The State of the Union Address was filled with partisan tension. While the relations between Speaker Pelosi and President Trump have received major coverage a lot of other parts of the address have not. Some of the topics President Trump spoke on were the state of the economy, healthcare billing and prescription drugs, sanctuary cities, tariffs on China, and relations with the Middle East. One particularly unsettling moment that attention must be drawn to is when President Trump gave Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
As someone that grew up hearing the The Rush Limbaugh Show on long car rides I was particularly horrified by this event. I was shocked that someone that consistently uses blatantly offensive rhetoric was being awarded this medal. This medal should be an award of honor that the bigotted actions of Limbaugh do not deserve.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor a civilian can receive, as defined by the White House it is supposed to recognize a life dedicated to “the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” The award was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy to recognize those that have greatly impacted the United States. Past recipients include Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong, Bill Gates, and Nelson Mandela. The award acknowledges leaders, activists, scientists, and innovators that have pushed for a better America.
Rush Limbaugh’s career built on hate is the exact opposite of what the award stands for. Throughout his career he has been repeatedly sexist, racist, and homophobic. His interest is not in news but in tearing down others. He has built his career on hateful remarks.
He published Rush Limbaugh’s Undeniable Truths that lists his ideology, one of the items on this list is: “Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.” In 2012 in response to Susan Fluke testifying in front of a Democratic Congressional Panel advocating for contraceptive coverage Limbaugh said, “Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You’d call ’em a slut, a prostitute or whatever,” and then went on to say “So, Ms. Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here’s the deal: If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. And I’ll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.” This response demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of women’s healthcare and his lack of respect for women.
His talk show has repeatedly been a place for him to spew racist ideas and use extremely harmful language. On his talk show in 2009 he stated “90 million Indians, only four million left? They all have casinos; what’s to complain about?” When discussing white guilt on his show he said, “If any race of people should not have guilt about slavery, it’s Caucasians.”
His tours were spaces that he could share his malicious views with an audience. On his 1989 Rush to Excellence tour in response to the recommendation of using condoms to prevent AIDS he said, “Do not ask another man to bend over and make love at the exit point. That’s what you don’t do.” On his 1991 Rush to Excellence tour Limbaugh mocked homeless rights activist, Mitch Synder who committed suicide 22 days prior, saying he “assumed room temperature recently” and went on to sing “Ain’t Got No Home” as a dedication to him. These direct quotes are only a small portion of the intolerant language he has used and viewpoints Limbaugh has expressed throughout his career.
Moments before awarding Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom Trump stated, “We have launched ambitious new initiatives to substantially improve care for Americans with kidney diseases, Alzheimer’s, and those struggling with mental health, and because Congress was so good as to fund my request new cures for childhood cancer and we will eradicate the AIDS epidemic in America by the end of this decade.”
Trump then went on to award Limbaugh and thank him for “decades of tireless devotion to our country.”
The hypocrisy between bolstering achievements for improving care for those with mental illnesses and eliminating the AIDS epidemic in America and then awarding Limbaugh the medal is apparent. Limbaugh has repeatedly joked about AIDS and used homophobic language when discussing it. Trump’s focus on mental health care conflicts with Limbaugh’s offensive humorous approach of mocking a man that committed suicide.
As someone that grew up surrounded by multiple political perspectives that are extremely different from mine now I feel able to understand those with different views. However, the anger behind Limbaugh receiving this award is not about differences in views, this about awarding a man that deems specific groups of people as undeserving of rights and human decency.
Limbaugh receiving this medal signifies that in America hate is not only tolerable but awardable. It scares me to live in a country where the president would bestoy such honor to these reprehensible opinions. This embodies the worst version of American values.