President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that it “must hold China accountable” for the coronavirus Tuesday.
Trump spoke about COVID-19 in a pre-recorded speech to the UN General Assembly, blasting China and defending his own record on responding to the pandemic, The New York Times reported. The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. is nearly 200,000, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker.
“As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world – China,” Trump said, continuing on to slam how the country handled the early days of the virus’ outbreak.
“The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,” Trump said, adding that the country has “waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy – the China virus.”
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping also had a pre-recorded speech where he blasted “any attempt” to politicize the issue of COVID-19, the NYT reported.
“Any attempt at politicizing or stigmatizing this issue must be rejected,” Xi said in his speech. (RELATED: How China’s Media, Which Masked Crucial COVID Data, Is Covering The Floyd Protests)
China and the U.S. have been at odds regarding the coronavirus, with Trump repeatedly calling out the country over its early attempts to cover up the virus. Chinese officials have, in return, spread misinformation, suggesting that the virus was actually made by the U.S. and brought to China.