Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who ripped into liberals, foretold the rise of Donald Trump, and laid waste to political correctness with a merry brand of malice that made him one of the most powerful voices on the American right, died one year ago today at the age of 70.
Limbaugh, an outspoken lover of cigars, had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
On the anniversary of his passing, Limbaugh’s wife Kathryn Limbaugh went on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show — which took over Limbaugh’s timeslot on many radio stations — to talk about “America’s Anchorman.”
“He could tell us what was gonna happen in the weeks and months ahead,” she said. “I think that he very much thought this was pretty much how the country was going to go under Biden’s presidency.”
“He obviously very much wanted President Trump to be in office,” Kathryn continued. “I know he was deeply disappointed and upset with everything that happened in January while he was still here to be a part of it, and see it.”
“But he knew the country was going to take a turn, and the policies were going to go South. That we were going to be facing harder days. He predicted and knew that.”
“He could tell you well in advance the economy was going to go down, as it has,” she said. “That the borders were going to [turn] into a complete mess. That our strength in the world was going to take a hit. He would have said all of those things, and more.”
“The most important thing is he would have brought an element of humor to it,” she said about her late husband. “He would have made us all laugh.”
“He could tell us what was gonna happen in the weeks and months ahead… And the most important thing is he would have brought an element of humor to it. He would have made us all laugh.” – Kathryn Limbaugh #RushLimbaugh pic.twitter.com/X5SMjuI4d8
— The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) February 17, 2022
Tributes to Rush poured out from conservative lawmakers and activists on social media.
Rush Limbaugh was a giant for conservative principles. Today, on the first anniversary of his passing, we honor his life and continue to fight for the freedoms he championed.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 17, 2022
Today we remember the Great Rush Limbaugh, he was a patriot with "talent on loan from God." His legacy will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/D1olE98TRn
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) February 17, 2022
Today marks one year since we lost one of the biggest voices in the conservative movement, Rush Limbaugh.
He was an advocate for freedom and helped shape the Republican Party.
He is missed but his voice will continue to live on. pic.twitter.com/km0mXX4iAC
— GOP (@GOP) February 17, 2022
One year ago today we lost the BEST broadcaster in American history. Rush Limbaugh’s legacy will NEVER die. Rest In Peace Rush, America is GREATER place because of you!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) February 17, 2022
President Trump, during the 2020 State of the Union speech, awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany described herself as the definition of a “Rush Baby” after he passed.
Unflinchingly conservative, wildly partisan, bombastically self-promoting, and larger than life, Limbaugh galvanized listeners for more than 30 years with his talent for vituperation and sarcasm.
Limbaugh once said about conservatives:
We love people. When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don’t see groups. We don’t see victims. We don’t see people we want to exploit. What we see — what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don’t think that person doesn’t have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations, and too much government
We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.
He called himself an entertainer, but his rants during his three-hour weekday radio show broadcast on nearly 600 U.S. stations shaped the national political conversation, swaying ordinary Republicans and the direction of their party.
Blessed with a made-for-broadcasting voice, he delivered his opinions with such certainty that his followers, or “Ditto-heads,” as he dubbed them, took his words as sacred truth.
“In my heart and soul, I know I have become the intellectual engine of the conservative movement,” Limbaugh, with typical immodesty, told author Zev Chafets in the 2010 book “Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One.”
Forbes magazine estimated his 2018 income at $84 million, ranking him behind only Howard Stern among radio personalities.
Limbaugh took as a badge of honor the title “most dangerous man in America.” He said he was the “truth detector,” the “doctor of democracy,” a “lover of mankind,” a “harmless, lovable little fuzz ball” and an “all-around good guy.” He claimed he had “talent on loan from God.”
Long before Trump’s rise in politics, Limbaugh was pinning insulting names on his enemies and raging against the mainstream media, accusing it of feeding the public lies. He called Democrats and others on the left communists, wackos, feminazis, liberal extremists, faggots, and radicals.
Limbaugh often enunciated the Republican platform better and more entertainingly than any party leader, becoming a GOP kingmaker whose endorsement and friendship were sought. Polls consistently found he was regarded as the voice of the party.
His idol, Ronald Reagan, wrote a letter of praise that Limbaugh proudly read on the air in 1992: “You’ve become the number one voice for conservatism.” In 1994, Limbaugh was so widely credited with the first Republican takeover of Congress in 40 years that the GOP made him an honorary member of the new class.
During the 2016 presidential primaries, Limbaugh said he realized early on that Trump would be the nominee, and he likened the candidate’s deep connection with his supporters to his own. In a 2018 interview, he conceded Trump is rude but said that is because he is “fearless and willing to fight against the things that no Republican has been willing to fight against.”
Trump, for his part, heaped praise on Limbaugh, and they golfed together. (The president’s Mar-a-Lago estate is eight miles down the same Palm Beach boulevard as Limbaugh’s $40 million beachfront expanse.) In honoring Limbaugh at the State of the Union, Trump called his friend “a special man beloved by millions.”
Limbaugh influenced the likes of Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and countless other conservative commentators who pushed the boundaries of public discourse.
The Associated Press contributed to this article