Before Rush Limbaugh’s Medal Of Freedom For Being Racist, He Once Wanted A ‘Medal For Smoking’

Before Rush Limbaugh’s Medal Of Freedom For Being Racist, He Once Wanted A ‘Medal For Smoking’
President Trump Gives State Of The Union Address

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On Tuesday, constant racist Rush Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during Donald Trump‘s State of the Union speech. The move conveniently came after Limbaugh announced that he’s been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer on Monday. Although Limbaugh was receiving an award once given to true trailblazers like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he once said he wanted a medal for the very thing that probably caused his cancer diagnosis — smoking.

MORE: Rush Limbaugh’s Most Racist Quotes: A Timeline Of Destructive Commentary

According to New York Daily News, Rush had a debate with one of his callers on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” back in 2015, and he denied that second-hand smoke was a danger. He also argued that second-hand smoke doesn’t cause deaths. “That is a myth,” he said. “There is no fatality whatsoever. There’s no even major sickness component associated with secondhand smoke. It may irritate you, and you may not like it, but it will not make you sick, and it will not kill you.”

Meanwhile, if you let the Center for Disease Control (CDC) tell it, approximately 2,500,000 nonsmokers have died from health problems caused by exposure to secondhand smoke since 1964.

In the 2015 talk, Rush even went as far as to defend first-hand smokers. “Firsthand smoke takes 50 years to kill people, if it does,” he said. “Not everybody that smokes gets cancer. Now, it’s true that everybody who smokes dies, but so does everyone who eats carrots.”

Limbaugh went on to say that smokers’ purchases “are funding children’s health care programs.”

“I would like a medal for smoking cigars, is what I’m saying,” he added.

Once again, the CDC states, “Doctors have known for years that smoking causes most lung cancers. It’s still true today, when nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes or secondhand smoke exposure.”

But you go ahead and get your medal, Limbaugh.

Folks definitely weren’t happy about his Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, considering Limbaugh’s racist and sexist history. He’s said everything from “We need segregated buses….This is Obama’s America” to telling a Black female caller “Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.”

Meanwhile, the Medal of Freedom is supposed to go to those “who have made exceptional contributions to the security of national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors,” according to USA Today.

It’s clear with Limbaugh’s Medal of Freedom, Black America wasn’t given a second thought when assessing his commitment to “security of national interests, to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

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