Laura Ingraham: Democrats, media ‘have decided to weaponize fear’ over coronavirus

Laura Ingraham argued Wednesday night that “Democrats and their media cronies have decided to weaponize fear” over the coronavirus, with the Fox News host saying President Trump’s opponents “actually consider this virus a political godsend.”

“It’s unsettling to see doctors and what looked like, you know, hazmat suits in China. People quarantined hanging out of hotel windows in Italy. And, of course, your fellow airline passengers wearing face masks,” Ingraham said on “The Ingraham Angle,”  addressing her viewers directly.

“Yet more unsettling is something happening right here in the United States. And it’s not medical. It’s political. Democrats and their media cronies have decided to weaponize fear and also weaponize suffering to improve their chances against Trump in November,” she continued.

After playing a montage of criticism of the president over his handling of the coronavirus, Ingraham accused Trump’s 2020 rivals of “hoping” for or “actually peddling” misery to improve their chances to unseat the incumbent.

“The facts don’t matter to the Trump haters. They learn from the ‘never let a crisis go to waste’ philosophy of Rahm Emanuel, that many of them are frankly so sick with their anti-Trump fever that they actually consider this virus a political godsend,” Ingraham said, referring to the Democratic former mayor of Chicago.

“The 2020 Democrats, on the other hand, are either hoping for misery or actually peddling it,” the host said.

“None of the candidates have an answer to Trump’s booming economy,” she added. “So they pretend, as they did in last night’s debate, that Americans really aren’t better off at all.”

The commentary came after pointed criticism from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said Wednesday morning that Trump “didn’t know what he’s talking about” regarding the virus, which continues to spread from China into other parts of the world.

“She’s trying to create a panic,” Trump later told reporters.

“I think she’s not thinking about the country,” he added. “She should be saying we have to work together.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has seen its steepest declines this week since December 2018 amid virus concerns, dropping more than 10 percent as of Thursday morning.