RUSH: I love this. I just absolutely love it. CNN is going bananas right now! Breaking news! Trump has finally announced — (laughing) — that he did not make and he does not have tapes of the Comey talks. It’s breaking news at CNN! How many panels are they gonna have to discuss the meaning of…? (laughing) He’s playing these people like a fiddle. He’s playing them like a Stradivarius, from the first time he mentioned that there might be tapes, “Stand by, I’ll have the news for you soon. I’ll tell you next week. You’re gonna be surprised.”
And so the media has been waiting like a bunch of dogs for dog treats. They’ve been sitting there next to the water bowl, their tongues are hanging out just waiting for Trump to throw them a bone. They’ve been hoping there are tapes. You know why? If there are tapes, it’s Nixon! If there are tapes, it’s Watergate! If there are tapes, we’re gonna get him because, if there are tapes, Trump lied, Comey told the truth. And Comey’s out, “Oh, Lordy, oh, Lordy, I hope there are tapes.”
There were no freaking tapes from the get-go is the point. It’s still breaking news. Trump did not make tapes of Comey talks. You can see the sadness. You can see the long faces, the disappointment. Wolf Blitzer’s beard’s even growing. They got four people talking about this now, four experts weighing in. They got their political reporter, they got their political analyst, they got their anchor, and they got their congressional correspondent.
Greetings, my friends. (laughing)
In fact, you know what? It’s been kind of interesting when Trump alludes to the possibility of tapes, it’s not just CNN, the entire Washington establishment kind of not blew up, but they perked up. Tapes are like a Pavlov dog reaction. Tapes, White House tapes, White House recording system. It’s guaranteed to produce a knee-jerk reaction from people…
For example, this Trump scandal, everything about it, they think elements can be traced back to Watergate. And some of the things that happened in Watergate are re-happening here with Trump. And all of it is in the bushel of wishful thinking, because their mission is to take Trump out, and he’s running rings around them and enjoying himself immensely.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Wolf Blitzer. I mentioned that CNN… It’s audio sound bite number 26 — and 27. May as well play Blumenthal too. The White House today announced that the press briefing, no cameras. It’s audio only. It’s being conducted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who does good — she does well — with these briefings. And the Drive-Bys, they’re just livid. You know, the White House canceled the briefing the other day and just did a gaggle, and that drove ’em nuts. Did you see Newt’s idea? Newt thinks that the White House ought to cancel the CNN credentials. Just kick ’em out of there.
CNN’s not doing journalism. CNN’s not doing news. CNN represents the opposition and don’t give them a credential. They’re not doing journalism. Kick ’em out of there. And of course some people going, “Yay, Newt! Right on, Newt! That a way!” Others: “Oh, that would be the worst thing you can do! you can’t cancel the credential of CNN!” (interruption) That’s what I say: Why not? Why can’t Trump…? Trump could do whatever he wants to do here. If he wants to fire Mueller, he can. Do you know I found this out after the fact?
Trump took the brood up to Camp David for the first time, and from the Drive-Bys, there was all kinds of speculation that Trump was gonna fire Mueller from Camp David, that that’s why he went there. Apparently, you fire people when you go to Camp David if you’re president. Nixon fired a lot of people when he went there. (interruption) Oh, I know. Jim Acosta lost it. He’s another CNN, lost his mind after the gaggle. No microphone, no cameras. So, anyway, here’s Wolf Blitzer’s reaction. This is just like 20 minutes ago.
BLITZER: All right, unfortunately, uh, you saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders walk up to the lectern there on the podium. Uh, but the White House rules are that none of the cable networks, none of the broadcast networks are allowed to carry this briefing, even though it’s a briefing that’s very, very important on a day where there’s a new Republican health care bill that affects tens of millions of Americans out there. A sixth of the U.S. economy! A day when the president, uh, tells the world that as far as he knows there are no tapes or recordings of his conversations with James Comey. Unfortunately, the White House won’t allow us to bring that briefing to our viewers here in the United States and around world live.
RUSH: Not true, Wolf! You can cover the audio. Put your picture up there. You know, Wolf, have ’em take a picture of you frowning and then run the audio from the press briefing. Or get a picture of you and Jake Tapper. You know, get a group picture: You, Erin Burnett, Alisyn Camerota. Go get Pelosi in it, Jim Acosta. Get Don Lemon in there. Take a group photo. You know, flip ’em off. Do something. Do a group obscene gesture and put that picture up while you carry the audio of the briefing. You know, don’t let ’em freeze you out, Wolf!
You gotta learn how to promote CNN. If they’re not gonna let your cameras in there but you want to carry the briefing, the briefing is happening; it’s audio only. Carry the audio and then promote whatever else you want with your visuals on CNN, instead of going (crying), “They won’t let us turn our cameras on and (sobs) so we can’t bring you the news. Wah-wah!” Wolf, you’re admitting that you want the cameras to be able to embarrass people. You are just admitting it. The briefing, you could carry it, Wolf. You could carry the audio. Wolf says, “We’re TV.”
It doesn’t matter, Wolf! You can take care of that. I’m looking at a great group shot now: Six sullen faces. Put ’em up there, pick any six from CNN you want while the briefing is going on. Put a picture of Sarah… You know, put a picture of Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer and put that up there. Be creative, Wolf! Come on. You people sitting around acting like your noses are out of joint here, you’re letting Trump win! You’re not covering the briefing, even though it’s happening and microphones are allowed!
(crying) “He won’t let us turn on the cameras! There’s so much important. He’s got health care! People are gonna die, and Trump didn’t say tapes and so…” What a bunch of whining crybabies. Fox carried the audio. They had a picture of Sarah Huckabee Sanders up there. And they were carrying the audio, for a while. They brought in Richard Blumenthal. This is the senator from Connecticut who said he served with valor in Vietnam, but he didn’t. He’s kind of like John F-ing Kerry. He just made it up. So Wolf says, “What’s your reaction, Senator, to this decision by the White House that we can’t show the American public this briefing live?”
BLUMENTHAL: I never thought, Wolf, in America —
RUSH: Oh, jeez.
BLUMENTHAL: — that I would see broadcast news excluded from a White House briefing. I’m in total disbelief and shock, not just as a public official, but as a citizen. This pattern of secrecy is to antithetical —
RUSH: It’s not secret!
BLUMENTHAL: — to American values, and I want to just —
RUSH: It’s not secret, you idiot!
BLUMENTHAL: — say that as a citizen and as a public official, that when the history of this era is written, the free press and the independent judiciary will go down as our heroes. We know so much simply because the free press — including CNN — has been so dogged and determined to get the truth to the American people.
RUSH: My God, I want to throw up. You people are taking yourself so damn seriously, you’re becoming comical. “Total disbelief. Not just as a public official, but as a citizen! This pattern of secrecy is so anti…” There’s nothing secret going on here! The briefing was being carried by microphones. It was audio. I love it, folks. I have to tell you. Now, back one more time, one more time to the Trump tweets on the tapes. We have to remember the historical context. Out of the blue one day, Trump alludes to the existence of tapes after he fires Comey and says something about, “You better hope that aren’t tapes of this.”
And Comey says, “Oh, Lordy! Oh, Lordy! I hope there are tapes!” This begot an entire Drive-By Media obsession with whether or not Trump had gone full Nixon and was recording things in the Oval Office. And when Trump was asked about it, he would say, “Wait! I’ll have the answer for you next week, and it’s gonna be surprise you. You’re not gonna be ready for it. It’s gonna totally take you by surprise.” And the Drive-Bys took the bait. “Just answer us yes or no. There are tapes or no tapes?”
Trump says, “I can’t tell you now. I’m gonna tell you next week. But you’re gonna be surprised. It’s gonna be big.” The Drive-Bys say, “What’s he hiding? What’s he hiding? Are there tapes?” And they start asking people if they know there are any tapes in the White House, and everybody in the White House says, “I don’t think there’s any recording. I’ve not been told, I don’t know anything about it.” But the Drive-Bys are convinced that there’s a taping system because Trump alluded to it. Then today Trump tweets the following, two different tweets.
First one: “With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking, and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether there are ‘tapes'” that’s in quotes “or recordings of my conversations with James Comey. But I did not make and do not have any such recordings.” So Trump has flipped the narrative! He did not say that there aren’t any. He said there might be but he doesn’t know about it — and if there are, he didn’t do it, and he doesn’t have ’em. Well, now, the media has gone nuts with this.
Restrained nuts, but they’re still analyzing this, as in, “What does this mean? Is Trump lying? You know, Trump does lie. Is Trump lying? Did he do tapes? Is he trying to fool us?” I think Trump is having more fun with these people than a human being should be allowed to have. As I say, I think Trump is playing these people like a Stradivarius. Did Trump mean, for example, in his tweets that there are tapes? Did he mean that Comey or the deep state are responsible?
Remember, Trump has said that Obama wiretapped him at Trump Tower? Remember that? Remember the caterwauling that went on after that one? Did Comey record the dinner? Did Comey record it? Did the deep state? Is Trump being surveilled inside the White House by the deep state? This is what they’re all asking themselves: What does this all mean now? So I just… You have to enjoy it, folks. To me, it’s fascinating to watch these people. They’re so caught up in their fantasy and in their alternate reality that they have no context, and they don’t know how to deal with Trump.