Provocative US radio host Rush Limbaugh dies

Rush Limbaugh called his followers "ditto heads," took as a badge of honor the title "most dangerous man in America,'' and claimed he had "talent on loan from God."

Simultanously loved and hated by millions, his voice could be found across American radio dials in nearly every corner of the nation.

In a statement announcing his death at 70, his wife Kathryn Adams Limbaugh said, "Rush's love for our country, and for all of you, will live on eternally."

Limbaugh announced a year ago that he had lung cancer. 

Limbaugh's appeal and the success of his top-rated daily radio show came from his brash style, his delight in baiting liberals and Democrats and his promotion of conservative and Republican causes and politicians.

His career, and talk radio in general, received a boost in 1987, when the US Federal Communications Commission repealed rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal time to both sides of political debates.

A year later, his show was syndicated and quickly built a large and committed following, making him wealthy in the process.

As late as 2020, his show was heard on more than 600 US stations by, according to Limbaugh's website, up to 27 million people weekly. 

Loathed by liberals, loved by Trump

While a hero to many conservatives, including former president Donald Trump, Limbaugh was less than popular in liberal circles.

Detractors like one-time Democratic Senator and still comedian, Al Franken who wrote a book titled "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" – criticized him as a divisive figure who distorted facts.

But Trump, who himself is a former reality TV personality, had a different opinion of him. Over the groans of many Democrats, he awarded Limbaugh the highest US civilian honor – the Presidential Medal of Freedom – during his 2020 State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.

In a statement on Wednesday, Trump said: "Rush was a friend to myself and millions of Americans - a guiding light with the ability to see the truth and paint vivid pictures over the airwaves."

Following 2020's US presidential elections, he promoted Trump's false claims that they were stolen through widespread fraud and irregularities. He also compared the deadly pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol to the American colonists who rose up against British rule in the 18th century. After Democrat Joe Biden was inaugurated, he told listeners that the new president had not legitimately won.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden's "condolences go out to the family and the friends" of Limbaugh, but she did not expect a formal statement from the president.

mb/aw (AP, Reuters)