It's Showbiz: Stars Don't Get Paid Millions Not to Be Part of the Story

RUSH: Now, just to review, I understood the point that our first caller was making, Peter from Seattle was his name. He basically said, "Look, Megyn Kelly ought to just bump out of this. This is not about her. It's about the candidates. We got a presidential campaign going on here, and people want to find out what these candidates think, not what the moderators think."

His real point was not that she should be gracious and back out. His point was that reporters shouldn't be the ones making news. And on that basis, reporters ought to just step aside here. You know, moderate it, fine, just ring the bell when time's up. And other than that, let it go, let it be a real debate, not an elongated Sunday show. And a lot of people have this view.

But see, this is my point in the first hour: The game, the rules, the way this has all evolved, the media does control who gets access. The media does control. You've heard it, you've called here and complained about it. The Republicans have to not only beat the Democrats, they have to beat the media, and you complained that to the Republicans and what do they tell? "Yeah, that's just the way it is. Yeah, I know. But that's our cross to bear." Well, Trump is saying, screw it. I'm not playing that game. It's a guaranteed loser. I'm not running against Megyn Kelly. I'm not running against Brit Hume. I'm not running against Chris Wallace. And I don't want them to act like they are running against me."

But, see, the game has evolved in such a way now that the media does have this prominent role. They determine what is news; they determine what isn't news. And they determine what you hear about the news in terms of commentary. And they used to have a monopoly on it. Now they don't, which has made them I think even more partisan. Openly partisan. They've always been partisan. Make them more openly partisan than they've ever been. But here comes Trump outside the parameters of all this, outside the boundaries, he's not playing the game. He's done it, he's played the game, he's been a good boy up until now, but this, for whatever reasons that he cites, is too much.

But don't kid yourself. This isn't over. There are negotiations going on. The UK Daily Mail has a story here that the feud that Trump is having with Fox News has resulted in Roger Ailes calling his wife and daughter in an attempt to get him back to the debate. Headline of the story: "Donald Trump feud causes panicking Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to call Ivanka and Melania in attempt to get the frontrunner BACK to the debate -- but he'll only speak to Murdoch. Donald Trump's refusal to attend Fox News' debate on Thursday night has sent Fox News into chaos."

Well, now, let's look at that, 'cause in some people's minds, that's what the Daily Mail's reporting, UK Daily Mail. We've cited them as a credible, really good publication. Let's take a look at this from a number of different angles, shall we? Trump says that he's not gonna participate in the Fox News debate on Thursday and instead he's gonna be raising money for vets. Stated reason: Megyn Kelly is gonna be a moderator, and he doesn't want to go through that again, whatever it is.

Now, over here, let's not forget there's a presidential race long after the primaries are over. And for all we know, Trump's already begun to run that. And one thing that Trump knows is that Democrats and liberals despise Fox News. They hate it. Fox News is Satan to them. Fox News is the anti-Christ. It's irrational, but they literally hate Fox News. It's on the brain. I'm sure Roger Moore last night had to get tetanus shots and all other kinds of inoculations before -- (interruption) Michael Moore. What did I say? Roger Moore. Oh, yeah. That's definitely not Roger Moore. Yeah, Michael Moore. I'm sure he had to go over there and get shots before he walked in the building.

Thinking Trump might be making a play to broaden his base for the general election, some people may think that's what's going on, which no votes have been cast yet. What if Trump already thinks he's got this wrapped up and he's already running the general campaign now? I don't think that's the case, but some people are gonna be analyzing it that way. Maybe Trump is just ticked off in general about something, and Megyn Kelly and Fox happen to be the target today for what is ticking him off. Maybe he's fed up with what he hears from everybody on Fox about himself. Who knows? Is it strategic? Is it personal? Is it both?

The bottom line is, nobody does this. In the process, Trump has taken charge of the media. Well, the media is out there saying you don't get to control the media, Trump is controlling the media. "Nobody gets to control the media." Yeah, they do, if they can. Are you telling me that Bill Clinton hasn't controlled the media, Barack Obama doesn't control the media? Don't make me laugh. Any way you slice this, Donald Trump is the story. He's the story when he's there; he's the story when he's not there. Telling Fox News he doesn't want to be there is a story. He says he's got endorsements to announce. You know, you don't have time for you people at Fox, but this guy, this evangelist over here, Falwell Jr., in my camp. Guy's smart. Guy loves me. Best evangelist going. Better than any evangelist out there, 'cause he endorsed me. You know the drill.

So here we are, he's trailing in Iowa on some polls. Some polls he's ahead in Iowa, nip and tuck. He's in the process of orchestrating massive media attention on his terms, just before the caucuses on Monday night. He hasn't won Iowa, and for all we know he's still a few points behind. People say if he wins Iowa, that means he's gonna run the table and win the whole shebang. Ted Cruz is out saying that's a possibility, that's why you've got to vote for me. Don't waste your vote on any of these other Republicans up here, says Cruz, you got to vote for me.

By the way, if Trump actually doesn't show up -- and I think it's still an open question -- that's another thing. You don't know for sure what's gonna happen until the thing starts and he's not there. And even then you don't know if he'll try to join the thing in progress. I mean, look, folks, where Trump is concerned, there aren't any rules. And if there are, he has no problem blowing past them.

Rush spent the last few minutes of his show sending kisses to Me Gyn. Sickening.

“Trump may be making a play to broaden his base for the general election.”

Absolutely!

He is going after his natural constituency - coastal elite “moderates” who criticize “Faux News” at cocktail parties while praising themselves for voting for Barack Obama. How special these people are.

They are better than us, you know.

“Trump may be making a play to broaden his base for the general election.”

Absolutely!

They are better than us, you know.

>> even then you don’t know if he’ll try to join the thing in progress <<

Hmm. Maybe he shows up during the debate, but without a ticket. So security won’t let him in.

Then the Donald can dominate the next day’s news cycle by complaining that he was barred from the debate.

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