How Rush Limbaugh Invented Donald Trump – The New Yorker
Rush Limbaughs death this week, at seventy, of lung cancer, closes the book on more than a quarter century of conservative media defined by Limbaugh and his friend Roger Ailes, the Fox News chairman and C.E.O., who died in 2017. Before Donald Trumps entry into Republican politics, and even before Fox began dominating the cable airwaves, in the late nineties, Limbaugh had an unparalleled ability to rile up the Republican base and move the Party closer to his vision of pure Reaganism. That vision consisted of lower taxes and less regulation, opposition to abortion, and an aggressive posture abroadthe so-called three-legged stool of the Ronald Reagan coalition. For decades, this was Limbaughs mantra, with an emphasis on tax cuts. But his embrace of Trump in his final years, and his willingness to subsume his conservatism into the cult of one man, offered a different view of Limbaugh. He finished his career less as a leader of the Republican Party than as simply another Trump follower.
Limbaugh, who was born to a prominent Missouri Republican family, began his broadcast career in his teens, and landed a spot on Sacramento radio, in 1984. Four years later, The Rush Limbaugh Show went national, beaming from New Yorks WABC. (It remained his flagship station for most of his career, although Limbaugh eventually moved to Florida.) Averse to taking callersthat was often reserved for FridaysLimbaugh had a remarkable ability to sustain a monologue, with only the commercials as breaks, for virtually the full three hours that his show aired each day. (Trumps ability to command the microphone for an astonishing amount of time is the only comparable example I can think of, but Limbaugh, unlike the former President, could stay remarkably focussed.) He would often start a show by informing his listeners about his stack of clippingsusually news articles and alertsand find ways to connect them to some overarching point he wanted to make, which often had to do with the magical effects of tax cuts on the economy, and the wastefulness of the federal government. If Thomas Jefferson thought taxation without representations was bad, he should see how it is with representation, he once said.
As he got older and richer, he was fond of half-jokingly talking about his wealth and success. He boasted of talent on loan from God, and once stated, I cant even destroy myself. Ive tried a couple times myself and it doesnt work. Im literally indestructible. Like Trump, who enjoys informing audiences about his Ivy League education and telling them that he has better things to do than come to their rallies, Limbaugh relished the fact that those vaunted tax cuts he always talked up were going to people like himself.
An endless stream of articles and books over the past five years have wrestled with the question of how Trump was able to pull off his particular act, appealing to audiences that didnt attend any college, let alone one in the Ivy League. Limbaughs success offers a clue. His radio program was home to Club for Growth bromides about the beauty of the private sector, but it also had another side, which consisted largely of bigotry. This was a man who featured a segment called AIDS Updates, in which he mockingly read the names of victims of the disease to the sounds of Dionne Warwick. He said that feminism was invented to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society. He uttered too many racist comments to count, but displayed a special hostility toward Barack Obama. In Obamas America, the white kids now get beat up with the Black kids cheering, he once said.
Limbaugh, like Trump, never seemed particularly passionate about conservative Christian causes. He took the right positions on abortion and gay marriage, but had an early insight that to much of his audience cultural grievances mattered more. One can argue that mocking AIDS victims and coming out strongly against gay marriage are both forms of bigotry. But many people who have unsavory political views do not make a habitor a careerout of personal cruelty. In a Limbaugh monologue from 2013 on gay marriage, he stated, A lot of people have no personal animus against gay people at all. Its, instead, a, um, genuine, I dont know, love, respect, for the things they believe define this country as great. He wasnt describing himself, and you could tell his heart wasnt in it. Compare that to comments such as There are a bunch of really crafty guys out there who probably, in the normal course of events, cant get women to look at em. And theyve decided, you know what? Im gonna go be tranny. The conviction was in the vitriol.
And yet, as much as Limbaugh was willing to lie to his audience about the details of Obamacarehe even claimed it would increase the divorce ratehe did seem to have a kernel of principle in his fealty to low taxes, less regulation, and free markets. Thus, Limbaugh could have viewed the rise of Trump in two ways. One would have been to say that here was someone who didnt care at all about movement conservatism; who probably only dimly knew who William F. Buckley, Jr., was; who broke with right-wing orthodoxy on trade and tariffs; and who had no vision of capitalism beyond its usefulness in making him richer and more famous. The other way was to view Trump as someone who had the same catalogue of resentments as Limbaugh did, andperhaps more importantlywas hated by the same people.
Limbaugh didnt wait long before making his decision: he was all in. By early 2016, he was defending Trump daily, and, perhaps more significantly, striking the same rhetorical tones. The Republican Party doesnt like the Republican base, he said, in January of that year, explaining that litism was the establishments reason for opposing Trump. If Trumps takeover of the G.O.P. revealed the degree to which cultural resentment mattered more to conservative voters than any single issue, Limbaughs journey served as an exemplar of this fact. When Trump took a stance that Limbaugh would have once objected tosuch as imposing new tariffsLimbaugh simply changed his opinion and backed Trump.
Limbaughs appeasement, or worse, of Trump raises the question of how much control he ever wielded in the Party. Limbaughs influence was at times overstated. His favored candidates did not necessarily win primarieswitness his failure to derail John McCain, in 2008and his ability to steer voters was probably always less than what was assumed. But if he didnt always have direct power, his role in laying the cultural groundwork for Trump cannot be understated. The Republicans never became the vehicle of pure economic libertarianism and fealty to conservative ideas that Limbaugh may have once hoped, but they did become a party that Limbaugh could love.
Originally posted here:
How Rush Limbaugh Invented Donald Trump - The New Yorker
- Trump can still serve as president if he's convicted of a crime - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- NY AG Letitia James is not done with Donald Trump - Business Insider - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | What Worries Me Most About a Trump Presidency - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Joe Biden is now beating Donald Trump in the majority of polls - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Live Updates: Abortion and Inflation Raise Issues for Biden and Trump - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Sebastian Stan Transforms Into Young Donald Trump in The Apprentice First Look - Variety - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump could face prison time if he is convicted in upcoming NY hush money trial - USA TODAY - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's Stock Has Lost More Than Half Its Value Since Going Public - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump booted from prestigious list of billionaires after Truth Social parent's swan dive - Fortune - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice to Premiere at Cannes: First Look and What We Know - Hollywood Reporter - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Updates: Trump says he would not sign a federal abortion ban if elected. - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump is first ex-U.S. president on trial, but other nations have done it - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'The Apprentice' First Look: Sebastian Stan Is a Young Donald Trump Building His Empire - IndieWire - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Johnson to Join Trump at Mar-a-Lago for 'Election Integrity' Announcement - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump, and the start of the hush money trial podcast - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump fails to delay N.Y. criminal trial for a third time this week - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Why Biden Raising More Money Than Trump for the 2024 Election Matters - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- How Voters Describe the 2024 Election in One Word - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump biopic and new films by Yorgos Lanthimos and Andrea Arnold to premiere at Cannes - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- What Is Trumps Weakness? Biden Seizes on Abortion to Attack GOP Rival - Bloomberg - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Fox News Hosts Argue Over Donald Trump Going To Prison - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | Impromptu podcast: Columnists on presidential campaign 2024 - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- A total eclipse of Donald Trump: First felony trial could finally humble him - Salon - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'Donald Trump did this': New Biden abortion ad features a woman who says she almost died because of the Texas ban - NBC News - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Backed Over Bond Reduction - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election 2024 latest news: Biden campaign keeps focus on abortion with new Arizona ad buy - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump campaign changes election rules to try to win in 2024 - The Week - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trumps Hush-Money Trial: What to Know - TIME - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | How the Pro-Life Movements Deal With Trump Made America More Pro-Choice - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- The Apprentice: First Look At Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump & Jeremy Strong As Roy Cohn In Cannes Competition Film - Deadline - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Threatens to Start a Global Protection Racket - The Nation - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's New York hush-money case will start March 25. It's the first of his criminal trials - The Associated Press - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Threat to NATO Is the Scariest Kind of Gaffe: It's Real - The New Yorker - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- N.Y. judge orders Trump and executives to pay $364 million in civil fraud case - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How will Donald Trump pay the $438m he owes in penalties from civil trials? - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $354 million in New York real estate fraud lawsuit - USA TODAY - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump NY case ruling: Judge rules Donald Trump, Eric and Don Jr. must pay $354 million in New York civil fraud trial - WLS-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump and associates ordered to pay $364mn in New York fraud case - Financial Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350m in New York financial fraud case - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Who Is Arthur Engoron, the Judge Who Penalized Donald Trump? - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Civil Fraud Ruling on Donald Trump, Annotated - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump pivots Laura Ingraham town hall from Spartanburg to Greenville - Greenville News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Harsh Punishment Was Made Possible by This New York Law - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Judge rules Donald Trump owes over $350M in civil fraud trial, issues 3-year ban from doing business in New York - WABC-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump ordered to pay over $350M for business fraud - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- After Report of Navalny Death, Haley Attacks Trump Over Past Praise for Putin - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Why Don Jr. and Eric Are in Trouble in the New Trump Rulingand Ivanka Is Not - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Hit With $355M Fraud Trial Judgment; Banned From Doing Business In New York For Years - Deadline - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump has been ordered to pay $447 million in damages. Can he afford it? - Vox.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- For Trump, Friday's verdict is not just business. It's personal. - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- READ: The Bombshell Verdict Ordering Trump to Pay $364 Million - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- No, Donald Trump is not Americas Navalny - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Toby Keith's 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' lives on in MAGA country - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $355M, barred from NY business in civil fraud case - New York Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump civil fraud ruling: The $355 million fine and business restrictions could end the Trump organization as ... - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Highlights From a Key Hearing in Trump's Manhattan Criminal Case - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Read the full ruling from Judge Engoron in Trump's civil fraud trial - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Eric, Donald Trump Jr. face weaker penalties in fraud trial verdict - Business Insider - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How Donald Trump is making the GOP the party of Putin - MSNBC - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Bank Fraud Trial Ends With $364 Million Gut Punch - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump faces many signs of potential political trouble; here are a few of them - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Mary Trump Makes Bad Prediction for Donald Trump - Newsweek - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Where is Donald Trump facing 14th Amendment challenges? - Yahoo News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Something Stinks: Why #TrumpSmells Is Trending On X - Yahoo Entertainment - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP senators who voted to acquit Trump insist they dont regret it - The Hill - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump says he is 'not a student of Hitler,' won't rule as a dictator - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump calls on court to block federal 2020 election charges - The Columbus Dispatch - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Lindsey Graham warns Donald Trump could lose in 2024 if he focuses on 2020 election - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Opinion | 'Donald Trump Is No Moderate' - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- John Roberts, Donald Trump and the ghosts of Bush v. Gore - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- How the 14th Amendment could block Donald Trump from becoming president - WBUR News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Howey: Donald Trump and the insurrection fallout - Courier & Press - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump's history with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi writings: ANALYSIS - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump asks appeals court to toss election interference case, arguing that he's immune - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Colorado Trump ruling leads to rise in violent online rhetoric - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump claims he's never read Hitler's 'Mein Kampf,' as he doubles down on anti-immigrant phrase - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP Floats Tucker Carlson As Donald Trump's 2024 Vice President Pick - The Daily Beast - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump allies and MAGA luminaries move to kill off the Haley-for-VP buzz - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump said an ad used AI to make him look bad. The clips are real. - Tampa Bay Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump Asks Appeals Court to Toss Election Case on Immunity Grounds - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]