That attempted narrative shift is beyond question. What appears to be up for some debate is whether or not Trump's rhetorical change reflects him simply using proper geographic labeling -- the coronavirus did emerge from the Wuhan province -- or whether it is part of a broader attempt to drive xenophobic sentiment toward China and, by so doing, avoid taking the blame for his own administration's struggles to deal with the virus.
lørdag 21. mars 2020
Yes, of course Donald Trump is calling coronavirus the 'China virus' for political reasons
You likely have seen this now-famous image by Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford in which he captures President Donald Trump's notes during Thursday's daily coronavirus task force briefing. Trump has, quite clearly, crossed out "corona" before "virus" and replaced it with the word "Chinese." That edit is part of a concerted effort by the President and some in his administration to change the public understanding of this as a global pandemic that's every nation's responsibility to: China did this.
That attempted narrative shift is beyond question. What appears to be up for some debate is whether or not Trump's rhetorical change reflects him simply using proper geographic labeling -- the coronavirus did emerge from the Wuhan province -- or whether it is part of a broader attempt to drive xenophobic sentiment toward China and, by so doing, avoid taking the blame for his own administration's struggles to deal with the virus.
That attempted narrative shift is beyond question. What appears to be up for some debate is whether or not Trump's rhetorical change reflects him simply using proper geographic labeling -- the coronavirus did emerge from the Wuhan province -- or whether it is part of a broader attempt to drive xenophobic sentiment toward China and, by so doing, avoid taking the blame for his own administration's struggles to deal with the virus.
