by Debra Heine
Despite a massive media outcry, President Trump has continued to go out of his way to pin the blame for the COVID-19 pandemic on communist China.
A photo of the president’s notes taken during Thursday’s press briefing with the coronavirus task force, underscores that effort.
“Close up of President @realDonaldTrump notes is seen where he crossed out ‘Corona’ and replaced it with ‘Chinese’ Virus as he speaks with his coronavirus task force today at the White House,” Jabin Botsford, a staff photographer at The Washington Post, tweeted.
Close up of President @realDonaldTrump notes is seen where he crossed out "Corona" and replaced it with "Chinese" Virus as he speaks with his coronavirus task force today at the White House. #trump #trumpnotes pic.twitter.com/kVw9yrPPeJ
— Jabin Botsford (@jabinbotsford) March 19, 2020
Trump on Wednesday fended off a reporter’s criticism by pointing out that the coronavirus “comes from China,” and “it’s not racist at all” to make note of that. “I want to be accurate,” he explained.
The president has insisted on referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” in recent public appearances and tweets in an effort to combat Chinese propaganda blaming the United States for the spread of the deadly disease.
The coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December, and the communist nation’s lack of action and ensuing cover-up facilitated its spread to the rest of the world.
Axios has compiled a timeline of the coronavirus outbreak in China, “highlighting when the cover-up started and ended — and showing how, during that time, the virus already started spreading around the world, including to the United States.”
Why it matters: A study published in March indicated that if Chinese authorities had acted three weeks earlier than they did, the number of coronavirus cases could have been reduced by 95% and its geographic spread limited.
This timeline, compiled from information reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the South China Morning Post and other sources, shows that China’s cover-up and the delay in serious measures to contain the virus lasted about three weeks.
The president formed a task force to combat the virus in late January, after the first case was confirmed in the U.S. in a man who had just returned from Wuhan, China.
Two days later, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency and announced restrictions on travelers arriving from China.
Chinese party officials, government representatives and state media have been peddling deliberate lies and conspiracy theories that blame the U.S. government for the COVID-19 outbreak, and in many cases, the U.S. media has been helping them spread their propaganda.
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Debra Heine is a regular contributor to American Greatness.
