Trump, Officials Escalate Allegation China Hid Virus Spread
- President attempts to shift blame as U.S. outbreak grows
- Pompeo calls disease ‘Chinese virus,’ Esper knocks Beijing
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The Trump administration escalated its attacks on China over the coronavirus, as U.S. officials publicly alleged that Beijing concealed and minimized the spread of the disease within its borders until it was too late to stop a global outbreak.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called the disease the “Chinese virus” at a White House news conference on Friday, rejecting criticism from Beijing and within their own country that the term is offensive. Pompeo demanded the Chinese government release more data on the virus’s spread, saying lives could be at risk otherwise.