RUSH: Howard in Mobile, Alabama. It’s great to have you, sir. Hello.

CALLER: Hello. Rush, I feel like we are facing the most crucial election of our times. And if a Republican is not elected, we may never recover. And my concern is that Donald Trump is not electable in a general election, and I’m afraid you are giving him some legitimacy. And the reason I say he can’t be elected is because he espouses strong, harsh comments and solutions. Which I generally agree with, but those precious independents are not gonna vote for somebody who expresses himself the way he does and has the opinions he has.

RUSH: You may have a point, but I’ve looked at the cross section of Trump’s supporters right now, and there are a lot of independents who support him. But I have — and, by the way, I’m not supporting Trump or trying to kill Trump. I’m not. I haven’t endorsed anybody. I haven’t issued a preference. I have just… There’s a name I mention more than any others when talking about that, and it happens to be Ted Cruz. But I tell you, I love Rubio, too, and I’ll tell you something else. Just a wild guess out here, Howard. I’m already seeing Trump moderate his tone a little bit.

He’s already starting to assume what he’s even calling a “general election posture,” and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does end up winning the nomination. But you see his rhetoric change somewhat, which might disappoint some of those who supported him early. And they will then be left to trust that he’s still the kick-ass guy that he’s always been. I don’t have any insight. I don’t know. I’m just guessing. At the same time… Well, I’m out of time, and I really want to address this business that Trump doesn’t have a chance in the general, but I’ve gotta go. Howard, thanks for calling and being the starting point on this. Remind me of this tomorrow.