Social media users are sharing online a letter attributed to conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh thanking former President Donald J. Trump for the past four years.
Examples can be seen here and here.
The letter begins with: “My days on earth are numbered, but before I disappear I must say something important. It can be important to no one else; but it’s important to me. Win, lose or cheat … President Trump, I just want to say thank you for the past four years. ”
It goes on to thank President Trump for a strong economy, a decline in the unemployment rate, support for the country’s flag, bringing troops home, and more.
Limbaugh has been a tribute to the American left since the launch of its groundbreaking program in 1985 during the Republican revolution of President Ronald Reagan. Limbaugh has been helping shape the party’s agenda in the media for years. Much of Limbaugh’s attraction is attributed to his fresh, colorful style and his joy of attracting liberals (here).
A Google search for the quote brings up the letter on several websites and blogs, which are often not directly attributed to Limbaugh. It was published on January 17, 2021 by the Florida Times-Union as a gas column and The Bakersfield Californian as a letter to the editor here on January 13, 2021. Both were attributed to different residents, but not Limbaugh.
According to CrowdTangle, a tool for monitoring and research on social media, the letter first appeared on Facebook here on December 24, 2020 without attribution and on January 22, 2021 with attribution to Limbaugh here.
A spokesman for Premiere Networks, which syndicates The Rush Limbaugh Show, told Reuters in an email that “these are not the words of Rush Limbaugh.”
On February 4, 2020, Trump awarded Limbaugh the presidential medal of freedom.
VERDICT
Incorrectly attributed. Rush Limbaugh did not write this letter to President Donald J. Trump and thanked him for his work over the past four years.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.