After former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg won the most delegates in Iowa's Democratic Caucus and enjoyed a second-place win (just behind Sen. Bernie Sanders) in New Hampshire's 2020 Democratic presidential primary, veteran talk radio host Rush Limbaugh went into an anti-gay tirade — telling listeners, "A gay guy, 37 years old, loves kissing his husband on debate stages. Can you see Trump have fun with that?" And according to Limbaugh, President Donald Trump is asking Limbaugh to "never apologize" for those anti-gay remarks.
"Hell, the president even called me about this," Limbaugh told listeners during his February 17 broadcast. "The president checks in every now and then to see how I'm doing. He's such a nice guy. And he called."
The 69-year Limbaugh has been in the news a lot in recent weeks — not only because of his cancer diagnosis, but also, because Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2020. Earlier this month, the far-right talk radio host announced that he was facing Stage 4 lung cancer — inspiring many liberals and progressives to assert that as vehemently as they disagree with his politics, they wished him a full recovery.
Limbaugh, on his show, told listeners that he was about to undergo a "medical procedure" when Trump called him. The radio host recalled, "I told the White House, 'Look, I've got a medical procedure in ten minutes. Can you have the president call me back in 35 (minutes)?' And they did."
When Trump called Limbaugh back, the president asked him to not apologize for his homophobic attack on Buttigieg.
Limbaugh continued, "So, he called back, and he said 'Rush, I just got to tell you something. Never apologize, don't ever —' and I said, 'For what?' I had no idea this thing had even bubbled up, you know? I'm doing the medical thing that I have to do here, and I wasn't even aware of this."
One of the many liberals who recently wished Limbaugh well was Democratic activist Sandra Fluke, who the radio host described as a "slut" and a "prostitute" in 2012 for saying that health insurance plans should coverage contraception for woman. Limbaugh's misogynist rant against Fluke set off a major controversy eight years ago; regardless, Fluke wished him a full recovery in an op-ed for USA today — quickly adding that Americans who aren't rich like Limbaugh are equally deserving of health care.
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