WASHINGTON: Provocative and polarising US talk radio luminary Rush Limbaugh, a leading voice on the American political right since the 1980s who boosted, and was honoured by, former President Trump, has died at age 70 after suffering from lung cancer, Fox News reported on Wednesday. He pioneered the American media phenomenon of conservative talk radio and became an enthusiastic combatant in the US culture wars.
Limbaugh’s appeal and the success of his top-rated radio show arose from his brash and colourful style, his delight in baiting liberals and Democrats and his promotion of conservative and Republican causes and politicians. His radio show became nationally syndicated in 1988. Trump awarded Limbaugh the highest US civilian honour — the Presidential Medal of Freedom — in 2020.
Limbaugh espoused an unflinchingly populist brand of conservatism during a daily show broadcast on more than 600 radio stations across the US. He railed against left-wing causes from global warming to healthcare reform as he helped shape the Republican Party’s agenda in the media and mobilise its grass-roots supporters. He ridiculed mainstream news outlets and relished the controversies sparked by his commentary. He called his followers “ditto heads.” He coined the term “femi-Nazis” to disparage women’s rights activists.