CNN commentator Chris Cuomo admonished President Trump for repeatedly calling the coronavirus “the Chinese virus.”
“Calling it the Chinese virus or the Wuhan virus or the Kung Flu. Listen, you may think it’s clever, but it’s hurting,” Cuomo said on his nightly show on Wednesday. “The idea, ‘Well, it did come from China.’ Then why doesn’t Fauci and other top health officials, why don’t they call it that? You know why? Because it could have come from anywhere.”
The virus, which has sparked a global pandemic, is believed to have originated in an animal market in Wuhan, China.
Trump has said he uses the phrase “Chinese virus” for accuracy purposes. Critics say Trump is being racist or is scapegoating.
The Chinese government blasted as prejudice Trump’s association of their country with the outbreak of the virus.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield has said it is wrong to use the term “Chinese virus.”
“It’s not about where it started,” Cuomo said. “All right? This doesn’t help. Calling it a ‘foreign virus.’ We’re all in the fight together. Stop it.”
