Rush Limbaugh | 1951 – 2021
Rush Limbaugh had huge influence in the political sphere, setting the stage for the rise of conservative talk radio.
![Rush Limbaugh reacts after first Lady Melania Trump presented him with the the Presidential Medal of Freedom as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. Second lady Karen Pence is at left and Kathryn Limbaugh is partially hidden. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9e322c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3703x2449+0+0/resize/1440x952!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2Fb1%2Fa4f6f57c43f1a0ae5d64a8b24813%2Fap20036111513991.jpg)
Rush Limbaugh reacts after being given the Medal of Freedom by then-First Lady Melania Trump at the Capitol on Feb. 4, 2020. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)
Melania Trump puts the Medal of Freedom around Limbaugh’s neck. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)
![Rush Limbaugh behind a microphone.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5f2aa1c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4250x2878+0+0/resize/1418x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffe%2F4e%2Fa9d2f9164c85b7dccd5bafe3338e%2Fgettyimages-612579770.jpg)
Rush Limbaugh sits in his studio during the Republican National Convention in Houston in 1992. (Shepard Sherbell / Getty Images)
![Trump speaks to Limbaugh at a rally.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/091a2db/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5568x3712+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F61%2F17%2F1e43917d49a4adcb5e8d05aac76e%2Fgettyimages-1057886308.jpg)
President Trump on stage with Rush Limbaugh at a rally in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Limbaugh’s hometown, in November 2018. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)
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![Rush Limbaugh speaks into a microphone.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/94373f0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x2304+0+0/resize/1250x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1a%2Fae%2Fc7c2175841ff8c2c9b531826acb4%2Fgettyimages-74067126.jpg)
Rush Limbaugh speaks at “An Evening With Rush Limbaugh” on May 3, 2007, in Novi, Mich. (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)
![Rush Limbaugh gestures with both hands as he speaks from behind a podium.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6b175ba/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3144x2322+0+0/resize/1300x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F31%2Ff3%2F75526d5e4ba593fdb4938146dda5%2Fap21048624558439.jpg)
Rush Limbaugh introduces President Trump at a campaign rally in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in 2018. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
![Rush Limbaugh speaks on stage.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fe80ec2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2928x2323+0+0/resize/1210x960!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6b%2Fde%2Fca7fc32840c289f260e7e14699cf%2Fpeople-rush-limbaugh-57329.jpg)
Rush Limbaugh speaks during his induction into the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state Capitol in Jefferson City in May 2012. (Associated Press)