Earlier this week, President Donald Trump clashed with members of the media after he referred to the global COVID-19 pandemic as the “Chinese virus,” with reporters suggesting the phrase carries racial undertones.
President Trump denies the phrase is racist in anyway, saying he has “much love” for all people. Nevertheless, some members of the media persist in suggesting that the president has a racial animus, and that is fueling his policy regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
Let’s set some records straight here: this is a Chinese virus, and it’s not the first one. And no, this isn’t meant to disparage the citizens of China or anyone else of Chinese or Asian heritage. If anything, any hostility should instead be directed at the Chinese government in Beijing, where President Xi Jinping is trying to style himself as some sort of war hero for his response to the crisis.
This could not be a less accurate claim. Attempts by the Chinese government to suppress information about the virus during the early days of the outbreak are well-documented. Moreover, the communists effectively facilitated the spread of the disease by allowing some 5 million people to travel out of Wuhan province, where the coronavirus originated.
Right now, the focus of the Trump Administration and every other government in the world should be on containing the virus, developing a vaccine, and maintaining social order at a time when panicking feels like the norm. But progress cannot stop there. This isn’t the first time China has allowed a native virus to run wild, but it should be the last.
It’s time for the world to stand up to this brutal authoritarian regime that has shown nothing but contempt for the rest of the world — especially the United States and its allies.
Here’s Ben Shapiro with more.
