"What Trump is doing is reminding everybody that those emails are being purposefully hidden from us," Limbaugh said. | AP Photo Limbaugh: Trump 'quite clever' to ask Russians for help with Clinton emails

Rush Limbaugh called Donald Trump "quite clever" Wednesday for his suggestion that Russia should hack Hillary Clinton's emails.

Hailing Trump at his earlier news conference in Florida as "clever" and "informed," and remarking that the Republican nominee "was not stumped on a single question," Limbaugh suggested Trump's invocation of Russian hacking and Clinton's emails as a masterstroke of political theater. "The media is beside itself," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript.


"He challenged Hillary to do what he was doing. She can't. I guess she's not a 'performer.' She couldn't do what Trump did for five minutes — and that is not an exaggeration," Limbaugh said. "And Trump's performance today was substantive. It was not cast off. It was not flippant. And he didn't not answer questions. He took every question that was thrown at him. Now, the media might not like the answers. Like, 'Gee, I hope the Russians can find Hillary's email.'"

Limbaugh, remarking upon the media's coverage of Trump's comment, said, "They think he's actually calling for Russian hackery. What Trump is doing is reminding everybody that those emails are being purposefully hidden from us."

"I actually think it's quite clever to ask the Russians to do it, since none of the traditional American institutions we rely on for this stuff are coming through. See, I know, folks. I know exactly what Trump is doing," Limbaugh claimed. "I know what his methodology is doing. I know what his instincts are. And it's, therefore, easy to predict the reaction."