Rush Limbaugh’s Biggest — And Most Controversial — Moments

Conservative Rush Limbaugh, who died Wednesday at age 70, was the most popular radio show host and among the most influential political figures in the United States for 30 some years, courting controversy most of that time.

Rush Limbaugh speaks before President Donald Trump takes the stage during the Turning Point USA ... [+] Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 21, 2019.

After years as an itinerant local DJ and talk show host, Limbaugh launched his nationally syndicated midday radio show, eventually bringing his style of conservative talk radio — a relatively new medium — to hundreds of cities.

President George H.W. Bush reportedly carried Limbaugh’s bags into the White House for an overnight stay, amid a months-long effort by Bush to court his support, an early signal of Limbaugh’s unique influence over conservative voters.

Time featured Limbaugh on its cover, alongside fellow broadcaster Howard Stern — by then, Limbaugh claimed an audience in the millions, and outlets began documenting his confrontational and often crude style: referring to feminists as “feminazis” and his obsequious fans as “dittoheads.”

A group of newly elected Republican members of Congress invited Limbaugh to speak at their orientation, casting his show as a key part of the party’s electoral success that year and a counterbalance to a media landscape they viewed as hostile — Limbaugh told lawmakers, “this is not the time to get moderate.”

Months after signing a massive $285 million, nine-year contract, Limbaugh revealed to listeners that he’s almost entirely deaf due to rapid hearing loss, but he would continue hosting his show with the help of cochlear implants.

During his short-lived stint as an NFL commentator on ESPN, Limbaugh suggested Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb “got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve” because the media wanted a Black player to succeed, a remark critics perceived as racist and likened to a pattern of questionable comments by Limbaugh (he promptly resigned from ESPN under pressure).

Limbaugh was arrested on prescription drug fraud charges in his home state of Florida, following years of addiction to painkillers (prosecutors later agreed to drop all charges if he agreed to enter rehab).

Limbaugh chuckled after a caller compared then-presidential candidate Barack Obama to Curious George, a cartoon monkey — Limbaugh apologized to Obama later on and insisted he’d never heard of the well-known children’s cartoon character.

As Obama’s primary campaign gathered steam, Limbaugh encouraged his overwhelmingly conservative listeners to weaken Obama by switching parties and voting in the Democratic primary for Hillary Clinton, an effort Limbaugh dubbed “Operation Chaos.”

Four days before Obama’s inauguration, Limbaugh urged Republicans not to work with the incoming president and declared on-air, “I hope he fails,” setting the stage for eight years of fervent Obama criticism (at one point in 2010, he threatened to flee the country and move to Costa Rica if Obama’s healthcare reform efforts passed).

Limbaugh called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” after she publicly advocated for universal contraception coverage, drawing nationwide outrage and causing dozens of advertisers and a few radio stations to drop his show (Limbaugh later apologized for his choice of words).

Limbaugh declared that “conservatism lost” when Donald Trump won the Republican primary, though he quickly pivoted to supporting Trump during his presidency.

Days before Hurricane Irma hit Florida, Limbaugh implied the media was intentionally exaggerating the storm’s severity, a baseless claim that some critics warned could hamper officials’ efforts to evacuate at-risk residents — Limbaugh, for his part, evacuated his Palm Beach home several days later.

Limbaugh told listeners he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, but he continued to host his show, taking occasional breaks to seek treatment.

Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his State of the Union address, a move criticized by many.