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Rush Limbaugh: Conservative radio icon has died

President Trump awarded Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom on February 4, 2020
Posted at 10:19 AM, Feb 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-17 17:24:36-05

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh died of complications of cancer on Wednesday, according to an announcement on his radio show. He was 70 years old.

Limbaugh had been absent from his show for the last two weeks as he received treatment.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in early 2020. On February 4, 2020, one day after publicly announcing his diagnosis, Limbaugh attended the State of the Union, where then-President Donald Trump awarded the radio host the Medal of Freedom.

"This is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet. Rush Limbaugh: Thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country," Trump saidat the State of the Union, as then-First Lady Melania Trump placed the award on Limbaugh.

In October, Limbaugh shared with his radio show listeners that new scans showed “some progression” and that it’s “in the wrong direction.”

At that time, he mentioned that his cancer was likely terminal.

“It’s tough to realize that the days where I do not think I’m under a death sentence are over. Now, we all are, is the point,” he said in October.“We all know that we’re going to die at some point, but when you have a terminal disease diagnosis that has a time frame to it, then that puts a different psychological and even physical awareness to it.”

Limbaugh has been been a nationally syndicated talk show host for 31 years, and was heard in hundreds of markets from coast to coast.