Joy Behar launched an attack on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on “The View” on Monday as he continues to battle lung cancer, which he has said is “terminal.”
The Wrap [1] reported that Behar went off on Limbaugh while her panel discussed Republican senators that are seemingly trying to politically distance themselves from President Donald Trump as the election gets closer. Whoopi Goldberg cited Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) as an example, claiming that he “disagrees with you-know-who privately to take care of business.”
That’s when Behar brought up her experience working on the same floor as Limbaugh back in the 1990s.
“His show came on after mine on the radio, and sometimes I would see him; he was around,” she said, describing Limbaugh as a “very friendly guy,” who “probably has a few laughs in him” and remembering a time when “he lifted me up off the ground.” Though she found him to be “nice in private,” Behar found his public persona to be very different.
“On the radio, he’s hateful, he’s racist, he’s misogynistic, and he incites very bad things, very bad behavior,” she said. “What good is it if he’s a nice guy backstage and can lift Joy Behar up into the air? It’s useless. Just like this guy Cornyn is useless.”
REPUBLICANS DISTANCING FROM TRUMP? As #ElectionDay [2] approaches, some Republican senators seem to be publicly distancing themselves from Pres. Trump — the co-hosts discuss. https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik [3] pic.twitter.com/iTy3k0TBql [4]
— The View (@TheView) October 19, 2020 [5]
This came the very same day that Limbaugh spoke out to give his fans an update about his cancer battle. Fox News [6] reported that his latest scans showed “some progression of cancer,” which he said is “not dramatic” but still a step in the wrong direction. He had announced back in February that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
“From the moment you get the diagnosis, there’s a part of you every day, OK, that’s it, life’s over, you just don’t know when,” Limbaugh said on Monday. “So, during the period of time after the diagnosis, you do what you can to prolong life, do what you can to prolong a happy life. You measure a happy life against whatever medication it takes.”
“It’s tough to realize that the days where I do not think I’m under a death sentence are over,” he added. “Now, we all are, is the point. We all know that we’re going to die at some point, but when you have a terminal disease diagnosis that has a time frame to it, then that puts a different psychological and even physical awareness to it.”
The longtime radio host went on to say that he’d received bad news about his diagnosis earlier this month.
“The scans did show some progression of cancer. Now, prior to that, the scans had shown that we had rendered the cancer dormant. That’s my phrase for it. We had stopped the growth. It had been reduced, and it had become manageable,” Limbaugh said. “But there’s always the reality and the knowledge that that can change and it can come back because it is cancer. It eventually outsmarts pretty much everything you throw at it.”
Limbaugh explained that doctors have adjusted his treatment program with chemotherapy drugs “in hopes of keeping additional progression at bay for as long as possible,” but he’s happy to be on the air while he is still healthy enough to do it.
“I feel very blessed to be here speaking with you today. Some days are harder than others. I do get fatigued now. I do get very, very tired now. I’m not gonna mislead you about that. But I am extremely grateful to be able to come here to the studio and to maintain as much normalcy as possible — and it’s still true,” he said. “You know, I wake up every day and thank God that I did. I go to bed every night praying I’m gonna wake up.”
Limbaugh then offered advice to listeners who may be going through struggles of their own.
“Someone told me — I think this is good advice, may be helpful — the only thing that any of us are certain of is right now, today. That’s why I thank God every morning when I wake up,” he said. “I thank God that I did. I try to make it the best day I can no matter what. I don’t look too far ahead. I certainly don’t look too far back.”
Limbaugh concluded by saying that when he was first diagnosed earlier this year, he didn’t think he’d even make it to October.
“It is of immense value, strength, confidence, and that’s why I’m able to remain fully committed to the idea that what is supposed to happen will happen when it’s meant to. There’s some comfort in knowing that some things are not in our hands,” he said. “There’s a lot of fear associated with that, too, but there is some comfort. It’s helpful … God, is it helpful. It’s helpful to be able to trust and to believe in a higher plan.”
This piece was written by Daniel M on October 19, 2020. It originally appeared in Objectivist.co [7] and is used by permission.