Reacting to Donald Trump’s presidential announcement Tuesday, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh gave the latest 2016 entrant high marks, saying his speech will have the same effect Ross Perot did ahead of his 1992 White House run.
In addition, Limbaugh added that the speech “is gonna resonate with a lot of people,” specifically pointing to his tough talk on the role of the U.S. in the world despite what much of the media will say about Trump.
“It was a howl session. But, at the same time, there’s no doubt in my mind…think [Ross] Perot,” Limbaugh said. “Think Ross Perot. Remember the reaction people had to Ross Perot. And I’m not comparing Trump’s speech. Perot got going with a speech to the National Press Club that was on C-SPAN.”
“It was amazing, actually, because it was a noontime speech, but it was all about spending and debt spending and how the US was second-rate in every regard and how it was silly and how he could fix it. There was no intimation that he was gonna run for president at that time. That’s what made the speech that Perot gave so attractive and attracted so much attention to it. Trump did the same kind of thing here with similar focus, except he made it official today he’s running for president.”
“The drive-by media, by the way, they’re already scoffing, they’re already discounting it, already calling it a circus act and this kind of thing,” Limbaugh said. “And it was. I mean, it was not at all what he passed out… Trump’s many things. He’s a serious businessman, he’s a performer — he’s got a performer’s ego. That was on display today, and some days when you see him he’s dead serious about things.”
“This was improv. It was by no means on a teleprompter,” Limbaugh said before launching into an imitation of Trump from his speech.
The conservative radio host went on to explain his interest in Trump’s speech, telling his audience that he listened to the speech with such intent that he yelled for someone to answer the phone in the studio because it was interrupting Limbaugh’s hearing in conjunction with Trump’s speech.
“I’m watching…and the phone started ringing, and nobody in the rest of the office here picked it up, and I just yelled, ‘Answer the [blank, blank] phone,’ because I wanted to hear what Trump was saying,” Limbaugh explained. “And I stopped myself. Wait a minute. Look what just happened here. There hasn’t been a single other person give a political speech in years that if the phone rang and interrupted ’em I’d have been mad.”
Limbaugh added that while he paid particular interest to the speech, he won’t be endorsing a candidate during the primary, saying he’s “not even jazzed yet” by anyone. However, the host continued to heap praise upon the real estate mogul, saying that his speech will connect with voters.
“This is gonna resonate with a lot of people, I guarantee you, and the drive-by [media] are gonna pooh-pooh it,” Limbaugh said. “They’re gonna relegate it to the carnival characteristics of the campaign and so forth, but it’s gonna — just like Perot did. Do not misunderstand this. It is gonna resonate with a lot of, as you hear more of this.”
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