March 19, 2020

Need More Evidence That Trump Is Racist? Take a Look at His Coronavirus Edits.

The sharpie strike that says it all.

ZUMA

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President Donald Trump has drawn widespread condemnation for his new use of the racist label “Chinese Virus” when referring to the novel coronavirus, language experts warn could incite violence against Asians around the world. 

The president’s decision to go all-in on the xenophobic language—which erases his praise for China’s handling of the virus just a few short weeks ago—is predictable; a way of hoping to distract attention from his mishandling of a catastrophic public health crisis. If you needed any more evidence that this is a deliberate strategy, take a look at this photo the Washington Post’s Jabin Botsford snapped inside the briefing room on Thursday:

The photo, which shows the word “corona” crossed out with a sharpie, all but confirms Trump appealing to his base with bigotry. He knows it’s red meat for his supporters, who despite their rabid support, may have come to realize in recent days that the president had misled them about the seriousness of the disease and maybe even exacerbated a public health emergency.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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