TRUMP ACCUSES CHINA OF BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

TRUMP ACCUSES CHINA OF BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

President Trump took direct aim at China on Thursday for allowing the spread of the coronavirus that has sickened Americans, shut down much of daily life and pushed the U.S. economy toward recession, while deflecting criticism that his administration was caught flat-footed by the outbreak.
The president dug in on his use of the term “Chinese virus” to describe the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, late last year and did not rule out directing economic retaliation toward Beijing.
“Thank you all for being here, and we continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus,” Trump said near the top of his combative appearance before reporters at the White House.
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Trump’s use of the term has become a point of pride among some White House aides and supporters, and the president has used it more as his handling of the public health emergency has been increasingly faulted. A Washington Post photographer captured an image of a printed copy of Trump’s remarks that had the word “corona,” a medical term for a family of viruses, crossed out and the word “Chinese” put in its place with a black marker.

© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post A close-up of President Trump’s notes shows where “Corona” was crossed out and replaced with “Chinese.”
Trump’s shift to more fully blame China coincides with widening devastation from the virus in the United States and increasing criticism that his administration missed opportunities to prepare and respond. For weeks in January and February, Trump publicly dismissed the outbreak as of very little risk to Americans, even as he banned air travel for non-U.S. citizens traveling from China.
After appearing sobered by the scale of the crisis earlier in the week, Trump on Thursday bitterly attacked reporters and news organizations he said had failed to accurately report his accomplishments in confronting the virus.

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“We were very prepared. The only thing we weren’t prepared for was the, the media. The media has not treated it fairly. I’ll tell you how prepared I was. I called for a ban from people coming in from China long before anybody thought it was — in fact, it was your network, I believe, they called me a racist because I did that,” Trump told a reporter for NBC News. “It was many of the people in the room. They called me racist and other words because I did that, because I went so early.”
Trump didn’t specify who called the decision to limit air travel from China racist, and in recent weeks he has exaggerated opposition to the move at the time he made it, while complaining he has not been given enough accolades for the action.
The travel ban is credited with slowing the onset of widespread infection in the United States. But by the time Trump instituted it in February, the virus was already being passed person to person in some parts of the country.
Asked whether he is considering “repercussions for China” or a realignment of the supply system in which some American manufacturers rely on Chinese labor or raw materials, Trump suggested he was open to the idea.
“I don’t want to comment on that right now,” Trump said.