liberal on the other side. he could actually speak things, and speak them in a way that people understood, and could repeat it. >> tucker: amazing. >> he was a great teacher. a great teacher. >> tucker: glenn beck come appreciate it. ♪ ♪ >> sean: welcome to "hannity." we begin tonight, a fox news alert, god, faith, family, country, this is what rush limbaugh embodied, and tens of millions of americans listened. he was an innovator. he was a pioneer. he was a trailblazer. he was a great patriot. he fought every single day to make this country a more perfect union and a better place. now, niels bohr used to call him, and he will join us later, the babe ruth of talk radio. he is right. i think you can probably add faith babe ruth, lou gehrig, derek jeter, pretty much the entire team for all of us in talk radio. rush was, my friend jim grants a

book says g.o.a.t. of radio broadcasting, the greatest of all time. he revolutionized talk radio, single-handedly saved the am band, and later the fm band in radio, and in doing so forge a path, a path for people like me, the great one, mark levin, people like glenn beck, who you just heard from, and others. when rush limbaugh first syndicated, the year 1988. ronald reagan was president. nobody thought it would ever work. they thought it was impossible. a daytime segment data talk show. there were less than 200 talk radio stations in the entire country. now i believe there's well over 4,000 stations. talk radio is by far the largest format and all of radio. you add podcasts, website listening, x and listening it's a lot. he also paved the way, even for this network, fox news, and even opinion shows on -- not that

they would ever acknowledge it. over five decades, it was his words, his principles from his ideals, his spirit, it shaped the soul of a nation. generations of americans. now, rush truly believed in this country. it's goodness, it's greatness. the greatness of you, we, the american people. he believed always that this is the greatest country god ever gave man. he believed deeply in the principles outlined in our constitution. he was an unyielding champion for freedom for all, for decades. and this is important. it wasn't just a conservative or a republican. his love for country and the people who live here was boundless. and by the way, he never wanted to cancel anybody, ever. he stood up for the likes of bill maher. his impact on this country, this land, our kids, generations, grandkids, guess what? this place we call home is beyond anything words, frankly,

can even begin to describe. take a look. >> liberals, they think it's morally superior to redistribute wealth and take from one group of people and give to another group of people. isn't it always conservatives? aren't we the ones that are often told we are imposing values, but it's the left that has always done that. this is common, right? >> you are exactly right. conservativism has been so maligned in state run media for so many years. all we want is success for everybody. we want freedom for everybody. we understand that a great nation is made up of great people doing great things. ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. we don't look at the american population with contempt and derision. we don't look at a group of people and pick out the number of blacks in it and the number of whites, the number of women. we see americans. we see human beings. we see potential. liberals look at people and see incompetence, people who can't overcome life.

it's a little frustrating because conservativism, we talked about this last time, conservativism is something people say need to be redefined or modernized, the era of reagan is over. freedom will never go out of style, that's the foundation of conservativism. >> 31 years. >> 31 years, it's flat out amazing, time has -- it's like everything, time has raised by on certain things and other days it's just been slow, and plodding, but man am i blessed. we all are, it's such a great opportunity to have to be able to talk about these things that really matter to the future of the country, with so many millions of people, it's really been an honor, and it's ongoing. there is still nothing i do, sean, that i get more enjoyment out of than this. and also, appearing on fox. i've been very blessed to be here by you, and i can't thank you enough for having me on pretty. >> sean: whenever rush spoke,

tens and tens of millions of americans listened. he had an amazing, unapologetic presence. he was a true original. never ever let his detractors slow him down. he did it with his mischievous humor. people get upset, bubble and fizz, snowflakes in the day, when rush would say, with talent from god. that is so arrogant, not really, he's admitting all great talent comes from god. and he always fought for what he believed in. >> by virtue of you're listening to my radio show and being active in this movement that we all cherish and love, you have meant more to me, my family, and my life, than whatever it is i might mean to you, even though i know that's considerable. you still can't outdo the

absolute joy and awe and thanks i feel for all of you. i've been doing this for 20 years, and the numbers just keep growing, and i can't tell you how appreciative i am and proud to be in a movement with the same passions, desires that you all have because we know that it is right for the country, it's not something that has to be forced on them. it's not something that has to be authoritatively pressed on them. we are what is, and that is why we are an enemy, because we are effective. people that do want control, look at us as the enemy. we are always going to be, don't ever measure your success by how many drive-by media reports you see that are fair to us. it's never going to happen. don't measure your success by how many people like you. just worry about how they vote. >> sean: and america, it's a

better place because the conservatives was never that hard and for all the years he was on the air, he never changed. conservatism is simple. what do conservatives believe in? liberty, limited government, less bureaucracy, so we can let business an american invention and ingenuity thrive in this country. lower taxes, less bureaucracy, he wanted, let's see, law and order, safety, security, every town, every city. school choice for every child so they could get the quality education they deserve. secure borders, energy independence, constitutionalists on the bench. peace through strength. we need peace through strength. these are not complicated issues. he believed in our second amendment, as well. but it wasn't just his unapologetic patriotism that made him great. what rush was also incredibly funny, incredibly entertaining, fun to be around. i can tell you from my own personal experience. uplifting. he could put things into

perspective. he would have a take on something -- i wish i'd thought of that. that no one else on earth would have. even during some of his toughest moments, while battling cancer, rush was finding the good in life. the amazing thing is, and probably all of us have watched the movie "the bucket list," and it's a great movie. morgan freeman, jack nicholson. if i only have a year to live or whatever. rush's bucket list was to be with all of you. his listeners. his bucket list was to do what he was born to do. and he did. even fighting through -- you know what cancer treatments are like. we all know somebody who has been through it. it's hell on earth. go through the treatment, get well. as soon as he got well enough, he would race to the studio to follow his bucket list. being on the air. and here is one of his final radio broadcast from just a few weeks ago. take a look. >> the day that lou gehrig

announced that he had his disease, it was forcing him to retire from major league baseball, he said to the sold-out yankee stadium, "today i feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth." and i didn't understand that. i mean come here is a guy who had just been diagnosed with the most terminal of terminal diseases. and i said, "this can't -- he can't really think he is the luckiest guy in the world. this is just something that he's saying." because it will play well. i don't mean to be insulting lou gehrig, don't misunderstand. i just think, how in the world, if you're being honest, can you feel like you are the luckiest man on the face of the earth? when i got my diagnosis, and when i began to receive all of the outpouring of love and

affection from everywhere in my life, from so many of you, in so many ways, and from my family, who -- they have supported me my entire career, even during times it would've been understandable and easy for them to say "rush who, we don't know this guy." but that never happened. i've been totally supported by virtually everybody in my family. i've been propped up. i've been defended. i've been made to look better than i am. my lovely wife, catherine, has done so much in that regard. she has done so much with rush limbaugh.com and with the charitable efforts that we have engaged in, and all of it has

been to my benefit. all of it has been -- and yours. the benefit of people who are the recipients of our efforts. so many people have put me first. in all of this. and i understand now. what lou gehrig meant. because i certainly feel like that. i feel extremely fortunate and lucky. >> sean: even during his hardest moments, rush limbaugh felt like the luckiest guy on earth. through the treatments, through the pain, he fought on, fought on. his bucket list was to be with you, to fight for the country he loves. in the final days, he wanted to be with all of us. all of you. he wanted to do that which i argue he was born to do till the very end back. a man who cherished life, humble, grateful, generous, thankful, and loved his family, loved god.

loved this country. i was lucky to know rush. i know his wonderful family. my prayers are with his wife, his brother, his brother's wife, and his long extended family in missouri. his nephews and nieces. i want to extend my deepest sympathies to his radio staff. you know, cookie, kathleen, george, mike, dawn -- i can't mention everybody, but you know we are thinking about you. he loved all of you more than anything. he loved his wife, kathryn. kathryn was the love of his life, as he just said. earlier today, delivered a very powerful, and i'm sure as rush would want it, stoic yet so difficult but powerful tribute. listen. >> from today on, there will be a tremendous void in our lives, and of course, on the radio. rush loved our miraculous

country beyond measure. an unwavering patriot. he loved our united states military. our flag. our constitution. our founding fathers. he probably thought and defended conservative values in a way that no one else can. rush often stood up and took arrows on his own because he knew it was the right thing to do. rush encouraged so many of us to think for ourselves, to learn, and to lead. he often said it did not matter where you started or what you looked like. as americans, we all have opportunities like nowhere else in the world. rush gave us hope that through

hard work and determination, we can overcome the obstacles in our lives and be our best. >> sean: tonight, we will honor rush. we will have full coverage of the life come his legacy. president trump will join us. the great one mark levin. first on joining us now, fox news contributor and former speaker of the house newt gingrich. we all kind of intersected in 1994, although we both met in 1990 in a holiday in hotel room, where you were giving a speech, and i was a localhost in alabama, and then i was a localhost in atlanta. and you often talked about rush's impact. three waves of conservativism, and that would be reagan, the contract, you, and donald trump. you always give him credit for being a big part of its success. >> yeah, look, i think there are a lot of things to be said about

rush, more than we have time for before the president comes on, and let me just say, ronald reagan, after he left the white house, sent a note to rush saying "i'm happy to acknowledge that you are now the leading articulators of conservatism," and i think it was true. became national in 1998. by 1993, he played an integral role with what we were trying to do. in developing the contract with america. i don't think we would've won's control of the house that year without rush's support. i would also say, i don't think donald trump would've won the republican nomination without rush support. rush had built, much like you, sort of the next generation, but rush was the pioneer. he built an army of 20 or 25 million people, who were more than that because they would listen to him and then they

would go talk to their friends over coffee or at the office. for after sunday school. and so, probably rush is impacting 52, i would say, 75 million people every single week. clear, articulators, when reagan left, nobody in the republican party understood what reagan had achieved, they didn't understand how to talk about it, they did not understand conservatism, and rush filled the vacuum and enabled a generation to learn how to think about these things and to learn how to stand up to the left. and to learn how to use language that was effective. and i think that historians will look back and realize that he is one of the great cultural figures in american political history, and that his total impact is almost beyond measure. but beyond that, sean, because you and i both knew him and loved him, and knew him as a person, not just as an icon or a national figure. i found rush to be very

personal. i've always said, you know, he left cape girardeau, but he never left cape girardeau in his heart. the rush who is still here, just a few days ago, was somebody who is hard to come whose patriotism, whose core values, came out of cape girardeau, and he knew it. he was never affected when he lived in new york. he never became a new yorker. he always thought people up there were weird. that's part of why he went all the way down to palm beach. >> sean: you are making me laugh. speak on being honest -- >> sean: i'm an idiot for staying up here, i know. >> but there was something about him that was so down to earth, so practical. now, he had a lot of bombast for a reason, it worked. he was, in a sense, a great 5 billion. he knew how to keep you

entertained, he knew how to keep you tuned in, he knew how to make sure you wanted to listen. what's he going to do next? but that was also the professional rush. i have a remarkable experience of being -- had lunch with rush one day. turned out they had both been high school radio, you know, disk jockeys for their respective small-town radio stations. and rush dropped completely the national figure. he went right back to what it was like in high school. they were swapping ideas, and i just thought, this guy is so natural. and i think it's one of the things that is very hard for the media to capture, but he, in fact, loved people. in a very real sense. i think he loved america. i think he also, much like reagan, was permanently optimistic because he was convinced that in the end, freedom defeats slavery, and

therefore, a free people will defeat the socialist and all the other people who want to try to control our lives. it's an enormous loss, but at the same time, he has been an enormous gift to all of us. >> sean: you know, it's interesting, because a lot of people call my radio show today, and i talked to a lot of people, i talked to all of his staff. i mean, they are like family, and a lot of them, i've known them for years. and, you know, a lot -- he's just -- the type of person, mr. speaker, he's irreplaceable. nobody can replace him. we all -- and what he'd want for us, this much i know, he'd want us all to up our game. and take the mental. >> right. >> sean: kayleigh mcenany tweeted today, it's kind of funny, she was like a rush baby, a next generation, but he actually educated generations of americans in what it meant to be a conservative.

that's profound. >> sean, in all fairness, i think what rush would say, he doesn't want sean hannity to try to become the next rush limbaugh. he wants sean hannity -- >> sean: be yourself. >> to be the best sean hannity. i think he understood that authenticity is at the heart of freedom. you have to be an authentic person if you are going to truly be free. and so come he would have cherished every single, no matter how strange you were, no matter how different your viewse cherished each individual as somebody he could interact with and have a great time with, and argue with, and sometimes educate. >> sean: mr. speaker, thanks for sharing your memories. i don't know if you filled in for him, but you occasionally filled in, and neil bors will join us later in the program, you occasionally filled in on the radio, this is like, reunion, but you did fill in on host radio shows, how did you like it when you did it?

>> i was saying this this afternoon. until you've tried to fill three hours, and to fill it well enough that the audience stays with you, you have no idea, and you are the same way, i regard you and rush as the great leaders in radio, and in your case, television. this ability, i remember talking about it, he was really mad because some guy said to him, oh, i could talk, and rush is going, i spent my whole lifetime learning to do this. i know how hard it is. this guy has not got a clue. by the way, the guy did not do very well because he did not have a clue. talk radio at the level of rush is a lot like football that we just saw with tampa bay. i mean, brady and rush are very similar. i was a tiger woods and rush are very similar. he is the peak of the game.

he is a model that people should study but never pretend that they could be that good. >> sean: i can't imagine going through any election cycle without him. it's going to be hard. mr. speaker -- >> i can't either. i can't either. you better off your game, hannity, because you ain't got no choice now. >> sean: nobody could fill those shoes, and we have been blessed to have him all these years. mr. speaker, things are being with us. joining us now with more on the person who did pave the way, when rush started, he opened the door, a big forest, and there was not a single tree cut down. and all of us that followed after, that path was made so much easier, less slings, the arrows, the attacks that he took his entire career, paving the way for the rest of us, making it easier for the rest of us. i'm the product of that and so is that guy on the screen with me, i call him the great one, mark levin.

mark, you and rush had various special close relationship. you knew the man, you knew the person. tell us the other side that some people don't know. you told a good story on my radio show today. >> well, you know, first of all, i want to wish rush's family all the best. this is a very hard thing. you and i would talk about this day coming and we dreaded it, but we knew it was coming. rush is the kindest, most decent, thoughtful person. every birthday, september 21, he would fire off an e-mail, happy birthday, flee. he would call me flee because many years ago, i would send him some legal information or constitutional information when i was listening to him, maybe it's 25 years ago. and the wonderful cookie, he would call her, kathleen, she would run it down with a fax

because we didn't really do e-mails back then to rush. he would look at it come out one day all of a sudden he called me, the director of his legal division. i said that's cool. he gave me his personal e-mail address and that was really cool. we became very, very close friends. we would e-mail and text as time went on a lot. in fact, every day and every night, we would discuss the issues and so forth. he would send gifts to my kids around christmas time. just so thoughtful. what does chase want, does he want an ipad? what does lauren want? does she want xyz? he would have us to his house from time to time. he was such a -- just a wonderful, nice man, but i want to mention a few other things, too. i want the people watching to understand something. you were his family. he loved you. you could tell by the way he got behind that microphone every day.

you could tell he fought this cancer because he wanted to keep talking to you. he wanted to be with his magnificent family, dave and kathryn and just fantastic people. but he wanted to talk to his audience. this was his passion, this was his love, radio, not tv, not writing, but that. you should also know, he was a voracious reader, he had a huge library, he would read classics, he would read philosophy, read about economics. when he prepared for his shows, many years ago, he had me at his house where he would broadcasting, they eventually forced him into a studio, and he said flee, sit next to me. i sat next to while he was doing the radio show, he had stacks of stuff, and he was just perfection. he turned to me, and he said, you're studying me, aren't you? your studying me. i said yeah, i am. he said, do you want to get into radio? i said no, not really, but i enjoyed watching him, i enjoy

watching you, as well. i would call him, people have come up with a lots of names, and rightly so. i would call him the thomas paine of our era. he didn't have the parchment and the brochures, but every day, even bigger than thomas paine. he would be preaching the case for america. he was america's spokesman, he knew the constitution backwards and forwards. he knew the declaration backwards and forwards. he was self taught. he didn't like school because he didn't like the bureaucracy. he didn't want to be hemmed in. he was an american. he wanted his independence. and fail as many times as he did, he failed to the point where he wildly succeeded. he created this industry, nationally syndicated talk radio, and it's not that you and i even think about competing with rush or being rush or anything like that, and rush

would not want us to. rush can only fill three hours a day, but he would want and be so proud and was so proud of all the people who were also working in the talk radio. he never said a nasty thing about a single talk radio host, i never heard him say a nasty thing about too many people. i think it's important that we ignore everything the left is saying and is going to say, whether it's "the new york times" or "the washington post" because they didn't know rush. they didn't want to know rush. they never engaged with rush, they never discuss the ideas with rush. so they are not legitimate sources of information. i think the people who love rush and listen to rush, his audience, it is we who are dealing with this irreplaceable loss. i also think, as you pointed out earlier, he would want us to carry on. he would want us to fight for liberty. he would want us to make sure the next generation is in a better situation than we are in. this is what he believed in.

here is a man without children who was fighting for our children, fighting for our grandchildren. he had nieces and nephews, but here's a man who understood. and by the way, i know i'm rambling a little, he was great with children. he was absolutely terrific with children. so, when it comes to rush limbaugh, i not only think i and you and others have lost a dear friend, i think the listeners have lost a dear friend. i think they viewed rush limbaugh as their friend, some of them as a father figure, a brother figure, but they lost a friend. and, sean, you and i know when there was some big hot issue going on, we as a country wanted to hear what would rush say. what would rush say? those were the big four words. what is rush thinking? it's because he was so out-of-the-box, he was so point of the spear. i've been thinking about his adoration for president trump

and he really did love president trump. and i think in part, not only because he loved the fact that they both golfed, that he was charismatic, that he was conservative in so many ways that the bushes warrant and the romneys warrant and the others weren't, but i was thinking about this today. rush limbaugh was considered at least at the beginning an outsider. rush limbaugh was independent, he was his own man. he didn't follow the rules. he was told you must follow these rules. he broke them and look what he created. rush limbaugh would speak his mind, and rush limbaugh would be attacked from the left. i think he saw the same thing in trump, an outsider, independent, who spoke his mind, attacked from the left, and attacked from the republican establishment. for a period of time, rush was attacked by the republican establishment, too. but, anyway, i've got to tell you we've got broken heart here,

in the levin family, and i'm sure across the nation. >> sean: well said. he loved you, too. thank you. you know, i have a lot of anecdotal stories that i could tell myself. i actually had the honor of filling in for rush on my radio show, and one day, when i first filled in, i had been on wabc in new york, and they gave me the opportunity to fill in. i'm thinking, oh, my gosh, 21 million people, 600 plus radio stations, and you know, it was a pretty daunting moment. i'm in the middle of the opening monologue on the show, and in the middle of that opening monologue, the golden eib microphone dropped right onto the desk. as it dropped on the desk, it sort of come straight down like

this, and i'm doing the rest of the monologue like this sweating profusely and having a full on panic attack, and you know i try to do my little clinton voices. and i do my mark levin voice. rush comes back from vacation or the next day that he was on and he goes, sean hannity dented the golden eib microphone, which it really was gold which is a pretty amazing thing. a true original. joining is now on the phone is president donald trump. mr. president, i know the honor of his life came from you, and what that medal of freedom meant to him. i know the behind-the-scenes story. i know who made the first call to me anyway was matt drudge and jared kushner. i know that you made your

decision with melania there in about five seconds and you said that's a great idea. tell us about it. >> well, it was an idea that we had that a lot of people suggested to me, frankly, a lot of great people of our country. largely republicans. it was an amazing night because the republicans went wild and the democrats sat there, but they all respected rush. i think it was one of the great honors of his life, the presidential medal of freedom. it's a big deal, and he was very honored by it. he was a great gentleman, just like mark said, i listen to mark and mark is so terrific, but he said he's special, and rush was a very special guy. you said irreplaceable, and it's true, he's irreplaceable. >> sean: you know, i remember discussions that we would have, i'd often ask you, if you come

on my radio show, we're on 600 stations, and you would always ask me about why are radio numbers so massive? rush had 21 million plus listeners, and you would always ask me about rush. and i'd explain it to you, and you'd never for a while, i don't think you -- i knew you knew radio because you used to go on howard stern. you'd come on my radio show years and years ago, and, but you are surprised that there wasn't this competitive thing going on. i kept telling you there's no competition, there is nobody in his league. >> well, that's right. you did say that, and radio is big stuff. and he made it that way. he was the king, and by the way, congratulations because i looked at some numbers, you do real well on the radio, you would be the first one to say that he was there first, and he was a brilliant guy, just a totally brilliant guy. and he could do things a lot of people couldn't do. he could just talk for three

hours, no phone calls, no anything, just talk and everybody found it spellbinding. so it was an honor to know him. i got to know him right after coming down the escalator. with melania. he was there right from the beginning. like you, you were so great and rush was so great, and it was something very special to know him. a very terrific man. >> sean: you know, there's a side of you that i know a lot of americans don't know. and i know many people that this story holds true for and i know in the case of rush, and when rush had his diagnosis, a little over a year ago, i knew you were calling him regularly, minimum of once a month, often much more than that, and you would always be checking in, how are you feeling, how are the treatments, how is everything going?

i know you talked to him a lot, what were those conversations like? >> it was interesting because i didn't know rush at all. as you know, i didn't know him at all until i had gotten word from somebody that rush was with us all the way. we have this guy who is so big on radio, i knew a lot about rush, but i didn't know him. and he was with me all the way, and it was sort of incredible. i got to know him after that. he was much different, actually. he was very -- i wouldn't say he was not outgoing, but he was very very warm just a very warm person, and when people got to know him, i love playing golf with rush. i used to call him "the bull" because he was actually a very strong guy, physically a very strong guy. he hit the ball a long time and when he hit it and went along way. but you got to know him and he

loved this country and he loved his wife, because kathryn, she was fantastic. you know, the job. she had this last period of time, which you know better than almost anybody, this last period of time was very rough for him. very rough for him. so, he really adored her. >> sean: you know, it's interesting, on rush's show today, i was listening before i began my radio program, and they played a segment of rush, and in that segment, he said if you took tapes of him when he started in 1988 in syndication, nobody thought anybody could syndicate during the daytime and be successful and he proved all the naysayers wrong, and if you look at where he stood. conservative justices, liberty, freedom, less government intrusion, less regulation, less taxes, lower taxes, energy independence, secure borders,

choice in schools, the second amendment, free and fair trade, peace through strength. sound familiar? because that's your agenda. that's what you did. >> he was right there. he understood it. he got it and he's been that way for a long time. he hasn't been somebody that changed. he didn't go from being a liberal to being a conservative. he was there from the beginning and he hasn't changed, his views haven't changed very much. and his audience, as you know probably better than anybody, the loyalty of his audience was staggering. nobody had seen anything like it. he was just a very special guy and he's going to be missed by you and by me and by, as you said, 21 million people, and i guess a lot more than that even he will be missed by a lot of people. >> sean: and the most loyal audience, generations.

here on kayleigh mcenany come i mentioned earlier, she tweeted she was a rush baby, her dad would be listening in the car, and it changed her to conservatism. and he did that for so many of us and so many around the country. i want to thank you, i appreciate you being on the program. i know, i read your statement the other day, and i know you said in the months ahead, you have a lot you want to tell us, and we won't do it tonight, obviously, but when that time comes, we are looking forward to hearing what your future plans are, and what you are planning to do. i have a funny feeling we are going to hear a lot more from donald trump. are my instincts correct? >> well, there is a lot to talk about, and our country is a great place, and we are going to make it even greater, as the expression goes. but we have a lot to talk about but today is all about rush, don't you think?

what he left behind, he will never be forgotten. he's one of the people, will big impact, great guy. not be forgotten. >> sean: mr. president, we always appreciate you being with us. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> sean: coming up, fellow talk show hosts reflecting on the legacy of radio giant legend, one-of-a-kind, true original, rush limbaugh as we continue. these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the services of the post office plus ups only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

♪ ♪ >> sean: a little more than a year ago, rush limbaugh received the medal of freedom from president trump. this is what happened that night. >> and 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.

>> sean: here with more reaction to the incredible life and legacy of rush, fox news contributor, are other good friend, we have a lot of good friends, dan bongino is with us. you know, dan, i look at your success, and i champion your success. rush championed all of our success. he never thought it was a zero sum game. his answer was i'm only on three hours a day. and an entire industry built up, all of us followed that forged path that he trail blazed for us and took a lot of heat for. >> yeah.ot you know, sean, your reverence for rush, you know, if i may, i won't share any of the details, but i talk to you once in a while and whenever i ask you for advice on tv or radio, or my career, i just started a few years ago, you've been in the industry decades now, like rusho you would always say here is what rush would say. you said that so often, and so

did levin, and it was interesting watching you three titans of radio, 12:00 noon eastern to 12:00 at night, what was theea meat and potatoes of radio? it was limbaugh, hannity, and levin. to hear you guys who have both given me an amazing, we've always used to cite rush. neither you or mark would everr mention rush in his final weeks or days. or ever mention his past, i just a member of the conversations. you never mention anything about successors because it was verboten. it really again speaks to the reverence.to can i make another point, the greatness of rush limbaugh, it's really tough to talk about and i think sports analogy works best for us. willie mays was a great baseball player, so was mickey mantle and they probably had to inure runs when they were best in the business but willie mays didn't invest invent baseball.

rush limbaugh invented the conservative national talk radio space. before him there was talk radio, but the national talk radio space that you and mark, glenn, and other titans of the industry took from rush, he created the game. not only did he create the game he was number one in the game, not for a decade, not for two decades, but more than two decades. that's an absolutely phenomenal achievement. >> sean: you know, it is. and i look at somebody, we are close friends. i'm not hiding the fact, we are close friends. and i look at every platform, it 200 talk radio, now it is over 4,000. saves the am band, the fm band,

and then you've got web streaming, then you've got podcasting, you are one of the most successful. then you got fox news, and how that was built.t.od this model just grew and grew and grew and the appetite for news and information especially light of the fact that journalism is dead and the media mob is corrupt. he understood that, too. the one thing they have in common, they hate us all, the people that didn't like rush, we always wear it as a badge of honor and kind of like rolls off us like water off a ducks back and it did rush, too. >> rush was around eight years before fox news even went on the air.we i mean, before fox news, there was only rush, that was it. what was it about rush? that's a fascinating question. the french have that term we've kind of adopted was it that he was funny. it wasn't that we tell stories.

was it that he was funny? i'm not funny. mark is very funny. but rush, everybody's funny. what was it about rush? the answer is, who the hell knows? he was unbelievably special. you've been in radio a long time. from the local level to one of the biggest radio hosts in the world, everybody dials it in once or twice in radio. you're sick, you don't feel good, you take a lot of calls, whatever it may be. not rush. and if he didn't, you could never tell. i would listen on apps, i'd go c to rushlimbaugh.com, i'd listen on the wherever i was, and i'm telling you, i never heard a time where i could tell you, alright, today he is dialing it in. not once in 20 plus years, and we all remember the first time we heard rush limbaugh, sadly i remember the last time, too, december 23rd. if i only would've known as i

was listening, i was actually brushing my teeth, listening on december 23rd, in my bathroom that those were the last moments that we were going to hear rush limbaugh on the radio, you know, i would have treated those moments a little differently. >> sean: i think we all would have. i mean, i don't think the country ever took him for granted. it's funny because after every political cycle and rush experienced this a lot, too. he started when reagan was president, he was there for bush 41, eight years of clinton, mary said and i mentioned this with harris falconer and bill hemmer earlier today. you know, mary said how would we have survived without rush during those years because he lifted everybody up? well, then that resulted in 43, then 43 led to obama, then we had donald trump, and now we have somebody who's cognitively struggling.ha and you know, you think aboutiv it, people would always say what

is rush going to talk about now, and democrat is elected. or what are you guys and talk radio going to talk about now, now a republican is elected. there's always a lot to talk about because the battles and the principles that we care about as conservatives, that we care deeply about, they never change, they stay the same. if i think one thing that mark said that i agree with and i was saying on my radio show, and i mentioned it with newt, is thatm i know that rush would want all of us, nobody can ever replace him, but he would want all of us that care about these issues, that learned so much from him, to up our game, and he would want us to fight for everythingm he believed in and his bucket list was to stay on the air to keep fighting until the very last day. which is a lesson, also, i think for a lot of us. >> you know, you mentioned the kayleigh mcenany think she was

a rush baby. i consider myself the same. for a lot of us, i'm in my mid-40s, the first time we ever heard the true essence of conservatism was when we accidentally flipped on the radio and heard talent on loan from god. you heard that and you said who is this guy? that is the first time. the first time was about. >> sean: half my brain tied behind my back. just to make it fair.ti >> i didn't even know it was a place before rush limbaugh. i don't even think they knew as a place before rush limbaugh. i mean, he was a legend. the first time i heard the essence of conservatism, and it woke me from the doldrums of my college years, where i'd been indoctrinated by a bunch of liberal lunatics, was sitting outside of queens college and flipping on the dial and hearing the incredible voice of rush limbaugh.an and it changed my voice. i would not be here talking to you tonight, no doubt, without rush limbaugh. god rest his soul. >> sean: amen. good job good and faithful

servant.t. joining us now, dennis prager, and he shouldn't be retired, but he is retired, in spite of all my admonitions to get back on the air, traveling the world, syndicated host neil bortz. neil, you were the one, i always gave you attribution when you said he is the babe ruth, you only get one babe ruth. o >> and the arnold palmer. he did for radio what arnold palmer did for golf. i was practicing law, there was no way i could make a career out of radio until rush limbaugh came along and boosted, just lifted the water under everyone's boat. i don't know, i have so many great, i could go for an hourat with anecdotal stories about rush limbaugh, and i know you do not want me to do this story about women applying makeup in their cars. on their way to work.

>> sean: i know exactly, a certain word that is associated with that that blew up into a big controversy i remember. you haven't changed abu bit. you are still rattling every change you can. you cannot help yourself. dennis prager -- >> no, i can't. the greatest story, i have to say this, sean, and this involves you. 2009, i'm inducted into the radio hall of fame, and years earlier, rush limbaugh had said to me, "neil if you ever go into the hall of fame i want to deliver your induction speech." well, 2009, i sent him an e-mail and i remembered him reminded him. never heard back for the longest time. meanwhile, you said if he doesn't respond, i'll come to chicago and deliver your induction speech, then about a week before the induction ceremony, rush said, "look,

that's my golf weekend down here in palm beach, but i'm going to load all my golfing buddies in the plane, and we're flying up to chicago together, and i'm going to deliver your induction speech." he really, really stepped forward on that promise. >> sean: he was always a good man. >> i admired him so greatly. >> sean: we all did. dennis, your memories? >> well, quickly here, i know there's not a lot of time, but dan mentioned his joy in the success of the rest of us in talk radio. so, about, i don't know, even two months ago, i broadcast at the exact same time, i have from the 20 years of my syndication. i broadcast at the same time rush does, rush with a much larger audience, i loved his success. and he loved my success. i find out, on his show, he is

reading my column aloud, my weekly column, he is reading it aloud. who else would do that? the guy on at the same time. and he's extolling my virtues, that gives you a sense of the type of man he was because he loved america, and he loved conservatism more than he loved rush limbaugh. i believe that, everyone of us who knew him, also believes that. one more point. whenever i have a guest from european countries on the show, i always tell them you know what the big difference between america and your country? we have talk radio, you don't. >> sean: dennis, thank you. neil, thank you. i might let you tell the on my radio show tomorrow. more "hannity" after this.

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brother and family. he reminded his listeners in december, "there is good that happened and everything, even in the toughest moments." he was alwaysys able to see the beautiful forest through the trees and wants all of us to pick up that mantle. our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. i will be on with laura next. rush, we will miss you. ♪ ♪ we are mournful because i know a lot of you heard a lot about rush today, of course the conservative media pioneers defender of freedom and patriotism, but speaking as his friend commit what i think i will remember first and foremost about rush, w is his uproarious sense of humor and his kid -like