Speaker 1: All right, thanks Scott Shannon, and thanks to all of you.
Speaker 1: Thanks for being with us eight hundred and nine four one.
Speaker 1: Shawn of you want to be a part of this program.
Speaker 1: Scott Shannon sent me a couple of notes speaking of him,
Speaker 1: the great broadcasting genius that he is, talking about the
Speaker 1: saddest news of the day, the loss of our dear friend,
Speaker 1: you know, as as our friend Jim Gray say, greatest
Speaker 1: of all time, Rush Limbaugh losing his battle with cancer.
Speaker 1: And you know, here's a guy, Scott Shannon, and he
Speaker 1: loves radio. He's such a good guy. He to this
Speaker 1: day just an amazing voice himself and creating Morning Zoo Radio,
Speaker 1: taking things to another level. And he actually just said
Speaker 1: something so deep and so profound that it just struck me.
Speaker 1: Not only did he say it's a sad day for America,
Speaker 1: he says he changed everything in so many different ways.
Speaker 1: We have a lot to talk about as it relates
Speaker 1: to Rush. I have my own, my own side of things.
Speaker 1: I've been close with his family, and let me start
Speaker 1: by saying I know that his wife Katherine was the
Speaker 1: love of his life. She gave an incredible tribute to him.
Speaker 1: And I'm going to play it at the start of
Speaker 1: Russia's show today. I know Russia's family. I haven't had
Speaker 1: a contract in radio and TV that wasn't done by
Speaker 1: a good friend of this program, David Limbaugh. I know
Speaker 1: how devastated his whole family is today and his beautiful
Speaker 1: wife Lisa and their wonderful kids. I know that Russia's
Speaker 1: team James Golden boasts Nerdly as Rush called him, Kathleen
Speaker 1: cookie Is as Rush called him, Mike Maimon It's just
Speaker 1: a loss. It's a very deep, profound, irreplaceable icon broadcasting icon.
Speaker 1: He You know, my friend Neil Boortz always said he
Speaker 1: was the Babe Ruth of our industry, and he's right,
Speaker 1: but I'd add to it a little bit and Babe
Speaker 1: Ruth Lou Garrick, Hank Aaron and Derek Jeter of our industry,
Speaker 1: and he had he transformed radio. And I'll go through
Speaker 1: this story through as the program goes through this afternoon.
Speaker 1: And he transformed singlehandedly, saved AM radio singlehandedly. Then then
Speaker 1: then he went on to save FM radio as broadcasting
Speaker 1: and podcasting and new media came on the scene, and
Speaker 1: no one else would have ever been capable of doing
Speaker 1: any of this all of us that are broadcasters in
Speaker 1: talk radio. And I would even argue Rush Limbaugh paved
Speaker 1: the way for Fox News and even these liberal networks
Speaker 1: that give strong opinion. There's no talk radio as we
Speaker 1: know it, but for him, single handedly paving the way,
Speaker 1: taking this slings and the arrows and every shot, and
Speaker 1: it made it easier for every single one of us
Speaker 1: that followed after him, and just nobody could match it,
Speaker 1: and we're all blessed because of it. It was very
Speaker 1: simple in some ways, deep and profound in so many others.
Speaker 1: The simple is God, faith, family, country, And for what
Speaker 1: almost thirty three years now, since nineteen eighty eight, that
Speaker 1: has been Rush Limbaugh. We're gonna play President Trump. He
Speaker 1: had comments on this earlier today. The great one Mark
Speaker 1: Levin also close friends with the family and with Rush,
Speaker 1: and I just want all of Russia's family to know
Speaker 1: his wife, Katherine. I want James Golden, I want Cookie
Speaker 1: Kathleen and her husband and all these wonderful Mike Mamon.
Speaker 1: I can't mention everybody, Dawn and all the whole team
Speaker 1: over there. You know that we love you all. You're
Speaker 1: all in our prayers today. We know you're all suffering
Speaker 1: I'll say this before I play Catherine's statement. I've seen
Speaker 1: too much cancer in my life. Both my parents died
Speaker 1: from it. Well, my mom not so much, but she
Speaker 1: had stage four breast cancer at one point in her
Speaker 1: life double mess stectomy, keemote therapy, lost their hair in radiation.
Speaker 1: She survived that, but never really fully recovered enough and
Speaker 1: died pretty young. And my dad to pancreatic cancer. And
Speaker 1: I know many people my family was a medicine A
Speaker 1: lot of my family, my sisters, nurses, etc. So I
Speaker 1: knew more than I wanted to know. And they half
Speaker 1: kill you. Although treatments are getting better by the way,
Speaker 1: leukemia is now almost always curable. And Rush help raised
Speaker 1: a ton of money for the Leukemia Society, millions and millions,
Speaker 1: and donated millions and millions himself. And the thing that
Speaker 1: I would want more that if you take only one
Speaker 1: thing away besides his love of God, family and this country,
Speaker 1: and his deep faith. And he had a deep faith.
Speaker 1: I know that for a fact. If you take one
Speaker 1: thing away is okay, You're pretty much given about a
Speaker 1: year ago. Ah, you maybe have six months to live.
Speaker 1: We'll try and make it so you can live as
Speaker 1: long as possible. Okay, most of you. I'm sure I've
Speaker 1: seen the movie The bucket List, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson.
Speaker 1: It's a great movie. I don't know how many people
Speaker 1: have a bucket list. I don't really have a bucket list,
Speaker 1: but Russia's bucket list. His chose, his choice was to
Speaker 1: get through this next treatment, hope for the best, but
Speaker 1: get back on the air because he wanted to be
Speaker 1: with all of us. He wanted to be with all
Speaker 1: of you and all of the people that listened to him,
Speaker 1: and that was his great passion. That was his great love.
Speaker 1: You were his great love, on top of his family
Speaker 1: and his wonderful wife and family. That was all of you,
Speaker 1: his wife Catherine, and you know when he gave the
Speaker 1: announcement saying that I want to play this part first,
Speaker 1: that he now understood how Luke Garrick felt it one point,
Speaker 1: it's an amazing comment from somebody, you know, Blue Garrick
Speaker 1: said in his speech. Many told me I got a
Speaker 1: tough break. No, I feel like the luckiest man in
Speaker 1: the world. That's what Rush said. The day that lou
Speaker 1: Garrick announced that he had his disease that was forcing
Speaker 1: him to retire, from Major League Baseball. He said to
Speaker 1: the sold out Yankee Stadium today, I feel like the
Speaker 1: luckiest man on the face of the earth. And I
Speaker 1: didn't understand that. I mean, here's a guy who had
Speaker 1: just been diagnosed with the most terminal of terminal diseases,
Speaker 1: and I said, this can't be Rik, You can't really
Speaker 1: think he's the luckiest guy in the world. This is
Speaker 1: just something to be saying because it will play well,
Speaker 1: it'll don't. I don't mean to be insulting, lou Garrick,
Speaker 1: don't misunderstand. I'm just thinking that, how in the world,
Speaker 1: if you're being honest, can you feel like you're the
Speaker 1: luckiest man on the face of the earth. Well, when
Speaker 1: I got my diagnosis, and when I began to receive
Speaker 1: all of the outpouring of love and affection from everywhere
Speaker 1: in my life, from so many of you in so
Speaker 1: many ways, and from my family who man, they have
Speaker 1: supported me my entire career, even during times it would
Speaker 1: have been understandable and easy for them to say, rush who,
Speaker 1: we don't know this guy, But that never happened. I mean,
Speaker 1: I've been totally supported by virtually everybody in my family.
Speaker 1: I've been propped up. I have been defended. I've been
Speaker 1: made to look better than I am. My my lovely
Speaker 1: wife Catherine has done so much in that regard. She
Speaker 1: has done so much with Rush limbaud dot Com and
Speaker 1: with the charitable efforts that we have engaged in, and
Speaker 1: all of it has been to my benefit. All of
Speaker 1: it has been for the h and yours. It's the
Speaker 1: benefit of people who are the recipients of our efforts.
Speaker 1: So many people have put me first in all of this.
Speaker 1: I understand now what Luke Garrick meant, because I certainly
Speaker 1: feel like that. I feel extremely fortunate and lucky. Rush
Speaker 1: wanted to be with all of you. Here's the love
Speaker 1: of his life, Katherine making the announcement at the start
Speaker 1: of a show today. Hello, everyone, I know that I
Speaker 1: am most certainly not the Limbaugh that you tuned in
Speaker 1: to listen to to day. I like you very much
Speaker 1: wish Rush was behind this golden microphone right now, welcoming
Speaker 1: you to another exceptional three hours of broadcasting. For over
Speaker 1: thirty two years, Rush has cherished you his loyal audience
Speaker 1: and always look forward to every single show. It is
Speaker 1: with profound sadness I must share with you directly that
Speaker 1: our beloved Rush, my wonderful husband, passed away this morning
Speaker 1: due to complications from lung cancer. As so many of
Speaker 1: you know, losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even
Speaker 1: more so when that loved one is larger than life.
Speaker 1: Rush will forever be the greatest of all time. Rush
Speaker 1: was an extraordinary man, a gentle giant, brilliant, quick witted,
Speaker 1: genuinely kind, extremely generous, passionate, courageous, and the hardest working
Speaker 1: person I know. Despite being one of the most recognized
Speaker 1: powerful people in the world, Rush never let the success
Speaker 1: change his core or beliefs. He was polite and respectful
Speaker 1: to everyone he met, even most recently when he was
Speaker 1: not feeling well in the hospital. He was so appreciative
Speaker 1: to every single doctor and custodian and first responder. He
Speaker 1: never wanted to put anyone out and always thank them
Speaker 1: profusely for their help. From today on, there will be
Speaker 1: a tremendous void in our lives and of course on
Speaker 1: the radio. Rush loved our miraculous country beyond measure. An
Speaker 1: unwavering patriot, he loved our United States military, our flag,
Speaker 1: our Constitution, our founding fathers. He proudly fought and defended
Speaker 1: conservative values in a way that no one else can.
Speaker 1: Rush often stood up and took arrows on his own
Speaker 1: because he knew it was the right thing to do.
Speaker 1: Rush encouraged so many of us to think for ourselves,
Speaker 1: to learn, and to lead. He often said, it did
Speaker 1: not matter where you started or what you look like.
Speaker 1: As Americans, we all have endless opportunities like nowhere else
Speaker 1: in the world. Rush gave us hope that through hard
Speaker 1: work and determination, we can overcome the obstacles in our
Speaker 1: lives and be our best. Many of you started small
Speaker 1: businesses or pursued personal dreams because Rush gave you the
Speaker 1: faith that you could. He made the most complex issues
Speaker 1: simple to understand, while making that level of genius look easy.
Speaker 1: It most certainly was anything but easy, irreplaceable, remarkable talent
Speaker 1: on behalf of the Limbaugh family. I would personally like
Speaker 1: to thank each and every one of you who prayed
Speaker 1: for Rush and inspired him to keep going. You rallied
Speaker 1: around Rush and lifted him up when he needed you
Speaker 1: the most. I am certain, without a shadow of a doubt,
Speaker 1: if he could be here to day he would be.
Speaker 1: He loved you, and he loved this radio program with
Speaker 1: every part of his being. Instead, we know our Rush
Speaker 1: is in heaven encouraging us in the same way he
Speaker 1: always did on earth. Russia's love for our country and
Speaker 1: belief that our best days are ahead live on eternally
Speaker 1: in Russia's honor. May we all continue Russia's mission in
Speaker 1: our individual lives and communities. I know all of you
Speaker 1: listening are terribly sad. We all are. I'm terribly sorry
Speaker 1: to have to deliver this news to you. God bless
Speaker 1: you Rush, and God bless our country. I know many
Speaker 1: of you have a lot to say. Well, We're gonna
Speaker 1: definitely put some time away for a lot of your
Speaker 1: calls today in a sad It's a tragedy, irreplaceable the
Speaker 1: loss of Rush, Lambaugh announced on his program earlier today.
Speaker 1: You know, how do you how do you put into
Speaker 1: words one guy that literally there was there would be
Speaker 1: no talk radio as we know it if not for Rush.
Speaker 1: When he started a syndication, they said it couldn't be done.
Speaker 1: In the daytime, there were less than two hundred talk
Speaker 1: radio stations. Now there's thousands. He ended up literally saving
Speaker 1: AM radio and then later FM radio. He's also defined
Speaker 1: conservatism in a way that. Kaylee mckinatie tweeted out, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm a Rush baby. She's younger, but listening to Rush
Speaker 1: had an impact that that motivated her to get into
Speaker 1: the field of politics and fight for the beliefs we
Speaker 1: all have. We've got a lot to say on the
Speaker 1: other side. President on Rush, Mark Levin on Rush. All
Speaker 1: coming up, All right, twenty five to the top of
Speaker 1: the hour. I'll get back to um. We're going to
Speaker 1: do the whole show. We have the President joining us
Speaker 1: on the issue. He'll be on TV tonight also. Mark
Speaker 1: Levin's going to join us. The passing of Russ Lumbaugh today,
Speaker 1: and I want everybody to know one thing is that
Speaker 1: he would want us. And I can tell you this
Speaker 1: with a certainty because he is irreplaceable. Catherine, his wonderful wife,
Speaker 1: is right. He would want all of us, those of
Speaker 1: us that learned from him and went through all these
Speaker 1: all these different periods in this history, and him leading
Speaker 1: and defining conservatism on a mass scale and influencing generations
Speaker 1: of Americans, including myself, love this country, led this movement,
Speaker 1: and would want all of us to stay in this battle,
Speaker 1: and in this fight, no nobody will ever be able
Speaker 1: to replace him, but we can all do our part.
Speaker 1: It's important. I have a lot that I really want
Speaker 1: to say, and I would I don't want this to
Speaker 1: also be There was such a funny side of Rush
Speaker 1: and a humorous side to him, mischievous side of him,
Speaker 1: and it was just hilarious to those of us that
Speaker 1: knew him when he was very tongue in cheek. And
Speaker 1: in the early years, you'd always say broadcasting high on
Speaker 1: top the EIB building in Midtown Manhattan, and there'd be
Speaker 1: people visiting Manhattan and asking questions, well, where's the EIB building.
Speaker 1: All the secret was there wasn't really an EIB building
Speaker 1: except the one that he worked in, and it made
Speaker 1: it the EIB network, and that all those stories are
Speaker 1: true and and and Rush loved that part of it.
Speaker 1: It drove the left insane. Even a statement, when you
Speaker 1: really think about it, is extraordinarily humble with talent on
Speaker 1: loan from God. What is he saying, Yeah, any talent
Speaker 1: I have came from God, actually praising God in the
Speaker 1: talent saying I'm not responsible for the talent I have
Speaker 1: on the radio, it's God. And that would you know?
Speaker 1: It's like alka Seltzer and water liberals would just melt
Speaker 1: and and that was part of him forging this path
Speaker 1: that every one of us in talk radio and me personally,
Speaker 1: and and even Fox News in so many ways as
Speaker 1: a result of this massive movement and growth of opinion
Speaker 1: that will shut, shut down and shut out of all
Speaker 1: mainstream outlets to take you know, two hundred news talk
Speaker 1: radio stations in the country at the time of his
Speaker 1: syndication in nineteen eighty eight. Now there's thousands of them
Speaker 1: over I think over four thousand. Talk radio is the
Speaker 1: number one format in all of radio. Single Handedly, Rush
Speaker 1: Limbaugh save the AM band because people are who's this guy.
Speaker 1: I remember where I first heard of Rush. I was
Speaker 1: in a radio studio in a college station and some guys,
Speaker 1: you gotta listen to this guy. He's he's irreverent, he's funny,
Speaker 1: he's smart, and he was all of that. And you
Speaker 1: know it was it was his passion and to go
Speaker 1: back to in the midst of all of this treatment
Speaker 1: and all of this pain that is associated. We all
Speaker 1: know people that have had cancer. We all know that
Speaker 1: people they have kill you to try and save you
Speaker 1: or to extend your life. And when he gave the
Speaker 1: announcement little over a year ago that he had advanced
Speaker 1: stage four lung cancer. Well, you know, I don't usually
Speaker 1: trust doctor Google, but you don't have to read much
Speaker 1: to figure out where this is likely headed. And at
Speaker 1: that point it was sad, but he wanted to be
Speaker 1: And I want all of you to take this to heart,
Speaker 1: those that love Rush as we do on this program,
Speaker 1: and I want you to just take it and understand
Speaker 1: he was. He didn't have the bucket list. He had
Speaker 1: the I want to be with my listeners list, and
Speaker 1: I want to fight to the day I die for
Speaker 1: this country I love and keep this great movement that
Speaker 1: has impacted generations alive. And I know what he would want.
Speaker 1: He would want all of us to stay in his
Speaker 1: life's work. And we've all we're all better because of him,
Speaker 1: we all know more because of him, because you're certainly
Speaker 1: not getting it from any broadcast channels or the New
Speaker 1: York Times or Washington Post or these fake news channels.
Speaker 1: You're not getting it. And he was the leader of
Speaker 1: that movement, and he has personally impacted all of us
Speaker 1: that are broadcasters. I talked to many of my friends
Speaker 1: in broadcasting today. Every one of them is devastated. Mark
Speaker 1: and I have been on the phone all day. Mark
Speaker 1: will join us at the top of the next hour.
Speaker 1: That side of him that was humorous, mischievous. I mean
Speaker 1: it just it's amazing, you know. Mary Matlin said, I
Speaker 1: said this on Fox today when they called me and
Speaker 1: asked for my comments. Mary Matlin had said, after the
Speaker 1: Clinton years, I don't know how we would have survived
Speaker 1: without Rush. But he was there for the r at
Speaker 1: the end of the Reagan's term. He was there for
Speaker 1: Bush forty one, there for the Clinton years, there for
Speaker 1: the Bush forty three years, there for the Obama years,
Speaker 1: he was there for the Trump years, and fought like
Speaker 1: hell to get Donald Trump reelected. It was his passion
Speaker 1: and the audience you were his passion. There is no
Speaker 1: talk radio as we know it but for Rush. Limbaugh
Speaker 1: and I would argue, there's probably not Fox News as
Speaker 1: we know it, or any of a lot of programming.
Speaker 1: I want to play Rush reacting. And there's a little
Speaker 1: story behind this, and I know that some people are
Speaker 1: I think that Matt Drudge has gone a little changed
Speaker 1: his political views. Putting that aside, Matt loved Rush, loved him.
Speaker 1: That's a fact, and when Russia announced that he had
Speaker 1: lung cancer. I got a call from Matt and he
Speaker 1: brought up the idea of the Medal of Freedom. It
Speaker 1: was not my idea, and he had talked to other
Speaker 1: people at the White House about it, and I did
Speaker 1: talk to the President about it. It's obviously his decision
Speaker 1: is not mine. And the President immediately said yes. And
Speaker 1: I didn't know when it was going to happen. And
Speaker 1: I got a call earlier that day and I was
Speaker 1: told it was happening at the State of the Union
Speaker 1: and that Milani was going to put it on him.
Speaker 1: I couldn't have been happier for this great American. Here's
Speaker 1: his reaction. Yes, how do you feel about getting them? President? Medal?
Speaker 1: A great feeling getting Oh, oh, I didn't know you're TMC. Yes,
Speaker 1: you're harving. Oh how do I feel about getting the medal? Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm in a state of disbelief. I'm honored as
Speaker 1: I can be by it. Okay, everybody loved to see
Speaker 1: you're doing well and everything like that. Man, well, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you. I am doing great. I'm doing who could
Speaker 1: not be doing great at a night like this? This
Speaker 1: is just everything you thought, Oh, I didn't think that's
Speaker 1: the thing. I think this is still in a state
Speaker 1: of disbelief about it, man, But I'm accepting it. I'll
Speaker 1: take it. But there was a lot of great people
Speaker 1: who received that on and match. Thank you everything you're doing.
Speaker 1: Appreciate it, Thank you very much. I appreciate it all right.
Speaker 1: And it was I think it was probably the most
Speaker 1: special night in his life. And for all those that
Speaker 1: helped make that happen, I'm very appreciative. Um. So I
Speaker 1: come to New York. Let me tell you a little
Speaker 1: bit of my story. And I got hired by Fox
Speaker 1: when and went on the air when a debut in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six in October, and I got a provision
Speaker 1: because I'd been local radio in Atlanta at the time,
Speaker 1: and I got a provision that I could do radio
Speaker 1: as well as television. And that was part of my deal.
Speaker 1: And we started October six or seventh, I think, nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety six on Fox. I've been there the whole time,
Speaker 1: believe it or not. And anyway, so and then I
Speaker 1: started after TV. Every night I go over to where
Speaker 1: the EIB building and I do the eleven to two
Speaker 1: shift talk radio. I loved late night radio so much fun.
Speaker 1: It was different than your daytime slot. And then eventually
Speaker 1: I got the afternoon slot. And then one day I
Speaker 1: got the call, would you want to fill in for Rush?
Speaker 1: And I'm like, okay, twenty one million listeners, six hundred
Speaker 1: plus stations, little nerve racking, and Linda's making me play this.
Speaker 1: But there are some fun stories that I'm going to
Speaker 1: share here, and one of them is so here I
Speaker 1: am in the middle filling in for Rush for the
Speaker 1: first time opening monologue of the show and Russia's mic
Speaker 1: really is a golden eib mic and boom fell down.
Speaker 1: Say that he lied is not gonna happen. He's not
Speaker 1: going to concede that he lied to the grand jury
Speaker 1: because he did not. Is this Is this more of
Speaker 1: the arrogance? Now my face was on the desk as
Speaker 1: I'm now sweating profusely, having you know, a near panic attack.
Speaker 1: I go ahead. I can see Linda laughing and smiling.
Speaker 1: But what made it funny is when Rush got back
Speaker 1: from his vacation or his day off. I don't remember
Speaker 1: how long he was out. He goes and I used
Speaker 1: to try it like I do my Markle event. Thank me, God,
Speaker 1: bless us. I do Sean Hannity dented the golden EIB microphone.
Speaker 1: I'm like, man, it was you know, it was just
Speaker 1: Rush having fun. He had fun, but he also and
Speaker 1: he had fun, and he loved what he did, and
Speaker 1: he and he taught us all thinks, made us, made
Speaker 1: us all smarter, thinking better, learning more. When I did
Speaker 1: that late night show one night, Rush's lines would ring
Speaker 1: all day long. In other words, people would be calling
Speaker 1: into his talk show. Well, his calls would show up
Speaker 1: on the same bank as the phone calls of the
Speaker 1: station I'm on. And one night I just I just
Speaker 1: thought it'd be funny, then fun and I started like
Speaker 1: I did a whole hour and saying, you know, I
Speaker 1: like that. I was Rush. And then people would call
Speaker 1: in and I say, you're on the EIB network Click
Speaker 1: Rush Mega did us? I thought it was funny. Kit
Speaker 1: Carson yelled at me the last at the end. He
Speaker 1: was a great friend. He wasn't really mad. And when
Speaker 1: I told Rush the story, he goes, oh, that's such,
Speaker 1: That's something I would so do, And he was happy
Speaker 1: that I got. He helped my career in ways I
Speaker 1: can't even measure. I'm extraordinarily grateful and humbled, an appreciative
Speaker 1: of everybody in my life that has helped my career.
Speaker 1: I stay in touch with every boss. I have bill
Speaker 1: done of it in Huntsville, Slugo down in Atlanta, Eric Sidell,
Speaker 1: Phil Boyce. I haven't talked to him in a while.
Speaker 1: We need to talk soon. The President. I want to
Speaker 1: play this little segment here of the President and Rush
Speaker 1: where they mentioned me, because the President never understood, well,
Speaker 1: you want to beat Rush, right, I mean, nobody beats Rush.
Speaker 1: What are you talking about? He's done everything for all
Speaker 1: of us. And here's that how that came up. You know,
Speaker 1: people don't realize what a great achievement thirty years is
Speaker 1: and that cutthroat business that you happen to be in.
Speaker 1: You know, you might not find that because you're so
Speaker 1: good at what you do, but there's a cutthroat business
Speaker 1: and for you to do this for thirty years is
Speaker 1: truly an amazing accomplishment. And there's no voice like it.
Speaker 1: Then your even your friend had he agrees with that.
Speaker 1: He said, there's nobody like this man. So I said, no, gee,
Speaker 1: I guess I thought you too would be competitive. He said, nope,
Speaker 1: he's the dean the Dean guest hosted. He guest hosted
Speaker 1: for me when we first started. He's great, and he's
Speaker 1: a big he's a tremendous fan of yours. That they
Speaker 1: all are, everybody is. So I just want to congratulate
Speaker 1: you thirty years and just do it for another thirty
Speaker 1: years after that. You can take it easy, Okay, I
Speaker 1: will do that. Just stay around as long as you do. Okay,
Speaker 1: you have a deal. I'm very grateful to Rush for
Speaker 1: all he's done for this country, all he's done for
Speaker 1: all of us in broadcasting, all of us, and he's
Speaker 1: an icon of all icons here and this is a
Speaker 1: better country because of his voice. And it'll be sorely missed. Now.
Speaker 1: My faith tells me God welcomes us, and there's a
Speaker 1: life beyond this life. I believe that with all of
Speaker 1: my heart, our creator welcomes us. And I know he
Speaker 1: was a believer. And God speed, Rush Lambaugh, and thank
Speaker 1: you for all you've done for this country, for this industry,
Speaker 1: for me personally. And you're missed and loved by millions.
Speaker 1: Remembering the great legacy of Russ Lambaugh passed away early
Speaker 1: this morning. Mark Leavin will join us so play the
Speaker 1: President's comments. Both will join us live on Hannity tonight
Speaker 1: at nine. Hey, I want to remind you you got
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Speaker 1: and today they're on top of their already low price.
Speaker 1: You'll save an additional twenty five percent, remembering Rush. We'll
Speaker 1: have time for your calls today. We'll have the President
Speaker 1: speaking earlier. Mark Levin will join us next, the great One,
Speaker 1: and much much more. Also, more of our tribute to Rush.
Speaker 1: On this sad day we lost in American icon. We'll continue.
Speaker 1: We don't realize what a great achievement thirty years is
Speaker 1: and that cutthroat business that you happen to be in.
Speaker 1: You know, you might not find that because you so
Speaker 1: good at what you do, but there's a cutthroat business
Speaker 1: and for you to do this for thirty years is
Speaker 1: truly an amazing accomplishment. And there's no voice like it
Speaker 1: then you. Even your friend Hannity agrees with that. He said,
Speaker 1: there's nobody like this man. So I said, no, gee,
Speaker 1: I guess I thought you two would be competitive. He said, nope,
Speaker 1: he's the dean. Where I told you the dean, A
Speaker 1: guest tosted. He guest toasted for me when we first started.
Speaker 1: He's great, and he's a big he's a tremendous fan
Speaker 1: of years that they all are. Everybody is. So I
Speaker 1: just want to congratulate you thirty years of and just
Speaker 1: do it for another thirty years after that, you can
Speaker 1: take it easy. Okay, I will do that. Just then,
Speaker 1: I'm stay around as long as you do. Okay, you
Speaker 1: have a deal our two Sean Hannity Show eight hundred
Speaker 1: and nine for one Sean. We will get to your
Speaker 1: calls and we'll also be having our tribute to Rush
Speaker 1: the President's comments from earlier and the President by the way,
Speaker 1: we'll be on Hannity tonight. Mark Levin will be on
Speaker 1: Hannity And speaking of the great one Mark Levin, he
Speaker 1: joins us. Now I'm going to be joining him on
Speaker 1: his shows in the next days too. Just you know, Mark, Um,
Speaker 1: we lost a defining voice for now over thirty years
Speaker 1: of the movement. We love you know, heartmind, body, and soul.
Speaker 1: And we've had the honor both of us of benefiting
Speaker 1: from the path that he forged for all of us
Speaker 1: in broadcasting single handedly, and have been the beneficiaries of
Speaker 1: all the slings and arrows this guy has taken. And
Speaker 1: I know you had a very special relationship with him,
Speaker 1: and he, you know, early on was calling you Flee Levine,
Speaker 1: which used to crack us both up. And we both
Speaker 1: loved this man and appreciated him and understood him, and uh,
Speaker 1: this is a this is a loss you can't replaced, Babe,
Speaker 1: Ruth Lou Garrig, Mickey Mantle, all in one. You know,
Speaker 1: it's really quite devastating, isn't it. I think back all
Speaker 1: the memories I had with this man over twenty five years,
Speaker 1: about of personal and confidential things, and that I can
Speaker 1: I'm not going to discuss, not that there's anything wrong
Speaker 1: with them, but it's personal. And having been to his
Speaker 1: house and how he treated with such grace, and how
Speaker 1: he was always you know, Seannie would ask me about
Speaker 1: my kids and later it had asked me about my grandkids.
Speaker 1: He's always curious, wasn't it. And he was very humble man.
Speaker 1: He was nothing like the Left tried to portray him.
Speaker 1: And from a more public or legacy perspective, I guess
Speaker 1: you think of Reagan, you think of Buckley, you think
Speaker 1: of Milton Friedman, and Rush is in that genre. And
Speaker 1: he had an enormous capacity to communicate. And you know,
Speaker 1: you substitute hosted form. I substitute hosted form really against
Speaker 1: my own will. He said, no, no, no no, astutely you
Speaker 1: can do this, and I don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1: No, no no, don't worry about He threw you in the
Speaker 1: water and you had to swim. By the way. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of stories about forcing Mark to do radio
Speaker 1: and TV, but we won't go there. But I know,
Speaker 1: I remember, I'm laughing because it was very funny, and
Speaker 1: that's exactly what he did. He threw your right in
Speaker 1: the water, and he did it for your own goods.
Speaker 1: He gave me a lot of good advice. He gave
Speaker 1: us both a lot of good advice. I remember saying
Speaker 1: to him one Sean, Rush, there's you, then there's Hannity.
Speaker 1: What am I going to say when you guys are done?
Speaker 1: And he said, I'll tell you what you're going to say.
Speaker 1: You're going to say what Mark thinks. Because nobody's heard
Speaker 1: what Mark has to say yet. I have never forgotten
Speaker 1: that that's what he said. But all radio asside, it's
Speaker 1: just the the humanity of the man, the compassion of
Speaker 1: the man. He so loved his audience, He so loved radio,
Speaker 1: really incredibly. His beautiful wonderful wife who were both at
Speaker 1: his wedding, you know that was only ten and a
Speaker 1: half years ago, and his wonderful brother David and his
Speaker 1: family and so forth. This is a close family. It's
Speaker 1: a big family, and it's a family. A lot of
Speaker 1: them are lawyers, not all of them, and a lot
Speaker 1: of them are really outstanding lawyers. And you know, Ell
Speaker 1: in his life Russia would have told you he was
Speaker 1: fired from this job, that job, another job. Some people
Speaker 1: wondered if he ever accomplished anything, and then look what
Speaker 1: he accomplished. I don't think even the dire situation we're
Speaker 1: in today, I think we would have been here much
Speaker 1: faster without Rush. And we're gonna have to fight on
Speaker 1: without Rush, and he's gonna want us to fight on
Speaker 1: and fight on the heart. But everybody listening should know
Speaker 1: how he adored them, how he adored his audience. And
Speaker 1: you know he used to always say, be respectful to
Speaker 1: your audience. Your audience is number one when you're under attack,
Speaker 1: as your audience who will defend you. It's your audience
Speaker 1: that we'll stand behind you. There's no more on loyal
Speaker 1: audience for the audience Rush had and has. And it's
Speaker 1: very important that we carry on his battle for freedom
Speaker 1: and for the Constitution now more than ever. I know
Speaker 1: that's what he would want. But I also want everybody
Speaker 1: to know that the Rush you heard on the radio.
Speaker 1: Was the fantastic kind of renaissance man. He was extremely
Speaker 1: well read. He had a huge library. He was reading
Speaker 1: all the time. I mean heavy books too. And Sean,
Speaker 1: I had a book come out called Rescuing Sprite. You
Speaker 1: remember that book. I remember it well. And that was
Speaker 1: my second book ever, and I wrote it and I
Speaker 1: sent it to him and he always wanted to see
Speaker 1: the books. And he said, absolutely, you come on the show.
Speaker 1: I want to talk to you about this for a
Speaker 1: full hour. You come on the you come down here
Speaker 1: to Florida. We'll do this in person. We'll have the
Speaker 1: ditto camp. I said, Rush, you want to talk about
Speaker 1: Rescuing Sprite. He said yes. I want the American people
Speaker 1: to know who you are and what a human being
Speaker 1: you are. I want you to talk about your dogs
Speaker 1: on my show. That's the way he was. And I
Speaker 1: can tell a story behind the scenes. You might kill me,
Speaker 1: but I'll start it. If you want me to stop,
Speaker 1: I'll stop. Go ahead in that book because I know
Speaker 1: I read it and I remember crying reading it. You
Speaker 1: tell the story when you had a heart attack, right,
Speaker 1: and I mean you get I had a heart attack. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And you also my best friend and he best friend.
Speaker 1: You were very upset. I remember you're always checking up
Speaker 1: on me. Was so did he. And then it got complicated.
Speaker 1: One of the grass failed and still having chest pains,
Speaker 1: and and so my doctors wanted me to go to
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Clinic, the best hard place, and back then
Speaker 1: I just couldn't afford the flight and all the rest
Speaker 1: of it. And so I told him, I don't think
Speaker 1: I'm going to go. It's kind of expensive. Definitely, yes, sir,
Speaker 1: you're going to go. At whatever it costs, I will
Speaker 1: cover it. Just go. You've got to survive. You've got
Speaker 1: to take care of yourself. Go. He got to do
Speaker 1: the nice things. I'm was the one telling you to
Speaker 1: stop eating ordering McDonald's when you would pull up to
Speaker 1: the McDonald's. But I but the story was a little
Speaker 1: more complicated than that, and I want people to understand
Speaker 1: the details of this. And when you pulled into you
Speaker 1: drove yourself to the hospital, and you knew you were
Speaker 1: in trouble, and you're you described the seating, I mean,
Speaker 1: you're you're literally you feel like I'm a Volkswagen on
Speaker 1: your chest. Some stranger sees what's going on, comes right
Speaker 1: over and says, let me park the car for you,
Speaker 1: runs inside, gets the hospital staff to run out to
Speaker 1: the parking lot to help you. And you had had
Speaker 1: a number of failed stints. I mean, things weren't working,
Speaker 1: and it was touch and go at that moment, and
Speaker 1: he stepped down. He stepped in and said, we're doing
Speaker 1: it my way now, and that's listening to your doctor's way.
Speaker 1: We're not going to let money get in the way.
Speaker 1: But it's not just your story. He did it for strangers.
Speaker 1: He did it for people. Yeah, all the time. I
Speaker 1: do want to say, I do want to add to this.
Speaker 1: Turns out that all that fifteen hundred dollars have been
Speaker 1: paid by insurance and me and so forth. So I
Speaker 1: come home and we're all done. And he said, I
Speaker 1: don't think I've ever said And he says, okay, what
Speaker 1: do I owe you? I said, don't owe me anything.
Speaker 1: They paid everything, but fifteen hundred. I took care of
Speaker 1: that athlete. I should pay the fifteen hundred. I said, no,
Speaker 1: it's not a big deal. I got that. I can
Speaker 1: handle it. And anyway, it's it's hard to know. You
Speaker 1: wake up in the morning. RUSSI lymb was not there anymore.
Speaker 1: It's just very, very difficult. I could tell the last
Speaker 1: several weeks, I would send him a short email and
Speaker 1: he wasn't able to answer, and so I stopped. I
Speaker 1: could tell it was it was getting dire. Could tell
Speaker 1: from David, his brother was getting dire. David his brother
Speaker 1: who works with us, but he's like a brother of
Speaker 1: us too. He couldn't be a better brother to Russian lumball.
Speaker 1: Catherine couldn't be a better wife. And I just I
Speaker 1: think the audience needs to know that Rush lived for
Speaker 1: his family, friends and his audience. And even at the end,
Speaker 1: he struggled to get through these treatments because he wanted
Speaker 1: to go on the air, He wanted to go in
Speaker 1: the air, he wanted to talk to He fought for
Speaker 1: the country right to the bitter end, right to the
Speaker 1: bitter end. And he's a more loyal human being you'll
Speaker 1: never find. And you said it, and I just want
Speaker 1: to reiterate him. All the attacks on Rush just constant, unremitting,
Speaker 1: unrelenting attacks on Rush utterly undeserved because they tried to
Speaker 1: take him out and he was targeted. He was the
Speaker 1: big guy. You and I, even though we get attacked,
Speaker 1: nothing like that because he took the attacks for us.
Speaker 1: I guess that'll change, but that's what happened. And he
Speaker 1: had very broad shoulders. Even one staff might screw up
Speaker 1: now and then he took the responsibility for that. He
Speaker 1: was a gregarious but he was relatively quiet. He was
Speaker 1: very fun you know, a bit of a trickster, and
Speaker 1: always very gracious to everybody, always very very gracious. He
Speaker 1: was a real renaissance man. And history will remember him well.
Speaker 1: I hope they remember anything about any of us. I
Speaker 1: think they'll remember him very very well. Even his later
Speaker 1: books where he's trying to reach out to children, he
Speaker 1: and Catherine trying to make sure they understand what a
Speaker 1: magnificent country this is, and Paul Revere and others, and
Speaker 1: the horse Liberty. He was trying to figure out ways
Speaker 1: to save the republic. He understood it was a battle
Speaker 1: over the culture, and you know, we've lost a leader.
Speaker 1: He's lost a leader. So uh, you know, it takes
Speaker 1: time to digest this really as a friend, it just
Speaker 1: takes a lot of time. Anyway. That's that's about it.
Speaker 1: You know, you said something that I it's said earlier
Speaker 1: in the program, and I think it needs to be
Speaker 1: restated he was where he was. I know, I'm unfortunately.
Speaker 1: My sisters all became nurses and I knew more about
Speaker 1: medicine than you could ever imagine, and had too many
Speaker 1: friends that have had serious cancer scare some survived, some didn't.
Speaker 1: Both my parents had it. And you know, you watch
Speaker 1: these treatments and they have kill you to try and
Speaker 1: save you or extend your life, and they, it seems
Speaker 1: like they did, extended his life quite successfully. And he
Speaker 1: didn't have to expend the energy during this treatment time
Speaker 1: on the air. He could have just looked at his
Speaker 1: diagnosis and it was dire from the beginning. We all
Speaker 1: knew that, and he made a decision to take the
Speaker 1: treatment and fight like hell because where he wanted to
Speaker 1: be with his audience. Every day you get the final
Speaker 1: thirty seconds, Well, Rustam will always be with us. The
Speaker 1: things that he did and said, he was a trailblazer,
Speaker 1: and I just want to tell, particularly young people out there,
Speaker 1: you can follow his example. Love your country, love your family,
Speaker 1: love your faith, be outspoken, be supportive of those who
Speaker 1: are patriotic, are military, are police officers. And he would
Speaker 1: be filled if he knew there were a thousand or
Speaker 1: two thousand little Russia Limballs behind him, all wanting to
Speaker 1: do something spectacular for their country. This is a man,
Speaker 1: Russia Limbaugh, who I don't think I ever imagined that
Speaker 1: he would become as big and popular as he did,
Speaker 1: but he wanted to make sure that the message cut
Speaker 1: out to as many people as possible. He was a
Speaker 1: trailblazer in broadcasting, he was a trailblazer in thinking. He
Speaker 1: was a trailblazer in activism. And you know, one of
Speaker 1: those come along once in a lifetime. But I'm just
Speaker 1: hoping young people will aspire to do the sorts of
Speaker 1: things that Russia Limball did. And we're going to be
Speaker 1: defending him and all the great things he did, I'm
Speaker 1: sure Sean for the days and weeks ahead. And it's
Speaker 1: an honor to defend the honor and the graciousness of
Speaker 1: our dear friend Mark. I couldn't say it any better.
Speaker 1: You'll join us more with more on this on TV tonight.
Speaker 1: We'll see then the president also President Trump. All right,
Speaker 1: glad you with us. A sad day for all of
Speaker 1: us and broadcasting and all of us in talk radio
Speaker 1: and losing Rush Limbaugh lost his battle with lung cancer
Speaker 1: as I know everybody knows now I you know, we
Speaker 1: live in this information age. I don't think I ever
Speaker 1: got information faster than I got today. And a lot
Speaker 1: of really, really kind notes from people knowing knowing that
Speaker 1: I was, how fond of Rush I was, and my
Speaker 1: closeness to his family for over thirty years now, and uh,
Speaker 1: the Actually the President's going to be calling into Hannity
Speaker 1: tonight nine Eastern. We'll talk about this and he'll join us.
Speaker 1: He called into Harris Faulkner and Bill Hammer was on
Speaker 1: the air with Harris earlier. Just it happened to be
Speaker 1: right after I was on. They had called me to
Speaker 1: comment about his passing. And I want to play the
Speaker 1: President's I'm gonna play him in full. I don't want
Speaker 1: to edit it. I want you to hear it. If
Speaker 1: you think back in Russia's life and career. I remember
Speaker 1: the media had made such a big deal when he
Speaker 1: was in George Herbert Walker Bush's box at the Republican
Speaker 1: National Convention one night, but his impact starting with his
Speaker 1: syndicated program with the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and then
Speaker 1: he was there through Bush forty one and all the
Speaker 1: Clinton years. As Mary Matlin said, how would we have
Speaker 1: survived them without Russia every day leading the way. But
Speaker 1: here's the president commenting earlier today, former President Trump on
Speaker 1: Russia's passing. When we gave the Medal of Freedom, it
Speaker 1: was something special. It was an incredible night, and we
Speaker 1: gave it during the State of the Union address, and
Speaker 1: it was especially half the room. Half the room went crazy.
Speaker 1: At the other half the room they knew he should
Speaker 1: get it. But it was special and he was special.
Speaker 1: Mister President, you know, thank you for joining us. What
Speaker 1: was the last time you spoke with Rush Limbaugh? Three
Speaker 1: or four days ago? I'd call him just to find out.
Speaker 1: You know, his fight was very, very courageous, and he
Speaker 1: was very, very sick, and you know, from diagnosis on
Speaker 1: it was just something that was not going to be beaten.
Speaker 1: But you wouldn't know it. And he is married to
Speaker 1: an incredible woman, Catherine, who really every time I spoke
Speaker 1: to him, he would tell me how great she was.
Speaker 1: She took such great care. He was very brave. I mean, he,
Speaker 1: in theory could have been gone four months ago. Really,
Speaker 1: he just he was fighting till the very end. He
Speaker 1: was a fighter. You were a great general while you
Speaker 1: were in the White House. How did you view how
Speaker 1: he either carried on your message or I chose to
Speaker 1: agree or disagree with the policies you had as commander
Speaker 1: in chief. Well, first of all, you know, you just
Speaker 1: had sewn on Johan Hannity. He was incredible, and Sean
Speaker 1: would say, there is nobody like Rush. Sean was the
Speaker 1: to say that. He I used to say, well, what
Speaker 1: do you think someday and he'd say, He's irreplaceable. Russia
Speaker 1: is irreplaceable. Unique. He had an audience that was massive,
Speaker 1: and you know, he could do something Bill and he would.
Speaker 1: He would get up in the show and would just talk.
Speaker 1: He wouldn't take phone calls where you know, people would
Speaker 1: call in every two minutes and that's sort of easy
Speaker 1: to do. He would just talk for two hours and
Speaker 1: three hours, just talk, and that's not an easy thing
Speaker 1: to do. And I want to ask him, I said,
Speaker 1: you study for the show, and he said, actually I
Speaker 1: studied very hard, which which a little bit Harris had
Speaker 1: a little bit surprised me. But he was a fantastic man,
Speaker 1: a fantastic talent, and people, whether they loved him or not,
Speaker 1: they respected him. They really did. President Trump. I have
Speaker 1: always wondered just seeing the look of surprise on Russia's face,
Speaker 1: what he knew about that moment and what you learned
Speaker 1: that he was going through in that moment after he
Speaker 1: is succumbed to tears, and I was curious, what did
Speaker 1: he know was coming? So I did tell him beforehand
Speaker 1: because we didn't have the really the power of not
Speaker 1: doing it. You know, Rush was very sick at the time.
Speaker 1: He was at a hospital in Boston, and I didn't
Speaker 1: want to do the surprise thing. I wish, I wish
Speaker 1: I could have done that, but we really didn't have
Speaker 1: that that that power of doing it. Because he had
Speaker 1: it was a very difficult thing for him to come
Speaker 1: into Washington from where he was, and he did it,
Speaker 1: and there was questions as to whether or not he
Speaker 1: was just a very brave guy. He's amazing and he
Speaker 1: came in and it was, as he told me, it
Speaker 1: was the greatest honor of his life. And everybody in
Speaker 1: the room, you know, you're talking about the Republicans and
Speaker 1: the DEMOCRATY had half of that room went crazy. You
Speaker 1: remember the evening, well, I'm sure it's a very unique
Speaker 1: moment in our country's history. In a sense because of
Speaker 1: who rushes, but what just absolutely crazy. The other half
Speaker 1: sat totally dead, silent, But one hundred percent of that
Speaker 1: room respected Rush. It was a unique guy, and he
Speaker 1: became a friend of mine. You know, I didn't know
Speaker 1: Rush at all. I had essentially never met Rush. And
Speaker 1: then when we came down the escalator, he liked my
Speaker 1: rather controversial speech. I made that speech that was a
Speaker 1: little bit on the controversial side, and he loved it.
Speaker 1: And he was without ever having met him or talked
Speaker 1: to him, or you know, had lunch with him and
Speaker 1: asked him. He was with me right from the beginning,
Speaker 1: and he liked what I said, and he agreed with
Speaker 1: what I said, and he was just a great gentleman,
Speaker 1: great great man, mister President. That is such fascinating detail
Speaker 1: that you're giving, mister President, about how you didn't really
Speaker 1: know him all that. Well, yeah, he became someone who
Speaker 1: carried your message. You know, I'm curious to know what
Speaker 1: you wanted him to know. And maybe you got to
Speaker 1: tell him in the last three or four days that
Speaker 1: she spoke about the difference that he made for you. Well,
Speaker 1: I think he did. And I've heard as many as
Speaker 1: thirty nine million people, you know, that's an audience that
Speaker 1: you don't hear about anymore. And I heard thirty nine
Speaker 1: million people. And I don't know if you remember, maybe
Speaker 1: three or four months ago I did his show and
Speaker 1: I heard they had a tremendous audience. And it lasted
Speaker 1: for like a long time. The interview was like an
Speaker 1: hour and it just went right through, and it was
Speaker 1: his questions were fascinating. I think the show was fascinating.
Speaker 1: He had a way of he had an insight that
Speaker 1: few people have, just a few people have, even really
Speaker 1: good ones, really pros in your business. And by the way,
Speaker 1: you two are some great combination you and build together, Harris,
Speaker 1: that's a great combination that does incredibly well. And we
Speaker 1: thank you for it. We really thank you both for it.
Speaker 1: But he was a very unique guy and he had
Speaker 1: tremendous insight. He got it, He really got it. He
Speaker 1: was very street smart in a sense, and a lot
Speaker 1: of people would know, but he was very, very speaceable.
Speaker 1: He really got it. Mister President. We probably have a
Speaker 1: hundred questions for you, but so many of them are
Speaker 1: not appropriate for this venue. So we'll keep it on
Speaker 1: this topic for now, and we'll appreciate your time today.
Speaker 1: Perhaps that street smarts came from growing up in the
Speaker 1: Midwest Cape Girardo and Missouri along the Mississippi River. Later
Speaker 1: he went on to work for the Kansas City Royals
Speaker 1: and the Pittsburgh Pirates before he turned to his attention
Speaker 1: full time to radio in Sacramento, California. But you just
Speaker 1: said something a moment ago, and Harris picked up on it.
Speaker 1: Just tell us more about how you two got to
Speaker 1: know each other. I'm thinking of twenty fifteen, the summer
Speaker 1: seventeen candidates on a stage in Cleveland. At what point
Speaker 1: did he conceive that you were the guy? And how
Speaker 1: did that come about? Well, I got a call from
Speaker 1: a friend of mine who was a big Rush fan,
Speaker 1: and he said, Rush loves you. I said, now, I
Speaker 1: don't see that. You know, I hadn't heard. I'm not
Speaker 1: able to listen to the radio during the afternoon too much.
Speaker 1: You're on the trail and you're making speeches or doing
Speaker 1: whatever you're doing. I was actually making speeches and running
Speaker 1: a business. I was doing both of them simultaneously, right,
Speaker 1: And he just told me that, And then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden I started getting little transcript stuff. I would
Speaker 1: try to listen everyone out. He was there right from
Speaker 1: the beginning, and it was incredible. And then I guess
Speaker 1: I called him just to thank him, and we developed
Speaker 1: just some very good friendship. We played golf together a
Speaker 1: little bit. He was a very strong guy, physically, very strong,
Speaker 1: hit the ball a long way, he was. I guess
Speaker 1: the reason I asked that question. You think about about
Speaker 1: five years ago. You don't strike me as his kind
Speaker 1: of guy back then. What changed? Well, I don't know.
Speaker 1: You know, you never know about people. I like some
Speaker 1: people that nobody would think I like, and I dislike
Speaker 1: some people that everybody would say, Oh, that's that's a natural.
Speaker 1: We know, we all know about that, right And you
Speaker 1: never know who you like and who you don't like,
Speaker 1: or you know where it all ends up. But right
Speaker 1: from the beginning he was so great. And you know,
Speaker 1: and I have a very beautiful weakness. I always seem
Speaker 1: to like people that like me. Okay, you know, it's
Speaker 1: much easier when they don't like me. I cannot go
Speaker 1: for them so much, so call they're called that a weekness.
Speaker 1: But but that's the way. That's but Russia, we're so
Speaker 1: gracious and so great, so that over a period of
Speaker 1: time I got to know. And he loved his country.
Speaker 1: He loved the country. He loved his wife and his family,
Speaker 1: and he loved his fans, his audience, which was I
Speaker 1: think maybe the biggest ever. There's never been anything like it.
Speaker 1: You know, when Sean says irreplaceable, he really means it too.
Speaker 1: He's irreplaceable. You know, I'm curious, mister president, what did
Speaker 1: you talk about with Russia? Limbaugh if you had the
Speaker 1: opportunity before he was too ill to do so, about
Speaker 1: what might be next for you? He seemed and I
Speaker 1: know because I've I've talked with him. He is a
Speaker 1: man and a vision but he also likes the art
Speaker 1: of what is coming next that you can't predict. True,
Speaker 1: But did you talk about that? Yeah? He was truly
Speaker 1: a man of the future. He loved this country so much.
Speaker 1: He loved the people of this country so much. He
Speaker 1: was so happy with what we did. We rebuilt the military,
Speaker 1: you know, all things that he liked. We cut taxes
Speaker 1: that we cut regulations, which maybe is even more important
Speaker 1: at the tax cuts. Frankly, that's why we built that
Speaker 1: foundation that can propel us if it's not messed up.
Speaker 1: But Rush was just somebody that he loved talking about
Speaker 1: the country in the future. He was very much a
Speaker 1: future person, and he was very proud of the country.
Speaker 1: He was very disappointed by certain things that happened in
Speaker 1: the country and that you know, just have been happening
Speaker 1: in the country, very very disappointed, but he thinks that
Speaker 1: it'll all work out. It'll all work out very well.
Speaker 1: He was just something special and he would express it
Speaker 1: very well in the show. I mean he was He
Speaker 1: was very open. I think that's why you show did
Speaker 1: so well. Was very open to his listeners, to his fans,
Speaker 1: of which there were record numbers. Did he say to
Speaker 1: you what role he would like to see you play next? Well,
Speaker 1: we didn't talk too much about that. I didn't want
Speaker 1: to talk about that too much either, because I was
Speaker 1: disappointed by voter tabulation. I think it's disgraceful what happened.
Speaker 1: We were like a third world country on election night
Speaker 1: with the closing down of the centers and all of
Speaker 1: the things that happened late in the evening. And he
Speaker 1: was furious at it, and many people are furious. You
Speaker 1: don't know how angry this country is. And people were furious,
Speaker 1: but he was somebody at the same time, you know,
Speaker 1: he thinks about the past, but he projects out to
Speaker 1: the future. That was rush. I mean, he wants to
Speaker 1: learn from the past and get things fixed. But he
Speaker 1: was he was somebody that really felt that was a
Speaker 1: very important victory for us. We should have we should
Speaker 1: have had it. That we did have it. But he
Speaker 1: was somebody that felt that was a very important election.
Speaker 1: And I did too. I mean I could too. You
Speaker 1: see what's happening now and so, you know, but maybe
Speaker 1: more than anything else, we just became very friendly. And
Speaker 1: he could talk about any subject, whether it's politics or sports.
Speaker 1: As you know, met for sure his sports career. I mean,
Speaker 1: he loved sports. He loved any sport, it didn't matter
Speaker 1: any sport. He could talk about any sport. He was
Speaker 1: a conversationalist. He was a brilliant guy. Didn't get enough
Speaker 1: credit for that. Totally brilliant. And he was a conversationalist.
Speaker 1: And he was unique. He was unique. He had a way.
Speaker 1: Maybe it was the voice. You know, you never know,
Speaker 1: why does somebody have more viewers? Why why do you
Speaker 1: have more viewers than other people that compete against you
Speaker 1: two You never know, you know, it's something, it's something,
Speaker 1: there's something in the air. There's the voice, or the
Speaker 1: or the brain power, whatever it is. He had something
Speaker 1: very special in a political sense, mister President, either during
Speaker 1: the primary fight of two thousand and sixteen leading up
Speaker 1: to the election or the four years you were in
Speaker 1: the White House, did you feel a political need to
Speaker 1: go to Rush Limbaugh knowing that he is you know,
Speaker 1: he is a kingmaker in so many conservative circles. Did
Speaker 1: you ever get that sense that Limbaugh could help you
Speaker 1: on set issue? Well, because it happened so early, Bill,
Speaker 1: you know his support. You know, it wasn't like, wow,
Speaker 1: let's now start to get people on board, says. You know.
Speaker 1: When I ran, a lot of people didn't think I
Speaker 1: would win because I had never done it before. They
Speaker 1: said you needed experience, and you needed all of those things.
Speaker 1: And I understand that. But Rush felt very early that
Speaker 1: you know we're going to win. He felt from the
Speaker 1: escalator ride down. I mean, I think, before the speech,
Speaker 1: if you want another trip, But no, I never had
Speaker 1: to think about it because he was there so early.
Speaker 1: The only thing I did do is I got to
Speaker 1: know him, and I got to know him because he
Speaker 1: was so gracious. He was so good to me, so gracious,
Speaker 1: and he loved Catherine. He was. He was telling me
Speaker 1: so many I mean, story after story, how she put up.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a very tough period. This period was
Speaker 1: he was going through hell, and he said that this
Speaker 1: was he was married. He told me he was married
Speaker 1: to an angel and the help and the devotion. And
Speaker 1: I could see it too. I could see it. You
Speaker 1: could see it when I gave him the award. Hell
Speaker 1: proud he was. He was just, you know, something incredible.
Speaker 1: But he really loved his family, He loved Catherine. He
Speaker 1: was a great man and he deserves it. All Right.
Speaker 1: That was the President commenting on Rush Limbaut and Fox
Speaker 1: News earlier today. We'll get to your calls coming up
Speaker 1: in the next half hour. The President will also be
Speaker 1: on Hannity tonight nine Eastern. The great one Mark Levin
Speaker 1: will be there and a tribute show to Rush. I mean, Babe,
Speaker 1: Ruth Hank, Aaron Mickey Mantel, Lou garrigum As, Jim Gray,
Speaker 1: my sports friend says, just the goat the greatest of
Speaker 1: all time in this industry. We all benefited from the
Speaker 1: path that he forged. All Right, News Round Up and
Speaker 1: Formation Overload hour. Thank you, Scott Shannon Scott Shannon writing
Speaker 1: me earlier today. You know we had talked about Rush
Speaker 1: so many times, Scott and I. Scott is is just
Speaker 1: you know, see wrote me, It's just a sad day
Speaker 1: for America. He wrote me, goes he changed everything in
Speaker 1: so many different ways. And that's how we're going to
Speaker 1: spend this half hour in this special tribute that all
Speaker 1: my team has put together to Rush. In the final
Speaker 1: half hour, we'll get to your calls. We'll have a
Speaker 1: full show tonight. Rush will honor Rush. The President will
Speaker 1: be calling in a former President Trump or President in
Speaker 1: the exile, Donald Trump, Mark Levin, and others. But here's
Speaker 1: our tribute to Rush. Been with the charitable efforts that
Speaker 1: we have engaged in, and all of it has been
Speaker 1: to my benefit. All of it has been for the
Speaker 1: h and yours. It's the benefit of people who are
Speaker 1: the recipients of our efforts. So many people have put
Speaker 1: me first in all of this, and I understand now
Speaker 1: what lou Garrick meant, because I certainly feel like that.
Speaker 1: I feel extremely fortunate and lucky. I said, well, what
Speaker 1: are you best at? And I said, probably being on
Speaker 1: the radio. Well there's your answer. Do what you're best
Speaker 1: at and you'll at least be happy regardless how well
Speaker 1: you do it. So I decided to give radio one
Speaker 1: more chance. I'm sure you've all felt like you aren't
Speaker 1: going to ever amount to anything, even though you knew
Speaker 1: you were capable of it. I felt that way. The
Speaker 1: only difference between you and me is that I'm up
Speaker 1: here and you're out there. And the only reason I'm
Speaker 1: up here is because you're out there. You have rejuvenated
Speaker 1: my life, and you have made me something I never
Speaker 1: even thought I could be. And I have just one
Speaker 1: thing to say to you, A sincere and heartfelt thank you.
Speaker 1: What a Hilary had one in twenty sixteen. Stop and
Speaker 1: think of that. There wouldn't be a roaring economy EI.
Speaker 1: There wouldn't have been any tax cuts, There wouldn't have
Speaker 1: been any rollback of regulations. There wouldn't have been any
Speaker 1: squaring of the deal with NATO. There wouldn't have been
Speaker 1: any read on trade deals. The Obama administration told American people,
Speaker 1: get used to it. There's a new American economy and
Speaker 1: its flat line or in decline. America's passed. We didn't
Speaker 1: really deserve that. America was founded by a white patriarchy
Speaker 1: set itself up for itself. People discriminated against. But those
Speaker 1: days are over, so now days behind us. They wouldn't
Speaker 1: deserve those anyway. We don't deserve to be a superpower.
Speaker 1: So we had a flat line economy. We were told
Speaker 1: Obama's out there in Indiana telling these people their jobs
Speaker 1: are never coming back. And somebody in the orders mister
Speaker 1: Trump says he can bring up Obama says, what's he
Speaker 1: going to do? Wave the magic won't. Look what happened,
Speaker 1: We got the jobs back. It can be done. They
Speaker 1: don't even want to make America great. They resent the
Speaker 1: whole idea of America becoming great. They resent the idea
Speaker 1: of America as a superpower run in the world for good.
Speaker 1: We're a good guy, Rush. I just wanted to congratulate
Speaker 1: you on thirty years. This is your favorite president and
Speaker 1: I think you are fantastic and I heard about it,
Speaker 1: and today is the big day thirty years. I wanted
Speaker 1: to call personally and congratulate you. I am florid. I
Speaker 1: thought there was nothing anybody could do to surprise me today.
Speaker 1: I've been preparing for anything. Mister President, A very special man, Rush,
Speaker 1: and you have people that love you. I'm one of them,
Speaker 1: but you're a very very special guy. Would you do
Speaker 1: for this country? People have no idea how important your
Speaker 1: voice is. So I just wanted to personally make this
Speaker 1: one and I said, I'll even dial the number myself
Speaker 1: if I have to. But I just want to congratulate you.
Speaker 1: Thirty years and that tough business is incredible and you're
Speaker 1: stronger now than ever before. Well, I thank you so much.
Speaker 1: It's such a thrill to hear from you. You know,
Speaker 1: people don't realize what a great achievement thirty years is
Speaker 1: and that cutthroat business that you happen to be, and
Speaker 1: you know you might not find that because you're so
Speaker 1: good at what you do, but as a cutthroat business,
Speaker 1: and for you to do this for thirty years is
Speaker 1: truly an amazing accomplishment. And there's no voice like it
Speaker 1: then you. Even your friend Hannity agrees with that. He said,
Speaker 1: there's nobody like this man. So I said, no, gee,
Speaker 1: I guess I thought you two would be competitive. He said, nope,
Speaker 1: he's the Dean. No where I told you. The Dean
Speaker 1: was a guest hosted. He guest hosted for me when
Speaker 1: we first started. No he's great, and he's a big
Speaker 1: he's a tremendous fan of yours. That they all are,
Speaker 1: everybody is. So I just want to congratulate you thirty
Speaker 1: years of and just do it for another thirty years
Speaker 1: after that. You can take it easy, Okay, I will
Speaker 1: do that. Just stay around as long as you do. Okay,
Speaker 1: you have a deal. Today, Americans had few options for
Speaker 1: political commentary. The news of the day. Journalism was decidedly
Speaker 1: one sided. Network news along with the print media, they
Speaker 1: were the kings of all information in America. That all
Speaker 1: changed thirty years ago this day, nineteen eighty eight, it
Speaker 1: changed forever. A man from a small town called Cape Gerardo, Missouri,
Speaker 1: kicked off a brand new national radio program. It gave
Speaker 1: a voice to the millions of conservative in this country
Speaker 1: that have been ignored, impugned, their values diminished for so long.
Speaker 1: In doing so, he started what would now become a
Speaker 1: new media revolution in this country, one that radically would
Speaker 1: permanently alter the media landscape in America and by the way,
Speaker 1: paved the way for people like me, the great one,
Speaker 1: Mark Levin, Laura Ingram, and so many others. Well, tonight,
Speaker 1: we're celebrating thirty years of the Rush Limbaugh Show, the
Speaker 1: pioneer of conservative talk radio. That's Tonight's many monolog thirty
Speaker 1: years ago today, August first, nineteen eighty eight, the Rush
Speaker 1: Limbaugh Show kicked off nationally on fifty six radio stations
Speaker 1: around the country. The show was radically different from anything
Speaker 1: else on the airwaves at the time. Now, for decades,
Speaker 1: all Americans look, we were force fed. We got our information, commentary,
Speaker 1: news from the decidedly one sided, left wing leaning traditional
Speaker 1: mainstream media, but with a very clear, funny, fun refreshing,
Speaker 1: informative conservative perspective. Or Rush filled what was a desperately
Speaker 1: needed void in the country, and he gave voice two
Speaker 1: millions of US now Russia, Syndicated nationally on more than
Speaker 1: six hundred of America's best radio stations, heard by more
Speaker 1: than twenty seven million people every week. And as it
Speaker 1: turns out, well, time flies when you're kind of like
Speaker 1: spearheading an entired movement and an entire new genre of media.
Speaker 1: Take a look, I said, Well, what are you best at?
Speaker 1: I said, probably being on the radio. Well there's your answer.
Speaker 1: Do what you're best at, and you'll at least be happy,
Speaker 1: regardless how well you do it, so I decided to
Speaker 1: give radio one more chance. I'm sure you've all felt
Speaker 1: like you aren't going to ever amount to anything, even
Speaker 1: though you knew you were capable of it it. I felt
Speaker 1: that way. The only difference between you and me is
Speaker 1: that I'm up here and you're out there. And the
Speaker 1: only reason I'm up here is because you're out there.
Speaker 1: You have rejuvenated my life and you have made me
Speaker 1: something I never even thought I could be. And I
Speaker 1: have just one thing to say to you, a sincere
Speaker 1: and heartfelt thank you. And media was forever changed. Here's
Speaker 1: the question I want to throw out tonight. What would
Speaker 1: America be like without Rush? Without talk radio? But without
Speaker 1: Rush on the air for the last thirty years, without
Speaker 1: a doubt, he has now had a massive impact decade
Speaker 1: after decade, year in and year out. The Doctor Democracy
Speaker 1: is the single most influential voice in the early nineties,
Speaker 1: holding the corrupt Clinton's accountable, playing a vital role in
Speaker 1: the historic Republican midterm surgeons new king Ridge come into
Speaker 1: power nineteen ninety four. Now he pushed for America's tough
Speaker 1: response after three thousand of our fellow Americans were slaughtered
Speaker 1: on nine to eleven two thousand and one, he was
Speaker 1: a leading voice for the Tea Party movement. In twenty ten,
Speaker 1: he was one of the only people that were warning
Speaker 1: against Obama's radical left wing ideology an agenda, rightly predicting
Speaker 1: that those policies would fail. And recently he has been
Speaker 1: a steadfast, powerful voice for what is the working Trump agenda,
Speaker 1: the conservative agenda. And you see the dividends every day.
Speaker 1: Take a look. Donald Trump is like anybody else would be.
Speaker 1: He won the presidency. He won the presidency against all odds.
Speaker 1: He resents deeply this idea that anybody helped him, particularly
Speaker 1: the Russians. You people in the media are nuts if
Speaker 1: you think Donald Trump is going to go along with this,
Speaker 1: that's not who he is, or Republicans and Democrats, but
Speaker 1: it's basically people who are pro government, pro washings and
Speaker 1: new things government. Washington's the center of the world. They'll
Speaker 1: they'll give occasional mentions of these things that you mentioned,
Speaker 1: these policies to placate voters. But going back to an
Speaker 1: original question you had here, they don't want Trump to succeed.
Speaker 1: On today, the thirtieth anniversary of a syndication, Well, I
Speaker 1: got a call from a pretty special surprise guest. Let's
Speaker 1: listen it. Rush. I just wanted to congratulate you on
Speaker 1: thirty years. This is your favorite president and I think
Speaker 1: you are fantastic and I heard about it and today
Speaker 1: is the big day, thirty years. I wanted to call
Speaker 1: personally and congratulate you. I am florid. I thought there
Speaker 1: was nothing anybody could do to surprise me today. I've
Speaker 1: been preparing for anything. Mister President, A very special man, Rush,
Speaker 1: and you have people that love you. I'm one of them.
Speaker 1: But you're a very very special guy. Would you do
Speaker 1: for this country? People have no idea how important your
Speaker 1: voice is. So I just wanted to personally make this one.
Speaker 1: And I said, I'll even dial the number myself if
Speaker 1: I have to. But I just want to congratulate you
Speaker 1: thirty years and that tough business is incredible and you're
Speaker 1: stronger now than ever before. Well, I thank you so much.
Speaker 1: It's such a thrill to hear from you. My friend
Speaker 1: Neil Boort's also a talk shows once we're fer to
Speaker 1: Russia is the Babe Ruth of talk radio. He was right,
Speaker 1: and Ris called with Rushi today. The President also brought
Speaker 1: up how often I call him the Dean of talk radio.
Speaker 1: What's this? You know, people don't realize what a great
Speaker 1: achievement thirty years is and that cutthroat business that you
Speaker 1: happen to be in. You know, you might not find
Speaker 1: that because you're so good at what you do. But
Speaker 1: there's a cutthroat business and for you to do this
Speaker 1: for thirty years is truly an amazing accomplishment and there's
Speaker 1: no voice like it. And you. Even your friend Hannity
Speaker 1: agrees with that. He said, there's nobody like this man.
Speaker 1: So I said, no, gee, I guess I thought you
Speaker 1: two would be competitive. He said, nope, he's the Dean
Speaker 1: where I told you the Dean was a guest toast
Speaker 1: that he guess tasted for me when we first started. No,
Speaker 1: he's great, and he's a big he's a tremendous fan
Speaker 1: of yours. That they all are. Everybody is. So I
Speaker 1: just want to congratulate you thirty years and just do
Speaker 1: it for another thirty years after that. You can take
Speaker 1: it easy, Okay, I will do that. Just I'll stay
Speaker 1: around as long as you do. Okay, you have a deal.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty good deal. But you know what, it
Speaker 1: is a competitive business. But people like myself, the great one,
Speaker 1: Mark Levin, Laura Ingram, and most people that work and
Speaker 1: talk radio. We all understand that he forged a path
Speaker 1: for all of us. Here's the big question, though, I personally,
Speaker 1: you think back in the last thirty years, think about
Speaker 1: America today without Russia's voice, that booming conservative voice for
Speaker 1: thirty years, his unwavering commitment to conservative ideology, philosophy. Frankly,
Speaker 1: his wonderful, warm sense of humor is outrages humor, his
Speaker 1: steadfast love of country. He's literally given the country insightful
Speaker 1: commentary decade after decade, and it has changed the media
Speaker 1: landscape in this country forever. As he led the way
Speaker 1: forging a path, like earlier pioneers like Jerry Williams and
Speaker 1: Barry Farber, Bob Grant, all these guys, some outrageous, controversial,
Speaker 1: some knot, we get to do what we do today
Speaker 1: because he single handedly opened up a whole new marketplace.
Speaker 1: He had the courage of his convictions. He paved the
Speaker 1: way for a new media and a political revolution. And
Speaker 1: the fact, for example, you're watching me right now is
Speaker 1: in part because of these great pioneers courageously forging that path.
Speaker 1: He had the audacity to stand up versus the status quo.
Speaker 1: He took a lot of heat. He stood for honest, conservative,
Speaker 1: great American values. They have tried again and again to
Speaker 1: take him down, and they take it just like they
Speaker 1: try to take Mark Laura Me down whenever they can.
Speaker 1: But here we are, We're blessed, and we're better off
Speaker 1: as a country. The media has some diversity because of
Speaker 1: his life's work, So Russia on behalf of me, Mark Laura,
Speaker 1: Conservatives everywhere, millions of us, thank you. Hey, Look, before
Speaker 1: we wrap up today, I have to take just a
Speaker 1: brief moment here to extend sincere thanks to Sean Hannity.
Speaker 1: I was, I was told you're gonna want to watch
Speaker 1: Sean's monologue tonight. Got a note from somebody working on
Speaker 1: the staff, You're gonna want to watch this tonight. So
Speaker 1: I turned it and I was floored. I was, did
Speaker 1: you all see it last night? I honestly, it was
Speaker 1: so strange. I've I've never I don't want to make
Speaker 1: too big, but I've never had any well, I've never
Speaker 1: had all that stuff ever said about me or this program,
Speaker 1: and it just was over the top, exceptionally well done.
Speaker 1: I was while I was dabbing at my eyes when
Speaker 1: this was going on, because it was so heartfelt the
Speaker 1: way Sean spoke of this program and of me and
Speaker 1: our friendship, and I will always remember it. It was well,
Speaker 1: I don't know house to say it was. It was
Speaker 1: unlike anything that has ever been said in ways of
Speaker 1: describing this program and me, And when you're not accustomed.
Speaker 1: I imagine that people on the left are accustomed to
Speaker 1: that kind of treatment all the time and it becomes
Speaker 1: something that they expected don't appreciate it. But man, for me,
Speaker 1: people on our side day, I'll never get anything like that,
Speaker 1: and I just have to And I sent Sean a
Speaker 1: note privately thank them, but I wanted to acknowledge it
Speaker 1: here on the program of day too, because it was
Speaker 1: just it was just great and deeply meaningful. All I
Speaker 1: will take a quick break, final half hour your calls.
Speaker 1: When did you first hear your thoughts on? Is passing? Next?
Speaker 1: All right? Twenty five to the top of the hour,
Speaker 1: eight hundred and nine four one, Sean, if you want
Speaker 1: to be a part of the program, you know, I
Speaker 1: purposely stayed off social media. I always do. I don't
Speaker 1: have email anymore, and I just asked my team, my
Speaker 1: staff here. UM, let me guess the media is vicious
Speaker 1: as always, and the answer was yes. And this is
Speaker 1: just this is who they are. At the end of
Speaker 1: the day, we know who Rush is. They don't define
Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh's career. They don't need They never understood conservatism ever,
Speaker 1: they don't want to. All they know is smear, lie, slander, besmirchment, attack, attack, attack, attack, attack.
Speaker 1: And we know the real Rush Limbaugh, the pay treat
Speaker 1: a person that loved God, family and country. Why did
Speaker 1: so many millions, tens of millions of Americans if you
Speaker 1: add over the generations that grew up and then became
Speaker 1: prominent conservatives in part, in large part, in many cases,
Speaker 1: because of Rush. So I'm ignoring that noise. I want
Speaker 1: to take a lot of your calls, UM, I know
Speaker 1: how so many of you feel about today, and I
Speaker 1: just wanted to give you all a chance to talk
Speaker 1: about this incredible, most talented, greatest of all time broadcasting legend.
Speaker 1: We're going to start with our dear friend Don and
Speaker 1: Lake Ronkonkoma, who I know love Rush all these years
Speaker 1: and we've been friends for many years too, very much so.
Speaker 1: I had been to a couple of his fundraisers in
Speaker 1: the city you've been doing. When I heard his what
Speaker 1: Catherine's boys come over the radio and announce his passing,
Speaker 1: I was numb and I'm still numb, and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be number over a while, you know, but I will
Speaker 1: miss his strength and his optimism, Sean, his driving to
Speaker 1: keep pushing forward. I remember in October eighth, on two
Speaker 1: thousand and one, he announced he was going deaf. Didn't
Speaker 1: stop him. He pushed forward. He had addiction to painkillers,
Speaker 1: didn't stop him. He beat it. He took a time
Speaker 1: off the radio, he beat it, and he pushed forward.
Speaker 1: You know how many the many times at the Left
Speaker 1: tried to go up to his advertisers, having kicked off
Speaker 1: the radio his whole career. Ye tried to do that
Speaker 1: his entire career. They've tried to silence him and they failed. Yep.
Speaker 1: And then he had to love Uh Dance Bake Sale
Speaker 1: during the nineties. That to see that thing grow and
Speaker 1: grow and grow, and that his charities. He was the
Speaker 1: biggest staunch the supporter of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. This morning,
Speaker 1: I was moving to shirts around my class. I found
Speaker 1: this Betsy Raw shirt that I had bought also his
Speaker 1: Green Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, his Towers Tunnels of Towers Foundation,
Speaker 1: all these things. I'll just say, Rush Limbaugh, you know,
Speaker 1: and I'm listen. I know for a fact he's donated
Speaker 1: millions and millions of dollars. Yeah, I know of individual
Speaker 1: cases of his his incredible generosity. Yeah, Um, I know,
Speaker 1: the same guy you're describing, um Don And you know
Speaker 1: it's um You know, you just don't get the great
Speaker 1: talent that just comes along every day. Yeah. It was
Speaker 1: so heartfelt, it was so from the heart. He was
Speaker 1: just you had to tune in to hear what Rush
Speaker 1: had to say. He was talking of both snardly today
Speaker 1: and I said, I don't when he went when he
Speaker 1: lost his hearing, and we all have hearing on radio
Speaker 1: if you've been at it any length of time, but
Speaker 1: when he went completely deaf, Yeah, and how he was
Speaker 1: able I could tell you right now I would not
Speaker 1: be able to accomplish that. It is all at his
Speaker 1: task impossible as a broadcaster, hearing is instrumental, and and
Speaker 1: he did it. Um yeah, Well, I was in his
Speaker 1: presence in New York when he demonstrated how that Cochley
Speaker 1: implant work. It was just an amazing, amazing medical breakthrough
Speaker 1: for him and for us well, and and and it
Speaker 1: worked for him and he and you know what, Like
Speaker 1: I've often said this, nobody gets through this life without
Speaker 1: facing challenges, difficulties, problems. You know, we're all gonna get hit.
Speaker 1: Nothing's gonna nothing's gonna hit as hard as life itself,
Speaker 1: as Rocky says to his son, right, but it ain't
Speaker 1: a matter of how hard you can get that you
Speaker 1: get hit. It's a matter of how hard you can
Speaker 1: get hit and keep moving forward and keep moving forward.
Speaker 1: And we owe it to Rush. This was his life's work.
Speaker 1: We will do will never match his talent, will never
Speaker 1: match his voice. It'll forever be sorely missed. And but
Speaker 1: we'll do our best because that's what he'd want us
Speaker 1: to do. He didn't he didn't have to stay on
Speaker 1: the radio for the last year. That's where he wanted
Speaker 1: to be. He wanted to be with us, He wanted
Speaker 1: to be with his incredible audience, all all many in
Speaker 1: this audience, the people that really make the country great.
Speaker 1: I guess he could have, you know, flown off to Europe,
Speaker 1: other countries, had a bucket list. No, his bucket list
Speaker 1: was what he did every day and that's where he
Speaker 1: chose to be. And if he could have been there today,
Speaker 1: he would have been there, and he wanted to be there.
Speaker 1: I'm sure in these these final weeks as he was
Speaker 1: struggled and I was getting nervous because he had been
Speaker 1: off the air for a while. Don thank you, my friend,
Speaker 1: Thanks for sharing all that. Appreciate it. M J Florida,
Speaker 1: thank you for checking in. Hey, well simplify Sean. I
Speaker 1: thought of you immediately, you and Mark the great one immediately,
Speaker 1: and I happen to catch you earlier on the television
Speaker 1: and it's the three of you, such great, big men,
Speaker 1: but with such powerful, wonderful voices, but the softest and
Speaker 1: kindest hearts. And you say your step noticed on media,
Speaker 1: social media. I don't have social media, but for the
Speaker 1: left to become unhinged and you know, awful and terrible,
Speaker 1: it just shows what a great and wonderful person Rush
Speaker 1: was and what a huge difference he made because he
Speaker 1: was so funny and so humorous. It killed them, It
Speaker 1: killed him them, and he will just always be remembered.
Speaker 1: And I just I have a straight cat outside and
Speaker 1: I didn't have a name for him, and I just
Speaker 1: named them l R L. Little Rush Limbaugh and that's
Speaker 1: the name of my cat because I was such a big,
Speaker 1: tough man like Rush had such a heart for cats
Speaker 1: and his little you know, pumpkin who passed away. And
Speaker 1: your other guests Don mentioned about the United States Marine
Speaker 1: Corps and law enforcement. You know, those are the two
Speaker 1: big things in my life, Marine Corps and law enforcement
Speaker 1: and everything. And just the giving that he did and
Speaker 1: the quiet giving and most people aren't very quiet about giving,
Speaker 1: but such a quiet giver, but allowed force to be
Speaker 1: reckoned with and he will just be so missed. And
Speaker 1: it was so wonderful hearing your voice and Mark Levin's
Speaker 1: voice and others today and just you know, just keep
Speaker 1: up the good fight. And you you know what, Sean,
Speaker 1: you are such a bold and tough guy. You don't
Speaker 1: take any crap. But one thing is when you were
Speaker 1: when you speak about Rush and even Mark, you're so humble.
Speaker 1: And people say, Sean hannay humble when it comes to
Speaker 1: admiring greatness and knowing that where you got, you know,
Speaker 1: your start, and how you just gave him compliments and stuff.
Speaker 1: That is so humble of you, Sean, And I just
Speaker 1: thank you, and I know there's for continuing on the site,
Speaker 1: Am jay I am. I am truly grateful. You know,
Speaker 1: That's how I feel all of us in this industry.
Speaker 1: Ohe him adet of gratitude, all of us. And you know,
Speaker 1: I remember scared to death filling in for him. I
Speaker 1: was talking about it earlier, the first time I filled
Speaker 1: in for him, and then the golden EIB microphone dropped.
Speaker 1: That was not the best moment of my life, because
Speaker 1: it really is gold and your Alec Baldwin moment. It was.
Speaker 1: It was it was rough. Literally the microphone fell off
Speaker 1: to stand and I'm like, I have my head down
Speaker 1: on the desk trying to finish the opening monologue. I'm
Speaker 1: sweating profusely, about to have a fold on panic attack,
Speaker 1: and Rush in in just rush fashion, comes back from
Speaker 1: the day off of vacation. I don't remember exactly when,
Speaker 1: and it goes Sean Hannity dented the golden the IB
Speaker 1: mic and I'm like, oh, I'm doomed. I am so doomed. No,
Speaker 1: you know, but it was it was just rush. It
Speaker 1: was his humor, I mean, and multiple layers of it,
Speaker 1: and it's it was so funny you know, people would
Speaker 1: come to New York he would tell this story and
Speaker 1: they'd be, you know, looking for the EIB building in
Speaker 1: Midtown Manhattan. And you know, MJ, there never was an
Speaker 1: EIB building in Midtown Manhattan. The building was whatever building
Speaker 1: he was broadcasting from, which I think at the time
Speaker 1: was Twopenn Plaza, where where where I had worked for
Speaker 1: many years myself, and and and I remember when I
Speaker 1: would fill in form MJ. And I just and it
Speaker 1: was such an opportunity that he gave me. And he
Speaker 1: was generous about everything, and because and I loved all
Speaker 1: the people that would fill in from Walter Williams, Jim
Speaker 1: back in the early days, Tony Snow filled in for him. Um,
Speaker 1: I all the great I don't want to miss some
Speaker 1: people's names here. I'll forget some. And there's so many
Speaker 1: good ones, Mark Belling recently and others. And I'm not
Speaker 1: I'm not purposely excluding anybody. But I always knew when
Speaker 1: there was a fill in, and I wanted to listen
Speaker 1: to me, where's Rush? Why is he on vacation? Um?
Speaker 1: And I knew when I would fill in that the
Speaker 1: audience was gone, Where's Rush. I don't want I want
Speaker 1: to hear him, and so I always took it as
Speaker 1: a huge responsibility and just to just not to chase
Speaker 1: everybody away in the meantime. But you know, God bless him.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I believe in an afterlife. I
Speaker 1: believe in a heavenly Father. I believe in heaven, and
Speaker 1: I believe that's where Rush is. I know he was
Speaker 1: a strong Christian, and I know his faith got stronger
Speaker 1: later in his life, and he was even talking about
Speaker 1: it on the air. And you know, none of us
Speaker 1: are going to live forever. And and he lived his
Speaker 1: life to the fullest, and he lived it the way
Speaker 1: he wanted to live it. And and when he got
Speaker 1: this diagnosis, he stayed where he wanted to be on
Speaker 1: the air with us, and we're blessed because of it.
Speaker 1: Absolutely retired, but he stayed in there for us, stayed
Speaker 1: in it. And let me tell you, those chemo treatments
Speaker 1: knock you on your ass, and then some they have
Speaker 1: kill you to try and save you. And and they
Speaker 1: were able to keep him alive longer than he than
Speaker 1: than the original diagnosis. That part he's already disclosed. That's
Speaker 1: all true. Um, thank you, MJ. Don and IOWA Hey,
Speaker 1: Don how are you. Hi? Hi Sean, thank you for
Speaker 1: taking my call. Thank you for calling now. It's kind
Speaker 1: of tough. I've been listening to you since you were
Speaker 1: a guest host on the on the Rush Limball Show.
Speaker 1: I've been listening to Rush since I don't know, eighty
Speaker 1: nine ninety when I didn't even like him because he
Speaker 1: was boastful and braggadocious and loud and in your faith.
Speaker 1: And it turned out that he was just always sure
Speaker 1: of what he was saying, and you know, confidences from
Speaker 1: the Latin. That's a good point, you know, with deity,
Speaker 1: but go ahead, No, when I heard his wife come
Speaker 1: on the radio, my eyes immediately welled up because, you know,
Speaker 1: it was just so tough and simplified to m J
Speaker 1: yourself and to Catherine and Rush because you know, always
Speaker 1: faithful and it's just so important. I started listening to
Speaker 1: Sean Hannity because of Rush, watching Hannity and Combs because
Speaker 1: of Rush. And uh, I'll tell you it's it's it's
Speaker 1: gonna be tough without Rush. You you're gonna carry on
Speaker 1: and you're gonna do a great job. But it's not
Speaker 1: you know, Look, he's irreplaceable. Nobody can replace him. He
Speaker 1: can't replace Babe Ruth Lou Garrig and Mickey Mantle and
Speaker 1: Derek Jeter. You just can't. But we'll all well, you know,
Speaker 1: but I know, I know this. I know he'd want
Speaker 1: us to fight for everything he fought for in his life,
Speaker 1: and that is this great country and the cause of
Speaker 1: liberty and the cause of freedom. It was his passion.
Speaker 1: This country was his passion, and he was he was
Speaker 1: always optimistic about our future, and we recently had some
Speaker 1: discussions about it. But Don and Iowa, God, bless you,
Speaker 1: my friend. Thank you so much for listening to us
Speaker 1: and being with us every day. We all have, you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of work to do, all of us combined.
Speaker 1: We've got a big void here. Eight hundred and nine
Speaker 1: for one, Shawn our number. The President Mark Levin on
Speaker 1: Hannity tonight, been with the charitable efforts that we have
Speaker 1: engaged in, and all of it has been to my benefit.
Speaker 1: All of it has been or yours. It's the benefit
Speaker 1: of people who are the recipients of our efforts. So
Speaker 1: many people have put me first in all of this.
Speaker 1: I understand now what Luke Garrick meant, because I certainly
Speaker 1: feel like that I feel extremely fortunate and lucky. All right,
Speaker 1: that's going to wrap things up for today. I believe
Speaker 1: in our afterlife. I believe that we're created by one God,
Speaker 1: and one of his good and faithful servants has returned home.
Speaker 1: Rush godspeed. Will miss you always, never forget you, appreciate
Speaker 1: all you've done for us. Former President Trump. Mark Levin
Speaker 1: tonight at nine Hannity, Fox News Channel, and to all
Speaker 1: of his audience, our love prayers are with you always
Speaker 1: as well. We'll see you tonight