Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer, his wife announced on his radio show.
The big picture: Limbaugh was one of the most influential conservative media personalities in the country for over three decades. The provocative radio host was a prominent Trump supporter and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union last year after his cancer diagnosis.
Between the lines Limbaugh leaves behind a unique and controversial legacy in both politics and media.
- He was for many years one of the most listened-to radio broadcasters in the country, with up to 15 million listeners per week. At one point, he was also the highest-paid broadcaster on terrestrial radio.
- Limbaugh had a long history of racist, sexist and homophobic remarks. His political positions were often echoed by Republican lawmakers, and later conservative web bloggers.
Limbaugh's success also helped to usher in an era of right-wing terrestrial radio dominance, made possible after the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to give equal time to points of view on both political sides of the aisle, in the late 1980s.
Driving the news: Former President Trump called into Fox News — his first TV interview since leaving office — shortly after the news of Limbaugh's death to reflect on the life of his friend and supporter.
- Trump said he had last spoken to Limbaugh "three or four days ago," and that the radio host was "very sick" but "very courageous."
- "From diagnosis on, it was just something that was not going to be beaten. But you wouldn't know it ... He, in theory, could have been gone four months ago. He was fighting till the very end," the former president said.
Trump went on to promote the lie that he won the 2020 election, and claimed that Limbaugh was angry and agreed with his false conspiracy theory that it was rigged.
Go deeper: Read the New York Times' obituary