Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America
“The great Rush Limbaugh has passed away to a better place, free from physical pain and hostility. His honor, courage, strength, and loyalty will never be replaced. Rush was a patriot, a defender of Liberty, and someone who believed in all of the greatness our Country stands for. Rush was a friend to myself and millions of Americans — a guiding light with the ability to see the truth and paint vivid pictures over the airwaves. Melania and I express our deepest condolences to his wonderful wife, Kathryn, his family, and all of his dedicated fans. He will be missed greatly.”
“Three or four days ago. I called him just to find out, you know his fight was very, very courageous and he was very, very sick. From diagnosis on it was just something that was not going to be beaten, but you wouldn’t know it. And he is married to an incredible woman, Kathryn, who really, every time I spoke to him he would tell me how great she was. She took such great care of him. He was a very brave. I mean, in theory, he could have been gone four months ago, really. He was fighting until the very end. He was a fighter.”
“Rush was unique and irreplaceable” before adding, “He had an audience that was massive, and you know, he would get going in the show and just talk. He wouldn’t take phone calls where people will call in every 2 minutes. That’s sort of easy to do. He would just talk for two hours, three hours. Just talk. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”
“And I once asked him, do you study for the show? And he said actually, I study very hard, which a little bit surprised me. But he was a fantastic man, a fantastic talent, and people, whether they loved him or not, they respected him. They really did,” he continued.
Trump was asked what he and the radio legend discussed following the election on Nov. 3. “Rush thought we won. And so do I, by the way. I think we won substantially. And Rush thought we won. He felt that way strongly. And many people do, many professionals do. And I don’t think that could have happened to a Democrat, you would have had riots going on all over the place. But Rush felt we won and he was quite angry about it, quite angry.”
Trump said he didn’t discuss his own political future with Limbaugh.
“I was disappointed by voter tabulation. I think it’s disgraceful what happened. We were like a Third World country on election night with the closing down of the centers and all of the things that happened later. And he was furious at it. And many people are furious. You don’t know how angry this country is.” Trump said.
Trump and Limbaugh weren’t friends before he announced his presidential run in 2015. They golfed together, and Trump presented Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year during his State of the Union speech.
“He was a unique guy, and he became a friend of mine. I didn’t know Rush at all. I had essentially never met Rush, and then when we came down the escalator he liked my rather controversial speech. I made that speech that was a little bit on the controversial side and he loved it. And he was, without ever having met him, or talked to him, or had lunch with him, or asked him, he was with me right from the beginning, and he liked what I said and he agreed with what I said and he was just a great gentleman, great, great man,”
Trump added: “I have a very beautiful weakness. I always seem to like people that like me, okay? You know, it’s much easier. When they don’t like me, I tend not to go for them so much. Then, over a period of time, I got to know him. And he loved his country, he loved his wife and his family. And he loved his fans, his audience, which was, I think, maybe the biggest ever.”
Trump hailed Limbaugh’s rhetorical and golfing talents.
“Three or four months ago, I did his show and I heard they had as many as 39 million people in audience. His questions were fascinating. I think the show was fascinating. He had a way of an insight that just few people have. He was very street-smart, in a sense, and a lot of people wouldn’t know but he really got it.”
While golfing, Trump said, “He was physically a very strong guy, hit the ball a long way.”
Trump admitted that his medal presentation to Limbaugh wasn’t actually a surprise, as it appeared to some TV viewers because of Limbaugh’s emotional reaction.
Trump explained that he wanted to surprise Limbaugh, but because of his ongoing health issues related to lung cancer he told him beforehand to make sure he could be at the address to receive the award.
“I did tell him beforehand to make sure he could be at the address to receive the award. You know, Rush was very sick at the time, he was at a hospital in Boston, and I didn’t want to deal with being a surprise thing. It was a very difficult thing for him to come into Washington. He came in and it was, as he told me, the greatest honor of his life. And everybody in the room, you know, you’re talking about the Republicans and the Democrats. You had half of that room went crazy, the other half sat totally dead silent, but 100% of that room respected Rush.”
Rudy Giuliani said: “My friend Rush Limbaugh was the most influential commentator in the world. He created a whole new genre. A genius, patriot, humorist, great golf partner, and a generous kind man. We will miss him but he lives on in heaven and on earth with those he inspired.”
At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki shared Biden’s sympathies for the Limbaugh family. “His condolences go out to the family and the friends of Rush Limbaugh, who have, of course, have lost him today. I don’t know that I anticipate a statement from the president.”
Biden has spoken about Limbaugh’s fight with cancer before, last year empathizing with his diagnosis “I do feel badly, I mean this sincerely, that he’s suffering from a terminal illness,” Biden told CNN after Limbaugh received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 2020, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“Rush Limbaugh will spend his entire time on-air dividing people, belittling people. If you read some of the things that Rush has said about people, their backgrounds, their ethnicities, how he speaks to them, I don’t think he understands the American code of decency and honor,” Biden said at the time.