Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70
Conservative talk radio pioneer passes away
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Rush Limbaugh has tragically passed away, aged 70.
Conservative talk radio pioneer Limbaugh died Wednesday morning at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer, his family announced.
The monumentally influential media icon transformed talk radio and politics in his decades behind the microphone.
He helped shape the modern-day Republican Party.
Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn, made the announcement on his radio show.
"Losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life," she said.
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"Rush will forever be the greatest of all time," she added.
The radio icon learned he had Stage IV lung cancer in January 2020.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump at the State of the Union address days later.
First lady Melania Trump then presented America’s highest civilian honor to Limbaugh in an emotional moment on the heels of his devastating cancer diagnosis.
"Rush Limbaugh: Thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country," President Trump said during the address.
Limbaugh is considered one of the most influential media figures in American history and has played a consequential role in conservative politics since "The Rush Limbaugh Show" began in 1988.
Perched behind his Golden EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Microphone, Limbaugh spent over three decades as arguably both the most beloved and polarizing person in American media.
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In his final radio broadcast of 2020, Limbaugh thanked his listeners and supporters, revealing at the time that he had outlived his prognosis.
"I wasn't expected to be alive today," he said.
"I wasn't expected to make it to October, and then to November, and then to December.
"And yet, here I am, and today, got some problems, but I'm feeling pretty good today."
