Rarely does the contrived, deliberate racism this administration routinely spews out literally jump right off the page, like it did on Thursday.
Jabin Botsford is the White House photographer for the Washington Post.
The “othering” of the COVID-19 coronavirus is a deliberate tactic designed to hide Donald Trump’s own malfeasance and ineptitude in the run-up to this public health disaster. It’s been amplified by voices on the right, who are eager to distract as many Americans as possible from that malfeasance and ineptitude. As noted by Business Insider on Thursday, ”In addition to downplaying the virus and refusing to take responsibility for the US's initially lukewarm response to it, Trump and Republican officials have repeatedly — and inaccurately — referred to it as the "Chinese virus."
Fox News is, predictably, onboard.
Any nationality, religion, creed, belief or orientation is fair game for these people and their hate. It’s how they hold on to their spite-filled, fearful and weak-minded base—by blaming others from Muslim people to Latinx immigrants.
And now, they’re villainizing the Chinese.