Rush Limbaugh said Thursday that President Trump needs to “do the right thing” and allow for a government shutdown if lawmakers refuse to give him funding for border security.
The conservative radio host told listeners that Democrats have been “crying wolf” since 1995 on government shutdowns because Republicans are scared of their “apocalyptic predictions.” Mr. Limbaugh said it’s time for the commander in chief to do put his foot down despite media outrage that will ensue.
“The government shuts down many times a year that we’re not even told about,” he said. “They’re procedural and they’re formal. Because there’s no politics attached to them nobody ever talks about it. … Life goes on! Nobody dies! Nobody doesn’t get their check. Nobody is unable to get their food stamps and use them. Nobody who is dependent on government suffers.”
Mr. Limbaugh said it was a “direct challenge” to Mr. Trump that a spending bill passed by the Senate neglected border security funding.
“The media’s going to say what they say about you no matter what you do,” the radio host said. “You, [Mr. Trump], may as well do the right thing and make the criticism legitimate. By ’legitimate,’ I mean legitimately angry at you because you did the right thing. Not fake criticism just ’cause they hate you. So veto this thing and then head down to Mar-a-Lago. I will meet you on the first tee wherever you want to play golf, whenever, and this will end up being resolved in your favor.
“But at some point, you have to make a stand,” he continued. “It’s $5 billion in a $4 trillion budget. Mr. President, they are mocking you, members of Congress. Not including a penny for border security is a direct challenge to you. The budget is $4 trillion, and they can’t find five billion? These are natural power fights that occur between the three branches of government, by the way. They’re normal and they’re natural. Everybody is fighting for as much power as they can get, both individually and institutionally.”
SEE ALSO: Paul Ryan: Trump won’t sign spending bill
Mr. Trump told lawmakers Thursday that he will refuse to sign any spending bill that does not include funding for border security.
“We just had a very long productive meeting with the president,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters. “The president informed us that he will not sign the bill that came from the Senate last evening because of his legitimate concerns for border security. So what we’re going to do is go back to the House and work with our members.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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