President Donald Trump posted on Twitter that Asian Americans are “very angry” at China over the COVID-19 outbreak on Tuesday morning.
Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World. Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don’t blame them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020
“Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World. Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don’t blame them!”
Former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang replied soon after, hinting at Trump’s poor leadership as having caused so many deaths in the US.
We are angry that people are dying and our country is #1 in cases and deaths due to a chaotic and uncoordinated response.
— Andrew Yang🧢🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) May 12, 2020
“We are angry that people are dying and our country is #1 in cases and deaths due to a chaotic and uncoordinated response.”
Naturally, many in the Asian American community as well as those outside were quick to correct Trump’s statement on the anger of Asian Americans, a wide-ranging community that became and still is the most targeted by discrimination and racism amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
You don’t speak for us.
And you definitely don’t speak for me.https://t.co/crx3yIPfZc— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) May 12, 2020
An astounding statement given that Asian Americans are being subjected to rising levels of hate crime across the country. https://t.co/pEaEMTZgtk
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) May 12, 2020
Trump doesn’t speak for Asian Americans like me nor millions of others in this country who have been horrified by his cruel and blatant racism. He kept calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus” while Asian Americans were being beaten on the streets in a spike in hate crimes.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 12, 2020
Are we supposed to be thankful you don’t blame Chinese Americans for a virus that came from China? That some milestone on the “I’m not a racist” chart?
— JeremyNewberger (@jeremynewberger) May 12, 2020
Actually, I am VERY angry, but at you and your sorry excuse of an administration and how your FAILURES are leading to more deaths. And we all blame YOU!
— Cindy Pika Chu (@iamcindychu) May 12, 2020
I can’t even form words right now to respond to how angry this tweet makes me. https://t.co/MyoeB14VqQ
— Angry Asian Man (@angryasianman) May 12, 2020
In a contentious press conference on Monday, May 11, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang had asked Trump why cases were still rising in the country as the President made U.S. efforts a seemingly “global competition.”
“They’re losing their lives everywhere in the world,” Trump replied. “And maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, OK?”
Jiang questioned the President as to why he made that statement towards her with him who responded that he would have said it towards anybody who “asked a nasty question like that.”
I asked President Trump if he was being selfish for not getting tested and possibly spreading #Coronavirus to others. He said he would “probably” get one.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 13, 2020
On Twitter, Jiang’s profile includes she is a Chinese-born West Virginian. The hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang has many users tweeting their support for the correspondent.
As of today, there are 1,378,643 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
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