Vladimir Putin’s apparent endorsement of Donald Trump this week is unlikely to scare away the GOP front-runner’s supporters, because they probably appreciate that at least the Russians are killing terrorists, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Thursday.
“The way that things are going for the [GOP] establishment, at least in the campaign, my guess is that Trump voters would say, ‘Hey, you know what? I kinda like the fact that Putin has endorsed Trump, [because] at least Putin is killing terrorists,'” he speculated.
“‘At least Putin has made an enemy out of [the Islamic State]. We don’t seem to be able to do that,'” the radio host added.
The Russian president said Thursday that he thinks Trump is an “outstanding” and “talented” presidential candidate.
“It’s not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to U.S. voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race,” the former KGB officer added. “Whoever [the next U.S. president is], we are ready and want to develop our relations with the United States.”
And though some reacted to the supposed Russian endorsement by suggesting Thursday that it’d scare off Trump’s base, Limbaugh said it’d do no such thing.
“I found a couple places in the media where some Republican establishment figures [are] going, ‘Oh my God. Could this be it? Oh! Let this be it! Let this be the beginning of the end of Trump,'” the radio host said.
“‘Trump voters are not going to like it … a Russian leader has endorsed him?'” he added.
The establishment is “hoping and praying that this could be the unsuspected, unknown little tidbit of information” that ends the rise of the casino tycoon, Limbaugh explained.
But he said, “I don’t think it’s going to matter.”
