In early March, Rush Limbaugh , the progenitor of conservative shock talk radio, took a call from Gary, a listener concerned that the veteran pundit was losing his edge.

Had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election and behaved in a manner similar to President Donald Trump , Gary alleged, you would be fricasseeing her every moment of your show.

Limbaugh, 67, responded with characteristic bluster, mock surprise and a healthy dose of self-pity. Admitting that Trump is by no means an ideological conservative, Limbaugh, as is his wont, reframed one of the most powerful men in the world and himself, still the most popular talk radio host in the country, as Davids battling a liberal Goliath.

Limbaugh insisted, without much elaboration, that though the president isnt an ideologue, he is the only thing standing in the way of the forces of the left ruining this country. For good measure, the host sprinkled in some anti-globalist language about the United Nations as a nod to Trumps base. And, in a moment of thinly veiled ass-kissery, cited his criticism of Gary Cohn, a Trump bete noire who had announced his resignation that week as head of the National Economic Council, as the example of his fearless ideological independence.

It was the quintessential Limbaugh moment in the Trump era: full of sound and fury and signifying nothing. He was not a Trump lackey, his argument went, but he just happens to believe the guy is the greatest hope for the Republican Party and conservatism in general. Oh, and hes definitely worried about all that shady international cabal stuff that Steve Bannon and his ilk always warn about. Go ahead, ask him about that Goldman Sachs Democrat Limbaughs description of Cohn that the president hates.

Limbaugh quickly pivoted to a bout of liberal bashing, which ended, naturally, with an allusion to former President Bill Clintons affair with Monica Lewinsky. Such behavior from Limbaugh is as assured as the sun rising in the east, but in the context of President Trump, it had an air of wistfulness to it.

After all, Limbaugh is in the middle of a four-year contract with his distributor, Premiere Networks (a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, formerly Clear Channel Communications). When Limbaugh inked the deal in August 2016, the prevailing expectation was that it would cover the first term of Hillary Clintons presidency. In a news release following the agreement, Limbaugh said he wanted to be on the air if the Russians find Hillarys emails. It was Limbaughs constant lambasting of the Clintons in the 1990s that helped propel him into mega-stardom and already his 2016 ratings had spiked 25 percent, according to Nielsen. The band, it seemed, might be getting back together.

Of course, it wasnt to be. Instead of having two Presidents Clinton to lob bombs at, Limbaugh instead has a commander in chief who is, arguably, a far better shock jock than he is. Lets not forget that the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has ridiculed the disabled, immigrants and prisoners of war and also boasted about sexual assault and his ability to execute people in public.

And where once Limbaugh was Americas lodestar of political shock, many of his pronouncements now seem tame when compared with some of his peers in the conservative movement.