quote:

President Donald Trump recently floated the idea of a talk radio show focused on the coronavirus crisis before abandoning the plans out of fear that it would "compete" with Rush Limbaugh's radio program, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Times said Trump pitched the idea for the show at a White House coronavirus task force meeting in early March. Citing conversations with three White House officials who heard the pitch, the paper said the President said the show "would allow him to quell Americans' fears and answer their questions about the pandemic directly" by allowing listeners to call in and speak with him.

But the paper said Trump backed off the idea the same day he pitched it, reasoning that he didn't want to "compete" with Limbaugh's widely popular conservative talk show. The Times said someone suggested Trump hold the show on weekends or in the morning to avoid conflicting with Limbaugh's schedule, but Trump said "he envisioned his show as two hours a day, every day" and that he would proceed with the plans if the risk of creating competition for Limbaugh didn't exist.

The White House declined to comment to the Times on the matter.