AOC rips Rush Limbaugh as 'virulent racist': 'Truly nauseating' he was awarded Medal of Freedom

Mr. Limbaugh, who recently announced he is suffering from Stage 4 lung cancer, was visibly shocked when Mr. Trump awarded him the Medal of Freedom during Tuesday’s address. First lady Melania Trump presented the medal to Mr. Limbaugh and placed it around his neck.

“And to do it in the middle of a State of the Union and not even dignify it with its own ceremony as it has, there’s all sorts of norms that are being violated, not just for people’s humanity, but also it truly just cheapens the value of it,” she said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, ripping the president for his “Oprah moment” of awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh, who she described as a “virulent racist.”

“And to do that and to give it to Rush Limbaugh when there were plenty of people in that audience that have contributed positively to the fabric of American society, much more frankly, than he has,” she continued. “But it’s red meat to his base — Trump knows what he is doing and he wants to assert that Rush Limbaugh is somehow on the same level as Rosa Parks. It’s truly nauseating, and this is one of the many reasons why I did not go.”

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez boycotted the president’s speech but responded to it in a 30-minute Instagram Live video, in which she claimed Mr. Limbaugh was beneath the award and questioned the authenticity of his reaction when he received the award in the middle of the address.