Months after Donald Trump attacked her with a racist nickname, Elaine Chao is finally addressing the offensive rhetoric, suggesting that her former boss may be ignorant over the struggles of Asian Americans.
Chao’s rare response came after the former president took a jab at her in yet another Truth Social post. After previously giving her the moniker “Coco Chow” and accusing her family of working to “get rich on China,” Trump floated that his Taiwan-born former transportation secretary may be linked to classified documents found in President Joe Biden’s home.
Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown? Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China. He gives them all whatever they want!
Chao, who has repeatedly refused to comment on the offensive posts — and even discouraged the media from repeating the racist nickname — appears to have had enough.
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The former transportation secretary voiced her opinion on the former president’s attacks in a statement to Politico.
When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He [Trump] doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.
Why Chao has been a consistent target of Trump’s vitriol is unclear.
She was, however, the first cabinet member to resign after the Capitol riots in January 2021. She is also the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Trump has directed insults at for years.
While her latest statement marks a stronger reaction than usual, she has yet to directly respond to her former boss.
She previously encouraged 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,” Chao told community members in San Francisco’s Chinatown last month.
