0:49
- ABC News
- Donald Trump
- March 18, 2020
Trump uses COVID-19 term linked to anti-Asian bias
There have been dozens of bias incidents against Asian Americans, groups say.
0:49
Asked Wednesday during a news conference about that incident, Trump first repeated the term to cameras and added that he was not concerned terms like it and \"Chinese virus\" put Asian Americans at risk, despite the evidence otherwise.
“No, no, not at all,' Trump said. \"No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it, 100%. It comes from China, there's nothing not to agree.”
Trump initially praised China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, in January saying the country had \"been working very hard to contain\" the virus, and in February applauding Chinese leader Xi Jinping for being \"strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.\"
\"Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation,\" Trump tweeted on Feb. 7. Asked by ABC News' Karen Travers that same day whether he was concerned China was covering up the full extent of the outbreak, Trump replied: \"No. China is working very hard.\"
But on Wednesday, Trump told ABC News at a press conference that China \"could have given us a lot earlier notice,\" although he said he did not believe China was \"inflicting\" the disease on the United States.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice originally created its tracking website, standagainsthatred.org, in 2017, but recently tailored it to the coronavirus.
There has been a \"significant uptick\" in reports of attacks against Asian Americans in recent weeks, John Yang, the executive director of the coalition’s Washington office -- called Asian American Justice Center -- told ABC News.
He said many of the dozens of incidents across the country consists of \"what you might call micro-aggressions,\" like name-calling.
\"There’s definitely a strain of, 'Look at what you brought from China,'\" Yang said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/coronavirus-wuhan-china-rtr-jc-200318_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
Phrases like \"China virus\" and \"Kung Flu\" have been connected to these incidents, he added.
Both groups were monitoring social media for incidents.
This report was featured in the Thursday, March 19, 2020, episode of “Start Here,” ABC News’ daily news podcast.
\"Start Here\" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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