RUSH: President Trump’s in Fort Myers, Florida, today speaking to some seasoned citizens in the crowd, and he announced that he has reached an agreement with CVS and Walgreens to deliver vaccine to nursing homes — COVID-19 vaccine to nursing homes — for free. He just announced this this afternoon, an agreement with CVS and Walgreens. He also had this to say…
THE PRESIDENT: As president, I’m deeply aware that America’s 54 million seniors have borne the heaviest burden of the China virus. Many older Americans have endured months of isolation — missing weddings, births, graduations, church and family reunions. You know that very well. You know it all too well.
My heart breaks for every grieving family that has lost a precious loved one. I feel their anguish, and I mourn their loss. I feel their pain. I know that the terrible pain that they have gone through, and you lose someone and is nothing could describe what you have to bear. There’s nothing to describe it. In times of challenge, we turn to our fellow Americans for a shoulder to lean on, and we turn to God for healing and strength. And together, we will overcome.
CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)
THE PRESIDENT: We will overcome.
CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)
RUSH: Right on. Right on. “Together we will overcome.”
Now, this morning on CNBC, the show is Squawk Box. The co-host there, Andrew Ross Sorkin had Frank Luntz on there as the guest — you know, Frank Luntz with these focus group participants and the analysis — and Andrew Ross Sorkin said to Luntz, “You watched the dueling town halls with a focus group, 16 undecided voters. Frank, what was the upshot?”
LUNTZ: I’ve been trying to figure this out for the last couple months. Why are these people still undecided after all this time, after seeing all these different events and watching all the ads? And I can answer for you right now: They are nervous about Trump’s persona, and they are nervous about Joe Biden’s policies, and that’s what’s holding them back. They’re trying to decide which is more important to them: The fact that they really don’t like Donald Trump as a person, or the fact that they are scared about what Joe Biden might do if he became president?
RUSH: Well, then what’s the question? See, here we are; we’re back to this business, “I wish Trump sounded smarter or I wish Trump didn’t sound as mean or whatever.” Trying to decide…? This is why they’re undecided? Really? “They’re trying to decide which is more important to them: The fact that they really don’t like Trump as a person or the fact that they’re really scared about what Biden might do.”
That seems to me, they know what Trump is. What the hell is this? That sounds like a crock to me. Trump’s a known quantity. Biden isn’t. They’re scared what Biden might do; they know what Trump is, whether they like it or not. Doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me. So Joe Kernen, also on the show, said:
“Hey, Frank, do you expect there to be a forum at any time in the future where he’s held to the same standard in terms of an interview that Savannah Guthrie did with President Trump…?” I have no idea what this question is. I just want you to know, I have no idea. I guess he loves Savannah Guthrie getting all up in Trump’s face, and I guess he’s asking if he expects there to be a forum in the future where some other journalist is gonna hold Trump’s feet to the fire.
LUNTZ: I asked my focus group participants who they thought better handled the interview — who they thought was a better moderator and host — and by 14 to two they chose George Stephanopoulos. They felt that the way that Savannah Guthrie held Donald Trump, brought out the worst in him. She shouldn’t have done it.
RUSH: Ho! Do you believe that? It was Savannah Guthrie’s fault that Trump was whatever he was, that “she brought out the worst in him.” That’s what Luntz’s focus group told him. Do we…? Do we believe this? (interruption) We do. Okay. You believe this. I’m fascinated at the way people claim to think. They thought Stephanopoulos was a much, much better moderator, 14 to two.
Let’s see. On the other hand, here we have — last night, I guess — Cuomo Prime Time, Fredo Prime Time. Fredo had a discussion with Dana Bash about, I guess, the same subject. Let’s see. What was this thing?
BASH: Yes, he is familiar with it. Yes, he retweets QAnon-related conspiracy ideas. And the fact that Savannah wouldn’t let it go, uhhh, you know what? Good for her, because he rarely gets, as you mentioned earlier, tough questions other than… (sputtering) He doesn’t really do interviews other than what you called “state TV.”
RUSH: Oh, you people. Talk about state TV, the way you salivate, sycophant all over Obama?
Anyway, here is Kent — Kent in Rome, Georgia — as we head back to the phones. Welcome, sir. Great to have you with us.
CALLER: Mega prayers Rush. I’ve been listening since either ’88 or ’89. I want to say that no matter how much anyone has praised you for what you’ve done for this country, they have underestimated your contribution. Now, what I called about was you talked about this earlier in the week, and I heard your viewpoint and someone else’s. But I think I’ve got a different one on the World Health Organization and why they changed their stance on shutdowns.
RUSH: Oh, yeah!
CALLER: Well, I think the reason they did it is because the World Health Organization is in China’s back pocket.
RUSH: That’s right.
CALLER: And in the other back pocket is Joe Biden.
RUSH: That’s right.
CALLER: So they want to help Joe Biden.
RUSH: That’s right.
CALLER: And Joe Biden was saying that we’re gonna do whatever science says.
RUSH: That’s right.
CALLER: “If science is telling us to shut down, we’ll shut down.” Well, shutdown is not popular with the people. So they’re giving him an out where most… I don’t think of World Health Organization anymore is science ’cause they’re just, like I said, in China’s back pocket. But a lot of people do; so that gives ’em cover, can let people think, “Hey, science is saying no shutdowns; so we’re safe with Joe Biden.”
RUSH: Well, you know, there were two things last week or maybe earlier this week that boggle the mind. That was one. The World Health Organization coming along and saying, “You know what? Lockdowns? Not necessary. Bad news. Don’t need to do it.” The other one was — and this was even stranger. The other one was an organization claiming that we’re much nearer the end of the worst of COVID-19 than anybody knows.
We’re so close to the vaccine. We have weathered the worst of the storm. You know, Trump is holding that story up and trumpeting it. Those two things boggle the mind. Now, your theory is the WHO changed their stance on shutdowns ’cause they want to help Joe Biden, since Joe Biden’s out there saying he’s gonna go with what the science is.
Well, what you’re essentially saying is the World Health Organization damn well knows that shutdowns are in nobody’s best interests and that if Biden is at all inclined to re-shut down the country, the World Health Organization can’t let him do that, ’cause that would hurt him, and so they come out… Interesting theory.
Before we go to the break, I want to play… Grab sound bite number 23 again, folks. This sound bite from Trump… This is really something. We kind of glossed past this. It’s 57 seconds, but this is actually an amazing 57-second sound bite.
THE PRESIDENT: As president, I’m deeply aware that America’s 54 million seniors have borne the heaviest burden of the China virus. Many older Americans have endured months of isolation — missing weddings, births, graduations, church and family reunions. You know that very well. You know it all too well.
My heart breaks for every grieving family that has lost a precious loved one. I feel their anguish, and I mourn their loss. I feel their pain. I know that the terrible pain that they have gone through, and you lose someone and is nothing could describe what you have to bear. There’s nothing to describe it. In times of challenge, we turn to our fellow Americans for a shoulder to lean on, and we turn to God for healing and strength. And together, we will overcome.
CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)
THE PRESIDENT: We will overcome.
CROWD: (wild cheers and applause)
RUSH: That’s really wonderful, what President Trump there said to the seasoned citizens. They’re among the, understandably, most scared group of people in the country. This is a private meeting that he’s having with seniors in Fort Myers. He’s got a campaign rally not long from now, I think in Ocala.
When he finishes this event, he will fly to Ocala for a campaign event, supposedly around 3. I don’t know whether the schedule is held tightly or not. But I just wanted you to hear that again, because that’s incredibly compassionate on the part of the president.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s Kim in Clarksville, Virginia, great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. I just quickly wanted to say that I met my husband 32 years ago to work and we started having lunches together and he listen to you, and I fell in love with two men during those lunches.
RUSH: Oh-ho! (laughing) How about that? Thank you so much.
CALLER: (giggles) And my point is that I think last night when President Trump was asked about how he would lower health care costs, he missed a great opportunity to state what he’s already done such as getting hospitals to reveal their prices so that we can shop around, and working with the heads of pharmaceutical companies to lower Americans’ costs to what they are charging other countries.
RUSH: Oh, really? Okay.
CALLER: So I was frustrated that he wasn’t more specific, and you talked about that earlier in the week.
RUSH: Yeah, I remember. What was that about? There was… It was a specific topic or subject that I was mentioning that he assumes people know what he’s talking about, and this is an opportunity to explain it. I can’t remember what it was specifically. (interruption) Well, some of the details of the Russia hoax, yeah, but there was something else.
CALLER: Yeah, there were several I think you mentioned.
Rock the Oldies is just as cool as Rock the Youth Vote in my book. Encourage seasoned citizens to vote, tell them about Trump’s impressive record. https://t.co/5RCSsPFTWW @realDonaldTrump
— Rush H. Limbaugh (@RealRLimbaugh) October 16, 2020
RUSH: I just can’t think of ’em off the top of my head. But you think he didn’t do a doesn’t enough job explaining about what people are gonna save on health care?
CALLER: Right, he —
RUSH: Oh, I know what it is! I know what it is! It was preexisting conditions. He doesn’t explain the policy. He doesn’t. He just says, “Oh, preexisting condition conditions for everybody!”
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: “The best preexisting conditions that anybody’s ever seen, perfect preexisting conditions,” but he doesn’t explain how he’s gonna get there.
CALLER: Exactly.
RUSH: That’s what it was. That’s it.
CALLER: Exactly. I just think, you know, he’s a little too general, like you mentioned, or he assumes people know. I just think he needs to go into a little more detail because he was talking to an NBC audience, you know, partly, and they need to know what he’s actually already done.
RUSH: Yeah, I agree. I agree a hundred percent.