After President Trump announced a series of initiatives to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, CNN anchor Jim Acosta speculated Trump’s address to the nation “smacked of xenophobia.”
As CNN anchor Chris Cuomo hosted a reaction panel to Trump’s Wednesday night Oval Office address on coronavirus, Acosta said the public will perceive the remarks as being xenophobic.
“The other thing, Chris, that I think we should point out, at one point during this address the president referred to the coronavirus as a quote ‘foreign virus.’ … Now, why the president would go as far as to describe it as a ‘foreign virus,’ that is something we’ll also be asking questions about. But it should be pointed out that Stephen Miller, who is an immigration hard-liner, who advises the president, is one of his top domestic policy advisers and speechwriters, was a driving force in writing this speech. And I think it is going to come across to a lot of Americans as smacking of xenophobia to use that kind of term in this speech, Chris.”
During his remarks, the president announced a 30-day travel ban from all European countries, except the United Kingdom, as nations such as Italy struggle to limit the virus’s spread.
“These prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo but various other things as we get approval,” Trump said. He later said, “This is not a financial crisis, just a temporary moment in time.”
COVID-19 cases have appeared in every continent, except Antarctica, ever since the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China. Nearly 125,000 people have tested positive for the virus around the world, killing at least 4,592 people. In the United States, more than 1,100 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and at least 35 patients have died. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic on Wednesday.
