President Donald Trump called the new coronavirus “Kung Flu” during his rally in Tulsa on Saturday, a racist reference to the fact that the first confirmed case of the virus appeared in China. Speaking to supporters, Trump said, “It’s a disease, without question. Has more names than any disease in history. I can name—Kung Flu—I can name 19 different versions of names.” He also said he told his staff to slow down coronavirus testing in direct opposition to public health experts’ consensus. In March, CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang reported that a White House official had said “Kung Flu” when speaking to her. Senior presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway said her account wasn’t true. “I don’t know how these conversations go and that’s highly offensive,” Conway said. Trump has called the coronavirus an offensive name before, “the Chinese virus.” He justified his language by saying that Asian-Americans “100 percent agree with me.”
Trump calls the coronavirus "Kung flu" and then says, "many call it a flu." (Nobody with a working brain says that.) pic.twitter.com/2Wlmv7L4na
