‘I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) At a Wednesday press conference, President Donald Trump and several other high-level officials sought to update the public about the latest developments to combat the coronavirus.
Sadly, many in the media seemed more fixated on the fact that Trump labeled it the “Chinese virus” than the more substantive remarks.
Reporters also claimed that White House officials had referred to the virus as the “Kung Flu.”
“Is that acceptable? Is it wrong? Are you worried that having this virus be talked about as a Chinese virus then that—”
Trump then interrupted the reporter to ask who said it, but the reporter was unable to provide a name.
The reporter continued by claiming that the nomenclature would put “Asian–Americans at risk” and subject them to targeting.
“Not at all,” Trump incredulously responded.
“I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he continued. “It comes from China.
Other liberals took to Twitter in response, leading the hashtag #RacistInChief to trend briefly on Wednesday.
The term, along with variations such as “Wuhan virus,” have previously roiled left-wingers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-NY. However, it follows the precedent of many other epidemic outbreaks that were named for their region of origin.
It also comes as the Chinese have responded with heated rhetoric and ongoing economic warfare, going so accuse the U.S. military of introducing the virus in their country while threatening to withhold medical supplies and antibiotics, the manufacture of which the country has a near stranglehold on.
Wednesday’s press conference, which included several members of the Coronavirus Task Force led by Vice President Mike Pence, covered a range of new developments, among them a concern that some cases in Europe revealed children may also be more susceptible to the virus than previously reported.
“We have not seen any sign of mortality in the children, but we are concerned about the early reports,” said Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
Members emphasized the president’s recently released “Coronavirus Guidelines for America,” which included some widely reported preventative measures as well as encouraging the public to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people.
The guidelines, released Tuesday encouraged everyone to follow the ‘social distancing’ and enhanced hygienic practices for 15 days.
Birx told the media to be sure “in every report that you’re putting out that you’re talking about the presidential guidance.”
The White House also promoted additional resources on the Coronavirus.gov website rolled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trump touted the collaborative efforts of federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, in fast-tracking vaccine tests with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
He said also, that emergency response now included the mobilization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in every state and that two hospital ships, the USS Mercy and USS Comfort, would be dispatched on both costs to aid with medical treatment.
He encouraged Americans to continue to persevere in spite of the demands that were increasingly being made to disrupt daily life.
“Now is our time—we must sacrifice together, because we are all in this together and we’ll come through together,” he said.
“It’s the invisible enemy that’s always the toughest … but we’re going to defeat the invisible enemy,” he continued. “I think we’re going to do it even faster than we thought and it will be a complete victory—it will be a total victory.”