Fox News host Laura Ingraham praised Rush Limbaugh, who died at age 70 on Wednesday, for becoming a “touchstone for conservatives” in reflecting on her time with the prolific talk radio host.
“There are no words to adequately capture the man that was Rush Limbaugh,” she wrote on her website. “Even though we knew this day was coming, typing the word ‘was’ in reference to him seems horribly wrong, an impossibility. Millions of us have relied on his wisdom and perspective for decades, and many of us cannot imagine another election without hearing his voice.”
“His unbridled talent, his unwavering patriotism, his uproarious sense of humor, his boundless enthusiasm for his craft, his endless love for his listening audience, his defiant perseverance — gave us comfort and inspiration,” she added.
Limbaugh died after a monthslong battle with lung cancer in his home in Palm Beach, Florida, according to his wife, Kathryn, who told the public on his radio show. The 70-year-old, who hosted the popular The Rush Limbaugh Show, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Donald Trump, authored seven books, and was a thorn in the side of Democrats, including Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Ingraham said she first heard about Limbaugh while she was attending law school and first met him in person in 1995.
“I was still in law school when I remember my father going on and on about this radio host Rush—’I’m telling you, ya gotta listen, Laura!’ When I finally tuned in, on the drive from Charlottesville to D.C., I was instantly hooked. Who IS this guy? Where did he come from?” she wrote.
“The first time I met Rush was 1995, at his WABC radio office, as part a group of other Republican women, who were thrilled to meet him and quite chatty. He was already a conservative superstar. After about 15 minutes, he looked at me and said, ‘Don’t you have anything to add?’ My response: ‘Yes, Rush. I’m thinking if you really work at it, you might actually make it in radio.’ We were friends ever since,” she added.
The Fox News personality praised Limbaugh’s support of Trump, adding that “it’s hard to see how [he] would have won in 2016 without” his blessing.
“From that famous guitar lick (the Pretenders’ ‘My City Was Gone’) at the top of every hour, to his final sign-off, America was blessed to have Rush’s ‘talent on loan from God’ for as long as we did. But, sadly, for those of us who will sorely miss his friendship and his reassuring voice, the loan was finally called in,” Ingraham concluded.
