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While Media Calls Trump Racist for Using 'Kung Flu,' Turns Out Obama-Era VA Used Term Before

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The liberal media’s incredibly hypocrisy was put on display yet again this week.

After months of the media calling out Trump and other officials for using the term “Kung Flu,” it was revealed that the administration of former President Barack Obama had used the term previously.

Despite this, the left-wing media has yet to call out the Obama administration for using the supposedly racist term as they have done — repeatedly — to the Trump administration.

In 2015, the Tennesse Valley Healthcare System section of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website used the term repeatedly.

The website has since been taken down. However, a copy of it remains on an online archival website.

Is the term 'Kung Flu' racist?

The site had published promotional material of a martial arts fighter wearing a medical mask that read “Become a Kung Flu Fighter! Get Your Flu Shot!”

The site even urged users to “click here to print Kung Flu Fighter poster!”

Since then, reporters’ views have drastically changed regarding the now “racist” term. Repeatedly, reporters have pressed the president on about his use of both “Kung Flu” and “Chinese coronavirus,” suggesting that the terms are racist even though the virus did, in fact, come from China.

PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor was one of the first reporters to attack Trump for using the term during a March 18 media briefing, claiming that the terms may put “Asian Americans at risk” without providing any evidence.

“And then the — my second question is, there are some — at least one White House official who used the term ‘Kung flu,’ referring to the fact that this virus started in China. Is that acceptable? Is it wrong?” Yamiche asked the president. “Do you think that’s wrong? ‘Kung flu.’ And do you think using the term ‘Chinese virus’ — that puts Asian Americans at risk, that people might target them?”

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“No, not at all,” Trump responded. “I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent. It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree on.”

During the very same news conference, Cecilia Vega of ABC News asked the president the same question, citing “dozens of incidents of bias” that she also failed to provide evidence of.

“Why do you keep calling this the ‘Chinese virus’?  There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese Americans in this country. Your own aide, Secretary Azar, says he does not use this term. He says, ‘Ethnicity does not cause the virus.’ Why do you keep using this?” Vega asked. “People say it’s racist.”

“It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all. It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate,” Trump said.

Despite the fact that Obama’s administration had used the term before, the former president claimed to be “shocked” by the term.

“I don’t want a country in which the president of the United States is actively trying to promote anti-Asian sentiment and thinks it’s funny. I don’t want that. That still shocks and pisses me off,” Obama said, according to a Monday report from The Hill.

If the term “Kung Flu” is racist now, it’s hard to see how it wasn’t when the Obama administration used it. Yet no one in the establishment media reported on it then, and no one in the establishment media is reporting on it now — yet again demonstrating the industry’s pro-Obama, anti-Trump bias.

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Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; helping guide the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Michael Austin graduated from Iowa State University in 2019. During his time in college, he volunteered for both PragerU and Live Action. After graduation, Michael went on to work as a freelance journalist for various entertainment news sites before joining The Western Journal as an intern in early 2020.

Shortly thereafter, Michael was hired on as a staff writer/reporter. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; helping guide the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Entertainment News, Christian-Conservatism




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