770 KTTH host Jason Rantz isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. He says he has that trait due to the nature of talk radio.
The Seattle-based host argued that many other media members are hindered by the fear of angering their interview subjects — namely politicians — and losing access.
“If my job was contingent on that, it would be tough for me. I wouldn’t lean in. I wouldn’t do it, but it would be tough,” The Jason Rantz Show host said. “I’m not going to pretend that I would just be, ‘Oh, whatever. We’re gonna do my thing’. ‘Well, then you’re fired. Whatever, I’m standing for my principles’. It’s not gonna be that easy. I’ll get to that point, but I’m not gonna pretend it’s easy.
“But the thing is, I don’t need access to any member of any government agency. I don’t need the governor, I don’t need the mayor, I don’t need a council member, whether on the county level, I don’t need a sheriff. I don’t need any of that to do my job. Now, I’d happily interview these people, right?… I enjoy talking to people that I disagree with. And because number two, they’re almost never asked any tough question.”
Rantz continued by saying politicians generally can’t defend their positions when pressed by him, which leads to their lack of interest in appearing on his show.
“If they can’t defend their positions, they wouldn’t benefit from talking to me or anybody else that might question that,” remarked Rantz. “If they weren’t confident, they would come on in a heartbeat. They would talk to conservative media outlets all the time. They would correct us, they would humiliate us, they would appeal to our audience. Because you lose respect for people who get humiliated. That’s the truth. Even the ones you truly like are like ‘Ooh, ouch, maybe he or she is not on top of it’. They would do that in a heartbeat. But they don’t because they can’t defend their positions.”
