RUSH: This is Tom in Morris County, New Jersey. Tom, I’m glad you waited. I really am. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. Rush, two things. First of all, when President Trump addressed the nation through the State of the Union, his favorability ratings went up. I don’t understand why he does not do like Reagan did or Obama and address the nation on a monthly basis.
RUSH: Uhhh, A, I don’t think Reagan did. Obama went longer without press conferences than most presidents. Obama didn’t need to address the American people; the surrogates of his administration were the media, and they were getting the word out. Reagan… In fact, in Reagan’s second term, he practically was invisible after the Iran-Contra thing happened. Now, Trump is addressing the American people. This is why I wanted to accept your call, because Trump is, every day, addressing the American people via Twitter.
CALLER: Yeah, but don’t you think it’d be more effective if he sat down calmly and humbly mentioned the things that he accomplished and then calmly addressed the lies that are being spewed out there? I think Trump supporters like myself would love to see that, ’cause we’re frustrated. I know he does the Twitter, but if he addresses the nation, he’s very impressive when he does that.
RUSH: All right. It could work. I don’t know. But I’m gonna tell you what would happen. And tell me if you can give me your honest reaction to this and not just your full-fledged, gee, you want Trump to succeed reaction. Just imagine that he calls a national address tonight, tomorrow night, to address all this stuff. He goes out and lists the accomplishments, the achievements, the economic growth, the things on the agenda that are ready to happen, things that have happened, and then starts addressing all of this stuff. And when he finishes, the media is gonna ignore everything you want him to say that he may have, in fact, said.
They’re gonna portray a president scared and frightened and on the defensive, feeling he is losing his base. He had to call a national address to the nation to try to save his presidency, and then every cable network would have a series of roundtable discussions of so-called experts to come in and do psychological and political analysis of if Trump is losing it. Because the one thing you’re never going to get here, Tom, no matter what: You’re never going to get anybody in the Drive-By Media supporting, amplifying, or ignoring the positive things you want Trump to say. They are going to immediately set out to destroy them.
CALLER: Yes, but they have to cover his address to the nation, and I think people are waiting to hear that. Obviously all Trump supporters know what the media is doing. But I really believe that if he addresses the nation, okay? He will have a major effect on his base and other people that really don’t know what’s going on.
RUSH: Do you think…? Do you like these tweets where he… Well, how about his commencement speech? He did a speech yesterday to the Coast Guard, and a lot of it was really good. But then he swerved into an area where he described himself as among the most unfairly victimized and criticized presidents ever, and I don’t know if he was trying to evoke sympathy or what have you, but do you think the works when he does that?
CALLER: For his base, it does, yeah, and the people that don’t like Trump? I don’t care what he says; they’re not gonna like him. But there are a lot of people in the middle of this country that go, “Well, is he being treated unfairly? What’s going on here?” And they’re the people that I think if he addresses the nation, he’s gonna say, “Wow, this guy’s not too bad. Maybe they are creating lies about him.” I really believe that.
RUSH: His supporters ought to know that and never doubt it, from the campaign. Let me —
CALLER: But people that are undecided.
RUSH: Okay, let me ask you another question.
CALLER: Yes?
RUSH: Do you think, in doing any of this, that Trump can stop the independent counsel investigation?
CALLER: No.
RUSH: Do you think Trump —
CALLER: No.
RUSH: — could have prevented it?
CALLER: No, but I think he could explain it, and I think he could explain what happened on May 3rd with Comey calmly to the nation. ‘Cause people don’t know that! Eighty percent of the country had no idea that he did that, that Comey said that on May 3rd. He can mention that. I just think he should do it.
RUSH: See, this… Now, this goes back to the previous caller who wanted to know how you deal… This is not something for Trump to do, in all candor. This is for surrogates to do, and this is why it’s important to have a communications staff that can get the word out and do this kind of thing. Now, Trump may be different. I mean, it may well be that this is the kind of thing he can do himself where other presidents couldn’t, and get away with it. But it is still taking him away from the primary thing I think he needs to be doing to fight this, and I’m gonna tell you what that is.
I think now, folks, there is a golden opportunity. I don’t know how big an opportunity, but it’s an opportunity. It’s an opening. Since they’ve announced this stupid special counsel investigation, just head full speed down the road of the domestic agenda. Let’s get going on repealing Obamacare. And use the force of Trump’s personality and his victory to get Republicans in Congress signed up and doing this. Ditto on tax reform. The one thing — the one thing that’s gonna provide Trump some insurance here is actually making America great again, is actually improving the circumstances.
It’s gonna be hard, because the Republicans don’t want to do it!
The Republicans are scared to death of this counsel. “Oh, no!” They’re afraid they’re gonna go down with the boat, afraid they’re gonna go down with the ship. But it’s time for Trump to marshal every bit of these special powers he has — as a negotiator, as a leader — and if he’s gonna make a speech about anything, it ought to be about this, about how he is dedicated, rededicated, whatever, to the agenda on which he ran. And that we have gotta continue working as hard as we can doing everything we can to move forward on repealing Obamacare, on dealing with illegal immigration and make the circumstances even better, moving on to tax reform.
Believe me. That is, I think, the single best thing that he could do. Get focused on it, get back focused on it, stay focused on it, and do everything he can and make it appear like, if it doesn’t happen, it’s not his fault. It’s everybody else in his party and elsewhere which is not willing to join and help him. But if he’s seen doubling down on this rather than being occupied by all of these distractions and investigations and Comey here and there, get back to why he was elected and be seen as much as he can every day working on that.
And make speeches about that. Address the nation with what. You know, don’t tell the nation that he’s a victim and to feel sorry for him because of all this. Instead, cast it as people trying to stop him from completing his agenda for the American people. Make it known that what’s going on here stands in the way of the betterment of life for the American people. Let it be known here that this is as much about denying the American people improved economic standards, standards of living and the Trump agenda as he can. That’s the way to get the people behind him.
It’s much better than trying to rally them to his cause via sympathy and how unfortunate, how unfair it is he’s being investigated. He is still president of the United States. He is going to be president of the United States for the longest time. Send a signal every day he’s not cowering in fear. Send a signal every day he’s not gonna resign; it’s not in his vocabulary. Send a signal every day he hasn’t done diddly-squat and this is typical, that he expected this. This is the last dying gasp of the establishment trying to destroy everything he stands for and you, the American people.
And get moving as fast as he can on continuing to implement his agenda. Turn the tables on these people and make them feel depressed! The best way to do that is for Trump to double town on the agenda and get going on it and to make it look like all of this is having no effect on him whatsoever. Now, they’re not gonna go away. They’re never gonna go away. They’re never gonna stop trying to get rid of Trump. He may as well take advantage of his position and use the extraordinary powers he has as an influencer, as a negotiator, to keep the country moving in the positive direction that it is moving since he became president.
And let that speak for itself. He doesn’t have to go out and give speeches — he can do it — about what he’s done; that’s not a bad thing to do. It’s just a reminder because you may not be hearing about this. But he can’t do a steady diet of it. His speeches have to be — the addresses to the country, his public appearances have to be — focused on what he is doing and is going to continue to do. Not what he has done, but what lies ahead and how he needs people with him and nothing can stop ’em and blah, blah, blah. Rally the troops!
That’s what I would do.
But, of course, I’m not there, and it’s easy to say this stuff when you’re not there. But nevertheless, I appreciate your call.