No Limbaugh isn't "turning" on Trump
by digby
So Limbaugh said something mildly critical of Trump today for his comments about Cruz and the entire cable news universe is exploding. Here's basically what he said:
“That’s so unlike Trump. I mean, that’s a huge mistake. But on paper, it’s a huge mistake. Trump gets away with his mistakes. Such is the bond of loyalty that his support base has for him… Any of you who are holding out hope that Trump is a genuine conservative…a genuine conservative would not go after Cruz this way.”
And he called him "Donald McCain" which everyone sees as the ultimate Limbaugh insult.
Apparently, they don't listen to Limbaugh very often. He does this sort of thing all the time. He will criticize Republicans, even his favorites, if they deviate from the conservative line (as he sees it.) He's saying this about Trump as a warning to be careful about criticising the hardliners in the congress. That is a very big no-no among the wingnut crowd which believes that any compromise is a mistake.
Trump erred in saying that Cruz was wrong to adopt obstructionism and confrontation. Republican hardliners love that about Cruz more than anything else and Limbaugh's doing him a favor by warning him off of it. I actually don't think Trump meant it that way --- he believes that he's capable of making deals in which other people will completely capitulate to his demands. That's what he's selling and that's what his followers think he's capable of doing. I think you'll see him refine his criticism of Cruz to say that he's not very good at closing the deal which is a better argument for him.
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