Talk-show legend Rush Limbaugh is making an extraordinary offer to President Donald Trump, giving the commander in chief a chance to connect with even more Americans by taking over his top-rated radio program.
“If the president wants to do this — if he wants to come on and have a show — we’ll let him do it,” Limbaugh said on his national broadcast Wednesday.
“I’m here making it known — and I will call later, too — but I’m doing it here, making it known that this program is available to the president if he wants to audition, if he wants to use it for a town hall, if he wants to have direct connect with you, that we got it handled.”
“We could do it noon to three for as long as he wants. He could have direct connect with you in the audience. You know, not a bunch of bureaucrat experts up on the stage, and certainly no journalists choosing the questions or any of that. We’ll do it in a different way than anybody’s ever done town halls or any of that stuff.”
The offer comes in the wake of a New York Times report that Trump himself has sought a radio program of his own, but did not wish to compete with Limbaugh, a fellow resident of Palm Beach, Florida.
The Times noted: “Someone suggested hosting the show in the mornings or on weekends, to steer clear of the conservative radio host’s schedule. But Mr. Trump shook his head, saying he envisioned his show as two hours a day, every day. And were it not for Mr. Limbaugh, and the risk of encroaching on his territory, he reiterated, he would do it.”
While analyzing the report, Limbaugh explained: “Donald Trump is one of the few who could fill my shoes. With proper training and proper instruction, I could see that. … I think there’d be nobody better to fill my shoes than Donald Trump. I’ve often said nobody could, but if anybody could, it would be him.”
“I find it once again very pleasingly satisfying that a man who owns television wants to be on radio,” he continued.
“I will tell anybody who listens how I believe radio can achieve more intimacy and therefore more persuasion than television can. I will tell anybody who will listen that I believe that pictures on television can actually, if used incorrectly, be a distraction from what you’re trying to accomplish.
“A great radio program or great radio host is an expert at helping the audience paint their own pictures which are not distracting. Great radio is not passive listen; it is active. If it’s a good show, you’re not doing anything else while you’re listening to it. But with television, the vast majority of time TV’s on it’s in the background.
“You’re do many other things while watching TV, even if you’re sitting on a sofa looking directly at it, you are a still talking to somebody. You’re reading your phone, your iPad, you’re doing something. Very seldom — other than being totally engrossed in a movie or something — are you fully devoted to what’s on the tube.
“It happens; don’t misunderstand. But with a good radio show, nothing else gets in the way. I find it fascinating. All of these successful television people want to get into radio.”
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