Internet corrects Trump, labels the "Chinese Virus" the "Trump Virus"

As the number of coronavirus cases in the United States continues to rise and the markets continue to fall, wiping out all the gains since he took office in 2017, US President Donald Trump has increasingly sought to blame China for his response to the coronavirus outbreak by fanning the flames of racism.

Since Trump started using the label "Chinese Virus" to describe the COVID-19, there has been a backlash in America and around the globe. Despite it being wrong and despite the backlash, however, Trump seems so determined to empower anti-Chinese racism that he even crossed-out the word "corona" in his notes in favor of "Chinese Virus."

It is obvious that many people are angry at Trump, not only for failing to take the coronavirus threat seriously, but also for stepping up efforts to scapegoat China for his failures in stopping the spread of the deadly virus in the United States.

Of course, the Internet being the Internet, many people are setting out to correct Trump, with a trending hashtag on Twitter: #TrumpVirus. People are using the hashtag to send the message that racism against Chinese people it is not okay.

Some people have even shared a petition to "send Donald Trump into space and leave him there." Though the petition is an obvious joke, it highlights the fact that many people are angry with him for using the label "Chinese Virus." How angry? Over 126 thousand people have already signed it so far.

One user on Twitter tweeted: "This is not the China Virus. This is the Trump Virus. Call it what it is. Use the real name," with an image of the "Trump Virus."

"The Trump virus! It spreads with every lie!" another user on Twitter wrote in response to a tweet from Trump in which he bragged about the stock market, with this colorful image (on a side note some Chinese netizens joke that the stock market crashes each time he uses the "Chinese Virus" label):

Some people have even tried to cash in on the failure, creating an actual t-shirt (currently $22) with the name and image of various viruses, including the "Trump Virus."

Many people are obviously having fun and being creative in their criticism of Trump's handling of the outbreak, but there is also an important message, that is, it is wrong to use racism in a time when there is a need for solidarity.