Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has dodged questions regarding former President Donald Trump’s “Coco Chow” attack, according to reports.
Trump made headlines in early October after referring to Chao, who immigrated from Taiwan, as “Coco Chow” in a rant against her husband’s — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — role in the passing of a bill preventing government shutdown.
“Is McConnell approving all of these trillions of dollars worth of Democrat-sponsored bills, without even the slightest bit of negotiation, because he hates Donald J. Trump, and he knows I am strongly opposed to them, or is he doing it because he believes in the fake and highly destructive green new deal, and is willing to take the country down with him? In any event, either reason is unacceptable,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He has a DEATH WISH,” the former president continued. “Must immediately seek help and advice from his China loving wife, Coco Chow!”
The anti-Asian reference has since sparked outrage on social media. Several Republican officials have also denounced Trump, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who told CNN: “It’s never, ever OK to be a racist.”
In August, Trump also called Chao “crazy” and accused her family of working to “get rich on China.” The allegation followed speculation about the extent of her involvement in her family’s business, U.S. shipping company Foremost Group, which reportedly does most of its business in China.
Chao, who resigned from Trump’s cabinet after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, refused to answer questions about the former president’s insults during a visit to San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday, according to The San Francisco Standard. She instead urged Asian Americans to be proud of their heritage.
“I say to my fellow Asian Americans, number one: don’t be afraid of the country. Always be proud of our heritage because now America is more diverse,” said Chao, who was the first Asian American to serve on the cabinet.
Chao also declined to comment on the matter in a Fox News interview earlier last week, dismissing his statements.
“The president says many things. I don’t make a point of responding to his comments,” she said.
