RUSH: Hi ya, folks. Okay, so I have a question, a very simple question. Everybody’s asking why did Rachel Maddow and PMSNBC, why’d they make such a big deal out of having Trump’s tax returns when it added up to nothing? My question is, why do we assume that they knew it added up to nothing? Who are these people? These people, including Rachel Maddow, whose intelligence is vastly overrated and I think way too invested in by people on the left, but people on the left in general, folks, are teetering on the edge of sanity.
I mean, they were convinced that Trump was an idiot and Trump was this, all these bad things, and that Hillary was gonna win in a landslide so it didn’t matter, but Trump wins, and, folks, there are no boundaries left in these people’s brains. You can see them in action on a college campus. You can see liberal Democrat legislators in action. You can watch liberal Democrat media people. There isn’t much of a grounding here to reality.
Now, when it comes to the Trump tax returns, these people are still looking for evidence that Trump’s election was fraudulent. And they have been doing this ever since 9 p.m. on election night when it began to dawn on them that Hillary wasn’t gonna win. You start from that point and we have an effervescence of insanity that was in the deep, dark crevices of the gray matter of these people, and it’s been bubbling up and bubbling up, and I think it has overflowed two or three times.
But my point is that when you have this kind of hateful energy that is your guiding foundation, that it is the reason you get up each and every day, you don’t have any touch with reality, or not much. You’re not really well grounded and it just adds and adds and adds and every allegation they believe about Trump blows up in their faces.
One by one, everything they have convinced themselves is true about Trump blows up. The Russian-hacked-the-election story has blown up. They just won’t admit it, which is why they won’t let go of it. And I think this kind of out-of-control runaway emotionalism that is masquerading as intelligence is literally eating these people away. And it’s not just the rank-and-file lunatic Democrat voter base. It goes up the chain to Democrat media people.”
But, folks, in addition to that, they’re just not as smart as everybody thinks they are. These people live in cocoons and they have tunnel vision. You know as well as I do they don’t let information in that conflicts with their safely constructed worldview. They’re not curious about anything they don’t already, quote, unquote, know.
So they’ve got it in their heads and they’ve had it in their heads since dating back to the campaign that Trump is every kind of reprobate that you can imagine and then some. That Trump was cheating and working with the Russians to hack the election and release Podesta’s emails and turn it all over to WikiLeaks. That Trump is a buddy of Vladimir Putin and they are working together to undermine whatever.
They cannot be disabused of this. They cannot be convinced that any of it is untrue. They just keep believing it and adding things to this mix, other insanities, other crazy things. You get to the Trump tax returns and you have people who literally believe that since Trump won’t release them, that they contain the smoking gun. And the smoking gun is going to prove that Trump is involved politically and financially with the Russians, and it’s all gonna be there in those tax returns. And all we’ve gotta do is get those tax returns and then we can have what we believe confirmed.
So why would they hype it? “But, Rush, they had to look at it and know it didn’t say that.” Didn’t matter. Do not assume these people knew what they had. By the way, there’s something else about this. Rachel Maddow is taking credit for something that really isn’t hers. The Trump tax returns were not leaked to her, and she didn’t find them. They were leaked to some lunatic named David Cay Johnston.
David Cay Johnston works at The Daily Beast, which is that left-wing website started by Tina Brown. She may still be involved. I don’t know who runs it or owns it now. But it’s a bunch of wackos over there. This guy used to work at the New York Times. He has written The Making of Donald Trump in 2016. He’s been stalking Trump since 1988. First met Trump in 1988, in which he says, “I almost immediately recognized Donald as the P. T. Barnum of our age.”
And he said he promised in a New York Times interview, “I’m gonna follow Trump for the rest of his life.” And this clown one a Pulitzer Prize for his tax reporting. David Cay Johnston worked as a tax reporter for the New York Times. In 2001 he got the Pulitzer for exposing loopholes in the U.S. tax code!
Anyway, this is the guy who got the tax returns. Rachel Maddow did not. So this David Cay Johnston says that yesterday morning in his mailbox came the two pages from Trump’s 1040 tax form from 2005. Well, what mailbox? Did somebody use the snail mail to send this to him or does he mean his email in box? Nobody calls the inbox on your computer, your iPhone, “mailbox.” A mailbox contains all the different inboxes and the inboxes are named, so I’m confused just in the terminology.
Then the guy gets it. Then somehow Maddow finds out about it ’cause these people are all linked together and she sends out a tweet: “We’ve got Trump’s tax returns,” and Twitter blows up because these people have been sitting out there going closer and closer to insanity waiting for these mythical beliefs to somehow be established and proven.
So they got the tax returns. All reason vanishes, they got the tax returns. They’ve been waiting for the tax returns. You would think, wouldn’t you, if we’re gonna assign intelligence to these people, they had these tax returns long before Rachel Maddow’s television show aired last night. It’s 9 p.m. Eastern time. You got two pages and it clearly states that Trump earned $150 million, and he paid $38 million in taxes, that he paid an effective tax rate of 25%.
Well, Trump’s paying a higher tax rate than Buffett, than Gates, and even Buffett’s secretary. He’s paying a higher tax rate than Romney, and he paid a higher tax rate than the Obamas.
Now, you would think these people looking at this would say, “We got a dud. We have got… We’ve been schlonged here.” You would think that they would look at this and think, “Okay, this David Cay Johnston guy…” It shows up in his mailbox. Is there not the least bit…? It says “client copy” on the two pages he got — “client copy” — which means it probably comes from a tax preparer firm or law firm or it may come from Trump. Now they’re saying that Trump schlonged these guys, that Trump set ’em up.
That Maddow announces her tweet, “We’ve got Trump’s tax returns,” and then Trump released the tax returns himself to everybody else to preempt the Rachel Maddow Show, but this David Cay Johnston guy had ’em before all that. So now he’s running around saying, “I think Trump… I think Trump leaked them to me! You know, it’s illegal to leak these!” (laughing) I can’t believe this! “It’s illegal to leak these; I think Trump leaked them to me.” It doesn’t mean you have to use ’em! If they got schlonged, they got schlonged.
Rachel Maddow is gay and you’ve got people tweeting her that they want to father her children. Men! I mean, that’s how irrational these people are. “I want to produce your babies,” and she’s gay. Which presumably they know. It’s just over the top. She has to know after all of that that these people are not gonna be at all serviced, satisfied. So why run with it? Well, I’m gonna throw out the distinct possibility that they didn’t know what they had. They live in an alternate universe where reality does not intrude.
They believe that Trump is not as rich as he’s bragged. They have no evidence. They just believe it. Why? ‘Cause Trump is scum. They believe Trump worked with the Russians. Why? There’s no evidence. Why? ‘Cause it’s the only way Hillary could have lost. They believe that Trump actually doesn’t have nearly as much money as he’s bragged about, and the returns are gonna prove it. And, therefore, “Trump’s a scumbag and he’s lying and he’s this, and we know,” they say to themselves. So they get this tax return, and it literally rocks them.
They look at it, and it disproves… Remember, this is religion to these people. Liberalism is religion. It’s rooted in faith. It’s unassailable. It’s inarguable. It’s why they build these little safe cocoons to live in where they don’t let outside beliefs in. They don’t want the trouble of being challenged. They don’t want the upset of being challenged. So they have — for months and months and months — convinced themselves. Their reality is, “Trump is scum! Trump worked with the Russians! The Russians worked with Trump to steal the election from Hillary,” and that Trump’s not nearly as rich as he said he is.
“He cheats on his taxes! He cheats on women!” They believe all of these things about Trump; they get the tax return, and it’s the exact opposite of everything they believe. So psychologically, what do they do with it? Does she say (stammering), “Gosh, I — I — I’ve hyped this so much! I can’t — I can’t — I can’t — I can’t just say it’s nothing and not show people! So do I act this out as though what we’ve got is huge, or do we act this out and take the hit? What do we do?” Well, what if they thought they had a silver bullet there?
I maintain that while it may sound hard to believe, that you consider the possibility that these people’s minds are so poisoned that the truth and reality — particularly if it’s exculpatory or contradictory — just don’t penetrate their minds. There’s also the possibility, you know, Maddow wants big ratings even if it just is for 10 minutes. But anybody responsible as a broadcaster would have to know that this is a big net negative no matter what kind of early large audience that you attract from it. It’s gonna end up…
You’re gonna become a laughingstock, unless they can spin it, “Well, you know, it’s only two pages, and we know — we know — that Trump was doing business with the ChiComs. We know it! We know it! It’s not here. We haven’t found it yet.” That’s the approach they’ve taken. Trump’s still lying to ’em, Trump is still a scum, Trump is still cheating, Trump still shouldn’t have won the election, Trump’s still in bed with the ChiComs. Even though the tax returns give no evidence whatsoever of it — and, in fact, the tax returns disapprove everything they have chosen to believe about Trump.
Because what they believe about Trump is defined by sheer, undiluted, unparalleled hatred — and hatred is its own poison. And then there’s also the possibility that these people don’t even know how to read a tax return. I know you say, “Come on, Rush! They can’t be that stupid.” Folks, this is why I have spent so many valuable and busy broadcast hours dissecting and explaining liberals and liberalism to you, because it’s entirely possible that they are this uninformed. Remember, their prejudice and their own bigotry will trump reality every day. That’s why they engage in it.
Reality is something they can’t face.
It’s why they create all these fake aspects of their wonderful lives as liberals to mask who they are. That’s why they never campaign, for example, promising what they’re really gonna do. They’d never get elected! So it’s quite possible they look at this, “On $150 million, he only paid $38 million? This guy is not paying his fair share!” They might think a fair rate that Trump should be paying $75 million. Don’t discount this. Anything that seems impossible to believe or understand is entirely possible with this bunch of people, and Rachel Maddow is at the top of the list of people who benefit from this ballyhooed, buzz-created image of brilliance that is not necessarily warranted.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I have a couple of sound bites from this David Cay Johnston guy who leaked Trump’s tax returns to Rachel Maddow. He was on with Stephanopoulos today. So even after these guys have been shamed (laughing), even after their gigantic destroy-Trump-tax-return show blew up in their face, they’re still on TV! Snerdley asked me during the break (stammering), “I — I — I — I — I — I — I don’t understand how in the world that they do not know that they didn’t have anything. I don’t understand how they can…”
It’s because they don’t yet believe the story blew up on them! They don’t think the tax returns they showed last night constitutes blowing up. That’s just phase whatever it is that we’re up to now — Phase 10? — of an infinite number of phases in Operation Destroy Trump. Anyway, here is this guy. Stephanopoulos says, “You’ve covered Trump and his taxes for years. You open your mail; you find these pages from 2005. Do you really think Trump could have leaked ’em to you?”
JOHNSTON: Donald has a long history of leaking things, uh, about himself, and I think it’s in the realm of possibility that he —
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no evidence?
JOHNSTON: Noooooo. No. It’s a possibility. Ummm, or someone at his direction. But the — the venom and the anger and the falsehoods in the White House statement suggest, uhhhh, that, no, he’s probably not the source.
RUSH: “[T]he venom and the anger and the falsehoods in the White House…” The White House is where Trump is! It’s his tax returns who were illegally revealed, mailed, and then broadcast, released — and this guy thinks the White House is angry, filled with venom and falsehoods? You know, the real question to this guy is, “If you are even considering the possibility that Trump sent you these, then why did you fall for it? If Trump sent you this, why did you call Rachel Maddow and say, ‘We got him! Weeeee got him! We got his tax returns,’ and then schedule an appearance on her show and all have it blow up in your face like an IED?
“Why did you do that?”
“Well, Trump tricked me.”
(laughing) “What do you mean, Trump tricked you?”
“Well, there’s no evidence, but –”
“Why did you let Trump trick you?” Now, you think it can’t be explained by these people’s idiocy, insanity, and hatred. I’m telling you, it can be. One more Stephanopoulos said to David Cay Johnston. This is the former New York Times reporter who has been stalking Trump since ’88, investigating Trump’s taxes. Wouldn’t you think…? You know, ’88, folks, that’s almost 30 years ago, and this guy’s been stalking Trump.
Wouldn’t you think that an ace New York Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter on the case since 1988 would have been able to prove Trump was working with the Russians by now if he’s that good? 1988! That’s 30 years. Well, anyway, Stephanopoulos said, “You just got two pages from 2005. What doesn’t this show?” Well, how does this guy know? He’s only got two pages. How does he know what it doesn’t show? So the answer here is pure, 100% speculation, which is exactly what has become of mainstream media.
JOHNSTON: Well, it doesn’t tell us who Trump is beholden to. I mean, we know, for example, that he owes money to Deutsche Bank, which was deeply involved in (stammers) mmm… mm… money laundering for the Russians. Uh, he owes money to the, uh, communist bank in China, the bank of China, which is also the largest tenant in Trump Tower. We have a U.S. president who’s in hock to a bank in China! We don’t know who he’s getting his revenue from. We don’t know who his partners are or who he’s done business with in foreign countries, and that could have major national security implications.
RUSH: That answer right there is exactly my theory proven. They don’t think that this blew up on ’em last night. They think, “Oh, man, look at what else…” So what else? What don’t you know? And look at what this guy said. “Well, Trump’s in hock to the Germans, and they do deals with the Russians, and Trump’s in hock to the Chinese, and they’re the biggest tenant in Trump Tower.” You see how this stuff all works? Trump has borrowed… If anybody has studied Donald Trump, you know that… (sigh) You know where the phrase “too big to fail” came from? Do you know who it was first applied to in my knowledge?
Donald Trump.
Now, the fact that the Deutsche Bank “money launders for the Russians”? Pure speculation! I maintain to you that these allegations that form speculation are what derive from the poison that happens to you when you hate. And these people are obsessed; they’re unhinged. So that answer is pure, 100% speculation. Johnston says, “We know! We know Trump owes money to Deutsche Bank, and Deutsche Bank launders money for the Russians. Therefore, Trump…” No! There is no evidence, no proof, and they’re saying, “Precisely because we only got two pages, we don’t know where Trump earned this money.
“We don’t know who paid Trump this money. (stammering) We don’t wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh.” So there’s your answer, Mr. Snerdley. I’m telling you, they don’t think last night was a bomb at all. It’s just another step in the process — which will last as long as they live — to destroy Donald Trump. It’s not gonna change. It’s not gonna go away. I don’t know what the psychological term for this is, but it’s… (interruption) Well, to their base, they’re not making fools of themselves. This is the point.
Snerdley said, “Don’t they see they’re making…?”
You’ve got to stop looking at this as though they are the only oddballs in the country and that the rest of the country realizes how embarrassing and what fools these people are. Whatever percentage of the country is liberal doesn’t think that at all. Making fools of themselves? These guys are heroes to the Democrat base (impression), “For giving it a shot, for staying at it, for trying to get the evidence they know is true and that they know is out there, that Trump worked with the Russians to hack the election, to screw Hillary out of the presidency,” figuratively speaking.
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