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1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 0 (from laksa010)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa000.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://people.com/politics/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://people.com/politics/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/","crawl_time":1776664313,"first_indexed_time":1584631709,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,people!\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/ s443","src_root_hash":"8987252745502061200","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Donald Trump's Chinese Virus Backlash Explained","meta_descriptions":["Despite official recommendations otherwise, President Donald Trump insists on calling coronavirus the \"Chinese virus\" and has been heavily criticized"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the mysterious new respiratory disease that would soon spread around the world:\nCOVID-19,\nor coronavirus disease 2019.\nIt is caused by a strain of new coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. (The\nlarger family of coronaviruses\nalso cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.)\nThe WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus.\nIn 2015, the WHO\nannounced new guidelines\nfor how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity.\n“In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced.\n“This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.”\nWith all of that — and President\nDonald Trump\nstill refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language.\nThere have been\nmultiple reported instances of violence against Asians\nin various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015.\n“Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February.\nIn\nan impassioned social media post\non Wednesday, Netflix star\nLana Condor\nspoke directly to Trump about his language.\nPresident Donald Trump in February.\nMANDEL NGAN\/Getty Images\nLana Condor; Donald Trump.\nAlberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty; James Devaney\/GC Images\n“You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.”\n“Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.”\nNBA player\nJeremy Lin\non Tuesday also criticized the president,\ntweeting\n, “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.”\nIn another tweet on Tuesday,\nhe wrote\n, “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his [Trump’s] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.”\nHawaii Five-O\nand\nLost\nactor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday\nhe had tested positive for the virus\nand he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes.\n“Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.”\nThe president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since.\nAt a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans.\n“It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.”\n“I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.”\nAt that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang,\ncalled it the “Kung flu” to her\nin private. (She has not named the official.)\n“I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong.\nMARIJAN MURAT\/dpa\/AFP\/Getty\n“Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked.\n“No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.”\nNot so.\n“I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice,\ntold NBC News\n. “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.”\nA New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.”\n“To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.”\nSpeaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide\nKellyanne Conway\nsuggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut.\n“I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise.\nThe Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries\nhave other tensions between them\n.\nLast week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China.\n“Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,”\nCNN reported last Friday\n.\nJIM WATSON\/AFP via Getty Images\nThe new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year.\n“A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,”\nthe Associated Press reported last week\n.\nAccording\nto the WHO\n, Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people.\nAt the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP.\nPresident Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was\nbeing politicized as a “hoax”\nto damage him.\nHe has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people.\nThis week, however, his rhetoric\nbecame noticeably more serious\n.\nAsked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10.\nAs information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes,\nPEOPLE\nis committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from\nCDC\n,\nWHO\n, and\nlocal public health departments\nand visit our\ncoronavirus hub\n.","attrs_markdown":"\n\n[Skip to content](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/#main)\n\n[PEOPLE](https:\/\/people.com\/)\n\n- Please fill out this field.\n- [Log In](https:\/\/people.com\/authentication\/login?regSource=26075&relativeRedirectUrl=%2Fpolitics%2Fwhy-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19%2F)\n- My Account\n  - [Log Out](https:\/\/people.com\/authentication\/logout?relativeRedirectUrl=%2Fpolitics%2Fwhy-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19%2F)\n- Magazine\n  - [Subscribe](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/)\n  - [Manage Your Subscription](https:\/\/w1.buysub.com\/servlet\/CSGateway?cds_mag_code=PPL)\n  - [Give a Gift Subscription](https:\/\/www.magazines.com\/people-magazine.html)\n  - [Get Help](https:\/\/people.com\/about-us-page-5499056#toc-contact-us)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/)\n- [Sweepstakes](https:\/\/people.com\/sweepstakes)\n- [Subscribe](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/)\n\nPlease fill out this field.\n\n- [Entertainment](https:\/\/people.com\/entertainment\/)\n  Entertainment\n  \n  - 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(The [larger family of coronaviruses](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/coronavirus-what-to-know\/) also cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.)\n\nThe WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus.\n\nIn 2015, the WHO [announced new guidelines](https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/detail\/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases) for how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity.\n\n“In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced.\n\n“This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.”\n\nWith all of that — and President [Donald Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/) still refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language.\n\nThere have been [multiple reported instances of violence against Asians](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians\/) in various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015.\n\n“Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February.\n\nIn [an impassioned social media post](https:\/\/twitter.com\/lanacondor\/status\/1240305641681379328) on Wednesday, Netflix star [Lana Condor](https:\/\/people.com\/movies\/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-two-title-reveal-lana-condor-noah-centineo\/) spoke directly to Trump about his language.\n\n[Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians\/)\n\n![Donald Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/LzmCmKif3ND2C4_hdDraIqHNP8M=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/state-of-the-union-62-5db191e9e95743ae8ad47c9c65aaac48.jpeg)\n\n![Donald Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/LzmCmKif3ND2C4_hdDraIqHNP8M=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/state-of-the-union-62-5db191e9e95743ae8ad47c9c65aaac48.jpeg)\n\nPresident Donald Trump in February. MANDEL NGAN\/Getty Images\n\n![Lana Condor and Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/BkJbO97uJ19Uoq0H0COBBth7ZL0=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/lana-trump-0bcd9389f80b4bc0b20eb3de3f5e296e.jpg)\n\n![Lana Condor and Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/BkJbO97uJ19Uoq0H0COBBth7ZL0=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/lana-trump-0bcd9389f80b4bc0b20eb3de3f5e296e.jpg)\n\nLana Condor; Donald Trump. Alberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty; James Devaney\/GC Images\n\n“You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.”\n\n“Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.”\n\nNBA player [Jeremy Lin](https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/jeremy-lin-five-things-to-know-about-nba-star\/) on Tuesday also criticized the president, [tweeting](https:\/\/twitter.com\/JLin7\/status\/1239984639910936579), “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.”\n\nIn another tweet on Tuesday, [he wrote](https:\/\/twitter.com\/JLin7\/status\/1239989614288310273), “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his \\[Trump’s\\] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.”\n\n[Here’s a Map of the Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus in the U.S.](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/see-how-the-highly-contagious-coronavirus-spread-across-the-us\/)\n\n*Hawaii Five-O* and *Lost* actor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday [he had tested positive for the virus](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/daniel-dae-kim-tests-positive-coronavirus\/) and he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes.\n\n“Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.”\n\nThe president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since.\n\nAt a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans.\n\n“It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.”\n\n“I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.”\n\nAt that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, [called it the “Kung flu” to her](https:\/\/twitter.com\/weijia\/status\/1239923246801334283) in private. (She has not named the official.)\n\n“I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong.\n\n![Novel Coronavirus](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/oCD7TQr_b8d2qcMhY1J3fRV5NBU=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/stock-market-2-58b92dd2477247269d6e5214ee8ac191.jpg)\n\n![Novel Coronavirus](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/oCD7TQr_b8d2qcMhY1J3fRV5NBU=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$749x0:751x2\$\/stock-market-2-58b92dd2477247269d6e5214ee8ac191.jpg)\n\nMARIJAN MURAT\/dpa\/AFP\/Getty\n\n[Here’s How to Tell If That Sneeze Is Coronavirus, the Flu or Just a Cold](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/how-to-tell-between-coronavirus-flu-cold\/)\n\n“Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked.\n\n“No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.”\n\nNot so.\n\n“I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, [told NBC News](https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/asian-america\/trump-doubles-down-he-s-not-fueling-racism-experts-say-n1163341). “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.”\n\nA New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.”\n\n“To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.”\n\nSpeaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide [Kellyanne Conway](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/kellyanne-conway\/) suggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut.\n\n“I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise.\n\nThe Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries [have other tensions between them](https:\/\/apnews.com\/211f49062091f5f9c80980910c32d6cb).\n\nLast week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China.\n\n“Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,” [CNN reported last Friday](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/13\/asia\/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk\/index.html).\n\n![US-POLITICS-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRUMP](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/qvlXLTVR3dpvY7IXqvBP331Eueo=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$999x0:1001x2\$\/donald-trump-9-2000-4461993329e04809a92ba2eca2623455.jpg)\n\n![US-POLITICS-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRUMP](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/qvlXLTVR3dpvY7IXqvBP331Eueo=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$:focal\$999x0:1001x2\$\/donald-trump-9-2000-4461993329e04809a92ba2eca2623455.jpg)\n\nJIM WATSON\/AFP via Getty Images\n\n[Donald Trump Signs Families First Coronavirus Response Act Into Law](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/donald-trump-signs-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-into-law\/)\n\nThe new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year.\n\n“A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,” [the Associated Press reported last week](https:\/\/apnews.com\/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3).\n\nAccording [to the WHO](https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHO\/status\/1217043229427761152), Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people.\n\nAt the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP.\n\nPresident Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was [being politicized as a “hoax”](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/trump-says-democrats-are-politicizing-coronavirus-into-new-hoax\/) to damage him.\n\nHe has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people.\n\nThis week, however, his rhetoric [became noticeably more serious](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/tucker-carlson-talked-to-donald-trump-about-coronavirus\/).\n\nAsked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10.\n\n***As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes,* PEOPLE *is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from [CDC](https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/index.html), [WHO](https:\/\/www.who.int\/emergencies\/diseases\/novel-coronavirus-2019), and [local public health departments](https:\/\/www.naccho.org\/membership\/lhd-directory) and visit our [coronavirus hub](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/coronavirus\/).***\n\nRead More:\n\n- [Lifestyle](https:\/\/people.com\/lifestyle\/)\n- [Health](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/)\n\nTrending Now\n\n[![Donald Trump President of the United States on the presentation podium after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States; West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. - WEST PALM BEACH -- The new \\$19.2 million air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, which isn't operational because officials are still trying to decide where to put the area's long-range radar. Florida News, West Palm Beach, U.S. - 31 Aug 2011](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/TwPc399EAHY0RbaSWyOanUH6Xa4=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-palm-beach-international-airport-111025-bb266c3b3cdb4a8cb4d64b88ff8aa19b.jpg) ![Donald Trump President of the United States on the presentation podium after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States; West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. - WEST PALM BEACH -- The new \\$19.2 million air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, which isn't operational because officials are still trying to decide where to put the area's long-range radar. Florida News, West Palm Beach, U.S. - 31 Aug 2011](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/TwPc399EAHY0RbaSWyOanUH6Xa4=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-palm-beach-international-airport-111025-bb266c3b3cdb4a8cb4d64b88ff8aa19b.jpg) Pilot Files Lawsuit to Challenge Renaming of Palm Beach Airport After President Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/pilot-challenges-renaming-of-palm-beach-airport-after-president-trump-11952602)\n\n[Lifestyle](https:\/\/people.com\/lifestyle\/)\n\n2 days ago\n\n[![President Donald Trump receives a DoorDash delivery of McDonald's from Sharon Simmons before he speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/DlgYrP1er5HLBZlEZkC5O9XikeE=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-receives-a-Doordash-delivery-worker-Sharon-Simmons-after-she-delivered-Mcdonalds-outside-of-the-Oval-Office-041326-1-97efe22aadf946a29f6e8ff9406b43e4.jpg) ![President Donald Trump receives a DoorDash delivery of McDonald's from Sharon Simmons before he speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/DlgYrP1er5HLBZlEZkC5O9XikeE=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-receives-a-Doordash-delivery-worker-Sharon-Simmons-after-she-delivered-Mcdonalds-outside-of-the-Oval-Office-041326-1-97efe22aadf946a29f6e8ff9406b43e4.jpg) Donald Trump Steps Out of Oval Office to Accept McDonald's DoorDash Delivery Before Press Event](https:\/\/people.com\/trump-gets-mcdonalds-doordash-delivery-oval-office-11948858)\n\n[Politics](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/)\n\n6 days ago\n\n[![TSA officers exit the air train at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 22, 2026 in New York, New York. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/33MkXAgARqgzDzKa1fk2C7ZE1EQ=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/tsa-agents-1-032526-293ce00806bd476484e9a7b7059ca525.jpg) ![TSA officers exit the air train at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 22, 2026 in New York, New York. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/33MkXAgARqgzDzKa1fk2C7ZE1EQ=\/343x228\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/tsa-agents-1-032526-293ce00806bd476484e9a7b7059ca525.jpg) Donald Trump Proposes Cutting 9,400 TSA Workers from Budget 1 Week After Paying Them To End Travel Crisis](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-proposes-to-cut-9-400-tsa-workers-from-budget-11944544)\n\n[Lifestyle](https:\/\/people.com\/lifestyle\/)\n\nApril 07, 2026\n\n## Related Articles\n[![Donald Trump President of the United States on the presentation podium after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States; West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. - WEST PALM BEACH -- The new \\$19.2 million air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, which isn't operational because officials are still trying to decide where to put the area's long-range radar. Florida News, West Palm Beach, U.S. - 31 Aug 2011](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/rNRvNN7hLj4UcMqfObzjuavPg7E=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-palm-beach-international-airport-111025-bb266c3b3cdb4a8cb4d64b88ff8aa19b.jpg) ![Donald Trump President of the United States on the presentation podium after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States; West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. - WEST PALM BEACH -- The new \\$19.2 million air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, which isn't operational because officials are still trying to decide where to put the area's long-range radar. Florida News, West Palm Beach, U.S. - 31 Aug 2011](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/rNRvNN7hLj4UcMqfObzjuavPg7E=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-palm-beach-international-airport-111025-bb266c3b3cdb4a8cb4d64b88ff8aa19b.jpg) Pilot Files Lawsuit to Challenge Renaming of Palm Beach Airport After President Trump By Colson Thayer 20](https:\/\/people.com\/pilot-challenges-renaming-of-palm-beach-airport-after-president-trump-11952602)\n\n[![President Donald Trump receives a DoorDash delivery of McDonald's from Sharon Simmons before he speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/8eQEtJ8qBJ38m14idDNHOW9Dyyc=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-receives-a-Doordash-delivery-worker-Sharon-Simmons-after-she-delivered-Mcdonalds-outside-of-the-Oval-Office-041326-1-97efe22aadf946a29f6e8ff9406b43e4.jpg) ![President Donald Trump receives a DoorDash delivery of McDonald's from Sharon Simmons before he speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/8eQEtJ8qBJ38m14idDNHOW9Dyyc=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-receives-a-Doordash-delivery-worker-Sharon-Simmons-after-she-delivered-Mcdonalds-outside-of-the-Oval-Office-041326-1-97efe22aadf946a29f6e8ff9406b43e4.jpg) Donald Trump Steps Out of Oval Office to Accept McDonald's DoorDash Delivery Before Press Event By Joseph Konig 15](https:\/\/people.com\/trump-gets-mcdonalds-doordash-delivery-oval-office-11948858)\n\n[![TSA officers exit the air train at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 22, 2026 in New York, New York. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/ZqlNktISw5YjQge4VlWRAjsH7pA=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/tsa-agents-1-032526-293ce00806bd476484e9a7b7059ca525.jpg) ![TSA officers exit the air train at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 22, 2026 in New York, New York. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. 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After Backlash, He Swapped Out the Grandkid Pic By Rachel Raposas 16](https:\/\/people.com\/trump-keeps-putin-photo-white-house-wall-removes-granddaughter-11946713)\n\n[![President Donald Trump Pope Leo XIV](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/uY-jWizlv0xmQmVKE7WjVa60DNM=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-Pope-Leo-XIV-041726-bc88b802382c4ed9a6144ccba3dd58d4.jpg) ![President Donald Trump Pope Leo XIV](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/uY-jWizlv0xmQmVKE7WjVa60DNM=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-Pope-Leo-XIV-041726-bc88b802382c4ed9a6144ccba3dd58d4.jpg) Donald Trump Says He's 'About' the Gospel 'as Much as Anybody Can Be' amid Feud with Pope Leo Over Iran By Joseph Konig](https:\/\/people.com\/trump-says-hes-all-about-the-gospel-11952683)\n\n[![US President Donald Trump bodega in New York City](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ep20-7NA_q1D8407Xipxu0fT-Ec=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/US-President-Donald-Trump-bodega-041725-tout-714e05cff62d425d834352e0b277648f.jpg) ![US President Donald Trump bodega in New York City](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ep20-7NA_q1D8407Xipxu0fT-Ec=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/US-President-Donald-Trump-bodega-041725-tout-714e05cff62d425d834352e0b277648f.jpg) Donald Trump Questions ‘What’s a Corner Store?’ at Tax Week Event: ‘I’ve Never Heard That Term’ By Becca Longmire 213](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-questions-whats-a-corner-store-11952186)\n\n[![Guests listen to stories being read in the Rose Garden of the White House during the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. Magnolia trees are seen in the Rose Garden ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/y4IaFMmraycOQTYJa7AXziGJCwA=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/White-House-Rose-Garden-040626-5940c68972ec453c929fbfe74e65ffb0.jpg) ![Guests listen to stories being read in the Rose Garden of the White House during the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. Magnolia trees are seen in the Rose Garden ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/y4IaFMmraycOQTYJa7AXziGJCwA=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/White-House-Rose-Garden-040626-5940c68972ec453c929fbfe74e65ffb0.jpg) Trumps Cover Rose Garden Patio with Fake Grass for White House Easter Event After Tearing Up the Lawn By Desiree Anello 224](https:\/\/people.com\/trumps-cover-rose-garden-patio-fake-grass-easter-egg-roll-11943377)\n\n[![President Donald Trump; Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/BbTnxEkrrWKrX1YX0xQOk8ksWxg=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-Eisenhower-Executive-Office-Building-041226-8a0e81cd5da243af9741a77a413902e3.jpg) ![President Donald Trump; Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/BbTnxEkrrWKrX1YX0xQOk8ksWxg=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-Eisenhower-Executive-Office-Building-041226-8a0e81cd5da243af9741a77a413902e3.jpg) Donald Trump Says He Wants to Use ‘Magic Paint’ to Cover Entire White House Office Building By Bailey Richards 241](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-wants-to-use-magic-paint-on-white-house-office-building-11948223)\n\n[![Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/X4ehjAy3rAyDPyft3t2XdDZiVek=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Robert-F.-Kennedy-Jr.-Donald-TrumpWhite-Houses-Oval-Office-041726-70ff2c50866147c184eb86582400a631.jpg) ![Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/X4ehjAy3rAyDPyft3t2XdDZiVek=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Robert-F.-Kennedy-Jr.-Donald-TrumpWhite-Houses-Oval-Office-041726-70ff2c50866147c184eb86582400a631.jpg) RFK Jr. Says Trump's Post About Ending 'a Whole Civilization' Was a 'Message of Love and Compassion to the Iranian People' By Joseph Konig 14](https:\/\/people.com\/rfk-jr-comments-trumps-threat-end-iran-civilization-11952934)\n\n[![Masoud Pezeshkian; AI Trump; Pope Leo ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/oAr9e0pwPRr6GqQGm8Rw4-b9Xp8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Masoud-Pezeshkian-AI-Trump-Pope-Leo-041326-9f8da19760914fef8a44e35e8553abfb.jpg) ![Masoud Pezeshkian; AI Trump; Pope Leo ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/oAr9e0pwPRr6GqQGm8Rw4-b9Xp8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Masoud-Pezeshkian-AI-Trump-Pope-Leo-041326-9f8da19760914fef8a44e35e8553abfb.jpg) Iranian President Sends Pope Leo Well Wishes While Slamming Trump's AI Image as 'Desecration of Jesus' and 'Not Acceptable' By Joseph Konig](https:\/\/people.com\/iranian-president-defends-pope-leo-from-trump-attacks-11948592)\n\n[![Caitlyn Jenner attends the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation's 13th Annual 'Big Fighters, Big Cause' Charity Boxing Night Presented by B. Riley Securities at The Beverly Hilton on May 22, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.; President of the United States Donald J. Trump attends the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/n_Uunv9YmJfnk-YEAb6IgWkMg8M=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/caitlyn-jenner-donald-trump-041726-9faea8c9e99b4023874185de110bfaef.jpg) ![Caitlyn Jenner attends the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation's 13th Annual 'Big Fighters, Big Cause' Charity Boxing Night Presented by B. Riley Securities at The Beverly Hilton on May 22, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.; President of the United States Donald J. Trump attends the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/n_Uunv9YmJfnk-YEAb6IgWkMg8M=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/caitlyn-jenner-donald-trump-041726-9faea8c9e99b4023874185de110bfaef.jpg) Caitlyn Jenner Asked Trump for Help After His Trans Policies Created 'Safety' Issue with Her Passport. He Didn't Reply, She Says By Brooke Migdon 15](https:\/\/people.com\/caitlyn-jenner-asked-trump-help-passport-gender-marker-11953065)\n\n[![President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/QQaMtn0NJqKn5DSwCv73CbrBXA8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-Addresses-Nation-Over-Iran-040226-c76e915df0274815acc7418e38f50a34.jpg) ![President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. ](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/QQaMtn0NJqKn5DSwCv73CbrBXA8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-Addresses-Nation-Over-Iran-040226-c76e915df0274815acc7418e38f50a34.jpg) Donald Trump Says He Can’t Focus on Child Care Costs: 'We're Fighting Wars. We Can't Take Care of Daycare’ By Joseph Konig 74](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-cant-focus-daycare-fighting-wars-11941772)\n\n[![Donald Trump depicted alongside a figure resembling Jesus on the left and Trump appearing in a radiant scene with various people on the right](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/fxhZ4MCdym77Ajwk1ZUbzxbPSy8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-jesus-ai-41526-617dae962e604be79176f79f74e2af99.jpg) ![Donald Trump depicted alongside a figure resembling Jesus on the left and Trump appearing in a radiant scene with various people on the right](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/fxhZ4MCdym77Ajwk1ZUbzxbPSy8=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/donald-trump-jesus-ai-41526-617dae962e604be79176f79f74e2af99.jpg) Trump Posts New AI Image of Him and Jesus Touching Heads After Backlash for Depicting Himself as Christ: 'I Think It's Quite Nice' By Joseph Konig 11](https:\/\/people.com\/trump-posts-new-ai-image-him-jesus-touching-heads-11950515)\n\n[![JD Vance; Pope Leo XIV](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/OpuhZaqjAWCrX001VW71biEpiTw=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/jd-vance-pop-leo-041526-d3e1b7ebc89f485c9c0caf72f9d4bb4e.jpg) ![JD Vance; Pope Leo XIV](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/OpuhZaqjAWCrX001VW71biEpiTw=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/jd-vance-pop-leo-041526-d3e1b7ebc89f485c9c0caf72f9d4bb4e.jpg) JD Vance Heckled as He Says Pope Leo Should ‘Be Careful' Talking About ‘Matters of Theology’ at Turning Point Event By Becca Longmire 637](https:\/\/people.com\/jd-vance-heckled-says-pope-leo-should-be-careful-talking-theology-amid-donald-trump-conflict-11950188)\n\n[![ Donald Trump Tells Reporter He Didn't 'Know Anything About' Melania's Televised Epstein Remarks Before She Went Live](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/itiuJdSNgGcWqAp7Sas0wHDJysM=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Melania-trump-Donald-Trump-040926-76e41325ecc945c1a669fabc325542da.jpg) ![ Donald Trump Tells Reporter He Didn't 'Know Anything About' Melania's Televised Epstein Remarks Before She Went Live](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/itiuJdSNgGcWqAp7Sas0wHDJysM=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Melania-trump-Donald-Trump-040926-76e41325ecc945c1a669fabc325542da.jpg) Donald Trump Tells Reporter He Didn't 'Know Anything About' Melania's Televised Epstein Remarks Before She Went Live By Daniel S. Levine 232](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-tells-reporter-he-didn-t-know-anything-about-melania-s-epstein-remarks-before-she-went-live-11947099)\n\n[![Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room; The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin ballroom interior rendering](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/CTD40nSuLhu28QiWTBz4ZVwXeFQ=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-speaks-during-a-news-conference-White-House-Ballroom-Construction-041026-a506490746724380b5b413e9bee0f799.jpg) ![Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room; The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin ballroom interior rendering](https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/CTD40nSuLhu28QiWTBz4ZVwXeFQ=\/282x188\/filters:no_upscale\$\$:max_bytes\$150000\$:strip_icc\$\$\/Donald-Trump-speaks-during-a-news-conference-White-House-Ballroom-Construction-041026-a506490746724380b5b413e9bee0f799.jpg) Trump Received Luxembourg Steel for New White House Ballroom, Despite Championing U.S. Steel: Report By Becca Longmire](https:\/\/people.com\/donald-trump-received-luxembourg-steel-new-white-house-ballroom-report-11947224)\n\n[PEOPLE](https:\/\/people.com\/)\n\nGet more in our free app\n\n[Newsletters](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19\/)\n\n## Follow Us\n\n- [News](https:\/\/people.com\/news\/)\n- [Entertainment](https:\/\/people.com\/entertainment\/)\n- [Royals](https:\/\/people.com\/royals\/)\n- [Lifestyle](https:\/\/people.com\/lifestyle\/)\n- [StyleWatch](https:\/\/people.com\/stylewatch-fall-2023-7853570)\n- [Shopping](https:\/\/people.com\/shopping\/)\n\n- [About Us](https:\/\/people.com\/about-us-5499056)\n- [PEOPLE Tested](https:\/\/people.com\/product-review-guidelines-5499058)\n- [Editorial Policy](https:\/\/people.com\/editorial-policy-5499057)\n- [Careers](https:\/\/www.people.inc\/careers)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.people.inc\/brands-privacy)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/support.people.inc\/hc\/en-us\/requests\/new)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/www.people.inc\/brands-termsofservice)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/www.people.inc\/advertising)\n\nPEOPLE is part of the [People Inc.](https:\/\/www.people.inc\/) publishing family.\n\nNewsletter Sign Up\n\nNewsletter Sign Up\n\n![]()","attrs_readable_markdown":"On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the mysterious new respiratory disease that would soon spread around the world: [COVID-19,](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/coronavirus\/) or coronavirus disease 2019.\n\nIt is caused by a strain of new coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. (The [larger family of coronaviruses](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/coronavirus-what-to-know\/) also cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.)\n\nThe WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus.\n\nIn 2015, the WHO [announced new guidelines](https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/detail\/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases) for how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity.\n\n“In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced.\n\n“This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.”\n\nWith all of that — and President [Donald Trump](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/) still refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language.\n\nThere have been [multiple reported instances of violence against Asians](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians\/) in various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015.\n\n“Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February.\n\nIn [an impassioned social media post](https:\/\/twitter.com\/lanacondor\/status\/1240305641681379328) on Wednesday, Netflix star [Lana Condor](https:\/\/people.com\/movies\/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-two-title-reveal-lana-condor-noah-centineo\/) spoke directly to Trump about his language.\n\nPresident Donald Trump in February. MANDEL NGAN\/Getty Images\n\nLana Condor; Donald Trump. Alberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty; James Devaney\/GC Images\n\n“You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.”\n\n“Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.”\n\nNBA player [Jeremy Lin](https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/jeremy-lin-five-things-to-know-about-nba-star\/) on Tuesday also criticized the president, [tweeting](https:\/\/twitter.com\/JLin7\/status\/1239984639910936579), “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.”\n\nIn another tweet on Tuesday, [he wrote](https:\/\/twitter.com\/JLin7\/status\/1239989614288310273), “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his \\[Trump’s\\] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.”\n\n*Hawaii Five-O* and *Lost* actor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday [he had tested positive for the virus](https:\/\/people.com\/health\/daniel-dae-kim-tests-positive-coronavirus\/) and he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes.\n\n“Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.”\n\nThe president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since.\n\nAt a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans.\n\n“It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.”\n\n“I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.”\n\nAt that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, [called it the “Kung flu” to her](https:\/\/twitter.com\/weijia\/status\/1239923246801334283) in private. (She has not named the official.)\n\n“I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong.\n\nMARIJAN MURAT\/dpa\/AFP\/Getty\n\n“Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked.\n\n“No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.”\n\nNot so.\n\n“I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, [told NBC News](https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/asian-america\/trump-doubles-down-he-s-not-fueling-racism-experts-say-n1163341). “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.”\n\nA New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.”\n\n“To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.”\n\nSpeaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide [Kellyanne Conway](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/kellyanne-conway\/) suggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut.\n\n“I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise.\n\nThe Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries [have other tensions between them](https:\/\/apnews.com\/211f49062091f5f9c80980910c32d6cb).\n\nLast week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China.\n\n“Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,” [CNN reported last Friday](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/13\/asia\/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk\/index.html).\n\nJIM WATSON\/AFP via Getty Images\n\nThe new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year.\n\n“A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,” [the Associated Press reported last week](https:\/\/apnews.com\/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3).\n\nAccording [to the WHO](https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHO\/status\/1217043229427761152), Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people.\n\nAt the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP.\n\nPresident Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was [being politicized as a “hoax”](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/trump-says-democrats-are-politicizing-coronavirus-into-new-hoax\/) to damage him.\n\nHe has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people.\n\nThis week, however, his rhetoric [became noticeably more serious](https:\/\/people.com\/politics\/tucker-carlson-talked-to-donald-trump-about-coronavirus\/).\n\nAsked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10.\n\n***As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes,* PEOPLE *is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from [CDC](https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/index.html), [WHO](https:\/\/www.who.int\/emergencies\/diseases\/novel-coronavirus-2019), and [local public health departments](https:\/\/www.naccho.org\/membership\/lhd-directory) and visit our [coronavirus hub](https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/coronavirus\/).***","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://people.com/politics/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19/
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Meta Title	Donald Trump's Chinese Virus Backlash Explained
Meta Description	Despite official recommendations otherwise, President Donald Trump insists on calling coronavirus the "Chinese virus" and has been heavily criticized
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Boilerpipe Text	On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the mysterious new respiratory disease that would soon spread around the world: COVID-19, or coronavirus disease 2019. It is caused by a strain of new coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. (The larger family of coronaviruses also cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.) The WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus. In 2015, the WHO announced new guidelines for how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity. “In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced. “This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.” With all of that — and President Donald Trump still refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language. There have been multiple reported instances of violence against Asians in various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015. “Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February. In an impassioned social media post on Wednesday, Netflix star Lana Condor spoke directly to Trump about his language. President Donald Trump in February. MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images Lana Condor; Donald Trump. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; James Devaney/GC Images “You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.” “Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.” NBA player Jeremy Lin on Tuesday also criticized the president, tweeting , “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.” In another tweet on Tuesday, he wrote , “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his [Trump’s] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.” Hawaii Five-O and Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday he had tested positive for the virus and he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes. “Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.” The president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since. At a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans. “It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.” “I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.” At that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, called it the “Kung flu” to her in private. (She has not named the official.) “I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong. MARIJAN MURAT/dpa/AFP/Getty “Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked. “No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.” Not so. “I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, told NBC News . “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.” A New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.” “To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.” Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide Kellyanne Conway suggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut. “I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise. The Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries have other tensions between them . Last week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China. “Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,” CNN reported last Friday . JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images The new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year. “A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,” the Associated Press reported last week . According to the WHO , Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people. At the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP. President Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was being politicized as a “hoax” to damage him. He has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people. This week, however, his rhetoric became noticeably more serious . Asked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC , WHO , and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub .
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[People Editorial Guidelines](https://people.com/editorial-policy-page-5499057) Published on March 19, 2020 10:49AM EDT On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the mysterious new respiratory disease that would soon spread around the world: [COVID-19,](https://people.com/tag/coronavirus/) or coronavirus disease 2019. It is caused by a strain of new coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. (The [larger family of coronaviruses](https://people.com/health/coronavirus-what-to-know/) also cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.) The WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus. In 2015, the WHO [announced new guidelines](https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases) for how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity. “In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced. “This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.” With all of that — and President [Donald Trump](https://people.com/tag/donald-trump/) still refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language. There have been [multiple reported instances of violence against Asians](https://people.com/health/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians/) in various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015. “Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February. In [an impassioned social media post](https://twitter.com/lanacondor/status/1240305641681379328) on Wednesday, Netflix star [Lana Condor](https://people.com/movies/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-two-title-reveal-lana-condor-noah-centineo/) spoke directly to Trump about his language. [Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows](https://people.com/health/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians/) ![Donald Trump](https://people.com/thmb/LzmCmKif3ND2C4_hdDraIqHNP8M=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/state-of-the-union-62-5db191e9e95743ae8ad47c9c65aaac48.jpeg) ![Donald Trump](https://people.com/thmb/LzmCmKif3ND2C4_hdDraIqHNP8M=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/state-of-the-union-62-5db191e9e95743ae8ad47c9c65aaac48.jpeg) President Donald Trump in February. MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images ![Lana Condor and Trump](https://people.com/thmb/BkJbO97uJ19Uoq0H0COBBth7ZL0=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/lana-trump-0bcd9389f80b4bc0b20eb3de3f5e296e.jpg) ![Lana Condor and Trump](https://people.com/thmb/BkJbO97uJ19Uoq0H0COBBth7ZL0=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/lana-trump-0bcd9389f80b4bc0b20eb3de3f5e296e.jpg) Lana Condor; Donald Trump. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; James Devaney/GC Images “You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.” “Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.” NBA player [Jeremy Lin](https://people.com/celebrity/jeremy-lin-five-things-to-know-about-nba-star/) on Tuesday also criticized the president, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1239984639910936579), “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.” In another tweet on Tuesday, [he wrote](https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1239989614288310273), “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his \[Trump’s\] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.” [Here’s a Map of the Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus in the U.S.](https://people.com/health/see-how-the-highly-contagious-coronavirus-spread-across-the-us/) Hawaii Five-O and Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday [he had tested positive for the virus](https://people.com/health/daniel-dae-kim-tests-positive-coronavirus/) and he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes. “Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.” The president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since. At a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans. “It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.” “I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.” At that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, [called it the “Kung flu” to her](https://twitter.com/weijia/status/1239923246801334283) in private. (She has not named the official.) “I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong. ![Novel Coronavirus](https://people.com/thmb/oCD7TQr_b8d2qcMhY1J3fRV5NBU=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/stock-market-2-58b92dd2477247269d6e5214ee8ac191.jpg) ![Novel Coronavirus](https://people.com/thmb/oCD7TQr_b8d2qcMhY1J3fRV5NBU=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$749x0:751x2$/stock-market-2-58b92dd2477247269d6e5214ee8ac191.jpg) MARIJAN MURAT/dpa/AFP/Getty [Here’s How to Tell If That Sneeze Is Coronavirus, the Flu or Just a Cold](https://people.com/health/how-to-tell-between-coronavirus-flu-cold/) “Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked. “No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.” Not so. “I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, [told NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/trump-doubles-down-he-s-not-fueling-racism-experts-say-n1163341). “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.” A New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.” “To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.” Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide [Kellyanne Conway](https://people.com/tag/kellyanne-conway/) suggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut. “I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise. The Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries [have other tensions between them](https://apnews.com/211f49062091f5f9c80980910c32d6cb). Last week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China. “Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,” [CNN reported last Friday](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk/index.html). ![US-POLITICS-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRUMP](https://people.com/thmb/qvlXLTVR3dpvY7IXqvBP331Eueo=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$999x0:1001x2$/donald-trump-9-2000-4461993329e04809a92ba2eca2623455.jpg) ![US-POLITICS-HEALTH-VIRUS-TRUMP](https://people.com/thmb/qvlXLTVR3dpvY7IXqvBP331Eueo=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc:focal$999x0:1001x2$/donald-trump-9-2000-4461993329e04809a92ba2eca2623455.jpg) JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images [Donald Trump Signs Families First Coronavirus Response Act Into Law](https://people.com/politics/donald-trump-signs-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-into-law/) The new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year. “A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,” [the Associated Press reported last week](https://apnews.com/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3). According [to the WHO](https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152), Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people. At the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP. President Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was [being politicized as a “hoax”](https://people.com/politics/trump-says-democrats-are-politicizing-coronavirus-into-new-hoax/) to damage him. He has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people. This week, however, his rhetoric [became noticeably more serious](https://people.com/politics/tucker-carlson-talked-to-donald-trump-about-coronavirus/). Asked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10. **As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html), [WHO](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019), and [local public health departments](https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory) and visit our [coronavirus hub](https://people.com/tag/coronavirus/).** Read More: - [Lifestyle](https://people.com/lifestyle/) - [Health](https://people.com/health/) Trending Now [![Donald Trump President of the United States on the presentation podium after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States; West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. - WEST PALM BEACH -- The new \$19.2 million air traffic control tower at Palm Beach International Airport, which isn't operational because officials are still trying to decide where to put the area's long-range radar. 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After Backlash, He Swapped Out the Grandkid Pic By Rachel Raposas 16](https://people.com/trump-keeps-putin-photo-white-house-wall-removes-granddaughter-11946713) [![President Donald Trump Pope Leo XIV](https://people.com/thmb/uY-jWizlv0xmQmVKE7WjVa60DNM=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Donald-Trump-Pope-Leo-XIV-041726-bc88b802382c4ed9a6144ccba3dd58d4.jpg) ![President Donald Trump Pope Leo XIV](https://people.com/thmb/uY-jWizlv0xmQmVKE7WjVa60DNM=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Donald-Trump-Pope-Leo-XIV-041726-bc88b802382c4ed9a6144ccba3dd58d4.jpg) Donald Trump Says He's 'About' the Gospel 'as Much as Anybody Can Be' amid Feud with Pope Leo Over Iran By Joseph Konig](https://people.com/trump-says-hes-all-about-the-gospel-11952683) [![US President Donald Trump bodega in New York City](https://people.com/thmb/Ep20-7NA_q1D8407Xipxu0fT-Ec=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/US-President-Donald-Trump-bodega-041725-tout-714e05cff62d425d834352e0b277648f.jpg) ![US President Donald Trump bodega in New York City](https://people.com/thmb/Ep20-7NA_q1D8407Xipxu0fT-Ec=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/US-President-Donald-Trump-bodega-041725-tout-714e05cff62d425d834352e0b277648f.jpg) Donald Trump Questions ‘What’s a Corner Store?’ at Tax Week Event: ‘I’ve Never Heard That Term’ By Becca Longmire 213](https://people.com/donald-trump-questions-whats-a-corner-store-11952186) [![Guests listen to stories being read in the Rose Garden of the White House during the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. 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Eisenhower Executive Office Building](https://people.com/thmb/BbTnxEkrrWKrX1YX0xQOk8ksWxg=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Donald-Trump-Eisenhower-Executive-Office-Building-041226-8a0e81cd5da243af9741a77a413902e3.jpg) Donald Trump Says He Wants to Use ‘Magic Paint’ to Cover Entire White House Office Building By Bailey Richards 241](https://people.com/donald-trump-wants-to-use-magic-paint-on-white-house-office-building-11948223) [![Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House](https://people.com/thmb/X4ehjAy3rAyDPyft3t2XdDZiVek=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Robert-F.-Kennedy-Jr.-Donald-TrumpWhite-Houses-Oval-Office-041726-70ff2c50866147c184eb86582400a631.jpg) ![Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House](https://people.com/thmb/X4ehjAy3rAyDPyft3t2XdDZiVek=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Robert-F.-Kennedy-Jr.-Donald-TrumpWhite-Houses-Oval-Office-041726-70ff2c50866147c184eb86582400a631.jpg) RFK Jr. Says Trump's Post About Ending 'a Whole Civilization' Was a 'Message of Love and Compassion to the Iranian People' By Joseph Konig 14](https://people.com/rfk-jr-comments-trumps-threat-end-iran-civilization-11952934) [![Masoud Pezeshkian; AI Trump; Pope Leo ](https://people.com/thmb/oAr9e0pwPRr6GqQGm8Rw4-b9Xp8=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Masoud-Pezeshkian-AI-Trump-Pope-Leo-041326-9f8da19760914fef8a44e35e8553abfb.jpg) ![Masoud Pezeshkian; AI Trump; Pope Leo ](https://people.com/thmb/oAr9e0pwPRr6GqQGm8Rw4-b9Xp8=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Masoud-Pezeshkian-AI-Trump-Pope-Leo-041326-9f8da19760914fef8a44e35e8553abfb.jpg) Iranian President Sends Pope Leo Well Wishes While Slamming Trump's AI Image as 'Desecration of Jesus' and 'Not Acceptable' By Joseph Konig](https://people.com/iranian-president-defends-pope-leo-from-trump-attacks-11948592) [![Caitlyn Jenner attends the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation's 13th Annual 'Big Fighters, Big Cause' Charity Boxing Night Presented by B. 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Levine 232](https://people.com/donald-trump-tells-reporter-he-didn-t-know-anything-about-melania-s-epstein-remarks-before-she-went-live-11947099) [![Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room; The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin ballroom interior rendering](https://people.com/thmb/CTD40nSuLhu28QiWTBz4ZVwXeFQ=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Donald-Trump-speaks-during-a-news-conference-White-House-Ballroom-Construction-041026-a506490746724380b5b413e9bee0f799.jpg) ![Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room; The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin ballroom interior rendering](https://people.com/thmb/CTD40nSuLhu28QiWTBz4ZVwXeFQ=/282x188/filters:no_upscale:max_bytes$150000$:strip_icc/Donald-Trump-speaks-during-a-news-conference-White-House-Ballroom-Construction-041026-a506490746724380b5b413e9bee0f799.jpg) Trump Received Luxembourg Steel for New White House Ballroom, Despite Championing U.S. Steel: Report By Becca Longmire](https://people.com/donald-trump-received-luxembourg-steel-new-white-house-ballroom-report-11947224) [PEOPLE](https://people.com/) Get more in our free app [Newsletters](https://people.com/politics/why-you-should-call-coronavirus-covid-19/) ## Follow Us - [News](https://people.com/news/) - [Entertainment](https://people.com/entertainment/) - [Royals](https://people.com/royals/) - [Lifestyle](https://people.com/lifestyle/) - [StyleWatch](https://people.com/stylewatch-fall-2023-7853570) - [Shopping](https://people.com/shopping/) - [About Us](https://people.com/about-us-5499056) - [PEOPLE Tested](https://people.com/product-review-guidelines-5499058) - [Editorial Policy](https://people.com/editorial-policy-5499057) - [Careers](https://www.people.inc/careers) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.people.inc/brands-privacy) - [Contact Us](https://support.people.inc/hc/en-us/requests/new) - [Terms of Service](https://www.people.inc/brands-termsofservice) - [Advertise](https://www.people.inc/advertising) PEOPLE is part of the [People Inc.](https://www.people.inc/) publishing family. 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Readable Markdown	On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the mysterious new respiratory disease that would soon spread around the world: [COVID-19,](https://people.com/tag/coronavirus/) or coronavirus disease 2019. It is caused by a strain of new coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. (The [larger family of coronaviruses](https://people.com/health/coronavirus-what-to-know/) also cause cold and other more mild respiratory illnesses but some are severe. The new coronavirus is related to but different from the coronavirus that causes SARS, which first emerged in 2003.) The WHO is globally responsible for naming infectious diseases. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses names viruses. On Feb. 11, they said the new coronavirus strain was SARS-CoV-2, reflecting its link to the SARS virus. In 2015, the WHO [announced new guidelines](https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases) for how it would name illnesses, clarifying then that disease names should not focus in on geographic locations, the names of people or animals or particular cultural traits (such as someone’s job). Instead, disease names should include the year of first detection and descriptions of the general symptoms caused or bodily systems affected (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, neurologic) as well as the associated environment and season in which it appears and its severity. “In recent years, several new human infectious diseases have emerged. The use of names such as ‘swine flu’ and ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’ has had unintended negative impacts by stigmatizing certain communities or economic sectors,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, then the assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, said in May 2015 when the new guidelines were announced. “This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected,” Fukuda continued. “We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.” With all of that — and President [Donald Trump](https://people.com/tag/donald-trump/) still refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” despite widespread backlash and the reluctance of some of his own aides to use similar language. There have been [multiple reported instances of violence against Asians](https://people.com/health/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians/) in various countries in the wake of the spread of the coronavirus, underlining the risk of attaching a virus or disease to a particular country or ethnicity, as Dr. Fukuda noted in 2015. “Ethnicity is not what causes the novel coronavirus,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a congressional hearing in February. In [an impassioned social media post](https://twitter.com/lanacondor/status/1240305641681379328) on Wednesday, Netflix star [Lana Condor](https://people.com/movies/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-two-title-reveal-lana-condor-noah-centineo/) spoke directly to Trump about his language. President Donald Trump in February. MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images Lana Condor; Donald Trump. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; James Devaney/GC Images “You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community,” she wrote. ‘You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a leader? You know what leaders do? They LEAD by setting good examples and ACTION. Something we’ve yet to see you do.” “Be better,” Condor added. “So we aren’t afraid to leave our house in fear someone will verbally or physically abuse us because of your xenophobia.” NBA player [Jeremy Lin](https://people.com/celebrity/jeremy-lin-five-things-to-know-about-nba-star/) on Tuesday also criticized the president, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1239984639910936579), “I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering.” In another tweet on Tuesday, [he wrote](https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1239989614288310273), “Can you honestly tell me there is ZERO anti-Chinese sentiment in all his \[Trump’s\] characterizations of the virus? Can you honestly tell me Asians aren’t being unfairly physically attacked today in the US? Is it that hard to use coronavirus or COVID-19? We playin the blame game in a crisis.” Hawaii Five-O and Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim said Thursday [he had tested positive for the virus](https://people.com/health/daniel-dae-kim-tests-positive-coronavirus/) and he spoke out against those using the pandemic to fan racist attitudes. “Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said in a video message on social media. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China, I got it in America, in New York City, and despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly, right? The name calling gets us nowhere.” The president first tweeted about the “Chinese virus” on Monday and has used it repeatedly in White House meetings and on Twitter since. At a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, he defended his choices after a reporter asked him if he was concerned about the harm it may bring on Asian Americans. “It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.” “I have great love for all of the people from our country,” Trump continued. “But, as you know, China tried to say at one point — maybe they stopped now — that it was caused by American soldiers. That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen, not as long as I’m president. It comes from China.” At that briefing, Trump was also asked about an unnamed White House official who, according to CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, [called it the “Kung flu” to her](https://twitter.com/weijia/status/1239923246801334283) in private. (She has not named the official.) “I wonder who said that,” Trump said Wednesday. He did not answer when asked if he thought that usage was right or wrong. MARIJAN MURAT/dpa/AFP/Getty “Do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?” a reporter asked. “No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent,” he said. “It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.” Not so. “I absolutely think that words used by him matter,” John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, [told NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/trump-doubles-down-he-s-not-fueling-racism-experts-say-n1163341). “Certainly use of this term by him and others even in the last couple of weeks have led to a noticeable incline in hate incidents that we are seeing. I do think that there is a correlation.” A New York lawmaker told NBC that Trump’s language was “fueling xenophobia.” “To continue calling COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus,’ is to basically be racist,” said Yuh-Line Niou, a member of the New York assembly. “It’s fueling the xenophobia we’re seeing all over our districts.” Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House aide [Kellyanne Conway](https://people.com/tag/kellyanne-conway/) suggested the president’s choice was logical, given a history of diseases named for the places they originate, such as Ebola (named for a river in Africa) and Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut. “I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started,” Conway said — despite the WHO’s guidance since 2015 otherwise. The Chinese government has criticized Trump’s label, too. As he noted, however, the two countries [have other tensions between them](https://apnews.com/211f49062091f5f9c80980910c32d6cb). Last week, a Chinese official tweeted in support of a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, a city in eastern China. “Parts of Chinese social media, and even the country’s government, appear to have launched a concerted campaign to question the origin of the novel coronavirus,” [CNN reported last Friday](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk/index.html). JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images The new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in December, according to the WHO. But local health officials have been scrutinized for some decisions early in handling the outbreak, such as reporting no new cases of the virus around the same time that millions were traveling through Wuhan for the Lunar New Year. “A recently submitted complaint to the country’s National Health Commission alleged that during this period, officials with the Wuhan health commission told doctors they were not allowed to report about the new virus, letting patients wander around freely instead of being isolated,” [the Associated Press reported last week](https://apnews.com/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3). According [to the WHO](https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152), Chinese investigators also maintained in mid January that they had yet to find “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” of the virus — despite what experts now know to be the virus’ high infection rate between people. At the same time, the Chinese government has since been praised by the CDC and others for transparency and openness in working with the global community on combatting the virus, according to the AP. President Trump has similarly been scrutinized for his response to the virus, which he previously said was [being politicized as a “hoax”](https://people.com/politics/trump-says-democrats-are-politicizing-coronavirus-into-new-hoax/) to damage him. He has also downplayed the virus compared the seasonal flu, though experts say it is much more dangerous if it is allowed to infect as many people. This week, however, his rhetoric [became noticeably more serious](https://people.com/politics/tucker-carlson-talked-to-donald-trump-about-coronavirus/). Asked on Monday how he would rate his work so far, on a scale from one to 10, he said he would give himself a 10. **As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html), [WHO](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019), and [local public health departments](https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory) and visit our [coronavirus hub](https://people.com/tag/coronavirus/).**
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