President Donald Trump surprised talk radio host Rush Limbaugh by calling him on the air to congratulate him on the 30th anniversary of his show.
“You’re a very special man, Rush, and you have people that love you. I’m one of them,” Trump said. “What you do for this country, people have no idea how important your voice is.”
Limbaugh thanked Trump for the courtesy, noting that the president meant a great deal to his listeners.
Trump said his supporters were frustrated with establishment politicians who repeatedly let them down.
“They’ve really been mistreated for so many years by the politicians,” he said. “The country’s been mistreated. The trade deals were so bad. The taxes were so high.”
He reminded Limbaugh that he had only been to Washington, DC for a handful of occasions before he was elected president.
“I had no idea how evil some of them are, but you have a lot of great people too,” he said. “And outside of Washington you have the greatest people in the world.”
Trump spoke about the energy he felt from supporters at his political rallies like the one he had in Florida on Tuesday night.
“It’s like you, nobody turns off your show, nobody leaves,” he said. “It was an absolute love-fest.”
The president talked about his political agenda, and how it was resonating across the country.
“A lot of it is the same message that you send out every day, better than anybody,” the president told Limbaugh.
He said that his decisions as president largely relied on “instinct” but praised his administration as a fantastic group of people that assisted him.
Trump promoted the idea of a government shutdown during the interview, noting the importance of toughening the country’s immigration laws and border security.
“I’d be willing to do it, and you could do it before the election and after the election,” he said.
Trump admitted that political leaders in Washington did not want a government shutdown over his immigration agenda, but said it could be a great political move.
“I accept their opinion, but I happen to think that it would be a good thing before,” he said.
Trump added that his friend Sean Hannity described Limbaugh as “The Dean” of talk radio.
“Do it for another 30 years, then you can take it easy OK?” he joked at the end of the interview.
Limbaugh debuted his show on August 1st in 1988.
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