One day after he revealed his advanced lung cancer diagnosis, Rush Limbaugh made a surprising appearance alongside Melania Trump at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 4. During the annual event, President Donald Trump made a surprising action of his own by awarded Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The First Lady, who was seated next to Limbaugh, was the one to place the award around the conservative commentator’s neck. While she did so, Limbaugh visibly got emotional, even shedding a few tears whilst the moment occurred.
Limbaugh’s SOTU moment comes a day after he told his radio listeners that he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
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“I wish I didn’t have to tell you this, and I thought about not trying to tell anybody, I thought about trying to do this without anybody knowing, because I don’t like making things about me,” he said, adding, “There are going to be days that I’m not going to be able to be here, because I will be undergoing treatment, or I’m reacting to treatment.”
The First Lady presents Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union pic.twitter.com/kL12ooRbt5
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) February 5, 2020
Limbaugh went on to say that he hopes to continue to come into work every day despite his battle with the illness.
“My intention is to come here everyday I can and to do this program as normally and as competently and as expertly as I do each and every day, because that is the source of my greatest satisfaction,” Limbaugh continued.
Shortly after he made his announcement, Rich Bressler, the president of iHeartMedia — Premiere Radio Networks’ parent company, where Limbaugh’s radio show is produced — issued a statement about the news.
“Rush is both a colleague and a dear friend, and I know he will handle the situation with courage and grace. I know millions of people nationwide join me and all of iHeart in wishing him a full recovery,” Bressler said.
The president also took time to address the news on Monday and, naturally, took to Twitter to do so.
“Many people do not know what a great guy [and] fantastic political talent the great Rush Limbaugh is. There is nobody like him,” Trump tweeted, captioning a link to an article from the Washington Examiner about the news. “Looking for a speedy recovery for our friend!”
