Trump briefing notes show he replaced 'coronavirus' with 'Chinese virus' in Sharpie


President Trump won't budge on labeling the COVID-19 coronavirus the "Chinese virus," apparently even to the point of altering his own White House notes.
After Trump's White House briefing on Thursday, during which he called the novel coronavirus "the Chinese virus" within 45 seconds of taking the podium, The Washington Post's Jabin Botsford shared a photo showing that the notes Trump was reading from in one section included "corona virus" crossed out to be replaced with "Chinese virus," presumably by Trump himself.
Trump has repeatedly doubled down on labeling of the coronavirus the "Chinese virus" because it originated in Wuhan, even as the World Health Organization has urged against attaching "locations or ethnicity to the disease," saying that "this is not a 'Wuhan Virus,' 'Chinese Virus' or 'Asian Virus'" and "the official name for the disease was deliberately chosen to avoid stigmatization."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
New York Magazine's Josh Barro argued Thursday the photo of Trump's notes showed that "they're using the term 'the coronavirus' internally like everyone else and are throwing this up publicly because they would rather have an argument about political correctness than discuss the response itself."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants