US president, Donald Trump, during a Monday press briefing clashed with reporters and then stormed out, when questioned about the Coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 80,000 Americans.
The press briefing which was held in the White House rose garden, was flanked by testing equipment, swabs and signs that proclaimed: “America leads the world in testing.” This was Trump’s first press conference since April 27.
During a question and answer session, Weijia Jiang, a reporter born in China but immigrated to the USA, and the White House correspondent of CBS News, asked Trump why he always emphasises that the US is doing better than any other country when it comes to testing when Americans were losing their lives.
“Why does that matter?” she asked. “Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day?”
Trump looked at her and retorted: “Well, they are losing their lives everywhere in the world. Maybe that is a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question. When you ask China that question you may get a very unusual answer. Trump then called on another reporter Kaitlan Collins of CNN.
But Jiang who probably felt that she asked that question because she had Asian origins, responded saying.
“Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically?”
To which Trump replied;
“I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I am saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that.”
The Asian reporter pointed out: “That is not a nasty question.”
CNN’s Collins, holding the microphone, then tried to ask her own question, but Trump said he wanted to answer someone else at the back since she didn’t ask her question when he asked her to.
As Collins repeatedly objected, Trump turned and left the podium.
