Trump attacks China: It’s ‘China Virus’ not coronavirus which sounds like a beautiful place in Italy
"It's the China virus. It's not the coronavirus. Corona sounds like a place in Italy, a beautiful place. It's corona? No. It's the China virus,” said Trump.
FollowYet again used the term "China virus", US President Donald Trump hit out at China for not stopping the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives globally. He also urged his supporters not to call it coronavirus, saying the name sounds like a "beautiful place" in Italy.
Trump while addressing an election rally in the battle ground State of Pennsylvania, told his supporters on Tuesday that if re-elected, over the next four years, his administration will make America a manufacturing superpower of the world and will end the US' reliance on China once and for all.
Describing the November 3 election as a "matter of economic survival", Trump said that the country was doing great on the economic front before the plague was unleashed on the United States, and blamed China for it.
"You had the greatest year you have ever had last year, and you were really on your way - we were very, very sadly disturbed by what happened with China. They let the plague out. They shouldn't have done it," he said.
"We built the greatest economy in the history of the world. And right now we're doing it again,” he asserted, amidst an applause from his supporters.
"It's the China virus. It's not the coronavirus. Corona sounds like a place in Italy, a beautiful place. It's corona? No. It's the China virus. They don't want to say it. You know, the radical left, they don't want to say it," Trump said.
Also read: Coronavirus: Must hold them accountable for unleashing COVID-19 onto world, Trump slams China
The US President has called the novel coronavirus as China's virus before as well.
Earlier too in his speech on the eve of the Republican National Convention in August, Trump had said, "I am pleased to make a truly historic announcement in our battle against the China virus that will save countless lives".
In March, he had said that China is responsible for the spread of the novel coronavirus and called the COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus".
The virus that first emerged in China's Wuhan city in the Hubei province in December 2019 has claimed 968,726 lives and infected 31,483,011 people globally. The US is the worst affected country, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
"Do you ever notice they're always going after Russia? Look, nobody's been tougher on Russia than me. But you have Russia, Russia, Russia. I say what about China? They never want to mention it. You know, they got little deals going on,” Trump alleged.
"But coronavirus, doesn't it sound like Italy, a beautiful villa, you have a beautiful corona.
