Trump blames China again as coronavirus cases spike in the US, Internet blasts him for 'gaslighting' nation
As the number of Covid-19 infections continues to rise in the United States, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to once again blame China for the pandemic. In response to the tweet, many took to social media to point out signs of gaslighting from the president.
On June 30, Trump tweeted, "As I watch the Pandemic spread its ugly face all across the world, including the tremendous damage it has done to the USA, I become more and more angry at China. People can see it, and I can feel it!"
A user pointed out in response, "The Pandemic is a faceless virus that belongs to no race, creed, religion, or nationality. In fact, the coronavirus came to America from Europe because of the unrestricted air travel from countries like Italy into New York City. Getting angry at China and Asian people is racism," adding, "The President of the United States should be focused on containing the virus here in our country through preventive measures like promoting wearing masks in public and social distancing. We should be racing to make a safe and effective vaccine. Stop wasting your time with anger."
At the time of writing, there are over 2.62 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, over 127,000 people have succumbed to the virus in the United States alone, more than one-fifth of the global death toll which stands at 509,779.
#SignsOfGaslighting was first used by a community discussing what victims must look for but was then taken over by Trump's detractors and supporters. One user tweeted, "#SignsOfGaslighting Passing the buck and not "taking responsibility at all." #TrumpKnewAndDidNothing." Another wrote, "They say they have a constitutional right to literally put other people’s lives at risk because they don’t want to wear masks, but are determined to force women to give birth. You know, cause life. #SignsOfGaslighting."
A user opined, "#SignsOfGaslighting In my abusive marriage, my husband would say, "The kids tell me you aren't a good mom, and they have to come to me because they know I will take care of things." I believed that until I left, with the kids, who said they never said that. Trump triggers me."
A user shared, "#SignsOfGaslighting include 1. Calling everything they disagree with hoax 2. Arguing their view without regard for the evidence 3. Rewriting information and facts 4. Calling what you know as true false It's the doublethink of Ingsoc in praxis." Another pointed out that Trump's use of "ALL CAPS," also falls under gaslighting, using the example pf Trump's tweet in 2018 threatening Iran and its President. Hassan Rouhani.
Some users also extended the conversation towards Trump's supporters. A user tweeted, "Diminishing the harm of racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, ageism, shaming because people are sissy cry babies and snowflakes. Or, they didn’t own slaves so why should they be sorry for being white. #SignsOfGaslighting." Another wrote, "They insist that the racism of Democrats 60 years ago is more important than the racism of Republicans 10 minutes ago #SignsOfGaslighting."