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Lt. Gov. Husted Stands By Tweet on "The Wuhan Virus"

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is refusing to apologize for a tweet last week referencing "the Wuhan virus" that drew criticism for being tone-deaf during a time of rising violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.  

The violence has been blamed in part on former president Donald Trump's characterization of COVID-19 as "the China virus" or "the kung flu".  Husted says his tweet was in response to an interview with a former CDC official who speculated that COVID-19 came from a Chinese laboratory.

"Wuhan is inseparable from the story.  Because Wuhan is where the first case was documented; it's where the lab that exists that's doing research to make viruses more aggressive.  Wuhan is not an ethnicity, it is a city.  My words were directed at what I believe is a probable cover up by the Chinese government for a virus that has killed 2.7 million people." 

Earlier this week several Asian American residents of Husted's Upper Arlington neighborhood published a letter to the Lieutenant Governor, saying his comments contributed to anti-AAPI violence and made them fearful for their children's safety.  

 

A native of Chicago, naturalized citizen of Cincinnati and resident of Columbus, Alison attended Earlham College and the Ohio State University. She has equal passion for Midwest history, hockey and Slavic poetry.
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