Trump on Limbaugh's cancer update: 'Never going to be a voice like Rush'
President Trump reacts to talk radio host Rush Limbaugh's cancer update on 'Fox & Friends.'
President Trump told "Fox & Friends" that cancer-stricken talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh is an "incredible man" who will continue to fight for his life.
The conservative host, who was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and had missed several shows this month to undergo treatment, provided listeners a somber update on his condition Monday after recent scans showed “some progression of cancer,” which he said is “not dramatic” but still a step in the wrong direction.
"There’s never going to be a voice like Rush," the president told co-host Ainsley Earhardt Tuesday morning.
Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union earlier this year, recalling that he first heard about Limbaugh and his massive following after he announced his run for president and the conservative host supported him.
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"Rush is an incredible man, and his wife Kathryn, incredible people, and he is putting up a fight like, you know, this has been going on for a long time. He didn’t have exactly a great prognosis when he heard about it, and this is now taking it to the next level, what he said yesterday," Trump said. "But he is an incredible man, and that’s very sad to hear that. However, he will continue to fight. That’s the one thing I know about him. He’s incredible."
Limbaugh recently hosted Trump for a two-hour interview.
"From the day I came down the escalator, he was supportive of me. I didn't have to talk to him, I didn’t have to meet with him and wine him and dine him. He was just with us because he liked what I was saying," Trump said. "And I became friendly with him."
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Limbaugh shared his devastating diagnosis Monday with listeners.
“It’s tough to realize that the days where I do not think I’m under a death sentence are over,” Limbaugh continued. “Now, we all are, is the point. We all know that we’re going to die at some point, but when you have a terminal disease diagnosis that has a time frame to it, then that puts a different psychological and even physical awareness to it.”
The conservative radio icon said that his treatment program has been adjusted with chemotherapy drugs “in hopes of keeping additional progression at bay for as long as possible,” but he’s happy to be on the air while he can still do it.
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“I feel very blessed to be here speaking with you today. Some days are harder than others. I do get fatigued now. I do get very, very tired now. I’m not gonna mislead you about that. But I am extremely grateful to be able to come here to the studio and to maintain as much normalcy as possible -- and it’s still true,” he said. “You know, I wake up every day and thank God that I did. I go to bed every night praying I’m gonna wake up.”
Limbaugh said he understood many listeners are going through their own struggles and offered advice.
“Someone told me — I think this is good advice, maybe helpful — the only thing that any of us are certain of is right now, today. That’s why I thank God every morning when I wake up,” he said. "I thank God that I did. I try to make it the best day I can no matter what. I don’t look too far ahead. I certainly don’t look too far back.”
Limbaugh told listeners he never thought he would make it to Oct. 1 when he was first diagnosed earlier this year.
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“It is of immense value, strength, confidence, and that’s why I’m able to remain fully committed to the idea that what is supposed to happen will happen when it’s meant to. There’s some comfort in knowing that some things are not in our hands,” he said. “There’s a lot of fear associated with that, too, but there is some comfort. It’s helpful … God, is it helpful. It’s helpful to be able to trust and to believe in a higher plan.”
“The Rush Limbaugh Show” first aired in 1988 and has earned a variety of awards and honors. Limbaugh is a five-time winner of the National Association of Broadcasters' Marconi Award for “Excellence in Syndicated and Network Broadcasting,” a No. 1 New York Times best-selling author and a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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