Rush Limbaugh, the arch-conservative radio host and pioneer of a thriving conservative media industry, died Wednesday from lung cancer. He was 70.
Limbaugh won millions of avid fans and transformed the landscape of American mainstream media and politics with his arch-conservative take on the daily news.
His death was confirmed by his wife, Kathryn Rogers, at the start of Limbaugh's talk-radio show, from which he has been absent for nearly two weeks.
He started "The Rush Limbaugh Show", marked by his signature brash and acerbic riffs on the political and cultural themes of the day, in 1988 and became the most listened-to talk radio broadcast in the U.S., hauling a cumulative weekly audience of nearly 16 million listeners at its peak, based on figures by Talkers' Tracking. He used terms like "Feminazi" to describe women's rights activists and called his follower "Ditto Heads" for agreeing with his views.
Former U.S. vice president Mike Pence described Limbaugh as a person "who made conservatism fun".
Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate minority leader, praised Limbaugh as a "generational media trailblazer".
Senator Ted Cruz described him as "a tireless voice for freedom and the conservative movement."
Limbaugh's words earned him a reputation of being a sexist, conspiracy theorist, homophobe and racist over the years for comments on a wide variety of public figures including President Barack Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Michael J. Fox, professional athletes and many others.
"He was a demagogue who got rich off of hate speech, division, lies and toxicity," said gun safety advocate Shannon Watts.
The late columnist Molly Ivins described Limbaugh as a bully and a "major carrier" of "plain old nastiness in our political discussion."
Limbaugh faced many health challenges: In the early 2000s, he battled near-total hearing loss. He also struggled with opioid addiction. In 2006 he settled a criminal charge of "doctor shopping,", after being accused of consulting with multiple physicians to obtain an excess supply of OxyContin by agreeing to 18 months of court-ordered treatment.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January last year and announced in October that the prognosis was terminal.
Limbaugh is a favorite of conservatives including former presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
Following his cancer diagnosis early last year, Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the country's highest civilian honor -- by Trump during the 2020 State of the Union, in recognition of what he called Limbaugh's "tireless devotion to our country."
