Coronavirus: Trump refers to COVID-19 as 'Chinese Virus', says US will come back 'stronger than ever before'
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently faced backlash after calling the coronavirus "Chinese" as opposition leaders including Nancy Pelosi and Ilhan Omar accused him of racism and bigotry.
And now, none other than McCarthy's top boss — President Donald Trump — has done the same thing. In a tweet on Monday, March 16, he too labeled the coronavirus as the "Chinese Virus" while promising to protect the American industry from the pandemic.
Nearly 80 people have died from the virus in the US so far while over 4,000 have been affected. Worldwide, the death toll has gone past 7,000.
Though the virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, the World Health Organization has stopped attaching geographic names to diseases or terms that fuel fear.
The president's tweet, however, had a smell of strong dose of nationalism as he said: "The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!"
Trump's tweet saw a mixed reaction with people both slamming and praising him. The president, who is seeking re-election this year, has come under massive criticism over his response to the pandemic.
He has been accused of compromising with the testing because of electoral gains and also faced flak for blaming the previous administration for the mess. The American people are losing trust on their president in handling the situation, showed one poll.
Trump releases new safety guidelines
Amid the backlash, Trump released a series of sweeping guidelines that will define the societal norms in America's society for the next 15 days. He also acknowledged for the first time that the ongoing pandemic may push the economy into a recession and suggested that the ordeal may go on till July or August.
The economic front is witnessing some serious slides even though the Federal Reserve slashed the interest rates to almost zero to encourage markets and investors but yet not many were feeling hopeful.
Massive shutdown of business ventures because of vanishing customers is set to leave behind a big economic impact. Besides, the aviation sector is also facing a tough time and the government is already in talks to come to its aid.