Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused President Trump of using “racist rhetoric” in describing the coronavirus pandemic in bid to “distract” the public from how his administration handled the situation.
“The president is turning to racist rhetoric to distract from his failures to take the coronavirus seriously early on, make tests widely available, and adequately prepare the country for a period of crisis,” Hillary Clinton posted on Twitter. “Don't fall for it. Don't let your friends and family fall for it.”
Some members of the media and Democrats have criticized Trump and other Republicans for describing the COVID-19 as “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus in their social media posts and public statements, according to The Hill. Critics say that it might stigmatize Chinese Americans and can lead to a rise in attacks against them.
However, Trump defended his use of the term “Chinese virus” when referring to the coronavirus during a White House press conference on Wednesday. “It’s not racist at all,” the President said. “It comes from China, that's why. I want to be accurate.”
“China was putting out information, which was false, that our military gave this to them,” the POTUS likewise defended using the term on Tuesday. “That was false. And rather than having an argument, I said I have to call it where it came from. It did come from China so I think it's a very accurate term.”
President Donald Trump’s comment is a reference to a Chinese government spokesman who seemed to promote a conspiracy theory saying that it was the U.S. Army that bought the COVID-19 virus to China.
As expected, China was not pleased. “Some US politicians have tried to stigmatise China … which China strongly condemns,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday, The Guardian reported. “We urge the US to stop this despicable practice. We are very angry and strongly oppose it [the tweet].”
The tweet referred to was made by Trump on March 17. “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” the POTUS tweeted “We will be stronger than ever before!”