Actor George Takei urged his massive Twitter following to report President Trump to the social media platform for “stoking racism” over a tweet about the coronavirus.
“Do me a favor and report this tweet. Trump is stoking racism. @jack may not do anything, but people should let @Twitter know it’s not acceptable,” Takei tweeted to his 2.9 million followers on Monday night.
Do me a favor and report this tweet. Trump is stoking racism. @jack may not do anything, but people should let @Twitter know it’s not acceptable. https://t.co/ongaXpn4od
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 17, 2020
The actor of Star Trek fame was responding to Trump calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus.”
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
The term “Wuhan virus” has also been deemed racist by some reporters, such as MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and NBC News’s David Gura, although the virus was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus. https://t.co/cMrsA59xTH
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 9, 2020
FYI: Calling #COVID19 the “Wuhan Virus” is racist.
— David Gura (@davidgura) March 9, 2020
The COVID-19 virus first emerged in China last year and has since spread to every continent except Antarctica. In the early days of the outbreak, the country punished a whistleblower who tried to warn the world about the illness and later died from it himself.
