NEWS AND OPINION:
“In the wake of the latest indictment of President Trump by the Biden administration, I found myself thinking, man, I’d love to hear what Rush would say about this,” wrote Matt Margolis, a columnist for the news and opinion site PJ Media.
He is, of course, referring to the late Rush Limbaugh, whose powerful daily talk-radio show drew 15.5 million listeners a week.
“What would Rush have said? Well, we don’t really have to wonder. In one of his last episodes before his death, Limbaugh predicted that Democrats would attempt to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president again by indicting him,” Mr. Margolis noted.
And here is what Limbaugh predicted on Jan. 8, 2021, about Mr. Trump and the Democrats’ possible intentions:
“I know they desperately want Donald Trump gone and I know that they desperately want it codified that Trump cannot run again because make no mistake, they remain scared to death of you and they remain scared to death of Trump — and your 75 million, or 80 million votes. And I’m going to tell you, you’re not going anywhere,” Limbaugh told his listeners, assuring his them that their loyalty would remain steadfast.
“They can’t separate you from Trump, and more importantly, they can’t separate you from the ideas. They can’t separate you from MAGA. They can’t separate you from Make America Great Again, which I think remains one of our big campaign strengths going forward,” he said.
‘LIVE FREE OR DIE, MAN’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took some Sunshine State gumption to Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday during an appearance before Granite State voters organized by WMUR, an ABC affiliate.
One audience member was curious: What did the term “woke” mean to the Republican presidential hopeful?
“Woke is a form of cultural Marxism. It’s about taking individuality, merit and achievement and subordinating that to a political agenda based on identity politics. It is effectively displacing the truth in favor of ideology,” Mr. DeSantis replied.
Another voter inquired about personal insults on a debate stage.
”That behavior will cause us to lose. There are millions of voters out there who do not like what President Biden is doing to this country. They do not like the direction the country is going in. But they aren’t going to sign up for a candidate who is behaving badly,” the candidate declared.
“Let’s be better. Let’s look higher and let’s set a good standard for our children to follow,” he said.
One voter asked whether the governor would support concealed carry of permitted firearms nationwide.
“Yes. Live free or die, man. Come on. This is a constitutional right. You’re here in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has been very clear on that,” Mr. DeSantis replied.
“Live Free or Die,” by the way, is the official New Hampshire motto, adopted by the state in 1945.
THE NETWORKS GO CRAZY
The indictment of former President Donald Trump this week was a signal for ABC, CBS and NBC to offer non-stop coverage of the event Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
“They spent a whopping 70 minutes and 41 seconds obsessing over the charges filed against Trump related to the January 6 riot and claims about the 2020 election,” writes Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters.com, a conservative press watchdog.
“All three networks were within two minutes of each other — with NBC at 22 minutes and 17 seconds, CBS at 23 minutes and 28 seconds, and then ABC on top at 24 minutes and 56 seconds,” Mr. Houck noted, also citing NBC Today co-host Savannah Guthrie — who called the indictment-related events “historic.”
FORGOING THE JAB
Which types of personalities were more hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic’s peak? Surprisingly enough, “extroverts” were the most eager to avoid the shot, according to a study released this week by the University of Texas at El Paso.
“We expected that people who were especially high in extroversion would be more likely to get the vaccine. We figured those people would want to get back out in the world and socialize, right? It’s actually the opposite,” Melissa Baker, lead author and an assistant professor of political science, said in a written statement.
The study was based on a survey of 40,000 Canadian adults conducted from November 2020 to July 2021. Questions gauged the “openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability” of the respondents, said the research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology,
“The findings can help with future public health messaging and vaccination campaigns. It also offers a unique perspective in vaccine hesitancy research, a field that has largely focused on political affiliation,” the research also noted.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: The Francis C. Wilson House, a Pueblo Revival adobe-and-wood home built on one “lush and landscaped acre” in 1910 in Santa Fe, New Mexico; 5,400 square feet. Four bedrooms, four baths, sauna, living room, dining room with ceiling mural, five fireplaces, original flooring and woodwork, eat-in gourmet kitchen, game room, sun room, office. Manicured grounds with gravel, desert plantings, outdoor dining area with fireplace, hot tub and greenhouse, mountain views, two-car garage and stone garden shed. Priced at $3.3 million through SothebysRealty.com; enter 202334926 in the search function.
POLL DU JOUR
• 47% of U.S. adults say illegal immigration in the U.S. as a whole is “very serious.”
• 78% of Republicans, 43% of independents and 23% of Democrats agree.
• 23% say illegal immigration is “somewhat serious.”
• 14% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 27% of Democrats agree.
• 18% say it is a “minor problem.”
• 5% of Republicans, 15% of independents and 33% of Democrats agree.
• 4% say it is “not a problem.”
• 0% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.
• 8% are “not sure” if illegal immigration is a problem or not.
• 2% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 10% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: An Economist/ YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted July 29-Aug. 1.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
