Rush Limbaugh Presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom During State of the Union Address

During Tuesday night's State of the Union, President Donald Trump had a number of special guests in the House Gallery, including nationally syndicated talk show host Rush Limbaugh and his wife Kathryn.

About 45 minutes into his State of the Union, President Trump took a few minutes to recognize Limbaugh.

The President said, "Almost every American family knows the pain when a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness. Here tonight is a special man, beloved by millions of Americans, who just received a stage 4, advanced cancer diagnosis. This is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet, Rush Limbaugh. Thank you for your decades of devotion to our country."

After a round of applause and cheers from the House gallery, the President continued, "And Rush, in recognition of all you have done for our nation — the millions of people today that you speak to and that you inspire and all of the incredible work you have done for charity — I am proud to announce tonight you will be receiving our country's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom."

President Trump then asked First Lady Melania to officially present the Presidential Media of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh. Rush was visibly shocked, and shaken, while being presented with the nation's highest civilian honor.

Yesterday, Limbaugh shocked his nationwide audience by announcing that he was suffering from an "advanced case of lung cancer".  Limbaugh did not mention a potential trip to Washington, D.C., but did tell his audience that he expected to be back on-the-air on Thursday. At that time he would provide a status update concerning his health diagnosis. Mark Steyn is scheduled to fill in again for Limbaugh on Wednesday.