Rush Limbaugh has an elaborate new conspiracy theory about Donald Sterling

Talk radio's most popular conservative thinks Sterling was set up — maybe by Earvin "Magic" Johnson

Published April 29, 2014 9:05PM (EDT)

Rush Limbaugh                                                               (Jeff Malet, maletphoto.com)
Rush Limbaugh (Jeff Malet, maletphoto.com)

On Monday, Rush Limbaugh had the whole Donald Sterling controversy figured out — it was all because Sterling didn't donate enough money to President Obama.

But on Tuesday, the talk radio star realized that the plot goes way, way deeper than all that. From the start, Limbaugh now says, Sterling was being set up. The plan? To have Sterling disgrace himself and, consequently, be forced to sell the Clippers.

"Whoever set this up," Limbaugh said with understated drama, "is really good."

He continued: "They covered every base. They've got the media wrapped around their little finger. I mean, when you get rid of the anthem singer — I used to be in charge of anthem singers at the Kansas City Royals. When you can get rid of anthem singer, you've got power."

Having established that Sterling was the victim of larger, darker, more mysterious and nefarious forces, Limbaugh later wondered aloud if the man rumored to be a potential buyer of the Clippers — NBA legend and business mogul Earvin "Magic" Johnson — was somehow involved in the whole brouhaha.

"What if," Limabaugh said, "the reason Sterling told [his mistress] that he didn't want her showing up in pictures with Magic is that he knew Magic was going to make a play for his team?! What if he knew that?!"

After being sure to note that he was "just saying," Limbaugh went on to ask, "What if Sterling didn't want her talking to Magic because he knew Magic was making a play for his team and now what's going on is Magic and the Guggenheim partners are doing what they're doing to get the price down?"

You can listen to both moments in Limbaugh's Tuesday show below, via Media Matters:


By Elias Isquith

Elias Isquith is a former Salon staff writer.

MORE FROM Elias Isquith