US President says he’ll stop using ‘Chinese Virus’, easing blame game

Washington: President Donald Trump said he would stop using the term “Chinese virus,” the latest indication that the US and China are seeking to deescalate their blame game over the deadly pandemic.

“I don’t regret it, but they accused us of having done it through our soldiers, they said our soldiers did it on purpose, what kind of a thing is that?” Trump said in an interview on Tuesday with Fox News.

“Look, everyone knows it came out of China, but I decided we shouldn’t make any more of a big deal out of it. I think I made a big deal. I think people understand it. But that all began when they said our soldiers started it. Our soldiers had nothing to do with it.”


Trump cited the Ebola virus and Lyme disease as other illnesses named for their location of discovery. “They do name it after places, it came from China,” he said. He also said that he maintained a “very good” relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that China had been though “a lot.