The Breakfast Club - The Breakfast Club talks with Rush Limbaugh

Episode Date: June 1, 2020

The Breakfast Club sat down for a special conversation with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. We need help! That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast

Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone.

The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did

the same thing. Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What up, everybody? It's DJ Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God. We are The Breakfast Club. Now, we are fed up. We're angry, hurt and tired. The country is wounded. The phrase, I can't breathe, is embedded in our minds forever. The inhumane treatment and senseless murder of George Floyd has to be the final straw. This was not the first time, but this has to be where it stops. For almost 10 years, we have been the voice of our community

working to push our culture forward, focusing on educating our listeners on entrepreneurship, real estate, mental health, education, and the importance of being politically engaged and informed. We have always had diverse guests and are open to the tough conversations. In that spirit, today we are having a candid conversation with fellow broadcaster Rush Limbaugh. Why are we having this conversation with someone whose historical

viewpoints differ so significantly from ours and who we represent? Because the dialogue has to be open beyond who we know or who we talk to every morning. Today, Rush's listeners will hear us, probably for the first time ever. What we are witnessing in our nation right now is not normal, and it compels our attention to understand every side and look for ways to bring this country together and stop the senseless killing of our people. So we will start with a conversation that we think might be the first step. Ladies and gentlemen, Rush Limbaugh. Every Democrat candidate for president this year has made it their business to appear on The Breakfast Club.

And now it's my honor to appear on The Breakfast Club, excuse me, even though I'm not a Democrat. Now, guys, can I tell you why I wanted to? The George Floyd story is being lost. Right. There are two things happening in America, and it sickens me what happened to him. Legitimate national outrage about a policeman's criminal brutality has been hijacked. And I don't want to forget about George Floyd.

What happened to George Floyd sickened me, and I wanted to reach out and tell you all this. I want to make sure you have no doubt, and I'm not the only American who feels this way, the senselessness of it. You know, we're only given one life. We don't get a do-over. We only get one. We all take it for granted because it just happened. We're born. We don't even remember that. But George Floyd had his taken away from him.

He didn't lose it. He had it taken away from him in a senseless, stupid way. And I think most Americans are just as angry and sad about this as I am. And I'm also angry the cops that stood around there and didn't do anything to stop it. It was just, I can't tell you how frustrated it is. And I just wanted to share the emotion I have with you guys about this and to try to convey to you that I actually think most Americans are just as sickened and outraged by it as I am. Yeah, and you know what? One of the worst things is that I feel like we're so accustomed to being in these situations where we get frustrated, where nothing happens.

And these police officers are back out doing the same thing over and over again. And that's part of the frustration is this is not an isolated incident. This is something that's been happening in our community. It hasn't stopped. We don't see when it will stop. And I think people are frustrated. And it's a combination of so many different things right now. Well, that's, I think, absolutely, absolutely right. If you look at the actual circumstance here, you had what happened to him, it's on video. You've got the cop, the cop standing there almost looking like he's bragging or having fun, exerting power. How stupid is the cop? Can the cop not be aware of what we in this country are

going through precisely because of what he's doing at that moment? How can anybody be that insensitive or stupid? It's beyond me to understand. It almost felt like that the more that people were telling him that he was killing him and that it was blood coming out of his nose and that he was lifeless, he really felt like just looking at his face. I think that was probably the closest thing to a devil that I've ever seen in my life. It was his ego that just allowed him to keep applying pressure and applying pressure and taking that man's life. I can't. Let me ask you a question, Russ. It's Charlamagne talking. We've seen numerous police killings of unarmed black people in this country. Why is the

George Floyd situation the one that's making you say enough is enough and this needs to stop? Why this situation in particular? Because I'm fed up with it. I'm not, I mean, I'm not tolerant of any of them, but I'm just, I'm fed up with it, Charlemagne. None of this, see, to me, and I know that you're going to disagree with me on this. To me, this is not America. It's a sad. Oh, no, it's definitely America. Well, see, but it's not what we can be. It's not what we have been.

We're the greatest nation in history of the world, and we haven't achieved that on the basis of being. For who, though, Russ? I think it's easy for you to say because you're you're a white male and that comes with a different level of privilege and i do think america does work but it works for the people that it was designed to work for it doesn't work for everybody else the way it works for you well it can. That's the point of America. It can for anybody who wants to adapt to it, for anybody who wants to try to take advantage of the unique opportunities that exist in the United States. We're the only nation that's ever enshrined the concept of individual liberty and freedom in our founding documents. We're the only country that's ever created a document to govern ourselves by that limits government. Now, it's, you know, I've, look, gang.

Well, Rush, let me jump in for a second, though. But George Floyd wasn't doing anything wrong. Breonna Taylor got killed in her house. She wasn't doing anything wrong. And so it's not that people haven't adapted to things. It's just that we get targeted, and then there's no punishment when the police officers commit these crimes against us. No,

no. I didn't mean to conflate that George Floyd could have stopped what was going to happen to him. I'm not, don't misunderstand. George Floyd is the essence of innocence. But what I'm saying is, is that America is a place with robust opportunity. If you want to go out and look for it and find it.

Now, the people ripping up the streets today and last night, the Antifa types, they don't care to find the opportunity. They disagree with the whole construct of America. Well, no, I got to push back on you with that, too. It's not just the Antifa types. You know what I'm saying? Like, you see all these white folks out there protesting, looting,ifa types. You know what I'm saying? Like, you see all these white folks out there protesting, looting, raising hell. You know what I'm saying? Let's not act like there isn't 40 million

people who have filed for unemployment in America. Folks been sitting around the last three months waiting on stimulus checks. More than 44% of those people have been denied unemployment checks are still waiting on them to come. People of all races are broke. They don't know where their next meal is coming from. Their savings are exhausted. If they had any, they don't know how their next meal is coming from. Their savings are exhausted.

If they had any, they don't know how they're going to pay bills. So, of course, they're going to go out there and loot. Of course, they're angry and frustrated. Unnecessarily, it turns out. Unnecessarily. There's no reason to shut down the country. There's no reason to lock everybody. Of course, you put 40 million people out of work and tell them, you know, you penalize them when they do try to open their businesses.

You're going to create a powder keg. A powder keg has been created. That's right. That's why I can't allow you to say that it's just Antifa out there, because it is a lot of white people who are fed up with this country. Look, look, look. The Antifa people are the violent ones. The Antifa people are the ones that are trying to capitalize on it.

Of course, there's some legitimate, heartfelt people out there peacefully protesting. But look, you guys, let me tell you, you are a testament to the opportunity available in America. Look at you. How did you do it? What did you have to overcome to become the Breakfast Club? And what did you have to overcome to become dominant in Morning Drive and American Radio? Who held you back? Or what were you able to overcome in order to do it? The opportunity is there is the only thing I'm saying. Right. But you know, you talk about peacefully, you talk about peacefully protest, right? And you were very opinionated about Colin Kaepernick, and he was peacefully protesting, right? And now people are saying, no, they're not peacefully protesting. This is the same thing Colin Kaepernick was kneeling for that the world was so upset about.

And the world said he's taking it too far and he doesn't know what he's talking about. This is exactly the reason why he was kneeling and protesting. The fact that an unarmed African-American man was doing nothing. They still don't even know if he had a fake ten dollar or twenty dollar bill or not. And that man kneeled on George Floyd for damn near nine minutes and killed that man, murdered that man and looked at us like, yeah, I'm doing it. And what? You guys, I'm trying to tell you, I'm all with you.

I'm a thousand percent with you on this is why I wanted to talk to you, because I know that that there are you know, we all have preconceptions that we live under and biases that we live under and I wanted to reach out to you guys specifically you were you were the ones that I was told to speak to that that this is intolerable I'm happy to have the conversation I'm glad you're having it because I think your audience needs to hear it and you know you know, you said something a little while ago and I want to just talk about that. You know, this is this is a country, America, that denies, you know, black people justice and just plain decency. And then they act like we're just supposed to be happy to be here because it allows a few of us to. When did I say that? Majority of us out here catch up.

Well, you said you said you said, you know, you guys guys made it. Y'all are successful. You know, I'm saying like like but but the rest of us are catching hell out here all i need george floyd wait a second isolated charlamagne you're adding things to my mouth that i didn't say you're adding syllables i have not uttered i was trying to be complimentary of you and i'm trying to illustrate that you are an example to others that want to try you can succeed let me ask a quick question if the Minnesota Vikings had announced two nights ago that they were going to hire Colin Kaepernick would the riots have stopped no nobody gives a about that what are we talking about well you guys what do you mean you guys brought up capernick

capernick his name is capernick and the reason i brought him up is and uh i'm just asking if the vikings had signed him would that if with the people of oh good okay he's got a gig you know we're not gonna protest anymore because that's not gonna stop white supremacy that's not gonna stop racism okay we got us all i p to george floyd but this that was not an isolated incident. This is a regular occurrence for black people in this country. How do you stop?

How does that mean you don't want to change the system? That's a question for you. I want to know, how are you going to use your privilege as a white male to combat this prejudice? You got a direct line to Donald Trump. I don't buy into the notion of white privilege. See, I think that's a liberal political construct right along the lines of political correctness.

It's designed to intimidate and get people to shut up and admit they're guilty of doing things they haven't done. I don't have any white privilege. You know what white privilege is? White privilege is that what happened to George Floyd would not have happened to a white man uh privilege right if if if what happened to george floyd had happened to a white man we probably wouldn't even have heard about it huh you definitely would have heard about it you definitely would have been you definitely would have heard about it you definitely i don't know if you realize how many black people get killed by an unarmed black man getting killed. I don't think...

Rush, there's a lot of instances where this does happen and we don't hear about it. There's a lot of times that there's no video that exists and then people are... Police officers lie and they say this is what happened, just like we've seen it happen so many different times where fortunately there was video. There's a lot of cases that won't make it.

That you never hear about, that never make it to TV, that never make it to social media because there is no phones. What I said, guys, I said if George Floyd were white, we wouldn't have heard of this. And if the same thing had happened to him, we wouldn't have heard of this. And if the same thing had happened to him, we wouldn't have heard about it. It wouldn't have be, you know, we, they, but. Would you, you'd be just, you'd be outraged, right? How do we end racism?

You're right, you'd be right, Solomon. You wouldn't hear about it. And you know why? Because that cop would have been arrested. He would have been fired. He would've been charged with murder long time before all of this. Immediately before, before the video hit the social media,

he would've been charged, fired, arrested, locked up and all that if George Floyd was white. There's a Muslim, I think there's a Muslim officer in Minneapolis now doing 12 and a half years because he accidentally killed a white woman on duty. So, I mean, I don't get it. But let me ask you a question, Royce. in 2014, you criticized President Obama and you said he should do more to ease racial tensions in the wake of the grand jury decisions to not indict the white police officers in Ferguson. You said if he wants to, he can inspire. And I think it's called for in this situation. Shouldn't that same advice apply to President Trump right now? Absolutely. I think it applies to all presidents. Absolutely. No question. But That's one of their roles is to calm circumstances and situations like this.

But look, guys, can I ask you, you keep harping on white privilege and racism. Would you tell me how to end it? What can we do to end this so that you are not frustrated and angry and feeling like whatever you feel like? Because I hate it. You guys, we're all Americans here and I don't like the fact that like, because I hate it. You guys were all Americans here. And I don't like the fact that you're angry all the time. So what can we do to stop the racism? Here's the thing, right?

As long as there's a system of white supremacy, you know, there will always be these types of situations. You know, it doesn't matter who's in the white house. If that person is not willing to dismantle the mechanism of white supremacy. If that person is not willing to change legislation that disproportionately impacts black folks, it doesn't matter. You know what I'm saying? Like, we've seen this a million times. Tell me what happened.

You had four years of Barack Obama. You had Americans, white Americans, voting for Obama because they wanted to say, we're not racist. We're not a racist country. You had people electing the first African-American president in our history. He served for eight years. Why isn't there anything to show for it that makes you less angry than you were then? Once again, it doesn't matter who's in the White House if that person is not willing to dismantle the mechanism of white supremacy. Come on, guys.

Elections don't matter now? I think that when you, we got to stop acting like white supremacy isn't done by design. The whole function of systemic racism is to marginalize black people. And it's very hard to get any damn near 80-year-old white man to change the system that's been working for him and his family for years. I don't care if it's Biden or Trump. So once again, we need people that are willing to dismantle the mechanism of white supremacy. Okay, let me ask you guys, why do you still vote Democrat? I vote for whoever I think is the best candidate.

Because Democrat Party has been promising to fix your grievances for 50 years and you have the same grievances you have the same complaints they haven't done a damn thing for you they haven't even punished the people that you think are responsible for the racism and bigotry being done to you why do you keep supporting them and and you know i i don't disagree with you. And I don't. That's why I'm not letting nobody politicize black pain and tell us that this is one person's fault just because they are trying to win an election in November. This is America's fault. And the war on drugs, mass incarceration, segregation, slavery, all of those things are and have been the proverbial knee on the back of black folks neck. And until somebody is willing to dismantle the mechanism of white supremacy, nothing is going to change.

Well, Rush, I also don't want to lose track of what we're talking about here because I know we're trying to focus on George Floyd and what's happening with him and how can we take some actionable steps to move forward and what can be done, right? So on your end, what are some things that you feel like can be done?

I think that cops should be charged with first degree murder. And I think that the guys standing around ought to be charged. The other cops that were standing around. I think it's time to end this. Look, we are all aware of police brutality. We're all aware of the actions that some rogue cops take, and it's way too many of them, against African-American men.

And it's time to stop. And I'm not a policeman. I'm not an executive in a police department. But it seems to me that if those people end up being charged instead of shielded when they commit murder, there shouldn't be any legalized murder. And that would be one way to at least get a start on making sure it doesn't happen. George Floyd, for everything I've been able to tell, was a good guy. He was a nice guy, had a family, did not even come close to deserving having his life taken from him like this.

Not at all. Not at all. Now, do you agree with the way that the media is portraying everything? You're in media, and you know media is white media, of course. Do you way that the media is portraying everything? You're in media and, you know, media is a white media, of course. Do you do you agree with how they're portraying everything that's going on right now? God, I don't I don't think we've gotten the truth out of most media in three or four years. I don't know. And I think that's another reason why people are mad. You guys, they know they've been lied to. They were lied about so many things for two, three, four years now. And so now they don't know what to believe coming out of the media.

And I don't care what it is, Fox, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post. There doesn't seem to be anywhere in our culture that people have trust in an institution or series of institutions that provide a backstop and reliability when something like this happens. And I think that's creating or contributing to even more of the unrest that's happening out there. Rush, how would you advise Donald Trump to handle this situation? Because I see that he's having some issues. He's calling people thugs. He's talking about sticking the dogs on people if they try to come into the White House. But then you see how he treats people who are protesting the stay at home order and they have guns and they're white people and they're fine people. So I just want to know what advice would you give to the president right now to say this is what we need to do and this is how you should handle it? Because I don't think that

he's handling it properly with his verbiage. I think what the president ought to do is use the God given humility that he has that he that and don't doubt me that he doesiven humility that he has, and don't doubt me that he does. He has a lot of humility. There's nothing humble about the president. Well, no, there is. Even at every rally, you will see his... His all ego.

His appreciation for the people that show up. But it's a simple matter of understanding he's president of everybody here and trying to quell these these moments of unrest is something that would be really, really to his advantage. I think what you said about Obama in 2014 applies when you when you said if he wants to, he can inspire. And I think it's called for in this situation. But I don't think he wants to inspire. I if he wants to he can inspire and i think it's called for in this situation but i don't think he wants to inspire i think he wants to incite okay first i do agree with you about the inspiration i think i think he can i think he should i think all presidents uh should uh in terms of trump inc look, the guy has had everybody and their uncle telling lies and falsehoods about him for three and a half, four years now.

And he's probably a little fed up with it. Before the shutdown happened, look at what black unemployment was. It was a record low. The number of African-Americans have had jobs. The wages that were going up. And then this virus comes along and the bottom is pulled out from it he's got to be frustrated as uh as he can be and i'm not trying to carry his water the black unemployment rate started going down under obama too though i mean that's that's one

thing that trump takes credit for that actually started uh under president obama it did okay well that's yes then i'll ask you a question, Russ? Yeah. Moving forward, all right, because, you know, the cops... Let's say the cops get arrested. The cop gets charged. He goes to jail. Great. How do we dismantle white supremacy as a whole moving forward? Well, that's another show, guys, because, A, I don't...

You'd have to define what it means to you. Because I don't feel like I am a white supremacist, and I don't think there's much white supremacy going on out there. But I need to have you define. See, this is one of the divides. I'll tell you that to me. Once again, this system is designed to work for the people that it was built by. And that's white folks, particularly old white men. And now that people have had enough because those white folks I spoke about earlier who are out there, you know, who really love black people as much as they love black culture, and they're out there standing with black folks and they want to fight with us, I think this is the tipping point. And we right now are at a point where we can finally force America to live up to its grand promises of liberty and justice for all and not just liberty and justice for white folks. It has. That's my back to the beginning of the program. It has. It's out there. You guys have

done it. Look, we're out of time here. But would you guys like to do this again where we pick it up right from this point and maybe make a focus on white supremacy not not if we're just going to dance the whole time if you if you're going to have some honest conversation with us and stop telling us things like white privilege charlamagne and you don't know what white supremacy is if we could do that yes well rash i'm very into having having these into having these conversations because i do think it is important for white people to acknowledge the hurt that they've inflicted on the African-American community and to be able to come forward

and admit that we can't even move forward until that happens. That's what I was attempting to do here with all of you today. On the white supremacy thing, I'm not in any kind of denial. I just know that it's a politically charged element of the Democrat Party's politics and liberalism, and I do not cave or compromise or give one

iotas of an inch to liberalism no matter what. So white supremacy or white privilege is a construct of today's Democrat Party, and I'm not going to agree with any aspect of it as they put it forth. I'm not denying that there are certain individuals out there think they're better than other people, but structurally, institutionally, white supremacy, that's a construct. You can't see how white people are just treated better in this country than black people? Even just as far as how many people get pulled over by the police officers. We can have these conversations, but we got to be honest with each other. You got to admit that. Disproportionately, black people are getting pulled over.

Disproportionately, they're getting shot by the cops. You set these things up. You have no idea how, and I can imagine what you're going to say if I sit here and say you have no idea how I have been mistreated by various elements, various groups, various companies, various individuals my whole life. It's called life and it happens. And we're all mistreated. I've been fired nine times in my career. But have you ever got thrown out your car because you were driving a nice car? Have you ever got just patted down just for being black?

I've had my car keyed. I've had my tires blown, of course. I'm talking about throwing out your car by a police officer because you're black driving a nice car. Or walking down the street in Queens, the area where you're from, and the police pulling you over and patting you down. Has these things happened to you?

Don't talk about keying a car. I done got shot at. They done shot up my car. Don't talk about keying a car. I done got shot at. They done shot at my car. Don't talk about keying a car and popping your tire. I'm talking about police officers pulling you out because you're black. See, I'm a hermit. I'm a hermit and a recluse, and I don't go out and do all that kind of stuff. No, that kind of stuff has never happened to me. I'll grant you.

I want to ask you one more question before we get out of here. I've never had the cops assume that I am. Well, actually, no, that isn't true. I have been pursued. Oh, Russ, stop. I have been pursued had the cops assume that I have. Well, actually, no, that isn't true. I have been, I have been pursued by the cops. I was pursued by absolutely. I have, but look guys,

let me thank you again. No, no. Let me thank you again for giving me the time today and I'm having access to you and at least the chance to talk to you. I do appreciate it. And maybe we can do it again. I look forward to it.

Thank you. I do want to know why you think rest in peace, George Floyd. That's right. All those white kids out there on the front lines protesting and fighting with black people. I salute them. And but why do you why do you think they're out there, Rush? Because they're fed up with what happened to George Floyd. They're fed up with this situation that will not stop that caused all this and provided the opportunity for all this to happen, the opportunity to protest and riot. There are more Americans fed up with it than you know. That's my point. What about America, though?

You don't think that the fact that there's 40 million people who are fired from unemployment, the largest unemployment rate since the Depression era, you don't think that they're fed up about that, too? Well, I already acknowledged that earlier in the conversation. You can't put 40 million people out of work. But I'm telling you that you have a lot of simpatico people out there. White people were marching in the 60s with Dr. King. In fact, Dr. King's death did not cause this kind of strife in this country. Martin Luther King Jr. is dead because of racism and white supremacy. Well, okay.

If that's your answer to everything, then I don't know where we're going. It is, though. It is. He's dead because he was fighting against racism and white supremacy. All right. That's why he's dead. Well, good luck, guys. Thank you for the conversation.

We appreciate it. If we can do this again, we'll do it again. Now, this was a serious conversation. At times, an uncomfortable conversation. Even though we have vastly different viewpoints from Rush, it was an open conversation to have because the dialogue must be open beyond just our community

if we are ever going to get a real change from all people. This is The Breakfast Club. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy.

55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets.

Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-A-Stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys,

and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, the Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history, like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing.

Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was Claudette Colvin. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.