President Trump pushed back on critics who said calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” creates a stigma.
Speaking at a White House news conference on Tuesday, Trump blasted the Chinese government after some of its diplomats accused the U.S. military of starting the novel coronavirus outbreak, which is widely believed to have originated in Wuhan.
Trump said China was putting out “information, which was false, that our military gave this to them.”
“Rather than having an argument, I said I have to call it where it came from, it did come from China,” Trump said. “So, I think it’s a very accurate term.”
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When asked if the phrase “creates a stigma,” Trump said he disagreed. “No, I don’t think so. No, I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma,” he said.
In the United States, there have been 5,204 cases of the coronavirus, 17 recoveries, and 92 deaths, according to the latest reading by the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
