said because she wants to hear it, or he. It’s on Erin Burnett last night on CNN. And she asks Trump if he believes that Carson’s being truthful now about stories regarding his past.
TRUMP: Pathological is a very serious disease. And he said he’s pathological. Somebody said he has pathological disease. Other people say he said in the book — and I haven’t seen it; I know it’s in the book — that he’s got a pathological temper or temperament. That’s a big problem, because you don’t cure that. I could say, as an example, “child molester.” You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it. Pathological, there’s no cure for that.
RUSH: Okay, so technically he didn’t call Carson a child molester. He wanted people, maybe, to think that he was comparing temperaments here. But he didn’t come out and declare, “Ben Carson’s a child molester! He’s not even a good child molester. I know child molesters that are really good. He’s not even a good.”
That’s what Trump would have said if he were calling Carson a child molester, but he actually didn’t. But if you’re a media person and you want to hear, Trump enabled — (interruption) What, you think I’m wrong about this? (interruption) That’s what I’m saying. He didn’t call him a child molester, but he created — let’s call it the illusion. You know, in magic acts, there are various stages of the act, and one of the stages is called the prestige, the illusion, and he’s tricking people, he’s actually — how would you say this? He’s openly purposefully keying in on everybody’s lack of really hearing things. He just knows it’s gonna be very easy, he’s talking about Carson over here and temperaments and then all of a sudden pathology and how it’s incurable. You throw the two words up, child molester, “My god, he just called him a child molester. Did you hear that, Mabel? Did you hear that? He just called him a child molester,” when he really didn’t. But it served the purpose. It made people think. I’m stickler for language. You know me. I’m mayor of Realville.
So let’s go to the Drive-Bys, because I said earlier the Drive-Bys think this is it again. This is it. The establishment inside Beltway Republican establishment, they’re gleeful. They’re probably regretting this Washington Post story now about Romney, but they’ll get over that. They are just ecstatic. They think this is it. The big moment that they’ve just known was gonna happen happened. It happened on CNN last night. It happened in Fort Dodge, Iowa, with Trump blowing up over Ben Carson. First a montage from a bunch of Drive-Bys.
MATT LAUER: (music) Titanic tirade! Donald Trump sounds off during an epic 90-minute rant.
REENA NINAN: (music) Trump’s tirade! The Republican candidate going off…
CHRISTINE ROMANS: (music) Donald Trump unleashed. A 95-minute tirade…
CHRIS CUOMO: A 95-minute, just, tirade…
NORAH OÂ’DONNELL: Donald Trump’s tirade last night…
CHARLIE ROSE: This tirade by Trump last night…
JOHN DICKERSON: He achieved sort of orbital escape velocity in that (b-roll noise) tirade.
MICHAELA PEREIRA: An epic tirade.
SHANNON MULAIRE: His tirade, with some colorful language.
CHERYL CASONE: Trump (sfx) going another tirade…
ATHENA JONES: One of the longest and most eyebrow-raising tirades from Trump yet.
RUSH: So it was a tirade. I guess we gather that from the Drive-Bys. So somewhere it went out: “You all are gonna describe it as a tirade,” and they all dutifully described it as a tirade, and they did so happily. Up next, CBS This Morning, White House correspondent Major Garrett reporting on the Republican campaign and Trump and his speech in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
GARRETT: One of the questions that has long surrounded Donald Trump’s surprising resiliency as a Republican front-runner, could his temper and ego withstand long running political competition. Well, last night just north of here in Fort Dodge, Trump delivered an answer, laced with profanity and insults that may mark a turning point.
RUSH: Yes, you see, may mark a turning point. If it does, folks, I just want to remind you, I may not be the first to have reminded you, but if not, I was among the early ones. If there is a shakeup at the top of the Republican field, and if Carson and/or Trump fade, who is the guy I told you to keep your eyes on? That would be Cruz. And ever since then, more and more people, even today, there are other stories about keep a sharp eye on Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz positioned well to pick up any pieces that fall apart. So there’s Major Garrett: That may mark a turning point. Here’s John Sununu this morning on CNN’s New Day, Alisyn Camerota. “Governor, what do you think, what do you think of Trump’s plan, what do you think of his speech, what do you think strategically of what he did last night in Fort Dodge?”
SUNUNU: That whole rant in Iowa is the reason that we should not have a reality show star as president of the United States. It was irrational, it was rude, it was crude, and frankly, politically, it was dumb, and this is the problem. It applies equally to the fact that everything Trump puts on the table is dependent on hot rhetoric to get the emotional response from the voters but has no rationality or substance behind it in terms of being able to be implemented. I do think that what you saw in Iowa yesterday is the beginning of the unraveling the loudmouth’s campaign.
RUSH: They can’t wait. They just can’t wait. This is it. They knew it. It was always gonna happen, except yesterday they were getting panicked, so they fed some lines to the Washington Post about trying to get Romney redrafted or reinterested.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: This is Rich in White Plains, New York. It’s good to have you, sir. How are you?
CALLER: Rush. Thanks for taking my call, and you’re absolutely right, the only thing that’s keeping me drawn to Donald Trump is his position on illegal immigration.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: And somewhere Tom Tancredo is asking himself, what did I do wrong? But I’m getting a little tired of his rhetoric, and in particular, you know, in the beginning when Mr. Trump was attacking he would say “I’m a counterpuncher and I only attack people who attack me.” But lately I don’t recall Rubio, Cruz, or Ben Carson doing any attacking to Mr. Trump, and here he is punching away at them. Like Ben Carson said, “Where I come from they call that a lie.”
RUSH: Yeah. I’m having a tough time associating the whole idea of a pathological temper with Ben Carson.
CALLER: Yeah. That’s for sure.
RUSH: I just do not see that at all. You’re right that he says he only punches back, but maybe he considers Carson leading in Iowa to be an attack. Maybe Carson leading in Iowa to be something he needs to punch back.
CALLER: Oh, we’re stretching it there Rush, you know, we’re spinning a little on that one.
RUSH: I’m not spinning anything. I’m not supporting or denouncing anything. I’m simply explaining to you what might be the reason Trump’s doing this. I’m mystified like you are. I don’t think it’s necessary.
CALLER: It’s not. He’s saying some pretty harsh things, and I think he’s doing himself a disservice.
RUSH: Well, I know it seems that way. But did the Democrats get hurt by the way they went after Romney? I mean, look at all the veritable crap they made up about Mitt Romney. And as Dingy Harry said when it was all over, “Hey, Dingy, you lied about Romney not paying his taxes.” “So? He didn’t win, did he?” They don’t have any scruples. They don’t care. Winning is all it’s about to them. That may be another reason why.
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RUSH: Here’s Stephanie in Asheville, North Carolina, as we head back to the phones on Open Line Friday. Hi.
CALLER: Hi.
RUSH: What’s up? What’s happening? What’s shaking?
CALLER: Well, it’s a beautiful day here in Asheville, and earlier you were talking about doing what you have been born to do, and I couldn’t agree more. I’m sure your listeners all resonate with that. We owe you a debt of gratitude and thank you —
RUSH: Well, it’s the other way around, but I appreciate that.
CALLER: — for your presentation of the news every day to us. We appreciate it. I just wanted to make a comment. I have a knee-jerk to the news that I got from you today for the first time about the situation last night with Carson and Trump. What really became clear to me — and I’ll just share this with you — is that, you know, both of these candidates are… They’re not politicians, and that is refreshing about them both. We all appreciate that, and they have different processes than that of the typical politician in the way they go about things.
And I think the situation highlights the differences somewhat in their processes. I think that — and, by the way, neither of them is like up on the top of my list for voting for. So this is simply an observation or just a comment. But clearly Ben Carson, his process is one that we all see time and time again. His process is one of humility. He’s very humble. And in sharing his story has made himself really vulnerable. He is giving an honest representation of his strengths as well as his weaknesses. And, you know, we all have strengths and weaknesses.
You know, he is clearly not afraid of the truth. You know, you want to hide your weaknesses when you’re afraid of them, when they’re so big, bad and ugly that you want to hide them, but he’s clearly not afraid of the truth. And that’s refreshing. And I think that’s one of the very attractive things about him. But with Donald Trump attacking him in this way — and especially using the guilty-by-association type tactic, –I think he’s attacking his character, really, and is really revealing something about his own character by doing so. Also at the same time, he’s being very much a typical politician. He’s using a typical political way to go after Carson.
RUSH: Wait. Let me see if I understand what you’re. You think since Carson is opening himself up, Carson is admitting what many would say are early life mistakes, vulnerabilities —
CALLER: Mmm-hmm.
RUSH: — that you’re saying Trump is deciding to pounce because Carson’s opened up and has admitted these flaws, then it’s an open door for Trump to go in there and amplify them?
CALLER: Absolutely. That’s what I see.
RUSH: But you don’t —
CALLER: That’s what I see.
RUSH: But you don’t like Trump doing it. You think it says more about Trump’s character than Carson’s. Do I hear —
CALLER: I do. I think that’s what it is. I don’t know.
RUSH: Okay, then, you expect this to be at some point be reflected negatively for Trump say in future polls? You think he might lose some support over this?
CALLER: Well, I… He certainly has… You know, he certainly lost some of my support because of it, because I see it as a very personal attack. I think that it’s sort of a desperate move, and I really think that all the politicians that use this type of tactic, it’s a desperate-type move. I don’t… I don’t support it. I don’t support it.
RUSH: All right.
CALLER: And I think that it does reveal the character of whomever it is that’s using this tactic.
RUSH: Let’s conduct a little test here, if you don’t mind my doing this, and if you’ll excuse me inserting myself into it, would you play long?
CALLER: Sure. I’ll do my best.
RUSH: I want to build on the fact on how you started the call. You made it clear that you are a regular listener. You appreciate the way I do the program. You expressed admiration and so forth, the way I present the news. You’ve been here a long time. If I began to treat callers the way Trump is going after Carson, you wouldn’t like it. You would think something’s wrong with me. You would think, “That’s not Rush.” It’d make you nervous, would it not?
CALLER: Absolutely. And may I add to that some evidence that I would in fact not like it, and I’ll say this, you know, Glenn Beck who I also respect, but he has this thing that he does, and, you know, calls people up and asks them questions, and I think that, you know, that’s one of the things I always, you know, I don’t listen to him as much as I listen to you, by far, and I don’t really listen, you know, I listen as often as I possibly can, and I rejoice when I have the time to listen to you.
RUSH: I’m sure, I’m sure.
CALLER: But one of the tactics that Glenn Beck uses and I think he’s a great, great guy, don’t get me wrong, but since we’re talking about it, he will sort of capitalize on the weaknesses of some of his listeners or people that maybe he randomly calls and is basically sort of attacking people in their moment of weakness when they can’t answer his silly questions.
RUSH: Well, I’m unfamiliar with that.
CALLER: I don’t care for people, you know, attacking and capitalizing on —
RUSH: Well, but the point here is, the point I’m trying to get at is, is that up to now none of this has hurt Trump. (interruption) What are you shaking your head at in there? (interruption) Well, but the point is that if I were to all of a sudden start savaging people who had not savaged me, I guarantee you that a lot of people in this audience would not like it, would deem it immediately out of character, and would begin to think something’s wrong. And if I kept it up, they’d go bye-bye. I have no doubt.
I just wanted to put it to the test with her there, and I think she confirmed some of it. (interruption) Well, that’s different. Take a liberal down, that’s issue based. I’m talking about — I don’t need to further explain it. I think everybody got the point here and I’m way over time. I’ve gotta go here, but Stephanie, thanks for the call. I appreciate it. You’re very well spoken, especially in your compliments, and I couldn’t thank you enough.