Fox Business Host Confusingly Blames Dow Plunge On Sanders’ Nevada Win

Huh?

Fox Business Network host Charles Payne argued during a Monday morning segment on Fox News that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) win in the Nevada Democratic caucuses last weekend is to blame for a plunge in the stock market.

The Associated Press reported Monday morning that global markets have fallen sharply amid a worrisome spread in coronavirus cases, prompting investors to run for safety. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq have all taken notable hits as of Monday morning.

Upon asking Payne if the spread in coronavirus cases is to blame for the sell-off in overseas markets, Fox News co-host Ed Henry also asked him if this is the first time the markets are open since Sanders became the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary.

Payne replied that “the Bernie factor is finally rearing its head in the stock market” before listing off a series of stocks that have taken a hit.

“Molina Health — one of the biggest health insurance companies in this country — is down 8 percent, United Health is down over 6 percent, Anthem is down 5 percent,” Payne said. “Hospital stocks are getting hit.”

When asked by co-host Sandra Smith whether he directly attributes that to Sanders, Payne replied “absolutely” before throwing Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) under the bus as well.

“There’s absolutely no doubt,” Payne said. “These stocks got hammered when Elizabeth Warren was in the lead. And when she had her biggest point of leading in the polls, all of these stocks were under an extreme amount of pressure as she began to wane and some of these names came out with great earnings estimates. They rebounded pretty nicely.”

Payne added that “this is the first time I think Wall Street has taken Bernie Sanders very seriously.”

Watch Payne’s remarks below:

Charles Payne: "The Bernie factor is finally rearing its head in the stock market." pic.twitter.com/bVyrnwKhFb

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 24, 2020