This Friday, Tucker Carlson on his nightly political talk show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, discussed the recent coronavirus outbreak, what it would mean for America, and what action the United States should be taking to combat the threat. 

Carlson emphasized that the coronavirus crisis will definitely have an impact on the 2020 presidential election and the global economy.

“The virus is quickly becoming a global pandemic. Ultimately, it could kill millions. At the very least, it will reorder the global economy and change our politics. Could the disease help determine the outcome of our next presidential election eight months from now? Of course it could. In fact, it will,” he remarked. 

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. stock markets have plunged drastically. This Thursday, Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that from February 19, U.S. stocks had dropped in value by $3.67 trillion.

Carlson also warned viewers that the virus would particularly burden the U.S. health care system and reveal the system’s limitations.

“We’re about to learn the limits of our health care system,” Carlson said. “Conditions will be tough for the many thousands of Americans looking for beds to recover from the flu. In Seattle, they already are. But things will be even worse for anyone suffering from, say, pancreatitis or a burst appendix, not to mention countless other health emergencies, people like this may not get care at all.”

“Our system won’t be able to accommodate them,” he explained, “on a practical level, saving American medicine from collapse must be our leaders’ top priority right now. We need to expand emergency hospital bed capacity. We need to make certain we have enough lifesaving drugs and medical equipment. The basics.”

He then blasted the Medicare for All concept; the idea of a single-payer health insurance program which would cover every American citizen. Bernie Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the presidential election, endorses Medicare for All, and if elected, would work toward putting this concept into action. 

“Is this really the time to invite the rest of the world to join Medicare for All?” Carlson remarked. “Probably not. That idea was always stupid. Now it’s clearly dangerous.”

Throughout the talk show, Carlson made clear to viewers that in his perspective, China should be held accountable for the spread of the coronavirus, and the negative impact it continues to cause worldwide.

“The Chinese coronavirus really is Chinese. It arose in that country for the same reason American businesses have sent so many of our jobs there – lack of health and safety standards and endemic corruption,” he noted. “China did this to the world and we should not pretend otherwise. That’s not xenophobia. It’s true.”

Carlson also addressed China’s influence over America, criticizing past political leaders such as former President Barack Obama for giving too much power to China, relying on them to manufacture products, particularly those related to health care. Indeed, China currently leads the global market in pharmaceutical ingredients; 95 percent of antibiotics in America are made in China.

“Our chief global rival has a total monopoly on the most important medicine in the world. That should worry you more than anything the political candidates are currently talking about. Imagine watching one of your children die from an infected cut. China has the power to make that happen,” Carlson stated, adding, “Our leaders should be held to account for this, for now, we need to work as if our lives depended on it to fix this problem.”

Nearing the end of the talk, Carlson praised Donald Trump for his approach of putting America first, and stressed that America needed to abandon globalism and become fully self-sufficient to rebuild the country and make it stronger.

“Trump said we’re going to start building and making things again. All we need to do is start believing in ourselves and our country again. He told us that it’s time to show the world that America is back bigger and better and stronger than ever before,” Carlson said, “that’s the governing agenda in the age of the Chinese coronavirus: abandon globalism, rebuild our country, make the things we need. A strong America is an independent America. There’s no other way.”

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