Former President Trump called on China to “retaliate” for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it was right about the virus leaking from a Wuhan lab.
In a campaign video released Friday, the former president and declared 2024 White House contender admitted he was right about the lab leak theory after the Energy Department concluded it was “not credible” as the most likely explanation. Where did the virus come from?
“Three years ago, I announced that the Chinese virus came from a Wuhan laboratory. Now the world finally recognized the truth – they say I was right,” said Trump. “The cover-up of the origin of COVID-19 is one of the biggest scandals in the history of the world. However, the biggest scandal is COVID itself.”
The 2024 GOP front-runner said, “It’s time to hold China and the corrupt forces that have facilitated this massive printing of facts accountable for the damage they’ve done to the world and to all of humanity. We have to do something about it. We have to.” there must be some form of punishment.’
SENATE REPUBLICANS DEMAND DOGE SUDAN FOR CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY’S ROLE IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday called for “revenge” on China for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic. (Brandon Bell)
Republicans are calling for China to be held accountable for its handling of the pandemic, as critics accuse the Chinese regime of trying to investigate the origins of the virus.
At a House hearing last week, Dr. Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, asked US lawmakers to conduct a full investigation into the matter.
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This aerial view shows the P4 laboratory, center left, on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, May 27, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
“Since the first days of the pandemic, the Chinese government has destroyed samples, classified records, jailed brave Chinese journalists, silenced Chinese scientists, actively spread disinformation, and done everything possible to prevent unimpeded, evidence-based investigations. urgently needed,” said Metzl.
Democrats are also interested in getting to the bottom of COVID-19, but they are more reluctant to accept the lab leak theory. Both the House and Senate unanimously passed legislation requiring the Biden administration’s director of national intelligence to release all intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and possible links to the origin of the virus. Covid19 virus.
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Dr. Jamie Metzl, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, testifies before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 8, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The votes came after the Energy Department’s estimate for 2021 was revealed in a classified document updated by the office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes.
The “lab leak theory” that COVID-19 originated from an accidental lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, has been dismissed as a conspiracy theory and “disinformation” by Democrats, major news outlets, and scientists. and social media companies in the early stages of the pandemic.
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However, the unsubstantiated theory of the natural origin of the virus has slowly gained mainstream credence.
Trump did not specify how he would hold China accountable if he were to become president again. He simply said, “Something must be done, and it will be done.”
Fox News’ Peter Kasperovich and Aaron Kligman contributed to this report.
