On Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate and open socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned that the coronavirus death toll could surpass the number of Americans that were killed in World War II, which was more than 400,000 people.

“In terms of potential deaths, and in terms of the economic impact on our country, the crisis we face from the coronavirus is on a scale of a major war, and we must act accordingly,” said the senator.

“Nobody knows what the number of fatalities might end up being,” he admitted, adding, that he hopes “that number is as low as possible.”

“But we also have to face the truth, and that is that the number of casualties may actually be even higher than what the armed forces experienced in World War II,” Sanders again sounded the alarm.

“In other words, we have a major, major crisis and we must act accordingly,” the 78-year-old told the American public. “We must meet the enormity of this crisis.”

Some online highlighted Sanders’ grim, worst-case rhetoric as, to put it mildly, unhelpful.

“Addressing the country in a campaign for president, a job that would require invoking a sense of calm among Americans in times like these, Bernie Sanders says Coronavirus could kill more people than troops who died in World War II,” Campus Reform managing editor Jon Street commented in the immediate wake of the socialist’s comments.

Addressing the country in a campaign for president, a job that would require invoking a sense of calm among Americans in times like these, Bernie Sanders says Coronavirus could kill more people than troops who died in World War II — Jon Street (@JonStreet) March 12, 2020

The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti remarked: “We lost half a million members of the armed forces in World War II, Bernie.”

We lost half a million members of the armed forces in World War II, Bernie. https://t.co/Xi1spJnApv — Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) March 12, 2020

President Donald Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday outlined immediate action to help contain the virus, such as barring all travel from Europe to the United States, and offered assurance to the American public that we would prevail from the crises, which is being taken seriously.

In a release, the Department of Homeland Security provided some details on the travel ban:

Today President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation, which suspends the entry of most foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States. These countries, known as the Schengen Area, include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. This does not apply to legal permanent residents, (generally) immediate family members of U.S. citizens, and other individuals who are identified in the proclamation.

Sanders recently suggested he would not take precautions at the border if he were president, The Daily Wire highlighted earlier this week.

The Vermont senator also advocated for socialized medicine during his speech on the coronavirus, though the outbreak first ran wild in Communist China and has since hit hard in Italy, where there is nationalized healthcare.

“Unfortunately, the United States is at a severe disadvantage because unlike every other major country on earth, we do not guarantee health care as a human right,” Sanders said. “The result is that millions of people in this country cannot afford to go to a doctor, let alone pay for a coronavirus test.”

Earlier this week, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the administration was able to get large health insurance companies to agree to waive copays on coronavirus testing.

“So while we work to pass a Medicare for All single-payer system, the United States government must be clear that in the midst of this emergency, that everyone in our country – regardless of income or where they live – must be able to get all of the health care they need without cost,” Sanders added.

The candidate also predictably hit Trump for his supposedly poor handling of the virus, urging Congress to take action.

“Because President Trump is unwilling and unable to lead selflessly, we must immediately convene an emergency bipartisan authority of experts to support and direct a response [to coronavirus] that is comprehensive, compassionate, and based first and foremost on science and fact,” the senator said, as highlighted by Breitbart. “In other words, Congress in a bipartisan manner must take responsibility for addressing this unparalleled crisis.”

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