(Update: Limbaugh says he didn't tell a caller to stop watching Fox)
Rush Limbaugh would like to clarify something: He did not tell a caller to stop watching Fox News.
Tony from Tampa's call to Limbaugh on Monday was going like so many others to the show: The caller complained about President Obama taking too many days off, mocked "windmills and solar panels," and accused Obama supporters of Leninism. And then something weird happened: Limbaugh appeared to take a shot at Fox News.
"You know, you need to stop watching these people, because they're not gonna change, Tony, and I really care about you. You've gotta stop watching these people," he said Monday. "So your blood pressure is gonna suffer if you keep watching these people. I mean, they're designed to get you ticked off. They're designed to make sure you question your sanity."
Was the conservative host rejecting the go-to news outlet of right wingers? Poltico thought so: "Rush Limbaugh tells caller not to watch Fox," said the political site's headline.
But that may have been overstating things. On closer inspection, it seems like Limbaugh was only calling out specific Fox panelists: The liberal ones.
The Fox panelists mentioned by Tony in Tampa — Bob Beckel, Geraldo Rivera, Juan Williams, Alan Colmes and Julie Roginsky — are part of the network's straw-hewn stable of trusty liberals.
Because you know the old complaint about Fox: It would be pretty great if not for all that liberal bias.
Since we first published this story, Limbaugh has addressed the Politico story on the air, saying he only told Tony from Tampa to stop watching Fox News.
"I did not tell anybody to stop watching Fox," he said. "I said stop listening to these people that make you so mad."
Limbaugh did have one recent complaint about Fox News. He said that when he appeared last week on "Fox & Friends," no one seemed very interested in talking about immigration and the state of the Republican Party. But it isn't like Limbaugh and Fox News are feuding: He was, after all, just on "Fox & Friends."
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
