Democrats in Washington simply cannot accept the reality that Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016.
They have spent much of the time since then trying to delegitimize him and anyone who voted for him, talk-radio host Limbaugh said Thursday.
The Democrats' flat-out refusal to fund the border wall after previously supporting it is the latest example. It's the cause of the current government shutdown, which prompted Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to hint she was disinviting Trump to deliver his State of the Union in the House.
But the Democrats' refusal to accept 2016 is what it's all about, Limbaugh said.
TRENDING: To DEI for
"That’s what this is. It is nothing about the shutdown. It’s nothing about the hardships that are being faced. It’s not even about the wall! Pelosi and the Democrats, as you said, have supported a wall in the past. This is about making sure, about doing everything they can do to make sure that this guy who they despise does not have one demonstrable success so that nobody like him will ever, ever try this again."
He continued: "This is a long-term message to everybody outside Washington, everybody outside the Washington political class, the elites, whatever, you’re not welcome here, and we will damage whatever it takes to make sure none of you ever end up here again. And those of you who voted for this, don’t you ever do this again. Your votes are wasted. You’re not gonna get one thing you want, you’re not gonna get anything, and we’ll be glad for all this destruction to send the message that you don’t get to do this."
"This," he said, "is Pelosi and the Democrats swearing that no matter what Trump wants, if it's gonna make him look good, presidential, if it's gonna help the Republican Party, it isn't happening. But there's more than that. This is really about Nancy Pelosi — I cannot — I’ve tried to describe this numerous times. I’ve tried a bunch of different ways. I cannot, I don’t believe, adequately describe for you how personally despised and resented Donald Trump is and those of you who voted for him.
"I mean, folks, there is visceral hatred. Donald Trump being elected president, not just beating Hillary, but just being elected is the equivalent of a killer virus being released in Washington. And they have stop it. They have to kill the virus. That’s Trump and you who voted for him. This was never supposed to happen. The governed are never supposed to have this much influence over what happens in that town. You’re not supposed to have anywhere near this much say over what your government does. You’re not supposed to have much say at all."
Limbaugh continued: "You get to vote, but beyond that, (raspberry) you. And Trump brought you with him to Washington. Trump is doing everything he can to keep every promise he made. I cannot tell you how offensive that is to them. I can’t tell you how disruptive it is. I can’t tell you how they are livid about it. And this whole government shutdown and the intransigence that Pelosi has, the unwillingness to even negotiate anything here is purely and simply about making sure that none of this is ever seen as legitimate.
"It’s always, if she has her way, gonna be seen as one of the most oddball things that ever happened in American history that was a pure quirk of fate, it was abnormal, it was not supposed happen, and because of that, it’s not going to be legitimized. The previous two years have been all about that, not legitimating President Trump, his agenda, his voters, especially now, ’cause everybody’s racing to get ready for the 2020 presidential election," he said.
"As far as Pelosi and her side are convinced, it’s all about getting rid of Trump and it’s all about erasing these past two years, it’s about erasing the two years of the campaign that led to Trump. And it’s personal. And it is literally governed by a visceral hate. This is why there is no compromise here. Some of you are saying, 'Well, how do you think Trump can win?' I think the longer this goes on, the more people are gonna see this for what it is. The longer it goes on, the greater opportunity for people to finally see the Democrat Party as they are, who they are and so forth. Not a slam dunk," he said.
He said that in the end, the Democrats cannot get away with "delegitimizing" Trump supporters.
"There’s no way they get away with essentially saying: 'You don’t really count. You count on Election Day if you vote the right way, but other than that we couldn’t care less about you.'"