When conservative media speaks, President Trump listens. But he doesn’t take orders from it, he insists.
When conservative media speaks, President Trump listens.
But he doesn’t take orders from it, he insists.
After announcing his decision to declare a national emergency to procure $6.5 billion in funds not allocated by Congress for a wall on the U. S. border with Mexico, President Trump praised many of the giants of right-wing media, including Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson.
Asked about reports that conservative talk show hosts have helped shape his views on declaring a national emergency, the president replied that he makes his own decisions.
“I would talk about it. Look, Sean Hannity has been a terrific, terrific supporter of what I do, not of me. If I change my views, he wouldn’t be with me.”
Tuesday, on his program on Fox News, Hannity called for Trump to do exactly what he did Friday:
“The important third step needs to happen simultaneously,” Hannity explained to his audience about Trump’s decision on whether to sign off on a spending bill to keep the federal government open. “And that would be the president would need to declare a national emergency.”
Whether Trump watched the broadcast may not even matter. An unnamed White House source told New York magazine that Hannity and Trump speak nearly every weeknight.
Trump had special praise for Rush Limbaugh, especially the radio host’s ability to extemporize for hours at a time.
“I think he’s a great guy, can speak for three hours without a phone call, try doing that sometime. For three hours he speaks.
