Fox News contributor and podcast presenter Dan Bongino said Thursday that all conservatives have an unforgettable moment to listen to American radio icon Rush Limbaugh, who died yesterday after a long battle with lung cancer.
“We became different people because of Rush Limbaugh,” Bongino told Fox & Friends. “Every conservative person I know, everyone had that Rush Limbaugh moment where they listened and for the first time ever heard an idea.”
Bongino noted that ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show’ was currently on the air in 1988, and that Fox News and other conservative stores were still nearly a decade away.
‘If you wanted to hear what conservatism is all about, there was only one place, and that was on your AM [radio] link, ‘said Bongino.
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Bongino, who was diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September last year, said Limbaugh’s cancer diagnosis was a ‘lifelong journey’ that makes you appreciate and acknowledge the injustices of life, despite the ‘horrific’ experience of chemotherapy.
He applauded Limbaugh for being on the air for as long as he did, saying he was sorry he had not listened closely to what Limbaugh’s last performances would be in recent months.
Bongino, who now works within the same space that “created” Limbaugh, added that “Rush Limbaugh invented the national conservative radio station – he invented the game.”
In his last radio broadcast of 2020, Limbaugh thanked his listeners and fans and revealed at the time that he had exceeded his prediction.
“I am not expected to live today,” he said. “I was not expected to go until October and then to November and then to December. And yet, here I am, and today I had problems, but I feel pretty good today.”
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“The Rush Limbaugh Show” started on national syndication 33 years ago with only 56 radio stations and became, according to the program’s website, the most listened radio program in the United States and broadcast on more than 600 stations. Up to 27 million people tuned in weekly and Limbaugh lovingly referred to his passionate fans as “Dittoheads”, as they would often say “ditto” if they agreed with the iconic radio host.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.