CNN blasted for now declaring 'Wuhan virus' as 'racist' after weeks of network's 'China's coronavirus' coverage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN appeared to take the position this week that describing the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" or the "Chinese coronavirus" is racist but had a much different tone before the outbreak hit the U.S.
On Wednesday night, CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was extremely critical of President Trump's Oval Office address on the coronavirus outbreak, but not because of the factual errors the White House had to clarify later that many critics flagged.
“The president referred to the coronavirus as a ‘foreign virus,’ that I think was interesting because, I was talking to sources earlier this evening, one of the points that the president wanted to make tonight, wanted to get across to Americans, is that this virus did not start here, but that they’re dealing it,” Acosta said. “Now, why the president would go as far to describe it as a foreign virus, that is something we’ll also be asking questions about.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Acosta then insisted Trump is "going to come across to a lot of Americans as smacking of xenophobia" too because he said the coronavirus came from a foreign source.
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"Cuomo Prime Time" anchor Chris Cuomo also dinged Trump and Republican lawmakers for what he described as a "message shift" with the China-infused terminology, saying they're "looking for someone to blame."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, weeks leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, as the Media Research Center demonstrated in a video on Thursday, several CNN anchors and reporters referred to it as the "Wuhan coronavirus" and "China's coronavirus."
Included in the video was "CNN Tonight" anchor Don Lemon, who accused Republicans of calling the outbreak the "Chinese coronavirus" despite himself having called it the "Chinese coronavirus" while reporting on the first American who was tested positive with the illness.
Numerous journalists from MSNBC, CNBC, PBS News, and CBS News were also heard using similar terminology.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The videos sparked plenty of mockery of the anti-Trump network on social media.
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"This is so humiliating," Turning Point USA's chief creative officer Benny Johnson reacted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Back when it was okay to call the Wuhan coronavirus 'the Wuhan coronavirus,'" Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy observed.
"Brutal," Daily Caller investigative editor Peter Hasson tweeted.
"'Mr. Zucker, Chinese state Media Minister on line 1,'" conservative commentator Stephen Miller quipped in reference to CNN's president Jeff Zucker.
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In addition to Lemon, Acosta was called out for the apparent hypocrisy after previously tweeting about the "Wuhan Coronavirus."
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.