RUSH: This story from Reuters: “Trump’s Bromance with Russia’s Putin Appears to Be Cooling.” What’s that, you say? Trump and Putin not on the same page here? Really? What’s this about? Well, see here — in my humble opinion that I know is ontological certainty — there never was a “Trump-Putin bromance.” It’s been manufactured in the media, and it’s manufactured by the fact that Trump won’t criticize Putin. Putin praises Trump winning the election; Trump acts complimented.

Media uses that to say, “A-ha. See? See? They have a mutual admiration society. And Trump doesn’t understand how dangerous the Russians are.” And then right-wing conservative think tank bloggers start writing the same stuff. “Trump doesn’t know how dangerous the Russians are. Trump is a fool. Trump is an idiot sidling up to Putin. Does he not know that Putin is the modern incarnation of Satan?” Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So it gets started that Trump and Putin have this bromance behind the scenes, and it led to Trump letting Putin screw Hillary and hack the election or whatever and guarantee Trump’s win. Off to the races. When in fact I’ll say it again because it can’t be said enough, the real scandal and the real relationship that needs to be uncovered and exposed is that between Obama and Putin. It is Obama who finds Putin not a problem. He’s a former communist, KGB agent. Once a KGB, always KGB.

At any rate, “With his administration on the defensive over investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year’s election –” By the way, where is all of this evidence? We have stories in the New York Times just today that the Obama holdovers in the deep state have been collecting and preserving all of this evidence and that they have been sharing it with international intelligence agencies, too, by the way. It’s a worldwide effort, this coup, begins Trump. So where is the evidence?

See, there isn’t any evidence, folks, but the New York Times says that these Obama operatives, these great statesmen — oh, yes — have been collecting and preserving the evidence for investigators when it comes time to look seriously at the link between Trump and Putin and the election being hacked. Where is it? Where is this evidence? What’s being preserved? What’s being leaked is a bunch of BS. Where is this evidence? See, there isn’t any. ‘Cause I will damn well tell you, if there was, then it would have been out there, and they’d already be marching on the impeachment highway.

If this evidence actually existed, and it doesn’t, folks, because it’s not possible for the Russians to have determined the winner of our elections. The whole thing is so preposterous. But here we have Reuters: “With his administration on the defensive … Trump is no longer tweeting praise for his Kremlin counterpart. Less than five weeks after he took office, the chances of a spring thaw in relations between Washington and Moscow — once buoyed by an apparent ‘bromance’ between Trump and President Vladimir Putin during the U.S. political campaign — are looking much dimmer.”

There never was a bromance. It’s a Drive-By Media invention! It was a creation. It was an invention. It was a vehicle to be used in manufacturing a narrative. In other words, it was a lie. And now the Drive-Bys — this is what’s fascinating — the Drive-Bys are now finding a way to backpedal. Why would that be? Why now? I know it’s just Reuters, it’s not the New York Times, but why backpedal on this? Well, how about this? How about because there is no evidence of any favoritism toward Russia. Trump hasn’t lifted the sanctions. Trump hasn’t done one thing to help the Russians.

Again, you want a real investigation, find out what Obama did for the Iranians. That’s what needs to be looked into. What needs to be looked into is what Obama did to enable the Iranians to get a nuclear weapon, what Hillary was doing with her private server and selling access to a future occupation of the Oval Office. Those are the things that need to be investigated. Trump hasn’t done anything with Russia. He didn’t do anything with Russia before he was inaugurated, and he hasn’t done anything since he was.

The entire purpose of this article, Trump’s bromance with Russia’s Putin appears to be cooling, the entire purpose of this is to try to find a way to explain why Trump isn’t lifting any sanctions on Russia, because, remember, that’s what the conversations were about with Flynn, the national security advisor, and the Russian ambassador. Remember, they told us that it was likely that Flynn promised this guy, “Be patient, when Trump’s inaugurated, we’re gonna lift the sanctions that Obama slapped on you today.” That’s what they reported. That’s what they want you to believe. That’s what they intimidated. That’s what they implied.

Well, Trump hasn’t lifted the sanctions. Trump hasn’t extended the flying finger of friendship in any direction toward Russia. So now the Drive-Bys have to explain this, because part and parcel of this was Trump was going to lift sanctions, and that’s what Flynn told the Russian ambassador, and that’s why Flynn had to go because Flynn spoke out of turn and was undermining Obama, don’t you see. Obama slapped sanctions on these guys for screwing with the election, kicked 35 diplomats out of the country, Obama did. Trump was gonna put ’em back in. Trump was gonna lift the sanctions ’cause Trump loves Putin.

None of that’s happened. So it’s time to backpedal a lot ’cause they have to explain why Trump has not done what they said Flynn told the ambassador Trump was gonna do. There is no quid pro quo. It’s the one thing missing in this entire litany of fake news. There is no quid pro quo. Trump has not done anything for Putin to pay him back for screwing Hillary, figuratively, the election.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: The trick here is to really identify Obama with the Russians. Because that’s the connection. Obama and the Democrat Party with the Russians.

Now, you remember — you probably don’t; many of you might — you remember when the Russians invaded Crimea, do you remember we didn’t do a thing? Putin just went in and took Crimea, and there was talk about, “We sit here, we’re the United States of America, we had an agreement with these people, we had promised them, they disarmed!” I hope you remember this. Crimea disarmed in exchange for our promise to defend them, and we didn’t. Putin just walked in there and took ’em. If I’m not mistaken, it might have been right after the Olympics at that place called Sochi where everybody had the glow of the ex-, whatever, Olympiad.

And next we go to Iran. Who benefits from the Iranians getting a nuke? Who benefits from the Iranians modernizing everything about their defense and electrical grid? Why, the Russians do. It goes both ways. As the Iranians ramp up, they need to buy stuff. So Obama lifts the sanctions, and that enables the Russians to start doing business with Iran. And that enables Iran to start doing business with the Russians. And when it comes to alliances in the Middle East, Iran’s not our ally. But they are Putin’s.

So who’s in bed with who? Who’s really having a bromance?

Trump hasn’t been around long enough to have any effect on anything Putin has done anywhere. But Obama has. Obama has enabled much of what Putin has done. That’s why when you get down to this, the nitty-gritty this stuff it really ticks me off, ’cause every bit of this story — Trump, Putin, bromance, hacking election — it is all fake news.