White House press secretary Jen Psaki extended “condolences” Wednesday on President Joe Biden’s behalf to the family and friends of Rush Limbaugh but added that she doesn’t know if the White House will release an official statement on the conservative talk radio host’s death.
“I know the news just came out in just the last hour,” she told reporters when asked about Limbaugh’s death. “I’m not sure if we will release a statement.” (RELATED: Rush Limbaugh Dead At 70, Wife Announces)
US President Donald Trump alongside radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh arrive at a Make America Great Again rally in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on November 5, 2018. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Psaki added that Biden had spoken about Limbaugh’s cancer diagnosis when it was first reported.
“Certainly his condolences go out to the family and friends of Rush Limbaugh who, of course, have lost him today,” she continued. “I don’t know that I anticipate a statement from the president. I can certainly pass on his condolences and expression of support for the family.”
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Former President Donald Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his 2020 State of the Union address for his contributions to talk radio and the conservative movement. Biden, also a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, reacted to Limbaugh’s award during a Democratic primary election town hall in New Hampshire.
“He spends his entire time on the air by dividing people,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I do feel badly, and I mean this sincerely, that he is suffering from a terminal illness, so he has my empathy and sympathy no matter what his background is.”
“The idea that at the State of the Union he receive a medal that is the highest honor that can be given to a civilian, I find, quite frankly driven more by you’re trying to maintain your right-wing political potential than it is anything else,” Biden continued. “If you read some of the things Rush has said… I don’t think he understands the American code of decency and honor, but look, this is Donald Trump.”
During another primary debate, Biden suggested that Trump should have given the award to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman over Limbaugh.
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