Conservative Icon Rush Limbaugh Dead at 70

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Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk show host and radio icon, has lost his battle with lung cancer at the age of 70. His wife, Kathryn, made the announcement today during Rush's show. Kathryn, who said the host will "forever be the greatest of all time", stated that Limbaugh passed away early this morning. Despite his terminal illness, Rush attempted to regularly host his radio show. However, he hadn't been able to perform the past two weeks.

During the most recent State of the Union address, former President Donald Trump awarded Rush the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Shortly before receiving the award, Limbaugh opened up about his advanced lung cancer diagnosis and stated that every day he wakes up is a gift. In his last broadcast of 2020, an emotional Limbaugh told listeners he didn’t expect to see the end of the year and was grateful he did.

The Rush Limbaugh show has been a radio staple since it first aired in 1988. Rush was a titan of the industry and pioneered the conservative talk format that have become wildly popular on both TV and radio. Limbaugh is widely considered one of the most successful radio hosts in the history of the medium, and is second only to Howard Stern in career earnings. On top of his successful radio career and media empire, Rush was also a best selling author.

The signature of Rush's broadcast style was his fiery, articulate and sometimes controversial presentation.