June 9, 2021 • 51 mins
James Golden shares insight and never before heard backstory about President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union Address - the day after Rush Limbaugh announced his cancer diagnosis - when the President surprised Rush by awarding him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. Radio personality and Fox News host Sean Hannity joins James and shares intimate details of conversations behind the scenes that ultimately led to the award, in addition to heartfelt stories about his 30+ year friendship and admiration of Rush. This episode includes an appearance by television personality Megyn Kelly, who narrates a special biographical look at Rush Limbaugh’s meteoric rise as a nationally syndicated radio personality.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Two things are connected and will be connected to Russia's
diagnosis forever. He got the diagnosis, he told his staff
in the morning, as I said, and he broke the
news to his audience that afternoon, while all the audience
(00:23):
and the rest of us on the staff were still
in shock. There was a pleasant shock to come. I
first got wind of that pleasant shock that afternoon when
I got a call from my good friend Sean Hannity.
(00:43):
Sean told me that tonight was going to be a
special night. No matter what I did, I shouldn't miss
the President's State of the Union address. Of course, my
curiosity was piqued. What on earth would be happy and
on the State of the Union address that I wouldn't
want to miss. And after Sean's call, I started getting
(01:08):
other calls from some of my friends in d C.
One of them from Connie Hair, who was the chief
of staff for Congressman Louise Gombert, who was a very
very close friend of mine. And Connie said that something
special was going to happen tonight, and word was that
(01:29):
it would involve Rush, and that rumor was circulating all
over Washington, d C. Well, it didn't take long before
we all knew what was happening. The president State of
the Union was one that will never be forgotten. Rush
(01:53):
later said that there was more to this story then
he told his audience, and one day he would tell
us what that more was. Sadly, I don't think we'll
ever know. I don't think we'll ever know. Whether you
(02:14):
listened every day you are at the E I B
Network and the Russia Limbaugh Program, heard on over six
hundred great radio stations for every now and then nation's
leading radio talk show, the most eagerly intersepedient program. Are
the stories you've never heard from the people behind the
scenes who knew him best and loved him most. Rushman
Ball having more funt to the human being it could
(02:35):
be allowed to have Rush Limbaugh, the man behind the
Golden EP microphone, hosted by James Golden unforgettable. That's the
impression that you, the Russia Limbaugh audience made with your
support for Russia's last charitable effort while Rush was still
with us, through the stand Up for Betsy Ross campaign.
(02:59):
You're generosity resulted in a five million dollar donation to
the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Rush said it best. We
chose Tunnel to Towers to be the beneficiary of the
campaign because we love the work they do and the
story about how they started. When a family experiences significant
(03:20):
loss the mother or father passes while serving our country,
Tunnel to Towers steps in freeze that family of a
major worry during their time of crisis. Tunnel to Towers
pays off mortgages in full for these families and provides
them with the comfort of a home when their world
(03:42):
has literally been turned upside down. The foundation does the
same for first responders and also build smart homes for
our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. More heroes
need your help. Do good by donating eleven dollars a
month to Tunnel to Towers at T two T dot org.
(04:05):
That's the letter T, the number two, the letter T
dot org. He is the greatest fighter and winner. The
President's State of the Union, President Trump announced Rush that
Russia Limball was his guest for your decades of towers
(04:28):
devotion to our practice. They're sat Russia Lamball next to
his wife Katherine and on the other side the President's
wife Melanie. At Trump and President Trump went on to
praise Rush and say and the Medal of Freedom will
be awarded to Rush. You could see the sort of
(04:49):
surprise looker on Rush's face, because that announcement usually means
somewhere in the future, there's going to be a White
House ceremony. Rush would be invited to the White House
and the President would place the medal on Rush at
that point. But no, the President had something else in mine.
(05:09):
This Medal of Freedom was going to be awarded instantly.
Right there on the spot, he asked me, Lonny to
stand up, and presently was Now you see Rush really surprised,
and he turns and he puts his back toward the
first lady, and she puts the Medal of Freedom on Rush.
And I think that was the big surprise. I have
(05:29):
since learned that that Rush knew that he was going
to be invited. Of course, he knew he had he
had to get to Washington, d C. Let's go back.
Rush told the story. He's getting ready to start his treatment.
He's in the hospital where the testing is supposed to
begin imminently, and he gets a call from the President
(05:51):
of the United States, Donald Trump, asking if he can
come to Washington, d C. Well, no, Mr President, I can.
I'm about to start treatment. But Donald Trump was in existant.
You have to come, you have to be here. As
Rush related the story, he wasn't prepared. He had no
clothes with him for the occasion, and his wife Catherine
(06:15):
found him the right ensemble to wear that night, as
well as for herself. And there they are in the
capital on the State of the Union night, which is
the biggest night in Washington, d c. And not only
are they there, they're seated next to the First Lady
(06:35):
of the United States, which is the highest honor that
the president can bestow on anyone attending. That's the coveted
guest spot. But then Rush gets the Medal of Freedom.
Later on, as the accolades and the hysteria poured, and
(06:57):
the hysteria was for from the left. And I have
to tell you I enjoyed watching and reading all of it.
The left world, they were beside themselves. How dare this president?
How dare he give Russian Lumba the Medal of Freedom
but not just give him the Medal of freedom? How
dare he do it on this special night? Russia's fans,
(07:21):
millions and millions and millions of Americans applauded the president
for this. We have been wanting something like this for
Russia's entire career, for him to be recognized for the
work that he did in helping to shape American politics
and American culture. We and and his defensive freedom, his
(07:45):
defensive liberty, his defense of individualism, and American exceptionalism. We
were beside ourselves with joy on the very night that
we were feeling immense pain from this diagnosis. I later
(08:05):
thought to myself, only President Trump could do this. Only
President Trump could give Rush Limbaugh the highest civilian award
possible in America and make sure almost every elected Democrat
was forced to attend the ceremony. It was a beautiful moment.
(08:26):
I was at home watching TV when it happened, and
tears of joy, and that my phone was was going off.
Every other moment there was another alarm on my phone
from someone else texting. People were genuinely surprised, genuinely happy.
(08:46):
It was a celebratory night. The celebration was almost as
if we had won the election. That night. It was
just joyous among Rush fans all for the world, and
we all thanked President Trump for doing what I don't
(09:06):
think any other president would do, which was to recognize
publicly how important Rush was not just to Republican politics,
but to the politics of the American people. It was
a joyous celebration for Rush fans, one that we will
never forget. It was a once in a lifetime thing.
(09:28):
I it's uh, it's so special. And the President was
not gonna let me miss it. He was not going
to let me talk him or myself out of appearing
in the House Chamber that night. And it is. I
couldn't stop looking down at it the whole time that
(09:52):
I am, that I'm wearing it. It's just it's just beautiful.
Throughout this series, as you know, we've been taking you
on a biographical journey of Russia's life, narrated by some
of his colleagues and closest friends over the years. Today,
we're pleased to have with us another media giant, fearless, outspoken,
(10:14):
and a friend of Rush. Welcome Megan Kelly. The Life
of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter five, narrated by Megan Kelly In
A retired radio executive named Edward F. McLaughlin decided to
use his golden parachute from ABC Radio Networks to form
his own brand new talk radio network APT Lee titled
(10:36):
e FM Media. After meticulous planning for a successful launch,
McLaughlin knew he needed more than just a talented host,
but a force behind the mic, and cast a wide
net in his search. A hot tip led him out west,
where a thirty eight year old talk radio host was
burning up the airwaves of Sacramento, California. There are any
(10:58):
number of people Ed McLaughlin could have chosen, but I
fortunately met some people along the way after moving the
Sacramento that Ed McLaughlan knew and trusted implicitly, and when
he was looking unbeknownst to me, I don't know any
of this is going on. My name is in the
list of people he should look into. He could have
picked anybody. This was his guy, and McLaughlin made him
(11:20):
an offer leader described as impossible to turn down. Rush
Limbaugh created the capital of California for the bright lights
of the Big Apple. He relocated to New York City
and established first a local ten am to noon show
on w ABC Radio. Rush Limball in New York. Twenty
minutes after ten, back to the Falls would go, Vinny, Hello,
glad you're with us? Right that one of the California
(11:42):
seats names no no, I'm originally beach names in New York.
Limbaugh's early days were an unqualified success, even with the
challenge of a meddling program director who unsuccessfully tried to
get Rushed to change what would become his signature on
air style, Rush being Rush dug in and ultimately prevailed.
(12:02):
After his first shows on w ABC Radio went off
without a hitch. Rush's mentor and new boss, Ed McLaughlin
proudly recalled after hearing his first show, the quote I
knew he could handle it. Ed McLaughlin never wavered a
single time. He never asked me to tone it down,
to change things, to do whatever to accommodate this complaint
(12:23):
or that safe to say, Rush Limbaugh more than just
handled it. He crushed it. People credit me with this,
but I couldn't have done any of this if it
hadn't been for Ed McLaughlin. Ed McLaughlan saved M radio
by investing in it. Fast lane to nationwide syndication for
the Rush Limbaugh Show was just around the corner. It
(12:43):
really hit me how damn lucky I am and have been.
I try to never ever forget it. Hey, James Golden,
here you might remember I told you a few weeks
ago that My Pillow had sent me their entire collection. Well,
you know what, it's amazing. They are so luxurious, and
(13:05):
it's time that you experience some of that luxury. To
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I sleep on it every night. But you know what
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They're smooth, they're soft, they're comfortable. I look forward to
getting to bed every night under these sheets. Get yourself
(13:26):
a set of these. They're called Geeza sheets. They come
with a sixty day comfort guarantee. You get pillows, you
get sheets. Oh did I mention the slippers. They're incredible slippers.
There is a level of comfort from my Pillow products
that you simply have to experience. Longing to my pillow
dot com. Click on the new radio listener specials. Use
(13:49):
the promo code icon. That's I C O N. You'll
find lots of incredible office there right now. That's my
Pillow dot Com promo code icon. I have probably watched
almost every State of the Union address since I was
(14:12):
a child. Since I was as a child, I was
interested in politics, and politics was always a big deal
in our house, so I watched every State of the Union.
As I think about it, probably since Lyndon Johnson was
in office, I have never had the kind of reaction
(14:34):
that I had that night watching my guy, I'm my hero,
my boss, my friend, Rush Limbaugh receiving what I thought
was his just due, which was worldwide recognition for the good,
(14:55):
for the value that he had constructed with his increas
credible career. This was also bitter sweet because usually when
something big happens the next day, I couldn't wait to
run into the studio As soon as I got there.
(15:16):
Rush would usually be in the middle of the show prep.
But if it was something big, I didn't care. I
just go right in and start running my mouth up,
blurting or asking questions or whatever. This was different because
Rush wasn't there. We had a guest host. The next day.
Rush was back to treatment, and it would be a
few days before we saw Rush. So yeah, there was
some bitter sweet to it as well. But still the
(15:38):
fact remains. It will go down in history that Rush
Hudson Limbaugh the Third received the Medal of Freedom. I
was speaking with a friend earlier who is not a
political guy. He's he's very much not a political He's
a fellow broadcaster. And what he was telling me was,
(16:01):
you know, I I don't follow politics day to day,
but I do know this. My friend said, there are
two names that defined conservatism. One is Ronald Reagan and
the second one is Russia Limbaugh. Now think about that.
(16:22):
And Russ used to acknowledge this. He just and he
used to acknowledge it in such a almost self effacing way.
He used to say, I'm just a guy on the radio.
I'm just a guy on the radeo. But he was
so much more than that. He was a guy that
shaped American politics. He was the guy that defined what
(16:47):
being a conservative was from behind a microphone. He was
a guy that could talk policy, make that complex policy
understandable to millions of Americans who would then say, you
know what, that's what I believe. I'm with you, that's
what I think too. Those are my values you are describing.
(17:10):
And that is why that metal of freedom ultimately wound
up being placed right near Russia's heart, because he was
the heart of American conservatism. When we look out over
(17:31):
the United States of American, when we are anywhere, when
we see a group of people such as this or
anywhere we see Americans, we see human beings. We don't
see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people
we want to exploit what we see. What we see
(17:52):
is potential. We do not look out across the country
and see the average America, the person that makes this
country work. We do not see that person with contempt.
We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes.
We believe that person can be the best heat or
she wants to be if certain things are just removed
(18:13):
from their path, like onerous taxes, regulations, and too much government.
This is my pleasure to introduce Well, I don't have
(18:35):
to introduce him. Everybody in America knows who he is.
And I'm proud to say that he's a friend not
just of me, he's a friend of the russianan busshow
and everyone that works with russ Sean Hannity Shan. Before
I get into the what what I wanted to talk
with you about, which is the events leading up to
Rush being awarded the Medal of Freedom and your reaction
(18:56):
to all that. But before that, I want to tell
you a story. I ran into a gentleman about a
year ago black guy in his forties, and I ended
up hiring him to UH to do some work with
a group that I had founded. He was a broadcaster
(19:18):
at one point when he was very when he was
in his thirties, he started a broadcast career. He was
at a convention somewhere and there were or some gathering
where there were a bunch of well known broadcasters, and
he went seeking advice from these well known broadcasters. Every
single one except one gave him the cold shoulder. The
(19:42):
one person, he said, there was one guy who took
the time to kind of explain some of the points
of the business, give him advice on what he should
be doing and how he could grow in terms of
being a good broadcaster and also grow a show. And
he said he would never forget it. And I'm talking
(20:02):
to that guy right now, Sean Hannity, and this is
tobably consistent with the human being that you are. You know,
you have climbed to the heights of broadcasting both in
television and radio. You were a househole name did you
expect to become Sean Hannity. No, no, not, I'm laughing.
(20:23):
And I can actually I can refer back to a
conversation we had outside of a restaurant. Uh, it was
very early on after we first met. You know, did
I ever think I'd be success? No? Absolutely not. All
I knew James Golden is that the first time I
(20:46):
was for whatever reason, I was a kid and I
listened to radio and my parents they weren't coming in
my room that my and telling me to turn off
the TV. My parents would come in the room turn
that radio off. And in the early days of talk radio. Uh,
sometimes I'd be listening to baseball games because I was
a sports nut as a kid. And but then I
(21:09):
heard the great pioneers of the world and all different people,
all different perspectives, all different points of view, all different styles,
and and Rush was the one though that took it
to this whole other level. And the path was so
wide that he forged it created opportunities for all of
us that that came after him. You know, when I
(21:32):
really think back on it, thirty three years in radio
now and and twenty five years on Fox, I can
I can pinch myself, but I still have that same
feeling when that light went on that first day. I
don't know what happened, but stuff came flying out of
me because I had been so passionate listening to all
(21:55):
of these guys late into the night, and I love politics.
I just loved it. You know, it took me. It
takes everybody time to develop their own style and and
who they are in the type of show that they
want to do. Um. There's actually a scene in Howard
Stern's Private Parts where you know he's he's making the
(22:16):
rounds and traveling from market to market. And you start
out and you're like, and here's the check of the
weather here on wwww, hazy hot and human high now
seventy two degrees on wwww. I mean, we all sound
like idiots when we start, but because you in your head,
you're just trying to act like you're a broadcaster or
(22:37):
how a broadcaster should sound. The one thing that I
can tell you that is natural about broadcasting, and then
I don't want to talk about me that much anymore. UM,
is that for whatever reason, the minute the mic went on,
I instinctively knew it took energy. Like my kids would
say to me, Dad, why are you yelling? What? What?
(22:58):
What are you doing? And I never really thought about
it until they were pointing it out to me, but
we're all blessed to do it. And for those of
us that love it the way you do and I
do and Rush did, it's just it's innate in a
lot of ways. Yeah, And I just want to say
something else. Two, because what the energy that you talk about.
Not only is this common to radio, and everyone that
(23:21):
sat behind the Mic and Donna show knows that at
the end of a show where you have given it everything,
you're exhausted. But then, Sean, you go on to do
this five days a week and do television as well.
And television is not an easy gig. You don't just
sit there, open your mouth, run your mouth. And that's that. Know.
(23:43):
My my day starts very early, and I'm I'm flashing
ideas to both radio and TV all day long. And
and actually radio is a heart medium. You only get
to touch people's hearts. And people are going to determine
if you they can spot a phony a mile away.
But if you're being real and you're being yourself and
you're being sincere, they know that you're genuine. Rush was genuine.
(24:07):
I I just think eventually everybody's style begins to develop,
and then the more you can be your real authentic self,
the better you're gonna be. And that's Rush. I don't
think Rush ever was anything other than Rush. When did
you meet Rush? I met him. I don't know which
(24:28):
one was first. And I met him once when Rush
came to We had an event for our Atlanta affiliate
at Spring Training down in Florida for the Atlanta Braves,
and and he did a big event for this local
station back then that I was on. And then I
met him when I went up for the first time
(24:48):
to the seventeen floor Twopen Plaza, or the E. I
B Building as Rush would call it. And I just
happened to meet with him randomly at that point, and
he couldn't have been nicer. He knew who I was.
He had done promos for me, as you know, don't
forget Sean Hannity's on nine to Noon leading into me
(25:11):
at noon on the Russia Lambus Show, and it was,
you know, just cordial, nice professional. I saw how he worked.
He used to have this this sort of pen where
he would uh be able to cut out very quickly
articles and newspapers, kind of old style way of prepping
and one that I used even still today and just
(25:34):
couldn't have been nicer. And then then when I finally
got up to New York after Roger Als hired me
at Fox, then I got a job. I was on
late night on w ABC in New York and eleven
and two after TV, and then eventually a year later,
I got afternoon drive after Rush on his number one
affiliate and his flagship in New York. So I'd be
(25:57):
there doing my prep and I kind of like to
talk to everybody. It got me ready for the show.
And a lot of times I'd go in to say
hi to you guys, because we all became friendly pretty quickly.
And and I think you intimidated the daylights out of
me when I first met you, because I'd watch you
screen calls and while Rush was in in his studio
(26:19):
with his real golden he I be Mike, you were
in the control room, and I've never seen a show
behind a show like what you used to do, and
that is you would go to war with certain people
that would call in and and it was I was shocked.
I like, this is a whole other show. We should
be running this show with the Russia Lumbus show. It
(26:41):
was hilarious, and you and Joel Santista band used to
do a show together that was a big success on
w ABC, and it was just fun. I mean hanging
out with you guys. We'd all smoked cigars and you know,
just hang out, have fun. It was just a fun,
fun environment to be sound. And and I you know,
(27:03):
I feel blessed. I've been able to watch it unfold
and watch Russia's success, and you know, my studio was
next to his, and and then eventually you guys were
crazy enough to let me fill in, and you know
I got that opportunity, which was for radio, the opportunity
of a lifetime for me. Well, Sean, I was, I'm
gonna tell you what I told you then. Anyone that
(27:24):
really new radio could tell that you were going to
be huge in this business. You told me that at
the time, and I looked at you and I said,
you're crazy. Yeah, that's what I said to you. I
did not believe you. And I remember where we were.
We're on Second Avenue, Mimi's as the restaurant, and we
finished and you said, you know, your career is about
(27:46):
to take off like a rocket ship. Those were your
exact words. And I looked at you and I said
okay whatever. I was kind of rolling my eyes. I
never believed it. You want to know the truth, I
don't think I've done a show with my whole life, James,
where I didn't in the back of my mind think
it's possible it's my last show. That's amazing. I mean,
(28:07):
maybe that sounds crazy, but I I still at some
point I just kind of expected somebody would wake up
and say, Okay, we can do better than this guy.
Let me say something to you, because see, this is
what you have, this is what Rush had. It's you
just expressed something that I saw with Rush for the
(28:27):
entire time I was with him. He was always always
conscious of how in this industry you had to perform.
It wasn't about the show that you did yesterday. It's
about the show that you're going to do today, and
(28:47):
that show has to be badass, no matter and and
it's the same kind of hunger you know, like you,
I mean showing that the hours you put in are incredible,
The hours Rushed put in to doing his show incredible.
Anyone that achieves this level of success that Rush had,
(29:08):
that you have has to do the work. It doesn't
happen by us. Moses and it doesn't happen by accident.
You know, I I can't help it. You know, I've
actually said this on the air, and maybe Russia was
the same way. If if all of this were gone tomorrow,
(29:30):
and I probably would be the lunatic riding around in
my car for three hours doing my own talk show,
acting like the host and the callers and and talk
to myself. I mean, it is so ingrained in my
DNA to do this. I don't know what life without
(29:51):
it would be like. The you know, people that are
close to me asked me, well, why don't you take
off more one you go on vacation? Have you ever
been you know, we're we'reware have you traveled that. I'm like, oh,
I've traveled to Israel. I've traveled to Baghdad, Vietnam, Singapore, Helsinki, Uh,
(30:12):
England when President Trump was there. And they're like, no,
no, no no, where'd you go on vacation? And I'm like, um,
uh Florida, you know, and they, you know, and they
look at me like I'm insane, and I yeah, what
I like to one day go to New Zealand and Australia. Yeah,
but I kind of don't have the time to do it.
(30:33):
And it's not that I'm insecure to take off. It's
just that I this is what I do. I love
doing it. I don't I never know how much longer
you have to do it. You know. Russia's death, when
you and I have talked about this personally, it hit
us both hard because and I said it at the time,
(30:55):
is that I just can't it just I'm not I
haven't been able to fully absorb or comprehend that he's
not there every day because it's been such a powerful,
impactful voice for things that I am passionate about and
(31:16):
you're passionate about, and he was passionate about, but also
a leader of You know, everybody has different talents, and
I think Russia's unique talent was whatever the issue happened
to be, he was gonna he would find a take
on it that nobody else could ever think of. That's
(31:39):
exactly right, it was. It's a gift and day after day,
day after day, show after show, the same thing every day,
and it's just amazing. And I remember there be times
I'd be listen to him like why didn't I think
of that? You know, And but it was just also
pure or entertainment. You know, our industry has changed quite
(32:03):
a bit. There is there is certainly a chilling environment
that we all work in because there's an entire industry
now cancel culture. Russia has been living in cancel lived
in cancel cultures whole career. I've lived with cancel culture
my whole career. You know, we we we've known from
day one that there are groups of people that are
(32:24):
mobilized and finance that record every word we say and
attack us and and try and and boycott us or
try and get us fired if we say one thing
that they don't like or deem over the line or
whatever it happens to be. But it but it's very real.
(32:45):
And it's almost like all of a sudden, now societies
catching up to what conservatives the bubble we've been living
in forever. I think this is going to go to
the point that the pendulum is going to start to
swing the other way. Though I agree, I agree completely, Sean.
I was in my garage and I get a phone
call and and and my phone Sean Hannity. Okay, and
(33:08):
Sean Hannity says to me, listen, I don't know what
your plans are tonight. I don't know what you're doing,
but whatever you're doing, you have to watch President Trump's
Addressed to the Nation tonight. And I can't tell you why,
but you have to watch it. True story. Yeah, And
I'm like, wow, I called you, I called Cookie, Uh,
(33:28):
everybody that needed to know. I said, do not miss it.
In other words, I didn't want you to miss it live.
And this is the Medal of Freedom. Rush Limball. Thank
you for your decades devotion to m m M M
(34:07):
m m M and Rush. In recognition of all that
you have done for our nation, the millions of people
a day that you speak to and that you inspire,
and all of the incredible work that you have done
for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you
(34:30):
will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom. I will now ask the First Lady
of the United States to present you with the honor. Please.
(35:08):
That was one of the most incredible nights for all
of us that love Rush and that wished and it
hoped for years that he would get the sort of
acknowledgement in that venue that he deserved, and it was incredible.
Now I have, and I want to put you on
the spot here, but don't feel compelled to answer this question.
(35:31):
A source close to the president that I spoke with
recently told me that the very first person that suggested
to the President Russi Lambas should receive some sort of honor,
like this was you. Russia's diagnosis um that day. Now,
(35:57):
Russia's Brother's been my my age an attorney everybody knows
for thirty years. I mean, because I didn't know anyone
else that knew anything about radio, and somebody said, well,
Russia's brother is a lawyer, asked him, and it just
turned out for the first few contracts he ever did,
he never charged me a penny because I wasn't making
any money anyway, and it just turned out to be
(36:17):
a lifelong friendship with his brother David, who I love,
and his whole family, and so he gave me a
little bit of a head's up. He had promised everybody,
especially his brother, that he wasn't gonna tell anybody, and
he kept his word. But he knew that rush the
day that he announced that he had advanced stage four
(36:40):
lung cancer, that I was coming on right after, and
he didn't want me to be totally blindsided. So maybe
five minutes before Rush announced it, he calls me, and
so I stopped what I was doing, and yeah, I
(37:01):
usually try to prepare and quiet because I just I
just need to think what before I'm doing my show,
especially fifteen minutes before and you know, I heard Rush
make the announcement. I'm upset. Levin's on the phone with me.
He's upset, and we you know, we're devastated. We're not stupid.
(37:21):
We all know what's stage four advanced stage four lung
cancer is. And so but I listened very closely. And
the next thing, I picked my head up, and it's
three oh five, and I'm cracking this mic open in
a minute, and I'm like, oh my gosh, how do
I handle this? And then I'll tell you what I thought.
(37:41):
I said, I just heard somebody stoically, amazingly, courageously, you know,
talk about the most difficult aspect of this life, which
is illness. And you know, one day we're all gonna
meet that moment. And and I said, okay, I gotta
(38:06):
keep that. Keep that he was. He was stoic, he
was courageous, and he was honest. It wasn't long after that,
I got a call from Matt Drudge and he goes,
I need, I need you to do something. I said, sure,
what do you want? And he loves he loved Rush,
as we all know they were, they were good friends,
(38:28):
and he he said, the President really needs to honor him,
but he needs to do it soon before Rush has
to go through his treatment. So it was, you know,
I called him and I said, I said, would you consider?
I just talked to Matt and Matt said he talked
to others around the president and I just would you
(38:52):
consider doing this? And immediately said that's a great idea,
And there were people around him I won't mention and
who what do you think of this? Wouldn't that be cool?
That's what he said. And it was that quick. And
then the day before I called you, I got a
call back from the White House saying that it was
(39:13):
going to happen that night and that Milanni was going
to put it on. She was going to give him
the Medal of Freedom. I know that it meant the
world to him, and really, the only guy that would
ever have the guts to do that is a guy
like Donald Trump, and I admire him for it, but
it was his decision completely and he didn't spend more
than a minute thinking about it. That's the whole story.
(39:34):
That's an incredible story. And thank you and and thank
Matt Drudge, and thank all of the people around the
president who also advocated for that, because it was truly
one of the most special days that Rush listeners, Rush
fans ever had. And so I'm glad that you were
(39:56):
able to share that with us and that you did that.
It's the only thing I've ever I ever, I made
a rule that because everybody that writes about my relationship
with Donald Trump is always wrong, they have no idea.
More than anything else, we had developed a friendship over
twenty five years. But I made a promise to him
(40:16):
and to myself, I'm not I don't want anything from him.
That he's going to serve the country, And if he's
advocating for these policies that I believe with all my heart,
mind and soul work, then I'm gonna I only want
to help that cause. And and I think he did
a phenomenal job. I believe that as well. Me too,
(40:38):
not sure. And you said you wanted to mention something
about Russia's final year, So look, I don't know if
you did what I did. I assume you probably did,
and you know what did I do? Immediately? I'm just
researching like a maniac, you know, advanced stage four long.
(40:58):
I didn't have all the facts, nor that I ever
dare ask the question of what specific type of cancer
that he had, But it didn't take long for me
to realize that this he was in for a really
uphill fight. He knew it too. You knew it as well,
and I'd known it long before he even began his
(41:21):
treatment because I'd seen it in my life. I knew
we all know people that have had cancer treatments, as
you know. And the the one thing I realize, uh,
this is this is going to be a rough year.
This is gonna be a rough time. And I knew
(41:41):
the treatment that he would be receiving, even the most
advanced medicines and experimental medicines, they have killed you to
try and save you, or at least to buy you
more time. And what blew me away about Russia's last
year is he fought like how because you're in You're
(42:05):
in nothing but utter agony and exhausted beyond explanation. Because
I have friends that have been through all of this.
You go over, you visit them, they could barely lift
their hand up there, so tired and wiped out from
the treatment. And he went through that for that year.
So that and I think he knew the whole time
(42:26):
that he was buying time. My my guesses based on
the things that I gleaned from what he said, is
he really didn't think he'd be around for the election.
I almost feel like he willed himself to beyond the
election because he cared so much about the country. But
all of those treatments that he took were if if
(42:51):
we have bucket lists, we now know what Russia's bucket
list was. That he would go through hell, try and
get strong enough just to do the things he wants
to do. What was the thing he wanted to do.
He wanted to get back on the air. He would
take all the all of the all of these harsh treatments,
(43:12):
get just barely strong enough to get through a show.
And that was his bucket list, right, That's what he loved.
He loved his audience, he loved his craft, he loved
his profession. Absolutely, It's what made him the greatest of
all time. And Sean, I want to say something about
extraordinary beyond words as well, and everything that you said ditto, ditto. Right.
(43:39):
I wanna, I wanna, And you've been very generous with
you time, and I want to leave you with this.
During that entire period, I would get calls from Sean
Hannity wanting to know how we were. I wanted to
know how everyone was, and Sean. I revealed to Sean
that my mom was also fading at the same time
(44:00):
Rush was, and I got calls almost what what a
what a week? What a week you had? Almost every
single night the phone You're ringing it with showing I'm
just checking in. I want to know how you're doing.
I don't know how everything is. How are you feeling?
What's going on? Can I do anything for you? Yes?
Showing your friend you You're an amazing friend. You're an
(44:22):
amazing friend to all of us. Every time you would
come down to the Southern Command, um, it was with
with your crew, with your people. It was almost like
it was a big family reunion between us. We are
like one big family, weren't there. Weren't those days fun?
They were just so much fun, all right. When I'd
go down and I'd give Rush the hour on TV.
(44:44):
By the way, it's such a hard interview. Rush, what
do you think about this? And that's it. Okay, we'll
take a break, we'll come right back. It's like there's
only three people that I interviewed that way, Rush and Levin. Now,
don't interrupt me. I'm about to say something. I mean finish,
um uh and and President Trump and man, but I mean,
(45:10):
you guys would like lay out a spread of food
and I'm like, guys, I'm not eating all of this
crap danishes and breakfast and whatever. You're all I have.
And and Rush would come out, oh do you have
the new iPhone? Twelve years? Five of them? Um? But
he uh, those were special days. I especially if we
(45:32):
can do it again, don't don't you know. It's sort
of like Garth Brooks has a song if Tomorrow Never Comes.
You know, It's it's about a dad and staring over
his young daughter. But you know, now thinking back, all
of it was special. Everything that he did. We had
(45:53):
really special times and I feel so blessed though. That's
the thing along with the sadness is the gratitude and
I have. And that's where I was going with this. Sean.
You know, you, you learn who your true friends are
in your life. God always has a way of revealing
who your real friends are. And so I want to
end this by not only thanking you for your time,
(46:16):
but thank you for being such a beautiful human being
and a beautiful friend to me and to everybody on
the e I B. Staff. It is. It is mutual,
it really is. And uh, you're right, I have I
have a very very deep gratitude two all of you,
(46:37):
including especially you. You and I had a very special
bond and we still do. And I will tell you
some of the calls you know after Rush past. Uh,
it killed me because I knew you were crushed and
then then you lost your mom what three days later?
Three days later? And that's what I mean. You want
(46:58):
to talk about a punch in a gut and a
bat to the head. That's it. And you know, and
you're very stoic, like Rush, tough as nails, But you know,
like The Road Less Traveled is a great book and
it says life is difficult, nobody has it easy, and
(47:20):
this was a very hard time. But on the other hand,
like you, I'm so grateful for your friendship, Russia's friendship,
and for everybody that you know I've I've gotten to
know on my our journey together, all of us, and
I just want his audience to know this. He loved them.
(47:42):
You were his bucket list, and you know, uh, that's
that's pretty special. I want to I don't get a
little personal here. You know, this is the time of
year where I often become the most reflective and thankful
(48:04):
for all of the blessings that I have had my
entire life, and the blessings that I have had obviously
extend to my family, the people who work and have
worked here at the E. I B Network. Every year
(48:27):
about this time we got the Top fifty list, the
Top ten lists, that this or that, the best cars,
the best movies, whatever, the most influential in the media,
the most influential here and the most of them. But
there's always a group left out, and it's you. You know,
the most influential audience in all of media is right
(48:52):
here on this program, hands down, no contest, because without you,
none of any thing that happens here would have happened.
It would be all academic if it weren't for you.
I cannot thank you enough. I'm so humbled by it
and blown away by it that I so, as far
(49:14):
as I'm concerned, you're at your tops. And I would
have to include in this all of the great radio
stations to make it possible for all of you to
listen to be part of this audience. And cannot express
my gratitude and for all of me and my family
as well. So thank you again. You are the most
(49:34):
influential audience in all of media. Special thanks to my
very dear friend, truly one of the good guys, Sean
Hannity for sharing some great stories about his perspective on
(49:55):
the life of Russian and ball. On our next episode,
we'll take a closer look at the RSSIA Limba that
very few people actually knew about. As much as he
did for charity on the air, you may not believe
how many things he quietly did for others behind the scenes,
away from the microphone, out of the spotlight. Russia's kindness
is the topic of our next episode. Rush Limbaugh, The
(50:18):
Man behind the Golden e I B Microphone is produced
by Chris Kelly and Phil Tower, the best producers in America.
Production assistance Mike Mamone and the executive producers Craig Kitchen
and Julie Talbot our program distributed worldwide by Premier Networks.
Found on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you
(50:39):
listen to your favorite podcast. This is James Golden. This
is both Snerdley, This is James Golden. I'm honored to
be your host for this in every single episode of Russia. Limbaugh,
the man behind the Golden E I B microphone, thank
you for being with us.
Two things are connected and will be connected to Russia's
diagnosis forever. He got the diagnosis, he told his staff
in the morning, as I said, and he broke the
news to his audience that afternoon, while all the audience
(00:23):
and the rest of us on the staff were still
in shock. There was a pleasant shock to come. I
first got wind of that pleasant shock that afternoon when
I got a call from my good friend Sean Hannity.
(00:43):
Sean told me that tonight was going to be a
special night. No matter what I did, I shouldn't miss
the President's State of the Union address. Of course, my
curiosity was piqued. What on earth would be happy and
on the State of the Union address that I wouldn't
want to miss. And after Sean's call, I started getting
(01:08):
other calls from some of my friends in d C.
One of them from Connie Hair, who was the chief
of staff for Congressman Louise Gombert, who was a very
very close friend of mine. And Connie said that something
special was going to happen tonight, and word was that
(01:29):
it would involve Rush, and that rumor was circulating all
over Washington, d C. Well, it didn't take long before
we all knew what was happening. The president State of
the Union was one that will never be forgotten. Rush
(01:53):
later said that there was more to this story then
he told his audience, and one day he would tell
us what that more was. Sadly, I don't think we'll
ever know. I don't think we'll ever know. Whether you
(02:14):
listened every day you are at the E I B
Network and the Russia Limbaugh Program, heard on over six
hundred great radio stations for every now and then nation's
leading radio talk show, the most eagerly intersepedient program. Are
the stories you've never heard from the people behind the
scenes who knew him best and loved him most. Rushman
Ball having more funt to the human being it could
(02:35):
be allowed to have Rush Limbaugh, the man behind the
Golden EP microphone, hosted by James Golden unforgettable. That's the
impression that you, the Russia Limbaugh audience made with your
support for Russia's last charitable effort while Rush was still
with us, through the stand Up for Betsy Ross campaign.
(02:59):
You're generosity resulted in a five million dollar donation to
the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Rush said it best. We
chose Tunnel to Towers to be the beneficiary of the
campaign because we love the work they do and the
story about how they started. When a family experiences significant
(03:20):
loss the mother or father passes while serving our country,
Tunnel to Towers steps in freeze that family of a
major worry during their time of crisis. Tunnel to Towers
pays off mortgages in full for these families and provides
them with the comfort of a home when their world
(03:42):
has literally been turned upside down. The foundation does the
same for first responders and also build smart homes for
our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. More heroes
need your help. Do good by donating eleven dollars a
month to Tunnel to Towers at T two T dot org.
(04:05):
That's the letter T, the number two, the letter T
dot org. He is the greatest fighter and winner. The
President's State of the Union, President Trump announced Rush that
Russia Limball was his guest for your decades of towers
(04:28):
devotion to our practice. They're sat Russia Lamball next to
his wife Katherine and on the other side the President's
wife Melanie. At Trump and President Trump went on to
praise Rush and say and the Medal of Freedom will
be awarded to Rush. You could see the sort of
(04:49):
surprise looker on Rush's face, because that announcement usually means
somewhere in the future, there's going to be a White
House ceremony. Rush would be invited to the White House
and the President would place the medal on Rush at
that point. But no, the President had something else in mine.
(05:09):
This Medal of Freedom was going to be awarded instantly.
Right there on the spot, he asked me, Lonny to
stand up, and presently was Now you see Rush really surprised,
and he turns and he puts his back toward the
first lady, and she puts the Medal of Freedom on Rush.
And I think that was the big surprise. I have
(05:29):
since learned that that Rush knew that he was going
to be invited. Of course, he knew he had he
had to get to Washington, d C. Let's go back.
Rush told the story. He's getting ready to start his treatment.
He's in the hospital where the testing is supposed to
begin imminently, and he gets a call from the President
(05:51):
of the United States, Donald Trump, asking if he can
come to Washington, d C. Well, no, Mr President, I can.
I'm about to start treatment. But Donald Trump was in existant.
You have to come, you have to be here. As
Rush related the story, he wasn't prepared. He had no
clothes with him for the occasion, and his wife Catherine
(06:15):
found him the right ensemble to wear that night, as
well as for herself. And there they are in the
capital on the State of the Union night, which is
the biggest night in Washington, d c. And not only
are they there, they're seated next to the First Lady
(06:35):
of the United States, which is the highest honor that
the president can bestow on anyone attending. That's the coveted
guest spot. But then Rush gets the Medal of Freedom.
Later on, as the accolades and the hysteria poured, and
(06:57):
the hysteria was for from the left. And I have
to tell you I enjoyed watching and reading all of it.
The left world, they were beside themselves. How dare this president?
How dare he give Russian Lumba the Medal of Freedom
but not just give him the Medal of freedom? How
dare he do it on this special night? Russia's fans,
(07:21):
millions and millions and millions of Americans applauded the president
for this. We have been wanting something like this for
Russia's entire career, for him to be recognized for the
work that he did in helping to shape American politics
and American culture. We and and his defensive freedom, his
(07:45):
defensive liberty, his defense of individualism, and American exceptionalism. We
were beside ourselves with joy on the very night that
we were feeling immense pain from this diagnosis. I later
(08:05):
thought to myself, only President Trump could do this. Only
President Trump could give Rush Limbaugh the highest civilian award
possible in America and make sure almost every elected Democrat
was forced to attend the ceremony. It was a beautiful moment.
(08:26):
I was at home watching TV when it happened, and
tears of joy, and that my phone was was going off.
Every other moment there was another alarm on my phone
from someone else texting. People were genuinely surprised, genuinely happy.
(08:46):
It was a celebratory night. The celebration was almost as
if we had won the election. That night. It was
just joyous among Rush fans all for the world, and
we all thanked President Trump for doing what I don't
(09:06):
think any other president would do, which was to recognize
publicly how important Rush was not just to Republican politics,
but to the politics of the American people. It was
a joyous celebration for Rush fans, one that we will
never forget. It was a once in a lifetime thing.
(09:28):
I it's uh, it's so special. And the President was
not gonna let me miss it. He was not going
to let me talk him or myself out of appearing
in the House Chamber that night. And it is. I
couldn't stop looking down at it the whole time that
(09:52):
I am, that I'm wearing it. It's just it's just beautiful.
Throughout this series, as you know, we've been taking you
on a biographical journey of Russia's life, narrated by some
of his colleagues and closest friends over the years. Today,
we're pleased to have with us another media giant, fearless, outspoken,
(10:14):
and a friend of Rush. Welcome Megan Kelly. The Life
of Rush Limbaugh, Chapter five, narrated by Megan Kelly In
A retired radio executive named Edward F. McLaughlin decided to
use his golden parachute from ABC Radio Networks to form
his own brand new talk radio network APT Lee titled
(10:36):
e FM Media. After meticulous planning for a successful launch,
McLaughlin knew he needed more than just a talented host,
but a force behind the mic, and cast a wide
net in his search. A hot tip led him out west,
where a thirty eight year old talk radio host was
burning up the airwaves of Sacramento, California. There are any
(10:58):
number of people Ed McLaughlin could have chosen, but I
fortunately met some people along the way after moving the
Sacramento that Ed McLaughlan knew and trusted implicitly, and when
he was looking unbeknownst to me, I don't know any
of this is going on. My name is in the
list of people he should look into. He could have
picked anybody. This was his guy, and McLaughlin made him
(11:20):
an offer leader described as impossible to turn down. Rush
Limbaugh created the capital of California for the bright lights
of the Big Apple. He relocated to New York City
and established first a local ten am to noon show
on w ABC Radio. Rush Limball in New York. Twenty
minutes after ten, back to the Falls would go, Vinny, Hello,
glad you're with us? Right that one of the California
(11:42):
seats names no no, I'm originally beach names in New York.
Limbaugh's early days were an unqualified success, even with the
challenge of a meddling program director who unsuccessfully tried to
get Rushed to change what would become his signature on
air style, Rush being Rush dug in and ultimately prevailed.
(12:02):
After his first shows on w ABC Radio went off
without a hitch. Rush's mentor and new boss, Ed McLaughlin
proudly recalled after hearing his first show, the quote I
knew he could handle it. Ed McLaughlin never wavered a
single time. He never asked me to tone it down,
to change things, to do whatever to accommodate this complaint
(12:23):
or that safe to say, Rush Limbaugh more than just
handled it. He crushed it. People credit me with this,
but I couldn't have done any of this if it
hadn't been for Ed McLaughlin. Ed McLaughlan saved M radio
by investing in it. Fast lane to nationwide syndication for
the Rush Limbaugh Show was just around the corner. It
(12:43):
really hit me how damn lucky I am and have been.
I try to never ever forget it. Hey, James Golden,
here you might remember I told you a few weeks
ago that My Pillow had sent me their entire collection. Well,
you know what, it's amazing. They are so luxurious, and
(13:05):
it's time that you experience some of that luxury. To
my Pillow makes more than pillows. I love the pillow.
I sleep on it every night. But you know what
else they have. They have sheets that are simply incredible.
They're smooth, they're soft, they're comfortable. I look forward to
getting to bed every night under these sheets. Get yourself
(13:26):
a set of these. They're called Geeza sheets. They come
with a sixty day comfort guarantee. You get pillows, you
get sheets. Oh did I mention the slippers. They're incredible slippers.
There is a level of comfort from my Pillow products
that you simply have to experience. Longing to my pillow
dot com. Click on the new radio listener specials. Use
(13:49):
the promo code icon. That's I C O N. You'll
find lots of incredible office there right now. That's my
Pillow dot Com promo code icon. I have probably watched
almost every State of the Union address since I was
(14:12):
a child. Since I was as a child, I was
interested in politics, and politics was always a big deal
in our house, so I watched every State of the Union.
As I think about it, probably since Lyndon Johnson was
in office, I have never had the kind of reaction
(14:34):
that I had that night watching my guy, I'm my hero,
my boss, my friend, Rush Limbaugh receiving what I thought
was his just due, which was worldwide recognition for the good,
(14:55):
for the value that he had constructed with his increas
credible career. This was also bitter sweet because usually when
something big happens the next day, I couldn't wait to
run into the studio As soon as I got there.
(15:16):
Rush would usually be in the middle of the show prep.
But if it was something big, I didn't care. I
just go right in and start running my mouth up,
blurting or asking questions or whatever. This was different because
Rush wasn't there. We had a guest host. The next day.
Rush was back to treatment, and it would be a
few days before we saw Rush. So yeah, there was
some bitter sweet to it as well. But still the
(15:38):
fact remains. It will go down in history that Rush
Hudson Limbaugh the Third received the Medal of Freedom. I
was speaking with a friend earlier who is not a
political guy. He's he's very much not a political He's
a fellow broadcaster. And what he was telling me was,
(16:01):
you know, I I don't follow politics day to day,
but I do know this. My friend said, there are
two names that defined conservatism. One is Ronald Reagan and
the second one is Russia Limbaugh. Now think about that.
(16:22):
And Russ used to acknowledge this. He just and he
used to acknowledge it in such a almost self effacing way.
He used to say, I'm just a guy on the radio.
I'm just a guy on the radeo. But he was
so much more than that. He was a guy that
shaped American politics. He was the guy that defined what
(16:47):
being a conservative was from behind a microphone. He was
a guy that could talk policy, make that complex policy
understandable to millions of Americans who would then say, you
know what, that's what I believe. I'm with you, that's
what I think too. Those are my values you are describing.
(17:10):
And that is why that metal of freedom ultimately wound
up being placed right near Russia's heart, because he was
the heart of American conservatism. When we look out over
(17:31):
the United States of American, when we are anywhere, when
we see a group of people such as this or
anywhere we see Americans, we see human beings. We don't
see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people
we want to exploit what we see. What we see
(17:52):
is potential. We do not look out across the country
and see the average America, the person that makes this
country work. We do not see that person with contempt.
We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes.
We believe that person can be the best heat or
she wants to be if certain things are just removed
(18:13):
from their path, like onerous taxes, regulations, and too much government.
This is my pleasure to introduce Well, I don't have
(18:35):
to introduce him. Everybody in America knows who he is.
And I'm proud to say that he's a friend not
just of me, he's a friend of the russianan busshow
and everyone that works with russ Sean Hannity Shan. Before
I get into the what what I wanted to talk
with you about, which is the events leading up to
Rush being awarded the Medal of Freedom and your reaction
(18:56):
to all that. But before that, I want to tell
you a story. I ran into a gentleman about a
year ago black guy in his forties, and I ended
up hiring him to UH to do some work with
a group that I had founded. He was a broadcaster
(19:18):
at one point when he was very when he was
in his thirties, he started a broadcast career. He was
at a convention somewhere and there were or some gathering
where there were a bunch of well known broadcasters, and
he went seeking advice from these well known broadcasters. Every
single one except one gave him the cold shoulder. The
(19:42):
one person, he said, there was one guy who took
the time to kind of explain some of the points
of the business, give him advice on what he should
be doing and how he could grow in terms of
being a good broadcaster and also grow a show. And
he said he would never forget it. And I'm talking
(20:02):
to that guy right now, Sean Hannity, and this is
tobably consistent with the human being that you are. You know,
you have climbed to the heights of broadcasting both in
television and radio. You were a househole name did you
expect to become Sean Hannity. No, no, not, I'm laughing.
(20:23):
And I can actually I can refer back to a
conversation we had outside of a restaurant. Uh, it was
very early on after we first met. You know, did
I ever think I'd be success? No? Absolutely not. All
I knew James Golden is that the first time I
(20:46):
was for whatever reason, I was a kid and I
listened to radio and my parents they weren't coming in
my room that my and telling me to turn off
the TV. My parents would come in the room turn
that radio off. And in the early days of talk radio. Uh,
sometimes I'd be listening to baseball games because I was
a sports nut as a kid. And but then I
(21:09):
heard the great pioneers of the world and all different people,
all different perspectives, all different points of view, all different styles,
and and Rush was the one though that took it
to this whole other level. And the path was so
wide that he forged it created opportunities for all of
us that that came after him. You know, when I
(21:32):
really think back on it, thirty three years in radio
now and and twenty five years on Fox, I can
I can pinch myself, but I still have that same
feeling when that light went on that first day. I
don't know what happened, but stuff came flying out of
me because I had been so passionate listening to all
(21:55):
of these guys late into the night, and I love politics.
I just loved it. You know, it took me. It
takes everybody time to develop their own style and and
who they are in the type of show that they
want to do. Um. There's actually a scene in Howard
Stern's Private Parts where you know he's he's making the
(22:16):
rounds and traveling from market to market. And you start
out and you're like, and here's the check of the
weather here on wwww, hazy hot and human high now
seventy two degrees on wwww. I mean, we all sound
like idiots when we start, but because you in your head,
you're just trying to act like you're a broadcaster or
(22:37):
how a broadcaster should sound. The one thing that I
can tell you that is natural about broadcasting, and then
I don't want to talk about me that much anymore. UM,
is that for whatever reason, the minute the mic went on,
I instinctively knew it took energy. Like my kids would
say to me, Dad, why are you yelling? What? What?
(22:58):
What are you doing? And I never really thought about
it until they were pointing it out to me, but
we're all blessed to do it. And for those of
us that love it the way you do and I
do and Rush did, it's just it's innate in a
lot of ways. Yeah, And I just want to say
something else. Two, because what the energy that you talk about.
Not only is this common to radio, and everyone that
(23:21):
sat behind the Mic and Donna show knows that at
the end of a show where you have given it everything,
you're exhausted. But then, Sean, you go on to do
this five days a week and do television as well.
And television is not an easy gig. You don't just
sit there, open your mouth, run your mouth. And that's that. Know.
(23:43):
My my day starts very early, and I'm I'm flashing
ideas to both radio and TV all day long. And
and actually radio is a heart medium. You only get
to touch people's hearts. And people are going to determine
if you they can spot a phony a mile away.
But if you're being real and you're being yourself and
you're being sincere, they know that you're genuine. Rush was genuine.
(24:07):
I I just think eventually everybody's style begins to develop,
and then the more you can be your real authentic self,
the better you're gonna be. And that's Rush. I don't
think Rush ever was anything other than Rush. When did
you meet Rush? I met him. I don't know which
(24:28):
one was first. And I met him once when Rush
came to We had an event for our Atlanta affiliate
at Spring Training down in Florida for the Atlanta Braves,
and and he did a big event for this local
station back then that I was on. And then I
met him when I went up for the first time
(24:48):
to the seventeen floor Twopen Plaza, or the E. I
B Building as Rush would call it. And I just
happened to meet with him randomly at that point, and
he couldn't have been nicer. He knew who I was.
He had done promos for me, as you know, don't
forget Sean Hannity's on nine to Noon leading into me
(25:11):
at noon on the Russia Lambus Show, and it was,
you know, just cordial, nice professional. I saw how he worked.
He used to have this this sort of pen where
he would uh be able to cut out very quickly
articles and newspapers, kind of old style way of prepping
and one that I used even still today and just
(25:34):
couldn't have been nicer. And then then when I finally
got up to New York after Roger Als hired me
at Fox, then I got a job. I was on
late night on w ABC in New York and eleven
and two after TV, and then eventually a year later,
I got afternoon drive after Rush on his number one
affiliate and his flagship in New York. So I'd be
(25:57):
there doing my prep and I kind of like to
talk to everybody. It got me ready for the show.
And a lot of times I'd go in to say
hi to you guys, because we all became friendly pretty quickly.
And and I think you intimidated the daylights out of
me when I first met you, because I'd watch you
screen calls and while Rush was in in his studio
(26:19):
with his real golden he I be Mike, you were
in the control room, and I've never seen a show
behind a show like what you used to do, and
that is you would go to war with certain people
that would call in and and it was I was shocked.
I like, this is a whole other show. We should
be running this show with the Russia Lumbus show. It
(26:41):
was hilarious, and you and Joel Santista band used to
do a show together that was a big success on
w ABC, and it was just fun. I mean hanging
out with you guys. We'd all smoked cigars and you know,
just hang out, have fun. It was just a fun,
fun environment to be sound. And and I you know,
(27:03):
I feel blessed. I've been able to watch it unfold
and watch Russia's success, and you know, my studio was
next to his, and and then eventually you guys were
crazy enough to let me fill in, and you know
I got that opportunity, which was for radio, the opportunity
of a lifetime for me. Well, Sean, I was, I'm
gonna tell you what I told you then. Anyone that
(27:24):
really new radio could tell that you were going to
be huge in this business. You told me that at
the time, and I looked at you and I said,
you're crazy. Yeah, that's what I said to you. I
did not believe you. And I remember where we were.
We're on Second Avenue, Mimi's as the restaurant, and we
finished and you said, you know, your career is about
(27:46):
to take off like a rocket ship. Those were your
exact words. And I looked at you and I said
okay whatever. I was kind of rolling my eyes. I
never believed it. You want to know the truth, I
don't think I've done a show with my whole life, James,
where I didn't in the back of my mind think
it's possible it's my last show. That's amazing. I mean,
(28:07):
maybe that sounds crazy, but I I still at some
point I just kind of expected somebody would wake up
and say, Okay, we can do better than this guy.
Let me say something to you, because see, this is
what you have, this is what Rush had. It's you
just expressed something that I saw with Rush for the
(28:27):
entire time I was with him. He was always always
conscious of how in this industry you had to perform.
It wasn't about the show that you did yesterday. It's
about the show that you're going to do today, and
(28:47):
that show has to be badass, no matter and and
it's the same kind of hunger you know, like you,
I mean showing that the hours you put in are incredible,
The hours Rushed put in to doing his show incredible.
Anyone that achieves this level of success that Rush had,
(29:08):
that you have has to do the work. It doesn't
happen by us. Moses and it doesn't happen by accident.
You know, I I can't help it. You know, I've
actually said this on the air, and maybe Russia was
the same way. If if all of this were gone tomorrow,
(29:30):
and I probably would be the lunatic riding around in
my car for three hours doing my own talk show,
acting like the host and the callers and and talk
to myself. I mean, it is so ingrained in my
DNA to do this. I don't know what life without
(29:51):
it would be like. The you know, people that are
close to me asked me, well, why don't you take
off more one you go on vacation? Have you ever
been you know, we're we'reware have you traveled that. I'm like, oh,
I've traveled to Israel. I've traveled to Baghdad, Vietnam, Singapore, Helsinki, Uh,
(30:12):
England when President Trump was there. And they're like, no,
no, no no, where'd you go on vacation? And I'm like, um,
uh Florida, you know, and they, you know, and they
look at me like I'm insane, and I yeah, what
I like to one day go to New Zealand and Australia. Yeah,
but I kind of don't have the time to do it.
(30:33):
And it's not that I'm insecure to take off. It's
just that I this is what I do. I love
doing it. I don't I never know how much longer
you have to do it. You know. Russia's death, when
you and I have talked about this personally, it hit
us both hard because and I said it at the time,
(30:55):
is that I just can't it just I'm not I
haven't been able to fully absorb or comprehend that he's
not there every day because it's been such a powerful,
impactful voice for things that I am passionate about and
(31:16):
you're passionate about, and he was passionate about, but also
a leader of You know, everybody has different talents, and
I think Russia's unique talent was whatever the issue happened
to be, he was gonna he would find a take
on it that nobody else could ever think of. That's
(31:39):
exactly right, it was. It's a gift and day after day,
day after day, show after show, the same thing every day,
and it's just amazing. And I remember there be times
I'd be listen to him like why didn't I think
of that? You know, And but it was just also
pure or entertainment. You know, our industry has changed quite
(32:03):
a bit. There is there is certainly a chilling environment
that we all work in because there's an entire industry
now cancel culture. Russia has been living in cancel lived
in cancel cultures whole career. I've lived with cancel culture
my whole career. You know, we we we've known from
day one that there are groups of people that are
(32:24):
mobilized and finance that record every word we say and
attack us and and try and and boycott us or
try and get us fired if we say one thing
that they don't like or deem over the line or
whatever it happens to be. But it but it's very real.
(32:45):
And it's almost like all of a sudden, now societies
catching up to what conservatives the bubble we've been living
in forever. I think this is going to go to
the point that the pendulum is going to start to
swing the other way. Though I agree, I agree completely, Sean.
I was in my garage and I get a phone
call and and and my phone Sean Hannity. Okay, and
(33:08):
Sean Hannity says to me, listen, I don't know what
your plans are tonight. I don't know what you're doing,
but whatever you're doing, you have to watch President Trump's
Addressed to the Nation tonight. And I can't tell you why,
but you have to watch it. True story. Yeah, And
I'm like, wow, I called you, I called Cookie, Uh,
(33:28):
everybody that needed to know. I said, do not miss it.
In other words, I didn't want you to miss it live.
And this is the Medal of Freedom. Rush Limball. Thank
you for your decades devotion to m m M M
(34:07):
m m M and Rush. In recognition of all that
you have done for our nation, the millions of people
a day that you speak to and that you inspire,
and all of the incredible work that you have done
for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you
(34:30):
will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom. I will now ask the First Lady
of the United States to present you with the honor. Please.
(35:08):
That was one of the most incredible nights for all
of us that love Rush and that wished and it
hoped for years that he would get the sort of
acknowledgement in that venue that he deserved, and it was incredible.
Now I have, and I want to put you on
the spot here, but don't feel compelled to answer this question.
(35:31):
A source close to the president that I spoke with
recently told me that the very first person that suggested
to the President Russi Lambas should receive some sort of honor,
like this was you. Russia's diagnosis um that day. Now,
(35:57):
Russia's Brother's been my my age an attorney everybody knows
for thirty years. I mean, because I didn't know anyone
else that knew anything about radio, and somebody said, well,
Russia's brother is a lawyer, asked him, and it just
turned out for the first few contracts he ever did,
he never charged me a penny because I wasn't making
any money anyway, and it just turned out to be
(36:17):
a lifelong friendship with his brother David, who I love,
and his whole family, and so he gave me a
little bit of a head's up. He had promised everybody,
especially his brother, that he wasn't gonna tell anybody, and
he kept his word. But he knew that rush the
day that he announced that he had advanced stage four
(36:40):
lung cancer, that I was coming on right after, and
he didn't want me to be totally blindsided. So maybe
five minutes before Rush announced it, he calls me, and
so I stopped what I was doing, and yeah, I
(37:01):
usually try to prepare and quiet because I just I
just need to think what before I'm doing my show,
especially fifteen minutes before and you know, I heard Rush
make the announcement. I'm upset. Levin's on the phone with me.
He's upset, and we you know, we're devastated. We're not stupid.
(37:21):
We all know what's stage four advanced stage four lung
cancer is. And so but I listened very closely. And
the next thing, I picked my head up, and it's
three oh five, and I'm cracking this mic open in
a minute, and I'm like, oh my gosh, how do
I handle this? And then I'll tell you what I thought.
(37:41):
I said, I just heard somebody stoically, amazingly, courageously, you know,
talk about the most difficult aspect of this life, which
is illness. And you know, one day we're all gonna
meet that moment. And and I said, okay, I gotta
(38:06):
keep that. Keep that he was. He was stoic, he
was courageous, and he was honest. It wasn't long after that,
I got a call from Matt Drudge and he goes,
I need, I need you to do something. I said, sure,
what do you want? And he loves he loved Rush,
as we all know they were, they were good friends,
(38:28):
and he he said, the President really needs to honor him,
but he needs to do it soon before Rush has
to go through his treatment. So it was, you know,
I called him and I said, I said, would you consider?
I just talked to Matt and Matt said he talked
to others around the president and I just would you
(38:52):
consider doing this? And immediately said that's a great idea,
And there were people around him I won't mention and
who what do you think of this? Wouldn't that be cool?
That's what he said. And it was that quick. And
then the day before I called you, I got a
call back from the White House saying that it was
(39:13):
going to happen that night and that Milanni was going
to put it on. She was going to give him
the Medal of Freedom. I know that it meant the
world to him, and really, the only guy that would
ever have the guts to do that is a guy
like Donald Trump, and I admire him for it, but
it was his decision completely and he didn't spend more
than a minute thinking about it. That's the whole story.
(39:34):
That's an incredible story. And thank you and and thank
Matt Drudge, and thank all of the people around the
president who also advocated for that, because it was truly
one of the most special days that Rush listeners, Rush
fans ever had. And so I'm glad that you were
(39:56):
able to share that with us and that you did that.
It's the only thing I've ever I ever, I made
a rule that because everybody that writes about my relationship
with Donald Trump is always wrong, they have no idea.
More than anything else, we had developed a friendship over
twenty five years. But I made a promise to him
(40:16):
and to myself, I'm not I don't want anything from him.
That he's going to serve the country, And if he's
advocating for these policies that I believe with all my heart,
mind and soul work, then I'm gonna I only want
to help that cause. And and I think he did
a phenomenal job. I believe that as well. Me too,
(40:38):
not sure. And you said you wanted to mention something
about Russia's final year, So look, I don't know if
you did what I did. I assume you probably did,
and you know what did I do? Immediately? I'm just
researching like a maniac, you know, advanced stage four long.
(40:58):
I didn't have all the facts, nor that I ever
dare ask the question of what specific type of cancer
that he had, But it didn't take long for me
to realize that this he was in for a really
uphill fight. He knew it too. You knew it as well,
and I'd known it long before he even began his
(41:21):
treatment because I'd seen it in my life. I knew
we all know people that have had cancer treatments, as
you know. And the the one thing I realize, uh,
this is this is going to be a rough year.
This is gonna be a rough time. And I knew
(41:41):
the treatment that he would be receiving, even the most
advanced medicines and experimental medicines, they have killed you to
try and save you, or at least to buy you
more time. And what blew me away about Russia's last
year is he fought like how because you're in You're
(42:05):
in nothing but utter agony and exhausted beyond explanation. Because
I have friends that have been through all of this.
You go over, you visit them, they could barely lift
their hand up there, so tired and wiped out from
the treatment. And he went through that for that year.
So that and I think he knew the whole time
(42:26):
that he was buying time. My my guesses based on
the things that I gleaned from what he said, is
he really didn't think he'd be around for the election.
I almost feel like he willed himself to beyond the
election because he cared so much about the country. But
all of those treatments that he took were if if
(42:51):
we have bucket lists, we now know what Russia's bucket
list was. That he would go through hell, try and
get strong enough just to do the things he wants
to do. What was the thing he wanted to do.
He wanted to get back on the air. He would
take all the all of the all of these harsh treatments,
(43:12):
get just barely strong enough to get through a show.
And that was his bucket list, right, That's what he loved.
He loved his audience, he loved his craft, he loved
his profession. Absolutely, It's what made him the greatest of
all time. And Sean, I want to say something about
extraordinary beyond words as well, and everything that you said ditto, ditto. Right.
(43:39):
I wanna, I wanna, And you've been very generous with
you time, and I want to leave you with this.
During that entire period, I would get calls from Sean
Hannity wanting to know how we were. I wanted to
know how everyone was, and Sean. I revealed to Sean
that my mom was also fading at the same time
(44:00):
Rush was, and I got calls almost what what a
what a week? What a week you had? Almost every
single night the phone You're ringing it with showing I'm
just checking in. I want to know how you're doing.
I don't know how everything is. How are you feeling?
What's going on? Can I do anything for you? Yes?
Showing your friend you You're an amazing friend. You're an
(44:22):
amazing friend to all of us. Every time you would
come down to the Southern Command, um, it was with
with your crew, with your people. It was almost like
it was a big family reunion between us. We are
like one big family, weren't there. Weren't those days fun?
They were just so much fun, all right. When I'd
go down and I'd give Rush the hour on TV.
(44:44):
By the way, it's such a hard interview. Rush, what
do you think about this? And that's it. Okay, we'll
take a break, we'll come right back. It's like there's
only three people that I interviewed that way, Rush and Levin. Now,
don't interrupt me. I'm about to say something. I mean finish,
um uh and and President Trump and man, but I mean,
(45:10):
you guys would like lay out a spread of food
and I'm like, guys, I'm not eating all of this
crap danishes and breakfast and whatever. You're all I have.
And and Rush would come out, oh do you have
the new iPhone? Twelve years? Five of them? Um? But
he uh, those were special days. I especially if we
(45:32):
can do it again, don't don't you know. It's sort
of like Garth Brooks has a song if Tomorrow Never Comes.
You know, It's it's about a dad and staring over
his young daughter. But you know, now thinking back, all
of it was special. Everything that he did. We had
(45:53):
really special times and I feel so blessed though. That's
the thing along with the sadness is the gratitude and
I have. And that's where I was going with this. Sean.
You know, you, you learn who your true friends are
in your life. God always has a way of revealing
who your real friends are. And so I want to
end this by not only thanking you for your time,
(46:16):
but thank you for being such a beautiful human being
and a beautiful friend to me and to everybody on
the e I B. Staff. It is. It is mutual,
it really is. And uh, you're right, I have I
have a very very deep gratitude two all of you,
(46:37):
including especially you. You and I had a very special
bond and we still do. And I will tell you
some of the calls you know after Rush past. Uh,
it killed me because I knew you were crushed and
then then you lost your mom what three days later?
Three days later? And that's what I mean. You want
(46:58):
to talk about a punch in a gut and a
bat to the head. That's it. And you know, and
you're very stoic, like Rush, tough as nails, But you know,
like The Road Less Traveled is a great book and
it says life is difficult, nobody has it easy, and
(47:20):
this was a very hard time. But on the other hand,
like you, I'm so grateful for your friendship, Russia's friendship,
and for everybody that you know I've I've gotten to
know on my our journey together, all of us, and
I just want his audience to know this. He loved them.
(47:42):
You were his bucket list, and you know, uh, that's
that's pretty special. I want to I don't get a
little personal here. You know, this is the time of
year where I often become the most reflective and thankful
(48:04):
for all of the blessings that I have had my
entire life, and the blessings that I have had obviously
extend to my family, the people who work and have
worked here at the E. I B Network. Every year
(48:27):
about this time we got the Top fifty list, the
Top ten lists, that this or that, the best cars,
the best movies, whatever, the most influential in the media,
the most influential here and the most of them. But
there's always a group left out, and it's you. You know,
the most influential audience in all of media is right
(48:52):
here on this program, hands down, no contest, because without you,
none of any thing that happens here would have happened.
It would be all academic if it weren't for you.
I cannot thank you enough. I'm so humbled by it
and blown away by it that I so, as far
(49:14):
as I'm concerned, you're at your tops. And I would
have to include in this all of the great radio
stations to make it possible for all of you to
listen to be part of this audience. And cannot express
my gratitude and for all of me and my family
as well. So thank you again. You are the most
(49:34):
influential audience in all of media. Special thanks to my
very dear friend, truly one of the good guys, Sean
Hannity for sharing some great stories about his perspective on
(49:55):
the life of Russian and ball. On our next episode,
we'll take a closer look at the RSSIA Limba that
very few people actually knew about. As much as he
did for charity on the air, you may not believe
how many things he quietly did for others behind the scenes,
away from the microphone, out of the spotlight. Russia's kindness
is the topic of our next episode. Rush Limbaugh, The
(50:18):
Man behind the Golden e I B Microphone is produced
by Chris Kelly and Phil Tower, the best producers in America.
Production assistance Mike Mamone and the executive producers Craig Kitchen
and Julie Talbot our program distributed worldwide by Premier Networks.
Found on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you
(50:39):
listen to your favorite podcast. This is James Golden. This
is both Snerdley, This is James Golden. I'm honored to
be your host for this in every single episode of Russia. Limbaugh,
the man behind the Golden E I B microphone, thank
you for being with us.
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