Lana Condor is voicing her concerns about President Donald Trump referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus.”
Condor took to Twitter on Wednesday with a message to Trump. She started with words of advice simply asking the president to “be better.”
She went on to share her opinion of Trump’s “Chinese Virus” remarks as she labeled his words as “racist.”
“You have no idea the ramifications your racist words [and] actions have on the Asian American community,” Condor wrote. “You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
She went on to note the characteristics of a leader and accused Trump of failing to lead.
“You call yourself a leader?” she asked. “You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do. You need to take notes.”
💔 Be better. To wake up to your chaos is truly a nightmare. Please. Be better. 💔 To my followers- be safe. I love you. pic.twitter.com/Okbg735cQC
— Lana Condor (@lanacondor) March 18, 2020
Condor’s confronting tweet follows multiple tweets and press conferences where Trump has referred to the coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus” due to its presumed point of origin.
"We continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus" — Trump again begins today's coronavirus news conference with some casual racism pic.twitter.com/Xgcmiq38Ur
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 19, 2020
The terminology has been criticized but Trump has defended using the term, as previously reported on IJR.
Like Condor, Chinese officials previously expressed disapproval of the reference. However, Trump has a different perspective. Wednesday morning, he defended himself again, insisting he is always taken the virus seriously.
I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
After signing the Defense Production Act on Wednesday, he used the term again.
He tweeted, “I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst-case scenario in the future. Hopefully, there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!”
I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future. Hopefully there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
When asked during a press conference on Wednesday about this continued use of the term, he explained why he does not believe it is “racist.”
“It’s not racist at all,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “It comes from China, that’s why.”
On another occasion, Trump further explained his rationale, saying he used the term “Chinese virus” after the Chinese claimed the U.S. military was the source of the virus, as The New York Times reports.
“I didn’t appreciate the fact that China was saying that our military gave it to them,” Mr. Trump said. “I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma.”
