RUSH: Erie, Pennsylvania. Paul, I’m glad you waited. You’re next, sir. Hello.
CALLER: Hello. It’s a pleasure to speak with you today, Rush.
RUSH: Well, thank you.
CALLER: I’m looking at the Drudge Report, and I see a headline here. It says, “Despite Bitter Family Rivalry, Bush Wanted Trump at His Funeral.” I would like to remind you and your listeners that John McCain and George Bush were bitter political rivals. I don’t think we can ever forget their primary. And I will see can’t forget that John McCain’s coup de grace was not only to vote against the rescinding of Obamacare, but made a huge statement by uninviting Trump to his funeral. Now, George Bush became president, McCain did not, and I think the American people recognized a character flaw in John McCain. Whereas in George Herbert Walker Bush they saw a person with an unselfish, patriotic, and great American character — and thanks for letting me speak to you and your audience, Rush.
RUSH: I’m still trying to get your point here. You cite the Drudge headline: “Despite Bitter Family Rivalries, Trump Will Be at Bush’s Funeral.” Are you making the point that despite the things that have been said back and forth, for example, President Trump calling Jeb “low energy” and other things, that Bush 41 still wanted him at his funeral, and that’s a sign of what?
CALLER: Well, you know, my point is that George Herbert Walker Bush always put his country first — in front of everybody, in front of all hard feelings, in front of whatever went on in campaigns — and that’s something that John McCain did not. John McCain took his feelings to his grave.
RUSH: Well, that is… I have to tell you, I watched the McCain funeral, and I was a little surprised. I mean, you’ve got one heck of a life there to celebrate, one heck of a life lived, and there did seem to be — as part of that — a pointed attempt at diminishing or demeaning the current president. It was like there was some bitterness there that just could not be let go of even during a funeral. Your point about Bush requesting that Trump be there because he is the president of the United States? Remember — you’re right about this — to the Bushes, the office is bigger than the occupant. It’s bigger than the man. That’s the way they’ve always viewed it.
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RUSH: This is Louis in Mississippi. Great to have you on the program. Hi.
CALLER: Oh, yes, sir, it’s a great honor to speak to you. Mega cigar smoking dittos to you. Been listening since ’89.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: I wanted to touch back on your talk about how Bush 43, how he respected the office so much, was much bigger than the man holding it at the time. And I do believe he felt that way, but, you know, you brought it up before, too, that he didn’t defend himself, the office, at the end of his presidency those years where he was just being attacked constantly. And a lot of us felt like he was not defending us, either.
And I wanted to get your take on what I was gonna ask about George Bush because you’re kind of closer to them than anybody I could ever have a chance to talk to and also kind of tie it in to Trump. I’d like to ask you, I’ve always wanted to ask you why do you think that if he does respect the office, you know, he kept quiet during the Obama years, nothing during the Obama years provoked him to speak up and his wife, Laura, also. And now we get to the Trump era and now he thinks it’s okay for him to kind of push back on Trump a little bit. So I wanted to get your take on that.
RUSH: What has he said about Trump, do you recall?
CALLER: I don’t remember the specifics. I remember Laura Bush saying something about the current first lady. He hasn’t spoken directly about Trump, but he’s criticized a couple of moves that he’s made.
RUSH: The only thing — now, I could be wrong. The only thing that I remember — and I have one of the best memories of anybody out there, next to Trump. I think my memory’s even better than Trump’s. After Trump’s inaugural address, George W. Bush was overheard walking away, talking to people, saying, “That was some weird [excrement].” Now, there’s more, but I gotta take a break. But that I do know for sure.