RUSH LIMBAUGH (HOST): So Trump knows that Ukraine is corrupt as it can be and is depending on U.S. aid and there's simply no way that he's going to provide the aid unless they straighten up. He's not going to continue U.S. policy of funding corrupt regimes for whatever reason, he's there to clean it up. He's there to get the United States out of meaningless relationships. It's one of the reasons he was elected. It's one of the big points that reverberated with the American people. And to do this, Trump had to take on the entire United States foreign policy national security apparatus who were much in favor of the status quo. Trump wanted to upend it. So there were two things. Trump's not wanting to just, without any concerns or assurances, they don't want to fund a regime that's not going to reform itself. He doesn't want to perpetuate corruption and all kinds of dangerous stuff being done with U.S. money. It makes perfect sense that he would ask for some sign that they were serious about reform before providing U.S. aid -- which was ultimately provided, by the way.
So, the context of this is that Trump knows he's dealing with a regime, a nation, that has just been led by a very corrupt bunch that's been voted out. That corrupt bunch was working to undermine his election, working with the DOJ, the Obama DOJ, the FBI, and all that. Of course he's not going to trust these people. He's going to have to see some indication that they are serious about reforming before they get U.S. aid. He's not just going to provide it willy-nilly. And so asking for some kind of show that the Ukrainian new President Zelensky is serious is part of the deal. He's just not going to write him a blank check. There was no quid pro quo. Two witnesses yesterday, no bribery, no quid pro quo. Aid was not held up as a bargaining chip. It was held up because Trump wanted to see serious signs of serious reform. Now they go back to Sondland. Testifying today, he asked Trump, open-ended, "What do you want from Ukraine?" Says he wasn't in a good mood. Said, "I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelensky to do the right thing." Bingo.
So the context here, and I -- to me, explaining why Donald Trump does what he does and why he did what he did is easy if you know him. Now you get some of these career ambassadors and these career State Department national security people who don't know him and who claimed to be shocked -- you should have heard Sondland today.
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These guys supposedly offended by what is said to be raw language -- wearing so thin on me, that we're talking here about choir boys on the Democratic side, choir boys in the State Department, never even think of curse words? Give me a break. Donald Trump represents such, such a low aberration.