Biden Hits Trump For Saying Coronavirus Originated In China, Suggests Americans Can’t Distinguish Chinese From Other Asians

Former Vice President Joe Biden took a potshot at President Donald Trump during a video conference on Wednesday night, blasting the president for saying the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 originated in China and suggesting that Americans are unable to distinguish between Chinese individuals and other Asians.

The conference, hosted by the Service Employees International Union — a mega-union that makes significant contributions to the Democratic party and provides organizational support to its candidates — was supposed to focus on immigration but the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee eventually steered the conversation toward the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing a South Korean immigrant home health care worker, Biden suggested the country has become racist towards Asian Americans.

“Don’t let anybody convince you you’re not American in every single way,” Biden told the woman. “It’s an idea. We’re an idea. It’s not based on an ethnicity or race. I’m sorry I get so worked up about it, but it makes me so angry when I find people based on the color of their skin or their national origin are somehow viewed in a different way.”

As an example, Biden cited the president’s use of the term “China virus” to refer to the novel coronavirus which, by all accounts, originated somewhere in continental China, though reports differ as to precisely where the pandemic began. Most accounts at least acknowledge that the first incidents of the virus were in Wuhan, China, and many blame China for hiding the true extent of their national pandemic — as well as details about the virus and its transmission — from global health agencies like the World Health

Biden, however, claims the term “China virus” was used to foment racism against Asian Americans. And although the insult was directed at the Chinese government, specifically, Biden suggested that he believes Americans are unable to differentiate from Chinese individuals and other individuals of Asian origin.

“Look what he’s doing now. He’s blaming everything on China. He’s blaming everything on the Chinese and people don’t make a distinction, as you well know, from a South Korean and someone from Beijing,” Biden said. “They make no distinction, it’s Asian. And he’s using it as a wedge.”

As the Daily Wire reported Wednesday, Biden then accused President Donald Trump of being the nation’s first “racist” president.

“No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this,” Biden said. “No Democratic president. We’ve had racists and they’ve existed and they’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”

Trump responded to Biden’s claims on Wednesday night.

“We’ve passed criminal justice reform, something that Obama and Biden were unable to do,” the president said. “I’ve done more for Black Americans than anybody, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has even been close.”