Rush Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US First Lady Melania Trump in February 2020. Photo: ReutersProvocative and polarising US talk radio luminary Rush Limbaugh, a leading voice on the American political right since the 1980s, has died at age 70 after suffering from lung cancer. Detractors such as Democratic former Senator Al Franken - a former comedian who wrote a book titled "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" - criticised him as a divisive figure who distorted facts. Trump, a Republican, honoured Limbaugh a day after the radio star announced his cancer diagnosis. He promoted Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through widespread fraud and irregularities.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 17, 2021 23:48 UTC