Rush Limbaugh defends Trump from coronavirus criticism: 'He's actually trying to protect the United States'

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Diamond Princess Cruise passenger Jerri Jorgensen on life under quarantine in Japan.

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh defended President Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak Tuesday, saying it's the president's job to protect the United States and not the world.

"Donald Trump is president of the United States. He is not president of the world. It is not his job to control the spread of the coronavirus in China, Limbaugh said on his nationally syndicated radio show. "It’s not his job to control the spread of the coronavirus in the U.K. There’s nothing he can do anyway about it. He doesn’t have the force of law behind him. All he has is the power that being the president of the lone superpower in the world gives him."

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"But Trump’s first commitment and first responsibility is to the people of the United States," Limbaugh added. 'Not only on the coronavirus but on the economy, on trade deals, on whatever it is that affects the safety and prosperity of the people of America."

The outbreak has sicked more than 80,000 people worldwide and been blamed at least 2,700 deaths across 35 countries.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has advised Americans that the outbreak could spread in the United States, prompting a new wave of fears.

Limbaugh defended Trump's "America first" perspective.

"But his view is: I have the ability and the foresight and the responsibility to protect the people of the United States from illegal immigration, from economic calamity, from whatever it might be, including rampant disease," Limbaugh said.

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The host was responding to CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who compared Trump's actions unfavorably with those of former President Barack Obama during the Ebola virus outbreak, which included the naming of an Ebola Czar.

"These are for show moves. This is what Washington politicians do. Nothing but making it look like they’re doing everything," Limbaugh said. "The difference is Obama and his ilk are a bunch of phonies devoted to public relations victories. Trump is a real guy who is actually trying to protect the United States when it comes to coronavirus or anything else.

Fox News' Alexandria Hein contributed to this report.