Replacement announced for Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh
Published at | Updated at
NEW YORK – An official replacement has been announced to fill Conservative Radio Commentator Rush Limbaugh’s time slot in many markets.
Cumulus Media’s Westwood One announced Wednesday The Dan Bongino Show will launch May 24 and will air from noon to 3 p.m. eastern time on radio stations nationwide.
“The Dan Bongino Show will tackle the hot political issues, debunking both liberal and Republican establishment rhetoric,” a news release from PRNewswire says. “As a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer, Bongino is uniquely positioned to provide commentary and analysis that directly questions the philosophical underpinnings of both the Left and Big Government Republicans.”
The Dan Bongino Show began as a podcast several years ago and is currently available through Westwood One’s podcast network.
Bongino became a media personality in 2011 after leaving the Secret Service. He was an officer with the New York Police Department in the 1990s and unsuccessfully ran for Congress three times in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Over the last 10 years, Bongino has gained a large following as a New York Times bestselling author and Fox News contributor.
Last year, his podcast was downloaded more than 117 million times. It was one of the most top-ranked of all Apple podcasts in the weeks following the election.
“I’m excited to embrace the immense power of radio to connect with my listeners live for three hours every day,” Bongino says. “This is an incredible privilege, and I pledge to honor the trailblazing work of those who came before me.”
RELATED | Rush Limbaugh, conservative media icon, dead at 70 following battle with cancer
During a recent interview with Fox & Friends, Bongino praised Limbaugh, who lost his battle with lung cancer last month at age 70. He described Limbaugh as the Godfather because of his influence on audiences and fellow broadcasters and referenced a quote from the movie “The Natural” that reminds him of Limbaugh.
“‘We all live two lives, the one we learn from and the one we live after that.’ (That quote) makes me think of Rush,” he said. “Just about every conservative in America, and for a lot of conservatives around the world, that learning process first started with Rush,” Bongino said.
Bongino noted Limbaugh “invented” the conservative talk format and blazed a trail for numerous other hosts to follow, including Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levine, Ben Shapiro and many more. Limbaugh’s talent was unique and special, he said, and will never be replaced.
“He (Rush) said he had talent on loan from God. Well, God got his talent back because you’ll never see that again,” said Bongino.
A cancer diagnosis is something Bongino shares in common with the late broadcaster. Bongino was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September and announced last week he was given “a clean bill of health after completing his cancer treatment.”
He says he’s grateful for Limbaugh’s legacy of working to the very end while battling a terminal illness.
“I remember what I was doing (during his last show). I was brushing my teeth listening to the end of his show. If I only would’ve known that was his last time, I would’ve put the toothbrush down and just sat there and taken it all in with a different degree of attention,” he said.
Watch the entire Fox & Friends interview with Bongino in the video player above.
As Bongino prepares for the launch of his show on radio, Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes says the company is looking forward to the transition and watching Bongino’s continued rise to the top.
“Dan is passionate and relatable, with a natural ability to connect with his audience,” Grimes says in a news release. “Dan has been on a meteoric rise since his podcast launched in 2019, and we look forward to watching his star continue to soar.”