House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Tuesday accused Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) of sending a “bigoted” message on the coronavirus for noting its place of origin and demanded him to delete his message and “apologize immediately.”
McCarthy took to social media on Monday, posting a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website to assist Americans in staying informed on the novel coronavirus.
“Everything you need to know about the Chinese coronavirus can be found on one, regularly-updated website,” McCarthy explained:
Pelosi took issue with McCarthy’s description. Referring to the virus’s country of origin, according to the House speaker, is “bigoted.”
“Bigoted statements which spread misinformation and blame Asians and the Asian American community for #coronavirus make us all less safe. @GOPLeader must delete this tweet and apologize immediately,” she said:
Many figures have had their hands slapped by verified users on Twitter, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), for using terms like “Chinese coronavirus” and the “Wuhan virus”:
However, as Breitbart News’s John Nolte demonstrated, naming viruses after their places of origin is a well-established practice, spanning decades:
“Wuhan” was first discovered in Wuhan, China.
Ebola was named after a river close to where an outbreak took place in Africa.
Lyme disease was named after a Connecticut town experienced an outbreak in 1975.
The Zika virus was named after a forest in Uganda in 1947, where scientists discovered what it was.
The Marburg virus was first discovered in Marburg, Germany.
The West Nile virus is what causes West Nile fever… guess where…
Did you know Legionnaires’ disease is named that because the first notable outbreak killed off a bunch of legionnaires in attendance at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia back in 1976?
McCarthy also reiterated that point on Tuesday.
“Democrats are trying to score political points by calling Republicans racist,” McCarthy said. “Coronavirus is a China-born disease—made worse by a Communist Party that rejected America’s help to contain it.”
“Which is why Dems & media called it ‘Chinese coronavirus’ for weeks,” he added.
McCarthy further demonstrated his point by providing screenshots of images from various media outlets that previously used the term “Chinese coronavirus.” Those included the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN:
Indeed, multiple media outlets have used the terms “Chinese coronavirus,” “Chinese virus,” “China coronavirus,” “Wuhan virus,” and “Wuhan coronavirus.”
“Japan and Thailand Confirm New Cases of Chinese Coronavirus,” a January headline from the New York Times reads.
“China confirms Wuhan virus can be spread by humans,” CNN reported that same month.
“The CDC and Homeland Security begin screening for Chinese Coronavirus at three major US airports as outbreak spreads in Asia,” CNBC reported January 17.
The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, NBC’s Today, and the Los Angeles Times have all been documented using the term “Chinese coronavirus.”
Moreover, Business Insider, Reuters, USA Today, and CNN have used either the term “Wuhan virus” or “Wuhan coronavirus.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that it has formally designating the virus as a “pandemic”:
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