Politics - News Analysis

Kayleigh McEnany Defends and Backs Trump’s Use of Racist Term ‘Kung Flu’ for Coronavirus

The unmitigated disaster that was “Tulsa” just continues to unravel.

Because so much went on in Tulsa, some components of Trump’s speech that might normally be “the” topic have had to wait until the nation absorbs other aspects of all that occurred over the weekend. One detail that cannot wait is why it was that when Trump went back to “red America” to restart his campaign in a country trying to evolve through racial prejudices, Trump had to resort to cheap racist bullshit name-calling. Trump used the term “Kung Flu,” to describe COVID, a term that Kellyanne Conway had once angrily denied ever being used by anyone in the White House.

Today, at the first White House press briefing since the rally speech, CBS’s Weijia Jiang asked Kayleigh McEnany about Trump’s use of the term, noting it’s racist. We have the breakdown from Mediaite:

During a Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump uttered the phrase, saying, “If you could have heard the reports, the reports, oh, it’s Covid — it’s a disease without question that has more names than any disease in history,” Trump said. “I can name Kung flu. I can name 19 different versions of names.”

“Last July, president Trump declared himself the least racist person there is anywhere in the world,” Jiang asked Monday. “Why does he use racist phrases like ‘Kung flu?’”

“The president doesn’t,” McEnany shot back. “The president points to the fact that the origin of the virus is China. It’s a fair thing to point out as China tried to ridiculously rewrite history, ridiculously blames the coronavirus on American soldiers. This is what China is trying to do.”

Weijia simply wasn’t having any of the deflection:

That’s what he’s saying by using the racist phrase ‘kung flu? What does he have to say to Asian Americans who are deeply offended and worry his use will lead to further attacks of discrimination?”

Note that Kayleigh acts as though she got asked an entirely different question. This is what Kayleigh does that her boss loves, she doesn’t even try to answer the question, she simply lashes out at the media who asked her about Trump’s OWN words, and Kayleigh goes right around it.

“The media blames President Trump for using the terms ‘china virus’ and ‘wuhan virus’ when they themselves have used these terms,” she said, before calling out the New York Times, Reuters, and other media organizations.

“To be clear, are you saying the White House does not believe it’s racist?” Jiang pressed again.

To be clear I think the media is trying to play games with the terminology of this virus with focus should be on the fact that China left us out of our country,” McEnany responded. “The same phrase that the media roundly now condemns has been used by the media. I can go more examples.”

So the answer as to why Trump uses racist terms is that the media is bad and unfair, so that’s why.

WATCH:

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom

 

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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