Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed Sen. Bernie Sanders and his Democratic colleagues pose a greater threat to the safety of the nation than the COVID-19 virus.
“I opened the program yesterday asking which is more dangerous for the country: Bernie Sanders or the coronavirus? And I said Bernie Sanders, of course,” Limbaugh said on his radio program Wednesday.
“The coronavirus has a mortality rate of 2%. The mortality rate for countries with socialism is 100%,” he continued. “Socialism kills every country it comes in contact with, folks. Socialism destroys wealth — everybody’s wealth except the leaders’. Socialism destroys liberty. It destroys freedom. It destroys prosperity. It destroys dreams. Socialism destroys 100% every country it comes in contact with.”
He continued: “The Democrat Party, as it’s currently constituted, poses a much greater threat to this country than the coronavirus does. And you can quote me on that.”
Sanders is seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president after strong showings in the early voting states so far. He is a self-described Democratic socialist who has promised to use wide-ranging government programs to benefit society as a whole rather than a few rich people and companies.
There have been 60 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States so far. The World Health Organization has deemed it a public health crisis, and earlier this week, President Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the U.S. response to the outbreak. The president additionally asked Congress for $2.5 billion in funding to fight the spread of the virus, a request Democrats felt was too little, too late.
“We’ll spend whatever is appropriate. Hopefully, we won’t have to spend so much because we really think that we’ve done a great job in keeping it down to a minimum,” Trump said during a news conference Wednesday. “It is what it is. We’re ready for it. We’re really prepared. We have, as I said, we have the greatest people in the world. We’re very ready for it.”
Limbaugh, a frequent defender of Trump, last week floated an unsubstantiated theory that China had created the virus to hurt the global stock market and undermine Trump.
“Folks, this coronavirus thing, I want to try to put this in perspective for you. It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump. Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus. … The coronavirus is the common cold, folks,” he said.
