Rush Limbaugh#Bibliography

Limbaugh was born on January 12, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,{{cite web|url= https://www.biography.com/media-figure/rush-limbaugh|title=Rush Limbaugh Biography: Radio Talk Show Host (1951–)| publisher=Biography.com|access-date=November 24, 2020|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201120175728/https://www.biography.com/media-figure/rush-limbaugh|url-status=live}} to parents Rush Hudson Limbaugh II and Mildred Carolyn ({{nee|Armstrong}}) Limbaugh. He and his younger brother David were born into the prominent political Limbaugh family; his father was a lawyer and a United States fighter pilot who served in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His mother was from Searcy, Arkansas. The name "Rush" was originally chosen for his grandfather to honor the maiden name of a family member, Edna Rush.{{sfn|Colford|1994}}

Limbaugh was partly of German ancestry.{{cite web |url=http://www.wargs.com/other/limbaugh.html |title=Ancestry of Rush Limbaugh |publisher=Wargs.com |access-date=September 22, 2013 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927075906/http://www.wargs.com/other/limbaugh.html |url-status=live }} The family includes many lawyers, including his grandfather, father and brother; his uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., was a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. His cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., is a judge in the same court, appointed by George W. Bush. Limbaugh's grandfather, Rush Limbaugh Sr., was a Missouri prosecutor, judge, special commissioner, member of the Missouri House of Representatives in the 1930s, and longtime president of the Missouri Historical Society.{{cite news|title=The loudest limb on the family tree, radio's Rush Limbaugh is the 'big mouth'; branch of a solid old Cape Girardeau family|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=September 27, 1992}}

In 1969, Limbaugh graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School, where he played football and was a Boys State delegate.{{cite web |last1=Frankel |first1=Todd |title="Quran-burning" Fla. pastor is Cape Girardeau native, ex-classmate of Rush Limbaugh |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/quran-burning-fla-pastor-is-cape-girardeau-native-ex-classmate/article_af07ac96-bcf9-11df-be26-0017a4a78c22.html |website=stltoday.com |date=September 10, 2010 |access-date=February 10, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221033600/https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/quran-burning-fla-pastor-is-cape-girardeau-native-ex-classmate/article_af07ac96-bcf9-11df-be26-0017a4a78c22.html}}{{cite magazine |title=Q&A with Rush Limbaugh |author=Richard Deitsch |date=August 7, 2003 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/QandA/2003/0811/ |access-date=January 7, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030815090507/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/QandA/2003/0811/ |archive-date=August 15, 2003 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/military/limbaugh.asp |title=Draft Notice |last1=Mikkelson |first1=Barbara |last2=Mikkelson |first2=David P. |date=October 4, 2007 |work=Military |publisher=Snopes.com |access-date=January 5, 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://www.al291.com/boys-state |title=Boys State|publisher=www.al291.com |access-date=February 24, 2022}} At age 16, he worked his first radio job at KGMO, a local radio station. He used the airname Rusty Sharpe having found "Sharpe" in a telephone book.{{sfn|Colford|1994}}{{cite news |title=Rush Limbaugh Gives Sean a Rare Interview |date=October 19, 2005 |publisher=Fox News Channel |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/rush-limbaugh-gives-sean-a-rare-interview |access-date=January 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221063957/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,172675,00.html |archive-date=December 21, 2012 |url-status=live}} Limbaugh later cited Chicago DJ Larry Lujack as a major influence on him, saying Lujack was "the only person I ever copied." In deference to his parents' desire that he attend college, he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University but dropped out after two semesters. According to his mother, "he flunked everything [...] he just didn't seem interested in anything except radio."{{sfn|Colford|1994}}"Rush is Always Right." USA Weekend, January 24–26, 1992, p. 7 Biographer Zev Chafets asserts that Limbaugh's life was in large part dedicated to gaining his father's respect.{{cite web |title=Interview with Zev Chafets, Author of Rush Limbaugh |author= |date=August 3, 2010 |work=All Right Magazine |url=http://www.allrightmagazine.com/exclusive-interviews/interview-with-zev-chafets-author-of-rush-limbaugh-army-of-one-4662/ |access-date=May 20, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413010651/http://www.allrightmagazine.com/exclusive-interviews/interview-with-zev-chafets-author-of-rush-limbaugh-army-of-one-4662/}}

In February 1971, after dropping out of college, the 20-year-old Limbaugh accepted an offer to DJ at WIXZ, a Top 40 station in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He adopted the airname "Bachelor Jeff" Christie and worked afternoons before moving to morning drive.{{sfn|Chafets|2010|p=32}} The station's general manager compared Limbaugh's style at this time to "early Imus".{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=22, 24–25}} In 1973, after eighteen months at WIXZ, Limbaugh was fired from the station due to "personality conflict" with the program director. He then started a nighttime position at KQV in Pittsburgh, succeeding Jim Quinn.{{sfn|Chafets|2010|p=35}} In late 1974, Limbaugh was dismissed after new management put pressure on the program director to fire him. Limbaugh recalled the general manager telling him that he would never land success as an air personality and suggested a career in radio sales.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=32}} After rejecting his only offer at the time, a position in Neenah, Wisconsin, Limbaugh returned to living with his parents in Cape Girardeau.{{sfn|Chafets|2010|p=35}} During his time in Pittsburgh, he became a lifelong fan of the Steelers NFL team.{{cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_052209/content/01125104.guest.html|title=Login |work=Rush Limbaugh|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728025915/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_052209/content/01125104.guest.html}}{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/01/transcript-rush-limbaughs-address-cpac |title=Transcript of Rush Limbaugh's Address at CPAC |publisher=Fox News |date=March 1, 2009 |access-date=September 22, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003083609/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/01/transcript-rush-limbaughs-address-cpac/}}{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/fanatics-brave-cold-for-titanic-super-bowl-contest-between-steelers-and-packers/story-e6frg7mf-1226000987695 |work=The Australian |title=Fanatics brave cold for titanic Super Bowl contest between Steelers and Packers |date=February 6, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607120417/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/fanatics-brave-cold-for-titanic-super-bowl-contest-between-steelers-and-packers/story-e6frg7mf-1226000987695}}

In 1975, Limbaugh began an afternoon show at the Top 40 station KUDL in Kansas City, Missouri. He soon became the host of a public affairs talk program that aired on weekend mornings which allowed him to develop his style and present more controversial ideas.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=34, 35}} In 1977, he was let go from the station but remained in Kansas City to start an evening show at KFIX. The stint was short-lived, however, and disagreements with management led to his dismissal weeks later.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=40, 42–43}} By this time, Limbaugh had become disillusioned with radio and felt pressure to pursue a different career. He looked back on himself as "a moderate failure [...] as a deejay".{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=43}} In 1979, he accepted a part-time role in group sales for the Kansas City Royals baseball team which developed into a full-time position as director of group sales and special events. He worked from the Royals Stadium.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=45–46}} There he developed a friendship with then-Royals star third baseman and future Hall of Famer George Brett. The two men remained close friends.{{cite book |last=Toma |first=George |author2=Goforth, Alan |author3=Brett, George |title=Nitty gritty dirt man |publisher=SportsPublishingLLC.com |year=2004 |page=164 |isbn=978-1-58261-646-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1xauXzmbvkC&q=rush+limbaugh+george+brett&pg=PA164 |access-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217180022/https://books.google.com/books?id=l1xauXzmbvkC&q=rush+limbaugh+george+brett&pg=PA164 |url-status=live}} Limbaugh said that business trips to Europe and Asia during this time developed his conservative views as he considered countries in those geographic areas to have lower standards of living than the United States.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/09/12/an_explanation_of_american_exceptionalism_for_vladimir_putin_and_barack_obama/|title=An Explanation of American Exceptionalism for Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama |website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502061157/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/09/12/an_explanation_of_american_exceptionalism_for_vladimir_putin_and_barack_obama/}}

In November 1983, Limbaugh returned to radio at KMBZ (AM) in Kansas City for a year. He decided to drop his on-air moniker and broadcast under his real name.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=60}} He was fired from the station, but weeks later he landed a spot on KFBK in Sacramento, California, replacing Morton Downey Jr. The show launched on October 14, 1984.{{sfn|Colford|1994|p=69}} Limbaugh began to express his political opinions in 1985 when he mocked the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, which he considered along with the general anti-war movement to be "inherently anti-US, yet was reported as substantive and morally correct by a willing and sympathetic media".{{Sfn|Limbaugh|1992|p=30}} The FCC's repeal of the fairness doctrine—which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast—on August 5, 1987, meant stations could broadcast editorial commentary without having to present opposing views. Daniel Henninger wrote, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, "Ronald Reagan tore down this wall [the fairness doctrine] in 1987 ... and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination."{{cite news |last=Henninger|first= Daniel|date=April 29, 2005 |url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110006626 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050429070116/http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110006626|archive-date=April 29, 2005 |title=Rush to Victory|work=The Wall Street Journal}}

File:Rush Limbaugh At The Phil Donahue Show (2972311063).jpg, 1991]]

In 1988, former ABC Radio Network executive Ed McLaughlin offered Limbaugh the nationally syndicated 12pm–2pm slot at ABC Radio Network to replace Owen Spann. Since many local radio stations of the time were hesitant to carry nationally syndicated programming during the daytime, he also secured Limbaugh a separate 10am–12pm show at WABC-AM in New York City to satisfy the provision of his contract requiring employment in a Top 5 market to leave KMBZ.{{Sfn|Limbaugh|1992|p=6-14}}

Limbaugh began his new show at WABC-AM on July 4, 1988, with the first episode focusing on the Iran Air Flight 655 shootdown the previous day. His national program debuted on 50 stations the next month on August 1, and by three months later had expanded to 100 stations.{{Sfn|Limbaugh|1992|p=6-14}}{{sfn|Chafets|2010|p=44}} He debuted just weeks after the Democratic National Convention, and just weeks before the Republican National Convention. Limbaugh's radio home in New York City was the talk-formatted WABC (AM), and this remained his flagship station for many years, even after Limbaugh moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, from where he broadcast his show.{{sfn|Colford|1994}} Limbaugh's show moved on January 1, 2014, to WABC's cross-town rival WOR (AM), its final New York outlet.{{cite web |title=WOR 710 Announces All New Programming Line-up for 2014 |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131209005404/en/WOR-710-Announces-New-Programming-Line-up-2014 |website=businesswire.com |date=December 9, 2013 |publisher=Business Wire, Inc. |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110731/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131209005404/en/WOR-710-Announces-New-Programming-Line-up-2014 |url-status=live }}

By 1990, Limbaugh had been on his Rush to Excellence Tour, a series of personal appearances in cities nationwide, for two years. For the 45 shows he completed that year alone, he was estimated to have made around $360,000.

In December 1990, journalist Lewis Grossberger wrote in The New York Times Magazine that Limbaugh had "more listeners than any other talk show host" and described Limbaugh's style as "bouncing between earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian".{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/16/magazine/the-rush-hours.html|first=Lewis|last=Grossberger|title=The Rush Hours|date=December 16, 1990|work=The New York Times Magazine|access-date=October 16, 2019|archive-date=October 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016201730/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/16/magazine/the-rush-hours.html|url-status=live}} Limbaugh's rising profile coincided with the Gulf War, coupled with a stalwart support for the war effort and relentless ridicule of peace activists.{{According to whom|date=September 2024}} The program was moved to stations with larger audiences, eventually being broadcast on over 650 radio stations nationwide.

By the 1992 United States presidential election, Limbaugh had established himself as an influential political commentator. During the Republican Party presidential primaries, Limbaugh expressed a preference for Pat Buchanan over the incumbent George H. W. Bush, which Buchanan himself attributed to his early success in the primaries. Bush's campaign subsequently worked to court Limbaugh, culminating with an invitation to stay overnight at the White House's Lincoln Bedroom. Limbaugh was also given a seat at the president's box in the Houston Astrodome during the 1992 Republican National Convention, and both President Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle appeared on Limbaugh's program.{{Cite web |last=Kramer |first=Staci D. |date=1992-10-30 |title=The Gospel According to Rush |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-11-30-9204190360-story.html |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Chicago Tribune}}{{Cite news |last=Yorke |first=Jeffrey |date=1992-06-09 |title=Limbaugh, Bush's White House Guest |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/06/09/limbaugh-bushs-house-guest/6b211e43-99e0-42f2-9c6a-1a729904614b/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite web |last=Fallows |first=James |date=1994-05-01 |title=Talent on Loan from the GOP |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1994/05/talent-on-loan-from-the-gop/303852/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kruse |first=Michael |date=March 2015 |title=Jeb's Talk Radio Problem |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/jeb-bush-rush-limbaugh-talk-radio-116283 |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Politico Magazine |language=en}}

In November 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States. Limbaugh satirized the policies of Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, as well as those of the Democratic Party in general. Following the Republican Revolution, in which the party regained control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections after several decades, the freshman Republican class awarded Limbaugh an honorary membership in their caucus, crediting him with having had a role in their success.{{cite news |last=Seelye |first=Katherine Q. |title=Republicans Get a Pep Talk From Rush Limbaugh |pages=A16 |work=The New York Times |date=December 12, 1994 |access-date=August 28, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/12/us/republicans-get-a-pep-talk-from-rush-limbaugh.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730112618/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/12/us/republicans-get-a-pep-talk-from-rush-limbaugh.html |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}

In 1995, Limbaugh started selling a line of neckties under the brand No Boundaries Collection,{{Cite web|last=Pugmire|first=Genelle|date=May 1, 1996|title=Firm Affords Direct Connection To Net Goods |work=Deseret News |url=https://www.deseret.com/1996/5/1/19239779/firm-affords-direct-connection-to-net-goods|access-date=February 18, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219190549/https://www.deseret.com/1996/5/1/19239779/firm-affords-direct-connection-to-net-goods}}{{Cite web|last=Walke|first=Paul|date=April 16, 1996 |title=Limbaugh releases 2nd tie collection|url=https://universe.byu.edu/1996/04/16/limbaughrnnreleases-2ndrnntie-collection/|url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=The Daily Universe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012095017/http://universe.byu.edu/1996/04/16/limbaughrnnreleases-2ndrnntie-collection/|archive-date=October 12, 2015}} designed by his then-wife Marta without themes, ties to politics, or ties to issues. Limbaugh complained about coverage of the line, which he said underrated the ties' radicalness, and said media descriptions were emblematic of their general inaccuracy.{{Cite book|last=Franken |first=Al|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZDcoEchkIAC |title=Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations|date=1999|publisher=Dell|isbn=978-0-440-50864-9|author-link=Al Franken|access-date=February 18, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329220504/https://books.google.com/books?id=PZDcoEchkIAC}} Sold in nearly 1,500 retail outlets by 1996, the brand sold more than $5,000,000 worth in the first year. The New York Times described the designs: "Much like their promulgator, Mr. Limbaugh's four dozen or so styles seem designed to evoke maximum sensory outrage. Like Rainbow Black, whose interweaving rainbow strands and blue raindrops play around an Ionic column, atop which a cranberry-red pomegranate tree sprouts from an urn. Or Triangle Red, with colliding stacks of black-and-yellow triangles and disjointed horizontal black stripes on a background of speckled salmon."{{Cite news|last=Vinciguerra |first=Thomas|date=August 4, 1996|title=No Talk Show, But a Loud Tie|work=The New York Times|page=43 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/04/style/no-talk-show-but-a-loud-tie.html |access-date=February 18, 2021|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111195110/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/04/style/no-talk-show-but-a-loud-tie.html}} In 2000, Limbaugh rented the email list collected from the No Boundaries website to Rudy Giuliani's senate campaign.{{Cite web |date=January 31, 2000| title=Right-Wing Southerner Is Rudy's Secret Weapon in Senate Campaign |url=https://observer.com/2000/01/rightwing-southerner-is-rudys-secret-weapon-in-senate-campaign/|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=Observer|url-status=live |archive-date=June 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626024638/http://observer.com/2000/01/rightwing-southerner-is-rudys-secret-weapon-in-senate-campaign/}} The business dissolved along with his marriage to Marta{{Cite book|last=Duncan|first=Bernadette|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jq6oDAAAQBAJ |title=Yappy Days: Behind the Scenes with Newsers, Schmoozers, Boozers and Losers|date=June 30, 2016 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-5246-0054-9|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329220459/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jq6oDAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=McCabe|first=Scott|title=Limbaugh, third wife parting after 10 years|work=The Palm Beach Post|date=June 12, 2004|access-date=November 4, 2006|url-status=dead |url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/news/limbaugh/c1a_rush_0612.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040619214410/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/news/limbaugh/c1a_rush_0612.html|archive-date=June 19, 2004}} but in 2020 the ties were still being sold by TieGal, Inc., for $29 each.{{Cite web|date=March 6, 2012|title=PHOTOS: Rush Limbaugh Used To Be A Fashion Designer|website=HuffPost|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-ties-no-boundaries_n_1325060 |access-date=February 18, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124155238/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-ties-no-boundaries_n_1325060}}

Limbaugh had publicized personal difficulties in the 2000s. In late 2001, he acknowledged that he had become almost completely deaf, although he continued his show. He was able to regain much of his hearing with the help of a cochlear implant in 2001.{{Cite journal|title=Limbaugh Receives Cochlear Implant|first=Susan|last=Boswell|date=December 15, 2018|journal=The ASHA Leader|volume=7 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1044/leader.ftr2.07012002.1 |url=https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FTR2.07012002.1 | issn = 1085-9586}}https://huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5207860{{dead link|date=February 2021}}

In 2003, Limbaugh had a brief stint as a professional football commentator with ESPN. He resigned a few weeks into the 2003 NFL season after making comments about the press coverage for quarterback Donovan McNabb that caused controversy and accusations of racism on the part of Limbaugh. His comment about McNabb was:

I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there's a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve. The defense carried this team.{{cite magazine |title=Was Limbaugh Right to Resign from ESPN? |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,493270,00.html |magazine=Time|date=October 6, 2003 |access-date=September 22, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 27, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130827034051/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,493270,00.html}}

The sportswriter Peter King construed the comment as "boneheaded".{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/peter_king/09/30/mcnabb_limbaugh/ |title=Open mouth, insert foot, Limbaugh's comments on McNabb aren't racist, but they are boneheaded |magazine=Sports Illustrated |first=King |last=Peter |author-link=Peter King (sportswriter) |date=September 30, 2003 |access-date=March 14, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206144610/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/peter_king/09/30/mcnabb_limbaugh/ }} The sports analyst Allen Barra wrote Limbaugh's viewpoint was shared by "many football fans and analysts" and "it is{{nbsp}}... absurd to say that the sports media haven't overrated Donovan McNabb because he's black".{{cite magazine |last=Barra |first=Allen |author-link=Allen Barra |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2089193/ |title=Rush was Right |magazine=Slate |date=October 2, 2003 |access-date=October 10, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016082346/http://www.slate.com/id/2089193}}

File:Rush Limbaugh.jpg

In 2003, Limbaugh stated that he was addicted to pain medication, and sought treatment.{{cite news |title=Limbaugh admits addiction to pain medication |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/10/rush.limbaugh/ |newspaper=CNN|date=October 10, 2003 |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217050248/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/10/rush.limbaugh/ |url-status=live }} In April 2006, Limbaugh turned himself in to authorities, on a warrant issued by the Palm Beach County state attorney's office, and was arrested "on a single charge of prescription fraud".{{cite news |title=Rush Limbaugh Turns Himself In On Fraud Charge In Rx Drug Probe |author=Peter Whoriskey |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801692.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 29, 2006 |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026055232/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801692.html |url-status=live }} His record was later expunged.{{cite news |title=Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio host, rushed to Hawaiian hospital with chest pains: report |author=Dave Goldiner |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rush-limbaugh-conservative-radio-host-rushed-hawaiian-hospital-chest-pains-report-article-1.437568 |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=December 31, 2009 |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603031604/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rush-limbaugh-conservative-radio-host-rushed-hawaiian-hospital-chest-pains-report-article-1.437568 |url-status=live }}

In 2013, news reports indicated that Cumulus Media, some of whose stations carried Limbaugh's program in certain major markets, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., and Detroit, was considering dropping his show when its contract with Limbaugh expired at the end of that year, reportedly because the company believed that its advertising revenues had been hurt by listener reaction to controversial Limbaugh comments.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/rush-limbaugh-may-leave-cumulus-163282|title=Rush Limbaugh may leave Cumulus|first=Dylan|last=Byers|work=Politico|date=May 5, 2013 |access-date=February 17, 2021|archive-date=February 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212213043/https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/rush-limbaugh-may-leave-cumulus-163282|url-status=live}} Limbaugh himself said that the reports were overblown and that it was a matter of routine dollars-and-cents negotiations between Cumulus and his network syndication partner, Premiere Networks, a unit of Clear Channel Communications. Ultimately, the parties reached agreement on a new contract, with Limbaugh's show moving from its long-time flagship outlet in New York, the Cumulus-owned WABC, to the latter's cross-town rival, the Clear Channel-owned WOR, starting January 1, 2014, but remaining on the Cumulus-owned stations it was being carried on in other markets.

In January 2021, Limbaugh called the GameStop short squeeze "the most fascinating thing" to happen in a long time and said that "the elites are bent out of shape that a bunch of average, ordinary users have figured out how to make themselves billionaires".{{Cite web|last=Flood|first=Brian|date=January 28, 2021|title=Rush Limbaugh: GameStop saga mirrors politics as elites attempt to prevent regular people from benefiting|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-gamestop-story-mirrors-politics-elites-attempt-regular-people-benefiting|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=Fox News|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128200814/https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-gamestop-story-mirrors-politics-elites-attempt-regular-people-benefiting|url-status=live}}

{{Main|The Rush Limbaugh Show}}

Limbaugh's radio show aired for three hours each weekday beginning at noon Eastern Time on both AM and FM radio. The program was also broadcast worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network.

Radio broadcasting shifted from AM to FM in the 1970s because of the opportunity to broadcast music in stereo with better fidelity (AM stations in the United States would not get the opportunity to broadcast in stereo sound until August 2, 1982). Limbaugh's show was first nationally syndicated in August 1988, on the AM radio band. Limbaugh's popularity paved the way for other conservative talk radio programming to become commonplace on AM radio. The show increased its audience in the 1990s to the extent that even some FM stations picked it up. {{As of|2019|1|post=}}, about half of Limbaugh's affiliate stations were on the FM dial.

Limbaugh used props, songs, and photos to introduce his monologues on various topics. On his radio show, news about homeless people was often preceded by the Clarence "Frogman" Henry song "Ain't Got No Home".

In March 2006, WBAL in Baltimore became the first major market radio station in the country to drop Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio program.{{cite news | last = Hiaasen | first = Rob | title = WBAL Radio Cancels Rush Limbaugh: Station is First to Drop Show, Wants to Focus on Local News | newspaper = The Baltimore Sun | date = March 14, 2006 | url = http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/427188/wbal_radio_cancels_rush_limbaugh_station_is_first_to_drop/index.html | access-date = March 1, 2009 | archive-date = March 3, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090303151540/http://redorbit.com/news/technology/427188/wbal_radio_cancels_rush_limbaugh_station_is_first_to_drop/index.html | url-status = live }} In 2007, TALKERS Magazine again named him No.{{nbsp}}1 in its "Heavy Hundred" most important talk show hosts.

Limbaugh frequently mentioned the EIB (Excellence In Broadcasting) Network, trademarked in 1990. In the beginning, his show was co-owned and first syndicated by Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC, who founded EFM Media in 1988, with Limbaugh's show as his first product. In 1997, McLaughlin sold EFM to Jacor Communications, which was ultimately bought up by Clear Channel Communications. Limbaugh owned a majority of the show, which is syndicated by the Premiere Radio Networks.

According to a 2001 article in U.S. News & World Report, Limbaugh had an eight-year contract, at the rate of $31.25 million a year."Vital Statistics", U.S. News & World Report, July 30, 2001, p. 7. In 2007, Limbaugh earned $33 million.{{cite web |title=The Celebrity 100: #36 Rush Limbaugh |url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/53/07celebrities_Rush-Limbaugh_YNXQ.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525071826/http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/53/07celebrities_Rush-Limbaugh_YNXQ.html |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |work=Forbes |date=June 14, 2007}} A November 2008 poll by Zogby International found that Limbaugh was the most trusted news personality in the nation, garnering 12.5 percent of poll responses.{{cite web|title=Zogby poll finds the internet today's most trusted news source|date=November 20, 2008|work=The IFC Media Project|url=http://www.imao.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/media_project_poll_info.pdf |access-date=September 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911034053/http://www.imao.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/media_project_poll_info.pdf|archive-date=September 11, 2013|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh signed a $400-million, eight-year contract in 2008 with what was then Clear Channel Communications, making him the highest-paid broadcaster on terrestrial radio. On August 2, 2016, Limbaugh signed a four-year extension of the 2008 contract.{{cite news |last=Bond |first=Paul |date=August 2, 2016 |title=Rush Limbaugh Extends Radio Contract for Four More Years |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rush-limbaugh-extends-radio-contract-916511 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=August 2, 2016 |quote=Premiere and iHeartMedia said that in 2016 The Rush Limbaugh Show experienced significant audience growth, including 18 percent in adults 25–54 and 27 percent among women in that age group. Despite efforts among progressive groups like Media Matters for America to discourage advertisers, ad revenue for the show increased 20 percent year-over-year. |url-status=live|archive-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219185458/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rush-limbaugh-extends-radio-contract-916511}} At the announcement of the extension, Premiere Radio Networks and iHeartMedia announced that his show experienced audience growth with 18% growth in adults 25–54, 27% growth with 25–54 women, and ad revenue growth of 20% year over year.

In 2018, Limbaugh was the world's second (behind Howard Stern) highest-paid radio host, reportedly earning $84.5 million. On January 5, 2020, Limbaugh renewed his contract again. Though media reports said it was "a long-term" renewal, (with no length specified), according to Donald Trump it was a four-year deal.{{cite web |last1=Stelter |first1=Brian |title=Rush Limbaugh renews radio show contract in a 'long-term' deal |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/media/rush-limbaugh-show-contract/index.html |website=CNN |date=January 5, 2020 |publisher=Cable News Network.Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106001811/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/media/rush-limbaugh-show-contract/index.html |url-status=live }}

Regular guest host Ken Matthews was also selected a TALKERS Magazine "Heavy Hundred".{{Cite news|date=May 14, 2020|title=Thursday, May 14, 2020|url=http://www.talkers.com/2020/05/14/thursday-may-14-2020/|access-date=July 22, 2020|website=TALKERS magazine|url-status=live|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200722132101/http://www.talkers.com/2020/05/14/thursday-may-14-2020/}}

In May, Premiere Networks announced that on June 21, 2021, The Limbaugh Show radio timeslot would be taken over by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton in hundreds of markets.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/rush-limbaughs-radio-show-to-be-taken-over-by-clay-travis-and-buck-sexton-11622127616|title=WSJ News Exclusive | Rush Limbaugh's Radio Show to be Taken over by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 27, 2021|last1=Steele|first1=Anne}}

Limbaugh had a syndicated half-hour television show from 1992 through 1996, produced by Roger Ailes. The show discussed many of the topics on his radio show, and was taped in front of an audience. In the months after its debut on September 12, 1992, it was the third highest rated late-night television show after Nightline and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Limbaugh said he loved doing his radio show,{{cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060909/content/01125106.guest.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612165955/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060909/content/01125106.guest.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 12, 2009 |title=Rush Receives 'Freedom of Speech Award' from Talkers Magazine |publisher=Rushlimbaugh.com |date=June 6, 2009 |access-date=March 10, 2010 }} but not a TV show.{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_111309/content/01125106.guest.html |title=Rush and Roger Ailes Speak at Boy Scouts Awards Dinner |publisher=Rushlimbaugh.com |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=March 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218013406/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_111309/content/01125106.guest.html |archive-date=February 18, 2010 }}

Limbaugh's first television hosting experience came March 30, 1990, as a guest host on Pat Sajak's CBS late-night talk show, The Pat Sajak Show.{{YouTube|LNK4byQkn7w|Rush Limbaugh guest-hosts the Pat Sajak show in 1990}} ACT UP activists in the audience{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Gehr|title=Mouth At Work|work=Newsday|page=4 |date=October 8, 1990|quote="For all his bravado, however, Limbaugh is immensely sensitive to charges of insensitivity. When asked about the racist they-all-look-alike connotation of a statement like `Have you ever noticed how all newspaper composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?` this professional talker from a family of lawyers pleads total innocence.`You may interpret it as that, but I, no, honest-to-God, that's not how I intended it at all. Gee, don't get me in this one. I am the least racist host you'll ever find.` Recalling a stint as an `insult-radio` DJ in Pittsburgh, he admits feeling guilty about, for example, telling a black listener he could not understand to `take that bone out of your nose and call me back.`"}} heckled Limbaugh repeatedly; ultimately the entire studio audience was cleared. In 2001, Sajak said the incident was "legendary around CBS".{{cite video|people=Sajak, Pat|title=Larry King Live| medium=TV series|publisher=CNN|date=May 3, 2001}}

On December 17, 1993, Limbaugh appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.{{cite news|first=Tom |last=Maurstad|title=Stern, Limbaugh meet their match; Hosts Leno, Letterman hold their own in war|work=The Dallas Morning News|page=1C|date=December 20, 1993}} Limbaugh also guest-starred (as himself) on a 1994 episode of Hearts Afire. He appeared in the 1995 Billy Crystal film Forget Paris, and in 1998 on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.{{cite web |last1=Greenbaum |first1=Aaron |title=Rush Limbaugh Cameos You Forgot Existed |url=https://www.looper.com/336666/rush-limbaugh-cameos-you-forgot-existed/ |website=looper.com |date=February 18, 2021 |access-date=May 22, 2021}}

In 2007, Limbaugh made cameo appearances on Fox News Channel's short-lived The 1/2 Hour News Hour in a series of parodies portraying him as the future President of the United States. In the parodies, his vice president was fellow conservative pundit Ann Coulter. That year, he also made a cameo in the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest", a parody of Star Wars in which Limbaugh can be heard on the radio claiming that the "liberal galactic media" were lying about climate change on the planet Hoth, and that Lando Calrissian's administrative position on Cloud City was a result of affirmative action. His later appearances on Family Guy were in the 2010 episode "Excellence in Broadcasting", and 2011's "Episode VI: It's a Trap!", a parody of Return of the Jedi.

File:Limbaugh Award cropped.jpg

{{Wikiquote}}

In his first New York Times best seller, Limbaugh described himself as conservative, and was critical of broadcasters in many media outlets for claiming to be objective.{{cite book |last1=Limbaugh |first1=Rush |title=The Way Things Ought To Be |date=1992 |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=067175145X |edition=1 |location=New York |language=en}} He called for the adoption of core conservative philosophies in order to ensure the survival of the Republican Party.{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110508/content/01125100.guest.html |title=Wednesday Quotes: Your Conservative Rock |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |date=November 5, 2008 |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110730033947/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110508/content/01125100.guest.html |archive-date=July 30, 2011 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110608/content/01125108.guest.html |title=Get Off the Ledge, Conservatives! We Have Two Battles on Our Hands |publisher=Rushlimbaugh.com |date=November 6, 2008 |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110730034633/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110608/content/01125108.guest.html |archive-date=July 30, 2011 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110608/content/01125106.guest.html |title=Unconscionable: McCain Staffers Attempting to Destroy Sarah Palin |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |date=November 6, 2008 |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826081619/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110608/content/01125106.guest.html |archive-date=August 26, 2011 }} Limbaugh criticized the media and political activist movements such as feminism, environmentalism, and animal rights activism for allegedly serving as outlets for "anticapitalism, secular humanism, and socialism".{{Sfn|Limbaugh|1992|p=3}} Limbaugh, a proponent of American exceptionalism, often criticized politicians he believed reject this notion seeing them as unpatriotic or anti-American.

Limbaugh was known for making controversial race-related statements regarding African Americans.{{cite web |last1=Rozsa |first1=Matthew |date=July 22, 2019 |title=Rush Limbaugh argues Kamala Harris and Barack Obama can't be considered African-American |url=https://www.salon.com/2019/07/22/rush-limbaugh-argues-kamala-harris-and-barack-obama-cant-be-considered-african-american/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211041028/https://www.salon.com/2019/07/22/rush-limbaugh-argues-kamala-harris-and-barack-obama-cant-be-considered-african-american/ |archive-date=February 11, 2020 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |website=salon.com |publisher=Salon.com, LLC}} He once opined that all newspaper composite pictures of wanted criminals resembled Jesse Jackson, and another time that "the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons."{{cite web |title=January 19, 2007 transcript |url=http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200910120009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422034722/http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200910120009 |archive-date=April 22, 2012 |access-date=April 3, 2012 |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com}} While employed as what he described as an "insult-radio" DJ, he used a derogatory racial stereotype to characterize a black caller he could not understand, telling the caller to "take that bone out of your nose and call me back", although he expressed guilt over this when recounting it. Limbaugh asserted in 2008 that African Americans, in contrast with other minority groups, are "left behind" socially because they have been systematically trained from a young age to hate the United States because of the welfare state.{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_101408/content/01125113.guest.html |title=October 14, 2008 transcript |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116201410/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_101408/content/01125113.guest.html |archive-date=January 16, 2011 }}

Limbaugh argued that liberal politicians have encouraged immigration from Latin America but have discouraged their assimilation to deliberately create racial inequality to manipulate as a voter base, and that their continued admission will cause a collapse of representative democracy and rule of law in the United States. He criticized the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 for this reason.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/29/trump-threatens-to-shut-down-the-southern-border/ |title=Trump Threatens to Shut Down the Southern Border|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502173242/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/29/trump-threatens-to-shut-down-the-southern-border/|url-status=live}}

He said of the genocide of Native Americans, "Holocaust 90 million Indians? Only 4 million left? They all have casinos, what’s to complain about?"{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Talmon Joseph|date=February 8, 2020|title=Rush Limbaugh in His Own Words (Published 2020)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/sunday-review/rush-limbaugh-trump-medal.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=February 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217185645/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/sunday-review/rush-limbaugh-trump-medal.html}}

James Fallows described Limbaugh's economic ideology as "a doctrinaire version of supply-side economics" and noted that he frequently cited The Wall Street Journal in his radio shows and books. Limbaugh has called for fewer taxes, including progressive taxes targeted towards the wealthy, and argued the wealthy were being taxed excessively because they continued to pay the majority of taxes in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Limbaugh |first=Rush |date=2021-04-28 |title=Must Listen! Rush Explains Who Pays Taxes - The Rush Limbaugh Show |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2021/04/28/must-listen-rush-explains-who-pays-taxes/amp/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.rushlimbaugh.com}} Limbaugh further claimed that reductions in marginal tax rates would reduce poverty and inequality by removing obstacles towards economic growth, and that reducing marginal tax rates on the wealthy would increase tax revenue by increasing production. Limbaugh credited Reagan's tax cuts for ending the early 1980s recession, and blamed the early 1990s recession and rising rates of inequality on the American middle-class being "taxed at a confiscatory rate".{{Sfn|Limbaugh|1992|p=39-42}}{{Cite web |title=Rush Limbaugh on Corporations |url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Corporations.htm#1 |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.ontheissues.org}}

Limbaugh expressed anti-LGBT views and viewed homosexual sexual practices as unhygienic. He made serophobic statements about HIV/AIDS victims in the 1980s{{cite web|last1=Fitts|first1=Ray|date=March 13, 1988|title=For Rush Limbaugh, bad taste costs no more|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71360668/the-sacramento-bee/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219183617/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71360668/the-sacramento-bee/|archive-date=February 19, 2021|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=newspapers.com|publisher=Sacramento Bee}} and 1990s, and called the virus "Rock Hudson's disease"{{cite web|title=The Way Things Ought to Be, by...|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-09-26-9309280005-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305145553/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-09-26-9309280005-story.html|archive-date=March 5, 2020|access-date=February 11, 2020|website=chicagotribune.com|date=September 26, 1993 }} and "the only federally-protected virus".{{cite web|title=Rush Limbaugh on VoteMatch|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Rush_Limbaugh_VoteMatch.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305150434/https://www.ontheissues.org/Rush_Limbaugh_VoteMatch.htm|archive-date=March 5, 2020|access-date=February 11, 2020|website=ontheissues.org}} For a time, Dionne Warwick's song "I'll Never Love This Way Again" preceded reports about people with HIV/AIDS on his radio show.{{cite news|last=Remnick|first=David|date=December 16, 1990|title=Day of the Dittohead|page=C1|newspaper=The Washington Post}} These later became "condom updates", preceded by The 5th Dimension's song "Up, Up and Away". Limbaugh defended President Reagan's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and falsely claimed that AIDS did not "spread to the heterosexual community" in the United States.{{cite web|last1=McDonald|first1=Natalie Hope|title=Limbaugh Rants About AIDS – Again|url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/01/20/limbaugh-rants-about-aids-again/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110814/https://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/01/20/limbaugh-rants-about-aids-again/ |archive-date=July 28, 2020|url-status=live|access-date=February 11, 2020|website=phillymag.com|date=January 20, 2011 |publisher=Metro Corp.}} When Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS in 1991, Limbaugh played a snippet of "Another One Bites the Dust".{{Cite web|last=Ocamb|first=Karen|date=2018-11-06|title='Boy Erased' tops office opening|url=https://www.losangelesblade.com/2018/11/06/boy-erased-tops-office-opening/|access-date=2021-09-14|website=Los Angeles Blade}} In the early 1990s, Limbaugh ran a recurring segment, "AIDS Update", which mocked the deaths of gay individuals from HIV/AIDS, and read aloud the names of the dead.{{Cite news |work=PinkNews |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/02/18/rush-limbaugh-aids-lgbt-death-gay-disco-1990-dionne-warwick/ |title=

Rush Limbaugh mocked the deaths of AIDS victims to disco music in despicable radio segment

}}{{Cite web|title=Did Rush Limbaugh's 'AIDS Update' Mock the Deaths of Gay People?|website=Snopes.com |date=February 17, 2021 |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rush-limbaugh-mock-aids-gays/|access-date=February 17, 2021}} During the segment, he would play songs like "I'll Never Love This Way Again" and Johnny Lee's "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places"; the Los Angeles Times reported that Limbaugh said, "Gays deserved their fate."{{Cite web |date=2021-02-18 |title=Fact Check: Did Rush Limbaugh Mock AIDS Deaths on His Radio Show? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-rush-limbaugh-mock-aids-death-radio-show-1570282 |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Newsweek |language=en}} Limbaugh later called the segment "the single most regretful thing I have ever done."{{Cite web|title=The Left Exaggerated AIDS (Global Warming, Anybody?)|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2007/11/20/the_left_exaggerated_aids_global_warming_anybody/|access-date=September 29, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001031808/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2007/11/20/the_left_exaggerated_aids_global_warming_anybody/|archive-date=October 1, 2019}}

In 2013, Limbaugh commented on same-sex marriage by saying, "This issue is lost. I don't care what the Supreme Court does. This is inevitable. And it's inevitable because we lost the language on this. As far as I'm concerned, once we started talking about gay marriage, traditional marriage, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, hetero marriage, we lost. It was over."{{Cite web|last=Byers|first=Dylan |title=Rush Limbaugh: Gay marriage 'inevitable'|website=Politico|date=March 28, 2013 |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/03/rush-limbaugh-gay-marriage-inevitable-160456.html|access-date=September 29, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519123945/http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/03/rush-limbaugh-gay-marriage-inevitable-160456.html}}{{Cite web|title=We Lost Once We Modified the Definition of the Word "Marriage"|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|url= https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/03/28/we_lost_once_we_modified_the_definition_of_the_word_marriage/ |access-date=September 29, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=September 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929104025/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/03/28/we_lost_once_we_modified_the_definition_of_the_word_marriage/}} In February 2020, Limbaugh predicted that Pete Buttigieg would not be able to win the 2020 presidential election because of his homosexuality.{{Cite web|title=Buttigieg hits back: I won't 'take lectures on family values' from Rush Limbaugh |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/buttigieg-hits-back-i-won-t-take-lectures-family-values-n1137511|access-date=February 16, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216221532/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/buttigieg-hits-back-i-won-t-take-lectures-family-values-n1137511|archive-date=February 16, 2020|website=NBC News|date=February 16, 2020 }}

Limbaugh dismissed the concept of consent in sexual relations.{{cite web |last1=Sommerfeldt |first1=Chris |title=Rush Limbaugh suggested 'the left' is too uptight about sex having to be consensual: 'here come the rape police' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rush-limbaugh-hints-left-strict-consensual-sex-article-1.2828825 |website=nydailynews.com |date=October 13, 2016 |publisher=New York Daily News |access-date=February 11, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306143406/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rush-limbaugh-hints-left-strict-consensual-sex-article-1.2828825}}{{Cite web|last=Mazza |first=Ed |date=October 13, 2016|title=Rush Limbaugh Mocks Sexual Consent: 'Here Come The Rape Police' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-consent_n_57fee9aae4b0e8c198a6076d|access-date=February 6, 2020|website=Huffington Post |url-status=live|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807005959/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-consent_n_57fee9aae4b0e8c198a6076d}} He viewed consent as "the magic key to the left".{{cite web |author=Mac McCann|date=October 13, 2016 |url=http://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/rush-limbaugh-thinks-rapist-police-left-cares-too-much-about-consent |title=Rush Limbaugh Says 'Rape Police' Left Cares Too Much About Consent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826044121/https://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/rush-limbaugh-thinks-rapist-police-left-cares-too-much-about-consent |archive-date=August 26, 2018 |work=Complex.com}} In 2014, Limbaugh criticized a policy at Ohio State University encouraging students to obtain verbal consent, saying "How many of you guys ... have learned that 'no' means 'yes' if you know how to spot it?"{{cite web |last1=Taibi |first1=Catherine |title=Rush Limbaugh: 'No Means Yes If You Know How To Spot It' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-consent_n_5824582 |website=HuffPost|date=September 15, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110728/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-consent_n_5824582 |url-status=live}} The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee used these statements to advocate a boycott of Limbaugh's show and advertisers, asserting that the statements were tantamount to an endorsement of sexual assault.{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Peter |title=Rush Limbaugh threatens to sue House Democratic campaign arm |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/223563-rush-limbaugh-threatens-to-sue-house-democratic-campaign-arm |work=The Hill. |date=November 10, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213858/https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/223563-rush-limbaugh-threatens-to-sue-house-democratic-campaign-arm |url-status=live }} Limbaugh denied this, and his spokesman Brian Glicklick and lawyer Patricia Glaser threatened a defamation lawsuit against the DCCC.{{Cite news|last=Farhi|first=Paul|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/rush-limbaugh-threatens-to-sue-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-for-out-of-context-quotes-about-sexual-consent/2014/11/10/da5ffe30-68e8-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html?noredirect=on|title=Limbaugh threatens to sue DCCC for 'out of context' quotes about sexual consent|date=November 10, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428022213/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/rush-limbaugh-threatens-to-sue-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-for-out-of-context-quotes-about-sexual-consent/2014/11/10/da5ffe30-68e8-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html%3Fnoredirect%3Don|url-status=live}} According to spokesperson Emily Bittner, the DCCC did not receive any correspondence from Limbaugh or his attorney.{{cite web |last1=Patten |first1=Dominic |title=Rush Limbaugh Defamation Lawsuit Threat "Outlandish", Democrats Say |url=https://deadline.com/2014/11/rush-limbaugh-lawsuit-threat-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-1201280703/ |publisher=Deadline|access-date=July 23, 2020 |date=November 10, 2014 |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723221445/https://deadline.com/2014/11/rush-limbaugh-lawsuit-threat-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-1201280703/ |url-status=live }}

Limbaugh had been an outspoken critic of what he saw as leniency towards criminal drug use in the United States.{{cite news |last1=Barron |first1=James |title=In Show, Limbaugh Tells of a Pill Habit; Plans to Enter Clinic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/11/us/in-show-limbaugh-tells-of-a-pill-habit-plans-to-enter-clinic.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 11, 2003 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305143758/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/11/us/in-show-limbaugh-tells-of-a-pill-habit-plans-to-enter-clinic.html |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |url-status=live}} On his television show on October 5, 1995, Limbaugh stated, "too many whites are getting away with drug use" and illegal drug trafficking.{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Bob |title=Limbaugh Returns to Air After Stay in Drug Rehab |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-18-et-rush18-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=November 18, 2003 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210213051/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-18-et-rush18-story.html |archive-date=February 10, 2020 |url-status=live}} Limbaugh proposed that the racial disparity in drug enforcement could be fixed if authorities increased detection efforts, conviction rates and jail time for whites involved in illegal drugs.{{cite web |title=Limbaugh on Drugs|date=November–December 2003|url=http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1159|work=FAIR |access-date=March 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308191949/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1159|archive-date=March 8, 2012 |url-status=dead}} He defended mandatory-minimum sentencing as an effective tool against the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s.{{Cite web |url=http://ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Drugs.htm |title=Rush Limbaugh on Drugs |website=On The Issues|access-date=May 22, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523172645/http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Drugs.htm}} Limbaugh accused advocates of legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States of hypocrisy due to their advocacy of tobacco control and backlash against electronic cigarettes, and compared the advocates for its legalization in Colorado to Big Tobacco.{{Cite web|title=E-Cig Commercial Reclaims Freedom|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=March 6, 2020 |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/12/07/e_cig_commercial_reclaims_freedom/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306103224/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/12/07/e_cig_commercial_reclaims_freedom/|url-status=live}} Limbaugh's past comments on drug users were highlighted by numerous media outlets after his own stint in a drug rehabilitation facility in 2003.

Limbaugh was opposed to environmentalism and climate science.{{cite web |title=So we have now the Four Corners of Deceit, and the two universes in which we live. The Universe of Lies, the Universe of Reality |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_112509/content/01125106.guest.html |access-date=November 24, 2009|publisher=Rushlimbaugh.com|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128110904/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_112509/content/01125106.guest.html}} He rejected the relationship between CFCs and depletion of the ozone layer, claiming the scientific evidence did not support them.{{cite web |website=On the Issues |url=http://ontheissues.org/Rush_Limbaugh.htm |title=Rush Limbaugh |url-status=live |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215172200/http://ontheissues.org/Rush_Limbaugh.htm}} Limbaugh argued against the scientific consensus on climate change claiming it was "just a bunch of scientists organized around a political proposition"{{cite web |title=Global Warming is a Giant Lie: It Explains Liberalism in a Nutshell |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_020107/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|work=Rush Limbaugh |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |date=February 1, 2007 |archive-date=April 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402221753/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_020107/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html}} and argued that projections of climate change were the product of ideologically motivated computer simulations without the proper support of empirical data, a claim which has been widely debunked.{{Cite web|title=Study: No Global Warming Acceleration in 23 Years |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/11/30/study-no-global-warming-acceleration-in-23-years/ |website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |access-date=June 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603161828/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/11/30/study-no-global-warming-acceleration-in-23-years/|archive-date=June 3, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2019/feb/19/rush-limbaugh/scientists-response-rush-limbaughs-climate-denial-/|title=Scientists pan Rush Limbaugh's climate denial|website=PolitiFact|access-date=June 3, 2019 |url-status=live|archive-date=June 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603160326/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2019/feb/19/rush-limbaugh/scientists-response-rush-limbaughs-climate-denial-/}} Limbaugh used the term "environmentalist wacko" both when referring to left-leaning environmental advocatese.g. {{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/idiot_bird_extinct.guest.html.html |title=Idiot Bird Extinct, Future of World at Risk|date=December 1, 2004|work=The Rush Limbaugh Show |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021073323/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/idiot_bird_extinct.guest.html.html|archive-date=October 21, 2007}} and when referring to more mainstream climate scientists and other environmental scientists and advocates with whom he disagreed.{{cite web |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Energy_+_Oil.htm|title=Rush Limbaugh on energy & oil |date=January 24, 2001|author1=Rush Limbaugh |access-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207223100/http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Energy_+_Oil.htm|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}} Limbaugh opposed pollution credits, including a carbon cap-and-trade system, as a way to disproportionately benefit major American investment banks, particularly Goldman Sachs, and claimed that it would destroy the American national economy.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2009/10/30/a_caller_explains_cap_and_trade/|title=A Caller Explains Cap and Trade|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=March 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306110232/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2009/10/30/a_caller_explains_cap_and_trade/|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh wrote that "there are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492"; however forest cover is approximately 75% of what it was in 1630.

Limbaugh strongly opposed the proposed Green New Deal and its sponsor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/02/07/democrats-go-nuts-and-i-love-it/ |title=Democrats Go Nuts{{Snd}} And I Love It!|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502103401/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/02/07/democrats-go-nuts-and-i-love-it/|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh was critical of feminism, which he viewed as advancing only liberals and not women in general.{{Cite web|url=http://ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Civil_Rights.htm|title=Rush Limbaugh on Civil Rights|website=ontheissues.org|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523172647/http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Civil_Rights.htm|url-status=live}} In a newspaper column he stated that it "was established so that unattractive ugly broads could have easy access to the mainstream of society."{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976829,00.html|title=An Interview with Rush Limbaugh |magazine=Time magazine|author=Margaret Carlson|date=October 26, 1992|access-date=February 17, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 25, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130825201249/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976829,00.html}} He has criticized Democratic congressmen calling for more women in Congress as hypocritical due to their opposition to female Republican candidates. He has also regularly used the term "feminazi", described by The New York Times in 1994 as one of his "favorite epithets for supporters of women's rights". According to Limbaugh in 1992, for certain feminists, the "most important thing in life is ensuring that as many abortions as possible occur."{{cite book |author=Rush H. Limbaugh |title=The Way Things Ought to Be |publisher=Pocket Books |year=1992 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C&q=%22a+Feminazi+is+a+feminist+to+whom%22 296] |isbn=9780671751456 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103133015/http://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C&q=%22a+Feminazi+is+a+feminist+to+whom%22&pgis=1 |archive-date=January 3, 2014}} He also used the term referring to the half-million-large 2017 Women's March as the "Deranged Feminazi March".{{Cite news|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/01/23/drive-by-media-normalizes-deranged-left/|title=Drive-By Media Normalizes Deranged Feminazi March|work=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508025249/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/01/23/drive-by-media-normalizes-deranged-left/|archive-date=May 8, 2017|url-status=live}} He credited his friend Tom Hazlett, a professor of law and economics at George Mason University, with coining the term.{{cite book |author=Rush H. Limbaugh |title=The Way Things Ought to Be |publisher=Pocket Books |year=1992 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C&q=%22Tom+Hazlett%22+%22coined+the+term%22 193] |isbn=9780671751456 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111064123/http://books.google.com/books?id=XDVMk6q_pm4C&q=%22Tom+Hazlett%22+%22coined+the+term%22&pgis=1%20 |archive-date=November 11, 2013}} "I prefer to call the most obnoxious feminists what they really are: feminazis. Tom Hazlett, a good friend who is an esteemed and highly regarded professor of economics at the University of California at Davis, coined the term to describe any female who is intolerant of any point of view that challenges militant feminism. I often use it to describe women who are obsessed with perpetuating a modern-day holocaust: abortion."

For two weeks in 1989, on his Sacramento radio show, Limbaugh performed "caller abortions" where he would end a call suddenly to the sounds of a vacuum cleaner and a scream. He would then deny that he had "hung up" on the caller, which he had promised not to do. Limbaugh claims that he used this gag to illustrate "the tragedy of abortion" as well as to highlight the question of whether abortion constitutes murder.{{cite news|title=The Way things Ought To Be|last=Limbaugh|first=Rush |date=December 16, 1990|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York City|pages=62–66}}{{full citation needed|date=October 2021|reason=Definitely not a news source, looks like a book cite except the book was published in 1992.}}

Limbaugh was supportive of the Iraq War, and first suggested bombing Ba'athist Iraq in 2002 in revenge for the September 11 attacks.{{Citation|last=Wilson, John K.|title=The most dangerous man in America : Rush Limbaugh's assault on reason|date=2011|publisher=Blackstone Audio, Inc |isbn=978-1-4417-7930-4|oclc=708594171}} Even after no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were found, he supported theories that they had existed. On the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, Limbaugh said, "This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation ... And we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/magazine/regarding-the-torture-of-others.html |title=Regarding the Torture of Others |work=The New York Times |first=Susan |last=Sontag |date=May 23, 2004 |access-date=March 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030223633/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/magazine/regarding-the-torture-of-others.html |archive-date=October 30, 2010 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/06/opinion/meyer/main616021.shtml |title=Rush: MPs Just 'Blowing Off Steam', Limbaugh: Abuse Story 'Media-Generated': CBS' Meyer Says Beware |work=CBS News |date=May 6, 2004 |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927205258/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/06/opinion/meyer/main616021.shtml}} Speaking at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference, Limbaugh accused Democratic congressional leaders such as Harry Reid of deliberately undermining the war effort.{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?284357-3/rush-limbaugh-remarks-conservatives|title=Rush Limbaugh Remarks to Conservatives|website=C-SPAN.org|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305150107/https://www.c-span.org/video/?284357-3%2Frush-limbaugh-remarks-conservatives|url-status=live}}

During the 2019–21 Persian Gulf crisis, Limbaugh praised the 2020 Baghdad International Airport drone strike that resulted in the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, and accused opponents of the strike of supporting Iran over the United States.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/01/06/american-left-sides-with-iranian-terrorists-over-their-own-country/|title=Why the Left Sides with Iranian Terrorists Over America|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |access-date=January 12, 2020|archive-date=January 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112032242/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/01/06/american-left-sides-with-iranian-terrorists-over-their-own-country/|url-status=live}} On January 6, 2020, during an interview with President Donald Trump on his show, Limbaugh commended him for the strike.{{Cite web |url=https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-rush-limbaugh-january-6-2020|title=Transcript Quote – Interview: Rush Limbaugh Interviews Donald Trump on the Radio – January 6, 2020|website=Factbase |access-date=January 12, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=January 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112013729/https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-rush-limbaugh-january-6-2020}}

In 1993, Limbaugh supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), joking in response to claims that it would lead to a transfer of unskilled labor to Mexico that this would leave the United States with only better jobs.{{Cite web|title=Rush Limbaugh on Free Trade |website=www.ontheissues.org |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Free_Trade.htm|access-date=May 23, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190523172631/http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Rush_Limbaugh_Free_Trade.htm}} During a 1993 televised debate against H. Ross Perot over NAFTA, Vice President Al Gore complimented Limbaugh as one of the "distinguished Americans" who pushed NAFTA forward in spite of the intense animosity between Limbaugh and the administration of President Bill Clinton.{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/11/10/Gore-says-Perot-will-gain-financially-with-defeat-of-NAFTA/2645752907600/|title=Gore says Perot will gain financially with defeat of NAFTA|website=UPI|access-date=May 23, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523223522/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/11/10/Gore-says-Perot-will-gain-financially-with-defeat-of-NAFTA/2645752907600/|url-status=live}} He later became more critical of NAFTA and trade agreements in general, claiming that they had reduced national sovereignty by "subordinating" America to "world tribunals, like the World Trade Organization and the International Criminal Court and this kind of thing."{{Cite web|title=Didn't They Promise NAFTA Would End Mass Migration?|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/04/03/didnt-promise-nafta-end-mass-migration/|access-date=May 23, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523181138/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/04/03/didnt-promise-nafta-end-mass-migration/}} He also claimed that promises to stem mass migration by invigorating the Latin American economy had failed.{{Cite web|title=Here's Why I Led with NAFTA Yesterday|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/10/02/heres-why-i-led-with-nafta-yesterday/|access-date=May 23, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523181140/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/10/02/heres-why-i-led-with-nafta-yesterday/|url-status=live}} He supported a renegotiation of NAFTA and the eventual United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement.

Limbaugh defended the first Trump tariffs and the China–United States trade war as a legitimate response to predatory Chinese trade practices and its Communist command economy.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/05/13/why-we-must-hang-with-trump-on-tariffs/ |title=Why We Must Hang with Trump on Tariffs|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523181142/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/05/13/why-we-must-hang-with-trump-on-tariffs/|archive-date=May 23, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/06/01/trumps-tariffs-are-a-negotiation/|title=Trump's Tariffs Are a Negotiation|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 23, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523194212/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/06/01/trumps-tariffs-are-a-negotiation/|url-status=live}}

{{further|Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories}}

Rush Limbaugh strongly opposed Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election, and spread false claims that Obama was a non-citizen not born in the United States.{{cite web |last=McGreal |first=Chris |title=Anti-Barack Obama 'birther movement' gathers steam |website=The Guardian |date=July 28, 2009 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/28/birther-movement-obama-citizenship |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218225614/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/28/birther-movement-obama-citizenship |url-status=live}} Limbaugh predicted that Obama would be unable to win the election.{{cite web |last1=Cramer |first1=Ruby |title=Five People Who Thought John McCain Would Win |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/five-people-who-thought-john-mccain-would-win-4xvn |website=BuzzFeed News |date=November 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305171853/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/five-people-who-thought-john-mccain-would-win-4xvn |url-status=live}} On January 16, 2009, Limbaugh commented on the then-upcoming Obama presidency, "I hope he fails."{{cite web |title= Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails |work=The Rush Limbaugh Show, Transcript |date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_011609/content/01125113.guest.html |access-date=March 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326200216/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_011609/content/01125113.guest.html}} Limbaugh later said that he wanted to see Obama's policies fail, not the man himself.{{cite news |last=Bacon |first=Perry Jr. |title=GOP Seeks Balance With Conservative Icon Limbaugh |page=A01 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 4, 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303946_pf.html |access-date=February 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207144549/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303946_pf.html |archive-date=February 7, 2012 |url-status=live}} Limbaugh frequently referred to the Obama administration or presidency as regime{{cite web| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36194089| title = Matthews, Chris; Hardball with Chris Matthews April 5, 2010| website = NBC News| date = April 6, 2010}} or as the Obama regime, or even junta. Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me." Limbaugh later discouraged efforts to impeach Barack Obama as politically unrealistic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-obama-impeachment-never-president-health-care_n_5006999|title=Rush Limbaugh Considers Obama's Impeachment|last=Taibi |first=Catherine|date=March 21, 2014|website=HuffPost|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501181849/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-obama-impeachment-never-president-health-care_n_5006999|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh accused Obama of using his race to prevent criticism of his policies, and said he was successful in his first year in office only because conservative members of the 111th Congress feared accusations of racism.{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/309523-limbaugh-obamas-race-paralyzed-this-country|title=Limbaugh: Obama's race 'paralyzed this country'|last=Hensch|first=Mark|date=December 8, 2016|website=The Hill|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501181849/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/309523-limbaugh-obamas-race-paralyzed-this-country|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-barack-obama-first-year_n_58abcc0ae4b0f077b3ed506f|title=Rush Limbaugh: Obama 'Got Everything He Wanted' Because He's Black|last=Mazza|first=Ed |date=February 21, 2017|website=HuffPost|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501181857/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rush-limbaugh-barack-obama-first-year_n_58abcc0ae4b0f077b3ed506f|url-status=live}} Limbaugh featured a recurring skit in which his colleague James Golden, who described himself as an "African-American-in-good-standing-and-certified-black-enough-to-criticize-Obama guy", appeared in a cameo as the "Official EIB Obama Criticizer".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/rush-limbaugh-show-mocks-urban-blacks/238788/|title=Rush Limbaugh Show Mocks Urban Blacks|last=Friedersdorf|first=Conor|date=May 12, 2011|website=The Atlantic|access-date=June 3, 2019|archive-date=June 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603160325/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/rush-limbaugh-show-mocks-urban-blacks/238788/|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh blamed Obama's foreign policy, including the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, for allowing the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/11/trump_just_won_t_stop_telling_the_truth_obama_and_hillary_co_founded_isis/|title=Trump Just Won't Stop Telling the Truth: Obama and Hillary Co-Founded ISIS|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428173624/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/11/trump_just_won_t_stop_telling_the_truth_obama_and_hillary_co_founded_isis/|url-status=live}} Limbaugh also claimed that the 2012 Benghazi attack occurred due to a secret arms trafficking operation to the Syrian opposition authorized by Obama and coordinated by Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, speculating that the 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak would reveal evidence of it.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/02/did_hillary_run_guns_out_of_benghazi_/|title=Did Hillary Run Guns Out of Benghazi?|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428062736/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/02/did_hillary_run_guns_out_of_benghazi_/|archive-date=April 28, 2019|url-status=live}} Limbaugh also criticized the Russian reset, viewing Vladimir Putin's rule in the Russian Federation as a thinly-veiled continuation of the Soviet Union and Marxism–Leninism. He was also critical of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, including of Obama's decision to ratify it as an executive agreement, and claimed that it was used as a pretext for surveillance against Obama's political opponents.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/05/09/review-obamas-disastrous-iran-deal-trump-just-saved-us/|title=A Review of Obama's Disastrous Iran Deal That Trump Just Saved Us From|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 2, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502174745/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/05/09/review-obamas-disastrous-iran-deal-trump-just-saved-us/}} Limbaugh argued that side agreements of the JCPOA limited transparency and would obligate the United States to militarily defend Iran against an Israeli offensive, including a preemptive strike to prevent nuclear weapons development.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/07/22/obama_s_secret_iran_side_deals/|title=Obama's Secret Iran Side Deals|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503052303/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/07/22/obama_s_secret_iran_side_deals/|url-status=live}}

During the West African Ebola virus epidemic, Limbaugh blamed Obama for allowing the spread of the disease to the United States in 2014, claiming that he should have stopped air travel to West Africa.{{cite web |last1=Boguhn |first1=Alexandrea |title=Conservative Media Advocate Travel Bans From Ebola-Stricken Countries, Against Experts' Advice |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/conservative-media-advocate-travel-bans-ebola-stricken-countries-against-experts |website=mediamatters.org |date=October 6, 2014 |publisher=Media Matters for America |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106161645/https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/conservative-media-advocate-travel-bans-ebola-stricken-countries-against-experts |url-status=live }}{{Better source needed|date=March 2021}} He claimed that both the media and the government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deliberately downplayed its symptoms, expressing skepticism over the scientific consensus that the disease could be spread only through contact with bodily fluids and was not aerosol transmissible.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/10/15/obama_s_deadly_ebola_failure/|title=Obama's Deadly Ebola Failure|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428103306/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/10/15/obama_s_deadly_ebola_failure/|url-status=live}} When David Quammen criticized the idea of ending air travel to West Africa by pointing out that Liberia was founded due to slavery in the United States on Anderson Cooper 360°, Limbaugh suggested in response that the Obama administration was deliberately allowing Ebola to be transmitted to the United States due to its guilt over slavery, stating "People at the highest levels of our government say 'Why, why shouldn't we get it? Why should only those three nations in Africa get it? We're no better than they are.' And they have this attitude, 'Well, if they have it in Africa, by God, we deserve to get it, because they're in Africa because of us and because of slavery.'"{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/21/media/stelter-response-to-rush-limbaugh/index.html |title=Rush Limbaugh thinks 'they' think we all deserve Ebola|last=Stelter|first=Brian|date=October 21, 2014|website=CNNMoney|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428024119/https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/21/media/stelter-response-to-rush-limbaugh/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/sunday-review/the-ebola-conspiracy-theories.html|title=The Ebola Conspiracy Theories|last=Feuer|first=Alan|date=October 18, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 1, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501234913/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/sunday-review/the-ebola-conspiracy-theories.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/10/09/354890869/in-u-s-ebola-turns-from-a-public-health-issue-to-a-political-one|title=In U.S., Ebola Turns From A Public Health Issue To A Political One|last=Savage |first=Michael|website=NPR.org|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501234919/https://www.npr.org/2014/10/09/354890869/in-u-s-ebola-turns-from-a-public-health-issue-to-a-political-one|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh joked that the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were God's response to the Affordable Care Act being passed.{{cite news |first=Amanda |last=Terkel |title=Limbaugh: Volcanic eruption in Iceland is God's reaction to health care's passage |date=April 17, 2010 |work=ThinkProgress |url=http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/17/limbaugh-volcano/ |access-date=November 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522044757/http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/17/limbaugh-volcano/ |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |url-status=dead}}

File:President Trump at the Trump International Golf Club (47625293592).jpg at the Trump International Golf Club in 2019]]

Limbaugh was consistently supportive of the candidacy and first presidency of Donald Trump, although he endorsed Ted Cruz during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries and took issue with Trump's treatment of Cruz.{{Cite news|last=Haberman |first=Maggie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/14/rush-limbaugh-stands-in-ted-cruzs-corner-after-attacks-by-donald-trump/|title=Rush Limbaugh Stands in Ted Cruz's Corner After Attacks by Donald Trump|date=December 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 1, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906041928/https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/14/rush-limbaugh-stands-in-ted-cruzs-corner-after-attacks-by-donald-trump/|archive-date=September 6, 2018|url-status=live}} Limbaugh later criticized Cruz's hesitance to endorse Trump after his nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention, comparing it to Ted Kennedy's lukewarm support of Jimmy Carter at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/07/21/cruz_couldn_t_pull_off_a_reagan_in_76/|title=Cruz Couldn't Pull Off a Reagan in '76|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=April 28, 2019 |url-status=live|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428165132/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/07/21/cruz_couldn_t_pull_off_a_reagan_in_76/}} After the election he became supportive of deep-state conspiracy theories, claiming that the United States had entered a "Cold Civil War" in which the Democratic Party was attempting to illegitimately overturn the election results and that it was part of a trend of Democrats contesting elections beginning with the 2000 Florida election recount intended to eventually eliminate free elections in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/09/27/were-in-the-midst-of-a-cold-civil-war/|title=There Is No Whistleblower, Just a Leaker! We're in the Midst of a Cold Civil War|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=September 28, 2019|archive-date=September 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928203713/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/09/27/were-in-the-midst-of-a-cold-civil-war/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|author=Ian Schwartz |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/08/10/limbaugh_evidence_of_the_lefts_march_toward_ending_elections.html|title=Limbaugh: Evidence Of The Left's March Toward Ending Elections|date=August 10, 2018 |website=Real Clear Politics|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811115008/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/08/10/limbaugh_evidence_of_the_lefts_march_toward_ending_elections.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/08/09/evidence-of-the-lefts-march-toward-ending-elections/ |title=Evidence of the Left's March Toward Ending Elections|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=September 28, 2019 |archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514041404/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/08/09/evidence-of-the-lefts-march-toward-ending-elections/|url-status=live}}

In December 2018, Limbaugh criticized Trump for preparing to accept a continuing resolution that would fund the government through February 8, 2019, but included no funding for a border wall on the Mexico–United States border, a campaign promise repeatedly emphasized by Trump.{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2EAHn1I|title=Rush Limbaugh roars back|last=Schwartz|first=Jason |website=Politico|date=December 21, 2018 |access-date=February 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110733/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/21/rush-limbaugh-trump-comeback-1073726}} Trump would subsequently make a surprise telephone call to Limbaugh announcing his intent to veto the bill, a decision that would lead to the 2018–19 United States federal government shutdown.{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/422365-limbaugh-trump-gave-word-hell-veto-any-bill-without-border-wall-money|title=Limbaugh: Trump gave word he'll veto any bill without border wall money|last=Byrnes|first=Jesse|date=December 20, 2018|website=The Hill|access-date=February 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042245/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/422365-limbaugh-trump-gave-word-hell-veto-any-bill-without-border-wall-money}} Limbaugh would go on to support the shutdown, stating, "We have a president keeping promises left and right. And isn't it interesting to see how trivial Washington thinks that is?"{{Cite news|title=On Conservative Media, Qualified Support for Trump on Shutdown|last1=Astor|first1=Maggie|last2=Grynbaum|first2=Michael M.|date=January 11, 2019|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/us/politics/government-shutdown-media-coverage.html|access-date=February 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=January 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113144859/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/us/politics/government-shutdown-media-coverage.html}}{{Cite web|title=Donald Trump Will Keep His Promise to Secure Our Country|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/01/09/donald-trump-will-keep-his-promise-to-secure-our-country/|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119143741/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/01/09/donald-trump-will-keep-his-promise-to-secure-our-country/|url-status=live}} After Trump declared the National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States and the 116th Congress failed in its attempt to override it, Limbaugh called on him to completely close the border with Mexico.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/28/close-the-southern-border-and-pardon-everyone/|title=Close the Southern Border and Pardon Everybody|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503050744/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/28/close-the-southern-border-and-pardon-everyone/}}

Limbaugh was dismissive of controversies over myriad{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie | last2=Goldman | first2=Adam |title=After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver - A dysfunctional investigation led by a Trump-era special counsel illustrates a dilemma about prosecutorial independence and accountability in politically sensitive matters.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/us/politics/durham-report-trump-russia.html |date=May 17, 2023 |work=The New York Times |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230517075657/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/us/politics/durham-report-trump-russia.html |archivedate=May 17, 2023 |accessdate=May 17, 2023 }} suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies. He claimed that the FBI investigations of Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, as well as the subsequent Special Counsel investigation directed by Robert Mueller, were orchestrated by Barack Obama and the Democratic Party to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's presidency, constituting an illegal coup d'état.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/03/02/barack-obama-and-his-deep-state-operatives-are-attempting-to-sabotage-the-duly-elected-president-of-the-united-states/|title=Barack Obama and His Deep State Operatives Are Attempting to Sabotage the Duly Elected President of the United States|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=February 1, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=November 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114221455/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/03/02/barack-obama-and-his-deep-state-operatives-are-attempting-to-sabotage-the-duly-elected-president-of-the-united-states/}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/04/18/mueller-report-no-collusion-or-obstruction-period/ |title=Mueller Report: No Collusion or Obstruction. Period.|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show |access-date=May 23, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523181138/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/04/18/mueller-report-no-collusion-or-obstruction-period/}} Limbaugh claimed that George Papadopoulos was entrapped by the FBI, which he claimed Joseph Mifsud was an informant for, through Stefan Halper as part of an "insurance policy" against Trump's election by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/29/the-dossier-papadopoulos-and-the-insurance-policy/|title=The Dossier, Papadopoulos and the Insurance Policy|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504180037/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/03/29/the-dossier-papadopoulos-and-the-insurance-policy/|url-status=live}} Limbaugh advocated a full presidential pardon for all suspects indicted or convicted by the investigation. After the release of the Mueller report, he disputed its conclusion that WikiLeaks obtained the Democratic National Committee's emails from the Russian government and its depiction of Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/05/01/trump-didnt-obstruct-justice-hes-tried-to-protect-the-truth/|title=Trump Didn't Obstruct Justice, He Tried to Protect the Truth|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=May 23, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523182657/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/05/01/trump-didnt-obstruct-justice-hes-tried-to-protect-the-truth/|url-status=live}} He claimed that allegations of obstruction of justice were leveled at Trump due to the Report's conclusion that Trump did not directly collude with Russian officials, and that Trump's intent to fire Mueller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions was legitimate.

Limbaugh supported the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity as well as Trump's claims that he lost the popular vote due to voter impersonation by illegal immigrants.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/01/25/why-do-democrats-fear-a-voter-fraud-investigation/|title=Why Do Democrats Fear a Voter-Fraud Investigation?|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428232256/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2017/01/25/why-do-democrats-fear-a-voter-fraud-investigation/|url-status=live}}

After the House of Representatives commenced a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump due to the scandal over a 2019 telephone call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pressuring the Ukrainian government to prosecute 2020 Democratic primary candidate Joe Biden shortly after a freeze of military aid, Limbaugh argued that the two events were unrelated since Trump had made a decision to withhold military funds a month in advance. He additionally claimed that Trump's desire for the Ukrainian government to prosecute Biden was legally justified by a 1999 mutual legal assistance treaty with Ukraine and "was following the law to the letter when it comes to unearthing the long-standing corruption that has swirled in Ukraine and allegedly involves powerful Democrats like Joe Biden."{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/09/27/why-trump-could-not-have-engaged-in-a-quid-pro-quo-with-ukraine/|title=Why Trump Could Not Have Engaged in a Quid Pro Quo with Ukraine|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=September 28, 2019|archive-date=September 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928230749/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2019/09/27/why-trump-could-not-have-engaged-in-a-quid-pro-quo-with-ukraine/|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh claimed that the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts were perpetuated as a false flag operation to draw public attention away from Central American migrant caravans.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/us/politics/bombs-sent-cnn-obama-clinton-soros.html|title=Explosive Devices Add to Climate of Overheated Partisan Rancor|last=Peters|first=Jeremy W.|date=October 24, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 1, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217203219/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/us/politics/bombs-sent-cnn-obama-clinton-soros.html|archive-date=December 17, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/mail-bomb-history-political-terrorism.html|title=The Far Right Is Claiming That Letter Bombs Are a "Liberal Tactic" But History Shows Equal-Opportunity Terrorism |last=Onion|first=Rebecca|date=October 25, 2018|website=Slate|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116134006/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/mail-bomb-history-political-terrorism.html|archive-date=January 16, 2019|url-status=live}} He reiterated these claims two weeks after the arrest of the primary suspect Cesar Sayoc, a registered Republican.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/10/26/the-attempt-to-destroy-donald-trump-has-made-us-suspicious-of-everything/|title=The Attempt to Destroy Donald Trump Has Made Us Suspicious of Everything|website=The Rush Limbaugh Show|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027033241/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/10/26/the-attempt-to-destroy-donald-trump-has-made-us-suspicious-of-everything/|archive-date=October 27, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/27/ann-coulter-didnt-ditch-conspiracy-theories-after-bombers-arrest-most-false-flaggers-didnt/|title=Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and others stick with conspiracy theories after mail-bomb suspect's arrest|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 2, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095829/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/27/ann-coulter-didnt-ditch-conspiracy-theories-after-bombers-arrest-most-false-flaggers-didnt/}}

On his show, Limbaugh said that the Christchurch mosque shootings of March 2019 may have been a false-flag operation. Limbaugh described "an ongoing theory" that the shooter was actually "a leftist" trying to smear the right. Despite providing no source or evidence, Limbaugh continued: "you can't immediately discount this. The left is this insane, they are this crazy."{{cite web |last1=Concha |first1=Joe |title=Limbaugh suggests without evidence that New Zealand attacker is 'a leftist' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/434351-limbaugh-suggests-without-evidence-that-new-zealand-attacker-is-a-leftist |work=The Hill |date=March 15, 2019 |access-date=March 16, 2019}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newsweek.com/rush-limbaugh-claims-mosque-attacks-false-flag-1365260|title=Rush Limbaugh Claims New Zealand Mosque Shootings Were False Flag Operation, Offers No Evidence|magazine=Newsweek|first1=Daniel|last1=Moritz-Rabson|access-date=March 16, 2019|archive-date=March 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316032749/https://www.newsweek.com/rush-limbaugh-claims-mosque-attacks-false-flag-1365260|url-status=live}}

Comedian Al Franken, who later became a Senator, wrote a satirical 1996 book, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, in which he accused Limbaugh of distorting facts to serve his own political biases.

Of Limbaugh's controversial statements and allegations they have investigated, Politifact has rated 84% as ranging from "Mostly False" to "Pants On Fire" (signifying false statements that cannot be reasonably assessed as merely errors), with 5% of Limbaugh's contested statements rising to the level of "Mostly True" and 0% rated "True".{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/personalities/rush-limbaugh/ |title=Rush Limbaugh's file |website=PolitiFact|access-date=February 17, 2019|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102065219/https://www.politifact.com/personalities/rush-limbaugh/ |archive-date=January 2, 2019}} These debunked allegations by Limbaugh include suggestions that the existence of gorillas disproves the theory of evolution, that Ted Kennedy sent a letter to Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov seeking to undercut President Reagan, that a recent lack of hurricanes disproves climate change, and that President Obama wanted to mandate circumcision.{{cite web|title=Say what? Rush Limbaugh wonders why Harambe didn't evolve |url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/jun/03/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-asks-why-cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-hadn/|access-date=February 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106204902/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/jun/03/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-asks-why-cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-hadn/|archive-date=November 6, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/mar/13/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-ted-kennedy-undercut-reagan-back-door-lin/|title=Limbaugh: Ted Kennedy undercut Reagan with back-door line to Soviets|access-date=February 17, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228083016/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/mar/13/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-ted-kennedy-undercut-reagan-back-door-lin/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/oct/07/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-wrong-lack-hurricanes-diminishes-cli/|title=Limbaugh: Lack of major hurricanes disproves climate change|access-date=February 17, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=August 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827115645/https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/oct/07/rush-limbaugh/rush-limbaugh-wrong-lack-hurricanes-diminishes-cli/}}{{cite web |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/27/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-circumcision-obama-cdc/|title=Limbaugh wrong that Obama is mandating circumcision|access-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827120651/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/27/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-circumcision-obama-cdc/|archive-date=August 27, 2018 |url-status=live}}

Limbaugh was heavily criticized for mocking Hu Jintao, then the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader of the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese language during an episode. After proceeding to label Hu as a "Chicom dictator", Limbaugh mocked the Chinese language, primarily using words like ching chong.{{Cite web|date=2011-01-21|title=Hu brouhaha: Rush Limbaugh slammed for 'childish' mocking of Chinese leader|url= https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/hu-brouhaha-rush-limbaugh-slammed-for-childish-mocking-of-chinese-leader-20110121-19yz0.html|access-date=2021-04-27|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}

On October 14, 2011, Limbaugh questioned the U.S. Armed Forces initiative against Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), based on the assumption that they were Christians.{{cite journal |last1=Grier |first1=Peter |title=Why did Rush Limbaugh defend Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army? |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2012/0309/Why-did-Rush-Limbaugh-defend-Joseph-Kony-and-Lord-s-Resistance-Army |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=March 9, 2012 |publisher=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305134120/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2012/0309/Why-did-Rush-Limbaugh-defend-Joseph-Kony-and-Lord-s-Resistance-Army |url-status=live }} "They are fighting the Muslims in Sudan. And Obama has sent troops, United States troops to remove them from the battlefield, which means kill them."{{cite web |last1=Okeowo |first1=Alexis |title=OBAMA AND UGANDA: LIMBAUGH'S ARMY |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/obama-and-uganda-limbaughs-army |website=newyorker.com |date=October 25, 2011 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812183631/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/obama-and-uganda-limbaughs-army |url-status=live }} Upon learning about the accusations leveled against Kony, which included kidnapping whole schools of young children for use as child soldiers, Limbaugh stated that he would research the group.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/magazine/08UGANDA.html |title=Charlotte, Grace, Janet and Caroline Come Home |work=The New York Times |date=May 8, 2005 |access-date=January 11, 2012 |first=Melanie |last=Thernstrom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523071704/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/magazine/08UGANDA.html |archive-date=May 23, 2013 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/10/14/obama_invades_uganda_targets_christians |title=Obama Invades Uganda, Targets Christians |publisher=The Rush Limbaugh Show |date=October 14, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016191151/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/10/14/obama_invades_uganda_targets_christians |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/rush-limbaugh-attacked-president-obama-for-targeting-joseph-konys-christian-lra/ |title=Rush Limbaugh Attacked President Obama For 'Targeting' Joseph Kony's 'Christian' LRA |publisher=Mediaite |date=March 10, 2012 |access-date=August 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018033606/http://www.mediaite.com/online/rush-limbaugh-attacked-president-obama-for-targeting-joseph-konys-christian-lra/ |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |url-status=live }}

In 2010, after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Limbaugh speculated on his show that eco-terrorists deliberately destroyed the oil well to justify President Obama's deepwater drilling moratorium.{{Cite web|title=Limbaugh, Scientists Square Off on Oil Spill Cleanup|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/limbaugh-environmentalists-square-off-blame-oil-leak/story?id=10542582|access-date=March 22, 2021|website=ABC News|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109001205/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/limbaugh-environmentalists-square-off-blame-oil-leak/story?id=10542582|url-status=live}}

After the white supremacist Unite the Right rally, in which a counter-protester was murdered in the Charlottesville car attack, Limbaugh claimed that the violence had been provoked by Black Lives Matter activists, Antifa, and Robert Creamer. He also claimed without evidence that the police response had been deliberately restrained by Terry McAuliffe as a botched attempt to start a presidential bid in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, and that it was part of a campaign by "international financiers" such as George Soros to start a Second American Civil War to remove its status as a global superpower.{{Cite web|last=Chaitin|first=Daniel|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rush-limbaugh-warns-of-second-civil-war-after-charlottesville-violence|title=Rush Limbaugh warns of second civil war after Charlottesville violence |date=August 19, 2017|website=Washington Examiner|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428012524/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rush-limbaugh-warns-of-second-civil-war-after-charlottesville-violence|url-status=live}}

During the Clinton administration, while taping his television program, Limbaugh referred to media coverage of Socks, the Clintons' cat. He then stated, "But did you know there is also a White House dog?" and presented a picture of Chelsea Clinton who was 13 years old at the time.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/inaug/players/chelsea.htm?noredirect=on|title=16 Candles for Chelsea|last1=Roberts|first1=Roxanne|date=February 27, 1996|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071255/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/inaug/players/chelsea.htm?noredirect=on|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Complaints-and-anger-dominate-talk-radio-781729.php|title=Complaints and anger dominate talk radio|last1=Clay-Little|first1=Kathy|date=June 4, 2010|access-date=July 9, 2018|newspaper=Mysa|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702093829/https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Complaints-and-anger-dominate-talk-radio-781729.php|url-status=live}}

In October 2006, Limbaugh said Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, had exaggerated the effects of his disability in a political TV advertisement advocating for funding of stem cell research.{{cite web |title=Limbaugh Accuses Fox Of Exaggerating Parkinson's Symptoms "He Was Either Off The Medication Or He Was Acting"... |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/limbaugh-accuses-fox-of-e_n_32326 |website=HuffPost|date=March 28, 2008 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110738/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/limbaugh-accuses-fox-of-e_n_32326 |url-status=live }} Limbaugh said that Fox in the ad had been "shameless" in "moving all around and shaking", and that Fox had not taken "his medication or he's acting, one of the two".{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102400691.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=David | last=Montgomery | title=Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox | date=October 25, 2006 | access-date=February 17, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115180822/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102400691.html | archive-date=January 15, 2010 | url-status=live }} Fox said "the irony of it is I was too medicated",{{cite web | last=McNamara | first=Melissa | title=Transcript: Michael J. Fox Interview | website=CBS News | date=October 26, 2006 | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-michael-j-fox/ | access-date=October 1, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003090222/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-michael-j-fox/ | archive-date=October 3, 2016 | url-status=live }} adding that there was no way to predict how his symptoms would manifest. Limbaugh said he would apologize to Fox "bigly, hugely{{nbsp}}... if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."{{cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fox-responds-to-limbaugh-accusation/ | work=CBS News | title=Fox Responds To Limbaugh Accusation | access-date=February 17, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003163800/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/24/politics/main2121910.shtml | archive-date=October 3, 2013 | url-status=live }} In 2012, Fox said Limbaugh in 2006 had acted on "bullying instincts" when "he said I faked it. I didn't fake it.", and said Limbaugh's goal was to have him marginalized and shut down for his stem cell stance.{{cite news | url=http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/15/clips-from-last-night-michael-j-fox-on-rush-limbaugh-meredith-vieira-and-richard-cohen-on-living-with-ms/?iref=allsearch | work=CNN | title=Clips From Last Night: Michael J. Fox on Rush Limbaugh; Meredith Vieira and Richard Cohen on living with MS | date=March 15, 2012 | access-date=February 17, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612145320/http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/15/clips-from-last-night-michael-j-fox-on-rush-limbaugh-meredith-vieira-and-richard-cohen-on-living-with-ms/?iref=allsearch | archive-date=June 12, 2018 | url-status=dead }}

In 2007, Media Matters reported that Limbaugh had categorized Iraq War veterans opposed to the war as "the phony soldiers". Limbaugh later said that he was speaking of Jesse MacBeth, a soldier who falsely claimed to have been decorated for valor but, in fact, had never seen combat. Limbaugh said Media Matters was trying to smear him with out-of-context and selectively edited comments.{{cite web |title="Phony Soldiers" Smear Rolls On; The Mad Bomber of Bosnia Attacks |website=rushlimbaugh.com |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/05/19/phony_soldiers_smear_rolls_on_the_mad_bomber_of_bosnia_attacks2/ |access-date=February 11, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309164607/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/05/19/phony_soldiers_smear_rolls_on_the_mad_bomber_of_bosnia_attacks2/}} After Limbaugh published what he claimed was the entire transcript of phony soldiers discussion, Media Matters said that over a minute and 30 seconds of the transcript was omitted without "notation or ellipsis to indicate that there is, in fact, a break in the transcript."{{cite web| title=Limbaugh falsely recasts "phony soldiers" smear| publisher=Media Matters| date=September 28, 2007| url=http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280010| access-date=August 12, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705141239/http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280010| archive-date=July 5, 2010| url-status=dead}}{{cite web| title=Limbaugh selectively edited "phony soldiers" clip, claimed it was "the entire transcript"| publisher=Media Matters| date=September 28, 2007| url=http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280009| access-date=August 12, 2010| archive-date=June 16, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616062250/http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280009| url-status=dead}} Limbaugh said during the minute and a half gap Media Matters had pointed out, he was waiting for relevant ABC News copy on the topic, and the transcript and audio edits were "for space and relevance reasons, not to hide anything."{{cite magazine| title=Limbaugh Makes His Case| magazine=The National Review Online|date=October 3, 2007| url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222373/limbaugh-makes-his-case/byron-york| access-date=August 16, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512221334/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222373/limbaugh-makes-his-case/byron-york| url-status=dead| archive-date=May 12, 2011}} Senator Harry Reid and 41 Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, signed a letter asking the CEO of Clear Channel to denounce Limbaugh. Instead, the executive gave the letter to Limbaugh to auction. It raised $2.1 million, at the time an eBay record for an auction item for charity. Limbaugh said he would match the donation and give it to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.{{cite news|title=Limbaugh letter nets $2.1 million on eBay |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21386016|date=October 19, 2007|agency=Associated Press|work=NBC News|access-date=February 20, 2021|url-status=live |archive-date=March 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329220458/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21386016}}

The NFL team moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and Limbaugh wanted to be a partial owner, but in October 2009, the group that planned to buy the Rams, dropped him."Group Cut Ties With Limbaugh to Buy NFL Team" FOX News. Associated Press. October 19, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2021. Limbaugh blamed Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, among others, for his bid failure."Limbaugh Blasts Critics After Dropping Rams Bid" CBS News. October 15, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2021.

{{Main|Rush Limbaugh–Sandra Fluke controversy}}

On February 29, 2012, Limbaugh, while talking about contraceptive mandates, included remarks about law student Sandra Fluke as a "slut" and "prostitute".{{cite web |last1=Montopoli |first1=Brian |title=Sandra Fluke: Rush Limbaugh wants "to silence women" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandra-fluke-rush-limbaugh-wants-to-silence-women/ |website=cbsnews.com |date=March 2, 2012 |publisher=CBS Interactive, Inc. |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209183641/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandra-fluke-rush-limbaugh-wants-to-silence-women/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Memmott |first1=Mark |title=Student Is Outraged By Rush Limbaugh Calling Her A 'Slut' And 'Prostitute' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/03/02/147809138/student-is-outraged-by-rush-limbaugh-calling-her-a-slut-and-prostitute |newspaper=NPR |date=March 2, 2012 |publisher=National Public Radio (NPR) |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205192833/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/03/02/147809138/student-is-outraged-by-rush-limbaugh-calling-her-a-slut-and-prostitute |url-status=live }} Limbaugh was commenting on Fluke's speech the previous week to House Democrats in support of mandating insurance coverage for contraceptives. Limbaugh made numerous similar statements over the next two days, leading to the loss of 45{{cite news |title=Rush Limbaugh loses 45 advertisers |author=MJ Lee |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73675.html |newspaper=Politico |date=March 14, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829180636/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73675.html |archive-date=August 29, 2012}} to "more than 100"{{cite news|last=Zielenziger|first=David |title=Limbaugh Boycott Draws Blood: Cumulus Media Cites 'Drag' In 2Q Revenue|url= http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/374036/20120815/rush-limbaugh-boycott-romney-ryan-cumulus-premiere.htm |newspaper=International Business Times|date=August 15, 2012|access-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823090521/http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/374036/20120815/rush-limbaugh-boycott-romney-ryan-cumulus-premiere.htm|archive-date=August 23, 2012|url-status=live}} local and national sponsors and Limbaugh's apology on his show for some of his comments. Susan MacMillan Emry co-organized a public relations campaign called Rock the Slut Vote as a response to Limbaugh's remarks.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/rock-slut-vote-site-aims-fight-women-issues-november-election-article-1.1090276|title='Rock the Slut Vote' site aims to fight for women's issues in November election |last=Duerson|first=Meena Hart|work=New York Daily News|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708074641/http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/rock-slut-vote-site-aims-fight-women-issues-november-election-article-1.1090276|archive-date=July 8, 2018|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Limbaugh asserted that the virus was the common cold.{{cite web | last1=McCarthy | first1=Bill | title=Fact-checking Rush Limbaugh's misleading claim that the new coronavirus is "the common cold" | url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/27/rush-limbaugh/fact-checking-rush-limbaughs-misleading-claim-new-/ |website=PolitiFact |date=February 27, 2020 |access-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406173318/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/27/rush-limbaugh/fact-checking-rush-limbaughs-misleading-claim-new-/| archive-date=April 6, 2020}} Limbaugh said on his radio show on February 24, 2020, "I'm dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks," alleging it was being "weaponized" to bring down Trump.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/25/rush-limbaugh-coronavirus-trump|title=Rush Limbaugh: coronavirus a 'common cold' being 'weaponised' against Trump|first=Martin|last=Pengelly|date=February 25, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 24, 2020}} Limbaugh's statement was called "wildly irresponsible" by The Washington Post.{{cite news |last1=Chiu |first1=Allyson |title=Rush Limbaugh on coronavirus: 'The common cold' that's being 'weaponized' against Trump |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/25/limbaugh-coronavirus-trump/ |access-date=August 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 25, 2020}}

From 1990 until his death, Limbaugh held an annual fundraising telethon called the "EIB Cure-a-Thon"{{cite web|title=Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Cure-A-Thon Breaks $3 Million Mark|work=Rush Limbaugh|url= http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/04/18/leukemia_lymphoma_society_cure_a_thon_breaks_3_million_mark |date=April 18, 2011|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|access-date=August 4, 2006|url-status=live|archive-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025201018/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/04/18/leukemia_lymphoma_society_cure_a_thon_breaks_3_million_mark}} for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.{{cite web |url=http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org |title=Leukemia and Lymphoma Society|work=501(c)|publisher=Leukemia and Lymphoma Society|access-date=August 4, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324093452/http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/ |archive-date=March 24, 2005|url-status=live}} In 2006, the EIB Cure-a-Thon conducted its 16th annual telethon, raising $1.7 million,{{cite web|title=It's Over: The Operative Words are "Not Guilty" |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rushwire/the_operative_words_are_not_guilty.guest.html|date=May 1, 2006|work=Rush Limbaugh|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|access-date=November 15, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912051755/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rushwire/the_operative_words_are_not_guilty.guest.html|archive-date=September 12, 2012}} totaling over $15 million since the first cure-a-thon.{{cite web |work=Newsweek|url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12555181/site/newsweek/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504194057/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12555181/site/newsweek/ |archive-date=2006-05-04 |url-status=dead |title=Rehabbing Rush |author1=Arian Campo-Flores |author2=Evan Thomas |date=2006}} According to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society annual reports, Limbaugh personally contributed between $100,000 and $499,999 from 2000 to 2005 and in 2007,{{cite web |title=2000 Annual Report |publisher=Leukemia and Lymphoma Society |url=http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/Annual_Report_2000_Final.pdf |archive-date=2003-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030816192524/http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/Annual_Report_2000_Final.pdf}} and Limbaugh said that he contributed around $250,000 in 2003, 2004, and 2005.{{cite web |work=Rush Limbaugh Show |date=April 28, 2005 |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/rush_photos_main/the_american_dream_is_no_myth.guest.html |title=The American Dream Is No Myth and Our Cure-A-Thon Numbers Prove It |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013112425/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/rush_photos_main/the_american_dream_is_no_myth.guest.html|archive-date=October 13, 2007}} The Society's 2006 annual report placed him in the $500,000 to $999,999 category. Limbaugh donated $320,000 during the 2007 Cure-a-Thon,{{cite web|title=Rush Limbaugh Donates $320,000 to Kick Off 2007 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Cure-A-Thon |work=Rush Limbaugh|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_042007/content/01125106.guest.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110729064143/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_042007/content/01125106.guest.html|archive-date=July 29, 2011|access-date=April 20, 2007}} which the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society reported had raised $3.1 million.Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081202060615/http://lls.org/all_news_detail.adp?item_id=472343&cat_id=140 Rush Limbaugh Cure-A-Thon Raises $3.1 Million for Society Mission]. May 1, 2007. On his radio program April 18, 2008, Limbaugh pledged $400,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after being challenged by two listeners to increase his initial pledge of $300,000.{{cite web|title=Rush Donates $400,000 to Kick Off Annual Blood Cancer Cure-A-Thon|work=Rush Limbaugh|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_041808/content/01125106.guest.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612220851/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_041808/content/01125106.guest.html|archive-date=June 12, 2011|access-date=April 18, 2008}}

Limbaugh conducted an annual drive to help the Marine Corps–Law Enforcement Foundation collect contributions to provide scholarships for children of Marines and law enforcement officers and agents who have died in the line of duty.{{cite web|title=Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation Marine Corps-Law Enforcement charity article |publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/eib15th/leuk_award.member.html |url-access=registration |access-date=November 9, 2008|archive-date=July 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728152024/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2003/03/31/on_your_behalf_rush_accepts_award_from_marine_corps_law_enforcement_foundation|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation Home Page |publisher=Mc-lef.org|url=http://www.mc-lef.org/Home.aspx|access-date=November 9, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024114008/http://www.mc-lef.org/Home.aspx|archive-date=October 24, 2007}} The foundation was the beneficiary of a record $2.1 million eBay auction in October 2007 after Limbaugh listed for sale a letter critical of him signed by 41 Democratic senators; he pledged to match the selling price.{{Cite web |author=Thomas Ferraro|date=October 19, 2007 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1930617020071019|title=Reid-Limbaugh spat raises $2.1 million for children|work=Reuters|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-date=May 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511080931/http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1930617020071019|url-status=live}}

With the founding of his and his wife's company Two if by Tea, they pledged to donate at least $100,000 to the MC–LEF beginning in June 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.twoifbytea.com/support.php|title=Support Our Patriots |website=Two If By Tea|publisher=KARHL Holdings, LLC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814090954/http://www.twoifbytea.com/support.php|archive-date=August 14, 2011|access-date=December 10, 2011}}

{{main article|Tunnel to Towers Foundation}}

In July 2019, Nike announced a special Fourth of July edition of their Air Max{{nbsp}}1 Quick Strike sneaker that featured the thirteen-star Betsy Ross flag. The company withdrew the sneaker after their spokesman Colin Kaepernick raised concerns that the symbol represented an era of black enslavement.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-nike-kaepernick-betsy-ross-flag-20190703-53bqcmqhkzh7dad5dgvpcopkqi-53bqcmqhkzh7dad5dgvpcopkqi-story.html/|title=Is the Betsy Ross flag racist? Nike listened to Colin Kaepernick, but hate group monitors say no, conservatives push back.|last=Olson|first=Alexandra|date=July 3, 2019|website=Chicago Tribune|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815002441/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-nike-kaepernick-betsy-ross-flag-20190703-53bqcmqhkzh7dad5dgvpcopkqi-53bqcmqhkzh7dad5dgvpcopkqi-story.html|archive-date=August 15, 2019|access-date=September 5, 2019}} In response Limbaugh's radio program introduced a t-shirt imprinted "Stand up for Betsy Ross" with sale proceeds to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. {{as of|2019|December|}}, the sales have earned over US$5 million for the foundation.{{cite news|url=https://tunnel2towers.org/?s=Limbaugh|title=Betsy Ross Apparel Raises $5 Million!|newspaper=Tunnel to Towers Foundation|access-date=December 12, 2019|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110737/https://tunnel2towers.org/?s=Limbaugh|url-status=live}}

In 1992, Limbaugh published his first book, The Way Things Ought to Be, followed by See, I Told You So, the following year. Both titles were number one on The New York Times Best Seller list for 24 weeks.{{cite news |last=Gregory |first=Ted |title=Right and wrong; Rush Limbaugh critics want to set the facts straight, but it's not easy|work=Chicago Tribune|date=August 18, 1995}} His first book was dictated by himself, and transcribed and edited by Wall Street Journal writer John Fund.{{Cite web |title=The Way Things Ought to Be, by... |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-09-26-9309280005-story.html |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Chicago Tribune |date=September 26, 1993 |language=en}}

In 2013, Limbaugh authored his first children's book, entitled Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel with Exceptional Americans. He received the Author of the Year Award from the Children's Book Council for this work.{{cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=Annalisa|title=Book News: Rush Limbaugh Wins Children's Book 'Author Of The Year' Award|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/15/312693461/book-news-rush-limbaugh-wins-children-s-book-author-of-the-year-award|newspaper=NPR|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=September 26, 2014|archive-date=September 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925152138/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/15/312693461/book-news-rush-limbaugh-wins-children-s-book-author-of-the-year-award|url-status=live}} Limbaugh's second children's book was released the following year, entitled Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel with Exceptional Americans. This book was nominated as an author-of-the year finalist for the annual Children's and Teen Choice Book Awards.{{cite web|last1=Howell|first1=Kellan|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/22/limbaughs-rush-revere-puts-host-running-childrens-/|title=Limbaugh's 'Rush Revere' puts host in the running for children's book award|work=The Washington Times|date=March 22, 2014|access-date=April 6, 2014|archive-date=April 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406221931/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/22/limbaughs-rush-revere-puts-host-running-childrens-/|url-status=live}} Limbaugh's third children's book was released later this same year, written with his wife Kathryn and entitled Rush Revere and the American Revolution. The Limbaughs dedicated this to the U.S. military and their families.{{cite web|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/10/08/it_s_the_third_rush_revere_book_rush_revere_and_the_american_revolution_available_for_pre_order|title=It's the Third Rush Revere Book|date=October 8, 2014|access-date=December 26, 2014|archive-date=December 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227004202/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/10/08/it_s_the_third_rush_revere_book_rush_revere_and_the_american_revolution_available_for_pre_order|url-status=live}}

• The Way Things Ought to Be, Pocket Books, October 1, 1992, {{ISBN|978-0671751456}}
• See I Told You So, November 1, 1993, Atria, {{ISBN|978-0671871208}}
• Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 29, 2013, {{ISBN|978-1476755861}}
• Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, March 11, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1476755885}}
• Rush Revere and the American Revolution: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 28, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1476789873}}
• Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, October 27, 2015, {{ISBN|978-1476789880}}
• Rush Revere and the Presidency: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, Threshold Editions, November 22, 2016, {{ISBN|978-1501156892}}

Limbaugh was raised and considered himself a Methodist.

He was married four times and divorced three times. He did not have any children.{{cite web|url=http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/p/rushlimbaugh.htm|title=The Marriages of Rush Limbaugh |access-date=June 3, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 27, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090127021934/http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/p/rushlimbaugh.htm |author=Sheri & Bob Stritof |website=About.com}} He was first married at the age of 26 to Roxy Maxine McNeely, a sales secretary at radio station WHB in Kansas City, Missouri. The couple married at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Limbaugh's hometown of Cape Girardeau on September 24, 1977.{{sfn|Chafets|2010|p=37}} McNeely filed for divorce in March 1980, citing "incompatibility". They were formally divorced on July 10, 1980.{{sfn|Colford|1994}}

In 1983, Limbaugh married Michelle Sixta, a college student and usherette at the Kansas City Royals Stadium Club. They divorced in 1990, and she remarried the following year.{{sfn|Colford|1994}}

On May 27, 1994, Limbaugh married Marta Fitzgerald, a 35-year-old aerobics instructor whom he met on the online service CompuServe in 1990. They married at the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who officiated.{{cite news|last=Brozan|first=Nadine|date=May 30, 1994 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/30/nyregion/chronicle-248584.html|title=Wedding Announcements |work=The New York Times|access-date=April 20, 2009|url-status=live|archive-date=April 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425033612/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/30/nyregion/chronicle-248584.html}} The couple separated on June 11, 2004. Limbaugh announced his divorce on the air. It was finalized in December 2004.Herald Staff. "Rush's divorce final" The Miami Herald. February 19, 2005. Pg. 4A In September 2004, Limbaugh became romantically involved with then-CNN news anchor Daryn Kagan; the relationship ended in February 2006.{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/392895p-333176c.html|title=Quick & Dirty|work=New York Daily News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210151847/http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/392895p-333176c.html |archive-date=December 10, 2006|url-status=dead|location=New York}}

Limbaugh lived in Palm Beach from 1996 until his death in 2021. A friend recalls that Limbaugh "fell in love with Palm Beach{{nbsp}}... after visiting her over Memorial Day weekend in 1995."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/business/media/palm-beach-draws-conservative-media-personalities.html|title=A Conservative Beachhead in the Sunshine|last=Peters |first=Jeremy W.|date=August 21, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323224227/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/business/media/palm-beach-draws-conservative-media-personalities.html |archive-date=March 23, 2014|url-status=live}}

He dated Kathryn Rogers, a party planner from Florida, for three years;{{cite web|work=National Ledger |url=http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272632213.shtml|title=Rush Limbaugh Marries Fourth Wife Kathryn Rogers in Florida{{Snd}} Wedding Day|date=June 5, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100608092313/http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272632213.shtml |archive-date=June 8, 2010|access-date=June 10, 2010}} the couple married on June 5, 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/05/rush-limbaughs-girlfriend_n_411726.html|title=Rush Limbaugh's Girlfriend Kathryn Rogers Gives Inside Story On Heart Scare|last=Weiner|first=Rachel |date=January 5, 2010|work=HuffPost|access-date=January 30, 2010|archive-date=January 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110092841/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/05/rush-limbaughs-girlfriend_n_411726.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Powers|first=Doug|date=June 5, 2010 |url=http://michellemalkin.com/2010/06/05/rush-to-the-altar-and-the-wedding-singer-is/|title=Rush to the Altar{{Snd}} And the Wedding Singer Is...|publisher=Michelle Malkin|access-date=December 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014054446/http://michellemalkin.com/2010/06/05/rush-to-the-altar-and-the-wedding-singer-is/|archive-date=October 14, 2011|url-status=dead}} At the wedding reception following the ceremony, Elton John entertained the wedding guests for a reported $1 million fee; however, Limbaugh denied that the $1 million figure was accurate on his September 7, 2010, radio show.{{cite web |last=Silverman |first=Stephen |title=Elton John Sings at Rush Limbaugh's 4th Wedding |url=https://people.com/celebrity/elton-john-sings-at-rush-limbaughs-4th-wedding/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608150638/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20391620,00.html |archive-date=June 8, 2010 |work=People.com |date=June 7, 2010}}{{cite news |author1=Roxanne Roberts |author2=Amy Argetsinger |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/06/love_etc_rush_limbaugh_marries.html |title=Love, etc: Rush Limbaugh marries for the fourth time |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024234403/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/06/love_etc_rush_limbaugh_marries.html |archive-date=October 24, 2011}}

Through a holding company, KARHL Holdings (KARHL meaning "Kathryn and Rush Hudson Limbaugh"), Limbaugh launched a line of bottled iced tea beverages in 2011.{{cite web |title=Tea The People |url=http://www.twoifbytea.com/ |website=Two If By Tea|publisher=KARHL Holdings, LLC|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723170837/http://www.twoifbytea.com/|archive-date=July 23, 2011 |access-date=April 25, 2012}} The brand name "Two if by Tea" was a play on the line from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride", "one if by land, two if by sea". Production of the tea was put on hold in 2018 with a statement that "Due to rising manufacturing and shipping costs, we did not feel it was right to pass this on to our customers.".{{Cite web|title=History of Two If By Tea |website=Adventures of Rush Revere|url=https://rushrevere.com/history/|access-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130165313/https://rushrevere.com/history/|url-status=dead}}

On October 3, 2003, the National Enquirer reported that Limbaugh was being investigated for illegally obtaining the prescription drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone. Other news outlets quickly confirmed the investigation.{{cite news|last=Candiotti|first=Susan|date=October 3, 2003|title=Limbaugh mostly mum on reports of drug probe|work=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/News/10/03/rush.drugs/ |access-date=September 3, 2006 |url-status=live|archive-date=July 14, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714112120/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/News/10/03/rush.drugs/}} He admitted to listeners on his radio show on October 10, 2003, that he was addicted to prescription painkillers and stated that he would enter inpatient treatment for 30 days, immediately after the broadcast.{{cite news|author1=George Bennett|author2=John Pacenti|title=Talk host Limbaugh to enter drug rehab |url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/news/limbaugh/101103_limbaugh.html|date=October 11, 2003|newspaper=Palm Beach Post|page=1A|name-list-style=amp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040624222912/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/news/limbaugh/101103_limbaugh.html|archive-date=June 24, 2004}} Limbaugh stated his addiction to painkillers resulted from several years of severe back pain heightened by a botched surgery intended to correct those problems.{{cite web |title=Limbaugh reaches settlement in drugs case |date=April 28, 2006 |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12536446 |work=NBC News |access-date=May 22, 2021}}{{cite web |title=Transcript Of Rush Limbaugh's Comments On His Painkiller Addiction |url=https://www.wave3.com/story/1477831/transcript-of-rush-limbaughs-comments-on-his-painkiller-addiction/ |website=wave3.com |date=October 10, 2003 |publisher=Gray Television Group, Inc. |access-date=May 22, 2021}}

A subsequent investigation into whether Limbaugh had violated Florida's doctor shopping laws was launched by the Palm Beach State Attorney, which raised privacy issues when investigators seized Limbaugh's private medical records looking for evidence of crimes. Roy Black, one of Limbaugh's attorneys, stated that "Rush Limbaugh was singled out for prosecution because of who he is. We believe the state attorney's office is applying a double standard."{{cite news|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/04/State/Limbaugh_may_face_a_r.shtml|title=Limbaugh may face a rarely used charge|date=January 4, 2004|agency=Associated Press|access-date=November 14, 2006|url-status=live|archive-date=October 13, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071013114538/http://sptimes.com/2004/01/04/State/Limbaugh_may_face_a_r.shtml}} On November 9, 2005, following two years of investigations, Assistant State Attorney James L. Martz requested that the court set aside Limbaugh's doctor–patient confidentiality rights and allow the state to question his physicians.{{cite news |title=Prosecutors Push to Speak with Limbaugh Doctors |date=November 9, 2005|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|pages=3B}} Limbaugh's attorney opposed the prosecutor's efforts to interview his doctors on the basis of patient privacy rights, and argued that the prosecutor had violated Limbaugh's Fourth Amendment rights by illegally seizing his medical records. The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement in agreement and filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Limbaugh.{{cite news|title=Improbable ally joins Limbaugh privacy fight|date=January 13, 2004 |newspaper=The St. Petersburg Times|pages=1B}}{{cite press release|title=Palm Beach Appeals Court to Hear Argument in Limbaugh Medical Records Case |date=April 7, 2004|publisher=ACLU|location=West Palm Beach|url=http://www.aclufl.org/news_events/?action=viewRelease&emailAlertID=41|access-date=November 9, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202170736/http://www.aclufl.org/news_events/?action=viewRelease&emailAlertID=41|archive-date=December 2, 2008}} On December 12, 2005, Judge David F. Crow delivered a ruling prohibiting the State of Florida from questioning Limbaugh's physicians about "the medical condition of the patient and any information disclosed to the health care practitioner by the patient in the course of the care and treatment of the patient."{{cite news|title=Judge Limits Limbaugh Inquiry|date=December 13, 2005|publisher=The Palm Beach Daily News|page=1}}

On April 28, 2006, a warrant was issued for his arrest on the charge of doctor shopping. According to Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the sheriff, during his arrest, Limbaugh was booked, photographed, and fingerprinted, but not handcuffed. He was then released after about an hour on $3,000 bail.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/28/national/main1561324.shtml |title=Rush Limbaugh Arrested On Drug Charges, Conservative Radio Commentator Turns Himself In But Claims Innocence|date=April 28, 2006 |access-date=November 9, 2008|work=CBS News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104145754/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/28/national/main1561324.shtml|archive-date=November 4, 2008}}{{cite news |title=Lou Dobbs Tonight |date=April 28, 2006 |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/28/ldt.01.html|access-date=November 9, 2008|publisher=CNN|work=Transcripts|url-status=live|archive-date=February 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202205420/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/28/ldt.01.html}}{{cite news|title=Rehab, $30,000 to keep Limbaugh out of court|date=April 29, 2006|publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/28/limbaugh.booked/index.html|access-date=November 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219171713/http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/28/limbaugh.booked/index.html |archive-date=December 19, 2008|url-status=live}} After his surrender, he filed a "not guilty" plea to the charge. Prosecutors explained that the charges were brought after they discovered he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. In 2009, after three years of prolonged discussion regarding a settlement, prosecutors agreed to drop the charge if Limbaugh paid $30,000 to defray the cost of the investigation, completed an 18-month therapy regimen with his physician, submitted to random drug testing, and gave up his right to own a firearm for eighteen months.{{cite news|title=Settlement Agreement Ends State Investigation of Rush Limbaugh|date=April 28, 2006|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rushwire/settlement_agreement_ends_state_investigation_of_rush_limbaugh.guest.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 23, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523175026/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rushwire/settlement_agreement_ends_state_investigation_of_rush_limbaugh.guest.html}} Limbaugh agreed to the settlement, though he continued to maintain his innocence of doctor shopping and asserted that the state's offer resulted from a lack of evidence supporting the charge.{{cite news|last=Skoloff |first=Brian|date=May 1, 2006 |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_fb5e2724-da62-539e-835a-610da671248c.html |title=Limbaugh Facing Drug Tests Under Deal|access-date=August 28, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110745/https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_fb5e2724-da62-539e-835a-610da671248c.html|archive-date=July 28, 2020}}

Before his addiction became known, Limbaugh had condemned illegal drug use on his television program, stating that "Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country{{nbsp}}... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."

In June 2006, Limbaugh was detained by drug enforcement agents at Palm Beach International Airport.{{cite web |title=Rush Limbaugh Detained With Viagra |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rush-limbaugh-detained-with-viagra/ |work=CBS News |publisher=CBS Interactive, Inc. |date=June 27, 2006|access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206215918/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rush-limbaugh-detained-with-viagra/ |url-status=live }} Customs officials confiscated Viagra from Limbaugh's luggage as he was returning from the Dominican Republic.{{cite web |last1=Levine |first1=Greg |title=Customs Officials Hold Rush Limbaugh In Viagra Flap |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/06/27/rush-limbaugh-viagra-cx_gl_0627autofacescan07.html |work=Forbes|access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305170926/https://www.forbes.com/2006/06/27/rush-limbaugh-viagra-cx_gl_0627autofacescan07.html |url-status=live }} The prescription was not in Limbaugh's name. After he was released with no charges filed, Limbaugh joked about the incident on his radio show, claiming that he got the Viagra at the Clinton Library and was told they were blue M&M's. He also stated that "I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it."

Limbaugh described himself as being "100 percent, totally deaf".{{cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_101207/content/01125106.guest.html|title=Rush to Excellence Speech for WPHT-AM Philadelphia|date=October 11, 2007|work=Transcript|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013233546/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_101207/content/01125106.guest.html|archive-date=October 13, 2007|access-date=November 9, 2008}} In 2001, he announced that he had lost most of his ability to hear: "I cannot hear television. I cannot hear music. I am, for all practical purposes, deaf{{Snd}} and it's happened in three months." He said that the condition was not genetic.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/limbaugh-losing-his-hearing/|title=Limbaugh Losing His Hearing|date=October 8, 2001|work=CBS News|access-date=November 12, 2010|archive-date=July 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731084623/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/10/08/politics/main314011.shtml|url-status=live}} On December 19, 2001, doctors at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles were able to successfully restore a measure of his hearing through cochlear implant surgery. Limbaugh received a Clarion CII Bionic Ear.{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_3_18/ai_82554117|title=Limbaugh learning to listen again: Rush Limbaugh lost most of his hearing because of a rare disease, but the conservative icon says he has not lost his ability to communicate with his audience|last=Maier|first=Timothy W.|date=January 28, 2002|access-date=November 9, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109161218/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_3_18/ai_82554117|archive-date=January 9, 2008|publisher=Insight on the News}}

When questioned whether Limbaugh's sudden hearing loss was caused by his addiction to opioids, his cochlear implant doctor, otolaryngologist Jennifer Derebery, said that it was possible, but that there is no way to know for sure without performing tests that would destroy Limbaugh's hearing completely. "We don't know why some people, but apparently not most, who take large doses may lose their hearing."{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=128270&page=1|title=Did Drugs Cause Limbaugh's Hearing Loss?|website=ABC News|access-date=August 15, 2012|archive-date=November 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126015121/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=128270&page=1|url-status=live}}

In 2005, Limbaugh was forced to undergo "tuning" due to an "eye twitch", an apparent side-effect of cochlear implants.{{cite web|url=http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2005/04/rush_to_get_bio.html|title=Rush to get bionic tune up|date=April 28, 2005|work=Transcript|publisher=4 Hearing Loss|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050930190822/http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2005/04/rush_to_get_bio.html|archive-date=September 30, 2005|access-date=November 9, 2008}}

On December 30, 2009, while vacationing in Honolulu, Hawaii, Limbaugh was admitted to Queen's Medical Center with intense chest pains. His doctors attributed the pain to angina pectoris."{{cite news |url=http://www.kitv.com/politics/22094469/detail.html |title=Limbaugh Says Tests Found Nothing Wrong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107074553/http://www.kitv.com/politics/22094469/detail.html |work=KITV.com |url-status=dead |date=January 1, 2010 |archive-date=January 7, 2010}}

On April 8, 2014, on his radio program, Limbaugh announced his decision to 'go bilateral'. "I'm going to get an implant on the right side", he said.{{cite web|title=The Miracle of Cochlear Implant Surgery |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/04/08/the_miracle_of_cochlear_implant_surgery|date=April 8, 2014|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|access-date=April 8, 2014|archive-date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409004150/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/04/08/the_miracle_of_cochlear_implant_surgery|url-status=live}} After bilateral tuning, there was a 100% improvement. "Coming from total deafness, it is miraculous! How can you not believe in God?", Limbaugh said in his national daily broadcast.{{cite web|title=The Results of My Right-Side Cochlear Implant Activation: Magic Happened |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/05/09/the_results_of_my_right_side_cochlear_implant_activation_magic_happened|date=April 9, 2014|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|access-date=May 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512010746/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2014/05/09/the_results_of_my_right_side_cochlear_implant_activation_magic_happened|archive-date=May 12, 2014|url-status=live}}

Limbaugh, a cigar and former cigarette smoker,{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Martha |date=February 4, 2020 |title=Rush Limbaugh denied smoking risks in 2015: 'Smokers aren't killing anybody' |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/04/rush-limbaugh-denied-smoking-risks-in-2015-smokers-arent-killing-anybody/ |access-date=February 19, 2021 |work=The Mercury News |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217233421/https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/04/rush-limbaugh-denied-smoking-risks-in-2015-smokers-arent-killing-anybody/ |url-status=live}} was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer on January 20, 2020, after first experiencing shortness of breath on January 12.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-rushlimbaugh/radio-host-rush-limbaugh-announces-lung-cancer-diagnosis-on-air-idUSKBN1ZX2M6 |title=Radio host Rush Limbaugh announces lung cancer diagnosis on air|last=Gorman|first=Steve|date=February 3, 2020|work=Reuters|access-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203230857/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-rushlimbaugh/radio-host-rush-limbaugh-announces-lung-cancer-diagnosis-on-air-idUSKBN1ZX2M6|archive-date=February 3, 2020|url-status=live}} He had previously downplayed the link between smoking and cancer deaths, arguing that it "takes 50 years to kill people, if it does."{{Cite web|url=https://omrf.org/2020/02/16/dr-prescott-rush-limbaughs-illness-puts-spotlight-on-lung-cancer/ |title=Business of Health: Rush Limbaugh's illness puts spotlight on lung cancer|date=February 16, 2020 |website=Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation | OMRF}} He announced his diagnosis during his radio show on February 3. He advised he would miss airtime to undergo treatment, and that he would try to continue the program "as normally and competently" as he could.{{Cite web|last=Flood |first=Brian |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-advanced-lung-cancer|title=Rush Limbaugh announces he has 'advanced lung cancer'|date=February 3, 2020|website=Fox News|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203202408/https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-advanced-lung-cancer|archive-date=February 3, 2020|url-status=live}} On October 20, 2020, Limbaugh announced that treatment had been ineffectual at containing the cancer, that his diagnosis was terminal, and that he had been given a time frame on when he should expect to die.{{Cite web|first=Jordan|last=Valinsky |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/20/media/rush-limbaugh-cancer-update-trnd/index.html|title=Rush Limbaugh says his lung cancer is terminal|date=October 20, 2020|work=CNN |access-date=October 20, 2020|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020120008/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/20/media/rush-limbaugh-cancer-update-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}} In his final broadcast of 2020, he said "I wasn't expected to make it to October, and then to November, and then to December. And yet, here I am, and today, got some problems, but I'm feeling pretty good today."{{cite web |last1=Flood |first1=Brian |title=Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio pioneer, dead at 70 |date=February 17, 2021 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-dead-talk-radio-conservative-icon |website=Fox News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217180045/https://www.foxnews.com/media/rush-limbaugh-dead-talk-radio-conservative-icon|archive-date=February 17, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=May 22, 2021}}

Limbaugh made his last radio broadcast on February 2, 2021. He died on February 17, at the age of 70. According to his wife, Kathryn Rogers Limbaugh, his death was attributed to complications of his lung cancer. Governor Ron DeSantis directed flags in the state of Florida be lowered to half-staff on the date of his interment.{{cite news |author=((WFLA 8 ON Your Side Staff)) |url=https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/flags-in-florida-will-be-lowered-for-rush-limbaugh-gov-ron-desantis-says/ |title=Flags in Florida will be lowered for Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Ron DeSantis says |work=WFLA-TV |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=February 19, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=February 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219171302/https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/flags-in-florida-will-be-lowered-for-rush-limbaugh-gov-ron-desantis-says/}} Limbaugh was interred at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.{{cite news |url=https://www.semissourian.com/story/2868048.html |title=Rush Limbaugh laid to rest |work=Southeast Missourian |date=February 26, 2021 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227150143/https://www.semissourian.com/story/2868048.html}}

File:State of the Union 2020 (49493531303).jpg

Limbaugh was widely recognized as one of the leading voices of the conservative movement in the United States, beginning in the 1990s. Former president Ronald Reagan thanked him in a 1992 letter, giving him credit "for all you're doing to promote Republican and conservative principles{{nbsp}}... [and] you have become the Number One voice for conservatism in our Country."{{Cite magazine|last=Suddath|first=Claire|date=March 4, 2009|title=Conservative Radio Host Rush Limbaugh |url=https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1882947,00.html |access-date=February 6, 2020 |magazine=Time|quote=Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, August 12, 2005]|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224205430/http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1882947,00.html|archive-date=December 24, 2020}}{{cite magazine |last1=Bowman|first1=James|date=August 1, 2003|title=Rush: The Leader of The Opposition|magazine=National Review|access-date=July 9, 2018|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/207702/rush-leader-opposition/james-bowman|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321104154/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/207702/rush-leader-opposition/james-bowman|archive-date=March 21, 2012}} In 1994, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives made Limbaugh an honorary member.

From 1994, Limbaugh served as the inspiration for the character of Birch Barlow, a conservative radio talk show host on The Simpsons.{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |title=A deep dive into Birch Barlow, the 'Rush Limbaugh' of The Simpsons |url=https://www.indy100.com/ents/simpsons-rush-limbaugh-parody-birch-barlow-b1804175 |website=indy100.com |date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522194854/https://www.indy100.com/ents/simpsons-rush-limbaugh-parody-birch-barlow-b1804175 |url-status=dead }}

In 1995, Limbaugh was profiled on the PBS series Frontline in a one-hour documentary called "Rush Limbaugh's America". Limbaugh refused to be interviewed, but his mother, brother, and many Republican supporters took part, as well as critics and opponents.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/28/arts/television-review-what-makes-rush-limbaugh-tick-so-loudly.html|title=Television Review, What Makes Rush Limbaugh Tick So Loudly|last=Goodman|first=Walter|date=February 28, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-date=April 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420064358/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/28/arts/television-review-what-makes-rush-limbaugh-tick-so-loudly.html|url-status=live}}

By the 1990s, Limbaugh had become known for his love of cigars, saying, "I think cigars are just a tremendous addition to the enjoyment of life."{{cite magazine|last1=Rothstein|first1=Mervyn|date=Spring 1994|title=Rush's Judgment|url=https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/rushs-judgment-6019|magazine=Cigar Aficionado|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710042842/https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/rushs-judgment-6019|url-status=live}} During his syndicated television program from 1992 to 1996, he also became known for wearing distinctive neckties. In response to viewer interest, Limbaugh launched a series of ties{{cite news|title=Ties loud, just like Limbaugh|last=Parker|first=Penny|date=March 20, 1996|work=Denver Post|page=C–1}} designed primarily by his then-wife Marta.

Limbaugh was awarded the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year by the National Association of Broadcasters five times: 1992, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/133371/nab-announces-2014-marconi-awards-winners?ref=mail_bulletin|title=NAB Announces 2014 Marconi Awards Winners|date=September 11, 2014 |publisher=www.allaccess.com |access-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071307/https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/133371/nab-announces-2014-marconi-awards-winners?ref=mail_bulletin}}{{cite book|title=At War With Metaphor: Media, Propaganda, and Racism in the War on Terror |first1=Erin|last1=Steuter|first2=Deborah|last2=Wills |date=2008|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-2198-6|location=Lanham, Maryland|page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zY4fJXORN-MC&pg=PA134|access-date=July 9, 2018}} He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzQVpPvlVMcC&pg=PA387|title=American Dissidents: An Encyclopedia of Activists, Subversives, and Prisoners of Conscience|author=Gay, Kathlyn|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2012|isbn=978-1-59884-764-2|pages=387}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9KOHEPbBBbIC&pg=PA323|title=The Intellectual Devotional Modern Culture: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently with the Culturati|author=Kidder, David S.|author2=Oppenheim, Noah D.|year=2008 |publisher=Rodale|isbn=978-1-60529-793-4|page=323}} By 2001, he inked a {{USD|285|link=yes}} million contract for eight years, which was renewed in 2008 for another eight years at $400 million.{{cite news|title=A Lucrative Deal for Rush Limbaugh|last1=Stelter|first1=Brian |date=July 3, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/business/media/03radio.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071247/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/business/media/03radio.html}} By 2017, Limbaugh was the second-highest-paid radio host in the United States, earning an annual salary of $84 million, second only to Howard Stern.{{cite magazine|date=October 5, 2017 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2017/10/05/the-worlds-highest-paid-radio-hosts-2017/#46ef059451fb|last1=Cuccinello|first1=Hayley C.|title=The World's Highest-Paid Radio Hosts 2017 |magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041845/https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2017/10/05/the-worlds-highest-paid-radio-hosts-2017/#46ef059451fb}} In 2002, Talkers Magazine ranked him as the greatest-ever radio talk show host;{{cite magazine|date=September 2002|title=The 25 Greatest Radio Talk Show Hosts of All Time|url=http://www.talkers.com/greatest/|magazine=Talkers|access-date=January 29, 2006|url-status=live|archive-date=October 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016215652/http://talkers.com/greatest/}} in 2017, he was the most-listened-to radio host in the United States, with 14 million listeners.{{cite magazine|title=Top Talk Audiences|url=http://www.talkers.com/top-talk-audiences/|magazine=Talkers|access-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906064456/http://www.talkers.com/top-talk-audiences/}} Limbaugh is given much of the credit for having revived AM radio at a time when most people had switched to FM.{{cite news|last=Chmielewski|first=Dawn|date=February 17, 2021 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/02/17/rush-limbaugh-led-a-radio-revolution-that-earned-him-more-than-1-billion/|title=Rush Limbaugh Led A Radio Revolution That Earned Him More Than $1 Billion|work=Forbes|access-date=February 19, 2021|archive-date=March 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329220446/https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/02/17/rush-limbaugh-led-a-radio-revolution-that-earned-him-more-than-1-billion/|url-status=live}}

Conservative magazine Human Events announced Limbaugh as their 2007 Man of the Year.{{cite news|url=http://humanevents.com/2008/01/07/man-of-the-year-rush-limbaugh/|title=Man of the Year: Rush Limbaugh|last1=Levin|first1=Mark R.|date=January 7, 2008|newspaper=Human Events|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710040611/http://humanevents.com/2008/01/07/man-of-the-year-rush-limbaugh/|url-status=live}} Later that same year, Barbara Walters featured Limbaugh as one of the most fascinating people of the year in a special that aired on December 4, 2008.{{cite magazine|last1=Dimond|first1=Anna|date=December 1, 2008|title=Barbara Walters Gets Up Close with 2008's Most Fascinating People|url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/barbara-walters-special-1000398/|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710042451/http://www.tvguide.com/news/barbara-walters-special-1000398/|url-status=live}}

On February 28, 2009, following his self-described "first address to the nation" lasting 90 minutes, carried live on CNN and Fox News and recorded for C-SPAN, Limbaugh received CPAC's "Defender of the Constitution Award", a document signed by Benjamin Franklin, given to someone "who has stood up for the First Amendment ... Rush Limbaugh is for America, exactly what Benjamin Franklin did for the Founding Fathers ... the only way we will be successful is if we listen to Rush Limbaugh", reads the citation.{{cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2009/02/28/rush_s_first_televised_address_to_the_nation_conservative_political_action_conference_cpac_speech|title=Rush's First Televised Address to the Nation: Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Speech|date=February 28, 2009|website=RushLimbaugh.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213015832/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2009/02/28/rush_s_first_televised_address_to_the_nation_conservative_political_action_conference_cpac_speech|archive-date=February 13, 2012|access-date=January 31, 2012}}

File:Rush Limbaugh 5-14-2012 12-43-07 PM (7198075278).jpg in 2012]]

In his 2010 book, Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One, Ze'ev Chafets cited Limbaugh as "the brains and the spirit behind" the Republican Party's resurgence in the 2010 midterm elections in the wake of the election of President Obama.{{sfn|Chafets|2010a|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} Chafets pointed, among others, to Sen. Arlen Specter's defeat, after being labeled by Limbaugh as a "Republican in Name Only", and to Sarah Palin, whose "biggest current applause line{{Snd}} Republicans are not just the party of no, but the party of hell no{{Snd}} came courtesy of Mr. Limbaugh." The author continued with ..."Limbaugh has argued the 'party-of-no' conservative course for the Republicans vigorously, notably since six weeks after Obama's inauguration, and has been fundamental to, and encouraging to, the more prominently noted Tea Party movement".{{cite news|last1=Chafets|first1=Ze'ev|date=May 19, 2010b|title=The Limbaugh Victory|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/opinion/20chafets.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180710071400/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/opinion/20chafets.html}}

Rush Limbaugh was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians on May 14, 2012, in a secret ceremony announced only 20 minutes before it began in order to prevent negative media attention.{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/rush-limbaugh-inducted-hall-famo|title=Rush Limbaugh inducted into Hall of Famous Missourians|last1=Naik|first1=Richa|date=May 18, 2012|access-date=July 9, 2018|publisher=MSNBC|archive-date=July 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041304/http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/rush-limbaugh-inducted-hall-famo|url-status=live}} A bronze bust of Limbaugh is on display at the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City, along with 40 other awardees. Limbaugh's bust includes a security camera to prevent vandalism.{{cite web|url=http://fox2now.com/2012/05/22/rush-limbaughs-bust-on-display-in-state-capital/|title=Rush Limbaugh's Bust On Display In State Capital|date=May 22, 2012|work=Fox2now.com|access-date=August 2, 2012|url-status=live|archive-date=October 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015101631/http://fox2now.com/2012/05/22/rush-limbaughs-bust-on-display-in-state-capital/}}{{cite web|title=Rush Bust Gets Its Own Dittocam – The Rush Limbaugh Show |url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/05/25/rush_bust_gets_its_own_dittocam|date=May 25, 2012 |website=Rushlimbaugh.com|access-date=August 2, 2012|url-status=live|archive-date=July 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730071725/http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/05/25/rush_bust_gets_its_own_dittocam}}

On February 4, 2020, the day after he announced that he had advanced lung cancer, Limbaugh was a guest of President Donald Trump at the 2020 State of the Union Address, where he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Melania Trump.{{cite web|last=Al-Arshani|first=Sarah |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2 |title=Trump awards controversial talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who has advanced lung cancer, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at SOTU|date=February 4, 2020|work=Business Insider|access-date=February 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205030212/https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2|archive-date=February 5, 2020|url-status=live}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=The Way Things Ought to Be|year=1992|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York City|isbn=0-671-75145-X|url=https://archive.org/details/waythingsoughtto00limb|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=See, I Told You So|url=https://archive.org/details/seeitoldyousolimb00limb|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York City|isbn=0-671-87120-X|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims|year=2013|publisher=Threshold Editions|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4767-5586-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/rushreverebravep0000limb|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=Rush Revere and the First Patriots|year=2014|publisher=Threshold Editions|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4767-5588-5|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=Rush Revere and the American Revolution|year=2014|publisher=Threshold Editions|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4767-8987-3|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner|year=2015|publisher=Threshold Editions|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4767-8988-0|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Limbaugh|first1=Rush|title=Rush Revere and the Presidency|year=2016|publisher=Threshold Editions|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-5011-5689-2|ref=none}}

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Chafets|first=Ze'ev|title=Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One|year=2010|url=https://archive.org/details/rushlimbaugharmy00chaf|url-access=registration|publisher=Sentinel|isbn=978-1-59523-063-8}}
• {{cite book|last=Chafets|first=Ze'ev|title=Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One|year=2010a|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykKOgDxEClgC|access-date=July 9, 2018|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-101-43456-7}}
• {{cite book|last=Colford|first=Paul D.|year=1994|title=The Rush Limbaugh Story: Talent on Loan from God{{Snd}} An Unauthorized Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/rushlimbaughstor00colfo|url-access=registration|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-95272-3}}

• Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Joseph N. Cappella (2010). [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/echo-chamber-9780195398601 Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment]. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780195398601}}.

{{Wikiquote}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/ The Rush Limbaugh Show official site]
• {{C-SPAN|14051}}
• {{IMDb name|510754}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103114904/http://www.twoifbytea.com/adventures/book.html The official site for Two if by Tea advertising the Adventures of Rush Revere]

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