Several White House reporters confronted Trump regarding his decision to call the coronavirus (or COVID-19) the China Virus. One reporter asked him about a White House administration official who is alleged to have called the coronavirus Kung Flu.
When the reporter was asked the name of the official, the reporter said she didn’t know.
The original claim regarding Kung Flu comes from CBS reporter Weijia Jiang. On March 17th, she Tweeted:
This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the “Kung-Flu” to my face. Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back.
Ms. Jiang has not identified the official.
This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the “Kung-Flu” to my face. Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 17, 2020
One reason could be because this official does not even exist.
Under American defamation law, you can lie all you like.
You can’t lie about a person by name.
If no White House official called the coronavirus Kung Flu, or if there is some important context missing, then Jiang could be sued.
You can watch the Kung Flu exchange in this video here:
Trump was asked about the “Kung Flu” accusation and still no one will name the official. pic.twitter.com/zQkr1g4ZQ3
— Kate Hyde (@KateHydeNY) March 18, 2020
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