Radio giant Rush Limbaugh says CNN “set up” billionaire developer Donald Trump last night, springing the issue of Barack Obama’s eligibility for office during an interview with the cable network’s Wolf Blitzer.
“It was clearly a set-up,” Limbaugh said. “Here’s Donald Trump being set up by Blitzer and CNN, for the express purpose of what? Using that interview last night to do nothing but besmirch Romney with Trump and this birther business. That becomes the media narrative all day, so you can talk about Romney and his associations.”
Limbaugh then listed some of today’s media headlines to prove his point.
“Here’s the AP headline: ‘Romney clinches nomination, but Trump overshadows.’ New York Times: ‘Romney finds himself upstaged by Trump on big day.’ Reuters: ‘Trump birther remarks overshadow Romney appearance.’ Los Angeles Times: ‘Donald Trump steals limelight from Romney campaign.’ Detroit Free Press: ‘Donald Trump overshadows Romney nomination.’ Yahoo News: ‘In Vegas. Romney claims the nomination, the focus is on Trump.’ And there’s another AP story: ‘Trump overshadows Romney with birther talk.’”
Limbaugh explained when large media companies seek to have a guest on, they first conduct a pre-interview with the person, a question-and-answer session that is never aired.
“They don’t tell Trump they’re gonna to talk about the birther issue,” he said.
“When they talked, nobody at CNN told Trump they were going to bring this up. They probably told Trump that they were going to talk about OPEC and China and jobs and the economy and the advice that he’s giving. That’s probably what they told him. That’s how this stuff works. That’s how they reel guests in. That’s how they utilize the deceit, and they get you on there, and look, the whole interview is about the birther thing. …
“When they get Trump on, that is the dominant topic, and they get Trump on record and then that serves as the media narrative all day today. And the media narrative all day today is: Trump steps on Romney’s big day, Trump takes glory away from Romney.”
Limbaugh also noted the Donald has plenty of experience with media, so “Trump ought to know, and I’m sure he had to figure this is gonna come up, so he takes the risk going on the show. … I’m sure he expected it, not surprised by it, but they didn’t tell him. My only point: they didn’t tell him that’s what they were going to discuss.”
Meanwhile, Trump says he doesn’t talk to Romney about the issue of Obama’s eligibility to be president.
“I actually think it’s a very good issue for Mitt Romney. I actually do. Now, I may be different. And again, I’m not a politician. I’m somebody that’s done very well in business. I understand what life is all about,” he told Greta Van Susteren during her “On the Record” show last night.
“I actually think it’s a great issue for Mitt Romney, but he might not think that way. And we certainly can disagree on that. We don’t even talk about that issue, by the way. We talk about jobs. We talk about lots of other things.
“One of the reasons I support him, I think he’s a fine person who also understands China, understands OPEC, and understands what it’s going to take to bring this country back. That’s really what we talk about. We don’t talk about this particular issue. I don’t like to use the word ‘birther’ because I think it’s very condescending to a very important issue. … But we don’t talk about that.”
As WND reported last night, Trump smacked CNN Tuesday, telling Blitzer the network would improve its dismal viewer ratings if it would only report the issue of Obama’s eligibility to be president “accurately.”
“Obama does not like the issue of where he was born…” he told Blitzer. “There’s something that bothers Obama very much. I will tell you: It’s not an issue that he likes talking about, so what he does is use reverse psychology on people like you … . He does not like that issue because it’s hitting very close to home. You know it, and he knows it – but you don’t report it accurately.”
Blitzer blasted Trump: “Donald, you and I have known each other for a very long time, and I don’t understand why you’re doubling down on this ‘birther’ issue after the state of Hawaii formally says this is the legitimate birth certificate, he was born in Hawaii. Why are you going through all of this, Donald?”
Trump began to explain, “Well, a lot of people don’t agree with that birth certificate. A lot of people … ”
Trump wasn’t allowed to finish because Blitzer cut him off, insisting, “If the state of Hawaii authorizes it, if the state of Hawaii says, ‘This is official. He was born in Hawaii on this date, here it is, why do you deny that?”
Trump responded, “A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. You won’t report it, Wolf, but many people do not think it was authentic. His mother was not in the hospital. There were many other things that came out and, frankly, if you would report it accurately, I think you’d probably get better ratings than you’re getting – which are pretty small.”
At that, the CNN anchor displayed images of Hawaii newspaper announcements printed days after Obama’s purported birth. He spoke over Trump, refusing to allow his guest to speak without interruption.
“Many people did that, and they put those … excuse me, Wolf, am I allowed to talk?” Trump asked, frustrated after being cut off. “Are you going to stop defending Obama?”
Irritated with the exchange, Blitzer admonished, “Donald, Donald, you’re beginning to sound a little ridiculous, I have to tell you.”
“No, I think you are, Wolf,” Trump snapped back. “Let me tell you something: I think you sound ridiculous. And if you’d ask me a question and let me answer it …”
Blitzer asked, “Here’s the question: Did the conspiracy start in 1961 when the Honolulu Star Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser contemporaneously published announcements that he was born in Hawaii?”
“That’s right,” Trump said. “And many people put those announcements in because they wanted to get the benefit of being so-called born in this country. Many people did it. It was something that was done by many people, even if they weren’t born in the country. You know it, and so do I. And so do a lot of your viewers – although you don’t have many viewers.”
After the interview, Trump posted on Twitter: “@BarackObama is practically begging @MittRomney to disavow the place of birth movement, he is afraid of it and for good reason. He keeps using @SenJohnMcCain as an example, however, @SenJohnMcCain lost the election. Don’t let it happen again.”
Some mainstream media outlets claim Trump’s comments have put GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in an awkward position. Romney has said he believes Obama was born in the U.S., but Democrats have criticized him for not distancing himself from Trump.
Even Obama took aim at the pair by releasing a video “highlighting Mitt Romney’s failure to condemn Donald Trump’s over-the-line rhetoric.”
“If Mitt Romney lacks the backbone to stand up to a charlatan like Donald Trump because he’s so concerned about lining his campaign’s pockets,” the Obama campaign said, “what does that say about the kind of president he would be?”
Romney has refused to condemn Trump, saying, “You know, I don’t agree with all the people who support me. My guess is they don’t agree with everything I believe in. But I need to get 50.1 percent or more and I’m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people.”
For more than a year, Trump has consistently maintained he has doubts the Obama birth certificate released by the White House is genuine.
As WND reported in March 2011, Trump suggested Obama’s presidency could be “illegal” if legitimate proof is not provided demonstrating he is indeed a “natural born citizen” of the U.S.
Trump also wondered why no doctors or nurses have come forward to announce their presence at Obama’s birth.
In March and April of 2011, Trump staged a weeks-long public campaign questioning Obama’s eligibility to be president – and he rose to the top of the pool of potential candidates for the 2012 GOP nomination then as a result – saying he believes the “birth certificate” released by the White House is forged.
“I always said I wanted to know if it was real,” Trump told WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi, author of the best-seller, “Where’s the Birth Certificate? The Case That Barack Obama is Not Eligible to be President.”
During their conversation, Trump told Corsi his own computer expert told him that the image posted online was a computer-generated document.
Then, in March, the famous billionaire heaped praise and encouragement on Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the Arizona lawman’s probe into the authenticity of Obama’s purported birth certificate and his eligibility for office.
Following the Maricopa County sheriff’s Cold Case Posse news conference March 1 in Phoenix, “The Donald” personally penned a handwritten note of congratulations to Arpaio.
Having printed out an Associated Press report of the event that featured a photograph of Arpaio and published by the Huffington Post, Trump penned diagonally in the upper left hand corner, “Joe – Great going – You are the only one with the ‘guts’ to do this – Keep up the good fight – Donald Trump.”
Rush: CNN set up Trump on birther issue
Joe Kovacs
Wed, 30 May 2012 19:00:48 GMT
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