Rush Limbaugh encouraged his audience to adopt to the novel coronavirus pandemic by reminding them of American pioneers who resorted to cannibalism rather than starve.
The radio host told listeners Tuesday they will have to deal with the outbreak by taking a page from members of the infamous Donner Party expedition who ate human flesh to survive.
“They didn’t complain about it, because there was nothing they could do. They had to adapt. This is what’s missing. There seems to be no concept of adaptation. There seems to be no understanding in the Millennial generation that we can adapt to this, and that we’re going to have to,” he said while hosting the syndicated “Rush Limbaugh Show.”
“Life has to go on. Life is to be lived,” Mr. Limbaugh said moments later. “It’s not meant to be spent cowering and curled up in the corner in fear. It’s not meant to be spent as a victim. Your life is worth more than simply saying, ’There’s nothing I can do about it, I have an excuse for not even trying.’ But this is exactly where we are — and it’s not who we are.”
Mr. Limbaugh disclosed in February he was diagnosed with lung cancer. President Trump awarded him the President Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, the next day.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread globally in the months that followed, Mr. Limbaugh made several controversial or outright bogus claims about COVID-19, the disease it causes.
Mr. Limbaugh, 69, has falsely claimed COVID-19 “is the common cold” and questioned the credentials of medical experts leading the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak.
“You can’t believe the virus numbers,” he said last month. “The press, the media, has every incentive to hurt Trump. And the people counting and adding up all these numbers, they have issues with counting and they are hiding their math.”
China reported the first cases of COVID-19 late last year. More than 13.3 million cases have been confirmed globally in the months since, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In the U.S., 3.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, including more than 136,000 who died and over a million who recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Several members of the Donner Party who became stranded in the California mountains during the winter of 1846-1847 said afterward that they ate the remains of others to survive.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.