US President Donald Trump, in sharp contrast to his reference to the coronavirus as the Chinese virus, on Monday, called for the protection of the Asian –American community. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, there has been a rise in incidents of attacks against Asian-Americans. A violent incident included a woman being followed and beaten on the New York subway.
Trump, referring to the coronavirus as a Chinese virus, had aggravated tremendous backlash which led to him voicing anger when accused of being racist. On March 13, a senior official in China’s foreign ministry, Zhao Lijian said that the US military brought the virus to China. Amid the pandemic, Chinese and US government officials had been playing a blame-game, accusing one another for the outbreak. "They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
Anti-Asian sentiments have been on the rise in the US from the first week of March due to the coronavirus outbreak. Videos were posted on social media, that showed Asian-Americans being yelled at and being prevented from entering train cars in New York.
