Sen. Lindsey Graham demanded the Chinese government close down its wet markets to stem the spread of diseases that he said likely originate in the stalls’ unusual game and produce.
The South Carolina Republican appeared on Fox News on Friday and said he is sending a letter with Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Coons of Delaware to the World Health Organization and the Chinese government demanding the closure of wet markets. The novel coronavirus is suspected to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China.
“How many times do we have to go through this before we change our behavior? It’s just not in China. It’s in southeast Asia. It’s in Africa,” Graham said. “We have wet markets where wild, exotic animals are being slaughtered and consumed on the same premises as chicken and pork, and it gets into the stream of the animals and eventually the human beings.”
“Some guy in China started all this, and it most likely came from a wet market,” Graham continued, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese meat markets have reportedly opened back up for business after Beijing ordered a ban on the sale of wild animals such as bats following reports they may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.
Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, advised the president to demand that Chinese President Xi Jinping shut down the wet markets in his country to protect his own people, as well as the rest of the world.
“Bats carry this stuff, and they literally eat bats. Stop eating bats!” Graham said.
