The average American doesn’t distinguish between Chinese people and other Asians, Joe Biden claimed, in an attempt to criticize President Trump for blaming China for the coronavirus outbreak.
“Look what he’s doing now. He’s blaming everything on China. He’s blaming everything on the Chinese,” the former vice president said during a virtual campaign event Wednesday with the Service Employees International Union.
“People don’t make a distinction, as you well know, from a South Korean and someone from Beijing,” he added. “They make no distinction, it’s Asian. And he’s using it as a wedge.”
Trump retweeted a video of Biden’s remarks Thursday morning.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was referring to Trump’s use of the phrases “China virus” or “Wuhan virus” to refer to the pandemic.
He went on to accuse Trump of being a racist for “the way he deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from.”
“No sitting president has ever done this,” Biden said. “Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”
Trump responded Wednesday to Biden’s comments during a White House coronavirus briefing.
“I’ve done things that nobody else – and I’ve said this, and I say it openly, and not a lot of people dispute it: I’ve done more for black Americans than anybody, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln. Nobody has even been close,” the president said.
Biden was roundly criticized for his remark that Trump is the first racist president.