News

Trump slammed for 'grossly irresponsible' suggestion that China might have spread coronavirus deliberately

Trump slammed for 'grossly irresponsible' suggestion that China might have spread coronavirus deliberately
Getty

President Trump has ramped up his attacks on China once again over the coronavirus pandemic.

Shockingly, but sadly not surprisingly, this time Trump even questioned whether it was a "mistake that got out of control" or a crisis that was started deliberately in China.

At the daily White House briefing, the president warned that Beijing would face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the spread of Covid-19 but he didn’t say what sort of consequences he had in mind.

He said:

It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn't, and the whole world is suffering from it.

The president has increasingly targeted China in recent days, having repeatedly referred to coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" in the past.

This week, the Trump administration also suspended funding to the World Health Organisation after accusing the UN health agency of being "China-centric".

Trump's critics he’s attempting to use China to deflect from problems with his own response to the pandemic, which has been widely criticised by Democrats and some Republicans. America has by far the world's highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 730,000 infections and over 38,000 deaths.

More than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month, which is hitting the economy hard and causing financial struggles across the country. Tensions appear to be rising, with protests forming in several states demanding an end to lockdown orders.

On social media, people were shocked and appalled by Trump’s suggestion that China would spread the virus deliberately.

If this one doesn't stick... who will Trump try to blame next?

The Conversation (0)
x