President Donald Trump quickly ended his press conference short after having a heated exchange with one Asian-American journalist. When the White House reporter Weijia Jiang asked him why he found coronavirus testing as a global competition, the POTUS outrageously responded to "ask China" instead. A move once again put him in the middle of a controversy.
There are over 80,000 deaths in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it seemed to puzzle everyone why Donald Trump saw the coronavirus testing as a global competition.
"Maybe that's a question you should ask China," Melania Trump's husband told Jiang, a CBS News correspondent, who was born in China and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of two. "Don't ask me. Ask China that question, OK?" he added, South China Morning Post noted.
The 73-year-old politician tried not to mind Jiang and called another reporter to ask a question. This time, it was Kaitlan Collins from CNN. However, Jiang didn't let her time passed, and Collins let her. She made another follow-up question.
She asked Donald Trump why he was saying that to her, specifically, to which he replied that he was telling her. He explained that he was not saying his words specifically to anybody but telling it to anyone that asked a "nasty question."
Jiang defended her query, stressing that it was not a nasty question. This time, he looked for another correspondent to ask some questions, but Collins approached the mic and declared she had two questions to make.
Donald Trump declined Collins' request, saying that she didn't respond immediately when he pointed to her. Collins explained she wanted her colleague to finish first. But, when she asked if she could start asking him questions, the President ended the press conference and left the Rose Garden.
Social media users quickly showed their support to Jiang, using the hashtag #StandWithWeijiaJiang on Twitter. As expected, he was strongly condemned by his many critics, 9 News reported.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders described the heated exchange "pretty pathetic." He even made a tweet, accusing Donald Trump of being a coward, who is trying to put down others to make himself feel powerful.
Some said that the argument was fueled by racism and sexism. The famed Asian-American activist George Takei showed her support to Jiang against Donald Trump's "racist tantrums." New York magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi also added that Trump always shows his unprofessionalism when he is dealing with female reporters.
