Rush Limbaugh dies at 70

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has died at 70 following a battle with lung cancer.

Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, announced on the radio he died Wednesday morning due to lung cancer complications. He revealed his advanced lung cancer diagnosis in February 2020.

"As so many of you know, losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life," Limbaugh's wife said. "Rush will forever be the greatest of all time. Rush was an extraordinary man, a gentle giant, brilliant, quick-witted, genuinely kind, extremely generous, passionate, courageous, and the hardest working person I know."

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Limbaugh hosted his talk radio show for more than 30 years, and his commentary was highly influential among conservatives, as well as often controversial. After he announced his cancer diagnosis last year, author Brian Rosenwald described Limbaugh as "probably the most influential voice on the right" other than then-President Donald Trump.

While battling cancer, Limbaugh continued to host his radio show, telling viewers last year that "my intention is to come here every day I can, and to do this program as normally and as competently and as expertly as I do each and every day because that is the source of my greatest satisfaction professionally, personally."

During his 2020 State of the Union address, Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom "in recognition of all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity."