Defying Beijing, Donald Trump doubles down on use of ‘Chinese virus’ label for Covid-19
- ‘China tried to say at one point … that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen … not as long as I am president,’ Trump said
- The US president’s comments came as US-China ties sour, with both sides trading barbs over who was responsible for the pandemic
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his recent use of the term “Chinese virus” to refer to Covid-19, saying he was simply referring to the virus’ place of origin and that the expression was not racist.
In a show of defiance against Chinese anger over the use of the term, the president used it within seconds of the start of the daily press conference of his Covid-19 task force, saying: “There’s some important developments in our war against the Chinese virus”.
“No, no, it’s not racist at all … It comes from China,” Trump said when asked why he was using the term amid rising reports of racism against Americans of Chinese ethnicity.
“I have great love for all of the people from our country but, as you know, China tried to say at one point … that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I am president. It comes from China,” Trump said.
“Not think; I know,” he said when asked again whether it was definitive that the virus originated from China.