running for statewide office in pennsylvania. >> harris: actually, most importantly, i am so happy that you and your family are safe. we will follow the story every day to see what happens next, thank you for being on the program. thank you for watching "the faulkner focus." it's noon in the east, time for "outnumbered." we will begin with a fox news alert, a new round of severe weather is on the way, a powerful storm that's already killed 20 people, at least, moves forward. a record-breaking 70% of the united states has been covered by snow, rolling blackouts also hitting the nation from minnesota to texas, more than 150 million americans under winter weather advisories or more, that's nearly half of america. end anger is growing as cold-weather deaths are rising in texas, millions still without power there. in harris county, officials have

reported more than 300 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning as people are trying to stay warm in their cars and by other devices. in galveston, the medical examiner's office requested a refrigerated truck to expand body storage. the power grid breakdown sparking outrage and demands for answers and how texas failed such a massive test of a major point of state pride, energy independence, gas pipes, wind turbines frozen, the electric grid was crushed by surging demand, texas governor greg abbott demanded a full investigation and is blaming the left's climate agenda. >> this shows how the green new deal would be a deadly deal for the united states of america, our wind and our solar got shut down and they were collectively more than 10% of our power grid. it just shows that fossil fuel is necessary for the state of texas as well as other states.

>> harris: you watching "outnumbered," i'm harris faulkner. here today, emily compagno, kennedy, former new mexico governor susana martinez and in the virtual center seat on our make-believe couch until we are all together again, host of "one nation" and fox news political analyst loris elect lawrence jones. great to see you, lawrence, i caught your tweets and i hope your family in texas is doing well, you and i share that in common. i just had on whoever's end of a few minutes ago, the reaction to what's happening right now, i want to hear from you just on the energy aspect of it, green versus anything else. >> lawrence: well, as you know, harris, and thank you so much for your comments, my family is making it through, they are all over texas, my entire family is in texas. but i have to start off by being troubled by the governor that was just on the program, we

played the spot and although i respect the governor and the leadership there, this has been terrible and it's one thing to talk about the green new deal and the energy policy coming to texas but texas is controlled by all republicans. every seat when it comes to government for the entire state is run by republicans, i don't understand why they are putting this on the democrats policy. yes, it is coming to america but as far as texas, i have a lot of questions for the governor, one being, why don't we have reserves? number two, there was no planning to purchase power at an acceptable rate. number three, why are we relying on turbines? again, republicans will this thing and secondly, the electric reliability council of texas, the chair, she lives in michigan. why is she on that board? government is responsible, they

stick their nose in the kool-aid of a lot of things but the things they are responsible for, they rarely get right. and although i want to support my state come as you all know, i am a proud texan, that it had to write on my left arm. >> harris: it's really big, we couldn't have you wear it on the show because it won't fit on tv. >> lawrence: i know [laughs] when you get things wrong, there is accountability. get the power on. my mom has lupus, she needs the power of. >> harris: so what you are talking about and we just showed the frozen turbines, they are clearly frozen and not moving but most of texas depends on natural gas and the reserves from what i am reading and i encourage everybody to pick up the texas tribune or any of the local reporting outlets they are in dallas and houston and other areas because you'll learn a lot, particularly in austin. the lines below ground froze for

natural gas, they had not been weatherized. and i asked representative pflueger about this and i also said to others that have interviewed, your reactors, the water was freezing, to keep them safe they put those off line, some of that has come back online today or is expected to. this got really complicated. it was extreme, we get it but are we not able to do all of it at the same time, that's what they ask, can we do it all at the same time so you are not just dumping oil and natural gas and moving to turbines, keep it all, keep all that inventory kind of going, weatherize what you need to until we are really ready to make the switch and i don't know if that's what failed here, i'm just looking at a lot of frozen stuff and asking a lot of questions. kennedy? >> kennedy: that requires foresight and balancing all of the energy options that you've got and they clearly didn't do

that. so you do need foresight, you need to see that a storm is coming at some point and this isn't just something that should have been cobbled together a few days ago. they really should have had better plan in place, that's the foresight part. the problem is when something happens, instead of taking responsibility and jumping into action, then they blame everybody else and that's incredibly problematic because that doesn't solve the problem. lawrence is absolutely right about that. now, what needs to be done is this situation needs to be internalized by several other states who have a much greater reliance on renewable energy sources which will be great. someday they will be fantastic. we are not there yet and when it becomes a case of life and death, you cannot force this process. but, you know, my worry is the lack of foresight is a virus that spreads all throughout all levels of government and they are not going to pay attention to this in places like

california where there energy policy has already been a disaster. >> harris: wow, emily? >> emily: looking at this through the legal brought up an investigation and expected lawsuits and it really turns on foreseeability and also what those in decision-making positions knew or should have known and the argument here, to provide that bird's-eye view, the argument is that this was the result of a mix of over-subsidizing wind energy and there wasn't enough baseload energy to withstand the massive spike in demand and that's coupled with the texas infrastructure which wasn't designed to withstand or handle all of these freezing temperatures. you've all touched on the data points, the wind turbines froze, the safety sensors of the nuclear reactors froze, the batteries drained in the cold so they lost their reserve power, the pipelines in texas for

transportation are not insulated so they froze, et cetera. the argument there is think of this for fossil fuels which provided the baseline energy we have. what the electric reliability council of texas is arguing okay, we lost 16 trigger lots of renewable energy but we lost twice that from our thermal sources which include gas and cl and nuclear and they argue the winter grid or its capacity is only 7% wind, 80% of the other thermal sources. so this is the present landscape and moving forward the question remains for texas and especially those in charge, well, what sources of energy can withstand and to be reliable in this extreme weather situation and how can the government stop burdening the decision to go with those energies like overregulation and the like. >> harris: you are asking questions that i want to go to a governor to now. governor martinez, i wanted to come to you because i know

others on the panel may have questions. so you are going to close us out for us with your breadth of experience, what are they dealing with right now in texas in terms of the hierarchy, decision making in all of that? you see governor abbott is trying to promise investigations, they just need the lights in the heat to come back on. >> governor martinez: exactly, that needs to be the absolute number one priority is to make sure that the homes are heated and people are safe and not living in their cars for hours and hours and then sometimes ultimately death. i have two grandbabies living in leander, texas, sitting in front of a fireplace. off and on their heat goes and number one priority, make sure that that heat is on. number two priority is to make sure it's long-lasting because we are going to probably have a second wave of cold. a cold that is unusual in texas. does it mean you couldn't have foreseen it and prepared for it? i am a strong believer of all of the above, so wind, solar, fuel,

natural gas, oil, all of the above. however, it all has to function day together so one cannot carry the load, another one can back it up but we cannot live with a single source of energy and expected to be the be-all, end-all. so with the investigation i do think it is an eventual process that needs to take place but number one is keeping those texans alive and making sure they are warm and that the elderly are taking care of, facilities, hospitals, we have so many large facilities where people -- there is no heat, then what happens to those individuals? there's no electricity and none of that going on, what are the risks? investigation, yes, but that is to come later, i agree with lawrence 100%. >> harris: you know, governor, i'm thinking about something that i know to be true about texas, too, they have that one energy source and it's not

capable of buying more electricity from other states. they have a one option, like a top down one option and i'm sure you would know about this because you are not far away right in new mexico from having seen a state that operates that way, what's your thought? >> well, we certainly have... oil and gas in new mexico is very vague, for a state that the population is 2.1 million. however, we also have solar and wind energy. all of the above is something that we support. however, there is such an investment in green energy and renewable energy that unfortunately i think there is into the constant support systems and upgrades that are necessary for fuel and gas energy, natural gas being a clean energy, let's not pretend it's not, it is a clean energy and so i believe strongly that all of the above maintains our

ability to have national security and of course taking care of all people who live in america. >> harris: governor susanna martinez of new mexico, thank you very much. we are going to take a quick break, we will be right back. an homeowners. with home values high and mortgage rates at all time lows. great news for veterans who need money for their family. that's me. refiplus from newday usa lets you refinance at record low rates plus get an average of $50,000. that's me. that's money for security today or retirement tomorrow. that's me. refiplus.

>> harris: we break and now with breaking news as we learn that longtime conservative radio host rush limbaugh has died. he announced his diagnosis on his show last february and in october he announced that attempts to treat the cancer were no longer working. he is of course most famous for his long-running radio show "the rush limbaugh show" which has been on the air nationwide since 1988. he's also written seven books, hosted a television show in the 1990s. rush limbaugh was 70 years old. our trace gallagher has a closer look at his life and career. >> i think people listen to the radio for three reasons. be entertained, be entertained, be entertained. >> and avid listeners were wildly entertained. his daily program, i heard by an estimated 20 million listeners each day and broadcast over 650

affiliates made in one of the most well-known voices for grassroots conservatives and the target of criticism by the left. but long before he was a household name, calling himself rusty sharp he played records on local radio in missouri. a college dropout, he moved to larger markets but struggled to find acceptance for his on-air political commentary. that all changed in 1987 when the fcc repealed a law requiring equal airtime for opposing political views. that allowed stations to legally share his perspective without offering another opinion, limbaugh was soon broadcasting nationwide. limbaugh's syndicated radio show became one of the most highly rated programs in the country, though sharing limbaugh's conservative views were affectionately called ditto-heads.

he would soon go everyday entertainer to a formidable force in american politics. >> i'm dangerous because i am right and i'm having a good time being right. his huge success on radio lead to a tv show and seven books, first titled "the way things ought to be." in 2,001, limbaugh chuck listeners, telling them he was almost to death. >> i think the right side hearing aid outcome i do not hear single thing. >> you know i have always tried to be honest with you. >> limbaugh admitted he was addicted to painkillers which he was taking for back pain. >> immediately following this broadcast i will check myself into a treatment center for the next 30 days. >> limbaugh was later charged

with prescription fraud but made a deal with prosecutors that spared him a trial. he attracted attention not for what he said with the way he looked, losing 90 pounds in less than six months. in february 2020, he revealed that he was in was fighting advanced lung cancer. >> trying to do this without anybody knowing because i don't like making things about me. there are going to be days that i'm not going to be able to be here. >> limbaugh publicly said he started smoking cigarettes as a teenager but said he quit by the early '80s. he was often photographed smoking a cigar and even questioned the link between smoking and cancer. >> they say, one puff from one cigarette can kill you. if this is true they should make a scary movie out of this.

>> limbaugh never had children but was married four times. perhaps his greatest lifelong love was radio. a longtime personal friend of president trump's, there was this state of the union first. >> i am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. >> the president acknowledging the radio host for inspiring millions of people a day. >> i'm grateful for everything, there is so much to be thankful for especially when, right in front of you is the prospect of it being taken away and it just tamps up the appreciation for all of the goodness that you have in your life. >> one thing both tractors and dittoheads can agree on, rush limbaugh, the man who once claimed to have talent on loan

from god, changed broadcasting in america forever. trace gallagher, fox news. >> harris: the news of rush limbaugh, of course, is something we've been following in recent days, we knew he'd been off the air for at least a week. rush limbaugh, as you know, shared his journey as much as he wanted to and is much as he felt he needed to along the way and when his voice went away from the airwaves, we were hopeful as a nation that he would come back. he was in the beginning of the nonacceptance of the council culture, he was really a believer and first amendment, over anything that might be canceled. as long as it was true. in my early '20s, i met rush limbaugh at a kansas city chiefs football game. we were in a tailgate tent

together and i sat between rush limbaugh and baseball legend george brett of the kansas city royals. and as i sat there, we talked about a lot of sports, obviously, we were at a chiefs game but i noticed a couple things about rush limbaugh, the broadcaster. he was really proud of what he did because it was about truth-telling. he was also a very inquisitive person, generous of spirit and i sat there and he said, "i want to listen to you as i ask a couple questions because i want to know what kind of journalist are going to be. he said i hope you will continue to listen to people and you will always tell the truth. that will make you very valuable in the world of broadcasting. in the then he and george brett had some really fun funny things to say about baseball and all sorts of other things and he was a great keeper of sports as well as politics in terms of his

conversation. rush limbaugh was born in missouri, this conversation at arrowhead stadium all those years ago in the '90s with me was in kansas city, missouri, but he was born in cape girardeau and the state took pride in rush limbaugh because he stayed there, he came back. his heart was there. "the rush limbaugh show" was not the only thing that he did. he wrote books, bestsellers, in fact and his conservative voice was something he wanted people to hear about and read about on all different platforms because you never know where you might reach someone. maybe his first book titles would tell us that, "the way things ought to be." "see, i told you so." he wanted to be that person to tell you what was going on and he wanted to draw the line very brightly between what you might think is happening based on people who are not honest with you versus the way that he saw

that it needed to be told. not always pretty, not always comfortable, people may try to, and of course we have the lingo today, "cancel culture." we didn't back then necessarily but don't let people try to quiet you. invite them to the debate. and so that's how he was. and that's how he will be remembered. you see the former first lady there in this video putting on the presidential medal of freedom, the highest civilian honor, the president there as he awarded that, as of the 2020 state of the union address. and the national association of broadcasters hall of fame, the national radio hall of fame, both entities that recognize the skill, the talent, the stick to it-evenness of rush limbaugh. we know we had a lot of friends

who have been talking on his behalf recently. but we also know that rush limbaugh told his own story. when he talked about smoking and cancer, it touched many of us. because he knew that there would be those, not myself, my mother who died of lung cancer, maybe the messaging isn't tough enough, maybe we haven't heard enough truth about smoking. he was very honest about what his struggle was. and when he dealt with a different type of addiction, he was very honest about that as well. that is part of what drove the following for rush limbaugh even if he didn't agree with them, you'd hear people all over the place say, rush limbaugh, i want to scream at the radio, i don't agree with him. people would be asked, well, why

are you listening to him? in their minds eye, they would say i could see rush limbaugh inviting me into the conversation knowing that we wouldn't agree and not asking me to get up until we done. with whatever that debate was. wouldn't it be amazing if we could do that right now with america? again, a lot of people disagree about they didn't find him, necessarily, disagreeable in those times when they all chose civility and their debating. did rush limbaugh change radio to some degree? certainly when it comes to the conservative voices. parler coming back online and having some issues, social media apps coming back after getting effectively canceled and

conservative voices feeling like they do not have a platform to be heard, like they do not have a place to debate, like they have somebody who might debate and listen. i want to bring you now mark levin, joins me now, your thoughts on this day? >> on this day we lost a tremendous patriot, i've known rush for 25 years. i want your audience to know how much he profoundly loved them, he loved this country like nobody had ever met before. and incredibly wise man, a very, very smart man. a dear person. if you thought somebody needed help he would help them. nothing like what the liberal media has tried to do to him. and i just want him to be remembered the way he should be

remembered. a tremendous patriot of this country who refused to accept the attacks that came against this country from within. he refused to accept the ideological changes in this country. he defended the traditions of this country and he spoke for tens of millions of us and, you know, i've met a lot of smart people in my life, dealt with a lot of smart people, never smarter than rush, never wiser and never kinder. for me he was as kind as could be, many years ago, he assigned me the title, the director of his legal debate, i would send him some constitutional information. and he couldn't have been kinder and then i had a heart attack 20

years ago and there were many complications. and i wasn't in known and i had to decide whether i was going to go to the cleveland clinic and i couldn't much afford it back then and he reamed me out. he called me, you go to the cleveland clinic and to get that heart taking care of. i don't know if, don't worry about it, i can give a thousand examples like this. not friends and people he had just met, this is a tremendously sad day for those who love this country and don't believe in its fundamental transformations, tremendously sad day for those who salute the flag and embrace the military and law enforcement, it's a tremendously sad day because we've lost thomas paine, we've

lost it a voice like no other and like there will never be again and particularly at a time when we need a voice like his. when you see what's happened to the country and you see a thousand different ways in which we are going in the wrong direction, he thought to the bitter end, he fought and fought even when he was getting his treatments, he wanted to get on radio, he wanted to talk to his audience, his audience, in addition to his family, was his family. >> harris: it's so true, mark, you and i both are broadcasters and i want to bring in another, bill hemmer, coanchor of "america's newsroom," we are talking with mark levan and i have a quick follow-up question and then i will handed off to to bill hemmer, what type of difference do you think rush limbaugh made in terms of the conversations, the political conversation in america?

>> are you asking me or bill? >> i am asking you, mark. >> well, he made it cool to be a patriot. he showed people how to stand up against the tide, the endless tide of tyranny. he had a wonderful family, fantastic, his parents, his beautiful wife, all patriots. and so he gave people, i think, strength, he would tell you that all he was doing was reinforcing our principles, reinforcing our faith and family and belief systems. and i have to tell you, as somebody who is now in radio, but for rush, none of us would be doing this but even more than that, this man took the slings and arrows, the slings and arrows day in and day out when they tried to take him out and beat him down and he would smile and he would push back with his

wonderful personality. the slings and arrows that are meant for all the rest of us, in loyalty, you could find no more loyal friend, ask president trump. you could find no more a patriot and let me tell you, even though he didn't graduate from college or anything, he knew the constitution backwards and forwards, he knew the declaration backwards and forwards, he was a voracious reader at home, he had this massive library, could have a discussion with you, on any of these topics. he grew up this way, he would have told you, he failed over and over again i radio but he kept at it so when we look at rush, we looked up at rush. not because he was famous but

because he was someone we can admire, he was an idol when you don't have a lot of vitals anymore, he change the conversation because he would every day promote patriotism. >> harris: mark? we have an opportunity now to show the audience something that we haven't seen together, rush limbaugh's wife catherine made the announcement of his passing on his radio show a short time ago, let's listen. >> rush will forever be the greatest of all time. rush was an extraordinary man, a gentle giant. a brilliant, quick-witted, genuinely kind. extremely generous passionate, courageous, and the hardest working person i know. despite being one of the most recognized, powerful people in

the world, rush and never the success change his core beliefs. >> harris: again, we were just listening to an announcement of the passing of rush limbaugh, that was his wife catherine on his radio show a short time ago. bill hemmer is along with me and mark levan is here, too. bill? i will come to you. >> harris, good afternoon to you, this is an absolute got punched of conservatives in america, republicans in america, to think about how rush limbaugh has had such a command of the national conversation, the national political conversation, the national cultural conversation for 30 years, to think of his passing on this day as an extraordinary thought to think about such an influential man could now be gone from this earth and as mark levin was talking there, you know, mark,

in many ways, rush limbaugh, he was the tent pole that helped pave the way for so many others, like yourself and like sean hannity and mark, just listening to the words of catherine, a beautiful, lovely woman, rush likes to say he was the conservative in the house and she was a liberal. she is now dealing with his passing and i was just listening to some of the commentary you had a moment ago, mark. rush limbaugh has been pilloried by the left for three decades. i have a cell seldom met a person who was so gracious with their time, with their focus, with their thoughts and responding to emails or giving us a sense as to where he thought perhaps a particular story was headed. rush limbaugh was a guy who was deep into technology. he will talk about himself being a young man, ages eight, nine,

ten and being fascinated with the sounds of audio. trying to protect that sound, he was also fascinated with how apple was changing the way we communicate with each other. he was one of the beta testers for apple, he would test it out, given his feedback and what he would do, mark, as you all know is he would give out ipads and iphones on the radio like they were candy on a daily basis. but i guess my question to you now when you think about the legacy here and it was february 3rd of 2020 and we were in iowa getting ready for the democratic caucus, when the news came out of southeastern florida, i was on the year at the time, that he had lung cancer and now you think about it, only 12 and a half short months later after his valiant fight, he has to come now to this awful, awful cancer.

>> i remember that day, too, i pulled over to the side of the road and started crying myself. everybody has their own, those listeners early on, their opinion to talk positive and i would just say the naysayers in the left out there are to be dismissed and ignored, the impact rush limbaugh had i think it is to give us another opportunity to remain a free country, secure country and a prosperous country. gave people a lot of strength and a lot of hope. i remember before i really knew rush as a young lawyer i would make sure that my lunch break came up, that nothing interferes with my listening to rauch. i would have it on transistor radio and stick it in my ear, go get lunch or whatever it was, i

wanted to hear whatever rush had to say. this is an extraordinary man, a renaissance man. honestly if i didn't know how to work something, i would send him an email, try this, try this. we stopped emailing about a month ago, so i knew it had to be bad. it and people who listened to him on the radio could tell he desperately was trying to get on the radio, that was his beautiful wife, his strong, smart wife. i can't say i know everybody in the family but he has a wonderful, wonderful family, his family of lawyers, many lawyers, many well-known lawyers in missouri and he became so critically important to this country, there is no replacement, there's no

replacing rush limbaugh. we are going to miss him dearly. >> harris: you mentioned missouri and i said this earlier, mark levan. having lived in that state, that was a place where they first started to make huge difference. some members of the trump family, this on twitter from donald trump jr., "rest in peace, rush, a true american legend." others are starting to weigh in. we will be joined by more of our cohorts, sean hannity we are expecting to hear from but right now mark live-in has really connected us with so much love and so much texture to the life of rush limbaugh and mark could, i am grateful for that, i know the audience is grateful for that as well so thank you to mark levan. you know, as we read today about

someone who made such a huge difference, those of us who met him and talked with him and bill hemmer is with me, too, bill, you know this to be the truth, too, he didn't want to talk to you unless he thought he could connect with you and it was, you know, i certainly was outmatched, outnumbered, if you will, in terms of all the details and things i would know in my early '20 sitting between him and george brett at a game but he never made me feel like that, he didn't make people feel like that. he wanted to bring you along for the journey, don't be afraid to ask questions and he had so many answers. he wanted to engage and connect. of course he was going to do that with tens of millions of people. joining us on the phone now is sean hannity. your thoughts on this day? we have lost rush limbaugh, his wife catherine has announced it

on his radio show. >> harris, thanks for having me on, i was just catching the end of marc's comments and bill hemmer's comments and i'm looking at these pictures and i heard catherine today, the love of his life, very close with his family as i think you know and his wonderful brother david and his sister-in-law lisa, their kids, we've all been very close for a long time. there is one thing, i think mark was touching on this a lot. there is no talk radio as we know it without rush limbaugh. i even make the argument in many ways there is no fox news or even these other opinionated cable networks and he did it

giving some context of this, it's just heartbreaking and i watched him since the day, over a year ago now, late stage, stage four lung cancer. he was very honest with his audience, i want to talk about the things, god, faith, family, country and he meant it and he lived it. and he embodied it and there are now generations of us that have literally, change the hearts and minds of generations of americans. when he started on nationally syndicated radio, lesson 200 talk radio stations in this country, now there are 4,000. he saved the am band of radio single-handedly and then his radio listening shifted and talk

radio started moving to the fm band, he saved that, too, in so many ways. my good friend, another talk show host always said he was babe ruth, the babe ruth of talk radio, could never replace babe ruth. i take it a step further, he was babe ruth, lou gehrig, hank aaron, derek jeter and everyone in between. the thing that i think it defines in the most, he loved this country. he was a patriot, he loved his family. he loved his wife, i'm looking at these pictures, what a life he led and we should all ascribe in our pursuit of happiness to me what he's done but just to give you a little bit of texture to this, if you look at syndicated talk radio which nobody thought you could do in the daytime.

with syndicated talk radio and the daytime it was rather new and it became an instant phenomenon anti-change the entire industry but when he started out he was looking at a forest and not a single tree was cut down and everyone of us us that is on radio to day and frankly on fox and other places as well, he single-handedly knocked down all of those trees and made it easier by forging that path for the rest of us to follow. and we've all benefited from it and me personally, my whole career benefited from the great success and opportunities he created for others and celebrated. he liked other people's success and mark was mentioning, he loved the constitution, he read the constitution, he loved politics. something about rush during the

clinton years, i don't know how any of us would have survived without rush on the radio every day lifting us up but it's deeper than that. he syndicated in 1988. the first time i ever got behind a radio microphone was around the same time, 1987 or '88 and remember, i was in a radio studio, somebody told me, you've got to hear this guy on the radio, the snowflakes in that day, they were melting that he would say it but meanwhile if you look a little bit deeper into the time, it's really, all talent comes from god, it was a very humble statement. everyone took it the wrong way and with his own mischievous humor in that side of it was incredible. >> hey, sean, it's bill hemmer. i'm really sorry for your loss, i know after knowing you for so many years and mark live-in as well, just how much he looked up to him and admired him for his -- he was just so steadfast

in his beliefs and he had his detractors and i know you are well aware of that. i want to read you one quote. "i did what i always done, i didn't change, you can call it boring if you want. i have been consistent for the entire when it was years i've been hosting this program." ." i don't think there's a single person who either listen to limbaugh or chose to demonize him who would disagree with that quote, sean. sean, you still with us why >> yeah, i'm still with you. you know, i -- he didn't change. and if you look at the conservatism, i always say now,

people ask me, a reagan, make america great, conservatism is often defined in every election, if you are conservative, you are racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, dirty air and water. we want freedom, liberty, lower taxes, safe cities and towns, good schools, secure borders, energy independence, peace through strength, free and fair trade and we like our second amendment rights. rush is 1000% right, he stayed consistent. this is a greatness of rush, rush had a genius that all of the just could envy because he would give you a take on whatever the issues of the day were that you never thought of yourself but you always wish you did and that was the magic.

with the tongue and the cheek and that humor and talent on loan from god and the way he would engage people. you know, i remember back in my days as a local host atlanta and i go to these rush rooms for lunch, there'd be hundreds and hundreds of people, rush blaring through the restaurants. we just walk around and say hello to people and have fun and... it was a precursor. conservatism, we just saw it i believe with donald trump, when those principles are put in play play, they work. lower taxes, less regulation, et cetera, all of those principles, you know, create economic activity and he believed it with a passion. he loved american greatness. he loved our constitution. he believed in freedom, he believed in liberty, he believed in the individual.

he always taught his audience. i learned from him, it's not a zero-sum game in this life and that collectively we want to have a rising tide. he, i will tell you, there's never been anybody like this man and on a personal level, i know stories, i'd probably get in trouble, of his generosity if i told them because he never wanted people to know but i knew. and that side of him, we'd see it once a year, he'd raise tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars for the leukemia society in the course of his life and defeating that and... it is just a shock to the system, i can't really imagine the next political model without him. >> you know, he would agree with that whole generosity line, sean, if you are with us today. he loved to share it, too.

at his wedding with kathryn in palm beach, i think, frankly, he got a thrill out of the fact that he can entertain so many of his friends and family members. >> i was there, it was the greatest wedding i've been to in my entire life. >> he in hired elton john because kathryn wanted him, one of her parents were struggling with illness, rush had flown out there and he came to get to know elton john and you think about an odd couple like that, limbaugh on one side of the room and elton john on the other but he had the ability to bring people together. what i wanted to emphasize to you is that rush wanted to share, he wanted people to benefit from the great american success. that he was, sean.

>> harris: bill hemmer and sean hannity. we want to thank sean and mark levin, of course. bill hemmer, we are about to be joined, i understand, by the former president of the united states who you know gave the presidential medal of freedom in 2020 at the state of the union address to rush limbaugh. president trump, are you with me? >> i am and it was a great honor to do so when we gave the medal of freedom, it was something special, we gave it during the state of the union address and it was especially half the room, half the room went crazy and half the room, they knew he should get it but it was special >> mr. president, thank you for joining us, when was the last time you spoke with rush

limbaugh? >> three or four days ago, his fight was very, very courageous and he was very sick, it was something i was not going to be beaten but you wouldn't know it. he is married to an incredible woman, kathryn who really, every time i spoke to him he would tell me how great she was, she took such great care. i mean he, in theory, could have been gone four months ago, really. he was fighting until the very end, he was a fighter. >> while you were in the white house, how did you view how he either carried on your message or chose to agree or disagree with the policies you had as commander in chief? >> first of all, you just had sean on, sean hannity was incredible, and sean would say there is nobody like rush, sean was the first to say, what do you think, someday, he's a

replaceable, rush is a replaceable. you need to. he had an audience that was massive and coming you know, he could do something, bill, he would get up and just talk, wouldn't take phone calls where people will call in every 2 minutes, that sort of easy to do. he would just talk for two hours, three hours, just talk and that's not an easy thing to do and i once asked him, do you study for the show? and he said actually, i study very hard. which a little bit surprised me but he was a fantastic man, a fantastic talent and people, whether they loved him or not, they really respected him. >> harris: president trump, if you would stay with us for just about a minute and a half or maybe a little longer, we want to show the day that you gave him the presidential medal of freedom. let's watch that together and then i have a follow-up question

on the flip side >> okay. >> rush, in recognition of all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to you and that you inspire and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity, i am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. [applause] [cheers and applause]

i will now ask the first lady of the united states to present you with the honor, please. [cheers and applause]

rush and kathryn, congratulations. >> harris: and if you are just tuning in, we are joined by president number 45, former president donald j. trump and you saw him there along with the first lady awarding rush limbaugh, who has left us today, the presidential medal of freedom. i've always wondered, seeing the look of surprise on rush's face, what he knew about that moment and what you learned he was going through in that moment after, he has succumbed to tears and i was curious, what did he know was coming?

>> so i did tell him beforehand, because we didn't have the, really, the power of not doing it, rush was very sick at the time. he was in a hospital in boston and i didn't want to do the surprise thing, i wish i could've done that that but we really didn't have that power of doing it because he, it was a very difficult thing for him to come into washington from where he was and he did it and there were questions as to whether or not... he was just a very brave guy, amazing. he came in and it was, as he told me, the greatest honor of his life and everybody in the room, you know, you're talking about the republicans and the democrats, half of that room went crazy. you remember the evening well, i'm sure, it was a very unique moment in our country's history and a sense, half went just absolutely crazy, the other half sat totally dead silent but 100%

of that room respected rush. it was unique and he became a friend of mine, i didn't know rush at all, i had essentially never met rush and then when we came down the escalator he liked my rather controversial speech, i made a speech that was a little bit on the controversial side and he loved it and he was, without ever having met him or talk to him or had lunch with him i asked him, he was with me right from the beginning and he liked what i said and he agreed with what i said and he was just a great gentleman, a great man. >> harris: that is such a fascinating detail that you are giving, mr. president, about how you didn't really know them all that well, yet he became someone who carried your message. you know, i'm curious to know what you wanted him to know and maybe you got to tell them in the last three or four days when you spoke about the difference that he made for you.

>> well, i think he did and i have heard as many as 39 million people, that's an audience you don't hear about anymore, 39 million people and i don't know if you remember, maybe three or four months ago, i did his show, they had a tremendous audience and it lasted for like... a long time, the interview was like an hour and it just went right through and it was, his questions were fascinating, though show is fascinating, he had a way of, he had an insight that few people have, few people have, even really good ones, pros and your business and by the way, you two are some great combination, you and bill together, harris, that's a great combination that does incredibly well and we thank you for it, we really think you both for it but he was a very unique guy and he had tremendous insight. he got it, he really got it, he was really street-smart in a

sense and a lot of people wouldn't nobody was very, very street-smart, he really got it. >> mr. president, we have probably 100 questions for you but many of them are not appropriate for this venue. we will keep it on this topic now. we appreciate the time today. perhaps the street smarts came from growing up in the midwest. cape girardeau in missouri and along the mississippi river, he went on to work for the kansas city royals and pittsburgh pirates before he turned his attention full-time to radio in sacramento, california, but you said something a moment ago and harris picked up on it, tell us more about how you two got to know each other. i'm thinking of 2015, the summer, 17 candidates on a stage in cleveland, at what point did he concede that you were the guy and how did that come about? >> well, i got a call from a friend of mine who was a big rush fan and he said, rush loves you. i said, i don't see that, i hadn't heard, i'm not able to

listen to the radio during the afternoon too much during the trail and you're making speeches or doing whatever you're doing, i was actually making speeches and running a business, i was doing both of them simultaneously, right? and he just told me that and all of a sudden i started getting little transcripts, i would try to listen every once in a while, he was there right from the beginning and it was incredible and then i guess i called him just to thank him and we developed just some very good friendship, we play golf together a little bit, he was a very strong guy, physically very strong, hit the ball a long way, he was because you don't strike me as his type of guy back then. what changed? >> i don't know. i just like some people, like some people. some people say "it's a natural, we all know about that."

you don't know who you like or where it all ends up. from the beginning he was so great. i have a very beautiful week -- i always seem to like people that like me, okay? it's much easier. when they don't like me -- [laughter] : weakness, that's what it is. rush was so gracious. over a period of time, i got to know him. he loves the country, his wife, his family, and his fans, his audience, which was i think maybe the biggest ever. when sean says "irreplaceable" he's right. >> go ahead. >> i'm curious to know if he gave you a note or two, or if he had advice for you at any point

along the way. >> he was, again, very early, that famous escalator ride was right at the beginning. he was one of the people who said we were going to win. i don't think it was necessarily the reason he was so gracious so early, but he thought we were going to win. he had an incredible instinct for politics. he has an incredible instinct for life. he was -- i walked into a room, and there were a lot of people, and very sad to see that rush passed away. he is a legend. there aren't too many legends around, but he is a legend. to those people that listened to him every day, it was a religious experience for a lot of people. his fans, they wouldn't mis