• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Politics

Donald Trump Delivers Another Racist Presser

Trump, in true form, told reporters on Wednesday that he didn't take issue with a White House staffer calling COVID-19 the "kung flu."
Donald Trump Delivers Another Racist Presser
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
By Tanya A. Christian · Updated November 4, 2020

It appears that Donald Trump has found a new target for his overt racism—the Chinese. During a press conference on Tuesday, the impeached President essentially told reporters that he didn’t find a problem with someone inside of his administration calling COVID-19 the “kung flu.”

Yesterday an Asian White House reporter said that an unidentified White House staffer called the global pandemic the “kung flu” to her face and wondered what they were calling it behind closed doors. The tweet, and subsequent conversation that stemmed from it, prompted PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor to ask Trump about it during his daily coronavirus update on Wednesday.

WATCH: @Yamiche asked the president if using the term "Chinese virus" to describe novel coronavirus puts Asian Americans at risk of being targeted.

President Trump: "No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100%." pic.twitter.com/BGHe10PFQ0

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) March 18, 2020

“There are some, at least one White House official who used the term ‘kung flu’ referring to the fact that this virus started in China. Is that acceptable? Is it wrong?” Alcindor asked before seeking further comment from Trump about if he condemns the use of the term and if he is fearful of what his constant use of the term “Chinese virus” could mean for Asian-Americans?  

Trump, as expected, did not disavow the term ‘kung flu,’ excusing it away by saying that its origins are in China. He also doubled down on his own use of the term “Chinese virus,” claiming that Asian-Americans would likely agree with the racist epithet “100 percent.” 

Donald Trump Delivers Another Racist Presser
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 11: US President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the Oval Office about the widening Coronavirus crisis on March 11, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump said the US will suspend all travel from Europe – except the UK – for the next 30 days. Since December 2019, Coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 109,000 people and killed more than 3,800 people in 105 countries. (Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)

Experts, actual Asians, and anybody who doesn’t regularly practice overt racism would likely disagree. A rise in hate crimes suggests that the spread of COVID-19 has actually prompted an uptick in hate crimes against Asian-Americans. Trump’s incessant need to call it the “Chinese virus” or a “foreign threat” does little to help the growing hostility toward the ethnic group. 

And Trump is not alone. His nonchalant attitude toward the fears now felt by Asian-Americans is one shared by a number of GOP officials.  On Wednesday, just hours after Trump’s press conference, Texas Senator John Cornyn said that “China is to blame because the culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs and things like that, these viruses are transmitted from the animal to the people, and that’s why China has been the source of a lot of these viruses like SARS, like MERS, the swine flu. And now the coronavirus. So I think they have a fundamental problem and I don’t object to geographically identifying where it’s coming from.”

*****

ESSENCE is committed to bringing our audience the latest facts about COVID-19 (coronavirus). Our content team is closely monitoring the developing details surrounding the virus via official sources and health care experts, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Please continue to refresh hub for updates on COVID-19, as well as tips for taking care of yourselves, your families and your communities.

TOPICS:  coronavirus COVID-19 Donald J. Trump kung flu Racism
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now