Trump: ‘Very important we totally protect our Asian American community in the US’

APAs are ‘amazing people,’ and  Virus Spread ‘is not their fault’

By Jennie L. Ilustre

Asian American leaders welcomed the strong, categorical declaration by President Trump that it is “very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States,” noting growing verbal and physical attacks on Asian Americans across the country. The President stressed that the spreading of the coronavirus, officially called covid-19, is not the fault of Asian Americans.

 

 

President Trump tweeted on March 23: “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus (…) is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!”

 

Advancing Justice/AAJC President and Executive Director John C. Yang replied when asked  for a comment: “In the 6 days since President Trump doubled down on calling it the ‘Chinese virus,’ even though White House reporters directly told him that such terms led to hate crimes, how many Asian Americans have been physically or verbally assaulted? This should not have been this hard. But it is appreciated.”

 

Advancing Justice/AAJC also emailed this organization statement: “After doubling down on the term ‘Chinese virus’ even though reporters directly told him that such terms were causing physical harm to our community, President Trump finally heard us and has spoken out to protect Asian Americans. Better late than never.”

 

Asked to comment on President Trump’s statement, Vellie Dietrich-Hall, who was the founding president of the Filipino American Republicans of Virginia (FARV), emailed on March 24: “I saw the press conference yesterday when President Trump reiterated that it is not the fault of Asian Americans regarding the spreading of this corona virus. I’m glad that he did, because there are still Democrat leaders and inflammatory liberal journalists who are politicizing this epidemic.”

 

She added: “Since the corona outbreak came from China, it is just a normal reaction of people to blame somebody. Remember 9/11 terrorist attack? Lots of Americans were angry with people wearing turbans or looked like they were from the Middle East! If ever President Trump used the term ‘China virus,’ it didn’t mean that he is racist. The virus emanated from China indeed! (Look at the Axios timeline) Yet China is avoiding blame by trolling the world.”

 

“It is not only in the US that these Asian muggings are taking place,” she said. “It’s also in other European countries! It is just a knee-jerk reaction of people who are afraid of this unseen enemy!”

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FARV Board Director Dietrich-Hall also pointed out: “President Trump recognized that there are so many Asian American and Pacific Islander medical practitioners in the front lines who are selflessly sacrificing to combat the virus.”

 

Indeed, Alvina Yeh, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, noted in a recent statement: “Over 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders work in healthcare, transportation and service industries. These workers are on the frontlines fighting the COVID-19 outbreak – and yet they are facing xenophobic and racial discrimination in the workplace in addition to increased exposure to communicable diseases.”

 

Madalene Mielke, president and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) “I appreciate that President Trump addressed this issue and hope other elected officials follow his leadership. The use of the term Chinese virus has led to an increase of racist attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In order to protect our community, we must all listen to the advice of experts and use the term COVID-19 or coronavirus.”

 

According to a CNN report by Maegan Vazquez, last week Trump claimed that he was using the term “Chinese virus” because it originated from China, and he just wanted to be accurate, and he denied it was a racist term.

 

The CNN report noted that after consulting with medical experts, and receiving guidance from the World Health Organization, CNN has determined that that the term “Chinese virus” is both inaccurate and considered stigmatizing.

 

Trump said China also tried to blame the virus on US soldiers, and the report quoted him as saying, “It’s not gonna happen, not as long as I’m President.”