Biden, Harris imply Trump bears some responsibility for surge in violence against people of Asian descent

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday met with leaders of Atlanta's Asian American community in the wake of a mass shooting at three different Atlanta area spas during which a lone suspect killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

At the moment, authorities are still investigating the suspect's motive. In his confession, Robert Aaron Long reportedly said he acted because of a sex addiction, but there remains widespread speculation that he was targeting people of Asian descent. "Whatever the killer's motive, these facts are clear," Harris said in public remarks after Friday's meeting. "Six out of the eight people killed on Tuesday night were of Asian descent. Seven were women. The shootings took place in businesses owned by Asian Americans. The shootings took place as violent crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans [have] risen dramatically over the last year."

Biden and Harris both also appeared to place some responsibility for the recent surge in violence against people of Asian descent in the United States on former President Donald Trump, though they didn't directly name him. "For the last year, we've had people in positions of incredible power scapegoating Asian Americans, people with the biggest pulpits, spreading this kind of hate," Harris said, likely alluding to politicians like Trump who called the novel coronavirus that sparked the pandemic, the "China virus."

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"We've always known words have consequences," Biden said. "It's the 'coronavirus.' Full stop." Read more at The New York Times and The Associated Press.