Husted doubles down on criticized virus tweet
On Monday, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted doubled down on his pointed public use of the phrase “Wuhan virus” to describe the coronavirus, dismissing those who said the term encourages bigotry amid a backdrop of rising prejudice and hate crimes against Asian-Americans.
Husted told a Cincinnati radio host that what he actually meant in his 10-word tweet was to criticize the Chinese government for not being more transparent about its possible role in the pandemic. He said there should be an independent international investigation into the origins of the virus, and he framed any criticism of his tweet as a form of stifling political correctness.
“These are legitimate questions and we shouldn’t avoid them, we should confront them,” Husted said. “The same thing — if America creates a global problem, America should be called out by name. China should too.”
Rather than back away from the controversy, Husted promoted the Monday radio interview with WLW’s Scott Sloan through his official social media accounts, including sharing audio of the complete interview on Twitter.
“No one gets to assign motive to my comments that clearly were focused on the virus and the Chinese government,” Husted said. “And there are people who want to manipulate that and focus on that, so that’s why I’m on your show today. I’m going to talk about it, I’m going to focus on it, and I’m going to call people out who want to manipulate the situation.”
A spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine declined to comment for this story. But asked about Husted’s tweet on Monday, DeWine told reporters the Chinese government hasn’t been transparent about the pandemic.
“You’ll have a chance to talk to him tomorrow. But I know Jon Husted. There’s no prejudice there at all,” DeWine said, according to the Athens Messenger, while appearing at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Vinton County.
DeWine and Husted, both Republicans, are running for reelection next year, and could face a primary challenge amid rising criticism from the political right over DeWine’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Husted on Friday shared an article in which former CDC Director Robert Redfield told CNN the coronavirus may have escaped from a Chinese research lab in Wuhan, a theory that has not been proven. Husted commented in the tweet: “So it appears it was the Wuhan virus after all?” The tweet prompted swift social-media backlash from Democrats and others.
Several officials with Ohio Asian-American advocacy groups said Husted’s use of the term promoted anti-Asian sentiment.
“It’s textbook bigotry and prejudice. It harbors negative thoughts towards people based purely on what they look like, so that is very upsetting to see that kind of comment from our leadership,” Siu Yan Scott, a member of the OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter told WJW on Saturday.
Husted responded to criticism by clarifying his tweet was meant to criticize the Chinese government.
Husted’s tweet came days before hundreds attended a Sunday “Stop Asian Hate” rally organized by the OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter, and days after a video clip went viral that showed a Chinese-American township trustee in the Cincinnati area, while addressing hateful comments directed a local Chinese restaurant, removing his shirt during a public meeting showing scars he’d received while serving in the U.S. Army.
Concern over rising antiAsian sentiment in America tied to the coronavirus pandemic has been publicly heightened over the past year, especially since a Georgia man killed eight people, including six people of Asian descent, during a series of shootings at massage parlors in the Atlanta area earlier this month.