As the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, the stock market has reacted strongly, with the S&P 500’s drop wiping out $3.4 trillion in market value in one week. As President Donald Trump bumbles his way through the crisis and desperation rises among his administration officials to maintain a consistently strong economy ahead of the presidential election, Fox News figures are desperately pushing the blame for the falling stock market onto presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and his surge in the Democratic primaries.

The stock market tumbled this week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,190 points and the S&P 500 fell 4.42% in one day. It’s widely accepted that the coronavirus outbreak is the reason behind the stock market drop, though a handful of investors have tried to blame Sanders. But as The New York Times explained, the market “sell-off is fueled mostly by worry that measures to contain the virus would hamper corporate profits and economic growth, and fears that the outbreak could get worse.” According to CNBC, people can “expect market volatility to stay elevated as investors get more information on the coronavirus.” The Washington Post explained the impact that coronavirus has had on markets worldwide: “The medical emergency already has disrupted global production networks, curtailed air travel and hobbled economies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.”

Fox News is scrambling to downplay the impact of the stock market downturn, as analysts and even U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have indicated that a strong economy will help Trump win reelection in November. As a result, Fox and Trump have started to partially blame the stock market downturn on Sanders’ rise -- despite the lack of supporting evidence and the general consensus that the fall is being driven by coronavirus fears -- and arguing that the democratic socialist candidate is scaring the markets.