A recent poll found the majority of adults agree with President Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus.”
Three consecutive surveys conducted by the Harris Poll found that more than half somewhat agree or strongly agree with Trump’s decision to use the term.
Trump butted heads with reporters and media outlets several times over the past few months for referring to the virus’s origin.
“It’s not racist at all. It comes from China. That’s why. Comes from China. I want to be accurate,” Trump said last month.
“Trump’s malicious use of ‘Chinese virus,’” one CNN headline read in March, comparing Trump’s rhetoric with those who scapegoated Jews in Europe for the Black Death.
“Racist Trump Defends Using ‘Chinese Virus’ to Describe Coronavirus Pandemic,” a Rolling Stone headline said.
A British scientific journal apologized this week for linking the coronavirus to China despite the virus’s origin being linked to the city of Wuhan.
