Thread by @EliStokols

Rush Limbaugh begins this "radio rally" by playing Trump's walk-up music and then a tape of crowd noise of people chanting "we love you."

Rush to Trump: "You are one of the strongest, the most unwavering, the most determined, most loyal people I have ever met...it's just a breathtaking thing.

"I want people to get to know the Donald Trump I know."

Trump starts by saying he "jumped" on the invite to do this rally because Rush's audience is so large.

Then he falsely claims on COVID-19:

"We have a cure. More than just a therapeutic. We have a cure."

Blames "fake news" for mischaracterizing everything.

Rush: "You did not have to do this.." [running for president]

Trump: "It's a great question..."

Trump hyping Regeneron, claiming: "Hundreds of thousands of vials are being sent to hospitals all over the country. People are going to get better...the press doesn't want to report that."

(There is no evidence of any of this)

"My voice is now perfect," Trump says, explaining his raspy voice in recent interviews.

"It's called a lingering thing."

[15 min of media bashing]

On Biden: "Joe shouldn't be a candidate. Joe's in no position to be a candidate," Trump says, bringing up Pelosi's 25th Amendment play.

Trump: "I think they put it in so they can get Kamala."

Rush: "Exactly! It's a trial run! It's not aimed at you."

Rush is now just playing clips of Biden statements and letting Trump react. One on fracking and then the 'you ain't Black' radio hit w/ @cthagod

"The Black community gets it. They don't dig him."

And then Rush plays the 'put y'all back in chains' clip from years ago.

!!

As Trump goes on about Biden being "in a daze," Rush notes he did make it through the debate -- and sorta blames Trump for helping him!

Rush: "You did kind of bail him out... He couldn't answer and you kept talking at him!"

[Programming note: there are two hours of show left, unclear how long Trump is staying on the line]

Trump now grousing about Barr announcing Durham Report isn't coming before Nov. 3:

"I think it's a disgrace. It's an embarrassment."

Says he'll "say it to his face."

Into hour two or media criticism and we have a @maggieNYT name-check, just so we're all aware who continues to live rent-free in the president's head.

Rush concurs, says "there wasn't a word of truth" in any of the stories published the first two years of the Trump presidency.

Now to the Hillary portion of Trump's (2020!) closing argument:

"She deleted 33,000 emails. She should be in jail for that."

He says she "smashed her telephone with a hammer...31 phones were wiped clean" by the Mueller Report.

Trump, who as president apparently relies solely on the media to find out what's happening at the Justice Dept., says he'll be very disappointed if the @axios report on Barr not releasing Durham Report before elex is true.

@axios Trump: "I don't think the debates mean that much."

On what's changed since 2016:

"The biggest difference is Fox...is no longer the same."

Speculates it may be because Paul Ryan is on the Fox board.

"Here's a guy who failed as Speaker."

Trump: "I watch it..." Trump says, going through the Fox anchors -- and making clear, as if his daily schedule didn't already, that he spends most of his day watching TV.

Rush: "You are a TV expert."

As Rush gets Trump into a rant about the NBA/NFL and BLM protests, Trump notes that @nflcommish gave a speech "in his basement wearing a very tight blue shirt..."

@nflcommish Trump now says the term "Black Lives Matter" is "very racist" and divisive...

"It's a very bad term -- for Blacks!"

Here's the fuller Trump quote:

"The first time I heard Black Lives Matter, I thought that's such a terrible term, it's such a racist term."

Trump, three days after declaring stimulus talks over until after the election...

"I would like to see a bigger stimulus package than either Democrats or Republicans are offering."

Rush notes that he and Trump have now been speaking for 1 hour and 42 minutes and that Trump seems "very solid" in terms of his illness.

Rush lauds Trump for his accessibility, says he wants everyone to know what's happening.

"There's no deception here!" he says.

(Reminder: Trump refused to disclose his tax returns, is now refusing to say when he last tested negative for COVID-19)

Limbaugh's gushing culminates with this:

"Your arrival on the scene has been providential."

Trump says mail ballots "will be the second biggest political scandal in American history" right behind "the Russia crap."

Rush: "What are you doing about it?!"

Trump: "We have many lawyers... I want to see on Nov. 3 who won the election!"

"My people tend to -- and they're all my people -- but Republicans..." tend to vote in person.

Rush says Democrats need "a little yellow bus picking 'em up, taking 'em to the polls."

Trump: "Right, right."

At the two-hour mark: "I know you've got a jam-packed day on your schedule..."

Then Rush teases Trump's next media appearance in a few hours.

Sounds like they're wrapping up...

And we're clear. More Trump later with @marklevinshow and then @TuckerCarlson.

Absolutely no idea how I listened to all two hours and somehow missed the Trump f-bomb:

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1314627983471239168