Former Vice President Mike Pence shared his condolences to the family of Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday after news of his death was announced by Limbaugh’s wife on his daily radio program.
Pence said in a statement, one of only a handful since leaving the White House, that America had lost a “Giant” with Limbaugh’s passing.
Limbaugh, 70, died Wednesday morning after a battle with stage 4 lung cancer. An outpouring of support from conservative fans of the talk radio veteran’s more than 30 years in the business occurred on social media following news of his death, while left-leaning critics argued that his remarks on race and other topics made by Limbaugh were evidence of the right-leaning host’s bigotry.
Former President Trump was among those who shared condolences after Limbaugh’s passing Wednesday, telling Fox News that Limbaugh “is a legend. He really is.”
“There aren’t too many legends around. But he is a legend,” Trump added. “And those people who listen to him every day, it was like a religious experience for a lot of people.”
Adding that he had spoken to the radio host in recent days, Trump said that Limbaugh had “incredible instinct for politics and he had an incredible instinct for life.”
Pence has seldom issued public remarks since leaving office in January following the riot at the U.S. Capitol, during which he was evacuated from the Senate chamber as a pro-Trump mob broke into the building amid the process of counting Electoral College votes.
In early February he broke his silence and expressed his sympathies after the death of Indiana’s former first lady, Susan Bayh.