Updated

Conservative radio star Rush Limbaugh on Sunday assailed the news media, suggesting its efforts to “destroy” Republican President Trump are “comical” and dismissing stories about Russia purportedly influencing the 2016 White House race in Trump’s favor.

"The media did not make Donald Trump, and they can't destroy him," Limbaugh said on "Fox News Sunday."

He suggested some major, liberal-leaning news agencies “have a formula … a blueprint for destroying Republican political officials they don't like."

"It's not going to work on Trump,” Limbaugh continued. “It's kind of comical to watch."

To be sure, a big part of Trump’s winning campaign strategy was to argue that the liberal media was backing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and that it failed to recognize the concerns of Trump and his supporters.

"Trump has a connection with his voters that most politicians don't,” Limbaugh said. “And that connection .. is not anything that anybody else can break."

He suggested Trump won because Americans had fears about the direction in which the country was going, not because Russia meddled in the race.

“People that voted for Donald Trump really believed they would lose the country if Hillary won,” said Limbaugh, who has an audience of 20 million people over nearly 600 stations.

“In my view, it is preposterous to believe that the Russians had any effect on the outcome of voting in this country. It's absurd. There is no evidence. Zilch, zero, nada.”