Trump asked Rush Limbaugh to hold off on cancer treatment to get his Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union

• President Donald Trump asked conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh to hold off on his cancer treatment so he could attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
• Trump asked Limbaugh to do "half" of his cancer treatment in order to make the SOTU on time.
• Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the SOTU.
• On Monday, he announced he was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer, and he expected to receive treatment the following day during the address.
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Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said President Donald Trump asked him to postpone his "serious" cancer treatment so he could attend the president's State of the Union address.

Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the SOTU on Tuesday, one day after Limbaugh announced he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.

The political commentator said on his radio show he was going to start his treatment Tuesday evening until he received a call from the president saying to show up in Washington as his personal guest at the SOTU.

After telling the president he had a "serious medical procedure" scheduled for later that day, Trump said he wanted to call Limbaugh's doctor and "have him delay it for a couple days ''cause I need you down here tonight.'"

"'Look, your health comes first; there's no question,'" Trump said, citing the transcript of Limbaugh's show. "'But can't they just do half of what they're gonna do and then send you down here? Believe me, you don't want to miss this. It's gonna be great. It's gonna be great. You don't want to miss this.'"

The commentator said he tried to push back on Trump's invitation, but Limbaugh said "the fact was that this is what he wanted, but not for him, you see? It was for me, and he wasn't going to let me talk myself out of it."

While Limbaugh knew he was receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he said he thought he would meet with the president in private and would not be honored at the address on Tuesday. He eventually made it to the address and showed expressions of surprise upon receiving the medal, which was put on him by First Lady Melania Trump.

Limbaugh was a controversial awardee of the presidential medal, given his track record of sexist and racist comments he had said on his radio show over the years.

• Read more:
• Trump awards controversial talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who has advanced lung cancer, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at SOTU
• Rush Limbaugh announces he's been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer
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