China, in his words · First term · № 71

On China

Called COVID-19 'Kung flu' at the Tulsa rally

“By the way, it's a disease without question, has more names than any disease in history. I can name, "Kung flu."”

Said

June 20, 2020, Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Subject

COVID-19 naming

Threat

Other

Topic

COVID-19

Era

First term

What the record showed

Three days later, at a Students for Trump rally in Phoenix on June 23, 2020, he repeated the term after audience members shouted it. At the Tulsa rally he also said the virus 'should have been stopped where it originated, which was China' and that 'China sent us the plague.' On January 24, 2020 he had tweeted that the United States 'greatly appreciates' China's 'efforts and transparency' on the virus, and on March 23, 2020 he had tweeted that its spread was not the fault of Asian Americans 'in any way, shape, or form.'

Sources

1. Remarks at a "Make America Great Again" Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma The American Presidency Project, Jun 20, 2020
2. Remarks at a Turning Point Action Students for Trump Rally in Phoenix, Arizona The American Presidency Project, Jun 23, 2020
3. Tweets of January 24, 2020 The American Presidency Project, Jan 24, 2020
4. Tweets of March 23, 2020 The American Presidency Project, Mar 23, 2020