Photos from Thursday’s coronavirus press briefing show where Donald Trump crossed out ‘Corona’ and wrote ‘Chinese’ when describing coronavirus. (Picture: Jabin Botsford/ The Washinton Post via Getty Images)

Photos from Donald Trump’s Covid-19 press briefing Thursday show where the president renamed coronavirus ‘the Chinese virus.’

The picture, taken by Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford, shows ‘Corona’ crossed out in black marker in what appears to be Trump’s handwriting. Above it, the word ‘Chinese’ is written.

The photo comes amid increasing criticism towards Trump for describing the coronavirus as a ‘Chinese virus,’ which he insisted was not offensive on Wednesday.

‘It’s not racist at all. It comes from China, that’s why,’ he said when asked about the phrasing by reporters.


The World Health Organization officially named the disease caused by coronavirus Covid-19 last month in a bid to avoid stigmatizing Chinese people. The organization has since come out to discourage other names for the virus.

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When pressed about his rhetoric, Trump claimed that he used the term because China tried to blame the virus on US soldiers.



‘I have great love for all of the people from our country, but as you know, China tried to say at one point…that it was caused by American soldiers,’ Trump said.

‘That can’t happen. It’s not gonna happen, not as long as I’m President. It comes from China.’

Factions of Chinese media and even members of the country’s government seem to have launched a campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus, according to CNN.

However, despite China’s alleged efforts to shift blame for the disease, experts warn that Trump’s terminology promotes xenophobia and divisiveness, which can be seen by an increase in coronavirus-related hate crimes in major US cities, including New York where at least five such cases are being investigated.

‘I absolutely think that words used by him matter,’ John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, told NBC.

‘Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation,’ Yang continued.

Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has also chimed in an agrees that the term spurs hatred.

‘The use of this term is not only corrosive vis-à-vis a global audience, including here at home, it is also fueling a narrative in China about a broader American hatred and fear of not just the Chinese Communist Party but of China and Chinese people in general,’ Kennedy, said in a statement to The New York Times.

‘