I can’t tell you where I’d be if I’d never heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio, but I can tell you where I wouldn’t be: here on the pages of RedState.

I grew up in liberal cities in a liberal household with liberal friends, but I always knew I was a blacksheep. I wasn’t gay or anything — I was conservative. I was told that Ronald Reagan was the devil incarnate, but my eyes and ears told me something different.

And there I was, somewhere in the 1990s on a Southern California freeway, and this guy, this El Rushbo, came on. Oh, I should listen to this, I thought; people have said he’s racist and a fascist and hater of all good things, and I should see what all the hubbub is about. 

Of course, he was none of those things. No, he was an exceptional thinker with a God-given talent to communicate his thoughts to the masses and make many of them do something they didn’t always do: think.

I listened to him from that day on as often as I could.

Five years ago Tuesday, he passed at the all-too-early age of 70 from advanced lung cancer.  

One man who remembers the “Maha Rushie” is President Donald Trump, who delivered a moving address Tuesday night to his family and to his memory.

Watch:

President Trump gives an emotional tribute to Rush Limbaugh on the 5th anniversary of Rush's passing.

"There will never be another Rush Limbaugh" "We miss him" ❤️? pic.twitter.com/fc4kdPMnfh

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 18, 2026

The incredibly prescient Rush realized earlier than many that the billionaire real estate mogul was a game-changer who might just be the man we needed to stop the decline of American excellence:

Well, this is the 5th anniversary of the loss of a really great man, a great conservative, somebody that loved our country, loved his family, loved a lot of things…

He was a friend of mine, Rush Limbaugh. I had never met Rush when I announced that I was running. I'll never forget, 2015. And I got a call, we're all excited that Rush Limbaugh just endorsed you. I never met him. He liked my opening speech. He liked when I got up in June and I said, you know we got bad borders, we got bad crime, we got bad everything. And he liked it.

I came down the escalator with, now, our First Lady, and he thought it was great, and he endorsed me, and then I got to know him, and I realized what a great guy he was. But it's five years that we miss Rush, as Sean Hannity would often say, "there will never be another Rush Limbaugh."

So to his family, his great wife and family, I just want to say, we miss you all. We miss him, and there'll never be anybody like him. Thank you very much.

MORE: Happy Birthday El Rushbo - Thank You for Being the Reason We Are Here (VIP)

Missing the Gipper: Reagan Foundation’s Moving Commemoration on the 20th Anniversary of His Death

It was an extremely poignant moment when, in 2020, Trump invited the seriously ill “King of Talk Radio” to his State of the Union address — where he surprised him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Millions of observers became verklempt:

Four years ago today, the legendary Rush Limbaugh went to be with the Lord.

Here's a flashback to 2020, when President Trump surprised him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union.

Rest in Peace, Rush. pic.twitter.com/DcCD1ujCFp

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 17, 2025

The official Rush website also released an homage to “The Doctor of Democracy” on Tuesday:

Rush lives on in all of our hearts. Thank you, Rush, for being our steady source of wisdom and laughter for so many years.

– The Limbaugh Family pic.twitter.com/jPw6WTuobQ

— Official Rush Limbaugh (@OfficialRushUSA) February 17, 2026

You were one of a kind, and you are missed. RIP, Mr. Limbaugh.

Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!