Speaker 1: Two things are connected and will be connected to Russia's
Speaker 1: diagnosis forever. He got the diagnosis, he told his staff
Speaker 1: in the morning, as I said, and he broke the
Speaker 1: news to his audience that afternoon, while all the audience
Speaker 1: and the rest of us on the staff were still
Speaker 1: in shock. There was a pleasant shock to come. I
Speaker 1: first got wind of that pleasant shock that afternoon when
Speaker 1: I got a call from my good friend Sean Hannity.
Speaker 1: Sean told me that tonight was going to be a
Speaker 1: special night. No matter what I did, I shouldn't miss
Speaker 1: the President's State of the Union address. Of course, my
Speaker 1: curiosity was piqued. What on earth would be happy and
Speaker 1: on the State of the Union address that I wouldn't
Speaker 1: want to miss. And after Sean's call, I started getting
Speaker 1: other calls from some of my friends in d C.
Speaker 1: One of them from Connie Hair, who was the chief
Speaker 1: of staff for Congressman Louise Gombert, who was a very
Speaker 1: very close friend of mine. And Connie said that something
Speaker 1: special was going to happen tonight, and word was that
Speaker 1: it would involve Rush, and that rumor was circulating all
Speaker 1: over Washington, d C. Well, it didn't take long before
Speaker 1: we all knew what was happening. The president State of
Speaker 1: the Union was one that will never be forgotten. Rush
Speaker 1: later said that there was more to this story then
Speaker 1: he told his audience, and one day he would tell
Speaker 1: us what that more was. Sadly, I don't think we'll
Speaker 1: ever know. I don't think we'll ever know. Whether you
Speaker 1: listened every day you are at the E I B
Speaker 1: Network and the Russia Limbaugh Program, heard on over six
Speaker 1: hundred great radio stations for every now and then nation's
Speaker 1: leading radio talk show, the most eagerly intersepedient program. Are
Speaker 1: the stories you've never heard from the people behind the
Speaker 1: scenes who knew him best and loved him most. Rushman
Speaker 1: Ball having more funt to the human being it could
Speaker 1: be allowed to have Rush Limbaugh, the man behind the
Speaker 1: Golden EP microphone, hosted by James Golden unforgettable. That's the
Speaker 1: impression that you, the Russia Limbaugh audience made with your
Speaker 1: support for Russia's last charitable effort while Rush was still
Speaker 1: with us, through the stand Up for Betsy Ross campaign.
Speaker 1: You're generosity resulted in a five million dollar donation to
Speaker 1: the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Rush said it best. We
Speaker 1: chose Tunnel to Towers to be the beneficiary of the
Speaker 1: campaign because we love the work they do and the
Speaker 1: story about how they started. When a family experiences significant
Speaker 1: loss the mother or father passes while serving our country,
Speaker 1: Tunnel to Towers steps in freeze that family of a
Speaker 1: major worry during their time of crisis. Tunnel to Towers
Speaker 1: pays off mortgages in full for these families and provides
Speaker 1: them with the comfort of a home when their world
Speaker 1: has literally been turned upside down. The foundation does the
Speaker 1: same for first responders and also build smart homes for
Speaker 1: our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. More heroes
Speaker 1: need your help. Do good by donating eleven dollars a
Speaker 1: month to Tunnel to Towers at T two T dot org.
Speaker 1: That's the letter T, the number two, the letter T
Speaker 1: dot org. He is the greatest fighter and winner. The
Speaker 1: President's State of the Union, President Trump announced Rush that
Speaker 1: Russia Limball was his guest for your decades of towers
Speaker 1: devotion to our practice. They're sat Russia Lamball next to
Speaker 1: his wife Katherine and on the other side the President's
Speaker 1: wife Melanie. At Trump and President Trump went on to
Speaker 1: praise Rush and say and the Medal of Freedom will
Speaker 1: be awarded to Rush. You could see the sort of
Speaker 1: surprise looker on Rush's face, because that announcement usually means
Speaker 1: somewhere in the future, there's going to be a White
Speaker 1: House ceremony. Rush would be invited to the White House
Speaker 1: and the President would place the medal on Rush at
Speaker 1: that point. But no, the President had something else in mine.
Speaker 1: This Medal of Freedom was going to be awarded instantly.
Speaker 1: Right there on the spot, he asked me, Lonny to
Speaker 1: stand up, and presently was Now you see Rush really surprised,
Speaker 1: and he turns and he puts his back toward the
Speaker 1: first lady, and she puts the Medal of Freedom on Rush.
Speaker 1: And I think that was the big surprise. I have
Speaker 1: since learned that that Rush knew that he was going
Speaker 1: to be invited. Of course, he knew he had he
Speaker 1: had to get to Washington, d C. Let's go back.
Speaker 1: Rush told the story. He's getting ready to start his treatment.
Speaker 1: He's in the hospital where the testing is supposed to
Speaker 1: begin imminently, and he gets a call from the President
Speaker 1: of the United States, Donald Trump, asking if he can
Speaker 1: come to Washington, d C. Well, no, Mr President, I can.
Speaker 1: I'm about to start treatment. But Donald Trump was in existant.
Speaker 1: You have to come, you have to be here. As
Speaker 1: Rush related the story, he wasn't prepared. He had no
Speaker 1: clothes with him for the occasion, and his wife Catherine
Speaker 1: found him the right ensemble to wear that night, as
Speaker 1: well as for herself. And there they are in the
Speaker 1: capital on the State of the Union night, which is
Speaker 1: the biggest night in Washington, d c. And not only
Speaker 1: are they there, they're seated next to the First Lady
Speaker 1: of the United States, which is the highest honor that
Speaker 1: the president can bestow on anyone attending. That's the coveted
Speaker 1: guest spot. But then Rush gets the Medal of Freedom.
Speaker 1: Later on, as the accolades and the hysteria poured, and
Speaker 1: the hysteria was for from the left. And I have
Speaker 1: to tell you I enjoyed watching and reading all of it.
Speaker 1: The left world, they were beside themselves. How dare this president?
Speaker 1: How dare he give Russian Lumba the Medal of Freedom
Speaker 1: but not just give him the Medal of freedom? How
Speaker 1: dare he do it on this special night? Russia's fans,
Speaker 1: millions and millions and millions of Americans applauded the president
Speaker 1: for this. We have been wanting something like this for
Speaker 1: Russia's entire career, for him to be recognized for the
Speaker 1: work that he did in helping to shape American politics
Speaker 1: and American culture. We and and his defensive freedom, his
Speaker 1: defensive liberty, his defense of individualism, and American exceptionalism. We
Speaker 1: were beside ourselves with joy on the very night that
Speaker 1: we were feeling immense pain from this diagnosis. I later
Speaker 1: thought to myself, only President Trump could do this. Only
Speaker 1: President Trump could give Rush Limbaugh the highest civilian award
Speaker 1: possible in America and make sure almost every elected Democrat
Speaker 1: was forced to attend the ceremony. It was a beautiful moment.
Speaker 1: I was at home watching TV when it happened, and
Speaker 1: tears of joy, and that my phone was was going off.
Speaker 1: Every other moment there was another alarm on my phone
Speaker 1: from someone else texting. People were genuinely surprised, genuinely happy.
Speaker 1: It was a celebratory night. The celebration was almost as
Speaker 1: if we had won the election. That night. It was
Speaker 1: just joyous among Rush fans all for the world, and
Speaker 1: we all thanked President Trump for doing what I don't
Speaker 1: think any other president would do, which was to recognize
Speaker 1: publicly how important Rush was not just to Republican politics,
Speaker 1: but to the politics of the American people. It was
Speaker 1: a joyous celebration for Rush fans, one that we will
Speaker 1: never forget. It was a once in a lifetime thing.
Speaker 1: I it's uh, it's so special. And the President was
Speaker 1: not gonna let me miss it. He was not going
Speaker 1: to let me talk him or myself out of appearing
Speaker 1: in the House Chamber that night. And it is. I
Speaker 1: couldn't stop looking down at it the whole time that
Speaker 1: I am, that I'm wearing it. It's just it's just beautiful.
Speaker 1: Throughout this series, as you know, we've been taking you
Speaker 1: on a biographical journey of Russia's life, narrated by some
Speaker 1: of his colleagues and closest friends over the years. Today,
Speaker 1: we're pleased to have with us another media giant, fearless, outspoken,
Speaker 1: and a friend of Rush. Welcome Megan Kelly. The Life
Speaker 1: of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter five, narrated by Megan Kelly In
Speaker 1: A retired radio executive named Edward F. McLaughlin decided to
Speaker 1: use his golden parachute from ABC Radio Networks to form
Speaker 1: his own brand new talk radio network APT Lee titled
Speaker 1: e FM Media. After meticulous planning for a successful launch,
Speaker 1: McLaughlin knew he needed more than just a talented host,
Speaker 1: but a force behind the mic, and cast a wide
Speaker 1: net in his search. A hot tip led him out west,
Speaker 1: where a thirty eight year old talk radio host was
Speaker 1: burning up the airwaves of Sacramento, California. There are any
Speaker 1: number of people Ed McLaughlin could have chosen, but I
Speaker 1: fortunately met some people along the way after moving the
Speaker 1: Sacramento that Ed McLaughlan knew and trusted implicitly, and when
Speaker 1: he was looking unbeknownst to me, I don't know any
Speaker 1: of this is going on. My name is in the
Speaker 1: list of people he should look into. He could have
Speaker 1: picked anybody. This was his guy, and McLaughlin made him
Speaker 1: an offer leader described as impossible to turn down. Rush
Speaker 1: Limbaugh created the capital of California for the bright lights
Speaker 1: of the Big Apple. He relocated to New York City
Speaker 1: and established first a local ten am to noon show
Speaker 1: on w ABC Radio. Rush Limball in New York. Twenty
Speaker 1: minutes after ten, back to the Falls would go, Vinny, Hello,
Speaker 1: glad you're with us? Right that one of the California
Speaker 1: seats names no no, I'm originally beach names in New York.
Speaker 1: Limbaugh's early days were an unqualified success, even with the
Speaker 1: challenge of a meddling program director who unsuccessfully tried to
Speaker 1: get Rushed to change what would become his signature on
Speaker 1: air style, Rush being Rush dug in and ultimately prevailed.
Speaker 1: After his first shows on w ABC Radio went off
Speaker 1: without a hitch. Rush's mentor and new boss, Ed McLaughlin
Speaker 1: proudly recalled after hearing his first show, the quote I
Speaker 1: knew he could handle it. Ed McLaughlin never wavered a
Speaker 1: single time. He never asked me to tone it down,
Speaker 1: to change things, to do whatever to accommodate this complaint
Speaker 1: or that safe to say, Rush Limbaugh more than just
Speaker 1: handled it. He crushed it. People credit me with this,
Speaker 1: but I couldn't have done any of this if it
Speaker 1: hadn't been for Ed McLaughlin. Ed McLaughlan saved M radio
Speaker 1: by investing in it. Fast lane to nationwide syndication for
Speaker 1: the Rush Limbaugh Show was just around the corner. It
Speaker 1: really hit me how damn lucky I am and have been.
Speaker 1: I try to never ever forget it. Hey, James Golden,
Speaker 1: here you might remember I told you a few weeks
Speaker 1: ago that My Pillow had sent me their entire collection. Well,
Speaker 1: you know what, it's amazing. They are so luxurious, and
Speaker 1: it's time that you experience some of that luxury. To
Speaker 1: my Pillow makes more than pillows. I love the pillow.
Speaker 1: I sleep on it every night. But you know what
Speaker 1: else they have. They have sheets that are simply incredible.
Speaker 1: They're smooth, they're soft, they're comfortable. I look forward to
Speaker 1: getting to bed every night under these sheets. Get yourself
Speaker 1: a set of these. They're called Geeza sheets. They come
Speaker 1: with a sixty day comfort guarantee. You get pillows, you
Speaker 1: get sheets. Oh did I mention the slippers. They're incredible slippers.
Speaker 1: There is a level of comfort from my Pillow products
Speaker 1: that you simply have to experience. Longing to my pillow
Speaker 1: dot com. Click on the new radio listener specials. Use
Speaker 1: the promo code icon. That's I C O N. You'll
Speaker 1: find lots of incredible office there right now. That's my
Speaker 1: Pillow dot Com promo code icon. I have probably watched
Speaker 1: almost every State of the Union address since I was
Speaker 1: a child. Since I was as a child, I was
Speaker 1: interested in politics, and politics was always a big deal
Speaker 1: in our house, so I watched every State of the Union.
Speaker 1: As I think about it, probably since Lyndon Johnson was
Speaker 1: in office, I have never had the kind of reaction
Speaker 1: that I had that night watching my guy, I'm my hero,
Speaker 1: my boss, my friend, Rush Limbaugh receiving what I thought
Speaker 1: was his just due, which was worldwide recognition for the good,
Speaker 1: for the value that he had constructed with his increas
Speaker 1: credible career. This was also bitter sweet because usually when
Speaker 1: something big happens the next day, I couldn't wait to
Speaker 1: run into the studio As soon as I got there.
Speaker 1: Rush would usually be in the middle of the show prep.
Speaker 1: But if it was something big, I didn't care. I
Speaker 1: just go right in and start running my mouth up,
Speaker 1: blurting or asking questions or whatever. This was different because
Speaker 1: Rush wasn't there. We had a guest host. The next day.
Speaker 1: Rush was back to treatment, and it would be a
Speaker 1: few days before we saw Rush. So yeah, there was
Speaker 1: some bitter sweet to it as well. But still the
Speaker 1: fact remains. It will go down in history that Rush
Speaker 1: Hudson Limbaugh the Third received the Medal of Freedom. I
Speaker 1: was speaking with a friend earlier who is not a
Speaker 1: political guy. He's he's very much not a political He's
Speaker 1: a fellow broadcaster. And what he was telling me was,
Speaker 1: you know, I I don't follow politics day to day,
Speaker 1: but I do know this. My friend said, there are
Speaker 1: two names that defined conservatism. One is Ronald Reagan and
Speaker 1: the second one is Russia Limbaugh. Now think about that.
Speaker 1: And Russ used to acknowledge this. He just and he
Speaker 1: used to acknowledge it in such a almost self effacing way.
Speaker 1: He used to say, I'm just a guy on the radio.
Speaker 1: I'm just a guy on the radeo. But he was
Speaker 1: so much more than that. He was a guy that
Speaker 1: shaped American politics. He was the guy that defined what
Speaker 1: being a conservative was from behind a microphone. He was
Speaker 1: a guy that could talk policy, make that complex policy
Speaker 1: understandable to millions of Americans who would then say, you
Speaker 1: know what, that's what I believe. I'm with you, that's
Speaker 1: what I think too. Those are my values you are describing.
Speaker 1: And that is why that metal of freedom ultimately wound
Speaker 1: up being placed right near Russia's heart, because he was
Speaker 1: the heart of American conservatism. When we look out over
Speaker 1: the United States of American, when we are anywhere, when
Speaker 1: we see a group of people such as this or
Speaker 1: anywhere we see Americans, we see human beings. We don't
Speaker 1: see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people
Speaker 1: we want to exploit what we see. What we see
Speaker 1: is potential. We do not look out across the country
Speaker 1: and see the average America, the person that makes this
Speaker 1: country work. We do not see that person with contempt.
Speaker 1: We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes.
Speaker 1: We believe that person can be the best heat or
Speaker 1: she wants to be if certain things are just removed
Speaker 1: from their path, like onerous taxes, regulations, and too much government.
Speaker 1: This is my pleasure to introduce Well, I don't have
Speaker 1: to introduce him. Everybody in America knows who he is.
Speaker 1: And I'm proud to say that he's a friend not
Speaker 1: just of me, he's a friend of the russianan busshow
Speaker 1: and everyone that works with russ Sean Hannity Shan. Before
Speaker 1: I get into the what what I wanted to talk
Speaker 1: with you about, which is the events leading up to
Speaker 1: Rush being awarded the Medal of Freedom and your reaction
Speaker 1: to all that. But before that, I want to tell
Speaker 1: you a story. I ran into a gentleman about a
Speaker 1: year ago black guy in his forties, and I ended
Speaker 1: up hiring him to UH to do some work with
Speaker 1: a group that I had founded. He was a broadcaster
Speaker 1: at one point when he was very when he was
Speaker 1: in his thirties, he started a broadcast career. He was
Speaker 1: at a convention somewhere and there were or some gathering
Speaker 1: where there were a bunch of well known broadcasters, and
Speaker 1: he went seeking advice from these well known broadcasters. Every
Speaker 1: single one except one gave him the cold shoulder. The
Speaker 1: one person, he said, there was one guy who took
Speaker 1: the time to kind of explain some of the points
Speaker 1: of the business, give him advice on what he should
Speaker 1: be doing and how he could grow in terms of
Speaker 1: being a good broadcaster and also grow a show. And
Speaker 1: he said he would never forget it. And I'm talking
Speaker 1: to that guy right now, Sean Hannity, and this is
Speaker 1: tobably consistent with the human being that you are. You know,
Speaker 1: you have climbed to the heights of broadcasting both in
Speaker 1: television and radio. You were a househole name did you
Speaker 1: expect to become Sean Hannity. No, no, not, I'm laughing.
Speaker 1: And I can actually I can refer back to a
Speaker 1: conversation we had outside of a restaurant. Uh, it was
Speaker 1: very early on after we first met. You know, did
Speaker 1: I ever think I'd be success? No? Absolutely not. All
Speaker 1: I knew James Golden is that the first time I
Speaker 1: was for whatever reason, I was a kid and I
Speaker 1: listened to radio and my parents they weren't coming in
Speaker 1: my room that my and telling me to turn off
Speaker 1: the TV. My parents would come in the room turn
Speaker 1: that radio off. And in the early days of talk radio. Uh,
Speaker 1: sometimes I'd be listening to baseball games because I was
Speaker 1: a sports nut as a kid. And but then I
Speaker 1: heard the great pioneers of the world and all different people,
Speaker 1: all different perspectives, all different points of view, all different styles,
Speaker 1: and and Rush was the one though that took it
Speaker 1: to this whole other level. And the path was so
Speaker 1: wide that he forged it created opportunities for all of
Speaker 1: us that that came after him. You know, when I
Speaker 1: really think back on it, thirty three years in radio
Speaker 1: now and and twenty five years on Fox, I can
Speaker 1: I can pinch myself, but I still have that same
Speaker 1: feeling when that light went on that first day. I
Speaker 1: don't know what happened, but stuff came flying out of
Speaker 1: me because I had been so passionate listening to all
Speaker 1: of these guys late into the night, and I love politics.
Speaker 1: I just loved it. You know, it took me. It
Speaker 1: takes everybody time to develop their own style and and
Speaker 1: who they are in the type of show that they
Speaker 1: want to do. Um. There's actually a scene in Howard
Speaker 1: Stern's Private Parts where you know he's he's making the
Speaker 1: rounds and traveling from market to market. And you start
Speaker 1: out and you're like, and here's the check of the
Speaker 1: weather here on wwww, hazy hot and human high now
Speaker 1: seventy two degrees on wwww. I mean, we all sound
Speaker 1: like idiots when we start, but because you in your head,
Speaker 1: you're just trying to act like you're a broadcaster or
Speaker 1: how a broadcaster should sound. The one thing that I
Speaker 1: can tell you that is natural about broadcasting, and then
Speaker 1: I don't want to talk about me that much anymore. UM,
Speaker 1: is that for whatever reason, the minute the mic went on,
Speaker 1: I instinctively knew it took energy. Like my kids would
Speaker 1: say to me, Dad, why are you yelling? What? What?
Speaker 1: What are you doing? And I never really thought about
Speaker 1: it until they were pointing it out to me, but
Speaker 1: we're all blessed to do it. And for those of
Speaker 1: us that love it the way you do and I
Speaker 1: do and Rush did, it's just it's innate in a
Speaker 1: lot of ways. Yeah, And I just want to say
Speaker 1: something else. Two, because what the energy that you talk about.
Speaker 1: Not only is this common to radio, and everyone that
Speaker 1: sat behind the Mic and Donna show knows that at
Speaker 1: the end of a show where you have given it everything,
Speaker 1: you're exhausted. But then, Sean, you go on to do
Speaker 1: this five days a week and do television as well.
Speaker 1: And television is not an easy gig. You don't just
Speaker 1: sit there, open your mouth, run your mouth. And that's that. Know.
Speaker 1: My my day starts very early, and I'm I'm flashing
Speaker 1: ideas to both radio and TV all day long. And
Speaker 1: and actually radio is a heart medium. You only get
Speaker 1: to touch people's hearts. And people are going to determine
Speaker 1: if you they can spot a phony a mile away.
Speaker 1: But if you're being real and you're being yourself and
Speaker 1: you're being sincere, they know that you're genuine. Rush was genuine.
Speaker 1: I I just think eventually everybody's style begins to develop,
Speaker 1: and then the more you can be your real authentic self,
Speaker 1: the better you're gonna be. And that's Rush. I don't
Speaker 1: think Rush ever was anything other than Rush. When did
Speaker 1: you meet Rush? I met him. I don't know which
Speaker 1: one was first. And I met him once when Rush
Speaker 1: came to We had an event for our Atlanta affiliate
Speaker 1: at Spring Training down in Florida for the Atlanta Braves,
Speaker 1: and and he did a big event for this local
Speaker 1: station back then that I was on. And then I
Speaker 1: met him when I went up for the first time
Speaker 1: to the seventeen floor Twopen Plaza, or the E. I
Speaker 1: B Building as Rush would call it. And I just
Speaker 1: happened to meet with him randomly at that point, and
Speaker 1: he couldn't have been nicer. He knew who I was.
Speaker 1: He had done promos for me, as you know, don't
Speaker 1: forget Sean Hannity's on nine to Noon leading into me
Speaker 1: at noon on the Russia Lambus Show, and it was,
Speaker 1: you know, just cordial, nice professional. I saw how he worked.
Speaker 1: He used to have this this sort of pen where
Speaker 1: he would uh be able to cut out very quickly
Speaker 1: articles and newspapers, kind of old style way of prepping
Speaker 1: and one that I used even still today and just
Speaker 1: couldn't have been nicer. And then then when I finally
Speaker 1: got up to New York after Roger Als hired me
Speaker 1: at Fox, then I got a job. I was on
Speaker 1: late night on w ABC in New York and eleven
Speaker 1: and two after TV, and then eventually a year later,
Speaker 1: I got afternoon drive after Rush on his number one
Speaker 1: affiliate and his flagship in New York. So I'd be
Speaker 1: there doing my prep and I kind of like to
Speaker 1: talk to everybody. It got me ready for the show.
Speaker 1: And a lot of times I'd go in to say
Speaker 1: hi to you guys, because we all became friendly pretty quickly.
Speaker 1: And and I think you intimidated the daylights out of
Speaker 1: me when I first met you, because I'd watch you
Speaker 1: screen calls and while Rush was in in his studio
Speaker 1: with his real golden he I be Mike, you were
Speaker 1: in the control room, and I've never seen a show
Speaker 1: behind a show like what you used to do, and
Speaker 1: that is you would go to war with certain people
Speaker 1: that would call in and and it was I was shocked.
Speaker 1: I like, this is a whole other show. We should
Speaker 1: be running this show with the Russia Lumbus show. It
Speaker 1: was hilarious, and you and Joel Santista band used to
Speaker 1: do a show together that was a big success on
Speaker 1: w ABC, and it was just fun. I mean hanging
Speaker 1: out with you guys. We'd all smoked cigars and you know,
Speaker 1: just hang out, have fun. It was just a fun,
Speaker 1: fun environment to be sound. And and I you know,
Speaker 1: I feel blessed. I've been able to watch it unfold
Speaker 1: and watch Russia's success, and you know, my studio was
Speaker 1: next to his, and and then eventually you guys were
Speaker 1: crazy enough to let me fill in, and you know
Speaker 1: I got that opportunity, which was for radio, the opportunity
Speaker 1: of a lifetime for me. Well, Sean, I was, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna tell you what I told you then. Anyone that
Speaker 1: really new radio could tell that you were going to
Speaker 1: be huge in this business. You told me that at
Speaker 1: the time, and I looked at you and I said,
Speaker 1: you're crazy. Yeah, that's what I said to you. I
Speaker 1: did not believe you. And I remember where we were.
Speaker 1: We're on Second Avenue, Mimi's as the restaurant, and we
Speaker 1: finished and you said, you know, your career is about
Speaker 1: to take off like a rocket ship. Those were your
Speaker 1: exact words. And I looked at you and I said
Speaker 1: okay whatever. I was kind of rolling my eyes. I
Speaker 1: never believed it. You want to know the truth, I
Speaker 1: don't think I've done a show with my whole life, James,
Speaker 1: where I didn't in the back of my mind think
Speaker 1: it's possible it's my last show. That's amazing. I mean,
Speaker 1: maybe that sounds crazy, but I I still at some
Speaker 1: point I just kind of expected somebody would wake up
Speaker 1: and say, Okay, we can do better than this guy.
Speaker 1: Let me say something to you, because see, this is
Speaker 1: what you have, this is what Rush had. It's you
Speaker 1: just expressed something that I saw with Rush for the
Speaker 1: entire time I was with him. He was always always
Speaker 1: conscious of how in this industry you had to perform.
Speaker 1: It wasn't about the show that you did yesterday. It's
Speaker 1: about the show that you're going to do today, and
Speaker 1: that show has to be badass, no matter and and
Speaker 1: it's the same kind of hunger you know, like you,
Speaker 1: I mean showing that the hours you put in are incredible,
Speaker 1: The hours Rushed put in to doing his show incredible.
Speaker 1: Anyone that achieves this level of success that Rush had,
Speaker 1: that you have has to do the work. It doesn't
Speaker 1: happen by us. Moses and it doesn't happen by accident.
Speaker 1: You know, I I can't help it. You know, I've
Speaker 1: actually said this on the air, and maybe Russia was
Speaker 1: the same way. If if all of this were gone tomorrow,
Speaker 1: and I probably would be the lunatic riding around in
Speaker 1: my car for three hours doing my own talk show,
Speaker 1: acting like the host and the callers and and talk
Speaker 1: to myself. I mean, it is so ingrained in my
Speaker 1: DNA to do this. I don't know what life without
Speaker 1: it would be like. The you know, people that are
Speaker 1: close to me asked me, well, why don't you take
Speaker 1: off more one you go on vacation? Have you ever
Speaker 1: been you know, we're we'reware have you traveled that. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: I've traveled to Israel. I've traveled to Baghdad, Vietnam, Singapore, Helsinki, Uh,
Speaker 1: England when President Trump was there. And they're like, no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, where'd you go on vacation? And I'm like, um,
Speaker 1: uh Florida, you know, and they, you know, and they
Speaker 1: look at me like I'm insane, and I yeah, what
Speaker 1: I like to one day go to New Zealand and Australia. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I kind of don't have the time to do it.
Speaker 1: And it's not that I'm insecure to take off. It's
Speaker 1: just that I this is what I do. I love
Speaker 1: doing it. I don't I never know how much longer
Speaker 1: you have to do it. You know. Russia's death, when
Speaker 1: you and I have talked about this personally, it hit
Speaker 1: us both hard because and I said it at the time,
Speaker 1: is that I just can't it just I'm not I
Speaker 1: haven't been able to fully absorb or comprehend that he's
Speaker 1: not there every day because it's been such a powerful,
Speaker 1: impactful voice for things that I am passionate about and
Speaker 1: you're passionate about, and he was passionate about, but also
Speaker 1: a leader of You know, everybody has different talents, and
Speaker 1: I think Russia's unique talent was whatever the issue happened
Speaker 1: to be, he was gonna he would find a take
Speaker 1: on it that nobody else could ever think of. That's
Speaker 1: exactly right, it was. It's a gift and day after day,
Speaker 1: day after day, show after show, the same thing every day,
Speaker 1: and it's just amazing. And I remember there be times
Speaker 1: I'd be listen to him like why didn't I think
Speaker 1: of that? You know, And but it was just also
Speaker 1: pure or entertainment. You know, our industry has changed quite
Speaker 1: a bit. There is there is certainly a chilling environment
Speaker 1: that we all work in because there's an entire industry
Speaker 1: now cancel culture. Russia has been living in cancel lived
Speaker 1: in cancel cultures whole career. I've lived with cancel culture
Speaker 1: my whole career. You know, we we we've known from
Speaker 1: day one that there are groups of people that are
Speaker 1: mobilized and finance that record every word we say and
Speaker 1: attack us and and try and and boycott us or
Speaker 1: try and get us fired if we say one thing
Speaker 1: that they don't like or deem over the line or
Speaker 1: whatever it happens to be. But it but it's very real.
Speaker 1: And it's almost like all of a sudden, now societies
Speaker 1: catching up to what conservatives the bubble we've been living
Speaker 1: in forever. I think this is going to go to
Speaker 1: the point that the pendulum is going to start to
Speaker 1: swing the other way. Though I agree, I agree completely, Sean.
Speaker 1: I was in my garage and I get a phone
Speaker 1: call and and and my phone Sean Hannity. Okay, and
Speaker 1: Sean Hannity says to me, listen, I don't know what
Speaker 1: your plans are tonight. I don't know what you're doing,
Speaker 1: but whatever you're doing, you have to watch President Trump's
Speaker 1: Addressed to the Nation tonight. And I can't tell you why,
Speaker 1: but you have to watch it. True story. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: I'm like, wow, I called you, I called Cookie, Uh,
Speaker 1: everybody that needed to know. I said, do not miss it.
Speaker 1: In other words, I didn't want you to miss it live.
Speaker 1: And this is the Medal of Freedom. Rush Limball. Thank
Speaker 1: you for your decades devotion to m m M M
Speaker 1: m m M and Rush. In recognition of all that
Speaker 1: you have done for our nation, the millions of people
Speaker 1: a day that you speak to and that you inspire,
Speaker 1: and all of the incredible work that you have done
Speaker 1: for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you
Speaker 1: will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential
Speaker 1: Medal of Freedom. I will now ask the First Lady
Speaker 1: of the United States to present you with the honor. Please.
Speaker 1: That was one of the most incredible nights for all
Speaker 1: of us that love Rush and that wished and it
Speaker 1: hoped for years that he would get the sort of
Speaker 1: acknowledgement in that venue that he deserved, and it was incredible.
Speaker 1: Now I have, and I want to put you on
Speaker 1: the spot here, but don't feel compelled to answer this question.
Speaker 1: A source close to the president that I spoke with
Speaker 1: recently told me that the very first person that suggested
Speaker 1: to the President Russi Lambas should receive some sort of honor,
Speaker 1: like this was you. Russia's diagnosis um that day. Now,
Speaker 1: Russia's Brother's been my my age an attorney everybody knows
Speaker 1: for thirty years. I mean, because I didn't know anyone
Speaker 1: else that knew anything about radio, and somebody said, well,
Speaker 1: Russia's brother is a lawyer, asked him, and it just
Speaker 1: turned out for the first few contracts he ever did,
Speaker 1: he never charged me a penny because I wasn't making
Speaker 1: any money anyway, and it just turned out to be
Speaker 1: a lifelong friendship with his brother David, who I love,
Speaker 1: and his whole family, and so he gave me a
Speaker 1: little bit of a head's up. He had promised everybody,
Speaker 1: especially his brother, that he wasn't gonna tell anybody, and
Speaker 1: he kept his word. But he knew that rush the
Speaker 1: day that he announced that he had advanced stage four
Speaker 1: lung cancer, that I was coming on right after, and
Speaker 1: he didn't want me to be totally blindsided. So maybe
Speaker 1: five minutes before Rush announced it, he calls me, and
Speaker 1: so I stopped what I was doing, and yeah, I
Speaker 1: usually try to prepare and quiet because I just I
Speaker 1: just need to think what before I'm doing my show,
Speaker 1: especially fifteen minutes before and you know, I heard Rush
Speaker 1: make the announcement. I'm upset. Levin's on the phone with me.
Speaker 1: He's upset, and we you know, we're devastated. We're not stupid.
Speaker 1: We all know what's stage four advanced stage four lung
Speaker 1: cancer is. And so but I listened very closely. And
Speaker 1: the next thing, I picked my head up, and it's
Speaker 1: three oh five, and I'm cracking this mic open in
Speaker 1: a minute, and I'm like, oh my gosh, how do
Speaker 1: I handle this? And then I'll tell you what I thought.
Speaker 1: I said, I just heard somebody stoically, amazingly, courageously, you know,
Speaker 1: talk about the most difficult aspect of this life, which
Speaker 1: is illness. And you know, one day we're all gonna
Speaker 1: meet that moment. And and I said, okay, I gotta
Speaker 1: keep that. Keep that he was. He was stoic, he
Speaker 1: was courageous, and he was honest. It wasn't long after that,
Speaker 1: I got a call from Matt Drudge and he goes,
Speaker 1: I need, I need you to do something. I said, sure,
Speaker 1: what do you want? And he loves he loved Rush,
Speaker 1: as we all know they were, they were good friends,
Speaker 1: and he he said, the President really needs to honor him,
Speaker 1: but he needs to do it soon before Rush has
Speaker 1: to go through his treatment. So it was, you know,
Speaker 1: I called him and I said, I said, would you consider?
Speaker 1: I just talked to Matt and Matt said he talked
Speaker 1: to others around the president and I just would you
Speaker 1: consider doing this? And immediately said that's a great idea,
Speaker 1: And there were people around him I won't mention and
Speaker 1: who what do you think of this? Wouldn't that be cool?
Speaker 1: That's what he said. And it was that quick. And
Speaker 1: then the day before I called you, I got a
Speaker 1: call back from the White House saying that it was
Speaker 1: going to happen that night and that Milanni was going
Speaker 1: to put it on. She was going to give him
Speaker 1: the Medal of Freedom. I know that it meant the
Speaker 1: world to him, and really, the only guy that would
Speaker 1: ever have the guts to do that is a guy
Speaker 1: like Donald Trump, and I admire him for it, but
Speaker 1: it was his decision completely and he didn't spend more
Speaker 1: than a minute thinking about it. That's the whole story.
Speaker 1: That's an incredible story. And thank you and and thank
Speaker 1: Matt Drudge, and thank all of the people around the
Speaker 1: president who also advocated for that, because it was truly
Speaker 1: one of the most special days that Rush listeners, Rush
Speaker 1: fans ever had. And so I'm glad that you were
Speaker 1: able to share that with us and that you did that.
Speaker 1: It's the only thing I've ever I ever, I made
Speaker 1: a rule that because everybody that writes about my relationship
Speaker 1: with Donald Trump is always wrong, they have no idea.
Speaker 1: More than anything else, we had developed a friendship over
Speaker 1: twenty five years. But I made a promise to him
Speaker 1: and to myself, I'm not I don't want anything from him.
Speaker 1: That he's going to serve the country, And if he's
Speaker 1: advocating for these policies that I believe with all my heart,
Speaker 1: mind and soul work, then I'm gonna I only want
Speaker 1: to help that cause. And and I think he did
Speaker 1: a phenomenal job. I believe that as well. Me too,
Speaker 1: not sure. And you said you wanted to mention something
Speaker 1: about Russia's final year, So look, I don't know if
Speaker 1: you did what I did. I assume you probably did,
Speaker 1: and you know what did I do? Immediately? I'm just
Speaker 1: researching like a maniac, you know, advanced stage four long.
Speaker 1: I didn't have all the facts, nor that I ever
Speaker 1: dare ask the question of what specific type of cancer
Speaker 1: that he had, But it didn't take long for me
Speaker 1: to realize that this he was in for a really
Speaker 1: uphill fight. He knew it too. You knew it as well,
Speaker 1: and I'd known it long before he even began his
Speaker 1: treatment because I'd seen it in my life. I knew
Speaker 1: we all know people that have had cancer treatments, as
Speaker 1: you know. And the the one thing I realize, uh,
Speaker 1: this is this is going to be a rough year.
Speaker 1: This is gonna be a rough time. And I knew
Speaker 1: the treatment that he would be receiving, even the most
Speaker 1: advanced medicines and experimental medicines, they have killed you to
Speaker 1: try and save you, or at least to buy you
Speaker 1: more time. And what blew me away about Russia's last
Speaker 1: year is he fought like how because you're in You're
Speaker 1: in nothing but utter agony and exhausted beyond explanation. Because
Speaker 1: I have friends that have been through all of this.
Speaker 1: You go over, you visit them, they could barely lift
Speaker 1: their hand up there, so tired and wiped out from
Speaker 1: the treatment. And he went through that for that year.
Speaker 1: So that and I think he knew the whole time
Speaker 1: that he was buying time. My my guesses based on
Speaker 1: the things that I gleaned from what he said, is
Speaker 1: he really didn't think he'd be around for the election.
Speaker 1: I almost feel like he willed himself to beyond the
Speaker 1: election because he cared so much about the country. But
Speaker 1: all of those treatments that he took were if if
Speaker 1: we have bucket lists, we now know what Russia's bucket
Speaker 1: list was. That he would go through hell, try and
Speaker 1: get strong enough just to do the things he wants
Speaker 1: to do. What was the thing he wanted to do.
Speaker 1: He wanted to get back on the air. He would
Speaker 1: take all the all of the all of these harsh treatments,
Speaker 1: get just barely strong enough to get through a show.
Speaker 1: And that was his bucket list, right, That's what he loved.
Speaker 1: He loved his audience, he loved his craft, he loved
Speaker 1: his profession. Absolutely, It's what made him the greatest of
Speaker 1: all time. And Sean, I want to say something about
Speaker 1: extraordinary beyond words as well, and everything that you said ditto, ditto. Right.
Speaker 1: I wanna, I wanna, And you've been very generous with
Speaker 1: you time, and I want to leave you with this.
Speaker 1: During that entire period, I would get calls from Sean
Speaker 1: Hannity wanting to know how we were. I wanted to
Speaker 1: know how everyone was, and Sean. I revealed to Sean
Speaker 1: that my mom was also fading at the same time
Speaker 1: Rush was, and I got calls almost what what a
Speaker 1: what a week? What a week you had? Almost every
Speaker 1: single night the phone You're ringing it with showing I'm
Speaker 1: just checking in. I want to know how you're doing.
Speaker 1: I don't know how everything is. How are you feeling?
Speaker 1: What's going on? Can I do anything for you? Yes?
Speaker 1: Showing your friend you You're an amazing friend. You're an
Speaker 1: amazing friend to all of us. Every time you would
Speaker 1: come down to the Southern Command, um, it was with
Speaker 1: with your crew, with your people. It was almost like
Speaker 1: it was a big family reunion between us. We are
Speaker 1: like one big family, weren't there. Weren't those days fun?
Speaker 1: They were just so much fun, all right. When I'd
Speaker 1: go down and I'd give Rush the hour on TV.
Speaker 1: By the way, it's such a hard interview. Rush, what
Speaker 1: do you think about this? And that's it. Okay, we'll
Speaker 1: take a break, we'll come right back. It's like there's
Speaker 1: only three people that I interviewed that way, Rush and Levin. Now,
Speaker 1: don't interrupt me. I'm about to say something. I mean finish,
Speaker 1: um uh and and President Trump and man, but I mean,
Speaker 1: you guys would like lay out a spread of food
Speaker 1: and I'm like, guys, I'm not eating all of this
Speaker 1: crap danishes and breakfast and whatever. You're all I have.
Speaker 1: And and Rush would come out, oh do you have
Speaker 1: the new iPhone? Twelve years? Five of them? Um? But
Speaker 1: he uh, those were special days. I especially if we
Speaker 1: can do it again, don't don't you know. It's sort
Speaker 1: of like Garth Brooks has a song if Tomorrow Never Comes.
Speaker 1: You know, It's it's about a dad and staring over
Speaker 1: his young daughter. But you know, now thinking back, all
Speaker 1: of it was special. Everything that he did. We had
Speaker 1: really special times and I feel so blessed though. That's
Speaker 1: the thing along with the sadness is the gratitude and
Speaker 1: I have. And that's where I was going with this. Sean.
Speaker 1: You know, you, you learn who your true friends are
Speaker 1: in your life. God always has a way of revealing
Speaker 1: who your real friends are. And so I want to
Speaker 1: end this by not only thanking you for your time,
Speaker 1: but thank you for being such a beautiful human being
Speaker 1: and a beautiful friend to me and to everybody on
Speaker 1: the e I B. Staff. It is. It is mutual,
Speaker 1: it really is. And uh, you're right, I have I
Speaker 1: have a very very deep gratitude two all of you,
Speaker 1: including especially you. You and I had a very special
Speaker 1: bond and we still do. And I will tell you
Speaker 1: some of the calls you know after Rush past. Uh,
Speaker 1: it killed me because I knew you were crushed and
Speaker 1: then then you lost your mom what three days later?
Speaker 1: Three days later? And that's what I mean. You want
Speaker 1: to talk about a punch in a gut and a
Speaker 1: bat to the head. That's it. And you know, and
Speaker 1: you're very stoic, like Rush, tough as nails, But you know,
Speaker 1: like The Road Less Traveled is a great book and
Speaker 1: it says life is difficult, nobody has it easy, and
Speaker 1: this was a very hard time. But on the other hand,
Speaker 1: like you, I'm so grateful for your friendship, Russia's friendship,
Speaker 1: and for everybody that you know I've I've gotten to
Speaker 1: know on my our journey together, all of us, and
Speaker 1: I just want his audience to know this. He loved them.
Speaker 1: You were his bucket list, and you know, uh, that's
Speaker 1: that's pretty special. I want to I don't get a
Speaker 1: little personal here. You know, this is the time of
Speaker 1: year where I often become the most reflective and thankful
Speaker 1: for all of the blessings that I have had my
Speaker 1: entire life, and the blessings that I have had obviously
Speaker 1: extend to my family, the people who work and have
Speaker 1: worked here at the E. I B Network. Every year
Speaker 1: about this time we got the Top fifty list, the
Speaker 1: Top ten lists, that this or that, the best cars,
Speaker 1: the best movies, whatever, the most influential in the media,
Speaker 1: the most influential here and the most of them. But
Speaker 1: there's always a group left out, and it's you. You know,
Speaker 1: the most influential audience in all of media is right
Speaker 1: here on this program, hands down, no contest, because without you,
Speaker 1: none of any thing that happens here would have happened.
Speaker 1: It would be all academic if it weren't for you.
Speaker 1: I cannot thank you enough. I'm so humbled by it
Speaker 1: and blown away by it that I so, as far
Speaker 1: as I'm concerned, you're at your tops. And I would
Speaker 1: have to include in this all of the great radio
Speaker 1: stations to make it possible for all of you to
Speaker 1: listen to be part of this audience. And cannot express
Speaker 1: my gratitude and for all of me and my family
Speaker 1: as well. So thank you again. You are the most
Speaker 1: influential audience in all of media. Special thanks to my
Speaker 1: very dear friend, truly one of the good guys, Sean
Speaker 1: Hannity for sharing some great stories about his perspective on
Speaker 1: the life of Russian and ball. On our next episode,
Speaker 1: we'll take a closer look at the RSSIA Limba that
Speaker 1: very few people actually knew about. As much as he
Speaker 1: did for charity on the air, you may not believe
Speaker 1: how many things he quietly did for others behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: away from the microphone, out of the spotlight. Russia's kindness
Speaker 1: is the topic of our next episode. Rush Limbaugh, The
Speaker 1: Man behind the Golden e I B Microphone is produced
Speaker 1: by Chris Kelly and Phil Tower, the best producers in America.
Speaker 1: Production assistance Mike Mamone and the executive producers Craig Kitchen
Speaker 1: and Julie Talbot our program distributed worldwide by Premier Networks.
Speaker 1: Found on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite podcast. This is James Golden. This
Speaker 1: is both Snerdley, This is James Golden. I'm honored to
Speaker 1: be your host for this in every single episode of Russia. Limbaugh,
Speaker 1: the man behind the Golden E I B microphone, thank
Speaker 1: you for being with us.