President of the United States, Donald Trump has come under heavy backlash on social media for referring coronavirus disease as a “Chinese Virus.”
With the coronavirus spreading from China into the US and around the world, both nations appeared to be locked in a game of shifting blame about the origin of the virus.
Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, accused the US military of bringing the virus to Wuhan.
The US summoned Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai, over the comment and issued a “stern” warning to Cui.
On Monday, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also told top Chinese diplomat, Yang Jiechi, the Trump administration strongly objects to China’s “efforts to shift blame” for the coronavirus to the US.
Hours after that, President Trump for the first time on his Twitter feed used the phrase “Chinese Virus” to describe coronavirus, stepping up friction between the world’s two biggest economies.
Trump, who has previously called the disease a “foreign virus”, tweeted:
“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1239685852093169664
The tweet prompted massive backlash from many social media users, including New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio, who said Trump’s comment was misplacing blame and could put more Asian Americans in danger.
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