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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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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