The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Erick Erickson sidelined by serious lung ailment
Macon resident part of movement seeking to derail Trump.
The News 95.5 FM/AM 750 WSB personality revealed his condition in a letter posted online Sunday.
Radio host and pundit Erick Erickson, one of the most prominent voices in GOP politics as some members of the party seek to derail front-runner Donald Trump ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer, has gone temporarily silent due to a serious medical condition.
The News 95.5 FM/AM 750 WSB personality, who has filled in for national host Rush Limbaugh on occasion and has served as a Fox News contributor, revealed in an open letter posted online Sunday, “Over the course of the past few weeks my lungs have been filling with blood clots. The technical term in the medical report is that my lungs are ‘showered’ with clots. My blood oxygen level cratered to the point of numb lips and the act of putting shampoo in my hair was leaving me out of breath.”
The 40-year-old Macon resident updated followers on Monday to say he was being discharged from the hospital, where he’d been since Thursday. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the airwaves. For his followers, it’s a particularly difficult time for him to go silent. He has stood out as one of the nation’s preeminent conservative political commentators, pulling together Republicans who are working to derail a Trump presidential nomination.
“Ecclesiastes says there is a time to heal and a time to be silent,” he said, quoting Scripture. “My time for both has come. I am healing slowly. But I need a few more days before I again engage with the world.”
He later told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I appreciate all the prayers, am glad to be home, and have learned my lesson to always listen to my wife
and go to the doctor when she says to.”
Former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, Fox News analyst Brit Hume and actor Adam Baldwin were among the many to quickly post messages of support. Erickson’s political nemesis Trump had not addressed the matter publicly as of Monday afternoon.
In 2009, Erickson held the first of what became annual RedState gatherings, attracting fewer than 200 people. Last year’s event drew more than 1,000 and made national news when Erickson banned Trump over the GOP hopeful’s comments about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.
In case anyone was unclear on his position, Erickson in February posted a piece on TheResurgent.com, where he blogs now, titled “I Will Not Vote For Donald Trump. Ever.”
His recent posts have focused less on politics and more on prayer.
Atlanta’s Morning News host Scott Slade offered well wishes during Monday morning’s broadcast on News 95.5 FM/AM750 WSB.
“If you’re the praying sort,” he said, “I hope you’ll send one Erick’s way.”