Rush Limbaugh: Democrats and Bernie Sanders pose greater threat to U.S. than coronavirus

Rush Limbaugh claimed Wednesday the Democratic Party and its current front-runner for president, Sen. Bernard Sanders, are more dangerous to the U.S. than the deadly coronavirus.

The conservative radio show host made the claim while defending a remark he made the previous day about Mr. Sanders, a Vermont independent and self-described democratic socialist.

“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. I’ve gotten some pushback on that,” he said on “The Rush Limbaugh Show.”

“But think about it,” Mr. Limbaugh continued. “The coronavirus has a mortality rate of 2%. The mortality rate for countries with socialism is 100%. 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.”

Mr. Limbaugh, a staunch supporter of President Trump, subsequently claimed there’s “no question” that both Mr. Sanders and the Democratic Party “poses a far greater threat” to the U.S. than the coronavirus, which has been connected to the deaths of more than 2,700 of the 80,000-plus people known to have contracted the disease since its discovery in December.

“I mean to say that. 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,” Mr. Limbaugh said.

Representatives for neither the Democratic National Committee nor the Sanders campaign immediately answered requests for comment.

Mr. Limbaugh, who was recently awarded the President Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, has been highly critical of media coverage of the coronavirus as concerns swell of the outbreak reaching pandemic proportions.

He claimed during Monday’s show that the coronavirus is being “weaponized” by the media to bring down Mr. Trump, and on Tuesday’s program he questioned the intentions of Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who recently warned Americans that the coronavirus is certain to spread.

“This person running this agency, who does she donate to?” Mr. Limbaugh asked. “Most of that town is establishment-oriented or -rooted, which means they despise Trump.”