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https://scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3075992/mr-trump-what-about-american-flu-and-western-financial-crisis Comment
Mr Trump, what about the ‘American flu’ and ‘Western financial crisis’?
- There are plenty of contagion incidents, both financial and viral, that would qualify to be named after America if we follow the US president’s notion of origins
US President Donald Trump speaks during the daily press briefing on the Coronavirus pandemic situation. Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump so often acts like a spoiled brat that it’s almost endearing. Given how he has made fun of the disabled, women, minorities and many others who don’t meet his standards of American manliness and feminine beauty, it’s hardly surprising he is now insisting on calling Covid-19 “the Chinese virus”, despite the obvious racial overtones.
He is, of course, not the only one. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also likes to refer to it as “the Wuhan virus”. But it was Trump who has doubled down, after being called out for his discriminatory labelling.
Without prompting, he opened a press meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on Wednesday by referring to the “Chinese virus” again.
When asked why he was going against naming guidance by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he replied: “Because it comes from China. It’s not racist at all. No, not at all. It comes from China.”
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. There are plenty of contagion incidents, both financial and viral, in recent years, that would qualify to be named after America if we follow Trump’s notion of origins.
There was the H1N1 pandemic, which emerged in the US in 2009, and spread around the world.
Apologists like to claim that it originated from Mexico, but here’s what the CDC actually wrote: “In the spring of 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged. It was detected first in the United States and spread quickly across the United States and the world.”
Perhaps Trump and Pompeo should now refer to it as “the American flu”. It’s still a matter of debate whether US authorities responded adequately to contain the pandemic.
In the first year, the CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalisations, and 12,469 deaths in the US due to “the American virus”.
Up to 575,400 people worldwide were believed to have died from its infection during the same period.
Meanwhile, people still call the 2008-09 financial collapse the global financial crisis when it started in the US and spread mainly to Europe. Yet, we refer to the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 as such. Well, you can argue the 2008-09 impact was global. If so, that’s also the case with Covid-19, which has hit more than 140 countries and counting.
Mr Trump, please call them “the American flu” and “Western financial crisis” from now on.