Provocative and polarizing U.S. talk radio luminary Rush Limbaugh, a leading voice on the American political right since the 1980s who boosted, and was honored by, former President Donald Trump, has died at age 70 after suffering from lung cancer, his wife said on Wednesday.
Lisa Bernhard produced this report.
Provocative and polarizing talk radio pioneer Rush Limbaugh, a leading voice on the American political right since the 1980s, has died at age 70.
Limbaugh had announced in February of last year that he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
He was an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, who awarded Limbaugh the highest U.S. civilian honor - the Presidential Medal of Freedom – one day after the radio star announced his diagnosis.
Limbaugh espoused an unflinchingly populist brand of conservatism to his listeners – whom he called “ditto heads” - during a daily syndicated show broadcast on more than 600 radio stations nationwide.
He railed against left-wing causes from global warming to healthcare reform as he helped shape the Republican Party's agenda in the media and mobilize its grass-roots supporters.
Here's Trump on Limbaugh's show in October of last year - the two lamenting how a report looking into the origins of the Russia probe would not be ready by the November, 2020 presidential election.
LIMBAUGH: "This is disappointing.
I cannot tell you.
TRUMP: "When was this announced Rush?" LIMBAUGH: "I think I've got the story here in the stack.
I thought it was fairly recently -- " TRUMP: "I think it's terrible.
I think it's terrible." Limbaugh also ridiculed mainstream news outlets and relished the controversies often sparked by his on-air commentary.
Detractors like liberal former Senator Al Franken - also a former comedian who wrote a book titled "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" - criticized him as a divisive figure who distorted facts.
Still, his success helped spawn a new class of right-wing pundits such as Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Alex Jones.
Limbaugh had experienced a variety of medical problems over the years, including a loss of hearing reversed by a cochlear implant, as well as an addiction to prescription painkillers that landed him in rehab in 2003.
Calling in to Fox News on Wednesday, Trump said he last spoke to Limbaugh a few days ago, calling him “very courageous” in his battle against cancer and a fighter “til the very end.”
