Rush Limbaugh is fueling a coronavirus conspiracy theory about Rod Rosenstein's sister

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the award-winning director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, has worked in the public health sector since 1995. But for some people, apparently, her accomplishments and experience pale in comparison to the fact she's the sister of former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Messonnier reportedly angered President Trump on Tuesday when she said it's not a question of if, but when and how fiercely, the coronavirus will hit the United States. "She never should have said that," a senior administration official told CNBC. "It's bad."

But some of Trump's supporters, like conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, have taken things a step further. Limbaugh, who has said the coronavirus is nothing more than the common cold and a scare tactic meant to hurt Trump by tanking the stock market, doubled down on his conspiracy theory Wednesday by tying Messonnier to her brother, who is, to put it gently, not viewed favorably by Trump and his allies, thanks to his role overseeing former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian election interference.

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Limbaugh falsely suggested Messonnier was part of a "deep state" conspiracy to exploit the coronavirus to bring down Trump.

Perhaps not shockingly, others have followed suit. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.