Trump: Radio Is ‘Big Stuff’ and Limbaugh Made It That Way — ‘He Was the King’

Wednesday, former President Donald Trump appeared by phone on FNC’s “Hannity” to once again discuss the legacy of conservative talker Rush Limbaugh, who passed earlier in the day after a bout with lung cancer.

Trump credited Limbaugh for making talk radio “big stuff.”

“[R]adio is big stuff,” he explained. “And he made it that way. He was the — he was the king. And, by the way, congratulations, because I looked at some numbers, you do real well on radio. But you would be the first one to say and — that he was there first. And he was a brilliant guy, just a totally brilliant guy. And he could do things that 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 — it was an honor to know him,” Trump continued. “I got to know him right after coming down the escalator with Melania. He was — he was there right from the beginning, like you. You were so great. And Rush was so great. And it was — it was something very special to know him, very, very terrific man.”

The former president also discussed his personal relationship with Limbaugh, who he said he did not know until he announced his run for president in 2015.

“It was interesting because I didn’t know Rush at all, as you know,” Trump said. “I didn’t know him at all until I had gotten word that — from somebody that Rush was with us all the way. He was — we have this guy who was 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. And he was much different, actually. You know, when you were — he was a very, very — I wouldn’t say not outgoing, but he was very, very warm. He was just a very warm person.”

“And when people got to know him — I loved playing golf with Rush,” he added. “And I used to call him the bull because he was actually a very strong guy, physically very strong guy. And he hit the ball a long way. When he hit it, it went a long way. And — but you got to know him. And he loved this country, and he loved his wife because Kathryn did — she was — she was fantastic — the job. She had a — this last period of time, which you know better than almost anybody, this last period of time was rough, very rough for him, very, very rough for him. So, he really — he really adored her.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor