Limbaugh: Trump is ‘controlling the media’

by Rebecca Savransky - 01/27/16 3:30 PM ET

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday complimented Donald Trump’s approach in his battle with Fox News over Thursday’s presidential debate, saying the Republican front-runner is “owning the entire event.”

Limbaugh said Trump’s outsider status is helping him dominate the discourse.

{mosads}”I heard people on Fox last night talking about this,” Limbaugh said. ” ‘Who does he think he is? He can’t control the media.’ I got news for you: He is controlling the media, and it’s his objective.”

Limbaugh told his listeners that everything Trump does “goes against the book.”

” ‘Screw the rules,’ he’s saying. ‘Why should I willingly give them another shot at me in a circumstance they control, why should I do it? What’s the sense in it for me? I’m leading; I’m running the pack here; why in the world should I put myself in that circumstance? I’ve already seen what’s gonna happen,’ ” Limbaugh said.

“This is what it looks like when some guy stands up to the rules and the game and says, ‘Screw yours; I’m looking out for me first.’ That’s all this is,” he added.

Trump on Tuesday said he would not participate in Thursday’s debate and instead hold his own event in Iowa to raise money for veterans and Wounded Warriors.

Trump had previously threatened to not attend the debate because he didn’t think moderator Megyn Kelly would treat him fairly. The two have feuded since the first GOP debate in August.

Limbaugh said his comments were not meant to be in support or opposition of any of the candidates.

He also criticized Fox News, saying if he were in that situation, he would just “report the story and move on.”

“Fox News was acting like they had been jilted at the altar,” he said. “Talk about Ted Cruz. Go talk about the other candidates. Go talk about Hillary [Clinton] and the FBI. There’s a lot of news out there. But don’t devote the rest of the night to how a candidate’s not showing up because of you. I mean, the network, not just Megyn Kelly.”

Trump later tweeted that Limbaugh is “fantastic.”