Rush Limbaugh on Trump audio leaks: ‘This is what it looks like when you take on the establishment’

Radio host Rush Limbaugh told his audience on Monday that leaked “Access Hollywood” audio of Donald Trump from 2005 was the price he paid for taking on “the establishment” as a Republican.

Millions of “The Rush Limbaugh Show” listeners on Monday heard the host warn Independent voters that the leaking of hot mic comments by Mr. Trump resembles media attempts to demonize former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2008. The conservative said that focusing on Mr. Trump’s private conversations was no different than portraying Mitt Romney as a heartless businessman who “didn’t care enough about health care” to give cancer-riddled employees coverage.

“I kept telling people over the weekend when people were asking my opinion on it, I said, ’This is what it looks like when you take on the establishment. This is exactly what it looks like.’ It isn’t gonna be pretty,” Mr. Limbaugh said. It isn’t gonna be clean. It isn’t going to be pristine. The establishment, with everything they are invested in the establishment, remaining the establishment and in power, they’re just it is not going to sit back and trust this to your votes. They’re not going to trust this to an election, to a campaign. Not going to trust it at all. They’re going to do everything they can to destroy whoever it is that wants to take control from them.”

Mr. Trump was condemned by members of the media and the Republican Party over the weekend for telling then-“Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush in 2005 that he tried to have sex with a married woman and kissed “beautiful women” because he was famous.

“If they were able to demonize Mitt Romney, and they demonized George W. Bush, they’ll be able to demonize anybody,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “If this is the kind of way they go to win elections, they’re never going to stop winning elections, if this is all it takes. And I think a number of people have become outraged by this. And I don’t think there are very many, if at all, defections from Trump among his core supporters.”