I’m probably on the slightly more paranoid end of the spectrum when it comes to coronavirus. But some of the president’s defenders have decided that Wuhan virus is a “scare story” by a liberal media trying to tank the stock market so Trump won’t get elected. Rush Limbaugh has advanced this theory on his radio show. White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has advanced this theory at CPAC. This is a genuinely dangerous and stupid thing to say. If Wuhan virus leads to serious disruption of daily life in even one city, the people who advanced this theory will look stupid. If the Wuhan virus leads to a serious number of deaths in the United States, this line will not age well.

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online . @michaelbd